A Reconnaissance Account of the Soviet Area (Part 1)

Ruijin, Jiangxi.

There was a faint glow on the horizon, the flame of the oil lamp swayed from side to side, and two figures were projected onto the mottled wall.

"Report, Lu Wei just went to the cooperative chicken coop."

“Chicken coop? There’s a market today, he might go to the market to sell eggs. You go directly to the market and keep an eye on him. Make a careful record of everyone who has interacted with him today.”

"yes!"

As the first rays of dawn shone on the open space of the market, the distinctive sour smell of livestock could be smelled from afar. Farmers led their cattle, horses, mules, and donkeys, entering the market in an orderly fashion, row by row, under the stern gaze of the market manager, Xiao Li.

Uh-uh-uh-uh-uh

A gray donkey, for some unknown reason, stopped at the entrance. Crack, crack… the whip lashed its body repeatedly. The donkey brayed pitifully twice, then lay still, its face contorted in pain. Its owner, calling out "Neigh, go!", strained to pull the reins tighter.

Laughter erupted from all around, and the owner was so frustrated that his face turned red and he was almost falling to the ground, but the stubborn donkey shook its head and wouldn't budge.

It wouldn't budge, and wouldn't move no matter what you did; it just blocked the way. The farmers queuing behind it got impatient. Some were banging gongs, some were cursing, some were shouting, and some were making a ruckus, turning the place into a complete mess.

In this extremely urgent situation, the administrator rushed forward to help the owner pull the donkey, but compared to the donkey's strength when it was throwing a tantrum, the two of them couldn't budge it at all.

"You can't do it like this! Xiao Li, help me get this basket." A burly man in military uniform stepped forward and handed a basket of still-warm eggs to the administrator, Xiao Li, for safekeeping.

He rolled up his sleeves and discussed with his master. They each took one side and moved the troublesome donkey to the side. The newcomer seemed to have ill intentions. Perhaps sensing the danger, the donkey snorted and kicked out with its hind legs.

Almost simultaneously, someone suddenly jumped out, pulled the burly man backward, and shouted, "Watch out!"

The two men fell heavily to the ground, eliciting gasps from the crowd who rushed to help them up. Once steadied, the burly man clasped his hands in thanks to the man who had saved his life, saying, "Thank you! Ah, it's Old Zhang! That stubborn donkey is really tough; we'll get him sooner or later."

The man who rescued the person was in his thirties, wearing black-rimmed glasses. He was so thin that you could see his sunken eye sockets and sharp jaw. There was a noticeable rattling sound when he was breathing, as if he had a lung problem.

"You're so impulsive. You even argued with the donkey. If you get hurt, our base will lose a fierce general." The man patted the burly man on the shoulder and lectured him.

The burly man was none other than the target of surveillance—Lu Wei. He smiled憨厚ly, took the basket of eggs from the administrator, Xiao Li, and tucked it into his pocket like a treasure.

"Good morning, Director Zhang." The administrator greeted the man with a smile and a salute.

"Good morning, Xiao Li. I'll talk to you later. Go and take down two sections of the fence over there, so everyone can get to the market on time." Director Zhang ordered the two young soldiers beside him, "Go and help take down the fence so the villagers behind can get in."

Before long, people passed through the dismantled fence, some driving piles, others setting up stalls, creating a bustling scene.

Under the shade of a tree, Xiao Li listened attentively to his leader's instructions, head bowed. During the brief pauses in their conversation, the market had already become packed with people. Their target, Lu Wei, didn't go to the market; instead, he went to the donkey owner's stall.

The master raised his whip high, and the stubborn donkey brayed loudly. At this moment, Lu Wei grabbed his wrist: "Brother, don't argue with a beast. If you hurt its skin, you'll have to find a veterinarian to treat it."

The owner's imposing manner softened upon seeing the smiling, burly man before him. He introduced himself as Awang, a villager from Meihua Village in Zhuangyuan Town, who had come to the city's market to sell his donkey, hoping to get a good price.

