The autumn air was crisp and the white clouds drifted leisurely. Lin Lan really liked this pastoral scenery. If it weren't for the busy autumn harvest, such days would be beautiful and full of poetic charm.
The autumn harvest spanned a long period, lasting nearly three months. Although tiring, the joy of a bountiful harvest kept everyone going, and they were all very happy.
Now the corn had all been snapped off the stalks, just waiting for the rain to plow, harrow, and fertilize the land, and then prepare to plant wheat.
As for the sweet potato fields, around the Mid-Autumn Festival, they would directly slice and sun-dry the sweet potatoes. The rest would be harvested around Frost's Descent and distributed to the commune members to store in cellars to eat throughout the winter.
Although the autumn sun wasn't intense, the wind was strong, so the dried sweet potatoes could be sun-dried in a few days.
Once dry, they could be gathered and stored in grain bins, kept to feed livestock, and distributed to commune members as rations.
The commune members of Shanzucun were able to avoid starvation by relying on these coarse grains, especially sweet potatoes.
Sweet potatoes didn't require handing in public grain. Planting a patch could yield two to three thousand catties per mu, and even when sun-dried, there would be over a thousand catties.
When the time came, a commune member would be distributed over a hundred catties of dried sweet potatoes and three hundred catties of fresh sweet potatoes. Paired with other things, they wouldn't go hungry.
Before harvesting the sweet potatoes, the party secretary held a meeting and told the production team captains to lead the men to hand in the public grain of corn first, and then find time to quickly distribute the rest to the commune members.
Some gluttonous families had almost finished eating the previously distributed sorghum and soybeans. If the corn wasn't distributed now, they would probably run out of food.
For example, Lin Lan's family.
Lin Lan's family was definitely not considered lazy. After all, Han Qingsong, Dawang, and the other children could all help with the work now, and no one slacked off. Although Lin Lan didn't do heavy manual labor, she did delicate tasks excellently.
However, they were definitely gluttonous.
When other families distributed grain, it was basically the men who ate the good stuff, eating their fill to work, the children ate less, and the women ate the worst.
In Lin Lan's family, whatever the man ate, the children ate, and the woman even more so. Everyone was equal and unbiased.
Moreover, Lin Lan often spent effort to improve the family's meals, creating conditions even when there were none. This was also a first in the village. Many people gossiped and directly labeled her a gluttonous laopo.
For example, when peanuts were harvested, she would take the children to boil peanuts; when soybeans were harvested, she would take them to boil soybeans; now that sweet potatoes were harvested, she could even pan-fry sweet potato slices. Some women who liked to stir up trouble couldn't stand the sight of her no matter what after hearing this.
Although Lin Lan didn't care about them, she also realized that the family had too little labor force, and without enough work points, there would be a shortage of grain.
Before splitting the family, Han Qingsong still had ten work points a day. After transferring to civilian work and splitting the family, his work points were gone.
So his grain rations could only be bought with money.
In addition, Lin Lan earned six or seven points a day going to work. With Han Qingsong coming back to help her, she could earn a bit more. Dawang also had six points, and the other children averaged three or four points. Furthermore, they still had to go to school, so their work points would be even less.
This was thanks to the "four labor, six population" grain distribution system. Forty percent was distributed based on population, and sixty percent was determined by work points. This was a welfare benefit given by the government to the commune members.
They could get the portion based on population, but for the portion based on work points, their family's quantity was limited.
Calculating it this way, her family's work points were simply not enough, and they entirely relied on Han Qingsong's salary to buy grain to eat.
Before she even reacted, Erwang became anxious first, muttering all day about how much the family's grain vat had decreased and when the sweet potatoes would be distributed.
Lin Lan felt that although Han Qingsong earned a salary, the children all went to school, and they still had to spend money to subsidize work points to buy grain, so the family wasn't wealthy either.
It was still far from the well-off life she desired.
But earning money wasn't easy either. It was only 1970, and the factories in the city were all state-owned; there was no such thing as private enterprise.
Even in the commune and the countryside, everything was collective, still with no private ownership, and it was all manual agricultural products with very low income.
Private business was just selling some eggs, vegetables, or grain to exchange for a little money for urgent use. If one resold industrial products, they would be labeled as speculating and profiteering.
At this time, even with money, one couldn't do much, which was why Lin Lan had previously used all the money to improve their clothing, food, housing, and transportation.
Unless one was a senior worker or a senior cadre, even those eating state grain only earned about thirty yuan a month. Han Qingsong's seventy yuan a month was already very high, and wanting it to be higher wasn't an easy thing.
It seemed the paths to earning money were basically blocked. The most urgent task was still to improve her "cultural quality" and find an opportunity to get a job, at least to earn some work points as a subsidy first.
This way, at least she wouldn't have to spend extra money on her own grain rations, and she would have the opportunity to earn the children's grain rations.
She felt she still had to take the propaganda route and see if she could start with Han Yongfang. If Han Yongfang agreed, then Dong Huaihua would probably comply as well.
In the afternoon, all the production teams gathered at the brigade threshing floor to distribute the corn grain rations. Some commune members were beaming with joy, some were frowning in distress, and some were cursing with great dissatisfaction.
