Chapter 34 Chapter Twenty Eight

Under the leadership of Li Xiangnan, members of the Standing Committee of the County Party Committee walked out of the commune compound in the light rain, and a serious atmosphere enveloped the hurriedly walking team.Li Xiangnan walked together with the camel secretary who led the way without saying a word.He only whispered to Secretary Tuo where he was going and asked him to be the guide.People in the shops on either side watched in amazement as the no-joke procession crossed the street.The leaden gray clouds rolled slowly on the top of Hengling Mountain. Kang Le really wanted to chat and joke with Li Xiangnan to be active.He doesn't like an atmosphere that is too dull.He turned his head to look, Li Xiangnan's frowning expression of contemplation, his barefoot sandals and his serious steps in muddy water were all undisturbed.Kang Le joked to himself in his heart: In public, it is better not to collide and destroy Li Xiangnan's majesty.

He recalled the scene when he left the commune compound just now. Standing in the yard, Li Xiangnan looked back at the crowd who had come out of the conference room, hesitated for a moment, turned his head, and said in a voice that Kang Le could hear alone: ​​"Go to the switchboard room and send me the long-distance call I want. Take it down." Kang Le nodded knowingly, and whispered: "Of course." Li Xiangnan smiled.That smile contained his self-criticism and self-mockery.For a moment, Kang Le even saw Li Xiangnan showing a childish embarrassment. Now the expression is completely different.

Cross the street, reach the road, walk a few steps, turn back, and enter Donghenglingyu Village.Passing through a section of muddy dirt road, there are courtyards surrounded by adobe walls on both sides, and the branches of one or two jujube trees and peach trees protrude from the top of the wall.Turning a corner, we walked a wide cobblestone-paved slope. The downhill water washes red, white and blue pebbles and washes at the mud on people's feet.Turning around again, we arrived at the foot of the mountain beside the village.Slippery and slippery, I climbed a steep muddy path all the way uphill, turned around a few lonely courtyards, and a large dirt slope appeared in front of me.An old man in a straw hat bent his waist, digging hard with a shovel in the rain for the steps for people to stand on.He dug from the top to the bottom, and the steps have reached the bottom, and the last one dug still has a little dry soil exposed.He straightened up and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. He turned his face and saw the team walking in front of him. He recognized Pan Goushi, Secretary Tuo, Hu Fan and others, and he seemed embarrassed all of a sudden.He was small and haggard, with a humble intellectual air about him.Choron's shirt was drenched with rain and sweat.

Hu Fan introduced to Li Xiangnan: "This is Song Ansheng's father, a math teacher at County No. 1 Middle School." "Old Song, why did you come to build the road?" Pan Goushi asked with an unnatural smile from the side. "I'm going back to the village to rest these two days. An Sheng is here today...I'll help him." "This is Secretary Li of the County Party Committee." Secretary Tuo introduced Lao Song. Li Xiangnan held out his hand to shake it. He wiped the mud off his clothes on his clothes before he stretched out his hand cautiously. "You've worked hard, it's what we should have done long ago." Li Xiangnan said sincerely, and then stared at Pan Goushi condemningly.

As soon as he went up the slope, there was an empty yard in front of him, and a few wet stone rollers were parked in a pool of water.Once across the courtyard, there is a deep ditch about two feet wide, with turbid yellow muddy water rushing rushingly, and a narrow single-plank bridge is built on the ditch.A tall and thin old man, wearing a knee-length blue shirt, hunched over like a prawn, pulled a wool rope from a tree on the other side of the ditch and tied it to a tree on the other side of the ditch. , to make the handrail of the single-plank bridge.While tightening the rope tightly, he was gurgling in his throat, and his clothes were already drenched through.

This is an old shepherd and widower from Hengling Valley, named Fu Laoshun.Because he was arrested by the Kuomintang before liberation, he has been beaten in every movement for more than 30 years. He is most afraid of "people from above".He is deaf, almost deaf, uneducated, and alone herding sheep on the mountain, so he is the slowest to feel the new situation.Sure enough, when he saw Pan Goushi leading a group of "people from above", panic appeared on his wrinkled face.While talking, his hands couldn't stop shaking.When Pan Goushi asked him, he couldn't hear clearly, but he explained in a loud voice as if he was shouting: He came to help Song Ansheng, why did he help Song Ansheng, "there is no ulterior purpose" (this is his The original words), because Song Ansheng had cured his asthma with acupuncture.

