Chapter 42
In the farm hospital, Yang Qiujin lay on the hospital bed and slowly opened her eyes.
Last night, a fire broke out in the farm cultural center. The military, farm militia, farm employees and various cadres were all alarmed. Everyone rushed to put out the fire. After learning what Cao Jun and others had done, they were all shocked.
At present, Cao Jun and others have been arrested by the border defense department. They have not been handed over to the local police, but have been asked to assist in handling the case.
Because the case involved a military wife, the situation was extremely serious. Under the instruction of Border Defense Chief Guo Shengrong, Ruan Xiangming insisted that Cao Jun and others were engaging in counter-insurgency and espionage activities, and was determined not to hand Cao Jun and others over to the public security department, lest Cao Jun's uncle use his connections to let Cao Jun escape.
When the farm secretary Zhai Hongbo saw the border defense department taking action, he knew that the opportunity to completely eradicate the cancer on the farm had come, so he cooperated with the border defense department's work. He first accused Cao Jun and others of engaging in counter-terrorism activities, then found other victims and accused Cao Jun of his subordinates on the farm over the years. He then sent a group of victimized female educated youth and Yang Qiujin to the hospital for injury examination and treatment. At the same time, he called the newspaper in the district and asked the reporter to come for an interview after dawn.
At this moment, the small ward was packed with people, including female educated youth, farm cadres, border defense officers and soldiers, newspaper reporters, etc., all waiting in the ward.
Seeing that she had woken up, the female educated youth swarmed around the bed, saying in unison: "Comrade Yang, you finally woke up, how do you feel?"
Chen Tianyou lay beside Yang Qiujin, holding her hand and crying, "Mom, it's all my fault. If I had found Uncle Han earlier, you wouldn't have been injured so badly."
Yang Qiujin was kicked hard by Cao Jun several times, with bruises all over her stomach and thighs, and her cheeks were red and swollen, with five clear finger marks visible. When she left the cultural center, she fainted due to inhaling a large amount of thick smoke, and was rushed to the hospital for oxygen, where she lay there all night before waking up.
Seeing so many people surrounding her, Yang Qiujin realized where she was. She reached out and touched Chen Tianyou's head, "Silly boy, you have done a great job. Your mother's injury is none of your business."
As she was about to sit up, Ren Ying beside her quickly helped her up and leaned her against the head of the bed. She smiled at Ren Ying and said, "Thank you."
He turned to look at the female educated youth and said, "I'm fine, you don't have to worry."
Two reporters with their newspaper and commune work badges were standing at the end of the bed. When they saw her wake up, they started taking pictures of her.
She didn't hide, and said with an extremely weak look: "Please take a better picture of me."
She didn't know who had invited the people from the newspaper, who also brought cameras which were rare in those days. But since the people from the newspaper had come, what happened last night would definitely spread and become a big deal.
She didn't mind the newspaper taking her photo and putting it in the newspaper. She just wanted to make a big deal out of the matter so that Cao Jun's uncle couldn't interfere and Cao Jun and his gang could be brought to justice.
The newspaper reporters were repeatedly instructed by the Border Defense Department and Secretary Zhai to report truthfully about the farm cadres who colluded with bad elements to rape female educated youth. However, they were not allowed to take photos of the victims, nor were they allowed to use the real names of the female educated youths when reporting. They had to use pseudonyms to protect the privacy and rights of the victims.
If Yang Qiujin was willing to take photos and use her real name in the reports, they could report it extensively.
The main reason was that Yang Qiujin had not been involved in any scandal with Cao Jun and others, so she was not afraid to report the rumors. The second reason was that as a military wife and farm worker, if Yang Qiujin's heroic deeds were reported, it would not only benefit her personally, but would also serve as a weapon to punish Cao Jun and others.
Yang Qiujin understood this, which is why she allowed reporters to take pictures of her.
She was so accommodating that the two reporters were a little surprised. The reporter holding a camera raised his camera and said, "Everyone, please move aside a little. I want to take a few more photos of Comrade Yang."
Although the female educated youth all agreed to testify and let Cao Jun and others bring them to justice, they were still young, thin-skinned, and concerned about their reputation. They were afraid that reporters would take pictures of them and publish them in newspapers, where they would be subject to rumors and gossip. That would be more painful than death, so they scattered like birds and beasts and left in a hurry.
