klisemfg Chapter 164 Qiu Baozhang's Explanation
Chapter 164 Qiu Baozhang's Explanation
Led by the villagers, the group wandered through the maze-like alleys in the village, as if traveling through a time tunnel, with every turn filled with unknowns and expectations.
Finally, we arrived in front of a courtyard. There was an ancient well at the door, and the water in the well was shimmering slightly under the moonlight.
The courtyard walls are all made of carefully built stones. The stones are of different shapes, but they are tightly fitted together under the test of time, as if telling the vicissitudes of the history of this courtyard.
The gate is made of a row of rafts, which is a bit crude, but exudes a rustic atmosphere. Overall, this yard is better than others, at least it has more tranquility and solemnity.
The fellow villager stood at the gate and shouted, "Is Captain Qiu home?"
A voice came from the room immediately: "Who is it? Come in! I'm home!"
Following the sound, a man walked out of the house slowly while speaking. When Qiu Baozhang saw a group of people following his fellow villager, his face changed instantly, and a hint of surprise and uneasiness flashed in his eyes.
He asked stutteringly, "Who are you? What are you doing?"
Director Fu walked steadily to the gate and said in a calm tone: "Fellow villagers, we are from the Anzhen County Public Security Bureau. We came to the village to learn about some situations. Can we go in and talk?"
Qiu Baozhang looked reluctant, his brows slightly furrowed, as if he was thinking about something. But when he heard that they were from the Public Security Bureau, he had to receive them. Although he was very reluctant, he had no choice.
After hesitating for a moment, he said, "The house is a bit crowded, and I'm afraid there won't be enough space for you guys."
At this moment, a woman's voice sounded: "Old man, who is it?"
As she spoke, a woman came out of the house. She had obviously never seen such a scene before, and was startled to see so many people standing in the yard, and her face turned pale instantly.
Chief Qiu hurriedly protected the woman and said, "Don't be afraid, they are from the Public Security Bureau."
Director Fu smiled amiably and said, "Sister, we entered the village late and need to rest. Please give us some space!"
The woman was a kind-hearted person. As she looked at the group of tired people in front of her, a feeling of pity welled up in her heart.
She thought for a moment and said, "How about this, you two can split up and stay at my house, and the other two girls can go to Aunt Hu's house. Chunxi is not at home during this period, so it's no problem for four or five of you to squeeze in."
Director Fu said with a smile: "Thank you, sister. I am sorry to trouble you."
Qiu Baozhang looked embarrassed. He called out worriedly, "Wife, what are they eating...eating?"
The woman said kindly, "Don't we still have cornmeal cakes? Go get them and take everyone to rest."
Director Fu waved his hand quickly and said with a smile: "No need, big sister, we just need a place to rest our feet and drink some water."
The woman said embarrassedly, "How can that be possible? You have come all the way here."
Director Fu said in a down-to-earth manner: "It's okay, big sister, please take them there. Can Lao Xing and I stay at your house?"
The eldest sister looked at the two men with high auras and said with a smile, "Okay, okay, old man, why are you standing there? Hurry up and take the people in."
"Oh, yes, yes, both of you please come with me to the room and rest."
Xing Zhongxing looked at Director Fu, and the two of them politely followed Captain Qiu into the house.
The woman, supported by Qin Yanjuan and Zhou Jing, came to Aunt Hu's house. As soon as she reached the window in the alley, she shouted, "Is Aunt Hu asleep?"
Instantly, an old voice was heard from the dark room, responding: "Cuiying! What's the matter? I haven't slept yet!"
Cuiying replied, "Auntie Hu, someone is coming from Anzhen County. Two girls are here to take you here. Rest for a while."
"Are there people coming from Anzhen County? Come in, the gate is open!" After that, everyone walked around the winding alleys and finally reached the main gate.
When I arrived at the gate, I suddenly saw the faint candlelight in the house. The weak candlelight swayed in the darkness, like a bright lamp in the darkness, bringing a touch of warmth and hope.
Cuiying led the two girls in and saw a square table with some bottles and jars placed around it.
Some of those bottles and jars were covered with dust, while others had some cracks. There was indeed nothing valuable in them.
Aunt Hu was wearing a half-fronted shirt, a pair of very old trousers, and leggings to bind her feet. Her feet were like the legendary three-inch golden lotus, small and delicate, but also revealing the vicissitudes of life.
