The scorching sun hung in the sky, baking the air until it slightly warped; even the slightest movement left one drenched in sweat.
The farmers still laboring in the fields were bent over as they moved through the soil; viewed from high above, they looked like a swarm of busy ants.
Even wearing long sleeves and trousers couldn’t neutralize the stinging pain of the sun on their skin. Ye Qiu pulled at the weeds miserably, feeling as though life had turned pitch black.
She couldn’t take it anymore. If she continued working like this, she would go insane.
Ye Qiu straightened up and glanced at Qu Tong in the distance.
If nothing else, the “Miss Qu” was tougher than her. Despite complaining non-stop, her hands never stopped moving. Regardless of the quality of her work, her attitude toward labor was faultless.
Ye Qiu knew her own limitations; she had to find a way to escape this back-breaking labor, or she would soon become a shriveled corpse.
After making up her mind and organizing her thoughts, Ye Qiu wiped the mud off her hands and walked toward Brigade Leader Zhao Ze, who was standing on the field ridge.
“Leader, I have something I’d like to discuss with you.”
Hearing the voice, Zhao Ze turned around to see Ye Qiu standing there, her face streaked with dirt. He looked surprised. “Did someone in the village bully a new educated youth?”
That shouldn’t be the case. He had heard others mention this batch of educated youths; the two male youths were unremarkable, but the female youths were one more formidable than the next, especially this Ye Qiu—she looked quiet, but in reality, she was thorny.
“No, the people in the Qingshan Brigade are great. I haven’t been bullied,” Ye Qiu shook her head and then stated her purpose. “Leader, I came to you because I feel our current manual weeding method is too inefficient. We should think of other ways.”
If someone else had said this, Zhao Ze would have surely shut them down.
But he always felt that Educated Youth Ye was different; she didn’t seem like the type to talk nonsense. In case she truly had some useful ideas, it would be a good thing.
Therefore, Zhao Ze asked patiently, “If you are talking about pesticides, then there’s no need to say it. Everyone knows pesticides are good, but we all know the Qingshan Brigade can’t get enough of them.”
“I know the situation.” Ye Qiu didn’t take his distrust to heart. “I just think that weeding should also be done with a scientific approach. Weeds grow much faster than crops. If we keep arranging manual weeding, it’s not only low efficiency, but also a huge waste of manpower. So, we can change our thinking—for example, by slowing down the growth speed of weeds at the source.”
That sounded somewhat interesting. Zhao Ze encouraged Ye Qiu to continue.
However, Ye Qiu merely raised a smiling face, fighting for benefits for herself. “I can’t finish explaining this in a moment, and this sun…”
The intelligent Zhao Ze smiled. “Alright, let’s go over to the shade of that tree and talk slowly.”
He took Ye Qiu to the shade of a tree. “Now you can continue, right?”
Ye Qiu looked innocent as she continued her thoughts. “Everyone knows that wild grass relies on seeds to spread. It’s the wind that carries weed seeds everywhere, causing fields to be full of weeds. Knowing the characteristics of weeds, can we establish a buffer zone to prevent the seeds from spreading and growing, to stop the weeds from growing?”
After hearing her words, the look in Zhao Ze’s eyes already carried admiration. “Comrade Ye makes sense. Any other ideas?”
Ye Qiu laughed internally. Men—truly realistic. Their attitude changed immediately upon seeing potential benefits.
“There is! Many households in our Qingshan Brigade raise chickens and ducks. Chickens and ducks eat grass, so we can drive them into the fields to let them eat the weeds and pests.”
Zhao Ze followed her train of thought. “Chickens and ducks don’t know the difference between crops and weeds, so we can only release them into fields where no crops are planted to avoid damaging the crops.”
Ye Qiu provided the leader with ample emotional value. “The leader is clever!”
Zhao Ze looked at her earnestly and encouraged her. “Comrade Ye is indeed worthy of being from the city; you really are good at thinking!”
Saying this, he had completely forgotten about the other educated youths who were also from the city.
“Lastly, in vegetable gardens and some special areas, we can use straw and stalks to cover the ground, which can also inhibit weed growth to a certain extent.” Ye Qiu said all the little tips about weeding she had learned in her past life, not forgetting to add, “These methods are what I saw in books before. How to implement them requires specific investigation according to the situation.”
After saying this, Ye Qiu added emotionally, “In the few short days I’ve been in the Qingshan Brigade, I truly feel that our farmers are suffering! With backs to the yellow earth and faces toward the sky, working in the fields from dawn until dusk, and still having to rely on the weather—whether there will be a good harvest all depends on the grace of Heaven. As an educated youth, the meaning of going to the countryside is to apply the knowledge I’ve learned to this land, helping my fellow farmer comrades farm more scientifically and reducing unnecessary human effort!”
Having learned too much politics in her past life, Ye Qiu spoke fluently, sublimating her behavior without a single stutter, as if she didn’t have a shred of selfish intent.
Zhao Ze felt that Ye Qiu was truly a talent and patted her shoulder, moved. “Comrade Ye said it well!”
Is weeding a difficult job?
Of course not. Compared to digging holes and tilling soil, weeding was much lighter and less technical; a child of a few years old knew how to pull weeds.
But the problem was that weeding wasn’t a one-time job; weeds weren’t pulled clean, and they would grow back again a few days later.
The key was that one couldn’t ignore them; weeds grew fast and would compete for nutrients in the soil, affecting the growth of the grain. Therefore, a group of people had to be arranged to weed the fields every few days.
If the methods Ye Qiu mentioned were truly effective—not to mention that they wouldn’t need to weed in the future—even if they were somewhat useful and reduced the frequency of weeding, that would already be excellent.
Zhao Ze was not someone who didn’t dare to act. Since it made sense, he had to try.
“Comrade Ye Qiu, regarding your ideas, I think we can practice them. Go find Zhao Yuanchao and ask him to arrange a few people to follow you. You will be responsible for directing them. Find a few plots of land to experiment with—whether it’s establishing buffer zones, letting chickens and ducks eat the grass, or covering with straw—try them all out to see which method is the most practical.” Zhao Ze didn’t intend to let her suffer losses and added, “As for your work points, they will be recorded normally during this time. If the method is effective, they will be recorded according to the highest work points.”
This was also done for the other educated youths to see. Instead of letting them mix through the days doing work similar to that of growing half-grown boys, it was better to let them use what they had learned; this might lead to unexpected results.
“Received. I’ll go right now.”
Ye Qiu excitedly accepted this arrangement and jogged off to find Zhao Yuanchao for manpower.
Truly not easy; she finally didn’t have to continue working in the fields and had been promoted to management!
As for what to do after the weeding was finished, that was a problem for the future her to worry about. Anyway, she was liberated right now.