CH 482

With Han Qingsong brewing the medicine, Lin Lan was relieved.

He was careful, brewing the medicine for half a day every time he did so and also boiling it slowly over low heat. Once the first time was over, he would pour it out and boil it again so that the medicine’s effect could be fully exerted.

Because the medicine dregs were habitually dumped by the side of the road, everyone initially thought that she was infected with some form of sickness. Quite a number of people came over to ask about her health and care for her, but there were also a fair share of people who snickered out of joy behind her back.

Lin Lan also had to spend quite some time explaining to them.

During winter, everyone would stay off the farm, but Han Qingsong and the others remained very busy. He was also seconded to help out at the Shanshui Farm, which resulted in him arriving home very late.

Through occasional comfort and business, it became the 12th lunar month in the blink of an eye.

It was freezing cold, evidently seen by the dripping water turning into ice. Apart from going to the school regularly to watch the performances of the Publicity Team beside the lighted stove, the Commune members basically didn’t go anywhere else.

Han Qingsong’s anti-gambling operation had entered a busy period. He led his subordinates to shuttle between the Commune and the County, gaining a lot from them.

Handling the Commune Brigade was simple enough, but it was a bit tricky to initiate the same orders in the County Town. He asked Liu Jianyun for help and told him the meeting places that Dawang had informed him about.

Liu Jianyun led his men to raid the locations a few times. There, they took out a few gangsters’ gambling dens and consequently followed the clues towards their secret training locations.

Usually, a couple of gang members would train together in some inconspicuous places. Some daily overground actions were also arranged, such as going to Supply and Marketing Cooperatives, vegetable markets, bazaars and the like to steal money and tickets.

They usually practise their skills with ordinary townsfolk, especially those from rural areas who came to the city.

The other option was to barge in on factories or units to steal.

The few members with all their stolen goods were merely idle little bastards. They were self-organised, but some of them have connections.

These lumps of people did not study seriously when they were young, but they didn’t try to work properly once they got older either. A few years ago, they joined the revolutionary ranks as Red Guards and swaggered through the city. Afterwards, the educated youth went to the rural areas and the place was left to the army.  Once the Worker and the Farmer Propaganda Team stepped in to take over, there was no longer any need for weaponry. They didn’t have proper jobs and they feared needing to work hard, so they only wandered around in the city.

Dawang also made a mistake. When he followed Han Qingsong and Zhao Jianshe, he had met these people.

He also liked to learn these less-than-positive things such as gambling, playing cards and other skills here and there. In fact, he had learned a lot during his time here.

The key point was also the fact that he had talent in this area since he was able to learn many things instantly. The gang all praised him for his talent as they told him that when the control over the County no longer remained this strict, he was sure to achieve a lot.