Back to 1978

Chapter 206: Black and Red Account
Following behind Xie Hushan were Lao Meng, who was helping to carry the tin horn, and Dahei, who was wagging his tail, as they wandered around the village road of Zhongping Brigade.

It was breakfast time, and there were always those shameless members squatting at their doorsteps with their bowls in their hands to eat, swiping the food into their mouths while looking into the distance, and then chatting with the neighbors next to or across the street about why the leaders hadn't arrived yet.

"How many times have I said this these past few days! You guys are so wronged that you can only eat buckwheat noodles and sweet potatoes at home these two days!" Xie Hushan took the tin horn handed over by Lao Meng and shouted at the members of the third team who were eating on the roadside without feeling cold:

"The leader is coming down today, and you still dare to eat white flour buns! If you don't pretend to be poor, what can you use to get money from others? What are you waiting for the leader to come down and get something from us?"

No one took it to heart. Someone held up a bowl of rice and smiled at him, "Hu San'er, do you want to eat something? Your aunt just made some corn grits porridge this morning. Drink some to nourish your stomach."

"Don't try that. Sugar-coated bullets can't corrupt me. The production teams are all cooperating, but you guys in Team 3 are special. What's wrong? You can't stand being wronged for two days?" Xie Hushan turned his face away unsatisfiedly:

"Lao Meng, go back to the brigade headquarters and tell Accountant Zhao who are the disobedient ones. Write them down! Put them on the list! This is a good opportunity to show the leaders how strong we are!"

Lao Meng behind him agreed loudly, turned around and ran towards the brigade headquarters.

"No! My Captain Xie, you great guy! Let's go back to the house and change clothes. We'll go out with our families to beg for food later, okay? No, no, no~ Don't make the list. We are only two cents away from buying a pair of rubber shoes!" When the people who were eating together heard Xie Hushan say that they would be on the list, they immediately dispersed and pretended to run home.

"It's too late to run away. Lao Meng is upright and honest. It's useless for you to follow me through the back door!" Xie Hushan said, pointing at a group of submissive members.

"You are good, kid. When you became the captain, you started with the third team. But since you became an official, you treated us like traitors. You even exposed the red and black accounts of the armed work team." An elder from the third team cursed at Xie Hushan while drinking porridge:

"Hu San'er, if I had known you were such a captain, I would have never voted for you. How wicked! Besides, you used dirty words when you spoke to us just now! You will be deducted points for that too!"

The other party remembered that Xie Hushan had used a foul language just now, and shouted at Lao Meng: "Lao Meng! Hu Saner just cursed! Detain him!"

"I didn't hear it!" Lao Meng turned around and smiled at the other party: "Do you think I'm stupid?"

Then he continued to run towards the team headquarters, making the other party so angry that he stomped his feet and cursed.

"Now you know why I brought Lao Meng with me today. It makes it convenient for me to scold you, and I don't have to worry about Lao Meng holding a grudge against me! I'm on guard against you reporting me!" Xie Hushan said proudly with his hands on his hips.

"Hu San'er, please don't deduct my score this time. I was just one point away from buying a pair of rubber shoes! Your aunt told me to hurry up and get one more point, but now it's been deducted again. If she finds out, I'll really get punished!"

Xie Hushan patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, uncle. If my aunt dares to hit you, I will deduct points from her!"

"Get out of here! Xie Husan'er, you are not a good leader!" When the other party heard that he would be deducted points for being scolded by his wife, he was so angry that he pointed at Xie Hushan and cursed, then turned around and went back home.

This bastard became the captain of Zhongping Battalion and treated the people of Zhongping as traitors and puppet soldiers. He even came up with the same black and red account policy that the armed work teams behind enemy lines during the Anti-Japanese War used to settle accounts with traitors and puppet soldiers.

In other words, Xie Hushan's current brigade has set up an account book for all brigade members, which is controlled by Accountant Zhao, the old bastard who aids and abets the evil.

There was nothing else in that account book except people's names, just black and red dots. Black dots represented mistakes, which resulted in point deductions, while red dots represented good performance, which resulted in extra points.

If you have confidence in yourself and get a lot of red points, then keep accumulating them until the end of the year. At the end of the year, you will have the opportunity to exchange them for large rewards such as bicycles, radios, etc.

