Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 805 804 got tricked
The man surnamed Qin hasn't been able to close his eyes since he was pinned down.

On the way back from Tianjin, he was watched by members of the task force in shifts. They would wake him up if he showed any signs of dozing off, even if he was thrown into a detention cell.

It's just that he slept quite a bit last night. Qin can still hold on. If he can keep this up for three or four days, even the toughest mouth will have to answer whatever he's asked.

However, the man surnamed Qin is clearly not a tough guy; if he were, he wouldn't have gone to find the Russians.

After the task force and the comrades from the Science and Technology Commission confirmed that the man surnamed Qin had confessed everything without reservation, they detained him. The Municipal Public Security Bureau did not process the transfer procedures for the man surnamed Qin for the time being because the Science and Technology Commission said they needed to go back and discuss how to handle the matter.

November 6th, Friday, sunny.

Wu Aijun spent a lot of time organizing the case files yesterday, exhausting countless brain cells, and went straight to sleep after returning home last night.

This morning, Wu Aijun felt a chill in his crotch. When he reached down and touched it, his face lit up with a surprise.

This had happened before, but this time was different; he dreamed of Ma Wei!
As a young man in his late twenties, Wu Aijun felt embarrassed, ashamed, incredulous, and even guilty. They had only met once, and although they had talked a lot after learning that they both knew Tang Zhitong, it didn't have to be like this, did it?
Thinking about it, I realize I've really been a bit of a jerk!
But dreams are indeed uncontrollable, just like how he had liked Xiao Wang for many years but had never dreamed of her.

Wu Aijun changed his clothes, quietly went to the toilet, washed himself, and hung them up to dry.

Ma Wei's family has a nanny, but her own family doesn't. Most of the clothes at home are washed by her mother, but in this situation, it's clearly not suitable for her elderly mother to do it...

After breakfast, when Wu Aijun went out, Lu Lan glanced at her son's underwear hanging on the balcony and discussed with her husband, "Aijun isn't young anymore, shouldn't he find a girlfriend?"

Although the case is clear, the task force has not yet been disbanded, so Wu Aijun came to his workplace as usual today.

Not long after starting work, the city bureau leaders assigned the task force a new task, requiring them to cooperate with the Science and Technology Commission to carry out a "fishing" operation, codenamed "Sharp Blade," meaning to cut off any black hands that dare to reach out.

The Science and Technology Commission's idea was to use the man surnamed Qin as bait, creating the illusion in his neighbors' and workplaces that he had only missed two days of work due to some business and would return to work normally afterwards, in order to lull the Russians into a false sense of security and wait for the people they arranged to come to their door.

The reason they dared to make this arrangement was because Qin only knew the basics, and even if he managed to escape, the impact wouldn't be significant.

As for the possibility that Russia won't send someone to visit, the Science and Technology Commission believes it's possible, but unlikely. As a professional institution, they know all too well how much change supermagnetism will bring to both military and civilian applications.

Since Wu Aijun was not involved in the first round of investigations into the Qin family, and was a new face in his neighborhood and workplace, he was naturally chosen as the main force.

"Do you recognize the words at the end?" Before dragging the man surnamed Qin out, the head of the task force asked, pointing to the words on the wall of the detention room.

"I know him." At this moment, the man surnamed Qin was as honest as a quail, as wilted as a frostbitten eggplant, with his head down and drooping, not even looking at the wall.

"Read it aloud!"

"Confess and you will be treated leniently; resist and you will be punished severely." These were the eight characters that Qin saw as soon as he was locked up yesterday.

No one paid any attention to him yesterday morning. He was anxious and tormented, and he wanted to find something to distract himself. However, there were no newspapers or books in the detention room. He not only memorized those eight words, but also counted how many floor tiles were in the room.

But now that the dust had settled, he had no time to count the floor tiles anymore. Last night, he tossed and turned, contemplating how he would die: Where would the bullet hit? Would he feel pain? Would he need a follow-up shot? How many holes would be left in his body? What would happen to his body? Would it be handed over to his family?

