Chapter 5 4(1)

Liu Quan hastily collected his own things, such as toothbrushes and shirts, grabbed them one by one and stuffed them into his backpack.The oil of the soybean oil lamp on the table was almost dry, leaving only a glimmer of green light, filling the whole loess room with blue-black shadows, as if with this light, it would have been darker than without it. . The Tang family's room was dark, and there was no sound at all, as if they had already fallen asleep.Perhaps they too were holding their breath listening to the footsteps outside.Maybe they also have an illusion that as long as they keep quiet, they won't find them.

He should move out immediately and go back to the primary school. Land reform workers cannot live in the landlord's house.To draw the line.In fact, he also knew that there was no need to rush to move, and it was not his fault that he lived in the Tang family.He just had an evasive mentality, unwilling to see with his own eyes what was about to happen. He hurried out into the moonlight with his backpack in hand, and was confronted by a team of militiamen swarming into the courtyard with lanterns. "Who?" Someone asked. "It's me. In the work team." A militiaman held up a lantern and shone a light on his face, but said nothing.Here everyone has already rushed into the house, yelling.

"Where's Tang Zhankui? Tell him to come out! Take him for questioning!" Everyone yelled together, Liu Quan squeezed out in the chaos, ran away in the loess garden under the moonlight, and quickly left the uproar far behind. Then he suddenly remembered that there was also the set of clothes that Erniu washed for him, which was left at Tang's house and not taken away.He cursed inwardly, hating himself for remembering such trivial things at a time like this.But no matter what, he had to get it back, it was the only set he had to change.It's better to go now when it's chaotic, if he goes to their house alone tomorrow, he's really afraid that Tang Zhankui's wife and Er Niu will cry to him.And also to avoid suspicion, and then go to their house, if someone sees it, there will be a misunderstanding.

So he forced himself to go back again.Before reaching the gate of Tang's house, Tang Zhankui's woman was already heard crying in the darkness: "I beg you guys, please do me a favor, please spare him, please do me a favor! We are all neighbors──" "That nonsense! Call Tang Zhankui out!" "What about people? ── He can't hide from him, and the crime is added to the crime! Tell him to come out quickly," "Go and search!" "We are not landlords, and we didn't break the law. Why did we arrest him?" The woman cried, "His father has never done anything wrong in his life. If you don't believe me, ask him. We are all neighbors. What don't you know?"

"Shout again, shout again, I'll tie you up too!" "Comrade Liu!" Erniu's voice cried out in despair, "Where is Tong Liu going? Where did Comrade Liu go?" Liu Quan saw her as soon as he entered the gate of the courtyard, and he also saw his own clothes. The clothes were smoothed out and then hung out to dry on the wire in the yard.Erniu took hold of one sleeve of his uniform, as if using it as his arm, pressed her forehead against the sleeve, and rubbed it anxiously. Liu Quan felt that he was the most contemptible person in the world, but he had no choice but to go up calmly, take off his uniform pants and put them on his arms, and then come to get the jacket.

As soon as Erniu saw that he was back, she instinctively withdrew her hand and put down his sleeve, probably thinking that her behavior was too inappropriate, but then she forgot what she had done and grabbed his arm, screaming in a trembling voice. He wrote: "Comrade Liu! Save my father! Save my father! Look at how they arrest people!" "Damn it, I'm in the room!" Suddenly a militiaman yelled. "Fuck it!" Then there was a "bang!" A gunshot was heard, and a flame shot out into the air. "Help! I'm going to beat someone!" Er Niu yelled wildly.She grabbed Liu Quan's arm and shook it desperately. "I beg you! I beg you! Help my dad!"

Liu Quan struggled to shake off Erniu's hand, and went to get his clothes, but for some reason, the clothes hung there and couldn't be pulled off again.He didn't understand what was going on.That embarrassment was like being in a nightmare. Then he found that all the buttons on the original clothes were buttoned, and the jacket was crossed on the wire.He hurried to undo the buttons one by one.He could feel that Erniu was standing beside him and staring blankly at him, her face was a light blue mask in the moonlight, and her eyes were like two round and large silver thin shell glass beads.

"Get out of here early!" Someone shouted to the roof. "If you don't come down again, I will beat you to death! Send you back to grandma's house!" "Bang! Bang!" There were two more gunshots in succession, and then there was another commotion in the crowd.In a daze, I saw a black shadow flickering on the ridge of the roof, and fell down. "Father! Father!" Erniu yelled wildly and squeezed into the crowd. Liu Quan escaped in the confusion. The elementary school was brightly lit that night, because the arrests were going on all night.Those who were arrested were locked in two empty rooms in the backyard.Zhang Li was still up, and several important cadres were also there.Immediately Liu Quan heard from them that Tang Zhankui was only shot in the arm and was not seriously injured when he fell, so he was already detained.

The next morning, Liu Quan changed into his other uniform and found that one of the buttons on his chest was missing. About last night when it was hanging on the wire, he pulled it desperately and tore off a button.He couldn't help but smiled wryly, he felt that he played a ridiculous role in yesterday's tragedy. Tang Zhankui's woman brought a basket to deliver food, and wanted to go in to see Tang Zhankui, she was worried about his wound.The militiamen didn't let her in, so she sat on the ground and began to cry.Liu Quan heard her crying and complaining across two rooms: "People came early in the morning, and everything was sealed, one on the cabinet, one on the tank, and two of the three rooms were sealed——" Kowtow to the side, begging them to put two less stickers, and put one more on the millstone, and the oil and salt jars are sealed!"

