CH 469

Han Qingsong, however, didn’t relax, but of course he couldn’t go directly to the County Town to arrest the men. In fact, the gang members all had proper names and they weren’t hard to find, but the problem was identifying San Batou.

He began to strictly investigate gambling from the Shanshui Commune with his team. Regardless of which brigade they were from nor if they were members or cadres, as long as they gambled, they would be punished if they were caught.

Moreover, there were rewards for reporting!

For a time, many brigades started quietly reporting gambling behaviours.

Many brigades did not have anything as interesting as the Publicity Team’s talks and shows in Shanzui Village. During the slack season, the idleness in those villages was really uncomfortable. Even if one didn’t have the money, they’d take some food to gamble their boredom away.

Especially those who had gambling habits in the past were more likely to be caught. In a way, they were regarded as making an indelible contribution to Director Han’s career promotion.

Soon, they caught one person in their brigade whereas other brigades also caught a few, all of whom were troublesome men for the Production Team Leader. They were not active in labour and they liked to dawdle over work. Some were picky and tried to choose an easier way out whereas some would always be tired or filthy. Now that they were arrested, the Production Team Leader was the first one to applaud the movement.

There were also some families who couldn’t take it as there were wives and children who came in to tip a report.

Originally, the family was already in dire straits. The food distributed to them was supposed to last them throughout the year, but even when the family was still struggling to eat, the men even used it to gamble!

Anyway, if they are caught, they would merely be taught a lesson instead of being beaten up or shot.

So except for the parties involved, everyone was happy to catch any gamblers.

As a result, the atmosphere of Shanshui Commune was cleared up again.

***

The winter had been extraordinarily cold. There was even a light snowfall in mid-October, but it was already freezing cold by the end of the month. The noisy children on the street disappeared and the villagers hid at home as if they had vanished into thin air.

A stove had been set up in the school and firewood was handed in by several Production Teams in turn. Mainly, they consisted of stick bones (corn cobs), which were just right for the stove. Just like charcoal, they were able to resist burning into shreds and keep the place warm.

Children would no longer feel like they’re freezing in class.

Moreover, there were many children in the classroom, so the added heat from each individual made the place a bit warmer.

Dawang was making better progress in class now than before. He no longer thought about skipping classes nor sleeping during lessons and was now able to open his eyes to listen to the teacher’s lectures. He also tried to do his homework as much as possible without forcing other students or Erwang to do them for him.

Suffice to say, Lin Lan was very pleased.

Sanwang whispered to her, “Mother, Eldest Brother is used to sitting now.”

He couldn’t sit still with the tip of his backside before, but now going through the initial pain, the lingering pain, the soreness and the itch, he was finally able to sit properly.