Rebirth in the 50s: The Couple with the Hidden Space novel Chapter 210

Chapter 210: Chapter 148: Old Captain

The sky was faintly white, and smoke rose from every household in Zhang Family Village, as though the entire place was waking up. The strong wind from last night had stopped. The early morning breeze was chilly and bone-piercing, yet it didn’t affect the villagers who were used to early bedtimes and early risings. They began busying themselves with their private plots. On the road, men and women were seen hurrying back and forth with water buckets. At the village entrance, people were already queuing at the old well. Faintly, one could hear men speaking crudely, occasionally women bantering back, while bystanders laughed in amusement.

For decades, Old Captain, with his long tobacco pipe, had taken his usual stroll along the village’s fields. He looked at the barren, empty land without any crops. The temperature had suddenly dropped last night, and it would snow in a few days.

As he walked, Old Captain pondered the farming work arrangements before and after the snow, the harvest for next year, and the distribution of grains at the end of the year. Every time he saw the younger generation in the village gradually grow up and start families, with every household adding more members, he felt a great sense of satisfaction seeing the Old Zhang’s family prosper. However, with the growing population, there was only so much fixed land. How to ensure everyone was well-fed and lived good lives had been a problem he pondered day and night for decades.

He could never forget the words said to him when the previous captain handed over the position. Indeed, as a member of the Zhang Family, sitting in this position made him the head of the family, responsible for the hundreds and thousands of mouths in Old Zhang’s family.

He silently planned how to distribute more food rations to everyone before the end of the year, whether to develop more wasteland next year, and whether to organize the village’s old hunters and the men to go up the mountain several times before the end of the year to prepare some meat for the new year.

From afar, Old Captain saw Zhang Guoqing approaching from the village entrance. Finally, he caught this kid. Among the younger generation of Old Zhang’s family, he had the most hope for this child to take over his duties. What a pity, it was no longer possible, he couldn’t keep him here. There were excellent youth among the Qing generation of the Zhang Family, but they were too selfish. It worried him deeply what would happen when he retired from this position.

As soon as he saw Zhang Guoqing, Old Captain smiled broadly and quickly waved him over. When he reached him, he saw Zhang Guoqing’s beaming face.

He joked, "Xiao Wu, where are you heading so early? Is your father-in-law difficult to deal with? Did you get a beating? Zhou Xiao, that kid, is quite shrewd, but you’re still far behind him. Remember to learn a bit more from him, learning fifty to sixty percent will benefit you for a lifetime."

Zhang Guoqing walked slowly beside him, smiling, and said, "Third Grandpa, I actually came specifically to find you. I was worried you would be busy later and not have time. I need you to help me get a certificate when you have time in the next couple of days. My household registration needs your stamp to migrate to the city. Also, my son is going to move to the county town with us."

Old Captain stopped, patted his shoulder, and said with emotion, "Oh, what a pity, I knew I couldn’t keep you around. I was hoping you’d help carry this burden. No more of that talk, your affairs in the city are all sorted, right? Have you settled on a workplace?"

Zhang Guoqing nodded and respectfully replied, "Everything’s all set in the city. Once you stamp it, the household registration for my family of three can be moved. I’ve got a potential job, and after the New Year, I will start at the county’s Military Affairs Department. Please keep this confidential for now."

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