Chapter 9 Chapter nine

Zhao Peng walked through the village alley. Even in the middle of the night, there were still voices of men and women calling and questioning each other in the river. In the village alley, there were still small carts full of wheat sheaves rattling, rushing to harvest There is no strict boundary between night and day in seasons. He went straight to the west of the village to invite the party secretary's youngest son to dinner. He was appointed by his father to help him transport the wheat harvested by the mouth of the North Canal with a tractor. He should appreciate it! The branch secretary's family built a new house with blue bricks and red tiles on the newly built foundation at the west end of the village. When he walked to the door, he saw the branch secretary's youngest son washing his hands in the courtyard. After seeing Zhao Peng, he realized the purpose of his visit , said righteously: "What are you doing here? I just had dinner, and I only pulled wheat three times. It didn't take another hour from the front to the back. My stomach is still full!"

"It's good to have a sip of tea..." Zhao Peng persuaded the little driver. "Who? Oh! It's Zhao Peng!" The secretary of the party branch came out of the house, stood on the steps, and said in a completely contemptuous tone, "You invited him to dinner? Oh! You don't know shit, it's worth you to invite him ?” "I've been busy in the middle of the night, so I went to drink some hot soup." Zhao Peng said hurriedly. "I won't let him get used to this problem! Seeing that he is helping the township party, he needs to eat and drink, what's wrong with him!" The party secretary took the opportunity to discipline his son very strictly, "Don't play tricks on money! Learn some good ideas! "

The little driver just washed his oily hands until the soap foam creaked, and he didn't say a word about his father's instruction. "My baby helped me a lot..." Zhao Peng continued to invite. "You should!" the party secretary said without hesitation, "it's no big deal for him to pull the wheat for you a few times! You are an important talent in the country and have made great contributions to the party! Seeing you pull the cart, I feel bad! The Party Central Committee has made repeated orders to pay attention to talents and love intellectuals, but some people never follow through! Talents like you have to pull carts and wheat. In fact... I told him to help you quickly. We must act in accordance with the spirit of the central government and cherish talents!"

Zhao Peng listened to the party secretary's confession, but he couldn't open his mouth. The party secretary embodies in him the spirit of the party's care and love for intellectuals!He once again persuaded the party secretary, relaxed the ban, and asked his youngest son to have some dinner with him.With a wave of the party secretary's hand, the strong man in his fifties shook his black face, and he simply said: "Go back to dinner, don't waste time! It doesn't matter if you invite him to a meal, he is used to bad habits." It's a big problem..." Seeing that there was no hope, Zhao Peng thanked him again and again, and walked out of the spacious yard, thinking in his heart that the party secretary has a straight temper.

He went into the village again to invite the two young men. Just as he reached the intersection of the downhill, he vaguely saw two people, one tall and one short, walking down the slope.Zhao Peng hurriedly shouted: "Hey - wait!" The two stopped. "Let's go! Go to our house and have some hot soup—" Zhao Peng approached and said. "No no no!" said the tall one with the long hair. "Both of us are in a hurry to take a bath! I'm hurting from the piercing." The short light gourd added, "Don't worry about it! Or, let's take a bath in the river together..."

"After dinner, I'll go with you two." Zhao Peng has already held the long-haired guy's arm, "If you don't go, who will eat those dishes that your aunt Shuqin fried? It will be broken tomorrow! " "The secretary's son! Let him eat!" The long hair raised his head, "He contributed a lot with the tractor!" "Yes! Even his dad!" Guang Hulu echoed, "That old guy loves to eat—he eats everything with his mouth!" Zhao Peng could see that among the two young men, the long hair played a major role. He held his bare arm tightly and said softly, "If the branch secretary's baby doesn't come, if you two don't go, if you really want to The dishes are spoiled."

