Chapter 158: The Anti-Speculation Office Makes Arrests

In the village, at the Li family home.

Liang Yumei was feeding the chickens in the courtyard. Lu's eldest sister-in-law walked over, looked enviously at the hen with the chicks, and hearing the grunting of the piglets in the pigsty, said with a smile:

"Your family has really risen this time. When the pigs are slaughtered in winter, one pig will sell for at least a few dozen yuan! By the way, where is Qiangqiang's dad? He didn't go to work today; did he go to the fields to work?"

"No, he went to find the team leader." Liang Yumei said with a smile while feeding the chickens, "Didn't the team notify us? Raising eight pigs counts as a specialized pig-raising household, and according to the commune's regulations, we get a few mu of feed land."

"That's great!" Lu's eldest sister-in-law had another reason for envy, but she then asked suspiciously:

"I remember your family had six piglets; did you buy more?"

"No, Xiao Long caught five wild piglets in the mountains and is raising them in the horse stable. I don't know if they can be raised."

"Right, right, Xiao Long hasn't separated from you, so that counts as one." Lu's eldest sister-in-law nodded repeatedly and then exclaimed in admiration, "Xiao Long is really promising. He can even catch wild piglets; he's really amazing! By the way, does Xiao Long have a partner?"

"I haven't asked." Liang Yumei shook her head. "Xiao Long is grown up and has his own ideas. It's not good for us to interfere in this matter."

"I heard he is seeing Xiaoxia from the Gu family?" Lu's eldest sister-in-law actually wanted to ask about this.

"Let the young people talk about young people's matters themselves." Liang Yumei neither admitted nor denied it. "Isn't free love the trend now?"

"That's true, but I heard that after Gu Xiaoxia went to the commune middle school, she became very popular. Many young male teachers and some commune cadres have taken a fancy to her!"

The commune was only changed to a township this year, so neither of them was used to it and still referred to it as a commune. Not to mention now, even twenty or thirty years later, old people in some remote areas were still used to calling townships and towns communes.

"Really?" Liang Yumei stopped what she was doing and then nodded, feeling a bit melancholy. "Yes, Xiaoxia is beautiful, educated, and now has a formal job and eats commodity grain, so there must be many people who want to marry her. I just don't know..."

"Sigh, once you eat commodity grain, your status is different. It's not easy for us country folk to live together." Lu's eldest sister-in-law's meaning was very clear: Li Long shouldn't aim for this tree; she's going to be a city person, would she take a fancy to you, a country person?

Better to find someone of equal status while young and get married.

Young people married quite early in these days; by their early twenties, they had partners and were preparing to marry. Like the kind of people who married in their thirties or forties in later generations, there were almost none—if there were, they would be despised in the village.

The reputation of an old bachelor didn't sound good.

Liang Yumei was also a bit melancholy, but she really couldn't say anything about Li Long's affairs. Should she tell Li Long now, you and Gu Xiaoxia aren't suitable, find someone else?

She naturally knew Lu's eldest sister-in-law's intentions; she wanted to introduce a relative to Li Long, but Li Long's mind was clearly not on this.

As the two were chatting, footsteps were heard outside the courtyard, light and fast. Both of them turned their heads to look outside, and then someone they didn't expect appeared—Gu Xiaoxia.

Now both of them were blushing. After all, the most awkward thing was gossiping about someone while that person happened to come over. Although they knew the other person couldn't hear what was just said, they were both a bit embarrassed.

"Aunt... Aunt Lu, you're here too." Gu Xiaoxia didn't know how to address them.

Because when the production team was first established, there were only two or three local households, and the others came from all over the country. Gu Xiaoxia's father and Li Jianguo were the original founders of the production team, so they were considered peers. By this calculation, Gu Xiaoxia should call Liang Yumei aunt, depending on which side of the family was closer to the Li family.

But Li Long was Li Jianguo's younger brother, so if calculated that way, it was hard for Gu Xiaoxia to address Li Long, so now in the team, everyone addressed each other as they pleased.

For example, Tao Daqiang called Li Long "Brother Long," but Li Qiang called Tao Daqiang "Brother Daqiang," which was quite messy.

But the villagers didn't care too much; it was just a form of address, and they weren't related by blood, so it depended on personal preference. A very small number of traditional people would specifically correct others, but they could only correct their own family and couldn't say anything about others.

So Gu Xiaoxia calling Liang Yumei "Aunt" was based on the old address, but after saying it, it was a bit awkward. After all, although the matter between her and Gu Long hadn't pierced that layer of window paper, she felt it was about the same.

"Xiaoxia is here," Liang Yumei reacted and said with a smile, "Come, come, are you not having class today?"

