(Documentary Literature) The Village Official Chronicles Original Work First Release on Caoliu

The Village Official Chronicles
Author: Sunny with Clouds
This book is a slow burn, contains erotic content, and has more normal scenes.
Synopsis:
It reflects the historical changes of township government,
depicts the living conditions of rural cadres,
documents the vicissitudes of ordinary farmers,
portrays the life of grassroots figures, and
exposes the grudges and hatreds of corruption and depravity.
Main Text
1

At 9:00 AM on September 8, 1952, the unveiling ceremony of the People's Government of Quanshui District, Xinhua County, Liaobei Province, was held as scheduled. Leaders of the Xinhua County Party Committee, the County Government, the Preparatory Group of the County People's Congress, and relevant departments, along with some accompanying staff, rode their respective means of transportation—muds and horses allocated by their superiors—from the county seat to Quanshui District early in the morning. The caravan of maroon, black, yellow, and white mules and horses traveled non-stop, crossing mountains and rivers, speeding along more than 90 li of mountain roads, heading straight for the meeting place set up in the district government compound.
The meeting was presided over by Wen Wubin, Deputy Secretary of the Xinhua County Party Committee and County Head. After he announced the start of the unveiling ceremony, firecrackers crackled, drums resounded, colorful flags fluttered, slogans chanted, and cheers filled the venue, creating a lively and extraordinary scene. Then, Qu Changping, the county party secretary and first political commissar of the county military control committee, and Wu Xiangdong, the head of the county people's congress preparatory group, unveiled the red cloth covering the plaque. Next, Gao Youmin, a member of the county party committee standing committee and head of the organization department, announced the appointment documents for the members of the Quanshui District People's Government on behalf of the county party committee: Xiao
Wenli as deputy secretary
of the district party committee and district head; He Liren as a member of the
district party committee and deputy district head; Xiang
Dongfang as deputy district head; Huang Keqiu as secretary of the government office; Bai Songli as civil affairs assistant;
Wen Baoxi as finance and grain assistant;
and Zhuang Jiawang as production assistant.
The first Quanshui District People's Government consisted of these seven people. It administered Yongfeng Township, Qingyu Township, Xinghua Township, and Qinghe Town, collectively known as the "three townships and one town." At the end of the meeting, Secretary Qu Changping, on behalf of the three major county-level bodies, offered congratulations, gave instructions for future work, and put forward requirements and expectations. Representatives from relevant departments then spoke in an orderly fashion. District Chief Xiao Wenli, on behalf of all members of the Quanshui District Government, expressed his determination to the County Party Committee and the County Government. The meeting concluded with the music of "The East Is Red.
" Xinhua County is located in the triangular area where Liaobei Province, Heilongjiang Province, and Jixi Province meet. According to historical records, before liberation, this area was a "no-man's-land." Until August 15, 1945, after Japan's surrender, a force under Xiao Jingguang of the Northeast Democratic Allied Army annihilated the 621st Regiment of the Nationalist 207th Division stationed in the Kaiyuan area in Liaobei, and in the spring of 1948, recovered the entire territory of Xinhua County. Subsequently, military control was implemented over the three townships and one town in the Quanshui area.
To adapt to the new situation and the needs of the struggle, the Xinhua County Committee of the Communist Party of China, based on the instructions of higher authorities and in light of local conditions, decided to establish the Quanshui District People's Government, a district-level government agency, to exercise full jurisdiction over Yongfeng Township, Qingyu Township, Xinghua Township, and Qinghe Town. From then on, the area around Quanshui finally had a true place of belonging.
The Quanshui District Government was located in Quanshui Village. Quanshui Village, though not a large village within a radius of about a hundred li, had historically served as a resting place for merchants, a gathering place for heroes, and a strategically important pass fought over by military strategists. The Qingshui River, flowing perpetually in front of the village, meandered around it. The village was surrounded by mountains on three sides, commonly known as "three mountains, one river, and one part farmland," making it a
long, narrow peninsula-like mountain village. Although Quanshui Village was not large in area or population, it was historically renowned. During the Japanese occupation, it served as the location of the "puppet district government," the "puppet joint security" office, and the "puppet police station." The mountains to the north of the village were high and densely forested, possessing an imposing defensive position. The mountains were rich in wild resources, minerals, and forestry resources. On the southern slope of the mountain, there was a spring with sweet, clear water that was warm in the east and cool in the summer. The spring is known locally as the "Divine Spring." During festivals, people come to worship the "Divine Spring," praying for family peace, good weather, a prosperous and peaceful life, and protection from illness and disaster. The spring is recognized by the surrounding villages and is thus named after it.
Xiao Wenli's appointment as the head of the Quanshui District government was the result of careful consideration and deliberation by the county committee, and a rigorous selection process from over 30 demobilized soldiers throughout the county. It was also inseparable from the strong recommendation of County Head Wen Wubin. In the army, Xiao Wenli was an infantry company commander, Wen Wubin was his regimental political commissar, and Wu Xiangdong was his battalion commander. Back then, the Liaodong Military Region selected a large number of officers below the regimental level... To strengthen local government and bolster its cadre force, the three of them, along with a large number of other cadres, were transferred to work in Xinhua County. Wen Wubin, considering the overall situation, believed that Xiao Wenli was competent in all aspects for the position of district head. His only shortcoming was that, due to his family's poverty, he couldn't afford formal education and only received basic literacy training in the army's cultural classes, resulting in a significantly low level of literacy. However, he was commendable for his absolute reliability with the organization, his resolute attitude in completing tasks, and his decisive action. He was particularly hardworking and conscientious, possessing considerable organizational and command abilities.
Xiao Wenli joined the revolution at the age of 17 and participated in various... He participated in over 30 battles, large and small, including the "Three Campaigns South of the Yangtze River and Four Defenses of Linjiang," the "Siping Campaign," the "Liaoshen Campaign," the "Pingjin Campaign," and the "Guangxi Bandit Suppression." He bore over ten scars and received numerous military merits and commendations. At the age of 20, he was promoted to platoon leader. In October 1950, he went to Korea to fight in the Korean War. When he returned to China with his unit in April 1952, he was already a company commander in the infantry. After being demobilized and assigned to the Xinhua County government, he served as deputy section chief in the government office. It was only during the cadre reshuffling in the Quanshui District government that he was entrusted with an important task.
Upon taking office, Xiao Wenli knew that the organization's greatest expectation of him was to effectively manage the three townships and one town. He diligently completed the tasks assigned by the county party committee and county government. He was responsible for various work tasks. Therefore, he paid close attention to maintaining a good relationship with Hao Yiqun, the district party secretary. He knew that, as the saying goes, "It's easy to do a job, but difficult to get along with a partner." He had also often heard that the two top officials of the county government often didn't see eye to eye. However, he treated Secretary Hao like an elder brother, after all, he was young and lacked experience in local work. Secretary Hao, on the other hand, was a native of the area, a veteran cadre from the land reform period, with rich work experience and a certain mass base, and was also more than ten years older than him. From then on, Xiao Wenli often took the initiative to go to Secretary Hao's office to report on his work and exchange ideas and feelings. The moved Secretary Hao called him "Brother Xiao!" The two worked together very well, and all tasks were carried out very smoothly, receiving commendations from the county party committee and county government on many occasions.
In October 1952, following instructions from higher authorities, Liaobei Province launched a province-wide "Three-Anti" (anti-corruption, anti-waste, and anti-bureaucracy) campaign. Soon after, a "Five-Anti" campaign was launched (again, in private industry and commerce, against bribery, tax evasion, theft of state property, shoddy workmanship, and theft of state economic intelligence). Officially, these two campaigns were simply referred to as the "Three-Five-Anti Campaign."
The Xinhua County Committee then launched a large-scale "Three-Five-Anti Campaign" in all townships and towns throughout the county. Building on this, Quanshui District, in accordance with county requirements, piloted the first primary agricultural production cooperative in the district's three townships and one town. The pilot program for cooperatives was launched. District Party Secretary Hao Yiqun presided over a committee meeting to analyze and assess 59 villages and hamlets across the district. It was concluded that establishing primary agricultural production cooperatives was of great significance, representing a major decision and strategic intention of higher-level leadership in rural work. This involved transforming land distributed to individuals during the land reform—from individual free cultivation to centralized management and planned planting—into a system that organized farmers into a unified and orderly production and land use system, with all means of production belonging to the cooperative. Everyone would contribute labor, be paid according to their work, and have their wages distributed after the harvest, leading to a path of shared prosperity.
Those attending the enlarged meeting of the district committee, in addition to Secretary Hao Yiqun, District Mayor Xiao Wenli, Deputy District Mayor Xiang Dongfang, Organization Committee Member Niu Futao, Propaganda Committee Member Li Da'an, and five other committee members, were Deputy District Mayor Bai Hailin, Finance and Grain Assistant Zhuang Jiawang, Agriculture Assistant Wen Baoxi, and District Government Office Secretary Ma Kai. The participants engaged in frank discussions, and Secretary Hao clearly assigned responsibilities and put forward specific requirements for the aforementioned tasks.
District Party Secretary Hao Yiqun, along with Niu Futao and Li Da'an, were responsible for the district's "Three-Anti" and "Five-Anti" campaigns, as well as the rural rectification campaign scheduled for December. District Mayor Xiao Wenli led a team of four—including assistants from the Civil Affairs, Finance and Grain, and Agriculture departments—to Taipinghe Village in Qinghe Town to pilot the district's first primary agricultural cooperative. Simultaneously, they were tasked with rectifying the ideological work of the village's Party members.
