Chapter 5: The People's Commune

  "Looking for a house?" Lu Xueyou couldn't help but look embarrassed, to be honest, in this small county town of Qinglong, how many houses are available for rent? Even if there were any, Lu Xueyou wouldn't have access to such information.

  "Alas, unfortunately, our home only has one room. In the cold winter, I couldn't possibly sleep in the outer room." Lu Xueyou was indeed somewhat troubled.

  Lu Zhong smiled and said: "Alright, let's go out and find a small restaurant to drink a couple of cups. We'll talk about the house later."

  Lu Xue suddenly slapped his forehead and said, "I've got it! I have a colleague who should have an idle house. He was laid off last year and is having a tough time. If we rent his house, he'll definitely sublet it. I didn't know how to help him...". Saying this, he turned to Lu Zhong and said, "Zhongzi, don't worry, I'm not using you as a favor. This rent, I'll take care of it for you."

  Lu Zhong just smiled and said, "Same here."

  Lu Xue said: "I've already said I'm going, don't mention it again. Let's not talk about this for now, the day is still young, let's go take a look at the house first and settle this matter quickly."

  Lu Zhong nodded slightly.

  "That place is called Guo Zhuang, it's only 4 or 5 miles from the county town. The Guo Zhuang Commune... Ah, now it's called Guo Zhuang Township, and on the main street of Guo Zhuang Township, there's a highway, it's quite easy to walk. If you think it's inconvenient later, I'll find a car for you. Actually, this short distance is just a good exercise."

  Lu Zhong smiled and said, "Okay." Most of the houses in Qinglong County were family courtyards or public houses, which were not easy to rent. He had estimated that he could only find a bungalow in the suburbs. Then he said, "Brother, I came by car, I'll give you a ride."

  What? Lu Xue was taken aback for a moment.

  Following Lu Zhong out, they saw that outside was a small sedan. Lu Xueyou was even more surprised and said: "Zhongzi, is this your car?"

  Lu Zhong nodded: "My sister bought it for me."

  Lu Xue was silent for a moment, thinking that since childhood, Zuo had been restless and now he didn't know what kind of friends he had made.

  After sitting in the car for a while, Lu Xueyou said: "Zhengzi, we must be down-to-earth and do things practically."

  Seeing his sincere gaze, Lu Zhong's heart couldn't help but warm up a little, and he nodded slightly.

  The asphalt road is not difficult to walk, although it has been out of repair for many years. After leaving the county town, it took less than ten minutes to arrive at Guo Zhuang. The asphalt road runs through this small town.

  Immediately, "Little Potato" turned into the lower lane under Lu Xueyou's command. Although it was winter, the tire tracks left by bicycles during the rainy season had already dried up and formed a bumpy road unique to rural village roads.

  "Stop here." In front of a low courtyard, Lu Xueyou got out of the car and said, "I'll go in first to take a look and test his tone."

  It gets dark early in winter, and the headlights of the small potato car are dazzling. Voices can already be heard in the courtyard: "Who's outside?"

  Lu Xueyu immediately laughed and shouted: "Lao Bai, it's me." He walked over to push open the iron gate that was not locked, and soon, laughter and voices came from inside the courtyard.

  After waiting for about four or five minutes, Lu Xueyou walked back, followed by a middle-aged man in his 40s, dressed in typical peasant attire, with both hands tucked into his sleeves and his green pants rolled up, nodding and bowing with a somewhat sly demeanor.

  Lu Xue smiled and said to Lao Bai, "This is the Lu Zhēn I was telling you about. Just look at him, he's got a good aura about him, I guarantee he won't cause any trouble for you." Then he said to Lu Zhēn, "This is Old White, Big Brother Bái èr Qiáng."

  Bai Erqiang looked at Lu Zhong and smiled: "It's all good, it's all good. Zhong... Brother Zhong, shall we go in and take a look at the house?"

  Bai Erqiang led the way in front, with Lu Xueyou and Lu Zhong following behind him into the courtyard.

  "Alas, this Erqiang, was originally a good person, but since last year when Secretary Ma came over to implement 'contracting', he was fired by the new factory director, and his wife ran off with someone else. He seems to have been traumatized, and is increasingly fixated on money." Lu Xueyou sighed, whispering to Lu Zheng.

  There are two cherry trees in the courtyard, three rooms of main house, with chili peppers and corn hanging on the wall beside the window, a typical farmhouse yard, but still quite tidy.

  Bai Erqiang led Lu Zhong and Lu Xueyou to the western house, a very clean room with a desk, chair, red cabinet, and complete furniture.

