Shuangling: Braving the Rapids

"Look at that dog of a man! You shouldn't have stopped me, you should have just killed him!" Qin Laishun stared at Qin Ergou's fleeing figure, gritting his teeth in hatred.

Aimin glanced at the onlookers, then pulled his cousin aside and advised, "Brother, that's just how he is. Why are you getting angry with him? If you really kill him, you'll have to pay with your life!"

"This guy's life is worthless! Paying him a little money is one thing, but he wants me to pay with my life?"

Qin Laishun's tone was somewhat arrogant, which made Aimin uncomfortable. He sighed and advised, "Brother, why do you seem to be getting more and more irritable lately? Has something happened?"

"What is it?" Qin Laishun rolled up his sleeves and snapped, "It's all because of you!"

Aimin was a little confused by these words. He thought he hadn't done anything to offend his cousin. Just as he was about to ask, Qin Laishun interrupted, "Aimin, I'm not trying to criticize you, but why are you abandoning your good job teaching and messing around here? If you need money, just tell me, and I'll get you some."

"Brother, what do you mean by that? I only planted two acres of chrysanthemums, it's no trouble for you, is it?" Aimin was still confused and didn't know why his cousin was talking to him like that.

"Don't play dumb with me. You started this chrysanthemum field just to set an example for the villagers and get them to plant it too, right? Tell me, how much money can you make from these chrysanthemums? I'll give you the money all at once, please stop planting them, okay?"

Recently, Qin Laishun has been busy with land acquisition compensation matters, and things are progressing smoothly. After all, the new mining site is located in the cypress forest on the top of Xiling Mountain, which occupies almost all of the population land of Laojiapo.

The people of Laojiapo are not as stubborn as the people of Qinjiazhuang, and with the brigade secretary personally involved, they basically signed the contract readily after receiving the money.

To Qin Laishun's utter surprise, the people of Qinjiazhuang protested after hearing that the people of Laojiapo had received their share of the compensation. The boundary between the East and West Ridges had always been ambiguous, and the long-standing feud between the two villages could even be traced back to before the liberation. Now, seeing the money, these troublemakers came to the village committee under various pretexts to cause trouble, all wanting a share of the spoils.

Logically, Qin Laishun should have been capable of handling this matter, but Lao Chengxi didn't allocate as much land requisition compensation to the village as he claimed. The village committee "digested" a portion internally, some was distributed during the land requisition, and Qin Laishun kept the rest for himself.

But now that things have escalated, they can neither satisfy the people of Qin Family Village nor give up the easy money they've already got, which is why they're seething with anger. And Qin Ergou just happens to be the scapegoat for him.

"Brother, what kind of talk is that? Whether you become the Party Secretary or lead the mining in the mountains, neither Dad nor I have any objections. But the way you're talking makes it sound like we're in your way!" Aimin said with a dark expression and some displeasure.

His meaning was simple: you do your thing, I'll do mine, we won't interfere with each other, and you have no reason to come here and complain to me.

"Are you genuinely clueless, or are you just pretending?" Qin Laishun stared at his cousin with suspicion. Then, he pointed to the hunchbacked old man who had just been talking to Aimin and said, "Fourth Uncle just told me that you're planning to get some kind of mountain chrysanthemum cultivation. He said he's planning to work with you next year. Is that true?"

Aimin nodded, and the next second, Qin Laishun slapped his forehead and roared, "That's right! You think these people really want to grow chrysanthemums with you? Aimin, don't be naive, they just want to use growing chrysanthemums as an excuse to squeeze more money out of my pocket!"

At this point, Aimin was increasingly confused. Before he could say anything, Qin Laishun sneered and continued, "Fourth Uncle's family's land is on the only way to the new mine. He promised to transfer it to me a long time ago, but now, I don't know what kind of spell you've cast on him, this old bastard has gone back on his word! Isn't he obviously trying to rip me off?"

Upon hearing this, Aimin finally realized what was going on. It turned out his cousin was angry about this!

But Fourth Uncle's change of attitude wasn't something he forced by holding a knife to someone's throat, was it? Besides, whether the other party wants to contract out the land or grow chrysanthemums, that's their freedom. You, Qin Laishun, can't just use your money and power to make things difficult for them, can you? You know, not everyone is like Qin Ergou, whom you can just manipulate as you please!