Nearly a fifth of the families in the village didn't have enough work points to cover their grain rations and needed to buy them with money. But they didn't have money, so they owed debts year after year, only wanting to rely entirely on population distribution and not buy with money. Naturally, the other commune members were unhappy. Those with a large labor force wished everything was distributed based on work points, regardless of population.
So whenever it came time to distribute grain, there were inevitably various conflicts.
Other families with insufficient work points didn't want to spend money even if they had it, only wanting to owe the team's debt, always feeling that if they brazenly owed the debt for a long time, the account would disappear on its own.
Anyway, as long as they didn't pay it back, it didn't matter how much they owed.
When it was Lin Lan's family's turn, the distribution based on population and work points was calculated one by one. For the shortfall, she subsidized it with money.
She didn't dawdle or act shamelessly like others, but readily paid the money and pressed her fingerprint.
Someone sarcastically mocked her: "What is she pretending for, showing off that she has money?"
Lin Lan's behavior of readily paying money despite insufficient work points angered some people, who thought they would be contrasted as particularly shameless, and the village cadres would repeatedly mobilize them to pay.
"Zhao Guilian, hurry up and make up the money for the grain rations. If you don't make up for the previous years, don't distribute this year's." The captain of the third team shouted there, "Look at Han Qingsong's family, they subsidize it when they lack work points, not acting shamelessly at all. How are they like you, owing for several years?"
Relying on her slight relation to the vice-captain of the second team, Zhao Guilian had acted shamelessly quite often in the past. Hearing the captain mock her like this, she immediately refused to accept it. "They are officials and have money, can I be the same as them?"
She pushed the zhiqing next to her. "Tell me, isn't that right?"
Lin Lan sneered. "If you have the ability, you go become a soldier, transfer to civilian work, and become an official too! You don't work hard yourself, only knowing how to be jealous, aren't you suffocating to death!" She put the grain aside, waiting for the children to finish class to help carry it home.
Everyone laughed, and many people mocked Zhao Guilian, "If the man can't catch up, then train the son to go."
Someone laughed: "Do you think just anyone can become a soldier? The army is picky."
Dong Huaihua said to her man: "Help Lin Lan carry it home first, then come back and carry ours."
Lin Lan quickly thanked them.
Dong Huaihua smiled and said: "What's there to thank? If my man wasn't home and Qingsong saw it, wouldn't he also lend a hand?"
Lin Lan had the intention to talk to Dong Huaihua again about the physiological hygiene propaganda, thinking that if she also participated, could she subsidize her work points then.
However, Dong Huaihua didn't take it seriously last time, so she figured she should still find an opportunity to suggest it to Han Yongfang first.
At this time, a young man walked over and smiled at Lin Lan: "Saozi, lend me two yuan, I'll pay you back another day."
Lin Lan turned to look at him, and it was actually Zhiqing Chen.
Ever since she found out that Liu Xiuyun's secret lover was Zhiqing Chen, Lin Lan had a very bad impression of him. A pay-to-win scumbag, actually baring his teeth and smiling at her.
What the hell are you smiling at!
She pretended not to hear and continued talking to Dong Huaihua.
Zhiqing Chen's smile became a bit sticky. "Yo, saozi, why are you ignoring people? Director Han transferred home, so you ignore people now, huh."
Damn, when was I ever this familiar with you?
Lin Lan searched her memory. The original owner had only seen him a few times, and most of the time it was when she was making a scene and he was watching, pointing fingers and making sarcastic remarks from the side.
Oh, no, there had been a few private interactions.
For example, when they met on the way to work, he would look at her with a gaze that said, Tsk tsk, what a waste of such looks on such a shrew, as if regretting that she had too many thorns and was hard to hit on.
Disgusting!
This Zhiqing Chen was quite popular among the women in the village because he could take a joke and had a sweet mouth, praising this one for being pretty today and that one for being virtuous tomorrow.
Just don't get any ideas about her.
Otherwise, she absolutely wouldn't be polite.
Lin Lan cast a sidelong glance at him. "Ah, Zhiqing Chen." Then she ignored him.
Zhiqing Chen smiled somewhat awkwardly. "Saozi, lend me a few yuan, I'll pay you back when the remittance from home arrives another day."
The zhiqing all had families in the city, and during holidays, they would also mail things and remittances. He had also accumulated some popularity by buying things for others.
Dong Huaihua looked at him warily: "What are you borrowing money for? How much?"
She suspected he wanted to borrow money to take Xiuyun for an abortion.
Earlier, Lin Lan had briefly mentioned seeing Xiuyun at the hospital, and she immediately connected it to Liu Xiuyun's behavior. After asking the children, connecting the clues, Dong Huaihua concluded that Liu Xiuyun was pregnant from an affair with Zhiqing Chen.
Dong Huaihua had been the women's director for many years and naturally had a lot of experience in this area. Nothing could be hidden from her piercing eyes.
Seeing Zhiqing Chen now, her eyes immediately shot daggers.
Zhiqing Chen muttered in his heart, but felt it was impossible for her to know. After all, he and Chen Xiuyun had always been very secretive.
