Village Chief Guo continued, "Listen carefully, everyone. Now I will read out the list of those who, according to reports from our villagers, have made false statements, spread rumors, and maliciously slandered others: Wang Zhaodi, Hu Xiangxiang, Li Dazui, and Zhang the Widow. These four individuals made false statements and maliciously defamed Comrade An Moxue, a former educated youth. They are hereby punished with cleaning the pigsty for a month, and must give a self-criticism on the stage at the village assembly every week. Furthermore, they and their families will not be eligible for this year's selection of outstanding villagers and outstanding families. If the labor is not completed on time, the punishment will be doubled."
An Moxue stood below the stage, somewhat bewildered. She hadn't realized she was involved here. She'd have to ask Aunt Guo later what was going on and what had happened.
After Guo Xiwang read out the list of punishments and the details of the punishments, the four of them were dumbfounded. So this meeting was just to talk about them? They immediately started making a scene below the stage. Li Dazui shouted, "Why? I was just chatting for a bit, what's wrong with that?"
Several people echoed this, and Village Chief Guo said, "You're not convinced? If you're not convinced, we'll have the militia arrest you and send you to the town. Let's see how the town will handle you in this situation. At the very least, you'll be paraded through the streets, and you might even end up on the farm. The punishment is already considered lenient in our village, and you still don't know how to repent. Do you four accept this or not? Will you obey our orders? If you don't, that's fine too. I'll submit your names to the town, and let them handle it."
The four men immediately wilted and dared not utter a sound. Everyone knew that if this situation were to occur, they would be paraded through the streets of town and might even face labor camps.
What's the situation outside? They actually know in their hearts, but they're used to the quiet in the village, so they think there's nothing going on and just chat a bit to have some fun.
Seeing that the four men were listless and no longer speaking, Village Chief Guo said, "Alright, that concludes the main business of today's meeting. After the meeting, you four should go to the pigsty to work. No slacking off is allowed. I will send someone to supervise you. Everyone should do the same, keeping an eye on each other and preventing them from slacking off. That concludes today's meeting. Meeting adjourned."
After the meeting ended, the villagers left one after another. An Moxue found Aunt Guo and asked, "Auntie, what's going on? This sounds like it has something to do with me. How come my uncle and the others are so helpful!"
"It's nothing, it's just that they're always talking badly about you in the village. They've been saying really nasty things these past few days. Your uncle said that they just happened to be shortlisted from higher up, and they didn't have any typical examples to choose from, so they just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. From now on, anyone who does this will be dealt with the same way. They can't fail to meet the quota, so everyone has to be careful and behave themselves. Anyone who doesn't behave will end up like this. If the offense is serious, they'll be sent to the town to be paraded through the streets and sent to a labor camp so they can talk nonsense all day long."
"You're so kind! Auntie, thank you so much! Please go back and secretly help me thank my uncle too!"
"Oh, it's nothing, isn't this what we should do? Eradicating bad practices is our villagers' inescapable responsibility."
An Moxue gave a thumbs up, "Auntie, you have such a high level of thinking."
“That’s right.” Aunt Guo held her head high, like a proud rooster.
"Mo Xue, let's go back together. I'll explain what I know again, and you can listen to see if there's anything wrong with it."
"Study hard and make progress every day, okay?"
"Humility leads to progress, while arrogance leads to downfall. We should always remember this principle, right?"
"All reactionaries are paper tigers. Yes, Auntie."
...
The two women followed closely behind the village committee members, spouting nothing but quotes from great leaders, leaving those walking nearby bewildered. They even managed to stop bystanders who wanted to chat with them from getting closer.
They turned a corner and arrived at a secluded spot. The two burst into laughter, then looked around furtively like thieves. After looking at each other, they stared at each other, then joined hands and ran away quickly, their steps light.
After the village meeting, the villagers became noticeably more cautious in their words and actions. When they met, the questions were always the same: "Did you memorize it today?" "How many lines did you memorize?" "Study hard and make progress every day. Where are you going?" "Sigh, I don't really know it. I'll find someone to teach me."
Even casual chat areas have become places for reciting quotations. There are fewer arguments and fights. Some people are even reciting quotations at work.
The villagers all look forward to excelling and becoming advanced role models, with awards as their goal. As a result, disputes have decreased, families are more harmonious, and the work of the village committee has become easier.
The village officials saw the benefits and implemented the policies without any compromise, resulting in unprecedented harmony in the village.
When the county officials came for a surprise inspection, they arrived at the school gate just as the students were taking a break between classes. Even their children's rhymes were quotes from Chairman Mao's works: "I love reading Chairman Mao's books the most, I read them a thousand times, ten thousand times, I put in the effort, I carefully understand the profound truths, and I feel warm in my heart. Ah, it's like a timely rain in the parched land, the seedlings are covered with dewdrops. Chairman Mao's rain and dew have nourished me, and I'm full of revolutionary enthusiasm..."
The staff were pleasantly surprised. Upon entering the village, they found several elderly women who were not working gathered together, doing needlework and reciting proverbs. The little children were even more adept at mimicking the words, always starting their conversations with a proverb.
After walking through most of the village, there was no noise or commotion, only a thriving and prosperous scene.
This is the village I'm most satisfied with out of all the villages I've visited; it must be an advanced village that can serve as a model.
The villagers were unaware that a huge surprise awaited them because of their efforts.
By the time the militiamen on duty found the village chief, and the village chief found the county's surprise inspection team, they had already walked through most of the village and were becoming more and more satisfied with what they had seen.
When the staff asked the village chief how he managed the village, the chief's answer pleased the leaders even more: "I closely follow the national policies and do whatever the leaders tell me to do."
When the leader immediately decided that Anle Village would be the advanced village this year and set it up as a model, Village Chief Guo could not contain his joy and his mouth was practically stretched to his ears.
The village chief arranged for people to quickly kill a chicken, cook meat, and serve rice, making sure the surprise inspection team was treated to the best of their ability.
After seeing the inspection team off, the village chief spoke over the loudspeaker about the selection process, urging everyone to keep up the good work. The villagers were greatly encouraged and their confidence soared.
A sense of collective honor is very important to everyone, and An Moxue was deeply moved.
Being with taciturn people will make you silent; being with sunny people will make you cheerful; being with positive people will make you diligent.
An Moxue felt that being with the villagers made her feel a sense of collective honor. She felt that she had grown up and learned diligence, hard work, ambition and optimism from these villagers.
Poverty cannot stop them from moving forward. Given the opportunity, they will bravely forge ahead, unafraid of wind, frost, rain, or snow.
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