Chapter 148: Wei Aiwen's New Year's Eve Party

“That’s right, no ambiguity at all.” Wei Aiwen, somewhat proudly, recounted his experience with political work, holding a “speak bitterness and think of sweetness” session. He also specifically praised Wang Tao’s skills.

Wu De nodded with a smile. “Little Wei, although I’m a Navy man, I’ve been in the PLA for over a decade. I’m going to pull rank and say a few words to you: your way of doing political work is a crooked path.”

“‘Speak bitterness and think of sweetness’ is a crooked path?!” Wei Aiwen’s face flushed red, full of defiance.

“‘Speak bitterness and think of sweetness’ is not a crooked path, but what you did was a ‘technique,’ not from the ‘heart’,” Wu De said. “Technically, you and Wang Tao cooperated very well and achieved some results for a time. But political work must be done with the heart.”

“Are you saying we don’t use our hearts?”

“Using your heart means you should care more about the soldiers and the masses, care more about their hardships.” Wu De said with a reproachful look, “You should think more about these soldiers. Many of them are orphans, their families are gone, they have no relatives. Don’t you think they feel sad during the holidays? Some of them have fled from the mainland, their relatives are still back home, and they don’t know if they are alive or dead. Haven’t you seen soldiers crying secretly at night? You should know the taste of a new recruit being homesick, right? You should be especially considerate to them during festivals. Do you think giving them a good meal and some rice and salt tickets is a sign of caring?”

Wei Aiwen nodded. “I understand. It’s basically about making more emotional investments.”

“I’m not used to the word ‘investment,’ but that’s more or less what it means,” Wu De said. “If the soldiers recognize you as a good officer, when a battle comes, you won’t have to tell them twice to clear a minefield. They won’t even frown when they take a bullet for you. If you usually act high and mighty, they’ll just go through the motions in a fight. And if you’re not good to your soldiers, you might even get a bullet in the back.”

Wei Aiwen said, “When I first came to the unit from the new recruits’ company, my squad leader even washed my feet. I felt very awkward, and that squad leader was also not a good person!”

“That squad leader made the same mistake you’re making now,” Wu De continued his political education. “A squad leader washing a soldier’s feet is a manifestation of caring for new recruits, but it’s not the act of washing feet itself that is caring. If your squad leader usually doesn’t treat his soldiers well, what’s the use of just washing their feet? You wash their feet once for no reason, and you think the soldiers will trust and obey you? That’s called formalism.”

Wei Aiwen felt he had benefited greatly and said sincerely, “Ah De, you have so much experience. You must guide us more in the future.”

“What guidance can I offer? The first thing in the army is unity,” Wu De said. “You should go get busy.”

“Alright, I’ll go down to the troops now. I’m a bachelor anyway, nothing to do on New Year’s Eve. About the labor assignment on the third day of the New Year—”

“I won’t forget. You can rest assured.”

As soon as Wei Aiwen left, Wu De took off his jacket, lay down on the bed, and continued to consider the reform of the labor system after the New Year. This also involved civil administration. Xiao Zishan’s Internal Affairs and Civil Administration Committee currently did not interfere with the management of the locals at all. This management system was a bit chaotic and should be unified. The matter of establishing a formal school also needed to be put on the agenda as soon as possible. Many children in the commune were not in school. The purchased orphans needed education, and the commune’s children needed it even more. They were our future…

As he thought, he fell asleep.

On the road, Wei Aiwen made a phone call to Dongmen Chuiyu, asking him to organize a party for all the officers and men of the battalion.

“Alright, let’s do it now. These soldiers were already bored with the New Year’s vigil, they were doing handstands and somersaults. By the way, Wu Nanhai just sent over four or five baskets of ‘fortune oranges’ for the camp, saying it’s a consolation gift for the soldiers’ hard work. I saved three jin for you—”

“Don’t save any for me. Dongmen, this is not good of you, creating special privileges,” Wei Aiwen said, still immersed in the noble feeling after being educated by Wu De. “Officers and soldiers are all equal. Distribute them evenly per person. Give them to the soldiers first, then the officers.”

“Damn, are you serious? Fine, then you can be the last one to get them,” Dongmen’s laughter came through the phone.

“It doesn’t matter if I don’t get any. Don’t you go using the Army’s oranges to suck up to Director-General Ma.”

“Don’t worry. If you want oranges, come quickly.”