Moreover, he understood Chen Xiuyun's personality. Even if something happened, she would absolutely not confess him; she would only grit her teeth and bear it herself.
So Dong Huaihua shouldn't know.
With his heart back in his stomach, his smile grew even brighter. "Director, not much, ten yuan is enough."
Dong Huaihua exclaimed: "Are you robbing someone? Ten yuan, who can take out ten yuan? I even have to sell grain for one yuan."
"Look at what the director is saying, doesn't saozi have it." Zhiqing Chen looked at Lin Lan with a covetous face, smiling faintly, and praised: "Others might not have it, but saozi definitely does. Seeing saozi looking so radiant now, truly people are in high spirits when involved in happy events. Just looking at you, I feel exceptionally pleased to the eye and in a good mood."
Lin Lan unceremoniously rolled her eyes at him. They say you don't hit a smiling person, but that depends on the person.
"Sorry, I don't have ten yuan."
"Then twenty is fine too. Haha, if saozi lent me fifty or a hundred, I wouldn't be surprised either."
Lin Lan was stunned by his thick skin. "Can you afford to pay it back?"
Zhiqing Chen: "............"
A shrew is still a shrew. I thought she had turned over a new leaf, but it turns out it was fake.
Only then did Zhiqing Chen realize that Lin Lan wasn't playing hard to get like those other women, but truly didn't want to talk to him. He had no choice but to slink away to find someone else to borrow money from.
Lin Lan whispered to Dong Huaihua: "What exactly is he borrowing money for?"
Dong Huaihua: "Probably for that matter."
Lin Lan understood and couldn't say much. She still insisted that the physiological hygiene propaganda was imperative, otherwise more innocent and ignorant girls like Liu Xiuyun would be lured and deceived.
............
In the meeting room of the county revolutionary committee, the atmosphere was heavy, shrouded in dark clouds.
This meeting had been going on from morning till evening, with only a quick bite to eat in between, and they still hadn't reached a final conclusion.
Han Qingsong sat in his seat, his face gloomy, remaining silent the whole time, only listening to others crossing swords.
Deputy Director Li was very agitated: "This captain of the Yellow River Brigade is a bastard. He's only been captain for three years and has ruined over a dozen women, but... but the crime doesn't warrant death." He stood there, waving his arms forcefully as he spoke, "Think about it, we are all cadres, put yourselves in his shoes..."
Han Qingsong suddenly said: "Put yourselves in his shoes, if someone violated my wife or daughter, I would definitely kill him!"
The meeting room suddenly fell into a certain silence, the atmosphere becoming even more oppressive.
Deputy Director Li seemed not to have expected Han Qingsong to publicly refute him, looking at him as if he didn't recognize him. "You, you, what did you say?"
Han Qingsong said lightly: "I caught the person, I collected the evidence, I support the death penalty."
"Absurd!" Deputy Director Li slammed the table. "Director Qin, Old Director, look, this one who transferred back from the army, having killed people and seen blood, is just different. Opening his mouth to kill, treating the death penalty as a game! If we kill this captain, who else would dare to be a captain? It was chaotic for the past few years, and we finally managed to stabilize it. Are we going to let it become chaotic again?"
He put on a posture of speaking incoherently due to agitation, but in reality, he was taking the opportunity to say what he wanted to say.
To downplay the death penalty as much as possible, at least in their own county.
By doing this, he was undoubtedly showing goodwill to many people; at least the cadres below would like him more.
After all, no one became a cadre aiming to be executed, whether they wanted to serve the people, realize their ideals and ambitions, or more despicably, grab money and power.
But no one did it to go to their deaths.
Director Qin and the Old Director had remained silent. Deputy Director Gao, sitting next to Deputy Director Li, seemed to have lost his strength from the previous arguments and didn't speak.
He was sizing up Han Qingsong.
Luo Haicheng, sitting below Han Qingsong, was infuriated by Deputy Director Li's words. What about transferred soldiers? Do they enjoy killing people? Isn't it because military orders are like mountains?
Besides, they killed enemies who endangered the interests of the country and the people, not their own people!
This captain has seriously endangered the interests of the Party and the people, he is an enemy of the people!
He stood up: "As the evidence collector, I want to remind Deputy Director Li, five years, thirty-two women, including two twelve-year-olds and three thirteen-year-olds."
The air seemed to freeze, and no one spoke.
Suddenly, someone let out a laugh.
Everyone immediately followed the sound and saw it was actually Han Qingsong.
Deputy Director Li sneered, glaring sharply. "Deputy Director Han, what are you laughing at?"
Han Qingsong said: "We are all peasant soldiers who haven't been to school and lack education. In the army, we only heard the officers say rewards and punishments must be clear, kill one to warn a hundred!"
Before his voice faded, he looked directly into Deputy Director Li's dissatisfied eyes.
His already cold and stern expression became even more severe, his pitch-black eyes gleaming coldly like sharp swords, actually making Deputy Director Li's heart tremble and involuntarily shiver.
Brigade cadres using their positions to bully zhiqing and women was no secret.
Many brigades had such situations.
Even not just brigades, the zhiqing offices in the city were even worse.
But no one had been executed for this yet.
