Chapter 4 3

In the past two days, the work team has been busy going out to visit the poor and ask the poor. In groups of two or three, they went to the village to visit house to house.Most of the time only women are at home during the day, so they are dispatched day and night, using the way of chatting to induce farmers to complain.Once a day, the team members gather in the primary school to report, summarize and discuss the materials collected that day. "The common people still have scruples! They dare not speak," Zhang Li said. "They are afraid of revenge from the remnants of feudalism."

We study whether they are afraid of the landlord?Afraid of bullies?Several landlords in Hanjiatuo have only a small amount of land for rent, and it is not enough to live on rent.Some of their families are doing small businesses or teaching in the city, and they often bring money home to supplement their families.There are also a few "thugs" on the ground, but none of them can be called a bully.Among the cadres, Li Xiangqian used to be a "loafer", but now that he has changed his ways and become the secretary of the branch, naturally no one will go over his old accounts.Served as a chief during the Occupation

Both of them were forced, and official documents came from the township office, and they were appointed by name.Not only did they not get any benefits, but they were sent to Yingying to supply the Japanese and puppet troops, and the compensation was very exhausting, and they sold the fields and houses.The people in the village knew about these situations very well, so they didn't hold any grudges on them. The work of visiting the poor and the poor continued.With the enthusiasm of young people, these team members exerted their greatest strength, pressing their stomachs to squeeze out the water like artificial respiration; finally, some of the bitter water came out one after another.

The most common complaint is that after the autumn harvest last year, the four townships competed to pay grain early, and the village cadres only wanted to win the red flag, desperately urging everyone to pay it quickly, and threatened to fine roads.Later, they simply arrested people indiscriminately.There was a poor peasant Han Delu who was forced to cry four times.There were also many people who were urged to sell the grain to pay for the grain before it was time to harvest. Some people also complained that the cadres were selfish and that it was unfair when they "became a burden".A few people also confided that they were hit by fires and insects one after another last year, and lost more than 50%. To reduce the levy".

The team members were very excited and worked hard when they were suffering, but they felt embarrassed when they reported.They are all trivial complaints of this kind, and of course no one dares to say anything serious; they are all expressing dissatisfaction with the cadres, but they are indifferent to the landlords. "The peasants here don't have a deep hatred for the landlords." Liu Quan made such a conclusion. "Why don't landlords hate deeply? It's because they don't have enough political consciousness, so they don't feel resentful about being exploited by landlords," Zhang Li said. The landlord's hatred is not deep, which just proves that your understanding of policy is not enough."

So everyone made a detailed review and reflection. Li Xiangqian made a suggestion to the work team. Every day at noon, cook "struggle rice" in a big pot. The work team and cadres and militiamen eat together.Anyway, the food was ready-made, the fruit of the struggle against the hegemony of the Qing bandits in the spring, and it was kept by the peasant association. "That is the property of the people." Liu Quan said immediately, "It should not be enjoyed by us." Huang Juan has never talked much, but this time she also said, "Originally, when we go to the countryside, we should be three people," she means eating, living and working together. "It's wrong for us not to work in the field now. It's too unreasonable to eat better than others. The family I live in is a poor family, and they live on some bean skins, bran, and bran. They have never eaten anything. Proper food."

She was not the only one who was assigned to the poor family, and they all followed suit. Naturally, some people were eager to change their tastes, so they argued with her. "Not working in the field is because time does not allow it - this land reform is time-limited, and it must be completed as soon as possible. In fact, it is economic time. It is also a way for everyone to eat struggle meals together. All cadres and militias will be assembled. Call someone." For a while, everyone was talking about it. "Comrades are here to help the common people in their struggle," Li Xiangqian said, "Even if they eat two meals for the common people, they should."

"Then does it mean that if you don't eat, you won't fight?" Huang Juan said. Zhang Li supported her.He said: "It is indeed bad to eat too much, and we must take care of the impact." The suggestion of "struggle rice" is not enough.But soon they discovered that because the farmer's association's barn was not well equipped, after a hot summer, the millet became hot and turned red, and some sprouted.In this way, there is no reason to object to eating out.So I built a big stove in the courtyard of the elementary school and cooked lunch for the staff every day.Later, there were rumors that Li Xiangqian colluded with the director of the peasant association, and a large number of stolen and sold grains were reimbursed for struggle meals.It was also because other cadres were jealous that they came to Zhang Li, but Li Xiangqian handled Zhang Li very well, so the situation did not expand.The staff members only heard such legends in a trance.

