Chapter 167 [Iron Ox] Enters the Village
Liu Zhiye put down the phone, feeling extremely satisfied. It turned out that things were going so smoothly. According to Director Li, they had business dealings with the agricultural machinery company and could even help purchase agricultural machinery.

At noon, Liu Zhiye put aside his worries and felt happy. He warmly invited the guests to drink. Under his leadership, the guests drank to their heart's content and the atmosphere was lively.

Li Huaide finished today's drinking party with satisfaction. He shook his slightly drunken body and assured Liu Liu Zhiye with a big tongue: "Don't worry, brother, leave this matter to me, your brother. I will definitely do it beautifully for you..."

"belch!"

After returning to the village, Liu Zhiye immediately shared the good news with his third uncle.

The third uncle and others were also very surprised. They didn't hold much hope at first and just let Liu Zhiye give it a try. However, they didn't expect that this thing could actually be done.

……

A few days later, Liujiazhuang welcomed an unusual team - two "Dongfanghong" tractors rumbled into the village.

These two tractors are not ordinary agricultural vehicles. They symbolize the arrival of a new era and also indicate that some historical changes are about to take place in Liujiazhuang.

The tractors were driven by two promising young men, wearing neat blue work clothes, helmets, and confident smiles on their faces.

The "Dongfanghong" tractor was emitting billowing black smoke, but it did not make people feel disgusted. Instead, it revealed a kind of simple and unpretentious power.

“Our village bought a tractor!”

With a "boom", the news in the village was like a drop of water in hot oil, causing a lively sensation. The villagers talked about it, their emotions were high, and they all rushed to the village committee.

Hundreds of men, women, young and old, with their families, surrounded the scene, leaving no space at all.

People were talking and talking among themselves, pointing and talking about the two tank-like crawler-type "Dongfanghong" tractors, their faces filled with excitement.

"Wow! This is the 'Big Iron Bull'!"

"I heard that you only work and don't eat grass?"

"Not so good, this thing consumes as much fuel as a car..."

"I've seen this in the commune. What a guy! The farm machinery operator wouldn't even let anyone touch him. He was as arrogant as a rooster..."

"..."

The whole scene was very lively and seemed to be boiling. It can be seen that the atmosphere here was very warm, attracting many people to come and watch and participate.

Upon hearing the news, the third uncle who was building a road in the village came quickly with several village cadres.

They also ran towards the tractor with curiosity and excitement.

The third uncle greeted the comrades from the Red Star Factory warmly. He said with a smile on his face: "Oh! Thank you so much for the strong support from the comrades from the Red Star Factory. Please come into the house and have a rest. Let us show our hospitality." His words were full of gratitude and enthusiasm, which made people feel warm.

Then, he instructed his brother-in-law Liu Fusheng: "Go to the training camp and inform Zhiye that the tractor has arrived. Ask him to come and take a look when he has time."

"Okay, I'll go right away!" Liu Fusheng nodded and left quickly.

When Liu Zhiye arrived at the village committee and had a conversation with the car delivery personnel from the Red Star Factory, he realized that Li Huaide had done a great job.

According to the logistics staff of the Red Star Factory who accompanied them, the two tractors plus some agricultural machinery, truck beds, etc. were worth only 2500 yuan in total. There was no need to pay directly, and the amount could be deducted from the material transaction between the two companies.

In addition, Li Huaide also helped contact the Municipal Agricultural Machinery Bureau and sent two agricultural machinery operators to train the villagers to drive tractors.

The whole thing was very thoughtful and done neatly, which showed his versatile and thoughtful nature, which made Liu Zhiye admire him endlessly.

Afterwards, hundreds of people followed the two tractors to an open space. The live demonstration began, and the two tractors were crowded with people, and the atmosphere was extremely enthusiastic.

This type of tractor is very powerful, but its disadvantage is that the crawler type is slow and cannot reach the ends of the fields. It has to be plowed by oxen or even people using pickaxes. However, the Dongfanghong crawler tractor has high horsepower and five plowshares at the back. It can plow a field about three meters wide in one trip, which is very efficient. One tractor can plow the land of a village in a few days.

Liu Zhiye looked at the lively scene with satisfaction, and said to the third uncle and other village committee cadres: "While these two farm machinery operators are here, we must get along well with them. Hurry up and select a few smart young people to learn from them how to drive a tractor and how to maintain a tractor..." He then said to the village committee cadres: "In the future, we must focus on talent training. We can send them out to study, or we can open training classes ourselves to train tractor drivers and farm implement operators.

