With the number of school-age children increasing year by year, the party committee of the farm has decided to gradually set up branch schools in each branch, so that junior primary school students below the fourth grade can go to school nearby, and the central school will focus on running high primary classes. In the enrollment of the Qianjin Middle School system founded by the Labor Reform Bureau, Maoshan's "small to junior high school" admission rate strives to be at the forefront of all fields.

There is a shortage of teachers. The local normal school divided three graduates -- You Hongshan, Tong Xiaoyuan, and Cong Jing -- and selected five workers with higher education to substitute for them, among whom Liu Ya, who drove a tractor, and Lu Kuan, who was a rice and flour processing factory, were the children of employed peasant workers. Jiang Lesheng from the Liangzhong Station was transferred to the center school to teach the language of the graduating class.

August is the golden season of the Great Northern Wilderness. The sky is high and the clouds are light, the sun is shining at noon, and it is cool and pleasant in the morning and evening. The mountains in the distance are lush and green, shrouded in a light veil of mist. The vast expanse of the field is as colourful as giant oil paintings stretching into the sky: golden wheat is already ripe, green soybeans are beginning to bulge pods, sorghum is pumping red ears of corn and spit colorful tassels, and the air is filled with the rich aroma of grains.

The fiery "Dongfang Hong" tows Combein, like a ship in the golden waves. The harvester pushes in circles, the ears of wheat are cut and swallowed into the belly, and the grains pour down from the grain outlet and flow into the "liberation" carriage walking side by side, and wisps of wheat bran float down from the mouth of the windpipe. The locomotive travels about 100 meters per line, leaving down a stack of wheat straw in all directions. After harvesting, the fields are brushed with wheat stubble like a golden velvet carpet, and the imprints of road wheels wind on them, much like the patterns woven by fairies.

That afternoon, a black Volga drove up the southern road. There was a man and two women in the car: The man in the car was named Cong Jixin, who was black and thin, in his 50s, and most of his right ear was missing on his angular face, and only a circle of jagged flesh remained. In order to ensure the supply of supplies to the front, he led the automobile regiment to maneuver with enemy planes, and traveled day and night through the mountains and mountains. Most of the auto soldiers who went abroad with him at the beginning died during the armistice, and all those who survived were wounded, and countless vehicles were replaced. At the moment when an enemy plane dived, the guard jumped and pressed him down, and the guard was blown up in two on the spot, his intestines were bloody, and he was thrown into a snow pit more than ten meters away. Doctors removed twelve pieces of shrapnel from him, but fortunately they did not hurt the vital ones, and the missing pinna became a permanent memory of the war.

In the right seat in the back row is his wife Chang Xiulan, who is slightly plump in her early forties. The head of the group, who was wounded that year, lay on the operating table, without anesthetic, and did not snort for three hours without anesthetic. Chang Xiulan fed food, changed dressings, picked feces and sucked urine, and the heroic leader won the worship and heart of the little nurse, and after the armistice, they held a simple wedding in a foreign cave. The husband is now the director of the transportation bureau of the district administration, and the wife is the head nurse of the surgery department of the city hospital.

On the left seat in the back row is their daughter Cong Jing, a graduate of the Heishui Normal Yinmei Class, who was assigned to the labor reform system by the Personnel Bureau of the Special Administration, and the Labor Reform Bureau assigned her to Maoshan Farm. Her parents made a special trip to see her off today.

The girl is 19 years old. Long eyelashes and big eyes, neat teeth as white as jade, and two long black braids hanging down on the slightly raised chest. The flowing bangs and naturally curly sideburns make the face more white and pretty.

In the 60s of the last century, it was difficult to see cars in remote areas, and there were only two jeeps at the Maoshan Farm at the county and regimental level. As soon as the Volga came to a standstill, many heads poked out of the window of the office - where did the big chief come from?

Secretary Sun Junhu stepped forward quickly, shook hands with Cong Jixin and his wife, and greeted Director Cong and his wife, sister-in-law, hard work all the way! Cong Jixin introduced his daughter to the two field leaders and asked her to call Secretary Sun the field manager. Chang Xiulan corrected: No, call Uncle Sun and Uncle Yu! Cong Jing blushed, pursed her lips and smiled shyly, and after listening to her father's words, she first called Secretary Sun to be the head of the field, and then according to her mother's instructions, she called Uncle Sun better than Uncle again.