The work of interviewing the poor and farm laborers has come to an end, and I am busy writing a report to the district superior, and everyone helps to transcribe it.The copy sent to Huang Juan seemed to be particularly long. After dusk, everyone left and she was the only one left to copy in the teaching office of the elementary school.A red candle was burning on the table in a clay candlestick.In the candlelight at dusk, one could faintly see a stone-printed portrait of Sun Yat-sen and a color-printed portrait of Mao Zedong pasted on the white powder-peeling wall, with two white paper slogans pasted on both sides of each portrait, Like couplets.Two big red waist drums hung high on the opposite wall, and the copper rings and nails gleamed golden light slightly.The composition of the primary school students is written on green silk grid bamboo paper, which is pasted up and down the wall.

Zhang Li came over and said, "Let's make a surprise attack, and I'll copy it for you. Copy it tonight, and send someone to deliver it tomorrow morning." He stood behind Huang Juan and watched where she copied it, and kept pointing with a hat in his hand, half of which he fanned for her.Although he did it out of good intentions, he fanned it again and again, and the flame of the candle flickered and danced violently.Huang Juan just stared at the paper, and couldn't help feeling dizzy.She felt very impatient in her heart, but she tried her best to endure it, put down her pen, gave him half of the draft, and pushed the candlestick away again.But he didn't sit there, he still stood by the corner of the table, casually erected the stack of manuscript papers on the table and tapped them, slowly aligning the stack of manuscript papers.

"Go ahead, Comrade Huang," he smiled and patted her on the shoulder. "I have been observing you. You have performed very well. You spoke at the meeting today, and you are very thoughtful. You are a candidate for party members. When I go back and reflect, you should be allowed to join the party in advance." His hand was on her shoulder.Huang Juan just continued to copy without raising her head, but when moving the paper, intentionally or unintentionally, she turned her body to the side and let it go. "I study with an open mind, but I don't think I have any outstanding performance." She said with a smile. "It's still a petty bourgeoisie's point of view to demand prominence." As he spoke, he had already held her left hand that was pressed on the paper, but she broke free again.She just lowered her eyes, the eye sockets were surrounded by the shadow of the long eyelashes, and the blush on her cheeks deepened one after another. "Are you thin? How did you happen to be sent to a poor family to be wrapped up?" He leaned over to look at her, the flame of the candle was very close to his lips, and now the flame was trembling because of his words. "I'll change you to a middle farmer, and make adjustments." "Then why bother? We didn't come to the countryside to enjoy ourselves, so it's nothing to suffer." "You have to practice step by step to bear hardships, and you have to pay attention to your own health. The body is the capital of revolution." He stroked her hand again, and slowly slid up her arm. This time she abruptly withdrew her hand, and then moved up one step. "I'm going to call a few more people to help copy it, so it can be faster." She had a red face, without a trace of a smile on her face, as she said, she had already walked out the door. "Ask the janitor to call." He shouted loudly: "Old Han! Old Han!" No one agreed, only to hear the echoes of "Han! Han!" buzzing from one empty room to another, which seemed to have a more terrifying feeling. "You don't need to call him, I'll go by myself, anyway, I have to go back to eat." She said in a hurry, and she had already arrived in the yard. She went back to the village and mobilized several people to come.She went to eat first by herself, and then invited a female comrade to the temple together after eating.Zhang Li's attitude was still the same as usual, chatting and laughing with them casually, with a bit of solemnity in the harmony.After finishing the work, everyone went back to the village with lanterns. But at noon the next day when everyone gathered for a struggle meal, he suddenly walked over with a bowl in his hand, and said to Huang Juan with a straight face, "Comrade Huang Juan, your style of work is not very good, you should pay attention to the impact." Huang Juan was stunned, thinking he was referring to what happened last night, but unexpectedly he had the face to announce it in public? "It's fine to fish out the flies, you've ruined this bowl of porridge," Zhang Li pointed at the bowl of porridge she put down with his chopsticks. "This is a waste of people's blood and sweat. I