Qinghe Town's streets were not very large. A dozen or so shops and about a hundred households tightly squeezed along a main street of gravel and dirt road. The shops were so close together that if one shop cooked dog meat, the whole street would smell the aroma; so the neighbors knew if a child broke a bowl while playing; so the whispers of unmarried girls and the flirtatious banter of young couples were often overheard by the next-door neighbors, becoming the town's gossip and source of amusement. Occasionally, if brothers quarreled or husbands and wives fought, the whole street would be in an uproar. People would rush back and forth, telling and advising each other, like a flock of startled ducks on a river, and it would take a long time to calm down.
Anyone not going to the market, as well as residents on both sides of the street, would hang their clothes, trousers, skirts, bedding, and other items to dry on poles in their courtyards facing the street. When the mountain wind blew, the sky above the street would be filled with a dazzling array of red, green, and other colorful "flags." Coupled with the strings of red chilies, bundles of golden corn seeds, and white-green gourds hanging from the eaves of each house, two colorful ribbons lined the street. People walked along the roadside, chickens and geese cackled, and cats and dogs darted about in the courtyards, creating a unique and charming scene.
Although Qinghe Town has a small street and few residents, it transforms into a bustling market on market days. The main market area is not on the main street, but in a small earthen courtyard of about twenty or thirty acres on the north side of the street, near the river. The tradition of holding market days, inherited from the old society, continues to this day. The market is held on the 3rd, 6th, and 9th of each month. Merchants from three provinces and eighteen counties, traders from various ethnic groups, hunters, pharmacists, blacksmiths, carpenters, and livestock dealers all gather here early to trade. The market was bustling with activity: pig and cattle markets, vegetable and fruit stalls, mushroom and fungus vendors, agricultural products, seafood and delicacies, daily necessities, and food stalls—the streets were teeming with people, a constant flow of voices and a vibrant, bustling atmosphere. Looking down from the hillside behind the market, on a sunny day, it resembled a sea of headscarves, handkerchiefs, and straw hats; on a rainy day, a sea of straw hats, raincoats, and paper umbrellas. People didn't seem to be walking on the ground, but rather floating on a lake.
The Qinghe Town government was situated on a high slope northeast of the main street. Two rows of blue-gray brick houses stood one after the other on the north side of the compound. Each row of houses was about the size of a dozen or so ordinary houses. These old buildings were the public buildings of the district office, police station, and security team during the Japanese occupation. After being recovered by the Liaodong Military Region, the provisional revolutionary government and peasant associations operated here, and to this day, everything has changed.
Yang Yiguang, Secretary of the Qinghe Town Party Committee, Pan Yongnian, Deputy Secretary and Mayor, Li Yufang, a retired female deputy mayor, and Gao Xiaobo, Secretary of the Town Government Office, greeted District Head Xiao Wenli and his entourage of four at the entrance of the government compound at 9:30 a.m. The day before, Secretary Gao had received a phone call from the district government office informing her that District Head Xiao and his entourage of four would depart from the district at 8:00 a.m. the following day to walk to Qinghe Town to arrange and deploy key tasks. The town's main leaders were required to attend a meeting and should not travel. The town leaders knew that the fact that District Head Xiao's entourage consisted of four officials, while the district government only had seven officials in total, indicated an important mission. The journey from the district government to Qinghe Town was 48 li (approximately 24 kilometers), and District Head Xiao and his entourage walked for three and a half hours. They crossed three mountains and forded two rivers, each carrying a satchel containing toiletries and a bottle of water. It was the early days of liberation, and conditions were extremely difficult. The county only had a dozen or so mules and horses for transportation; districts, townships, and towns didn't have this privilege and had to rely on walking.
In the Qinghe Town meeting room, the enlarged meeting of the Party Committee was both serious and democratic. District Chief Xiao conveyed the superior's document regarding the trial establishment of primary agricultural cooperatives and the specific arrangements for the next step of rural rectification and ideological work among Party members. Everyone actively spoke on these two topics, proposing specific implementation plans and methods. Two working groups were established: the rectification work was led by the town Party secretary; the trial establishment of primary agricultural cooperatives was headed by the town mayor, with Deputy Mayor Li Yufang in charge, and the district government working team providing specific guidance.
The working team, led by District Chief Xiao, stayed at the town government guesthouse. The next day, accompanied by Deputy Mayor Li, they began their work. Qinghe Town has twelve villages and nineteen natural hamlets under its jurisdiction, with a population of over 13,000 and an average of four-tenths of an acre of land per person. Taipinghe Village, located about eight li from the town government, is flat, expansive, and relatively conveniently located in a semi-mountainous area. The village has a population of 1,036, with an average of 0.973 mu of farmland per person, evenly split between paddy and dry land, and abundant water resources. The district committee and government selected this village as a pilot site based on several factors: firstly, its strong and effective grassroots leadership and high public prestige; secondly, its favorable natural conditions, ranking as above average among the 59 villages assessed in the district, which carries weight; and thirdly, its strong grassroots foundation, with 13 members of the Communist Party of China and 28 members of the Communist Youth League. This village was once a revolutionary base area, serving as the location of an arsenal for Yang Jingyu's troops during the Anti-Japanese War. During the Liberation War, it was recognized by the county as a model village for supporting the front lines, and during the Korean War, it was awarded the title of "Advanced Village in Donating Grain and Funds."
The deputy mayor, Li Yufang, is the only woman in the town's leadership. At 21 years old, a former soldier, she maintains a youthful appearance, appearing even younger than her actual age. Her fair and clean face adds to her refined and elegant look; she is the kind of person whose beauty grows on you, becoming more attractive the more you look at her. Her most striking feature is her clear, sweet voice, which instantly invigorates anyone who hears it. Although young, Li Yufang possesses exceptional work abilities. This is why the county's Organization Department assigned her to Qinghe Town as deputy mayor. She maintains a low profile in the office, always treating everyone with courtesy. Women are generally meticulous, and this trait is particularly evident in her. In early 1948, at the age of 17, Li Yufang, responding to the school's call, joined the Northeast Democratic Allied Army along with many classmates. She was assigned to the 27th Regiment of the 9th Division of the 3rd Column as a cultural officer. In June 1951, she went to Korea with her unit to fight, and soon after transferred to the Xinhua County government, before being transferred to Qinghe Town as deputy mayor, a position she holds to this day.
Accompanied by Deputy Mayor Li, District Chief Xiao and his entourage of four arrived at Taipinghe Village. Arranged by Village Secretary Yu Weiming and Village Chief Feng Yinglai, they stayed at the homes of two "die-hard poor farmers," Li Dashan and Wang Tianyi. No work was scheduled for the day, mainly because District Chief Xiao and his group were tired from walking so much mountain road and needed rest. However, District Chief Xiao took the opportunity to visit and investigate the living conditions of more than a dozen households. The result was deeply disappointing. He visited both veteran Party members and non-Party members; both wealthy and impoverished households. Their heartfelt sentiment was that they did not agree to establish a primary agricultural cooperative. The reason was quite simple: "People are used to the status quo. The capable ones work hard, while the lazy ones just eat porridge. Anyway, no one is allowed to starve. If everyone works together, the wealthy feel they're being taken advantage of, and the lazy ones are afraid that being tied together to work will be too tiring and restrictive, and they'll feel uncomfortable being managed." That evening, the village held an enlarged meeting of the Party branch. In addition to the three branch committee members, three new veteran Party members were added, along with six respected elders and veteran cadres from the land reform period. At the meeting, District Chief Xiao conveyed the relevant documents from higher authorities regarding the trial establishment of primary agricultural cooperatives; Deputy Town Chief Li announced Qinghe Town's plan, implementation methods, and requirements for earnestly implementing the provincial, municipal, county, and district plans for the trial establishment of agricultural production cooperatives. Then, everyone expressed their opinions. The meeting immediately erupted into a heated debate. Those whose personal interests were involved expressed their opinions freely, directly, frankly, and without concealment, vying to share their various thoughts. Three veteran land reform cadres, led by 59-year-old Zhang Changgong, said, "Since it's an instruction from higher authorities, we'll resolutely follow it; there's definitely no mistake. With more people, the cooperative will be stronger; we support it." Three cadres, including village head Feng Yinglai, along with three other elders, objected. This village head, Feng, was a native of the area, and his family had considerable influence. He had seven brothers, three sisters, and two younger sisters, all of whom had settled down and lived separately in Taipinghe Village. These were twelve households, all skilled at managing their households. For generations, the Feng family had made a living by farming, living frugally and thriftily, enjoying a prosperous and comfortable life. Joining the cooperative worried them that they would lose their affluent lifestyle.
At this moment, even as the village head, he couldn't accept this change. They had only enjoyed a few years of good fortune; why were they making such a fuss? He simply couldn't understand it. Village Party Secretary Yu Weiming couldn't understand it at all. It had only been a few years since liberation; they were just beginning to eradicate poverty and were barely catching their breath. What was wrong with free farming and self-sufficiency? Why force together people of varying wealth, diligence, and age to eat from the same pot and drift through life? He vehemently disagreed. However, Yu Weiming was no ordinary man. His shrewdness over the past few years lay in his ability to manipulate the situation, letting village head Feng Ying act as a go-between, and then selectively stepping in to smooth things over at crucial moments. Today, he was extremely cautious; he sensed the imminent threat. He had to consider his position, especially with district and town leaders like District Chief Xiao and Deputy Town Chief Li present. He skillfully observed their expressions and demeanor, glancing around and reading their expressions. He was absolutely not going to speak out actively; he was eyeing the village chief, Feng Yinglai, while Feng Yinglai was anxiously watching his backer, the village secretary Yu Weiming, for a signal. Seeing the village secretary's supportive look, he suddenly became bolder, like a man injected with adrenaline, and went straight to the point: "--I don't have much education, and I can't talk about grand principles. Since joining the Party in 1938, I've followed the Party's revolution, obeyed the leadership, and never made demands. I've learned many principles, the one I remember most deeply is that the Party led us to overthrow the landlords and distribute land and forests to us poor people. Wasn't that to let us live a good life? Now, we have land, and we can get rich through our own hard work, and our lives..." "We were just getting better, and you're already causing trouble again! You insist on taking back the land we were given during the land reform and setting up these cooperatives. Isn't this just going backwards? We've worked so hard for so many years, and with just a few words from you, we're going to be back to square one! I absolutely refuse to join the cooperative. I'd rather you expel me from the village and remove me from my village chief position than join that damned cooperative. This land is the lifeblood of us liberated peasants; we absolutely cannot allow anyone to seize it." He became more and more agitated as he spoke, until tears streamed down his face, but he still didn't forget to glance at the village secretary, Yu Weiming. "Yes! --- Well said! --- We all refuse to join the cooperative. This land was given to us poor and lower-middle peasants by the xxx; you have no right to take it back!" In an instant, the meeting room descended into chaos. Many people spoke at once, offering their opinions and criticisms.

