As the chief magistrate of Shiwan Village, Lu Yiwei had every reason to greet the villagers of Xuzhaigou Village. However, when he saw the old farmer walking in front of him in a hurry, he knew that he had something important to discuss with him. He smiled and nodded at the villagers, then followed the old farmer into an alley.
The architectural style and structure of the villages in Nanyang County were basically similar, especially the farmhouses near the foot of the mountain, which were generally built in a stepped style. On one side of the alley was the back of the houses, and on the other side was a stone dam of different sizes, which was level with the roofs of the houses in front of it. The alley was narrow and curved, only wide enough for two people to pass through at the same time. If a strong cow came from the opposite direction, one would have to lean to the side and wait for the cow to pass. The alley was filled with cow and sheep dung, and from time to time, the sound of dogs barking and chicken feet could be heard. The air was filled with the strong smell of the countryside.
Lu Yiwei, who was born a farmer, was not surprised by this kind of environment. He did not show any disgust, stepping on the dried cow dung as he chased after the old farmer.
After a few turns, they finally arrived at a farmhouse halfway up the mountain. Lu Yiwei was so tired that he was panting. He had not exercised for a long time, and with the influence of alcohol and tobacco, his physical fitness had obviously declined.
The farmhouse was not big, and there were only three caves. The yard was surrounded by twigs, and last year's harvest of corn hung on one side of the dam. There was also a pigsty and a stone mill in the middle of the yard. That was all.
Theoretically, Xuzhaigou Village had a coal mine, so it should not be so poor. However, everything in front of him made Lu Yiwei feel that it was even more backward than Dongwa Village.
The old farmer still did not say a word. He lifted the curtain and motioned for Lu Yiwei to enter. Lu Yiwei hesitated for a moment, then stepped into the cave.
Although it was daytime, the cave was very dark, and with the smoke lingering in the air, Lu Yiwei's glasses were covered in a layer of fog. He took them off and wiped them with the corner of his shirt before he could see the whole cave clearly. He saw that the mottled walls had been blackened by the soot, and some dried beans were hanging from the beams. The original color of the large cabinet could no longer be seen, as it had blended in with the surroundings. There was a 14-inch black and white TV on the cabinet. The rotating button was gone, replaced by a small wooden chip inserted to replace the switch function. The bedding on the kang bed was also black. The originally bright red and purple peonies had also lost their beauty as the national flower. The room was filled with all kinds of mixed gases. It was really unpleasant.
After adapting to the light in the room, Lu Yiwei took a closer look and found a person lying on the kang, which made him even more interested in the situation of this family.
The windows were made of cellophane, and only the middle two panes were installed with glass. At this time, the windows were already full of onlookers, blocking the sunlight with their hands and looking inside.
Lu Yiwei sat on the edge of the kang bed. The person lying on the bed squirmed and suddenly opened his eyes. After looking for a few seconds, he laughed foolishly and pointed at Lu Yiwei. "Big black bear, big black bear …"
Trembling, the old farmer lifted up his thick cotton-padded jacket and took out a piece of Princess cigarette made in Hanzhong, Shaanxi. He carefully opened it and gave one to Lu Yiwei, then he carefully wrapped it up and put it into his pocket. He picked up the tobacco pipe and filled it with tobacco, and began to smoke.
Seeing this scene, Lu Yiwei felt a little sad. It could be seen that this box of Princess cigarettes had been on the old farmer for a long time, and he had been reluctant to smoke it. Thinking about the good cigarettes he smoked every day, it formed a strong contrast.
If it were other leaders who were used to smoking good cigarettes, how could they look down on such a low-quality cigarette? At most, they would take it and put it aside. They would either endure it or take out a cigarette from their pocket to smoke. Lu Yiwei knew how much effort and sweat had been put into this cigarette, so he smoked it without any hesitation. As expected, this pack of cigarettes had been there for a long time. It was a little dry and burned his throat.
The two of them looked at each other for a long time, but the old farmer still didn't say anything. He squatted in the corner and kept smoking. The person on the kang bed stubbornly smiled foolishly at Lu Yiwei and muttered, "Big black bear, big black bear …" Lu Yiwei could see that this person was clearly an idiot. Another ten minutes passed. Lu Yiwei was waiting for the old farmer to speak first, but he didn't. Finally, he spoke first. "Sir, what do you want from me?"
The old farmer knocked the pipe under his feet and slowly put it behind his belt. Then, he made a shocking move. He knelt down on the ground with a thud, kowtowing and crying, "Great Lord, you must uphold justice for me!"
Lu Yiwei was stunned by this scene. After a few seconds, he quickly got off the kang bed and helped the old farmer up. "Sir, you can't do this. What era are we living in? Why are you still doing this? Get up, you can talk slowly."
