78: Bringing his wife and children to Harbin Institute of Technology

Zheng Shuyun's words made Cai Xun's heart sink.

He composed himself, trying to make his voice sound gentle, "Girl, don't rush, tell me slowly, why was Bingwen arrested?"

Zheng Shuyun's eyes were red, but she still tried her best to explain clearly, "It's because of the household responsibility system. There's a village chief in our village named Li Sanguang. He reported Bingwen for taking the capitalist road, and the police came and took him away last night."

"Household responsibility system?" Cai Xun frowned.

As a university teacher, he is much more perceptive of policy trends than the average person. In the past six months, there has been increasing discussion about rural reforms, and he has also heard about the Xiaogang Village in Anhui Province.

This matter can be big or small.

On a small scale, it's responding to the people's demands; on a larger scale, it's being a counter-revolutionary.

"Don't be afraid, I'm Cai Xun, the head of the Mechanical Engineering Department at Harbin Institute of Technology. Bingwen applied to our department." Cai Xun patted Zheng Shuyun on the shoulder. "With his grades, any university in the country would be vying for him. Now that I'm here, I can't let anything happen to him."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Shuyun finally couldn't hold back her tears and they fell.

These past two days, she's been taking care of the child alone, and she has to keep it a secret from her in-laws. She's been on the verge of losing her composure for a while now.

"Teacher Cai, please, you must save Bingwen..."

"Don't worry," Cai Xun said in a deep voice. "Take me to the police station in your county first, and I'll see if I can get him out."

Just then, a familiar voice came from behind.

"Director Cai, that's not fair! We agreed on fair competition, why did you run off first?"

Cai Xun turned around and saw that Ma Kui, the head of the mathematics department, had caught up with him at some point and was looking at him with a smile.

"Old Ma, now is not the time to argue about this." Cai Xun's expression turned serious. "Ye Bingwen has been arrested and taken to the police station."

Ma Kui's smile vanished instantly. "What?"

Cai Xun briefly explained the situation.

After hearing this, Ma Kui's expression also turned serious. "Let's go take a look together."

Zheng Shuyun led the two department heads to the Public Security Bureau, briefly explaining Ye Bingwen's situation along the way.

"Bingwen and I got married last year. He's smart and always comes up with ideas that others can't. Everyone in the village benefited from the household responsibility system; last year, we paid more grain tax than in the previous five years combined."

"Then why did Li Sanguang report him?" Ma Kui asked, puzzled.

"I..." Zheng Shuyun bit her lip. "I guess he's scared. I heard there's going to be some kind of meeting at the end of the year to discuss this matter. He thinks he's bound to be criticized, so he wants to push Bingwen out as a scapegoat first."

"You ungrateful wretch!" Cai Xun couldn't help but curse.

Ma Kui, however, remained calmer. "Comrade Shuyun, is this Li Sanguang you mentioned connected to the Public Security Bureau?"

Zheng Shuyun paused for a moment, "It seems... the policeman who arrested him is named Li Erniu, and he's Li Sanguang's cousin."

"Heh." Ma Kui sneered, "No wonder you moved so quickly."

The three quickly arrived at the Ping'an County Public Security Bureau.

Cai Xun went straight to the duty window and said, "Comrade, I am a teacher from Harbin Institute of Technology. Our student Ye Bingwen has been arrested by you. I would like to know more about the situation."

The junior detective on duty looked up, somewhat embarrassed. "Well... Brother Li is handling Ye Bingwen's case, and he's not here right now."

"Then who can make the decision?" Ma Kui asked.

"We have to wait for the director to return."

Cai Xun and Ma Kui exchanged a glance, both seeing the helplessness in each other's eyes.

Just then, a middle-aged man in a Zhongshan suit walked in from outside. He saw Cai Xun and Ma Kui, paused for a moment, and said, "And you two are...?"

"We are from Harbin Institute of Technology," Cai Xun repeated.

The middle-aged man's expression changed slightly. "I am Liu Jianguo, the director of the Ping'an County Public Security Bureau. Are you here for Ye Bingwen?"

"That's right." Cai Xun nodded. "Director Liu, Ye Bingwen is a freshman admitted to our school this year. His grades are among the best in the country. I want to know, what exactly did he do wrong?"

Liu Jianguo hesitated for a moment, "Someone reported him for implementing the household responsibility system and taking the capitalist road."

"The household responsibility system?" Ma Kui picked up the conversation. "Director Liu, I've heard rumors about this in Beijing too. It seems there's some new directive from above. Is your county in such a hurry to arrest people?"

