23: Chapter 23 First Visit to Zhengjia Village

Li Dakang took the bowl of congee handed to him by the cafeteria auntie; the fragrance of the rice was wrapped in a long-lost thickness.

His gaze swept across the serving counter: golden fried dough sticks were lined up as neatly as a queue, pickled radishes shimmered with an amber glow in blue-and-white porcelain dishes, and the most eye-catching of all were the bamboo steamers filled with thin-skinned, meat-packed buns, every fold revealing the craftsmanship the cafeteria cook had been holding back for years.

The head of the agricultural station squeezed over with a tray, piled high with three glistening, oily meat buns.

"Township Head, look at this food!"

He grinned, revealing a gap where a front tooth was missing: "It's been five years, this is the first time I've had breakfast in the cafeteria!"

In the corner, the cafeteria manager, Old Zhou, was nervously watching everyone's reactions, his apron covered in flour.

"Old Zhou, thank you for your hard work." Li Dakang walked over.

Old Zhou rubbed his hands together, his voice trembling: "Township Head, please taste it to see if the saltiness is right... if it's..."

Li Dakang picked up a chopstick of pickled radishes; with a crisp crunch, the sour and spicy taste bloomed on the tip of his tongue.

"Very good."

He looked around; the way the cadres were burying their heads in their food looked exactly like farmers during the autumn harvest.

When he swallowed the last bite of the bun, Vice Township Head Huang had already been pacing at the gate of the Township Government courtyard for a long time.

Beside this middle-aged man who always loved to tuck his shirt into his belt, the poverty alleviation officer was using a newspaper rolled into a tube to pat the dew off his trouser legs.

Seeing Li Dakang approach, both of them straightened their backs in unison.

"Smoke mine."

Li Dakang stopped Vice Township Head Huang's hand from reaching into his pocket and flicked two Zhonghua cigarettes out of his gold-plated cigarette case.

Three sparks flickered in the morning mist, and the sound of Zheng Shijun jogging over scattered the curling blue smoke.

"Township Head, I just called Zhengjia Village. They said the person coming to pick us up left early this morning and should be here soon."

Just as he finished speaking, the roar of a tractor approached from the distance.

Before long, a hand-guided tractor emitting black smoke stopped in front of them.

Amidst the "putt-putt-putt" sound of the engine, Zheng Shijie jumped off the tractor.

This dark-skinned young man was wearing a faded blue cloth shirt, and his appearance was somewhat similar to Zheng Shijun.

"Brother Jun, Uncle asked me to come pick you all up."

"Township Head, this is my cousin, Zheng Shijie." Zheng Shijun quickly introduced him.

Facing Li Dakang, Zheng Shijie appeared restless: "Township... Township Head, hello."

His gaze darted away, and Li Dakang noticed the patches on his rubber shoes, as well as the tan lines on his wrists from the sun.

"Shijun, take your brother to the cafeteria for breakfast first."

Li Dakang deliberately raised his voice: "There are plenty of meat buns this morning."

Zheng Shijie hurriedly waved his hands: "No need, Township Head, I'm not hungry this morning."

"Don't be polite, go ahead." Li Dakang gave Zheng Shijun a look.

"Let's go, Shijie, the Township Head has spoken."

Zheng Shijie kept looking back as he was pulled away, unable to believe he could really enter the place where those "officials" ate.

Ten minutes later he returned, the oil stains on the corners of his mouth wiped clean, but the look of satisfaction could not be hidden.

"Are you full?" Li Dakang asked with a smile.

"I'm full, the big meat buns were really delicious, thank you, Township Head." Zheng Shijie scratched his head honestly.

"Since you're full, let's set off. We're counting on you today; don't drive us into a ditch."

Li Dakang's words made everyone laugh.

"Don't worry, Township Head, I guarantee I'll get you to the village safely!" Zheng Shijie patted his chest in assurance.

There were a few small stools in the tractor trailer. Once everyone was seated, Zheng Shijie started the machine and drove toward Zhengjia Village.

The tractor bumped along the dirt road in the countryside. Li Dakang gripped the railing of the trailer, feeling the soreness from every vibration traveling up his spine.

Vice Township Head Huang gripped his seat tightly, his face pale.

The young poverty alleviation officer adapted well, even taking out a notebook to record the growth of the crops along the way.

"Township Head, look."

Zheng Shijun pointed to the terraced fields in the distance: "That is our village's dry land; they are all planted with sweet potatoes."

Li Dakang narrowed his eyes.

The terraced fields on the hillside were like an old man's wrinkles, layered and stacked but lacking vitality.

A few wilted sweet potato vines lay on the cracked clods of earth, forming a sharp contrast with the lush green mountain forests in the distance.

"Why not plant cash crops?"

The wind was too strong, and Li Dakang had to raise his voice.

"The roads are no good!" Zheng Shijun's sigh was blown away by the wind.

"Last year, Uncle Zhang's family tried planting two mu of ginger, but they couldn't transport it out, so it all rotted in the fields."

The tractor suddenly braked hard, and everyone pitched forward.

A half-meter-wide gully suddenly appeared on the road ahead, like a wound in the earth split open by an axe.

"It was washed out by the heavy rain last month."

Zheng Shijie jumped off the car and brought some stones from the roadside to fill the pit.

"The village pooled money to buy concrete pipes, but there's never been any labor to install them."

Li Dakang squatted down and pinched a handful of yellow soil; the fine particles slipped through his fingers. With this soil quality, it should have been a prime tea plantation.

"My dad always says our village is like a pearl held in the mouth of the Mountain God." Zheng Shijun's voice mixed with the roar of the engine.

"It's a pity it's held too tightly, the pearl is almost molding from being stifled."

It is worth mentioning that Zheng Shijun's father is the Zhengjia Village Party Secretary Zheng Yaoxian.

Zheng Shijun is the first and currently the only college student in the village.

Li Dakang looked at the passing mountain scenery, lost in thought: those gentle slopes being gnawed away by weeds, if fenced off, could raise free-range chickens; the low-lying land by the mountain stream could be converted into cold-water fish ponds; even the wild mugwort growing madly by the roadside, if dried, would be excellent medicinal herbs...