The old farmer's tears flowed down his cheeks. Lu Yiwei felt sorry for him. After the old farmer calmed down, he said, "Lord, I don't know what official you are, and I don't know if it's useful to talk to you about my problems. But I think you are a good person, so I want to talk to you about the grievances I've suffered over the years. It doesn't matter if you can help me or not. I'm very grateful that you came with me today."
This was the first villager that Lu Yiwei had encountered since he arrived in Shiwan Village, so he had to treat it seriously. Through these days of observation, no one from the township government, village chiefs, or coal bosses had told him the truth. What the villagers said was a real window for him to understand the current situation in Shiwan Village. He took a deep breath and said, "Sir, I'm the secretary of Shiwan Village's Party Committee, Lu Yiwei. I'm not some Lord, you can just call me by my name. If you have any problems, tell me. If I can solve them, I'll solve them for you on the spot. If I can't, I'll think of a way to solve them for you. "
The old farmer was moved by Lu Yiwei's words. He sighed and said, "You are the least arrogant leader I've ever met. I want to talk to you about Xu Liu's situation. "
"Okay, go ahead!"
"Sigh! It's a long story! " The old farmer sighed again. He took out a pipe from behind him and lit it. "To be honest, I used to be the village chief of Xuzhaigou Village. I've been working for more than 20 years. I spent a lot of effort to open up the Xuzhaigou Coal Mine. In order to open up the mine, I lost count of how many times I went to the county. The county didn't care, so I had to bring the villagers with shovels to blast rocks to open up the mine. I knew it was illegal, but we were too poor. We really wanted to use the bones left by our ancestors to change the villagers. After a few years of hard work, the coal mine was opened, and the procedures were approved. But before we could sell a ton of coal, it was snatched away by Xu Liu, that bastard. "
"Xu Liu's father died early. His mother left him alone when he was 10 years old. I saw that he was all alone, so I sent him to the brigade to do odd jobs. The kid was smart and had a good impression of the villagers. After working there for four to five years, he was elected as the deputy village chief by the villagers. I thought that since I was old, I should train him as my successor. Who knew that this ungrateful bastard would bite the hand that fed him? After the coal mine was built, he suddenly turned around and wanted to take it all for himself in the name of contracting. "
"Of course I didn't agree. This mine was the culmination of the whole village's efforts. It was meant for everyone to get rich together. How could I just take it away? But who knew that this bastard would rather become the enemy of the whole village. I don't know where he got a group of people from. They beat up every villager in the village and used this method to snatch away the coal mine. "
"Look at my son on the kang bed. He's now a cripple." The old farmer said in a tearful voice, "The people Xu Liu hired took a big iron rod and smashed my house. They broke my son's legs. I don't know who was going to have no descendants, but they hit my head with the iron rod. I fainted on the spot. Fortunately, he was rescued in time, and his life was saved. But after I woke up, I became like this. I can't even take care of myself, let alone marry a wife and continue the family line. Sigh! What kind of sin have I committed? "As he said that, he started to cry loudly.
Lu Yiwei's face was extremely ugly. He was deeply shocked by this horrifying past. What was going on? For the sake of profit, he could disregard his own family and use unscrupulous means. He felt pity for the old farmer's tragic experience, but he also hated the ruthless and unscrupulous Xu Liu.
Before Lu Yiwei could say anything, the old farmer stood up and lifted his clothes. "Look at my back. There are still scars from a shovel. They broke three of my ribs. I can't do heavy work even now. Look at my son. "As he said that, he lifted the quilt.
He saw the old farmer's son lying naked on the kang bed. The muscles on his left leg were severely atrophied, and he was as thin as a stick. The quilt was covered in filth from urinary and fecal incontinence. It was nauseating. At this moment, Lu Yiwei didn't feel disgusted at all. Instead, he was stimulated by everything in front of him.
In the Xuzhaigou Coal Mine, Xu Liu paced around anxiously, thinking of a way to deal with it. He threw the cigarette butt on the ground and kicked it hard with his foot. He said to Song Yong, who was sitting on the sofa, "Brother Yong, quickly call Lu Standing Committee and ask him to come back. That old fart might be talking nonsense again. "
"How do you want me to call him?" Song Yong said awkwardly, "He's my leader. How can I control him?" There was a hint of unwillingness in his tone.
Xu Liu panicked. He pulled Song Yong and said, "I don't care what reason you have, but you have to call Lu Standing Committee back."
Seeing how anxious Xu Liu was, Jiang Yucheng and Shen Pengfei smiled without saying a word. They knew what he was afraid of. However, with Song Yong around, they couldn't say anything. After all, he was someone Lu Yiwei brought over. If they said anything wrong and reached Lu Yiwei's ears, he might cause trouble.
Song Yong struggled for a long time before he finally mustered the courage to call Lu Yiwei.
The phone in Lu Yiwei's pocket rang. He took it out and looked at it before hanging up and continuing to listen to the old farmer's complaints.
"Look, it's not that I don't want to help you. Lu Standing Committee just hung up on me." Song Yong held the phone in front of Xu Liu and said.
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