But he had already sent his wife and children to the northeastern border a few days ago, intending to wait until he had reached an agreement with the Russians so that they could cross the border together.

But now such plans have become nothing more than a mirage; the city is constantly clearing out residents, and it's likely that his wife and children will never return once they leave...

"Very good. Now you need to cooperate to find and cut off the evil hand hidden behind it. If you do well, you will have the opportunity to make meritorious contributions and atone for your sins. Do you understand?"

"Understood, understood, I will definitely cooperate!" The light in Qin's eyes finally returned. Last night, he thought of several ways to die, and the more he thought about it, the more frightened he became. He hadn't lived enough yet!

"Alright, follow orders and don't do anything stupid!" The task force leader nodded after speaking and signaled to the comrade next to him to open the door and let the man surnamed Qin out.

Even if they released him, they couldn't just take him home or to work. Because he had experienced a major setback in his life in the past two days, he was not only listless but also in poor condition. He had a stubble beard, his hair was like a bird's nest, and his clothes were full of wrinkles, all of which were in stark contrast to his usual appearance.

After letting the man surnamed Qin tidy himself up a bit, Wu Aijun and others accompanied him home to change his clothes. Then, he deliberately told his neighbors that he would be working overtime at his workplace.

As for his disappearance for two days and the fact that someone came to inquire about his interpersonal relationships during that time, the person surnamed Qin brushed it off by saying it was a routine investigation by his workplace.

Next, Wu Aijun and the others escorted the man surnamed Qin to the metallurgical institute, waiting for the fish to take the bait.

…………

Tang Zhitong visited two production teams yesterday, but the situation remains far from optimistic.

The production team where Zhang's family lives suffers from severe food shortages due to a large population and limited land. Yesterday, both production teams had a considerable number of people and land, but because they are located in mountainous areas with infertile soil, grain yields were low, and the situation of not having enough to eat was also widespread.

Some people even try to eat clay to fill their stomachs, but while it's easy to swallow, it's difficult to excrete.

Tang Zhitong witnessed a mother using a wooden stick to slowly pry out the contents of her child's mouth.

This time, in addition to exchanging medical information with the barefoot doctors and obtaining relevant data, Tang Zhitong also tried to communicate with the members about their expectations for medical treatment, but the results were not ideal.

Tang Zhitong wanted to know what kind of medical benefits he could receive, such as free medical care for minor illnesses and how much he could accept personally paying for serious illnesses. However, the answers from the members were almost unanimous: they didn't care about the quality, they just wanted to be well-fed.

Faced with this situation, Tang Zhitong could only sigh and go to the production team leader to find out the average income per person in the area, how much money would be left after deducting all expenses, or how much surplus the production team could have in a year and how much money it could provide for the health of its members.

At first, the production team leader was reluctant to cooperate, but Tang Zhitong carried a representative badge with him, and the official seal and stamp on it proved that he was truly speaking out for the people. So the production team leader lowered his guard, took out the account book, and explained the details to Tang Zhitong one by one.

After calculating for a long time, well, I have no money.

Not only did they lack money, but the production team leader was also hoping that Tang Zhitong would raise the issue of food with the city so that they could receive some relief grain.

Tang Zhitong felt even more troubled after hearing this. Was this within the scope of his duties as a representative? It seemed to differ from the scope of his defined responsibilities.

In the evening, Tang Zhitong, as usual, found a secluded corner to rest.

Lighting candles and sitting in the cabin, Tang Zhitong stared blankly at the data he had recorded that day.

The situation is very serious. Does the commune know about this? Should we bring up the issue of relief grain? Would bringing it up be overstepping my bounds? What consequences would it have on me if I did?
After thinking for a long time, Tang Zhitong still had no clue.

Early in the morning, Tang Zhitong ate breakfast and set off again for the next production team. After passing two mountain valleys, the view suddenly opened up, and in front of him was a winding river. The river was not large, but at least it was still flowing.

A large wheat field stretches across both banks of the river. The wheat seedlings here are growing much better than they did a couple of days ago. Looking at the deep green before him, Tang Zhitong felt a sense of hope for filling his stomach.

