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Chapter 138: Big Show and Manuscript
When Xie Hushan heard Yang Limin say that Zhang Cheng looked unhappy, he did not push the door open as usual. Instead, he stood outside Zhang Cheng's office door and knocked politely:

"master."

"Come in." Zhang Cheng's voice came from inside.

Xie Hushan pushed open the door and walked in, and found that in addition to Zhang Cheng, there was actually an old man whom he rarely met.

Qiu Yong, the former director of public security of Zhongping Production Brigade, is already over 70 years old.

Qiu Yong sat on a chair with a cane beside him. He wiped the corners of his eyes and forced a sad smile to Xie Hushan who came in.

"Third Master, you are here." Seeing Qiu Yong present, Xie Hushan quickly bowed and greeted him.

According to the rules of the Xie family, if the younger generation sees Qiu Yong not bowing when greeting, they will be punished if the adults in the family find out.

Qiu Yong is the one with the lowest presence among the cadres of Zhongping Brigade, and can be described as a free and easy person.

No matter whether there was any big or small event in Zhongping Brigade, he was almost never seen. One reason was that he was old, and the other was that he had a broken leg and had difficulty walking.

The security directors of other brigades may have to cooperate with the public security special commissioners to do a good job in the brigade's public security work, such as fire prevention and theft prevention. In the Zhongping Brigade, these tasks are shared by the armed company commander Ge Baosheng on behalf of Qiu Yong. If Qiu Yong can avoid working, he will not be required to do so.

Only when conflicts arise between the Han, Ma and Chen families, three major families in Zhongping Brigade, each with hundreds of clansmen, and when even Han Laogou’s intervention is of no use, will Qiu Yong be asked to step in.

As long as Qiu Yong steps in, no matter how big the conflict among the three major surnames in Zhongping Village is, it can be mediated.

The other two big families, Ma and Chen, may not give face to Han Laogou, who also has a large number of clansmen, but they will definitely give face to Mr. Qiu Sanye.

Even now, if Qiu Yong walks on the road in Zhongping, his older peers will still call this disabled old man with a broken leg by a very old name, Qiu Baochang.

If it weren't for Mr. Qiu Sanye who served as the head of Zhongping Town during the Anti-Japanese War, Zhongping would have been massacred by the Japanese invaders long ago.

This is not Qiu Yong bragging, people never mention it, but Xie Hushan's grandmother and even the elderly people who are still alive can testify for Master Qiu San.

Qiu Yong worked as a clerk in the county government for several years during the Republic of China. After the fall of the country, he refused to work for the puppet government and returned to the village to farm. At that time, because he was educated and had seen the world, he became the head of Zhongping Village.

In that era, he was the one who took care of everything, whether it was the Eighth Route Army, bandits, or the Japanese invaders, and he tried his best to carefully preserve Zhongping Village in the chaotic times.

At that time, because Zhongping Village was hiding the Eighth Route Army and everyone refused to reveal the whereabouts of the Eighth Route Army, the angry Japanese drove all the villagers, young and old, to the big earth pit in the east, and machine guns were set up for strafing.

The Japanese planned to kill all the people in Zhongping to serve as a warning to other villages and towns nearby, so that the Chinese would understand the consequences of harboring the Eighth Route Army to fight against the Japanese.

It was Mr. Qiu Sanye, who was the village head at the time, who argued with the Japanese devils, said all the nice things he could, used his own family as a guarantee, and promised to raise enough food for the devils, etc. He pleaded for most of the day and finally saved the entire village from the devils' guns.

There were indeed some Eighth Route Army soldiers hiding in the village back then, and most of them were descendants of the three major surnames. By the way, there was also one from the Xie family. His name was Xie Lao San, nicknamed Hen San Er.

So over the years, the village secretary has changed, but the director of public security has never changed. It has almost become Qiu Yong's exclusive title. When older people see him, they still call him Chief Qiu.

Only when he stepped forward could the families in the village take a step back no matter how big the conflicts were.

