Faced with immense temptation, Zhao Minglang struggled internally. Zhao Mingyue, looking at her third brother, naturally understood his feelings, but no matter what, she couldn't give up on this matter. If she did, she wouldn't be the only one suffering the consequences.
The whole family remained silent. Zhao Mingyue felt the atmosphere was a bit oppressive, so she wanted to go for a walk. Hu Nianchun called out to her, "Mingyue, it's almost dinner time. Where are you going?"
Zhao Mingyue said, "I'll be back in a little while."
It was already autumn, and the late rice harvest was complete. The fields were filled with bundles of straw, which belonged to the public. Some were kept for cattle, and the rest were distributed to each household according to the number of people, used for bedding, roofing, and firewood—they had a wide range of uses. In a few years, no one burned straw anymore; everyone burned coal briquettes and gas. People found it troublesome, so they simply burned the dried straw in the fields, creating towering flames and thick smoke that blotted out the sun, causing considerable pollution.
Zhao Mingyue walked along with her head down, and before she knew it, she had reached the village entrance. She was startled awake by the sound of a bicycle bell, and realizing where she was, she looked somewhat bewildered, then suddenly smiled silently. The bicycle bell rang twice more, and Zhao Mingyue turned her head to find Shen Xuyue standing there. She flashed him a wide smile. That smile melted Shen Xuyue's heart; she had finally seen him. He got off his bicycle and asked, "Where are you going?" His tone unconsciously carried a hint of intimacy.
Zhao Mingyue shook her head: "I didn't go anywhere, just took a walk, didn't expect to end up here. Secretary Shen, where did you come from?"
Shen Xuyue said, "I just got back from the commune. What's wrong? Something's on your mind?"
Zhao Mingyue looked at Shen Xuyue, lowered her head, and remained silent for a long time. Shen Xuyue stood quietly beside her, waiting for her to speak. Zhao Mingyue finally spoke, "It's nothing."
Shen Xuyue knew she probably couldn't say it aloud, so he didn't press her for details. He simply asked, "Going home?"
"Um."
The two walked back slowly side by side.
Zhao Mingyue said, "Today..."
Shen Xuyue said, "I..."
The two spoke at the same time and couldn't help but laugh. The laughter lightened the atmosphere, and Shen Xuyue said with a smile, "You go first."
Zhao Mingyue said, "Today the brigade director came to my house and said he wanted to recommend my third brother to work in the coal mine."
Shen Xuyue said in surprise, "Has the document reached the brigade? I heard about it at the commune meeting today, but I haven't seen the document yet."
Zhao Mingyue asked, "How are such situations usually handled in the village? Is it decided by one person, or is it discussed and decided by the village committee as a whole?"
Shen Xuyue was stumped by the question. It was true that Zhao Jinyun often made the decisions alone in these matters. Although the village party secretary was the top leader of the village, Shen Xuyue had never acted arbitrarily. Everything was discussed and decided upon together. Usually, Zhao Jinyun would propose something first, and if no one objected, Shen Xuyue would agree without bias. To be honest, he wasn't particularly capable. It wasn't that he couldn't or didn't want to be capable, but in this environment, as an outsider, he could only diligently do his job. Now, being asked by Zhao Mingyue, he suddenly felt uneasy and a little uncomfortable. Would she look down on him because of this?
Zhao Mingyue said, "Secretary Shen, do you think it's okay for us ordinary people to elect people we trust to be our leading cadres?"
Shen Xuyue had already heard that Zhao Minglang was secretly working on a joint letter. He could understand their desire to oust Zhao Jinyun, so he turned a blind eye. After all, Zhao Jinyun's backer had fallen, and he no longer had the confidence to drag everyone out and accuse them of being counter-revolutionaries. "Of course you can."
Zhao Mingyue laughed, "Thank you, Secretary Shen." Shen Xuyue's words naturally indicated that he was on her side. After a while, she added, "Recently, many of the educated youth in our brigade have gone back. Secretary Shen, are you going back too?"
Shen Xuyue sighed: "I don't know yet, let's wait for the instructions from above."
Zhao Mingyue knew that Shen Xuyue's father was only exonerated in 1978, making his return to the city significantly more difficult than others. "How many years has it been since Secretary Shen went home?"
