The two sisters soon arrived at the Brigade Leader’s house. The front door was wide open—in the countryside, it was rare for any household to keep their doors closed. Xiao Mandong didn’t walk inside; in such a big courtyard, knocking wouldn’t be heard, so she had to shout loudly.
Before long, a kind-faced, skinny, dark-skinned auntie came out of the yard.
Hearing that they were looking for her husband, she didn’t ask many questions and led them into the main room.
Xiao Mandong told the Brigade Leader about the fight at the educated youth point and explained the reason for it.
The Brigade Leader looked helpless. He knew well that the living conditions at the educated youth point were indeed hard to justify. Hardship didn’t matter much, but people had to rest properly. Yet what could he do? The village couldn’t afford to build new houses for them. The only solution was to have them board with local families. But ever since that female educated youth jumped into the river two years ago, the others had become quite resistant to staying in villagers’ homes.
Seeing the Brigade Leader sighing in frustration, Xiao Mandong seized the moment to share her idea.
“Uncle Brigade Leader, I have a way to solve the housing problem at the educated youth point.”
“What is it?”
The Brigade Leader’s voice carried urgency. The housing issue was his biggest headache right now; new arrivals were likely by the end of the year, so this had to be resolved quickly.
“I noticed a row of stone houses at the west end of the village. If they were fixed up, they could be lived in.”
The light in the Brigade Leader’s eyes dimmed.
“Only the stone walls are left. Fixing them up would cost a lot, and the village doesn’t have the money.”
He sighed again. He shouldn’t have pinned his hopes on a newly arrived educated youth.
Xiao Mandong was waiting for just this response.
“I can pay rent to the village, and I’m willing to spend my own money to repair the houses. But the village must lease them to me continuously for five years, and the part I repair will be for my personal use—no one else can be assigned to live there.”
“I believe some educated youths will want to move out of the point. The same approach could work. Not only would it increase the village’s income, but it would also solve the housing problem. What do you think?”
The light in the Brigade Leader’s eyes brightened again. How could he not agree? Why hadn’t he thought of such a solution? As they say, the offspring of capitalists really do think differently.
The Brigade Leader decided not to deal with the two who had fought; they fought several times a month, and it never led to fatalities anyway.
“Shunzi, go call the other village leaders to the brigade headquarters for an impromptu meeting.”
The Brigade Leader sent his son to summon them, then took the two Xiao sisters along to the headquarters.
The leaders arrived in a hurry, thinking something serious had happened, only to see two female educated youths there.
Xiao Mandong heard someone call out “Accountant Sun,” and she recalled what Dong Huimin had said during the day. Accountant Sun’s son had passed away, leaving behind a grandson. His daughter-in-law, Zhang Yanhong, had graduated from junior high. The village, taking pity on her, had let her take over her late husband’s job as a work-point recorder.
Zhang Yanhong’s family was from the same village. Her younger brother was a lazy good-for-nothing. Knowing that Xiao Manxue was alone and without support, she always deducted Xiao Manxue’s work points to give to her brother. Xiao Manxue had discovered this and reported it to the Party Secretary, nearly costing Zhang Yanhong her job. In the end, Accountant Sun had to give repeated assurances, and Zhang Yanhong broadcast an apology to settle the matter.
The village accountant recognized Xiao Manxue at once, his brows furrowing involuntarily. Because of his daughter-in-law, he harbored a grudge against Xiao Manxue. Just moments ago, he had been about to enjoy the greatest pleasure of a man’s life when his good mood was ruined. Rushing over in such a hurry, only to find it was for these two people, put him in a foul mood. His words turned sarcastic:
“What? You come here today and start a fight, now you’re causing trouble at the brigade headquarters at night? Are we supposed to serve you at your beck and call?”
Xiao Mandong, no one to tolerate such nastiness, shot back:
“Aren’t village cadres supposed to serve the people? If I have a problem, do you expect me to find someone in the central government? I couldn’t even if I tried!”
The accountant hadn’t expected this girl to be such a sharp tongue. He wanted to say he was off duty and had no intention of serving, but he didn’t dare. If he said that, this girl, with her fierce spirit, would surely report him to the commune the very next day.