remember that you were the first to oppose eating food for struggle, thinking it was too wasteful. This is the best example of intellectuals' ambition." "Comrade Zhang, your words are too unscientific," Huang Juan said angrily with a red face, "flies are infectious germs, even elementary school students know it." "Flies boiled in porridge are already dead. Can germs still survive? You are a petty bourgeois cleanliness." "I saw it fall into the porridge with my own eyes, and it was still alive," Huang Juan picked up the bowl again and showed him the fly with chopsticks. "What is this? The peasants still eat as usual. Why is your life worth more than the peasants?" One of the two accused loudly while the other defended loudly. Many cadres and militiamen were watching the fun. Zhang Li also felt that something was wrong, and then smiled and said: "My comrade, it is a good intention to give you an opinion to help you improve. Your attitude of not accepting criticism like this is really not good, you should bring it up for discussion in the group." At that time Liu Quan was very aggrieved for her, but at the same time she felt a little bit surprised, because she didn't know why she was so angry today, and contradicted Zhang Li as soon as she opened her mouth. She later regretted that she was too restless, knowing that she could not beat him, even if she boldly exposed his ambiguous attitude yesterday, she would not get organizational support, which would ruin her own future in vain. Their team had a meeting that day and criticized her thoroughly.Although these people are all naive young people, forced by the situation, they have to care about their own future, and they are already very competitive with each other; since they are signaled to criticize someone, of course they are ruthlessly encircled and suppressed. Great opportunity for credit.Several days later, someone raised a question at the meeting: "After the meeting that day, someone once saw Comrade Huang Juan run into the field and cry. It can be seen that she pretended to accept criticism on the surface. I still feel dissatisfied." There was a moment of silence.Then Huang Juan smiled and said, "That's what happened. I was so moved that I cried because everyone cared about me and helped me improve so enthusiastically." In this way, the matter finally came to an end. During the past two days, the working team members participated in cadre meetings every day, and held secret meetings in the cooperative to prepare targets for struggle.On this day, I was in a meeting, and suddenly someone yelled: "There are spies, there are spies!" "It's Han Tingbang!" "It's him! I saw him poking around the door!" Everyone yelled. Immediately, several cadres ran out the door, put the landlord Han Tingbang in, and scolded the militiamen guarding the gate for not doing anything.That Han Tingbang is a tall man with a yellow and thin face, a high nose, narrow eyes, and long hair, with a few stems of gray already, and the hair is in the middle, and it is parted on both sides.Wearing a white linen gown and blue canvas shoes. "Han Tingbang, what are you doing here?" Li Xiangqian shouted. "I've come to see the directors and I have something to say. I saw comrades having a meeting here, so I didn't dare to come in... I didn't dare to come in." He kept nodding his head, bowed his waist and smiled. "What do you have to say?" Zhang Li said. "I'm here to offer the land." He tried to free his hand and took out the land deed in his pocket, but someone else took it out for him and presented the small cloth bag. Zhang Li took out the land deed inside to look at it, and said with a smile: "their landlords offer three kinds of land, one is bad, one is far, and one is little." Li Xiangqian also came up to look at it, and said, "Isn't this the worst and farthest few acres of dry land he picked to fool people?" "In principle, it should not be taken from him. This land should be returned to his tenants, and he cannot use other people's land as a favor." Zhang Li still wrapped several land deeds in the same white cloth, and threw them back to Han Tingbang. "Go, go!" Li Xiangqian yelled, "Go quickly! Didn't you just ask for news by offering land!" Everyone crossed Han Tingbang out.Continuing the meeting now, Zhang Lishi asked about Han Tingbang's background and history.This man has about 40 mu of land handed down from his ancestors. When he was young, he also went to middle school in the city for a few years.Later, he was introduced by relatives and worked as a small errand outside. Because he was too honest, he didn't get much money, and he was squeezed out by others, so he finally came back.But the family has a large population and heavy burdens, so every one or two years, he still has to go to Beijing to ask his father-in-law to find work for