As soon as Song Qing finished speaking, those who had been hiding in the crowd pleading for Chen Hong fell silent, as if what she said made sense.
"If everyone who commits a crime can simply say they know they're wrong and then not be held accountable, then if I were to steal from your house like her, would you forgive me?"
Lu Ronghui detests this kind of generosity that comes from others' money, using other people's losses to label herself as tolerant and magnanimous. She can complain for hours if not a single egg is missing from her own home, but now she's pretending to be magnanimous.
Before the captain could say anything more, Aunt Tian stepped outside.
"Alright, alright, you wouldn't even let an outsider have your own pile of shit, what are you pretending for now? If anyone thinks she shouldn't be sent to the police station, then that person can go in her place."
Of course, some people pleaded for leniency, but in the end, the captain made the phone call.
The commotion at midday was short-lived, and it was soon time to go to work. The people at the educated youth settlement were all in a daze, and Chen Hong was taken away right under their noses.
On the edge of the field, the villagers were discussing this important matter enthusiastically, while the educated youth were almost silent, only silently swinging their hoes.
"Are you satisfied?"
Although Chen Hong's two friends didn't dare to say a word when she was taken away, they couldn't hold back anymore and questioned Liu Ruo with red eyes.
"You've ruined her life; she'll never be able to go back to the city!"
“I didn’t let her steal anything. If it weren’t for what happened later, I probably wouldn’t have pursued the matter. It was you who indulged her. You’re more like you who ruined her than I am.”
After the watch was returned, no one suspected Chen Hong. She was the one who defied the rules and stole Bai Rongjun's soap. It was only because her two so-called friends kept supporting her that she became more and more outrageous.
"You educated youth, go to the brigade headquarters for a meeting after you finish work!"
When Secretary Liu came to inform them, the Youth Affairs Office and the Public Security Bureau were furious when they learned about the incident. The Youth Affairs Office, in particular, felt deeply ashamed and gave the leaders of Yanghe Village a thorough dressing-down.
It's their fault for not giving the educated youth proper ideological education. Now the whole commune has issued a document requiring the villages to send people to give lessons to the educated youth.
The brigade leader was so angry he almost vomited blood. He didn't want to see the group of educated youth at all, so he called Secretary Liu over.
The good days for the educated youth are over. Now they have to attend meetings and study sessions every day, and the brigade leader is also cracking down on their work points. Anyone who fails to meet their target must stay and finish it.
In addition, it's spring planting season now, and almost a month has passed. The blisters on our hands have scabbed over, our hands and feet are covered in scratches, and even our skin is sunburned.
The more they worked, the more they had to eat. The grain they originally provided each day was simply not enough, so they eventually pooled all the grain together and only cooked as much as they needed to eat.
The former educated youth were all living frugally, sometimes even adding various dried sweet potatoes to their porridge. Seeing them eating steamed buns every day, I had a bad feeling.
"There are still several months before the grain is distributed. Do you have enough to eat?" Don't ask these people for help when the time comes.
"It's okay, we'll just eat this much for now, and then we'll eat less in the future." We won't have the energy to work if we're not full, and we can just eat less when we're not so busy.
They worked like donkeys pulling a millstone every day, and when they came back, they would lie down and immediately start snoring loudly. No one mentioned Chen Hong anymore, who had been taken away and whose belongings had all disappeared.
Yanghe Village has returned to normal, and everyone is hoping that the spring planting season will be over soon, otherwise they will die if they don't get a break.
“Bai Zhiqing, you only earned two work points this morning, you must make up for the remaining six this afternoon.”
The team leader was inspecting everyone's work in the field when he noticed that Bai Rongjun was sitting under the tree again. Everyone else was so busy, but she was still so leisurely.
Bai Rongjun's body was almost falling apart. The initial plan was four centimeters per day, but it was later increased to six.
The brigade leader was impartial and incorruptible, and because of what had happened before, he still harbored resentment towards the educated youth. Whenever she hadn't finished her work, no matter how late it was, he would lead a group of people to guard the field and make sure she finished before she could leave.
The blisters on her hands kept forming and bursting, leaving them bloody every day. Every time she gripped the hoe, a sharp pain shot through her. And her back was so painful that she dared not straighten it when she got home; her whole body felt like it was filled with lead.
She gritted her teeth and managed to get two work points this morning, but she couldn't hold on any longer in the afternoon, so she sat under the tree for a while.
"I..." Seeing the captain coming over, he hurriedly stood up to explain to him.
"I don't want to hear any explanations from you. You two are staying until you finish this." Since your partner is willing to help you, then let him do more.
The brigade leader left as soon as he finished speaking, and the other educated youth didn't even turn their heads. Everyone looked at the long furrows and almost drowned in despair. Who cared whether she had been scolded again?
Zhou Han was working in the field not far away. He didn't have the energy to comfort his girlfriend and just kept working with his head down.
Bai Rongjun staggered to pick up the hoe from the ground, looked around, and everything here filled her with despair.
"If you still have the energy to cry, then do more work, so you don't drag us down and get scolded by the brigade leader again."
She cries every day, but if she had used that energy to hoe the field a few more times, she wouldn't have caused them to be criticized by the scorekeepers.
The educated youth dormitory has returned to its old state, and no one even sticks together anymore. They're too tired; it's good enough if they have the strength to survive.
"Have you heard? A textile factory is going to be built at the entrance of the village!"
One of the commune members, having gathered the news from outside, ran to the field shouting. The others looked up, wondering if they were hallucinating from the sun.
"It's true, the city leaders have already arrived!"
That's good. Everyone stopped what they were doing, no longer afraid of the captain's stern gaze, and gathered around.
"Are you serious?"
Construction on the land at the village entrance began a month ago, and trucks have been running on the national highway at the village entrance for several days, bringing in a steady stream of building materials.
In addition, people were constantly digging foundations, and everyone knew what might be built there, but almost all the workers were from the military region, so they thought it was going to be used to build dormitories or something.
"If we set up a textile factory, we should recruit workers from the commune, right?"
"What are you thinking? This belongs to their military region. How could it be your turn?"
Upon hearing about the textile factory, everyone started to think about it. Who hadn't had enough of working in the fields, toiling like an ox all year, only to receive a few dozen yuan in compensation after the harvest?
If the harvest is bad, you might not even get a share of the grain, let alone a dividend.
The workers there have it good; they have a guaranteed income regardless of drought or flood.
The textile factory is built right in front of their door. Wouldn't they recruit workers from the nearby commune? If they could recruit some, that would be great.
Everyone's minds were racing, but soon a bucket of cold water was poured on them: "Yeah, this is a military factory, what does it have to do with us?"
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