The county magistrate's words were like a pause button being pressed on a music player; the people of the commune suddenly fell silent.

The county magistrate, the armed forces personnel, and the propaganda department personnel following behind them looked at the commune members with strange expressions.

The commune secretary asked cautiously, "County head, was the one who received the military merit from the Qingshan Brigade? And his wife's surname is Song?"

"Yes! Is there something wrong?" The county magistrate was also quite suspicious.

The commune secretary turned to look at Duan Decai.

Duan Decai was sweating profusely even in the dead of winter.

"Leaders and staff, it's so cold outside, let's go inside and talk," the commune secretary invited everyone inside.

"No, no, we agreed to go directly to Qingshan Brigade. You can lead the way."

"Who are you looking for?" The old man guarding the gate looked at the group of women. "Are they from Qingshan Brigade? I saw them a few days ago."

"We're looking for your leaders. I'm here to ask why the educated youth from our brigade have been locked up." It was Erzhuang's wife who spoke.

Cheng Youfu went back to deliver a message saying that Song Yan had been imprisoned!

The women of Qingshan Brigade are now more united than ever before.

We can't count on the defective products we produced. Aren't there still some materials left? And those that were ruined by dyeing—let the educated youth think of a way to use them.

Song Yan and Li Yuanzhao aren't going back to the weaving group right now, so everyone tries to persuade them to. So what if they're educated youth? They're still part of the production brigade. Once their anger subsides, they'll have to think about the brigade's future. So everyone thinks it's just that the educated youth aren't going back for the time being.

But you can't arrest Song the educated youth now. Everyone has thought it through: Song Yan, Li Yuanzhao, Huang Guoqing, and Pan Bo—not one can be missing.

So when they heard the news that Song, the educated youth, had been arrested, three cartloads of women rushed to Qingshan Brigade. It wasn't that they weren't afraid of officials; it was that they were so desperate for those few dozen yuan. As a result, the women were so quick that they grabbed the horse-drawn carts, and by the time Brigade Leader Wu came out, only the oxcart was left. The oxcart was much slower.

"It's not closed, it's not closed. There's just a slight misunderstanding," Duan Decai said.

Wang Wenjuan grabbed Duan Decai, saying, "It's better if he's not locked up. Let Song Yan out quickly."

"Yes, yes, hurry up and let Song, the educated youth, out," said Sister-in-law Cheng.

The county magistrate realized there was something fishy going on here.

"Who are you talking about?" the Minister of Armed Forces asked.

“Comrade Song Yan, an educated youth from our brigade,” said Cheng Ersao.

It's not closed?

The county leaders didn't believe a word of it. No wonder the people in the commune acted so strangely when Song Yan's name was mentioned.

“These women must be very cold after sitting in the carriage for so long. Comrades of the commune, please find them a room so they can warm up for a while.” The county magistrate did not want to let the matter pass by ambiguously.

Comrade Wei Aiguo was awarded a second-class military merit, and his wife was also commended. If she were to suffer any injustice in their county, it would be a disgrace for him, the county magistrate.

The commune members immediately led the group of women into the meeting room. Because the meeting room was large.

The county magistrate wanted to go with him, but Duan Decai immediately followed. "Sir, please go to another room and have a glass of water first. Rural women don't speak politely, so please don't get upset."

"How dare you talk like that? What's wrong with us rural women? Women hold up half the sky! Why are you looking down on us? What's wrong with us in terms of manners?" Erzhuang's wife was displeased.

“Yes, how can you talk like that? We’ve all learned to be civilized and polite. Don’t you all agree?” Sister-in-law Wei shouted.

“That’s right!” the other women echoed.

"Hey? It's been so long, where's our Comrade Song Yan?" Chen Xiaodong's wife asked.

"I'll go take a look right now. I'll go take a look right now." Only then did Duan Decai realize the enormity of his mistake.

Duan Decai turned around and saw the comrade who had gone to find Song Yan. He whispered in Duan Decai's ear that Song Yan had injuries on his face.

Duan Decai lowered his voice, "Who did this?"

Is it even necessary to ask who did it? Director Duan was so angry just now. If he were just locked up and then released without a fight, would he calm down?

Song Yan was so stubborn just now; he's definitely not someone you can easily talk to. But no matter what, Duan Decai has to bite the bullet and go.

"Comrade Song, you see, this is all a misunderstanding..." Seeing Song Yan turn around, Duan Decai was speechless. There was a clear five-finger mark on Song Yan's face. "Who hit me like that?"

"What's the point of pursuing this? The people in the commune are all at Director Duan's beck and call. You want me to know what's what? Well, here I am." Song Yan was pushed into the room where she was being held in solitary confinement, and the person who brought her there slapped her across the face. Song Yan took the slap without flinching.

When Duan Decai shouted to arrest Song Yan, the first person to come out was one of Duan Decai's trusted men. They knew things had gotten serious. One of them went to the front to hear what the county magistrate and the people from Qingshan Brigade were saying.

Just then, they arrived in a panic. "Captain Wu of Qingshan Brigade and the educated youth are here. That female educated youth who was particularly sharp-tongued last time is leading the way!"...

The county magistrate and the women sat in a circle, all smiles. "Your brigade's educated youth only came to the commune once, why are you all so nervous? So many people came!"

"Oh, how can we not be nervous? Our weaving team doesn't want to fail! We're counting on Song Zhiqing!"...

Once this topic was started, a lot of things came up. Why did Song, a educated youth, come to the commune? Because of Cheng Yi, the hooligan in their brigade! To talk about why he dared to act like a hooligan, they talked about Secretary Cheng of Qingshan Brigade, who had just been appointed and then dismissed.

When Secretary Cheng is mentioned, the women comrades have a lot to say, about the weaving group, about the police…

The county magistrate was furious when he heard this.

"Our captain is here!" someone shouted.

The county magistrate could tell that Captain Wu was very authoritative.

The incident just now was reported by the public. He wanted to hear firsthand what the captain of the Qingshan brigade had to say.

Captain Wu was surprised to meet the county magistrate. He spoke with great tact and always stated the facts.

Li Yuanzhao always got straight to the point, speaking fluently and directly. Unlike Captain Wu, there were certain things the captain couldn't say. Li Yuanzhao concluded by saying that their fellow educated youth, Song Yan, had been imprisoned in the commune.

The county head asked the commune secretary, "Why haven't you let Song, the educated youth, out yet?"

Even the commune secretary was sweating.

When Song Yan stood before the crowd, the women of Qingshan Brigade erupted in uproar. "We're perfectly fine people, how did we get beaten up?"

Song Yan's skin was particularly delicate, so the purplish-blue mark on that handprint was very obvious.

These women all rolled up their sleeves, determined to give the guy who hit Song Yan a good beating.

They wouldn't have dared to do this under normal circumstances. But with the county magistrate right there, he didn't say a word that the people from Qingshan Brigade had made a mistake.

Especially for families like Erzhuang's, which are in dire straits, hurting Song Zhiqing would only make their own lives harder. If they don't vent their anger now, when will they ever get out?

…