If an unmarried man and woman had an affair and it was exposed, they might be labeled with hooliganism or being a broken shoe and struggled against, but this kind of thing was basically suppressed.
After a long time, the Old Director said in a hoarse voice: "The interests of the people brook no violation!"
This was considered stating his position.
He looked at Director Qin.
Director Qin took a deep breath and said: "The cadres of the various brigades have low cultural quality and their abilities need to be improved. We still need to strengthen learning and education. Kill one to warn a hundred, notify the whole county, let the whole county learn!"
Deputy Director Li trembled all over, seemingly losing his strength, and slumped into his chair with a creak.
Luo Haicheng breathed a sigh of relief and showed a smile to Han Qingsong.
Han Qingsong's face remained cold and stern, showing no sign of relief or joy. He said: "Director, shouldn't the propaganda and education of the various communes and brigades also keep up?"
Director Qin looked at him: "That is natural. City cadres have to go down to the countryside to the May 7th Cadre Schools to work and learn at the same time, and rural cadres also have to learn theoretical and cultural knowledge. Organize learning with the commune as the unit, and the outstanding ones will come to the county for learning, exams, and commendations! Han Qingsong, what other suggestions do you have?"
Han Qingsong thought for a moment: "Director, the protection of women in the countryside..." He weighed his words, thinking of what Lin Lan had said, "That is, regarding physiological hygiene propaganda, shouldn't that also keep up? The hospital can take the lead in training, and the communes and brigades can organize learning themselves."
"Good, this is not bad!" The Old Director slammed the table. "Keep up. More propaganda, fewer incidents, and we'll be more relaxed too."
Director Qin also said: "Taking advantage of the heat of the meeting, issue the judgment notice overnight to serve as a warning to others!"
Many brigade cadres knew about this and were losing sleep hoping for a result. Once the death penalty was announced, it would be a sufficient deterrent.
Issuing it in the middle of the night would be enough to make their hearts pound in fear, and the communes immediately following up with learning meetings tomorrow would have an even better effect.
At this time, the logistics department came to say dinner was ready and asked if everyone would eat together.
Director Qin and the Old Director naturally didn't care for this; it was so late, they all wanted to go home.
Deputy Director Gao said to Han Qingsong: "Let's have a meal together."
Han Qingsong: "I'm really sorry, it's getting late, I have to go home."
He said to Luo Haicheng: "You guys eat, I'll take it home to eat."
Luo Haicheng had thought eating here would only take a few minutes, but seeing Han Qingsong no longer having the steady, immovable-as-a-mountain posture from the meeting, but instead looking like he was in a hurry to go home and nurse a child, he couldn't say much.
"Then we'll also take it home to eat." They had to escort Director Han back together.
Deputy Director Gao patted Han Qingsong's shoulder and said affectionately: "Great minds think alike, let's communicate more in the future."
Han Qingsong: "I wouldn't dare call myself a great mind, I need to learn more from everyone when I have time."
Deputy Director Li's eyes were already red with anger. He sat there ignoring anyone who called him. Suddenly, he slammed the table. "Am I doing this for myself? Am I not doing this for everyone?"
Deputy Director Gao immediately teased: "Deputy Director Li, don't be angry. No one said you were doing it for yourself. Aren't we just discussing the matter at hand, judging that bullshit captain."
He couldn't even be bothered to remember the name.
Han Qingsong also refused to stay longer to act like brothers with them. He took Luo Haicheng and the others and rode their bicycles home, bidding farewell at the village entrance.
Luo Haicheng smiled and said: "Director Han, that was satisfying!"
Han Qingsong said lightly: "Taking the grain and pay, we should do some work. Don't let them abolish the public security bureau in a couple of years, then we won't even have grain and pay to take."
Luo Haicheng laughed heartily. "The brothers all heard it."
The others smiled and said: "We're listening."
Their public security bureau was inherently a redundant department. In the past, communes didn't need a public security bureau; it was only established during the revolutionary committee era.
It might be abolished at any time, and everyone had no thoughts about it.
But hearing Han Qingsong say this, they were also full of drive.
Han Qingsong waved his hand and rode home. Seeing the dim yellow light shining from his courtyard from afar, a warm current instantly surged in his heart. The gloom in his heart was swept away, and his long legs pedaled the bicycle with exceptional force, covering a long distance.
It was getting late, and the children had long finished their homework and gone to sleep. Lin Lan was on the kang in the west room, taking out the washed and dried clothes, mending them while waiting for him.
Dawang and Sanwang's clothes wore out exceptionally fast, so she had to worry more about them.
Han Qingsong had been busy these two days, so she had to do the mending herself.
Looking at her own mending stitches, and then looking at the close-fitting cotton tank top Han Qingsong had sewn for her, she felt simply embarrassed.
Han Qingsong even comforted her, saying that tailors were mostly male comrades.
As her thoughts were running wild, she heard a noise outside and immediately jumped off the bed to open the door.
"It's so late, if it's inconvenient, just stay at the county guesthouse. It's so tiring coming back from so far away."
Although he was busy, no matter how late it was, he would come home to sleep. Unless he left the county, he basically wouldn't stay overnight outside.
Han Qingsong handed the two lunchboxes to her. "Two yuan accommodation allowance."
