CHAPTER 95: CHAPTER 90 COOPERATION

Sure enough, it was the liveliest time at the cafeteria during noon.

Meal times were when the most people gathered.

Everyone from Team Twelve crowded into the cafeteria, talking and eating, making it possibly the most comfortable and pleasant time for them.

Right then, when the team leader, Li Dahu, came in, everyone immediately fell silent.

Some wanted to sneak away, which definitely meant they were not great at working usually.

Some awkwardly greeted him, which didn’t please Li Dahu either.

"No one leave; I have something to tell you all today, might as well hold a meeting."

Seeing someone holding a lunch box ready to leave, Li Da was not there for a casual chat; he had important matters to announce.

They needed to understand the policies from above, and it was their responsibility to convey the latest policies.

Suddenly, everyone sat quietly without making a sound.

With the leader’s words, many people felt worried.

"Here’s the thing! The higher-ups have passed down a policy, preparing to implement the ’Big Package’. The so-called ’Big Package’ is basically a form of household responsibility system. But here, this is a farm, not individual households, so you’re asked to choose a few people yourselves to form a group and draw lots to allocate land.

With this, a group responsibility system is established, meaning you have to turn over the production from your contracted land to the state. After fulfilling your quota, the remaining is yours.

The amount of land each person contracts is up to them, but at least two acres per person is required. You have half a day to think it over, consider free combinations of male and female educated youth, the number of people is up to you.

Tomorrow at noon, I’ll come over to draw lots to decide which piece of land you’ll be contracting. Then, dorms will also be reassigned. The cafeteria, too, will cease operations! So, individuals will receive their rations and go to their dormitory kitchens to cook.

After all, now that you’ve contracted the land as individuals, you can’t continue to eat from the collective cafeteria, can you? Whether you eat richly or poorly afterwards, it’s all down to your own abilities."

After Li Dahu finished talking, he turned and left, for this matter was decided by the leadership above.

Originally, they didn’t dare to try rashly without receiving official policy directions.

But they heard that some villages in other provinces had already started on their own, and their results were outstanding.

It’s said that village quickly prospered.

Every household could afford a motorcycle, which made them envious; who wouldn’t want to be prosperous instead of poor?

Although they were a farm, they had lots of land but not many people.

There were quite a few youths who slacked off, due to the communal dining system.

Whether they worked well or poorly, they still earned work points.

There was no motivation; everyone did as little as they could.

They were quite troubled by this.

So, all the production team leaders gathered and discussed plans to implement the household responsibility system.

This could ignite people’s enthusiasm and prevent slackers.

After all, in the future, how much you eat depends on how much work you do.

It’s believed lazy people wouldn’t want to starve themselves.

When the captain left, the cafeteria turned chaotic.

Everyone’s hearts were in turmoil.

The household responsibility system, some of them had heard about it, but hadn’t expected it to come to them so quickly.

The rumors didn’t come as suddenly as this.

He Aiguo sat down in front of Jiang Xiaoxiao and Jia Shu, alongside three other male educated youths he’s close with.

"Jiang Xiaoxiao, Jia Shu, how about we partner up? The four of us guys get along well, have similar temperaments, and are good at working, not slackers at all. Since the cafeteria is gone, someone will need to handle cooking and cleaning.

Partnering with unfamiliar female educated youths is not as good as partnering together.

If there are other female educated youths you’re on good terms with, we can include them as well. After all, the more the merrier, allowing us to contract a few more acres of land. We estimate that if it’s just the six of us, 20 acres should be suitable."

He Aiguo was confident; they were all skilled at farm work, and Jiang Xiaoxiao and Jia Shu were also well-known hard workers in the team.

Knowing each other, cooperation wouldn’t be a problem.

He Aiguo wasn’t considering anyone else.

After all, many weren’t easy to get along with.

Working together wasn’t just about labor; later they’d be neighbors in the dorms, looking out for each other, and having compatible personalities was important.

Jiang Xiaoxiao was straightforward and easy-going, uninhibited, and had agreed to look after her brother, Jiang Lei’s, sister.

It seemed their cooperation was the best.

Jiang Xiaoxiao agreed; one tree does not make a forest.

No matter how competent, she couldn’t manage alone.

Jia Shu listened to everything Jiang Xiaoxiao said, and the two of them worked seamlessly together.

Jia Shu truly considered Jiang Xiaoxiao a good friend.

In the dormitory, they huddled together.

Wu Yue and Wang Hongbing paired up, while Pan Xin had a romantic partner who was also a male educated youth in the same team, so naturally, they didn’t group together.

Obviously, without division, they quickly formed three teams on their own.

"Brother He, let’s form a team then, the two of us with you all, and when it comes time to draw lots, you do it."

Jiang Xiaoxiao showed no hesitation.

With He Aiguo involved, it certainly saved them a lot of trouble.

They certainly couldn’t expect two girls to work alone; naturally, they had to team up with others.

With He Aiguo and his friends, she felt much more at ease.

He Aiguo laughed and agreed, "Maybe someone else should take the draw; I’m not very lucky. If we draw a bad lot, we’ll be in trouble, and I’d be ashamed."

Simple-minded, He Aiguo truly didn’t dare to draw lots.

He just didn’t have such luck in his life.

The guys looked at each other and eventually decided to let a female educated youth draw.

After all, they were all educated youth and understood the principle of ladies first.

Jia Shu jokingly nudged Jiang Xiaoxiao,

"Don’t hide, it has to be you. I’m too scared to go up, I tremble at the sight of our leader. I can’t even see the lot when the time comes, so how could I draw one? Don’t worry, even if you draw a bad spot, we won’t blame you; isn’t it all up to fate?"

The others nodded in agreement, "Yeah! You go, Jiang Xiaoxiao! We won’t hold it against you, as long as we’re diligent and hard-working, even if we get a bad piece of land, that’ll be fine. Nobody should blame the person drawing for the results of drawing lots."

Jiang Xiaoxiao gave a wry smile, thinking about her luck.

Just as they were talking, Fang Peizhong and a female educated youth named Liu Hongmei walked over.

Although Fang Peizhong was in the same team as Jiang Xiaoxiao, they hadn’t spoken a word.

Since their last unhappy encounter, they practically treated each other like strangers.

They didn’t talk to each other, and neither did the other party.

To outsiders, the two seemed not just unfamiliar, but perhaps having some conflict!

Fang Peizhong had a rough time within the team over the past few months.

He had never done farm work before, having always lived like a young master in the city, idling away the days, and suffered a lot here.

Initially doing farm work, he would hurt his feet one day and his hands another; anyway, the leader simply couldn’t stand him, having never seen such a pampered man.

He even complained about the cafeteria food all the time: this wasn’t tasty, or that wasn’t good; he ate all the snacks and biscuits he brought himself.

In the end, once those provisions ran out, he had no choice but to eat at the canteen, and he was the one who complained the most.

During payroll for the past few months, it was clear he earned less than others.

While others could earn about twelve or thirteen yuan a month, the most he got was eight yuan a month, earning less than a female educated youth.

Only Liu Hongmei stayed with him, helping him with everything.

Others simply looked down on Fang Peizhong.