After the reporters took a few photos of Yang Qiujin, they asked her about what happened last night as a matter of routine. When Yang Qiujin said there was nothing to say and a look of fatigue appeared on her face, the two reporters finished the interview, talked with Secretary Zhai and several cadres, and left.
Secretary Zhai and several cadres politely sent the reporter away, then returned to the bedside, held Yang Qiujin's hand, and said with concern: "Comrade Yang, you did not care about your own safety, acted bravely, saved a group of educated youth, and removed the cancer of those who were engaged in crooked ways and corrupted the people's comrades all day long. On behalf of the farm, I give you high praise and high respect! You have worked hard! All your medical expenses in the hospital will be reimbursed by the farm. After you are discharged from the hospital, I will hold a commendation meeting to commend you, and at the same time I will give you some bonuses and prizes. I will write a big-character poster about your heroic deeds and post it on the bulletin board under our farm office building so that the farm employees can learn from you."
"Thank you for the award, Secretary Zhai. I am a people's comrade who serves the people. I have only done what I should do. Secretary Zhai, there is no need to praise me so much. I feel unworthy of it." Yang Qiujin saw that Secretary Zhai's face was full of smiles. She knew that she was the beneficiary of this matter, so she responded with a few words in a humorous tone.
"Look, this is a good comrade of our proletarian revolution." Secretary Zhai smiled at the people around him and said meaningfully: "Comrade Yang, the future is promising."
The other cadres had different expressions. As Cao Jun, Ma Gaoyuan, Section Chief Jiang and other cadres formed a network, vacancies appeared in various positions on the farm. Yang Qiujin came from a good family, her husband was an army officer, she had a junior high school education, and she had done such heroic deeds. Could it be that Secretary Zhai wanted to promote Yang Qiujin to be a cadre?
No matter what they thought in their hearts, these cadres all smiled and agreed: "Yes, women can hold up half the sky. With a good comrade like Comrade Yang, our farm will definitely prosper in the future."
Yang Qiujin apologized for a while, and after a brief argument with Secretary Zhai and the others, she sent them away and turned to the female educated youth. When asking them to testify, she used tears as her offensive, asking them to say what they should say and cry if they didn't want to say anything. Together with the injury reports of the three bullied female educated youth, it was enough to charge Cao Jun and others with the death penalty.
After everyone left, Yang Qiujin felt that dealing with them was more tiring than working, so she fell back on the bed, breathing in big gulps of oxygen to make herself feel more comfortable.
"Mom." Chen Tianyou, who was beside the bed, touched her head with his little hand with heartache, "Are you still feeling uncomfortable? Do you want me to rub your belly?"
When Chen Tianyou was very young, he always had intestinal colic, and Yang Qiujin would rub his stomach to make him feel better. When he grew up a little, every time he was sick and uncomfortable, he still liked to ask Yang Qiujin to rub his stomach, as if all his pains would be cured as long as his stomach was rubbed.
"Mom, it's okay. Just take a rest." Yang Qiujin saw Chen Tianyou's face was gloomy. She remembered that she had asked him to ride a horse alone to ask for help yesterday. She reached out her hand to wipe the black ash off his face with great distress. "Tianyou, were you scared riding a horse alone yesterday?"
"Scared." Chen Tianyou was afraid that she couldn't reach him, so he moved closer to her. "But I'm thinking about asking my uncle to save my sister and mom, so I'm not afraid of anything."
"Tianyou is awesome! You really saved my mother and sisters. You are the bravest child in the world." Yang Qiujin praised him generously.
Chen Tianyou puffed up his chest proudly. Just as he was about to say something, he saw the door of the ward open and a man walked in. He was surprised at first, then delighted, and shouted loudly, "Dad!"
He rushed to the door and into the arms of the person who came in.
Yang Qiujin struggled to get up and looked towards the door of the ward. Chen Shengqing, dressed in military uniform, came in dusty and exhausted. He reached out and picked up Chen Tianyou with a gloomy face.
"Yang Qiujin, I've only been gone for a short time and you've done something so terrible. Do you want to die?!"
The man had narrow eyebrows and a stern face. He looked extremely fierce as he frowned and spoke coldly.
Yang Qiujin suddenly felt that the expressionless boy who killed the mad dog had returned. She lay back half-guilty and half-fearful, and said weakly: "Oh, I feel my head hurts, my stomach hurts, my legs hurt, everything hurts."
