Back to 1978

Chapter 207: Locking the Leader in His Home

"Could it be that the leader's car is also an NJ-130? And it was manufactured in the same factory as the one in our brigade?" Xie Hushan looked at the sun outside the window and said:

"It's been over an hour since I made the call and he still hasn't arrived. How can a high-ranking leader like you deserve to enjoy the same special car treatment as Secretary Yin and my master?"

Zhang Cheng and Xie Hushan's uncle Kou Donghan walked in from outside. Everyone in the room immediately looked at the two of them. Zhang Cheng looked at Yin Qianfeng:

"I arranged for the commune driver to drive the steel rolling mill's car to the road. If it got stuck on the road, they could take it over. Lao Kou's maintenance workers also followed the car over. If the leader's car was really broken, they could also repair it."

"Old Kou, sit down quickly and have some water. There's nothing to do at the station today. After we serve the leaders away, you, me, Old Zhang, and that guy, Old Han from the power company, will come over to my room for a drink in the evening." Secretary Yin greeted Kou Donghan warmly.

Ma Laowu even stood up and offered his seat to Kou Donghan: "Stationmaster Kou, you sit here, sit here."

"Donghan is here. Your farm machinery station is short of firewood. It's cold, so if there's not enough firewood, don't make do. Ask your wife to go to my firewood pile and get some." When Han Laogou saw Kou Donghan coming in, the frown on his face relaxed a lot.

Yang Limin didn't react as much as the other three. He just sat in his original position and greeted Kou Donghan with a smile: "Brother Kou."

He understood why Secretary Yin, Han Laogou, and Ma Laowu were so warm to Kou Donghan. They were really doing things for the victim. Xie Hushan, that bastard, secretly added croton water to the water for these three people. He was so wicked. He deliberately arranged for the three of them to go to the pipe factory and made them drink the water there. Then the workers there occupied the toilets.

Even if they were leaders, there was no reason for them to have priority when going to the toilet, so the three of them ran towards the village like rabbits, holding their stomachs with one hand and holding the handlebars with the other. The pipe factory was not far from the village, and at the critical moment, the three of them rushed into the toilet in the masses' homes.

A group of Zhongping residents had the opportunity to see the three leaders rushing to the toilet at the same time and adding bricks and tiles to the brigade's manure pit.

The three of them didn't need to ask Xie Hushan face to face again, because this guy would never admit it even if they were beaten to death. According to Han Laogou's suggestion, they should ask Xie Hushan's master Zhang Cheng to go over and give this guy a beating. Secretary Yin felt that this was not a good idea, because no matter how close the master was, he was still an outsider and he was hesitant to take action against him, so he recommended Kou Donghan.

Then, on the second day after the Zhongping people watched the three leaders compete in riding bicycles to the toilet, they saw the team leader Xie Hushan running for his life in the street, with Kou Donghan holding his belt and trying to beat him from behind.

"Uncle." Xie Hushan stood up and greeted Kou Donghan with a smile.

Kou Donghan told Secretary Yin his guess: "It's cold, I think there's a greater chance that you won't be able to get a taxi. The maintenance guy brought a toolbox with him, and it's not a particularly serious problem, so he should be able to fix it on the spot."

While we were still waiting, outside, Chen Damazi pedaled his bicycle until it was almost smoking, and rushed into the commune compound like crazy. He was a member of the masses, and few people came to the commune compound. At this time, he didn't know which room Xie Hushan was in, so he could only shout at the top of his voice:
"The leader is coming! Hu Saner! Something happened! The leader is coming!"

"How come he got the news first that the leader was coming?" Xie Hushan saw Chen Damazi running around in the yard like a chicken with blood pumped up, and stood up and pushed the door open to go out: "The leader is coming, not the Japanese, you should be more stable, what's going on, did you see the leader coming into the village?"

He thought it was the leader's special car entering the village and was just encountered by Chen Damazi, so Chen Damazi rushed over to report the news first.

At this time, everyone else in the room came out, tidied up their appearance, and prepared to greet the leader.

Chen Damazi wiped the sweat from his forehead and nodded vigorously to Xie Hushan: "I saw it!"

"Finally they're here." Secretary Yin breathed a sigh of relief. Even if they were difficult to serve, it was better than just waiting there.

"Where do you think the leader is?" Han Laogou asked Chen Damazi.

The next second, Chen Damazi said something that petrified everyone on the spot:

"He came here on a bicycle. He was at my house. I was afraid he would run away, so I locked him in the house, and then I came to report the incident!"

"You ate too much kelp and your brain got damaged, didn't you?" Xie Hushan turned his head away angrily: "If you were a leader, I would ride a donkey like you and sell dried shrimps on the streets of Shilibazhuang."