On the day of the struggle meeting, she wept in the venue before the meeting and kowtowed when she met the cadres. "My old neighbor for decades, please do me a favor, please forgive him!" "Get out! --Run here to mess around!" Sun Quangui said, and hurried over. A member of the land reform team patiently advised her: "You have to stand firm! If you still refuse to wake up and separate the fates of the two of you, that is a dead end, and even you will be judged by the people!" " Seeing that the young man had a good temper, she pinned him down even more, crying and talking endlessly. "Do good deeds, Comrade, we are also the ones who suffer! Poor him who has suffered all his life to leave these few acres of land. Even if the land is taken away, at least his life will be left, and he will be a cow and a horse in the future to repay you guys! "

"Go, go, go! If you make trouble again, I will tie you up with a rope!" Li Xiangqian said. She didn't go away, she still stood in front of the stage, looking around, looking for the object of her pleading.There were two tears in her red and swollen eyes, like two glass bubbles, her nostrils were also bright, and she was sobbing and sucking incessantly.The auditorium was full of noisy voices, which surged up like waves, and she was in a trance. Only the rough platform against her back was real. This time the meeting was held in the empty field in front of the Han family ancestral hall, and there was a stage set up on the field, and operas were always sung here during festivals and festivals.The stage is covered with a small roof, covered with black tiles, with cornices rolled up at the four corners.There are two old vermilion lacquered pillars in front of the stage, and a slogan is pasted on one of the pillars, like a couplet: "Farmers of the whole country unite," "Down with the feudal forces." A white cloth banner was hung in front of the eaves. There are a few old blue cloth curtains hanging, which were used when singing operas in the village in the past.The few locust trees in front of the stage had thin and bright leaves, half of which had fallen off, and the sun shone directly onto the stage in yellow.The autumn sunshine, for some reason, always had a sense of bleakness, and it was already like the setting sun just after noon. Primary school students, holding red and green paper flags, lined up and sang deafeningly. The teacher led them into the venue and stood in a corner on the east side of the stage.The militiamen also lined up to enter the arena, all of them armed with guns, all wearing luxurious white cloth jackets, with a belt tied around the waist, and bullet belts and grenade belts crossed across their chests.A row stood in front of the stage, and another row stood behind the stage, and the surroundings were guarded.Sun Quangui, a member of the peasant association, squeezed through the crowd, holding a big paper-studded loudspeaker as a loudspeaker, shouting loudly. "Women stand to the west! The youth team stands here and stands next to the elementary school students! Everyone stand up and don't move around! The children who should drown should be taken out first and drowned, and they are not allowed to go out later! Hey, All of you who are in front of the wall stand up a little closer, you won’t be able to hear them if you’re far away!” Most of the cadres and land reform team members are distributed among the masses for the purpose of encouraging and supervising.Zhang Li and a small group of team members stood leisurely behind the venue, as if they were just bystanders.One of Zhang Li's body-protecting pistols was also taken out and worn today, to cheer for the people and to prevent any bad elements from making trouble at the venue.His appearance is very leisurely, but his heart is very heavy, and he is also like the nervous psychology of all stage directors before the performance of a new play. After ringing the bell for the meeting, the chairman of the peasant association first reported the purpose of the meeting, and then some sufferers walked up to the stage from the crowd to make complaints in turn.While talking on the stage, there were cadres and activists leading the way in shouting slogans, singing together like thunder.Zhang Li kept muttering softly to himself: "There are still too few spokespeople, too few. These are the people who jump in and out." After watching for a while, he turned his head away and whispered to Li Xiangqian: "Go and tell the director of the women's association to tell her to work harder. Why can't you see those women punching?" Li Xiangqian walked up again and said, "I asked them to fetch two loads of water, and everyone moistened their throats. The crowd's throats were hoarse. "Drink water or take your time." "Afraid of getting angry?" Zhang Li nodded slightly. "Besides, everyone was running around and left their positions. No one urged them, lest they