Of course, you can also use red dots to convert into affordable ordinary rewards at any time, such as three red dots for a bar of soap, five red dots for a pair of rubber shoes, etc.

If you got a black point, you had to offset it with a red point, just like how the armed work teams behind enemy lines treated traitors. When the brigade found that all the red points of a member had been deducted and they were still not enough to offset the other party's black points, he would be in trouble.

During the Anti-Japanese War, the armed work teams behind enemy lines were responsible for eliminating traitors. However, in Zhongping, he was not considered for any of the brigade's sideline projects for the time being, and his dividends might even be deducted at the end of the year.

Then a new bulletin board with a glass cover was installed at the entrance of the brigade office. Every month, the five people with the most red dots and the five people with the most black dots were posted there to let everyone have a look. The top five people were rewarded with an extra bundle of straw paper.

It is actually easy to get a red dot. You don’t have to work in the fields and achieve results. Women can get a red dot by cleaning the house, taking care of the elderly, or even sweeping the snow on the road outside the door in winter.

Of course, it is easy to have black spots, such as swearing in public, beating and scolding your wife at home, being lazy and not working, gambling secretly or even spitting in public. If you are reported and even the news reaches the ears of the brigade, you will definitely have black spots.

But to be honest, this trick is indeed very effective in dealing with unruly people. For example, when Han Laogou was in charge, the biggest headache was convening a general meeting of all members. Whenever the meeting came, there were always families who found excuses for not wanting to go and sent their own children to the venue to make up the numbers. Then dozens of children would make a lot of noise and disrupt the order of the meeting. The main reason was the lack of governance measures, so this problem could not be stopped despite repeated bans.

Now Xie Hushan came up with the armed work team and cured everyone's problem in one go.

Whoever sends their children will get a black mark on both the couple. If you are not afraid of having your money deducted at the end of the year, then continue to send your children to the meeting.

There are also those couples who fight with each other, and those who are used to swearing in public, but basically they have begun to restrain themselves. After all, it is not for the chance to get some bonus, nor for them to have their salary deducted at the end of the year.

In a short while, Xie Hushan had tidied up the appearance of the village and it looked presentable. At least the road that had been repaired before was flat and clean. After entering the village, the firewood and sundries placed at the door of each household were also neatly arranged.

"I have to bring Lao Meng with me. It won't work if I bring others. Only Lao Meng can take care of me and not add black marks to me." Xie Hushan drove away the group of people, walked back carrying the tin horn, muttering to himself.

The commune notified us three days ago that the leaders of the Prefectural Party Committee would come down for a visit today. They would definitely go to the steel rolling mill and the brigade headquarters. As for whether they would visit the people's homes, it was not certain and would depend on the situation.

In order to prevent the leaders from hanging around the masses' homes, especially the homes of the masses in the third team, Xie Hushan has been instructing the masses in the third team over the past two days to lower the quality of their food and eat some coarse grains which are good for their health.

Don't let this embarrassing situation happen where Xie Hushan is crying and acting pitiful in front of the leader, and then he comes home and lifts the lid of the pot to find hairtail or white bread in it.

When they returned to the team headquarters, Accountant Zhao was wiping the glass of the bulletin board. When Xie Hushan passed by, he found that he was at the top of the list of the top five black spots this month.

"Accountant Zhao... are you stupid? How did you become the brigade accountant? Don't you have any idea?" After seeing his name appear on the list, Xie Hushan patted Accountant Zhao who was still concentrating on cleaning the windows, pointed at his name and asked, "What good is it to be ranked first on the blacklist? What? Are you waiting for the brigade's armed work team to come and kill me?"

Accountant Zhao looked at Xie Hushan and said, "Everyone complains that you always swear. This is the case seven or eight times. You are the team leader, so you should set an example and make mistakes..."

"If they don't scold me, who will listen to me? Hurry up and replace my name. If not, put Ma Laowu's name on it first. There were several times when he was too embarrassed to speak, so I scolded him. This should be counted on him." After Xie Hushan finished speaking, he entered the brigade headquarters.

Not long after I entered the brigade headquarters, the commune attendant came running over on his bicycle:
"Captain Xie, Secretary Han and Deputy Captain Ma have already gone to the commune to wait. The county called to say that the people have already left by car. Secretary Yin said that if you are notified, you should also go to the commune to wait. The leaders must go to the commune first, receive them there, and then go back to the brigade together."