With his representative badge paving the way, Tang Zhitong easily integrated with the other members of the club.

Although the members here were dressed similarly to the members Tang Zhitong had seen a couple of days ago, they were full of energy and had a generally slim figure, but none of them were swollen.

This place used to be called Nanyu Village, now it's called Nanyu Production Brigade, which is divided into six production teams. The former village chief is now the brigade leader, whose surname is Yin and whose name is Yin Fugui.

Sixty li directly north of the Nanyu Production Brigade is the Guanting Reservoir. The water from the Guanting Reservoir flows into Sijiucheng via the Yongding River, supplying irrigation for the communes along the river and drinking water for the residents of Sijiucheng.

However, the Nanyu Production Brigade is not located on the banks of the Yongding River. They rely entirely on the water from the small river at the entrance of the village for irrigation. This river is called the Qingshui River, which is a tributary of the Yongding River.

According to the villagers, the Qingshui River flows continuously throughout the year.

In previous years, they even grew rice thanks to the water from the Qingshui River, but later the commune required the planting of wheat, and rice disappeared from the fields.

With this river, the irrigation problem of Nanyu Production Brigade was largely solved. However, this year there was a drought and the water level was much lower than in previous years. Irrigation had to be done by hand, which was very tiring, but the members of the brigade did not complain.

The Nanyu Production Brigade has more than a thousand members, making it a large brigade in this area. It was precisely because of its large number of members that it was able to secure a spot as a barefoot doctor.

The barefoot doctor was named Xu Xian. Tang Zhitong saw this name on the list and thought he would come and meet him. Xu Xian and Xu Xian were both doctors. Could it be that Xu Xian had saved a snake?

Xu Xian had clearly never heard the story of Xu Xian and a snake's love affair, and was somewhat surprised by Tang Zhitong's question, but still answered truthfully: "Saving the snake? No, that thing was at least a piece of meat. I caught it, shook it a couple of times, took it home, and ate it."

"Oh, the snake meat does taste alright, but there's not much meat." Tang Zhitong had seen people swing snakes when he was a child. They would pinch the tail and swing it around 360 degrees a few times, and if they were still worried, they would stroke it again. Even if the White Snake came, she wouldn't be able to save it.

"There are fewer snakes now, otherwise I could catch two and stew a pot for you to try." Xu Xian thought Tang Zhitong was implying that he wanted to eat snakes, which was very straightforward, but also a bit awkward.

"Haha, I'm not eating, I was just asking casually." Tang Zhitong waved his hands repeatedly. This was a big misunderstanding. If he kept asking, he would be seen as someone who came to freeload.

As for why he was named "Xiang", Tang Zhitong didn't ask any further. He figured it might be because rice was grown here before, and Xu Xian's parents wanted their son to have rice to eat every day.

Next, Tang Zhitong discussed the medical issues of the commune members with Xu Xian. The economic situation of this production team was indeed better than that of the production team he had visited two days earlier.

While other production teams are still relying on traditional methods, collecting Chinese herbs, acupuncture, and cupping to treat diseases, this team has begun to consciously go to the hospital to buy some common and effective medicines for patients.

"Is this portion of the cost borne by the members?"

"No. Thanks to our good team leader, all these expenses are covered by the production team, and the members don't have to pay anything when they come to see a doctor." Xu Xian shook his head, his face full of pride, which was probably unique among the farmers in Beijing.

"You've taken the lead in Beijing, and even in the whole country. Impressive!" Tang Zhitong gave a thumbs up after hearing this. It's not easy to achieve this level of success these days.

"That's right! Our brigade leader is really something. A couple of years ago, when the commune asked us to report our grain production, other production teams were all trying to outdo each other in reporting higher figures in order to win the red flag. But our brigade leader just wouldn't report higher figures; he reported exactly what he had." Xu Xian became very interested when talking about Yin Fugui, and his words were full of pride.

"Wow, the commune won't criticize him?" Tang Zhitong was very surprised. In the torrent of the times, such a person actually emerged in Beijing.
Red flags and white flags are a very popular and intuitive method of reward and punishment in recent years. Those who do well are rewarded with red flags, which gives them face; those who do poorly are given white flags, hoping that they will feel ashamed and then improve.