stop shouting and make fists." There was a moment of "empty space" on stage.The crowd turned their heads and looked outside. "The subject is here! The subject is here!" Someone said softly. Another group of militiamen came in, escorting a group of struggle targets, with their hands tied behind their backs, their heads bowed, and they walked in one by one.The audience was silent for a moment, only the militiamen lined up behind the stage stretched out their hands in unison, and with a loud bang, they cocked the bolts of their guns.As if facing a formidable enemy, the air became even more tense. In the dead silence, Sun Quangui suddenly heard shouting: "Down with the feudal and exploiting landlords!" He stretched out one arm high in the crowd. "Down with the feudal and exploitative landlords!" The crowd raised their arms densely. Liu Quan was standing near the women's side, and the director of the Women's Association could be heard stamping his feet anxiously, pointing to the names and urging each of them: "Be more active, Aunt Xia! Speak louder! Clench your fists tighter! Move!" Yep, who are you waving at?" "Follow Chairman Mao forever!" Sun Quangui yelled. "Follow Chairman Mao forever!" Responded like a thunderstorm. The targets of struggle are led onto the stage one by one, and the sufferers take turns to fight against them.The dreamlike sunshine shone on the stage, and it was the same as when acting in previous years, but this year the crew's outfits were particularly shabby.When it was Tang Zhankui's turn, he limped onto the stage.When Zhang Li saw the hired worker Feng Tianyou go up to him to demand the unpaid wages, he couldn't help saying angrily: "This Feng Tianyou is still not good! He panicked when he came on stage!" He felt very disappointed because he discovered Feng Tianyou all by himself. newcomer. "It's all the stuff that's too muddy to support the wall," Li Xiangqian shook his head slightly. "As I said earlier, it's not good to practice too many times. It's like singing a phonograph, without emotion." "If you don't practice, you won't succeed, you won't be able to memorize it," Li Xiangxiang said abruptly. "You plan to buy us with some small favors, so you can buy our hearts?" Feng Tianyou put one hand on his hips, and pointed at Tang Zhankui with the other, pointing directly to his nose.But his voice was very weak, and he spoke intermittently.When he was out of breath, Sun Quangui in the audience desperately shouted slogans with his head on, like a voice in a Sichuan opera. "Down with the feudal landlords!" Everyone shouted like thunder. "Farmers in the world are one family!" "Support Chairman Mao!" "Follow Chairman Mao to the end!" After shouting slogans for a while, when the silence fell again, Feng Tianyou seemed to have forgotten what he said, and froze on the stage. "Tang Zhankui is still on his knees!" someone shouted impatiently from the audience. "There is no place for him to stand on this stage! Tell him to kneel down!" Someone next to him moved two gray bricks, and two militiamen, one on each side, pressed his shoulders and made him kneel on the bricks. "Tang Zhankui, don't pretend to be stupid!" Feng Tianyou rushed forward with renewed vigor and grabbed Tang Zhankui by the collar. "We have to settle this account today! Our father died the year before last, and you were hypocritical, and you borrowed money to buy us a coffin, and borrowed your Hades debt, which we will never pay off for the rest of our lives! Is there such a thing? You said !you say!" The stage is filled with the dusty sunlight.Tang Zhankui kept his head down all the time, his face was in the shadows, but Liu Quan could see it very clearly from the front, he didn't raise his eyes, but his face moved a little, and there was a sudden expression on his honest and flat face. With a strange expression of resentment, the wrinkles at the corners of his mouth were almost mocking. His face was facing the audience, Feng Tianyou could only see his profile, but for some reason, Feng Tianyou stopped and couldn't continue speaking. "Feng Tianyou, don't be afraid of him, just say it! There are people supporting you!" Sun Quangui shouted loudly from the audience. "Damn it, did we wrong you?" Feng Tianyou took a step closer with red eyes, and pushed Tang Zhankui in the chest. "Tell me! Did we wrong you?" Tang Zhankui had his hands tied behind his back, and when he pushed him, he lost his center of gravity, slipped off the bricks, and fell to the ground. "Yes, hit him! Hit that bastard!" Several activists in the audience shouted one after another. "Drag it down and fight! Let everyone fight!" The militiamen helped Tang Zhankui to his feet, and Feng Tianyou questioned him again, slapped his mouth, and spit on his face. "Let everyone spit!" Two people climbed onto the stage to help him spit. With a calm and persistent expression, Tang Zhankui tried his best to bend