him. up.It seems that the situation in the countryside is not right. The rumors are getting more and more serious day by day. He wanted to slip away half a month ago, planning to leave his wife and children behind and escape alone to abandon his father-in-law.But at this time, the village entrance was already under investigation. He was stopped by the militiamen, sent to the village office for questioning, and he was still released, but after that, a few more people were sent to guard the front and back doors of his house. At this time, he was brought up again in the cadre meeting to discuss whether he should be detained earlier.At the same time, he was afraid that he would hide or destroy the land deed, so he decided to ask his tenants to settle accounts with him in advance and ask him to take the land deed. There are a total of five people farming his family's fields, all of whom are old tenants.The peasant association called them, taught them some words, and told them to ask for the land deed.They just smiled and agreed, and if they didn't see each other, they were missing one person, and they slipped off to nowhere.The remaining few said they were going to find him, and they all slipped away one by one.The cadres waited and waited, became anxious, and then sent someone to look for them. It turned out that several of them had gone to work in the fields. Li Xiangqian and Sun Quangui were so angry that they scolded: "After these people die, there is really nothing we can do about them!" "Let's take it step by step, don't worry," Zhang Li said, "There will always be bumps in your work." He also called several tenants and told them repeatedly.The tenants finally went to Han Tingbang's house to ask for the title deed, but they didn't go through the procedures of settlement and didn't embarrass him.Afterwards, the peasant association made an investigation and was very dissatisfied.When the cadre meeting was held again, Sun Quangui spoke at the meeting, saying: "We have said it a long time ago - there will be no trouble! There is no big landlord, and there are more than 160 households of poor and hired peasants. How much land can one person divide?" ? What are you making a fuss about!" Li Xiangqian also said: "The family has less than one mu of land. Seeing that he is a rich peasant and middle peasant with 30 mu of land, he won't touch him. Why not be jealous? If you want to divide it, you will divide it all--not me! A family Who wouldn't like to grow two acres of land, not afraid that the common people won't get up!" The staff members were silent at first, but then some chattered, and finally Liu Quan said, "This is against the policy." Another said in a more moderate tone: "It seems bad to have too many targets." "The attack area should be reduced," Huang Juan said. "We can't cling to the rules," Zhang Li said after thinking about it for a while: "The ratio of population to cultivated land is very different in different places, so there can't be rigid rules for dividing classes according to the amount of land. In the past, The class may also be incorrect, so feel free to bring it up for re-discussion." When he explained to the cadres again, everyone became lively for a while, and many people spoke out in one go, and proposed many names, thinking that they could all be classified as the landlord class. Xia Fengchun, the branch propagandist who never spoke up, also said excitedly: "That boy Han Changsuo, don't look at how little land he has—a young man with three acres of good water! He even married his wife last year!" Sun Quangui turned his back on him. He had been a cadre for more than a year without even having a wife, and he is still a bachelor. The chairman of the women's association also said, "My wife is still wearing a new cotton jacket!" At the moment, everyone makes a list and draws up a list.Among the top three is Tang Zhankui's name.Although Tang Zhankui had no tenants and could not afford to hire long-term laborers, he hired short-term laborers during busy farming seasons.Several people in the village have worked for him.The peasant association recruited these people and mobilized them to fight against Tang Zhankui. Several hired workers were a bit timid, and only one Feng Tianyou was more courageous and dared to speak. "Tang Zhankui...is kind to others," he said hesitantly: "In front of comrades, we dare not talk nonsense, let's say something. To work for his family, we eat whatever they eat, and we pay the wages." Also refreshing." "Don't be so stupid, you don't even know you've been exploited by others, and you still treat them as a good person," Li Xiangqian said, "Don't think about it, he doesn't exploit the poor, where did he come from?" "It's because their family is united. For decades, there has been no distinction between men and