"I don't have my class this morning." Gu Xiaoxia explained and then handed over the cloth bag in her hand:

"Aunt, these are two pairs of shoes I made in my spare time... It's hard to get backing material where we are, so I could only make two pairs..."

Lu's eldest sister-in-law was puzzled at first, then suddenly realized:

"You want Xiao Long to take them to your dad, right?"

The villagers were all clear about the people from the sideline team going into the mountains to weave carrying poles. The team leader decided who to choose. Although Lu's eldest sister-in-law was a bit depressed that no one from her family went, she thought about the work in her own fields and that was that. Now hearing Gu Xiaoxia say this, she felt it must be the case.

"Yes, one pair in here is for my dad, and the other pair is..." Gu Xiaoxia's voice suddenly became small, and her face turned a bit red, "is for Li Long. I haven't seen him at school these past two days, and I don't know when he'll be back, so I..."

Lu's eldest sister-in-law was dumbfounded!

She had already made shoes for him?

Liang Yumei reacted extremely quickly, pulled Gu Xiaoxia over with a smile and said:

"Come, come, come inside and rest first! I'll pour you some water! I'll cook for you in a while... You haven't been here for many days, let's have a good chat..."

Lu's eldest sister-in-law didn't even know when she got home.

She just couldn't figure it out; Gu Xiaoxia was already eating commodity grain, so why was she still taking the initiative to find Li Long from the Li family?

Li Long from the Li family was excellent, but no matter how excellent, he was still a country person, a farmer.

To put it bluntly, in the village, in some people's eyes, the future of that hoodlum Gu Ermao was even better than Li Long's.

Gu Xiaoxia clearly had a better future, so why would she turn back and stick to the village?

Liang Yumei also had this thought, but she didn't care about that much. Gu Xiaoxia thinking of Li Long's kindness and making shoes for Li Long was in itself a very obvious hint. As for the rest, was there any need to say more?

So at noon, although Gu Xiaoxia repeatedly indicated that she had class in the afternoon, Liang Yumei still cooked rice early, mixed a cold dish, and stir-fried two meat dishes to entertain her. When she left, she specifically let her take a piece of cured meat back.

Gu Xiaoxia, who was walking to school, actually let out a long sigh of relief. Now, Li Long should know her heart, right? So, what would he do next?

Gu Xiaoxia became a bit uneasy again.

Li Long returned to the compound after buying things, rested for a little while, then stood up the bicycle and started loading things.

The flour was at the bottom, but he couldn't load too much, just one bag on each side. Next was the sack containing the radios. This bag couldn't be laid flat; it had to be tied upright with a rope, neither loose nor tilted. It was a skilled job.

Li Long tied the radios up, then put other things like batteries and shoes into the bag, and hung them on both sides of the bicycle handlebars. Now it was a bit difficult to push it out. However, the 28-inch bicycle was sturdy and durable. Li Long knew that as long as he pedaled it for a few laps later, it would be able to fly.

Li Long went to open the door, pushed the bicycle out, and was about to turn around to lock the door when two people in Zhongshan suits walked over, sandwiched him from left and right, and the person on the left said seriously:

"We are from the Anti-Speculation Office. You've committed an offense; come with us!"

The Anti-Speculation Office was a relatively special institution that emerged during this period, with the full name "Office for Striking Against Speculation and Profiteering." It had quite a lot of power and often took people away during a fairly long period.

As soon as Li Long heard this, he knew he must have been targeted. He hurriedly waved his hand and said:

"Misunderstanding, misunderstanding! I didn't engage in speculation and profiteering. I have an introduction letter here... I am from the supply and marketing cooperative..."

"What kind of introduction letter does a country person like you have? Did your production team allow you to do such things? You are from the supply and marketing cooperative? Do you know where the door of the supply and marketing cooperative opens?" The person on the right sneered and said:

"Don't talk so much nonsense, push the bicycle and come with us! You've even ridden a bicycle; it seems you haven't dug the socialist wall much! Do you know? This is an economic crime! Go squat in the prison later!"

When Li Long heard the other party even say the words "digging the socialist wall," he knew that saying more was useless and could only explain after going to their office.

The office of the Anti-Speculation Office was diagonally opposite the county committee, in a flat courtyard.

After Li Long was brought in, the young man who spoke later was just about to untie the things on the back of the bicycle when Li Long had already taken out his certificate and said:

"Comrade, I am really a purchasing agent for the supply and marketing cooperative. These things are to be sent to the mountains. Don't move them around!"

!.

"Hehe!" The young man didn't listen to his explanation at all, rudely untied the rope, and then grabbed the bag containing the radios and pulled it down.

