Returning to the 1960s: Starting with Digging for Fo-ti

The old village head didn’t move. He frowned, looking Du Jianguo up and down with a tone full of dissatisfaction. “Why did I come? I should be asking you why you haven’t shown up for work these past two days. The whole village is busy digging potatoes in the fields. You didn’t show your face yesterday, and now it’s almost noon today, yet you are still dawdling at home?”

Du Jianguo hurriedly explained, “Village head, didn’t we finish the collective work a couple of days ago? Now, the potatoes being dug up are for individual families to eat. It counts as personal work. I didn’t go, so it shouldn’t count as an offense, right?”

“You are still stubborn!”

The old village head wanted to scold him again, but the words stopped in his throat as if he suddenly remembered something important. He waved his hand impatiently. “Don’t talk nonsense! Hurry up and call your wife. In half an hour, everyone in the village must gather at the village committee for a meeting. Not a single person can be missing!”

Liu Xiuyun, who was inside the house, heard the commotion and walked out through the door curtain, asking in confusion, “Village head, why hold a meeting now? And why does everyone need to be there?”

“A new village leader has arrived!” the old village head lowered his voice. “Call everyone over to give him a warm welcome. We don’t want him to find any faults or catch us off guard!”

After speaking, the old village head turned and went to notify other households. Du Jianguo watched his back and made a guess in his mind.

Zhang Desheng?

That guy moved too fast. He was still joking around at his father-in-law’s house yesterday, yet he has already reported for duty in Xiaoan Village today.

However, Du Jianguo thought about it again and felt there was nothing to worry about. Zhang Desheng was only so capable; he couldn’t cause a big stir. He was just a bully who relied on some background to push weak people around.

In his past life, he was weak and easy to bully, so Zhang Desheng stepped all over him.

This life was different. If Zhang Desheng dared to make use of him even once, he would break the guy’s front teeth and make him understand the consequences!

Seeing the neighbors heading toward the village committee, Du Jianguo turned to Liu Xiuyun and said, “Let’s go take a look.”

When they arrived at the village committee, the courtyard was already full. Almost every family in the village had come.

Obviously, everyone was afraid of offending the new stationed leader. They thought it best to get on his good side first so he would be more lenient with them in the future.

Du Jianguo scanned the crowd and recognized many people. His own father and his older brother and sister-in-law were also there, whispering among themselves at the back of the crowd.

“Almost everyone is here. Let me say a few words!”

The old village head cleared his throat and stepped forward, his voice loud and clear.

“The stationed cadres are intellectuals sent by the superiors to guide our production. From now on, everyone must listen to Comrade Zhang Desheng. We cannot be willful like before! From now on, in this village, besides my words, Comrade Zhang Desheng’s words carry the most weight. Do you have any objections?”

A few weak voices in the crowd replied, “No objections.”

“Alright, let’s invite Comrade Zhang Desheng to say a few words!” The old village head stepped aside and started clapping.

Liu Xiuyun, standing nearby, suddenly froze. Her eyes widened in shock. The person walking onto the stage was none other than her cousin, Zhang Desheng!

How could he come here to work as a stationed village cadre?

Liu Xiuyun was full of confusion. She had no idea about the dirty thoughts hidden in Zhang Desheng’s heart.

She only had childhood playmate friendship with this cousin and never thought the other party would specially travel to Xiaoan Village.

Zhang Desheng wore a smile on his face. He raised his hand to signal everyone to stop clapping. His voice was gentle but carried a hint of forced friendliness. “Dear fellow villagers, I have come to Xiaoan Village to help everyone progress together. There is no need to be so polite. I have two main purposes this time: First, to find ways to increase our field yields so that every family in the village can have enough to eat and meat, and our days will become more prosperous!”

As soon as these words fell, Du Jianguo couldn’t help but pucker his lips and yawn. All empty slogans.

In this era, could such officials who only shout slogans really feed the whole village?

“Behave!” The old village head, standing nearby, spotted him and kicked Du Jianguo hard, whispering to him to calm down.

Du Jianguo finally suppressed his expression, but Zhang Desheng’s gaze had already swept over. A hint of coldness was hidden in his eyes.

He cleared his throat and continued, “Of course, besides increasing production, there is a second matter. We must crack down on the sprouts of capitalism in our village.”

At this, he deliberately paused, showing a look of regret on his face. “I originally thought Xiaoan Village was a clean place without such phenomena. However, I didn’t expect that yesterday, before I even entered the village, I heard that someone in our village was engaging in speculation and profiteering, privately buying and selling things, and disrupting the collective order!”

“Whoever it is, step forward!”

Hearing the words “speculation and profiteering,” the villagers surrounding them immediately changed color.

In this era, nothing was scarier than having the label of speculation and profiteering slapped on you. Even just getting a whiff of it was bad.

Being taken to the commune for questioning was the lightest punishment. You might end up wearing a sign and parading through the streets or sitting in a big jail cell.

“Comrade Zhang! You cannot speak such nonsense!”

Old Village Head Liu Chang’an hurriedly stepped forward to grab Zhang Desheng’s arm. “Our village’s ancestors have all been red and black poor and lower-middle peasants. How could anyone in our village dare to engage in such speculation and profiteering? Did you see something wrong? There must be a misunderstanding here!”

Zhang Desheng sneered and suddenly shook off the old village head’s hand. His eyes stared down at Du Jianguo in the corner.

“Misunderstanding? I heard this with my own ears yesterday! Du Jianguo, should I invite you out, or will you step forward voluntarily?”

“Du Jianguo is engaging in speculation and profiteering?”

As soon as this was said, the villagers’ gazes all turned to Du Jianguo.

It was known that Du Jianguo was usually idle in the village, a complete good-for-nothing.

Everyone knew that those who engaged in speculation and profiteering were clever spirits who saw everything with six eyes and had sharp brains.

How could Du Jianguo, looking the way he did, possibly be someone who did this?

At the back of the crowd, Liu Chun’an’s face suddenly lost all color. His palms were covered in cold sweat, and he couldn’t help but shiver.

His heart sank.

Could it be that the trade he made with Du Jianguo a few days ago, exchanging his family’s grain for wild rabbits, was discovered?

Liu Chun’an quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. Just as his heart rose to his throat, he heard Zhang Desheng speak and breathed a sigh of relief. It had nothing to do with him.

“Yesterday, when I went to the county town to visit my uncle and aunt, I saw Du Jianguo carrying large and small packages of pastries. His manner was like that of a bourgeois young master!”

“He admitted it himself, saying he made a capitalist deal with a boss at a pharmacy in the county town. He secretly exchanged money for Chinese herbal medicine from the mountain and wild snakes he caught!”

“I later went to that pharmacy in the county town to verify,” Zhang Desheng stepped forward half a pace and said. “Du Jianguo did indeed exchange a wild snake and a palm-sized old Fo-ti root for a whole twenty yuan!”

“Twenty yuan?!”

This remark exploded like a thunderclap in the crowd. The villagers’ eyes went straight.

Even Du Jianguo’s own father, Du Daqiang, standing beside him, was so shocked his mouth could hold a corn bun.