Yu Kangri was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly waved his hands, "Director Han, don't, don't joke around."

Han Qingsong looked sullen, "I never joke."

Yu Kangri saw that Han Qingsong was serious, and he got anxious. He stood up and slammed the table, "Director Han, you are too arbitrary."

"Don't you just want me to come? If you have something to say, just say it. There's no need to wait any longer." Han Qingsong sat opposite Yu Kangri with his back straight, his face so cold that there was no warmth at all.

Yu Kangri hesitated for a moment, as if he was undecided whether to admit it or not. Finally, he pursed his lips and said, "How did you know?"

Han Qingsong: "First, you don't look like an officer who is out of touch with the crowd. Second, you don't look like an officer who controls the members. Third, you don't look like an officer who is really flattering." He stood up slowly and said calmly: "You have eaten enough of the return grain and want food."

Yu Kangri Potong sat on a stool and said, "The Korean Bureau is really powerful."

He raised his hands, which looked like dry bark, and rubbed his numb face. "We are not being too much, are we? We have been digging for food in the loess all our lives, working from morning till night, and from the beginning of the year to the end. Even if we pay rent to the landlord, we still have some food left to barely make ends meet."

Han Qingsong said nothing, just looked at him silently.

Yu Kangri continued, "Ten years ago, our village had been handing in all the grain, and then applying for re-sale grain. It was said that the more surplus grain we sold after handing in the public grain, the more re-sale grain we could get, but the commune had the final say on how much re-sale grain we could apply for. The price was more expensive than if we had paid in the public grain and sold the surplus grain! Why should we... why should we hand in all the grain we had grown with great difficulty, and then spend more money to buy it back? We have to spend more money every year to buy our own grain, where can we get the money to buy it?"

He slapped his head with his two skinny hands, squatted on the ground with his head in his arms and sobbed, "In the past ten years, the population of our village has been getting smaller and smaller. Men can't find wives and no one is willing to marry into our village! In recent years, there have been fewer and fewer children in the village. There have been no new babies in the past few years... Other people have side jobs in the brigade and still have some surplus food, but our brigade... has no food! The elderly and children are starving to the point of being skin and bones, and the seven-foot-tall men can't even stand up straight from hunger. Healthy people are so hungry that their bones are chaffed. How can they work? If we don't work, we will be branded as the lazy village. We will never get any good things from the commune. If they want to catch negative examples, they will push us out, and as a result, they won't even give us relief food... I... I..."

He burst into tears, "We...can't survive anymore...it was said that the peasants are the most reliable allies of the proletariat, it was said that the countryside would surround the cities, why...why can't we hope for a breakthrough!"

Yu Kangri looked up with tears in his eyes at the tall and stern man in front of him. He was so strong and hard, like a sharp sword drawn from its sheath. Some people said that he could give Yu Jiacun justice. Could he?

He was not moved by what he said. He still looked so cold and heartless. There were no tears of emotion in his eyes, and no expression of compassion on his face. Was he a person of stone?

Han Qingsong: "Where do you hide the food?"

Yu Kangri: "In an abandoned air-raid shelter. We heard that the commune's grain management office had been robbed, so we thought... pretending that it had been stolen and keeping... this batch of grain to distribute to everyone as food. But if we didn't hand it over to the public, the commune wouldn't let us, so... we thought of this solution."

Han Qingsong: "Robbery from the grain management office, shot! Stealing public grain, shot! You know what I mean."

Yu Kangri nodded: "I understand." He bit his back teeth tightly, and the masseter muscles on both sides bulged fiercely. "As long as you can give us food, I will accept being shot to death!"

Han Qingsong said nothing more, nor did he ask him to take out the food. Instead, he went out and told Luo Haicheng, "You take your men to guard here. I will come back tomorrow."

When Han Qingsong asked to talk alone, Luo Haicheng had already put the place under strict security and cleared everyone out, so he couldn't hear what was said in the room. He knew the situation was serious and nodded, "Okay, Director Han, don't worry."