"You deserve it! You overestimated your own abilities. A woman dares to fight with a dozen big men." Chen Shengqing put Chen Tianyou down on the bed with a cold face. Seeing that Yang Qiujin had a bruised face and an oxygen tube inserted in her nose, he felt sorry for her and reached out to touch her face gently.
"It hurts!" Yang Qiujin grimaced.
Chen Shengqing took his hand back and softened his voice unconsciously: "I taught you martial arts and fighting skills so that you can protect yourself, not so that you can attack. If Ruan Xiangming and his men hadn't arrived quickly this time, I don't dare to imagine what would have happened to you."
At this point, his face darkened again. "How dare you let Tianyou, a little kid, ride a horse alone to look for help? How dare you think that a little kid like him has the ability to find people in the dark? If the horse ran away and left the farm and went to the Gobi Desert, or if he fell off the horse and was found by wolves that roamed at night, what I would see when I came back would be the bodies of you two!"
He had just sent the new recruits to the military hospital the previous night, and before he had time to catch his breath, he heard from the communicator that his wife had been in trouble, so he rushed to the farm without stopping.
During this time, he heard the whole story from the accompanying signalman, and the anxiety and panic in his heart were something he had never experienced in his life.
The anxious feeling of losing the whole world made him feel extremely uncomfortable. After seeing Yang Qiujin and her son in good health, he finally felt relieved.
Yang Qiujin felt wronged: "I acted bravely and my body hurts, but you didn't praise me, and you scolded me like this. If there were other ways to save people last night, I would not have done it."
The woman's beautiful and delicate face was still swollen, with palm prints clearly visible on her cheeks. Her watery eyes were filled with tears, and she looked very fragile and pitiful.
Chen Shengqing swallowed back the words that were about to come out of his mouth, his dark eyes surging with emotions. Finally, he sat down beside the bed, stretched out his hands to hold her in his arms, and whispered to coax her: "I'm sorry, Qiu Jin, it's my fault. I was anxious for a moment and my tone was a little hasty."
"Ah, Dad is being a hooligan!" Chen Tianyou saw the two of them hugging each other for the first time and quickly covered his eyes.
Yang Qiujin blushed and reached out to push Chen Shengqing away. What a fool! How could this man hug her in front of the child?
Chen Shengqingsi didn't care about being pushed away by her. She stretched out her hand to pry open Chen Tianyou's fingers and said, "Your mother is my wife, and I am her husband. We are husband and wife. Holding hands and hugging is a legal and normal thing. If I hugged another lesbian other than her, that would be called hooliganism."
"Then if I hug my mother, is that also being a hooligan?" Chen Tianyou seemed to understand.
Chen Shengqing:......
He couldn't help but talk to Chen Tianyou in detail about the various relationships between people. After talking for a long time, Chen Tianyou still looked confused and ignorant.
Yang Qiujin found it funny: "Alright. Stop talking. I'm hungry. Can you give me something to eat?"
"What do you want to eat?" Chen Shengqing stood up, took the empty lunch box on the small table next to the bed, and prepared to go to the cafeteria to get food.
Yang Qiujin thought for a moment and said, "Let's have something lighter. My stomach is not feeling well."
"Okay." Chen Shengqing picked up two empty lunch boxes and tilted his head towards Chen Tianyou. "Come on, son, go get lunch with dad."
"Okay." Chen Tianyou likes to move around. No matter where he goes, he feels happier than staying in the same place.
He walked out happily holding Chen Shengqing's hand. When they reached the door, he turned around and looked at Yang Qiujin for the first time and said, "Mom, you wait for us here obediently. Don't run around. Dad and I will buy you something delicious."
It was rare for her son to be so considerate and not forget about her because he was out playing. Yang Qiujin almost burst into tears: "Go ahead, I'll wait for you."
Chen Shengqing led Chen Tianyou downstairs, where they happened to meet Secretary Zhai and his group. They bought a few net bags of fresh fruits and were going to the ward on the third floor to comfort three bullied female educated youth.
Secretary Zhai was stunned for a moment when he saw Chen Shengqing, then he walked up to him with a smile, "Xiao Chen, how are you? You are well-informed, and you came so quickly."
"Secretary Zhai, I am not well-informed. I didn't even know that my wife and children died in your farm." Chen Shengqing said with a cold face.
