In the following days, Ye Qiu kept busy in the experimental field with a few other young people.
The rest of the brigade also heard the news, sparking a wave of discussion. Now, when the villagers cooled off at the entrance of the village in the evenings, the main topic was Ye Qiu and the methods she had proposed. Even Zhao Lan and Grandma Zhao were pulled aside to provide information.
A few days later, Ye Qiu brought Zhao Ze over to inspect the results.
“Brigade Leader, look. After comparing the results, establishing a buffer zone is the most effective and practical method.”
Before the experiment began, she had already told Zhao Ze that these methods wouldn’t solve the weed growth problem 100%, but they would provide a certain level of suppression.
Zhao Yuanchao stood beside Zhao Ze, looking at the surrounding fields, and said happily, “It really works.”
It was hard to tell the effect just by looking at one spot, but when compared with other plots of land, it was very obvious that there were far fewer weeds.
Zhao Ze calculated in his mind: according to the method Ye Qiu proposed, the interval between weeding could be extended, and fewer people were needed, which could save at least half the labor force.
Consequently, Zhao Ze’s impression of Ye Qiu improved even further. “You have saved our brigade a lot of trouble. These past few days will be calculated at the highest work-point rate. Since this method is effective, let’s establish buffer zones in the surrounding fields as well.”
Ye Qiu naturally had no objections.
Not long after they were pleased, several people came running over from the slope in a hurry.
Seeing them, Zhao Yuanchao asked loudly, “Why are you running over here?”
One of the young men replied loudly, “Zhuzi’s mother broke her leg. We’re here to ask the Brigade Leader to borrow his bicycle to take her to the hospital.”
Zhao Ze was the only one in the village who owned a bicycle; if there was an emergency, he would let the villagers use it.
Zhao Yuanchao was startled. “How could she be so careless? Is it serious?”
“It looks quite serious. Dr. Zhao told us to get her to the hospital immediately.”
Zhao Ze said, “Then don’t just stand there! Hurry to my house, take the bike, and get her to the hospital!”
The person who had run over nodded upon hearing this and sped off again.
Zhao Yuanchao hesitated for a moment but decided not to follow.
He sighed, saying, “If a leg is broken, there will be long-term effects. Life will be hard for her from now on.”
“There is a hospital in town. Actually, if she gets medical treatment, it shouldn’t be too big of a problem,” Ye Qiu said comfortingly. In reality, the medical conditions now were decent; it was just that the costs might be high—it all depended on whether the family was willing to spend the money.
“I hope so,” Zhao Ze said, sounding worried. “It takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone. With Zhuzi’s mother’s leg injured, the few pigs he is taking care of can’t go without someone; we need to rearrange someone quickly.”
Upon hearing this, Ye Qiu immediately volunteered. “Brigade Leader, I can go raise the pigs!”
Zhao Ze raised his eyebrows and looked her up and down seriously. “You know how to raise pigs?”
She looked fair and clean, and having come from the city, she didn’t look like someone who had raised pigs before. However, thinking of the ideas Ye Qiu had proposed previously, he felt he shouldn’t underestimate her.
“There is gold in books; there is jade in books. I read a lot—it’s not impossible that I’ve read a book about how to raise them,” Ye Qiu said, working hard to advocate for herself. “Brigade Leader, don’t worry. I will definitely raise the brigade’s pigs until they are white and fat.”
Zhao Ze hesitated. “Raising pigs is not the same as weeding; you can’t experiment on them.”
If a pig died, it was truly dead.
Each pig was an important asset to the brigade. Even as the Brigade Leader, he couldn’t let Ye Qiu use the pigs for practice.
Ye Qiu patted her chest, confidently guaranteeing, “Don’t worry, I’m not the type to boast. Brigade Leader, give me a day off tomorrow. I’ll go to town to find books, and combined with what I’ve read before, I will definitely provide you with a ‘Scientific Pig-Raising Guide’ the day after tomorrow. You can decide if it’s feasible after that.”
Zhao Ze respected people who had ability and dared to strive for things. “Fine. Consider it a reward; you can have tomorrow off. If your guide is well-written, it’s not impossible to help you secure the pig-raising job.”
