Chapter 52: Playing the Reporting Game Ourselves

Lou Yanru brought Liu Weidong plenty of food along with a carton of cigarettes. Carrying the string bag, Liu Weidong walked back into the detention cell, where every bald inmate stared eagerly, yet none dared to step forward and snatch anything.

Liu Weidong tossed the string bag onto the edge of the brick bed and said to Boss Cai, "Distribute the food and cigarettes among everyone. Don't you dare finish everything at once; even if I were a wealthy landlord, I couldn't afford to feed so many starving ghosts."

Boss Cai swallowed hard as his mouth watered. Seeing that Liu Weidong had given the green light, he hurriedly dug the items out of the string bag.

"A boss is always a boss; even locked up in detention, you still live in luxury. I just passed the word to Lao Sha in the next cell. Both of us are from Chaoyang Commune, not far from your commune. That kid is ruthless with his hands—just wait for the news."

Liu Weidong grunted, resting his head on his crossed arms, and closed his eyes.

Initially, he had genuinely felt that Li Hong was pitiful. He had never expected her to exploit Lou Yanru's kindness to trick her out of the supplies. Since Li Baotian dared to pull such petty tricks, the items had undoubtedly already ended up in Li Baotian's hands.

It seemed that behind every pitiful person lay something deeply hateful. Hopefully, Lou Yanru would learn her lesson this time and stop looking at everyone as if they were good people.

Suddenly, Liu Weidong sat bolt upright. How could he have forgotten to instruct Lou Yanru about one more thing? He needed to tell her to frequently visit the real estate management office to inquire about the property title deed. If the title deed couldn't be processed, even if Lou Yanru passed the college entrance examination, registering her household residency would still prove quite troublesome.

Around three o'clock, Wang Li returned, bringing a roasted chicken and a bottle of Tao'erhe liquor. Wang Li, Chief Xu, and Liu Weidong sat inside the chief's office, eating and drinking together.

"Weidong, you don't need to fret this time anymore. I've already arranged everything regarding the saplings. Since your wife wasn't even present, what are you afraid of having a drink?"

Liu Weidong shook his head repeatedly. "Brother Wang, Brother Xu, you don't understand. Once I start drinking, I cause trouble. I promised my wife I wouldn't touch a drop of alcohol ever again. A real man must keep his word."

Wang Li gave a thumbs-up and clinked glasses with Chief Xu.

"The county is still debating the issue of your Second Production Team. The leaders of the Party Committee and the Revolutionary Committee have split into two factions, neither willing to yield. They've elevated the matter to a political level. But the more it's like that, the more troublesome it gets; political affairs can never be explained clearly in just a few words."

Liu Weidong sighed. "I'm not afraid of being held in detention. With Brother Xu here, how could I suffer any grievances? I'm just worried about things outside—my wife taking the college entrance exam, and the machinery at the grease factory. With this mountain of troubles, no one else can take my place."

Wang Li's expression grew even darker. "A production team opens up a tiny patch of wasteland to grow Chinese medicinal herbs—can something as small as a sesame seed actually alarm the municipal leaders? I'm afraid the real crux of the matter is that whatever you stirred up has a massive impact. As the fruits of victory are about to ripen, someone always wants to pluck the peaches. With setting things to rights and a reshuffle imminent, who wouldn't want to hold two kings and four twos in their hand? Every move you make is being watched by someone, and the timing of the report was just too impeccable. Who would believe it was just a routine inspection uncovering problems?"

Liu Weidong cursed bitterly, "The only person in the Second Production Team who could monitor me is Li Baotian. It must be that bastard who reported me."

At that moment, Chief Xu suddenly interjected, "Is that Li Baotian you mentioned a commune leader? Do you have a grudge against him?"

Liu Weidong spat in disgust. "Leader my foot! He's just the deputy director of the educated youth office, an official the size of a sesame seed. I've beaten him up plenty of times in the past. This time, he's definitely the one who framed me."

Chief Xu stood up immediately and walked over to the duty room to make a phone call.

A short while later, Chief Xu returned with a mischievous grin plastered across his face.

Wang Li blinked and asked, "What is it, Old Xu? Why do I get the feeling you've just done something wicked?"

Chief Xu motioned for Liu Weidong and Wang Li to draw closer.

"I just made a call to the county educated youth office. And guess what? The director of the county educated youth office happens to be my eldest sister-in-law. The moment I brought up Li Baotian, my sister-in-law's tone turned foul. She said the county educated youth office has received numerous complaint letters from educated youths accusing Li Baotian of using his power to extort gifts and demand bribes, and even of harassing and raping female educated youths. The moment I heard that, I realized this was an opportunity! I immediately had my sister-in-law compile the materials and send them over to Secretary Yu of the district and county committee.

