Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
In his contemporary work "Ninety-Three Reflections," the author Liang Xiaosheng wrote: ... At that time, grassroots officials lined up in long queues, each one being called out for processing. Perhaps a few were wrongfully accused, but if one were to process them one by one, a large number of problematic officials would escape unscathed...
Though the statement may seem absolute, the reality was indeed not to be underestimated.
On the fourth day of the sixth month of the Lunar Calendar in 1976, which corresponds to the Gui Chou day of the Jia Wu month in the Bing Chen year, Hu Ruoyun was born in Hujiazhuang Village, Laogu Township, Annan County, Jinan City, Jiangbei Province. From the moment she began to remember things, all she saw was poverty written in capital letters.
The village was poor, the production team was poor, and her own family was poor; every household was struggling.
Even at the township's big market, there were only a few storefronts from the supply and marketing cooperative and a state-run restaurant. The entire street looked gray and lifeless, with a few old men giving haircuts and shaves under an old poplar tree at the entrance of the Town Government compound providing a different kind of scene.
Due to malnutrition, everyone’s face bore a dusty gray hue.
Her parents worked daily under the sound of the team leader's bell to earn work points. However, in that collective environment, no matter how hard everyone worked, little value could be generated.
The team leader determined the work points and allocation of farm tasks for the members. When it came time to distribute vegetables and grain, he weighed everything carefully. For the members, no matter how capable they were, they dared not challenge the team leader; at the level of the Village Chief, he was regarded as a godlike figure.
At six years old, Hu Ruoyun finally carried her small bag made from patched cloth on her back and started elementary school. The classroom built from mud bricks was so low that it felt like one could reach up and touch the ceiling. There were no desks in the classroom; instead, there were long benches made from cement and blue bricks where children squeezed together after bringing their small stools from home.
Oh yes, even the blackboard was just a patch of cement smeared on the wall and dyed black with ink—handcrafted.
At that time, neither parents nor children had any real expectations or concepts about studying hard because nothing was more important than having enough to eat.
During collectivization in summer, the entire production team could harvest less than twenty thousand pounds of wheat—averaging less than two hundred pounds per person. The autumn corn harvest was slightly better, but each person would only receive about three hundred pounds.
While there were no cases of starvation, food was certainly insufficient.
Most farming households typically ate cornbread mixed with a little white flour; whenever someone steamed white bread or made noodles, it signified that important guests had arrived at their home.
According to Hu Ruoyun's Second Uncle, if you trace back through the generations to his great-grandfather, they were all illiterate. One year during the Spring Festival, when the family asked ancestor to write couplets, he was taken advantage of due to his illiteracy, resulting in a couplet that read: "Buy one jin, get one jin for free, debts old and new are never settled."
This was followed by a long sigh.
Later on, with the implementation of land contracts to households, the lives of farmers underwent significant changes.
After five years of elementary school (at that time, most rural elementary schools had a five-year curriculum), Hu Ruoyun continued on to Middle School. However, due to a poor foundation in elementary school, his academic performance in Middle School was dismal.
As population policies became increasingly strict, managing births gradually became one of the most important tasks at the county, township, and village levels. When Hu Ruoyun's sister Xiao Feng was born, there were not many repercussions, but by the time his younger brother Xiao Hu came along, fines had to be paid.
Farmers generally believed that "more children mean more blessings."
According to regulations, each couple was only allowed to have one child. However, a casual glance would reveal that as long as they were not public officials or teachers in public schools, most farming families had at least two children.
As long as they "greased the wheels" for the officials in charge of population control in their village and township, those officials would turn a blind eye and even help devise strategies for dealing with regular inspections.
The phrase "eat what you rely on" became the norm among certain dedicated grassroots officials.
Another point worth mentioning was the work style of that time.
Back then, the most common slogans plastered on rural street walls were related to population control—simple and straightforward but often quite harsh.
While working at a newspaper, the author came across an internal report (though over thirty years have passed and the content remains classified, it is now beyond the confidentiality period): In a certain county in central China, multiple departments organized a joint effort to conduct checks by gathering all married individuals of childbearing age in a village primary school for identification. This included widows as well. The staff used simple and crude methods to drive people away like herding chickens and ducks.
An elderly man who once proudly crossed the Yalu River could not stand by silently; he stepped forward to voice his discontent. The personnel involved in the operation reacted violently, and after being frightened and angered, he collapsed and never got back up.
Colleagues from the newspaper interviewed there for three days; their article was published internally and caught the attention of the then Vice Governor. Ultimately, several leaders from various departments in that county faced disciplinary actions, with more than ten officials losing their positions due to this incident.
In the 1980s, the government began selling voucher-style Treasury Bonds to farmers, which was originally a beneficial initiative for both the nation and its people. With funds raised, the government could better develop the economy and undertake significant projects to improve the livelihoods of its citizens. Farmers, in turn, could earn higher returns than traditional savings accounts, making it a win-win situation.
However, the reality was that some local management departments and officials failed to explain what Treasury Bonds were to the farmers. Regardless of whether they understood or agreed, related fees were directly deducted from their Agricultural Tax.
Moreover, the vouchers that should have been distributed equally to farmers were largely pocketed by certain individuals for personal gain.
Due to information asymmetry, farmers were left confused; they didn’t even know what the few Treasury Bonds they received were for, believing instead that they were just another form of unjustified charges increasing their financial burden.
It’s important to note that China has eight hundred million farmers, making the total amount involved substantial.
Am I digressing again? Let’s get back on track.
Hu Ruoyun began to take action.
He made copies of the detailed written account of his encounters with the Dog Young Master during the Entrance Examination period and gathered them along with newly developed photographs. He placed everything into a large envelope addressed to Wang Hongbin as indicated on his business card and sent it off as a registered letter.
He was confident that the secretary would ensure this letter reached Wang Hongbin.
Don’t underestimate Wang Hongbin just because he wasn’t directly in charge of this matter; as merely a deputy head of a county bureau, he might seem insignificant in Wang Hongbin's eyes.
Hu Ruoyun's mail was sent from Annan County's Laogu Township Post Office and would take about a week to reach the Provincial Capital. Hu Ruoyun firmly believed that Wang Hongbin would pay attention to this matter.
Comment 0 Comment Count