During the conversation, Director Zhang and the administrator Xiao Li also came over to chat. While talking, Awang fed the donkey beans and hay. Unexpectedly, the donkey turned its back to its owner, and its ungrateful behavior was really annoying.

"Awang, how old is your donkey?" Manager Xiao Li stroked the donkey's head. The donkey looked at him and was very docile this time, without any resistance.

"It's over three years old and still hasn't been bred." Awang glanced at the gray donkey with regret.

Xiao Li glanced back at Director Zhang, and encouraged, asked, "Hey, this is a young donkey, and it looks healthy. There's only a little over a month until harvest, which is the perfect time for donkeys to pull millstones and carry wheat. Why are you selling it?"

Upon hearing this, Awang sighed deeply. "The rope always breaks at its weakest point," he said. "Every family has its difficult times. My father passed away last week, and he hasn't even been buried yet. My mother, worn out from overwork, has also fallen ill and is lying in bed groaning. And my wife is about to give birth; we'll need to find someone to deliver the baby."

Funeral arrangements, medicine prescriptions, hiring a midwife, and feeding the family of three—money is needed everywhere. Even the donkey, no matter how important, is not as precious as a person. The more Xiao Li listened, the more his brows furrowed. He scratched his head and ran to the director's side, looking completely bewildered.

Before Director Zhang could speak, a loud female voice interjected, "Women's production is under the jurisdiction of our Women's Federation!"

The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw a short-haired young woman clinging to the fence. She was wearing a dark blue floral blouse with a red belt around her waist, and a shiny Mauser pistol was attached to the belt.

She swiftly and decisively vaulted over the fence: "I'm Zhang Chunmei, an officer from the Women's Federation. Just call me Chunmei. If your wife is about to give birth, come to our Women's Federation to register her due date, and we'll provide her with a free doctor to deliver the baby."

Xiao Li seemed to have thought of something as well, and stepped forward to say, "If there is a shortage of people for the old man's funeral, we village cadres can all lend a hand. But funerals are for the living, so I suggest we do what we can. As for the money, it would be best to save it for the old lady's medical treatment."

Chunmei shook her head and said, "You don't need to sell the donkey to raise money for medical treatment. It will affect production too much! If you are in a hurry, I will go and find a doctor for you right now. Our doctor can treat anything. When he examines your wife, he can also treat your aunt."

"Really? Thank you so much!" Awang excitedly grasped Chunmei's hand and shook it, having finally resolved a major problem. "But... what is a due date? How do I register it? I... I can't read, can I still put my fingerprint on it?"

“It’s alright, come with me, I’ll take you there.” Chunmei led the way in a hurry, and Awang, grateful, tried to pull the donkey. The most amazing thing happened: the originally stubborn gray donkey rubbed its hooves on the ground and followed its master with a “clattering” sound.

Xiao Li was dumbfounded. Pointing at the donkey's big rear end, he exclaimed that the donkey must have become a spirit, knowing that he wasn't going to sell it, it ran faster than anyone else.

All things have a spirit. Director Zhang explained that although it couldn't speak and was an animal, it was very clever and no different from a human!

If we encounter this situation again in the future, we shouldn't be too rigid in our thinking. We should first divert the flow of people to avoid stampedes.

Then go and ask the villagers about their difficulties. Those who sell livestock and poultry before the end of the year almost all have unavoidable difficulties. They are also new Party members, but look how well Chunmei has done.

"Xiao Li, from now on, take the initiative to care about the masses, learn more from advanced Party members like Chunmei, and be brave in criticism and self-criticism." Lu Wei said these nice words, and Xiao Li nodded and went into the market.

Watching Xiao Li leave, Lu Wei casually slipped two eggs into Director Zhang's pocket. Director Zhang was taken aback for a moment, then immediately took out the eggs and returned them to Lu Wei, waving him away and telling him to hurry up and sell the eggs instead of doing such sneaky things.

“Zhang Hairui, Zhang Hairui, do you really think you’re Hairui? You even scolded Xiao Li for being rigid, but you’re even more rigid than him. It’s just two eggs, meant to nourish your body. When your lung disease flares up, you cough so painfully.” Lu Wei insisted on giving them to him.