Xie Hushan followed the other party to the commune. Han Laogou, Ma Laowu, Yang Liming, and Zhang Cheng were drinking water and talking in Secretary Yin's room. When they saw Xie Hushan come in, Han Laogou, Secretary Yin, and Ma Laowu turned their heads away.

"The leader has no tolerance. He just drank some croton water. Is it a big deal?" Xie Hushan shamelessly sat down next to Yang Liming.

When a group of cadres from Zhongping Brigade were waiting for their leader's car at the commune, someone from Zhongping quietly entered the village.

"Is anyone home? I want to ask you for some hot water." A middle-aged man wearing a military coat, a fur cotton hat, and pushing an old bicycle stood on the side of Zhongping Road, raised the army green kettle he was carrying, and shouted towards an open courtyard gate.

The curtain of the main room was opened, and Chen Damazi walked out:
"Yes, come in first. It's burning on the stove. It should boil over soon. I'll fill a pot for you when it boils."

"Hey! Thank you!" The other party smiled and thanked Chen Damazi, pushing his bicycle into the courtyard: "You've been pedaling for a long time, maybe you've had a bad stomach, otherwise I wouldn't ask you for water."

"It's okay. Everyone has to go out sometimes. Come in and sit for a while. It's cold outside." Chen Damazi lifted the curtain and greeted the other party warmly.

"Is it appropriate? My sister-in-law is at home..." the other party asked embarrassedly.

"I'm home alone. It's okay. You came at the right time. I'm going to lock the door and leave after I boil the water. Come in." Chen Damazi invited the other person into the east room.

The other party looked around the house, walked into the house and sat on the edge of the kang. He politely took out a box of Beidaihe from his pocket and gave it to Chen Damazi:
"Brother, have a cigarette, thank you."

"What kind of cigarettes? Xiaobei, try mine." When Chen Damazi saw Beidaihe, he did not take it. Instead, he took out a box of Panda cigarettes from his pocket and gave one to the other party.

This style made the other party stunned. He took it and looked at the cigarette, then looked at Chen Damazi. Chen Damazi had already taken out another cigarette and put it in his mouth, and was fumbling for a match.

The other party finally reacted and took out his own matches to light up Chen Damazi first, then he lit one for himself, then took a puff of the cigarette, looked at the cigarette label, and asked Chen Damazi:
"Brother, this cigarette is not cheap, I have never seen it before."

"It's produced by the Tianjin Cigarette Factory. Many people in Yanjing smoke it. I heard that some senior leaders also smoke this brand. But it's a special supply and ordinary people can't buy it." Chen Damazi said with great knowledge.

The middle-aged man nodded, but then he smiled suddenly:
"Wow~ then your conditions are good. Look at this room, there is a radio and a sewing machine, the chairs are made of good wood, and he is smoking a good cigarette. Don't tell me you are faking it. When I came from the village entrance, I heard someone say that some leader was coming today, and your team asked you to install it."

"Pretend? You have to pretend, but not like this. You have to pretend to be poor! Our captain ordered that the leader come here, so it can't be for nothing. Can you take advantage of the country by pretending to have a good life? You have to be poor and make a fuss! I tell you, anyone who pretends to be rich is stupid. Please rest assured, leader, we eat well and dress well... It's pure nonsense! You can't tell the leader that you eat well and dress well. You have to be hungry and cold. The crying child gets candy." When Chen Damazi heard that the other party thought he was a fake arranged by the team to wait for the leader's inspection, he said with disdain:
"Those big fools are so careless that they say anything. If the leader drove past them and happened to hear that they were pretending, they would definitely be punished. They are so stupid that they should be given black marks. These bastards should be punished to death for not cooperating with the team's work at all. Don't they see that I have a good condition? I have to lock the door and pretend that no one is home, just because I am afraid that the leader will push the door and see the radio and sewing machine."

"I also heard that you guys in Zhongping are living well now. Is that true or not? I don't have many relatives here, and I only heard from people at the market that one of my brothers' daughters has reached a certain age, and someone introduced her to a guy from Zhongping. My family doesn't know the specific situation here, so you could tell me about it, brother. I hope this girl won't suffer if she marries here." The middle-aged man asked curiously, holding a cigarette between his legs.

