"What are you bragging about? You know nothing!"
A slap hit the young man's head hard and swiftly, causing him to stagger and almost fall off the bench.
"You son of a bitch, you don't know the importance of things after having a good life! When I was in junior high school, I couldn't even afford white rice! Half of a steamed rice box was sweet potatoes! You couldn't even bring more dried pickles. Your mother-in-law (grandmother) felt sorry for me and fried the dried pickles with oil, but your grandfather scolded me, saying that people who don't work have no right to eat such good food! These are all things that I, your old man, have experienced personally, and you son of a bitch actually said that it's so exaggerated! Reading all day is like reading your pig brain into a dog stomach!"
The man cursed harshly.
It's not that I really hate my son for what he said just now, it's just the unspoken rule in the countryside. If I beat and scold him enough, others will not care about it. If I treat him lightly, I may be criticized by others behind my back.
Everyone has a scale in their heart, sometimes it weighs fairness, sometimes it weighs mood.
So some people around tried to persuade them, saying that it was enough, it was enough, and that Wawa did not mean it, and that the curse of "son of a bitch" had a bit of the meaning of killing one thousand enemies and losing eight hundred of your own.
The man shut up angrily and stared at his stupid son with a lingering anger.
Peng Daren, the chairman of the People's Congress of Qianfu Town, who had been silent, spoke up, "This brother is right. Those years when we were studying were indeed difficult. I am older and have not been to high school. Some comrades in the town have talked about it before. They went to the teachers' school and high school in Dongjiang County. It was more than 70 kilometers away. They had to walk and could not afford to take a car. They had to stay at a classmate's house for a night on the way."
He recalled, "In the summer, it was okay. The heat was bearable. But in the winter, it was torture. These poor students couldn't even afford a pair of warm cotton shoes. They had to wear cloth shoes or Jiefang shoes. The frostbite would grow up to their knees! Those years were really annoying!"
Hearing this, everyone nodded, immersed in the sufferings of the past, and then a sense of pride and honor rose in their hearts for having survived the suffering.
"Have you ever thought about a question?"
In the silence, Huo Qianli suddenly said: "Why did this young student say such a thing? Why does he think everyone is bragging?"
"Why else? I'm lucky and have never had to endure any hardship!"
"He is just a little older. He was born almost 2,000 years ago. Although Murakami was poor at that time, it was much better than before!"
"These little kids have never experienced hardship. They take everything for granted and have no idea how hard it is to have these good days now!"
"Speaking of which, I plan to give that unlucky guy in my house a hard education. How about letting him eat sweet potato porridge for a month?"
"That's too sweet. It's just right for soothing the throat!"
Everyone spoke up and expressed their own opinions. Their general meaning was similar, that children nowadays have never experienced hardship.
Huo Qianli said: "Then let me ask another question, why can children nowadays not suffer that hardship?"
Everyone was stunned. What kind of question was this?
Isn't this obvious? Now that I have money, of course I don't have to suffer that hardship!
They say that, but is there really any family who can afford to support a child but still deliberately skimps on the money?
How could cadre Huo, such a smart man, ask such a question!
Most of the villagers looked puzzled, but many of the smarter ones began to think about the deeper meaning of it.
It's very simple. Cadre Huo is a smart man, and smart people don't ask stupid questions. If you think this question is stupid, then it's probably because you are stupid.
As for Mr. Cai, Xiao Yao and others, they all looked thoughtful.
Huo Qianli did not wait for everyone's answer to this question, but started talking directly.
"In the past, people's lives were hard, and they fought over trivial matters that seem ridiculous now. Why? Because those things were valuable. For example, if you only had one sweet potato to live on, you would have to eat the skin and drink the water used to cook it."
"There are many reasons why people don't fight for it now. There are no people in the countryside, and the land is all abandoned, so there is no point in fighting for it. Fertilizers are popularized, so who cares about that little bit of farmyard manure? Now that people have money in their pockets, they don't care about small things anymore. There are various explanations, but none of them are comprehensive."
"No matter how time changes, things are still the same things, bamboo forests are still bamboo forests, and chicken shit is still chicken shit. Why don't people fight over them? Because we've made the cake bigger, and everyone can get more. When everyone can get a big basket of sweet potatoes or even more every day, no matter what means they use, who would care about the sweet potato peels?"
Huo Qianli looked at everyone and said, "The job of our government is to try every possible way to make the entire social pie bigger, so that everyone can get as much as possible. This is the meaning of development."
His expression suddenly became serious, and his tone rose quietly. "During this process, there will inevitably be bumps and bruises. I hope that everyone will not delay the development of the overall situation for those small bumps and bruises. As long as the pie gets bigger and everyone gets more benefits, will those things still be a problem? Will you still fight over a few cents or dollars now?"
"Just like the fight in the bamboo forest a few days ago, think carefully, are these things really worth it? When people talk about the fights over land and bamboo forests, and even the fights over chicken shit, they all find it absurd and ridiculous. If we can develop in the future, will people at that time also find it absurd and ridiculous to see people fighting over a few hundred yuan? If we really lose limbs because of something like this, isn't it unfair?"
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