Chapter 18 17 six hour meeting

When Comrade Wen Cai walked into the courtyard, there was applause from the dark crowd.Everyone make way.Immediately, they joined forces again, squeezed to the table, and several cadres pulled out another bench.Comrade Wen Cai sat down after a little humility.The eyes of all the people in the audience were focused on him, and he looked at everyone with a smile. Cheng Ren, the young director of the peasant association, stood in front of the table in a short white jacket with his chest open and his head bald.Under the dim light, you can also see the two thick eyebrows and twinkling eyes.He was a little cautious, looked at everyone, and said, "Fathers!"

Everyone below laughed.Someone said: "Don't laugh!" He continued: "Today! Today's meeting is to talk about land reform. Do you understand? Are you listening carefully?" "Listen carefully." Everyone agreed to him. An old man with a red nose stood by the table, stretched his neck, and said loudly: "What's wrong with that, take out the land from the rich man's house and distribute it to the farmers, so that those who grow the land have land to plant, and everyone should plant the land, and you can't rely on exploiting people to make a living!" He looked at Wen Cai again, He also stretched out his hand and gestured: "We reformed our family last year. Last year, we fought against Xu Youwu, liquidated more than 800 shi of grain, and distributed his land, house, and livestock to the poor. This yard is his. Comrade! Are we reforming him? Is that the case?" The old man was the one playing the gong.

Someone shouted from behind: "Don't talk casually, listen to your comrades." "We only said one sentence, and if we don't say it, we don't say it." The old man looked at Comrade Wen Cai and smiled unnaturally. "There are still many reasons for the land reform. Let's elaborate on it today. Let's ask Comrade Wen Cai to explain it, okay?" Cheng Ren applauded before the crowd had anything to say. "Okay." There was a burst of applause. Wen Cai stood up.There was a whisper from below.Everyone moved closer. "My fellow!" Wen Cai's northern dialect is easy to understand, and his voice is also very clear. "It's the first time we met today, maybe—" Wen Cai immediately felt that these two words were not popular, and he tried his best to search for other words, but he couldn't find them for a while, and couldn't remember, so he had to continue: "Maybe you guys Some of them feel unfamiliar,...unfamiliar, but the common people of the Eighth Route Army are one family, and we will get to know each other gradually, won't we?"

"Yes." Someone agreed. "We are making land reform this time. What is land reform? It is: 'land to the tiller', which means that those who cultivate the land should have land, and those who do not work will not have it..." There was another whisper from below. Cheng Ren shouted: "Don't talk!" Wen Cai continued speaking according to the outline he had prepared. He first talked about why the land reform was needed. He started with the history of mankind. Who made history?He also analyzed the international and domestic situation, proving that this policy is timely.At the beginning, Comrade Wencai really paid attention to his vocabulary. These modern nouns that he had worked hard to learn, and some beautiful descriptions that were appreciated in rhetoric, were all useless on this occasion.Because no one understands.Comrade Wencai tried his best to find words commonly used by ordinary people, but he knew so little.Later he talked about how to carry out land reform, repeating the "mass line" over and over again, and there were so many clauses, the first came second, and the fifth came first again.So he himself forgot to pay attention to his language, and even indulged himself in his "detailed and thorough" speeches.

The people below all listened with difficulty. They all hoped to hear a few short questions, like a sentence or two, and some of their doubts could be resolved.They like to hear words of affirmation.They are very good at calculating food, burdens, and settlements with landlords, but they are unwilling to understand the history and stage of these, and they are not interested in listening to them.They cannot yet see how that relates to their own lives. Most of them couldn't understand, but some could only say, "You are talented and learned, how well you speak!" However, gradually, they also felt unable to support their tired bodies.Due to daytime labor and long-term overexcitement, people's eyelids are heavy, the upper ones droop, and they are forced to open upwards, and the people next to them also touch them with their elbows.So some people quietly came out from the crowd, sat on the back steps, put their hands on their knees, and fell asleep with their mouths open.

