VHBF – Chapter 99 The Village Bully Daddy (Part 10)

“For the construction of New China, for the sake of contributing our share, we’re not afraid of hardship or exhaustion. No matter what, we’ll get the job done well.”

“Farming is simple. Hard labor that relies on brute strength is simple too. We old farmers—there’s nothing we can’t do. As long as we’ve got something to eat and some strength left in us, we can fight on the front line!”

A tall, sallow-faced grandma held her granddaughter in one arm and planted the other hand on her hip, standing in front of several leaders and talking animatedly. Her face was flushed with excitement; when she really got into it, the granddaughter in her arms was obliging enough to clap her little hands along.

“Comrade, don’t worry. We’re all good people of the country. Wherever the country points, that’s where we strike—no nonsense, not a word of complaint.”

“You asked about these wooden fences? It’s all because our place is remote and backed by the mountains. There are lots of fierce beasts in the mountains. We’re afraid that in winter, when wild boars can’t find food, they’ll run down and root around—ruining the fields is one thing, but accidents are what we really fear.”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. We do this every year. Nothing’s ever happened.”

Qin Guoshu watched, dumbfounded. His mother had taken his little niece from his arms and immediately launched into this impassioned speech in front of the leaders. Wasn’t this bragging a bit too far?!

“We’re not afraid of anything—except not having enough to eat. If we can’t eat our fill, we won’t have the strength to work, and then we can’t contribute to the country. As long as there’s food, there’s nothing us farmers can’t do!”

“Right, little one?”

Held in her grandma’s arms, Yinyin raised her chubby little paw, clenched it tightly, and even waved it a couple of times. “Right! Yinyin has to work hard too, work hard and grow up, so I can eat my fill! And eat meat!”

Chen Qiuhua nodded in satisfaction. Worthy of her good granddaughter—clever and eloquent, truly inheriting her teachings!

The group of leaders smiled broadly. They didn’t interrupt the enthusiastic old woman. The commune party secretary beside them shot Qin Guoshu look after look, urging him to stop his mother—what if she said something she shouldn’t and embarrassed the commune in front of the leaders? How was he supposed to keep being secretary then?

Qin Guoshu’s face twitched. He pretended not to see. He really had no way to deal with his mother!

From then on, Qin Guoshu, the brigade leader, seemed to turn into a mere accompanying guest. The main stage belonged to his mother and one little Yinyin.

Chen Qiuhua was naturally warm and familiar, thick-skinned to boot. After finishing her bragging, she led the “leaders” forward, showing them the fence they had just finished about halfway, along with the prepared logs.

One end of each log had been sharpened to a point. Once sharpened, the members would carry them over and insert them into the dug pits, secure them firmly, then use thick hemp rope to bind rows and rows of wooden spikes together. That way, even if some brute-force contestant like a wild boar really did come charging down from the mountain, it could be held off for a hit or two—maybe even get skewered clean through.

Of course, that was the theory. In reality, over all these years, they’d never encountered such good fortune—only intercepted once, and even then they saw footprints but not the boar itself.

By now, most of the commune members had stopped their work. They curiously watched the few middle-aged men dressed plainly yet looking clean and respectable.

Some bolder ones even sneaked along behind, listening to the leaders talk.

As for someone like Chen Qiuhua—bold, thick-skinned, daring to charge to the front and speak with the leaders—the members felt a sense of envy. If only they had that eloquence and that courage. If these really were high-ranking leaders, maybe they could even show their faces in front of them.

Unfortunately, in front of such dignified, respectable, cultured people, the members could barely get their words out straight, let alone step forward to make themselves known. Not embarrassing themselves was already good enough.

Country folk were mostly honest people, and honest people had one great advantage: if they couldn’t do something, they wouldn’t force themselves to try. They knew their own limits. If it were someone who liked to show off, even knowing they couldn’t speak well, seeing such a grand scene, they’d probably still squeeze forward.