Li Xiangnan had already figured out his situation, and knew that this wool rope thick as a thumb was his treasure.If there is a lot of wool, the rope will be thickened and lengthened, and it will be wrapped around the waist when going up the mountain to herd sheep.Li Xiangnan pointed to the rope he was pulling, and gave him a thumbs-up. He also smiled happily. He had already figured out that this was the secretary of the county party committee.Li Xiangnan pointed to the woolen rope again, and gestured: What if others take it away? He understood, and said in a low voice, "Don't be afraid, no one dares to take it."

He pointed with his finger, and everyone found a gray wolf-like dog squatting under the tree on the other side of the ditch, with its front legs upright and a straw hat on its head. Obviously, the owner felt sorry for it and let it wear it.It is vigilantly observing the attitude of this group of people towards its master.The camel secretary told Li Xiangnan that because the dog barked and offended the "from above" work team, now it has been trained by the old shepherd to never bark casually when it sees the "from above". "Can it tell who is from above?" Li Xiangnan asked strangely.

"Yes, this dog is very spiritual. No matter what clothes you wear, ten out of ten are good." Li Xiangnan frowned, even the dog didn't dare to bark, this "man from above" was too powerful. Holding on to the wool rope that was soaked by the rain, stepping on the wet and slippery single-plank bridge covered with moss, crossed the ditch, and went up another slope. The loess cliff, which is more than ten feet high, stands face to face in the rain.From the expression on Li Xiangnan's face, it can be seen that the place to visit has arrived.But what was he looking at, Pan Goushi turned his mind buzzingly, but he couldn't figure it out.

There are seven or eight cave dwellings in a row on this earth cliff.Some are livestock pens. Several mules and horses buried their heads in stone troughs in cave dwellings, snorting, chewing hay, and stomping their hoofs loudly from time to time. When they passed by the door, they could smell the smell of hot horse dung.There are two sheep pens with closed wooden doors. In rainy days, the sheep pens are used.I heard people passing by outside, and there was a commotion of bleating and crowding inside, and the pungent smell of sheep manure and urine came out from the crack of the door.Fu Laoshun, an old shepherd, came here with one foot high and one foot low. He pushed open a cave door next to the sheepfold, and invited the secretary of the county party committee to visit his home.The dog stood at the owner's feet and wagged its tail happily, obviously very happy that so many "people from above" who were friendly to the owner came to the house.Li Xiangnan had no such plan, he hesitated for a moment, and entered the cave together with everyone.

The cave dwelling is dark, but neat.A kang, a stove, a table, and several urns were all blackened with smoke.Newspapers are pasted on the walls of the kang.Most of them are burnt and blurred, but if you carefully identify them, you can see: there are "sweeping the ghosts and ghosts", "the working class must lead everything", and "counterattack the rightist style of overturning verdicts"; The "Third Plenary Session" is really a showcase of history. Fu Laoshun proudly patted the sheepskin mattress on the kang and the grain storage deep in the cave, and said in a rough voice to the secretary of the county party committee: "I am alone, and I don't need anything." Pan Goushi noticed When Li Xiangnan looked at the newspapers on the wall just now, his nerves became tense, he turned and pointed at the newspapers pasted on the wall and reprimanded Fu Laoshun loudly: "Why are you still posting 'Countering the rightist overturning the verdict'? I don't know if this is serious. Political event?" It seems that the secretary of the county party committee is going to catch this example and attack Henglingyu. Li Xiangnan just waved his hand disapprovingly: "If it's a political incident, it's also a political incident of your commune secretary." He turned his head and said to the camel secretary, "I'm a bachelor, you should be more concerned, buy some paintings, and help him paste the house. Post it." The camel secretary helped his reading glasses, and quickly replied: "He only posted newspapers, saying that newspapers are 'serious things' and 'no problems'." Li Xiangnan smiled: "'No problems'? Even 'political incidents' ' It's almost out. Get him some new papers for the papers." After leaving the old shepherd's house, he passed one or two half-collapsed cave dwellings, and stopped at the gate of a courtyard. Li Xiangnan's face became gloomy. He pointed to the gate of the courtyard, glanced at Pan Goushi, and said