Guang Hulu turned his head to the side, waiting for the opinion of the long hair.The long-haired man shook his head and said, "If that guy isn't here, we'll go!" Zhao Peng realized that they had a bad relationship with the party secretary's youngest son. A small round dining table was placed in the middle of the yard, and the electric light was pulled out from the window and hung on the branch of the small persimmon tree. There were four big dishes on the round table. Shuqin really had a way! "Uncle! Tell me!" The long-haired man drank a glass of wine and said freely, "I'm also happy to have a meal with you. The reason why we don't want to come is mainly because we don't want to meet the secretary's family."

"Is there any hatred that cannot be eliminated?" Zhao Peng asked with a smile. "We went to the county to sue him!" Guang Hulu said. "We're suing, we're not afraid that the branch secretary will know we're suing." The long hair patted his chest, "Knock the bell to sue!" Zhao Peng didn't say a word, pretending to lower his head to hold a glass of wine. He was not completely stranger to party secretary Zhao Shengji.The small Zhao Village is not only a brigade, but also an independent team, belonging to a two-level accounting unit.Zhao Shengji was not only the party secretary, but also the team leader, and also the production team leader.Many years ago, unified leadership was implemented. He said that since he became the party secretary, he has long been unified.In the past two years, the responsibility system has been implemented to streamline rural grassroots cadres. He said that he has long been in line with the spirit of streamlining. He has always held three positions and has not increased the burden on members.He is the real head of Zhao Village. He has a solid body like a cast iron billet and a head as hard as a steel shovel. He has a stubborn temper, perseverance, and strict judgment. He will be punished all the time, even to his wife. In recent years, Zhao Peng has heard sporadic comments about the old party secretary Zhao Shengji from the villagers, which has constantly washed away his impression of the admirable old party secretary in the past.Taking advantage of the turbulence of implementing the responsibility system, I bought the small tractors in the team at a discounted price for myself, and the same goes for dealing with public housing, and so on.

"The team gave him a subsidy of 36 yuan a month, which is actually a salary. Every time he goes to the commune to hold a meeting, he will also record a 'official labor day'. Disputes also need to be recorded as an 'official labor day', and there are so many strange tricks, after a year, how much money will I get for nothing!" Guang Hulu said, "We went to the county party committee to file a complaint, and many people in the village signed their names." "What's the result?" Zhao Peng became concerned, "Did the county solve it?" "Hi! Don't mention it!" The long hair slapped his thigh: "The cadres of the county party committee looked at the materials we handed over and said, 'The problem exists, but it is not too serious. It is much more serious than Zhao Shengji. They still can’t investigate and deal with them, so they have to wait.’ No, we’ve been waiting for three months, and we haven’t even heard a word! We don’t have the energy to sue again.”

This person, who has been a cadre for more than ten years, may have faded away from the tiger spirit in the past, or there may be more complicated reasons.Zhao Peng listened, and couldn't help feeling emotional: "This person...doesn't care about the Party's policies and regulations in the countryside..." "Haha! Policies—" Long-haired laughed, "Zhao Zhishu yelled in the village, saying 'Policy is a sweet potato'!" "What do you mean?" Zhao Peng asked. "Guess!" The long-haired man smiled. "Red sweet potato! It's hard when it's raw, but it's soft when it's steamed." Guang Hulu explained with a smile. Let him pinch flat and round!"