As they were shoving each other, Director Zhang's smile vanished, and he said sternly, "Take it away, take it away, don't smash it. These are all eggs laid by the cooperative's hens. All the produce belongs to the collective. How can you use them to do favors?"

“I know it belongs to the collective, but your situation is special. As the vice chairman of the Agricultural Committee, I am awarding you two eggs as a subsidy on behalf of the organization,” Lu Wei said in a serious tone.

"Who do you think you are as a representative? Don't cause me any trouble. Be careful, or I'll expose you for damaging public property during the life and study meeting." Perhaps seeing that Zhang Hairui was a little angry, or perhaps because he had the task of selling eggs to do, Lu Wei stopped insisting and dejectedly blended into the crowd.

As the sun rose high in the sky, a wave of heat rose from the dry earth, and the market was drawing to a close. Villagers who had bought good deals walked out with smiles on their faces, carrying their overflowing bamboo baskets, while the buyers happily packed up their empty carts.

The streets were filled with a cheerful atmosphere. Lu Wei, carrying an empty basket, found a roadside teahouse to rest. There were many villagers around chatting and drinking tea.

"Hey, have you heard? In Xiawan and Zhongtang counties, everyone in the county government compound disappeared overnight, and the gates of the compound are all locked."

"Really? I don't have any relatives there, so I don't know. Maybe they went out for training together. The old and young people in our village committee are always in meetings and studying."

"Possibly, but I heard they've had another disaster, I wonder how many more people will starve to death."

"It's really strange. Ever since the land was distributed, the central government has been sending cadres to teach everyone how to grow seedlings and even distributing new seeds. Our village has had a great harvest this year. Why do their fields keep getting damaged by disasters? Did some scoundrel offend the City God?"

"Who knows? Their ancestral graves probably weren't even properly buried. They're all heavy opium addicts who can't quit and can't do any work. If my aunt hadn't married into that family, I wouldn't have bothered to ask."

"No wonder, it would be strange if an opium addict could farm well."

What was said in jest was taken to heart by the listener. Lu Wei downed the tea in his bowl, put down a penny, and left the teahouse, deep in thought. But he hadn't gone far when someone suddenly pulled him into a back alley and disappeared into the crowd.

The gray donkey was tied up in the livestock shed. Perhaps attracted by the noise, its big eyes would occasionally glance toward the stage, and it would absentmindedly eat a few mouthfuls of dry grass from the stone trough.

The villagers, who were blocking the road in three or four circles, were staging a tragedy on the stage. The woman, Guihua, had married a lecherous gambler who gambled and frequented brothels. Her husband, Huang Er, was unproductive, and the family often went hungry.

After the family fortune was gambled away and the land was mortgaged, the husband set his sights on Guihua. However, Guihua was also from a poor family, and her only dowry, the embroidered quilt, had long been squandered by him.

But he didn't care. He would beat her if she didn't give him money. In the end, he took Guihua's only winter pants to keep warm and used them as a pawn item. He gambled away all his money and eventually lost everything.

When Huang Er returned home and heard his children crying, he cursed the bad luck and vented all his resentment about losing money on his wife and children. Without thinking twice, he grabbed Guihua and beat her severely. Guihua was too weak to resist because she was hungry, and she was beaten unconscious.

The next day, when she woke up, the house was eerily quiet. Guihua was horrified to find that her child was gone. She dragged her battered body to look for her child, but from the villagers' sympathetic eyes, she seemed to understand something. She sat by the field and wailed. In the dead of winter, Guihua was cold and hungry, and fainted by the roadside.

Halfway through the play, parents with children in their arms held them tightly, as if afraid their children would be gone at any moment. The innocent toddlers stared wide-eyed, looking around. The audience stopped whispering and all strained their ears, watching the actors' next move intently.

When Guihua woke up, an even darker abyss awaited her. She found herself chained and locked in a dark, damp wooden house with the windows nailed shut.

She wasn't the only woman in the room; there were seven or eight other women, dressed in rags, locked against the wall. In her moment of bewilderment, the door opened, and two fierce-looking men dragged her out like a pig.