Aimin thought to himself, but out of consideration for his cousin, he didn't say anything too harsh. After a long silence, he slowly spoke, "Brother, let me make one thing clear first. I really have no intention of poaching your men. From my perspective, growing chrysanthemums is better than digging for stones. Digging for stones will eventually run out. Once the mountains are gone, what will people live on?"

"Don't give me that lecture!" Qin Laishun waved his hand impatiently. "The village built the road so we could transport the stones out. Otherwise, are we supposed to let the villagers farm their whole lives? Honestly, how much money can you make farming?"

"That's why I'm now promoting high-value-added crops! This approach may be slower to show results, but it solves the fundamental problem!"

"What's the fundamental problem? I think you've gone stupid from all that studying!" Qin Laishun's tone grew increasingly aggressive. "Back in school, you were always talking about communism. What is communism? It's about mining, distributing the money, and having people with wine and meat to eat—that's communism! You think making them work in the fields every day, tightening their belts, will achieve communism? I think you're just like your second uncle, both stubborn!"

He had been preparing these words for a long time. In fact, he had disapproved of Aimin ever since he started messing around with these two acres of chrysanthemum fields. If growing chrysanthemums could make money, then the chrysanthemum terrace would never have become wasteland!

Having said all that, Aimin stopped being polite and retorted directly, "Whether I make money or not is my business. I'm not eating your food! From now on, I'll farm my land, you mine your mine, and we'll keep to ourselves!"

"Fine, fine! I'll pretend I was blind to have done this for you, brother! I even stood up for you two, do you know that? If it weren't for me, Auntie's grave would have been dug up by the miners countless times! You think I'm greedy for money, but you don't know how much I've done for the village! Without building roads and stopping mining, the people of Qin Family Village will never be able to hold their heads high, do you understand?"

Qin Laishun's manner of speaking was more like that of a section-level cadre than a village committee secretary. His words were grand and dignified, but only he knew how much of it was sincere and how much was insincere.

"How dare you say that? If you hadn't brought those outsiders here to mine, none of this mess would have happened! Let me tell you, no one is allowed to touch my mother's grave. If even a single handful of soil is missing, I'll make you pay!"

Aimin clearly didn't buy into his cousin's argument. He knew that the old mine was Qin Laishun's doing, and ultimately, the two were not on the same page—they were like two peas in a pod, each going their own way.

It's impossible to say who is right and who is wrong in just a few words. Perhaps time will prove everything, but it will probably take at least fifty years!

"Aimin, I'm not trying to criticize you, but you're almost thirty. Look at Lao Chengxi, he's about your age, but now he has a car, a house, and a woman! And you? You graduated from a prestigious university, but you're stuck in this small town, not only can't you make money, but you also spend your days huddled in muddy puddles. What kind of future do you have? Tell me! What kind of future do you have?"

These words, "To kill someone is to destroy their spirit," are extremely damaging, like rubbing salt into Ai Min's wounds. His classmates and friends all have respectable jobs in the city; he alone is in the worst situation, still teaching at a rural middle school.

How could Aimin not have regrets? Of course he did, but that's just how reality is—only those who achieve great success can be considered to have returned home in glory; anything else is simply a matter of incompetence!

Aimin almost lost control of her emotions and wanted to have a big fight with her cousin, but then she felt it was pointless. So, she gave him a cold glance, turned around, and went into the kikuda field to get busy.

At this moment, he became even more determined to make his business a success; perhaps only in this way could he prove himself!

Watching his cousin's thin back, Qin Laishun shook his head and clicked his tongue, cursing inwardly, "Damn it, young and old alike are destined to be poor! They're ignoring the easy money right under their noses, insisting on going back to the communal kitchens. Do they really think they're communist fighters?"

Despite his cursing, Qin Laishun was deeply worried. If an outsider disrespected him, he could easily make them pay dearly, but this was his own cousin. If things really escalated, how would he explain it to his second uncle? How would he face the rest of the clan?

He rose to power because of these people; if he couldn't tolerate them, his integrity would be exposed.

After much deliberation, Qin Laishun suddenly came up with a plan—he absolutely could not play the villain himself. To smoothly advance the project, he needed to leverage existing resources and find a "ready-made villain."