Shi Yanhua was scared out of her wits. She struggled with all her strength, but couldn’t break free in the slightest.
The man clamped a hand tightly over her mouth, wrapping one arm around her waist as he dragged her toward her house. He didn’t let go until he had hauled her inside.
The house was pitch-black, without even a lamp lit. The man growled in a muffled voice, “Shi Yanhua, you promised me you’d cut things off with that old bastard! I’ve only been gone a few days, and you’re already acting like a slut again!”
Shi Yanhua’s heart clenched, then anger surged through her. In the darkness, she raised her hand and struck at the man.
“Zhao Qingyun, you heartless bastard! Which of your eyes saw me acting like a slut? All you ever think about is that one thing!
“Our house is practically falling apart, and every year you say you’ll make money and build me a new one. How many years has it been? I haven’t even seen the shadow of a new house!”
Zhao Qingyun seized her wrist. His voice was frantic and angry. “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely build you one! Right now, though, all I want is you…”
Without giving her a chance to argue, he picked Shi Yanhua up and pushed her down onto the bed.
Afterward, all the anger had drained out of Shi Yanhua. She muttered, “You’ve said that how many times now? You still think you can fool me?”
“I mean it! Why would I lie to you?” Zhao Qingyun felt around by the head of the bed and struck a match. With a hiss, he lit the kerosene lamp.
He then pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, lit one from the lamp’s flame, and began to smoke.
“That old bastard Zhou Dana sent me to repair the reservoir because he wanted to get his hands on you. Did he think I didn’t know?”
Shi Yanhua suddenly shoved him. “I haven’t asked you yet. Weren’t you supposed to be repairing the reservoir? Why did you suddenly come back?”
“I missed you.”
Zhao Qingyun had once served in the army, but after making a mistake in the unit, he was forcibly sent back to the village.
With his reputation ruined and his family poor, he married and then got involved with the widow Shi Yanhua.
Only later did he learn that Shi Yanhua was also sleeping with Zhou Dana.
Unwilling to accept that, Zhao Qingyun was determined to register their marriage. But Shi Yanhua always found one excuse or another to put him off.
The three of them maintained this delicate arrangement, though there was one thing Zhou Dana had remained completely unaware of.
For a while, Zhao Qingyun had even felt rather pleased with himself. But recently, he had grown increasingly uneasy.
“Once I have money, I’ll build you a new house. Then we’ll register our marriage right away and infuriate that old fox Zhou Dana!”
“By the way, you still haven’t told me—why did you go looking for that old bastard tonight?”
Zhao Qingyun stubbed out his cigarette and turned to stare at Shi Yanhua.
“To get money for the house!”
Shi Yanhua replied coldly, “If I wait for you to build me a house, I’ll be waiting until the Year of the Monkey!”
“He didn’t touch you, did he?”
“Bullshit!” Shi Yanhua rolled over and turned her back to him.
Seeing that she was truly angry, Zhao Qingyun put an arm around her and coaxed her. “That old fox has skimmed plenty of money over the years. He never distributed the oil-field compensation payments—he stuffed every last penny into his own pockets.
“You should demand the money from him… Just make sure you don’t let him touch you. That’s all that matters…”
Early the next morning, Zhao Qingyun left Wangjia Village.
He had just reached East Ravine when the village loudspeaker began blaring.
“Attention, all villagers! After breakfast, each household must send one person to the brigade office for a meeting. The oil-field land-compensation payments will be distributed!”
The moment they heard that the compensation money was going to be handed out, the entire Wangjia Village erupted.
Many people didn’t even have time to finish breakfast before rushing to the brigade office. Once nearly everyone had arrived, the distribution began.
An old table had been set up in the brigade courtyard, with Zhou Dana sitting behind it.
The accountant, Zhou Xiaowei, sat beside him, flipping through the ledger with a grim expression.
Several days earlier, he had calculated how much each household should receive based on the total amount.
The compensation came to only 4,500 yuan. Zhou Xiaowei thought that Zhou Dana must have pocketed a considerable sum this time.
But without solid proof, he didn’t dare say a word.
Zhou Dana swept his gaze across the crowd. Every villager wore an excited, expectant expression.
Some were already growing impatient. “Secretary, hurry up and hand it out! I’m counting on this money to buy livestock!”