Han Qingsong asked him to guard here with two meanings: no one was allowed to take anyone away from here, and no one was allowed to escape.

Luo Haicheng ordered a public security officer: "Go to Dawangzhuang and call Qingyun and the others back."

The police officer also felt that the situation was a bit tense and went there immediately.

Han Qingsong went straight out to find Lin Lan. At this time, Yu Kucai chased him but did not dare to get close. She thought this policeman was very scary.

“…My father…”

Han Qingsong: "It's okay." He strode away.

Lin Lan was chatting with Wang, the village's director of women's affairs and propaganda officer, to get some information. She found it hard to believe that there was such a big difference between the two communes so close to each other. In their village, there were families who couldn't find wives and actually let cousins ​​get married, but none of the children survived.

When she saw Han Qingsong coming, she immediately said goodbye to them.

"Third brother, shall we go back?"

Han Qingsong nodded and took her to the commune by bike first.

The Minister of Armed Forces, Tan Zhaomin, fled at noon. The Director of Public Security sensed something was wrong after seeing Han Qingsong's speech on anti-Japanese resistance and the subsequent arrangements, so he quickly sneaked back to the commune to find Tan Zhaoxiang.

Lin Lan packed up, carried her schoolbag and cloth bag, and sat on the back seat of his bicycle.

On the way, Lin Lan said, "Third brother, I was puzzled when I heard you say two days ago that some people were snatching food. Now is not a time when we can't afford to eat, why are there still people snatching food? I came here to take a look today, and I understand. They are still selling food rations to the commune as surplus food. If there is no food, they can only eat the returned food. The returned food the brigade gets is less than half of the food rations, and they... don't have enough to eat."

Lin Lan was also familiar with the resale of grain, as his brigade had also eaten it. Especially during the three-year difficult period, the brigade handed over all the grain to the government for unified distribution, and the whole country supported the grain supply to the troops and cities. Finally, a batch was allocated for resale to the countryside to feed the farmers who grew crops.

Many members did not understand and hated it. They thought that the common people who grew crops had no food to eat, so they envied and hated the city dwellers who ate commercial food. Because no matter what time it was, the city dwellers always had food to eat every month. Then, they began to hate the commune cadres. In their view, the brigade cadres and the commune cadres were their heaven, and it was the heaven that decided whether they had food to eat or not.

At first, there were disturbances in many places because of the lack of food distribution. Hungry members robbed and stole food, and many were shot to death.

Later, when the economy began to recover, members continued to receive food grains, and reselling grain became a way for the government to alleviate poverty. Who would have thought that this situation still exists today?

Lin Lan felt as heavy as a stone pressing on her heart, and even the sapphires in her schoolbag could not make her happy.

She grabbed Han Qingsong's clothes and said, "Third brother, can you take care of the food issue?"

Han Qingsong: "The grain is under the control of the Revolutionary Committee. I am only responsible for arresting and shooting people."

At that time, the commune had the power to shoot criminals. Once they were found to be extremely evil, they could be shot directly without even reporting. Stealing public grain was a serious counter-revolutionary crime. What Han Qingsong didn't tell her was that Yu Kangri hid the grain in order to wait for him to handle the matter. Yu Kangri must have tried every possible way before, but it didn't work. This time, he wanted to use this method to attract his attention and let him handle the case.

Lin Lan: "Looking at Tan Zhaoxiang's pampered appearance, and then looking at our commune, I think Yang Shigao is not a bad person. Compared to this, I don't know how much better the former director Jia was." Lin Lan felt that the former director Jia of Shanshui Commune was a good person. Although he was not keen on working in the countryside, he would not pretend to know everything and give blind orders to the brigade's production. Instead, that was a good thing.

Of course, this does not mean that Yang Shigao is good, it only shows that the atmosphere in Shanshui Commune is good. Deputy Director Yang wanted to make trouble but couldn't, and a very important reason for this is that Han Qingsong was there.

