Chapter 39, Accompanying the Army
"We'll meet here again at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. Dongmei will be in charge of cleaning. Xu Dong, you go up the mountain first. Xie Wei and I will go to the commune first. The brigade leader promised to borrow a tractor from the commune for us. We'll meet up on the mountain after we come back."
After Director Yang handed over the renovation work of the resettlement site to Lin Qingqing, she and her team got to work that afternoon. Although they had chosen the largest house, not every roof needed to be repaired, so the roof repair work was completed in just one afternoon.
After finishing work, Lin Qingqing gathered everyone together, first acknowledging everyone's efforts for the day, and then arranging tomorrow's work.
After hearing Lin Qingqing's arrangements, Xu Dong was the first to respond: "Yes!"
He was also arranged by Xie Baoshan. He's only fifteen years old this year. Because he's young, he can only get seven work points when he works in the fields, but he can get the full number of work points by helping out here, so he works very hard in the afternoon. However, his quick response wasn't because he was working hard; he looked at Xie Wei with shining eyes and asked, "Brother Wei, you can drive a tractor?"
In Xu Dong's eyes, being able to drive a tractor was the most impressive thing. There was a guy in Yangshulin Brigade who became the commune's designated tractor driver because he could drive a tractor, and he could get a fixed salary every month, which was even better than the brigade cadres! You have to understand that in those days, brigade cadres didn't get a salary, they earned work points!
However, what was a great achievement in Xu Dong's eyes was nothing to Xie Wei. He nodded lightly and said, "Yes."
"Can you teach me?" Xu Dong asked expectantly.
“Of course not,” Lin Qingqing interjected before Xie Wei could speak. “That’s a tractor borrowed from the commune. What if you drive it into a ditch or damage it somewhere?”
Xu Dong had been fantasizing that if he learned to drive a tractor, he might be able to get a job at the commune. But after hearing Lin Qingqing's words, he became a little timid. If he really broke the tractor, he couldn't afford to pay for it even if he sold it! He said dejectedly, "Then I won't learn. Can I at least touch it?"
Lin Qingqing thought this was a good idea, nodded and looked at Xie Wei, who reached out and ruffled Xu Dong's hair, and laughed, "Touching the steering wheel is fine too."
The thought of being able to touch the steering wheel made Xu Dong happy again.
Li Dongmei's reaction was not as excited as Xu Dong's. She knew that Lin Qingqing's arrangement was to take care of her, since cleaning was much easier than cutting down trees on the mountain. But Lin Qingqing was younger than her and looked much thinner, not to mention Xu Dong, who was still a teenager. She felt embarrassed to be taken care of and hesitated before saying, "I also want to go up the mountain."
"Hmm?" Lin Qingqing
Startled.
“I’m very strong. I can cut down trees and help carry them,” Li Dongmei said, mustering her courage. “Didn’t you say we’re going to finish cutting down the trees tomorrow? I… I’ll go up the mountain too.”
Lin Qingqing initially told Director Yang that several windows needed repair, but in reality, because the houses had been uninhabited for many years, the doors and windows were in poor condition. So when Director Yang mentioned that Xie Baoshan had arranged to borrow a tractor from the commune and promised to arrange for a commune member who knew carpentry to help, Lin Qingqing's mind started working on it.
The resettlement site was set up by the Women's Federation, and those who would move in would definitely be women. However, the resettlement site was quite far from the brigade center, and the surrounding area consisted of either empty houses or wasteland, so safety was of paramount importance.
She wouldn't mind if the doors inside the house were broken, as long as they were functional, even if they had a big hole in them. But the main door was a different story, as were the windows in each room; she would rather replace them with new ones if possible.
Because of the need to replace doors and windows at the last minute, and the fact that the carpenter would be arriving the day after tomorrow, they only had one day, making the task of cutting down trees much more difficult. So after hearing Li Dongmei's statement, Lin Qingqing nodded after thinking for a moment: "Okay, then you and Xu Dong go up the mountain first tomorrow, and we'll meet up there."
Seeing that she agreed, Li Dongmei's face lit up with joy: "Great!"
...
