Chapter 17

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Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

To resolve the rumors and gossip in the village, and to untie the knot in Wang Zhanggen's heart, Li Xiulan decided to make a trip to the Town Police Station, seeking help from Guo Fuqiang, the Police Station Chief.

Wang Zhanggen was honest and simple by nature, poor at socializing, and even more averse to asking favors; Li Xiulan persuaded him a thousand times, and only with great difficulty did she convince him to go along together.

This morning, Li Xiulan and Wang Zhanggen, carrying a bag of peanuts, a bottle of peanut oil, several taro, and other local specialties, arrived at the entrance of the Police Station.

"Police Comrade, we want to find Chief Guo, Guo Fuqiang; which way should we go?"

Li Xiulan ran into a young officer at the Police Station entrance and immediately grabbed him to ask for directions.

The young officer looked Li Xiulan and Wang Zhanggen up and down:

"What business do you have with Chief Guo?"

Li Xiulan showed a simple, honest smile:

"Actually it's nothing major; a while back my husband got into a bit of trouble, and it was Chief Guo who helped handle it. Chief Guo gave my husband a fair shake, so he didn't have to go to jail. That's why we specially came this time to thank him!"

Li Xiulan did not directly say she had come to ask Guo Fuqiang to do a favor, because she knew clearly in her heart that if she directly said she was asking for help, Guo Fuqiang might refuse to see them.

"Oh, I remember now; you're that couple from Shanggou Village, right?"

Only then did the young officer recall a fairly big case the station had handled not long ago.

Li Xiulan and Wang Zhanggen nodded.

The young officer now said:

"You wait here a moment; I'll go tell Chief Guo right away."

"Then thank you for the trouble, Police Comrade!"

Watching the young officer turn and stride away, Li Xiulan felt this matter should be settled; with Guo Fuqiang stepping in to handle it, those rumors in the village would surely stop soon.

"Wife, we're only bringing this little bit of local specialties to Chief Guo; won't it be too shabby?"

Just then, Wang Zhanggen suddenly said this one sentence.

Li Xiulan looked at the small bag of peanuts in her hand, the small bag of taro, then at the bottle of peanut oil Wang Zhanggen was holding; indeed it was quite shabby.

But this was already almost the best things their family could take out.

"How about you go to the Market and buy two jin of pork and a fish to bring over; that way it won't be shabby."

Li Xiulan said this one sentence to Wang Zhanggen.

Wang Zhanggen felt the pinch in his heart, for pork and fish were things his family didn't often eat normally, only during Spring Festival could they occasionally have some; yet he still gritted his teeth and nodded, after all asking someone for a favor, one couldn't be too stingy.

"You hurry and go buy it; go quick and come back quick!"

Li Xiulan urged Wang Zhanggen.

Wang Zhanggen handed the peanut oil to Li Xiulan, then swiftly ran off toward the Market direction.

However, what Wang Zhanggen could never have expected was that his front foot had just left when his back foot several Family Planning Office staff members passed by the Police Station entrance.

"Where are you from? Why are you standing at this Police Station entrance?"

The Family Planning Office staff, seeing Li Xiulan with her big belly hunched over, came over and coldly questioned her.

"I'm from Shanggou Village."

Li Xiulan felt it was somewhat inexplicable, grew vigilant, but still told the truth.

"What's your name?"

The Family Planning Office staff continued asking.

"Li Xiulan."

"What are you doing at the Police Station? Visiting relatives or handling business?"

"Handling business, handling business..." Li Xiulan hurriedly answered, her face showing some panic, then asked: "Who are you people?"

"We are Family Planning Office staff; right now the whole County is carrying out the 'Hundred Days No Children' operation; you come with us to have an abortion!"

The Family Planning Office staff's cold words made Li Xiulan's delicate body tremble immediately, her complexion changing drastically.

She never would have thought that just standing at the Police Station entrance for a moment would result in her being dragged off by Family Planning people to have an abortion!

"This is my first child; I haven't had an over-quota birth..."

Li Xiulan said the clumsy lie trembling with fear; she was very glad that today coming to the Police Station, she hadn't brought the two children along.

Before, whenever Li Xiulan came to Town for Market Day, she would bring the two children along; after all, leaving the kids at home there was no one to look after them.