Han Qingsong hesitated for a moment and said, "Director Jia is Gao Weidong's man."

Lin Lan was stunned for a moment. Was he telling her something important? "So Yang Shigao is Li...?"

Han Qingsong hummed.

Lin Lan snorted lightly, "I don't understand, but I'm curious, why haven't they moved for so many years and are still staying in our county." She didn't understand the tricks of promotion in the Revolutionary Committee. Anyway, since the establishment of the Revolutionary Committee, it seemed that everything was messed up and there was no fixed rules.

Han Qingsong didn't say anything and soon arrived at the commune.

It was already time to get off work, and only Cao Guangrong and Qiu Aihua were talking in the entire commune compound.

Seeing Han Qingsong coming over, Qiu Aihua hurriedly asked, "Director Han, do you want to go find our director?"

Han Qingsong: "No need, we will go back now."

Cao Guangrong quickly said goodbye and went back with them. He did not go to the village that day but stayed in the commune instead. He felt very relaxed.

Lin Lan didn't say a word on the way, and Han Qingsong naturally didn't say a word either. Seeing their serious expressions, Cao Guangrong didn't dare to ask more questions, and always felt a little depressed.

When we returned to Shanshui Commune, it was almost dark.

When they entered the compound, they saw that the lights in all the offices were still on and everyone was still working. Even Deputy Director Yang and Yu Xin had not left work early.

There were two military green police cars parked in the yard, which were obviously equipped by the county public security bureau.

Sun Zhuowen saw Han Qingsong coming back, and ran over quickly, saying excitedly: "Director Han, Director Gao has been waiting for you for a long time."

When Han Qingsong heard this, he said to Lin Lan, "Let's go home." Then he was about to ride away.

Who knew Gao Weidong had been keeping an eye on it? He had called Qingshi Commune before, and they said Director Han had returned. He guessed that was about right. When he heard that Han Qingsong had returned, he strode out of the office and said with a big smile, "Director Han."

Seeing that he couldn't leave, Han Qingsong held Lin Lan's arm and said, "Go and do your work first. I'll call you later." He certainly wouldn't let her walk home alone at night.

Gao Weidong had already walked over. Lin Lan quickly greeted him and let them talk while she went to the Propaganda Department first.

Gao Weidong looked around and saw that Deputy Director Yang was looking around. He thought it was inappropriate for him to go to the office to talk, so he gestured to Han Qingsong to walk around the back of the compound.

After walking a few steps, Han Qingsong did not speak, as if it didn't matter as long as Gao Weidong didn't speak.

Gao Weidong smiled and said, "He went to Qingshi Commune."

Han Qingsong nodded.

"In fact, there's no need to investigate their commune, it's all out in the open." It's just that there's a dispute over food distribution, but no one has been paying attention to it.

Today, is there anyone who is willing to hand over all the food, including food? No matter how good the awareness is or how loud the slogans are, they can't fill your stomach.

Han Qingsong still didn't respond.

Gao Weidong was speechless for a moment. The two old men just strolled in the summer night breeze without saying a word.

In the end, Gao Weidong couldn't help but ask, "Director Han, how are you going to handle this case?"

Han Qingsong: "Just do business as usual."

Gao Weidong smiled and said, "That's exactly what we should do. The county revolutionary committee is also paying attention to this. They just shot the counter-revolutionaries who robbed and stole public grain as a warning to the public. Who dares to do the same again?"

Han Qingsong turned his head and looked at him, "Does Li Xuanjiu know that you are here?"

Gao Weidong paused for a moment, then followed him again, saying with a smile, "I'm not his subordinate, so I don't need to report to him when I go out." How could Li Xuanjiu not know about Yang Shigao? He must be gritting his teeth in hatred at home.

Han Qingsong didn't want to follow him anymore, so he stopped and said calmly, "Those members are not the ones who should be shot. Shooting them will not help."