to everyone: "This is the place I want everyone to visit." Pan Goushi's blood surged up suddenly, and he understood what was going on.Why hadn't he thought of this stubble? As soon as you enter the gate, there is a yard of yellow water and mud.This is a recessed part of the earth cliff.A cave dwelling on the side has already collapsed, and the doors and windows are all down, only the opening of the cave is exposed, and the clods as big as cows that have collapsed inside can be seen intertwined.There is a hole in the front of the cave with intact doors and windows. This is a primary school classroom. From inside, the voices of children reading along with the teacher's elongated pitch can be heard: "Up, sh?ng - up, learning, xue - learning." ..." On the right side there is a small hole that is intact.Pan Goushi knew that this was the place where Tingting slept alone, and Tingting's home was in another village.In the rain, there was a man wearing a straw hat on the top of the cliff, waving a shovel neatly to fill in the soil.He straightened up, it was Song Ansheng. "Secretary Li." He greeted from the top of the kiln, showing a trace of restraint. "What are you doing?" Li Xiangnan raised his head and asked. "The cave is leaking." Li Xiangnan raised his eyebrows sharply, and his brows were furrowed. At this time, the door of the cave dwelling in the classroom suddenly opened, and a basin of muddy water splashed over, splashed on Li Xiangnan's feet, splashed on him, and a woman shouted: "Oh, I'm sorry." There is a group of people standing there.When she saw Li Xiangnan, both of them were stunned.It's Lin Hong.She was wearing a white dress with the hem rolled up to her thighs and tied in a knot in the front. She stood barefoot in the mud, her wet hair fell down, tied at the back of her neck, and wrapped around her neck to her chest. Because she met Li Xiangnan unexpectedly, her face flushed. "Why did you come here?" Li Xiangnan asked reservedly with a smile in his eyes.For a moment he felt that he was two Li Xiangnan.Li Xiangnan, secretary of the county party committee, and Li Xiangnan, Lin Hong's classmate. Seeing Li Xiangnan being spattered with muddy soup, Lin Hong covered her mouth with the back of her hand and laughed, then glanced at the crowd, and replied generously: "I'm here to paint today, and it's raining, I'm here at Tingting Hide. There is a water leak in the classroom, isn’t it,” she lifted the mud-filled washbasin upwards, “you leaders don’t care about it.” "We are here to take care of it." Li Xiangnan frowned and said, leading the team to the door of the classroom.Lin Hong stepped aside and watched Li Xiangnan pass by with mischievous eyes.Li Xiangnan not only felt her gaze, but also caught a glimpse of a pair of exquisite white leather sandals on the window sill outside the cave, and a very clear thought surged in his heart. No matter how sad and indignant a person is, how enlightened he is, as a rule, he still lives like an ordinary person, living a life of joy, anger, sorrow and joy, inseparable from the actual environment.Lin Hong came so far to paint, so he also needed shelter from the rain, rolled up his beloved skirt, took off his beloved sandals, stood barefoot in the mud, poured water basin after basin, and smiled mischievously like this. The sad and melancholy Lin Hong I saw for the first time was hard to unify. Li Xiangnan didn't have time to think about it, but thought for a while.The moment he reached out to push the door, he stopped again.He heard a soft and soft voice inside, talking to the children pleasantly. "Students, what do we do in school?" "Learn-wen-hua-." The children answered in unison with crisp childish voices. "Are you afraid of the wind?" "No—afraid—." "Are you afraid of rain?" "No—afraid—." "Are you afraid of the dark in the classroom?" "No—afraid—." "Are you afraid of rain leaking in the classroom?" "No—afraid—." "The students are very sensible. Does the leader care about us?" "care--." "Yes. Students, the county party committee is very concerned about us. When the students first came to school last year, the leaders of the county party committee came to Hengling Valley. Secretary Gu asked us to work hard for a few more days. We will soon have big and bright Classroom. Isn't it?" "yes." "Let's read the newly learned song together now, shall we?" "it is good." "Don't be afraid of the wind, one or two." The children clapped their hands and read in unison: Not afraid of the wind, not afraid of the rain, We go to school one, two, one. Not afraid of the dark, not afraid of the wet, We study hard together. ………… Li Xiangnan thought for a while, then stretched out his hand and opened the door. As soon as I entered the classroom, the reading sound inside stopped.Because of the dim light, it took a few seconds to slowly see