Chapter 36, Reporting
Li Xingfang invited Lin Qingqing to the Xie family for dinner, but actually it was to discuss the engagement date with her.
The day after learning from Xie Wei that he had successfully proposed, Li Xingfang went to a fortune teller in the next village to have her birth charts matched. Although Lin Qingqing's birth date was estimated by Lin's family, Li Xingfang was just seeking peace of mind, and since the result was very auspicious, she naturally didn't say anything more.
The fortune teller gave three wedding dates: the 15th of the lunar calendar, the 26th of the lunar year, and the 5th of the first lunar month.
Li Xingfang's suggestion was to get engaged before the New Year. Once she and Xie Wei were engaged, no one would complain if they spent New Year's Eve at Xie's house. After all, although there were people at the educated youth settlement during the New Year, it wasn't as lively as with family. However, the two dates before the New Year were less than ten days before the fifteenth of the lunar month, which was too rushed. Therefore, Li Xingfang preferred the twenty-sixth of the lunar year.
Lin Qingqing initially thought that they would have finished before the New Year, but after listening to Li Xingfang's analysis, it seemed to make sense. Considering that the 26th of the lunar month and the 5th of the new year weren't far apart, she agreed.
After the date was set, Li Xingfang discussed the engagement details with Xie Wei and Lin Qingqing, such as where to hold the banquet and who to invite. By the time they had a general idea of what to do, it was already quite late.
Xie Yuanjiang and his sister were young and prone to sleepiness. One sat on a stool, while the other nestled in Song Yan's arms, yawning sleepily.
Li Xingfang didn't have a watch. Seeing them, she slapped her forehead and asked, "Look at me, we've been talking for so long, what time is it?"
Xie Wei glanced at his watch and said, "8:10."
"It's so late? Let's call it a day then. We can talk about it next time if there are any problems," Li Xingfang said apologetically to Lin Qingqing, not expecting it to be so late. "I originally wanted to invite you over for dinner, but we ended up chatting for ages. You must be exhausted after a long day. Go home and rest."
"I didn't do much during the day, so I'm not tired." Even so, Lin Qingqing still followed Xie Wei outside.
While they were having dinner, Li Xingfang lit a stove in the main room, and the fire inside was still burning, making the room very warm. Lin Qingqing had been inside for a while, and when she came out, she couldn't stand it anymore. Just then, a cold wind hit her face, and she couldn't help but shiver.
Xie Wei saw this and told her to wait, then went back inside to get a scarf.
Lin Qingqing had already buttoned her cotton-padded coat all the way up, her neck covered by the collar. After getting used to the outside temperature, she felt much better and said, "Actually, I'm not that cold."
Xie Wei noticed that half of her neck was covered by her collar, and the scarf was indeed difficult to tie, but he was too lazy to put it back, so he held it in his hand and helped her.
Walk outside.
After walking for a while, Lin Qingqing looked at the scarf in his hand, then at his bare neck, and asked, "Aren't you cold?"
"It's not cold," Xie Wei shook his head.
Lin Qingqing said "Oh," and reached out her hand, saying, "Give me the scarf."
Xie Wei looked at her questioningly, but still handed her the scarf. Lin Qingqing took the scarf and walked in front of Xie Wei, standing face to face with him. She didn't move, so Xie Wei had no choice but to stop and ask, "What's wrong?"
"Lower your head," Lin Qingqing said.
Xie Wei lowered his head, and Lin Qingqing picked up a scarf and put it around his neck. After tying it, she patted the scarf and asked, "Is it warmer now?"
"Um."
Lin Qingqing walked back to Xie Wei's side, took his hand and said, "Right? Wearing a scarf will make you warmer, so don't tell me next time that you're not cold or that you're immune to the cold, okay?"
She spoke with such seriousness that Xie Wei couldn't help but chuckle and agreed, "Okay."
...
When Xie Baoshan went out in the morning, he noticed that Xie Wei was dressed differently than usual, and couldn't help but take a second look at him.
