Reborn in 1966

Chapter Sixty-Four: Stealing Chickens

Party Secretary Tian said, "Once the wheat is planted, you men can go with the villagers to the construction site to work hard while the soil is still warm. This kind of work happens every year. If you go with them, you won't have to worry about three meals a day. In winter, the village also has people weaving reed mats and curtains. Let a few girls go with them to do it. They can earn money for their own meals. If they are quick, they can even save some money."

Qi Xiangnan and Li Lei expressed their gratitude repeatedly. Party Secretary Tian said, "It wasn't easy for you to get here. The most important thing is that you rely on yourselves. The farmland is the most reliable source of income. If you work hard, it will provide you with food. These difficulties are only temporary. You can overcome them by gritting your teeth. You still have to walk the road ahead on your own."

The two nodded repeatedly, indicating that Secretary Tian was right. The third grandfather sitting next to them said, "You young children have left your parents to come here. We all have children of our own, and we will do our best to help you. But you must remember the old saying: 'It's better to have your own than your parents.' You can't wait for handouts. Only by working hard can you have food to eat. So you still have to rely on yourselves."

After saying goodbye and walking back, Li Lei said, "Xiang Nan, we are really lucky to have come to this village. The village where my classmate was sent to work in the countryside is not far from us. He said that the people in his village did not welcome them at all. Because there were few of them, the village did not have the conditions for them to cook for themselves, so they went to other villages to find people to eat with. Not only was the food not good, but they also had to put up with other people's attitudes every time they went to eat. It was so frustrating."

Qi Xiangnan said, "I heard about this from other educated youths in other villages at the meeting today. Li Lei, we have to work hard with the villagers. After the autumn harvest, we can relax a bit when we go to work on the construction site with them."

The two walked back happily, and when they were almost at the brigade headquarters, they saw two figures bending over and sneaking behind the main force.

The main force was at the northernmost part of the village. Behind the team headquarters was a wasteland. This land was not suitable for growing crops, so some small poplar trees were planted there. Because the trees were planted quite densely, it was usually a place rarely visited by anyone.

The back windows of the brigade headquarters and school were only opened when people were going to school or working in the offices. In winter, when it got cold, the back windows were reinforced with stones to keep the rooms warmer. When Qi Xiangnan and Li Lei saw two dark figures slip past, they knew they were up to something shady. A dark and windy night—perfect for murder and robbery.

Qi Xiangnan tugged at Li Lei's sleeve, and Li Lei understood. The two of them tiptoed over.

Qi Xiangnan and Li Lei followed two dark figures to the grove behind the brigade headquarters, where they heard several crowing chickens, followed by a series of flapping sounds. Someone was stealing chickens.

Then they heard someone whisper, "Don't let the chickens make a sound."

Another voice said, "Is this place okay? Why don't we go somewhere else?"

The voice was familiar. After thinking about it carefully, it turned out to be Wang Si and Zheng Tonghui, who lived with them.

Qi Xiangnan walked over and whispered, "What are you doing?"

Wang Si and Zheng Tonghui were startled. When they saw that it was Qi Xiangnan and Li Lei, they said, "Oh my, you two gave me a big fright!"

Qi Xiangnan asked, "Where did you get these chickens?"

Zheng Tonghui said, "Dude, since you've seen it, let's work together. Let's clean the chicken and stew it when we get back."

Qi Xiangnan said, "Zheng Tonghui, I'm asking you again, where did you get this chicken from!"

Zheng Tonghui said, "It was caught in the village, where else could it have come from? We haven't had any meat for days, if this keeps up, our bones will turn to mushy."

Wang Si sensed the displeasure in Qi Xiangnan's tone, tugged at Zheng Tonghui's sleeve, and said, "Xiangnan, we found this chicken outside the brigade headquarters compound wall. We didn't steal it. Really!"

Qi Xiangnan said, "You two take this chicken and let's go back to the dormitory for a meeting. Li Lei and I just came back from Secretary Tian's place, and there are some things we need to talk about."

Zheng Tonghui said, "I'll slaughter the chicken first, then we can just put it in the pot when we get back."

Qi Xiangnan said, "What are you slaughtering? Hurry up and take it back to see whose it is, and return it to them."

Zheng Tonghui said, "We didn't steal it from someone's house; we found it on the road. Whoever finds it owns it."

Qi Xiangnan said, "Take the chicken back quickly. Let's go ask who lost it. Zheng Tonghui, if we want to stay in this village, we shouldn't do things that will make people resentful."

Reluctantly, Zheng Tonghui and the others carried the chicken, whose beak was tied with rope and whose wings were also tightly bound, back to the dormitory.

