Sweet Rebirth: The Little Healer

Hua Yusen’s words brought him closer to Wu Dazhu. He needed to keep guiding the conversation.

”Hmph, that Li Siming is certainly a shrewd one,” Wu Dazhu said with a look of contempt. ”A little too clever for his own good, if you ask me. He got close to Wang Dadan not just because he’s at odds with Miao Dahai, but because he wanted to use the connections of Wang Dadan’s cousin’s husband in the county town to get his son a city job. Now that his son’s a ’glorious worker,’ of course Li Siming has to kiss up to Wang Dadan. But knowing Li Siming, for him to still be sticking with Wang Dadan even after his son got the job... there must be something else going on. I’m not sure what, so I can’t say for certain.”

Hua Yusen was surprised. Wu Dazhu was usually so boisterous and straightforward, yet he could see things with such clarity. ’Looks like Nianqiao Village has plenty of sharp people,’ he thought.

”Yes, Li Siming can be even harder to deal with than Wang Dadan. With that mouth of his, he could argue that black is white,” Hua Yusen commented. ”I’ve had a few run-ins with him, and I feel like he’s paying way too much attention to our volunteer station, and even to those few elders living behind it. It’s more than just normal curiosity.”

Hearing Hua Yusen say this, Wu Dazhu’s heart sank. The village chief, Miao, had said the same thing. Seeing that no one else was around, he lowered his voice and asked, ”You think so too?”

”It’s more than a feeling. I’ve caught him snooping twice, and that’s not even counting the times I didn’t,” Hua Yusen said scornfully. ”So, Li Siming is definitely up to no good. And whatever he’s doing, I don’t think it’s just about the village. I suspect it has something to do with the higher-ups. That’s my guess, anyway.”

Wu Dazhu agreed with Hua Yusen, and they continued their conversation in hushed tones as they walked.

Zhao Nuanyue’s Divine Sense followed along with Hua Yusen and Wu Dazhu, trailing behind them and naturally overhearing their entire conversation.

When they reached the village, Zhao Nuanyue’s Divine Sense positioned itself near a drainage ditch beneath a window, from where she could faintly hear the conversation inside.

Inside, Miao Dahai, Wu Dazhu, and Hua Yusen were joined by Li Guihua, Dong Sanshu, and two other production team leaders. Now that the entire village committee was essentially made up of Miao Dahai’s people, he had called them together to discuss how to handle Wang Dadan and Li Siming, who were locked up in the shack.

”So, what do you all think we should do about Wang Dadan and Li Siming?” Miao, the village chief, asked, looking around at everyone. He held an enamel mug, and the steam curling up from it cast a grave expression on his face.

The others remained silent. Some were mulling over how to phrase their thoughts, while others simply didn’t know what to say.

Li Guihua, who always sang from the same hymn sheet as Miao Dahai, saw that no one was speaking and broke the silence with a smile. ”We’re all on the same side here in the village committee. There’s no need to hold back. Say what’s on your mind. This is all for the sake of peace in our village; we can’t let a few bad elements destroy it. We can’t follow in the footsteps of Wang Family Village, where they do nothing but fight all day. Their villagers have no motivation to work, and as a result, when it’s time to distribute money and grain at the end of the year, not a single household has enough to eat. Just last winter, dozens of people in that one village starved to death.”

What Li Guihua said wasn’t an exaggeration. Dong Sanshu’s daughter, Dong Xiaojuan, had married into Wang Family Village. Because there wasn’t enough food, she had come back to her parents’ home, crying, to borrow grain. Her mother-in-law had already starved to death. That was when everyone realized just how grim the situation in Wang Family Village had become.

But the village cadres there hadn’t tried to save the villagers. Instead, to keep the higher-ups from finding out, they strictly forbade anyone from leaving the village or speaking to outsiders. What’s more, they only gave food to the young people and children, not the elderly. Consequently, most of those who starved were old. The cadres just brushed it off, saying old age, sickness, and death are a normal part of life. So, while outsiders were curious about the high death toll in Wang Family Village, no one knew about the sordid truth.

Hearing this, Dong Sanshu’s eyes immediately reddened. ”Sigh... If my daughter hadn’t come back, I never would have known that my daughter’s mother-in-law starved to death like that. The matter has been reported to the higher-ups now, and those village cadres have been taken down. I just hope things in Wang Family Village will get better from now on.”

The two production team leaders were startled as well. Their job was to focus on production and not slack off. Otherwise, it wouldn’t just be the villagers who starved—they’d be in deep trouble themselves.

”It’s like those people are possessed. Even if you want to carry out a political movement, people still have to eat! That’s the most basic thing,” Zhou Er Gou, the leader of Production Team One, said resentfully. ”They don’t work, just spend all day screaming slogans about struggle and death. In the end, won’t they just go hungry? You can’t fill your stomach with the northwest wind!”

”That’s right. They’ve forgotten the most basic duty of a farmer: if you don’t till the land and work, you don’t eat,” said Liu Mazi, the leader of Production Team Two. He was nearly fifty but still spry and strong, a skilled farmer and fisherman.

Seeing that everyone was starting to speak up, Miao Dahai nodded repeatedly. ”Exactly. They’ve forgotten what’s most important. The decision our village made before the year’s end was the right one. Since the start of spring, you’ve all seen how hard those folks have been working.”

”That’s right!” Hua Yusen chimed in. ”Miao, we followed your and the committee’s directives. After experiencing the village’s support, we’ve been working with all our hearts since spring began. When you write your report, you must be sure to include that. It will bring honor and benefits to the committee and the villagers who took us in, and it will be a great help to others who are in need.”

At Hua Yusen’s words, not only the village chief, Miao, but everyone else also showed their strong agreement.

”Mr. Hua is an educated man from the city, and even he says so. It’s clear our village’s decision wasn’t wrong,” Li Guihua said with a smile. ”Miao, if you write the report like that, then Li Siming and Wang Dadan’s unprovoked assault on an elder is an act of sabotage against our village’s plans. It affects our production and our mission to improve. Therefore, we have to teach them a lesson this time.”

”Just a lesson isn’t enough. We need to make them suffer. Lock them in that shack for a good ten days, or even half a month,” Wu Dazhu said irritably. After he became director, everyone else had been cooperative. It was only Wang Dadan and Li Siming who refused to accept his authority and were constantly trying to take him down.

’There’s no way I’m letting that happen!’

’It’s a matter of pride now. I absolutely cannot let Li Siming and Wang Dadan get their way! Besides, I worked hard to get this prestigious position, and I’ll be damned if I let them snatch it away from me.’