Chapter 54: If I Don't Kill You, I'll Cripple You

Throughout the night, the miserable screams of Li Baotian echoed from Cell Block No. 3.

The Second Reform-Through-Labour inmate didn't use nails to jab him this time; instead, he tied a bunch of slippers with a shoestring and hung them from Li Baotian's groin, forcing him to march in goose step across the floor. Before dawn broke, Li Baotian's lower body was swollen as large as a melon, and he couldn't even bring his legs together.

True to form, when reciting the detention center rules during breakfast roll call, the lot fell on Li Baotian. His recitation was incoherent and disjointed, earning him another disciplinary session from the guard with an electric baton. Furthermore, Cell Block No. 3 had their food rations cut in half. At this point, every single inmate in the cell glared at Li Baotian as if he were their mortal enemy.

Physical violence was difficult during broad daylight, so Li Baotian was forced to go through endless rounds of "flying airplanes" and "riding trains"—punishment poses where inmates had to hold specific torturous postures. Having stayed up all night and endured relentless torment, Li Baotian collapsed headfirst onto the floor and passed out while performing the "airplane" pose with his upper body bent over the edge of the brick bed.

The Second Reform-Through-Labour inmate had others drag Li Baotian behind the nightsoil bucket. Although he was hidden from the view of anyone looking through the window, every inmate who came to urinate had to relieve themselves right on Li Baotian's face.

"You really are a wicked bastard, Second Labor. What the hell did you even get locked up for?"

The Second Reform-Through-Labour inmate sidled up to Liu Weidong, accepted half a cigarette, and took a deep, greedy drag.

"I'm a petty thief. A month ago, I stole a travelling bag at the Dongfeng County railway station, but I got caught red-handed. Luckily, there wasn't anything valuable inside—just a bunch of jars and pots. Otherwise, do you think I'd still be rotting in here? I would have been transferred to the labor camp prison by now."

A thought stirred in Liu Weidong's mind. The Dongshan Ancient Tombs and Incense Temple in Dongfeng County had made the newspapers back during the campaign to destroy the Four Olds. Could the pots and jars the man mentioned be antiques?

"Since you got caught, how did the police handle that bag of stuff?"

The Second Reform-Through-Labour inmate shook his head. "I wouldn't know about that. It seemed nobody ever came forward to claim the ownerless items. I was only taken in because of my criminal record. Boss, you seem pretty interested in that kind of stuff. Isn't Boss Cai's hometown in Chaoyang? Since it's not far from East Mountain, he should know something about it."

Boss Cai nodded. "Back when the Four Olds were being destroyed, quite a few stone figures and stone horses on East Mountain were smashed up. Later on, when everyone was leveling the fields to build terraced farms during the Learn from Dazhai campaign, people occasionally dug up clay pots, porcelain bowls, and things like that, though nobody paid much attention to them. A couple of years ago, peddlers came down to the countryside buying scrap, and they'd pay several yuan for a porcelain bowl or jar. That made quite a few commune members rush up the mountain to dig, ruining the terraced fields. The commune arrested a good number of people for it, but even now, there are still daredevils digging in secret, and scrap peddlers are still a common sight. Oh, by the way, Fourth Brother is getting out soon. If you're interested in those things, you can go ask him."

Liu Weidong nodded and said nothing.

The Liao Dynasty ancient tomb complex on East Mountain was officially excavated in 1982, unearthing a great number of precious cultural relics. By the looks of it, the pots and jars mentioned by the Second Reform-Through-Labour inmate were very likely Liao dynasty porcelain.

This windfall was a leak he simply had to exploit.

At noon, Wang Li came over and reported that Secretary Li was furious. He had hurled the letters denouncing Li Baotian right into the face of County Revolutionary Committee Director Sun Zhuang, demanding that the County Revolutionary Committee give the Municipal Party Committee a proper explanation.

County Party Committee Secretary Yu was also hopping mad, declaring that it was Li Baotian who had framed the No. 2 Second Production Team and asking how the words of such a local village tyrant and bully could possibly be taken seriously. He also demanded an investigation into how Li Baotian managed to become the deputy director of the Educated Youth Office, scaring the commune's Director Ma so badly that his face turned completely pale.

"Weidong, I reckon you'll be getting out soon. With Secretary Li and Secretary Yu bearing down hard, the Revolutionary Committee will definitely have to back down. They'll likely release both you and Li Baotian."

Liu Weidong wore a look of profound regret.

"Damn it... Getting released so early is such a waste. It's so hard to find a place where beating someone up is completely legal."

Wang Li was left speechless.

Back in the cell, Li Baotian was still lying on the floor, though he seemed to have regained consciousness, lying there with his eyes closed and groaning softly.

Liu Weidong squatted down beside him, staring at his purplish-swollen lower body and shaking his head.