After arranging the work for the next day, Lin Qingqing let Xu Dong and Li Dongmei leave first, while she and Xie Wei stayed behind to finish up and return the borrowed cart to the brigade headquarters.
When they arrived at the brigade headquarters, Director Yang was about to leave work. Seeing them return, he asked, "How's your work going?"
After briefly reporting on her work for the day, Lin Qingqing also outlined the arrangements for the next two days. Director Yang nodded and said, "Okay, you take charge of this. If you encounter any difficulties, let me know and I'll coordinate." He then inquired about the next meeting.
Because of Xie Baoshan's request to borrow a tractor from the commune, the commune already knew that the Xingfeng Brigade Women's Federation had made a big fuss. In the afternoon, Director Chen of the commune Women's Federation asked Xie Baoshan to pass on a message, asking Director Yang to come and understand the situation. Afterwards, Director Chen expressed her approval of Xie Baoshan's work during this period and asked her to report on the progress of her work at any time. She was also told to report any difficulties she encountered, and the commune Women's Federation would do its best to assist her.
Director Yang was very excited when she heard from Director Chen that Xingfeng Brigade was to be used as a pilot brigade. Therefore, she not only planned to fully support Lin Qingqing's work, but also planned to continue the Women's Federation meeting as originally planned.
After hearing this, Lin Qingqing said, "Then I'll choose a topic in the next two days, and after I finish it, I'll have it reviewed by you. If there are no problems, I'll write the article and try to hold the second meeting in the middle of the month."
"Okay!" Director Yang agreed, then added, "Time..."
"It's getting late, you should go home and eat." He then said thank you for your hard work to Xie Wei, who had just returned the stroller, before leaving.
After Director Yang left, Xie Wei noticed that Lin Qingqing had completely changed from her previous calm demeanor and looked full of energy. He asked, "What did Director Yang say?"
Lin Qingqing didn't hide anything and told Xie Wei what Director Yang had said. But Xie Wei wasn't as happy for her as she had expected. Instead, he frowned and said, "You have to work on the renovation of the resettlement site and also choose topics and write articles. Can you manage all that?"
"I already have an idea for the topic in mind, but I need to organize it. It won't take too much time." Lin Qingqing didn't want to let go of this opportunity, but seeing Xie Wei's expression, she changed her tone and said, "I'll give it a try first. If it's too much of a strain and I can't handle it, I'll tell Director Yang that I can postpone it for two days, okay?"
Xie Wei nodded, took Lin Qingqing's hand, and walked out with her, saying, "I'm just worried that your body can't handle it."
"Health is the foundation of everything, so don't worry, I'll take good care of myself," Lin Qingqing said with a smile. "Besides, we've been working together these past few days, haven't you seen how I'm feeling?"
Xie Wei was just worried that she was putting too much pressure on him, so seeing that she was aware of the situation, he didn't say anything more. He brought up the matter of the bride price and said, "My mother is an elder, and she is worried that it is not appropriate for her to talk to you about this, so she wants me to come and discuss it with you."
Lin Qingqing hadn't really thought about the bride price before, and was momentarily stunned. After regaining her senses, she asked, "What did your mother say?"
Xie Wei briefly recounted the dowry situation for weddings in Xingfeng Brigade over the past few years, as Li Xingfang had mentioned, and then stated, "I was thinking of rounding it up to two hundred, what do you think?"
Lin Qingqing didn't know much about the bride price standards in the 1970s, but she had heard Director Yang talk about Li Dongmei's situation. Li Dongmei's mother told her third brother that the girl's family wanted a bride price of one hundred yuan, which was considered a lot. That's why Li's mother was thinking of marrying her daughter to the Yang family, who could afford a bride price of three hundred yuan. The Yang family was willing to pay a bride price far exceeding the standard because their son was paralyzed on one side.
After going through the details, Lin Qingqing guessed that the average bride price in Xingfeng Brigade was just as Li Xingfang had said, either sixty-eight or eighty-eight. The Xie family was willing to offer two hundred as a bride price, which could be said to be very sincere.
Of course, two hundred yuan might be several years' income for an ordinary family, but for Xie Wei it's just a month's salary. Besides, Lin Qingqing has no family, so if he gives her the money, she'll definitely keep it and bring it back to the Xie family, essentially just passing it around between her own hands.