Coming home saved it.
Lin Lan laughed. Feeling the heavy lunchboxes, she knew he hadn't eaten. "Then you still have to eat. Drinking cold wind on an empty stomach, if your heart doesn't ache for yourself, I still can't bear it."
Han Qingsong's heart fluttered, and he couldn't help but hook her waist and give her a lingering kiss.
Lin Lan: "It's late at night, can't we go inside."
Han Qingsong instantly let out a low laugh and pushed the bicycle into the south room.
Entering the room, he took off his clothes covered in frost and threw them on the large vat. Lin Lan had already poured warm water for him to wash his face and hands.
After washing, he conveniently took off his socks and used the water to wash his feet as well.
Lin Lan had already lit the fire again to heat the food for him.
Han Qingsong said: "I can just eat it cold."
Troubling her, he felt it would have been less hassle to just eat in the county.
"Never say such things again. Eating cold food on an empty stomach, you don't feel it when you're young, but when you're old and get sick, won't I have to serve you?" Lin Lan nimbly lit the fire. The pot was large, so heating food was fast.
Although she always felt she was saying nice things to coax him, whether she was coaxing him to be happy or being sincere at this moment, she herself didn't care at all.
Anyway, he treated her well, so she would treat him well too.
Han Qingsong felt sweet things bubbling up from the bottom of his heart. His expression didn't show it, but his gaze was already so thick it was about to overflow.
Lin Lan told him about the grain ration distribution today, how many work points were distributed, and how much money was paid.
Han Qingsong: "Is the money enough?"
Lin Lan smiled and said: "You earn such a high salary, of course it's enough! Our family relies on your salary to hold up. Other families don't have this money, and when their work points aren't enough, it's really difficult."
The faces of Zhao Guilian and those people were incredibly ugly, just wanting to take advantage and eat grain for free.
Han Qingsong said: "I'll come back more often to help you work in the future."
With the money used to buy grain, buying other things wasn't abundant, especially with four or five children going to school at home.
He also wanted to buy her a pair of leather shoes, but didn't say it out loud, afraid she would say not to spend money recklessly.
...
Lin Lan originally thought coming back so late would be tiring enough, and they should just wash up, talk a bit, and go to sleep. Who knew the indescribable things would still be staged.
Sigh, she was considerate of his hard work, but he instead enjoyed it tirelessly, treating this matter as stress relief. Instead, she was always worried if he would suffer from kidney deficiency or something when he got older.
The next day, Han Qingsong continued to go to the county, while Lin Lan followed to work to sun-dry dried sweet potatoes.
Sun-drying dried sweet potatoes wasn't tiring, but Lin Lan was a bit intimidated.
Using a wooden board over a meter long, with a hole cut at one end and a long blade nailed to it, placed over a basket. A person straddled the wooden board, holding a sweet potato with both hands, slicing left and right with a cha-cha-cha sound.
Skilled people were very proficient, but those who didn't know how felt their scalps tingle watching it. That blade was snow-bright and sharp; if it accidentally sliced a hand, blood would definitely flow like a river.
Lin Lan truly couldn't do this.
Fortunately, Dawang wasn't afraid. He worked neatly and nimbly, cha-cha-cha, even more capable than a very skilled woman.
It was just that he still had to go to school and couldn't work all day. However, she didn't know how he coaxed Han Qingping into actually having two classes in the morning and two in the afternoon, and taking the children to the fields to sun-dry dried sweet potatoes the rest of the time.
With them helping to lay out the slices, the adults also had a much easier time.
After lunch, Lin Lan sent all the children away and was about to take Xiaowang to work, but was stopped by Dong Huaihua.
Dong Huaihua looked anxious. "Lin Lan, come help quickly."
Lin Lan asked in puzzlement: "Director, what's so urgent?"
"That matter you mentioned, that physiological hygiene propaganda thing? Come help me come up with ideas quickly."
Lin Lan let Xiaowang play with the children on the street, and she was pulled to Dong Huaihua's house.
Dong Huaihua's house was similar to the old Han family's. To have north and south kangs, there were pillars in the room, making the flow not so clear, and the room wasn't high enough. Now that she was used to living in her own tall and spacious house, entering this kind of small room made her feel suffocated.
Lin Lan looked at the pile of paper, pens, books, and some propaganda posters of "Women Hold Up Half the Sky" spread out on the kang.
Dong Huaihua showed the things spread on the kang to Lin Lan, then felt a bit embarrassed. "Aiya, I forgot, you haven't been to school."
Lin Lan smiled and said: "It doesn't matter. The children go to school, and I learn along with them every day. Learning an extra person without paying tuition is a great deal."
Maisui learned fast, and also borrowed upper-grade books from Han Qingping to read. Lin Lan "learned" pinyin along with her, and could read some books herself. Coupled with her occasionally asking Han Qingsong for advice, over time, her progress was actually faster than the children's.
The children found it very magical. Han Qingsong felt something was wrong but couldn't say anything. After all, Lin Lan was just better at speaking, reading, and reciting, and hadn't written anything, so the flaw wasn't too big.
Only Han Qingsong, being her bedfellow, would more or less notice a bit, but was mostly fooled by her.
