Chapter 8: Enthusiastic Villagers

After sitting on the bus for over ten hours, I finally reached my destination just as it was getting dark. The electric lights in the long-distance bus station were dim and yellow. I followed the passengers off the bus and did a few chest-expansion exercises on the ground.

At this moment, a very young girl came over, first smiling at me and revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

"Are you Secretary Chen from the city?"

I nodded and said yes.

She exaggeratedly patted her slightly trembling chest and said: "Heavens, finally waited for you. Your bus was three hours later than usual. I asked several times at the station, and people were about to treat me like a lunatic!"

I said: "It's a pity I'm not the driver; if I were, I might have arrived three hours early."

"Then wouldn't I be anxious?" The girl smoothed the bangs on her forehead and introduced herself: "I am the Youth League Committee Secretary of Suxi Township, my name is Liu Hongyan. Welcome, Secretary Chen, to Suxi Township to guide our work."

I hurriedly waved my hand and said: "Secretary Liu, don't be so polite. You are a Secretary, and I am just a Secretary; I hope Secretary Liu will help me a lot in the future."

"Let's not be so formal, okay? We'll be working together for a long time."

We found a small restaurant to eat, and Liu Hongyan took my luggage and led the way.

A tractor was parked outside the station. When the driver saw us coming, he enthusiastically took the luggage from my hands and threw it into the carriage, then turned around, took out the crank, and started the machine with a "hi-chi hi-chi" sound.

I stood to the side and couldn't help but laugh. A tractor to pick me up? I had originally thought that at worst, it would be a jeep.

Liu Hongyan said a bit embarrassedly: "The conditions in the township are poor; there isn't a single small car in the whole township. Besides, even if there were, it couldn't travel on these roads. This is the driver with the best skills in our township. We have to travel at night, so safety is important." She climbed onto the carriage first and reached out a soft, tender hand to pull me up.

The carriage was covered with a thick layer of straw. The fragrance of the straw mixed with the fragrance on Liu Hongyan's body, making one feel refreshed.

It was already past two in the morning when we arrived in Suxi Township.

The tractor stopped in front of a pitch-black house. As soon as it stopped, a few dark shadows came over. The leader was a man in his fifties, carrying a kerosene lamp. He shone the lamp on his own face, laughed heartily, and grabbed my hand: "Welcome, welcome!"

I didn't know what to do, shaking his hand and muttering, not knowing what to say.

Liu Hongyan jumped off the car and introduced them to me one by one. This man in his fifties was the Party Committee Secretary of Suxi Township, Liu Quan, and the weak-looking middle-aged man behind him was the Township Head, Zheng Tianmin.

Just after shaking hands with Zheng Tianmin, a young man in a police uniform stood before me, saluted, and said in a loud voice: "Police Station Chief, Zheng Gang!"

I was moved. They—my comrades and brothers—had been waiting for my arrival. In this place without even electric lights, they had sat for a whole night, watching time pass, waiting for me, a stranger from a distant place.

After some pleasantries, Liu Hongyan invited everyone inside.

The room was brightly lit, with four oil lamps burning.

"Hungry, right? Tell Old Wang in the kitchen to prepare; we're holding a welcome banquet for Secretary Chen." Secretary Liu waved his hand and commanded Zheng Gang: "Go, tell Old Wang to stew half of the pheasant and stir-fry the other half. Damn it! Such a big pheasant." Liu Quan gestured, and I saw that the pheasant seemed to be over ten pounds. "And tell him to put more chili in that wild boar meat. Also, go to my room and bring the Nanshan Daqu."

Zheng Gang went off happily.

When the wine and food were served, Secretary Liu Quan pulled me to sit beside him and poured a full cup of Nanshan Daqu wine into a large enamel mug in front of me.

I hurriedly declined: "Secretary Liu, I don't drink."

Secretary Liu stared at me with eyes like ox eggs and said: "You have to drink! You coming to our Suxi Township is giving face to the people of Suxi Township. We Suxi people don't have anything good to treat you with. But from now on, you are also a Suxi person. We are one family, no two families; in Suxi, there is no man who doesn't drink!"

I had no choice but to remain silent and follow the local customs.

Watching him take the lead and drain the wine in one gulp, my legs trembled a bit. This cup of wine was at least three taels, and three taels of white liquor was like a pile of fire. Not to mention it was Nanshan wine.

Nanshan is a high-strength white liquor produced by our local distillery; it makes you dizzy as soon as you drink it, so we all call this wine "Dizzy Daqu."

Liu Hongyan seemed to see my timidity and said: "Drink as much as you can. If you can't finish it, I'll help you."

Zheng Gang laughed and said: "Our Youth League Secretary has spoken. With her helping you, what are you afraid of? This is the first time I've seen our Youth League Secretary be so generous, good!" He tilted his head and drank the wine, shaking the empty cup at me.

I closed my eyes, closed my nostrils, picked up the wine glass, and thought: "The wind is blowing, the Yi River is cold!" ===== CHAPTER 9 =====