But Lin Qingqing felt that the Xie family had good family traditions, and Li Xingfang treated everyone equally, not making Xie Wei sacrifice his family for the greater good. That money...
It didn't matter who controlled it, since it was all for the family's money anyway. There was no need to empty Xie Wei's pockets before the marriage, so she said, "I have no objection."
Her answer didn't surprise Xie Wei too much. He nodded and continued, "Then there's the three major wedding items. My eldest brother got married early and only bought a bicycle. My second brother got married in 1968 and bought all of them. My mother said that we should still buy the necessary items for our wedding, but there's a problem here."
Lin Qingqing knew about the three essential items for marriage in the 1970s: a watch, a bicycle, and a sewing machine. She had no objection to the first two, but the sewing machine... Lin Qingqing felt it was unnecessary to buy. However, she sensed a shift in Xie Wei's tone and asked, "What's the problem?"
"After we get married, would you be willing to come with me to the military?" Xie Wei stopped and looked down at Lin Qingqing.
Lin Qingqing asked in confusion, "Does accompanying the military have anything to do with the three major items?"
“If you’re going to accompany me to the military base, we won’t be able to stay at home for long after we get married. If we buy a bicycle and a sewing machine now, we might not be able to take them with us. Although we can buy them there, firstly, we might not be able to get tickets in a short time, and secondly, it would be too wasteful.”
Xie Wei briefly explained the situation and then offered his opinion, "I was thinking of buying the watch first, and giving you the money and ration coupons for the bicycle and sewing machine along with the betrothal gifts. We can buy those later when we get there. What do you think?"
"What if I don't go with the army?" Lin Qingqing asked.
Xie Wei was silent for a moment, his eyes filled with undisguised sadness: "Don't you want to go with the army?"
"You asked me if I was willing to go with the army, doesn't that mean you were prepared for me not to?" Lin Qingqing asked with a smile, narrowing her eyes. "Are you trying to trick me?"
Seeing her like this, Xie Wei understood what she meant. If it weren't for the fact that they were in public, he would have definitely hugged her. But now, he could only suppress his joy and say, "I hope you will go with the army."
Lin Qingqing curled her lips slightly: "Mm."
Xie Wei gripped Lin Qingqing's hand and said, "So, what do you think of my opinion just now?"
"That's fine, but forget about the sewing machine, I don't know how to use it." Lin Qingqing thought it would be better to use the money to buy two new outfits instead of spending money on a sewing machine she didn't know how to use.
After the two agreed on the three major items of the betrothal gift, they arrived at the educated youth settlement.
As dusk settled, the moon was obscured by clouds, and the educated youth settlement was shrouded in darkness, with only the light coming through the doors and windows discernible.
Xie Wei and Lin Qingqing walked into the courtyard and asked, "Are you sure you're okay going in by yourself?"
"It's nothing." Lin Qingqing smiled. An afternoon was enough for her to adjust her emotions, and even if...
Even if there were connections, Xie Wei wouldn't be able to enter the female educated youth dormitory. But he was worried for no reason, so he waved his hand and said, "You go back first."
She stood there watching Xie Wei leave before turning around. Just then, two female educated youths came from the canteen with clean lunchboxes. She raised her hand to greet them, but they hurried past her as if avoiding a plague.
Lin Qingqing's hand, which had been waving hello, froze in mid-air. She stared blankly at their retreating figures, wondering what was going on, and headed towards her dormitory. But before she even reached her room, she saw several people coming out of nearby dormitories, standing at their doors and watching her without approaching.
Lin Qingqing frowned and pushed open the door, intending to ask Li Juan what was wrong, when she heard Zhao Lan's voice from next door: "Some people are really shameless! Others do something wrong and don't dare to face people, but she does something like this! She does speculation and profiteering and acts like nothing happened."
"The brigade leader is the same. He sends all sorts of people to our educated youth settlement. Now that she's committed a crime, she still dares to come back. Outsiders will think we're all in cahoots!"