Of course, Chen Qiuhua wasn’t about to give anyone else that chance. Who was she? With an opportunity like this, she’d grab it for her own family—others shouldn’t even think about it.

Thankfully, the members didn’t know she was thinking that way. At this moment, they were still admiring and feeling grateful to her, thinking: worthy of being the brigade leader’s mother. Though she was usually domineering, her insight really was broader than others’.

Just listen to the way she spoke—one set of phrases after another. Even to their ears, it sounded stirring.

She was so good at talking, elevating the lowly identity of farmers into something so great—making even farming into a kind of mission. To borrow Chen Qiuhua’s words, they farmers were also contributing to the development of the motherland!

They listened, nodding repeatedly. She was right. As long as they could eat their fill, they were willing to do anything. Whatever the country asked them to do, they’d do it—told to go east, they’d never go west!

The leaders glanced around at one another, silently nodding in approval. They felt that the atmosphere of this production brigade was quite good. Even these farmers who’d never gone to school had fairly high ideological awareness.

The person speaking with them—though a bit exaggerated—this little old lady’s passion was worth encouraging. Many young people didn’t even have this kind of enthusiasm anymore.

Xiao Wu, who had been seconded from the propaganda department to film and record materials, couldn’t help snapping a photo of the auntie. The image froze on her eyes shining as she boasted grandly, with the chubby little Yinyin in her arms clapping along in agreement.

An idea formed in Xiao Wu’s mind. He felt this would make a good propaganda angle: using a rural old lady passionately talking about building the nation as an entry point to inspire the new generation of young people to be proactive, to strive, to dedicate themselves, and to shine for the country. Xiao Wu thought this was a very good, positively meaningful angle.

And the three-year-old child in the old lady’s arms could be added as well. After all, even a three-year-old could say a thing or two about this—knowing that only by working hard could you eat your fill and eat meat.

If even a three-year-old knew the value of effort, then shouldn’t young people—the backbone of the nation—even more so be ambitious and hardworking?

Nowadays, those young people in the cities, in factories and work units, cradled in iron rice bowls, lived carefree lives without thinking of changing anything—just muddling through, day by day.

Old Secretary Chen, a veteran who had been to the battlefield, couldn’t stand that. He always said this kind of atmosphere needed changing. With the country in ruins and everything needing rebuilding, young people should have passion and vitality, and actively throw themselves into building the nation.

As the group walked on, they gradually reached a distant spot—the very end of the fence line. There, a large pit had already been dug, and someone was down inside it, swinging a shovel, panting heavily as he shoveled earth out.

That person was working with his head down, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings, unaware that people were approaching—fully focused on digging.

He was wearing a dirt-gray coarse linen undershirt and black linen trousers, the pant legs rolled up to his knees. Judging from his back, he looked like a young, strong man in his prime.

Several of the leaders were pleased. They formed a good impression of this commune member who was burying his head in hard work. Other members stopped what they were doing to watch the scene, but this one kept steadily at his task—clearly a diligent, willing worker and a good comrade.

Little Wu quickly snapped a photo.

Chen Qiuhua was slightly startled—wasn’t that her third son down in the pit?

She hadn’t seen him all morning and had assumed he’d slipped off to slack somewhere with a few good-for-nothing friends. She never expected to find him here, digging a pit all by himself.

Still a bit incredulous, Chen Qiuhua blinked a few times. Her usually lazy third son was really down in that pit, huffing and puffing as he worked.

Before Chen Qiuhua could call out to him, Yinyin recognized him at a glance. Her thoughts were much simpler—seeing the father she hadn’t seen for half the day made her happy. In a clear, babyish voice, she crisply called out, “Daddy!”

County Magistrate Wang and the other two turned back in surprise to look at Yinyin and asked, “That’s your dad?”

Yinyin nodded her little head vigorously, pride written all over her face. “Mm! That’s Yinyin’s daddy!”

By then, the young man working with his head down had already heard them. He looked up, revealing a handsome face that appeared sunny and open. Catching his breath, he broke into a bright smile and answered, “Hey!”

