Back to 1978

Chapter 75 Different Nature
"What did you say to Ma Laowu? How dare he say that when I come back from river work, he will make the decision and let me run the brick kiln and furniture factory together, and he will be responsible if there is any problem?" Xie Hushan saw through the window that his grandmother was talking intently with Old Lady Meng on the kang. Not paying attention to him, he went straight into the small vegetable garden in his yard, picked an eggplant, broke it in half and gave half to Yang Liming. Then the two of them squatted under the window of the west room where they lived, holding the eggplant and talking.

Yang Limin took a bite of the fragrant eggplant flesh and said, "I told him exactly what he told you."

"Bullshit, impossible. You didn't say much to him, but it definitely wasn't these two sentences." Xie Hushan took out a piece of eggplant meat from his hand and stuffed it into his mouth. Although his voice was vague, his tone was certain to raise doubts:
"If he was a capable person, would he be called a fat man by everyone in our team?"

Seeing that Yang Limin didn't respond and was concentrating on eating the eggplant, Xie Hushan touched him with his shoulder:
"Hey, we slept on the same kang before, you still have to figure out how close we are."

Yang Limin laughed while chewing an eggplant:

"Of course I know who is close to me. My fifth uncle and I were both production team cadres, and you were just a member of the masses, so it was obvious who was close to you. But it was different when you became a brigade cadre. At that time, our relationship was closer than that of my fifth uncle."

"What's so good about this day and age? We have no control over what we do." Seeing that he couldn't get any information from Yang Limin, Xie Hushan let out a frustrated sigh and complained.

You can't decide whether to go on a blind date or get married, and you can't decide what to do for a living.

Yang Limin finished eating the eggplant, sat down against the wall, and stretched his legs:

"Isn't it much better now than in the past? It takes time for the country to get better. You think that Uncle Wu and the brigade are using you like animals by sending you to lead the river digging work. Have you ever thought that he really hopes that you will perform well and become a brigade cadre?"

"Why doesn't he show it himself?" Xie Hushan handed the eggplants that were still left in his hand to Yang Liming.

Yang Limin took it and continued to eat. After coming to the production team, he quite liked eating this kind of raw eggplant with a fresh fragrance: "Hearing that you are going to work on the river, you have lost your appetite?"

"I have never liked eating this stuff. I got hurt from eating eggplants during the earthquake. It was summer then, and the wheat hadn't been dried and ground into flour yet. The houses had collapsed, and there was nothing to eat directly. The commune transferred a lot of eggplants and sweet potatoes to everyone. During that period, we ate raw eggplants and sweet potatoes for three meals a day." Xie Hushan took out a cigarette and smoked it, looking at Yang Limin sideways:
"I saw that you liked to eat it but you were too embarrassed to steal it yourself, so I picked one for you. I originally hoped that you would tell me the truth for the sake of our comradeship. If I had known that you would not tell the truth, I should not have wasted the eggplants that my grandma had worked so hard to grow."

"When Secretary Han and Uncle Wu were making a fuss in the commune, they got a piece of news from Secretary Yin. It seems that our county received some gossip from the province in advance, saying that the province has two fertilizer plant projects and is considering whether to locate them in our county. Do you really think that Secretary Han and Uncle Wu don't understand what it means to suffer a loss and take advantage, and don't understand that the team paid for the 300 laborers to work for free?" Yang Limin ate eggplant and said the news he had obtained:
"If two fertilizer plants are to be built in our county, will the communes and brigades in our county still lack fertilizer? Why was the reservoir project only a small-scale project in the first two years, with the brigades around the reservoir organizing manpower to slowly repair it? This year, a large number of manpower was suddenly organized to expand and repair it. Not only to repair the reservoir, but each commune will also organize other labor to build roads. The county even asked the armed forces to arrange more than 3,000 soldiers to participate in this reservoir expansion project. Aren't these just to hope that the higher-ups will see our county's investment in agricultural development?"

"Secretary Han and his men also understand this. With the fertilizer plant, farmers will have a better life. Not to mention the 300 people, it's because they are old that the county only recruits young and strong laborers, and they can't be selected. Otherwise, they would be willing to do this job themselves."