Later, we had to learn how to repair things and set up farm machinery repair stations, striving to ensure that minor repairs could be done without leaving the village and major repairs could be done without leaving the commune.”

The third uncle nodded in agreement. He said firmly: "We must seize this rare opportunity and urge them to study the technology seriously. If they don't study hard, I will beat their buttocks..."

Brother-in-law Liu Fusheng added: "In my opinion, we should select people from the militia. They are young and disciplined, have received primary school education, and have a cultural foundation."

The third uncle also thought this was a good idea and asked for everyone's opinions. Seeing this, the others all said they had no objection and said let's do it! So the plan was finalized.

At noon, in order to welcome these comrades, the third uncle arranged for people to carefully prepare a sumptuous meal.

They slaughtered a fat rooster, caught a few plump grass carps from the river, and caught a bucket of green snails.

The snails in this era are good things, but don't make a mistake, they are not golden apple snails. Golden apple snails were introduced into China after the 1980s and are not yet rampant in China.

Liu Zhiye still remembers that when he was a child, every spring, when he was seven or eight years old, he knew how to run to the fields.

At that time, life in the village was poor, and there was rarely any oil on the potatoes and radishes on the table. The children of the poor were sensible early on, and they took measures to improve their meals.

Although eels and loaches cannot be caught, snails can be caught. As a result, snails became a new dish on the table.

When you take the snails home, you need to soak them in water for a day and a night, then wash them clean, use a kitchen knife to gently cut the "butt" of the snail, put some peanut oil, onion, ginger, and dried chili in the pot and stir-fry, then add bean paste, pour water and boil for a while, and sprinkle some coriander when the snail's shell falls off and you can eat it.

At that time, people ate snails purely for the added flavor of meat. There was no cultivation and elegance of "worshiping Chang'e and drinking wine under the moon, eating taro and then eating fragrant snails", and no one cared about the nutritional value.

Then, the children ate while listening to the adults talking about the story of the snail girl. Before they knew it, the plates were empty and only a pile of snail shells were left on the table...

……

Liu Zhiye, a prominent figure in Liujiazhuang, came out in person to accompany the guests, and several comrades from the Red Star Factory and the Agricultural Machinery Company were deeply moved.

The sumptuous food and wine made them extremely satisfied. One of the farm machinery operators patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, fellow villagers. If we don't teach your young men, we won't complete our mission and we won't leave..."

Another farm machinery operator followed suit and said, "Yes! Let's start in the afternoon, so don't waste time. Let's teach everyone well as soon as possible..."

A comrade from the Logistics Department of the Red Star Factory stated that Director Li had also explained that the Red Star Factory would be responsible for supplying diesel for the two tractors, and all expenses could be deducted from the material payments.

The third uncle was very happy to hear the news. They also liked to barter. Nowadays, they had too much money to spend. To buy things, they needed not only money but also tickets.

In this way, everyone is happy.

Liu Zhiye is also considering whether to help the village obtain some urgently needed supplies through barter, such as pesticides, fertilizers, seeds of various crops, steel farm tools, daily necessities, etc.

He felt that this method might be more practical than directly exchanging supplies for money, and could help the village solve some practical problems.

Everyone knows that fertilizer is a good thing, which can greatly increase food production. But in those days, fertilizer was a scarce commodity. Even in 1978, when China began to reform and open up, fertilizer was still a scarce commodity and it was difficult to buy even if you had money.

It is not possible to buy it with money, but it is much easier to exchange it with scarce grain, meat and eggs. After all, fertilizer cannot be eaten, but food can fill your stomach.

Liu Zhiye was secretly delighted. If there were fertilizers, high-quality seeds, and mechanized planting, the grain output of Liujiazhuang would surely see an astonishing leap. This idea unfolded slowly in his mind like a vivid picture scroll.

He imagined the golden waves of wheat rolling, as magnificent as the ocean. The wind blew, and the ears of wheat whispered, as if telling the joy of the harvest.

……

In the afternoon, the uncle placed the two farm machinery operators in an empty house in the village committee compound. To show his kindness and concern, he also brought in a few new quilts.

These quilts were new bedding given as dowry by young people when they got married. They were reluctant to use them themselves, but generously donated them.

(End of this chapter)