The Brigade Leader interrupted their exchange.
“Comrade Xiao Mandong, please wait a moment. Let’s hold a meeting first.”
The leaders then went into the brigade headquarters, while Xiao Mandong and her sister waited by the door. Occasionally, they could hear voices from inside.
Xiao Mandong knew that unless these people were fools, her proposal would go through.
Xiao Manxue, however, was a bit nervous. She was afraid the village leaders would disapprove. She too wanted to move out. The educated youth point was too crowded, and she was no good at navigating the daily scheming and backbiting.
Inside the brigade headquarters, the Brigade Leader laid out Xiao Mandong’s proposal. Except for Accountant Sun, everyone else was in favor. It was just a few walls that remained, hardly different from building a new house. And she was paying rent—it wasn’t like she was using the land for free. This opportunity was practically a gift from heaven.
But Accountant Sun spoke up:
“They’re here to develop the countryside, not to enjoy themselves. Building a house just to live alone? That’s nonsense. If she wants to build, okay, but the brigade must be allowed to assign people to live there too.”
The Brigade Leader and the Party Secretary looked at Accountant Sun as if he were a fool.
“She’s paying to build a house precisely because she wants a private space. Do you take her for an idiot?”
“That’s still individualism. They answered the nation’s call to be re-educated by the poor and lower-middle peasants. This isn’t about being special! Repairing those stone houses in the west end would take a lot of work. How is this kind of individualism any different from capitalist behavior?”
The Brigade Leader darkened at Accountant Sun’s words. He was implying that the Brigade Leader was encouraging bad behavior.
“Fine, then Accountant Sun, please go to the educated youth point and handle things. There’s a fight going on there right now. Six people sleeping on one kang. The educated youths are demanding a solution to the housing problem. You take care of it—I’m at my wit’s end. And more people are coming by year’s end, so you’d better come up with a solution too.”
Accountant Sun was speechless. How was he supposed to solve this? Wasn’t that the Brigade Leader’s job? What did it have to do with him, an accountant?
“Let them board with local families. That’s how other villages do it.”
The Brigade Leader nodded.
“You’re right. Then you handle it and write a guarantee. If anything goes wrong again, you take responsibility.”
Accountant Sun ground his teeth in frustration. Was the Brigade Leader deliberately going against him today?
“I said building a house is fine, but the village must be allowed to assign people to live there. To have such a big house for personal use is far too selfish.”
The Party Secretary finally spoke:
“Accountant Sun is right. Figure out how much it would cost to repair that row of houses. Then see if the village can afford that money for the repairs.”
“Since when is it the village’s expense? Wasn’t that female educated youth the one footing the bill?”
The Brigade Leader couldn’t hold back anymore.
“She pays to repair it, she pays rent on it—and you still want to stuff other people in there? What are you thinking?”
"We could arrange fewer rooms, not as cramped as the educated youth settlement. If they disagree, let them stay crowded in the settlement—they’ll agree sooner or later. If she’s willing to renovate a whole row of houses, giving her sisters a separate room wouldn’t be out of the question."
The Party Secretary sighed. Accountant Sun’s little scheme was obvious to anyone with eyes. He was letting a private grievance meddle with public affairs, using personal motives as an excuse. His mindset was far too narrow, especially since the original incident had been his daughter-in-law’s fault.
Inviting him to the meeting was merely a courtesy. He was just an accountant—did he really have a say? He seemed to think too highly of himself, insisting on disrupting a plan that benefited the village. He clearly couldn’t see the bigger picture.
The Party Secretary didn’t want to listen to his rambling anymore. He only included him in every meeting to save face, while everyone else offered objective opinions. But Accountant Sun was always causing trouble.
"I’ve made my decision. Write up the agreement now."
The Secretary’s words silenced Sun Quan. He could argue with the Brigade Leader, but he wouldn’t dare challenge the Party Secretary. Deep down, he understood the benefits of this plan for the village—he just didn’t want to make things easy for the Xiao sisters.