To Dong Huaihua, she said she learned from the children and Han Qingsong; to Han Qingsong, she said she learned from the children, Dong Huaihua, and the teachers.
Anyway, no one was watching her every day, so she could justify whatever she said.
Dong Huaihua sighed with emotion: "Lin Lan, you really hit the nail on the head. The county issued a notice asking all communes and brigades to organize learning and propaganda on the knowledge of male-female relations." The term physiological hygiene was too trendy, and Dong Huaihua couldn't remember it accurately for a moment.
Her level was truly limited, just a primary school level, with limited literacy and limited worldly experience. Although she always went to the commune for meetings, asking her to talk about domestic trivia was fine, but asking her to talk about such professional things, she simply didn't know what to do.
Completely clueless.
Remembering what Lin Lan had said before, she wanted Lin Lan to help together.
Lin Lan felt a surge of joy in her heart. "Really?"
Aiya, truly someone bringing a pillow just when she was sleepy. She was just worrying about her family's insufficient work points and wanting something to subsidize them, and this good thing delivered itself to her door.
She smiled and said: "This is a good thing. After sun-drying the dried sweet potatoes, the men will plow the land and plant wheat, and we women won't have any heavy work, so it's the perfect time to organize learning."
She listed out one, two, three, four, five for Dong Huaihua: what to do first, what to do later, first talk to a small group of women, and then expand to the unmarried girls.
At the same time, they could also rehearse programs and propagandize in the brigade or even other villages during the slack farming season.
"The best thing is to add performances. Singing opera, singing songs, dancing, doing the yangge dance are all fine. Don't we have zhiqing? They have people who can sing and dance, and Teacher Huo can play instruments. When the time comes, the loyalty dance will be danced, and various songs will be sung. In winter, the commune members are bored and prone to causing trouble. We take turns going to propagandize to them, they'll be more than happy."
She spoke with clear logic and reason, making Dong Huaihua listen with a look of disbelief, as if she were cultivating immortality.
Dong Huaihua grabbed Lin Lan's hand and couldn't help but say: "Lin Lan ah, tell me, how are you so capable? It's truly like you've become a different person."
Lin Lan smiled and didn't speak. If you were a bit bolder, I'd let you guess it.
She said: "People ah, once they've thrown caution to the wind and seen the light, many things become transparent."
The more Dong Huaihua pondered it, the more she felt these words were interesting. She had thought of it herself but couldn't express it. From then on, these words became her golden quote for advising many women who couldn't think things through.
The two discussed for a while, and Lin Lan asked: "Director, then if we do this, will we get subsidized work points? Will we get money?"
She came for this, she couldn't forget the main business.
Dong Huaihua laughed heartily: "Subsidies, yes, even if others don't get them, you definitely have to get them. I originally have ten points, I'll make yours up to ten points too. If we have to go out of the village for extra propaganda sessions, there will be extra money."
Lin Lan was happy. "We just want grain, money doesn't matter."
If they had grain, her family wouldn't have to go hungry, and the children could continue to study with peace of mind.
Otherwise, Erwang was already anxious, worrying all day that the family would go hungry at any time, wondering if he should just let dage and Sanwang, these two who didn't like studying, drop out.
With her thoughts cleared, Dong Huaihua pulled Lin Lan to find Han Yongfang. "Party Secretary, the task from above is to propagandize, but I truly can't handle it alone, let Lin Lan help me."
Han Yongfang had also gone to the commune for a temporary emergency meeting in the morning, so of course he knew what was going on. Director Jia of the commune spoke with spit flying, filled with righteous indignation, demanding that the cadres of the entire commune carry out criticism and self-criticism, launch self-inspection actions, and strengthen learning. At the same time, he demanded that propaganda work to guard against hooligan elements be carried out throughout the commune.
He personally had long felt that this propaganda was actually very necessary. Between zhiqing, between zhiqing and commune members, between commune members, and even those who acted like hooligans—anyway, young people were full of vigor, or single men and women, it was easy for accidents to happen.
The captain of the Yellow River Brigade was arrested by the public security bureau a few days ago because it was found that he used his position to seduce and rape dozens of female zhiqing and female commune members over several years. The impact was truly too bad.
Han Qingsong personally led people to arrest him, and then sent him directly to the county revolutionary committee to discuss his sentencing.
In the middle of the night yesterday, an urgent document was issued: death penalty.
This was like a bomb that instantly blasted the grassroots cadres out of bed in the middle of the night, and they were notified to go to a meeting early this morning.
"Okay, resolutely cooperate."
Dong Huaihua said a few words and then asked Lin Lan to supplement.
Lin Lan spoke a bit, but didn't steal Dong Huaihua's thunder. Anyway, she just wanted to earn work points and money, and didn't want to be any women's cadre.
Being responsible for mediating the trivial conflicts of every household all day long, she couldn't stand it.
Han Yongfang nodded repeatedly as he listened. "This idea is not bad."
Dong Huaihua asked about the work points and subsidies again. She also pondered Lin Lan's meaning, thinking that Lin Lan wanted work points and money and wasn't interested in being a cadre, which was just right.