“Mom, big brother—why’d you all come over here?”

The few of them walked closer and simply squatted by the edge of the pit to talk with him.

Secretary Sun pointed at the large pit and asked what it was for.

Qin Yuli smiled and said, “Comrade, where are you from? You’re probably not from around here, right? You wouldn’t know—this place backs up against the mountains. There are lots of small creatures around, especially here, closest to the foothills. Digging a pit like this—if something comes running down from the mountain and isn’t careful, it might just fall in.”

“We old farmers just want peace of mind when we do things. It’s nothing more than putting in a bit of extra effort. If we catch something, we can give the villagers an extra meal. If we don’t, it’s no loss—just treat it as reclaiming land. Next year we can fill it back in with soil and plant some crops or vegetables here. That’d be good too.”

The pit wasn’t very deep yet, but it was quite large in area. There were also plenty of wild grasses nearby that had been shoveled out roots and all. Come next spring, once it was filled with soil, it really could grow something.

Mountain land like this was hard as a rock to begin with—reclaiming it wasn’t easy. Now that a pit had been dug, being able to plant a bit more was a good thing. In any case, reclaimed land didn’t belong to individuals; it belonged to the state.

The leaders nodded as they listened. Seeing the young man drenched in sweat and clearly having worked hard, they told him to take a break and chat for a bit.

“Auntie, so this is your son! If you hadn’t said so, we really wouldn’t have guessed. This young fellow is quite steady and reliable.”

Chen Qiuhua almost rolled her eyes. What did that mean—was she supposed to look unreliable?

She didn’t say anything, just squeezed out a smile and said, “These two—Qin Guoshu is my eldest son, and this one is Qin Yuli, my third son.”

County Magistrate Wang and the other two found it rather curious. This family didn’t seem quite like ordinary farmers.

The matriarch was already in her fifties or sixties, yet she was articulate, bold, and unafraid of the situation. Even the three-year-old child was well raised, with a lively spark about her.

As for the child’s uncle and father—there was no need to say much. The uncle was the production team leader. Though he looked honest, he was likely capable and wholeheartedly devoted to the people. For a grassroots cadre, being able to reach this level was already quite good.

Then there was the child’s father: a very young, handsome fellow, steady, hardworking, and with awareness. While others were shaving wood to make fences—lighter work—he had already thought further ahead and voluntarily come back alone to reclaim land and dig pits, the most exhausting kind of labor.

They felt even more goodwill toward the young man.

Qin Yuli didn’t demur. He quickly climbed out of the pit. He didn’t talk much, only answering when others asked him questions—solid and diligent, neither arrogant nor impatient. Secretary Sun made a note of him.

Chen Qiuhua didn’t insist on following along afterward. The other members returned to their posts and went back to work. Led by Qin Guoshu, the leaders toured the production team’s grain store and canteen.

When they saw the stored grain inside, all three of them grew grim almost at the same time. Cui Yu, Director Cui of the Ministry of Agriculture, stepped forward and opened bag after bag, discovering that it was all coarse grain—not a single kernel of fine grain.

Qin Guoshu gave a bitter smile. “What my mom said may have been a bit exaggerated, but she wasn’t wrong. We’re short on grain—the situation isn’t very good.”

“After the autumn harvest, once we handed over the public grain, there wasn’t much left to begin with. All the little fine grain we had was hauled to the grain station and exchanged for coarse grain, just to see if we could hold out a bit longer.”

“The three leaders have all seen it. Even after switching everything to coarse grain, it won’t last long. No matter how much the canteen economizes, one meal still consumes quite a bit…”

When the leaders left, their expressions were all far from good, especially the commune secretary, whose face was as dark as coal.

Qin Guoshu felt this was the only chance he had to fight for the entire production team. Without worrying about who was present, he laid out all the difficulties.

Because he’d written a report that morning and sorted through the key points beforehand, he didn’t get flustered. He spoke clearly and logically, every sentence making sense—just as his mother had said: as long as the members could eat their fill, they were willing to do anything.