oh!Hearing this, Zhao Peng couldn't help laughing and crying. He couldn't help being infected by the two young people, and felt righteous indignation: "You two should go to the commune to complain. The commune manages a small area, and the matter..." "I've been to the commune, but I don't like anything." Guang Hulu said. "Don't meddle in it!" Shuqin took the opportunity of delivering the soup, walked to the round table, and said, "You're not at home, so why don't you care about other people's team affairs!" "Look! Auntie is scared!" Long-haired smiled. "It's not that I'm afraid or not." Shuqin objected, "It's not that I said, no matter how much you two dance around, you won't be able to sue Party Secretary Zhao!" "If you don't say goodbye, you can't tell me, even if you scratch his fur, you won't be greedy!" A shrill voice came from the door. When Zhao Peng saw it, it was Wang Xiuzhen. This bluffing woman spoke so happily.His Shuqin is already a bit wise and self-preserving. In the past, she knew that the pillar of her life was his considerable monthly salary, so she didn't care much about the team's success. Good reputation, but not as vibrant as when he first joined Zhao Village as the Youth League secretary.People are changing. "Sister-in-law Shuqin, I want to discuss something with you." Wang Xiuzhen said. "What's the matter?" Shuqin asked. "The team will open the threshing machine tomorrow! The captain will pass the order, and we can combine freely, five households in one group, and pack for one day." Xiuzhen said, "I'm looking for you, let's combine as a group, do you want to?" "Okay!" Shuqin smiled easy-goingly, "Am I afraid of losing money with you, a beauty and labor combination? But there are only two of them!" "Would you two like it?" Wang Xiuzhen pointed to the long hair and the light gourd, "Stay with my aunt and work hard. After threshing wheat, my aunt is free, so I can find a good wife for both of you..." Long-haired and light gourd smiled happily and agreed. "Who should I contact again?" Wang Xiuzhen and Shuqin muttered together. Zhao Peng handed cigarettes to the two young men. When they were full, they stood up, put their shirts on their shoulders, and asked, "Are you still going to the river?" "Forget it!" Zhao Peng said with a smile, "My back hurts..." The two young men just walked away two steps, turned back, and said seriously to Zhao Peng with long hair: "Uncle, that day at the river beach, we asked you to find a contract worker—" "The problem...isn't that big!" Zhao Peng said, "I heard that the fence is going to be rebuilt. I'll make sure when I go back to the factory." "No! Uncle Peng!" Guang Hulu said, "The two of us will find another job that makes a lot of money and doesn't stick to our books." "Well—" Zhao Peng saved himself a trouble. "After it rained the day before yesterday, we went shopping in the county, and met a high school classmate who delivered live chickens to a roast chicken shop opened by Huihui in Xi'an. One person couldn't supply it, so we asked the two of us to do it together." The long hair said, " Sending 70 or 80 cocks at a time can earn more than 30 yuan!" "Seventy or eighty cents a catty is accepted, and one yuan per catty is sold to Huihui, and a catty earns more than 20 cents, and a rooster weighing two to three catties earns fifty cents." Guang Hulu proudly explained the account, "Go to the mountain to harvest for a day. , send it to the city for one day, and back and forth every two days, earning more than 30 yuan." "Good thing, good thing!" Zhao Peng praised with a smile. "Now! Let's find a way to earn a lot of money!" The long-haired murmured, "Only by earning a lot of money with less effort can we get rich quickly. But, Uncle Peng, we are not like Zhao Zhishu who eats for nothing!" The two smoked their cigarettes and walked into the village alley. Zhao Peng walked back to the courtyard, just as he saw Shuqin sending Wang Xiuzhen out, he casually said politely, "Sit down..." "I want to unite with another family!" Wang Xiuzhen said. "Xiuzhen, don't hurry, I have something to say." Shuqin called. Wang Xiuzhen walked over again, stood in front of Shuqin, and listened to her important words that she had forgotten. "You tell Brother Peng face-to-face what we said in the wheat field the day before yesterday!" Shuqin said solemnly. "Ah! Hahaha..." Wang Xiuzhen yelled after hearing this, and ran out of the yard in a panic. The laughter continued into the village alley outside the gate. Zhao Peng didn't know what to say that would make the fearless Wang Xiuzhen—nicknamed Crazy Wang—so panic-stricken, and asked curiously, "Shuqin, what did she say? Laughing like this!" "Good words." Shuqin pretended to be calm. "What good words?" Zhao Peng became more curious. "she says……" "Say what?" "She said she wanted to sleep with you!" "Ah!" Zhao Peng was caught off guard, blushing, ran to Shuqin, punched her in the waist, and said helplessly, "You cunning women..."