women. Both adults and children have gone to work in the fields. Even when his father was alive, he was still in the fields in his seventies." "Don't be so stubborn, bend your elbows outward, don't help your poor buddies, but protect those who ride on the heads of the poor." "That's not the case, Comrade Li. You can't be careless. Old Tang can't be considered bad for us. When our father died that year, my uncles and uncles in my family refused to help. He borrowed money to buy the coffin." "So that's how it is," Zhang Licha came in and said, "His little kindness has won your heart!" "Don't be so stupid," Li Xiangqian said, "What's this small favor? If you really count on him, I'm afraid he shouldn't give you half of his land!" After hearing this, Feng Tianyou couldn't help but get active in his heart. Li Xiangqian had already noticed that his face had changed, so he nailed another sentence: "Think about it carefully, Feng Tianyou. Don't be so stubborn and refuse to turn over!" "You turned around today!" Zhang Li said, patting the ground on the shoulder. "Now the world is dominated by the poor, and the poor are the third generation," Li Xiangqian said, "Go and fight with him, and ask him to get back the wages he owes you. Don't worry, the government will back you up." Feng Tianyou just kept his head down and kept silent, but the two helpers who came with him murmured and spoke intermittently, saying that Tang Zhankui had paid them less for their wages. "Listen, listen!" Li Xiangqian said to Feng Tianyou: "Everyone has said it, and you are the only one who protects him and is willing to be his dog's leg." "It must have been bought by him," Zhang Li asked immediately, "What benefit did he give you?" "Nothing! If someone takes something from him, the left hand will rot if the left hand is taken, and the right hand will rot if the right hand is taken." "Then why don't you tell the truth?" After grinding for a long time, finally Feng Tianyou also expected Aiwen to say that the money Tang Zhankui lent him was a debt from the king of Hades, and the interest went up and down. In the next few years, he would carry water, build soil, build ditches, and grind wheat and millet for him. Great, all for nothing. Liu Quan watched from the side, feeling as if his heart was on fire, and passed two notes to Zhang Lilian. After reading it for a while, Zhang Li crumpled into a ball and stuffed it into his trouser pocket without expressing anything.Liu Quan thought to himself that he lived in Tang Zhankui's house, so maybe he had to avoid suspicion, otherwise, some people would even say that he was bribed.But later I couldn't bear it anymore and said: "Comrade Zhang, I don't think mobilizing the masses in this way can encourage the masses to tell the truth." "What do you mean?" Zhang Li looked at him calmly and said, "We talk about mobilizing the common people all day long, and the common people have really risen. Are we pouring cold water on him again?" Liu Quan paused, and was about to speak again, when Zhang Li cut him off sharply: "Comrade Liu Quan, your class line is wrong, you should reflect on yourself first, we will discuss your issue in a day. " His two sentences clearly contained a sense of intimidation.Liu Quan fell silent, and the rest of the staff saw his example, and no one dared to make a sound. When the meeting ended that day, Huang Juan came up to Liu Quan and said softly, "It's so undemocratic!" Liu Quan was silent at first and didn't say anything, then he suddenly said to her angrily: "Look at the situation today, anyone who has a single objection is simply the landlord's dog!" "Forget it, forget it, don't talk about it!" Another team member walked past them and said in a low voice: "Let people hear it and say that we have a small meeting." Huang Juan also walked away quietly. Liu Quan walked slowly, leaving behind alone.He was a little afraid to go home, he didn't want to see Tang Zhankui's family.When I saw them, I pretended that nothing happened, and didn't reveal any information. I felt that it was too hypocritical.But you can't tell them anything.That was not only a violation of discipline, but also committed the most serious crime of undermining land reform, and could be sentenced to death.And, more importantly, completely irrelevant.They have nowhere to run, and they cannot escape. Thinking of this, he felt a little lost in his heart, and walked along his feet.Unknowingly, he took a long detour back, as if it would be good to endure a little longer.Walking along this road, you can see a small river ditch from a distance, and a tall golden willow tree grows beside the ditch, and the setting sun is shining on the withered willow branches.The cicadas have not been heard for the past two days. A stone slab bridge was built over the small ditch, and