Xie Wei was very perceptive in this regard, and his eyes immediately swept over: "What's wrong?"
"Why are you wearing this sweater?" Xie Baoshan noticed something was wrong. He crossed his arms, rubbed his chin, and walked up to Xie Wei. He looked closely and saw that Xie Wei was indeed wearing a sweater that his mother had knitted for him last year. Because he thought the collar was too high, he had hardly ever worn it after it was finished.
Xie Wei was eating noodles, holding a bowl in one hand and chopsticks in the other. Since it was inconvenient, he raised his elbow to block the hand that was reaching out. At the same time, he turned his body to the side and said in a light tone, "You care which sweater I wear?"
"I'm just surprised. You said you didn't like turtlenecks before, so why are you wearing one now?"
"I think you're just bored." Xie Wei finished his noodles in a few bites and took the bowl to the kitchen.
Xie Baoshan followed behind him, stopping at the kitchen doorway and saying, "Who said I'm idle? I have plenty of things to do. You're the one who's bored at home, aren't you? How about I assign you some tasks?"
Li Xingfang had made plans to pick pine cones in the mountains yesterday and left early this morning. The family's breakfast dishes were still soaking in the pot. Xie Wei saw this when he entered the kitchen and started washing the dishes. Hearing Xie Baoshan's words, he showed no interest and said indifferently, "I'm not going."
"Really not going?" Xie Baoshan asked, not waiting for Xie Wei's reply, and continued, "Oh dear, what should we do? Yesterday, Director Yang asked me to arrange someone to help Comrade Lin repair the houses to make a resettlement site. I agreed at the time, but the others in the brigade headquarters are unavailable. If you don't agree, won't that cause trouble?"
"Did Comrade Lin handle all this alone?"
Xie Wei paused in his washing of dishes and asked, "When?"
Xie Wei's attitude softened, but Xie Baoshan was no longer in a hurry. He asked with a half-smile, "Didn't you say you weren't going?"
"You are, after all, my older brother. How can I refuse to do something for you?"
Xie Wei spoke in a high-sounding manner, which almost made Xie Baoshan laugh in anger. He had refused so decisively just now, and now he was saying such things. Where was his face? But he didn't argue with Xie Wei and said, "Let's do it in the next few days. You can discuss it with Comrade Lin yourself."
After explaining the matter, Xie Baoshan stopped joking around with Xie Wei and headed towards the brigade headquarters.
He had only been the brigade leader for a few years, but because of his fair and impartial character, he was well-liked at the brigade headquarters. So, people he met on his way to the headquarters would stop to greet him. Whenever this happened, Xie Baoshan would always respond politely and occasionally exchange a few pleasantries with them.
He walked steadily, and what should have been a few minutes' walk took Xie Baoshan a little over ten minutes. Just as he sat down in his office, a junior staff member came over and told him that the Party Secretary was looking for him.
The current Party Secretary of Xingfeng Brigade is surnamed Zhao. He was transferred from higher up after the previous Party Secretary was ousted by Xie Baoshan. Party Secretary Zhao is fifty-four years old this year. Because of his advanced age, he feels that there is no hope for promotion, so he has no ambition for advancement. In addition, due to Xie Baoshan's strong influence, he has been in a state of retreat from the front line since his transfer to Xingfeng Brigade.
So when Xie Baoshan heard that Secretary Zhao was looking for him, he was puzzled for a moment, but he didn't think much of it. He figured he would find out what it was about when they met.
Xie Baoshan nodded, took a notebook and a pen, and went to Secretary Zhao's office next door.
When he arrived, Secretary Zhao was drinking tea. As he put the cup down, a tea leaf stuck to his lips. He spat twice, but the leaf wouldn't come off, so he had to remove it with his hand. Then he looked at Xie Baoshan and asked, "Comrade Xie is here?"
"Secretary Zhao," Xie Baoshan greeted him, then sat down on the wooden sofa directly opposite the door.
