CHAPTER 37: CHAPTER 27: COUNTY TOWN OBSERVATIONS

Zhang Guoqing was riding his bicycle to the county town. The county town was like a colorless photo, with a gray sky and muddy roads. Everywhere on the walls of the houses along the roads were large red slogans. As soon as he entered the county town, upon closer look, he saw that in the past few days many propaganda posters and large red slogans had appeared in every corner and wall of the city. Men and women of all ages wore clothes patched upon patches, while groups of twos and threes donned yellow military uniforms, yellow military caps, red armbands, yellow satchels, and liberation shoes. They carried paint buckets, sprayers, and other such items, and attached pre-cut paper templates to the walls, spraying over them.

In the morning, when he was rushing, he didn’t notice that many new slogans had appeared: "Work harder, strive for excellence, build socialism faster, better, and cheaper," "Carry the fight against the rightists to the end," and so on. The large red characters shone brightly under the sunlight.

In the streets of the county town, there were people carrying baskets selling persimmons, pears, and some wild fruits like "bitter girls." Zhang Guoqing saw the "bitter girls" and couldn’t help but stop his bike. These were especially sweet after the frost, so he bought some fruits. Jiao Jiao loved to eat these wild fruits.

Loudspeakers in the alleyways of the county town played revolutionary songs. Along with the mechanical screeching of gears, "The East is Red, the Sun rises..." Zhang Guoqing pedaled along with the tune towards the county textile factory.

The county textile factory was the largest factory in the town, with more than 1,000 workers. It had a towel workshop and a cotton cloth workshop. Occupying an area of 20 hectares, it was located in the East Suburb outside the city, and before liberation, it belonged to the county capitalist Wang Baiwan. Later, it was transformed from private to public ownership, becoming a state-owned collective enterprise.

Before liberation, with this factory, Wang Baiwan owned a street of shops in the most bustling area of the provincial city. His cotton cloths and towels were among the earliest to be sold throughout the Northeast Three Provinces.

Close to the county textile factory, there was a five-entrance courtyard which was his ancestral home. Many small courtyards around it were built by his dependent clansmen, who gradually constructed them. After the liquidation in ’52, the courtyard was divided by local department managers and allocated to the earliest batch of old employees of the textile factory.

Wang Baiwan’s life was extremely turbulent. His father died when he was young, his mother was seriously ill and frail, and he had a much younger brother. As a youth, he ventured alone to Shanghai, became famous on Shanghai Beach through hard work and being smart, and married the only daughter of a noble family. After his father-in-law passed away, he returned to Wang Family Village in nostalgia, with his wife, children, and wealth, and immediately bought an entire area in the county town’s East Suburb, built a five-entrance courtyard, and established the largest textile factory in the entire Northeast Province of the time. At the peak of his career, his family employed more than 2,000 people.

He had only one wife throughout his life, bore 3 sons and 2 daughters. When Yuan Shikai was about to ascend the throne, he sent his young son and daughter to study in England, accompanied by his brother’s family.

He and his wife set family rules, stipulating that regardless of gender, the children of the family must be sent to England for further study after finishing learning the Four Books and Five Classics by the age of 10. Those who studied abroad and returned home included only the youngest son while the others visited once every 3-5 years. By the time of 9.18, he had quickly sent abroad the youngest son’s family, leaving the couple reluctant to part with their homeland. Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, they closed much of the industry, leaving only the county textile factory. When the little devils occupied the county textile factory after liberation, both husband and wife died closely during the liquidation in ’52. He saved countless lives throughout his lifetime, and his children’s whereabouts became a mystery, along with his fortunes.

Old Man Zhang, the gatekeeper, recognized Zhang Guoqing, as he often came to visit his two sisters and brothers-in-law. Upon seeing him ride over, he yelled loudly, "How come you’ve got time today? I heard you got married with your young wife, why didn’t you invite me over for a drink?"

"Uncle Zhang, you’re such a busy man, if I did invite you, that wouldn’t be right. I’m just a junior, why bother you to the countryside? Whenever you’re free, we can go out for a drink together. Just let me know, and I’ll be there." Zhang Guoqing laughed and said to the gatekeeper, stopping his bike, "Where is my brother-in-law stationed? I need to find him for something."