The guest and host came to the small meeting room. On the table are two enamel basins with a watermelon and several melons in them. The watermelon stalk is connected with a handful of long melon vines with leaves, which is very bright and watery; The peel of the melon is half golden and half pale white. Yu Dajiang cut the melon, the watermelon is not yet ripe, the melon is pink, and the seeds are half white and half black; The flesh and seeds of the melon flow out, giving off an enticing aroma.

Sun Junhu greeted: You're welcome, come to our Maoshan Datun, there is nothing good to entertain you. This melon has just been picked, and when it is not ripe, let's taste it!

Cong Jixin and Sun and Yu studied in the same class at the Party School of the Provincial Party Committee and are old friends.

The melons were almost eaten, Cong Jing cleaned the towels, handed them to the secretary and his parents one by one to wipe their hands, and put the melon peels into the empty basin. Sun Junhu boasted: My niece has good eyesight, and she has become a waiter before she reports! Turning to Cong Jixin and his wife, he asked: Director Cong, how many children do you have? Xiaojing sent it so far, and her sister-in-law was willing to do it?

Cong Jixin took out the cigarette box in his pocket, handed one to Sun and Yu, struck a match, lit the cigarette before others, threw away the matchstick and smiled: When the child grows up, he must be independent, what is there to be reluctant to? Cong Jing's eldest brother, two younger sisters and one younger brother below. The second child is in junior high school, the third is in the fifth grade, and it is time for the old child to go to primary school after the autumn.

Without waiting for her husband to finish speaking, Chang Xiulan grabbed the words: The leaders of the administrative department who live in a hospital are very concerned about the assignment for Xiaojing's graduation. Sister Sun, the director of the Personnel Bureau, asked me if I needed to keep Xiaojing in the city so that I could take care of my family. Lao Cong didn't wait for me to say a word of refusal, saying that he would divide what he should do, let's not be special. Secretary Sun, listen to it, the leaders of the people are kind, but they are in a hurry to help our children make something special! He's a man—

The wife's words were clearly ostentatious. Cong Jixin said: The three little ones are big, and they can't always rely on their sister to take care of them, Cong Jing has her own career after graduation. Xiao Chang is always reluctant to let his daughter leave home and suffer.

Cong Jixin used to call his young wife "Xiao Chang" in front of acquaintances.

Sun Junhu Jiedao: This is understandable. The farm is much more difficult than in the city, which mother does not feel distressed when she sees her children suffering?

Yu Dajiang said bluntly: the conditions are much better now than at the beginning of the establishment. Over the years, thirty or forty college students have been assigned, all of whom have exercised well, and have become backbone talents in all aspects, some of whom have been promoted to the section level, and more than ten have joined the party. Of course, a person's progress can be fast or slow, and it all depends on their own efforts.

Chang Xiulan lost no time in interjecting: A difficult environment can train people, and everyone understands this truth. The secretary said that after Xiao Jing was assigned to the labor reform system, I called Director Zhu of your branch and asked her to be assigned to Maoshan. -- Lao Zhu is one of my patients, and last year he had half of his stomach cut off in our hospital.

Cong Jixin looked at his wife with some consternation. Chang Xiulan glanced at her husband proudly: If you don't hide this matter, you will definitely not let it. She explained to Sun and Yu: My family has a photo of Lao Cong and you two Provincial Party Schools, and Lao Cong often mentions you at home, knowing that you are old friends. I gave my daughter to my two uncles just to ask you to care more. Lao Yu said that progress depends on one's own efforts, and in my opinion, it depends on the care and cultivation of leaders.

Yu Dajiang was a little embarrassed for a while. Sun Junhu played a round and said: What you said is right, it all makes sense.

"Secretary Sun, Director Yu, I don't have high requirements for Cong Jing, I join the group in one year and join the party in three years, she is nineteen this year, and I am also twenty-two in the party. Lao Cong joined the Cossack cavalry that year, and at the age of twenty-two he became a captain and company commander! Chang Xiulan booked a group ticket for her daughter.

