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

In the courtyard of Zhao Jintao's three tiled houses, Gao Bing, Li Feng, and Wang Jiakun each sat on a chair, heads drooping.

Jin Tao's mother didn't even pour him a cup of tea; she was so angry that she fell ill.

"Excuse me, I'll go boil some water."

"Stop burning it, sit down, sit down and talk, I feel choked up too."

Gao Bing waved his hand; he wasn't in the mood for tea.

"Dashui Village was made a model village because the county party secretary and Commander Zhou were backing it up. Now, Commander Zhou is injured and has gone abroad for treatment. Fu Sanjun can no longer hold the fort. The city is making an example of it, so we have no choice but to temporarily stop. However, what Commander Zhou said last year is still ringing in my ears."

Farmers work hard from the beginning to the end of the year, barely managing to eat their fill. The country can't stay like this forever, can it?

Gao Bing couldn't understand it at all. What was wrong with contracting out work? The economy was more active, and people were better off. How could it be seen as a way to undermine others?

"Secretary Gao, Yang Zheng wrote to me."

"What did he say?"

"Many veterans from the military have been transferred to civilian positions. One senior officer said that the country is now focusing on economic development. I think this contract responsibility system was inevitable sooner or later."

"Really? Sigh, if Commander Zhou hadn't been injured, he might have been in direct control of our city, and things wouldn't have come to this..."

"Secretary Gao, the darkness before dawn is more terrifying. We can wait."

Zhao Jintao said with certainty that it was Yang Zheng who gave him great confidence.

Wang Jiakun, who had remained silent until now, said, "Actually, Dashui Village is just a small village. As long as no one reports it, the work will be done household by household. The team will still record work points as usual. What can outsiders tell?"

"Hey, that's a good suggestion, kid. There's always a way around policies. But Zhao Jintao, you have to hold a meeting. Every household has to sign a pledge, and nobody is allowed to tell anyone. To outsiders, it looks like a large collective, but it's actually contracted out to individual households. Pretty good, haha."

"With Secretary Gao's words, I'll hold a meeting tonight and have them sign and put their fingerprints on it. If anyone tells anyone, the villagers' spittle will drown them," Zhao Jintao said happily.

"Raising pigs and rabbits is all done on credit, and it's all registered. There's no way to fake it; we can only follow the policy. As for chickens, ducks, and geese, if you raise four or five, just leave it alone," Gao Bing sighed.

"Okay, our village will definitely keep quiet and do it secretly."

"Zhao Jintao, I only made a verbal promise and can't take responsibility. You should think it over. The brigade won't investigate, the commune won't investigate, the county won't investigate, but the city might."

"I'm willing to take full responsibility. I'm already a farmer, what more can they do to me?"

"Okay, that's settled then. I haven't eaten all day, I'm starving."

"Secretary Gao, why don't you eat at my house?"

"Never mind, go and comfort your mother."

Grandma Qiaoqiao prepared the meal and happily went to feed the chickens.

I raised a total of 16 chicks, five died, and there are still 11 left.

Now that it's half-grown up, it'll be just the right time to lay eggs when Qiaoqiao has her baby.

Yang Wenjin and Qiaoqiao's grandfather returned home dejectedly. Yang Wenjin said, "Mom, let's kill all the chickens."

"You little brat, what are you saying? Anyone who dares to touch my chickens, I'll fight them to the death. My Qiaoqiao is in confinement after giving birth, and these chickens are what she needs."

"Mom, there was a meeting at the team headquarters just now, and we're not allowed to keep any animals anymore."

"What did you say? You say I can't keep them? What about my chickens and pigs?"

Grandma Qiaoqiao swayed a few steps, feeling a little unsteady.

"The pigs have to be handed over to the magistrate, but you can receive a small subsidy for fodder. The chickens are handled by the family; those that need to be slaughtered have already been slaughtered."

"No, it changes every day! These chicks will be laying eggs soon, it's such a waste to kill them!"

