Chapter 52: The Reform Fails

Six o’clock sharp.

The cultural performance report began with a powerful rendition of “Sailing the Seas Depends on the Helmsman” by the young intellectuals.

They sang two red songs in a row to warm up the atmosphere. Then, Dong Lijuan and other art scholars performed “The Red Lantern,” the tense and exciting story captivated the commune members, they couldn’t even blink.

“The Red Lantern” selected a few key moments, the performance lasted for about twenty minutes. When Dong Lijuan, playing Tie Mei, handed the coded message to the guerrilla captain, the commune members joined the “soldiers” on stage in celebrating victory.

The atmosphere reached a climax, and the next performance was the skit “Neighbors Are One Family.”

This skit tells the story of Hehua, who was abandoned by her husband and returned home because she couldn’t have children. At first, she was ostracized, especially by a bad neighbor who often bullied her. But with her hard work and kind heart, she turned her reputation around and eventually became an advanced individual and was commended.

Lin Meiru played the bad neighbor, Zhu Po played the pitiful mother, and Liu the Widow played the role with a bitter expression, perfectly embodying the character.

The kinder Hehua was, the more hateful the bad neighbor appeared.

Some older women wiped away tears, “Hehua is so miserable, just because she couldn’t have a son, she had to wash clothes in the winter when it was freezing, her husband’s family didn’t give her any food, she was eating grass roots every day.”

“Hehua’s third aunt is so terrible, Hehua is already having a hard time, and she’s still spreading rumors about her.”

…

At first, everyone hated Lin Meiru’s third aunt, they wanted to rush onto the stage and beat her up for Hehua. But later, Hehua accidentally fell, and it was the third aunt who carried her to the hospital and paid for her medical expenses, and everyone realized that the third aunt was cold on the outside but kind on the inside.

The biggest twist in the whole play was that the doctor told Hehua that it wasn’t her who had the problem, but the man who had a disease that prevented him from having children.

There was an uproar.

It turned out that men could also have problems with having children, completely refreshing their understanding. After the skit ended, the commune members were still discussing it enthusiastically.

No one expected that the commune health center would be packed for several days, a group of men were secretly seeing the doctor with their faces covered.

However, these gossips didn’t cause any ripples. The Red Flag Commune had a major event, their commune was featured in both the provincial and city newspapers!

As soon as the newspapers were printed, the brigade leaders all went into action, whoever could buy a newspaper was a very prestigious matter, they would then read it to the commune members using a loudspeaker, and finally, they would not forget to promote the content of the lectures they had learned for two days, urging everyone to make progress.

Public security’s legal education is very practical, and the commune members have the highest acceptance rate. However, the content and values of the Marriage Law propaganda have been jointly resisted by the old-fashioned people in the village.

Among those who opposed it most strongly, surprisingly, were mostly women. They held high the banner of “mother-in-law is greater than heaven, arranged marriages by parents, after marriage, one must obey one’s husband, daughters are burdens…” They didn’t want to change themselves, nor did they want other women to change.

New ideas and old ideas clashed for the first time, and in just half a month, there were many fights and brawls, some people even got injured and were sent to the hospital.

The commune leaders attached great importance to this and immediately held a meeting.

Chen Xingtong said earnestly, “Little Jiang, reform is a good thing, but it seems that the method is a bit too radical. The purpose of this meeting today is for everyone to discuss together what to do.”

“Whoever caused the trouble should clean it up.” Secretary Zhang finally found a way to criticize Jiang An’an, he hid in the corner and gloated.

Secretary Gao secretly tugged at his sleeve, signaling him not to gloat over someone’s misfortune.

Unexpectedly, his good intentions were taken as malice, Secretary Zhang raised his eyebrows, “Am I wrong? She enjoys the fame and benefits, and we have to clean up the mess. Which commune cadre here doesn’t run to the countryside every day, people might think we’re working for the Women’s Federation.”

The other cadres also had a fire in their hearts, their faces were as dark as each other. The masses below were not cooperative, not only was it difficult to work recently, but the worst part was being scolded, and they would be blamed by their grandparents when they got home.

Secretary Yang coughed into his hand, “Everyone has been working hard recently, Director Chen and I have seen it. However, the Marriage Law propaganda is approved by the county, we can’t back down when we encounter difficulties. The greater the hardship, the more it shows the necessity of reform.”

Secretary Zhang was tired of these grand speeches, he sneered, “The masses below have a bad attitude, Secretary Yang, why don’t you come up with some practical and effective solutions.”

The meeting room was instantly silent.

Chen Xingtong’s eyes went black, he slammed his hand on the table and roared, “You little bastard, who are you talking to?”

He had finally developed a fragile revolutionary friendship with Secretary Yang, maintaining peace, and it was about to be ruined by this reckless young man.

Secretary Zhang was as stubborn as a donkey, he spoke without thinking, “Is the commune a one-man show run by Secretary Yang, can’t we speak the truth?”

Chen Xingtong: …

Just destroy it, there’s no saving it, let him cry after the job transfer next year!

Secretary Yang was about to lose his smile, he did have a solution, before the meeting, he had discussed it with Chen Xingtong. He was going to lay the groundwork, but Secretary Zhang was so reckless, he didn’t care and forced him to speak.

He subconsciously looked at Jiang An’an.

With just that glance, Jiang An’an understood what was going on and took the initiative to say, “Why don’t we suspend the learning activities for now, to avoid the situation from escalating.”

She could see the leaders’ dilemma and had to make a decision. The learning activities were initiated by the Women’s Federation, and it would be better for the Women’s Federation to take the initiative to stop them so as not to cause any gossip for the commune.

She understood the logic, but facing the first failure of her reform, her heart was still heavy.

As soon as she finished speaking, Chen Xingtong and Secretary Yang both visibly relaxed, their eyes looking at her with even more affection.

Secretary Yang comforted her, “The Women’s Federation has already achieved good results this year, as long as you persevere and take things step by step, one day the masses will understand and support you.”

The matter was settled.

The happiest person in the room was Secretary Zhang. After the meeting ended, he didn’t need to be urged to go to the countryside to notify the brigades.

Secretary Gao was both happy and worried, he didn’t know whether or not to remind the other party that he had already been disliked by the two leaders. After all, as Director Chen’s right-hand man, they had always been in competition, and Secretary Zhang was originally Director Chen’s most favored successor…

After a moment of hesitation, he selfishly concealed it and took the initiative to befriend Jiang An’an, “I have all the records of various activities that the commune has held over the years, do you want to take a look?”

This was the first time a commune cadre had shown her kindness, Jiang An’an readily agreed, “Okay, thank you.”

She forced herself to suppress her disappointment and ended a long day of work, feeling exhausted. Unexpectedly, as soon as she returned to the brigade, another troublesome incident occurred.

Suddenly, a disheveled old woman rushed out from the side, grabbed her arm, pointed at her nose and cursed, “You little bitch, tell me clearly, what did my Qin family do to you, that you’re making things difficult for us everywhere?”