The wheat was harvested, the field was ground, and the summer pre-distribution was quickly completed. National Day felt relieved. However, after dinner one day, Wen Xusheng, the party secretary, came to Guoqing's house and gave him a more difficult task.
After Guo Zhenshan, the former secretary of the brigade and the director of the brigade's revolutionary committee, was taken away by the police, many members of the public complained that Guo Zhenshan had not only done whatever he wanted in the past few years, but he had also encouraged his friends to run amok in the village. For example, after the rebels seized power two years ago and the Revolutionary Committee was established, they re-divided and measured the private plots of the members. Since that measurement, the members had a lot of opinions. Someone said," The members all know that the land at the bottom of Qianling is 1.3 mu. Why did it become eight mu in Zhang Hongwei's hands? Where did that half an acre of land go? You have a big nose!" Someone said,"Originally, private plots of land were all in a large area, but now there are patches here and patches there. No one knows how many private plots of land the officials have.”
The members strongly requested that the new brigade team uphold justice and re-measure all the private plots of the entire brigade.
Upon hearing these reactions, Wen Xusheng immediately called for a meeting and decided," He organized people to re-measure the private plots of the members. However, at that time, there was still green wheat growing in the field, so he could only wait until the wheat was harvested.
Just after the wheat harvest, Wen Xusheng discussed with Shang Wenzhong and seized the opportunity to re-measure the private plot of land to return justice to the members. But who should lead the way?
Shang Wenzhong suggested that Zhang Qinzhong, the party branch member of the brigade and the political captain of the second team, go. He said,"I think it's better to let old man Qin Zhong take the lead. Old man Qin Zhong has prestige and justice in the village. Once he stands there, those troublesome ghosts who like to talk nonsense will not dare to spread rumors.”
"Uncle Wenzhong, let National Day go. He's young and knows how to calculate. I think he's quite upright and fair.”
"Hai, I'm not protecting him. I think Guo Qing is too young and inexperienced. I'm afraid that if I don't do it well, I'll clash with those troublesome ghosts and cause trouble for me.”
"Then let him train. There are so many representatives of the poor and the masses participating. What's there to be afraid of?”
"That's fine too. Tell the old accountant, Yang Maohe, to participate as well.”
After dinner that day, Wen Xusheng came to Guoqing's house. When he mentioned this, he was a little embarrassed and said,"On National Day, I had just become the secretary of the brigade when I encountered a thorny matter. Everyone reported that the measurement of private plots a few years ago was very unfair. Some people who were related to the former cadre benefited from it. The members had a lot of opinions and had to resolve it. Why don't you take the lead and let the representatives of the poverty association from each team participate? Then, draw some people from each team to gather up the empty land during this period of time and re-measure all the private plots of the entire brigade.”Xu Sheng smiled as he stared at Guo Qing's face. He wanted to see Guo Qing's reaction.
Guo Qing listened to Xu Sheng's words and said nothing. He just smiled and narrowed his eyes, nodding. Wen Xusheng continued," I know that this is something that offends people, but we can't not do it. You can do whatever you want at the front, and we will support you from the back. If anyone dares to say anything, you don't have to worry about it. I will deal with them."”
Guo Qing listened to Wen Xusheng's words and said with a smile,"Brother Xusheng, these are all matters in the village. Someone has to step up and do it. Besides, this is what most of the club members want, so what are we afraid of? For the brigade to entrust such an important matter to me, it's because they trust me. I'm a party member, what else can I say? I promise to get this done. As for whether or not he offended people, that would depend on how he said it. If he offended a small number of people, he would vent his anger on the majority of people and do a good deed. Would he still not get along (meaning it was worth it)?”
Wen Xusheng immediately smiled happily.""Good, good. Brother, you're very kind. I thank you on behalf of the members!”
"Hey! Hey! Look at what you're saying. This is what a brigade accountant like me should do! I don't dare to say this." He took out a box of cigarettes from the drawer and handed one to Wen Xusheng. Just as Xu Sheng lit up his cigarette, the image of Long Fa and his wife getting a divorce appeared in front of him.
He looked at Wen Xusheng and hesitated. At this moment, Wen Xusheng also saw that he had something to say, so he said,""National Day, we still have a long time to work together in the future. Do you have anything to say? It doesn't matter. Between the two of us, anything can be said. Don't worry!”
Seeing him say this, Guo Qing's heart tightened. He felt that the matter that had been difficult for him for the past few days, could he talk about it openly with Xusheng today? He blushed and said," Brother Xusheng, since you treat me as your brother, I'll say whatever I have to say. I've been thinking about this for a few days. I was afraid that you might misunderstand me, so I didn't dare to say it to you."”
