The brigade headquarters of Lijiapo is located at the east end of the village. It consists of three mud-brick houses and a spacious courtyard in front of the door. There is a century-old locust tree with a large copper bell hanging on its forked branches.

In the past, if there was anything that needed to be called to a meeting, we would just ring a copper bell, and everyone would come.

Now that we have loudspeakers, copper bells are rarely used anymore.

However, when it's mealtime, the old and young men would gather under the big locust tree, each holding a bowl, squatting down to eat, and chatting about things happening in the fields.

The brigade headquarters was very simple. Newspapers were pasted on the mud walls, along with a portrait of Chairman Mao and a Party flag.

Inside the room was a two-meter-wide table, several chairs with peeling paint, and a wooden bed with brick legs, which was used by the brigade cadres to sleep on duty at night.

Li Jin tapped the table lightly with his right hand. "Although Xiang Dong and the others are a bit mischievous, I know they wouldn't dare to lie. Recently, there have been far fewer vagrants whistling in the county. Our village is about ten miles from the county seat, not too close, not too far either."

“That’s right. A person who doesn’t plan for the future will have trouble in the present. If these vagrants don’t cause trouble in the city, do you think they’ll really behave themselves? Our village is close to the county town; it’s only a 20-minute bike ride to get there. We have to be careful!” Wang Zhenbo replied worriedly.

Wang Zhenbo was around forty years old, wearing a blue liberation cap, a pair of tortoiseshell glasses on his nose, and his blue shirt and black trousers were neat and clean.

He was an educated man who had attended high school, but he was unable to go to university because he came from a wealthy peasant family.

His family was small; there were only two or three families with the surname Wang in the village. During previous political movements, Wang Zhenbo was often criticized and beaten, which instilled in him a cautious and prudent personality.

Later, Li Jin returned to the village and promoted him to be the brigade accountant. Over the years, he has gradually gained some status in the village and dared to speak up when something happened.

"Damn it! Those little brats, we'll kill them when we catch them!"

Li Kang, the village's militia company commander and security chief, slammed his fist on the table, his eyes wide with anger.

Li Kang was Li Jin's cousin. He was a chubby and sturdy man with a round head, hair standing on end, big eyes, thick lips, and hands like large palm fans. Wherever he patted, a red handprint would be left.

“I’m thinking that we should mobilize the militia in our village and form a joint defense team to take turns patrolling at night, so we won’t have to worry about the vagrants causing trouble,” Li Jin said slowly.

"I'll go and gather the militia right now!" Li Kang stood up and was about to leave.

"No rush, we need to think this over carefully," Wang Zhenbo stopped Li Kang.

"What are you thinking about? I'm telling you, Lao Wang, you always procrastinate!"

“Kangdi, how many times have I told you not to act impulsively! Listen to what Zhenbo has to say.”

“Our village has two production teams, 120 households, and a total population of over 690. There are 13 militiamen, all young men in their early twenties. It’s certainly no problem for them to form a joint defense team and patrol every night. But have you thought about it? These are the able-bodied men from each household. They have to earn work points during the day and patrol at night. They can do it for a day or two, but no one can stand it for long.”

Wang Zhenbo's mind raced as he explained to Li Kang.

After hearing this, Li Kang was no longer in a hurry. He scratched his head and said, "Work points are worthless now, and every household is struggling to get enough to eat."

If this further delays the young and middle-aged laborers from earning work points, no one can do it.

"What idea do you have now? Tell me quickly!" Li Kang urged Wang Zhenbo.

“I was thinking, why not form six teams, with two militiamen leading each team, plus two older brothers in their forties or fifties, and a few teenagers like Xiao Erzi (Li Xiangdong), Gou Shengzi (Li Guoqing), and Xiao Douzi (Li Xiangjie)? They would be perfect. Two teams a day, one patrolling in the first half of the night and the other in the second half, working in shifts every three days. This way, we won’t miss the farm work, and our bodies can handle it.”

Wang Zhenbo was writing and drawing on the back of his child's leftover workbook with a fountain pen in his hand.

"We can't let everyone work for nothing; we need to give them work points as a subsidy," Wang Zhenbo continued.

How to fix it?

Work points in Lijiapo are worthless now. In a good year, one work point can be worth seven or eight cents, but in a bad year, one work point is only worth one or two cents.

A man in his prime, sweat dripping down his feet, toils away to earn ten minutes a day. He might earn seven or eight cents if he's lucky, or one or two cents if he's not. He has to think twice before even thinking about getting a two-cent cigarette. It's all for his family, their basic needs, social obligations, his children's schooling, and his parents' medical care. They all depend on this little bit of money to make ends meet.

“The adults make up five work points a day, and the boys make up three,” Wang Zhenbo said, looking at Li Jin.

He can offer suggestions, but the real decision-makers are Li Jin.

Li Jin pondered for a while, then said, "Let's set the work points like this! Our village isn't big, so we don't need too many people. Two adults and two boys per team will be enough. We'll patrol until the autumn harvest is over. We'll see how things go then and decide whether to continue."

"Let's set clear rules first: who can join the joint defense team? That way, we can avoid competition among those who can't participate. We also need to determine how to patrol regularly, so that no one takes work points without doing any work!" Wang Zhenbo said.

“I think we should let everyone sign up, and those who sign up can take turns. Anyone who doesn’t work in their own shift should be penalized with work points and publicly criticized over the loudspeaker,” Li Kang said.

“That’s a good idea. Let’s all keep an eye on each other. Safety in the village is the most important thing. It’s not just about preventing these vagrants, but also about preventing petty theft. This way, if anyone finds someone slacking off, the work points they’re fined won’t be taken by the team; they’ll all go to the person who found them,” Li Jin decided.

Wang Zhenbo and Li Kang went to discuss the details of forming a joint defense team, while Li Jin strolled out of the brigade headquarters with his hands behind his back.

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