Shen Xuyue gave a wry smile: "I haven't been back since I came here from the countryside. There's no one at home, and my family's situation doesn't allow me to return to the city."
Zhao Mingyue smiled helplessly. What kind of era is this? She comforted him, saying, "Now that the Siren Gang has been destroyed, life will slowly return to normal. There will be a day when things will go back to normal."
Shen Xuyue smiled gratefully: "I hope so."
The two walked and talked, and soon arrived at the village. Zhao Mingyue turned into a small path and said, "I'm going home now. Goodbye, Secretary Shen!"
"goodbye!"
When she got home, her family was already waiting for her to eat. Zhao Minglang was also sitting at the table. The two siblings looked at each other and Hu Nianchun said, "Mingyue is back. Let's eat. We've been waiting for you."
Zhao Mingyue washed her hands, sat down at the table, and looked at her third brother. She wanted to ask but didn't dare, afraid of hearing an answer she didn't want to hear. Zhao Minglang smiled and said, "Mingyue, I'm not going."
Zhao Mingyue breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "Brother, I think you'll be much more successful in the future than if you were a coal miner."
Zhao Minglang shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Don't try to comfort your brother. The reason I'm not going is that I don't want to bow down to Zhao Jinyun. We should still have some backbone. I can't just forget all the 'sticks' just because he gives me a piece of candy. I haven't even settled accounts with him for framing you yet. We can't let this kind of scum get away with it so easily."
Zhao Mingyue laughed and blurted out, "Third Brother, I admire you so much."
Zhao Minglang was stunned for a moment, then his face turned red: "What do I have to admire? Let's eat. After we eat, we'll go to the third team to talk to someone. Dad, go and tell Zhao Jinyun for me that I'm not going to the coal mine. Just say I don't want to dig coal."
Zhao Shunsheng said, "Okay."
After this recruitment incident, Zhao Mingyue and Zhao Minglang were even more motivated. They wanted to persuade people to sign and leave their fingerprints as soon as possible. With Zhao Jinyun's offer of bribes, their persuasiveness was even stronger. By early November, Zhao Minglang had obtained two hundred signatures. He handed the list to Shen Xuyue and requested a village-wide meeting. In fact, the village was also scheduled to hold elections at the end of December, but they couldn't wait even a day longer; they wanted to remove Zhao Jinyun from power as soon as possible.
Soon, a village meeting was held, attended by all members aged 18 and above, to discuss the appointment and removal of Zhao Jinyun. More than one-fifth of the villagers demanded Zhao Jinyun's removal as village head. The entire village was required to vote; if more than half agreed, Zhao Jinyun would be forced to step down. Knowing that a vote was necessary, Zhao Jinyun took a chance and privately promised many people benefits if he wasn't removed from office.
It's all because Zhao Jinyun is a petty person who has become powerful. He abuses his power and acts arrogantly. This meeting has almost become a criticism meeting for Zhao Jinyun. His crimes over the years have been listed one by one: bullying men and women, abusing his power for personal gain, condoning evil, bullying the weak and taking advantage of the strong... He has taken the little power he has to the extreme.
During the criticism meeting, Zhao Minglang skillfully introduced the original village head to contrast with Zhao Jinyun. As a result, everyone felt that Zhao Jinyun was a piece of dog shit. When the vote was held, 80% of the villagers raised their hands to vote to remove him. Zhao Jinyun was powerless to change the situation and finally became a thing of the past.
That evening, the people re-elected the original director. The kind-hearted director had served everyone for many years, and his contributions were evident to all. If it weren't for Zhao Jinyun, he would still be in that position.
After Zhao Jinyun was dismissed by everyone, the meeting was canceled, and he left with his head down and tail between his legs.
Zhao Mingyue had been observing the entire meeting and finally breathed a sigh of relief when everything was settled.
When Zhao Jinyun stepped down, the people of Moon Bay breathed a sigh of relief, as if the dark cloud that had been hanging over their heads for so long had finally dissipated. Zhao Jinyun stayed at home for three days without going out. On the fourth day, the production team leader came to his house and said to him, "Master Zhao... Old Zhao, you haven't been to work for three days and haven't asked for leave. This is a bit against the rules."