He had never seen older cadres going on incognito visits these days. It was possible for young cadres to come down on bicycles, but the main thing was that young cadres did not need to go incognito. Even if they hung a work ID card around their necks to identify themselves, the farmers would not be afraid of them.

Yin Qianfeng, Yang Limin, and Han Laogou's faces changed immediately. They looked at each other, and Han Laogou asked Chen Damazi, "What's going on?"

"I was about to lock the door and leave when he rode his bicycle to get some hot water. We chatted while the water was boiling. When I was about to leave, I asked him where he was going. He said he was from Yaoshan and was going to Zhongping Commune... I thought to myself, this is bad. The leader also knows how to use the armed work team. He is disguised as a spy. Then I locked him in my house when he wasn't paying attention. Look, he rode this bicycle here!"

"How do you know he is a leader?" Yin Qianfeng felt his heart starting to feel uncomfortable again. The greatest disaster in his life was going to Zhongping to be an official.

Zhang Cheng walked over and looked at the bicycle stamp with proficiency. Ordinary people couldn't understand these stamp numbers, but he could. After reading them, he nodded to Yin Qianfeng: "The stamp from Yaoshan City."

"I threatened him through the door and asked him what he did. If he didn't tell the truth, our captain would take action against him! After that, he was at a loss whether to laugh or cry, and said his name was Zuo Jing and he came from the city to visit the countryside." said Chen Damazi.

Yin Qianfeng was the head of the commune and remembered the names of the leaders in the city and county most clearly. When he heard the name mentioned by Chen Damazi, his mind raced and he immediately gave an answer: "Zuo Jing, ranked eleventh in the Yaoshan Prefectural Committee, Secretary-General of the Prefectural Committee."

"That's okay. Once a cadre ranks above number three, even a fart will be as light as smoke." Chen Damazi was almost scared to death, but when he heard Yin Qianfeng say that this guy was ranked eleventh, he realized there was nothing to be afraid of.

This is just like a staff officer without a chief, whose farts make no sound. Listen, he is ranked eleventh. He must be the kind of person who is not allowed to smoke in the government.

"Also serves as the secretary of the Yaoshan Planning Committee." Yin Qianfeng added.

Although after 1978, the Prefectural Party Committee Planning Commission no longer held full power over all planning of a city as before, and materials, production, economy and the like were gradually separated and placed under the charge of formal units, it was not an ordinary government office that was neglected.

We are still in the planned economy, and as long as planning is needed, the existence of this committee cannot be ignored, otherwise the secretary general of the prefectural committee can take on the role. If Chen Damazi hadn't acted like this, he might have gotten a lot of benefits by crying and wiping tears with the other party. After all, the leadership of the Planning Committee determines the allocation and tilt of resources in this city.

The simplest example is that if a leader sees that Zhongping is indeed pitiful, with naked children everywhere on the streets, he may be soft-hearted and with just a few words, the supply and marketing cooperative may be filled with cloth, and he may sell unlimited quantities of cloth to the people of Zhongping.

Yin Qianfeng rubbed his face and looked at Xie Hushan: "If this hadn't happened, it would have been most appropriate to cry poor to this leader. Unfortunately, everyone in your team has locked him up. Hurry up and think of a way to solve this problem. You... this is nonsense! How can you do this! The country has policies for the countryside! How can you do this! He is the leader of the prefectural party committee! You think he is a commune cadre, who can joke with you when he is not seen when he is down or when he is up! Where is Xiao Feng! Call Xiao Feng here! You are lawless! A bunch of unruly people!"

Yin Qianfeng's voice suddenly became higher and more stern, leaving everyone a little confused. Fortunately, everyone reacted quickly and no one spoke. Instead, they looked in the direction he was looking.

I saw a young man wearing a military coat and glasses carrying a middle-aged man coming in from outside the compound.

When Chen Damazi saw the middle-aged man on the rear carriage, he swallowed his saliva and whispered to everyone, "That's him. Hey, how did he get out? I have the key. Who is the young man? I haven't seen him before."

"Comrade, where are you from? Who are you looking for in our commune? Today we..." Yin Qianfeng didn't bother to pay attention to Chen Damazi. He smiled and greeted the two people who came in, with a very polite tone.

"Stop pretending, stop pretending." The middle-aged man got off the back seat of the bicycle with one leg, stretched his body, and signaled Yin Qianfeng, whose forehead was sweating, to shut up:

"Don't raise your voice any more. Even if you do, I know you're all in the same group. Secretary Yin of Zhongping Commune, right?"

"It's me, comrade, you are..." Yin Qianfeng still wanted to hold on.

The other person blew on his exposed hands and pointed at Chen Damazi: "Didn't you hear this comrade say my name is Zuo Jing? I heard him talking outside the compound, how could you not hear him? Without him leading the way, I really wouldn't know which direction the commune should go, and I would have to ask someone else. Now it's easier."