the scene in the cave.Tingting turned around from the blackboard in astonishment and looked at the crowd who came in.Thirty or forty pairs of eyes looked at the group of visitors in horror.More than one place on the roof of the kiln was dripping with muddy water. A piece of blue plastic sheeting and a very beautiful light green women's plastic raincoat (presumably both belonged to Tingting) were supported by the children's little hands, covering them like a canopy. over their heads.They sat together in clusters, cuddling each other.The muddy yellow water trickled down on the plastic sheeting and raincoat, and then flowed down to the ground.In the corner, several washbasins ticked to catch the water leak from the kiln roof.Lin Hong came in quietly, put the empty basin in the corner, and the empty basin immediately made the sound of falling into the water.The ground was muddy and slippery.The cave dwelling is not too big, and the children huddled face to face to avoid water leaks.The books are on the little laps, which are their desks.The small benches are different in height and color, and it seems that they are all brought by themselves. Facing this situation, everyone was speechless.All I could hear was the sound of the children moving their feet carefully on the wet ground because they couldn't sit still due to crowding.Li Xiangnan felt suffocated and breathless.He learned about this situation from a letter Tingting wrote to the county party committee recently, but the actual situation was even more unbearable than he had imagined.In Hengling Valley, where a commune is located, dozens of children aged seven or eight began the most important enlightenment education in their lives in such a dark, leaky cave dwelling that was in danger of collapsing at any time.Their teacher was standing in front of the blackboard, dripping wet, where the water leaked the most, and the broken hair on her forehead was dripping with muddy yellow drops of water. Li Xiangnan restrained his anger and looked at Pan Goushi coldly, Pan Goushi couldn't help trembling.The corners of Li Xiangnan's mouth were tense, he gritted his teeth and swallowed hard, the saliva made a loud rumble, and he felt a swollen pain in his throat as if it was choked.This is the commune secretary of Henglingyu, and this is the owner of a party with a radius of tens of miles.He heard the slight crackling of the knuckles of his right hand that was holding the schoolbag tightly. The standing committee members of the county party committee were silent.Hu Fan stood there feeling guilty and uneasy. He was in charge of education, so he hadn't paid attention to this situation in Guling for so many years.He was so sad that something choked his throat.Kang Le stood in the crowd with a serious expression. He saw some children put their shoes on their knees and stepped in the mud with their bare feet. He could feel the coldness of their soles.His nose was a little sore.Lin Hong stood in the darkest corner deep in the cave, she had put down her rolled up skirt, and watched the scene quietly. Li Xiangnan looked towards Xiao Tingting.This child-like thin and slender girl is somewhat similar to my homeroom teacher in the first grade of elementary school.The association aroused in an instant further stimulated his indignation at the scene before him. "Ms. Xiao, can I take ten minutes of your class time?" Li Xiangnan broke the silence. He looked at the ticking alarm clock hanging beside the blackboard and asked.Tingting looked at him in bewilderment, then at the crowd, and then turned her questioning gaze to the camel secretary.She didn't know this group of people. "This is the new secretary Li of the county party committee." Secretary Tuo introduced. "Your work is very hard." Li Xiangnan reached out to hold her child-like slender hand. Tingting's eyes were wet, like a child seeing a relative, her mouth was moving, not knowing what to say. "It's mainly the students," she said sadly, pointing to the children on the ground, "they will get arthritis when it rains and the ground will be wet for several days. The light is not good, it will damage their eyes, and there is no table." Li Xiangnan turned his head and asked Pan Goushi: "Is there any child of yours here?" "No, no, no." Pan Goushi stuttered. Li Xiangnan looked at him gloomyly for a while, as if he understood something, he nodded sarcastically.Turning around, I found that Pan Laifa had also come: "What about you, do you have any children here?" "Me neither." Pan Laifa quickly shook his head, blinking his eyes and replied submissively. Li Xiangnan nodded coldly again, and turned his gaze to the camel secretary: "What about you, old camel?" "That's my grandson." The camel secretary pointed to a handsome boy with big eyes sitting in the second row. Li Xiangnan pointed