Killing one person to warn a hundred can only warn a hundred, but it cannot control tens of thousands. Our ancestors said that if people do not fear death, how can they be afraid of it? For those beyond a hundred, other means are needed to solve the problem.

Gao Weidong's expression froze, "Director Han, think twice before you act. Tan Zhaoxiang cannot be killed."

Han Qingsong saw his expression and knew that Tan Zhaoxiang was just following the decision of his superiors. He asked, "Why is the policy of Qingshi Commune so special?"

Gao Weidong: "... This, you have to ask the Revolutionary Committee."

Han Qingsong: "I'll ask tomorrow."

After a moment of silence, Gao Weidong said: "Yu Kangri must be killed."

Han Qingsong: "No one can kill him until the case is exposed."

"If we don't kill him, people will be uneasy."

"Who's uneasy?" Han Qingsong asked.

Gao Weidong thought he was a rough man with little education and didn't understand the twists and turns here, so he said selectively: "It will be difficult to carry out work in Qingshi Commune in the future."

Hoarding public grain, whether for the sake of the members or for personal gain, is hoarding. This is a crime that can be punished by killing one person as a warning to the rest. If the anti-Japanese resistance against the commune is successful, will other brigade cadres follow suit? If so, how can the commune cadres obey the public?

Han Qingsong: "Aren't communes meant to serve the people?"

Gao Weidong: “…” He was speechless.

Han Qingsong: "Do the commune cadres come from the people? Are the wages and food coupons received by the commune cadres the labor income of the members?"

Gao Weidong: Damn it, if anyone tells me again that this uneducated guy doesn’t understand these things, I’m going to get angry with him.

Han Qingsong: "Tan Zhaoxiang clearly knew that the people in his jurisdiction were living in hardship, so why didn't he report it? Did the Revolutionary Committee not know, or did they pretend not to know? Why?"

Gao Weidong: "..." Why would I come here to humiliate myself? This Tan Zhaoxiang is not my man!

"You can't kill him anyway." Gao Weidong said helplessly, "I'm doing this for your own good."

If Han Qingsong killed the director of a commune revolutionary committee, who would dare to be the director here in the future?

Han Qingsong remained silent, and Gao Weidong had no idea what he was really thinking.

Gao Weidong felt that he had been stupid and was led astray by Han Qingsong. He decided to keep quiet. It was enough for him to just get the point across.

"I'll bring you a car so it will be more convenient for you to go out in the future." A county deputy director rode a broken bicycle around every day, bringing shame to the county. He, who was also a deputy director, couldn't stand it and helped him apply for a car.

Han Qingsong did not refuse. This was the bus that the County Public Security Bureau had given him. "It should be the diesel one."

Gao Weidong: “…care.” There is always a bit of gnashing of teeth.

He said goodbye to Han Qingsong and turned around, "Director Han, this is for peace."

Han Qingsong said nothing and did not see him off. Instead, he sat down on a stone at the foot of a row of soapberry trees.

Lin Lan waited in the Propaganda Department for a long time. When she saw Gao Weidong coming back but Han Qingsong was not there, she came out to greet him.

"Director Gao."

Gao Weidong smiled at her and pointed behind him, and Lin Lan understood.

Gao Weidong: "Boss Lin, I'm leaving now."

The police officer who came with him immediately ran over and started the fight.

Gao Weidong instructed Han Qingsong to leave the other car for him, and the three of them took one car back to the county.

Deputy Director Yang also came out to see him off, but he was very reserved and did not see him off to the gate of the hospital.

As soon as Gao Weidong left, Deputy Director Yang hurried off work, and the others also left one after another.

There were no dormitories in the commune compound at that time, so the employees left after get off work, and only two people stayed behind to patrol the gate.

It was already late at night, so Lin Lan put her bag in the motorcycle and went to find Han Qingsong to go home.

She knew that facing this situation, he must be under a lot of pressure. He might want to calm down that little devil. She didn't want to leave him alone to think about other devils! Although she was not sure whether a person like him would have the same crazy thoughts as ordinary people.

