Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 732: Killing the Chicken to Frighten the Monkey

Tang Zhitong handed in a few parts as usual, and took out the part of the letter regarding the temperature data of the incubator to share with his classmates in the research class.

After understanding the core requirements, the students expressed their opinions and discussed how to achieve precise temperature control.

The people who understand this era best are definitely its natives. Tang Zhitong is only responsible for making requirements, controlling the rhythm, and adjusting the atmosphere, and does not participate in the specific design.

Once Blind Jill gets involved and proposes some unrealistic plans, it will be easy for the market to plummet like the stock market, and all previous hard work will be wasted.

Just as Tang Zhitong and his classmates were discussing heatedly, the Tang family welcomed an unexpected visitor: "Is Xiao Tang home?"

"Aunt Xu? Come in and sit down." Classmate Xiao Wang came out from the main room and greeted her immediately when he saw that it was Xu Hui.

"Wenwen, I haven't seen you for a month. You've lost weight." Xu Hui said politely while holding Xiao Wang's hand in the yard.

"It's warmer now. Won't you lose weight after taking off your cotton-padded jacket? I think Aunt Xu has really lost weight. No matter how busy you are at work, you must take care of your health." Classmate Wang responded with a smile. The last time they met was at the neighborhood New Year's gathering, and it has been two months in total. Classmate Wang knew that Xu Hui's words made them seem more familiar with each other.

"Alas, there is nothing we can do. There are thousands of threads above and only one needle below. This is how street work is. Is Sister Ye okay?" Xu Hui really felt tired. She had to attend meetings every day now. Either she participated in district meetings or she convened street cadres to convey the spirit of the meeting.

In addition, conflicts among residents are increasing. Before, they were just laughed off, but now they can quarrel for a long time over two chicken feathers. In the end, it becomes a big deal and the street office has to step in to mediate.

"Thank you for your concern. My mother is doing well." Classmate Wang looked at Xu Hui. Her complexion was indeed not as good as before and looked much more haggard.

"I've always wanted to go see Director Ye, but I heard a while ago that Director Ye was hosting a training for rural doctors, so I didn't go because I didn't want to disturb her."

"You might end up disappointed if you go. My mother doesn't get off work until late." Student Wang smiled. Xu Hui's information was obviously wrong. Director Ye did not preside over the training for barefoot doctors, but she did not correct Xu Hui.

"Wenwen, who is that?" Zhang Guifang saw that her daughter-in-law had not returned to the house, so she looked out from the main room with concern. When she saw that it was Xu Hui, she immediately came out and eagerly said, "Hey, Director Xu, please come in and sit down!"

"Sister-in-law, please don't mind me coming here uninvited." Xu Hui let go of Xiao Wang's hand and immediately took Zhang Guifang's hand. She found the right balance so that people would not feel overly enthusiastic, but also would not feel unfamiliar.

"Director Xu, what are you talking about? I'm so happy. Come on, let's go inside." Zhang Guifang was a little bit panicked in her enthusiasm, as such a high-ranking cadre had never entered her house before.

Classmate Xiao Wang entered the room first. The big table was occupied by her two sisters-in-law who were doing their homework. She did not ask them to move out, but placed a stool in front of the dining table, intending to sit there together. The dining table was small, and sitting together seemed more intimate.

"Director Xu, the house is a little messy, please don't mind." Zhang Guifang led Xu Hui into the house, very frightened.

"Sister-in-law, you are being modest. You clean your house much more neatly than mine. My house is a mess." Xu Hui saw that Zhang Guifang was nervous, and took the initiative to make fun of herself and change the subject: "This is Feng Zhen, right?"

"Hello, Aunt Xu." Fengzhen was with Jingying every day, and her experience was increasing rapidly. She was not nervous when she saw Xu Hui and greeted her politely.

"Hello, Aunt Xu!" Feng Zhi was not to be outdone and followed closely to greet Xu Hui.

"Hello. This is Fengzhi, right? She is the little singer from our street. The principal of her school came to me and asked Fengzhi to give a report. I heard that Xiao Tang disagreed, so I put it off." After Xu Hui said hello, she did not forget to reveal the inside story to Xiao Wang.

"He doesn't want his child to become famous so early. Aunt Xu, there is no tea at home, so we can only use water instead of tea. Please make do with it." Classmate Xiao Wang poured a pot of boiling water into the teapot, brought two tea bowls over, and poured two cups of boiled water for Xu Hui and her mother-in-law.

"Director Xu, we don't have anything at home to serve guests, please bear with me." Zhang Guifang rubbed her hands embarrassedly. There were still some pine nuts at home, but her son had told her before that wealth should not be shown to outsiders, and the food at home should be kept away from outsiders as much as possible, so it was not convenient to take them out.

"Oh, sister-in-law, you don't have to be polite with me. Just treat me as a neighbor who comes to visit." Xu Hui certainly wouldn't pick on Zhang Guifang. She took her hand and sat her down, constantly comforting her.

"You are a high-ranking official after all. I...I..." Zhang Guifang blurted out what was in her heart, and was stuck for a moment, not knowing how to continue.