When they saw Chief Qiu, the elders from each family could recall the past when they were driven into a big earth pit by the Japanese invaders. They would rather die than reveal the whereabouts of their anti-Japanese descendants. At that time, regardless of whether they were Han or Ma, they were all from Zhongping and would die together.

Compared with the past events of whizzing bullets, their current trivial conflicts seemed insignificant and not worth turning against each other.

F4 At that time, the work team from the city took Qiu Yong away on the grounds that he had served as a Japanese puppet police chief during the Anti-Japanese War and was an accomplice to the Japanese. No matter how the people in Zhongping explained to them, they would not listen.

These bastards are actually just full of energy and have nothing to do. They want to find a reason to bully others and show off their power. They can't afford to offend the two major factions in the city, so they want to show off in the village.

The Zhongping Brigade was forced into a corner. Han Laogou, who was the production team leader of the Ninth Brigade at the time, suddenly had an idea: if they are doing this, then let's do it too, and fight magic with magic.

He gathered a group of people and quickly established the Zhongping Revolutionary Team. They shouted revolutionary slogans, picked up weapons, accused the other side of holding red flags and being anti-revolutionary, and fought with them with real swords and guns, killing several of them. They returned to the city and dared not come back, so they rescued Qiu Yong.

Unfortunately, it was too late. Because Qiu Yong refused to kneel down and confess his guilt, his legs were broken by those bastards and he became disabled.

This old man is the savior of the entire Zhongping Village, a village elder. As soon as Xie Hushan entered the door, he saw Qiu Yong wiping his eyes. Did anyone dare to make him angry?

You're screwed, you want to commit suicide but don't have the courage, so why do you take this opportunity to ask the people of Zhongping for help?

Qiu Yong was bullied, could the other party live until he came back?
It’s not like there are no other militiamen in Zhongping except them. Ge Baosheng is still there, and so are the other armed militia teams.

If anyone really dared to bully Qiu Yong, he would have been tied up by Ge Baosheng and the militia and sent to the Zhongping Brigade Headquarters. Han Laogou said to kill him, and Special Commissioner Lao Feng had to pretend not to see the killing.

Zhang Cheng saw Xie Hushan coming in and asked, "Where are the others?"

"We're on the way. We should be there in half an hour." Xie Hushan said to Zhang Cheng:
"Master, what happened?"

Zhang Cheng did not answer, but said to Qiu Yong in a soothing tone:
"Uncle San, I'll take you back first. Special envoys Lao Feng and Baosheng have already led the people out. Secretary Han has also received the news and is on his way back. Hu Saner and the other children who were working outside have all been called back. The commune and the brigade must be paying attention. Go home and have a rest. Don't get upset because of this. Don't worry, we will definitely bring them back and let you deal with them."

Qiu Yong, who was in his seventies, looked at Xie Hushan, then at Zhang Cheng, and finally reached out and grabbed Zhang Cheng's hand and shook it vigorously. He nodded with a sad face, and slowly stood up to leave.

Without Zhang Cheng's instructions, Xie Hushan immediately stepped forward to help the old man with his crutches and personally sent Qiu Yong back home.

The faces of several people in Qiu Yong's family also looked gloomy. Xie Hushan didn't know the specific situation and didn't dare to ask more. He handed the old man to the other party's relatives and rushed back to the commune.

When they returned to the commune, Han Hongbing and others had already arrived. They were squatting in a row at the door of the office smoking. When they saw Xie Hushan coming back, they all threw away their cigarettes and stood up and followed Xie Hushan in. Xie Hushan entered the door and asked Zhang Cheng:
"Master, what's going on?"

Zhang Cheng took out a half-crumpled diary from the drawer and threw it carelessly on the table:

"Look."

Xie Hushan walked up to it, picked it up, flipped through a few pages, and threw it back with a look of disgust on his face:

"What do I think it is? It's another rubbish handwritten copy of Manna. What's so good about this crap? I read it before when Lao Feng was promoting it and encouraging people who had private collections to hand it in. It's not good at all. I don't know why some people are so enthusiastic about it."