"Third brother~~" She called him like a kitten.

"Here."

Han Qingsong's voice came from the shadow of the tree in front.

There were no street lights in the compound. It was already dark, with the moon hidden in the clouds and dim. Everything around was shadowy, but she could still see his figure. He was trapped in the dark shadows of the trees, and his figure was darker than the night.

She walked over following the sound, "Third brother, let's go home?"

Han Qingsong hummed, but just sat there without getting up.

Lin Lan smiled, bent down and moved closer to him, reaching out to touch his face, but he caught her hand accurately.

"Third brother." Lin Lan called him softly.

"If I don't become the director..." Han Qingsong paused.

"Haha, that's great!" Instead of being disappointed or nervous, Lin Lan laughed.

Han Qingsong: …

Lin Lan put her other hand on his shoulder and said happily, "That's not good. Let's go mining now! No pressure at all!"

Han Qingsong: ………The gloom in my heart was suddenly blown away by the strong wind. The chirping of insects around me suddenly became clear.

He couldn't help but smile.

Lin Lan: Oh, my third brother laughed, but unfortunately I couldn’t see it clearly!

"Then you can't go to the county." He felt that she really wanted to move to the county.

Lin Lan didn't care: "What's the big deal? Even if you don't become the director, we can go to the county on our own." And me!

Her laughing voice was particularly pleasant in the hot summer night breeze, like the cool spring water in the provincial capital flowing over the ankles and into the heart, making people feel refreshed and itchy. He raised his hand to hold her head, pressed her to himself, and kissed her accurately in the dark.

The wind blew away the dark clouds, and the moon that was hidden came out, clear and bright, casting a pure light on the surroundings.

He let her go reluctantly. He could smell her delicate fragrance and saw her clean face so attractive in the moonlight. He couldn't help but hold her face and kiss her once more.

After a while, he held her up and said, "Let's go home."

Han Qingsong carried her over and put her in his son's car, then got on his motorcycle, started the engine, and went home.

Sitting in the divan was quite bumpy, but Lin Lan ignored everything and only remained excited. "Director Han, why do I feel like I'm the leader and you're the guard?"

Han Qingsong: "I am your bodyguard."

Lin Lan: "Third brother, how about I be your secretary and driver, hehe."

Han Qingsong: "I'll teach you during the day."

"Third brother, why do I feel like we are a bit like the Japs..." In the anti-Japanese war movies, you can always see a few Japs with a curtain on their heads, driving such cars and screaming as they come to the protagonist's door to be beaten.

Han Qingsong: “…………It was first produced in Germany.”

"Isn't that fascism? It's even more infuriating, it's not good."

Han Qingsong: "…We make it domestically."

"Really? That's great! I love my country. I want to go mine for it!"

Han Qingsong: ...My wife will never forget that Blue Flint Mountain.

Although he still spoke little, Lin Lan knew that he was in a better mood and it was worth her teasing him.

It was almost nine o'clock when they got home. The children had eaten and washed up and were lying on the kang, listening to the radio and reading.

Hearing the sound of an engine outside, Da Wang immediately picked up a lantern and went to open the door. Seeing Han Qingsong driving back in a police car, his eyes lit up and he quickly raised the door sill to let Han Qingsong drive the car in.

Han Qingsong stopped the car, turned off the engine, and stepped out of the car with his long legs. Because the space was narrow and the door was not convenient to open, Lin Lan wanted to crawl out. Han Qingsong was about to go around and carry her out, but Dawang stretched out his arms, slid her out and put her on the ground.

The atmosphere froze for a moment, but Da Wang's attention was still on his son, so he didn't notice.

He was a little eager to go out for a ride.

Han Qingsong: "It's too late."

It’s too late, which means you are not allowed to open the door.

Da Wang nodded, but didn't open it, and then rode it to try it out.

