Siheyuan: Starting from Building a Village

Looking at the ginkgo leaf-shaped mark in the palm of his hand, Liu Guozheng suppressed the urge to find out what was going on.

Let’s find a way to leave the resettlement site first.

Fortunately, today District Chief Jiang of Jingxi Mining District came to the resettlement site to inspect and guide the work. It is up to District Chief Jiang to leave the resettlement site.

Thinking of this, I walked towards the temporary office.

"Stop, this is a restricted office area, no one is allowed in."

As soon as he reached the door of the temporary office, he was stopped by the militia on guard.

"Comrade, I want to see District Chief Jiang."

Whether in his previous life or this life, the highest-ranking official Liu Guozheng had ever met was the village chief of their village, so he was a little nervous.

"Who are you? Can you see the district chief whenever you want?"

The militia looked Liu Guozheng up and down. The young man looked very energetic, but his clothes were a bit shabby.

As the saying goes, little devils are difficult to deal with. Liu Guozheng suddenly had an idea, raised his head, and said domineeringly: "The district chief is my cousin, and I am his nephew."

"Hey, it's just you? The district chief's nephew?"

He looked up and down again and saw that the militiaman's face was full of disdain.

"What? You don't believe it? If you don't believe it, just go in and ask and you'll know."

Although I was a little nervous inside, I appeared calm and natural on the surface.

"this..."

The militia hesitated, not sure whether it was true or not. After all, it was good enough for a commoner to not be nervous when seeing the district chief, let alone pretend to be the nephew of the district chief.

"You wait here."

The militia finally decided to go in and report, just in case.

"Haha. Interesting."

"Let my nephew, whom I have never met, come in."

Hearty laughter came from the office. After all, it was a temporary office, built with canvas, and the people inside had heard the conversation between the two people.

"Hmph, go in."

The militiamen now realized that they were wrong, and naturally would not give Liu Guozheng any good face.

"Hey, thanks."

Liu Guozheng didn't care, as long as he could meet District Chief Jiang.

"Hello, leaders."

There were three people in the room, sitting casually, and it was impossible to tell which one was District Chief Jiang.

"Oh, District Chief Jiang, your nephew looks quite energetic."

The man with a scar on his face looked Liu Guozheng up and down and spoke.

"Haha."

"Nephew, tell me."

The person who was speaking had a dignified appearance, spoke in a sonorous and powerful voice, and looked at Liu Guozheng with a smile on his face.

"Uncle...oh...no, District Chief Jiang, you are a great man and you should not bear grudges against me."

Liu Guozheng stepped forward to apologize, then got straight to the point and said, "District Chief Jiang, I want to leave the resettlement site. Please give me a letter of introduction."

In the 1950s and 1960s, there was no such thing as ID cards as we have today. Whether you were a rural or urban resident, if you wanted to go somewhere, you had to get a letter of introduction first, otherwise you would be unable to move forward.

Especially in rural areas, there are usually militiamen standing guard at the entrance of the village. If you are alone without an ID, you will be arrested as an enemy spy.

"Didn't we agree on this? Wait a few days and I'll send you back together."

District Chief Jiang was a little confused. Was the policy that was just read out in the morning forgotten in the afternoon?

Liu Guozheng said: "No, I want to go into the mountains and find a hilltop."

"What? You kid, do you still want to be the king of the mountain?"

Among the three, the middle-aged man in military uniform spoke with a sharp tone and a murderous look in his eyes.

District Chief Jiang and the man with the scar also looked at Liu Guozheng seriously, wanting to see what he would say.

Liu Guozheng hurriedly said: "No, don't get me wrong, I mean I contracted a barren mountain, supported myself, and did not add burden to the country."

District Chief Jiang and the other two became interested. This young man had a unique and bold idea. After all, the current policy does not allow individual households to work under the contract responsibility system, and people dare not even mention it.

Others tried their best to find a job in the city, or join nearby villages, or live with relatives, and some even stayed in the relief centers.

Liu Guozheng was so bold as to want to contract a mountain.

Besides, can you contract the mountain just because you want to?

There have been villages in the nearby mountains that are suitable for survival. People there have lived there for hundreds of years, relying on the nearby mountains to get some mountain products, and they will definitely not let outsiders occupy the area.

