"I finished all my homework," Yuan Si said as she picked up the large broom by the door, getting ready to sweep the fresh grass near the entrance into a pile.
A pile of fresh grass, all collected today, was stacked to the right of the cowshed. This grass couldn't be moved into the cowshed right away because the team captain or the accountant had to come by in the evening to check the records. Only after the tallies matched could it be moved inside to feed the cattle. This rule was meant to prevent people from abusing their power for personal gain. Everyone had been neighbors for years and saw each other constantly. If you were on good terms with the person recording the work, they might write down ten pounds of grass when you only turned in one. Since it was the production team that handed out work points and grain, it was an easy way to curry favor. The higher-ups had devised this method specifically to stop that from happening.
