Back to 1978

Chapter 161: I Have a Plan
"Second Uncle, did Ma Laowu mention to you what I said to him before, that we can ask a group of members from Yakou to come and help our team harvest wheat? Don't worry about the cost, the steel rolling mill can take care of it. If you are worried about the expenses, I will tell you that the quality of the steel coils is not good, and I will deduct one dollar from the workers per month. After two or three months, the money will be returned. It is equivalent to the workers from Yakou paying the people who help with the work on behalf of our team." Xie Hushan said to Han Laogou with a smile.

Of course he couldn't really be so stupid as to deduct the workers' money, but he was afraid that Han Laogou didn't agree to hire people because he was reluctant to spend money.

He had mentioned this to Ma Laowu who was visiting the steel mill before. Ma Laowu thought it was a good idea and said he would ask Han Laogou about it later.

As a result, seeing that Han Laogou didn't mention this matter just now, I don't know whether Ma Laowu didn't have the courage to mention it or he forgot about it, Xie Hushan simply told Han Laogou himself.

Han Laogou patted Xie Hushan's shoulder with satisfaction:

"I know you want to save everyone some hardship. Old Five also told me about it. But you can't do that. You didn't use the brigade to provide money and manpower to build the steel mill. Someone reported it to the commune, saying that the Zhongping Brigade was going to take the capitalist road and no longer adhere to the agricultural policy of taking grain as the key link and developing in an all-round way. If you do something like this again, won't that give people more reasons to report you?"

"Who is it? Why didn't Lao Yang tell me about this report? Hey, this pretty boy, he ate so much at noon, but he kept the information from me!" Xie Hushan frowned and muttered to himself.

I'm already selfless enough just to make some money.

The cost of setting up the factory was raised by patriotic compatriots, and the junk equipment was begged from the county. It did not occupy the brigade members, nor did it require any investment from the brigade, and 20% of the profits were given to the brigade. Does this count as encouraging Zhongping Brigade to capitalize?

I swear to God, Xie Hushan did nothing except eating specially prepared meals, concealing some production output, taking some money from the factory to help his father-in-law rebuild his house, taking some more money to let Song Tiesheng find a new job in the railway system, asking the factory to pay several salaries to his family, and secretly letting more than 100 members of the third team come to the factory after dark to get some cheap meals.

If what he did is considered as capitalist-movement, Ma Da from the glass factory should be shot.

I am so selfless that I only eat four dishes and one soup for a meal, and two of them are vegetarian. How simple is that? And yet someone reports me for being a capitalist-tracker?
Where does it make sense.

"A few of them are just fools who wish the commune could resume the big pot system and hope you can pay everyone in the brigade a salary without asking them to work, Old Left." Han Laogou laughed and said to Xie Hushan:
"You have to use your brain. Those guys are just trying to take advantage. According to my opinion, they should be sent to labor reform and taught a lesson. But Secretary Yang was soft-hearted and let them go after threatening them with a few words."

Han Laogou treated it as a joke and told Xie Hushan about the steel rolling mill being reported.

After the steel mill started production, several people in the brigade ran to the commune to report that Zhongping Brigade had set up a steel mill and had it managed by an individual, only taking a commission. This was a deviation from the mass line, taking the capitalist road, and not adhering to the agricultural policy of taking grain as the key link and promoting comprehensive development.

This is a big accusation and sounds very intimidating. According to the procedures, the commune leaders must have a serious discussion with the Zhongping Brigade about this issue.

Then Han Laogou was taken to the office of Secretary Yin of the commune.

After only ten minutes of talking, Secretary Yin confessed everything...

Not to mention who the whistleblower was, Secretary Yin was almost about to tell Han Laogou the truth about the color of his pants he was wearing.

When Old Man Han needs to be ruthless, he is really hard-hearted, otherwise his own daughter would not have visited him for so many years.

He was not interested in doing ideological work, and he did not understand theory. He was a practical man born in a peasant family. If anyone was dishonest and affected the development of the team, he would generally choose the most direct way to solve the problem.

According to Han Laogou, since the whistleblowers felt that the brigade's actions were unfair, the brigade should find a way to send these whistleblowers to work in the steel rolling mill to supervise the mill so that it does not deviate from the mass line. They can also transfer their agricultural household registration to rural non-agricultural household registration so that they can enjoy the treatment of social workers.

It seems that the crying child gets the milk, and Han Laogou is trying to solve the employment and household registration problems for these people. But in fact, he wants to make an example of them to scare the monkeys.

