At midnight. On the dirt road leading to the commune, several torches crackled and burned.
Militia Company Commander Wang Weidong walked at the front, holding one end of a thick hemp rope. The other end of the rope was tied to Zhao Dazhuang, who looked like a dead dog. Two young militiamen flanked him, each holding one of his arms, practically dragging him forward.
Su Jianguo walked at the rear of the group, still carrying the broad-backed chopping knife in his hand. The blade reflected the torchlight.
“Uncle Su, I was really wrong… Please let me off this time…” Zhao Dazhuang had been pleading the entire way. His eyes were swollen like walnuts, unable to open, and the excruciating pain in his lower body made him break out in cold sweat with every step. He knew he had kicked an iron plate this time.
Su Jianguo didn’t respond. His steps were large and steady.
At two in the morning, the group knocked on the door of the commune police station.
The officer on duty came out, draped in his uniform. Seeing the scene outside, his drowsiness vanished completely. “Old Su? What’s happened in the middle of the night? Did someone die?”
Su Jianguo threw the chopping knife on the ground, producing a dull metallic clang. “Chief Li, I’m here today to rid the commune of a pest. This man climbed over the wall in the middle of the night, pried open the door, attempted to assault a woman in the house, and even threatened to take over the brigade leader’s position. We caught him red-handed. You decide what to do.”
Chief Li stepped forward and shone a flashlight on Zhao Dazhuang’s face. A strong smell of alcohol mixed with the pungent odor of Chinese medicine hit him, along with the foul stench of urine.
“Zhao Dazhuang?” Chief Li recognized the familiar face that often reported to the station, and his expression darkened immediately. “Drag him into the interrogation room.”
Within half an hour, the commune secretary was also alerted. He rushed to the police station, draped in a military coat.
After understanding the situation, the commune secretary slammed his hand on the desk, causing the enamel mug to vibrate. “Committing a crime under such circumstances! The nature of this offense is extremely vile! Comrade Su, rest assured, our commune absolutely cannot tolerate such a tumor that undermines production and construction and endangers the safety of our female comrades!”
In the interrogation room, Zhao Dazhuang was handcuffed to a heating pipe.
Chief Li held a notepad, looking at him coldly. “Speak. Who put you up to this?”
“I really don’t know…” Zhao Dazhuang cried, tears and snot streaming down his face. “I was just sleeping under the big locust tree at the village entrance this afternoon when I heard someone talking behind the tree. It was a woman. She said the brigade leader cares about his reputation, and if Su Nianqiu were to be… violated, he’d surely take the man as a son-in-law to cover up the shame. I was drunk and believed it…”
“A woman? Which woman? What did her accent sound like?”
Zhao Dazhuang racked his brain. “Her voice was soft and delicate, not as rough as the way locals speak. It had a bit of… a bit of a city accent! Yes! She was an educated youth!”
Chief Li’s pen paused. Su Jianguo stood outside the one-way glass, his eyes sharp as knives.
At daybreak. The loudspeaker of the Red Flag Brigade abruptly crackled to life.
“Attention, all brigade members! Attention, all brigade members! We are now broadcasting an urgent announcement from the commune.”
Villagers eating breakfast stopped their chopsticks and pricked up their ears.
“Last night, Zhao Dazhuang, a villager from our village, climbed over the wall and broke into the brigade leader’s home with the intent to commit a hooligan crime. He was caught on the spot. After overnight interrogation by the commune Party committee and the police station, Zhao Dazhuang confessed without denial. Given the extremely vile nature of his actions and the severe damage to social morals, it has been decided that Zhao Dazhuang is sentenced to twenty years of labor reform at the Seventh Farm in the Great Northwest. He will be escorted there today. We hope all commune members take this as a warning and abide by the law!”
The loudspeaker broadcast the announcement three times.
The entire Red Flag Brigade fell silent for a full minute before erupting into a wave of astonished discussion.
“Twenty years! His life is as good as over!”
“Serves him right! Let him go eat sand in the Great Northwest!”
“The brigade leader is serious this time. That Su family girl—no one should mess with her from now on.”
At the educated youth point.
Chen Xiaoman was holding an enamel water cup, about to take a drink. When the words “labor reform for twenty years” echoed from the loudspeaker, her fingers suddenly went weak.
“Clang—”
The cup fell onto the cement floor, splashing hot water all over her pants.
A female educated youth sharing the room turned to look at her. “Xiaoman, what’s wrong? You look so pale.”
Chen Xiaoman bit her lower lip hard, forcing out a smile. “It’s… it’s nothing. My hand slipped. This Zhao Dazhuang is truly terrifying, daring to do such a thing.”
She crouched down to pick up the cup, but her hands trembled so much she couldn’t grasp the handle. Zhao Dazhuang had been caught—would he give her away? Yesterday afternoon, she had deliberately gone to chat with someone behind the big locust tree. She knew Zhao Dazhuang often slept there.
“Don’t be afraid,” her roommate comforted her. “It’s a good thing this kind of troublemaker was caught. But speaking of which, Su Nianqiu is really ruthless. I heard she crippled Zhao Dazhuang with a bamboo pole last night. That woman is not to be trifled with.”
Crippled.
Chen Xiaoman’s back was soaked with cold sweat. She recalled Su Nianqiu’s half-smiling gaze when she looked at her in the Su family courtyard yesterday, and a wave of panic washed over her.
Did Su Nianqiu already know it was her?
Chen Xiaoman clutched her stomach and slumped onto the bed. “I… I have a stomachache. Please ask for leave for me today. I won’t be going to work.”
In the Su family courtyard.
Su Nianqiu sat on the threshold of the main room, peeling a boiled egg. The broadcast voice came through clearly. She took a bite of the egg white, chewing slowly and deliberately.
Li Xiulan brought out a steaming bowl of cornmeal porridge from the kitchen and placed it on the table. “Qiu’er, have breakfast. Your father didn’t sleep all night and just lay down in the inner room.”
“Mom, didn’t Zhao Dazhuang’s family come to make trouble?” Su Nianqiu asked.
Li Xiulan snorted coldly. “They wouldn’t dare even with a hundred times the courage. Zhao Dazhuang’s mother wailed a couple of times at the village entrance this morning, but the militia company commander scared her off, saying that causing more trouble would be sheltering a counter-revolutionary. That frightened her back home. Now the whole family is holed up, too ashamed to show their faces.”
Su Nianqiu nodded. The matter was resolved. By making an example of Zhao Dazhuang, the malicious undercurrent in the village targeting her had been thoroughly quelled.