2.

Village Chief Feng's speech, like a stone thrown into a still pond, stirred up a thousand waves, undoubtedly acting as a fuse. Everyone held differing opinions: some were hesitant, some were deeply worried, some sighed, and some were overjoyed. To control the sudden situation, District Chief Xiao stood up and slammed his right hand on the table three times, barely managing to quiet the chaotic meeting. However, some people were still whispering and talking amongst themselves. “Folks,” District Chief Xiao said, “today’s expanded village branch meeting was originally intended to convey the instructions from higher authorities and the decisions of the district committee and government, and then hear everyone’s opinions on the pilot program of primary agricultural production cooperatives. Just now, everyone raised different views on this issue, which is good. The district and town governments will consider them collectively, and we allow for different opinions. However, I must tell you all that this work is a major policy formulated by higher authorities, the basic line for rural areas. It is not wrong, nor can it be changed. We can only persevere and strive to carry out this work even better—” Before District Chief Xiao could finish speaking, Village Chief Feng stood up listlessly, glaring angrily. He glanced at District Chief Xiao, then turned and left. Seeing this, village secretary Yu Weiming hurriedly chased after her out of the meeting room. By the deserted courtyard wall, he whispered to Feng Yinglai, "I agree with you!" "Get the hell out of here!" Feng Yinglai, after hearing the cunning village secretary's words, knew he was a two-faced scoundrel, which fueled her anger.
Seeing the chaotic state of the meeting, District Chief Xiao knew it was doomed. He whispered a few words to Deputy Mayor Li Yufang, then said to the village secretary, "If there's nothing else to discuss, I suggest the expanded village meeting can be adjourned." "District Chief Xiao, what are your thoughts on today's meeting?" Deputy Mayor Li asked on the way back to the residents' house. "Ah--! That's perfectly normal! Think about it, before liberation, the vast majority of peasants suffered generations of oppression from the three great mountains (imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucratic capitalism) and exploitation from landlords. They were terrified of poverty. It was under the leadership of xxx that the people overthrew the landlords, turned their lives around, and received the mountains, forests, and land, realizing 'land to the tiller,' basically solving the major problem of food and clothing. They lived a happy life of 'two acres of land, an ox, a wife and children, and a warm bed.' In their eyes, it was like a life of paradise. Therefore, they regarded the land as their lifeline, their only hope for survival. The 'fruits of victory' they had just received were about to be collected; they simply couldn't understand it. Furthermore, they worked from sunrise to sunset, working on sunny days and resting on their beds on rainy days." She was used to managing her family's production, daily life, and social interactions independently, having long since developed fixed habits and grown accustomed to a carefree, unrestrained lifestyle. She worried that joining the cooperative would make her unable to bear the constraints of a collective organization. Even more concerning was the unified management of land, livestock, and all means of production, all owned by the cooperative. The unified planting of crops, allocation of farm work, distribution of grain, and the system of recording work and paying wages were problematic. She believed that some poor households in the village lacked livestock and means of production; moreover, there were eight or nine "good-for-nothings," "loafers," and "lazybones" who had infiltrated to take advantage. "That's the crux of the problem," she thought. "District Chief Xiao's words impressed Deputy Mayor Li immensely, making her feel that they were worth more than ten years of study." From then on, she secretly began to develop feelings for him. She had already learned from Bai Songli, the civil affairs assistant in the district work team, that District Chief Xiao was only two years older than her and also a former demobilized cadre.
After dinner, Xiao Wenli, Li Yufang, Zhuang Jiawang, Wen Baoxi, and Bai Songli held a meeting in the east room of a resident's house. They analyzed the current antagonistic sentiments among the farmers, identified the root causes, and, considering the local conditions, unanimously agreed to a two-step approach. First, they would organize farmers with oxen, horse-drawn carts, land, and means of production into primary agricultural cooperatives. The remaining small number of impoverished and less active households would also be centrally managed, forming a separate organization called a "mutual aid group." This way, two production management models would be piloted in the village: agricultural production cooperatives and, based on local conditions, mutual aid groups for those with unsuitable circumstances, allowing them to utilize their individual strengths. After a year, these individuals would be incorporated into the cooperative. This would allow them to experience the power of collective action and understand whether their small-scale efforts were more effective, truly understanding which method suited them best.
The following morning, the work team held a mass meeting. After Deputy Mayor Li announced the district and town's plan, he also announced the list of farmers in each group. Then, each commune and group elected its head. Just before the meeting adjourned, Village Chief Feng Yinglai once again jumped out to cause trouble. He spouted a bunch of bizarre and absurd theories, and made veiled accusations, insulting the district and town work teams as worthless, before arrogantly walking away. Xiao Wenli glanced at Li Yufang and said, "Ignore him, just follow our established policy." That afternoon, two notices with red paper and black characters were posted on the wall of the village office. One was the list of farmers joining the commune; the other was the list of farmers joining the mutual aid group. The notices clearly stated that any objections could be raised with the work team within three days; otherwise, it would be considered as agreement, and the commune and group regulations would be followed.
Xiao Wenli's landlord in the village was named Li Dashan. He was over sixty years old, an activist during the land reform period, and a staunch poor peasant. The old woman's husband, Qin Qiuxia, was fifty-eight years old. After fleeing famine in Ju County, Shandong Province, she went to Northeast China and married Li Dashan, a local resident. Their only son, Li Qing, was a military instructor at the Tangshan Artillery School and was already married with children. The old landlord had allocated three mud-brick houses during the land reform. The old couple lived in the east room, while the west room was completely converted and given to four cadres from the district. Old Mrs. Qin cooked, boiled water, and heated the kang (a traditional heated bed) for the work team three times a day. Each work team member paid four liang (approximately 200 grams) of local grain coupons and one jiao (approximately 10 cents) of RMB per meal; any shortfall was reported by the village. This was the regulation from higher authorities at the time. Li Yufang lived on the north kang of poor peasant Wang Tianyi's house. She lived with Wang Tianyi's second daughter, sixteen-year-old Wang Xiaoqiu. Wang Tianyi was the militia captain during the land reform. At sixty-two, he was still robust and looked remarkably young. He, his wife, and their second daughter lived a very comfortable life, with plenty of food and clothing and no worries. His eldest son and eldest daughter had both started their own families and lived in the village.
One morning, Xiao Wenli, who had just finished breakfast, was mysteriously summoned to the east room by Old Mrs. Qin. After closing the door tightly, she whispered, "District Chief Xiao, I just heard some news, but I don't know if I should tell you." "---Auntie, from now on just call me Xiao Xiao, don't keep calling me District Chief. I'm not even as old as your son! What is it? Just tell me." Since moving into Old Mrs. Qin's house, Xiao Wenli had gotten along exceptionally well with them, and he didn't want the form of address to hinder his emotional connection with the two elderly women, so he spoke. "Well, I have to tell you now—I just heard people saying that Village Chief Feng's eldest brother, Feng Yingliang, second brother, Feng Yingmin, and brother-in-law, Liu Sihou, each rode their horses to the Qinghe Town government early this morning to report you. What should we do?" she said urgently. "Is this true? Who told you?" Xiao Wenli asked. "It should be accurate. It was Old Li's wife from the East Courtyard who went to buy tofu early this morning and met them at the village entrance. There was also a large crowd watching the commotion. The Feng family and their group were making a ruckus, saying they were going to sue you for forcing them to join the commune—" She finished recounting everything she had heard in one breath. Then, she seemed hesitant to speak, leaving District Chief Xiao puzzled. He patiently waited for her to continue, utterly perplexed. "—Well, these past few days, I've been cooking for you and observing you closely. You young people are all very nice—" she seemed unable to finish her sentence. “Aunt Qin, you’re so impatient! What’s wrong? Just tell us. We’re like children in front of you. There’s nothing we can’t say!” “Really? Okay then. I’ll tell you. --Well--I think it’s perfect for you and Deputy Mayor Li Yufang to be a couple. My uncle also says you two are a match made in heaven. You’re about the same age, and your height and build are just right. You’re both former soldiers, and now you’re both government employees and cadres. Besides, you’re at the age where you should be getting married. I’ve been thinking of finding an opportunity to play matchmaker for you two. If you get together, you can live twenty years longer! --Haha! What do you think?” she asked eagerly. “Thank you, Aunt Qin! My parents are also urging me to get married! I’m
so busy with work right now, I don’t have time for that! Besides, I don’t even know what Deputy Mayor Li means or what she’s thinking. Did she ask you to bring this up?” he said. "You don't need to worry about that. Just tell me if you like her or not. I'll handle things on her end!" she pressed. Aunt Qin seemed a bit impatient, as if someone had paid her to be a matchmaker. Back then, when people were dating, the old matchmaker would run back and forth, offering uncertain "backstabs" to leave room for both sides and avoid awkwardness. "I have no objections. She comes from a poor peasant family, served in the army, received years of education, has high class consciousness, is politically reliable and has a firm stance—that's enough!" District Chief Xiao said with satisfaction, stating the political vetting standards for marriage back then. "Alright, I'll reply to you this afternoon. Then you two can chat some more." She was the type of person who wasn't in a hurry, but the eunuchs were. In this village, every spring, their family was the first to plant; in autumn, they were the first to harvest; they were the first to deliver grain to the government; even on New Year's Eve, before the New Year's Eve dinner, their family was the first to light the firecrackers, giving the whole village the first bang! All year round, every morning his chimney was the first to puff smoke, signaling the start of breakfast. If the chimney didn't puff smoke one day, the villagers would say, "The old couple's probably off visiting their son in Tangshan again!