his body forward, as if protecting something hidden in his heart, as if everything exposed to the outside was not him, but some fur. The struggle has reached a climax.He was then put on a clown-style tall white paper hat with the words "destroy feudal forces" written on it, and after that he was taken off stage and replaced by someone else.After the landlords were defeated one by one, the chairman of the peasant association ordered the white cloth banners on the stage to be removed and stretched on bamboo yurts. A long line of landowners paraded through the streets wearing tall hats.The crowd still followed behind in groups, chanting slogans.After marching around the village for a week, the landlord was still sent back to the primary school to be detained. After the struggle meeting was held, the land reform work was not over, but it was actually just entering a tense stage.The mass meeting was held again the next day, and a land evaluation committee was elected to evaluate the quality of the village's land.The land reform team members helped them calculate the number of acres. Those who could do abacus were busy setting the abacus, while those who couldn't do abacus had countless lengthy arithmetic problems to do.At the same time, it is also necessary to calculate the exploited income over the years that the landlord should pay off, and the wages owed. Workers gather every day to settle accounts in the cooperative.Zhang Li left these rigid tasks to them, but he freed himself to work with the cadres on the other part of the debt-digging for bottom-line money. Now there are quite a few working team members living in the elementary school, all of whom were hastily moved out from peasant homes like Liu Quan. Their house owners were all promoted from rich peasants and middle peasants to landlords.They live separately in the teaching office and the classroom of the elementary school, far away from the small courtyard behind, but sometimes they hear screams at night. Everyone knows that the work of digging for bottom line is going on, but no one dares to get to the bottom. On this day, Zhang Li suddenly proudly said to Liu Quan: "Tang Zhankui himself admitted that he buried fifty foreign coins in the ground. There may be more than that. Don't look down on people who say "the outside is not as strong as the inside", the meat is very thick! So intellectuals like you are easily fooled by them. And you think he lives a miserable life, and you still take the standard of living in the city as a standard, I have pointed this out a long time ago.” Just as he was talking, Sun Quangui came over and said, "Comrade Zhang, I'll take him there right away. If it's too late, I'm afraid his family will dig up the things and move them." "Didn't he say that he is the only one who knows? Besides, he already dug. But you should go there right now." "Comrade Liu," Sun Quangui said to Liu Quan with a smile, "you have lived in his house, and you have found out his house, so why don't you follow along?" Liu Quan felt that Zhang Li was watching him with a smile on the side, probably thinking that he would commit sentimentalism again, so he felt embarrassed.He immediately replied very readily: "Okay. Let's go!" Sun Quangui brought four other militiamen, and distributed a broken gun to Liu Quan to strengthen his momentum.Immediately, Tang Zhankui was lifted out of the dark room in the backyard, his arms and legs were tied with ropes, and the ropes were held in the hands of the militiamen.Tang Zhankui was no longer at the struggle meeting. His body was covered in dust and blood, and he still had trouble walking. He was limping even more than before. There were some scars on his face that he didn't have at the meeting the day before yesterday.His eyes were swollen and closed. Among the escorts was Liu Quan. I don't know if he saw it. A group of people entered the village and walked into the gate of the Tang family's courtyard.Tang Zhankui's woman saw them escorting him in through the window, she couldn't help being surprised, and quickly called softly, "Er Niu! Dad is back! Oh, as long as he comes back, it's fine! God bless, as long as he's fine." !" While muttering, he rushed out to greet him, but accompanied Xiaoxin and didn't dare to say anything, and didn't dare to say hello to Liu Quan, but couldn't help peeking at Tang Zhankui again and again. Everyone ignored her and escorted Tang Zhankui into the house, and his wife followed timidly. Liu Quan's first feeling was that he was a little surprised that the room inside hadn't changed much.In front of the stove door lay two bundles of thatch firewood.Tang Zhankui's dry pipe is still lying in the loess hole on the wall.It's just that there are many white paper seals pasted here and there all over the room, which is a bit dazzling.Er Niu folded her hands under her black cloth apron and stood looking at them from a