It was as if the old man Jin Aiguo had vanished into thin air; he never came to see Ye Beiping again.
Thinking that the old man had forgotten about him, Ye Beiping felt much more relaxed. The old man's playful nature was something most people couldn't handle.
This peaceful period lasted for two months.
Just as Ye Beiping was making a little money from selling old electrical appliances, several police cars and jeeps suddenly drove into Pingba Village, completely shattering the village's tranquility.
"Beiping, Beiping, someone is looking for you." Village chief Wu Guangfa led a group of people to Ye Beiping's courtyard.
Everyone was very curious when they discovered that Ye Beiping was tinkering with some old household appliances.
One of the policemen stepped forward and asked, "Are you Ye Beiping?"
Realizing what was happening, Ye Beiping looked up and saw a group of people standing in front of him. He immediately stood up and said, "Yes, I wonder what business the police officers have with me?"
The lead policeman took out his badge and said, "I am Chen Haisheng, the director of the county police station. I am here today to present you with this certificate of merit."
"A certificate?" Ye Beiping was a little confused. He didn't seem to have done anything good.
The most recent good deed was saving Chief Jin Aiguo, but two months have passed. Isn't it a bit late to award him a certificate now?
Wu Guangfa was the first to react, shoving Ye Beiping and saying, "Beiping, hurry up and thank the leader."
It's incredibly rare to find a police chief in such a remote and impoverished area.
People usually tremble when they see a lowly policeman, let alone such a big shot.
Ye Beiping pursed his lips, accepted the certificate from Chen Haisheng, and said, "Thank you, Director Chen."
Looking at the words on the certificate, it's no different from the kind of "Good Citizen" award.
Suddenly, Chen Haisheng asked in a low voice, "Ye Beiping, I heard you know a military region leader? This award certificate was specially given to you by that leader."
Military region commander?
Commander?
Ye Beiping immediately understood who it was and roughly knew the origin of the certificate. His lips twitched: "Director Chen, actually this matter has little to do with me; it was the leader who..."
“I understand.” Chen Haisheng patted Ye Beiping on the shoulder and said, “If you need anything in the future, you can come to the county town to find me. Our police station has given you special permission to enter and leave the county town as a reward. In addition, there is a bonus of one hundred yuan, which will be awarded to you by the newly appointed secretary of your commune.”
"Bonus? The commune's newly appointed secretary?" Ye Beiping feigned ignorance.
After that night, the commune will definitely have a new leadership team. Someone of Jin Aiguo's stature would act swiftly and decisively.
The award certificate was not issued until two months later, which means that the entire case must have been thoroughly understood before the award was given.
Investigations take time, and Ye Beiping understands that.
Just as he was thinking, a middle-aged man stepped out from behind him and greeted Ye Beiping: "Hello, Comrade Ye Beiping, I am Cao Hua, the newly appointed secretary of the commune."
He then introduced the two people next to him: "This is Zhou Mingquan, the newly appointed commune director. I won't introduce the other one; he was formerly the militia company commander, Hou Yongping, and is now the newly appointed brigade secretary. I heard you two are from the same village."
Hou Yongping, who was being introduced, smiled broadly, as if a pie had fallen from the sky.
Ye Beiping was also somewhat surprised, and nodded hesitantly: "Uncle Yongping, congratulations on your promotion."
The moment these words were spoken, the entire room fell silent.
Decades later, saying this in private would be fine. But in the 1970s, when thinking was more rigid, saying such things had a sarcastic feel to it.
As the saying goes, officials should serve the people, not become officials for the sake of promotion.
It is obvious that Ye Beiping's words violated a taboo.
Seeing everyone's expressions, Ye Beiping realized what was going on: "Just kidding. Uncle Yongping and I are quite familiar with each other. We like to joke around, hahaha."
Hou Yongping forced a smile and laughed along with everyone.
"Don't go around saying that, or you'll get into trouble." The newly appointed commune secretary, Cao Hua, seemed rather humble and amiable. He patted Ye Beiping on the shoulder with a smile and said, "This time, Comrade Ye Beiping has purged the bad apples in the commune. As encouragement, our commune has specially approved a reward of one hundred yuan. We hope that Comrade Ye Beiping can continue his efforts and serve the commune."
As he spoke, he took out a stack of ten-yuan bills from his bag and handed them to Ye Beiping.
Seeing the money, Ye Beiping naturally wouldn't refuse; he was short of cash right now. More than two months had passed, and while others might not have noticed anything, he visited Su Xinyi almost every day and could clearly feel his lower abdomen was starting to swell.
I reckon the truth will be out in a few days, and I'm really worried about it.
I did earn a few hundred yuan repairing old appliances. There aren't many appliances in this rural area anyway, so I'd already made most of what I could earn.
If Su Xinyi needs to spend money on pregnancy and childbirth, a few hundred yuan is simply not enough.
"Thank you, Secretary Cao, thank you." Seeing the ten ten-yuan bills, Ye Beiping was extremely pleased, accepting the money as if he were robbing someone.
Everyone watching burst into laughter.
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