to the dozens of children sitting on the ground, and asked Pan Goushi and Pan Laifa, "Don't you feel sorry for these children?" Pan Goushi turned his head around, not knowing what to say.Pan Laifa smiled sarcastically, and wanted to say something flattering, but immediately felt uncomfortable and swallowed the words back. "They're not your children, so you don't take them to heart, right?" Li Xiangnan frowned and stared at Pan Goushi and Pan Laifa. After a while, he asked Secretary Tuo again: "Old Tuo, your own grandson is in there." , Sitting in muddy water every day, don’t you feel distressed?” The hunchback secretary trembled as if he had been hit, and his flat mouth, missing teeth, murmured.He raised his face, helped the reading glasses that were about to slide off, and tears welled up in his eyes. "Secretary Tuo has only one son. After he died, his daughter-in-law remarried, leaving only this single grandson." Pan Laifa boldly introduced obediently while observing the face of the county party secretary. "Zhong Zhong, come here." The camel secretary stretched out his hand to greet the little grandson.Zhong Zhong looked at so many people timidly with his small face up, and sat there without moving.Tingting walked over and led him over.He grabbed the camel secretary's clothes with both hands, and cuddled up to the camel secretary's side.The camel secretary pointed to a sheepskin knee pad with thick stitches on the child's knee: "It's damp here, I'm afraid his legs will be cold, so I sewed this for him." Li Xiangnan turned his head and looked at Pan Goushi: "Why don't you solve this problem?" "No, I don't understand the situation." Pan Goushi explained awkwardly. "I have been the secretary of the commune for three years and don't understand these situations?" "I'm not in charge of the specifics." "Song Ansheng is in charge, so he should be in charge, right? But Song Ansheng has reported the situation to you 17 times in just one year. He is in charge, can he manage it? Henglingyu Commune, Secretary Tuo bought an abacus , all of them have to be signed by Secretary Pan. I am not wronging you, right?" Pan Goushi didn't expect the new secretary of the county party committee to understand such a trivial matter so clearly, he stuttered and didn't know what to say.Maybe it was because of the crowds and the tide in the cave, he just felt hot and stuffy like a steamer, and his back was wet with sweat.He suddenly found out that Song Ansheng had come in at some point, and it was like catching straws: "Secretary Gu and Lao Feng came here last year." He glanced at Feng Yaozu, "Song Ansheng and Tingting have reported to them." Li Xiangnan looked at Song Ansheng. "County Magistrate Gu said that the county party committee is very concerned. If we have to work hard for a few more days, the classroom problem will definitely be resolved quickly. He greeted the relevant units and immediately studied it." Song Ansheng stood behind the crowd and said somewhat cautiously. Li Xiangnan was shocked: This is what Tingting said when educating the children just now.He glanced at Tingting, she listened to Song Ansheng's answer with a simple expression.Obviously, she always believed in the words of county magistrate Gu.The letter she wrote to the county party committee this time also revealed this point.She just cautiously and timidly (not sure if she was doing it right) told the new situation again, and asked if the classroom was about to be resolved.Of course Li Xiangnan didn't know. Tingting hesitated for several months when writing this letter: the county party committee must be very busy, the county party committee must be thinking of a way, and the leader has practical difficulties... Should I write this letter again? "Have you studied it?" Li Xiangnan shifted his gaze to Feng Yaozu behind him, and asked in a low voice. "Because I was busy, I didn't take care of it." Feng Yaozu quickly prevaricated, "However, before leaving that time, the county magistrate Gu explained to Lao Pan again and asked the commune to try its best to solve it." Li Xiangnan gritted his teeth, and his cheeks protruded slightly.This is the "care of the county party committee" that Tingting and dozens of children sincerely believe in and the "immediate resolution" that they hope for every day. "Didn't take care of it for a year? Too busy." Because it involved Gu Rong who was not there, and because he didn't want to destroy Tingting's devotion to the "county party committee", Li Xiangnan just said something sarcastically.He turned his head and said to Pan Goushi: "Song Ansheng's father, and Fu Laoshun, a shepherd, old and deaf, they know how to brave the rain to build roads and pull bridge ropes for elementary school students. You, the commune secretary, have been here for three years Now, what have you