  Bai Erqiang gestured inside the house and said, "Take a look, take a look. These pieces of furniture are not old. Ask around in Guo Village, is there anyone whose home is cleaner than ours?"

  Lu Xue smiled wryly and said, "Isn't it because your daughter is sensible? Helping you clean up this house every day?"

  Bai Erqiang chuckled and said, "Exactly, who cares whose daughter it is?" He then turned to Lu Zhong and said, "Zhongzi, what do you think? This is my daughter's room. If you're satisfied with it, I'll have her move to the back courtyard tonight to live with her sister."

  The room was filled with fresh air, which made people feel refreshed. Lu Zhong nodded and said, "Okay, just hope we didn't cause you any trouble?"

  Bai Erqiang had been paying attention to Lu Zhong's expression, and now he sighed and said: "Trouble is definitely added. You don't know, Zhongzi, in the front yard of my brother's house, I was treated like an enemy. Xiaofeng lives in her sister's house in the front yard, she must be bullied, but there's no way out. Now I'm unemployed and have no income, I have to supplement the family expenses. Can't let Xiaofeng go to the city to work, can we? She's still young, not enough age."

  "You don't have a place to stay?"

  Bai Erqiang smiled and said to Lu Zheng: "So I'm enduring the pain of cutting love, and also giving face to Xue. The house is rented to you, but it's not cheap, 10 bucks a month." Seeing that Lu Zheng was very satisfied, he raised the price on the spot.

  Lu Xue's eyes widened: "Lao Bai, why don't you just go rob it!"

  Bai Erqiang spread his hands: "If not, then forget it."

  Lu Zhong smiled and said, "Bai Ge, I don't need to rent a place to live. Your house has been vacant for over a year and no one has come to ask about it. After all, you're not renting out the entire courtyard, and those young couples who rent small apartments wouldn't look down on your place. So if we compare our situation to a buyer-seller relationship, this is called a buyer's market, where I have the upper hand and get to call the shots."

  Bai Erqiang blinked his small eyes and vaguely felt that it was indeed so.

  Lu Zhong said: "Alright, you're renting out the entire Qinglong suburban farmhouse, and the current market price is around 50-70 yuan per year. You're quite far from the county town, and you're only renting one room, so I'm not very satisfied with that. Originally, I wanted to try living here for a month first, but since your house looks clean, how about this: 5 yuan, if you agree, we can sign the contract; if not, then forget it."

  Bai Erqiang saw that Lu Zhong was not yelling at him, so he immediately lost his energy and said helplessly: "Okay, fine, 5 yuan is just 5 yuan."

  Lu Zhong nodded and said: "Then when can I move in?"

  "You just give me the money now and you can stay tonight!"

  Lu Zhong and Lu Xue have nothing to say to each other.

  ……

  Lu Zhong and Bai Erqiang finally agreed that Lu Zhong could move in on Tuesday evening. As for Lu Zhong's request to replace the door and window locks himself, Bai Erqiang also agreed.

  On the way back to the county town from Guo Village, Lu Xueyou sighed again and said that Bai Erqiang had changed so much that he almost couldn't recognize him. He also said: "I'm really worried about him now, don't take things at will in the future. Zhenzi, don't look at my face, I'll find it for you later?"

  Lu Zhong nodded: "Mm, let's stay for now and see if there's a more suitable place around here."

  However, Qinglong Ren, with the surname Bai, Lu Zhong vaguely thought of someone, and in his heart, he let out a soft sigh.

  They arrived at Lu Xueyou's house and saw that the lights were on in the courtyard. Lu Xueyou smiled and said, "My wife is back."

  Lu Zhong said: "I've got to see her, I've heard that your sister-in-law is quite beautiful."

  The car stopped and turned off the engine, then followed Lu Xue into the courtyard. Suddenly, a loud shout came from in front of the main hall: "Where have you been?!" A young woman with a fierce expression stood with her hands on her hips, looking like a tigress. Although she had a slender figure and a pretty face, her intimidating aura ruined her overall image, making her look more like a shrew.

  Lu Xue seemed to have gotten used to it and smiled: "Look, you're getting angry again. Let's go find a house with Zhenzi."

  Lu Zhong knew that this must be his sister-in-law, Ai Fang. During the time he stayed at the reception house, he hadn't seen her, so he smiled and went forward to greet her: "Sister-in-law."

  Ai Fang glanced at Lu Zhong, and from the puzzlement in her eyes, it was clear that she had no idea who Zhongzi was. Lu Xueyou must have rarely mentioned his hometown of Guangning to her.

  "Then you should wait for me to come back too? I thought someone had kidnapped you!" Aifang said with a huff, but in front of outsiders, her expression softened and she smiled at Lu Zhong, saying: "Have you eaten? Your big brother is really careless."