"Didn't Li Baotian write a letter to report someone? Well, damn it, we'll go straight to the county party secretary to report him! The crime of sabotaging the policy of going up to the mountains and down to the villages is no small matter. I reckon Li Baotian will be checking in here soon."

Hahaha...

Liu Weidong instantly felt refreshed, proactively poured himself a cup of white liquor, and drank it down in one gulp.

"Say no more, Brother Xu. Just wait until I get out of here, and we brothers are going to have a proper feast."

Wang Li eyed Liu Weidong sideways. "Didn't you kid quit drinking? How come the mere mention of Li Baotian made you break your pledge?"

"Brother Wang, Brother Xu, you don't understand. Li Baotian and I are sworn enemies. If this were back before Liberation, I would have already gotten rid of him. But don't you worry, Brother Xu; once he gets in here, our primary focus will be ideological education, and we won't cause any trouble for the government."

Chief Xu coughed. "Remember the detention rules and prison discipline, and don't slack off on ideological education. Come on, let's have another round."

Wang Li chuckled heartily and raised his glass first.

The drinking session lasted for three hours. Before leaving, Wang Li mentioned that he would report the situation to Secretary Zhao—specifically reporting, of course, how much Liu Weidong worried about the innovation progress of the grease factory and the production team's saplings, while casually bringing up the matters of Li Baotian raping female educated youths and extorting bribes.

When Liu Weidong returned to the cell, Boss Cai had already laid out his bedding. Liu Weidong lay down on the brick bed and let out an alcohol-infused burp.

"Boss Cai, Li Baotian will be checking in here soon. I'm not familiar with the rules of this cell, so once he arrives, you must teach him a proper lesson. You have to make him confess to his cases; that bastard has ruined quite a few female educated youths."

Boss Cai's eyes gleamed brightly. "Boss, if I manage to pry his mouth open, would that count as a meritorious service?"

Liu Weidong cast a sidelong glance at him. "What do you think? Assisting the police in obtaining crucial clues—that surely qualifies you to be a confidential informant at the very least. Can an informant stay locked up in a place like this?"

"Damn it, I've hit the big time! If I had known the boss earlier, why would I have taken so many detours on the revolutionary path? I probably would have reached northern Shaanxi smoothly long ago."

"Cut the crap. Even if you joined the revolutionary ranks, you'd still end up turning traitor..."

Boss Cai chuckled foolishly and hurriedly motioned for a minor inmate to bring over some hemp cord for Liu Weidong.

That night, Liu Weidong tossed and turned, constantly worrying about his wife's college entrance examination the next day.

Even after seeing him today, Lou Yanru couldn't possibly feel completely at ease. His arrest provided her mother with the perfect pretext, and goodness only knows how hard she would pressure Lou Yanru.

The more he thought about these things, the more Liu Weidong loathed Li Baotian. He couldn't wait to lay eyes on him right here. Getting rid of Li Baotian completely was out of the question, but making his life a living hell was an absolute must.

The next morning during breakfast, Liu Weidong kept muttering under his breath. Chief Xu smiled and said, "Don't you worry. The moment my eldest sister-in-law gets to work, she'll hand the materials over to Secretary Yu. The struggle between the two lines—you understand..."

Calling it a struggle might be elevating it to a high political plane, but at the very least, it was a tug-of-war between the conservative faction and the reformist faction, and a fiercely contested one at that.

Only then did Liu Weidong push away his lunchbox, lean closer to Chief Xu, and whisper, "Brother Xu, let me give you a heads-up in advance. If you have any spare money, buy those dilapidated single-story brick houses in the middle of Cross Street. Within five years, they are guaranteed to be relocated for development. Once the policy is relaxed, immediately find someone to lease that alkaline land in the Dagangzi area. There are hot springs deep underground..."

Liu Weidong didn't leak many future secrets. At first, Chief Xu listened as if it were a celestial myth, but as the conversation deepened, the smile on Chief Xu's face grew increasingly radiant. In the end, he jingled his keyring and personally escorted Liu Weidong back to his cell.

Liu Weidong could easily have stayed outside; it was entirely his own choice to remain here. Firstly, he wanted to avoid causing trouble for Chief Xu, and secondly, the cell harbored all sorts of characters from every walk of life, making it a genuine hub for uncovering rare, untold insider gossip.