To have a non-agricultural household registration in the rural area, one must be someone like Xie Qimao and Zhang Cheng. Although the production team does not have their land, the state pays them a salary, and they need to buy their own food.

He fooled the old leftists who reported him and turned to non-agricultural work, and he was just a worker in the team-run enterprise. On the surface, it seemed that he had a stable job just like Xie Qimao and others.

But Xie Qimao and Zhang Cheng are paid by the state, and the team-run enterprises are responsible for their own profits and losses, and the team has the final say.

Once these people arrive at the factory, they will not be accepted back to the production team.

In the factory, they were asked to do whatever work was most strenuous, just like labor reform.

If you dare to be lazy, your salary will be deducted. If you dare to complain, Xie Hushan will fire you directly.

By then, the few people from Zhongping with non-agricultural household registration, who have no land, no team, and no jobs, will not be able to go far even to beg for food. If they dare to go to the county town to beg, they will be treated as vagrants and driven back.

This is Han Laogou's attitude. He thinks that the whistleblower is just someone who has nothing to do and has no idea who he is after eating his fill for several years.

They deserve to be hungry. If they are starved for a few years, their attitude will change and they will understand who has deviated from the mass line.

He mentioned his idea to Yang Liming. After all, Yang Liming was also the second secretary of the brigade, and he had the right to know about such matters.

This scared Yang Liming. What a crime! This person didn’t deserve the death penalty.

A few half-baked farmers who thought they knew everything about world affairs were dissatisfied with Xie Hushan taking 10% of the profits in the name of helping the team to build a steel rolling mill, so they reported it to the commune in the normal way.

Han Laogou was sentenced to exile to his village and to be unable to return to being a farmer until his death.

If we can't buy food and don't have jobs, we might really starve to death.

Therefore, Yang Liming rejected Han Laogou's proposal to make an example of these people and carry out labor reform. Instead, he went to several people's homes to have heart-to-heart talks with them. He started with the seriousness of the policy and earnestly explained to them what it meant to follow the mass line and what it meant to take the lead.

Why did the brigade, commune and county encourage and affirm Xie Hushan, and even the county helped him solve some equipment problems in running the factory?

The point is that Xie Hushan is not a troublemaker, he is taking the lead.

In any revolutionary work in this country, it is always the cadres who take the lead and charge forward first; when there are problems, the cadres are the first to fall.

No problem. If the cadres take the lead and lead well, other people can rest assured and follow his path and move forward steadily.

It does not mean that all the masses just keep standing still and doing things in a group, which means we are following the mass line and uniting the majority of the masses.

It doesn't mean that Xie Hushan's move away from the outside world means he is engaged in capitalist-roading and deviates from the mass line.

He is the brigade's security director. As a cadre, he must take the lead, explore the way forward for the members of Zhongping, and overcome difficulties. This is his responsibility as a cadre of the Zhongping Brigade.

"Secretary Yang has solid theoretical knowledge, a good temper, and is pleasant to the ear. He is really good at ideological work. Listen to the sentences I just learned. They are so well-written. A bunch of rough people can understand them. Wow, this is real talent." Han Laogou felt unsatisfied after smoking Peony cigarettes, so he picked up his pipe and refilled it. He praised Yang Limin to Xie Hushan:
"Those few people really let Secretary Xiao Yang convince them. They got a good deal."

Han Laogou seldom praised the commune cadres, but after listening to Han Laogou's description, Xie Hushan could already imagine Yang Liming riding his bicycle after get off work at the commune every evening and knocking on the doors of the whistleblowers.

Wearing glasses, with a smile on his face, maybe even carrying something in his hands, he would go to someone's house and sit there under the pretext of eating for free.

He would sit and chat with someone for two or three hours, until the moon was at its highest point in the sky and people closed their doors. Then the pretty boy, with a tired look on his face and a sore throat, would push his bicycle and go back to the commune dormitory alone to rest.

The Youth League Committee Secretary has made him do such a mess. When Lao Yang becomes the commune secretary, won’t he have to chat with these rough guys all night long?
Sooner or later you'll be exhausted to death.

They helped me solve the problem, but I didn't even give them credit. As a result, I concealed the production volume from them and detained their wife in the factory, forcing them to work with Taozi for an entire afternoon...

I am indeed a bit dishonest...