Secretary Zhao grunted in acknowledgment, got up from behind his desk, walked over to Xie Baoshan with an envelope in his hand, handed it to him, and said, "Take a look." He then sat down on the separate sofa chair.
"This is..." Xie Baoshan asked, taking the envelope with a puzzled look.
“Take a look first, and then we can discuss this issue,” Secretary Zhao said.
Hearing this, Xie Baoshan had no choice but to open the envelope, take out the letter inside, and start reading. But after reading for a short while, his face frowned: "Who wrote this letter?"
"It was slipped under the door. I saw it when I came to the office this morning. The envelope had no name or signature." This means it was a...
The anonymous whistleblower letter was sealed.
Secretary Zhao sat on the sofa, his hands clasped above his stomach, and looked at Xie Baoshan earnestly, saying, "Comrade Xie Baoshan, the problems reflected in this letter of complaint are very serious!"
Xie Baoshan quickly read through the contents of the whistleblower letter. Upon hearing Secretary Zhao's words, he asked with a serious expression, "Shouldn't we call the parties involved over to verify the authenticity of this matter before making a determination?"
Secretary Zhao smiled upon hearing this: "Comrade Xie Baoshan, I know that Comrade Lin is Commander Xie's girlfriend, so you will naturally favor her. But the letter has already made it very clear that when Comrade Lin first settled in our educated youth team, she brought nothing with her. Even the grain was obtained for her by Comrade Xie Wei from the Linjiazui Brigade."
"How long has it been since she came to our Xingfeng Brigade? Not only did she buy all the daily necessities, but she also made new clothes. The report said that she spent at least ten yuan to make this one piece of clothing, and with the daily necessities she bought, it must have cost at least twenty yuan, right? Moreover, many of the items, such as lunch boxes, buckets, and basins, can only be bought with coupons."
"Where did she get the money and the receipts to buy all this stuff?" Secretary Zhao narrowed his eyes and said meaningfully, "It's something to think about!"
Outsiders see him as carefree and assume he's just too old and lacks drive, wanting to coast until retirement. Little do they know, he doesn't consider himself old at all; he wants to achieve something great, but he can't!
To outsiders, Xie Baoshan's relentless pursuit of the educated youth was seen as a display of his integrity and intolerance for corruption. However, Secretary Zhao viewed it as a calculated and ruthless maneuver, his relentless pursuit solely aimed at ousting the former secretary and paving the way for his own rise. Yet, despite his meticulous planning, Xie Baoshan hadn't anticipated that the commune wouldn't promote him, instead appointing a new secretary through a de facto appointment.
Xie Baoshan was unwilling to accept that someone else had eaten the meat that was about to be eaten, so when Secretary Zhao came, he felt that he had been sidelined.
In Xingfeng Brigade, everyone only recognizes the brigade leader, Xie Baoshan, and doesn't know who the brigade secretary is.
Can he accept this?
Of course not. For the past few years, he has been tossing and turning every night, dreaming of pinning Xie Baoshan down.
Now, the opportunity has finally arrived.
Seeing the man's slightly somber expression, Secretary Zhao scoffed and said, "Of course, what you said makes sense. We can't really determine the nature of this matter based on just one complaint letter. So I've arranged for someone to call Comrade Lin. When she arrives, we'll question her thoroughly and see if she stole, robbed, or engaged in speculation and profiteering."
It came from a corner of socialism.
At this point, Secretary Zhao paused, and said meaningfully, "Captain Xie, you mustn't show favoritism."
Xie Baoshan's hands, which were at his sides, gradually clenched into fists, but his expression remained calm, and his tone was indifferent: "Of course."
Just as he finished speaking, there was a knock on the door of Secretary Zhao's office. The young officer who had gone to call Xie Baoshan earlier pushed the door open and said, "Secretary Zhao, Captain, Comrade Lin has arrived."
Author's Note: Second update.
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