Chapter 596: Mission Accepted in a Crisis

He Yuzhu kept a lookout for secret agents the entire way, but he didn't even see a ghost of one.

As soon as he arrived at the farm, Erkui gave him a bear hug.

"Zhuzi! You finally came! You threw me here all by myself with such a mess of things; my—my head is about to explode!"

He Yuzhu pushed his arms away in disgust, "Erkui, do you know what I hate most about you?"

Erkui gave a silly laugh and scratched the back of his head: "I know, you don't like hearing me complain."

"Wrong!" He Yuzhu waved his hand, "What I hate most is this sissy attitude of yours! You're clearly capable of handling things on your own, yet you insist on dawdling with me for ages."

The smile on Erkui's face stiffened; he gritted his teeth and said sternly, "Zhuzi, this time it really isn't dawdling. Of the eight or nine hundred people we brought from Beijing, over a hundred are now mid-level or grassroots Cadres on the farm. If this group were all to leave, the farm would be paralyzed immediately!"

He Yuzhu pondered for a moment and nodded: "That is an issue. How about this: for those willing to stay an extra year, their wages will be doubled. As for those who really want to leave, we can't stop them."

"I've worn my lips thin these past few days, but out of those hundred-plus Cadres, half are still dead set on leaving."

He Yuzhu narrowed his eyes, thought for a moment, and made the call: "Then promote from the group of people who came here as refugees! They are already skilled at farming; all they lack is an opportunity."

"But... but they don't have official status!" Erkui said anxiously.

He Yuzhu waved his hand: "If they don't have official status, just pay them more! Handle special cases with special methods; we can't just watch the farm go under, can we? I'll take responsibility for this!"

Only then did Erkui heave a sigh of relief and nod vigorously.

"By the way, how was the harvest this year? I noticed the yield on those few plots is quite different," He Yuzhu asked directly.

"The best ones are still the first two plots we cleared, with a yield of nearly six hundred jin per mu. The ones cleared later are a bit worse, around five hundred jin. Total grain production this year was eighty million jin, but only twenty percent was allocated to the Rolling Mill—the rest all has to be turned over to the Ministry of Heavy Industry."

He Yuzhu gave a grunt: "Secretary Liu told me. I can still stay for two days; if you have any difficulties, just say so."

Erkui's eyes lit up: "I've asked around about other farms; they take in refugees, and if they perform well, they can become official employees after two years of work. Could you put in a word with the higher-ups?"

"Done, leave it to me," He Yuzhu agreed immediately.

A smile finally appeared on Erkui's face: "Tomorrow I'll take you to the fields for a look; the spring wheat has just been planted and is already sprouting."

Early the next morning, just as the two of them reached the newly cleared fields, they saw dust flying in the distance and a Jeep rushing over like crazy.

"Factory Director He! Factory Director He!" The farm's telephone operator leaned half his body out of the car window and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Urgent telegram from Beijing! Urgent! Top priority!"

He Yuzhu's heart skipped a beat, and he had no choice but to drive back.

On the other end of the line was Secretary Liu, his voice filled with exhaustion: "Little He, you were originally given twenty days to complete the handover, but we can't wait anymore. Return to Ha City immediately; there is a military plane waiting to take you to Beijing."

He Yuzhu's heart jumped into his throat: "Secretary Liu, what exactly happened?"

Secretary Liu sighed: "The country has just established an Anti-Drought Leading Group, and I've been assigned as the Executive Deputy Leader. Sowing has just finished nationwide; if it doesn't rain in the next month or two, then..."

He didn't finish, but He Yuzhu already understood.

Secretary Liu gave a bitter laugh and said, "Your previous prediction really did come true."

He Yuzhu hurriedly interrupted him: "Please, don't say that; I wouldn't dare take credit for this."

Secretary Liu laughed on the other end of the line: "Don't worry, I know you're low-key. But once you hang up the phone, start your journey! Come back quickly!"

After hanging up, He Yuzhu turned to look at Erkui and shook his head helplessly, "I have to go. If anything comes up, send a telegram or call; we'll keep in touch."

Erkui's eyes reddened again, and he patted his shoulder hard: "Alright, I know you have important business to attend to, and I can overcome the issues here. I'll see you off."

After rushing all the way, by evening, He Yuzhu boarded a military aircraft in Ha City.

When the plane landed at Nanyuan Airport, it was already pitch black.

The people meeting the plane took him directly to the Fuyou Street First Reception Center.

Before He Yuzhu could even get comfortable, Secretary Liu pushed the door open and walked in.

The two shook hands; Secretary Liu looked exhausted and spoke with an apologetic tone: "I had hoped to let you take up your post at the Rolling Mill directly, but it seems that will have to be delayed. Right now, there are a thousand things to attend to, the disaster reports coming in from various places are a mess, and I don't have a handle on the material reserves of the various departments... You need to help me get this situation under control immediately."

He Yuzhu thought for a moment and said, "That's easy to handle. I'll have Man Yatou take charge of the coordination. She is sensitive to numbers; let her organize the summarized data first. I need to figure out as soon as possible how much equipment and grain we can mobilize."