During the conversation between the parents and the secretary, Cong Jing kept standing in front of the window and looking into the distance. The slightly undulating fields are colorful, and the blue sky and water wash through the general clarity. A few white clouds floated by, and a goshawk hovered on the top of the conical Maoshan Mountain...... Breathing in the sweet fresh air, the girl who has just left the campus falls into a reverie. Listening to her mother's leadership on the spot, repeating the words that she had repeatedly nagged her for several days, she was very dissatisfied, her eyebrows frowned slightly and her face flushed, half delicate and half disgusted protest: Mom! Look at you, here you go again!

Cong Jixin felt that his wife's request was a bit excessive, but it was inconvenient to attack on the spot, and he also said to his wife: Xiaojing will work hard by herself, and if she has enough conditions, she will enter naturally, and there is no need to pull out seedlings to help grow.

Chang Xiulan laughed self-deprecatingly: Pity the hearts of parents all over the world! The two uncles are not outsiders, isn't it better to ask in person than to nag on the phone? Isn't that right, Secretary Sun is the head of the field?

Sun Junhu changed the topic and asked Cong Jing: How many graduating classes are there at Heishui Normal this year? Are you a music art specialist?

Cong Jing replied: We have three ordinary teacher classes and one junior college class this year. I have loved singing and painting since I was a child, and I enrolled in the junior college class of the Times. In addition to learning basic theories like the regular classes, the specialist classes are dedicated to vocal music and art, and dance or instrumental music is optional.

Yu Dajiang exclaimed in surprise: Wow! This time, we have literary and artistic talents from professional classes!

Chang Xiulan was anxious to let her daughter show her hand, and said to her husband Lao Cong, take the piano in the trunk, and let Xiao Jing play a song for the two uncles. She turned her face to Yu Dajiang: Xiao Jing sat firmly in the first accordion position in the class, and the teacher praised her for being better than blue.

It's an Italian Bayan 120 bass accordion, a birthday present from her father last year. As soon as he played his beloved accordion, every cell in Cong Jing's body became excited. A pair of beautiful eyes are shining, the two beautiful willow eyebrows are sometimes raised and sometimes slightly frowned, the slender ten fingers press the keyboard, and the body shakes with the rhythm of the music. The sound of the piano echoed in the corridors, sometimes melodious and sometimes high-pitched, attracting people from all offices to gather at the door to listen.

She played three Chinese and foreign pieces in a row: "Evening on the outskirts of Moscow", "Katyusha" and "Flowers and Boys". The head of the field asked if he could sing by himself? She nodded, and chose a favorite Soviet song "Light":

There was a young girl / sending the soldiers to war / they said goodbye in the night / in front of the steps / through the light mist / the young man saw / in front of the girl's window / and the lights were still shining......

Fight against the hateful invaders / Fight more bravely / For the sake of the dear Motherland / And the lights of anticipation......

Tears glistened in her eyes. The singing voice is very low, but the timbre is soft. Sun Junhu closed his eyes slightly, and gently shook his head to the rhythm of the tune; Yu Dajiang stretched out his index finger to beat the beat on the table, and his feet followed little by little. All four of them were intoxicated by her piano and singing, and they couldn't help but applaud after singing, and cheers came from the corridor at the same time. Cong Jing shyly untied the accordion strap, took out a handkerchief and sucked the sweat on his forehead, a lock of sideburns stuck to his white cheeks.

Sun Junhu asked her what books she liked to read. Cong Jing replied: I like literary and artistic works, the contemporary novel "Home", and the classical novel "Dream of Red Mansions". I like Jane Eyre the most, and I've watched it three times.

Sun Junhu let out an "oh" and said in a half-joking tone: These books are very classic and indeed worth reading. It's just that there isn't a single Bolshevik in it, is it? It is recommended that you broaden your reading range, read more books with strong revolutionary heroism, and cultivate your own ** outlook on life, you are the daughter of a combat hero!

Cong Jixin said solemnly to his daughter: Secretary Sun's instructions are very important. The petty-bourgeois sentiment of the books you like is too strong, and the songs you sing are mostly lyrical, and you will not change no matter how many times you criticize them. Secretary Sun has a high political level, and you will write a monthly thought report to him in the future, and I will often talk to Secretary Sun on the phone to understand your ideological dynamics.