Han Yongfang then said: "How about this, your work points will be twelve points, and on days with propaganda, an extra ten points will be added. There will be at least one propaganda session every five or six days. When it matures later, you can also go to other brigades to propagandize, and then discuss with them about giving money or grain."
Lin Lan was very happy and asked again: "Party Secretary, then when we propagandize and organize performances ourselves, inviting teachers and zhiqing, how will their remuneration be calculated?"
Han Yongfang was also considered experienced. During the New Year, he would also organize yangge dancing, stilt walking, and the like. He said: "Adults get ten work points a day, children six work points. If you perform outside the village and get grain and money, you figure out how to distribute it, I won't manage that. We don't need to set this in stone either, let's see the effect first. If it's good, there will definitely be more work points in the future."
Lin Lan was so excited she was about to bubble. Work points ah, grain ah, money ah!
However, she was also worried that others would be unconvinced. After all, there were people in the village who had been to school for two years and knew a few characters. Hearing there were work points, they would definitely want to snatch the opportunity too.
Han Yongfang said: "Don't be afraid. After so many years, everyone has weighed their own worth. Whoever sticks their head out, I'll scold them ruthlessly!"
Lin Lan: ... The party secretary is domineering!
Dong Huaihua also told her not to worry. "You proposed this matter first, of course you have to participate. They'll just be jealous, but they won't be able to say a single coherent thing, what use are they?"
She also entrusted Han Yongfang to notify every production team captain, asking them to brief the commune members about this matter when going to and leaving work, so everyone would cooperate more actively when the time came.
Han Yongfang agreed to all of it.
Leaving Han Yongfang, Lin Lan wanted to go find Han Qingping and Teacher Huo to talk, but was pulled back by Dong Huaihua.
"Let's go, let's do a task first." She gave a meaningful look.
Lin Lan instantly understood she was talking about Liu Xiuyun and Zhiqing Chen.
Lin Lan didn't really want to go. This wasn't a good thing; it was equivalent to tearing open someone's scandal to their face. The parties involved would either fly into a rage out of humiliation and hold a grudge, or be so utterly disgraced that they would develop a rebellious mindset and threaten suicide.
The key was that she wasn't a cadre.
Dong Huaihua was vigorous and resolute, ignoring Lin Lan's many concerns. She pulled Lin Lan to write a large notice first. The content was about the brigade's physiological hygiene propaganda, with the persons in charge being Dong Huaihua and Lin Lan.
"Let's get the name out first, let them know in advance."
After posting the notice, before it was time to get off work, Dong Huaihua led Lin Lan to find Liu Xiuyun.
Liu Xiuyun had asked for leave these past few days, cooking at home, not stepping out of the main gate or the second gate.
Xiuyun's niang was also at home, currently advising her guinv. Hearing Dong Huaihua's voice, she quickly stopped talking and came out to welcome them.
Seeing Lin Lan was also there, she was stunned for a moment.
Dong Huaihua said: "Saozi, don't overthink it. Sister Lin Lan is not a talkative person. She knew early on but didn't say anything."
Xiuyun's niang breathed a sigh of relief, carefully looked outside, closed the courtyard gate, and instantly looked full of sorrow. "Director ah, you have to think of a way to advise this child. Tell me, why is she so stubborn?"
Dong Huaihua then asked what the plan was.
Xiuyun's niang whispered: "Originally, I told her to secretly take her saozi's booklet to the county hospital to abort it, but she was soft-hearted and couldn't bear to. Tell me, this foolish child, isn't this asking for her life." Saying that, she started wiping her tears.
Dong Huaihua patted her hand. "Let's talk about the main business first."
Xiuyun's niang sobbed. "Sigh, even if she wants to abort it now, I'm afraid it won't work. She went to the county hospital..." Saying that, she glanced at Lin Lan, "The doctor said her body can't handle it. If she aborts it, she's guaranteed to have a massive hemorrhage. If it's light, it will ruin her health, she'll never be able to get pregnant again, and won't be able to do heavy manual labor. If it's heavy, it might, it might be two lives lost... Tell me, tell me what to do, isn't this, isn't this asking for my old life?"
Dong Huaihua said: "What did that man say?"
Xiuyun's niang started sighing again. "This foolish guinv ah, she'd rather be beaten to death than say who it is. I'm so angry I really want to just ignore her. But I'm also afraid her die will find out and beat her to death alive. Tell me... sigh!"
With Liu Guifa's temper, if he knew his guinv had done such a thing, he would guaranteed beat her first before saying anything else.
She was both afraid her man would find out and hateful that her guinv had done this and was still protecting that man. It was truly going to anger her to death.
Lin Lan hadn't expected Xiuyun's niang still didn't know who the scumbag was. She whispered: "The man is easy to find, it's nothing more than these few men of similar age. The key is what to do when he's found. Should we arrest him or..."
"Of course, of course we can't arrest him!" Xiuyun's niang reacted strongly. "Director, Qingsong's xifu ah, if you can help find out, can you, make him hurry up and marry Xiuyun ah. If this continues, lives will be lost ah."
Arresting him would be equivalent to making it public, they couldn't afford to lose that face ah.
She was so anxious her face was sallow, her whole body lacked strength, and she couldn't even speak clearly.