"Uncle Li, could you have caught some nasty disease? If you're sick, you've got to get it treated. Just how old are you anyway? You're still constantly obsessed with that sort of thing. Exactly how many female educated youths in our commune have you ruined? Why on earth are there so many people accusing you? Did you really think you could trick Li Hong into handing over all the photographs? What makes you think I couldn't have kept a few copies for myself and handed them over to my wife?"

Li Baotian, who had been lying there with his eyes closed playing dead, snapped them wide open instantly.

"My good nephew, I'm not a human, I'm a beast! I was blind to have ever provoked you. Your uncle completely submits this time. From now on, whenever I see you, I'll walk the other way. If I manage to get out of here, I'll pack up my family and move away from the Second Production Team immediately, and I'll never be an eyesore to you again."

Liu Weidong spat a thick glob of phlegm directly onto Li Baotian's face.

"You actually still want to get out? Sure, Li Hong's written statements might have been destroyed, but do you dare claim those photographs aren't yours? I swear I won't rest until you lose your head over this."

"Ah... Weidong, you can't do this! If I die, how are your aunt and the two kids supposed to survive? Aren't you basically wiping out my entire family's lives?"

Li Baotian clung desperately to Liu Weidong's thigh, refusing to let go. He truly believed that Liu Weidong still possessed the photographs.

Right at that moment, the guard at the cell door shouted, "Liu Weidong, step outside for a visitor."

Liu Weidong kicked Li Baotian away, dusted the dirt off his trousers, and stepped out of the cell.

To Liu Weidong's utter astonishment, the person waiting to see him was none of other than Yu Hua, the Party Secretary of Yongxun County.

"Comrade Weidong, you've suffered greatly. You endured a terrible injustice simply for trying to help the village develop sideline industries. On behalf of the County Party Committee and the County Revolutionary Committee, I am officially notifying you that your suspicions have been cleared. You are released without charge."

Liu Weidong didn't know whether to say thank you or fly into a rage. He stood stunned for a long moment before finally nodding.

"Weidong, Secretary Zhao gave me a severe reprimand because of your situation, saying that Yongxun County intentionally hindered the wheels of economic development and elevating the whole affair to a political level. In truth, as the County Party Secretary, I am also quite helpless. I know full well that many things are wrong, but the time for a U-turn hasn't arrived just yet. Didn't your father-in-law suffer an unjust grievance precisely because he insisted on the truth? However, judging from Secretary Zhao's intentions, Lounan will soon be rehabilitated, and the paperwork has already been submitted."

"Thank you, Secretary Yu, and thank you even more for believing in my father-in-law. I wonder how the organization plans to deal with the mastermind behind this farcical setup?"

Secretary Yu's expression turned somewhat conflicted. After a long, contemplative pause, he said, "Li Baotian has indeed accumulated a continuous stream of bad reviews, but they mostly amount to minor infractions like extortion and petty corruption. As for the accusations that he violated female educated youths, the comrades from the county's Women's Federation went down to investigate, and not a single person came forward to confirm it. You are indeed young and talented, but you cannot act purely out of youthful passion—you must closely follow the state's latest guidelines and principles. Grasp the key link, and everything else will fall into place; otherwise, everything is just empty talk."

Secretary Yu's speech was entirely by the book, leaving Liu Weidong no choice but to sigh inwardly.

No wonder Yongxun's economy was lagging so far behind. The Party secretary was as shallow-minded as a sheet of paper, and the Revolutionary Committee director was just a rebel who had climbed to power through smashing and looting. It seemed he would really need to exercise extreme caution in whatever he did from now on.

Returning to the cell, Li Baotian was performing goose steps with his trousers down. His buttocks were riddled with pinpricks, and his front was even more horrific—dangling a string of tattered slippers, swollen and red, effectively ruined for good.

Liu Weidong climbed onto the brick bed, called Boss Cai to his side, and whispered, "I'm getting out today. Is there anything you need me to help you take care of?"

Boss Cai shook his head. "Boss, I could tell right from the start that you're an extraordinary man. Back home, it's just my old mother and me. Since I got locked up, the team has been helping look after her. I just want to follow your lead once I get out, though I don't know if a big brother like you would even look upon someone like me."

Liu Weidong patted Boss Cai's shoulder. "We're all brothers who've eaten out of the same trough—what's the point of talking like an outsider? And as for that Second Labor fellow, if you manage to get out, bring him along too. I'll lead you two brothers down the proper path."

Boss Cai dropped to his knees on the brick bed, kowtowing repeatedly to Liu Weidong, who quickly reached out and pulled him up.

"What are you doing this for? I might even be leaving before Li Baotian, you understand..."

Boss Cai chuckled cunningly. "I won't make any big promises, but I doubt that bastard will be trying to ruin any more women from now on."

Before they could exchange a few more words, the heavy cell door clanged open. This time, it was Warden Xu himself who came to summon Liu Weidong. Liu Weidong left his jacket and quilt behind for Boss Cai, wearing only his military trousers and a navy-blue undershirt, and walked out through the gates of the detention center.