" The eldest son of the Feng family, along with his younger brother and brother-in-law, rode at breakneck speed, crossing mountains and rivers, finally arriving at the town government compound before the officials started work. They easily met with Yang Yiguang, the town party secretary. Feng Yingliang pulled out a letter from his pocket, listing eight "crimes" written by his younger brother, Village Chief Feng, and handed it to Secretary Yang. Yang Yiguang, after reading it, angrily said, "Are you kidding me or courting death? Xiao Wenli is the head of a district; I'm his subordinate. You want me to deal with him? Damn it, you've come to the wrong place. He's a higher-ranking official than me; I can't control him. Understand? A bunch of idiots, get out! Get far away!" "Don't curse! Where do we go to file a complaint?" the three asked unwillingly. "You're so damn uncultured! Everyone in the district, county, and city can control him, but I can't. Get out of here!" Yang Yiguang smugly dismissed the three men.
Yang Yiguang was a veteran township secretary. He had originally thought that with the establishment of the district government, the position of district head was a sure thing for him. But to his utter surprise, the county committee sent Xiao Wenli. Therefore, he had never looked down on this baby-faced district head. From the trial of the primary agricultural cooperatives, he could see his resistance and his intention to embarrass District Head Xiao. Therefore, he didn't support the work, didn't remove relevant township cadres to cooperate, and only sent Deputy Township Head Li, who was in charge of agriculture, to handle the task. He hoped the district work team would cause some major trouble and embarrassment to vent his jealousy and hatred.
That afternoon, Xiao Wenli and Li Yufang were called to the east room by Old Mrs. Qin. Previously, Old Mrs. Qin had talked to them separately about finding partners, but now that it was really getting serious, they both felt very awkward. "You two both told me that the other has no objections, so you two can talk. I'll go boil some water for you!" The old lady deliberately slipped out. "I think we're quite suitable for each other. The higher-ups stipulate that men can get married at 20 and women at 18, and we're both over that age now. If we don't get married soon, we'll be too old!" Xiao Wenli felt he lacked education and shouldn't say too much. He already knew that Li Yufang had been a cultural instructor in the army, so he held back some of his thoughts. "Well, we still need to submit a report for approval from the higher-ups. It won't work if the organization doesn't approve. Will you write the report, or should I?" she asked shyly. "Are you kidding me? You know how incompetent I am. Are you making things difficult for me? I beg you, you write it! Don't you know I'm a rough man?" he said self-consciously.
District Party Secretary Hao Yiqun received the three petitioners from the Feng family in his office. After reading the petition, he said nothing, telling them to leave the letter and go back to their village to hear their message. After the three left, he instructed Secretary Huang to call the Qinghe Town government and notify District Chief Xiao and his party to return to the district government immediately. In those early years, conditions were limited, and transportation below the county level was extremely backward. Counties were only equipped with a dozen or so mules and horses, while districts and townships relied entirely on foot. Even postmen carried large mailbags over mountains and valleys to deliver mail; bicycles only gradually became available in the early 1960s.
The expected thing finally happened. In the office of District Party Secretary Hao Yiqun, after listening to the work report from Xiao Wenli and two others, Hao Yiqun slammed the petition letter down in front of Xiao Wenli with a very serious expression. "Comrade Xiao Wenli, take a good look at this. This is your work achievement after half a month in Taipinghe Village!" Xiao Wenli glanced at it, only getting a general idea due to his limited literacy. He then turned and handed the letter to his finance assistant, Wen Baoxi, saying, "Read it to everyone. It saves everyone the trouble of reading it yourself!" "The gist of the letter is that District Chief Xiao and his work team, disregarding the lives of the people, forcibly forced farmers to join the cooperatives and threatened them. They divided the people into two groups: the wealthy were in one group, and the poor were in another. The wealthy joined the cooperatives, and the poor joined the groups. They gave us three days to submit our opinions, otherwise they would have to do as they said. We represent all the villagers to demand an explanation. We will continue to cultivate our own land and ask the work team to withdraw from the village as soon as possible. Comrade Xiao Wenli, you have arbitrarily altered the district committee's resolution and deviated from the county committee's guidelines, lines, and policies. Can you bear the responsibility? Why didn't you consult or report beforehand before this major change? Where is your organizational discipline and sense of responsibility? Now, the people are questioning your work. Your mistakes are serious. You are indifferent to the class feelings and class stance of the poor and lower-middle peasants. This work is related to the county committee's overall plan and the implementation of the strategic policy of the Party in rural work. Do you understand?"
Chairman xxx pointed out: "The masses are the true heroes, while we ourselves are often naive and ridiculous—" and also said, "The people, only the people, are the driving force in creating world history—" Is this how you treat the masses?" Hao Yiqun began to escalate the issue, doing everything he could to accuse Xiao Wenli of serious wrongdoing.
Xiao Wenli calmly replied, "Secretary Hao, your criticism is correct. However, I must tell you that the problem is not as serious as the letter suggests, nor as severe as you imagine. Those who came to complain are only from the Feng family faction, not the entire village. In the trial of the primary agricultural production cooperative in this village, there are two major contradictions. Wealthy households do not allow poor households to join, fearing they will take advantage, and they are also annoyed by the village's idlers, freeloaders, and errand runners who come to loaf around. On the other hand, people who are used to a lazy, undisciplined, and impoverished life, accustomed to freedom, are unwilling to join the collective production labor model. They do not want to be constrained or managed, so they do not want to exert themselves and still want to gain some benefits from the 'big group.'" These are the two contradictions that have emerged. To alleviate these contradictions, our district and town work teams held a meeting and unanimously agreed to a two-step approach: some members will join the cooperative, and some will join the group. This will allow them to fully utilize their abilities, making the most of the land and people's talents. After a year of trial implementation and comparison, they will naturally return to the cooperative. Hao Yiqun, already arrogant and self-righteous, considered himself the top leader, the supreme ruler of Quanshui District, whose word was law. He never expected that Xiao Wenli would dare challenge his authority and show him no respect in front of his three assistants. He felt that Xiao Wenli, a rough-around-the-edges military man who acted like a child, was so disrespectful. He felt that his power, prestige, and reputation did not allow him to remain indifferent. Hao Yiqun turned around, raised the teacup on the table high, and smashed it violently to the ground, shattering the porcelain shards everywhere. "Xiao Wenli, in the name of the district committee, I hereby announce the suspension of your work. How you will be dealt with will be determined by the county committee within three days. All of you, get out!" "Hao Yiqun, in a fit of rage, gesticulated wildly and drove Xiao Wenli and the others out of the secretary's office. From then on, the district party secretary and the district head completely fell out. Two tigers cannot share one mountain, but Assistant Liu said that this tiger only had a male and lacked a female.
Sure enough, on the morning of the third day, Han Ming, the head of the cadre section of the county party committee's organization department, and Wang Wenhua, a staff member, along with Hu, the deputy minister of the county party committee's rural work department, and Assistant Liu, came to Quanshui District to investigate the conflict between Xiao Wenli and Hao Yiqun, as well as the trial implementation of rural primary cooperatives and mutual aid groups in Taipinghe Village. The personnel from the organization department spoke separately with Hao Yiqun and Xiao Wenli, and also spoke privately with three district government assistants who were present at the time: Zhuang Jiawang, Wen Baoxi, and Bai Songli. Then they compiled all the interview transcripts and rode..." They rode back to the county seat. However,
Vice Minister Hu of the Rural Work Department and his entourage, carrying bags on their shoulders, rode off to Taipinghe Village to conduct investigations. They requested that district, town, and village officials recuse themselves so they could meet with the villagers alone to understand the entire process. Obtaining firsthand, authentic information was a personal arrangement made by County Head Wen Wubin before their arrival. Vice Minister Han directly met with three petitioners, including Feng Yingliang, and also visited retired Party members, retired cadres, some impoverished households, unemployed individuals, and vagrants. Finally, they convened a village meeting with over 80% of the villagers to listen to their opinions and held a public vote on the two production methods: cooperatives and mutual aid groups. The result was that 73.9% of the votes were in favor of joining either a cooperative or a mutual aid group. 3.

The two investigation teams returned to the county one after the other and reported their work to the county party committee and the county government respectively. Before leaving Taipinghe Village, Vice Minister Hu spoke with Xiao Wenli, praising Xiao Wenli's pilot project in Taipinghe Village and asking him to write a work report for the county party committee office. He repeatedly emphasized that this was an instruction from County Magistrate Wen Wubin. This stumped Xiao Wenli, as he was "barely literate" and his hands, which had been used for military affairs, were not suited for writing. Helpless, he handed the task over to Zhuang Jiawang. The method was for Zhuang to narrate, for Zhuang to listen and take notes, and then for Zhuang to organize the information.
