"Sister, they said someone sneaked in, but apparently they were discovered by people in the back compound. They were shot at while fleeing, and I heard the person was caught, but we don't know anything else."
A simple frown,
"The courtyard behind?"
The back courtyards were built later, and they were inhabited by professors recruited from other regions, teachers who had been sent to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution, and mostly veterans. Regardless of who discovered the intrusion, there was a possibility of injury or death.
"Who told you that?"
"When I got to the entrance of the family compound, I ran into Platoon Leader Xu, who had been on patrol last night. I asked him..."
Not only did they hear it, but soon the entire residential compound was abuzz with activity. It was the Lunar New Year, and many families were already up early on the first day of the new year, but that was a different matter. Being woken up by the gunshots made them feel uneasy.
Jian Dan was similar; she saw the old man next door looking very serious in the yard, and Jian Dan even tried to comfort him.
"Dad, don't worry, Qinghuai and the others will handle it,"
The old man forced a smile, as if to comfort her.
"I'm not worried about anything. But you, it's cold outside, so you shouldn't come out. If anything happens, have one of the boys come and pass on a message, understand?"
He sighed as he went back inside.
"It's really not peaceful here on the border. Even during the Lunar New Year, things aren't going smoothly."
The old lady was washing her hands when she heard this and gave a soft hum.
"What do you think? You used to always say that the third brother deserted and had to find some remote corner. Look at him, do you think it's easy for him? He still hasn't come back yet, has he?"
"No, my daughter-in-law is in the yard. With this incident, the third son will be busy again."
"Hey? Old woman, tell me, it's the New Year, and we can't even go home. Doesn't your daughter-in-law have any objections? These young people are so different from us back then,"
"Pah! You think your daughter-in-law is with that person?"
He glanced back at the closed door, lowered his voice,
"Do you think you're like those shallow-minded people?"
"No, that's not it. I just thought, you know, if it's too far away, there's nothing you can do. But the third brother is right at our doorstep. He's not some big shot, just a political commissar. Look how busy he is."
"Hi!"
The old lady smoothly tied on her apron and went into the kitchen.
"Haven't you figured it out after all this time? Although the highest rank here is only regimental, it's different from the military in Beijing. I feel like they're deliberately keeping it under wraps to avoid attracting attention,"
The old man consciously followed along to tend the fire, keeping a very low voice as he stood close by.
"The border region has a special geographical location, special climate conditions, special customs and habits, and special border defense. Special management based on local conditions is a necessary means. Since ancient times, the border has had a certain degree of autonomy, which is not necessarily a bad thing. They have been stationed here for many years, and they have their own considerations."
"Of course I know that. Tell me, if it weren't for this disgusting thing about the logistics department withholding supplies, would they have made that decision?"
The explanation was somewhat vague, but the old man understood.
Qin Qinghuai didn't say anything to them, but they could all see it themselves. The situation here was completely different from what some people described. In fact, it was two extremes. To put it nicely, it was self-reliance; to put it bluntly, it was being forced into it, with officials forcing the people to rebel.
They had heard some of what happened back then, but someone must have specifically instructed them to be wary of them. They weren't in the same department, so by the time they remembered to inquire, the matter was already over. Apparently, they didn't even need to ask for help.
In other words, if we follow what some people say, by the time they find out, those who were supposed to starve will have already starved to death.
"Those beasts!"
"That's right,"
The old lady poured the frozen dumplings in her hand into the boiling water.
"To be honest, they did a good job keeping it a secret. If we hadn't come here in person, we really would have been kept in the dark."
"Hmph, I think this is fine. Those people are always thinking about fighting and grabbing, they don't know how attractive that position is. What are the third brother and his group doing? Openly repairing the plank road while secretly crossing the Chencang River?"
"Ha ha!"
The old lady chuckled, though she thought the description was a bit inappropriate, but it seemed quite fitting. She gave a perfunctory reply while secretly getting to work.
"Isn't everyone talking about building up the countryside? Didn't those educated youth who went to the countryside all say that going to the countryside was an honor and that they should contribute to the development of the countryside? I've heard them say a lot that groups of educated youth from the city went down to the countryside, but actually the countryside didn't want them. They all grew up in the city and didn't even know what seedlings were. You can imagine that when they went to the countryside, they wouldn't know how to do anything and would complain about this and that, just causing trouble. I've even heard people say that these educated youth didn't go to the countryside to support the development, but were just there to cause trouble."
"Don't talk about them, take me for example. I grew up in the countryside, right? After all these years, when I moved here with anyone, I didn't even know how to grow a garden anymore. Humph! What do those city kids know?"
"Yes, if you ask me, this is what you call rural development. Don't you think it's like this?"
The old lady added cold water twice, and the dumplings floated to the surface.
"Alright, let's take the fire off!"
The old man casually tapped the still-burning firewood against the corner of the wall, making sure all the sparks fell off, before carefully placing it down along the base of the wall, without putting it back in with the rest of the firewood.
"How can it not look like a rural area? This is supposed to be a military region, but it's so desolate, it looks more like a rural area than a rural area itself. I think this land reclamation is the first step in building a rural area."
The main labor in rural areas is farming. What are we lacking here now? Farming, raising livestock, and recording work points. Isn't this exactly the same as in the countryside?
If you ask me, if we're talking about rural development, we should come to places like this. This is where development truly needs to happen. They shout slogans all they want, but... ugh!
"Don't talk nonsense. We don't just take anyone here. If someone really sent an educated youth to the countryside, do you think your son would be furious with you?"
While they were talking, the dumplings were served. The old man pinched one open, tasted it, and was very satisfied.
"That's true, I've noticed it too, this is called Ning Que, Ning Que,"
Better to have none than something bad! You old fool, I think you're the one who should be going to school and learning to read.
After a brief period of panic, the gunshots subsided, and the residential compound quickly returned to calm. However, it wasn't entirely calm, as it was the Lunar New Year. After breakfast, the children, each with a couple of pieces of candy and a handful of melon seeds, rushed outside, and the area outside the compound soon became lively.
Soon, Qin Jing also brought a group of children to wish them a Happy New Year. Jian Dan didn't know the Qin family's old rules, but she had given red envelopes to the younger children last night. In her mind, New Year's money should be placed under the pillow to welcome the new year.
"Third Aunt, Happy New Year!"
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