The villagers coughed and gossiped as they always did. Ever since Secretary Qian became the secretary of our village, the opening remarks at the village meetings had been the same few sentences, and after over a decade, even Granny Zhao, who was the most hard of hearing in the village, could recite them from memory.
"After approval from the village committee and a collective signature by me and the village chief, we have decided to launch an imported rice cultivation project starting next year.
Anyone interested in participating in this project should come to the village chief after the meeting to press their fingerprint and sign a contract, one per family. Next spring, the rice seeds will be distributed accordingly." Secretary Qian finished his last few sentences, picked up his enamel tea cup, and took several loud sips.
The villagers seemed to not have fully grasped it yet, murmuring among themselves like a drizzle.
"What's that? What is imported rice?"