  Lu Xue muttered: "I left a note, it's on the coffee table..." and was immediately glared at by Ai Fang, so she didn't make another sound.

  Lu Zhong smiled and said, "Alright, you and big brother eat, I still have things to do, so I'll leave first." This sister-in-law, although polite on the surface, doesn't seem like a kind person either, why bother making people dislike her here.

  Who knew Ai Fang furrowed her brow and said: "Zhengzi, is that right? You're misunderstanding me because of how I look. Your big brother's friend, ask him, when have I ever taken advantage of you? No way, eat dinner first before leaving!"

  Lu Xueyou said beside him: "Zhengzi grew up in my house since childhood, just like my own brother."

  Ai Fang said: "Isn't this settled? With brothers coming home, not eating a meal is fine. Alright, you brothers go inside and chat, I'll cook." Then she asked Lu Zhong: "Do you eat spicy food? Is there anything you can't eat?"

  Lu Zhong smiled and said: "Nothing is forbidden."

  ……

  The next day was Sunday, Lu Zhong had nothing to do, so he drove down to Ma Touying.

  Thinking of Lu Xueyou and Ai Fang, the couple, I still feel warm in my heart, and I'm truly happy for Brother Lu Xueyou to have found a virtuous wife.

  Originally, today was supposed to be a day for house hunting. I had called the school of electromechanics yesterday to ask for leave, from Qinglong to Wushan, with current traffic conditions, even if driving a Santana, it would take four hours. So if I were to go to class, I could only head out on Saturday afternoon or evening, otherwise, if I left on Sunday, I'd have to get up at 2 or 3 am, drive all night, and arrive at school around 7 or 8 am, then immediately start learning, which is both time-consuming and exhausting.

  Since he had asked for leave, he should have rested, but Lu Zhong couldn't rest and was thinking about going to Xia Ma Touying and Qing Wa to understand the situation.

  When they arrived at Ma Touying, it was past 11 am. Lu Zhong had been there several times and was familiar with the place, so he headed straight for the state-run restaurant at the intersection of Dingzi Road. He planned to grab a quick bite there. In that very restaurant, Lu Zhong still remembered how he had scolded Old He, the principal, on one occasion. Who knows what Old He is up to now, after being purged from the education system?

  Many things are usually like this: there's a policy from above and countermeasures from below. If no one takes advantage of Lao He, his situation shouldn't be too bad.

  The restaurant's lobby was filled with the savory aroma of meat pies, and there were many people eating inside. As soon as Lu Zhong walked in, a big sister wearing a white apron came up to him with a smile on her face, and carefully found him a seat. She had long forgotten about Lu Zhong, but judging from her current behavior, Lu Zhong guessed that this state-owned restaurant must have been contracted out to an individual.

  In the restaurant, there were three to five tables of people, all dressed as peasants. However, Lu Zheng wore a gray Lenin suit and sat among them, not too conspicuous, but his temperament was clearly different. Even if others couldn't tell that Lu Zheng was a government official, at least at first glance, they would think he should be working in an office.

  After eating two pieces of meat pie, Lu Zhong came to the counter to settle the bill. In the humming sound of the large hall, he faintly heard a man's voice speaking in a familiar tone from the private room next to the counter, which seemed to be Zhao Pingfan.

  Lu Zhong could almost remember everything about the people and things that were important to him, such as writing down the addresses and phone numbers of old cadres' families in a car.

  Next stop is Ma Touying, I was originally planning to have a chat with Zhao Pingfan anyway.

  Then, someone in the room slapped the table: "Zhao Pingfan! Are you not thinking of doing this deputy director job anymore?! I'm telling you, Secretary Ma said that whoever makes him unhappy for a moment will make him unhappy for life! You do this job well, or get out of the way! What does it mean to represent the team leader and represent the villagers? Who are you negotiating with? What position are you standing on now?!

  Lu Zhong thought for a moment and then lifted the door curtain and walked in.

  A round table in a luxurious room was laden with sumptuous dishes, and a group of people were seated around it. Zhang Ming-sheng, the Party Secretary of Ma Touying Commune, was also present. He had an old relationship with Lu Zhong, and they had drunk together at this very restaurant before.

  Zhao Pingfan didn't seem to be a guest at this table, standing at the door with his back to Lu Zhen. Although Lu Zhen couldn't see his expression, he could tell that he was definitely very excited now from the slight trembling of his shoulders.