At noon, no one went home to eat. The canteen organized people to bring the food over—one bowl of gruel per person. After drinking it, they went right back to work.

They kept at it until evening before calling it a day. The members headed back one after another, hurrying to the canteen to get dinner.

Qin Yuli was soaked with sweat and it wasn’t convenient to hold Yinyin, so he simply let her sit on his shoulders, supporting her with one hand.

There were just four of them walking together: Old Qin, Chen Qiuhua, Qin Yuli, and Yinyin. As for the second daughter-in-law, she’d gotten off work early to go to the commune primary school to pick up the children and take them home.

They had thought it would be nothing more than an ordinary end to the workday, heading home as usual. Who could have known that Heaven had other plans—and a big one at that!

A thunderous boom-boom-boom of footsteps came charging down from the mountain not far away. As it drew closer, everyone saw clearly: it was a huge wild boar, no smaller than the one from last time.

Chen Qiuhua was so frightened her legs went weak. Don’t be fooled by how she always bragged in front of the other commune members—she knew perfectly well what she was really made of.

The moment she saw the wild boar, both legs went completely soft. The fact that she could even muster the energy to run for her life was something she greatly admired herself for.

She froze for a second, then shouted hoarsely, “Run! Run!”

Qin Yuli quickly estimated the boar’s speed and distance and felt that running away wasn’t very realistic. He glanced around, then casually picked up a wooden stick he had sharpened earlier that day.

He shoved the child into his father’s arms in one swift motion. “Dad, Mom, take your granddaughter and get farther away.”

Yinyin blinked her eyes. She didn’t know why, but she didn’t feel any danger at all. What came to her mind instead was… they were going to have meat to eat!

Qin Yuli stood where he was, watching his parents support each other as they moved farther away. He clenched his teeth, patted the wooden stick, took up a stance, and prepared for a fight to the death with the wild boar.

All that mental preparation turned out to be useless.

The wild boar charged ferociously—and what was even stranger, it suddenly veered slightly off course midway, ran straight into the large pit Qin Yuli had dug earlier, and smashed itself unconscious at the bottom.

Qin Yuli: “…”

Old Qin and Chen Qiuhua: “…”

They stared, dumbfounded. The shock far outweighed the joy.

It wasn’t even dark yet, and a wild boar had boldly run down from the mountain and thrown itself straight into the trap, smashing into the freshly dug pit from earlier that day.

Honestly, if not for the fact that it was prey, Chen Qiuhua really wanted to ask this wild boar brother whether it had been eavesdropping on them. Did it know that if it wanted to die, it should jump into a pit—and that this pit had been dug especially for it?

Thinking this, Chen Qiuhua burst out laughing. Once she finished laughing, she waved at her still-stunned old man. “Hurry up! Go help our son—and give that stupid pig a couple more stabs, just in case it wakes up.”

Qin Yuli grinned as well. How could his luck be this good?

Earlier, when he’d run into that couple surnamed Chen in the county town, he’d felt they were anything but ordinary—likely some kind of leaders.

If they really were leaders and had heard what his eldest brother said, they might send people to investigate. That was why Qin Yuli had been deliberately acting obedient, honest, and hardworking during this period. If inspectors really did come, he could at least leave them with a good impression.

The facts proved his luck really was good. He had worked so hard, and all three leaders had seen it. Their impression of him surely wouldn’t be bad.

And now, what he’d thought would be a life-or-death battle turned into an absurd stroke of luck—the boar knocked itself unconscious by falling into the pit. No need to risk his life fighting it, and he got a wild boar weighing several hundred jin for free?!

Old Qin and Chen Qiuhua were over the moon. Without even waiting for his wife to call him, Old Qin hurried off on his aging legs. He needed to inform the other commune members of this great news and ask them to help carry the boar away.

Thus, the commune members who had just cooked their gruel and sat down—barely having taken two sips—were stunned by Old Qin rushing in.