Han Laoer and the others waited for Xie Hushan to put it down, then picked it up and passed it around. Zhang Cheng was holding a cigarette in his mouth, fiddling with the lighter Xie Hushan had given him before, but he was actually observing the performance of these guys without making a sound.

At this moment, when Xie Hushan and the other militiamen saw the handwritten book, in his eyes, although Han Hongbing and the others tried hard to pretend nothing had happened, or imitated Hu Saner to feign disdain, they actually took advantage of the crowd and took a few more curious glances at the contents of the famous pornographic book.

Only Xie Hushan picked up the book openly, flipped through a few pages and then threw it down. Moreover, the disgust and contempt that this guy showed after reading it were definitely not pretended.

It was a kind of disdain that came from the bottom of his heart; he really disdained the descriptions in the book.

He is helpful in life, proactive in production, has strong military skills, and now is not tempted by obscene words. Zhang Cheng feels that it is a loss to the country that his apprentice cannot join the army.

In fact, Zhang Cheng was wrong about this. Xie Hushan's disdain at this moment was not because he was righteous and immune to evil.

It’s because there were countless novels in the previous life that were more exciting than this one. Any banned novel you find on the Internet would be more exciting and detailed than this one. If "Manna", which has more than 2024 words, was published in , it would not even make a splash.

What's more, in his previous life, Xie Hushan didn't need to watch this stuff to express his depression. When he had an idea, he would directly open the short video live broadcast, choose an internet celebrity to negotiate a price, book a room and have a short love for a night. Isn't it better than reading novels to relieve his depression?
Who would watch this stuff?

"Four months ago, a 17-year-old female worker in Shanbei District of the city hanged herself. After examination, it was found that she was two months pregnant. Do you know why she committed suicide?" Zhang Cheng lit a cigarette and asked Xie Hushan.

"It's impossible that he committed suicide from reading too much, right? Besides, what does this have to do with Mr. Qiu Sanye in our team?" Xie Hushan felt that his master was making a big deal out of nothing.

Although it is wrong to read manuscripts secretly in this era, it is not illegal at all. Usually the village loudspeaker encourages people to hand them in secretly and guarantees to keep it confidential.

The men were criticized by the special envoy, and the women were educated by the director of the Women's Federation or the head of the women's group.

How big of a deal can reading be?
Seeing Xie Hushan's behavior, Zhang Cheng took a puff of cigarette and continued:
"She was forced to do so. The police investigated and found that someone had deliberately lent her the manuscript to read. But when she finished reading and wanted to return the book, the person suddenly turned against her and said he would take her to report the case, saying that she was now a hooligan distributing the manuscript."

"If we report the case, once it's reported, everyone in the factory and the society will know that she is a woman with problematic conduct. The girl is an honest person, and she was intimidated by the other party. Then the other party began to force her to date him and his so-called buddies, and acted like a hooligan to her and dragged her into the water."

"Later, the girl became pregnant and could no longer contact those people. The girl was so depressed that she committed suicide."

"Fuck you! You're such a piece of shit! Who! Who did it!" Chen Daxi cursed after hearing what Zhang Cheng said.

After hearing what Zhang Cheng said, Xie Hushan's face turned a little ugly. He originally thought that at most someone was secretly taking a look at the banned book.

I never thought that there are people so bad as to write such rubbish novels and maliciously spread them among young women.

Then they use excuses such as so-called work style issues and hooliganism to threaten the girls and force them to submit, without considering that there are really girls who will be scared by such things and even commit suicide.

Just this matter, if it were 2024, if the other party used this book to seduce young beauties, those beauties would dislike the book being written poorly and not bold enough, just like Xie Hushan, and they might even mock the other party for not having eaten any fine food or read any erotic literature.

If you think about it carefully, in this day and age, most young women still care about their face and reputation, and the atmosphere is not as open as in the previous generation. If they are frightened by the word "work style problem", coupled with their lack of experience in the world, it is indeed easy for them to lose hope and end up in a dead end.

"Mr. Qiu Sanye's house..." Xie Hushan asked Zhang Cheng.