Once outside, she realized she was in a gambling den. Among a group of ruthless gamblers, she saw her husband and instinctively cried for help, but her cries were quickly drowned out by the gamblers' noise.

The thug slapped Guihua across the face, forcing her to face reality: her husband had sold her to a gambling den, and she was now a plaything for the guests.

When Guihua refused, the thugs broke her legs without consulting her first, then brought in five thugs to harass her inside the house. They were all corrupt and shameless; the husband gambled outside while Guihua suffered humiliation inside.

The audience fell silent, until suddenly someone threw a piece of rotten vegetable leaves onto the stage. This act was like a breach in a dam, and a torrent of angry curses against the scumbag instantly flooded the stage.

Stones, rotten eggs, and rotten vegetable leaves flew everywhere, and the actors quickly left the stage when they saw that things were going badly.

Zhang Chunmei, who had been waiting backstage, handed a piece of paper to the announcer. The announcer pursed his lips, and with Chunmei's affirmative look, read out the words on the paper.

"Dear fellow villagers, please put away your belongings now, you can throw them away later. We are about to perform the final act - good and evil will be rewarded in the end, it's just that the time has not come yet."

When the curtain rose again, the stage was empty, prompting questions from the audience. A few seconds later, four handcuffed men were brought in, all wearing black hoods, clearly guilty of something serious. Leading the group was Lu Wei, who wore a red star on his head and looked utterly righteous.

The audience was amazed by the realistic scene and applauded. Just then, Chunmei went to the front of the stage and waved for everyone to be quiet. She walked to the man on the far left and suddenly pulled down his hood. It wasn't the actor who had played the husband earlier.

"Fellow villagers, you may be wondering why we changed actors at the last minute. Actually, this is the real Huang Er!" As soon as Chunmei finished speaking, the audience erupted in uproar, and the tearful drama instantly turned into a public trial.

Hearing everyone's various speculations, Chunmei calmly explained that the plays they had just performed were adapted from real events, but Huang Er's evil deeds were not limited to those depicted in the plays.

After squandering all the money he got from selling his wife, he hired some thugs to embolden himself and went to his in-laws' house to falsely accuse Guihua of adultery, saying that she had run away with another man with their child. In order to compensate him, his in-laws had to marry his ten-year-old sister-in-law to him as a child bride.

Although the father-in-law was a scoundrel who smoked opium, he wasn't stupid. He sold his daughter to earn "bride price," enough for him to smoke for a while, while the gambling addict Huang Er clearly had nothing. So the father-in-law gathered his two sons and a nephew, and the two groups immediately started fighting.

To their surprise, the father-in-law's nephew was also an opium addict and was physically weak. He was punched by a thug and never woke up again. With a death in sight, they immediately scattered like birds and beasts.

Just now, the Soviet government was dividing up land in those villages. The fields were full of cadres sent down from the central government to work in the villages. News of this spread very quickly, and the village chiefs could no longer keep it a secret, so they had no choice but to report it.

After a thorough investigation by the security department, seventeen women trapped in the gambling den were rescued. They had all been sold to that horrific place by their husbands, fathers, or even fathers-in-law.

After several more days of pursuit, all those involved in the case were apprehended. According to the laws of the Soviet area's land reform, their land was reclaimed, and they were sentenced accordingly. Their behavior would be assessed after their release.

"Hey, what's the big deal? It's just selling women. A few words of criticism are enough. You want to put them in jail? You only dare to lock up ordinary people like us." An old man with white hair said sarcastically.

“Old comrade, you have eyes that can see a thousand miles, you can foresee everything.” Chunmei said as she pulled down the second person’s hood.

This is He Le, the former head of Guihua's village, though he is no longer the head. Chunmei took out a printed sheet of paper with a red seal and read out He Le's charges.

During his tenure, He Le neglected production, smoked opium, gambled, forced women into prostitution, and condoned his subordinates' violent debt collection. As a public official, he knowingly broke the law, seriously damaging the image of the Party and the Soviet government. Based on the report from the township Soviet government and with the approval of higher authorities, He Le was expelled from the Party, dismissed from public office, and sentenced to death, to be carried out immediately.