Chang Xiulan felt that although her husband's words were reasonable, how could she evaluate her daughter like this in front of the leader when she first arrived? said angrily: Lao Cong, don't you want to be on the platform infinitely, okay? Crush people with hats at every turn! Everyone has different interests and hobbies in reading and singing, which one is like you, and there will be a song "Majestic and high-spirited across the Yalu River"! Xiao Jing obeyed the organization's assignment to the farm, and the phoenix flew into the mountain nest, also called petty bourgeois sentiment?

Cong Jing lowered her head and fiddled with her braids, and said embarrassedly: Mom, what are you talking about?

Cong Jixin no longer paid attention to his wife. He said to Sun and Yu: Young people's ideological education must not be relaxed, and strictness is harm. Secretary Sun nodded yes. After pondering for a moment, he suddenly remembered something and asked: The county seat is fifty kilometers from your farm, right? The condition of this section of the road is so bad that the third-level standard is not met. When we go back, we will have a meeting to study it, and allocate a renovation fee as soon as possible to reach the point where it can be opened to traffic on sunny or rainy days.

Yu Dajiang's eyes lit up when he heard this: Director Cong, you are really a living bodhisattva! I was about to ask if you didn't mention it. We have been looking forward to the road construction for many years, and we can't solve it every year by reporting every year. The labor reform bureau said that the highway was under the management of the local government, and the county said that there was no way for the higher authorities to allocate money. We've been working for a few winters, or we haven't looked like this yet. Good sinkholes and stormy soil and dust, as soon as it rains, quickly stop it, and the dead are not allowed to go out of the car if they catch fire, and the roadbed will be destroyed by pressing the slurry!

Cong Jixin sighed: Luo Guo went up the mountain - the front (money) is tight. The regional transportation bureau has a plan to squeeze out some money to support the improvement of the farm's own roads. I passed several farms along the way, and the road conditions were not good. Go back and strive to include Maoshan in the first batch of units allocated funds.

Sun Junhu was so excited that he grabbed Cong Jixin's hand and shook it: Give away talents and money, old man, thank you so much! Lao Yu, asked the office to arrange dinner, and the middle-level cadres all came to participate, to catch the wind for our "Golden Phoenix", and to wash the dust for Director Cong and his sister-in-law!

Dinner has a strong rustic flavor. the piping hot grass seed wine that has just flowed out of the winery; Large and small plates are piled up on the table: fried hazelnut kernels, tomatoes tossed with sugar, shredded new potatoes, fried green peppers, stewed chicken with mushrooms, stewed vermicelli with pork, stewed eggplant with catfish, and white onion dipped in sauce...... It's all farm-grown.

Secretary Sun reported that the "Golden Phoenix" entered Maoshan and the highway reconstruction fee had been settled, and the restaurant was jubilant. Cong Jixin said to Sun Junhu, who raised his glass to toast: Your brother is too cunning, this is for fear that I will break my promise and force a step! There's no way, the "hostage" is delivered to you, and you can't stop drinking this wine. Chang Xiulan added: Oh, Lao Cong, I took my daughter and posted money, and we lost a lot of money! Everyone was amused and laughed.

The section chiefs and directors at each table rushed to toast and thanked Director Cong for sending charcoal to Maoshan in the snow, and said ten baskets of good words. Cong Ji was overwhelmed by the strength of the wine, and after drinking two small glasses, he got up to say thank you. Chang Xiulan couldn't stop saying hello with a spring breeze on her face, thank you, please and something like that.

Someone skewered Lin Bai and called Cong Jing to sit at this table. Principal Lin walked to Cong Jing's side, took her hand and said with a smile: You are now from my school, go and get familiar with the leaders over there.

Cong Jing sat down between Lao Xue and Lao He, the two section chiefs, and the kitchen specially sent a bowl of watermelon juice. She was like a bride at the mercy of her, toasting one by one according to the introduction of Principal Lin. After the respectful person finished his glass, he took a sip of watermelon juice, said thank you, and took care of it before sitting down. Her plaid shirt, vanlit wool trousers and plastic open-toe sandals attract the eyes of many alcohol-scorched people. People whispered: Look at this girl's appearance, temperament, it's like a fairy! Cai Chuanguang's evaluation is more poetic: a rose with dewdrops!