Xiao Wenli, the district head who had been suspended from his post by the district party secretary, neither appealed nor petitioned. He took this opportunity to rest for a few days and, with nothing to do, wandered the streets alone. One day, he received a call from Li Yufang from Qinghe Town, saying that the organization department had approved their marriage application. Overjoyed, he aimlessly walked west along the main street. "District Head Xiao, you're busy!" The speaker was a man around thirty years old. District Chief Xiao turned to the man, looking at his face, trying to recall if he recognized him. Suddenly, he remembered: this man was Huang Yeqiu, the town's infamous "movement enthusiast." This man was about thirty-two or thirty-three years old, with a round head and large ears. Normally, he was like a smiling Buddha, always beaming and obsequious, a servile figure. However, whenever someone from above came to take charge of some central task, or when some kind of "movement" started, he would transform into a completely different person, busying himself with errands and arrangements. His pants were about to fall down. Under such circumstances, he would become popular for a while. He would inexplicably learn to blow whistles, bang gongs, and announce meetings. He would lead the chanting of various fashionable revolutionary slogans to create a lively atmosphere. In addition, he would work night shifts without pay, guard bad guys, boil water for visiting superiors, etc., and was very capable. When the central work came to an end and the movement ended, he was like a deflated balloon. He was also a lazy, gluttonous, and meat-loving vagrant.
Seeing his cunning look, Xiao Wenli said, "Where have you been complaining these past few days? Are you short of money for food and drink again?" "No, no, why would I complain! I received the ten yuan relief fund you approved last time, District Chief Xiao, and I haven't spent it yet! I heard from someone that you're getting married, and I wanted to help you with the arrangements. It's no problem for me to do a little work!" "Where did you hear that? Where did you hear that?" "Xiao Wenli asked in surprise. "Oh my! How could you keep your marriage a secret, District Chief Xiao? I heard about it the other day when I visited my second aunt in Qinghe Town. Everyone knows that the town mayor surnamed Li married her superior, District Chief Xiao. They even said it was your landlady Li Dashan's wife who introduced them, and everyone is waiting to drink your wedding wine." This kid, showing off his cleverness, rattled off a whole bunch of stories, constantly trying to appear as if he were a well-informed person. "Ah! Getting married is inevitable. But not recently, so just patiently wait to drink your wedding wine!" Xiao Wenli responded to him indifferently and continued walking westward. He had no intention of paying him any attention, nor did he want to hurt the pride of such a person; it was best not to provoke him.
In those days, there were no laws governing marriage between men and women. Marriages among ordinary people were handled according to customs passed down from their ancestors. Locally, it was customary for a man to be seventeen and a woman sixteen or older, and for one family to send a matchmaker to propose marriage. Shortly after the proposal was accepted, the man's family would have a fortune teller calculate an auspicious date and hold a grand banquet to entertain neighbors and relatives. As long as the villagers recognized them, they were considered a legally married couple. In the event of a divorce, all that was needed was a "letter of divorce" from the man. When the two parties remarried, they could do so with just this letter. Otherwise, they would be considered "adulterous" or "broken shoes" by the neighbors.
For people of status or officials, the prerequisites for marriage were extremely strict. Both the man and woman had to submit reports to the personnel department of their respective work units or government agencies. Only after review and approval, and with an official document as proof, could their marriage be considered "legal." There was no need for extravagant celebrations. Those who could afford it would take a photo together at a photography studio, and then invite a few close colleagues, friends, and relatives from both sides to the new house to drink tea, eat melon seeds, smoke cigarettes, eat wedding candy, and offer congratulations, wishing them a happy marriage, a blissful life, and many children. It wasn't until the spring of 1953 that the central government promulgated its first "Marriage Law."
One morning two weeks later, Xiao Wenli and Li Yufang had their wedding photos taken at the Xinmin Photo Studio in the county town and returned to Quanshui District. As soon as they entered the secretary's office, Secretary Huang pushed them out and led them to the main conference room of the government office. All the district government officials who had been waiting there shouted congratulatory slogans, and the applause was deafening. Secretary Huang laid out the cigarettes, melon seeds, wedding candies, and fruit he had prepared beforehand on the long table, and also brought out the brewed tea. Because Secretary Hao of the District Committee was attending a meeting in the county, the wedding was officiated by Deputy District Head He Liyin. This action by the district officials completely bewildered Xiao Wenli and Li Yufang. They hadn't originally wanted to hold their wedding anytime soon, much less at the government office. They planned to use the May Day holiday, taking a few days off to return to Li Yufang's hometown in the countryside, and hold a wedding according to local customs. Now, faced with this "surprise" planned by well-meaning people, they could only accept it.
The next morning, after getting up from their temporary "bridal chamber" at the town's guesthouse, Xiao Wenli and Li Yufang quickly washed up and had breakfast. Xiao Wenli then went to his office. Li Yufang followed him to his office dormitory, where they collected a large pile of his accumulated dirty clothes, socks, sheets, and other items, and took them to the guesthouse to be washed. Secretary Huang, unaware that Xiao Wenli was in the agricultural office gathering information, ran to the guesthouse to call District Chief Xiao to answer a call from the county. Li Yufang, hearing it was a call from the county, knew something was amiss and returned with Secretary Huang to the government office to find Xiao Wenli. After answering the phone, Xiao Wenli told Li Yufang that Director Li of the County Party Committee Office had informed him that County Party Secretary Wen Wubin would speak with him in his office at 9:00 AM the following morning.
In Secretary Wen's office, Jiang Weitao, a member of the Standing Committee of the County Party Committee and Minister of the Organization Department, accompanied him. Secretary Wen Wubin was Xiao Wenli's former regimental political commissar in the army; their long-standing superior-subordinate relationship made Xiao Wenli much more relaxed, and he spoke frankly. Secretary Wen Wubin went straight to the point, announcing on the spot: Hao Yiqun was transferred to the County Archives Bureau as director; Xiao Wenli was appointed Secretary of the Quanshui District Party Committee and concurrently District Chief; Deputy District Chief Xiang Dongfang was appointed Deputy Secretary of the District Party Committee; and Zhuang Jiawang was appointed Deputy District Chief. Secondly, the county committee believes that Taipinghe Village's "two-pronged" approach—experimenting with primary agricultural production cooperatives and mutual aid groups—is correct and in line with the current rural realities of our county. Therefore, the county committee is satisfied with your work and affirms your methods and approach. Recently, the county will send a strong joint working group composed of relevant departments to Taipinghe Village to summarize the experience and hold an on-site meeting to promote it throughout the county. Your district should fully cooperate with the working group in all aspects, arranging accommodation and providing as much convenience as possible. Thirdly, considering the many inconveniences your married life with Li Yufang will bring, it has been decided to transfer Li Yufang to the position of deputy director of the county women's federation.
Xiao Wenli, who has little education, was extremely excited after hearing Secretary Wen's announcement and speech. He was filled with gratitude but didn't know where to begin, his mind overflowing with thoughts he couldn't express. He immediately stood up, legs straight, right hand with fingers together above his head, and gave a standard military salute. Then he shouted, "I guarantee to complete the mission!" Minister Jiang, seeing this, couldn't help but laugh heartily. Secretary Wen, being a former soldier, naturally understood the true meaning behind Xiao Wenli's actions, while Minister Jiang found Xiao Wenli somewhat eccentric.
Spring arrives late in the mountains. In southern Liaoning and other parts of the Guanzhong Plain, it's already early summer, with locust blossoms filling the air and cicadas chirping in the branches. But in these mountains, peach blossoms, pear blossoms, apricot blossoms, and azaleas are just beginning to bloom, like shy maidens, their red lips and pink cheeks welcoming bees and butterflies. Truly, "In the human world, April's flowers have all faded, but in the mountain temple, peach blossoms are just beginning to bloom!" Nevertheless, spring has arrived. It has finally arrived, belatedly, in this seemingly forgotten land of northern Liaoning, in the spring-fed region at the foot of the Daqingdingzi Mountains.
Overnight, without anyone noticing, peach blossoms have turned the southern mountains and northern valleys red, and pear blossoms have turned half the hillsides white. Tree after tree, patch after patch, seen from afar, in the bright sunshine and thin mist, red like the evening glow, white like floating clouds—absolutely beautiful and captivating. In the northern mountains, wild boars roam and tigers and leopards lurk, making the narrow pine-covered slopes always gloomy, like a fierce face that deters people. But now, they seem to suddenly transform from menacing to welcoming, becoming lush and vibrant with green leaves. A year passes in the blink of an eye, and Xiao Wenli has been serving as the district party secretary for three years. In these three years, he has led the cadres and masses of the three townships and one town in the district, working diligently and practically, rapidly transforming the agricultural production structure from the mutual aid groups and primary cooperatives of the past to the advanced agricultural cooperatives of the county. Xiao Wenli has also transformed from a tough soldier into a young leader with experience in rural grassroots work.
In these three years, Xiao Wenli's family has grown with two more children: a three-year-old son, Xiao Wu, and a two-year-old daughter, Xiao Wen. Both children are cared for by their maternal grandmother, Li Yufang, who is now seven months pregnant with her third child, yet still insists on going to work at the county women's federation every day. Over the past three years, significant changes have taken place at the county, district, and township levels. Firstly, the county acquired automobiles and established a vehicle fleet. Six Soviet-made GAZ-52 jeeps were neatly arranged in the courtyard, creating an impressive sight. The horses of yesteryear were nowhere to be seen, and the economic situation had greatly improved. The Quanshui District government also received a Czech-made 205 seven-seater jeep from the county, equipped with front and rear auxiliary power, making it very convenient for use on mountain roads. The three townships and one town also saw noticeable changes. Each township was equipped with a 20-line telephone exchange, and every village had telephone access. Townships established broadcasting stations, health clinics, livestock stations, middle schools, and central primary schools. Township government officials were also equipped with a "Forever" brand bicycle for convenient use when going to the countryside. These improvements greatly enhanced the enthusiasm and work efficiency of government officials. In
the spring of 1955, Xiao Wenli led cadres at all levels throughout the district in responding to the county committee's call to actively study, implement, and publicize the report "On the Issue of Rural Collectivization" by xxx. This sparked a surge in efforts to further consolidate and expand advanced agricultural cooperatives. With a clear and unified document in place, Xiao Wenli was full of energy and his confidence soared. He continuously studied various subjects to meet the needs of his work. That year, the "conscription system" was implemented nationwide. The Quanshui District government promptly organized eligible young people to study this first military service law since the founding of the People's Republic of China, and also held military-civilian exchange activities with nearby garrisons. By the end of the year, they had exceeded their conscription target, earning praise from Secretary Wen of the County Party Committee on several occasions. On one occasion, at a meeting of county-level government officials, Secretary Wen specifically said, "Xiao Wenli from Quanshui District, although uneducated and often called a 'roughneck,' I see he handles his work very meticulously! He's very intelligent and has a clear work plan! He's among the top in the county! Who says he's rough? There are quite a few 'meticulous cadres' here; reflect on your work! Do you dare to compete with Xiao Wenli?" From then on, Xiao Wenli became famous and enjoyed immense prestige throughout the county.
