The next day was Sunday.
Three military trucks drove into Kushanli Village.
Two were loaded with people, and one carried simple scooters and luggage.
Li Zhengguo, accompanied by Secretary Yang and Deputy Village Chief Ou, waited at the village entrance.
Only three people?
Not only were the accompanying comrades from the People's Armed Forces Department unhappy,
but those on the trucks also felt disheartened.
Were they not welcome?
Who knew that in the next moment, forty-one children, aged seven or eight, came sliding out of the village on scooters at full speed.
Before the people on the trucks could comprehend what was happening, the children jumped off their scooters.
With a stomp of their feet, the scooters stood upright. With a flick of their wrists, the scooters were tucked under their arms.
They then immediately lined up in four neat rows.
The leading boy in the first row spoke, "Welcome, uncles, to Kushanli Village. On behalf of all the villagers, we welcome your arrival."
"Today, we are your guides, one-on-one guides. Uncles, please choose, see who you like?"
This unconventional welcoming ceremony warmed the hearts of the forty men and their accompanying medical personnel.
The accompanying personnel from the People's Armed Forces Department also smiled and asked the talking child,
"Are you only acting as guides?"
"Of course not, we can also help carry luggage."
With these words, the children placed the scooters from under their arms in front of their feet.
The leading boy said, "Please help, uncles, by placing the luggage on these scooters. We will push them to the uncles' dormitories."
"Dormitories? Then we must go and see."
"You can see, but don't stay."
"Really? This makes us even more curious, and more eager to see."
"Go and see, and after seeing, uncles will be assured of letting uncles stay."
"You are truly sharp."
"Thank you, uncle, for the praise, but I hope you will praise me for being honest next time."
"Why?"
"When adults praise a child for being sharp, it implies the child is a bit cunning. I like the word honest, and I am very honest."
"Hahaha."
"Hahaha."
Everyone laughed.
Li Zhengguo then stepped forward, "Hello comrade, Comrade Wan has gone into the back mountain. And this is the busy season, so the villagers cannot spare time, so we can only ask the children to represent them. But our village children are very capable."
The comrade from the People's Armed Forces Department smiled and clasped the hand Li Zhengguo extended, "I can see that."
After the men from the trucks got out, they were not met with any strange glances, including from the children.
After being assigned one-on-one, the children softly asked their matched uncles where their homes were? How many children did they have? wΑp.kanshu伍.net
Did their wives and children want to come? The village had an elementary school.
After their families arrived, they could also be allocated separate courtyards to live independently.
The children chatted like adults, amusing the men.
"Really? Can families really come?"
The children patted their chests, "Of course, you can even live here permanently. Our village population is small, and we welcome you to move in."
"What is the reason for the small population?"
The children knew the answer to this question and chattered on.
"... You must cherish this opportunity. After moving in, the village committee will first allocate two greenhouses to your family, and we will plant and sell them collectively, just like us."
"If you feel that two greenhouses are not enough, after saving money, you can use the money to contract more greenhouses, or contract land to build greenhouses yourself."
"After saying so much, you might not understand, or you might not believe it. After you work for a year, you will know the benefits of moving to our village."
"However, Village Chief Li said that after the project in the back mountain is completed, the focus will shift to tourism. Greenhouse cultivation will slow down, and it won't be as profitable as in recent years."
"Tourism will also include villagers' shares. Therefore, the welfare of being a villager in our village is the best."
The men chuckled, "I can see, your village chief intends to train these dozens of children to be tour guides, right?"
The children nodded, "Yes, yes, Uncle, you are so smart. Our Village Chief Li said that to be a tour guide, you must be good with words."
"Hahaha."
Being praised for his intelligence by the children, the man laughed heartily, "I can also see that your village chief is using us to practice with you!"
"Yes, yes, uncle, your intelligence level is almost catching up to Village Chief Li. Our Village Chief Li is also a veteran. Are all soldiers smart? Should I join the army when I grow up?"
The men truly saw that these children idolized Village Chief Li.
Before they could say anything, their attention was drawn to the picket fences on both sides of the village road.
Such a beautiful mountain village made one desire to live there permanently.
When they saw their two dormitories, the men's hearts were filled with gratitude they didn't know how to express.
The personnel from the People's Armed Forces Department felt a pang of guilt upon seeing such thoughtful dormitories.
Their previous thoughts had been somewhat bureaucratic.
How could such carefully prepared dormitories lead them to believe they weren't welcome to these retired soldiers, simply because only three adults had greeted them?
After all, they had frequent dealings with the military. They immediately expressed their apologies.
Li Zhengguo waved his hand dismissively, "Don't take it to heart. We never do things superficially. I believe you will visit them again. Once you interact more, you will understand that we are all people who get things done."
The comrade from the People's Armed Forces Department laughed heartily, "Hahaha, yes, yes, we must get things done. Every time we go to the countryside, we encounter all sorts of grand welcoming ceremonies, and we find their ceremonies too superficial."
"But encountering your unique approach, we instead felt unaccustomed and misinterpreted, and should seriously reflect on our thinking."
The children had already settled down with their uncles.
And they carefully repeated the room and wardrobe numbers three times to their matched uncles.
"Group Leader Tian said that important matters should be said three times, and after three times, there will be an impression. We will now register the uncles' names under the corresponding room and wardrobe numbers in the memo."
"If you really can't remember, go to the main hall wall and check the memo."
The men's hearts were warmed by the children's actions.
Even their eyes felt a little warm.
The comrades from the People's Armed Forces Department left with peace of mind.
The children took their uncles to the greenhouses on scooters.
Seeing the lush seedlings and vines in the greenhouses, the men seemed to envision future harvests.
The villagers, seeing the men with empty pant legs or sleeves sitting on scooters, also showed no unusual reactions.
They enthusiastically greeted them and invited them to look inside the greenhouses.
Upon entering the greenhouses, they discovered that there was a one-meter gap between each plot of land.
What was this?
As the men were pondering, they saw the villagers push off with their legs, and the low stools under their bottoms slid a short distance.
"Are you wondering why the spacing is so wide?"
Seeing the men nod, the villagers explained, "Each household has twenty greenhouses. In the past, we felt that squatting for a long time was too tiring, so we asked the children to help."
"The first year's earnings were not small, and suddenly seeing so much money, coupled with the village chief asking us to repay the loans together, we were reluctant to give the children pocket money, and the children had opinions..."
"...Village Chief Li spent nine months in one season teaching the children to understand us parents, taught us to make these wheeled scooter stools, and also asked us to increase the spacing."
"With these scooter stools, working while sitting is not too tiring, and the children can have more time to play or do household chores."
"However, this year the children are all going to school. Although we have fewer helpers, we don't feel tired."
"Your coming to do this work is very appropriate. Once a person finds their value, their outlook on life will be very different."