Secretary Liu nodded, then suddenly lowered his voice and stared at him intensely: "Zhuzi, you have to give me the bottom line. You've been storing grain in the name of the Lingnan Food Factory for nearly four years now; how much have you actually hoarded?"

He Yuzhu gave a bitter laugh and told the truth: "1.7 million tons. But I feel that now is not the time to touch these reserves."

Secretary Liu's expression turned stern: "Are you saying the next few years will be even worse?"

"Just in case," He Yuzhu's gaze darkened, "Even if we have to use them, we can only use a small portion."

Secretary Liu was silent for a moment, then patted his shoulder: "Understood. In that case, go home first; starting tomorrow, there will be several days of inter-departmental meetings."

He Yuzhu agreed, handed over the work to Man Yatou, and turned to head back to the Siheyuan.

As soon as he entered the main gate, he saw Yan Bugui squatting in the courtyard, staring blankly at a row of drooping flower pots.

He Yuzhu teased: "Third Master, people can blame a lack of grain when they're hungry, but why are your flowers so wilted too?"

Yan Bugui looked up, his eyes instantly reddening; he stood up and grabbed He Yuzhu's hand: "Zhuzi! When can my eldest son come back from the farm?"

He Yuzhu patted the back of his hand: "Soon, his term is up in three months. But it's on a voluntary basis now; those who want to come back can, and those who want to stay an extra year get double wages."

Yan Bugui's eyes darted around; he leaned in and lowered his voice: "Then... can you let Jiecheng come back?"

He Yuzhu shook his head: "I've been transferred; I can no longer interfere with the farm's affairs."

Yan Bugui was stunned: "Transferred where?"

"Back to the Rolling Mill, probably to do my old job, producing Diesel Engines and water pumps."

Yan Bugui's eyes dimmed, then he seemed to remember something: "Zhuzi, my eldest son must be earning quite a bit out there, right? But he doesn't send a single cent home! Can't you leaders do something about it?"

He Yuzhu was caught between laughter and tears: "Third Master, that is your family's private business."

Yan Bugui sighed, looking like a frost-bitten eggplant: "Sigh, my family's life is getting harder and harder..."

He Yuzhu thought to himself: Yan Jiecheng doesn't send money home, but he doesn't eat the family's food either, so why is the Yan family struggling? He didn't say anything more, smiled, and walked straight inside.

Entering the Zhongyuan, there was no one around, so He Yuzhu waved his hand, took out two large boxes, and carried them into the house.

Inside, He Yulu was sitting on a small stool, staring blankly at the Huaihua on the locust tree in the courtyard outside the window.

She was still small when He Yuzhu left, but now she was already five years old.

The little girl saw him enter, stared at him with her big, dark, round eyes, and didn't say a word.

He Yuzhu picked her up and bounced her, and the little girl's eyes instantly lit up: "Are you my brother?"

He Yuzhu nodded vigorously: "Yulu is so smart, you still recognize your brother after two years."

He Yulu grinned with her little mouth: "Mom and Dad talk about you every day."

Shen Guizhi came out from the inner room, pulled He Yuzhu over, and looked him up and down: "Zhuzi, how did you get so tanned and dark?"

"There isn't a single tree over at the Oilfield, nothing to block the sun, how could I not be dark?"

"How long are you staying this time?" Shen Guizhi asked.

"I'm not leaving anymore, I'm back at the Rolling Mill!"

"That's wonderful! Today, you won't be able to see your son. Xueru took him back to her parents' home."

He Yuzhu nodded and said: "That's fine too, her parents' home is close to where Xueru works, so it's not tiring to commute."

Shen Guizhi whispered: "Her parents live in a detached courtyard, they can eat some good things."

"Mom, didn't I leave food for you? Why have you still lost weight?"

Shen Guizhi glanced outside the door, leaned into his ear, and whispered: "The whole courtyard is starving, and your father is still an official. How could our family have big fish and meat? Besides, Jia Zhangshi is like a spy; if our family eats anything good, she'll shout it until the whole street knows."

"But Yulu is still young, we have to pay attention to her nutrition."

"I know, she drinks the powdered milk and malted milk extract you left every day." As soon as Shen Guizhi finished speaking, He Yulu hugged He Yuzhu's thigh and shook it: "Brother! I want to eat a popsicle! Eat a popsicle!"

Shen Guizhi hurriedly stopped her: "Don't give it to her, this girl only craves two things—steamed pork with preserved mustard greens and popsicles; she doesn't like anything else."

He Yuzhu laughed: "It's hot now, it's fine to give her a few."

Shen Guizhi waved her hands anxiously: "You can't spoil her. The day before yesterday, your father took her and she ate 7 popsicles in one go! She had diarrhea when she got back."

He Yuzhu laughed, thinking to himself that this He Yulu really is a foodie.

He opened the trunk, and it was packed to the brim: dried meat, Laoshan ginseng, wood ear mushrooms, deer antler...

Shen Guizhi was quick-eyed and nimble-handed; she "slapped" the trunk lid shut and looked around in all directions: "Hurry and put it in the basement! Your father is in charge of logistics; in these times, even if it's something you brought back, others will think it's something your father brought back."