After Zhou Dana finished speaking, he strode toward the production brigade headquarters with his hands clasped behind his back.
Soon, Zhou Dana's voice blared from the loudspeakers at the edge of the village.
The villagers grumbled as they walked in twos and threes toward the headquarters.
"It's such a busy day, what kind of meeting is this?"
"Exactly, I haven't even finished pulling up the oats in my field!"
"My rapeseed is almost ripe!"
Although reluctant, at least one person from each household had to go. If they missed the roll call, Zhou Dana had plenty of ways to make them pay.
Against the gable in the courtyard of the brigade headquarters sat a shabby desk. Zhou Dana sat behind it in an old rattan chair.
His brows were furrowed, and he held a tobacco pipe in his hand, puffing away.
The villagers, some squatting and some standing, were whispering among themselves.
"What new directives does the Party Secretary have to pass down?"
...The chatter buzzed loudly like flies in an outhouse.
"Everyone, quiet down!" Zhou Dana suddenly looked up, sweeping his gaze across the crowd, and rapped his pipe loudly against the table.
The chatter immediately died down, and all eyes landed on Zhou Dana's face.
"Jieshi's wife is in the county hospital, and I hear she's badly injured!"
When such a huge incident happened to Chuntao, Zhou Dana had already asked Aunt Zhou about the situation.
Publicly, he was the village party secretary; privately, they were fellow villagers. No matter how you looked at it, it wouldn't make sense for him not to pay a visit.
Going to the hospital meant spending money, but every household was living on a tight budget.
If he called on others to donate, he would definitely have to take the lead. But he was more calculating than anyone else, and it pained him to part with his own money.
After considering it for a few days, he decided to hold a meeting anyway, which could also be seen as implementing Commune Secretary Wang's ideology of mutual aid.
Hearing him mention Wang Jieshi's family, the crowd started discussing again, even louder than before.
Some had already guessed the purpose of the meeting and tried to sneak away on tiptoe.
Zhou Dana shouted, "Get back here, all of you! I'm not finished speaking!"
The villagers who wanted to slip away paused, then dejectedly trudged back, some standing and some squatting.
"Secretary, whatever it is, say it quickly. The farm work is still chasing our tails!" a man yelled.
Zhou Dana coughed to clear his throat, his voice suddenly rising. "Jieshi's wife is staying in the county hospital. Her injuries are very serious, and everyone knows their family's financial situation.
They say a distant relative is not as good as a near neighbor, and we can't just watch their family struggle!
Many hands make light work. Let's all lend a helping hand! Those with money, give money; those without, give goods. There's no limit on the amount..." Before he could even finish, the buzzing below started up again.
In those dirt-poor times, who had spare cash?
"Quiet down! Everyone go back and prepare. You have all day today to bring it to the brigade headquarters!"
"Secretary, I only have myself to feed, I have no grain and no money, so let me sit this one out!"
Baldy Zhang shouted with a cheeky grin, "Besides, I'm not related to him in any way."
Zhou Dana ignored him and yelled at the rest of the crowd, "Whatever you give is a token of your goodwill. Go home and prepare!"
A woman in her thirties said, "Secretary, I have a lot of kids, my man wanders outside all year round, and I support the family all by myself. We can barely put food on the table. I'm the one who needs help!"
"My old woman is sick, we have no money for a doctor, and we've sold all our grain..."
...
The crowd was no longer in a hurry to go work; everyone was voicing their own hardships.
Zhou Dana's face was so gloomy it looked like it could drip water. He turned his head and shouted to Zhou Xiaowei, "Come here and keep the books! Record who brings how much money and how many goods!"
Zhou Xiaowei already had a pen and notebook in hand, waiting. Hearing the order, he quickly pulled up a stool and sat by the desk.
"I'm donating two yuan!" Zhou Dana pulled a relatively new two-yuan bill from his pocket and slapped it on the table.
At that time, two yuan could buy five catties of pork. It was the tuition fee for a primary school student for a whole semester. Not every family could afford it.
Someone muttered in a low voice, "I'm just a commoner, I don't have money!"
Others curled their lips in silence, turned their heads, and walked away.
The village chief, several team leaders, and the director of women's affairs were all squatting by the wall, keeping their heads down and staying silent.
Zhou Dana turned his head and swept a glance over them. "Party members need to take the lead!"
The few of them looked at each other, all showing troubled expressions.
"Zhang Dongsheng, how much are you donating?" The village chief, being called out by name, quickly stood up and said sheepishly, "I only get that one yuan subsidy every month!"