"Oh, Secretary Zuo, the county notified us that they will drive you down here. I don't know how the news got out. What's wrong with you? It's too cold. It's easy to get cold riding a bicycle..." Secretary Yin hurriedly stepped forward and smiled and shook hands with the other party. When shaking hands, he felt that the other party's hands were cold:

"Everyone has been waiting for the leader to come down and take a look. Come in quickly. Why don't you wear a pair of gloves?"

"Let the people borrow it along with the bicycle." Zuo Jing said with a smile:

"The way the people in Zhongping look forward to their leadership is very different. I have visited several places in the past few days, but Zhongping is the most impressive. They lock the door if they disagree with something."

"I am criticizing them for being lawless, and the grassroots farmers are poorly educated and have never seen the world..."

"Okay, okay, stop making up words, Secretary Yin, you are really good. You can still stand on the side of the peasants and speak for them at this time. You have a firm stance. I understand why you have been able to stay in Zhongping for so long. It's the people's hearts." After shaking hands with Yin Qianfeng, Zuo Jing turned his head to look at Chen Damazi, who was already trembling and crying, and smiled and patted the other's shoulder:

"Don't take it personally, bro. It's okay."

"Leader, please come in. It's cold outside. Have a cigarette." Zhang Cheng took out a peony and handed it to the other party. He wanted to let the other party go in first and let Secretary Yin deal with it, giving others time to pay attention.

Zuo Jing looked at Zhang Cheng, but did not take a step forward. Instead, he reached out to take the cigarette and said with a smile:

"I forgot my matches at this old man's house when I was lighting his cigarette... By the way, brother, I have sealed the stove in your house for you. Next time before you lock the door and run away, watch me light the fire. I know how to light the stove. Otherwise, if the stove goes out, how cold will it be when you go home to bed at night?"

Everyone looked at Chen Damazi with murderous eyes.

You're so awesome, Chen Damazi. Not only did you lock your leader up in his house, but you even dared to ask a high-ranking official from Yaoshanji to light a cigarette for you?
I guess even the top leader of the Yaoshan Prefectural Committee has never enjoyed such treatment?

"Thank you, leader. I guess I won't have the chance to sleep on a kang in the future. How about you take me with you and save my life?" Chen Damazi was patted lightly by the leader several times, and his waist was almost bent into a right angle. At this time, his tone was full of despair.

It's not that the leader hit him hard, but that he now doesn't dare to look up at Han Laogou, Xie Hushan, and Ma Laowu. Especially the way Xie Hushan looks at him. Not to mention giving him a black spot on the black and red list, Chen Damazi feels that Xie Hushan will hang him on the bulletin board until he dies.

The leader looked at the people next to him, and fixed his eyes on Yang Limin and Xie Hushan:

"My brother said that the team leader is a young man. Of the two young men, I think the one without glasses is definitely Comrade Xie Hushan. The young comrade with glasses is more polite and should know how to use methods. He would not do something like setting up a black and red list for his own team members. I guess it is most likely Comrade Yang Limin from the Youth League Committee of the commune."

"The leader's guess is right." Xie Hushan could only smile awkwardly at this time, and took off the glasses from Yang Limin's face and put them on his own face: "Report to the leader, I am Yang Li..."

"Who are you? You're still talking nonsense at this time!" Kou Donghan patted Xie Hushan's shoulder and sweated nervously:

"speak nicely."

It's normal for a nephew to take after his uncle. I am brave, but no matter how brave you are, you still have to be afraid. The leader of the prefecture committee is watching, and the nephew can flatter him and talk nonsense...

"Hahaha, Comrade Xie Hushan is quite humorous. I've been walking along the road and found that the road in Zhongping is very smooth. There are several tractors coming in and out early in the morning. This is not something you can just pretend to have." Zuo Jing laughed at Xie Hushan's behavior:
"Everyone is in a good mood to chat during the off-season, which shows that the grassroots work in Zhongping is very good. Otherwise, although it is the off-season, the farmers' hearts are really busy, just like frying in oil. If they are idle, there will be no income. Are you willing to let others take the credit for you?"

"Reporting to the leader, I am learning from Lei Feng to do good deeds and never leave my name. Now that the leader has recognized me and it is a credit, I will not trouble Lao Yang anymore." Xie Hushan said with a smile.

Accompanied and guided by Yin Qianfeng, Zuo Jing walked towards the office, smiling calmly:

"Well, it will be easier if you admit that you are Captain Xie Hushan. Let's go inside and have a good talk about how you asked the people to lock the door and pretend that no one was home, and also locked me in the room."

(End of this chapter)