Aunt Hu leaned on her cane and looked at the two pretty girls with loving eyes. "Girls, you've come all the way here, you must be exhausted, right? Go to the kang in the inner room and sleep. I'll get you some quilts."
Zhou Jing said embarrassedly: "I'm sorry to trouble you, Auntie."
Aunt Hu laughed and said, "I'm just an old lonely woman, it's no trouble for me, come in!"
Cuiying smiled and replied, "Auntie Hu, there are a few people outside. I will take them to Chunxi's house to stay for one night."
"Okay, go ahead. It's not easy for them to come all the way here."
Cuiying came out and said with a smile, "Young man, let's go. We will arrive just down this alley."
Wang Zhiming and Xiao Hai held searchlights in front of them, and the light drew a bright arc in the darkness. Wei Guoqing and Wang Weidong protected them from behind, their eyes full of vigilance.
Soon, a dilapidated house came into view. The house seemed like an old man who had experienced many vicissitudes of life and was about to fall apart under the erosion of time.
Cuiying walked to the door first and opened it with a bang. With the help of Wang Zhiming's light, Cuiying said, "Wait a moment, I will help you clean up."
Wang Weidong smiled and said, "Auntie, we can do it by ourselves. I'll take you back now!"
Cuiying smiled and said, "Well, I'm so sorry, I have to ask you to do it yourself."
"It's okay, Auntie. We are already satisfied to have a place to rest!" Wang Weidong said gratefully.
Wei Guoqing hurriedly said: "Weidong, do you remember the way back?"
Xiao Hai hurriedly said, "Comrade Weidong, let me go with you! I remember the route I've taken once."
Wang Weidong smiled and praised: "You are great, Comrade Xiao Hai, let's go!"
Wei Guoqing said, "Then you guys go quickly and come back soon. We will finish the cleaning soon and come back to rest."
Wang Weidong smiled and said, "Thank you all for your hard work." As he spoke, he and Cuiying walked out of the room.
In this quiet mountain village, Director Fu and Xing Zhongxing were warmly invited into the house by Chief Qiu. As soon as they entered the house, they felt that a house with a woman was indeed different.
The neat appearance, even though the house is bare, exudes a special kind of warmth. Although the house is simple, it reveals the owner's care everywhere, the items are arranged in an orderly manner, and the floor is clean and almost spotless.
In this poor environment, cleanliness gives this home a warm feeling, as if it can make people forget the hardships of life.
Qiu Baozhang greeted them warmly, "Please sit on the kang."
The two looked up and saw a small dining table on the kang. The food on it was simple, but it was obvious that it was carefully prepared by the owner.
A large bowl of cornmeal pancakes exuded a simple aroma, two bowls of cornmeal porridge was steaming, and a plate of carrot and white radish shreds, although not bright in color, was refreshing and delicious.
There is also a bowl of broom sprouts and fried soybeans that the author has eaten. In today's era of good living conditions, this thing is indeed rare.
But just add a little salt and sesame oil and mix well, the taste is extremely delicious and intriguing.
Chief Qiu said with a bit of embarrassment: "You two should just eat a little. There is nothing good to eat in the mountains. The most we have is corn, and that is all the villagers can eat."
Xing Zhongxing looked at the scene in front of him and said with a smile: "Chief Qiu, have the villagers ever thought of moving out?"
After hearing this, Captain Qiu was slightly stunned and a complicated expression appeared on his face.
"You are really joking. Our ancestors have been here for generations. We are all old and don't know what the outside world is like. The villagers are illiterate and no one cares about us. Even if we want to move away, we have to go somewhere.
A few years ago, Chunxi found a job outside and asked his parents to go out there to make a living.
Hey, just when they were about to get out of the mountain, his mother slipped and rolled down the ravine. When his father was trying to catch his mother, he lost his balance and they both fell into the ravine.
By the time the strong young men helped to pull the couple out, they were already a bloody mess, a horrible sight!"
Captain Xing and Director Fu watched quietly as Captain Qiu recounted this sad story. The faint candlelight flickered, illuminating Captain Qiu's face, which was full of the vicissitudes of life.
Tears sparkled in the wrinkled corners of the eyes, as if telling the helplessness and hardship of the villagers.