He charged in breathlessly. “Quick, quick! Go! There’s a wild boar at the foot of the mountain—several hundred jin! Huge stuff, not smaller than the last one!”

One sentence shocked everyone.

“W-what? Uncle, what did you say? Say that again?”

“A pig! A wild boar! We’ve got meat again!”

A whole pig was no small amount, but the team had over a thousand people. Last time, no one really ate their fill—each person only got about a bowl of meat, which was nowhere near enough.

Hearing there was another boar, everyone swallowed hard. “R-really? Then take us to see it.”

“Take you? Didn’t I tell you already—it’s where you worked this morning, right at the foot of the slope. Don’t you have legs? Can’t you run there yourselves?”

With that, a crowd rushed off. All the young men went—this was meat!

Every day they ate coarse grain and thin gruel in the mess hall; their mouths were so bland they could practically grow feathers. It had been months since the last time they’d had meat.

That last meal had been thanks to the Qin family’s little girl. And what a coincidence—today’s incident involved the Qin family again!

At most, the commune members thought it was curious and coincidental. They even felt Chen Qiuhua was right: the little girl the Qin family had picked up really was blessed with good fortune.

While Old Qin went off to spread the news, Chen Qiuhua quietly mulled things over. The more she thought about it, the more something felt off.

How had they picked up another wild boar for free?

Were wild boars really that easy to come by these days? If they were, who would bother working? Everyone could just squat at the foot of the mountain every day, waiting to pick up a few hundred jin of meat for nothing!

It wasn’t until more than ten young men came running over, surrounding the pit in excitement, that Chen Qiuhua finally came to her senses.

Her granddaughter clapped her little hands. “Daddy awesome! Daddy awesome! Eat meat, eat meat!”

Hearing that soft, milky voice, Chen Qiuhua remembered how her granddaughter had earlier babbled in front of the leaders about wanting to eat her fill and wanting meat.

Well then—meat was right in front of them now. Several hundred jin of it. Next, would it be time to eat their fill?

Chen Qiuhua brushed off her pants and led her granddaughter toward the pit. Qin Yuli took the child, cleared his throat, and put on a modest air. “Of course. Your dad is amazing. That wild boar got scared and detoured, so it fell into the pit and smashed itself to death.”

At the time, Qin Yuli’s heart had been pounding like a drum. No matter how fearless he usually was, he knew the natural gap in strength and size between a wild boar and a human. If they really fought… surviving at all would count as a miracle.

Too bad the boar was already unconscious—otherwise it could have stood up and given him a good smack, just to prove he was lying and slandering the boar’s dignity.

Several young men stared at the fat pig in the pit, their eyes turning red, as if they were looking at a dear relative.

They’d all been eating poorly lately, everyone thin and sallow. Looking at that pig, their hearts surged with excitement.

Especially since the team leader had said earlier that after handing in half of the pigs as public meat, the remaining four pigs raised by the team would be sold to exchange for grain.

Which meant they’d have no meat until the end of the year—even through the New Year.

But now, there was meat!

Someone slapped Qin Yuli on the shoulder, shouting excitedly, “Third Qin, you’re something else! If you hadn’t dug such a big pit, there wouldn’t be any wild boar meat today!”

“Good job! We all thank you!”

Chen Qiuhua pursed her lips when she heard this. Thank him for what? Thanking her silly son was useless—better to worship her granddaughter instead!

Ever since she’d come to believe that whatever her granddaughter said came true, Chen Qiuhua felt her precious little girl might be even more effective than a bodhisattva.

Her heart finally eased. Her granddaughter had said that besides eating meat, they’d also need to eat their fill—so they definitely wouldn’t go hungry anymore!

Thinking it over, this whole incident might well be tied to the few leaders who had come to inspect today. Whether it would really work out depended on what decision came down from above afterward.

Her son had thoroughly offended the commune secretary—whether he’d be stripped of his position and sent home to farm, or whether the team would see a turnaround, might become clear in the next couple of days.