Lin Lan, however, felt that Zhiqing Chen definitely wouldn't want to marry Liu Xiuyun.
Marrying meant Zhiqing Chen would have to take root in the countryside, never able to return to X Island, only able to take root in the countryside.
Although the zhiqing didn't know if they could return to the city or when they would return, there were always people who managed to return to the city through connections, illness, or family members retiring.
This meant that although there was no policy allowing zhiqing to return to the city in large numbers, there were still ways to go back.
Those willing to marry commune members were basically those with bad backgrounds, whose families were broken and dead, who believed it was impossible to return to the city in this lifetime, and who had already given up on themselves.
So the zhiqing all secretly kept an eye out. Anyone with ideas wouldn't marry a commune member.
Chen's parents were both employed, and he had younger brothers and sisters at home. When the time came, if one of his parents retired and let him return to the city to take over the job, he could go back.
So he was resolutely unwilling to marry Liu Xiuyun.
Lin Lan also knew the original plot. Although many zhiqing couldn't bear the loneliness and started families with commune members, later when the zhiqing returned to the city, the cities didn't recognize these marriages and didn't accept the rural wives and children to settle down. They then abandoned their wives and returned alone, starting new families and careers.
The TV drama "Sinful Debt" was about this.
Dong Huaihua said: "Saozi, don't worry. How about we talk to Xiuyun?"
Xiuyun's niang truly had no other way and could only entrust it to them.
After all, she was just an ordinary woman. She loved her child but had limited worldly experience and didn't know what was most appropriate. She also had to consider her man's temper and the family's face. These days had simply been hellish torment.
As Lin Lan expected, although Liu Xiuyun was kind and quiet, she was too kind and innocent, one could say so ignorant it was somewhat foolish.
She absolutely refused to say who the man was.
Dong Huaihua directly threw out Zhiqing Chen's name. She was stunned for a moment, then immediately shook her head, lowering her head and tightly twisting the corner of her clothes, saying it wasn't him.
Lin Lan advised her: "Xiuyun, originally you could have aborted it, but since your body doesn't allow it, you can only get married. If you don't get married, what do you plan to do? When your belly gets big, the whole brigade will hold a meeting to struggle against you? Let your die, niang, and the whole family be pointed at and gossiped about along with you?"
Long live love, long live freedom—those were products of a special environment. On this land, there had never been such a thing as freedom of love.
Furthermore, Zhiqing Chen didn't have love for her at all. He just couldn't bear the loneliness and found an ignorant and easily deceived girl to vent on.
"But, but, I can't, I can't ruin him ah. He has a bright future..." Liu Xiuyun couldn't say anything, just lowered her head and shed tears. "He, he said after returning to the city, he, he would come back to pick us up."
Dong Huaihua couldn't help but speak out of anger. "Return to the city? Return to what bullshit city. Without the brigade's stamp, what city can he return to? He has a bright future, so you don't? The old Liu family deserves to be unlucky? Your die, niang, older brothers, and saozi deserve to be unlucky and lose face along with you?"
Liu Xiuyun's small face instantly turned as pale as paper, unable to say a single word.
Lin Lan couldn't bear to criticize her harshly. After all, ignorance, weakness, and kindness were originally her strengths, but now they had become sharp weapons hurting her, which was cruel enough.
She always had a bit more tolerance for women.
Finally, Dong Huaihua pulled Lin Lan: "This matter isn't just Xiuyun's own business, it's our village's business. If it spreads, our Shanzucun won't be able to hold our heads up outside, and in the future, when taking a xifu or marrying off a guinv, we'll be pointed at and gossiped about."
When village cadres went to the commune, they would be teased and laughed at by other cadres. Just thinking about it was shameful enough.
Lin Lan: "Let's go find Zhiqing Chen."
After work, they found Zhiqing Chen and asked him to go to a quiet place to talk.
Zhiqing Chen still smiled playfully, wanting to flirt a bit, but seeing their faces as cold as ice, he could only be cautious.
Dong Huaihua: "Zhiqing Chen ah, you and Xiuyun are dating..."
Zhiqing Chen's face immediately changed, glaring angrily and saying: "Director, don't you spit blood and falsely accuse people. I am a zhiqing who keeps himself clean. Your commune member got a big belly and you blame me? This is too absurd, do I not want face? You insist it's mine, have Liu Xiuyun come confront me, see if she has the nerve to say it's mine? The person involved doesn't even dare to say it's mine, how can you do this?"
Seeing his face, Lin Lan really wanted to go to the commune to report him, have him arrested, and paraded through the streets!
"We haven't even said anything, how did you know she has a big belly? How did you know we're blaming you?" Lin Lan sneered.
Zhiqing Chen immediately raised his hand and swore, "I swear, I have nothing to do with Liu Xiuyun. We just spoke a few words and had a slightly better relationship, but we definitely didn't date, let alone make her belly big. Who knows who she was indiscreet with? Don't pester me, I'm leaving."
She had seen shameless people, but never someone this shameless!
Lin Lan's shrew attributes erupted. She went up and slap, slap, slap, gave him several slaps across the mouth, beating him so hard he was instantly dazed.
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