done?" It was very quiet in the cave, only the ticking of water falling into the washbasin could be heard. "It's too dark." Feng Yaozu looked up and down the cave, and agreed with Li Xiangnan flatteringly.It is his instinct to please the leader when he is angry with others. "It's too dark." Li Xiangnan said sharply, his voice also raised. Feng Yaozu didn't expect Li Xiangnan to become angry, he smiled awkwardly, and said embarrassingly, "However, it's still somewhere else." "Of course it's a few places. If it's like this, the whole society will be too dark." Li Xiangnan's anger broke out. Feng Yaozu salivated with a flattering smile, cursing himself in his heart: I really flattered my hoof. "Comrade Xiao Tingting," Li Xiangnan turned to Xiao Tingting and said in a calm voice, "I have read your letter. I heard that you still have many personal grievances. Would you like to talk about it now?" Tingting lowered her head and bit her lower lip lightly. "If you think it's inappropriate to speak now, can we talk separately on another occasion?" Li Xiangnan continued. She shook her head slightly.What did she say?For the sake of the students and the classroom, she has the courage to talk about it, but when she talks about her grievances, her courage is much smaller.She was even more afraid of implicating Song Ansheng. "I asked you to talk today. We want to solve the problem. No, all the members of the Standing Committee of the County Party Committee are here." Li Xiangnan encouraged Tingting. Tingting opened her mouth and closed it again.She was on the verge of tears for her cowardice.She finally raised her face and saw the kind eyes of the secretary of the county party committee, as well as Song Ansheng's nervous attention in the crowd.She glanced at Pan Goushi, lowered her head and said, "Secretary Pan..." "Tell me." Li Xiangnan said. "He wants me to marry his nephew." Tingting's voice was almost inaudible. "Do you agree?" "I don't agree... He just said that he would let me go up the mountain to see the forest alone." Her voice was lower. "anything else?" "If I agree, he said he would promote me to work as a salesperson in the supply and marketing cooperative of the commune." "Promote you as a salesperson?" Li Xiangnan was furious at Pan Goushi's domineering behavior.He turned his head and slowly fixed his eyes on Pan Goushi: "Is that so?" Pan Goushi turned his head back and forth in fear, as if seeking help from left to right, streams of sweat dripped from his head. "Comrade Xiao Tingting didn't make it up, did he?" "No, no, no." Li Xiangnan turned his head and said to Tingting: "Comrade Xiao Tingting, don't worry. Whoever wants to retaliate, we will move him." He paused and said, "We will return to the county the day after tomorrow. From the day after tomorrow, you Make a phone call to the county every day and tell me the situation." Tingting looked at Pan Goushi, mumbling, trying to say something, but didn't say anything. Li Xiangnan also glanced at Pan Goushi, and said to Tingting: "No one dares to stop you from calling." He turned to Kang Le and said: "When you go back to the county, if you don't receive a call from Tingting for a day, please call me." The secretary of the commune is in charge." He then said seriously to Pan Goushi: "In this matter of Xiao Tingting, where have you violated party discipline and state law? "He pointed to the leaking roof of the kiln, and some places are already dripping wet lumps, "First solve the classroom problem. What are you going to do?" "We try, try, think, think, and find a solution as soon as possible." "When will it be as soon as possible?" Li Xiangnan pointed to the cracks in the cave again, "I can't stay in this cave for a day. It's very dangerous, we have to move immediately." "Cave cracks don't necessarily matter," Pan Laifa carefully smiled and introduced flatteringly, "Some cracks don't matter for decades." Li Xiangnan became angry: "I'm not afraid of horizontal cracks, but also vertical cracks. I'm not afraid of dry cracks, but also wet rot. This is the law of cave dwellings, don't you know?" Pan Laifa was speechless.He didn't know that the young secretary of the county party committee had lived in a cave dwelling when he jumped into the queue more than ten years ago, and had even bought a cave dwelling. "It is true that there is no house right now, even if it is temporarily settled." Pan Goushi said. "I didn't ask you for the house." Li Xiangnan said angrily.He said to Tingting again: "Get ready, the classroom will be moved today. This cave," he looked up, "is very dangerous." Tingting nodded obediently like a child. Li Xiangnan squatted down, touched the cold knees of the children sitting in the front, which were exposed outside the rolled-up trouser legs, and asked, "Is it cold?" The children looked at him