  Scolding Zhao Pingfan was a stout cadre, white and clean, with a swollen body. At this time, the cadre was looking at Zhang Mingsheng and said: "Secretary Mingsheng, your cadres in Mahetang are really inexplicable, it's true that one side of the water and soil is one side of the people, what kind of cadres there are, what kind of people there are!"

  Zhang Mingsheng accompanied the smile, but in his eyes, a flash of displeasure, then he saw Lu Zhong coming in through the door curtain, stunned for a moment, hastily stood up: "County Magistrate Lu, how did you come?"

  The county party committee's plenary meeting announced the appointment of Lu Zhong, and almost all the party secretaries of Qinglong Township (commune) attended. Zhang Mingsheng knew that the deputy director of the Education Committee half a year ago was today's new county magistrate.

  The people on the table immediately stood up, and Zhao Pingfan turned around to look at Lu Zhong in surprise. He had always wanted to verify with Zhang Mingsheng, the secretary, whether the new county magistrate Lu Zhong was the former deputy director of the Education Committee, but he never found an opportunity. Unexpectedly, his guess was correct, and it was indeed this familiar old acquaintance who was particularly close to him.

  Lu Zhong made a downward pressing motion with his hand: "Everyone sit down, everyone sit down." But naturally, there was immediately an official who gave up his seat for him, and Zhang Mingsheng pointed to his own main seat position: "County Head, you come sit here."

  Lu Zhong smiled and said: "No need." He sat down in the chair vacated by the cadre closest to him, looked around at everyone, and said: "Many old friends, also some I don't know."

  Zhang Mingsheng nodded in agreement and quickly introduced Lu Zhong to the people at the table, of course, introducing only three or five people, including the deputy secretary of the commune and two others, as well as a work team of three from the county. The white-faced cadre was Ning Daoxian, the head of the work team sent by the county committee to handle the withdrawal of Ma Touying's commune and the establishment of a township, who had been stationed in Ma Touying for over a week.

  Lao Ning's attitude towards Lu Zhong was not very enthusiastic, and he shook hands with him in a rather reserved manner. He called out: "Hello, Director Lu." Moreover, he was the first among the officials present to take his seat, while the other officials only slowly returned to their positions after being urged by Lu Zhong several times.

  Lu Zhong beckoned Zhao Pingfan with his hand: "Pingfan, come and sit down."

  The cadres with a bit of cleverness busily gave up their seats to Zhao Pingfan and pressed him into the seat.

  Lu Zhong smiled and said: "What's going on? I heard it from outside, it seems like you're discussing something quite fiercely? What's the matter?"

  After Ning Daoxian sat down, he took a toothpick and started picking his teeth. Upon hearing Lu Zhong's words, he spat out the toothpick, curled his lips in disdain, and said: "This Zhao Pingfan, deputy director of Ma Touying Commune, not only fails to cooperate with the county committee's work but also claims to represent several village brigades' secretaries and villagers. He hopes the county committee will carefully consider the issue of dividing land for contract production in these villages. County Magistrate Lu, what do you think? Shouldn't he be criticized? I think removing him from office is warranted!"

  Lu Zhong smiled and said: "I think his stance is fine, isn't it? As party members and cadres, shouldn't we represent the interests of the people? This is written into the Party Constitution!"

  Ning Daoxian was taken aback for a moment, his face slightly embarrassed, yet unwilling to give up, saying: "But..."

  Lu Zhong waved his hand to interrupt him, slightly frowning: "Old Ning, what did you just say? What did Secretary Wei Guo say? Who made him unhappy for a moment, and he would make people unhappy for a lifetime? Did Secretary Wei Guo ever say that?"

  Ning Daoxian's face suddenly became rich and varied, with a mixture of red and white, saying: "I, I just meant that, Secretary Ma, how could Secretary Ma say such things."

  Lu Zhong hummed and nodded, saying: "However, Old Ning, I'm not like Secretary Wei Guo. I hold grudges! If someone makes me unhappy for a moment, I'll make them unhappy for the rest of their life!"

  All the cadres present were stunned, and instantly, there was dead silence at the table.

  Lu Zhong knocked on the table and pointed at Ning Daoxian: "You get up now, walk out for me, take the bus to work, go back to the county!"

  Ning Daoxian's chubby face turned bright red: "But, but..."

  "Get up!" Lu Zhong slammed his hand on the table, causing the bowls and dishes to clatter loudly.

  Ning Daoxian was so frightened that he stood up involuntarily, his face looked terrible, his lips moved, but finally, he turned around and hurriedly walked out, the other two working group members also picked up their bags, almost fleeing in a hurry.

  The room was as silent as death, and the cadres present did not even dare to breathe heavily.

