The 1960s: The Story of a Country Girl's Journey to the City

Captain Su Daqiang was still on stage assigning tasks when three people huddled together discussing the eldest son's affairs. Suddenly, someone in the crowd said:

"Look, what do those people do?"

At the sound, everyone turned their heads, and Su Daqiang stopped talking and looked into the distance. He saw a dozen or so people on bicycles coming this way.

At that time, bicycles were no less precious than cars in later generations, and arguably even rarer. Nanshan Brigade was considered wealthy within the entire commune, with only two bicycles in the whole village: one belonging to the old Party Secretary and the other bought by Lin Xiaoquan for his wedding. It was truly unusual for this brigade to have more than ten bicycles.

A dozen or so cars pulled up and stopped in the open space. The person leading the way was Secretary Yan from the commune. I didn't recognize the people behind him, but their overall demeanor was unlike that of ordinary people. They were all ramrod straight, with serious expressions, and their walking pace was remarkably synchronized. Even though they weren't lined up, it was obvious.

They were all dressed in civilian clothes, but their overall demeanor made it clear at a glance that they were either soldiers or people with military experience.

Su Daqiang hurriedly stepped forward to greet him and exchanged a few pleasantries with Secretary Yan. Then he invited Secretary Yan to come up on stage and give a speech to everyone.

Secretary Yan didn't stand on ceremony and went straight to the stage to speak, but everyone's attention was still on those dozen or so people. Although the secretary was not often seen, he had come several times before, but those dozen or so people were people they had never seen before.

The aunties and older women started discussing whether these people were married or not. They all looked to be in good shape, and some even thought about going over to ask them later if any of their relatives' or friends' daughters were unmarried and they could introduce them to someone.

After being glared at by the sharp eyes of these aunties and older women, the young men's ears turned red. Only the two older men in front remained as calm as old dogs.

One was tall and rugged, with a dark complexion and large eyes, exuding an air of authority. The other had well-groomed eyebrows, phoenix eyes, a handsome face, fair skin, and an upturned mouth, giving him a good-natured appearance.

Interesting. One has a serious expression and a tough demeanor, clearly not someone to mess with; the other has a smiling face and a refined air. Standing together, they're about the same height, yet they give off completely different vibes, but they also seem remarkably compatible. What a strange pair.

A pair? Why did that word even come to my head? But looking at the two of them again, it seems that description is correct.

Secretary Yan spoke earnestly on the stage for several minutes, but failed to capture the attention of the villagers and lost his spirit, so he simply got straight to the point.

"Everyone, please be quiet. These comrades who came with me are from our commune's joint defense team. Today, they're here to share some safety knowledge with you. Let's welcome Comrade Fang to speak. Let's give him a round of applause!"

As he spoke, the leader clapped his hands, and seeing that even the secretary was clapping, everyone else followed suit.

After speaking, they invited one of the people who had been standing at the front to come up and speak, while the others stood below the stage, facing the villagers. Their eyes kept scanning everyone; what did this mean? Were they looking for someone?

Bao Ya had this feeling. Listening to the safety precautions given on stage—fire prevention, theft prevention, staying away from water, being wary of large prey when going up the mountain, and being aware of suspicious people, etc.—it felt like a cobbled-together message, and the presentation wasn't very good.

"If you discover any unusual situations, please let us know."

Listening to what was being said intermittently, Bao Ya felt herself falling asleep.

What are the special circumstances? Has that movement started now? Bao Ya felt that the start of the movement wouldn't affect her much. She had asked her grandmother, and the Su and Lin families had never been rich. The most successful one was her grandfather, who had been an apprentice in a pharmacy in the city before liberation. The rest of them were all tenant farmers, and they had never even owned any land.

If you asked her to report someone, who would she report? It would definitely be the Lin family, since they're the ones she's offended the most right now.

Lost in thought, she realized the sun was already high in the sky, so bright it was hard to open her eyes, and the speech on stage wasn't over yet. She just wanted to go home and take a nap.

Bao Ya turned her head and looked around; everyone was in a similar situation. Huh? Why did Lin Dahe go over there? Oh? He's getting closer and closer to Secretary Yan; he hasn't given up yet.

Lin Dahe was indeed not giving up. He thought about it when he got back that day and felt that what Bao Ya said that day was not credible. If he was to be criticized by name, it should be the brigade cadres who should step forward. Why would they let a little girl like her deliver the message?

It has to be said that he was right. Bao Ya knew about his gift-giving; her uncle told her when he came back. The commune cadres decided to give the gifts they received to the "Five Guarantees" households (households receiving government assistance) as a collective decision. He wasn't the only one who gave gifts; all the gifts received were given to the "Five Guarantees" households. The criticisms were made up by her to scare him.

Seeing Lin Dahe sidling up to her, Bao Ya's mischievous side was rekindled.

"Now, if you have any questions, you can report them to the organization. We can also answer any questions you have. If you discover any suspicious persons or items, please let us know..."

"Reporting to the government! Oh no, reporting to the leaders, I've made a discovery!"

Fang Mingda was running out of fabrications. He waited for his men to observe each villager individually to see if anyone was behaving strangely. There were quite a few people in the group, so it was impossible to observe from a distance; they could only look at each one with their own eyes.

Bao Ya's words instantly silenced the entire venue.

Fang Mingda also looked at the girl who was speaking. He had noticed her earlier and felt that she was a little different from others. Others would secretly look at them and quickly hide when they were discovered.

She observed them openly for a while, her clear eyes filled with curiosity and inquiry, along with a strange sense of familiarity. Did she know them? This was odd. Meeting her gaze made her feel a little embarrassed.

Secretary Yan also tiptoed to look for the person speaking in the crowd. When he saw it was Bao Ya, he gasped. This girl must have taken the wrong medicine. Others might not know what these people were doing, but he knew very well. Right now, he wanted to go up and shut this girl up.

"Oh? What did you discover?"

Fang Mingda struck up a conversation with her without making a sound, but he didn't have much hope. Based on his experience, he couldn't see anything wrong with her.

"I found something suspicious in my house."

When she mentioned my home, everyone assumed it was the brigade leader's home, even Secretary Yan thought so. At that moment, beads of sweat started dripping down his forehead.

The man who had been standing with Fang Mingda looked serious and slowly approached her.

Hearing her words, Lin Dahe looked at Su Daqiang, his schadenfreude barely concealed. It was as if he were saying, "Look at the ungrateful wretch you raised."

Su Daqiang wasn't nervous, but he felt that this child was causing trouble again. With so many leaders present, it wasn't appropriate for her to act like this.

"Bao Ya, stop fooling around, the boss is busy."

Su Daqiang rushed forward to scold her, but Fang Mingda became interested and raised her hand to stop Su Daqiang, continuing, "What did you find?"

"It's a small box that's this tall, this long, and this wide."

Bao Ya gestured to indicate the size of a radio in a movie or TV show, and Fang Mingda's expression immediately became serious. He glanced at Wang Xiao beside him and then asked, "What's inside that little box?"