They couldn't help but feel sympathy for the people in this mountain village.
At this moment, Cuiying gently lifted the door curtain, and the swaying of the door curtain seemed to create ripples of time. She walked in slowly, her posture slightly tired but unable to hide her simplicity and kindness.
Seeing this, Qiu Baozhang hurriedly asked, "Have you settled everything?"
Cuiying lowered her eyes slightly, feeling guilty, and said softly, "Okay, I'm sorry for not sending you some food."
Xing Zhongxing looked at Cuiying with concern on his face, and said with a smile: "Big sister, you haven't eaten yet! Come quickly and eat while it's hot. We brought water and dry food with us, so if they are hungry, just eat something to fill their stomachs."
Cuiying looked embarrassed, rubbing the corners of her clothes with her hands, and said, "How can that be possible! I will cook millet porridge for you tomorrow morning, everyone come and eat."
Director Fu had a gentle smile on his face and said, "That's a lot of trouble for you!"
Xing Zhongxing's face was still immersed in the incident of Chunxi's parents, and sadness shrouded him like a dark cloud.
But Director Fu asked a new question: "I heard that there is a director named 'Hao Bing' in your village?"
When Captain Qiu heard this, he turned to look at Director Fu, shook his head gently, and sighed. That sigh seemed to carry endless emotion and helplessness.
"This kid is indeed a good kid. After graduating from university, he passed the civil service exam and was assigned to this remote place like ours.
Director Hao is a hardworking and down-to-earth person. As soon as he arrived in the village, he helped the villagers apply for minimum living allowances and subsidies for poor families.
Every family in this Xiaoyang Village has received his help and benefits. When I first came here five years ago, I saw red apples all over the mountains.
He smiled happily and told everyone that he was going to sell apples on some website. During the three years he was there, people's lives became better.
However, the secretary of the county party secretary brought some people to the valley, found Director Hao, and said that he had violated organizational discipline by privately buying and selling state products, so he was suspended from his post for investigation and also confiscated the money he earned from the sale of fruits.
These apple trees were passed down from generation to generation by the common people. When did they become national property?
At that time, this was a barren mountain; it was the fruit trees planted by generations of elders with hard work. No one cared about them at first, but when the harvest was good, they became the property of the country?"
Chief Qiu wiped his tears with his sleeves: "When selling apples online, they are sold fresh. The young and strong men carry baskets of apples out of the mountain. There are also three young people, one is 18 years old, one is 20 years old, and the other is going to get married in three days.
This steep sheep farm path is really difficult to walk on. One misstep can lead to eternal regret. These are three lives at stake!"
When Xing Zhongxing and Director Fu heard this, their eyes also turned red.
Cuiying was already sitting on the kang crying. Qiu Baozhang continued, "Director Hao ran to the county in tears that night and went to various departments to apply for permission to build a road in Xiaoyang Village.
The child went through a lot of hardships and waited for a month, and finally got good news: the government allocated two million yuan to support road construction.
As a result, when the money arrived at the Transportation Bureau, it was withheld by the secretary of the county party secretary. He said that the Education Bureau had been in arrears with the school renovation money for several years, and the boss had been chasing the debt. If he didn't pay, he would report it to the higher authorities.
Director Hao was so angry that he went to the county party secretary's office to argue. He did not find the county party secretary, but was beaten up by several people around the secretary, who said that he was a party member who took the lead in causing trouble in the government and was unorganized and undisciplined; he was suspended from work for investigation.
Later, when Chang Yong was returning to the village, he found his body on the way and called the police. The person who came was Ge Jun, the director of the township police station.
After walking around the village and doing a preliminary check on Hao Bing's injuries, they said he died of a sudden illness and that the injuries on his body were superficial and did not cause death. That was the end of the matter!
The villagers found a secluded place in the mountains with tears in their eyes and buried Director Hao Bing!"
Xing Zhongxing frowned, looking puzzled, and asked, "Hao Bing has no relatives? How could his family just let it go when they knew he was in trouble?"
Captain Qiu sighed again, and that sigh seemed to be telling of the injustice of fate. He slowly said, "Hao Bing seems to be an orphan. I haven't seen him mention his family since he came to Xiaoyang Village."
This small mountain village seems to be shrouded in a layer of haze. Hao Bing's story is like a stone thrown into the lake of heart, causing ripples.