Chen Damazi pouted proudly and held up five fingers: "What are you thinking? You still want to suffer? Marry to this place and enjoy the good life. Can't you see it from the houses? Which brigade can have such neat houses as our Zhongping families? I tell you, I dare not say about other production teams, but at least in our third team, I estimate that at least one strong laborer can get this amount next year."

"Oh~ five hundred?" The middle-aged man widened his eyes, looking shocked.

"I deliberately didn't say much." Chen Damazi took his hand back. "It was our captain who didn't let us tell anyone, for fear of scaring the other teams. Don't worry, your relative's daughter can marry Zhongping. By the way, what's the surname of the man you introduced? Let me see if I know him and help you check it out."

"I heard his surname is Xie?" The middle-aged man said with a smile, "I don't know either, it seems to be Xie."

"That's not possible. There are not many people with the surname Xie in Zhongping. There is only one person with the surname Xie who is old enough to get married, and that's our team leader Xie Hushan. He has a wife. If it's from the village next door, the child of Xie Laoer should have a suitable one. But I don't know the details, so you can ask. Don't ask if it's not Zhongping, but the team next door. That would be a rip-off. Although they are close, the value of their work points is far less than that of Zhongping." When Chen Damazi heard the other party say that his surname was Xie, he thought about it seriously. Xie is an unmarried surname in Zhongping, and the only unmarried man of marriageable age is Xie Hushan.

But there might be some unscrupulous matchmaker who would deliberately vaguely say that the brigade next to Zhongping is Zhongping in order to deceive the girl.

The middle-aged man nodded: "Then I will go back and ask their family in detail. By the way, listen to what you said, brother, your captain is still quite young. Can young people convince others?"

"Tsk, how can he convince everyone? Who is our captain? Haven't you seen the notice board at the entrance of our team? My goodness, the black and red lists are all out. You really can't refuse to obey. Who can think of such a method? Treating the masses the way they treat traitors? But don't tell me, if you perform well, you will be rewarded. He gives you a stick in one hand and a sweet date in the other. He is so smooth. Although everyone scolds him behind his back, they also praise him. In the past, men who beat their wives could not be coaxed or persuaded by the women's director no matter how many times. But he cured them after just one visit." Chen Dama flicked off the ash from his cigarette and said.

The middle-aged man asked curiously: "A man of such age can still do women's work. This kind of thing is not easy to mediate, right? How does he deal with it?"

"How did he cure it? You would never guess. He threatened the man, saying that the brigade would arrange for him to do a side job elsewhere and he would not be able to come back for at least two or three years. He could go without worry and he guaranteed that his wife would give birth to two children for him when he came back. Otherwise, you can beat your wife to death today to completely eliminate this possibility. Or, from today on, don't beat your wife anymore. If you dare to beat her, she will definitely be sent away. If you don't go, it means you are not listening to the brigade's arrangements. At the end of the year, you will be squeezed to death in terms of dividends and food rations." Chen Damazi introduced with a chuckle.

The middle-aged man frowned: "Isn't he afraid that the husband will get angry and beat him?"

"Hey, those men in the countryside who beat their wives are all cowards outside and only dare to bully at home. If they have any backbone, who would take their anger out on their wives, wouldn't they go outside to find trouble and fight to vent their anger? They are the kind of guys who don't dare to cause trouble to the other party after being offended outside, and come back to take their anger out on their wives after drinking a few sips of cat urine. They bully the weak and fear the strong. They are afraid that the team will really send them to other places, and then other men will line up to provide warmth for their wife. So later on, they just curse at her and don't dare to hit her again, because everyone knows that our team leader is really shameless and he does what he says." Chen Damazi said.

"The traitors and the black and red list you just mentioned are the same system used by the armed work teams to rate traitors. Did he use it on ordinary people?"

"That's right. This trick is always a bad move. Otherwise, even traitors would be afraid of it. Now, no one in the team dares to urinate or spit anywhere. How can it be fair? The water is boiling. I'll fill it for you. After that, I'll lock the door and go to the market to visit those sideline stalls selling dried shrimps." Chen Damazi said with a smile. At this time, the kettle on the stove in the main room started to ring. He stood up and picked up the kettle to help the other party fill the water. He asked him casually:
"Brother, you look like you've come from so far away, where are you from?"

The middle-aged man held a cigarette in his mouth and said calmly, "I'm from Yaoshan. I'm going to drink some hot water from you and go to Zhongping Commune."

(End of this chapter)