"If you have no money, bring grain. Eggs are fine too!"
Zhou Dana pointed at the others. "You need to have the awareness of Party members. Stop dawdling and go home to get something!" They had no choice but to stand up and head home.
The villagers left the brigade headquarters talking among themselves. They had complaints in their hearts but dared not disrespect the secretary. After all, Zhou Dana had the final say on all matters, big and small, in the village.
Most people still showed some token of support. Some donated a dime or two, while others brought two eggs or a few catties of dried sweet potatoes...
Zhou Xiaowei recorded exactly who brought what in his notebook without missing a single entry.
He himself also donated two yuan, which was two months' worth of his subsidy.
Wang Qingshan had no money on him, and Zhou Zhaodi certainly wouldn't let him take any goods. He followed the crowd out of the headquarters and went straight to the fields.
Zhou Zhaodi caught up to him and said, "I was hoping she would donate to me!"
Someone overheard and chimed in sarcastically, "Zhaodi, even the secretary donated two yuan! You're his daughter, you should be a bit more proactive! You should give at least two yuan!"
"He is him, and I am me. I don't have any money to donate!"
Furthermore, Huang Meili and Zhou Zhimin also started arguing at home over this matter.
"Our family is dirt poor, where are we supposed to get money? Doesn't the second brother treat her well? Let him put up the money himself. Why make others donate?"
Huang Meili stood in the courtyard with her hands on her hips, looking ready for a fight.
Zhou Zhimin lowered his voice. "Keep your voice down, let's talk inside!" He reached out to pull her.
Huang Meili shook him off. "I haven't done anything guilty, why should I keep my voice down?"
Zhou Xiaoying also said, "Dad, our family has no money. We're not donating!"
Zhou Xiaomei chimed in, "Exactly!"
Zhou Zhimin glared at the two sisters. "What do you kids know? Go to the fields and pull oats!"
Zhou Xiaoying and her sister grabbed their baskets and left with pouting lips.
Zhou Zhimin coaxed Huang Meili into the house. "We have to scrape together at least a little something..."
"Do you have money or grain? Why are you trying to act like a big shot?"
Huang Meili interrupted him, saying in a low voice, "That bastard Zhou Dana even said he was going to dock our relief grain. We won't even have the winter wind to drink in the future!"
Zhou Zhimin said, "That's exactly why we need to give a little something. All the matters in the village, big or small, have to go through his hands...
That bastard Zhou Dana has a mind as narrow as the eye of a needle. If you disrespect him today, he'll trip you up tomorrow.
Giving a little something as a token gesture so he can't find fault with us is worth it..."
Huang Meili stiffened her neck and yelled, "With so many men lusting after her, could she lack money for the hospital? If she really lacked money, she would've come back by now!"
"Whether she lacks money or not is her business. We're pitching in out of respect for the secretary!"
"If you have money, you go. I won't stop you!"
Zhou Zhimin put on a fawning smile. "Don't you know whether I have money or not? Let's take the dozen or so eggs our family has saved up!"
"Taking two is enough! The salt jar at home is empty, and I was counting on trading those eggs for salt!"
Zhou Zhimin was a man who cared about face. After much pleading and coaxing, Huang Meili finally agreed to give five eggs.
"Now that you've taken the eggs, if the village secretary withholds our relief grain and fertilizer again, I won't let you hear the end of it!"
Meanwhile, it was nearly noon by the time Zhou Zhijun arrived at the county hospital.
He had bought a few large, white steamed buns and half a pound of braised meat from a restaurant outside, carrying them up to the ward in a greaseproof paper bag.
Upon entering the room, he saw Chuntao sitting up against the headboard, but Wang Xiaohong was nowhere to be seen.
He placed the food on the nightstand. "How are you feeling?" Zhou Zhijun wasn't smiling, but his expression wasn't stern, either. His voice was remarkably gentle.
Chuntao's small face grew inexplicably warm. Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's hum. "I'm fine. I want to be discharged."
"That won't do. Your injuries haven't fully healed yet, so you need to stay a few more days. Don't worry about things at home! My oldest brother and the others are taking care of everything."
The old lady in the adjacent bed looked at Zhou Zhijun and smiled. "I heard you're her sworn brother? You really care a lot about this sister of yours. It's truly a rare thing to see..."
The speaker meant nothing by it, but the listener took it to heart. Chuntao's face burned even hotter, the heat spreading all the way to the tips of her ears.