timidly, standing on the wet ground Jijijiji moved his little feet, and shook his head hesitantly.They didn't fully understand what happened in the classroom just now. "Are you afraid of the rain?" Li Xiangnan asked as he wiped the mud off a child's knee, remembering the children's songs. Hearing this question, there was a lively smile in the children's eyes.They all shook their heads vigorously.A girl combing a small brush boldly said: "Not afraid." The boy said to Li Xiangnan seriously.Because I spoke in a hurry and stuttered a little. "We are not afraid of the dark in the classroom. We can see it with our eyes wide open." The children became active and rushed to answer. "Are you Secretary Gu?" A little boy looked at Li Xiangnan with shining black eyes and asked.The children remembered what the teacher often said. "I am... the secretary of the county party committee." "Why don't you come here all the time?" the little boy asked again. Facing these innocent children and seeing them sitting in the dark and wet classroom waiting for the "Secretary Gu" of the county party committee every day, Li Xiangnan felt a bit of sadness in his heart. He patted the back of the children's hands lightly and said: "Today, We just came to see you. Let me say a few words to you, okay?" "it is good--." Looking at dozens of pairs of shining eyes, Li Xiangnan said slowly: "First, you are not afraid of the wind or rain, and you work hard in your studies. You are all good boys." The children listened quietly. "Second, you will have a nice big and bright classroom." The children clapped their little hands happily. "Third, when you grow up, don't forget that you have the best and best teacher now." "Mr. Xiao." The children shouted in unison. Li Xiangnan patted the children's little hands again and stood up.He held Tingting's hand and said, "Mr. Xiao, thank you. I thank you on behalf of the county party committee." "No, I..." Tingting didn't know what to say.Tears welled up in her eyes. "In our society, teachers should be respected the most, because all the people who should be respected are cultivated by you." Li Xiangnan shook Tingting's hand and said affectionately, "We came too late. Please and Can the children forgive the county party committee?" Tingting nodded, then shook her head again, tears streaming down her face. Li Xiangnan waved to the children again, and walked out of the classroom with the Standing Committee members.Walking to the door, he thought of something, looked around the cave, and found Lin Hong.Lin Hong also looked at him in the dark.Li Xiangnan wanted to say something, but didn't say anything, turned around and walked away with the crowd.Hearing the chaotic sound of footsteps going away in the yard, Lin Hong seemed to be thinking about something far away, her eyes sank into a trance. The rain outside has lightened, with rain stars floating.Li Xiangnan left the yard with the members of the Standing Committee.He looked at the crowd with gloomy eyes and said, "I will show you another place." Then he turned his head and led the team forward.The whole team also marched in silence. Keep going back the way you came.Fu Laoshun wagged his tail at the entrance of the kiln and watched their dogs, the barn where the mules and horses were chewing hay, the single-plank bridge with woolen ropes, and the muddy slope where the steps were repaired, all passed one by one.The muddy water splashed under the heavy steps. What Li Xiangnan has now is not just anger towards Pan Goushi, nor is it just love and guilt towards the children, but a much deeper and more complicated emotion than these.The children are innocent and lively, but their situation is pitiful; Tingting's belief is pure and pious, but her situation is complicated.These kind and tender images more strongly and vividly illuminate the ignorance and darkness in some corners than the words and deeds of any mature characters.Investigating and punishing the domineering and incompetent people like Pan Goushi politically, combating Gu Rong's entangled forces in Guling, and unifying the thinking of all the standing committee members of the county party committee. This was originally something he planned on his trip to the countryside, but now it doesn't attract him so strongly. attention.That was just the most direct and superficial thought and purpose when he was busy in reality as the secretary of the county party committee.However, any person still has his thoughts of one layer deeper, two layers deeper, or even three layers deeper.It is in the deepest thought that a person truly expresses his personality, and Li Xiangnan exists as Li Xiangnan.Perhaps, the task of squeezing out Pan Goushi's pus is not too difficult now; perhaps, it is mainly because the scene in the classroom just now touched his deep emotions (those