This time before she and Wang Zhanggen set out, they hesitated a long time over whether to bring the two children; in the end Wang Zhanggen felt a trip to Town would be back very soon, so they didn't bring them, letting the two children play at home by themselves; this was perhaps fate's arrangement in the dark.

Additionally Li Xiulan was also very glad that this batch of Family Planning Office staff she ran into were not the same batch as those Yang Dafu had brought to raid her home last time.

If among them were the people who went to her house last time, they would definitely see through her lie at a glance.

Li Xiulan thought that as long as she told this one lie, she could muddle through.

After all, on this big street, these Family Planning people couldn't prove she had an over-quota birth.

However, she was still too naive; she simply didn't realize what those staff members' question "visiting relatives or handling business" implied.

If she answered she came to the Police Station to visit relatives, she might have had nothing happen.

But she answered she came to handle business, and moreover voluntarily revealed she was a rural person from Shanggou Village; then the matter became serious.

"No over-quota birth still requires abortion all the same; do you know what 'Hundred Days No Children' means? Within these hundred days, not a single child can be born in the entire County; this is a death order handed down from the Leaders above!"

The Family Planning Office staff immediately seized Li Xiulan, about to forcibly drag her to the Town Health Center for an abortion.

Li Xiulan hurriedly struggled, shouting:

"No, I don't want an abortion, you can't do this! I beg you, don't kill my child!"

However, the Family Planning Office staff were dedicated to their posts and enforced the law impartially, with iron-faced impartiality, and simply ignored her pleas.

They dragged her roughly, intending to take her for a forced abortion.

At that moment, Li Xiulan felt utter despair.

She thought she would not be able to keep the child.

But just then,

"What are you doing?"

A resonant, stern shout stopped the Family Planning Office people in their tracks.

Li Xiulan looked up and saw Guo Fuqiang, his face grave, striding out from inside the Police Station.

"Chief Guo, we are carrying out the Family Planning mission."

The lead Family Planning Office worker immediately dropped his previous iron-faced impartiality and hurried forward with a fawning smile.

"Is this how you carry out a mission? You'll chill the hearts of the ordinary people like this!"

Guo Fuqiang rebuked them coldly; toward these Family Planning Office people, he had never had any good impression.

The Family Planning Office workers hurriedly handed Guo Fuqiang a cigarette, then pulled him aside, and said in a polite, conciliatory tone:

"Chief Guo, please don't be angry. We have no choice either. Above, they've launched the Hundred Days No Children campaign, and every township's Family Planning Office has been given an abortion quota. Up to now, we're still four quotas short of completing this month's task. This woman is from Shanggou Village, powerless and without influence, and we happened to run into her. She can conveniently serve as one quota. Aborted is aborted; there won't be any consequences. We ask Chief Guo not to obstruct us, and give our Family Planning Office some face."

Guo Fuqiang flew into a towering rage on the spot:

"You do such unconscionable things — watch out, or later your own children will be born without an anus!"

The Family Planning Office workers gave a dry, bitter laugh:

"We have no choice either! If we weren't assigned to work in the Family Planning Office, who would be willing to do this kind of virtue-lacking deed!"

Guo Fuqiang said coldly:

"Just turn a blind eye and it's done. Failing the quota means at most a reprimand from above. But if you really forcibly drag someone off for an abortion, that's killing a living, breathing child!"

The Family Planning Office workers fell silent.

At this, Guo Fuqiang beckoned Li Xiulan over, then took the peanuts, taro, and peanut oil she had brought and stuffed them all into the hands of the Family Planning Office workers. His tone softened as he said:

"Consider it giving me, this Police Station Chief, some face. Today you didn't see this pregnant woman, and I didn't see you. Later I'll treat you to a meal."

Hearing this, the Family Planning Office workers had nothing more to say.

They took those local specialties Li Xiulan had brought, then politely said their goodbyes to Guo Fuqiang and left.

"Then Chief Guo, we're leaving. Back at the dinner table, I'll properly toast you a cup!"

Watching the Family Planning Office people's retreating figures, Guo Fuqiang couldn't help but let out a sigh:

"This absurd policy — when will it ever end?"