Lin Lan then quickly pulled Han Qingsong into the house, and Mai Sui, Erwang and Xiaowang all ran out.

"Mom, have you eaten yet?"

Lin Lan: "No, I'm so hungry."

Xiaowang said excitedly: "Hurry up, serve the rice to mom and dad!" He went to get the chopsticks and the bowl, while Mai Sui and Erwang went to lift the pot, which was still hot.

In summer, the food is neither too cold nor too chilly, and it is edible.

Mai Sui placed a few uniquely shaped cakes on the table and said, "Mom, look."

Lin Lan took a look and said, "Oh my god, this must be Xiao Wang's masterpiece." She is indeed a child with rich emotions and artistic cells. Look at this cake, a heart-shaped one with red beans as eyes and a mouth made of tomato peel. There are also five-pointed stars, plum blossoms, and a little rabbit. I can't tell what the other one is.

Probably a tiger.

Xiao Wang was very happy when his mother recognized him, "Mom, how did you know it was me?"

Lin Lan touched his face and said happily, "It must be you who did this, it's so cute. I don't even need to guess. It's great."

Xiaowang must have been dissatisfied with yesterday’s vegetable dumplings, so he made them exceptionally well today.

Xiao Wang: "My elder sister and second brother are back to help me. My eldest brother is fetching water and tending the vegetable garden. My third brother is going to the competition, and my mother and father are at work."

Every family member has something to do and no one is idle.

Erwang also makes smashed cucumber, stewed eggplant with sauce, and scrambled eggs with green onions. He always manages to make delicious dishes using the least amount of oil.

Lin Lan kept praising the food for being delicious and ate one more piece of cake than usual. Although Han Qingsong didn't say anything, he also ate more dishes.

Seeing that their parents both liked the food, the children were very happy, especially Xiaowang. He felt that he was not a burden to the family. Even if he could not earn money to support the family, he could at least help cook for the family so that they would have food to eat when they returned home.

While Lin Lan was eating, Xiao Wang hummed his own song "My Parents Are Not Here to Head the House":

"Goodbye sun, the moon has gone away, the stars are too lonely? no~no~no~...no~no~no~ I am the Little Chef, I can grab everything inside and outside, go borrow a cup of stars, go borrow the wind to blow, little bird, fly quickly, send your parents back home..."

Nod yes and shake no, he knows this.

Early the next morning, Lin Lan got up and took out all the coarse grains and flours at home. She mixed sorghum flour, bean flour, and corn flour together and began to make steamed buns.

The children were startled. Mai Sui asked: "Mom, what's going on?"

Lin Lan told them about Yu Kucai and other children in Xiaoyujia Village, "They are so pitiful, they have nothing to eat. They gave their mother blue stones, and their mother gave them some coarse grains to eat."

When Xiao Wang heard that the children still had no food to eat, he became anxious and said, "Mom, I will eat less in the future. Please give them more."

Lin Lan smiled and said, "No need. Even if we help others, we have to make sure we are well fed first. We can't go to help others when we are hungry. We can just give them the coarse grains that we can't finish." Now her family basically doesn't eat sorghum and bean flour. The soybeans are used to make soy milk and tofu.

Xiao Wang: "Mom, then I don't need to eat snacks all the time. Snacks are not necessary anyway. I just need to eat meals. You can exchange the money you would have spent on snacks for food and give it to them."

The children all said that they did not need snacks and candies and could save their money to buy food to help poor children.

Lin Lan was very happy that the children were kind and compassionate, but she still had to remind them to be rational and not to be overly compassionate. There was no need to sacrifice themselves for the sake of helping others, and they should also learn to protect themselves when helping others.

In her previous life, she had no plans to get married, start a family, or raise children. She was financially comfortable, so she often donated money to others. I don't know who leaked the information about her donations, but her Weibo and phone were constantly bombarded with messages asking her to donate to this or that every day. Some people even got angry because she donated to others but not to herself, and insulted and cursed her with vicious words.