Lin Qingqing paused in her act of pushing the door open, took two steps back, and looked at Zhao Lan, who was standing at the dormitory entrance making veiled accusations, from a distance: "What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean!" Zhao Lan felt that Lin Qingqing was about to be sent to labor reform, so she wasn't afraid of her at all. She raised her voice and said, "When you first came to our educated youth settlement, you had nothing. How long has it been? Not only have you gotten everything, but you also have money to make cotton-padded coats and new shoes. If you hadn't done some speculation and profiteering, would you have so much money?"
"Who told you I was engaging in speculation and profiteering?" Lin Qingqing asked, squinting her eyes.
"You're still pretending. If your speculation hadn't been discovered, why would Secretary Zhao and Captain Xie have gone to the commune at noon?" Speculation is a serious matter. Even if Lin Qingqing is Xie Wei's girlfriend, it won't make a difference. Zhao Lan thinks Lin Qingqing will definitely be punished. Her calmness now only shows that she is cunning and good at pretending!
Li Juan couldn't stand it anymore and came out of the house, cursing, "Bullshit! Secretary Zhao and the brigade leader are brigade cadres. What's wrong with them going to the commune? How is it all because of Qingqing!"
“You should ask her yourself!” Zhao Lan retorted, not to be outdone. “Don’t think that just because you’re Commander Xie’s girlfriend, the battalion commander will favor you. Speculation is a serious crime that can land you in jail! I advise you to confess honestly, otherwise no one can save you! And you, Li Juan, I advise you to quickly distance yourself from her, otherwise, if you get close to someone who’s undermining socialism, you’ll definitely be suspected of having ideological problems!”
Although Li Juan had a good scolding, she was actually a little worried. As her roommate, she knew best what Lin Qingqing had bought recently and had long suspected that Lin Qingqing might have sold some grain.
Previously, Li Juan didn't think this matter was that serious. Rural life was tough, with only a few hundred catties of grain distributed throughout the year and pitifully little money and coupons. Who in the educated youth team hadn't sold grain? But Zhao Lan spoke with such certainty that it made her worry, and she lost the courage to refute it, only trembling with anger.
Lin Qingqing held Li Juan down and asked Zhao Lan, "What you're saying sounds a bit strange to me. From what you're saying, it seems you're quite certain that Secretary Zhao and the brigade leader went to the commune because I did something speculative. That makes me very curious, how do you know so much about what they did? Did Secretary Zhao tell you? But wait, what's your relationship with him? Why would he tell you everything? Or is it..."
"You're just guessing! You think I've done something speculative and profiteering, but instead of verifying the truth, you're telling everyone I'm a bad guy who's undermining socialism!" Lin Qingqing said incredulously, as if suddenly realizing something. "Zhao, I've always believed I've been kind to everyone since moving into the educated youth settlement and have never made enemies with anyone. Why are you slandering me like this? What good will it do you to ruin my reputation?"
While they were arguing, the female educated youth all came out of their dormitories, and even the male educated youth opened their windows to watch them. Hearing Lin Qingqing's words, everyone sensed something was wrong and began to whisper among themselves:
"Yes, how could she be sure that Secretary Zhao and the brigade leader went to the commune because of Zhao, the educated youth?"
"What benefits? A toad trying to eat swan meat!"
People tend to follow the crowd. In the afternoon, Zhao Lan spread rumors that Lin Qingqing had engaged in speculation and profiteering, and by evening, people were avoiding her. Now, Lin Qingqing had found a loophole in Zhao Lan's words, accusing her of malicious slander. Everyone believed it was true and became less polite in their comments about Zhao Lan.
Hearing the comments and jeers, Zhao Lan's face turned pale with anger. Pointing at Lin Qingqing, she said, "What business is it of my knowledge? Do you dare say they went to the commune for something other than this?"
“Of course they didn’t go to the commune for this,” Lin Qingqing said, looking directly at Zhao Lan.
"Impossible!" Zhao Lan's voice was shrill, her words flowing faster than her thoughts. "I've already written a letter of complaint, how could Secretary Zhao not take any action!"
The entire venue fell silent.
Clearly, Zhao Lan herself hadn't expected to reveal the truth. Her eyes widened as Lin Qingqing approached step by step, and she involuntarily took two steps back: "What...what do you want to do?"
