After making the phone call, Song Yan returned to the hospital dormitory to take a shower and prepare for his night duty. Unbeknownst to him, his mother was already preparing for her trip from the capital to his current place.
Three days later, Zhang Ermu went to the production team's office not long after the sun rose on the eastern horizon. When he arrived, the office door had just been opened.
Seeing him co so early, Comrade Han asked in surprise, "Comrade Zhang, what brings you here so early? Did sothing happen?"
Usually, at this ti, villagers were out working in the fields, so it was rare for them to visit the office.
"Comrade Han, I ca to request a day off for my family and Liu Piao's family. Could you help inform the team leader?" Zhang Ermu asked.
Just as he finished speaking, An Xuyuan arrived on his bicycle. Seeing him, they both greeted him, "Good morning, Vice Team Leader."
After parking his bicycle, An Xuyuan nodded and returned the greeting. "Good morning."
"Brother Ermu, are you here to request a day off for tomorrow?" he asked.
Hearing this, Comrade Han glanced at them knowingly. He had heard about the close relationship between the vice team leader and the Zhang family.
Zhang Ermu nodded and replied, "Vice Team Leader, tomorrow is Ah Piao's and my wedding day. I would like to request a day off for my family and the Liu family."
Since autumn planting was under An Xuyuan's supervision, it was reasonable to go through him for leave approval.
"That's not a problem. Brother Zhang, you can go back to your work for now. Don't worry—I will take care of this," An Xuyuan replied.
Hearing this, Zhang Ermu smiled and said, "Thank you, Vice Team Leader."
After Zhang Ermu left, Comrade Han asked, "Vice Team Leader, if we give both families the day off, won't it delay the work quite a bit?"
"We won't be giving the Zhang family and the Liu family a day off," An Xuyuan replied aningfully.
Hearing this, Comrade Han was stunned. He had just said to leave the matter to him—why was he now saying he wouldn't give them a day off?
While he was still puzzled, An Xuyuan entered the office and turned on the village loudspeaker. A mont later, his voice echoed across the village.
"Good morning, comrades. Due to our advanced progress on the autumn planting schedule and everyone's hard work, we will have a day off tomorrow. Have a day's rest before we resu planting the day after tomorrow."
He repeated the announcent once more before turning off the speaker.
The mont the villagers heard this, they were shocked. Never before had they been granted a day off during the planting or harvest seasons. Getting a day off during such a busy ti, everyone began chatting about the news as they worked.
Though most didn't know the reason, those aware of the upcoming wedding between the Zhang and Liu families understood—the day off was the vice team leader's gift to the couple so they could properly celebrate.
In the farmland, Zhang Yulan turned to her father and asked, "Father, did the vice team leader really give everyone a day off?"
Father Zhang nodded and replied, "He did."
After saying that, he looked at his daughter aningfully before resuming his work.
They were racing against ti with the planting, so granting a day off was a significant gesture. Unless An Xuyuan had deeper intentions toward their family, he wouldn't have done such a thing.
anwhile, Han Yuheng arrived at the production team's office, went straight to find An Xuyuan, and asked, "Comrade An, are you really giving everyone a day off tomorrow?"
An Xuyuan looked up from the docunt he was reading and replied nonchalantly, "Is there a problem with that?"
Han Yuheng pulled out a chair, sat across from him, and asked, "Comrade An, this doesn't seem like you. Why are you suddenly treating the Zhang family so well?"
Putting down his fountain pen, An Xuyuan looked at him and said, "Team leader, the Zhang family helped us obtain the winter wheat seeds. Without their help, we would still be struggling to co up with a solution."
"I'm sure you have heard that Zhang Ermu and Liu Piao are getting married tomorrow. Since we can't reward them directly with money or food, giving everyone a day off so they can celebrate properly is reasonable."
"Or do you have a better way to reward them?" he asked calmly.
At his words, Han Yuheng went silent for a mont before saying, "Even so, we can't delay planting just because of them."
"Team leader, delaying one day won't disturb our schedule at all. What's more, as leaders, we need to understand the importance of both rewards and punishnt."
"If you keep asking the villagers to contribute to the production team without ever giving them anything in return, do you think they will continue working hard for us?" An Xuyuan asked.
After he finished his words, he turned his attention back to his work.
Sitting there quietly, Han Yuheng thought for a long while before finally saying, "I understand."
"That's good to hear. Team leader, I still have a lot of work to finish, so I can't entertain you further," An Xuyuan said.
Even though Han Yuheng was officially the team leader, in reality, most of the production team's responsibilities were handled by An Xuyuan. Hearing his words, Han Yuheng didn't press further. He got up and left to check on the farmland.
The news about the day off granted by the vice team leader quickly spread to the neighboring village.
Even though other production teams hadn't started their autumn planting yet, they were keeping a close eye on the 12th production team's movents.
When Lu Jueyu brought lunch to her husband and son, she said, "Ah Li, tell Jianmin to co a bit earlier tomorrow. The banquet will start at noon, but we still need to begin preparing the ingredients in the morning."
Dong Li nodded and said, "Mother, I will let him know later."
"Good."
Amidst the villagers' excitent, another day passed without much disturbance.
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