"Mother, alas, even Secretary Gao can't do anything about it."

"Write a letter, write to Qiaoqiao and ask her what exactly the policy is from above?"

"You absolutely can't write anymore. My in-laws are unconscious, and Qiaoqiao is pregnant. Writing a letter over such a trivial matter will only frighten her. Even Jintao has returned from the Academy of Agricultural Sciences."

Grandpa Qiao said in a muffled voice, "I think this matter has a lot to do with my in-laws' coma. No one will give face to those outside their position; on the contrary, some adversaries are deliberately suppressing them. Old woman, we mustn't step forward. Listen to Wenjin, kill them all."

Grandma Qiaoqiao was shocked: "Is it related to Commander Zhou? Suppression? Old man, will Zheng'er be in trouble? He got in through Commander Zhou's connections."

This instantly put the whole family in a bad mood, and no one cared about the few chickens anymore.

Yang Zheng inexplicably lost his position as class monitor, but he didn't care. Chen Yan was furious and went straight to Tang Ping.

"Tang Ping, my apprentice is doing a good job as a squad leader, why are you dismissing him? Does he mean that my apprentice, Chen Yan, can't even be a squad leader?"

Who are you threatening? I'm taking sick leave starting tomorrow, for a year! I'll make sure your lousy steel plates are substandard, returned, returned every single day, and the whole factory starves!

Chen Yan grumbled on and on, making it seem as if the factory would go bankrupt without him.

Tang Ping listened quietly as he finished cursing before giving a cold laugh: "No wonder you, Chen Yan, don't want to be an official. It's good that you don't want to be an official, because you always resort to cursing in the streets when something happens, like a shrew."

"Am I cursing? I'm just stating the facts. Just wait and see if I take sick leave or not."

"Take a break now. Take a break today, and your apprentice will be out of here tomorrow."

"Tang Ping, who the hell are you trying to scare? Yang Zheng is a state-employed worker. You can't just tell him to get out and expect him to leave. Do you think you're the one who calls the shots in this factory?" Chen Yan roared angrily.

"Don't you know how he got in?"

"Did you come in through the back door?"

"Come on, you two, master and apprentice, make prosthetics for Zhou Wenhui every day. Don't you know who's behind Yang Zheng, you old bastard? Let me tell you the truth, it's because of my and your status as level eight fitters that Yang Zheng is still an employee of Huailin Machinery Factory. Foreman? Still thinking about being the foreman."

"What, what happened?"

"Commander Zhou, no, Zhou Zhonghai is no longer a commander, but a patient who was injured for the country. Who will give him face? The municipal party secretary talked to me and said that we should clean up the workers who got in through the back door. Those who should go home should go home, and those who should go farm should go farm."

I have a very small connection with that mayor; I gave him good wine and cigarettes, and even got you, the master fitter, involved, so I didn't touch him. Foreman, humph, you and Yang Zheng better keep your tails between your legs and don't cause me any trouble.

Tang Ping was equally blunt and his words were sharp.

"Isn't Commander Zhou still receiving treatment? Why are these people so impatient?" Chen Yan softened, adopting a respectful demeanor.

"The military headquarters are to be merged, and Huailin's troops are to be moved to Shandong. Old Zhou's position is gone due to the merger. If he is healthy, he should be transferred to a local position."

But he remained unconscious, and those around him either suppressed him or dismissed him. Chen Yan, you don't know the difficulties until you're in that position. Tell Yang Zheng to work hard; there's plenty of time. Being a squad leader is nothing.

"Yes, thank you, Director Tang."

"What, you're not pointing fingers at me, Tang Ping, and cursing me in the street anymore?"

"I'm Director Tang's man. I'll do whatever you tell me to do. Don't worry, with me, Chen Yan, here, any problems with the steel plates will be my responsibility. You're busy, you're busy."

Chen Yan bowed and quickly left the office.

After closing the office door, Chen Yan sighed. Yang Zheng had been affected, and Zhou Wenhui and his wife must be having a hard time too.