"It's because I didn't do my job as secretary well, and Comrade Yang got hurt. I'm really sorry." Secretary Zhai smiled awkwardly, "It's good that you're here. You can take care of Comrade Yang and let her have a good rest for a few days."
He handed a net bag of fresh fruits to Chen Tianyou and said, "Here, kid, take it. This is for your mother. Take it back and share it with your mother."
"Thank you, uncle." The net bag was filled with several brightly colored apples and pears, a bunch of green raisins, and a small bunch of yellow bananas. Chen Tianyou felt the heavy weight falling from his hands, but he did not forget to thank him politely.
Fruits are scarce these days and are not cheap. You can’t get the things in this net bag without three or five yuan.
"How do you plan to deal with Cao Jun and his men?" Chen Shengqing asked straight to the point.
Zhai Hongbo said: "This matter involves military dependents, and it is a serious matter. Cao Jun and others are in the hands of your border defense department. We will naturally cooperate with your work with all our strength and give Comrade Xiao Yang an explanation."
"You only ask for an explanation for my wife, but not for the female educated youth on your farm?" Chen Shengqing mocked.
Zhai Hongbo spoke so righteously, but he just wanted to use the military to get rid of Cao Jun and others without angering the people in the District Revolutionary Committee and causing trouble for the farm.
This cunning old fox is very good at calculating.
Zhai Hongbo smiled slightly: "Let's put things in perspective. Comrade Xiao Yang is not of the same nature as the female educated youth. I have already reported this matter to the Corps and relevant departments. They are sending people to investigate. Once the investigation is completed, Cao Jun and others will be severely punished by law!"
"Secretary Zhai, you'd better be fair and strict." Chen Shengqing's face was cold, with a cold light in his eyes. "If you don't give my wife a satisfactory explanation, I don't recommend taking action yourself."
"This kid is still so arrogant." As soon as he left, the farm manager Lu Xingxian standing behind Zhai Hongbo muttered.
"If he wasn't so arrogant, his current rank would be equal to yours and mine." Secretary Zhai sighed, "Let's go and comfort the female educated youth. This matter still has a long way to go."
Chen Shengqing quickly returned to the ward with two boxes of food. Yang Qiujin saw Chen Tianyou carrying a net bag of fruit and asked in surprise, "Who took this?"
"Secretary Zhai." Chen Shengqing spoke briefly and did not want to say more.
He opened the two lunch boxes, revealing a box of steaming white porridge, a box of cold cucumber salad, and two steamed buns. He placed them on the counter, reached out to hold Yang Qiujin's slender waist, and helped her up to eat.
Yang Qiujin didn't want him to help her at first, but maybe it was because she smoked too much, she felt dizzy and weak, so she sat up with the help of his strong arms, saw the food in the lunch box, and tilted her head to look at him: "What about you guys?"
"We've already eaten." There were only two lunch boxes, and if they didn't eat first, the two lunch boxes wouldn't be able to hold the food for their family of three.
Yang Qiujin said nothing more, picked up the spoon and slowly ate her breakfast.
The food in the hospital cafeteria is really not that good. The porridge is too watery, the cucumber is tasteless and lacks salt. The buns are filled with mutton, and there is a lot of meat, but unfortunately the bun skin is steamed half-cooked and tastes weird.
Yang Qiujin felt she couldn't eat any more after eating just a little, but her innate habit of not wanting to waste food forced her to keep eating, bite by bite.
"Is it because it doesn't taste good and you can't eat?" Chen Shengqing saw that she didn't want to eat anymore, so he poured her a glass of water for her to moisten her throat.
Yang Qiujin took the water, took a sip, and nodded, "Yes, a little."
Chen Shengqing reached out and took the iron box from her hand, and quickly ate up all the leftovers. "The hospital meal doesn't taste very good. I'll try to make you lunch at noon. Tell me what you want to eat."
"Aren't you on patrol? Aren't you going to the border?" Yang Qiujin saw him eating her leftovers, and for some reason, she felt a little embarrassed.
"You and Tianyou almost lost your lives. I have asked my superiors for leave and will stay with you until you are discharged from the hospital."
Chen Shengqing put away the lunch box and went to the washroom of the inpatient department to wash it. When he came back, he saw Chen Tianyou fiddling around by the bed. Fearing that he would disturb Yang Qiujin's rest, he put the lunch box away, took out an apple from the net bag, peeled it, and handed it to him.
