Li Long hauled the seed-flattening machine back to the county seat. After driving into the Big Courtyard, he left it loaded. Early the next morning, he ate breakfast and drove the Jeep to the Fourth Team.
He drove to his eldest brother's courtyard first, but his brother was out.
"Your brother went to break new ground for the team leader's family." Liang Yuemei was sorting out the wooden shovel and wooden fork. The wheat would soon be harvested and brought to the threshing ground. The fork was used to lift bundles before threshing and move wheat straw afterward, while the shovel was for winnowing.
"Breaking new ground for the team leader?" Li Long paused. "His family's opening up land too?"
"Yes, east of Model Canal, beside East Big Ditch. The team leader came yesterday. Besides opening up land, he asked your brother to see whether he could plow out a canal-extend the team's canal farther east into the wasteland so it can be irrigated."
Model Canal was the name of a tract east of the Fourth Team. There was a model Farm Canal there, built exceptionally level as an example for others. The reclaimed fields around it were collectively called Model Canal.
Well, Xu Chengjun had already started at this point.
Xu Chengjun's family later became one of the team's wealthy households, though he was certainly no village tyrant. He did not seize other people's land or embezzle their subsidies, the sort of thing that provoked universal outrage.
As production team leader, he had plenty of opportunities to make his household and his relatives wealthy.
To give the simplest example, suppose the state assigned the team a drip-irrigation demonstration project. When the township notified him that the project had been approved, he alone knew about it.
He could then tell