Chapter 69: The Gouzitun Rogue Incident (Please Follow!)

When Wei Ming and Wei Hong found Old Wei, he stared at his son in surprise: “Why did you bring a bucket of oil all the way from Beijing?”

Wei Ming pointed to the pickling jar in Xiao Hong’s hands: “That’s what I brought back. The oil was a gift from Old Man.”

“Ah?” Wei Jiefang was delighted—the bucket held at least five or six catties, not far off the value of a bottle of Maotai.

Wei Ming added: “Yesterday his nephew came to visit him, brought some grain and oil. He said he couldn’t finish it all, so he gave me a bucket. I refused, but he got upset.”

Wei Jiefang immediately turned to Qi Delong: “Look at that guy’s nephew!”

Qi Delong chewed on the sweet sorghum stalk Wei Jiefang had bought: “Cousin, cousin~”

Wei Jiefang kicked him: “Useless lump!”

Wei Ming and Wei Hong got into the cart, ready to head home; the donkey felt a heavy weight on its shoulders, its fifth leg losing all spirit.

With this much work every day, who even thinks about that kind of thing anymore?

Wei Jiefang fiddled with the pickling jar Wei Ming had bought: “This is what you went all the way to bring your mother?”

“Yeah, it’s for making the kind of pickles she mentioned.”

Wei Jiefang: “Seeing this, she’ll probably miss home again.”

Wei Ming: “Then go with her back home. We’ve got the means now.”

Wei Jiefang sighed: “That’s such a long way—easy to say.”

Meanwhile, at Gouzitun’s brigade office, Zhao Chun was furious: “Wei Jiefang is outrageous—he treats the brigade’s mules and horses like his own private property, using them whenever he wants!”

Below, the comrades whispered among themselves about what happened last night.

“Did you hear? Wei family’s ancestral grave is smoking blue smoke!”

“What? Someone set fire to the grave?”

“No, it really was blue smoke—someone from the north end of the village saw it, then heard about Wei’s boy.”

“Last night’s fire was strange too—felt like it was lighting the way for Little Wei Ming’s return.”

“Right, it just burned a shed—the one the village built for him. He didn’t lose a thing.”

“Hey, though the Wei family has few members, each one’s extraordinary!”

“Yeah, only Wei Jiefang drags them down.”

Seeing no one took him seriously, Zhao Chun grew angrier, slapping the table louder: “Wei Jiefang’s behavior is a textbook case of misusing public resources, infringing on the brigade’s collective interests—this must be severely criticized!”

The old party secretary, Zhou Xingbang, tapped his pipe, thinking Zhao Chun was just stirring up trouble for no reason.

Who in Henghe Commune didn’t know Wei Jiefang was the animals’ best friend? He was the commune’s only official veterinarian; even neighboring villages came to him when he was swamped.

With Wei Jiefang in Gouzitun, the livestock mostly lived out their natural lives, rarely suffered during birthing, saving the brigade countless losses—other villages envied them.

So sometimes Wei Jiefang used “off-duty” animals for personal tasks—everyone tacitly accepted it. Who else had his skills?

Now Zhao Chun suddenly brought this up—the old party secretary could only assume he was jealous, envious that Jiefang had a good son while Zhao, the brigade chief, had only four daughters.

Then Zhao Chun asked the old party secretary for advice.

What could Zhou Xingbang say? “I think Chun is right—why not just remove Wei Jiefang from his post? No more livestock duties for him.”

Zhou Xingbang thought this would scare Zhao Chun off, but he immediately agreed—and nominated his younger brother-in-law.

Zhou Xingbang snapped: “Jiefang may be lazy, but he never steals or takes. Your brother-in-law? Hmph—I’m afraid he’ll steal the animals’ grain too.”

“Hahaha!”

The room burst into laughter—Zhao Chun’s brother-in-law had indeed done that, but only during the famine years, when hunger drove him mad. Wei Ming even drew inspiration from it while writing “The Tale of Two Donkeys.”

“We can discuss the replacement later, but Wei Jiefang’s behavior must be condemned. Time’s running out—likely that family’s back from their outing. Let’s go block him at the south end of the village!”

The old party secretary shook his head and went to check the fields for leftover corn. He stayed out of it; a few other cadres tagged along for the fun—it was autumn harvest’s end, rare entertainment.

Meanwhile, Qi Kexiu’s situation was dire.

Qi Kexiu never did farm work at home—he was a refined Beijing gentleman.

Early that morning, his wife Fan Chunhua cooked breakfast, then headed to the fields to earn work points; their son went to school.