"You mean there has never been such a high-ranking cadre in your family?" Xu Hui smiled and pointed at Xiao Wang and said, "Wenwen was a cadre right after graduation. He should be at the department level now, right?"

"I'm in a technical position and don't have a rank." Student Xiao Wang understood what Xu Hui meant and replied with a smile.

"That's equivalent to a section officer. If you put him in a team, he'd be a platoon leader at least." Xu Hui looked at Xiao Wang and said, "And your son, Xiao Tang, is he a section chief now? He's at the same level as me. You see such a senior cadre every day, so don't treat me like this. It makes you look distant."

Xu Hui is in the neighborhood committee and is very familiar with the current district structure. In the entire Chongwen, there is only one level 004 cadre, and that person is a senior official, so he is a high-ranking one. Under him, the top and second-in-command of each department are only level 002 to 00061 (director and deputy director), and there are no more than people in total. At the street level, it is even lower, with the highest level being level (director), not much higher than Tang Zhitong. [Data source: Xicheng Archives, file number: --]
Xu Hui had heard that there was an idea of ​​upgrading the rank, but it had not yet been implemented.

Zhang Guifang knew that her son had moved up a level, but how could a woman from the countryside have any concept of rank? Hearing this, she subconsciously looked at her daughter-in-law.

Xiao Wang smiled at his grandmother and said politely to Xu Hui: "Eanzi is still far from you. He is just a deputy section chief and still has a long way to go."

"No, he has definitely had a longer road ahead of me, and I'm almost at the end of my road. So, sister-in-law, the people you're going to meet in the future will be high-ranking officials at the department or bureau level or above. Mine is nothing." Xu Hui didn't put on airs at all. In her words, she put herself on an equal footing with Zhang Guifang, and even said that she was a little shorter than Zhang Guifang.

Xu Hui changed the wording slightly and her words became that her husband has a bright future. Xiao Wang was very pleased and his eyes almost narrowed into slits.

Zhang Guifang tried to understand the meaning of this, but couldn't figure it out, and her face was still a little confused.

“Let me put it this way. Last year, several children from our street were admitted to the Sijiucheng Experimental Middle School. Fengzhen ranked first, and she can also be ranked among the top few in the city. After graduating from a technical secondary school, she will be a cadre. It is not an exaggeration to say that she is one in a million. Xiao Tang has achieved even higher than her. You, old sister-in-law, just sit back and enjoy the benefits in the future.” Xu Hui understood the people’s cognition. Although no one might understand the levels, it was easy to understand when it came to studying and taking exams.

Zhang Guifang understood this time, and did not bother to reply, but just laughed, very happily. "Aunt Xu is really good, she praised the whole family in just a few words." Seeing that her mother-in-law did not respond, Xiao Wang said something beside her, not letting Xu Hui's words fall on the ground.

"I was praising you at the beginning, but not at the end. Alas, I wouldn't come to you for no reason." Thinking of the purpose of the visit, Xu Hui felt a little embarrassed and sighed.

"Just say it directly. We, the younger generation, will definitely cooperate." Seeing that Xu Hui finally mentioned the purpose of their visit, Xiao Wang said nice things and planned to listen to what she said.

"The higher-ups just had a meeting, and the district organized a study session for us today. They asked all cadres not to raise chickens at home. I guess your unit will also issue a notice later. I thought, instead of letting your unit investigate, it would be better for me to tell you in advance. There is a big difference between being in front and being behind." Xu Hui said it very tactfully and beautifully.

The issue of not allowing cadres to raise chickens is related to various units in the city, but it will ultimately have to be implemented in each street. After all, except for those large compounds, it is impossible for each unit to check the homes of their employees one by one. Even if they do check, temporary relocation cannot be ruled out, so the streets are still the ones who suffer.

"Director Xu, are these chickens...going to be taken away?" Zhang Guifang now understood what was going on and became very nervous. Could she no longer raise these chickens in the yard?

"Sister-in-law, we are not bandits and we don't accept chickens. You can deal with the chickens yourselves." After Xu Hui finished speaking, she looked at Zhang Guifang and waited for what happened next.

"Oh..." Zhang Guifang was silent. What should she do? Sell it? Eat it? She couldn't bear to do it herself. This was a chicken that laid eggs!
Seeing that Zhang Guifang didn't react, Xu Hui turned her gaze to Xiao Wang and said, "Wenwen, some people in our neighborhood reported that your family was raising chickens before. At that time, the higher-ups hadn't issued a notice yet, so I suppressed it and didn't deal with it. But this time, it's really too much. I can't handle it anymore."

"We younger generations must support Aunt Xu's work. Let's put it this way. When Anzi comes back, I will discuss it with him." Xiao Wang said he supported her, but at the same time he also emphasized that they had to discuss it and could not agree to it right away.

"You and Xiao Tang are both good kids with high awareness. There is no rush for this matter. It can be handled in three to five days." Xu Hui tactfully gave a time limit.