In October of that year, Xiao Wenli's third child, his second son Xiao Zhang, was born. His comrades joked with him, "You have a child every year, that's quite a prolific woman! Is your wife made of iron or a robot?" He laughed and replied, "Didn't 'xxx' say that Chinese women are a great human resource, and we must tap into this resource. Let them contribute their labor and effort to our cause—making the best use of everyone's talents and the land!" He indicated that he would have a fourth child.
From September 5th to 20th, 1958, under instructions from higher authorities, Xinhua County merged its 98 advanced agricultural production cooperatives into 9 people's communes. After the merger, a large number of district and township cadres were streamlined, and the entire county was transformed into a people's commune. In recent years, cadres at all levels and the general public throughout the county had undergone education through various activities and movements, including the "Marriage Law," the "Conscription System," the "Rectification Campaign," the "Anti-Rightist Campaign," the "Three-Anti and Five-Anti Campaigns," and the "On the Issue of Cooperativization." In particular, the campaigns to eliminate the "Four Pests" (flies, mosquitoes, rats, and sparrows), the "Rectification Campaign," and the "Great Leap Forward" and "Anti-Rightist Campaign" not only honed the leadership skills of cadres but also enhanced the patriotism and cohesion of the people. Therefore, the merger work proceeded very smoothly during the implementation of the people's commune system. Adhering to the principle of "selflessness and public service," the Quanshui District was also abolished. Following closely, the nationwide Great Leap Forward's steelmaking campaign and the "Autumn Plowing" fervor in Northeast China swept across the land, unstoppable and surging, instantly creating wave after wave of movement climaxes throughout Liaoning Province.
The abolition of districts and the merging of communes occurred overnight, and Xiao Wenli was transferred to Nantun Town by a simple document from the county committee. Embodying the decisive and efficient style of his military days, he carried his well-worn military blanket, satchel, and canteen, and rode his bicycle for over ninety li (approximately 45 kilometers) through the mountains to Nantun Town, one of the nine townships, to assume the position of town party secretary. The
current Nantun Town is a town government formed by merging the former four townships and one town, directly under the county's jurisdiction. Nantun Town is located in a hilly area, with a semi-mountainous terrain in the west. It borders the county seat, Xinhua Town, 42 kilometers to the north, accessible only by a rural road. Nantun Town enjoys a pleasant climate, characterized by ample sunshine, balanced heat and frost-free period, distinct monsoon climate, cool winters and summers, and four distinct seasons. The town is surrounded by mountains, with rolling hills in the center. Mountainous areas cover 659 square kilometers, accounting for 92% of the total area. The terrain is high in the northeast, southwest, and central parts, and lower in the northwest and southeast, with open land along the banks of the Mangniu River. The town has a total cultivated land area of 105,949 mu and a forest area of 345,000 mu. The town has 52 production brigades and 297 production teams, with a current population of 74,482. The town government is located in Nantun Brigade, accessible by car to the county seat, making a daily round trip. The main crops of the production teams are corn, sorghum, soybeans, and millet, with a small amount of rice. Town-run enterprises include ginseng farms, shiitake mushroom gardens, black fungus bases, and pig farms.
After the people's commune system was implemented, the system was "three-level ownership (commune, production brigade, production team), with the team as the basic unit." Labor was provided collectively, and work points were recorded. After the harvest, the points were calculated and distributed to individuals in cash. The production system transitioned from individual households and groups to a collectivized, planned economy characterized by unified allocation of labor, planned crop planting, unified management of means of production, and unified distribution of profits. This essentially ensured everyone had food and work, with little to no management responsibility; the team leader had the final say. However,
the cadre system became extremely unstable. Before the mergers, districts and townships were nearing capacity for low-ranking officials; during the mergers, significant reductions occurred, leading to a severe shortage of personnel after a period of operation. As the revolutionary situation developed, the number of commune committees, governments, and counterpart units with higher-level departments increased. Officially employed cadres were severely overworked, significantly impacting all aspects of work. In response, local governments recruited "part-time worker, part-time farmer" cadres, also known as "combined worker and farmer" personnel, to fill in for them. The specific method involved selecting outstanding young people aged 18-30 from each production brigade—those with strong revolutionary backgrounds, unmarried, with junior or senior high school education, and possessing certain special skills. These individuals were recommended by poor and lower-middle peasants, reviewed by the brigade's Party branch, approved by the commune management committee, and finally appointed by the commune's Party committee before being allowed to work in the commune office. These people were managed as cadres, on a semi-full-time basis, meaning they worked in the commune office for six months, earning a monthly salary of 25.80 yuan; then they would return to their original production team, where they would participate in manual labor for six months, enjoying the same benefits as commune members and earning work points. They would be managed by the production team for six months. In some places, these cadres were called "part-time worker/part-farmer" cadres. Regardless, no one, and no organization, provided any information on when they would be officially promoted or given a permanent position. Despite this, it remained an unattainable dream for most rural youths, a mere pipe dream, a yearning to escape rural life and find a way out. They racked their brains, relied on relatives and friends, and dreamt of becoming "semi-full-time" cadres.
What troubled Xiao Wenli and Mayor Xiang Dongfang the most was that the original four townships had a total of 83 cadres in their staff. After the top two leaders were transferred out, there were still 4 deputy secretaries, 12 deputy township heads, 4 deputy chairmen of the people's congress, and 4 armed forces ministers. These leaders at the deputy section chief level and above occupied the authorized positions, but the leadership staff was seriously overstaffed. Originally, 2 deputy secretaries, 4 deputy township heads, 1 deputy chairman of the people's congress, and 1 armed forces minister would have been a normal staffing and could have carried out the work perfectly well. Now there were too many leaders and redundancies. The county government had been slow to respond, and Xiao Wenli had repeatedly asked the organization department to make adjustments as soon as possible, but there was no follow-up. After the implementation of the commune system, several new counterpart township government agencies were established to support various county departments, such as: eliminating illiteracy and implementing amateur education (establishing an assistant for vocational education), carrying out rural cultural activities (establishing a cultural station director), classifying government accounts (establishing an accountant), and strengthening public security (establishing a special police commissioner). The Communist Youth League Committee and the Women's Federation were established, and one secretary of the Youth League Committee and one director of the Women's Federation were also appointed. These are just the internal departments of the government offices, and they are constantly being expanded. The number of departments and units directly under the town and township governments has increased even further, including: a broadcasting station, an agricultural station, a seed station, a water conservancy station, a livestock station, an agricultural machinery station, a forestry station, a grain and oil supply station, a health center, and primary and secondary schools; each department has anywhere from three to five people to more than ten or twenty. Most of these are temporary workers, substitute teachers, or privately-run teachers. This has brought considerable workload and difficulty to the town's cadre management work. These people have different personalities, temperaments, and qualities.
Adding to their pressure and difficulty was the nationwide steelmaking campaign. This was a hard target, a strategic and serious political task from higher authorities, and a central task for the entire town. The entire town mobilized teachers, students, and staff of schools, the vast rural population, and cadres of town and township governments—everyone with the ability to participate, young and old, men and women alike. Men with good physical strength went to the mountains to find iron ore; women and children searched for scrap metal in the villages. In various places, villages, hamlets, and work units primarily used makeshift methods to build iron-smelting furnaces, and smoke billowed everywhere as steel was being smelted. This was the "Three Red Banners" movement (the General Line, the Great Leap Forward, and the People's Communes), which was highly patriotic at the time. Anyone who did not support, participate in, or respond to the movement was labeled a "rightist." They were then subjected to organized criticism and
public humiliation, paraded through the streets, designated as counter-revolutionaries, placed under control, and subjected to the dictatorship of the proletariat. The enthusiasm of the masses for labor and their patriotism reached unprecedented heights. They fought passionately on the front lines of the Great Leap Forward in steel production. With revolutionary dauntless spirit, they battled against nature to achieve high yields, smelting high-quality iron and steel, working day and night. Encouraged by broadcasts, slogans, and banners, and propelled by the sea of red flags and the tide of songs, people consciously transformed the various instructions from higher authorities into their own actions. People donated their ancestral scraps of copper and iron, old pots, iron cart parts, shovels, picks, three-pronged hooks, two-pronged rakes, broken iron pipes, old water buckets—anything related to iron and steel—without compensation. These were then used in various small blast furnaces for iron smelting.
Simultaneously, the autumn plowing campaign reached its climax. This was the pace and intensity of the "Great Leap Forward." The slogan at the time was: "Cross the Yellow River, cross the Yangtze River, catch up with America and surpass Britain!" The nationwide autumn plowing slogan was: "Dig one shovelful of soil, one mu is equivalent to two mu!" In those days, the most fashionable things were shouting slogans, posting banners, and planting red flags. Some intellectual, with a particularly sharp mind, could always come up with numerous slogans and banners, regardless of the time or movement. These things made people feel like they were on a spiritual opium, brimming with untapped energy and explosive power. Whatever the superiors say, the subordinates will do, execute, and complete without any compromise. The reality truly reflects the boundless vitality and power of the people's commune. During breaks from work, in the fields, and even on the way to and from work, young men and women commune members would spontaneously sing: "
The commune is an evergreen vine, the commune members are the gourds on the vine,
the gourds are connected to the vine, the vine holds the gourds,
the stronger the vine, the bigger the gourd, the fatter the vine, the sweeter the gourd---."
