Chapter 52 Sericulture Plan
The setting sun is like molten gold, sprinkling on the fields of Xiangyang Brigade. The golden afterglow and the lush green crops interweave to create a moving rural picture.
Su Qing and Lu Xingchen sat in the barn at the entrance of the village. The account books in their hands reflected their focused expressions, as if they were two guardians guarding this land.
"Su Qing, everyone's work points today are more than yesterday. It seems that everyone is getting more and more confident in planting mulberry trees." Lu Xingchen's gaze lingered on the account book, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, with a hint of pride in his tone.
"Well, Captain Lu, this is all thanks to you. You know, the villagers were hesitant at first." Su Qing responded with a chuckle, her eyes flashing with gratitude and appreciation for him.
Her eyes gently swept across Lu Xingchen's profile and found that his brows were slightly wrinkled, as if he was thinking about something.
Just then, the barn door was gently pushed open, and someone poked his head in with a puzzled look on his face: "What are you two doing here?"
Su Qing and Lu Xingchen smiled at each other, and Su Qing replied softly, "We are calculating the work points and discussing the silkworm breeding plan."
The villager nodded, turned and left, muttering, "These two are really a match made in heaven." This sentence made the atmosphere in the barn even more ambiguous.
Su Qing suddenly suggested, "Xingchen, after the trees are planted, our next step is to try raising silkworms with mulberry leaves to see how effective it is."
Lu Xingchen's eyes lit up and he nodded in agreement, "Good idea, I'll prepare it right away." His eyes flashed with anticipation for the future, while also revealing a hint of dependence on Su Qing.
The two of them took action immediately and led the villagers to build silkworm houses and purchase silkworm seeds.
Their figures looked particularly vivid in the setting sun, like two shining stars.
A few days later, good news came from the silkworm house. The silkworms were growing healthily. When the villagers saw this, they put aside their doubts and began to devote themselves to the task of raising silkworms.
One day, Su Qing and Lu Xingchen were studying breeding techniques in the silkworm room. Su Qing suddenly discovered a secret skill of Lu Xingchen - he was good at hand weaving.
"You can do this too?" Su Qing looked at his dexterous hands in surprise, with curiosity flashing in her eyes.
Lu Xingchen smiled and said confidently: "Yes, I learned it from my grandmother when I was a child. I didn't expect it to come in handy now."
Su Qing's eyes flashed with admiration. She picked up the winnowing basket woven by Lu Xingchen and said softly, "This winnowing basket is so well woven. It's perfect for holding silkworms."
Lu Xingchen showed a shy smile on his face. He looked at Su Qing and felt a warm feeling in his heart.
He quietly held Su Qing's hand. Instead of refusing, she gently held his hand back.
Just then Su Yao came running over in a hurry, with a bit of panic on her face: "Sister, it's bad, the silkworm house was destroyed last night, and the silkworms were scattered all over the floor!"
Su Qing and Lu Xingchen felt nervous and immediately followed the villagers to the silkworm house.
"How could this happen?" Su Qing was shocked, with disbelief flashing in her eyes.
Lu Xingchen frowned, looked at Su Qing and said in a deep voice: "This matter is of great importance, we must find out the truth." It was as if he was telling Su Qing that no matter what happened, he would be with her.
The villagers gathered around and talked about it.
Su Qing and Lu Xingchen decided to set up an investigation team to look into the matter in depth.
During the investigation, they found some clues that seemed to be related to the educated youth team.
Su Qing and Lu Xingchen decided to dig deeper and uncover the truth.
As the investigation deepened, they discovered a shocking secret - it turned out that Ye Lingshuang and Li Guobiao conspired to sabotage the villagers' silkworm breeding plan.
"Su Qing, look at this." Lu Xingchen held an anonymous letter of complaint with a serious look in his eyes.
Su Qing took the letter, her eyes gleaming with determination, "No matter who it is, once verified to be intentional sabotage, they will be severely punished." Her tone was firm, as if telling everyone that she would not let anyone pose a threat to their business.
Just when they thought everything was returning to normal, a new crisis quietly arrived.
That night, Su Qing and Lu Xingchen were studying the progress of the investigation when they suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside and exclamations from a distance, "The granary at the entrance of the village is on fire, the fire is huge, go and have a look!"
Su Qing and Lu Xingchen were shocked and immediately followed the villagers to the granary at the entrance of the village.
From afar, they saw that the granary had been engulfed in a raging fire, with flames shooting into the sky and smoke billowing.
"Hurry, go put out the fire!" Lu Xingchen shouted and took the lead to rush to the fire scene.
There was determination in his eyes, as if telling everyone that he was willing to pay any price to protect the interests of the villagers.
Su Qing also followed the villagers and rushed to the fire without hesitation.
The flames were scorching and the smoke was pungent, but Su Qing and Lu Xingchen seemed to have forgotten their fear. They had only one thought in their minds: to protect the villagers' food.
Moving around in the fire, pouring water and putting out the fire, the two figures appeared particularly tough in the firelight.
After some effort, the fire was finally brought under control, but the granary had been reduced to ashes.
Su Qing looked at this scene and was heartbroken.
Tears welled up in her eyes, but she tried hard not to let them fall.
"What's going on? Why did the fire suddenly start?" Su Qing looked at the ruins in front of her in confusion.
Lu Xingchen pondered for a moment, then said: "This matter must be related to the destruction of the silkworm house. We must find out the truth as soon as possible." His tone was firm, as if telling Su Qing that no matter what happened, he would be with her.
The villagers expressed their agreement and decided to assist Su Qing and Lu Xingchen in the investigation.
During the investigation, they found an important clue - the night before the granary caught fire, someone saw Ye Lingshuang and Li Guobiao sneaking around the granary.
"There must be something wrong with these two!" Su Qing's eyes flashed with determination.
Lu Xingchen nodded in agreement: "Yes, we must find evidence."
Su Qing reported the situation to Captain Su Guozhong immediately, and soon the commune discipline committee investigated and questioned Ye Lingshuang and Li Guobiao.
Ye Lingshuang and Li Guobiao refused to admit it at first, but after being pointed out by Liu Ruliu and other educated youth in the educated youth team, and in the face of witnesses and evidence, the two finally admitted the crime of destroying the silkworm house and granary.
In the end, Ye Lingshuang and Li Guobiao received corresponding punishments, and the villagers were outraged by their crimes.
The destruction of the silkworm house and granary was finally resolved satisfactorily, and Su Qing led the villagers to re-engage in the business of raising silkworms and planting mulberry trees.
In the following days, sericulture became the top priority for the Xiangyang Brigade.
Su Qing and Lu Xingchen studied breeding techniques together and discussed silkworm breeding plans together.
"Su Qing, what do you think the results of the pilot project will be?" Lu Xingchen asked, with anticipation in his eyes.
Su Qing smiled and said, "We will succeed!"
Lu Xingchen nodded, and his heart felt even warmer.