"Okay, thanks Aunt Xu for the reminder." Student Wang smiled. Although she said that, she was somewhat resistant to being prohibited from raising chickens. It was not because these chickens could lay eggs, but because these chickens had become a part of Zhang Guifang's life. If this part was cut off abruptly, it would be strange if her mother-in-law was not upset.

After swinging the big stick, Xu Hui began to offer sweet treats: "Wenwen, Xiao Tang made a lot of noise recently, and the street has also been honored. The district asked me to ask him for his opinion. Does he want to come to the district as a representative?"

"Thank you Aunt Xu for your concern. I don't think he will go. He has several jobs now and has to balance work and study. He is really too busy. He wants to work non-stop. He only has some free time on Sundays. He also has to take care of the family and go out fishing or hunting rabbits to make ends meet. I'm afraid he can't make it." Student Xiao Wang shook his head to deny Xu Hui's good intentions and gave a reason that Xu Hui could not refute.

Xiao Wang knows her husband well. He is a lazy person. If he didn't want to help the country earn some foreign exchange, he would like to lie at home every day.

"Xiao Tang is a good kid who cares about his family. You have a good eye for choosing people." Xu Hui also knew that being a mere district representative was not something she could show off, so she gave a dry compliment and picked up the cup to take a sip of water.

After that, they chatted for a few more sentences, drank two glasses of water, and then Xu Hui left.

Xu Hui knew very well that it was inhumane not to allow cadres to raise chickens. The chickens in cadres' homes were not blown in by the wind. They were either bought or raised by their families since they were young. Moreover, feeding the chickens did not take up any extra quota. The purpose was to collect two eggs, which were hard to find in the market, to provide nutrition for their families.

But many people have opinions about this. Look at so-and-so, he is a cadre and eats eggs every day, but we can’t even buy egg skins…

In addition, Xu Hui felt that the higher-ups had a backup plan. Making the chicken-raising cadres lose some of their profits was only the first step, to silence the public and then take the next step.

When Tang Zhitong returned home, the atmosphere was a bit depressing, so he asked curiously, "What happened? Did Feng Zhi make everyone angry?"

"No! The street director came just now and said that we are not allowed to raise chickens!" Faced with the blame that fell from the sky, Fengzhi put Beibei in her hand on the ground and argued angrily.

"Aunt Xu just came over and said that there was a meeting at the top and officials were not allowed to raise chickens. They advised us to get rid of the chickens within three to five days." Xiao Wang told her husband more clearly why Xu Hui came.

"Mom, why don't we eat the chicken? It's okay if you don't want to sell it. A chicken can be sold for at least 50 yuan outside now!" Tang Zhitong was open-minded when he heard this. He didn't intend to resist at all and slid to his knees smoothly.

In Tang Zhitong's impression, this incident did happen, but it did not happen now, but a few months later.

However, the process has been advanced now, and the black market has been subjected to extreme suppression. Tang Zhitong would not be surprised if something similar happened again.

"Did you agree so readily?" Xiao Wang was a little surprised. She kept winking at her husband and nodding at her mother-in-law, meaning that she should at least give our mother some buffer time.

"You can't beat me. Director Xu came to our house after get off work to talk to us. It's obvious that he was trying to persuade us from a personal perspective first, so as to avoid embarrassment in the future. We have to give this face to Director Xu. He did a good job. This is called, that... that..."

Tang Zhitong couldn't think of the right words for a moment, and Feng Zhi, who was standing beside him, raised her hand to answer: "I know, I know! This is called killing the chicken to scare the monkey!"

"Fengzhi knows so much." Xiao Wang laughed after hearing this, touched his sister-in-law's head, and corrected her: "But what you said is inappropriate, this is called leading by example."

"Yes, this is obviously to let us play a leading role as a model, so that we can gain a good reputation and Aunt Xu can carry out her work in the future. We gain face, and Aunt Xu gains substance." Tang Zhitong knew this very well. In the past, when the cultivated land was surveyed, the township cadres took the lead in going to the farmers' fields, bending down to cultivate the land and plant wheat. As soon as the wheat sprouted, it became farmland. As for whether it could be harvested later...

Anyway, this is how the world is. You fool me and I fool you.

"Eanzi, sell the chickens. But the land in our yard...will not be allowed to be used for farming in the future, right?" Zhang Guifang was reluctant to eat the chicken, as a chicken cost fifty yuan!
After sending Xu Hui away, Zhang Guifang thought it over. If she was not allowed to raise chickens, then she didn't. She would just consider it as cooperating with her son and daughter-in-law's work. Besides, selling the chickens would free up the space in the chicken coop to grow some vegetables.

But Zhang Guifang was worried that one day in the future Xu Hui would come again and say that they couldn’t grow vegetables at home and asked her to dig up the vegetables. That would be very upsetting.

"Don't worry, the sky won't fall. Many units above are now setting up farms outside, and even vegetables are grown on the city gate towers. I estimate that it won't be long before the restrictions are relaxed and everyone is encouraged to grow vegetables. After all, filling our stomachs is more important right now." Faced with the current situation, Tang Zhitong knew more than his mother and even most people, so he revealed a little to reassure Zhang Guifang.

(End of this chapter)