distance.She saw him as if she didn't know him. "Bring a hoe!" Sun Quangui turned his face and said to Tang Zhankui's woman. The woman froze, looking at her daughter in blank dismay.Apparently, she remembered that once in the village, a person committed a crime and was beaten to death by a cadre with a hoe.She was too frightened to speak. "Mom, aren't the hoes and plows all sealed up?" Er Niu said. "That's right, Comrade Sun, it's all sealed," her mother quickly said, "Don't dare to touch it." "Nonsense! I ordered it, what's the point? Go get it!" Tang Zhankui's woman just stayed put.Or Erniu understood, looked at the guns in their hands, and felt that it would not be easy for them to kill Tang Zhankui, so why bother with a hoe.Then she ran to the closed mill, tore the seal, and came out with a hoe.A militiaman took it. "Close the door!" Sun Quangui ordered. Erniu's mother and daughter watched helplessly, seeing the hoe being handed to Tang Zhankui again. "Dig!" The militiaman kicked him in the back. "Remove the things behind the door, take the broom," Sun Quangui said. "What are you digging, my God?" Tang Zhankui's woman asked tremblingly. Tang Zhankui built it with a hoe, and fell forward, almost falling over. Liu Quan couldn't bear it anymore. "Forget it, let me do it, tell him to get out of the way. How long will he be digging like this?" He leaned the gun under the door frame and went to grab Tang Zhankui's hoe. Er Niu's expression became more stubborn and indifferent. Tang Zhankui still refused to let go, so he picked up the hoe in a daze, and started to build again.Everyone was afraid of being accidentally injured by him, so they couldn't hide.Although Tang Zhankui was staggering and unsteady, he was always able to use a hoe on the land he had cultivated all his life.In a short time, a shallow pit has been dug. The door was closed, and the gloomy room became even darker, filled with the smell of earth.Tang Zhankui's woman suddenly felt a new terror.Could it be that he was told to dig a hole himself to bury him alive? The half circle of soil piled up beside the pit was getting higher and higher. Several militiamen were leaning on the barrels of their guns, standing beside them boredly, poking the mud with their toes.Sun Quangui sat down on a bench, picked up a tile teapot on the table, held it with both hands, and drank from the spout Gu Du Gu Du, turning around from time to time and yelling: "Dig quickly!" Erniu stood beside her, motionless, just staring at her with her hands wrapped up in her black cloth apron. Sun Quangui loosened his belt, walked to the edge of the pit again, and said, "Why haven't we dug three feet deep? Is this the place?" Tang Zhankui put the hoe on the ground, leaned on the handle and gasped for breath. "Tell me! Be honest! Where is it buried?" Tang Zhankui just remained silent.I was so pressed that I said "I don't know." "I don't know! Didn't you say clearly that there are fifty silver coins in the jar and buried behind the door?" "Fifty silver coins!" His woman called out from beside him. "Where is it, my God. Where did it come from?" "Come on, what kind of garlic are you pretending to be!" Sun Quangui said to her, "It's obvious, it's not because you dug it out and moved it! Take it out!" She cried out anxiously: "What do you want me to bring out? I have never seen such a lot of money in my life. He bought the land with only two dollars! Last spring, to buy the Geng family's two acres of land, he even recited the money." Debt! Where is there a lot of foreign money buried in the ground, and it is used to borrow money?" "I know what your plan is? Anyway, you people don't know anything else, so you will pretend to be poor!" They were yelling here, and Tang Zhankui seemed to be frightened. He raised his hoe and started digging again. "Damn it, you really know how to play dumb!" Sun Quangui turned his head and saw it, he couldn't help but get angry, and cursed loudly: "You're obviously not here, what are you digging for? What the hell are you doing? Damn it! Play dumb!" Tang Zhankui continued to hoe the ground patiently, digging down. "Damn it!" Sun Quangui kicked him angrily, and Tang Zhankui staggered back a few steps.Then fell into a pit. Sun Quangui turned around and interrogated the woman, but she just swore to the sky, and Sun Quangui's various threats were useless.Finally, he said bitterly: "What a tricky mouth! Take her to question, and bring both women! Let's see if they say something!" When Tang Zhankui heard this, for some reason, he suddenly trembled, half of his body stood upright in the pit, stretched out one arm and waved it in mid-air, and shouted frantically: "It's true! It’s useless to force them to death, really!” "If you don't have it, why do you say yes?" The woman cried, "This is not a murder, my God!" "Let's go! These people won't cry without seeing the coffin! Both women are tied up and taken