"Are you talking about me and my wife?”Wen Xusheng's face turned red to his ears, and an awkward expression appeared on his face. His hand that was holding the cigarette kept trembling, and he subconsciously kept flicking the non-existent ash on the cigarette. He lowered his head, not daring to look at National Day.
Guo Qing saw Wen Xusheng's expression and knew that he was also very embarrassed. It seemed that he was not the kind of cynical, womanizer, nor did he look like a bad person with bad morals. He tried his best to act natural." It seems that Brother Xusheng's realm is still higher than mine. Perhaps you've already figured out this problem in your heart. It's solved. It's over." If not, why would you take the initiative to say this?”
"Sigh! He really didn't expect that such a thing would happen that day! That day, when I was about to enter Long Fa's house, I felt a little bored. Qiao Zhi was alone at home, so I shouldn't have gone in. However, after the incident, I don't think Qiao Zhi usually looks like a frivolous woman. She might have done something stupid on impulse. " But it's also my fault. It's my fault for not rejecting her firmly at the critical moment. If it wasn't for Long Fa rushing back in time, I don't know what would have happened. I'm still afraid when I think about it. Hey! I really regret it."
Xu Sheng lit another cigarette and said intermittently,"If you don't blame Qiaozhi, then blame me! That day when I walked to the gate of Long Fa's house, I saw Qiao Zhi take out the key to open the door. I heard that Uncle and Auntie went to the market. At that time, I didn't want to go home, but I thought that I would take the letter and leave. I still couldn't help but go in. Damn it!"
"Brother Xusheng, there's a reason why Qiaozhi is like this. She and Long Fa are both trying to control their anger and purposely anger him. She was also confused for a moment. It was all Long Fa's fault. He was the one who caused all this.”
"No, I can't! No! National Day, don't say that. It's all my fault. Who am I? I'm more cultured than them. I've been in the army for many years. I'm a party member and the party secretary. If everyone knew that such a thing happened to me in Longfa, what would they think? Other than calling me a beast, they would also scold the party!”
"Brother Xusheng, you don't have to say anything else. I'm very touched by your attitude today. Don't worry, this matter will end here. I've already done what Long Fa and Qiaozhi did. They've reconciled now. They won't mention what happened that day to anyone else. However, are you thinking of transferring Long Fa bro back to the side team and not to run outside anymore?”
"Okay, okay. National Day, you're right. I'll solve this problem immediately. On National Day, if there are any other matters in the future, especially if it concerns the public's reflection of my personal problems, please be sure to tell me. If you treat me as your good brother, you will help me more and supervise me in the future.”
Seeing Wen Xusheng's sincere attitude, Guo Qing heaved a sigh of relief. At this time, he said seriously,"Alright! We'll do as you say. I promise you as a party member, I can even swear!”
Wen Xusheng kept his word. The next day, he looked for the captain of the team's sideline team, the old secretary Zhang Zhongquan, to discuss the matter of changing Long Fa's job. In a few days, the brigade made some personnel changes. The side team was replaced by a young man who was not married yet. Li Longfa came back and became the deputy captain of the side team. The young man from the other team, Wang Wenjie, replaced Shang Wenzhong as the captain of the first production team. Wang Xiaolan from the third team also replaced the old woman director, Li Junlan.
After breakfast the next day after the conversation with Wen Xusheng, Zhong Guoqing informed the members of each team who participated in the measurement of the private plots to hold a small meeting to prepare for the work that the members were very concerned about. In addition to Zhong Guoqing taking the lead, the old accountant Yang Maohe and the brigade poverty association director Guo Qingshan also assisted. The three production teams also temporarily selected a representative of the masses to participate with the representatives of the poverty association of each team. There were a total of nine people.
When all the people from each team arrived, Guo Xing realized that the representatives of the crowd from the teams were all very scheming and good at writing and calculating. Most of them were middle-aged and elderly people. He felt that these people were stable and could grasp the limits, so he increased his confidence.
When the private plots of the members were divided, there were obvious boundaries between the plots of land of each household. Some had a stone buried, while others had a tree planted. However, these plots of land were not only scattered, but also very irregular. There were knife-shaped ones, crescent-shaped ones, triangular ones, quadrilateral ones, and gourd-shaped ones. They were distributed among the terraced fields in the hilly area of Green Pine Ridge Village. Before they started measuring the first piece of land, National Day first discussed the specific steps and methods of measurement with everyone so that there would be an order in the measurement and fewer mistakes.