Liu Jianguo's face stiffened.

He certainly knew what Ma Kui meant by those words.

There is currently a heated discussion about rural reform, but no conclusion has been reached at the higher levels. Who knows what the outcome of the meeting at the end of the year will be?

If the meeting results in support for the household responsibility system, wouldn't arresting people now be a contradiction to their own words?

"Well..." Liu Jianguo coughed lightly, "We're just following the rules. If someone reports it, we have to investigate."

"An investigation is fine, but you can't lock him up, can you?" Cai Xun's tone was somewhat unfriendly. "He's still a child, only 21 years old this year. What if he misses out on school if you lock him up like this?"

Liu Jianguo opened his mouth, about to say something, when another set of footsteps came from outside.

A middle-aged man in military uniform strode in, followed by two guards.

"Liu Jianguo, you come out here!"

Liu Jianguo's expression changed, and he quickly went to greet him, "Secretary Wang, what brings you here?"

The visitor was Wang Deming, an official from Shencheng.

Wang Deming, in his early fifties, with thick eyebrows and large eyes, clearly had a fiery temper. "Why am I here? I'm the one who should be asking you this! How dare your Ping'an County Public Security Bureau arrest students from Harbin Institute of Technology so casually?"

Sweat began to bead on Liu Jianguo's forehead. "Secretary Wang, please let me explain..."

"Explain what?" Wang Deming sneered. "The household responsibility system is still under discussion at the higher-ups, and you're already rushing to arrest people? What if the meeting results in support? Will you still be able to keep your position as director?"

These words were extremely harsh, and Liu Jianguo's face turned pale.

"Secretary Wang, I..."

"Stop with the 'I-I-I'." Wang Deming waved his hand. "Release them first, we can talk about it later."

Liu Jianguo dared not utter a single word of objection and immediately ordered someone to bring Ye Bingwen away.

Cai Xun and Ma Kui exchanged a glance and both breathed a sigh of relief.

However, Cai Xun was also wondering to himself, how could Wang Deming have arrived so quickly?

He subconsciously looked at Ma Kui, only to see Ma Kui smiling and greeting Wang Deming.

"Old Ma, what are you doing here?" Wang Deming was clearly very familiar with Ma Kui.

"I came to pick up my students," Ma Kui said with a smile. "I didn't expect to run into this kind of thing, so I called you."

Cai Xun suddenly realized.

It turned out that Ma Kui had secretly called for reinforcements while he wasn't paying attention.

This old fox!

However, Cai Xun also understood that now was not the time to fight over this; rescuing the person was the most important thing.

Ye Bingwen was soon brought out.

He looked a little tired, but his spirits were good. His first reaction upon seeing Zheng Shuyun was to ask, "How is An'an?"

"An'an is fine, she's at home," Zheng Shuyun said, her eyes red.

Ye Bingwen finally breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at the strangers.

"Bingwen, this is Cai Xun, the director of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Harbin Institute of Technology, and this is Ma Kui, the director of the Department of Mathematics," Zheng Shuyun quickly introduced. "These two teachers rescued you."

Ye Bingwen was slightly taken aback, then bowed deeply, "Thank you, both teachers."

"What are you thanking me for?" Cai Xun waved his hand. "With grades like yours, we'd be scrambling to get you, how could we let you stay locked up inside?"

Ma Kui also laughed and said, "Yes, if something really happens to you, it will be a loss for the country."

Wang Deming looked Ye Bingwen up and down, somewhat surprised. "You're the Ye Bingwen who scored 493 points?"

"It's me," Ye Bingwen nodded.

"Good, good," Wang Deming said with emotion. "It's not easy for Shencheng to produce such an outstanding student. Don't worry, I'll handle the household responsibility system. As for Li Sanguang, he should be criticized or punished as appropriate."

Ye Bingwen thought for a moment, then said, "Secretary Wang, could you let me handle Li Sanguang's matter myself?"

Wang Deming was taken aback. "What do you plan to do?"

"He's from the same village as me, and he reported me out of fear," Ye Bingwen said calmly. "I want to talk to him. If he's willing to change, we can let this matter drop. If he's not..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was already quite clear.

Wang Deming glanced at Ye Bingwen, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes. "Alright, since you put it that way, I'll leave it to you to handle. But if he causes any more trouble in the future, just come to me."

"Thank you, Secretary Wang."

Ye Bingwen bowed again.