Yang Liang wrote a note to Wen Cai, Wen Cai crumpled it into a small ball after reading it, and stuffed it into his pants pocket. Gu Changsheng's mother was unwilling to listen to it for a long time. She wanted to go out, but the shepherd's wife refused to allow it. Later, a baby started to cry, and his mother insisted on going back with him in her arms. Gu Changsheng's mother also helped her, saying: "At a meeting, everyone must be willing, and you can force people! This can suffocate people to death. My fifty-year-old old lady has wet clothes with dew. Who cares if she catches a cold and gets sick! We can't live forever. at home……"

"This old woman is really disgusting, who told you to come here! Anyone who comes in has to listen to the end! You go, you go! There are militiamen at the door." "Ah yo yo, how fierce! Became a female director, and look down on people like this, we are not traitors, we are afraid of you!" Many people were feeling sleepy standing there. When they heard the women quarreling, they all turned their heads and tiptoed to look. A small militiaman also shouted: "Whoever quarrels, tie him up." , There was a lot of yelling, and Comrade Wen Cai couldn't go on talking, so he had to stop, looking at the disorderly audience, he felt a burst of irritability.

"Don't be noisy! Be quiet!" a cadre standing behind Wen Cai shouted vigorously. Many people ran out to persuade them, doing good or bad things, and then let the two women who were going out go out, and Gu Changsheng's mother was heard shouting outside the courtyard: "Bind up! Threat people with tie up, tie up!" , who dares?..." The cadres rushed to maintain the meeting place again, and Zhang Yumin also stood up and said: "Let's have a meeting. Let's listen to Comrade Wen today, and everyone should listen carefully. If there is anything we don't understand, let's ask him tomorrow. We always have to To clarify these issues, are we a peasant association? This is our own business, isn’t it? Let’s just listen patiently.”

Only then did the common people stand back to their original positions one by one, some stayed behind, the steps were already full of people, and they leaned against the pillars. The meeting continued again.Zhang Zhengguo, the chief of the militia, was a person who couldn't sit still and couldn't listen, so he went to the street to check the sentry and went around.Back in the courtyard, he saw Wen Cai was still talking, so he went into the room again; the roof was full of moonlight, the breeze was blowing, and he felt a bit cool even in unlined clothes.He looked around as far as the eye could see, surrounded by three sides of the village, there were black clumps of forests, the moonlight cast a layer of gray on the clumps of forests, connecting to the distant asphalt-colored sky, the Sanggan River was hidden. Stand behind the woods.A thin layer of smoke rose from several places in the forest, and the smoke didn't rush straight up, but lingered on a nearby forest.The moonlight shines through, making it even more hazy and soft.It was the wormwood leaves that the gardeners burned to fumigate mosquitoes.The stars in the sky are sparse and bright, and the Milky Way is just a touch of white.The Big Dipper had already gone down, and the donkey on the left side began to bray again.Zhang Zhengguo looked at the three sentries again. They were all sitting on the ridge of the roof, holding their guns or holding them horizontally. One of them approached quietly and called out in a low voice:

"Captain! Captain!" He moved closer, and said again: "The peasants are so sleepy that no one can understand them. The directors' speeches are too long, too literary,...too civilized. team leader!Do you remember what he said? " But Zhang Zhengguo replied: "He is doing things for us, so we have to worry about it. We need to be well guarded." The yard was dark, the lamp oil was almost dry, Cheng Ren picked up the lamp a few times, and Hu Ligong went to Wen Cai's ear to say a few more words, and Wen Cai ended his speech.At this moment, many people came to their senses. They didn't wait for Cheng Ren to announce the adjournment of the meeting, and they walked out sparsely.Cheng Ren had to announce loudly: "Come early tomorrow night!"

