VHBF – Chapter 98 The Village Bully Daddy (Part 9)

After the Winter Solstice meal, the production team was genuinely cheerful for several days. Everyone finally had some spirit in them again, and influenced by the Old Qin family, people started thinking: if the Old Qin family can live happily, what’s there that the rest of us can’t get through?

When things really get to that point and no one has food to eat, isn’t there still the state? Apply for emergency relief grain. And if that doesn’t work, dig up wild grasses—those can be eaten too.

Thinking it through like that made everyone feel a lot better. After all, it still hadn’t reached that point yet.

Qin Guoshu, on the other hand, was truly anxious. Since everyone was eating from the communal pot, even if the canteen tried to calculate every last grain carefully, it didn’t dare cut things too close—one misstep and it could trigger backlash from the commune members.

Was there ever real fairness in a communal pot?

Meals were ladled out by hand, and everywhere there were personal considerations. All they could do was be as cautious as possible, making sure everyone got food. Once that was done, the team’s junior accountant ran the numbers—no matter how much they tightened their belts, it wouldn’t last until next year’s autumn harvest. Forget autumn harvest; if they could last until spring planting, that would already be a miracle.

When the commune secretary brought a few junior cadres along with county-level officials to visit, the members were still turning the soil. Another group had gone to the back hillside, setting up some fences at the foot of the mountain. This was done to prepare for winter, in case any animals from the mountains couldn’t endure it and came down to cause trouble. Every year before winter, they did something like this.

They sharpened wooden stakes and drove them upside down into the ground, linking them together into a barrier. Not far from the mountain foot, apart from a few households, everything else was already plowed land waiting for cultivation next year—no way they’d let anything come and ruin it.

Qin Guoshu was in the office writing a report. He’d racked his brains for days, organizing what he’d seen and heard on his trip to the county seat, as well as some matters he’d discussed with Comrade Chen Huaisheng that day and the inspiration he’d gained. He mentioned it all again, preparing to write it into a report and submit it to the commune.

The public grain had already been handed in and couldn’t be reclaimed. Qin Guoshu planned to apply directly for relief grain, and under the name of relief, get back half of the public grain they’d turned over. If they could get half back, even if everyone only ate five or six tenths full, the members would be able to hold out until next autumn’s harvest.

Qin Guoshu felt his request was already very modest, and he wrote with utmost sincerity. Between the lines was the earnest hope of a production team leader.

He frowned deeply, wearing a grim, worried expression that made Yinyin think her big uncle looked kind of amusing.

She stood on the long wooden bench, propping her little hands on the desk and craning her head to see what Uncle was writing. Yinyin couldn’t understand it, so she just lay there peering at it, not making a sound to disturb him. When Qin Guoshu wrote for a while and was about to rest and take a sip of water, he saw his pretty, fair, chubby little niece propping her plump chin up, eyes wide open as she stared at him. In those innocent child’s eyes were a bit of curiosity and a strange, eager-to-try look.

Qin Guoshu was startled. “Don’t climb so high. If you fall, your grandma will beat Uncle to death.”

Yinyin said she wasn’t afraid. She was very good at saying sweet things to please people: “Uncle’s here. Not afraid.”

Qin Guoshu bared his teeth in a grin, thinking that his mother liking her granddaughter wasn’t without reason. With that obedient, sweet manner, who could possibly dislike her?

Today, everyone from the Old Qin family had gone to the back hillside to build fences. This job earned a full ten work points. Even Chen Qiuhua went. Compared to autumn harvest or spring planting, it wasn’t too tiring, and the work points were generous—only a fool would pass up such a bargain.

The pregnant eldest daughter-in-law, Zhao Yueya, was pointed out by Chen Qiuhua and told to feed the pigs in her place. The other, older children had returned to school, since the school was preparing for final exams.

Counting it all up, the house was basically empty. Not a single idle person remained—only three-year-old little Yinyin.

So Comrade Qin Guoshu had no choice but to take her under his care, bringing her to the team office and letting her sit there and play on her own.

When several cadres stepped into the Dahuai Production Team office, this was the scene they saw.

The captain of Dahuai Production Team was bent over, writing intently. Beside him sat a delicate, doll-like little girl. She was playing house all by herself, with a few small stones commonly found on country roads laid out in front of her. She muttered to herself: “This is Grandpa and Grandma, this is Daddy, this is Big Uncle, Second Uncle, Auntie…”

She went through every family member, one stone representing one person. When it came to herself, Yinyin frowned her little brows and hesitated, then picked out two stones from the remaining pile.

One of them looked very similar to the one representing Daddy, but it was ugly. The other was round and smooth and quite pretty, but it didn’t resemble Daddy’s stone.