some people squatted on the stone slab to wash clothes.Liu Quan didn't pay attention at first, but when he got closer, he realized that the purple floral shirt and trousers looked familiar, and when he saw the back, he knew it was the second girl.He couldn't help being stunned, but kept walking slowly under his feet, and he had already reached the side of the river ditch. Er Niu was pounding her clothes with her head down and holding a mallet, she raised one shoulder from time to time to wipe off the splashed water on her face.Her purple calico sleeves were rolled up high, exposing her round golden arms.Liu Quan was standing by the water, not a few steps away from her, but he didn't look towards her, but only looked at the water in the ditch. The thick and greasy yellow mud is like the strands of egg yolk in the egg white. Although the water is yellow and turbid, after all people's shadows are reflected in it.Er Niu had seen his shadow in the water a long time ago, and deliberately pretended not to know, to see if he greeted her.Unexpectedly, he always stood there blankly, motionless. She felt surprised at first, but gradually, for some reason, her face flushed blushing, and her hands were still shaking the clothes up and down. Absently. She suddenly beeped, and the mallet slid into the water, spun smoothly, and went away with the current.She just stared at it in a daze, but Liu Quan was startled awake by her beeping.He immediately stepped into the water, took two hurried steps, and leaned over to fish.Although the water was very shallow, the water was very fast, and his movements were too hasty, his body shook a few times, and he almost fell down.But I managed to get the hammer back. Er Niu had already stood up on the stone bridge and stood there silently.When he landed on the shore, she saw the water on the hem of his trousers flowing down like a string, she yelled, and said, "Look, look," she held a ball of wet clothes in her hand, the clothes The water on the bed was also flowing down like a string, and was dripping on the insteps of her feet, but she didn't feel it. "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter." He handed her the mallet, while bending down to wring the water from the hem of his trousers.The drenched trousers had turned dark gray. "What should I do?" Er Niu frowned.Like all the people in the northern villages, she always seems to have a fear of rain and water because she is unfamiliar with it.Getting your clothes wet seems like a serious matter. "There's nothing to change, I just washed that set." "It's okay, it's okay, it'll be done in a while." He nodded to her. "Then I'll go back first." This time he walked very fast, partly because the wet trousers were cold and wrapped around his legs, making him very uncomfortable.The sun was setting, and gusts of wind blew onto the wet clothes, making it a bit chilly.Moreover, the pair of rubber shoes on the feet were covered with a thick layer of mud, and when they walked on the ground, they softened, as if they were in the clouds, which was very strange. After entering Weizi, I met two staff members in the alley, who were his classmates. "What happened to you?" They asked in surprise, "Did you fall into the river?" He nodded with a vague smile. If he told them the truth that he was helping a girl in the village catch a stick, he would definitely be laughed at by them. "How did it fall into the river?" "One accidentally fell down, but luckily the water is shallow." He replied casually. "What a joke, the landlord didn't throw himself into the river, but you, a member of the land reform team, threw himself into the river instead!" Everyone laughed for a while, and then separated. When he returned to Tang's house, when Tang Zhankui's woman saw him, she asked in surprise, "What's wrong?" He could very well have told her the truth, but he had always had the feeling that she was very guarded against her daughter, that she panicked whenever a man in uniform approached her.At that time, he didn't think about it carefully, so he answered casually, saying that he didn't stand firmly on the river bank and slipped into the water. "Oh, you didn't fall, did you?" she said, "Go to the stove and bake, you will get sick if you wear wet clothes." Tang Zhankui came back from the field, put down his hoe, and went to uncover the lid of the water tank, took a ladle of water and drank it, then scooped another ladle of water, put it in his mouth and sprayed it on his hands, rubbing his hands together. His woman told him about Liu Quan falling into the river, but he just agreed casually, as if he didn't hear it, and just slowly washed his hands.After washing, he wiped the white cloth vest on his body, and there were strips of yellow mud marks on the vest. His woman also fell silent.Liu Quan stood in