"If you become the company commander of the brigade's militia, you will be responsible for leading the militia to help the brigade go to the fertilizer factory and fertilizer department to purchase fertilizers every year. Uncle Wu will have to walk with the wind every day, because you will definitely be given priority over Team Three."

Xie Hushan immediately poured cold water on him: "How do you know that Secretary Yin didn't collude with the county to fool Han Laogou and the others with false information?"

Yang Limin put the last bite of eggplant into his mouth and said, "You always say that farmers are smart. What? Secretary Han is a fool? When he received the news yesterday, he rode his bicycle quietly to the city to inquire with his old friends. After asking around, he must have known that it was not groundless, so he stopped arguing with Secretary Yin. Han Laogou, the leader of the troublemakers in Zhongping Brigade, immediately turned back into Han Chengsong, the brigade secretary who understood priorities and the overall situation."

"Okay, just like when I went to have an affair with three hundred guys in our brigade, I was arrested by the police and sent to labor camp for three months. It was force majeure. As for the brick kiln matter, I'll deal with it after I behave well and get my sentence commuted and released." Xie Hushan summed it up depressedly.

Yang Limin, who was standing next to him, spurted out the eggplant from his mouth with a "puff" sound and coughed repeatedly:

"Watch your words and make a difference! Participating in labor is participating in labor. What's the point of having an affair or participating in a major agricultural project in the county? Is that the same as being forced into labor reform for making a mistake?"

"Of course it's not the same. For those who made mistakes and were forced to do labor reform, they really had to sleep on the kang and with others. It's not unfair for them to participate in forced labor. After all, they get to eat meat." Xie Hushan said to Yang Limin with confidence:
"I was the type who didn't sleep with the old woman, didn't eat meat, and yet I was active and hard-working every day, and at night I had to sleep on the same bed with a county leader like you. In the end, I was also arranged by our brigade to participate in labor. How unfair is that?"

Yang Limin sighed speechlessly. Xie Hushan, that bastard, said so many weird things. He was a nice guy, but he was just rude. He opened his mouth and warned him:

"Don't say that kind of thing anymore, kid. Although the environment is more relaxed now, you still have to be careful when speaking in front of outsiders. What about forced labor? That's just the team testing you. Nonsense!"

Seeing that Xie Hushan ignored him, Yang Limin was not in a hurry. He slowly took out a box of Peony from his pocket. Xie Hushan was immediately attracted. At this time, Yang Limin held up the Peony cigarette box in his hand and said to Xie Hushan:

"Did you hear me? Don't talk nonsense in front of outsiders in the future. If someone keeps making a fuss about your weird words, how can you pursue positive progress in the future? Secretary Han and others have to consider the impact if they want to promote you."

"Yes, yes, leader, I will pay attention to it! Your criticism is right! The team is giving me a chance." Xie Hushan looked at the cigarette in Yang Limin's hand and nodded repeatedly:
"I'll go back to my room to reflect on this in a bit. Is it enough if I leave you one of the Peony cigarettes that the leader has?"

Yang Liming adjusted the angle of his hand on the cigarette box, and Xie Hushan immediately saw clearly that the damn pretty boy was using the Peony cigarette box to pack all the Labor brand cigarettes.

"No need to keep them. It's okay if you take them all. The important thing is to go back and reflect on your mistakes and acknowledge your mistakes." Yang Liming laughed when he saw that this kid had been fooled and admitted against his will that he would reflect on himself.

Xie Hushan leaned against the wall, turned his head and stared at him, gnashing his teeth and said fiercely: "Okay, Mr. Yang, wait until I finish reflecting on myself, and I will ask you to do a self-criticism in two days, just wait."

"You have no chance, kid. The notice has arrived at the commune this morning. Only your fifth uncle knows about this. I will leave quietly tomorrow, go home to rest for a day, and report back to the unit the day after tomorrow." In the farmyard under the setting sun, Yang Liming sat at the wall under the window and said to Xie Hushan beside him with a smile.

Xie Hushan was stunned for a moment, then nodded:
"I'll call my brothers to help you practice tonight."

(End of this chapter)