  Lu Zhong shook his head, his face gradually calming down, and gestured with his hand, "Is there enough space now? All of you, sit down."

  The cadres who gave up their seats to Lu Zhong and Zhao Pingfan did not dare to speak much, and they all sat quietly.

  Comrade Lu Zhong sighed softly, "Our party's policy is based on the fundamental interests of the people. Whether it's the production contract or the withdrawal of the commune and the establishment of a township, we hope that farmers can live a good life and become rich. If the masses do not understand the new policy, we must carefully work with them, listen to their demands seriously. Being simple and rough will only alienate us from the masses!"

  "Lao Ning is a man who has been in the organization for too long and doesn't understand the situation at the grassroots level. If he hurts the feelings of our grassroots cadres and masses, I'll apologize on his behalf!"

  No one dared to utter a word, Zhang Ming looked around and said with a heavy face: "Director Lu, your words make us ashamed. It's because we didn't do our job well. I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize and make a self-criticism."

  Lu Zhong waved his hand and looked at Zhao Pingfan, smiling: "Pingfan, tell me about the situation below. I think you're more familiar with it."

  Zhao Pingfan glanced at Zhang Mingsheng and said, "The main problem in Mahetang is that the secretaries of the three production brigades, Wangzhuangzi, Xuying, and Beijiadian, as well as the commune members, do not agree to divide the land. These three brigades have more arable land but less good land. Families with less labor force are worried that they will not be able to cultivate the land after it is divided; families with more labor force are afraid that there will not be enough land to cultivate, and think that the previous work-point system is more profitable for their families."

  Zhao Pingfan thought for a moment, then said: "In addition, there are also production teams in various villages of Nan'an. After the land was divided, the original mules belonging to the team were allocated according to the plan, but the members were not satisfied and have been making trouble ever since."

  "The members of these four brigades stood guard day and night at the entrance of the commune, just not taking down the sign of the People's Commune."

  Lu Zhong smiled after hearing it: "The villagers are still very simple! I think the situation in Qingwa Commune is probably about the same."

  Zhao Pingfan and Zhang Mingsheng both nodded silently.

  Lu Zhuo thought for a moment and said, "Actually, dividing the land and withdrawing from the commune to build a township were originally two separate issues. The villagers linked them together, thinking that if the commune changed to a township, they would definitely divide the land."

  Zhang Mingsheng said, "Actually, it's almost the same. These several brigades have been dragging their feet and refusing to divide the land. Now that we're withdrawing from the commune and building a township, it's natural for us to implement the production contract responsibility system throughout the township. However..." He wanted to say something but stopped himself, thought for a moment, and still didn't continue.

  What he meant was that in Qinglong, the effect of getting rich by dividing land is really not visible. Most communes and production brigades in Qinglong have been implementing the contract system since the early 1980s, but it's been three or four years now, and we haven't seen any brigades that implemented the contract system become richer than those that didn't divide their land. Everyone is equally poor, barely able to eat their fill.

  Lu Zhong waved his hand: "It's not almost, it's two completely different questions. I think that after the establishment of the commune, there are production brigades that do not want to divide up the land and still hope to retain the collective economy of the whole people. We can let them exist. Crossing the river by feeling for stones, I still say that everything starts from the interests of the people, this is also a kind of exploration, an exploration of different economic roads in the initial stage of socialism. I think that not only the brigade collective economy model but also the people's commune model are completely necessary to retain, so that we can have a hundred flowers blooming and contending, and finally explore out a correct road suitable for our development."

  The most astonishing thing was that all the cadres present were stunned.

  Zhang Mingsheng knew that Lu Xianzhang was bold, but he didn't expect him to dare to intervene in the central route issue, although what he said sounded somewhat reasonable.

  Zhao Pingfan echoed, "What Comrade Lu Xian said is correct. The Central Document No. 1 of 1982 proposed that the production responsibility system of socialism collective economy includes both package production to households and package work to households, which only acknowledges the legitimacy of linked production contracting. However, our collective economic model based on production brigades has not been explicitly required to be abolished by any central document."

  Zhang Mingsheng didn't say anything else and just smiled and nodded in agreement a couple of times.

  Lu Zhong thought for a moment and said, "In that case, Secretary Ming Sheng, Ping Fan, these four large teams, you need to go down and do meticulous work, be patient and persuade them. What I said today, you can fully convey it, the commune has been withdrawn, but their production team's collective economy will not be withdrawn, and the land will not be divided, these are decided by the members' meeting."

  "Specific things, we can explore them slowly."

  Zhao Pingfan happily said: "In that case, work will be easier."

  Zhang Mingsheng just smiled and didn't say much.