Who would have thought that after eating two bites, the boy didn't want to eat anymore, pointed at the bunch of emerald green grapes and said, "Dad, I want to eat this."
Chen Shengqing washed the grapes, cut them in half, and gave them to him and Yang Qiujin to eat.
Chen Tianyou pulled a grape and put it in his mouth, chewing it with the skin on. He squinted his eyes and said, "Mom, this grape is so sweet and delicious."
"If it tastes good, eat more."
The sunshine hours in the border areas are longer than those in Sichuan Province. The summer is full of sunshine and the soil is not so humid. The grapes grown in such a geographical environment are naturally sweeter than those grown in Sichuan Province's rainy climate.
Yang Qiujin tasted one and thought it was good. She cut the grape in her hand into two halves and put one half into Chen Shengqing's hand: "You eat it too. Don't let the child make you suffer."
Chen Shengqing looked at the green grapes in his hand and was suddenly moved. Yang Qiujin was hurt so badly, but she didn't cry to him or complain to him. Instead, she always thought of him. It was hard not to be moved by her strong appearance.
After picking a grape and tasting its sweetness, Chen Shengqing's handsome face relaxed. He stuffed the remaining grapes back into Yang Qiujin's hand and said, "I won't let myself down, and you shouldn't let yourself down for the sake of the children and me. If you ever get into any grievances, be sure to tell me. No matter what the reason is, I will always stand by you and help you out, so you don't have to carry it all by yourself."
Yang Qiujin was stunned. When she realized what he was talking about, her eyes suddenly felt sore. She choked up while eating the sweet grapes in her mouth and said, "I know."
When Chen Shengqing was not around, she had no one to rely on and no one to turn to. She had to be self-reliant so as not to be bullied by others.
Even though she is now following the army to the border and encountering a dangerous situation like yesterday, she only wants to rely on herself.
Now Chen Shengqing's words gave her confidence. Yes, she was not alone now. She had a husband and children. She could try to rely on them and did not have to handle everything by herself.
After eating the grapes, Yang Qiujin felt a little tired. Seeing that she was not in a good mental state, Chen Shengqing asked her to lie down and have a good rest. He pulled Chen Tianyou out of the hospital, rode his horse, returned to the military family compound, and went to the military primary school first. He asked for two days off for Chen Tianyou so that he could have a good rest.
Then he went to a family who raised chickens in the courtyard, bought an old hen, and took it home to stew it into chicken soup. He then gathered some dry clothes and packed them in a cloth bag, put the stewed chicken soup into a thermos to keep it warm, then took Chen Tianyou with him, rode on a tall horse, and returned to the hospital to deliver food to Yang Qiujin.
After three days of delivering meals to and fro, Yang Qiujin finally recovered. She no longer suffered from dizziness and weakness in her limbs, and the doctor announced that she could be discharged from the hospital.
At the same time, Cao Jun and others also got results.
The military intervened in the matter, and Chen Shengqing also used his connections with his comrades over the past three days to put pressure on the local public security department, preventing Cao Jun's uncle from intervening in the matter.
In addition, the incident was reported in local newspapers, causing a huge sensation. Even high-ranking officials in Kyoto sent people to inquire about the matter, and the witnesses and evidence were quickly verified.
Ten days later, the military escorted Cao Jun and others to a military court, where they were convicted of rape, hooliganism, attempted murder, counter-terrorism, espionage and other crimes, and sentenced to death by firing squad.
Cao Jun's family panicked and asked his uncle for help, but his uncle was overwhelmed by the accusations he received in letter after letter. No matter how Cao Jun's family cried, threatened, or tried to gain control, his uncle simply closed the door and refused to let them in.
The incident was too big and had too great an impact. The people of the Ava region and all the educated youth on the farms were waiting for a result.
Cao Jun and others were soon shot. When they were executed, reporters took pictures of the execution, which made headlines, was printed in newspapers overnight, and spread throughout the Ava region the next day.
When people were enjoying bringing bad elements to justice, they could not help but feel sorry and curious about the three female educated youth who were bullied as reported in the newspapers. At the same time, they were also curious about Yang Qiujin, the heroine who was widely reported and promoted for saving many female educated youth from dire straits.
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