front of the stove warming the fire, moving his feet uneasily.The bubbling water in the rubber shoes gurgled. Tang Zhankui took out his dry pipe from a recessed hole in the earthen wall, put it into the stove and lit it, hugged a bench, sat down to smoke, bent forward, and stared straight at his eyes, as if very tired like. He had an argument with his woman today.Because the air in the village was very tense these two days, there were a lot of rumors, and many rich and middle peasants went to donate land one after another.Tang Zhankui's woman also panicked and persuaded him to donate half of the land.He just doesn't make a sound. "Is there any way to catch up with this era," the woman said, "Don't you feel sorry for me? The land is bought every acre, but you have to take it out in large pieces--" He couldn't help crying up. She also said: "Oh, I didn't say you, why bother! I can't bear to eat for the rest of my life, so I want to buy land. In order to buy the land of Geng's family last spring, I made such a big hole and owed two hundred catties of grain. Haven't paid it back yet!" While counting, she took out the wooden box where they kept the land deeds, and became sad again, saying: "In the early days, these land deeds were wrapped in a rag. Later, when I bought more, I wrapped them in a piece of mulberry paper." , and put a small burden on it. After you made such a box, I said: "Forget it, we are not a wealthy owner, and the mahogany box contains the title deed. "It's all protected by this box, I didn't say it!" He just sat there and didn't speak.She forced him to donate land to the cooperative again. He stood up, picked up the hoe, put it on his shoulder, and went down to the field. By this time it was getting dark and he came back.The woman thought in her heart that while Liu Quan was here, she should try to ask Liu Quan for news.So after a while of silence, she opened her mouth and said to her husband: "Oh, there's been a lot of talk in the village these two days, and I don't know who to trust. I said Er Niu is his father, so you don't have to worry, anyway, there is no one from us." We have suffered for half of our lives, and even if we lose these few acres of land, we still haven’t had enough to eat for three days, how can we fight against us?" She was talking to her husband, but she looked at Liu Quan. Liu Quan stood there with his back on his back to warm himself up by the fire, but he didn't pick up on this. The woman said to her husband again: "Didn't Comrade Liu tell you that you can rest assured that it's none of our business." She originally thought that the couple would talk to each other, so as to attract Liu Quan to talk, but Tang Zhankui was a solid-minded person, so he didn't understand her meaning at all, and he didn't see her winking at him.He just sat there silently smoking.She talked to herself for a while, but no one answered her, so she kept silent. At this time Er Niu finished washing her clothes and came back.While kneading the flour, Tang Zhankui's woman told her that Liu Quan fell into the water as news.Erniu couldn't help laughing when she heard this, and at the same time glanced at Liu Quan.Liu Quan was really depressed, but seeing her smiling at him like this, she had no choice but to smile back. The two eyes met, and Erniu probably felt that they were keeping a secret together. Turning his face away, he couldn't help but sneered even more. "What are you laughing at?" Tang Zhankui asked loudly as he sat there hunched over and smoking a cigarette. Seeing him staring at Er Niu, Liu Quan couldn't help becoming a little anxious. "It's nothing." She laughed even harder. "Stupid child," he frowned, picked up the pipe, and hit her on the head with the pot. Er Niu snuggled up beside him, put her head on his shoulder, and rubbed her vigorously.She seemed very happy today, and she suddenly seemed to be unbelievably in love with her father. "He's so big, he's not afraid of being laughed at. The bigger he is, the more stupid he is!" Tang Zhankui murmured, stroking her hair and sighing for no reason at the same time. Liu Quanyue felt very uncomfortable when he saw their peaceful and venting appearance. It will be dinner soon.After the meal, Tang Zhankui's woman washed the dishes in a wooden bucket.After Erniu wiped the table clean, she went to the yard and brought in Liu Quan's uniform that she had washed today.Hanging outside, although it is not dry, it is not so watery.She spread the clothes on the table, smoothed it with her hands, and wiped it heavily, making the gray-blue cloth smooth as if it had been ironed. Liu Quan stood up, picked up a lamp stand, walked to the stove, leaned on a lamp hanging on the stove and lit it, and shadowy walked into his room.He wanted to go to bed earlier so as to avoid talking to the Tang family. He