After a moment of indecision, Yinyin picked up the ugly one and placed it between Daddy and Grandpa and Grandma, smiling in satisfaction.

She kept arranging things—one stone for each room, smaller ones for cornbread or meat. She played happily all by herself.

Originally, the county cadres who had come down were in a serious mood, with some dissatisfaction simmering inside. After all, it was freezing cold, and because the commune was stirring things up, the leaders had insisted they make this trip.

But seeing the little child like this, somehow their mood relaxed a bit.

“Comrade Qin Guoshu,” someone called out, “the county cadres have come down to our place for an inspection. Come and receive them.”

Qin Guoshu looked up and nearly scared himself half to death.

A dark mass of men in Zhongshan suits walked in. The one politely leading them at the front—wasn’t it their commune secretary?

Secretary Zhang couldn’t really be called a bad person. At least he didn’t exploit the countryside, and he usually didn’t stir up trouble, but he wasn’t exactly good either.

He was the kind of cadre who played it safe—went with the flow, did whatever others did, neither offending anyone nor sticking his neck out. To put it plainly, he lacked drive and a sense of responsibility.

He had been sent down from the county to the commune. It was said he was there to gain grassroots experience for future job transfers.

Earlier, Qin Guoshu had just been lightly but pointedly reprimanded by Secretary Zhang. Now seeing him, he forced a smile, stood up, and went to welcome them inside.

Qin Guoshu didn’t recognize who these men in Zhongshan suits were, but judging by the commune secretary’s manner, they were likely cadres within the system, and their rank was probably not low.

The rural production team was extremely poor. This office wasn’t large—just a few desks and chairs. Normally, several junior cadres shared the space: the junior accountant, the scorekeeper, even the small director of the Women’s Federation worked here.

Today, because of the fence-building work, they’d all gone to help—partly to supervise, partly because there was nothing to do in the office. In these times, people couldn’t sit idle. Even if you were a minor village cadre, you were still a farmer at heart.

They brought over a few chairs and had all the leaders sit down. Only then did Secretary Zhang from the commune take the lead and say, “Don’t busy yourself anymore, Comrade Qin Guoshu. Sit down first—there are some things the leaders would like to ask.”

His expression was solemn and serious, his brows knit, and his speech precise and formal. Qin Guoshu could tell that their secretary was displeased.

By contrast, the unfamiliar man in the dark gray Zhongshan suit beside him smiled. He beckoned with his hand, calling over the little Yinyin who had been standing nearby, curiously tilting her small head as she watched them.

“How old are you this year?”

Yinyin was actually quite bold. As long as there was someone familiar by her side, she wasn’t stage-shy at all.

Clutching her uncle’s leg, she replied to the uncle who had asked, “My name is Yinyin. He’s my big uncle. I’m three years old this year. Grandma said that after the New Year I’ll be four, and Dad said I can go to school then.”

The tiny child was round and adorable, and the way she spoke was especially amusing—crisp, baby-soft, and surprisingly articulate.

The people around them couldn’t help but smile. Someone asked Comrade Qin Guoshu why he brought a child to work, and not even his own—bringing his little niece to the office was really quite rare.

Rural areas weren’t particular about formal workplace rules. Here, everyone had to work. If there was no one at home to look after a baby, you brought the child to the fields and worked while keeping an eye on them.

So Qin Guoshu bringing a child to work didn’t strike anyone as strange. This wasn’t like city work units—whether factories or government offices—where people retired at a certain age, families usually had elders to mind the children, or there were nurseries. Rural places simply couldn’t afford such niceties.

Qin Guoshu explained the matter of building a fence on the back mountain. After that, the man in the gray Zhongshan suit asked Yinyin a few more questions, coaxing her to go play on her own.

With a three-year-old Yinyin making a bit of a fuss, the originally tense, oppressive atmosphere instantly relaxed. The commune secretary then introduced the identities of those present.

“This is our deputy county magistrate, Comrade Wang Nian. This is Comrade Sun Yuren, secretary to the county party secretary. And this is Comrade Cui Yu from the county agriculture department…”

There were five comrades in total. Aside from these three heavier hitters, the other two carried briefcases and notebooks and were there to run errands for the leaders.

One was a junior clerk who specialized in recording things for the leaders. The other, it was said, was from the propaganda department and had been seconded for the day. A camera hung around his neck—he said he was here to conduct inspections in the countryside and take some footage and materials for the leaders.

An inspection was good—Qin Guoshu grinned. He sincerely and wholeheartedly welcomed the leaders to inspect the Dahuai Production Team!

Only by inspecting would the higher-ups understand the difficulties Dahuai faced, know that before long they’d be scraping the bottom of the pot—and maybe, just maybe, some preferential policies would follow.