Zhao Jinyun had been drinking heavily at home for the past few days, his eyes bloodshot, his beard unshaven, and his eyes filled with sleep—a far cry from his dignified image as the production team leader. Upon hearing the production team leader's words, he shouted, "What are you yelling about? I'm not feeling well, what's wrong with taking a few days off?"
The production team leader said, "If you're not feeling well and can't work, you should ask for leave. If you don't ask for leave, you'll be criticized and denounced. You're the one who set these rules." Originally, their village didn't have this rule; you didn't get work points if you didn't work. But after Zhao Jinyun took office, he established a new rule: if you were absent from work without cause for more than three days, you would be taken away for criticism and denunciation.
When Zhao Jinyun heard that it was her own rule, she felt a little proud, but she said, "I'm not the director anymore, what are my rules worth?"
The production team leader thought to himself, "Your rules are all nonsense," but said aloud, "The new rules haven't been released yet. Once they are, we'll follow them. For now, we have to follow the old rules, otherwise what you said before will really be just like a fart."
Zhao Jinyun was furious: "Zhao Laosi, you're just a production team leader, what makes you so arrogant? You're acting like you have a big authority!"
The production team leader was displeased: "If everyone were like you and didn't go to work, would we all be eating shit? From now on, we're going to change the rules and distribute grain mainly according to work points. You can come or not, it's up to you. That's all I have to say, I'm leaving."
Zhao Jinyun was so angry he was practically spitting on the production team leader's retreating back. But when the morning came, he still obediently went to work.
This is the off-season for farming, so the work is not so intense. The main tasks are turning the soil, weeding, storing fertilizer, and burning ashes to make fertilizer in preparation for next year's production.
When Zhao Jinyun arrived at the field, he picked up a hoe, hoeed a couple of times, then straightened up, put his hands on the hoe handle, and started bragging to the people next to him. He talked about his various experiences in the county and commune, what important people he had met, and what delicious food he had eaten at meetings. He talked with great enthusiasm.
Those around him listened but few dared to chime in. When someone can’t help but boast about past glories and the splendor of their ancestors, that person is practically a useless person. They can no longer find value in their present existence and can only find solace in past vanity, which is a very sad thing in itself.
Zhao Jinyun was a scoundrel who was notorious for shirking his duties. Before he became the director, he had always gotten by like that. After he became the director, he hardly ever worked in the fields. While others were busy working, he was either in a meeting at the commune or wandering around the fields with his hands behind his back, calling it "supervising the work."
Now he's back to his old ways, ready to make a living as a rogue. After three days, the scorekeeper told him, "Old Zhao, have you been feeling unwell lately? We always see you resting with your back in your arms. Everyone thinks you might be unwell, so we're going to re-evaluate your work points. From now on, you'll be recorded as eight points per day."
A typical full-time laborer earns twelve work points, while eight points are for women and also for some sick or weak men. Upon hearing this, Zhao Jinyun felt furious that everyone was treating him as an old, weak, sick, or disabled person, but he couldn't admit that he wasn't sick: "I've just been feeling a little unwell these past two days, I'll be fine tomorrow."
The scorekeeper said, "Okay, we'll talk about it tomorrow."
The next day, the production team leader assigned everyone to collect manure, and asked Zhao Jinyun to carry manure. This work was dirty and tiring, and Zhao Jinyun had never done this kind of work before. He immediately wanted to quit. The production team leader said, "Some of our comrades are picky about the work, avoiding the hard tasks. This is a characteristic of capitalism, and we must reform and correct it."
These words completely blocked Zhao Jinyun's escape route, leaving her with no choice but to bite the bullet and go pick up manure.
Everyone felt incredibly pleased to see Zhao Jinyun humiliated. Although Zhao Jinyun gritted his teeth in hatred, he dared not say a word. These were words he often used to provoke others; the production team leader was simply giving him a taste of his own medicine. He could only silently harbor these grudges, hoping that some political movement would one day bring about a public denunciation of these peasants until they were unrecognizable. Unfortunately, his good days never returned.
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