was sitting on the kang and only untied two buttons when he suddenly heard Tang Zhankui's woman shouting from outside: "Comrade Liu! Someone is looking for you!" "Who is it?" He walked out while buttoning the button. In the dim yellow light, he suddenly felt his eyes light up, and saw Huang Juan standing in front of the light with a smile, his hands in his pockets, Standing, it further accentuated her slender figure, her slightly pointed round face, and her deep eyes.In the shadow of the lamp, her long eye tips also looked particularly deep and long, and the thin edge on her red and tender lips was also very beautiful. "Have you eaten yet?" she asked. "I just ate," Liu Quan said with a smile, "Please sit down, please sit down." "What's the name of this comrade?" Tang Zhankui's woman accosted him. "My surname is Huang. Is this your girl?" She put a hand on Erniu's shoulder. Er Niu lowered her head a little lower, and continued to smooth the clothes on the table, looking very attentive. "What's your name?" Huang Juan bent down to look at her. Er Niu was still looking down, only a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth, but her face was red, that smile seemed very forced. "It's Erniu," her mother replied on her behalf, "I'm seventeen this year, and I'm still not sensible at all." "This is your kind words. I have always seen her very lively." Huang Juan suddenly noticed Liu Quan's two shoes covered with yellow mud, and couldn't help but let out a sigh, and said, "Where did you go? Come? Your clothes are wet too." "I just came back and was walking by the river ditch. I accidentally fell down." Liu Quan replied like this, and for some reason, as if he had a guilty conscience, his eyes couldn't help but to Er Niu's eyelids. glance over.This is the second time Erniu heard him say that.This time, instead of smiling, she seemed very unhappy.Her short, straight hair fell down on her cheeks, covering half of her face, but it could still be seen that her cheeks were bulging and tense, and her eyes were very gloomy.Seeing her expression, Liu Quan thought to himself, "You are so angry for no reason. How could I be afraid of her and dare not tell the truth. I said this to your mother just now, and now in front of your mother, I may not be able to change my words." , Said that I went down the river to help you catch the club and wet my clothes and shoes." Although he thought so, he was still a little ashamed in his heart, he always felt that he was sorry for Er Niu. Huang Juan walked to the door of the inner room, opened a picture, and asked Liu Quan with a smile, "Is this your room?" "That's right. Come in and have a look." As soon as she walked in, she immediately took out a folded letter from her pocket, opened it and handed it to him. "我写了封信，"她轻声说："你要是同意的话，也把你的名字签上。我希望多找几个人签名。" 刘荃把油灯拨亮了些，匆匆把那封信看了一遍。看了一遍之后，又看第二遍。他唯一觉得安慰的，就是信尾只有她一个人的署名，可见她还没有拿去给别人看。 "我当然同意的，"他说："不过我认为你这封信不能寄。" "我也知道随便写信是无组织无纪律的行为，"黄绢微笑著说。她靠著桌子角站著，伸著一只食指在油灯的火焰上划过来划过去，试验烫不烫。 "而且一定没有用的。我们不是党员，我们没有组织关系，说的话不被重视。" 她突然抬起头来。"不过这儿搞得实在太不像话。我想毛主席未必知道。" 刘荃没有作声，半晌才说："毛主席自己也说过，矫枉必须过正。" "可是总不能乱斗人，"她因为气愤，声音不由得高了些。 刘荃急忙向她微微摇了摇头，向门外看了一眼，然后轻声说："我们出去走走吧，还是外头说话方便。" 她接过那张信纸，仍旧摺叠起来向口袋里一塞，两个人一同走出房去。 二妞正蹲在灶前拨灰。唐占魁夫妇俩隔著一张桌子坐著，一个在吸烟，一个在做活，两人的脸色都很紧张。显然他们以为黄绢今天晚上来也许与他们有关，把刘荃叫到里屋去也不知说了些什么话，现在又和他一同走了。 刘荃他们走出大门，这天晚上月色很好，那青霜似的月光照在那淡黄色的光秃秃的土墙上，有一种说不出来的凄清的况味，使人不由得想起这是有着三千年的回忆的北中国。那月光十分明亮，远远近近不时的发出一缕缕摇曳的鸡啼，鸡都当是天已经亮了。他们沿著那小巷子走著，有迎大家穷得连扇门都没有，从那门洞子里望进去，小院子里黑漆漆的，土房子里隐隐透出一点暗黄色的微光。一路走过去，有时候也听见小孩的哭声，也渺茫得很，仿佛这不知道是什么年代的孩子，可能他後来活到很大的年纪，死的时候已经是两千年前了。 在那土巷子里高一脚低一脚走著，也不便说话。后来刘荃在墙根下面站住了。 "我要你答应我不要寄那封信，"他说。 She said nothing. "真的，我们现在完全没有地位，组织不过拿我们当群众看待。我们毁了自己也救不了别人。" "我知道，"她终于说。 "譬如那天无缘无故的跟你找岔子。实在太没有理由了。我真火极了，可是我觉得跟他正面冲突没有好处的，我们现在只有忍耐。" 黄绢微微叹了口气："唉！回去吧，让人看见了又说我们闹小圈子主义。" "我送你回去。" 在回去的路上忽然听见一阵皇皇的犬吠声，夹杂著一阵脚步声，是排著队走得齐整的步伐。这时候他转了个弯，是土房子的后身，只看见窗户里的灯一个个都熄灭了，变成一片黑暗与死寂。他们问身在檐下的黑影中，远远看见横巷里走过一队民兵，打著灯笼，前面走的两个拿著枪，身上佩著子弹带、盒子炮，后面的几个就只看见一些白色头巾在黑暗中晃动。 "索性等一会再走吧，"刘荃轻声说。 "看这样子是去逮人的，"黄绢恐怖地说。 "不知道是往谁家去。" 东头的狗吠起来了。他们猜测著是不是到韩廷榜家。 "这些人也都是刚巧陷在时代的夹缝里，"黄绢低声说。 青黝黝的天空里高高挂著大半个冷白的月亮。看著那没有时间性的月亮，刘荃心里想他也愿意生在另一个时代。这时候他毫无理由的忽然想起他一个旧同学的故事。还是中学时代的同学，那人有一个青梅竹马的恋人，和他一同参了干；他因为级位低，没有结婚的权利，一方面那女孩子已经被迫嫁给一个老干部了。 即使早生几年也好，刘荃想。不能早生几年，早几年见她也好，不至於这样咫尺天涯。 "你的家在北京？"他问。 "我一直住在北京。" "那也说不定我们在路」遇见过好些次，大家都不认识。 " she laughed. "那很可能。"她在檐下的一个石舂床上坐了下来，用手抚摸著那上面的扶手，又把下颏搁在手背上。 "这次服从分配，也不知道分配到什麽地方，"刘荃说。 "也许我们又在新疆碰见了。" "也难说。" 她突然在那舂床上站了起来，把手指了指巷西墙根下的一团黑影，仿佛是个人蹲在那里。 "是谁？"刘荃也吃了一惊，大声问著。 no answer. "是什麽人？"他走过去问。 "放哨的，"那民兵短短的回覆了一句，在地下啪的吐了口痰。 "不早了，回去吧。"黄绢说。 他们从横巷里穿过去，一抬头，又看见迎面的屋脊上蹲著一个黑影，想必又是放哨的。他们一路上都没有说话。 到了黄绢寄住的那家人家，她进去了，然后一个人走回去。他忽然又听见那齐整的脚步声，"嗒--嗒--嗒--嗒--"在他后面，渐渐跟上来了。四邻的狗又零零落落叫了起来。在那死寂的村庄里，老远的就可以听见民兵队伍里说话的声音。那隐隐的人语声与寒冷的犬吠声在他耳朵里嗡嗡起伏著，使他怀疑那仅只是他的兴奋的响声，一切都出於他的幻想。 在月光中，那黄士的甬道笔直的在眼前伸展著。转一个弯，还是那月光中的黄土甬道，永远走不完，像在朦胧的梦境中一样。而那"嗒--嗒--嗒--嗒--"的脚步声永远跟在他后面。 他甚至於有一个神经错乱的感觉，觉得他要是不回家去，改走另一条路，他们盲目地跟在他后头走着，就会找不到唐家。