"Alright, I’ll use the loudspeaker to call him. You come in first and wait." Uncle Zhang said as he went inside.

A moment later, the loudspeaker sounded, "Comrade Zhang Chunming, someone is waiting at the gatehouse, Comrade Zhang Chunming, please come to the gatehouse, you have a visitor waiting. Calling Comrade Zhang Chunming, a visitor is waiting for you at the gatehouse."

It called out three times in succession, leaving Zhang Guoqing quite embarrassed; now the entire factory would know.

"Uncle Zhang, is Master Huang, who drives, in the factory today?"

Uncle Zhang thought about it and couldn’t recall. He hadn’t seen him today either, "Haven’t seen him today, don’t know. Want me to call him?"

"Please don’t, it’s not something urgent. I’ll just visit his house later. Calling people during work isn’t good, it might be tough for you if the leadership hears it."

"You young lad, that’s a good quality you’ve got, thinking for others. The other day, someone from the towel workshop made me call five people out all at once. It just so happened the leader was going out, saw it, and even I got scolded." Uncle Zhang sighed and said.

"Indeed, everyone is tasked with assignments now. Time on the machines is valuable. Everyone’s striving for building socialism; there’s no time to lose. Every household is busy."

Zhang Chunming saw from afar that his brother-in-law, Zhang Guoqing, was chatting warmly with Old Zhang at the gate. Usually tight-lipped and stern-faced, Old Zhang would only open up like this with Xiao Wu, who had the knack from childhood to adulthood of finding topics to talk about with them.

"Xiao Wu, what’s the matter? Didn’t you just come this morning?" He was still quite puzzled. They would soon be meeting for a baby’s one-month celebration in a few days, why the bike ride today.

Upon seeing him, Zhang Guoqing turned to Uncle Zhang and said, "Uncle Zhang, when do you have time tomorrow? Let’s go have a drink. I’ve found my brother-in-law now, thanks a lot today."

Zhang Guoqing took his brother-in-law to a secluded spot away from people, checked to make sure no one was around, then took out 30 ten-yuan bills from his pocket and handed them to him.

"Brother-in-law, you don’t have to be so formal with me. I only found out from my second sister that buying a house is a big deal. Here’s 300 yuan, count it. If it’s not enough, I have another 200 yuan in my pocket. I’m not in a hurry to use this money; you can keep it for two or three years without worry. Don’t be too hard on my nephews. Whenever you have extra money, just pay me back. You should buy that big yard early, it’s in a prime location. Besides, as winter approaches, my nephews can’t sleep well in the living room. Once you move, remember to call us brothers over to help."

Zhang Chunming counted the money, nodded, then shook his head, "300 yuan is enough. Just this morning, your sister and I went to that courtyard, and we already talked to the other party. They’re quite straightforward, said they’d leave all the furniture and stuff behind, as they’re moving to their son’s place in the provincial city. They’re only taking some grain and clothes, and even lowered the price to 920 yuan. The down payment has been made, and we’ve set a date for transferring the title, going to exchange the house deed on Monday. Hehe, brother-in-law, I won’t say thanks, no need to worry about me. With me and your big sister’s salary plus the rental income from the old house, we’ll pay it all back in less than a year, and your nephews won’t be treated poorly. No need to help with the move, that yard has everything. This house is small, and we have few things. When we do a housewarming, you must all come for a few drinks."

Zhang Guoqing smiled and nodded, "Alright, then I’ll leave. If you need me, let me know, I’ve got strength." He still had to hurry to the supply and marketing cooperative, "Brother-in-law, go inside. Be sure to come early to help on the day of the baby’s one-month celebration."

Zhang Chunming waved goodbye, "Okay, our family and your second sister’s family will come early. Be careful riding your bike."

Zhang Guoqing rode his bicycle and, after greeting Uncle Zhang at the textile factory gate, headed towards the county supply and marketing cooperative.