emotions even condensed his love and hatred in his youth), Let him gain insight into the current situation from his own exploration of history and ideals of society, that is, from the cause he will fight for all his life.He is very confident and even occasionally admires his ability and political skills, which are given to him by the complicated social life.But if he's just an iron-fisted Li Xiangnan, he'll hate himself from the bottom of his heart.He knows what he's after.As a member of this generation, he not only has a natural intimacy and familiarity with all the excellent traditions of the past, but also has a keen sense of and extensive reference for all the new trends of scientific civilization in the contemporary world; he has both the intellectual insight of a thinker and idealism lively passion.All his rationality and emotions are condensed together, making him determined to be as far as possible (the word "too" cannot be lost, it is all his passionate imagination, and the word "possible" cannot be lost, it is all his calm estimation) Strive for an ideal society.Just now, in the dark and wet cave dwelling, looking at those little feet in the mud and innocent shining eyes, looking at Tingting who is as delicate and pure as a green leaf, he was very emotional.That was the feeling of a young Li Xiangnan.The innocence and loveliness of Tingting and the children aroused his passion for the pursuit of an ideal society.But in Pan Goushi's ignorance and arbitrariness, one can feel the terrible antiquated power lingering in the whole society.It has caused national tragedies in the past, and it still seeks to suffocate entire peoples.In Guling, in Hengling Valley, in the scene in the dark classroom just now, there are fundamental social contradictions that determine the entire historical process.To reveal it deeply.This is much more than political arithmetic to reshuffle a leadership team. After entering the commune compound, Li Xiangnan stopped.People also scattered around him.Li Xiangnan looked at Pan Goushi, pointed to the green brick and tile houses on the southeast and west sides of the commune compound, and said coldly: "Open all the doors, please take a look around." Pan Goushi immediately understood what was going on.He stammered and wanted to explain a few words, but he dared not say anything. The doors were opened one by one. "You lead the tour and introduce one by one." Li Xiangnan ordered. Pan Goushi was sweating on his forehead, he was in a panic. The first room is a large room of more than 20 square meters, with a door and a window on the front, decorated with green paint and transparent glass.Walking in, there are four tall and bright windows opposite.The walls are all white and the concrete floor.Desk, chair, filing cabinet, newspaper rack, green tin safe.There are not many furnishings in the room, it is a bit empty, and the furniture is rough.There are fluorescent lights hanging from the roof. "What is it for?" Li Xiangnan asked. "This, this is Pan Laifa's office." Pan Goushi introduced. The second room was exactly the same as the first one, but it was used as a bedroom.There are single beds, bedside tables, washstands, tables, dirty quilts scattered on the bed, cigarette ashes, candy wrappers, melon seed peels all over the floor, a pair of shoes stuffed with smelly socks, one on the east side of the bed and the other on the bed. oo.There are more than a dozen comic books lying around beside the pillow beside the bed.When Pan Goushi saw that Li Xiangnan had noticed the comic book on the bedside, a layer of sweat appeared on his forehead again. "This is the dormitory for Lai, Lai, and Laifa," he introduced. The third and fourth rooms are still the same room.The desk was covered with dust.It is not clear who worked in the past and what it will be used for in the future. The fifth room, with different specifications, was three times larger than the previous room.Pan Goushi said, "This is another, another meeting room." There was a dusty ping-pong table in the room, dozens of red and green colored flags were leaning against the corner, and gongs, drums, cymbals, etc. were piled up on the ground. Dusty. 一间一间地进去，一间一间地出来。潘苟世越介绍越汗水淋漓，特别是介绍到最后，他口吃得厉害：“这是、是、是我、我的办公室。”他的办公室规格高了一级。是里外套间。每一间同公社其他负责人的办公室都一样大。墙上多了一个黑木贴金的古式大摆钟。他还另有一间宿舍，比潘来发的更脏，相同的是床头也有许多小人书，红红绿绿的，多是、《杨家将》之类。 “这是你看的？”李向南指着那些小人书问。 “啊，啊……”潘苟世惶乱不安地说不上来。 李向南从小人书里抽出几个叠成寸半宽长条当书签的红头中央文件来，打开看了看，抬头看着潘苟世：“这都是些什么文件，还记得吗？” 潘苟世答不上来。李向南轻轻哼了一声，放在了床头柜上。 人群很快转了一圈。七个公社干部，大小二十五间房子，加上电话室、传达室，是二十七间。 “有什么感想啊？”李向南在院子里站住，看着潘苟世问道。 “先把这儿的会议室腾、腾出一间来吧。”潘苟世察看着李向南的脸色，回答道。他用袖子擦了一下额头的汗。 “什么时候腾啊？” “最近几天。” “不行，”李向南说道，“今天就让学生们搬过来。那窑洞太危险。有困难吗？” "Ah, no." “学生们暂时搬到这儿，可以每天提醒你们抓紧时间解决教室问题。” "Yes Yes." “我刚才让你考虑一下，自己这个公社书记当得称职不称职，考虑了吗？” “我……我我不称职。” “是真话吗？”李向南打量着他，“对于不称职的干部，你知道应该怎么办吗？” “我……”潘苟世满额流着大汗。 “好，你先一边工作一边检查，听候常委会回县里开会正式对你处理。”