Chapter 15: Family Planning in Gude Village

The township arranged for me and Liu Hongyan to go to Gude Village to check on family planning work.

Not long after my monkey head mushroom business ended, Liu Hongyan got married. She married Zheng Gang. It was said that their wedding date had been set before I even came to Suxi Township.

Less than half a month after getting married, Liu Hongyan was very excited to receive the task. At the meeting, Zheng Gang proposed to go with Hongyan, citing the reason of taking care of his new wife, but was flatly rejected by Secretary Liu Quan. At the meeting, Liu Quan assigned Zheng Gang to go down to the village with Township Head Zheng to urge the collection of levies.

The Gude Village we were going to was the most remote place in Suxi Township. The main residents were Yao people, and the only mountain road connecting to the outside world had been broken by mountain floods in the spring. There were no means of transportation to borrow, not even a bicycle could walk it. Going there could only be measured by footsteps, and it was impossible to return on the same day.

It was reported that the situation of violating family planning in Gude Village was very serious. The mountains were high and the emperor was far away; there was no heaven to manage, no land to collect, and every family had more than two births, with some having as many as seven or eight.

Family planning is a national policy and a necessary condition for assessing cadres. Liu Quan didn't know how many times he had been criticized on this issue. Even the secretary in charge at the county level voiced that if the family planning problem in Gude Village became a stumbling block to his progress, he would smash the stumbling block to pieces regardless of everything!

A cadre wanted to cut the weeds and dig up the roots, taking people into the mountains to find them. As a result, the people weren't found, and the cadre himself went missing. Many days later, someone found his corpse in a remote mountain gully, his lower body hacked to pieces. The county sent police to investigate, but after checking and checking, there were no clues, and it was left unsettled. He didn't even get to be a martyr, and in the end, he was rated as "sacrificed in the line of duty," which was considered an explanation for him. Since then, no cadre had gone to Gude Village to check on family planning work.

Before leaving, I went to Jinling's house. Her husband, Little Li, wasn't home. Old Li was grateful to see me and kept pulling me to drink.

Jinling had a big belly. Taking advantage of Old Li going out to catch a chicken, she hurriedly pecked my face, her face full of happy smiles. This woman, I didn't know if the child in her belly was mine; it seemed I had been borrowed for seed.

Old Li carried an old hen by its feet and came in, full of smiles: "Secretary Chen, let's have a Northeast dish tonight, a chicken stewed with mushrooms."

I declined: "Old Li, I won't eat. I came today to tell you something."

Old Li looked terrified: "Secretary Chen, if you have something to say, just order it."

I said: "You know, the township sent me and Hongyan to Gude Village to do family planning. If anything happens, help me handle it."

Old Li looked incomparably surprised: "Secretary Chen, what do you mean by this!"

I said: "It doesn't mean anything, it's just that for some things, it's better to have an explanation."

My money was in his son's foundation, over two hundred thousand. Except for Wu Qian, I hadn't even told my aunt.

Old Li ordered Jinling to pour me tea, rubbing his hands and not knowing what to say.

I wrote down my aunt's phone number and address on a slip of paper and handed it to Old Li. I smiled lightly: "Actually, what is there? There are many wolves in the mountains, I'm really afraid of encountering them."

Old Li laughed and patted my shoulder: "Secretary Chen, you are still a scholar. Where are there wolves in the mountains now?"

Jinling looked like she wanted to cry. I said to Jinling: "Sister-in-law, I'm waiting to drink the wedding wine when the child is born."

Old Li used killing the chicken as an excuse, leaving Jinling and me alone in the room. Jinling suddenly took my hand and placed it on her belly: "Touch it, it's moving."

I awkwardly withdrew my hand: "Sister-in-law, this child...?"

Jinling smiled: "Don't worry, even if the sky falls, it's still the person who will carry on the Li family line."

I suddenly felt sad. Jinling's words had already decided the child's future. Regardless of whether it was my seed or not, it was destined to be surnamed Li when it was born.

Without waiting for Old Li to finish the wine and food, I resolutely said goodbye and left. Old Li rubbed his hands: "I'll wait for Secretary Chen to come back!"

After leaving Jinling's house, I took out a cigarette and took a fierce drag. I hadn't been to this house since I left last time. I couldn't change everything that had happened now. ===== CHAPTER 16 =====