This fashionable song was catchy and easy for everyone to sing. At that time, people's only hope was collective prosperity, and the commune was their home. In the fields after the autumn harvest, red flags were like a sea, and songs were like a tide. Various slogan boards stood tall, colorful flags fluttered in the wind, and slogans in different accents from all over the country burst forth from the heart. The loudspeakers kept broadcasting articles of praise: Zhang Laosan dug the ground all morning without rest; Li Laosi sacrificed his small family for the greater good, donating both of his shovels to the digging army; Wang Ermazi was so tired from digging that his pants fell down; Gao Laowu, the squad leader, was so tired that he had blisters on his lips, trembling legs, yellow urine, couldn't sleep, and woke up in the middle of the night howling in pain. These mobilization efforts, leveraging their strengths, provided spiritual nourishment, boosted morale, and recharged the participating masses, playing a significant role.
In the pre-mechanized era, people used the most primitive tools—shovels and picks. Standing one meter apart, they formed long, single-file lines, like a human wall, shoveling down the topsoil and turning up the subsoil. Officially, this was called "soil replacement." The benefits were twofold: first, autumn plowing could kill pests and diseases by freezing them; second, loosening the soil could increase grain yield. At the time, an old farmer said that turning the land like this, with the subsoil turned up, would make the ground cold, and the crops would definitely suffer a reduction in yield. As a result, he was labeled a counter-revolutionary and, during a public denunciation session, in a fit of rage, someone broke three of his ribs. Years later, scientific analysis and practice proved the old farmer right. However, it was impossible to exonerate him. Why? You understand. Such incidents were commonplace. The most frequently shouted slogan was, "The bolder the people, the greater the harvest."
This autumn plowing campaign was unprecedented in the county's history in its scale and momentum. All county-level government departments, communes, towns, production brigades, and production teams, as well as all departments directly under the commune, suspended production, work, and classes. Regardless of age or gender, from the elderly to the young, those who could participate went to the front lines, while those who couldn't engaged in combat were assigned to propaganda. Everyone contributed and everyone received education. Every conversation revolved around "autumn plowing," and thoughts of "autumn plowing" permeated every meal and sleep; everything was for "autumn plowing." This movement lasted for fifteen days before finally ceasing. During the movement, various mass organizations, to demonstrate their presence and role, formed various organizations. The Women's Federation established a "Women's Half the Sky Combat Team" to support the central work of the Party; the town's Youth League established a "Youth Assault Team"; the Armed Forces Department organized militia members into a "Daredevil Team"; the town's Education Committee organized primary and secondary school arts leaders into a performance troupe to conduct battlefield performances for the "One Refinement, One Digging" movement; and the health center's medical staff organized a "Battlefield Medical Team" to serve on the front lines. The people's thoughts and actions were unified to an unprecedented degree.
Secretary Xiao's local activities, imbued with a military flavor, were highly praised and promoted by County Party Secretary Wen, who also had a military background. A county-wide on-site meeting was solemnly held here, where Secretary Xiao said: "The higher authorities clearly required that the two campaigns of 'Great Leap Forward' and 'Great Autumn Plowing' must be carried out with the active participation of the broad masses of people. Their subjective initiative, their enormous energy and potential, and the whole nation working together, with everyone striving to be pioneers, have made a great contribution and achieved considerable success in winning the final victory of these two campaigns. Comrade Xiao Wenli's organizational, leadership, and coordination abilities are undeniable. He is conscientious and responsible in his work, dares to innovate, and implements the county party committee's resolutions and calls with a resolute attitude, decisive action, and brilliant results! He is worthy of serious study by cadres at all levels throughout the county."
Immediately afterward, new instructions came from higher authorities to launch a major re-education campaign on the "fish and water relationship" between cadres and the masses. Cadres at all levels of government were to go deep into the countryside and implement the "three-together" activities of "eating, living, and working together" with the vast number of poor and lower-middle peasants. This was in response to the call of the great leader xxx: "--the people are the true heroes, and we ourselves..." "Self-centeredness is often naive and laughable; --- the people, only the people are the driving force in creating world history---." After some discussion, Secretary Xiao and Mayor Xiang divided the town into four major areas (based on geographical location), with general cadres assigned to production teams, deputy leaders to production brigades, and deputy leaders of the Party Committee assigned to specific areas. It was stipulated that each cadre must spend at least twenty days per month in the villages, except for special business or meetings. Cadres going to the villages were required to bring their own bedding, toiletries, simple changes of clothes, and medicine. They were all provided with meals. Meals were distributed, with each person paying four ounces of grain coupons and one jiao (0.1 yuan) per meal.
Formal state cadres ate "imperial grain," which they could obtain from grain stores using their grain supply booklets. However, those cadres who were "part-time workers and farmers" faced far more trouble. To obtain grain coupons, they first had to haul their unprocessed grain from home to a grain depot several miles away for weighing, grading, moisture analysis, and receipt processing. The unprocessed grain had to be converted into refined grain before they could finally receive local grain coupons. They also had to obtain an advance on their monthly salary from the agency's finance department and then exchange it for smaller denominations at the supply and marketing cooperative.

4.
The town government and its directly affiliated agencies have a total of 129 cadres, including 95 on the official payroll and 34 acting cadres on behalf of farmers. Secretary Xiao, using the initial "spiritual nourishment" as motivation, seconded 80 cadres to the front-line production brigades and teams for "three-way interaction" (living, working, and being with the people). This ensured that each team in the town had at least one town cadre engaged in "three-way interaction" with the people. Only the secretary and accountant remained in the town government offices to manage operations, answer phones, and handle business. Similarly, only one person remained in the directly affiliated agencies to handle administrative tasks. This approach both increased their workload and improved their work efficiency, while also developing their work abilities. It also more effectively implemented the directives from higher authorities. The general policy of "more, faster, better, and more economical" for building socialism was put forward.
After more than half a month of practical work and discussions with the members of the production team, Secretary Xiao received unanimous praise and strong feedback from them. This further boosted his confidence, and he deeply felt that his initial choice was correct, timely, and absolutely necessary. He decided to summarize this period of work, write a report, and submit it to the county committee. However, due to his limited education, he could only ask for help from Jiang Xiaolan, the village cadre and women's director. But after hearing this, Jiang Xiaolan said, "Secretary Xiao, although I am a vocational school graduate, I studied medical nursing. How could I write any reports? How about this, contact the middle school and borrow a Chinese teacher to write it? That would solve everything!" She looked at Secretary Xiao with great enthusiasm. "Haha--, my brain is really bad! How come I didn't think of this!" "Xiao Wenli said.
Twenty-two-year-old Jiang Xiaolan had been working in the town government for a year after being assigned from the county personnel bureau. She was a vocational school graduate, unmarried, and of average appearance; her parents were farmers in the countryside. This time, she was assigned to work in the Longtan brigade, a task assigned by Mayor Xiang, along with Secretary Xiao. Because Secretary Xiao frequently went to the county or returned to the town for meetings, Jiang Xiaolan was basically the only one covering the assigned area. She was young, outgoing, energetic, and easy-going; the local poor and lower-middle peasants all liked her.
The town middle school had three Chinese language teachers. They were graduates of Northeast Normal University and Siping Teachers College, and all had been working for five years." The above-mentioned key teachers. Upon receiving the call, the principal dared not delay, considering it an official envoy from the town party secretary and a matter of great importance to the school's reputation. He dispatched Li Wenyu, the most outstanding of the three—a graduate of Northeast Normal University and head of the Chinese language group—to Longtan Brigade, the village assigned to Secretary Xiao. After a brief self-introduction, Secretary Xiao outlined several requirements, demanding that the materials be completed within two days and submitted to the county party committee in one go. He also instructed the brigade secretary to arrange the best accommodations and meals for Teacher Li, to convene various meetings, seminars, and visits from all levels of government, and to provide comprehensive support for whatever Teacher Li needed.
Speaking of Wu Anyang, the brigade secretary, he was indeed a figure in Nantun Town. In terms of family background and personal class, he was even worse off than the poor and lower-middle peasants—he came from a hired laborer background. While the poor and lower-middle peasants were only considered semi-proletarians, Wu Anyang was a full-fledged proletarian. During every political movement, no matter how much they investigated his lineage, he couldn't even trace his parents' origins. He didn't know when, where, or who had brought him to Nantun Town. There was no need to investigate his grandfather or grandfather's father. Naturally, there were no uncles, aunts, or other relatives. His political history was clean, and his social relationships were uncomplicated—truly "simple and honest." At the time, he was highly sought after, a reliable catch who could practically fly and travel abroad. Unfortunately, he lacked the education to fly airplanes, and he couldn't read or understand foreign languages, even speaking Mandarin haltingly. He often regretted his bad luck, being born in the old society and growing up in dilapidated temples and ancestral halls. During the land reform, he was only in his early twenties and had been working as a gong player in a temple on Beishan Mountain in Nantun Town for nearly five years. He did odd jobs, ran errands, taught others, brewed tea and water, swept the courtyard, gathered firewood, and guarded the temple. He had to be mindful of the elders' moods every day, which was quite arduous. Of course, he also suffered unexpected slaps and physical abuse. At a rally for liberated peasants to vent their grievances, he tearfully recounted: "I ate rice soaked in tears, drank soup made of bitter gall, had my head beaten like a wooden fish, and my neck used as a bench. When I was seventeen or eighteen, my tattered pants still showed half my buttocks. I couldn't even find a rope to hang myself."