away!" Tang Zhankui suddenly changed his words: "They really don't know! It's useless to ask them—really—only I know!" "Then tell me! Where is the money? Tell me!" He was silent again. "Damn, this guy, what are you trying to do? Go back this time and be careful, I'll tell you!" Sun Quangui said angrily, "Go! Go back!" The militiamen tightened the rope around Tang Zhankui's arms and legs, and dragged him out.But he held on to the door frame.Another kick from behind by a militiaman kicked him so hard that he fell to the ground and couldn't get up. "Don't watch him pretending to be dead, he will get on the tiger bench later and see if he wakes up," the militiaman said with a smile. Tang Zhankui, gasping for breath, hugged the threshold tightly. "I said! I said!──I have foreign money──I have foreign money buried in the ground──" "Let's go, let's go!" Sun Quangui ignored him and shouted at the militiamen, "What are you doing, just let him stay here?" "Buried under the bed! Under the bed!" Tang Zhankui shouted loudly. "Father, why are you talking nonsense?" Er Niu cried out in pain.She flung herself on top of him, pressed her face on his shoulder, and burst into tears, crying, "My father is a tough guy, he never tells lies, why did you treat me like this! Dad! Dad, you What's wrong?" Tang Zhankui didn't speak, but two lines of tears flowed down his face.The lye soaked into a scar on his cheek, causing the muscles on the right side of his face to twitch slightly. "Go away!" Several militiamen yelled and came up, gathered Er Niu together, and dragged Tang Zhankui up. "You—what did you do to my father? I'm going to die today! I'll fight you!" Erniu cried sobbingly, got up and ran headfirst at a soldier. "The girl! The girl!" her mother yelled in panic. Several gun butts slashed and pecked at her face and body at the same time. "Hey, help, I'm going to kill someone!" her mother yelled.Er Niu threw her away a few zhang away, her mother ran up to protect her. "Forgive her, I will kowtow to you, I will kowtow to you!" Liu Quan was still standing inside the room, looking out.The eyes are about to burst into flames.He dragged a gun in his hand, and unknowingly picked it up and touched the trigger.I saw Er Niu propped up half of her body on the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood, with white teeth mixed in the blood. "You're looking for death!" The militiamen rushed up and kicked again, panting. "court death!" "Let's go! Take Tang Zhankui back first," Sun Quangui ordered, "Comrade Liu, take them back. Leave two of us here and dig under the bed to see if he's lying again." Liu Quan escorted the prisoner back first, and later heard that nothing was dug under the bed.He actually believed that this was the truth, not that the fifty silver dollars he dug up were swallowed up by Sun Quangui. The next day, a group of working members went out to investigate Heitian, including Liu Quan.When he came back, he heard that all the prisoners had been sent to the county, and once they were sent to the county, it would be very bad luck.The only exception is the Han Ting Bang, but it was not released, and it was still detained in elementary school.Liu Quan was surprised at first when he heard this, because Han Tingbang was indeed a real landlord, so why did he treat him differently.It was later learned that it was because they forced Han Tingbang to borrow money from relatives to pay off their family's accumulated debts from exploiting farmers for generations.Han Tingbang wrote many urgent letters to Beijing. Although his father-in-law raised some money, it was too far away from their goal, so he was still here to force him to write letters.Their hopes were high in him. Liu Quan had a lot of feelings in the past two days, and what he saw and heard made him feel very exciting, but he had no one to talk about.Never had a chance to talk to Huang Juan.Although we meet every day, there are always many people together, and everyone lives in a crowd from morning till night.Many times he also wanted to create an opportunity to talk to her alone, but he knew that the more he met someone he could talk to, the more he couldn't help the resentment in his chest.There are so many eyes and ears beside me, even my classmates for many years, none of them are reliable, and none of them won't tell the truth.He thought he should endure it for the time being, and simply wait until the land reform work is over and go back to Beijing to find her, so that he can have a heart-to-heart talk with her. Suddenly the county sent someone to send a letter saying that the landlords in Hanjiatuo were all sentenced to be shot after being interrogated, and asked their village militia and land reform team to select a few representatives to visit and carry out the execution tomorrow. Three representatives were selected from the working team, including Liu Quan, led by Zhang Li, and