"That should be asked..."
"You're the one who's right!" Lin Qingqing stopped and looked at Zhao Lan, saying, "After I moved into the educated youth settlement, I did buy some things. If you had any doubts and wanted to know where the money came from, you could have just asked me directly. It's not like I didn't want to answer. But what about you? You wrote a complaint letter without even asking. If I can't explain where the money came from, do you know what I'll do?"
“I can see right through her! She’d love for you to be sent to a labor camp!” Li Juan said with a sneer.
Lin Qingqing nodded: "Yes, I find it strange. I have never offended you, so why are you doing this to me? Or is it that reporting someone is commonplace for you, and you report anyone you don't like?"
Upon hearing this, the other members of the educated youth settlement were all unsettled.
Although they consider themselves to be highly conscious, having a tattletale around them is still quite frightening. After all, everyone makes mistakes sometimes, and if you're constantly being reported, how can you live a normal life?
Suddenly, everyone looked at Zhao Lan differently.
Noticing the stares, Zhao Lan angrily took a step forward, pointed at Lin Qingqing, and said, "You're slandering me! Yes, I reported you, but why did I report you? Wasn't it because of your improper thoughts and actions and your dubious sources of money! You say I harmed you, then tell me where you got so much money!"
Zhao Lan thought that after she said these words, everyone would join her in opposing Lin Qingqing. However, in reality, after she finished speaking, the female educated youths who were originally standing next to her all silently backed away.
Sensing everyone's alienation, Zhao Lan grew even angrier and sneered, "If you can't answer, I'll not only report you to the brigade headquarters, but also to the commune and the county! I want to see how long the Xie family can protect you."
“Go to the commune to report me? There’s no need for that,” Lin Qingqing said with a smile. “You guessed right, Secretary Zhao and the brigade leader went to the commune today because of your report on my speculation and profiteering.”
"Then why did you lie to me!" Zhao Lan blurted out, then looked at Lin Qingqing triumphantly as if she was about to suffer.
Lin Qingqing noticed the change in her expression before slowly saying, "After all, although Xie Wei and I exchanged the money and the tickets, it's not enough for him and Director Yang to be the witnesses. I was also lucky; he brought me a thermos ticket in exchange, which he got from a classmate. Oh, his classmate is an official in the commune. In order not to wrongly accuse anyone or let anyone go unpunished, Secretary Zhao and the brigade leader went to the commune to verify the situation with that official."
Hearing her words, Zhao Lan's face turned pale and then red.
"Impossible. Why would Commander Xie want to trade food with you? It's not like he doesn't have food to eat."
"Of course it's because he feels sorry for me!" Lin Qingqing said innocently.
Li Juan chuckled and concluded, "So, you and Commander Xie were just passing things around, but some people, with their petty minds, judged you by your own standards. They saw you buying things and suspected you of speculation, reporting you without even asking a question. Fortunately, Secretary Zhao was fair and knew to verify the situation with you, and with Commander Xie and Director Yang testifying for you, you were able to clear your name."
As she spoke, Li Juan glanced at Zhao Lan and said with a contemptuous tone, "Some people who report others at the drop of a hat are truly heartless!"
"Yes, their hearts are completely black!"
"How unlucky we are to go to the countryside with someone like this."
"Now that the matter has been investigated and clarified, doesn't the brigade have any response to this kind of arbitrary reporting?"
Amidst the murmurs, Zhao Lan's face gradually hardened, but Lin Qingqing seemed oblivious, turning to the young woman who had asked the question and saying, "Secretary Zhao said that this kind of behavior cannot be tolerated and must be severely punished! She said that once we find out who reported it, she will be criticized and educated."
"Does this even need an investigation? It must have been Zhao Zhiqing who reported it!"
"That's right, I think we don't need to investigate anymore, let's just give them a reprimand and education!"
“We now know that it was Zhao Zhiqing who reported it, but Secretary Zhao and the others didn’t know it was her, so of course they said they would investigate! But now that the truth has come out, there’s no need for an investigation.”
Upon hearing this, Zhao Lan was so frightened that her legs went weak and she collapsed onto the floor.
Author's Note: First update
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