Guoqing said," Rushing and pulling is a relatively hard errand. You have to run a lot more than others. It's better for me and Juntai to do it. Second Brother, what do you think?"”
Juntai was the representative of the masses of Team One. He was also a young man who had graduated from the village farming school. He was in his thirties and did not speak much, but he was smart and shrewd. Other than National Day, he was the only one who was young. After listening to National Day's words, he chuckled and said,"We young people, what's the point of running a few more steps?”
Guo Qing turned back and said," Uncle Maohe will record and calculate for us. The others will supervise me and Second Brother Juntai. See if the ruler we pull is in place and if the ground is fair."”He turned around and said to the representative of the crowd, Wang Yongchang,""Uncle, your plan is not bad. You and Uncle Maohe will plan it together.”
Wang Yongchang was in his sixties. Before 1949, he had worked as an accountant in the village. He had a bright voice and a good plan. He was mainly fair and upright, and the members supported him.
After listening to Guo Qing's words, the director of the Association of Poor People, Guo Qingshan, shook his head and said,"Guoqing, what you said is wrong. The accounting and calculation are the most important. You are young and have good eyes. You have to register the numbers clearly. Everyone took turns to do the things of tying and pulling. What do you guys think?"
Everyone said in unison," Alright, alright. We'll take turns pulling and tying the ruler. It won't be tiring!”
Guo Qing felt that it made sense. He decided to let the representatives of the three teams be responsible for supervising and seeing if the ruler was in place. The people who measured the ruler had to take turns. At the very least, when they measured the land of their team, the people of their team did not measure the ruler. The old accountant, Yang Maohe, and Guo Qing each held an abacus in their hands. They were playing very accurately.
Because the method was right, the measurement was also very fast. Although the private plots of the production teams were distributed in every corner of the Qingsong Ridge hilly area, there were many irregular plots of land, all kinds and varied. In order to measure as accurately as possible, people often divided a small piece of land into several figures to measure and calculate. Each member only had two plots of private land, and each household usually had about one mu. Everyone treated this plot of private land as their heart. Therefore, National Day requested everyone to adhere to a unified standard when it came to size and tightness, and to be as loose as possible. There must be no injustice. He said,"After this measurement is completed, members are welcome to measure their own private plots. As long as there are any discrepancies or households that feel unfair, the brigade can send people to re-examine them.”
Measuring the land was indeed a very tiring job. It was more tiring to climb up and down the ground all day than to turn over the world. You had to step on the soft ground and run around the ground. Your shoes were filled with soil particles, and you rarely had the chance to sit down and rest. Guo Qing was young and not afraid of being tired, but he was afraid that the elderly would not be able to take it. Looking at everyone's hard work, he said apologetically,"If you're tired, everyone can rest!”But everyone always laughed and said,"No lack, we've already made it!"”Everyone knew the importance of this land measurement, so they were very serious and hardworking. No one complained about being tired.
During the measurement, people would occasionally discover that some families 'private plots of land had increased in size after being measured. His nose was so big that it protruded out of his face! However, no one said anything unpleasant. Everyone just silently measured. At most, they just smiled and the meaning was clear. Guo Qing saw through people's thoughts. Although he didn't say it, he could see the honesty and generosity of the farmers from them. He once again felt childish and small.
He left early and returned late. The work of measuring the private plot of land lasted for nine days before it was completed. At this time, Zhong Guoqing let out a long sigh of relief. He was secretly pleased with himself. He was very grateful to these old men who fought with him. If it weren't for these uncles, how could a young man without hair do such a big thing for the villagers!
On the afternoon of the day when all the private plots were re-measured, Zhong Guoqing looked at the uncles who were sitting on the ground with dirty faces. He smiled and took out a box of Bai Lan brand cigarettes from his pocket. He respectfully walked to them and handed each of them a cigarette without saying anything. When they received the cigarettes handed over by National Day, everyone smiled silently. Some immediately lit up the cigarettes and smoked them. Some people were reluctant to smoke and held them by their ears.
Guo Qing sat cross-legged on the ground, slowly crushing a piece of soil in his hand while thinking alone. He felt that the worries and concerns before the measurement were completely eliminated. Because during the past few days of measurement, he had been shouting, The measurement must be fair, reasonable, and impartial. On the one hand, he asked the staff who tied the ruler to tie the ruler loosely so that the area of each household was measured to be very rich. He must not let any member have anything to say because of the lack of private land. After the measurement, the three teams still had a few more acres of land than before. Who didn't know the secret? Although everyone did not say it, they were happy in their hearts. They had completely forgotten about the soreness in their backs and legs over the past few days.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]