Chapter 117 - 116: The Jittery Farm
Zhao Wendong pulled out the authorization slips from the Commune and Wang Defa and handed them to the soldier closest to him.
"I’m from the county, here to see your Farm Director Liu. I have authorization slips."
The young soldier took them, glancing from Zhao Wendong to the sled. He stopped trying to drive them away and nodded.
"Wait here!"
With that, he trotted into the farm’s courtyard. Zhao Wendong carefully sized up the labor and reform farm. The whole place looked more like a small prison. Not only were there sentries at the gate, but the high surrounding walls were also strung with barbed wire. There were five or six soldiers standing guard at the entrance.
Soon, the young soldier returned with a man in tow. The man was about thirty years old and dressed similarly to the soldiers, though he wasn’t carrying a submachine gun. He only had a pistol tucked into the utility belt at his waist.
"I’m Chen Baoguo, Squad Leader of the farm’s guard platoon. Which of you is Captain Zhao?"
Zhao Wendong quickly stepped forward and shook his hand. "Hello, Squad Leader Chen. That’s me."
"Alright. Come on, Captain Zhao. Our farm director has asked to see you."
Then, his gaze fell on the hunting rifle slung over Zhou Mancang’s back.
"Comrade, you can’t bring that rifle inside. Please leave it with us for safekeeping."
"Alright!"
Zhou Mancang agreed readily. ’Their guard platoon is armed with semi-automatic and fully automatic weapons. They wouldn’t even want his old single-shot rifle as a gift. It’s not like it’s going to get lost here.’
The barricade was moved aside, the main gate swung open, and Zhao Wendong led the horse-drawn sled slowly inside.
"You’ve got some pretty tight security here!"
Zhao Wendong commented, surprised by the multiple layers of security at the gate.
For a moment, it was unclear what came to Chen Baoguo’s mind, but he gave a helpless, wry smile.
"It wasn’t always this heavily guarded. Some time ago, a tiger snuck in during the middle of the night and killed one of our draft oxen. It also killed our animal handler and dragged the body off. We went into the mountains to hunt it twice but couldn’t find it. I heard it recently took a life in another village—a child, no less. Sigh!"
At this, Zhou Mancang couldn’t help but bring up what happened last night.
"That man-eater came to our village yesterday! It tried to get into our house, but my cousin here scared it off!"
Chen Baoguo looked stunned.
"And your cousin is...?"
"Him, of course! Zhao Wendong, my cousin!"
Zhou Mancang pointed proudly at Zhao Wendong. With an embarrassed smile, Zhao Wendong explained to Chen Baoguo what had happened the night before.
"A tiger did break in yesterday, but I don’t know if it was the man-eater you’re talking about. I managed to wound its head, but it wasn’t bleeding much, so I think it was just a minor injury."
Chen Baoguo stamped his foot in frustration and sighed.
"Sigh, that must be it. That thing is incredibly cunning. We keep trying to catch it, but we just can’t. Now, with the awful weather, scarce food, and the dense, vast mountains, we can’t justify a massive mobilization just for that beast."
An idea sparked in Zhao Wendong’s mind. His gaze fell upon his Xiaojin. ’So, the mountains are vast and the forests are dense, making the tiger hard to find? Just because humans can’t do it doesn’t mean it can’t be done.’
As the group walked to the center of the farm’s large courtyard, they saw a group of people coming out for labor. Each person had a placard hanging around their neck and wore thin, tattered, cotton-padded clothing. Under the watch of several supervisors, they lined up to clear the loose snow from the yard. Lin Zhiyin stared intently at the group, her expression tense as she searched for the familiar figures from her memory.
Though he was a squad leader, Chen Baoguo was surprisingly warm and quite chatty. Seeing Zhao Wendong and Lin Zhiyin watching the laborers, he took the initiative to explain.
Zhao Wendong asked impassively.
"Is this everyone?"
"No, this is just one group. Others are doing different work. We just have fewer people active outside since it’s so cold in the winter."
Chen Baoguo soon led them to Liu Haisheng, the Farm Director. Liu Haisheng was in his late thirties, with a square-jawed face and a perpetually serious expression. He was the type who never cracked a smile and wore a crisp, well-fitted cadre’s uniform.
"Hello, Captain Zhao. What can I do for you today?"
Liu Haisheng was a man of principle, but he wasn’t inflexible. Zhao Wendong was a Civilian Militia Captain from the same county, and a day might come when Liu Haisheng would need his cooperation. Furthermore, the Commune secretary and the director of the main procurement station had both personally put in a good word. He couldn’t simply refuse to grant him face and turn him away. That was why he’d summoned him to ask his intentions directly.
"Hello, Farm Director Liu. This is Lin Zhiyin. She would like to visit her parents."
"Visit her parents? Who are her parents?"
Both Liu Haisheng and Chen Baoguo looked surprised. The word "visit" implied her parents were confined here, but they’d never heard of anyone coming to visit these people before.
Lin Zhiyin immediately supplied her parents’ names, her voice trembling with emotion.
"They are Lin Huaimin and Wang Lulu!"
Liu Haisheng’s brow furrowed. His gaze rested on Lin Zhiyin for a moment, then shifted to Zhao Wendong. After a brief pause to think, he said...
"Very well. Squad Leader Chen, take this comrade to see her parents."
"Thank you, thank you!"
Elated, Lin Zhiyin gave Liu Haisheng a deep bow, then looked over at Zhao Wendong. Zhao Wendong nodded at her. She gave him a tearful smile in return before following Chen Baoguo away.
Zhao Wendong then gestured to the horse-drawn sled parked outside and looked at Liu Haisheng.
"Farm Director Liu, I also brought some food for the farm—over a hundred pounds of meat. It’s just a small token of my personal goodwill."
Liu Haisheng was stunned for a moment, his eyes darting toward the horse-drawn sled with a flash of excitement. But then a thought seemed to strike him, and he turned to look squarely at Zhao Wendong.
"Over a hundred pounds of meat? A ’personal token’? Captain Zhao, what do you want?"
Zhao Wendong hadn’t expected him to be so blunt, but since the other man clearly preferred to get straight to the point, Zhao Wendong didn’t beat around the bush either. He stated his intentions plainly.
"Lin Zhiyin is my intended. That makes them my future parents-in-law. I want them to have an easier time here."
"Impossible. Absolutely impossible!"
Liu Haisheng shook his head, refusing flatly. His brow was furrowed, his attitude resolute.
"They are here to labor. If they don’t work, how can they understand the toil and hardship we farmers endure? If we make their lives easy, how can they ever achieve the goal of reform? This is a matter of principle, and it is absolutely not allowed."
"Farm Director Liu, they’ve been laboring for nearly two years. They’ve already come to deeply understand the hardships of our fellow farmers, haven’t they? Letting them pause for a bit to... consolidate their lessons learned would only help them reflect more effectively, don’t you think?"
Zhao Wendong’s arguments came one after another, leaving Liu Haisheng stunned. ’Are these really the words of a Civilian Militia Captain from a production team? Has the political consciousness and sophistication of our grassroots cadres become this advanced?’
He shook his head, about to refuse again, when a commotion erupted outside the room. A woman with a black armband was helped in by two adolescents wearing sackcloth mourning clothes.
"Farm Director Liu! It’s been days, and my husband’s body is gone! That damned tiger killed him, then dragged him off and ate him! It only left his head... This is such a desecration!"
"Please, send the guard platoon into the mountains one more time! Find my husband’s body so he can be laid to rest! He can’t wander as a ghost with only a head! WAAAAAH!"
The woman sobbed as she spoke, her expression one of utter grief.