"He Le, do you plead guilty?" Chunmei handed the verdict to He Le, who was already terrified. "It's alright if you don't plead guilty, Comrade Lu Wei, please carry out the execution immediately."

Lu Wei was startled and asked with wide eyes, "No, sister, you didn't tell me beforehand! You only asked me to help escort the prisoner."

“Comrade Lu Wei, you are a veteran who has been through countless battles. What’s a problem for you to kill a criminal? Here, take the verdict.” Chunmei smiled slightly and handed the verdict to Lu Wei without saying another word.

The thin verdict now felt as heavy as a thousand pounds. The angry villagers around him shouted, "Kill him! Kill him!" Lu Wei's hands trembled uncontrollably, and sweat dripped from his forehead down his neck.

state!

After the unexpected gunshot, a bizarrely conceived corpse appeared on the stage. Chunmei blew on the smoking gun barrel, glanced at Lu Wei, and teased him meaningfully: "What are you afraid of? It's just killing a scoundrel, not asking you to kill your accomplices."

"Nonsense!" Lu Wei roared, realizing his loss of composure, and quickly explained that he didn't want to waste bullets; he wanted to save them for fighting the White bandits.

"You stingy fellow," Chunmei muttered, then turned to the old man below and said, "Old comrade, are you satisfied now? To be honest, we really can't achieve equality between officials and the people, because our Soviet government enforces the law more strictly when dealing with those who hold public office."

The old man in the audience awkwardly turned his head away and started puffing on his pipe. Meanwhile, the rest of the crowd cheered loudly.

"Quiet down, folks! Don't you all want to know who the other two are?" After everyone quieted down, Chunmei pulled down the hoods of the remaining two people. "One of them is a gambler, and the other is Guihua's father. Why don't we let Guihua herself tell us what good deeds they've done?"

Guihua, the victim, staggered into the gambling den with the help of another female cadre. In her early twenties, she was ravaged like an old woman. She tearfully recounted her experiences in the gambling den, where she was only given one leftover meal a day but had to serve twenty or thirty customers. She was treated worse than an animal, and the man was the one who came the most.

"I paid money, and I'm not even married." The man showed no remorse and continued to shout defiantly. Perhaps to make up for his earlier lapse in composure, Lu Wei kicked him in the back to shut him up.

"It's just a matter of lifestyle. All single men are like that. A few words of criticism are enough. You're making a mountain out of a molehill," the white-haired old man interjected.

“Bullshit, don’t let him represent all men. We Bolsheviks don’t think like that,” Ruwei said, straightening his shirt.

“Old comrade, if you think this kind of man is normal, would you be willing to marry your daughter or granddaughter to him? If so, choose one of the two, and I will help them get their marriage certificate.” Chunmei pulled Huang Er over and made him kneel down next to the customer.

Caught in a dilemma, the old man stammered, "Well... sure, as long as he can afford the bride price."

"Oh, I see. Then give me your address and I'll have the township officials register your name. Oh, I almost forgot, this man has been diagnosed with venereal diseases, and not just one." Chunmei covered her mouth and nose, giving the man a disgusted look.

“Go away… go away, we, we are an honest family.” The old man immediately changed his tune.

"You see, you don't want to either," Chunmei said with emotion, which was met with a burst of laughter from the audience.

“One has a venereal disease, and the other is a beast. Of course I don’t want this, but family scandals shouldn’t be aired in public. If you’re unlucky, don’t come out and embarrass yourself. What kind of woman is it to show her face in public? If you have to blame someone, blame your bad luck.” The old man shouted confidently.

A chorus of boos rose from the surroundings. Two elderly women rushed forward to grab the man, but were pulled away by those around them. Still unable to contain their anger, they threw the eggs at the old man, the egg whites sticking to his gray hair, which looked quite ridiculous.

Seeing this, Chunmei snatched the megaphone from the announcer and loudly proclaimed, "Bad luck? Well, what a coincidence! Our Communist Party is here to help everyone defy fate and change their destiny!"