Raising pigs was a big deal. Aside from being dirty and smelly, the work was light. Many people in the village were eyeing it; he didn’t have the authority to decide alone.
But if Ye Qiu could produce a satisfying result, he would certainly be willing to vouch for her.
After finalizing this, Zhao Ze went to arrange for others to dig the buffer zones and left Ye Qiu to be managed by Zhao Yuanchao.
Zhao Yuanchao didn’t assign her any work and told her to go back and rest. Given Ye Qiu’s efficiency, she wouldn’t necessarily earn three work points a day anyway; it would be better for her to go back and prepare her “Scientific Pig-Raising Guide.”
The next morning, Ye Qiu finally struggled to get out of bed.
Qu Tong and Zhao Lan had already gone to work, and even Grandma Zhao had gone out; she was the only one left in the house.
If only she had a bicycle, she could sleep until she woke up naturally and wouldn’t have to rush to catch the ox cart early in the morning.
But buying a bicycle was too flashy and didn’t fit her principle of keeping a low profile, so Ye Qiu had no choice but to give up on that idea.
After tidying up, she sat on the ox cart headed for town, swaying and wobbling all the way there.
She went to the town bookstore to look for books first, but unfortunately, the variety was too sparse; she couldn’t find the books she wanted at all.
There was no other way but to choose to redeem them from the system mall.
Anyway, having visited the town bookstore, there would be an explanation if she took these books out.
After leaving the bookstore, she wandered around the area.
Checking the time, Ye Qiu stepped into the state-run restaurant.
“Two big steamed buns, and one order of twice-cooked pork.”
Honestly, although she could redeem all kinds of food from the system mall, she was afraid others would smell the odors, so she could only choose food that was mild in scent and easy to handle for extra meals.
Holding a treasure in her hands but being unable to use it freely was truly heartbreaking—enough to make one shed tears.
Ye Qiu took a deep breath, smelling the fragrance of meat wafting through the cafeteria, and cast her worries aside.
After paying for the food and the coupons, she waited at her seat. The aroma of the food in the air constantly permeated the room, and Ye Qiu was so tempted that she began to drool.
Fortunately, the chefs were very quick.
After waiting for about 10 minutes, the food she ordered was brought out.
Looking at the twice-cooked pork, which was rich in color, fragrance, and taste, Ye Qiu immediately buried her head in the food.
Fortunately, everyone in the restaurant was the same; no one laughed at her eagerness.
After eating, Ye Qiu packed an order of braised pork, which Qu Tong had asked her to bring.
Walking out of the state-run restaurant, Ye Qiu headed straight to the supply and marketing cooperative.
She didn’t buy much this time. After collecting the things others had asked her to bring, she left, fully loaded with items.
She went to the educated youth residence first and distributed the items to everyone.
The others thanked her repeatedly and happily took their things.
Gu Shu touched the fabric in her hands, her face full of envy. “I really envy Educated Youth Ye. With such a clever brain, you can live a good life wherever you go.”
Wang Lili scoffed. “Sister Gu Shu’s life is pretty good too. You’re a teacher at the elementary school. That’s much easier than those of us working in the fields.”
Originally, Li Jiajun was the teacher at the elementary school. After he married Gu Shu, he gave the job to his wife while he continued to work in the fields.
Wang Lili had always been jealous of this and would take every opportunity to take a jab at her.
Gu Shu had heard her sour remarks too often and didn’t take them to heart. Ye Qiu didn’t want to get involved in their business; after finishing the distribution, she said goodbye and left.
Before she even returned to Zhao Lan’s house, Ye Qiu saw from a distance that Qu Tong was sitting at the door waiting for her.
As soon as she saw Ye Qiu’s figure, Qu Tong happily greeted her.
“You’re back!”
Ye Qiu laughed and teased, “Are you here to greet me or to greet the delicious food?”
Qu Tong had been tortured by the daily sweet potato porridge to the point of suffering. As soon as she knew Ye Qiu was going to town, she had hurriedly asked her to help buy some good food. She wasn’t picky about what it was, as long as it kept for a while.