"If it weren't for your sister Daxiu'er, Chief Qiu's granddaughter would have committed suicide just like the girl who hanged herself four months ago. When Old Feng brought his men there, his granddaughter had already been raped." Zhang Cheng sighed regretfully.

"Is there still matter about Daxiu?" Xie Hushan frowned and looked at Zhang Cheng.

Zhang Cheng took out a dozen more hand-rolled cigarettes and half a notebook from the drawer and threw them on the table.

Xie Hushan shook out the tobacco from the dozen or so hand-rolled cigarettes and spread them out. A comparison revealed that the paper used to roll the cigarettes was torn from the missing content on the first few pages of the half-written manuscript.

No need to ask, just by looking at the way these hand-rolled cigarettes were rolled, Xie Hushan knew that they were all Daxiu's masterpieces.

My goodness, the handwritten copies that were considered precious by book lovers were torn into pieces like cigarette paper in her hands.

"On the way to junior high school in the morning, a woman approached Daxiu and said it was a study note. Without further ado, she secretly gave her the manuscript and said that if she wanted to return the book after reading it, she could go to the grove to return it to her at noon." Zhang Cheng said as he watched Xie Hushan's actions.

Han Hongbing and the others were indeed relieved when they heard Zhang Cheng's words. Han Lao Er grinned:
"Return the book? The other party probably wouldn't have thought that Daxiu took the manuscript not to read it, but to roll cigarettes for her grandfather. You can only dream of expecting Daxiu to return the book. Even if you go to her house to ask for the book, Daxiu will never admit it."

Da Xi also spoke up: "Among women, I can't think of anyone who can roll dry tobacco so well. The only other one is Da Xiu'er, who started in the Yuhong class and tore up textbooks to roll cigarettes for her grandfather."

"When Daxiuer came home at noon to tear up the handwritten book to roll cigarettes for her grandfather, her father happened to come home to get something and saw her. He thought she was tearing up the textbook again, and when he took it, he found that it was a handwritten book. He felt that the matter was not simple, so he took Daxiuer to the commune to find Lao Feng and told him the whole story." Lao Feng glanced at everyone:

"Old Feng took people over there as Daxiu said, but it was too late. It turned out that Chief Qiu's granddaughter was also stuffed with books in the morning, and she read it. When she went to return the book after school at noon, she was frightened by two boys..."

"When Lao Feng arrived, the man had already run away."

Everyone fell silent, and Zhang Cheng continued:

"What would be the consequences if the other party gave the manuscript to another girl who loves reading instead of Daxiu'er?"

Xie Hushan was feeling thankful at this moment. It was thanks to his sister Daxiuer that she had read so many books over the years that her head ached as soon as she entered the classroom. If she liked reading, she might have been fooled by the other party.

If something really happened to Daxiu'er, my aunt and my grandmother would probably be so angry that they would die.

With a bang, the door was pushed open, and Han Laogou, who had just returned from a meeting, walked in from outside. His eyebrows were erect, and his wrinkled face was full of anger. He looked around, and finally suddenly pointed at Xie Hushan:

"Hu San, stop itching with Minister Zhang! I called you back so you can have a cigarette and rest your legs! Go! Bring the person back to me!"

Actually, Xie Hushan didn't know where to catch the man, but seeing that Han Laogou's eyebrows were raised, he didn't dare to say anything and offend him. After all, if Han Laogou really got angry, even the county magistrate would tremble, let alone he, Xie Hushan, who was just a junior.

He agreed with his mouth, turned around and walked quickly out the door with his men. Zhang Cheng said to Han Laogou in the house:

"Secretary Han, everyone has gone out. Have a drink of water and sit down to rest. Lao Feng and Baosheng have found a clue and are going to investigate. Wait for them to come back and listen to their intelligence."

Xie Hushan had not walked a few steps out of the team headquarters when he heard Han Chengsong's low, angry curses:

"I don't care whether the country will execute them in the end! But if they dare to harm the girl in Zhongping, I have only one word for them. Kill these bastards first! Even if these two bastards run to the edge of the sky to find Buddha to protect them, I will get them back!"

(End of this chapter)