Chapter 21: First Steps into Human Relations and Young Girl

Family planning in Gude Village is a total mess!

After three days of work, I summarized it with this sentence.

"A mess" is an understatement! It's a complete disaster.

This was Liu Hongyan's summary.

There was no electricity in the mountain village, nor were there any cultural books. Once it got dark, it was as silent as being inside a quilt. Occasionally, the howling of wild cats only added to the eeriness and fear. The mountain people didn't have much to do during the day; a few *mu* of thin fields couldn't stump the mountain men. Going to bed early every day, besides lying there with eyes open waiting for dawn, the only entertainment was rolling in bed with their wives.

In earlier years, the township had taken some measures.

Many cadres in charge of family planning were allergic to the name "Gude." Legend has it that a county leader in charge of family planning was sitting on the stage giving a report, and when he read the name "Gude Village," he suddenly felt an intense itch all over his body. He couldn't help but scratch his ears and cheeks on stage. The secretary couldn't stand it anymore, walked over, and whispered a reminder. The leader was furious and shouted, "Only the magistrate is allowed to set fires, but the common people aren't allowed to light lamps?"

It turned out the leader had been squeezed out by others; he was originally in charge of industry, but with a single order from the Secretary, he had to come to handle women's work.

The township sent me here this time just to let me familiarize myself with the situation; there were no requirements. I had always been enthusiastic about my work. My philosophy was: if you don't do it, fine, but if you do it, do it better!

To say the village was a mess, the source was the village Secretary's house.

Village Secretary Pan Shurong had four children. The first three were girls; the oldest was over twenty and had married off the year before last. The two younger girls were already restless, clamoring to get married. The second was sixteen this year, and the third was just over fourteen. The youngest was a boy, eight years old, who looked quite good, tiger-headed and brainy, and was still kneeling in front of his mother to nurse.

Pan Xiaoqin's surname was Pan, same as the Secretary, both of the Yao ethnic group, while Old Sun was an outsider in Gude Village, of the Han ethnic group. Pan Xiaoqin counted the situation of the villagers like she was counting her family treasures, and Liu Hongyan and I listened quietly. The places where Yao and Han lived together were complicated, and we became a bit confused.

I wanted Pan Xiaoqin to take us around. The little sister stared into my eyes and asked, "Are we going far or near?"

Liu Hongyan first expressed that she didn't want to go, saying it was getting dark and she didn't want to walk the mountain roads.

I had no choice but to follow Pan Xiaoqin alone to see the household furthest away in Gude Village.

After turning a mountain bend, we couldn't see the ghost-like bean oil lamps in the village anymore. Pan Xiaoqin stopped and stood under a large pine tree to wait for me.

I hurried a few steps and stood in front of her. Xiaoqin pointed to a smooth, large rock at her feet and said, "Sit, let's rest for a while."

We had been walking fast, and a layer of fine sweat had broken out on my back. Being blown by the mountain wind, I felt cool.

I nodded. The mountain road was really hard to walk, and the mountain road at night was even harder. The night wind blew, and the sound of pine needles colliding was like sliding on soft satin.

"There are still three *li* to go," Xiaoqin said, looking at me with what seemed like a bit of schadenfreude.

I said, "I'm not afraid! Just go slowly. Anyway, there's no rush, take it easy."

Pan Xiaoqin pursed her lips and smiled, "By the time you take it easy, they'll be asleep. Wouldn't that be a wasted trip?"

I said, "Do they go to bed that early?"

Pan Xiaoqin became a bit shy: "Go to bed early, have babies early."

I said something very boring: "You know quite a lot, don't you."

She didn't speak again and sat down on the other end of the rock. Her hand brushed her braid, and she lowered her head. Although the night was hazy, I could already feel her shyness.

People in the mountains mature early. Men who don't marry by twenty are basically bachelors for life, and women who don't marry by eighteen are old maids. The attitude of mountain people toward sex is open. Many girls have opportunities before they marry. As long as she likes you, nothing can stop her. It's not rare for an average girl to have had the experience of several men before getting married.

After sitting for a while, Pan Xiaoqin asked me, "Should I call you Secretary Chen, or should I call you Brother Chen?"

I was very happy and teased her, "How do you want to call me?"

Pan Xiaoqin tilted her head and thought for a moment, "I want to call you Brother."

I said, "Good, calling me Brother is good."

Pan Xiaoqin asked me another question: "Do you know what calling you Brother means?"

I shook my head and said, "Brother is just Brother, what else could it mean?"

Pan Xiaoqin asked me again: "Are you and Secretary Liu colleagues?"

I smiled and said, "That's obvious."

"Just colleagues?"

I nodded.

"I don't believe it!" she said. "If you're just colleagues, why did you hold her leg that night?"

I smiled wickedly and said, "Wasn't it cold? I held yours too."

She stared at me for a long time and said, "Do you dare to hold me again?"

I opened my arms and said, "Come on, let's hug."

Seeing me open my arms, Pan Xiaoqin slowly moved her body toward me.

She raised her head and looked into my eyes, "Why did you want to hold my feet that day?"

I said, "Wasn't I afraid you were cold?"

"The ghost believes you!" she lowered her head: "But I felt it."

"What did you feel?" I said, pulling her small body closer. She struggled a bit and said, "It hurts."

"Hmph!" she snorted: "Don't think I'm still a child. I'm seventeen this year. There are plenty of girls my age who are married."

"Is that so?" I said, loosening my arms; I wanted to smoke.

"Hold me!" she commanded, reaching out to wrap her arms around my neck. This purely lover-like posture made me feel uncomfortable. It wasn't that I didn't love beauty, nor was I emotionally exclusive. It was just that she was a seventeen-year-old girl, and I felt like I was committing a crime.

I said, "Alright, a hug is enough."

"No!" she asked me, "I like you. Do you like me?"

I nodded and said, "But you're still young."

"I'm not young anymore, I'm already sixteen! The girls in our village already have children."

I said, "Others are others, you are you. Don't learn from them." After I said this, I cursed myself in my heart. Don't act like a good person, damn it! Aren't you just a bad boy? In your heart, you've already stripped her clothes off!

"I can tell you like me!" she said very maturely: "If you didn't like me, you wouldn't have held me. If you held me, I'm yours. If you want me, I'll give myself to you!" She said it lightly, as if she were talking about something that had nothing to do with her.

I said, "I am a state cadre. Let me tell you, liking is not love. Only when two people have love can it last."

"I want your love." She lay in my arms.

"Love isn't something you can give just because you want to," I said. "You're still young; you'll understand when you grow up."

Pan Xiaoqin looked like she was about to cry: "If you don't give me love, why did you hold me? Why did you want me to call you Brother? You're bullying me!" She broke free from my arms and looked at me angrily.

"I'm telling you, I'm already mature!" Pan Xiaoqin became excited: "If you don't believe me, I'll show you!"

I quickly stood up, holding her body, and said, "I know, I know. Let me think about it. When I've thought it through, I'll tell you, okay?"

She was already teary-eyed. She leaned in my arms, letting my hands wrap tightly around her. ===== CHAPTER 22 =====