Tang Zhitong knew about the red and white flags; he had used the same trick on the construction site back then. However, at his suggestion, the red flags would offer more preferential treatment, such as an extra half spoonful of meat when serving meals.

"Approval? Of course we'd approve! They've made sure our captain pays plenty of apologies." Xu Xian shook his head, explaining with considerable pride:
“The commune complained that the reported yield was too low, saying that our land was good and we had plenty of water, so it was impossible for us to produce so little.”

Our team leader slammed his fist on the table and said that he had been farming for most of his life and knew exactly how much he could produce. If the commune leaders were not satisfied, they could come and farm the land themselves.

We weren't envious of the crops we grew; the commune left us enough food for our own rations and took the rest away.

How could the commune agree? They wanted to remove our brigade leader from his post, but all the men in our village, young and old, disagreed.

The staff member who came to announce the news almost couldn't leave the village. Later, seeing that no one else would cooperate, the commune had no choice but to give in to our demands.

"Hey, they're all men with guts!" Tang Zhitong gave a thumbs up again. Legally speaking, both the village chief and the team leader were elected by the villagers themselves, and the higher-ups had no right to remove them. But these are special times, so it's understandable that they might have a little extra power now and then.

"That's right. Other production teams were stripped bare when they handed over their grain to the state. Only our brigade, based on the yield reported by Captain Yin, kept enough for our own rations and planting, and only handed over the rest as grain to the state."

However, last year, the commune said the country was facing difficulties and asked our production team to hand over more grain, which we did. So this year, everyone's grain supply is a bit insufficient, and we have to drink gruel mixed with wild vegetables."

Xu Xian's words contained no complaint. He said that it was nothing for him to suffer a little injustice while contributing to the country.

"Hey, Xiao Xian, I heard we have a representative from our team?" As the two were chatting, an old man with a wrinkled face barged in. After speaking to Xu Xian, he looked at Tang Zhitong and asked, "You're that representative, aren't you?"

"Hello, Uncle Yin, my name is Tang Zhitong, the representative you mentioned." After hearing Xu Xian call him Captain Yin, Tang Zhitong stood up and extended his hand to Yin Fugui with a big smile.

It's hard for Tang Zhitong not to respect a team leader who is so dedicated to his members and doesn't mess things up under pressure.

"Oh dear! Representative Tang, you've come all this way, why didn't you tell us beforehand? We could have been prepared. Look, look, there's no time to make arrangements, so you'll have to make do with the communal meals." Yin Fugui, with his half-silver hair, said politely, holding Tang Zhitong's hand.

"Haha, Uncle Yin, you're too kind. I'm not picky. I'll eat whatever's available. I'll give you food coupons." Tang Zhitong really didn't want to eat communal meals. He had taken care of his own lunch and dinner yesterday. But since he had come to Nanyu today, he wanted to see if the food here was different from what he ate outside.

"Alright, alright, come on, I'll take you to eat." Upon hearing that Tang Zhitong was offering food coupons, Yin Fugui didn't even bother with any pretense of politeness or refusal, and pulled him out with a beaming smile.

Yin Fugui was highly respected in Nanyu. With him around, Tang Zhitong didn't even have to wait in line and managed to get a bowl of vegetable porridge.

It's called a vegetable porridge, but there aren't many wild vegetables, only about 10%; the rest is mostly golden cornmeal.

Yin Fugui scooped up a pot of tobacco and waited for Tang Zhitong to eat it.

"This food is pretty good." Tang Zhitong took a bite and said that the taste was far superior to what the Zhang family had eaten there.

"Hehe, it'll have to do." After Tang Zhitong actually ate, Yin Fugui spoke up: "Representative Tang, you see, you've eaten, and you've seen the difficulties. Can you help solve the problem of our commune members' difficulty in accessing medical care?"

Now it was Tang Zhitong's turn to be stunned. Was this how things were supposed to be done? He'd already given her the food coupons, and she'd only taken a bite! Was it too late to return them? Had he been tricked?
(End of this chapter)