Reborn in 1966

Chapter Fifty-Eight Ventilation

Director Feng was unaware that Director Zhou had already distanced himself from him.

In fact, Director Feng was just a small leader. When he volunteered to come to this small county, he felt that he, a person from the heart of the motherland, could not handle a bunch of bumpkins.

He took a few men and headed straight to Xiping County, hoping to get rid of the man surnamed Zhao from the military and bring him back to Beijing. However, the military was extremely vigilant. He showed his identification and tried to reason with him, but the man remained unmoved. After reporting to his superiors, they instructed him to find a way to get some information from Zhao's associates and explained the situation of Zhao's father-in-law's family.

After analyzing the situation, Director Feng felt that Shen Shengqin, who worked in the machinery factory, would be a good starting point. He reasoned that the working class was the most advanced class and would be very proactive in both thought and action.

After finding Shen Shengqin, they discovered that things were not as they had imagined. Shen Shengqin was completely unresponsive and only said that he was young and knew nothing at the time. In order to get Shen Shengqin to talk, they ordered their men to torture him. They tortured him until midnight, and he was on the verge of death, but he still didn't say anything useful. His men told them that his leg was probably broken. Thinking that a man with a broken leg wouldn't be able to escape, they put him in the house and went to rest.

The person really did run away the next day. They brought people to this rural area to look for him, but they were met with a cold shoulder. Director Feng was furious and thought about who else was on that contact list. He needed to find someone to vent his anger on.

This guy surnamed Feng was a scoundrel who joined an organization during the turmoil. Because he had seen and heard a lot since he was young, he flattered a leader and served him very well, so he was promoted to a minor leader. He thought he would make a big contribution here and then go back to climb the ranks. But he ran away. Then he thought about the relationship chart that the leader had given him and thought that when he went back, he would send someone to Shenjia Village. If that didn't work, he would arrest Zhao's father-in-law and force them to sign the documents.

No one spoke on the bus, but their thoughts were completely opposite. When they arrived at the machinery factory, Director Zhou was thinking of arranging for someone to go find Shen Shengqin, but Director Feng called Director Zhou into the room and said, "Old Zhou, we haven't completed the instructions from our superiors. I'm thinking, why don't we take some extraordinary measures?"

Director Zhou asked, "What do you mean by 'extraordinary measures'?"

Director Feng walked to the door, looked outside, closed the door tightly, pulled Director Zhou to sit on the sofa, and said in a low voice, "The higher-ups are very dissatisfied with that counter-revolutionary organization surnamed Zhao and want to eliminate it. My purpose in coming here is to obtain materials. As long as we get the materials ready, we just need someone to sign them. Since Shen Shengqin has run away, it's the same if we find someone else to sign. How about we invite Zhao's father-in-law over and force his family to sign?"

Director Zhou felt like a super typhoon was blowing through his heart. Since the movement started, there have been many criticism meetings of all sizes, but those were based on facts. The difference was that some places had more criticism meetings than others. But he had never seen such despicable methods used. He really did not expect that there would be such despicable people who would stop at nothing to achieve their goals.

Director Zhou said somewhat awkwardly, "Director Feng, Xiping County is a small county. Everyone has some degree of kinship. If I help you with this, I won't have to stay in Xiping County anymore."

Director Feng said, "Oh dear, you have to look to the future. Once this matter is settled, I'll take you to Beijing. With me around, how could you possibly miss out on the credit?"

Director Zhou said, "Director Feng, I'm sorry, I can't comply. You'd better find someone else."

Director Zhou had made up his mind that even if it meant losing his official position, he would not do such a heinous thing.

Upon hearing what Director Zhou said, Director Feng stood up abruptly, his face grim. He said, "Zhou Wende, don't be so stubborn. We have to do anything for the revolutionary cause. Don't you understand the principle of acting expediently in times of crisis? You need to think this through. I am definitely going to Shenjia Village to arrest people this time. If you don't go, then stay in the factory and don't go anywhere else."

Director Zhou's eyes were red as he said fiercely to Director Feng, "I'm not going. I'm from Xiping, and I have to think about how I'll live in Xiping in the future. Whether you go or not is up to you, I don't care!"

Director Feng didn't expect Director Zhou to be so stubborn, so he went outside and called one of the people he had brought with him, saying, "Keep an eye on him and don't let him go out. I'll take the rest to the county revolutionary committee."

Zhou Wende knew that he was going to the county to ask for someone, and he had to find a way to notify the people of Shenjia Village. The old man in the Shen family was already very old, and if anything happened to him, he would not be able to explain himself no matter how hard he tried.

The guard was standing at the door of Zhou Wende's office. There was a hidden door to Zhou Wende's office, which was connected to the office next door. After Zhou Wende became the director of the Revolutionary Committee, he felt that he should have his own office, so he blocked the door with a filing cabinet. This time, Zhou Wende used a lot of effort to push the filing cabinet aside, open the door, and enter the office next door.