The rest is deep in the mountains, and for most people going in there is almost like seeking death.

There are also those barren mountains that have been severely weathered. Most of these mountains have no water sources and are far away from nearby villages. They have no value for reclamation, or the cost of reclamation is far higher than the income.

To survive in this place is nothing short of a fantasy.

District Chief Jiang looked at the other two and asked, "What do you think?"

"It's difficult, very difficult, too difficult."

"The idea is bold."

Naturally, they were not optimistic about Liu Guozheng. Ideals must also take reality into consideration!

District Chief Jiang asked, "Liu Guozheng, have you really thought it through?"

"I've made up my mind. I'm not going back anyway."

"I want to build a new village without hunger, carrying the expectations of my fellow villagers."

Liu Guozheng answered firmly.

Are you kidding? How can I write about Siheyuan when I go back to my hometown?

"Ugh!"

District Chief Jiang sighed.

He had seen many people these days, all of whom were sent back and then ran away again, especially the elderly and little girls.

He also knew in his heart that if there was any way out, no one would be willing to leave their hometown.

However, the Jingxi mining area was unable to accommodate so many people, mainly because no brigade was willing to take in these refugees.

For a moment, District Chief Jiang hoped that the young man in front of him could really build a new village to take in more refugees, but that was only a glimmer of hope and the possibility was too small.

"In the war of resistance, you, the head of the Red Flag Commune, won't you express your stance?"

District Chief Jiang looked at the secretary of Hongqi Commune and said, "The one who fought in the war is the one with the scar on his face."

"What do you mean by that? My District Chief Jiang, you don't think this is feasible, do you?"

Secretary Jiao became anxious. This was simply impossible. Okay? Just think about it and don’t take it seriously.

"Young man, it's good to hit the wall."

"Young people who dare to think and act are so great. Let them settle down in your Hongqi Commune."

"Register first, and we'll talk about it three years later."

District Chief Jiang made the final decision and agreed to Liu Guozheng's request.

"alright."

Since the old leader had spoken, Secretary Jiao reluctantly agreed. He would just register it first. If it succeeded three years later, it would be his achievement. If it failed, there would be no loss.

"Fight the war. Don't be upset. Go and ask if there are any people here who are willing to go and take them with you. This will solve the problem of personnel placement."

Seeing that Jiao Kangzhan agreed reluctantly, he naturally understood what he had in mind, which was nothing more than adding a new production team which would be poor and backward and would hinder their Hongqi Commune by the end of the year.

"Hey, why didn't I think of that?"

After hearing what District Chief Jiang said, Jiao Kangzhan's eyes lit up. Isn't this a political achievement? Even if these people in the relief center are sent back to their hometowns, they will still flee again. If the nearby land reclamation and resettlement can be successful, his Red Flag Commune will really be famous.

What's the saying?

That is: ideals are full, but reality is skinny.

After asking around, no one was willing except Liu Guozheng.

Helplessly, under Liu Guozheng's insistence, District Chief Jiang and several others drove a jeep to look for a suitable place.

He actually found a place that Liu Guozheng was quite satisfied with. It was surrounded by mountains on three sides, and open land on the east. It was a place that did not belong to any village. To be more precise, it was a place that no village wanted.

The mountain is not high or steep, only less than 400 meters, which makes it a good place for nearby villagers to chop firewood. The trees on the mountain were originally sparse, and after years of logging, coupled with the dry weather and little rain in the past year or two, it has completely become a barren mountain.

The east side is open land, but it is full of gullies, gravel and sand, and there are no rivers. The nearest river to the east is seven or eight kilometers away, which is not suitable for farming at all.

This kind of environment is so terrible that District Chief Jiang and his colleagues shook their heads when they saw it.

Only Liu Guozheng was relatively satisfied.

After choosing a place, the group returned to the commune and completed the relevant formalities. The commune provided them with seven days of food, a box of matches, a set of pots and pans, a quilt, a shovel, a steel chisel, an eight-pound hammer, and most importantly, a bag of salt.

There are also approval documents from Hongqi Commune and Jingxi Mining District.

From this moment on, Liu Guozheng temporarily belonged to the Hongqi Commune.

District Chief Jiang and Secretary Jiao encouraged him again and then sent Liu Guozheng back.