they set off before dawn the next day and walked to the county seat. The execution was outside the city, but it was rare for everyone to go to the city. Taking advantage of this opportunity, they all went to buy some toothpaste, soap, snacks and the like.The morning sun shone on the empty loess street, only to see mule manure and wheat grass clippings everywhere.The small shops on the street are all earthen counters.After shopping, he saw a shaving load parked on the side of the street. Liu Quan took off his hat and touched his hair. It had grown very long, so he sat down on the stand to have a haircut.There is a medicine shop nearby, and a mule cart is parked at the door, and the mules are tied to the door frame.The mule pissed loudly and splashed it into the barber's copper washbasin.This pharmacy has a big tree embedded in their house, a half-grey tree protruding from a wall on the side, and a thick trunk with branches protruding from the roof.The sun was shining on the treetops, Liu Quan raised his head, and saw two golden-green leaves reflecting the blue sky, falling leisurely, scratching gently on the rows of black tiles, then floating down, down Floating, fell to the messy hair at his feet.Everything is so leisurely, but in Tang Zhankui, this is already the last hour.Thinking of this, he felt an indescribable feeling in his heart. He only felt that the barber's scissors were touching his scalp, which was extremely cold. After shaving his head, he and two other team members walked slowly to the County Public Security Bureau to look for Zhang Li. Zhang Li was also sending people out there to look for them. Where is Comrade Quan? Hey, Comrade Liu, we have a task coming! A letter came from Beijing asking the two of us to go back early and have a new task.” Liu Quan was very surprised when he heard this.This news was obviously completely out of Zhang Li's expectation. The organization actually compared Liu Quan with himself, which seemed to be taken seriously, or maybe Liu Quan had a background.From this point of view, they underestimated him before and put on the airs of an old cadre to him everywhere, which inevitably offended him, so they needed to win over him well.Therefore, he immediately became very affectionate with Liu Quan, and dismissed the other two working team members with excuses, and showed him the letter from Beijing, which said that they should finish their tasks here as soon as possible, and immediately set off south to Shanghai to report to the Anti-U.S. Aid Korea Association. East China branch report. "It's been a long time since I saw a newspaper," Zhang Li said. "Just now I borrowed a newspaper here to read, and now I'm carrying out the movement to resist US aggression and aid Korea. It's very powerful." He found the old newspaper and showed it to Liu Quan, which listed the "Joint Declaration of the Democratic Parties".It said: "The U.S. imperialists launched a war of aggression against Korea on June 25 this year. Their plot definitely goes beyond destroying the Democratic Republic of Korea. They want to annex Korea, they want to invade China, they want to rule Asia, and they want to Conquer the whole world... Everyone knows that Korea is a relatively small country, but its strategic position is extremely important. The purpose of the U.S. imperialists' aggression against Korea is not mainly for Korea itself, but for the invasion of China. Just like what the Japanese imperialists did in the past....The people of the whole country are now broadly and enthusiastically demanding to use voluntary actions to fight for the sacred mission of resisting US aggression, aiding Korea and defending the country...." Liu Quan was reading the newspaper there, and Zhang Li put his arms around his shoulders again, and whispered a few words to him in a private voice: "We will go back early today, and there are still many things that have not been resolved. More important things, It’s best to end it within a day or two. If you don’t deal with it, there will be problems, don’t you think? These village cadres can’t handle it.” Liu Quan just responded casually.He was very upset.The first thought after hearing the news was that he was about to leave the north.Originally, I thought that after I returned to Beijing, I could always go to Huang Juan and visit her often, but I didn't expect such a thing to happen.Could it be that we met her in such a hasty way and broke up, meeting her in vain? Suddenly there was a small commotion in the Public Security Bureau. "It's time! Let's go!" The two staff members who came with them rushed in to greet them. The county militia brought the prisoners out of the prison, and the cadres and militiamen from the villages and towns who visited the procession followed them out of the city.More than a dozen prisoners were connected to each other by the rope tied around their ankles. The thick hemp rope was slowly