The large office was empty. Zhou Wende quietly opened the office door and saw a man in a green military uniform standing straight in front of his office. If he walked out of the office like this, he would definitely alert him. What should he do?

Zhou Wende was so anxious that he was pacing around like a headless fly. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a work uniform draped over an office chair. He picked it up and looked at it. The uniform was a bit old, greasy, and smelled of machine oil.

This office is the factory's main office. Several workshop directors have desks here, and I guess the work uniforms belong to one of them.

Zhou Wende didn't care anymore. He put on his clothes, messed up his hair, and left the office with his head down.

The person standing at the door of Zhou Wende's office only looked up briefly before turning back to focus on guarding the office.

Zhou Wende left the office with a pounding heart, trembling all over as he went down to the second floor, and then ran all the way to the factory director's office in the row of bungalows at the factory gate.

Zhou Wende knew that the factory director of the machinery plant had close ties with the Tian and Shen families, so he could only ask him for help in this matter.

The factory director's surname was Li. He was originally a soldier, but after liberation, he was demobilized and returned to his hometown to participate in its development. Back then, almost all the soldiers in this area were under the command of the eldest daughter and son-in-law of the Shen family, and Director Li was no exception.

Factory Director Li was a straightforward person who looked down on Zhou Wende. In his opinion, Zhou Wende was doing something immoral and unethical. He did nothing all day but think about how to harm others. What else could it be but immoral and unethical?

Factory Director Li was angry in his office when the door was pushed open after he learned about the farce that happened in Shenjia Village this morning.

Just as Director Li was about to reprimand him, he looked up and saw Zhou Wende, the Revolutionary Committee Director, wearing a dirty and tattered work uniform. Zhou Wende was acting suspiciously, peeking out after entering the room before closing the door.

Factory Director Li said, "Zhou Wende, what are you up to? What, you went to Shenjia Village and played the Japanese invader, what are you going to do now?"

Zhou Wende rushed to Director Li's desk and said anxiously, "Director, you must send someone to Shenjia Village to inform Shen Shengqin's father that those people from Beijing are going to arrest him and force his family to sign the materials exposing Commander Zhao."

Factory Director Li sat up straight and said, "Tell me what happened clearly."

After Zhou Wende explained the situation, Director Li slammed his hand on the desk and said, "They've gone too far! Zhou Wende, I, Old Li, will remember what you did today. Now, call a few workers and come back to your office with you. Go back to your office and pretend nothing happened. You don't need to worry about what happens after that."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Wende quickly went to the workshop and called over a few workers he was on good terms with, who were wearing work clothes. They helped him return to the office, and after locking the door again, they left.

Zhou Wende sat in his office and let out a sigh of relief. He had done everything he could and should do, and anything else was beyond his control.

After Zhou Wende left, Director Li quickly arranged for someone to go to Shenjia Village to report the news. He repeatedly instructed them to make sure to explain the situation clearly to the old man of the Shen family and ask them to come up with a solution. He also instructed them to go to the third grandfather of the Tian family and ask him to help them get things done.

After Director Li was demobilized and returned to his hometown, he secretly took care of the Shen family. This time, Shen Shengqin was able to get a job in the factory. In addition to the help from those people in Beijing, he also played a big role. Back then, when Regiment Commander Zhao sent Shen Shengsi's family back, he thought that he and a few other comrades were here and could help if needed.

Factory Director Li, recalling his days fighting alongside Commander Zhao in arduous battles, called several of his comrades to explain the situation and discuss countermeasures before striding out of the office. These people from Beijing were a ticking time bomb here; they had to be driven back to Beijing.

Shenjia Village and a few of his comrades cannot go there themselves, as it would change the nature of many things. However, he can send someone to stir up trouble, so that those people will not only fail to take advantage of the situation, but will also be left without even knowing where they started, and will have to slink back to where they came from.

The young man sent by Factory Director Li to deliver the message had a good relationship with Shen Shengqin. Upon hearing the task assigned to him by his factory director, he didn't hesitate and rode the factory's bicycle all the way to Shenjia Village. When he arrived at the village entrance, he found a few teenagers and quickly asked, "Young man, tell me quickly where Shen Shengqin's house is. I have an urgent matter to attend to at their house."

The children exchanged glances, and one of them asked, "What are you going to their house for?"

The young man said, "I'm here to deliver a message. Our factory manager told me to go and deliver the message to their family."

One child said, "Come with me, I'll take you there."

The young man said, "Get on my bicycle, I'll give you a ride, that way it'll be faster."

The child nodded and said, "Okay!"

The bicycle sped into the Shen family's courtyard. The young man had ridden for several miles in one go. He was both nervous and excited, and was so exhausted that he collapsed to the ground when he saw Tian Lingling, speechless.