The New Army’s party was held on the training ground, which fully demonstrated the advantage of Hainan’s warm weather. A bonfire was lit in the center, and the walls of the barracks were decorated with many red spring couplets and New Year’s paintings. Except for those who had already gone to sleep, all the soldiers were sitting around the fire. The only officers present were Dongmen Chuiyu and You Laohu. Wei Aiwen was also surprised to find Luo Duo, wearing the armband of the guard officer on duty, with a rifle on his back. The soldiers were all cracking melon seeds, chewing on dried sweet potato strips, and eating oranges, happily listening to Wang Tao’s storytelling.

When Dongmen Chuiyu saw Wei Aiwen arrive, he tossed him an orange. “You’re here too? Welcome, welcome!”

Wei Aiwen smiled at Dongmen, then snapped to attention and gave a grand salute to the soldiers. The soldiers hastily stood up and returned the salute.

“Sit down, everyone, continue with your fun,” he said, scanning the crowd. He felt that Wu De’s reminder was really correct. If he had told everyone to go back to sleep or to have a quiet vigil, it wouldn’t have been such a lively atmosphere.

Wang Tao had just finished a segment of “Bureaucratic Struggles,” a classic piece of pingshu (storytelling) by Liu Baorui. As an amateur pingshu enthusiast, he had put a lot of effort into it. Of course, at this moment, not to mention Qianlong, even Qianlong’s grandfather was nowhere to be found. So, besides changing some obvious Qing dynasty elements to Ming dynasty ones, he didn’t change things like Qianlong, He Shen, and Liu Yong, just presenting it as a story that happened in a fictional dynasty. The soldiers were all engrossed. When he finished a segment, they wouldn’t let him go, asking him to continue. Wang Tao modestly waved his hand, “Good food can’t be eaten all in one meal. Let’s ask Company Commander Wei to perform something. Let’s give him a round of applause!”

A burst of enthusiastic applause followed. The clapping styles were varied, as this was still a novelty for them.

Wei Aiwen didn’t decline. He walked to the center of the crowd and cleared his throat. He used to be a regular at KTV and a key figure in his company’s cultural activities, so he knew many songs. But pop songs were too soft. A military song would be better. He remembered the “Song of the Prairie Cavalry,” which he used to love to sing. He recalled the lyrics, hummed it once, removed and replaced some inappropriate parts, and then began to sing:

The prairie, oh the prairie, A vast prairie without end! Heroes ride horses across the prairie, Hey, the warriors gallop forward. Hey, the warriors gallop forward.

Maiden, please watch, The road ahead of us is flat and wide, Look, how long this road is, Hey, songs are sung all along the way. Hey, songs are sung all along the way.

On the road we’ve traveled, The fields around us are wide, These are all our farms, Hey, a new scene everywhere. Hey, a new scene everywhere.

But when we see, Smoke fills the horizon, The enemies hide in the forest over there, Hey, like dark clouds covering the blue sky. Hey, like dark clouds covering the blue sky.

Maiden, rest assured, We are ready to meet the enemy, Look, the cavalry gallops, Hey, the infantry charges forward. Hey, the infantry charges forward.

Hey, the Transmigration regime leads us. Hey, the Transmigration regime leads us.

This song was originally the final chorus of the fourth symphony “Epic of a Komsomol Soldier” by the Soviet composer Knipper. The lyricist was the young poet Gusev. Their collaboration won an award in the All-Union Komsomol Song Competition in 1934. Soon after, many choirs and singers at home and abroad began to sing it.

The song had the grandeur of a military anthem, a romantic color, and the heroic spirit of defending a new regime, making it very appropriate for the occasion. From the enthusiastic applause of the soldiers, he knew his performance was very successful. It seemed this song could be promoted in the army in the future.

After Wei Aiwen finished singing, he went down into the crowd. You Laohu patted him on the shoulder and said he sang well. He also quietly asked how the talk with Wu De went. Wei Aiwen couldn’t help but boast a little about how he had used his silver tongue to persuade Wu De.

On the field, some soldiers were singing local folk songs, while others were forming human pyramids and doing handstands, having a great time. You Laohu said, “I have to go back. My mom is still waiting to stay up for the vigil with me.”

“You’re such a filial son. Hehe.”

“What are you talking about? It’s just a person’s duty.” He stuffed the two oranges he had just received into his pocket and asked in a low voice, “Have you heard about the ‘life secretaries’?”

“I’ve heard. You want to get one too?”

“Of course. I told my mom I’d get her a princess to serve her. Now it’s my mom serving me.” You Laohu was a little embarrassed. “I’ll get a ‘life secretary’ first so she can rest.”

