I was married off to a disabled hero in lieu of marriage; my in-laws doted on me and I aspired to gr

Zhang Cuilian, a housewife who never left the commune, ruled the village and her home for twenty-five years before finally leaving Dashui Village and seeing a different world.

There were more than a dozen women in the detention center. One of them had quarreled with her parents-in-law, which angered her mother-in-law so much that she attempted suicide by drinking poison. Her parents-in-law reported her to the court and she was detained.

Some people steal chickens from their neighbors, and when the neighbors find the chicken feathers, they deny it to the death and get detained.

Some of them beat men, one blow to the head, and they were detained, awaiting trial.

The small detention centers were all incredibly ruthless. Zhang Cuilian was a local bully, but here she had to keep a low profile.

For dinner on the first day, each person had a cornbread bun and a bowl of cabbage; there wasn't a drop of oil in the food.

Zhang Cuilian was hungry; she hadn't eaten all day. She took a bite of her cornbread, but the woman next to her snatched it away.

"You, my steamed bun!" Zhang Cuilian cried out in alarm and tried to snatch it away.

They didn't manage to grab the steamed buns, so each of them kicked and punched Zhang Cuilian, making her scream and attracting the attention of the police: "What are you doing? What are you doing? What's all the noise about?"

"Comrade, they stole my cornbread."

Zhang Cuilian leaned against the iron gate to lodge a complaint.

"Who, who is it?" the police officer asked sternly.

A thin woman smiled meekly, her eyes downcast: "It's me. I'm sorry, officer. I'll return it to her."

"Go ahead and beat them. At worst, we'll lock you up for a few more days. If you kill someone, we'll send you straight to prison."

The police officer left, grumbling and cursing. Zhang Cuilian, holding her own steamed bun, was beaming with pride.

Go ahead and rob us if you dare! Let's see if the police can handle you, huh...

Before she could even process what was happening, someone kicked Zhang Cuilian in the lower back. Zhang Cuilian fell straight down, dizzy and unable to even cry.

When she caught her breath, the cornbread was gone, the cabbage was gone, and her back hurt so much she couldn't stand up.

The women in the detention center were either chatting or scratching themselves in their own beds, showing no concern for Zhang Cuilian.

I got beaten up and was starving all day. I was so hungry that I couldn't sleep at all.

Zhang Cuilian was homesick; the outside world was terrifying.

Zhang Cuilian spent fifteen days in the detention center. In the morning, she studied legal knowledge, and at night she was beaten. She could only eat a small piece of cornbread each day to keep her alive. These fifteen days were like hell.

When she came out of the detention center, the police officer asked her, "Comrade Zhang Cuilian, do you know you were wrong?"

Zhang Cuilian bowed and said, "I understand, I won't do it again."

"Remember, society has rules, and there will always be places that will educate you properly. If you could turn black into white by being unreasonable and sophistry, then this world would be full of people who turn black into white."

"Yes, yes, I understand."

It was still over forty li (about 20 kilometers) from the county town to Dashui Village. No one came to pick her up. Zhang Cuilian had five cents in her pocket, bought two steamed buns, and drank water from the pond along the way, managing to walk all the way back.

It was already dark when she got home. Zhang Cuilian longed for Jin Tao's father to comfort her, cook her a pot of rice and stir-fry a dish, so she could properly cry out all the grievances she had suffered over the past fifteen days.

To her surprise, Jin Tao's father not only showed no pity for her, but coldly said, "If you try to extort money from people again, we'll get a divorce. You've completely disgraced the Zhao family."

Only fifteen days? And this man has already changed his mind?

But that was the most painful part. When she learned that it would cost 25 yuan to hire someone to plant soybeans, Zhang Cuilian fainted.

From then on, Zhang Cuilian would avoid Minister Zhou whenever she saw him, and never dared to visit Qiaoqiao's house again.

Zhou Wenhui came to Dashui Village with a reporter from the news department and was amazed to see Qiaoqiao and Xiaowei digging potatoes in the sand.

Qiaoqiao, who was fair-skinned and clean, was tanned as dark as charcoal. Her chubby son, Xiaowei, was holding a small yellow dog covered in sand. You couldn't tell at all that they were city kids.

Especially his own father, Commander Zhou, whose roar could terrify the enemy, was wearing a tattered straw hat and a ragged undershirt, sweating profusely as he picked potatoes.

"Editor-in-Chief Zhou, where is your father, Minister Zhou?"

The Huailin Daily received a notice from the provincial daily newspaper that the central government was going to send people down to promote Tonggang County. As a local media outlet, it should first promote Tonggang County. So, the news department of the Huailin Daily came.

They came to interview Minister Zhou, but when they arrived in the county and the commune, they couldn't find Minister Zhou anywhere, so they followed Zhou Wenhui to Dashui Village.

"Look, that's my dad," Zhou Wenhui said, pointing to an old farmer in the distance.

"Is that Minister Zhou? Editor-in-Chief Zhou? Should your father change his clothes?"

Minister Zhou represents the image of the entire province; isn't he dressed too shabbily?

"My dad doesn't listen to advice very well. Why don't you go and ask him?"

"Okay, let's go and talk to them."

Before the reporter could even speak to Minister Zhou, a naked child ran over, carrying a dog: "Grandpa, earthworms, fishing..."

A woman in black called out from behind, "Xiaowei, bring the kettle to your mother."

The reporter was bewildered. Editor-in-Chief Zhou was the idol of countless young girls, but the woman, the child, and the father in front of her didn't seem to match his image at all.

"Qiaoqiao!" Zhou Wenhui shouted loudly.

"Hey, Wenhui, what brings you here? Don't get down, your leg is injured."

Qiaoqiao ran ashore, and the two people, who were worlds apart, looked at each other affectionately and held hands.

"You've gotten a tan," Zhou Wenhui said affectionately.

"Everyone in the countryside gets tanned, right? Dad said, 'Let's show off our health by tanning.'"

"Wow, so healthy!"

"It's okay, I have good skin, it'll be white again in a couple of days. Are you coming to pick me up and take me home? How many more days? The potatoes aren't all harvested yet."

"My colleague came to interview my dad, so I came along."

"I heard that people from the central government are coming to interview us. Our Tonggang County, Dashui Village, has become a focus of national publicity. Wenhui, Dad is really amazing. He not only led the people to get rich, but also made them famous." Qiaoqiao said with pride.

"Yes, Dad is the pride of the people of the whole province. This time, when the central reporters came down to interview, the whole province and even the whole country will take Tonggang County as an example to implement the national rural economic reform."

"So, Dad was the one who fired the first shot in agricultural reform."

"Yes, that's entirely true."

On the other side, the reporter took the press pass and communicated with Zhou Zhonghai, hoping that Minister Zhou could change into a piece of clothing that wasn't so badly torn.

Zhou Zhonghai agreed. This wasn't just about his personal image; it was about the image of the entire city and province. He had to dress in a way that exuded the unique majesty of a soldier.

Several city people came to Dashui Village. The women were wearing beautiful dresses, and the men were carrying huge machines. They were taking pictures of Minister Zhou, and all the villagers who loved to watch the excitement gathered around.

Upon learning that the story would be reported, some of the bolder ones secretly approached Minister Zhou, hoping to get their names in the newspaper as well.

Zhou Zhonghai is very familiar with Dashui Village and can answer any question the reporter asked fluently.

This is what a good leader of the people should be like. For the sake of agricultural reform and to ensure that the people have enough to eat, provincial and ministerial officials have long been rooted in the countryside, living and eating with the people, and even bringing their own grandchildren along.

As a result, Zhou Xiaowei's naked photo also made it into the daily newspaper.