But Xie Hushan thought about it and thought it was nothing, after all, he was his nephew. "He just helped you to suppress one problem, so don't make a fuss about it. If we really hire outsiders to help our brigade, other brigades will be jealous and cause trouble. If you hire them this year, will you still hire them next year?" Seeing that Xie Hushan didn't say anything, Han Laogou continued to talk to himself:
"If you don't hire someone, someone in our team will definitely say something strange behind your back. Some people may even say something unpleasant. Those people with low awareness may deliberately not work hard and force you to find someone to help harvest the wheat so that they can save some time and be lazy."

"We peasants are all cheap people. Once we enjoy good things, we don't want to suffer. After eating delicious food, we can't eat cornbread and pickled vegetables. If you can't feed them without them having to work, then you'd better not give them the first chance. The work that everyone should do should not be reduced at all."

Han Laogou spoke seriously, but Xie Hushan actually didn't think so much about it. He simply considered how to make the elders and villagers in his team less tired and let the people at Yakou earn some hard-earned money.

But since Han Laogou said so, and he really considered it carefully, Xie Hushan no longer insisted. He thought about it and changed his words:
"I see, Second Uncle. Let's put it this way. I'm young, and I'm not like you old farmers who can predict the weather for ten days or half a month like Zhuge Liang who observed the sky at night."

"If you think the weather is bad, let me know in advance. I'll have Taozi's father bring people from Yakou to join the production and help out in an emergency. You don't have to tell them to hire money. Just let them praise the people at Yakou for their kindness."

"Yeah." Han Laogou nodded:
"Okay, I hope we don't have to use them. If it really rains, no matter how many people come to help, I'm afraid everyone won't be happy."

After returning to the factory, in the evening, Lv Yuan and Yang Liming were allowed to return to the commune dormitory to live their life as a couple. Xie Hushan called Han Laoer, Chen Daxixi and several other militiamen to have dinner together.

While chewing a steamed bun, Chen Daxi asked Han Laoer for the contact information of the girl he met in the afternoon.

Han Hongbing's elder brother Han Hongjun had written home that he would be discharged from the army at the end of last year. However, after a fight broke out with the South Vietnamese monkeys, for some unknown reason, he was unable to return.

This made Han Laoer's parents a little nervous. Although they certainly hoped that their son would return safely, they also had to make some other considerations.

That is to use Han Lao Er to temporarily take over the responsibility of the eldest son. No one knows when Han Lao Da will come, so Han Lao Er has to get married and have children before Han Lao Da, and fulfill the obligation to inherit the Han family's incense.

His family has already approved a residential plot for Han Hongbing and is just waiting to find a suitable girl. During the winter break this year, they will help Han Laoer build a new house.

"Chief of Staff Han, if you don't like her, don't waste it. Can you tell me? I think that girl is pretty good." Chen Daxi bit his steamed bun and said to Han Hongbing:
"She's tall, with a big braid. She doesn't have any flaws except that her skin is a little dark. I think she's prettier than Taozi. Taozi is too thin and her height is..."

Xie Hushan didn't even need to say anything, Han Laoer, Zhang Shengli, Ma Yougen and other militiamen started beating Chen Daxixi directly.

"You deserve it! You're courting death, Daxi. If you scold me, they may not beat you up. Maybe these bastards will scold you together. But if you say Taozi is not good..." Xie Hushan drank beer and scolded Chen Daxi who was beaten:

"Look at what you did. You told my wife behind my back that I was caught having a pot accident at the guesthouse, and you told my wife in front of me that she was ugly behind my wife's back. You tried to sow discord between us both!"

"No more to say. Considering that you have fought with me all these years, I will spare your life. Now you can be castrated."

Chen Daxi held his head and begged for mercy. Han Laoer and the others sat back at the table, scolding Chen Daxi with a smile:
"Are you rebelling? You still dare to say that Taozi is not good? Did you feed the food Taozi sent you to the dog?"

"That's right, you have no conscience! Also, in your eyes, every girl is pretty, even bitches are as pretty as fairies!" Ma Yougen echoed from the side.

Then Xie Hushan, Han Laoer, Zhang Shengli and others all looked at Ma Yougen.

Ma Yougen was stunned for a second. The next second, Chen Daxi was the first to react. He held Ma Yougen down with a steamed bun in his mouth and beat him up:

"Fuck! You mean every girl is pretty, even bitches are pretty, but peaches are not pretty?"

Chen Daxi grabbed Ma Yougen's neck, not giving him a chance to explain, and shouted to Taozi who was serving them food in the distance:

"Sister-in-law, Yougen said you are not as good-looking as a dog! What should I do with you? Give me a word!"

