Chapter 220 Changes in the Village - "Commercial Street"

"Teacher Liu, you guys can eat at school at noon today and try the food made by our cafeteria lady." Principal Zhou invited them with a smile as he took everyone on a tour of the school cafeteria.

The third uncle Liu Yuanhai smiled and waved his hand, saying: "Old Zhou, don't bother, we will go to the old man's house for lunch today, you can come too!
Principal Zhou hesitated for a moment and said, "That's fine! I happen to have half a pound of good tea given to me by an old classmate. I'll bring it over for the old man to taste."

The old man of the Liu family was a highly respected person. Since he became a teacher at Liujiazhuang Primary School, the two had formed a deep friendship. They often visited each other and became chess friends who could talk about anything.

Principal Zhou readily agreed.

After finishing the school tour, Liu Zhiye and his group came to the "Market Street" in the village.

This street is in the shape of a cross, connecting to the training camp in the north and directly connecting to the road into the village in the east, dividing the entire village into a field shape.

In the central area of ​​Cross Street, where the village committee is located, a new scene is eye-catching. The courtyard wall near the street has been demolished and replaced by several brand new large houses.

The most eye-catching of these is the newly established "village supply and marketing cooperative".

The area of ​​this business place is quite impressive, with a full 300 square meters. When you walk into the store, you will see a wide variety of goods.

From cigarettes and matches to liquor, candy, melon seeds, snacks and biscuits, bulk soy sauce, clam oil, soap, floral cloth, pots and pans, needles and thread and other daily necessities, to fertilizers, kerosene, small hardware and other agricultural supplies, here you can find everything.

After the emergence of the supply and marketing cooperative, the market on this street has always been very popular. Not only the villagers nearby, but even residents from other villages often come here to buy or sell things.

In the capital, large enterprises such as the Red Star Factory come regularly to purchase wild goods and agricultural and sideline products, which greatly facilitates the sale of agricultural products and supplies in the surrounding villages.

For these villages, this not only means the expansion of sales channels, but also means an increase in income.

The nearby villages naturally take Liujiazhuang as their center. There is a market every five days, and the place becomes bustling with people coming and going.

Uncle Liu Yuanhai, the third uncle, led the villagers to continuously repair and expand the transportation facilities. Now this cross street has gotten rid of its original narrow and dilapidated appearance and has become wider and flatter.

In addition to the village committee compound on both sides of the road, there are supply and marketing cooperatives, agricultural machinery stations, village clinics, post offices, credit unions, library stations, blacksmith shops, agricultural and sideline products purchasing stations, and a newly established meat store. These are all village-run institutions.

On this busy street, villagers set up various stalls in front of their homes in their spare time, including shoe repair, car repair, tofu and vegetable selling, fruit selling, and snacks selling, making the whole street look very prosperous.

Recently, the village is planning to set up a brick and tile factory. In the future, the village will no longer need to purchase bricks, tiles, lime and other building materials from outside for construction. This is exciting news.

The villagers are full of expectations for this new initiative and believe that it will bring new conveniences to the village's economic development and daily life.

Liu Zhiye looked at the cross street in front of him, and the atmosphere of a rural town became stronger and stronger.

People were coming and going on the street, and everyone's face was filled with happy smiles. This scene made people feel peaceful and serene, and for a moment he wanted to spend the rest of his life here.

Although this era was materially poor, it was spiritually rich. Agriculture learned from Dazhai, industry learned from Daqing, the people of the country learned from the People's Liberation Army, and the People's Liberation Army learned from the people of the country!
Dig deep holes, store up food, and don't seek hegemony! That kind of enthusiasm, drive, and spirit can only be achieved by experiencing such a fiery era!

Liu Zhiye smiled and asked the third uncle: "How many people are there in our village now?" Liu Yuanhai estimated that there are probably more than 2700 people, including newborns.

Liu Zhiye exclaimed in amazement: "Wow! In less than a year, the number of people has increased by nearly 300! I remember that at the beginning of the year, the number was only 2400."

This growth rate is truly astonishing. If it continues at this rate, by 1965, the population of Liujiazhuang will increase to around 5,000.

The third uncle said proudly, "That's right! This year alone, there are more than 20 young people getting married, and almost every month one or two outsiders marry into our village.

People in our village are very popular now. Not only young people are in high demand, but also some old bachelors and widows.

As living conditions improved and the village encouraged more births, the population naturally increased a lot.”

