After they had been guessing for a while, Liu Weimin finally revealed the answer and slowly explained.
"You don't need to guess. I'll tell you the truth: there have been several murder cases in Chengjiabaozi."
One issue was that villagers intercepted the letters, parcels, and remittances of educated youth, using despicable means to persecute them. They also wanted to use this as leverage to threaten the educated youth into marrying into the village, becoming slaves, and having children, and demanded that the educated youth have their families send money and goods.
Unable to bear the persecution, one of the educated youth hanged himself in front of the county's educated youth office.
The room fell silent. At this moment, no matter how big the conflict or hatred, the fact that a life has been taken always makes people sigh.
On the educated youth's side, suddenly, the air seemed to freeze.
Tan Yajun seemed to have returned to that nightmare in Liujiatun, and her whole body was trembling.
The other educated youth also pursed their lips tightly.
Through correspondence with classmates, they also learned a lot about the situation in other places. Putting aside everything else, there are very few people who can be as confident and at ease as they are about personal safety.
Their letters were filled with unease and trepidation, a fact they had naturally sensed long ago.
Liu Weimin looked around, his eyes devoid of any emotion.
"Secondly, during the regular ideological checks on the people who were sent down to the countryside, some villagers treated them as enemies of the revolution, and beat and insulted them at will. As a result, the violence was too severe, resulting in death."
Originally, those sent to the countryside were there for various reasons to undergo ideological reform through agricultural labor, but…
Liu Weimin suddenly raised his voice.
“As long as they are not enemies, they are our revolutionary comrades. Even if they have done something wrong, they have already been punished.”
Even I, the leader of the commune, only had the right to supervise their reform, not the right to execute or criticize anyone. What about you?
Don't think I don't know. Every now and then, some people like to bully the people in the cowshed, as if you're superior to them. I won't say anything if it's not too outrageous.
Anyway, I've made this clear to you: a human life is a human life. As long as you're not an enemy, everyone's life is a life.
That guy from Chengjiabaozi has blood on his hands; he's been arrested and will soon be sent to a coal mine for reform through labor.
Several villagers who had relatives in Chengjiabaozi were sitting there, and they were getting a little restless.
The others didn't dare to speak either; some of the more timid ones turned pale with fright and didn't dare utter a single word.
This is exactly the effect Liu Weimin wanted—to know fear, that's good.
Having a sense of awe will prevent one from acting recklessly in the future.
"Third, it's been more than ten years since the founding of the People's Republic of China. I've said some policies at least eighty or a hundred times, right? I know you all just ignore them. At home, boys are still the most precious, while girls are treated like they were picked up off the street."
And then there are the daughters-in-law. Some families don't even treat their daughters-in-law like human beings. Do I need to point that out?
I don't want to interfere in your family matters, which are usually trivial, but you should at least have some boundaries, right?
Haven't we seen enough of those tantrums, rolling on the ground, crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide before?
I'll be frank: this whole Chengjiabaozi incident is because of this.
The old woman, who favored sons over daughters, sold her thirteen-year-old granddaughter for a dowry while her daughter-in-law was giving birth. She also abandoned her newborn granddaughter on a mountain. When the baby was found, the granddaughter was barely alive, with only her head remaining.
My eldest granddaughter was tortured so badly that there wasn't a single unscathed spot on her body; she died with her eyes wide open.
The scene was eerily quiet; no one dared to make a sound.
"When my daughter-in-law found out, she went crazy."
When the police arrived, she was holding the bodies of her eldest and youngest daughters when she set fire to her husband's house.
This happened yesterday. It's just that the villagers have been busy cleaning up empty houses lately, and it's cold, so no one is going out to visit each other. That's why their news isn't so readily available; otherwise, it would have been all over the place by now.
Of the three things, the second one may not have much impact on the villagers, but the three things, involving several lives, are a very serious matter.
The wife, whose family was from Chengjiabaozi, also started to get anxious, fearing that this matter would be related to her own family. After all, what family doesn't have parents who favor their younger brother and a spoiled younger brother?
It was just a notification; Liu Weimin didn't expect any guarantees from the villagers. As soon as the event ended, the militia had already sealed off the village entrance.
After the villagers dispersed, the village officials and a few elderly people gathered in the village office building, warming themselves by the stove, but no one spoke a word.
After a long while, a sigh finally escaped.
"Can't we just live our lives properly?"
The educated youth were no longer cheerful; they all hung their heads, clearly having suffered a great blow.
Those who are married are glad they made the right decision.
Those who are not married are the most helpless. Right now, they feel like everyone looks like a bad person, and they see enemies everywhere.
Tan Yajun has recovered. Looking into the eyes of someone who looked much like she did back then, she couldn't quite describe her feelings. If someone had been willing to lend a hand back then, perhaps she wouldn't have ended up in a situation where she had to move to another village.
But then again, if she hadn't moved to a different village, she might not have been able to endure those days of constant anxiety, and she wouldn't have made her current friends, experienced a normal life, or known what normal friendship is like.
Thinking about it, she sighed softly and spoke gently.
"You don't need to overthink it. These things have obviously blown up. They shouldn't be limited to our village. The county's educated youth office won't sit idly by either. We educated youth came to support rural development in response to national policies. No matter what, this kind of thing is serious, and they should give the educated youth an explanation."
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