dragging underground, and the faint shadows of people in the sunlight were also dragging underground, one after another. The prisoners all hung their heads wearily, making the white paper stickers stuck in the back of their collars stick out even higher.Liu Quan found the paper sign that read "Feudal Landlord Tang Zhankui".Looking over from a distance, Tang Zhankui was only wearing a torn white cloth blouse, and the autumn wind was blowing on him, he seemed to be shaking very badly.At times like these, is it sweet to tremble?Because the body is still alive.But Liu Quan doubted what he was feeling at this time, and couldn't bear to guess. There were not many people watching the excitement, and they all followed from a distance and left the city gate.Just outside the city walls, there is a clearing.The leader of the militia shouted to the prisoners, "Stop!" Then, "Turn to the right!" The prisoners changed from a column to a row, facing the suburbs, the vast yellow field with pale green distant mountains on the edge. The militiamen also stood in a row behind them, pointing their guns at their backs to prevent anyone from escaping. 「跪下！」领队的又喊了一声。 犯人有的比较神经麻木，动作迟缓些。但是陆续地也都跪下了。 民兵开始向后退，齐整的步伐「嗒嗒嗒嗒」响着。领队的吆喝着「一、二、三、四……」数到「十，」一齐站住了，跪下一条腿，再端起枪来瞄准。 「砰！」十几杆枪一齐响。虽然这旷野的地方不聚气，声音并不十分大，已经把树上的鸟都惊飞起来，翅膀拍拍地响成一片，那紫灰色的城楼上也飞起无数的鸟雀。 然后突然又起了一阵意想不到的尖锐颤抖的声浪。扑倒在地下的一排囚犯，多数还一声声地叫唤，不住地挣扎着，咬啮着那染红了的荒草。 「再放一枪！好好的瞄准！」民兵队长涨红了脸叫喊着。 但是那些民兵不争气，都吓怔住了，一动也不动。现在射击的目标不是一排驯服的背脊了，而是一些不守规则的疯狂地蠕动着的肉体。 痉挛的手臂把地下的草一棵棵都拔了起来。那似人非人，似哭非哭的呜呜声继续在空中颤抖着。 突然张励从人丛里跳了出来，拔出手枪走上前去，俯身把枪口凑到那些扭动着的身体上，一枪一个，接连打死了好几个。然后他掉过身来走到刘荃身边，把那热呼呼的手枪向他手里一塞，笑嘻嘻地拍了拍他的肩膀。「来！看你的！那边还有一个，你来解决了他！」 刘荃机械地握住了那把手枪，走上前去。 幸而那人是面朝下躺在那里，他想。身上穿的是白布小褂，但是穿白布小褂的也不止唐占魁一个。衣领里插着的白纸标只露出反面，也看不出名字。 一枪放出去，那狭窄的身体震颤了一下，十只手指更深地挖到泥土里去。刘荃来不及等着看他是否从此就不动了。接连又是砰砰两枪。他非常害怕那人会在痛苦抽搐中翻过身来，让他看见他的脸。 他还要再扳枪机，只听见嗒的一响，子弹已经完了。 他微笑着走回去，把手枪还给张励。 「不错！真有你的！」张励又把一只手臂兜在他肩膀上拍了拍。 刘荃搭讪看走开去，看看公安人员在布置陈尸示众的事，乘机擦了擦脸上的汗。 即便是唐占魁，他也不过是早一点替他结束了他的浦苦，良心并没有什么对不起人的地方。但是他虽然这样告诉自己，仍旧像吞了一块沉重的铅块下去，梗在心头。 县党部招待他们吃饭，给预备了炸酱面。刘荃一坐上桌子，闻见那热辣辣的蒜味，就觉得心里一阵阵地往上翻，勉强扶起筷子来，挑了些面条送到嘴里去，心里掀腾得更厉害了，再也压不下去，突然把碗一放，跑到门外去，哇的一声呕吐起来。 「怎么了？」张励问。 「吃了个苍蝇，」刘荃笑着高声回答。 「给你换一碗吧。」 「不用了，一会儿回去再吃吧。是个啃窝窝头的命，没福气吃炸酱面。」 张励这时候敷衍他还来不及，也绝对没想到吹毛求疵，怪他吃不惯苍蝇。 饭后，他们就动身回村上来。到了韩家坨，太阳已经偏西了。这一天恰巧是「分浮财」的日子，预先把地主家里的一切家俱与日用品都集中起来，陆续搬运到韩廷榜的院子里，因为他家地方比较宽敞。张励一回到村上，也顾不得休息，就赶到韩廷榜的院子里去看。工作队员们也都跟了去。 一进了那院子，只看见闹轰轰的，像拍卖行一样，又像土产展览会，黑压压地堆满了桌椅、坛子罐子、木桶木盆、被窝、扫帚、砧板、箩筐、蓝布沿边黑布沿边的炕席。许多人挤来挤去，男女工作队员都在忙着对条子、发货、盖章。来本打算抽签抽着什么是什么，但是李向前说：「抽着的不一定是本人所需要的，应当『缺什么补什么。』」因此又订出几步手续，每一户自己填写一张「需要单」，通过小组的公议，决定分配某一件东西给他，发下一张条子，凭条子领东西。这样，就仍旧在少数干部的操纵下。也有人背后抱怨，说：「早知道这样，咱还是抽签，还是抽签公平。」但是也不过是一两个人悄悄地说着。大家都说：「能白拿一点东西，也就不错了。就算是干部拣剩下来的，谁叫人家是干部呢！」 刘荃老远就看见黄绢站在那里分发货物，民兵队长夏逢春分到一条绿地小白花布面棉被，嫌太旧了要换一条，要自己挑，正和她争论得面红耳赤。刘荃急于要告诉她他就要走了。但是站在旁边等了半天，也没有机会说话。 旁边有一个农民分到了一只旧自鸣钟，仿黑大理石的座子，长针已经断了，只剩一只短针。他捧在手里只是摇头，带着一种讽刺的笑容。庄稼人一向是看不起这一类的浮华的东西。也许是由于一种复杂的自卑与自卫心理，使他装出这种轻藐嘲笑的态度。 他们最羡慕的还是那些犁耙、锅镬、大缸。刘荃看见孙全贵喜孜孜地带了一条扁担来，抬走他份下的一只水缸。那棕黄色的大缸，看着很眼熟，边上的釉缺掉一块，刘荃认得那是唐占魁家里那只水缸。眼看着孙全贵蹲在地下，用麻绳把缸身捆起来，左一道右一道捆着。他不由得想起那时候二妞在水缸里照看自己的影子，一朵粉红色的花落到水面上的情景。又想起唐占魁从田上回来从缸里舀出一瓢水来，嘴里含着一口喷到手上，搓洗着双手。唐占魁到哪里去了？他的缸现在也被人搬走了。想到这里，刘荃突然觉得一切的理论都变成了空言，眼前明摆着的事实，这只是杀人越货。 他惘惘地在人丛中走着。大概也是因为心里觉得难受，特别容易感到疲乏，今天路也实在是走多了，周身酸痛，就像被打伤了一样。他想回到小学校去躺一会。 他从韩廷榜的院子里出来，这条街上就是韩家一家是个砖房，其余都是些土房子。转一个弯，就看得见唐占魁的家。他记得听见说，唐家的房子虽然分派给别人了，仍旧给二妞母女留下了一间柴房，让她们住在那里。上次二妞被那民兵打伤了，也不知道是死是活？他当然不便进去探望她们。是地主的家属，应当划清界限。 他走过他们门口，那两扇旧黑漆板门大敞着，可以看见里面院子里新砌上了一个土灶，又有一个陌生的老妇人坐在那土台阶上做针线。显然已经有一份新的人家搬进来了。那瓜棚底下又有两个陌生的小孩，赤着身子，满身黑泥，一个孩子把另一个抱了起来，让他伸出了手臂摘瓜吃。刘荃看见了，又想起他第一天到唐家来，看见二妞在这瓜棚下刨土的情形。他突然觉得他非进去看看她不可，管它什么界限不界限。不知道她受了伤究竟怎样了。然而立刻又一转念，你假慈悲些什么，你刚杀死了她父亲。──因为他心底里确实相信他打死的那人就是唐占魁，虽然对自己一适抵赖着。 一想到这里，他出了一身冷汗，急急地走了过去，唯恐碰见二妞。 回到小学校里，那教务室里现在横七竖八搭满了床铺，他就在自己床上倒身躺了下来。房间里一个人也没有，大家都在合作社算账。 天还没黑，房间里先已经黑了下来，倒显得外面的天色明亮起来了。他张着眼睛望看那污黄的窗纸渐渐变成苍白色。窗上现出一个人影子，走了过去。 然后就有一个人站在门口。虽然背看光，面目模糊看不清楚，也可以知道是黄绢。刘荃急忙坐起身来。 「回来了？」她微笑着说。 他笑着站起来让坐。 「我听见他们说你就要走了，我想托你寄封信回去。」她把一只信封递到他手里。 信封上写着「北京前门石井胡同四十三号黄太太收」。 「这是你家里么？」他说。 她笑着点了点头。 他依旧把信封拿在手里看着。「以后我可以写信给你么？」 「当然可以，有空你来玩。」 「我不回北京去了，现在直接到上海去。」 「到上海去？」她吃了一惊。 「去搞抗美援朝工作。详细情形我也不清楚。」 黄绢默然了。刘荃从一张床铺上跨了过去，到桌子旁边，端起那黄藤套子渥着的茶壶，倒了一杯茶。「喝茶，」他说。 黄绢倚着桌子站看，只管把那桌上的抽屉拉出来又关上，拉出来又关上。 「我一回来就想告诉你的，」他说：「心里实在憋闷的慌。我想我走之前无论如何要找你谈谈。」 「我也是憋了一肚子的话，有好些事实在看不惯，」黄绢说。 窗纸上又现出一个人影来。黄绢背对着窗户，没有看见。刘荃突然伸出手来扯了扯她的袖子，不要她说下去。他那动作太急遽了，袖子一绊，把茶杯带翻了，流了一桌子的茶。 窗外的黑影缓缓地走过，带着一团淡黄色的蒙蒙的光。是校役老韩，端着泥蜡台送了支蜡烛进来。 刘荃连忙把桌上那封信拿起来，凑在烛光上一看，那信封浸在水里，字迹已经一片模糊。 「糟糕！」 「没关系的，换一个信封得了。」 「我这儿有。」他找出一只信封来，又递给她一支自来水笔。 她弯着腰站在桌子旁边，把那地址又写了一遍。然后拆开旧信封，把里面的信拿出来。 「看看里边湿了没有，」刘荃说。 她把那对折着的信纸打开来看了看。他看见那张纸上只写着寥寥两行字，而且笔划似乎非常潦草，显然是在仓促中写的。难道她写这封信的目的就是要他知道她的地址？ 她蘸了一点茶把信封黏上了，又很小心地揭下旧信封上的邮票，贴在窗棂上晾着。 以后她服从分配，也不知道会分配到什么地方去。 「大概写信给你，寄到你家里去总可以转给你的，」他突然说。 「总收得到的，」她说。她把旧信封团成一团，替他揩擦着桌上汪着的水，又把他那一包牙粉与肥皂挪了挪地方。「这是你今天在城里买的？我倒忘了托你带块肥皂来。」 「其实这些我都用不着了，你留着用，好不好？早知道要走，我也不用买了。」 她拿起那包牙粉来，把那花花绿绿的纸袋的上端折一折，再折一折；一直卷到无可再卷为止。那纸袋上印着一只彩色蝴蝶，虽然画得很俗气，在这烛光中和她的面容掩映着，却显得十分艳丽。 外面一阵杂乱的脚步声，进来了几个工作队负，都在嚷着：「老韩呢？老韩！快开饭，吃了饭还要开会去！」 「开什么会？」 「今天晚上要开农会。大概因为张同志要走了，有许多事情都要提前处理。」 「喂，刘荃，你们几时走？调到哪儿去？」大家围着他纷纷发问。 「我去吃饭去了，」黄娟说，一面就拿着那包牙粉与肥皂匆匆走了。