Liu Zhiye silently calculated that within ten years, Liujiazhuang would become a large family with more than 10,000 people, with the Liu family as the main body, and no one would dare to provoke them as long as they did not actively commit crimes.

Liujiazhuang also has many in-laws with nearby villages and has considerable influence in the surrounding areas.

If someone comes to cause trouble deliberately, Liujiazhuang will surely respond with one voice and will definitely teach them an unforgettable lesson.

At the beginning, Liu Zhiye saw that with clan relations as the bond, the village would be least affected by the outside world, so he spared no effort to support the development and growth of his village.

If things become impossible, he will just "hide in the small building and be alone, regardless of winter, summer, spring and autumn." If you want to live a comfortable life here, it is essential to strengthen the village's infrastructure. Although it will take several years before the wind starts, it is entirely possible to make changes in the village little by little.

After the village roads were repaired, they became smooth and wide, no longer muddy. At the same time, the underground sewage drainage system was also rebuilt to prevent sewage from flowing across the village.

In this way, when it rains, the village will no longer have muddy roads and sewage flowing.

Next, the uncle plans to install a tap water system for the village. Specifically, they will select a water source, dig a deep well, and use an electric pump to extract water to provide villagers with sanitary and convenient living water.

This project will bring tremendous changes to the lives of villagers, allowing them to enjoy more convenient and safer water resources.

Liu Zhiye plans to install a biogas power generation system in the village in a few years. In fact, the current biogas technology is quite mature.

As for this system, it will bring great changes to the village. The biogas power generation system can not only help the villagers solve the energy problem, but also bring certain economic benefits.

Of course, this requires a certain amount of time and financial investment, but Liu Zhiye believes that it is all worth it.

As early as August 1958, the Sichuan University Journal published an article titled "From the Development of Pi County People's Commune..." which mentioned that some biogas power stations would be built in Pi County. Although it was not known whether it would be realized, it also provided technical support for Liu Zhiye.

In September 1958, Fu Yuxiang of Suining Normal University published "Some Experiences in Producing Biogas from Feces Fermentation" in which he mentioned that his first experiment successfully produced biogas from feces.

In 1958, a campaign to produce and utilize biogas using traditional methods was launched in rural areas across the country.

The scale of breeding in Liujiazhuang is gradually expanding. Coupled with its unique geographical conditions, if combined with biogas technology, it will be both environmentally friendly and economical, and will also provide favorable guarantees for the village's electricity supply.

In the village, there is now environmentally friendly energy for cooking and heating. There is no need to cut down trees or damage the ecological environment. There are many benefits.

By then, the conditions in the village such as water, electricity, heating, transportation, shopping, study, and daily necessities will be very convenient, and even not inferior to living in the city.

Moreover, living in the village is not far from the city, and the environment is better; therefore, choosing to live in the village is also a good choice.

……

When we got back to the old house, it was already noon.

My aunt was busy cooking, and Liu Tielin was cleaning a pheasant in the yard, which my uncle had trapped in the morning.

Recently, after the crops have matured, small animals such as rabbits and pheasants often come out to look for food, so they often catch them during this period.

"Brother! Take a look, this chicken is really fat. I estimate it weighs about three or four pounds." Liu Tielin saw them coming back and smiled as he showed the pheasant in his hand to Liu Zhiye.

Liu Zhiye realized that he hadn't eaten this for a long time. He took a quick look and knew that what his brother said was true. So, he asked his aunt in the house: "Aunt, make a little chicken stewed with potatoes!"

The aunt in the kitchen responded, "Okay! I just harvested some fresh potatoes, and they'll be perfect for this."

My younger sister and older brother Liu Zhitai came back, each holding a bamboo basket filled with lively "Shengfang crabs" and small fish like crucian carp.

Liu Zhiruo shouted excitedly: "Brother, come and see! There are so many crabs, we are going to have a feast at noon today!"

"Haha! You finally caught it today!" Liu Zhiye teased him and walked towards his grandfather.

The old man also came back with them. At this time, he was smoking a pipe, with his hands behind his back, watching the interaction between his grandchildren in front of him with a smile.

He seemed to be in a warm picture, watching them laughing and playing, enjoying the family happiness.

"Grandpa! Are you back?" Liu Zhiye went over to support him.

The old man smiled and waved his hand, asking him, "How is the little girl?"

Liu Zhiye nodded: "I'm fine! I can eat and sleep well."

The old man nodded with satisfaction and said, "Come with me, I will give you what you asked me to collect."

(End of this chapter)