Li Long was quick-witted, hurriedly stepped forward to support the bag, and then said angrily:

"Can't you be a little gentler? These are radios inside! They cost dozens of yuan each. Can you afford to pay if you break them?"

The young man didn't expect to be scolded by Li Long, nor did he expect that valuable radios were inside. He was stunned for a moment, then scanned around and found that several colleagues were looking at him. He was a bit unable to step down and said in anger and shame:

"So what if I break them? You are digging the socialist wall and engaging in speculation and profiteering, and you still have the nerve to talk? I tell you! This is your evidence of crime! All these things must be confiscated! As for whether they are broken or not, that has nothing to do with you!"

"Still digging the socialist wall?" Li Long was laughed at by anger. "Are you still not out of that era? Reform and opening up has already started now, wake up, comrade!"

Since the face had already been torn, Li Long knew that this matter would not be easy to settle, and he didn't intend to let things rest.

This bottom-level little ghost was definitely difficult to deal with. If he didn't make a big deal out of it, he would definitely suffer a dumb loss!

Sure enough, the person was flushed red by Li Long's words: "Are you looking for death? I tell you, this matter is a big deal today! One radio is fifty yuan! With this amount of yours, sentencing you to ten years is no problem!"

"Do you really think you can cover the sky with one hand?" Li Long didn't show weakness either; if his voice wasn't loud, he wouldn't be able to attract bigger leaders. "Which law stipulates that individuals cannot buy more radios? If you say I am speculating and profiteering, don't you have to provide evidence?"

The young man didn't expect Li Long to be so tough. The small vendors they encountered in the past were all obedient as long as they were caught; they paid fines when asked and let their things be confiscated when asked. They had never encountered such a thorn!

The problem was that they were still in the courtyard, not in the office. If he wanted to use underhanded tricks, he still had to worry about the leaders diagonally opposite. The young man scanned the surroundings and then saw Gu Ermao, who was acting suspiciously at the door of the office, and was overjoyed, saying:

"You, come here!"

He sneered at Li Long again:

"The person who pointed you out is here! Don't think we don't know your background! You are just a farmer; where did you get the money to buy so many radios? If it's not speculation and profiteering, what is it?"

Gu Ermao originally thought he would just secretly report it, let Li Long have some bad luck, and it would be best if he could go in and be locked up for a few days, and then he would be stinking in the street when he came out.

He didn't expect that the people here didn't let him go at all, but directly brought him to the Anti-Speculation Office and asked him to testify!

Gu Ermao was blind now, but he couldn't leave if he wanted to, and he wanted to hide, but he was seen by that young man.

But at this time, he had to bite the bullet and come out, standing opposite Li Long.

"Say what you saw again!" The young man couldn't care about that much anymore and said loudly to Gu Ermao.

Gu Ermao cursed this young man to death in his heart.

But at this moment, he had to speak; the arrow was on the string, and he couldn't control himself anymore.

Gu Ermao had just said two sentences when a middle-aged man walked out of the office and asked with a frown:

"What are you arguing about? Don't you know to pay attention to the influence? With such a loud voice, people who don't know would think we are a vegetable market!"

After finishing, he saw the two sides confronting each other in the courtyard, as well as the bicycle and the pile of things, and asked:

"Xiao Hu, what's the situation?"

Xiao Hu was the one who spoke to Li Long at the beginning and hadn't opened his mouth after entering the courtyard.

Xiao Hu explained the matter, and the young man wanted to interrupt several times, but Xiao Hu was quick-mouthed and finished speaking in one breath.

"You said you are a purchasing agent for the supply and marketing cooperative?" The middle-aged man grasped the key point after listening and asked Li Long.

"How could he be a purchasing agent!" The young man who was confronting Li Long was unhappy when he heard this and pointed at Gu Ermao:

"They are from the same village. This person said that Li Long is a loafer who engages in speculation and profiteering! He is lying!"

Li Long handed the certificate to the middle-aged man and said:

"This is the proof. I am a purchasing agent for our county's supply and marketing cooperative. This time, Section Chief Li Xiangqian of our purchasing section assigned a task to get a batch of carrying poles from the mountains. The materials I brought are to be sent to the mountains. If you don't believe it, you can call the supply and marketing cooperative to confirm."

After saying this, the young man was stunned for a moment.

Li Long hadn't said that before!

That Gu Ermao had said with certainty that Li Long was a loafer who didn't do his proper job and had been engaging in speculation and profiteering for almost half a year, and he hadn't said this either!

After the middle-aged man looked at the certificate, he glanced at Li Long, then turned his head and looked deeply at the young man, and turned to go to the office.

Li Long guessed that he should be making a phone call.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 159 =====