“Come on, hurry! We’ve got a mountain of work waiting in the fields!”
Huang Meili stood among the crowd, staring fixedly at Zhou Dana.
She had originally intended to squeeze a little more money out of him, but she hadn’t expected him to distribute it today.
Once the money was handed out, it would be much harder to get anything else from him!
Zhou Dana cleared his throat. “Next, Zhang Dongsheng will read out the names. When your name is called, come up and collect your money!”
He stood up and gestured for Zhou Xiaowei to take his seat. “You handle the payments. Give the ledger to Zhang Dongsheng and have him read the names.”
After making the arrangements, Zhou Dana retreated indoors to smoke.
Zhang Dongsheng called out the names while Zhou Xiaowei counted out bills of various denominations from the drawer and handed them to the villagers.
The moment many people received their money, the joy on their faces faded considerably. They began whispering among themselves, all feeling that the amount was far too small and something was wrong.
The villagers discussed it among themselves, but no one dared question the matter openly.
“Wang Xiaoming—”
When Wang Xiaoming’s name was called, he strode forward and took a crumpled stack of bills from Zhou Xiaowei.
He didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he stood there and counted the money once.
“Brother Xiaowei, the road took up two-tenths of an acre of our land, and the oil well took another seven-tenths. How come we’ve only received this much? Did you make a mistake?”
Zhou Xiaowei was only the accountant. The amount each household received was decided entirely by Zhou Dana.
“No mistake.”
“That doesn’t seem right. Let me see the ledger!”
Wang Xiaoming moved beside Zhang Dongsheng and glanced at the ledger. He immediately spotted the trick.
His mother Liu Cuilan’s name had been crossed out, and the amount of land listed under his household had been cut in half.
“That’s not right! Our family clearly had nine-tenths of an acre taken. Why does this say only five-tenths? No wonder the payment is so small!”
The moment the villagers heard this, the discussion exploded. The buzzing grew so loud it hurt the ears.
Some people simply pushed their way over to Zhang Dongsheng to check whether their own land had also been undercounted. The courtyard instantly descended into chaos.
Zhang Dongsheng hurriedly shouted, “It’s all written clearly here! No one’s land has been reduced!”
“Then why was ours reduced?” Wang Xiaoming yelled.
“Your household has three people now. Not a single bit of land was taken away!” Zhang Dongsheng roared.
“Our family had nine-tenths of an acre, and now there are only five-tenths! How can you say nothing was reduced?”
Wang Xiaoming knew perfectly well that this was Zhou Dana’s doing.
He glanced toward the house and saw Zhou Dana smoking with a frown on his face. “Secretary, they’ve made a mistake! I demand that the figures be recalculated!”
Zhou Dana had not wanted to bother with him, but after hearing Wang Xiaoming shout, he finally stepped out of the house.
“Dongsheng, you explain it to him.”
Zhang Dongsheng cleared his throat. “Your household has three people. Neither your land nor your money has been reduced.
“Liu Cuilan and Wang Haichao are in prison, so their compensation has been taken back for the benefit of the village…”
Before he could finish, Wang Xiaoming clenched his fists in fury.
“What kind of bullshit rule is that?
“Wang Haichao had land of his own. When the family divided its property, his share shouldn’t have come from our land in the first place.
“His share belongs to our family too—and so does my mother’s! She’s in prison, not dead and without heirs!”
Everyone felt Wang Xiaoming had a point, but since the matter didn’t concern them directly, no one was willing to speak up for him.
Zhang Dongsheng was left speechless by the retort. He turned toward Zhou Dana.
“Secretary!”
Zhou Dana didn’t regard Wang Xiaoming, a mere hotheaded young man, as a threat in the slightest.
He cleared his throat and shouted loudly, “Everybody, be quiet!”
The chaotic courtyard fell silent in an instant.
Wang Xiaoming was about to argue further when Zhou Dana said coldly, “Xiaoming, that’s the rule in our village. Any compensation owed to someone who’s done time in prison is forfeited to the village. First, it serves as a warning. Second, the money is needed for the village.”
Wang Xiaoming’s chest heaved with anger. Staring at Zhou Dana, he forced the words out through clenched teeth. “You’re not getting away without accounting for every penny today!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire brigade compound fell deathly silent!