From the classroom of the literacy class, a few cadres rubbing their eyes walked out.Li Chang was confused, and asked recklessly, "The meeting is over? Is the meeting over?" Zhang Yumin accompanied Comrade Wen Cai and the others back, and no one said a word along the way.A few peasant association members walked ahead of them, and the group was also listless.They yawned loudly, and one of them said strange things: "I haven't turned over yet, I'm hurting my butt from sitting on it first." The other one looked back at Zhang Yumin and the others, then rushed to bump into that person.The man didn't continue, just laughed a few times, and they quickened their pace and walked away. Yang Liang asked, "Who is it?" Zhang Yumin replied: "It's not those two troublemakers, um, demobilized soldiers. One is Zhang Bugao's brother, and the other is your landlord's son." When they arrived home, old man Han was still awake, and was busy asking questions attentively.Hu Ligong said seriously: "Let's have a good talk tonight, how should the work be done!" Comrade Wen Cai came out of the venue, feeling only hard work and excitement along the way, and felt that the meeting was not bad.Hearing Hu Ligong's very dissatisfied tone, he couldn't help but startled and felt uncomfortable, so he just wanted to give him a few words.But after thinking about it, right and wrong have their own opinions, so why do you appear to be so stingy?He still maintained his happiness, and asked Zhang Yumin, "Old Zhang! What's your opinion on tonight's event? Do you think there is no need to explain to the peasants, and do an ideological mobilization first?" Before Zhang Yumin could figure out how to answer, Hu Ligong rushed to say: "What a mobilization, one meeting lasted for five or six hours, and I only listened to one person. It would be strange if anyone didn't fall asleep. Comrade Wen! Liang, I am straightforward, haven't you seen many people falling asleep? Adding your words, alas, it is too unpopular." Wen Cai would not lose confidence because of these few words, he only felt Hu Ligong's naivety, he went to the table and picked up a copy of "Northern Culture", and said calmly: "Peasants, peasants are already backward, except for Apart from some immediate interests, you will not feel any interest. This has to be done slowly, and you must first understand your thoughts; if you think about it all at once, it is impossible, it is just a petty bourgeois thought. I am very interested in tonight's meeting I'm quite satisfied, though, I admit that my words are less commonplace." So he opened the book and looked for an article he wanted to read. "Don't underestimate the peasants. Although the peasants are low-educated and don't know how to talk about theory, they have long understood war and how to get land." Hu Ligong said again. To prove his words, he said: " Old Zhang! You are from this village, you are most familiar with the affairs of the village, and you have also experienced struggles. Tell me, can we continue the meeting like this?" Yang Liang didn't let Zhang Yumin talk, and rushed to say: "The meeting is going to be held, and it is necessary to explain to the people what the land reform is about. Of course, this meeting also has its role. But—today is too late, I have something to say." Let's talk tomorrow." "What's the point of talking tonight, Lao Zhang is not an outsider." Hu Ligong was still indignant. "Old Zhang is still the protagonist. Of course, the village cadres know the village affairs best. My opinion is that we are too tired tonight, so we won't get any results if we talk about it. Everyone think about it tonight, and we can't talk about it tomorrow." Better. Old Zhang! What's your opinion?" Yang Liang looked at him with a confident expression. "Yes, Lao Yang! Just do as you said. Comrade Wen! You rest, let's go." Zhang Yumin walked out knowingly. "Wait, Old Zhang! I'll close the door for you." Yang Liang chased him out, patted Old Zhang on the back, and spoke in a low voice.The two walked to the door, and he said: "Old Zhang! There are always obstacles at work. Tonight's meeting, I know, is a little too long, and the speech is not to the taste of ordinary people. But it's nothing. It's the first day. , I have to talk about the content of the land reform. You are also a party member before liberation, and you are also a hired worker. If you have any opinions, please bring them to us. Don’t speak casually in front of the masses. Listen to their opinions and stand firm. Regarding the matter of the village, you You need to worry more. We are new here, so we have to discuss everything with you. Don’t make things difficult, and we will try to solve the difficulties. Let’s talk slowly tomorrow, and we must do this well, right?” Although Zhang Yumin has his prudence, he likes to have a good time. He replied: "Okay, Lao Yang, let's talk about it tomorrow. The affairs of the village are not easy to deal with with just a few families. There are everyone. Fortunately, you are here, if you have more ideas, we will follow suit. Once you come, we have to learn from you." Yang Liang finally said: "As long as we follow Chairman Mao's instructions, follow the mass line, inspire the masses, help the masses, discuss everything with the masses, and advise them, things can always be done well. Old Zhang! We all have With this confidence, we still have to work hard!"