Since he had no classes until the third period, Qi Kexiu decided to sleep in—he’d tossed and turned all night from discomfort and needed rest.

He woke up desperate to urinate, checked his watch—time was running out. He’d eat, then head to school.

But his clothes and pants were gone—he was left with only his underwear. “That woman—washes my clothes without telling me!”

Luckily, he had more than one set. He opened the wardrobe—and froze. His clothes, even his winter gear, were gone. Only his wife’s undergarments remained.

What the hell? Burglars?

But he was bursting. Either go out in just his underwear, or relieve himself inside.

Though it was his home, the walls were low—even fences. No privacy in the courtyard.

He thought of tearing down the curtains to cover himself—only to find the curtains gone, not even a towel left.

Who did this? I curse you to be born without an anus!

One option remained: use the blanket to cover himself while relieving himself—the only fabric left.

But rural outhouses in this era were indescribably foul. Covering himself with a blanket meant ruining it—too great a sacrifice.

So he’d take the risk.

Finally, Qi Kexiu found a bamboo mat, draped it below his waist, and stepped outside toward the latrine.

Halfway there, a young, delicate girl pushed open the gate and cried out: “Teacher Qi is… Ah! You—you—you pervert!”

!

The girl was Hu Qiuyang, the new teacher at the village school and Qi Delong’s homeroom teacher. Seeing the boy absent—and his father, Teacher Qi, also missing—she rushed over during recess to check.

Then she saw this: Teacher Qi, apparently naked, sprinting through the yard. So shameless, so disgraceful—she burst into tears.

Just one glance made her feel unclean!

As fate would have it, Zhao Chun and his group arrived at the south end of the village to intercept Wei Jiefang—and spotted Hu Qiuyang running out, crying.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

Hu Qiuyang pointed to Qi Kexiu’s house: “Teacher Qi—he—he’s a pervert!”

Huh!

Qi Kexiu was Wei Jiefang’s brother-in-law, the village’s most cultured man. Zhao Chun straightened up—this matter, he would handle.

Wei Ming’s group arrived home, driving the donkey cart; before even entering the yard, they smelled the aroma.

Wei Jiefang said: “Unload first. I’ll take the cart back.”

Normally, the shed gave the old donkey a place to rest—but now it was gone.

Qi Delong swallowed hard: “Big Uncle, I’m scared to go home. Can I eat lunch here?”

Wei Jiefang: “You’re a cousin.”

Qi Delong: “Cousin? But you’re closer than blood!”

Wei Jiefang wasn’t stingy: “Help your brother carry the pig.”

“Got it!”

The Wei family once had a pigpen connected to the latrine. A few years ago, when Grandma died, they fell into debt, couldn’t even feed themselves—let alone raise pigs.

After securing the pig, they put the three chicks into the coop.

Xu Shufen happily carried a bucket of water, poured it into the trough—some chicken scraps floated inside. The pig ate happily.

“Mom, stop working for now—look, do you like this?” Wei Hong placed the oil bucket down, then held up the pickling jar: “This is what Brother brought back from Beijing for you.”

“Ah!”

Xu Shufen took it in surprise, tears welling: “Yes, yes, just like this! Back home we used this for pickles! But why’s it so small~”

As Old Man guessed, Mother was moved to tears—she missed home, missed her family after twenty years away.

She didn’t even know if they were still alive.

She fled her hometown in Sichuan-Chongqing during the Three Difficult Years, just for a mouthful of food, to survive.

She climbed onto trains countless times before drifting to this unfamiliar Hebei land, where even communication was hard.

Here, the land was flat, farmland abundant, people kind—she thought she’d never starve again.

After being taken in by her mother-in-law, who ran a tofu shop, she obediently agreed to marry Wei Jiefang, then eighteen, who had no one to play with because his cousin Wei Anping was studying in town.

Wei Jiefang was reluctant at first—this woman was dark, dirty, spoke unintelligibly. Marrying her would shame him in the village; if Anping found out, he’d laugh himself to death.

But the old lady had sharp eyes—after a bath, the coal-black girl turned into a fair, beautiful maiden, giving Gouzitun a taste of the Heavenly Kingdom’s wonder.

Beyond beauty, she was diligent, sensible, gentle, kind. Wei Jiefang struck gold—and her presence nurtured his lazy nature.

Xu Shufen clutched the jar, lost in memory, when Wei Jiefang suddenly turned back, poking his head in excitedly: “Little Dragon, your dad’s been arrested! They say he sexually harassed Teacher Hu!”

(End of Chapter)