That year, Wu Anyang was designated a "land reform activist" by the work team. Based on his qualifications, he could have easily become a "comrade" in uniform with a gold pen in his pocket. However, Wu Anyang, who had just risen from the lowest of the low to the highest, failed the test and stumbled on the gleaming, reflective surface of class position. The land reform work team sent him to the home of a fleeing landlord in the town to guard his valuables, but he slipped and fell into the water, landing headfirst on an ivory bed, where he became intimately acquainted with the landlord's abandoned concubine. It was as if he had finally tasted the sweetness of "turning the tables." Previously, he had never dared to even glance at his concubine, that scoundrel, but now she was his possession, his pleasure, his complete enjoyment. This sense of "turning the tables," of course, was not permitted by the People's Government's policies, and was strictly forbidden by the work team's discipline—absolutely intolerable. That concubine, for using her "honey trap" on the "land reform activist," received her due punishment. Wu Anyang's "land reform activist" status also lost his promising future of being promoted to "comrade." Otherwise, Wu Anyang wouldn't be the brigade secretary today; he would at least be a county-level official driving a jeep and managing hundreds of thousands of people.
Wu Anyang wept bitterly before the work team, slapping himself repeatedly until blood flowed from both corners of his mouth. The work team, considering his deep-seated resentment and earnest repentance, preserved his status as a hired laborer and his "land reform activist" status. He still received the same share of the "fruits of victory." He received clothes for all four seasons, a complete set of bedding, two mu of dry land, one mu of paddy field, and two red-brick houses in the main town. He completely forgot to ask for farm tools and oxen as well. At that moment, he was ecstatic, his brain had been kicked by a donkey!
Having received these spoils of victory, Wu Anyang was so happy he couldn't close his mouth or sleep for days and nights. He thought he was dreaming, dreaming of boundless wealth. Then, his vision blurred and he became dizzy, even having the most pessimistic and hopeless thought: Now that he, Wu, had these possessions, he could sleep soundly, eat whatever he wanted, have meat at every meal, drink a couple of ounces of wine with every meal, and even if he sold the houses, he could live for another ten or eight years. Now, with the effective leadership of the xxx government and the great power of the People's Government, the new society has a bright future. Judging from the documents and materials vigorously promoted by the work team comrades, in another ten or eight years, socialism will be built and communism will be established! By then, why not eat what the government provides, wear what the government provides, live in what the government provides, and take what the government provides? Even his own lean, hundred-pound body might belong to the government. Whenever he thought about how wonderful the new society would be, he would dance with joy, overjoyed.
As the saying goes, "Saving money is like gold picking up dirt, spending money is like sand being washed away by waves." "Sitting idle will deplete your resources." After several years of struggling, Wu Anshan hadn't married a woman, and he had sold off almost all of his share of the spoils. He was back to his impoverished state before the land reform. Whenever he saw other people who had been "active participants in the land reform" like him, they had become very successful in just a few years. They had bought oxen, property, built new houses, married new brides, and had children. Their families were all dressed in new clothes and living a prosperous life, which made him extremely envious. He longed for the day when there would be another land reform, and he could receive another share of the spoils of victory. "Damn it, if I ever get power and become a government official, I'll be classifying people by class every year; carrying out land reform every year; and redistributing floating assets every year. And first of all, I'll have to bring Li Xianwang's second daughter home to sleep with, making it a fait accompli—" Lying on his tattered mat, he propped his head up with his hands, smugly thinking about who should be classified as landlords, who should be classified as rich peasants, and who should be classified as poor and lower-middle peasants. And himself? Of course, he'd be the "Chairman of the Farmers' Association"! Besides me, who else is qualified for that position? Of course, he knew he was just having fun, just joking around!
Back when mutual aid groups and cooperatives were established, everyone knew Wu Anyang was lazy and couldn't do farm work, so no one wanted to take him in. It wasn't until the advanced cooperatives were established that he became a member. Agricultural cooperatives had directors, deputy directors, committee members, and many production teams under them. Meetings were held at any time, and someone always had to run errands and give orders. This necessitated finding someone with a good background, political reliability, and quick wit and agility to fill the position. Wu Anyang thus found himself in the right place at the right time, with a chance to prove himself. From then on, he was like a blade of grass in the temple, swaying in the wind. Wu Anyang
had another side to his character: he was always willing to help his neighbors. In town, except for the "five categories of bad elements," he would always be there uninvited for any family's celebrations, whether it was a baby's full moon celebration, an elder's birthday celebration, a wedding, or a funeral. He would assist the host with whatever he could, without asking for anything in return. He would bustle about, borrowing things, moving tables and chairs, working tirelessly, forgetting to eat or sleep, seeking nothing more than to join in the festivities and get some food and drink. Even on ordinary days, he was always willing to help out when someone was slaughtering a pig or sheep; mixing mud to build a stove, setting up a pot to boil water, scraping the hair and cleaning the intestines, running errands to buy wine, cigarettes, soy sauce, and so on. Therefore, he unwittingly acquired a special identity in the village: "the 'public servant' of the people of Nantun Town."
Besides having some connections in town, he was also quite favored by the leaders. He, a bachelor, lived in two brick-and-tile houses allocated to him. The landlord's room had two beds facing each other on a heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed), quite spacious. Therefore, comrades from the county and district who came down for "assigned meals" generally preferred to rest in his room. In this way, Wu Anyang got to know some cadres at various levels from the county and district. These cadres, when they came to the countryside, were very particular about proletarian sentiment. They saw that even after the land reform and liberation, six or seven years later, Wu Anyang still couldn't afford to get married. He still had a broken stove and a tattered mat on his kang, and the worn-out cotton quilt emitted an unpleasant smell. He had returned to the state of a poor peasant, which made the cadres feel very sorry for him and very distressed. Therefore, every winter, when relief funds were allocated, and every spring and summer, during the lean season, Wu Anyang was often the first recipient of relief in the entire Nantun Town. And every now and then he would receive relief supplies like cotton-padded clothes and quilts! It seemed like all the revolution and struggle was for people like Wu Anyang. Wu Anyang's good fortune had arrived; things really do change. At the end of the year, he was inexplicably selected by the work team to participate in the county's "Remembering the Bitter Past and Appreciating the Sweet Present" lecture tour. He toured all the townships and towns in the county, and when he returned after three months, Wu Anyang was completely different from before, and people looked at him with new eyes. He was like a different person; his hair was neatly cut, his face wasn't as dark as before, and his face seemed to have gained a layer of flesh. He wore a brand-new black Zhongshan suit, which made him look very imposing, and a pair of yellow cloth-uppered rubber shoes fit him well. Even his speech was much "smoother" than before. However, what remained unchanged was his "character"—his pretentious and slippery "character."
Wu Anyang arrogantly slammed his letter of introduction as a Party member onto the town mayor's desk, much to the mayor's surprise. He thought to himself, "This kid's got some serious luck." He was truly impressed by his transformation in just a few days. He exclaimed, "Wow, Wu Anyang, you've really brought honor to our Nantun Town! You've only been away for three months and you've already joined the Party! That's impressive!" "Thank you for the compliment, Mayor. It's all thanks to the organization's excellent training and education. I'm really nothing special," Wu replied. After three months of traveling and lecturing, he had become proficient through training, practical experience, and practice. Later, Wu Anyang participated in various political movements and gradually matured. Two years ago, to strengthen the leadership of the Longtan Brigade, the town committee persuaded the old secretary to retire and specially appointed Wu Anyang as the Party branch secretary of the Longtan Brigade. He'd truly hit the jackpot!
No wonder he's a top student from Northeast Normal University. Teacher Li finished writing the materials in a little over two days, neatly copied them, and handed them to Secretary Xiao. They asked Secretary Xiao for his suggestions on revisions. Secretary Xiao knew his own limitations; reading through all 50-plus pages of material would be like going to war. But out of politeness, he said, "Thank you, Teacher Li, you've worked hard! I need to review this material tonight; I'm busy with work during the day. You go back to school first! I'll call you when I call." Teacher Li breathed a sigh of relief, got on his slightly worn bicycle, and rode back to school to complete the task.
The shrewd Jiang Xiaolan knew Secretary Xiao wasn't very literate, and reviewing the material would be a burden on him. Wanting to speak up but afraid of misunderstanding, she cleverly said, "Secretary Xiao, you've been working hard all day. How about I read the material aloud? You listen, and if there's anything that needs changing, just tell me. I'll write it down accurately and then have Teacher Li revise it. Is that alright?" She timidly looked at Secretary Xiao's face, afraid he might suddenly get angry or something unexpected might happen. Because these few words might seem disrespectful to the town party secretary, and could potentially lead to punishment.
"Haha! Comrade Xiao Jiang, you're so clever! You know my level, I'm not exactly educated! I'm not afraid to talk, but writing? Hey—it's heavier than holding a gun! I accept my fate, I'm just a roughneck! Dealing with pen and paper makes me uncomfortable, gives me a headache, and even makes my wounds infected." "It's not that serious. You all spent your best years on the battlefield. You missed the chance to study and learn to read, don't be too pessimistic. Just focus on getting the job done! Who cares about being rough or rough?" Jiang Xiaolan comforted Secretary Xiao, seeing that he hadn't gotten angry and must have his reasons.
Jiang Xiaolan then finished reading the material in about an hour. Secretary Xiao exclaimed excitedly, "Excellent, excellent, excellent! Not a single word needs to be changed, it's written so well. It's just like the tone of Secretary Wen's speech at the County Party Committee, it sounds really impressive!" Jiang Xiaolan also felt that it read smoothly, the wording was appropriate and the sentences were friendly, and the examples she cited were all things that had happened in Longtan Brigade, and it didn't go off-topic. Secretary Xiao asked Xiao Jiang to copy it over the night and keep a copy for herself, and mail another copy to the County Party Committee.

(This post was edited by Sunny with Cloudy Sides on 2017-07-29 at 10:38)

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(Documentary Literature) The Village Official Chronicles Original Work First Release on Caoliu

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