"..." Taozi brought the dishes and walked towards the cafeteria. Lv Yuan was there at noon. Otherwise, she would never accompany Xie Hushan to eat with his friends. Before leaving, she asked Chen Daxi to let go of Ma Yougen. Her face was almost red from being strangled:
"Which girl is pretty enough to marry Yougen?"

Chen Daxi was eager to show his loyalty to Xie Hushan: "It's too good for him. Commander Xie, what do you think?"

"Whatever my wife says is true. He can marry the prettiest girl. But I'll add one more thing. He should enjoy the same treatment as you. Hurry up and get rid of the roots. You two can discuss who will be the first to be cut off."

After Xie Hushan finished his joke, he waited for everyone else to come over and start drinking, then he raised his beer and clinked it with Han Laoer:
"What's the matter? Your mother arranged it for you, but you didn't like it?"

"In the afternoon, the matchmaker brought the girl and her mother to our factory for a walk. My mother asked me to follow her and take a look." Han Hongbing took a sip of beer.
"I'm not interested. She's a nice girl, but I just don't like her."

Xie Hushan said to Han Hongbing:
"Isn't this what I told you after we met Taozi, that you said all my words?"

"Besides, it's fine if her skin is a little darker. When Taozi first met me, she looked like a stray cat, not very attractive... Look at her now. I helped her grow taller, and her face has grown a lot, too."

"You should learn from me and buy some nice things for the girls to dress them up and make them look better. There is only one difference between rural girls and city girls. The only difference is that their living conditions are poor. If you have money and conditions, there are more beautiful girls than those in the city!"

Han Hongbing was amused by Xie Hushan's words and explained, "It's almost there, we don't see eye to eye."

Xie Hushan chuckled, "I see. First love is the most beautiful. I always think that when I look for a wife, I should look for someone like Lin the Translator, someone who knows how to dress up and is a bit petty bourgeois, someone who can play with you in an ambiguous way, touch you and kiss you, right?"

Han Hongbing hesitated to speak awkwardly, and Xie Hushan patted him on the shoulder:

"It's nothing to be ashamed of. I understand. Many rough men from humble backgrounds end up marrying women like Lin the Translator because they like that kind of energy. One more person like you won't make much difference."

"But, my Chief of Staff Han, with your personality, if you really marry a woman with the personality of Lin the Translator, won't you be controlled to death by her?"

"And Lin the translator likes you because you are good at fighting. Can you take on dozens of people in Hong Kong Island by yourself? No, it's because you can spend money like water in Hong Kong Island and stay at the Regent every night."

"Why do girls from the mainland like you? Because you can work in the fields? Because you can make and roll steel? And how do you communicate? They talk to you about poetry, Gorky and Voltaire, and you talk to them about sorghum rice and postpartum care for sows?"

"So, if you really like that kind of thing, my suggestion is that once you have money, you can keep a few more women of your type as mistresses outside."

"As for life, you should still marry a good-looking and sensible girl who can take care of the housework and raise children for you and live a stable life with you. You and your husband can make progress together."

"What does it mean for a couple to make progress together? That's what I do now. I let Taozi use a dictionary to read literary novels when she's free, so that she can learn some knowledge and improve her self-cultivation. I'm not idle either. When I can't sleep at night, I often flip through pornographic manuscripts or something like that. This ensures that the couple always have a common language."

"You were talking about getting the machine, why did you bring it up with my getting married? Let's get down to business." Han Hongbing didn't want to listen to Xie Hushan's nonsense, and tried to turn the topic back to the matter of getting the machine the day after tomorrow.

Seeing that he didn't want to talk, Xie Hushan didn't say any more. Dating is a very personal matter, and only the person who drinks the water knows whether it is hot or cold.

Han Lao Er was really determined to find a petty bourgeois literary young woman as his wife, and no one could stop him, so Xie Hushan took the opportunity to talk about getting a machine:

"Secretary Han said that when we do things in Zhongping, we must be reasonable and cannot always rely on violence to solve problems. I think so too. I will receive the machine the day after tomorrow, and I will not resort to violence if I can."

"If we don't take action, then why did you call us, Commander Xie?" several militiamen asked in confusion.

Everyone is eating Xie Hushan's special meal tonight with an attitude of eating up their enemies, isn't it because the day after tomorrow this guy will ask them to follow him to help beat someone up?

If they didn't help in the fight, they wouldn't feel at ease while eating this meal.

Xie Hushan looked at everyone and said slowly and forcefully:
"I have a plan. If used well, it can defeat the enemy without bloodshed."

(End of this chapter)