You think it's fate that the landlords and rich people bully you, that you were born into the wrong family. Well then, we'll overthrow the local tyrants and evil gentry, and let everyone get land so they can be self-sufficient.

The bandits bullied you, and you thought it was fate, that you were born in the wrong place, not in Shanghai, Tianjin, Beijing, or Guangzhou, to live in a big city. Well then, we'll drive the bandits away, make them tremble at the sight of the red star, and restore peace to everyone.

Now, a beast is bullying an innocent woman. According to the consistent policy of our Party, where there is injustice, there will be resistance.

Which girl is born to be a prostitute or a sex worker? Is that their fault? No! They should have been our class sisters, but they were pushed into the fire pit step by step by their fathers and husbands.

Whether they are clients of prostitutes or those who sell their wives and daughters, they are not real farmers. Those who participate in this industry are learning from landlords and becoming new oppressors. They are all murderers who force good women into prostitution, and murderers should be tried.

Now, in order to protect the rights and interests of women and children, our Soviet government has specially updated the Marriage Regulations. Men and women enjoy equal rights. Women are not livestock that can be bought and sold at will, but human beings. In the future, if there are cases of marriage buying and selling, or husbands having affairs with other women, they will be reported.

The People's Government shall declare the marriage invalid. Afterwards, the two shall have no further connection with each other's funerals, weddings, or other matters. The woman who is the oppressor shall be subject to three months to one year of re-education through labor. During the re-education period, her land use rights shall be revoked. If she repeatedly fails to correct her behavior, the re-education period shall be extended, and she shall permanently lose her land use rights.

"Married men can't do whatever they want, but you can't control what happens to single men, can you?" The old man seemed to be deliberately being argumentative.

Chunmei retorted, "Old comrade, if you steal something, do you differentiate between stealing a chicken and stealing a cow? You're lucky if you don't get beaten to death."

"You..." The old man was so angry that he couldn't speak, and started smoking his pipe again.

"I'll reiterate once again, dating a woman is illegal! It doesn't matter if she's married or not!" Chunmei shouted, pointing at the crowd below the stage.

We should pay special attention to unmarried men, and if any of them are caught by our Women's Federation engaging in oppressive behavior towards women, they will be put on our blacklist.

For those on the blacklist, every village cadre will read out their names and addresses at the village entrance. We'll also read out whether they have any sexually transmitted diseases. If any young woman wants to marry in the future, Zhang Chunmei can guarantee that the parents will never consider her.

Chunmei changed the subject: "Of course, if it's a hardworking and capable young man, family conditions are not a problem. Our Women's Federation will help you arrange blind dates. A good girl should be matched with a good young man. Men and women working together makes the work easier, don't you all agree?"

"Yes!" Lu Wei was caught up in the moment and was the first to clap his hands in support, followed by thunderous applause that echoed throughout the entire street.

After the legal education conference ended, Chunmei carried a bucket of water to the backstage courtyard. The old man who had been arguing with her earlier told her to slow down, saying that the eggs were perfect for conditioning her hair. He looked so kind and gentle.

"Third Uncle, you've worked so hard. I won't let you play the role of a backward person next time." Chunmei poured water on the old man's head, ladle after ladle.

"It's alright. If I suffer alone and everyone understands the law, then I've done a good deed." The old man smiled without any dissatisfaction. "Hey, Chunmei, someone's looking for you. I'll wash myself."

Following her third uncle's gaze, Lu Wei stood at the courtyard gate and invited Chunmei to eat in the canteen. Chunmei's eyes lit up, and she readily agreed to the invitation.

Shanghai, Xu Residence.

Lying in bed, Wang Renyong held the newly arrived telegram, circling one key name after another, recalling the details of these people's interactions in his mind, but he couldn't figure it out for a while. Lu Wei's interactions with the people around him were extremely ordinary, and there was no indication that he had any contact with the spies.

It seems we need to put more psychological pressure on Lu Wei and make him reveal a weakness.

"Senior brother, senior brother, urgent new telegram!" Xu Xi ran all the way.

Upon unfolding the translated telegram, Old Wang nearly jumped up. What? Lu Wei had escaped!