Originally, Qin Guoshu had been racking his brains over how to go head-to-head with the commune secretary to see if he could get their grain quota reduced.

Now, being able to directly meet county leaders—and not just any leaders, but even someone from the agriculture department and the county party secretary’s own secretary—how could this not be a great opportunity?

The report he’d been drafting all morning, revising back and forth, was now useless. All he needed to do was take the leaders around the village and let them see for themselves; they’d naturally understand Dahuai’s hardships.

The leaders didn’t state outright what they’d come for, nor did they ask anything directly. After listening to Qin Guoshu, one of them said with interest, “It’s rare to have such a chance to see the bearing of our farming comrades. Comrade Qin, are you busy? If you don’t mind, could you take us around to have a look?”

Qin Guoshu smiled, scooped up his little niece who had been playing, and followed along beside the leaders, guiding them toward the foot of the back mountain.

Building the fence mainly meant the hard work of felling and trimming timber; the rest wasn’t too taxing. More than half the team members had come to help—so many people meant it could be finished in three or four days.

When the group arrived, the team members were working in full swing. Once this protective barrier was built, there’d be no fear in winter of something running down the mountain at night, nor worry about children encountering wild beasts when they came to play.

As long as they didn’t go up into the mountains, everything would be fine.

Deputy Magistrate Wang smiled. “The team members look energetic—strong and motivated in their work. This is a very good atmosphere.”

That was praise for the Dahuai Production Team, and indirectly for Qin Guoshu as the team leader. He smiled shyly. “That’s just how rural folk are. We can’t sit idle—as long as we’ve got something to eat, we’re willing to do anything.”

What this small team leader was thinking was obvious at a glance to these seasoned officials. They didn’t refute him. This trip down had been ordered by Secretary Chen—to conduct inspections and deal with the matter of public grain.

Not long ago, the county had held a meeting to discuss this year’s autumn harvest and the public grain each commune was to submit. Every commune had reported its figures. Cui Yu from the agriculture department vaguely remembered that Lakexia Commune’s numbers were similar to others—exaggerated to an astonishing degree.

This year had been hot with little rain; crops generally grew poorly. Yet the reported grain output was actually higher than in previous years!

If there was grain to collect—and in large quantities—the agriculture department was of course pleased. If the county party secretary hadn’t raised the issue, they might not have bothered to probe the truth behind it.

It wasn’t really their responsibility anyway. Their job was to collect grain and report figures. The better the figures, the better the political achievements looked.

But after that meeting, upon hearing the reports, Secretary Chen was displeased. Not long after, he formed an inspection team to go down to the countryside.

He sent several relevant leaders to various commune production teams to see whether things were truly as the submitted grain data suggested—whether there had really been a bumper harvest everywhere, and whether the farmers were all living well and eating their fill.

Secretary Chen specifically mentioned the Dahuai Production Team of Lakexia Commune, saying it was far from the county seat, at the very edge of the county, and could serve as a key inspection target.

The leaders hadn’t come straight to Dahuai either. Driving their small jeep along the way, they’d already visited several communes before finally arriving at their last stop—the Dahuai Production Team.

Chen Qiuhua had sharp eyes. During a brief pause to catch her breath, she spotted her son from afar, carrying her precious grandchild and leading a large group of people—one of whom was none other than the commune secretary!

She recognized Secretary Zhang. He’d been to Dahuai Village a few times—once last year when he’d just taken office and came to familiarize himself with the area, and once at the year-end mobilization meeting, when he’d given a few words of encouragement.

Her mind worked quickly. If even someone as important as Secretary Zhang had come, then the people beside him were definitely no small figures—clearly officials.

She raised her loud voice and called out, “Team Leader Qin, what brings you here?”

“We’re all working seriously—no slacking! No need for three days, we can finish it in two!”

Qin Guoshu twitched at the corner of his mouth. “…” His mother usually called him “my eldest son” or “that brat.” Why was she suddenly calling him team leader now? It was oddly unsettling.

The other team members heard her too and followed her gaze. Oh! The team leader had brought the secretary with him!

They looked up, faces full of confusion. Chen Qiuhua rolled her eyes and reminded them, “They’re all leaders—probably here to inspect us. What are you standing there gawking for? Say hello! Don’t you want grain anymore?”

The team members snapped back to their senses, shuddered, and immediately greeted them enthusiastically, determined to let the leaders feel the warmth of the Dahuai Production Team.

Secretary Sun of the county party committee smiled as he said to Deputy Magistrate Wang and Director Cui, “This production team is quite lively.”

Beside them, Yinyin raised her little paw. “That’s my grandma—my grandma!”