Chapter 20: A Chat by the Roadside

Yun Suji requested to visit a standard village first. On the map, numerous standard villages were distributed in a cross shape along the Nandu River and the Chengmai highway. Yun Suji asked the county office to recommend a relatively progressive village. The naturalized citizen cadre at the county office flipped through some cards and said that Borang Village, south of Pingshen Ridge, was a model village, so he recommended him to go there.

According to the system, the county office was supposed to send a messenger to notify the village head and the resident cadre to come to the county for a meeting and to introduce Senator Yun. But Yun Suji said that the village cadres were also busy with their work, and a trip to the city would take at least half a day, which was not worth it. He was used to dealing with the farmers in the Tiandihui in Lin’gao, so he traveled light, changed his clothes, and instead of taking a carriage, he took a sedan chair, wore straw sandals, and took a boat to the edge of the village, then walked in by himself. The four guards also disguised themselves as ordinary farmers and followed at a distance.

There was still more than a li from the ferry to the village. The road into the village was a dirt road, but it was well-maintained and flat, with no pits or potholes. Some small trees had been planted along the road. Although the trees were thin, they were green and lush, and it was clear that care had been taken in their maintenance. No wonder the naturalized citizen cadre at the county office said this was an “advanced village.”

Yun Suji walked slowly. Not far ahead, he saw a large tree by the roadside. An old man was resting under the tree, with a carrying pole beside him, smoking and taking a break.

An idea struck Yun Suji: if he just ran into the village like this, the people he met would inevitably be officials, and they would naturally speak in platitudes. He wouldn’t hear anything useful. The countryside was a society of acquaintances, and a stranger who suddenly appeared would not be spoken to freely. This old man was resting by the roadside. If he wasn’t from this village, he was from a neighboring one, and he should know a lot about Borang Village.

He took out a cigarette from his pocket and walked over to him. “Old man, may I have a light?”

He didn’t know where the old man was from, so he spoke in the new language.

“Sure,” the old man said readily, handing over his pipe. Yun Suji held his cigarette to the fire and lit it, taking a drag.

“You look like a cadre. Don’t you carry an Australian lighter with you?”

“I left in a hurry and forgot it,” Yun Suji said. Hearing his accent was that of the Central Plains Mandarin, he felt a sense of closeness. “Old man, are you from Henan?”

“That’s right, I’m from Henan Prefecture.”

Yun Suji knew that Henan Prefecture referred to Luoyang. He sat down next to him and said, “Then we’re half-countrymen. I’m from Dengfeng.” He couldn’t help but add a touch of a Henan accent to his speech.

“You’re from Henan too?” The old man’s words indeed showed a bit more warmth. “Where are you going?”

“Over there!”

As Yun Suji spoke, he saw that the tobacco in the old man’s pipe was finished. He took out a cigarette from his pocket. “Here, have one of mine.”

The old man waved his hand repeatedly. “That stuff is expensive. A pack costs a few circulation coupons. I’ll just smoke my own leaves…”

Yun Suji suddenly realized that there was a problem with his cigarette. The one he was carrying was the special supply “Holy Ship” brand. No naturalized citizen or native smoked this. Fortunately, the old man didn’t smoke cigarettes, otherwise he would have immediately noticed something was wrong.

“Don’t be polite, just smoke it,” Yun Suji said, stuffing it into his hand and lighting it for him.

The old man took a drag. “Eh, not bad! Just a bit weak.”

Yun Suji smiled, seeing that the other’s guard had relaxed considerably. He took the opportunity to ask, “Old man, are you from this village too?”

“I’m from this village,” the old man said, smoking the cigarette. “I went to the market today, sold some goods, and bought some oil and salt. You look like a cadre?”

“I’m from the county. I’m going to Borang Village to do some business.” He deliberately said the name of the neighboring village.

“So you’re from the county…” The old man hastily tried to get up.

“Don’t be so polite. We don’t do that here,” Yun Suji said. “We’re fellow countrymen meeting fellow countrymen. Let’s have a heart-to-heart talk. Don’t bother with these empty formalities.”

“Sure,” the old man said, nodding repeatedly and looking Yun Suji up and down. “Did you also come from Shandong with the Chief two years ago?”

“Me,” Yun Suji said vaguely, “it was a long time ago. I came with the Chief when he first arrived in Lin’gao.”

“Then you’re an old-timer…”

“What old-timer or newcomer,” Yun Suji said with a laugh. “Are you living well here?”

“No doubt about it. It’s like heaven and earth compared to the past. Back home, forget about oil and salt, a pancake made with bean dregs was a good meal.”

“How many mu of land do you have?”

“When I settled down, they gave me thirty mu. I didn’t want any of it, just one mu of private land to grow some vegetables. I’m not a farmer,” the old man said with a laugh. “I can’t do farm work. Back home, I made tofu. I wanted to open a tofu shop with my wife, but the cadre in the village wouldn’t allow it. He said no tofu shops were allowed in the village, and if I wanted to open one, I had to get approval from the county. I’m just a commoner, how would I dare to speak in the county yamen? I can’t speak the new language well either. One wrong word, and I’d get forty strokes first. I wouldn’t want my two old legs anymore…”

“Look at you. The Senate’s county office is not the Ming dynasty’s yamen. If you want to go, just go. What are you afraid of?”