“A princess, huh? To be honest, I’m not that interested.” Wei Aiwen shook his head. Those small frames? And some of the women still have bound feet. It’s not a pleasant sight.

The next morning, Wu De woke up. Chu Yu served him as he washed up and then ate the sesame-filled sweet dumplings she had made herself. Seeing the girl running around with a cheerful expression, a flower tucked behind her ear, a thought suddenly crossed his mind. Why am I being so pretentious? A new year, a new beginning. I might as well just take her. By the standards of the other world, Chu Yu was just pretty, and her figure was nothing to speak of, certainly not a beauty. But he wasn’t too demanding when it came to women. At the last Executive Committee meeting, someone had proposed distributing ‘life secretaries’ to everyone. It was actually feasible. Let everyone enjoy a normal life, not always eating at the cafeteria…

As he was thinking, Chu Yu brought over two “fortune oranges” and knelt before him. “Chu Yu wishes my lord a happy and prosperous New Year.”

“Get up, get up. Just wish me a happy new year,” Wu De was sometimes uncomfortable with her customs. He took the oranges. Offering oranges for New Year’s greetings was a custom from the Chaoshan area.

But Chu Yu didn’t get up. She said with a grin, “You’re not even giving me a red envelope for the New Year’s greeting—”

“Alright, alright, here you go.” Wu De had prepared many New Year’s red envelopes the day before. The contents were actually very small, just a one-jin salt ticket in each. But the locals were deeply influenced by Guangdong customs and were very particular about this.

Seeing Chu Yu busily bustling about the room, he smiled without saying a word. A wisp of homesickness welled up in his heart, and he thought to himself, Sigh, when will we finally succeed and I can go back to my hometown to have a look.

On second thought, even if they immediately occupied Guangdong, the hometown of this era had nothing to do with his hometown.

Looking out the window, the sky was just beginning to lighten. Cadres from the commune were already coming to offer New Year’s greetings. Then he went out to visit some familiar families in the commune and to check on the collective dormitories. For breakfast on New Year’s Day, the cafeteria was serving everyone sweet dumplings with sesame filling. Wu De looked around and saw that no family was having a hard time, which made him quite happy.

After breakfast, although it was a holiday, there was nothing much to do. Wu De, as usual, went to inspect the various construction sites. These sites now relied on the commune’s labor supply. According to the plan, the brick kiln and the quarry would not stop work, and the labor reform team would be responsible for continuing production. The other project was the Baitu Village housing project in Bopu. This village was mainly for shipbuilding work, so the residences were still arranged in the port of Bopu, and the village was still called Baitu. Wu De did not ask for a car. He took his bodyguard, Yuan Qiushi, and walked along the road to Bopu to check on the progress of the project.

When he arrived at the construction site, he saw Wen Desi and several people from the construction department climbing on a high pile of river sand, pointing and discussing something.

“Wen Zong, good morning! Oh, right, Happy New Year to you.”

“Happy New Year to you too!” Wen Zong shouted from above. Wu De saw that Mei Wan, the head of the construction department, and a few other people he didn’t know well were also up there.

Wu De climbed up the pile of river sand. Wen Desi was holding a sketch and discussing something with the construction department. He leaned over and saw that it was a new architectural structure diagram for Baitu Village.

“What? Are you changing the architectural style of the new village?” Wu De saw that this structure was different from the standard residential buildings already built in the Bairen Commune.

“The current standard residential Type A in the Bairen Commune has a weakness: its defensive capability is low. It’s fine in our core area, but in a place like Bopu, we still need to consider defensive performance. There’s another problem you might not have noticed: farmers are not used to living in multi-story buildings, and the current Type A housing doesn’t take into account the people’s need for drying clothes.”

This new type of residence, called Type B, had all the houses arranged in a square, with a total of 38 households. Each household had a two-story space of 16 square meters, with an additional 10-square-meter rooftop terrace and a 6-square-meter small room, somewhat resembling a terraced house. The ground floor of the corner towers had public toilets. Wastewater and excrement were piped to a biogas digester. In the middle of the houses was a 400-square-meter drying yard with a public well in the center.

This type of building had no windows or doors on the ground floor facing outwards, only opening to the inner drying yard. The outer edge of the rooftop terrace had crenellations. The four corner towers could be used for sentry duty. The corner towers could also store a lot of the village’s public supplies. If an external enemy invaded, everyone could hide in their houses, with water and food, and hold out for a short time. The residential area could only be entered and exited through a single main gate, which had shooting holes in the gatehouse.