A century of poverty

Chapter 36 Speaking the Truth

Zhangzhuangtou Primary School is located south of the rural road, west of the downhill passage to the north of the garden.

The four main rooms on the west side are two classrooms, and the one room on the east side is an office, while the other room is used to store miscellaneous items.

Two large walnut trees, over a hundred years old, stand to the west of the building. To the south of the trees are several side rooms, which temporarily serve as the brigade headquarters. In front of the side rooms is a small platform, which also functions as the school's stage.

There are no courtyard walls here; there are paths leading through on all four sides.

If you don't have a building to open a kindergarten, you can set up a classroom there.

The only remaining classroom is for students in grades one through three, with classes held in the morning and afternoon, and they take turns using it. Peng Xiangzhi teaches the third-grade students and also manages school affairs, while her sister-in-law, Wei Hezhi, teaches the first and second grade classes.

There were only about thirty students of school age attending the school; those in fourth grade and above went to Liuzhuangtuo University.

The kindergarten lacked teachers when it opened, so two young women from the village were temporarily hired as instructors. The eldest brother and third sister were school-aged children, and many families in the village had two or three children attending together. With dozens of children together, they were constantly playing and causing a ruckus. One child would say, "I need to poop," and another would say, "I want to go home and breastfeed." At that time, it wasn't uncommon for six- or seven-year-olds to still be breastfeeding. The two instructors were overwhelmed, unable to maintain order, and had no idea how to teach the children.

Less than a month later, the kindergarten was closed down, and the classrooms were returned to the primary school.

The canteen was located in the third team headquarters, in a courtyard next to the village's central road on Xidang Street. The five rooms, with the partitions removed, formed an open space where all the food from each household was gathered together. Tables, bowls, plates, and even seats were moved to the canteen; families would find a spot, set up, and sit together. All the tables in the village were arranged in two rows, north and south, with an aisle in the middle.

1958 was a good year. Every family gathered their grain together, and people felt carefree looking at the large piles of grain.

My mother and aunt were assigned to cook in the canteen. The grain was still in its husks and had to be ground on a millstone first. Each of them carried half a sack of soaked sorghum, spread it out on the millstone on Xidang Street, and started grinding.

The two chatted as they pushed each other. The mother said, "I never thought good days would come so quickly. We have good rice to eat and everyone lives an equal life. What did rich farmers eat in the past? I always heard your second aunt say that Zhang Shaotang's two daughters-in-law ate rice soaked in the crispy rice crust. Look at us now, oh my—it's truly a world apart from the old society!"

The woman said, "You're satisfied with this? There's something even better. I heard that with communism, you can take whatever you need for free."

Mom: "Oh my, there are times like that? You're not dreaming, are you?"

Auntie: "You're really a little hermit, you've never seen the world. You never even thought of this, but you've got it today."

Mom: "Yes! You go to the front and push it, I'll sweep it here." The two switched places. The aunt went to the front and held the millstone handle, while Mom went to the back, pushing the millstone frame with one hand and sweeping with the broom in the other.

At mealtimes, the canteen was bustling with activity, as people of all ages from the village gathered together. Each family sent a representative, carrying a helmet, to line up and get their food and dishes. They would then take the food back to their own tables, sit around, and leave after eating. The canteen would even wash the dishes – it truly had a communist feel to it.

The members of the fourth team went to the fields, carrying pickaxes, and walked to the main ditch when someone suddenly ran up: "Captain, send two more people to the steel furnace. The chimney can't be erected without enough people." "Okay, Xiaosheng and Xiaoxuan, you two brothers go," Captain Dawu's father assigned.

The headquarters of the Fourth Team was located in the northeast of Beidang Street, where the Zhangzhuangtuo iron smelting furnace was built. Zhang Xigui was leading a few people in building it, with the cylinder pipes erected on top. Zhang Xigui called out, "Hold on tight, don't let go!" while smearing mud on it.

Uncle Zhang Xigui was in his thirties, in the prime of his life, and full of energy. Originally a stonemason, he had seen factories in the city after several years away, so when the village asked him to lead the construction of a furnace for iron smelting, he gave it his all with great enthusiasm.

Every household started sending scrap iron and broken nails here. The newly erected chimney was billowing smoke, and a few people were sifting coal briquettes nearby.

A scene of bustling activity.

As the furnace burned, it suddenly collapsed with a loud thud, and the people scattered in fright, retreating a considerable distance. The iron smelting attempt had failed, and the people, looking dejected, squatted on the ground, staring at the scene. "How did it collapse? I've been wondering about that," one of the team leaders muttered.

"I know what's going on." Zhang Xigui stood up. "I worked as a laborer in a steel mill for a few years. They used something called 'fireproof'—what's it called? Yeah, refractory bricks for the furnace, so they're fireproof. Let's find Zhang Jinlan from our village. Her son-in-law works in Tangshan. Let's ask him for advice."

"Then I'll leave this to you. Go ask him tomorrow," Zhang Mingzhi decided on the spot.

The following day, Zhang Xigui took a train from Luanxian to Tangshan, a journey of over 100 li (approximately 50 kilometers), and arrived at Zhang Jinlan's home by noon. The third day, Zhang Xigui returned with a cart loaded with refractory bricks and rebuilt the iron smelting furnace. News spread, and the commune secretary organized other brigades to visit and learn from his experience, as many other brigades had also suffered furnace collapses and were at a loss. Hearing that Zhangzhuangtuo had a good solution, they immediately organized a visit to learn from their experience.

Zhang Xigui became quite capable, explaining things to visitors as he built the furnace. Soon, people from other communes came to learn, including Fan Guiyan, a young woman from Daizhuang Village in Habo Commune. She was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with a round, round face, slightly dark skin, two short braids, a pair of small dimples when she smiled, and a pair of small tiger teeth. She was talkative and cheerful. This time, she represented her brigade on the visit and was very impressed. After listening to Zhang Xigui's introduction, she stepped forward and shook his hand: "You are truly capable. I hope you can come to Daizhuang Village to share your experience and help us with iron smelting."

Zhang Xigui blushed, "I don't have much experience, let's learn from each other!" He lowered his head and withdrew his hand. Miss Fan smiled, "Are you still shy?"

An older man next to me said, "He's still a virgin!"

"Haha!" People burst into laughter.

At this point, Miss Fan felt embarrassed and returned to the crowd, rubbing her feet on the ground.

As the tour group was leaving, Miss Fan asked her brother to give Zhang Xigui a note. The brother understood her meaning and acted as matchmaker for the two.

Zhang Xigui and Fan Guiyan, two older singles, quickly became a couple.

The agricultural sector also visits and learns from advanced regions.

When they arrived at Zhuangtuo, Zhang Mingzhi tugged at his father's sleeve, "Uncle, tell me what you think."

Father couldn't avoid it any longer. He stood up, looked at everyone present, and saw that many recognized him. He waited for them to announce the numbers.

In fact, every farmer knows this very well.

The meeting room was silent; everyone was waiting to see what the leader's attitude would be.

County leader: "Good, this comrade is telling the truth."

The leaders of Zhuangtuo Commune, including Zhang Mingzhi, breathed a sigh of relief. At least nothing went wrong, and everyone in the commune got a few extra ounces of food.