“A commoner doesn’t even dare to breathe loudly in front of a cadre, let alone go to the county to deal with officials. If I can’t open one, I won’t. Anyway, I still have my skills. I won’t starve no matter what I do.”

Yun Suji couldn’t understand why he wasn’t allowed to open a tofu shop. He thought to himself that the food factory needed someone to make tofu. He looked at the old man’s carrying pole, with stacks of things wrapped in bulrush leaves and tied with straw. There were also two oil-paper baskets tied to the pole. He was curious. “What are you selling?”

The old man chuckled. “Pancakes. There are construction sites everywhere in the county, and there are laborers everywhere. My pancakes are fragrant and filling. The oil-paper baskets have the watermelon sauce my wife made this year. I took them to sell together. More than a hundred jin of pancakes and two baskets of watermelon sauce were sold out in half an hour.”

“You can make pancakes too?” Yun Suji was surprised. The people of Henan liked to eat wheat-based food, especially steamed buns. He had never heard of them making pancakes themselves.

“I can’t make them. But this village is full of people from Shandong. I learned by watching. What’s so special about it? I’m used to grinding and mixing batter. The ones I make are only better than theirs,” the old man said, smoking his cigarette. “The weather is warm here, and there are edible things everywhere. Even growing a garden is easier than in Henan! I grind them all together and mix them. It’s delicious and saves grain. The laborers get their fill, and I make a little money—my son hasn’t married yet.”

Yun Suji laughed. “You have a son too? Why doesn’t he come out and do business with you?”

The old man smoked the cigarette butt until it was almost burning his hand before reluctantly throwing it away. “I had four sons and three daughters. Only my youngest son is left, he’s only sixteen. His sister died after we came to Hainan. A waste. Otherwise, she could have been married off in exchange for a wife. If I had known, I would have picked up a little girl on the road when we were fleeing… The bride price here is too expensive.”

Yun Suji saw him speak so casually, but the leathery skin and dark face told of the hardships of his journey. He continued, “My son is an apprentice at the brick and tile factory, earning a wage. Once he became a worker, he got ambitious. He doesn’t even come home, not even a message. His mother is very worried. I heard there are often accidents and deaths in the factory…”

“Aren’t you worried?”

“What’s the use of worrying?” The old man picked up his pipe. Yun Suji handed him another cigarette. This time, he didn’t refuse and lit it directly. “Life and death are determined by fate. Who would have thought we could come here and live a peaceful life after fleeing from home?” He sighed. “So many people died on the road and fed the wild dogs. To be able to live a peaceful life is a gain. Don’t you think so, old man?”

“Yes, yes,” Yun Suji nodded. He thought to himself that it was no wonder they were content with a little wealth. They had all been through the gates of hell and had seen too much life and death. It was easy for them to adopt a “live for today” attitude. He then asked about the situation in the village, how the land was being cultivated, and whether there was enough food.

“I don’t know anything about farming. From the looks of it, the crops are doing well, much better than back home. There’s enough food for everyone. Families with many children and weak labor are short of food, but they can get by with more pumpkins. I haven’t heard of any family not being able to make ends meet. It’s just that there’s too much corvée labor, and we can’t catch our breath…”

As they were talking, a young man came running from the village. He was in his early twenties, with thick eyebrows and large eyes. He was not tall, but he looked strong and energetic. He wore a blue-cloth, front-buttoned cadre’s uniform. When the old man saw him running over, he quickly got up in a panic, threw away his cigarette butt, and was about to hide when the young man caught up with him.

“You old rascal Meng, don’t think I won’t dare to deal with you just because you’re old. I told you to go to the construction site to do advance work, but you dodged it, saying you were going to the county town to see your son! So you were doing business instead.” He raised his hand and punched Old Meng, sending him flying. He then kicked him again, knocking over the baskets. The pancakes wrapped in bulrush leaves rolled all over the ground, and the two baskets overturned.

Yun Suji saw him about to kick the baskets again and quickly stopped him. “If you have something to say, say it properly. Why are you hitting people? This is all food, you can’t waste it!”

The young man, seeing a “Cheng Yaojin” suddenly appear, and seeing that he also looked like a cadre, softened his tone slightly. “Who are you?”

“I’m from the county, here on business.”

“Since you’re from the county, you should know that the county just issued a notice to strengthen the supporting construction of winter water conservancy, and we need to mobilize the able-bodied laborers from more than a dozen villages here to go to the construction site. If we’re late, there will be consequences! He’s an old man, and I don’t expect him to do hard labor, but he can at least go and do some advance work and cook. He’s just making excuses and being lazy!”

Yun Suji understood now. Just as he was about to say a few words of persuasion, the young man shouted at Old Meng again, “You’d better take your carrying pole and go back to the village to get ready. You’re going to the construction site today to do advance work. Otherwise, tomorrow I’ll have the militia tie you up and send you to the labor reform team to dig sand!”

Old Meng didn’t dare to speak. He picked up his carrying pole and went back to the village. The young cadre followed behind him. Yun Suji thought to himself that Qiongshan had no prison at all. How could a “labor reform team” have appeared out of nowhere? Fei Si had said that some cadres arbitrarily beat and arrested people. It seemed that was indeed the case.