The other two people in the dormitory were washing their feet and getting ready for bed. When they saw the four of them come in together, they didn't pay much attention. But when they saw the chicken in Wang Si's hand, they became a little uneasy. Just by looking at the chicken, they knew it was from an illegitimate source. Moreover, in the countryside, people value their chickens, ducks, geese, and dogs very much. They are the family's oil bottles and salt jars. They rely on the eggs laid by their chickens to save money to sell and buy these things.

Chen Xuanyi and Zhao Jianguo were from the same place as Li Lei. Li Lei could be considered the leader of the other four. It was strange to see Li Lei carrying a chicken into the dormitory, because Li Lei was not the kind of person who would steal chickens.

Qi Xiangnan said, "Let's have a small meeting, the six of us. Let's talk about what happened when Li Lei and I went to Secretary Tian's house."

Qi Xiangnan said, "Secretary Tian said that after the autumn harvest, we can go to the construction site to dig the main field. I've inquired beforehand. The main field digging is just digging and carrying earth. It's tiring, but the food on the construction site is plentiful. As for the four girls, Secretary Tian said that during the winter off-season, the village organizes the women to weave reed mats and curtains, which are then sold to the county's purchasing station. This way, they won't have to worry about their three meals a day, and they can also earn some money. I'll talk to them about this tomorrow, and then we won't have to worry about our food in the winter."

Chen Xuanyi said, "Xiang Nan, can we handle digging and carrying this kind of work? We've never done any physical labor before. This is digging and carrying. Can our bodies take it?"

Qi Xiangnan said, "Whether you can handle it or not, you'll know once you do it. Since we're here, we have to face reality and participate in the labor properly. If you work hard, you won't go hungry, will you?"

Zhao Jianguo said, "Then let's give it a try. We're all grown up, and we're men, how can we not have food to eat? I'll join in."

Li Lei and Chen Xuanyi also said they had no problem following along, but Wang Si and Zheng Tonghui did not express their opinions.

Qi Xiangnan asked, "Wang Si, Zheng Tonghui, what are your opinions?"

Wang Si looked at Zheng Tonghui and said, "Xiang Nan, my health has never been very good. I'm afraid I can't handle such strenuous labor. Could you ask for me if I can come along to weave reed mats and curtains?"

Zhao Jianguo looked at Wang Si with some disdain and said, "Wang Si, you're a grown man, working alongside a bunch of old women, aren't you ashamed?"

Wang Si said, "I also have to consider my own physical condition. Water conservancy is such tiring work. If I force myself to do it with you, wouldn't it be more troublesome if something happened to my health?"

Zheng Tonghui, who was standing next to me, also said, "I'm not going either. It's just about making money. If I don't have enough money, I'll have my family send me some. When I came here, my mother said that health is the most important thing. If the work is too heavy and I really can't do it, then I shouldn't do it. Anyway, I'm not going."

Qi Xiangnan said, "Alright, then you can make arrangements according to your own circumstances. Now let's talk about the chicken."

The six men looked at the chicken flapping its wings on the ground. Qi Xiangnan said, "Zheng Tonghui, Wang Si, no matter how you got this chicken, you need to understand one thing: what a chicken means to a family these days. The family's oil and salt are supported by the little money from selling eggs. If we lose this chicken, how much income will the family lose?"

Seeing that Zheng Tonghui and Wang Si remained silent, Qi Xiangnan said, "Let's talk about our current status in the village. We came to the countryside as educated youth, and we were lucky to come to Shenjia Village. Go and see the other educated youth settlements; where else is there a place like ours? The villagers treat us well, and the village leaders take good care of us. I went to a meeting at the commune this time and talked to educated youth from other villages. Many villagers are hostile towards us educated youth who came to the countryside. Why? I've thought about it carefully. It's not just because we were assigned farm work; the main reason is that some people don't respect the village order. We've only been here a few days, and some educated youth from other villages are already stealing chickens and dogs for a snack. Are we here to settle down and take root in the countryside? We're here to cause trouble. How are we any different from the Japanese devils back then? Comrades, there's not enough food, not just for us, but for everyone. We, the educated youth from outside, are stealing chickens and dogs in the village. How can the villagers not hate us?"

Li Lei said, "I think we should just release the chicken and pretend we never saw it."

Zhao Jianguo said, "Where did you two catch them? The villagers keep a very close eye on their chickens and ducks."

Wang Si said, "It was right at the gate. We saw it when we went to the gate to smoke. We thought we could take this unclaimed thing and have a good time, to improve our lives."

Li Lei said, "Alright, let's release it quickly. It would be a loss if we couldn't stay in the village because of this chicken."

Qi Xiangnan said, "Let's not leave it like this. Let's leave it for now and ask around tomorrow when we're at work if anyone has lost a chicken. We'll return it to them. If we leave it like this, someone might intercept it and blame us."