Some people scoffed at this, saying, "You think you can get my attention just by currying favor with them? You're the village chief, the brigade leader, the party secretary, and even the village accountant. If you say the word, they'll definitely help if they can. Us? Ha! Do they even know who I am?"
"That's right, that's right. These two families are both outsiders, they have no connection with us, why would they help us? Let's not even talk about the distant past, so many people have starved to death in the village in the last two years, and we haven't seen these two families help anyone."
“They’re not going to college for us; it’s for their own two families. Once they’re successful, they’ll only help their own family. How could they possibly care about us country bumpkins? You’re really good at making empty promises.”
...
As more and more questions arose, the village party secretary puffed on his pipe, tapped the pipe, and stood up.
"Since you can't explain it clearly, then do as you please. Anyway, we don't see anything wrong with these two families. If you think there's a problem, go and complain to the commune. If the commune won't handle it, go to the township. If the township doesn't work, there's always the county town, right? There's always a place to reason with them, isn't there?"
The old Party Secretary walked away, hands behind his back, holding his pipe, shaking his head helplessly.
When the brigade leader saw the villagers looking at him, he frowned and asked them.
"I'll just ask you one question: during the busy farming season each year, do all the family members who are able to come back actually work in the fields?"
Everyone fell silent, then the captain spoke again.
"Even those who work in the city have come back, and these children, although they go to school, on Sundays and after school, they run to the production team first to ask if there is any work to do. They are more enthusiastic than some children who don't go to school!"
The village chief, standing nearby, pointed at several old women and said...
"Don't be so heartless! Cuihong finishes her own work, and she always helps you whenever you ask for help. And those two young Tao kids, during summer and winter vacations, whenever there's work, they're always there."
"Changyi and his family, as well as the third son of the Tang family, were out of work at the factory in early spring. Did they go to work in the fields?"
These work points are all recorded, there's no way to deny it. How could you speak so ill of such hardworking families…”
The old village chief felt that these people were nitpicking, and that people's hearts couldn't withstand any scrutiny. Fortunately, the Tao family had secretly given grain to those poor families before. If his wife hadn't accidentally discovered this, he wouldn't have known.
But precisely because he knew, he couldn't tolerate these people continuing to slander him, and he also understood why the Tao family wouldn't admit to it.
So when he heard that the Party Secretary and the Captain both supported it, he naturally had no more reservations and glanced disdainfully at the few lazybones who were jumping around the most.
"Go ahead and make a scene if you want. Our stance is clear: we won't follow your nonsense. If the three of us were blind at the same time, then it would be their bad luck to suffer. But we can see things clearly, yet you keep arguing with us. Since you've said all that, good and bad, then go ahead and sue us!"
"Hey, don't go, village chief. What's the use of us talking about this? The village needs to take the lead before we can help you investigate. Let me tell you, those two families are definitely up to something. We smell delicious food coming from their house every day, and they always secretly move their food and drinks, as if they're afraid we'll see them. Isn't that a guilty conscience?"
At this point, some insightful people saw through the trick.
"Hey, Ma Leizi, I don't know if they feel guilty or not, but I know that if you make something to eat, you'll hide it so no one can see it. Isn't that a normal reaction? What, do you have to let you see it and eat it before it's considered a good thing?"
"Cao Dazui, you shut the hell up! When did I ever sneak food? Explain yourself!"
"Do you really have to make this clear? You're always stealing chickens and dogs, do you eat less meat?"
You've petted every dog in the surrounding villages, haven't you?
How many dog bite marks have you gotten on your body?
Aren't they afraid of getting bitten by a rabid dog and losing their lives someday?
...
Just when everyone thought it was all bark and no bite, people from the township and commune actually came down to investigate.
These people are ruthless. They not only filed a complaint with the commune, but also went to the township. It seems they're determined to get the Tang and Tao families involved.
After the search, it was found that neither of the two families had stockpiled a large amount of food, and the amount of food that could be found in their homes was within the normal range.
Needless to say, the money was nothing; after flipping through the piles, it was only a dollar or eighty cents.
"How is this possible? How could you possibly have so little money?"
When faced with routine questioning from the investigators, Zhao Lingli burst into tears.
"What do you mean by 'just this little bit of money'? Don't we, a whole family, need to live?"
The elderly couple needs to take medicine every month, and their two young children are still in school; everything costs money.
Even the children studying away from home sometimes need our financial assistance.
If they happen to encounter any welfare benefits that can be purchased with a military officer's ID, the children will promptly buy them and send them back to us.
Who's this bastard who's jealous of us? Aren't they afraid of falling into a ditch and dying while walking in the dark?!
"Boss, you can't be unreasonable! This is a whole family, and we're the only two people earning the money! Just the two of us!"
Tao Changyi also became impatient: "This kind of thing has happened more than once or twice. Every time, they send people to investigate both of our families."
If they find out the truth, we won't say anything, but the problem is that every time there's no evidence, it all ends up being left unresolved, and they don't even give us an explanation.
Even a clay figure has some temper; why can't you stand to see others doing a little better?
Tang Cuihua chimed in, "That's right. I'm interning at the township health center, but I don't get paid at all. They just provide me with meals."
My daughters Cuiju and Cuilian are both working diligently, and the younger ones at home are also very capable.
If you really think we got a great deal, then there are plenty of people in our village who are even more unreasonable than us.
Let's not talk about anything else, just take Aunt Meng's family. They work three days and rest two days. They can't even be called back during the busy farming season. They even go to their mother's village to earn work points. There are at least two of your daughters-in-law in that family.
We're from another village, so we won't turn against outsiders, right?
Where is your wife? She's taking our village's basic grain rations and running off to another village to earn work points. Isn't that even more outrageous?
"In situations like this, there are also Aunt Zhang's family, Sister Liu's family, and Grandma Wang's family. If you really want to argue with us, then let's sit down and talk it out one by one, and see who really benefits in the end. That way, we can save ourselves from picking fights with us all the time!"
As for Ma Leizi, who was jumping around the most enthusiastically, Tang Cuihua didn't hold back either.
“A few days ago, the widow from the next village was cursing a bastard for taking advantage of her at the township health center. She only refrained from reporting him because of his lackey. I think we should go and find out more secrets from this young widow. Anyone who dares to act like a hooligan and take advantage of others should be locked up in jail!”
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