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Thank you for the wings of the angels!
Liu Maocai stood in the middle, with several township leaders sitting next to him, including Wang Jianguo, the township head whom Zhang Hongmei knew.
More than 170 people, young and old, were there, crowding around in layers.
"Liu Maocai, you must hand over this wheat by tomorrow." Wang Jianguo sat on the bench with his legs crossed, his attitude extremely arrogant.
"Township head, I distributed the wheat to everyone as soon as I got back yesterday. How should I deliver it? What should I use to deliver it?"
"What right do you have to divide the wheat?"
“Why don’t I have the right? Yesterday, our whole village pushed a cart to the township grain station, but the station manager brought the wheat back. The wheat we grew this year was substandard, but it’s not good to store so much grain in one place, so we distributed it to everyone. As for the public grain, we can only deliver it after we grow our own qualified grain.”
"Liu Maocai, are you resisting the law?"
"Township head, you're exaggerating. I have a note from the grain station refusing to accept the grain, signed and stamped by the station chief. What did I do wrong? How did I resist the law?"
"Hehe, then I now order you to collect the grain and hand it over."
“I’m really sorry, Township Chief, but there are nearly two hundred people in Liujiatun. The grain is distributed per person. Can you just make them hand it over now? I’m incompetent, I’m not doing this anymore.”
"Today, a high-ranking leader has actually come to this godforsaken place, Liujiatun. Maocai, why did you bring him into the brigade? You should have taken him home and treated him to a good meal."
Er Ya came over with the old lady by her side, and everyone automatically made way for her.
Wang Jianguo didn't even lift his eyelids to look, and didn't utter a sound.
The other people in the village, especially the head of the grain station, were arrogant and looked down on everyone.
Zhang Hongmei helped the old lady from the other side, and the three of them came to Liu Maocai's side.
Liu Maocai quickly brought a stool for the old lady. "Second wife, please sit down. There's nothing wrong, why are you here?"
"I'm just an old codger who came to see the big shot. You can get out of here."
"Is there something you need, boss?" The old lady's naive and unsophisticated demeanor was on full display.
"I can't talk to you about this. Those who are not involved should leave immediately; this is an office." Wang Jianguo felt smug; this was nothing more than a peasant.
"Mayor Wang is still as arrogant as ever. I just heard you want to take our grain? Why?"
"Who do you think you are?" Wang Jianguo didn't continue, realizing he had made a mistake.
“I may not be anything special, but I am a villager from Liujiatun. I just want to know if they are here to collect grain.”
The grain station chief retorted, "We're just buying grain, how dare you defy the law?"
“We are acting with reason and evidence. I ask you, which law are we defying? Whose law are we defying? Do you represent the law?”
Zhang Hongmei's words were quite bold, and no one responded for a while.
"Uncle, since you're alright, you should go back now. My aunt isn't comfortable lying on the kang (heated brick bed)."
"Liu Maocai can't leave. You're the appointed village chief of the township, and you have to resolve this matter."
Zhang Hongmei knew that her identity made her much easier to talk to than others in the village; there were some things that only she, the orphan of a martyr, could say.
"Then may I ask this leader why our village chief must resolve this? Do you want him to take back the returned wheat? You should ask everyone if they agree."
"You have no right to speak here. Get out of here or you'll be arrested soon."
"Arrest me? What right do you have? This is a free and democratic country, a country where the poor people are in charge. Can I be arrested just for asking a question that's on my mind? Fine, my family can't afford to eat, so arrest me then."
"Yes, arrest us." The villagers all moved closer to the center, leaving only the place where they were sitting.
The grain station manager was startled. He had just taken office and was looking forward to making a strong start. The grain from Liujiatun was indeed substandard, and the station staff were stubborn and refused to give him any gifts. Of course, he had to return the grain. However, when his brother-in-law came over for dinner that night and found out about it, he immediately scolded him, which led to this whole mess.
Now I realize how serious the situation is. This year's drought means we're lucky if we can even hand over some grain. Otherwise, why haven't other villages handed over their grain?
I thought this would be a simple matter. My brother-in-law had come with me, so maybe I could even get some benefits. But how did it turn out like this?
Wang Jianguo was furious. How dare they look down on him? It seemed he had to resort to force.
"Go over there and arrest this girl. She's spreading rumors, resisting the law, and obstructing us from carrying out our duties." We need to make an example of her.
Zhang Hongmei stood there fearlessly, thinking to herself, "You really dare to tie me up?"
Two young men with pointed faces and monkey-like features actually came over, heading straight for Zhang Hongmei.
At this moment, the old lady stood up and said, "In my Liujiatun, no child has ever been allowed to stand up for themselves."
Hearing this, everyone glared at the group, and the two young men didn't dare to move.
Fearing that the old lady might get agitated and cause harm, Zhang Hongmei quickly helped her sit down. She herself had been scared just now, and it seemed that her identity wasn't very effective.
"Let me, an old lady, tell you this: since the wheat has already been distributed, there's no possibility of harvesting it. But our village has always been the most supportive of the country's leadership since the beginning of the revolution."
Mao Cai, you work with the accountant to settle the accounts clearly. Collect grain from those who have to deliver grain, and collect money from those who haven't. Make sure we complete our task today.
This isn't your fault, but we have to cooperate with their work.
After the old woman finished speaking, the station chief of the grain station objected, "What are you doing interrupting, you old woman? This is official business, not something you can do whatever you want. Get out of here, there's no place for you to sit."
Wang Jianguo was so angry he wanted to slap him. What a clueless idiot! Didn't he see the old man's prestige in the village? But before he could even reprimand him, the incident happened.
He had barely finished speaking when the old lady's grandson, Liu Aimin, rushed over and punched him to the ground. "Only she has the right to sit here. If you've made a mistake and want to resolve it, then show some willingness to resolve it. Who gave you the audacity to act so arrogantly here?"
"Get them out of here, beat them up every time they come!" Someone in the crowd shouted, and everyone joined in, chanting for them to be driven out.
The old lady glanced at Liu Maocai. Liu Maocai understood. "Everyone, quiet down. Station chief, we did the right thing by distributing substandard grain. If you agree, we'll pool our money to resolve this. If you don't agree, then we'll go to the county tomorrow."
I, Liu Maocai, will never shirk my responsibility. But you can't pin this on me. Do you think I don't know this is your mistake at work? I emphasized yesterday that the drought meant the grain harvest was just so-so, but you wouldn't listen and insisted we hand over superior-grade grain. There hasn't been a drop of rain in the past six months; what superior-grade grain are we supposed to have? If you want superior-grade grain, you'll have to wait.”
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