Chapter 19: Turning the Tables

The following morning, all the commune members attended Wang Hongbing’s inaugural address. He spoke about the current situation, the conditions in Wangjiayu, his own strengths, and the specific measures he planned to implement in his new role.

Fucai’s snoring soon drowned out the speech. Caiyun, who had been listening intently, nudged him, and he jolted awake.

"Report to the team leader," Fucai announced, "someone just let out a fart so foul it’s suffocating. I’m going out for some fresh air." With that, he walked out, leaving the meeting hall in a roar of laughter. Wang Hongbing glared at him and continued his speech.

After the meeting, unsure of how his performance had been received, Wang Hongbing decided to look for Caiyun. He went to her home and found her in the west wing, cleaning up after her young son, Gou Dan. He crouched down, teasing the child while asking, "What did you think of my speech today? Was it too long?"

"It was excellent. I had no idea you were so articulate. It seems you were born to be an official."

Caiyun’s words sent Wang Hongbing into a state of ecstasy; he couldn't keep his mouth shut, as he loved being flattered. As he spoke, his right hand moved back and forth, teasing the toddler.

At that moment, Fucai pushed open the door and caught sight of Wang Hongbing and his wife standing close together. Enraged, Fucai lunged at Wang, grabbed his hair, and slammed him to the ground. "You bastard! Even in broad daylight you dare to touch my wife? I’m going to teach you a lesson today!"

Wang Hongbing’s face was pressed directly into the mess the child had just left. Fucai noticed this and forced Wang’s mouth toward it, barking, "Eat this up! Once it's gone, I’ll let you go!" Wang Hongbing was unable to open his mouth to explain.

Seeing this, Caiyun hurriedly put down the child and tried to pull Fucai away. "Fucai, what are you doing? Let him go!"

Fucai kicked Caiyun to the floor and pointed at her, cursing, "You slut, you still dare to protect him? I’ll show you! Bringing him into the house in broad daylight—can’t you hold back your urges?" Fucai continued to kick her in a fit of fury.

Seizing the chance, Wang Hongbing scrambled up, wiped his face with his clothes, and fled in a panic. He collided with Yuqiang, who was just arriving and had no idea what had happened inside.

"Fucai, oh Fucai, you have disappointed me so much!" Caiyun said, clutching her backside in pain. "I know you look down on me. If I hadn't been pregnant with your child, you never would have married me."

"That’s right. You’re absolutely correct."

Fucai failed to realize that Caiyun was only speaking out of spite; instead, her words triggered a memory. He recalled once hearing a group of people working in the fields gossiping that Caiyun was a fresh flower stuck in a pile of cow dung. He had wanted to find a hole to crawl into. Afterwards, he had examined his own reflection in the water vat repeatedly, feeling that his face was indeed too long and his mouth too prominent. He would press and rub at his features, trying to change them, but to no avail. He had often felt inferior.

Eventually, he had let it go, reasoning that his looks didn't affect his ability to work. He lived by the sweat of his brow, and a handsome face wouldn't put food on the table. Besides, he thought Caiyun didn't care, or she wouldn't have married him—especially since Han Xiuxia had once told him he was handsome, which had bolstered his confidence. Now, however, Caiyun’s words cut deep.

Caiyun saw his reaction and said, "Think about it. We’ve been married for years; how have I treated you?"

"You’ve treated me too well! You’re even so considerate at night that you go to sleep with Wang Hongbing so he can do my work for me. Do you want me to thank him too?"

"Stop with this nonsense. Regardless, you owe Wang Hongbing an apology for today."

"I’d rather apologize to you for coming home at the wrong time and ruining your fun."

"I am telling you solemnly: Wang Hongbing was only reaching behind my back to tease Yujun. That is all."

"I saw you two holding each other with my own eyes! You’re still lying. Are you waiting until you’re in bed together to admit it? You shameless slut!" Fucai began kicking her again.

Yuqiang walked in, saw his parents arguing, and stood by silently. Only when his father began hitting his mother did he step forward to shield her, urging her to leave.

"I’ve told you the truth. Believe it or not, that's up to you." Caiyun finished, picked up Yujun, and walked out.

The incident where Fucai forced Wang Hongbing to eat filth was, in fact, a grave injustice. There had been no illicit behavior between them, but due to the cloudy weather and poor light inside the room, from the angle at which Fucai entered, it had certainly looked as though Wang Hongbing was embracing Caiyun.

The next day, Fucai and several other strong laborers were sent to a water conservancy project. Before leaving, he warned Caiyun not to flirt with Wang Hongbing while he was away.

After taking office, Wang Hongbing began enforcing the Party Secretary’s directive to "overcome all difficulties and obstacles to complete the grain procurement task." He cut the commune members' rations and confiscated reserve grain to meet the state quota, yet the target remained unfulfilled. With the communal canteen running low on supplies, they had to chop up carrots and cabbage and mix them into thin rice porridge just to keep everyone fed.

One night, after a long, exhausting day, Caiyun had just fallen asleep when she heard a knock at the door. "Who is it?" she asked.

"It’s Hongbing. Open the door."

Caiyun could hear that the voice was kept low and mysterious. She walked to the door and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Yun, I miss you. Come with me to the ox shed."

Ever since his wife, Han Xiuxia, had become incontinent, Wang Hongbing had been living alone in a small ox shed on their property.

"Why go to the ox shed?" Caiyun’s heart began to pound. It was the first time she had heard Wang Hongbing call her "Yun," and she found it intimate, so she decided to tease him.

"Stop playing dumb. I went through the trouble of sending Fucai away just for you!"

Caiyun finally realized: this wasn't Wang Hongbing. It was Fucai, lowering his voice to imitate him. A cold sweat broke out over her. She hadn't expected a man as crude as Fucai to be capable of such a scheme, but she decided to play along.

"Fine. Go back to the ox shed and wait for me. I’ll be there in a moment."

"Hurry up. I’ll be waiting."

After all, they had grown up together and been married for ten years; no matter how well Fucai imitated the other man, Caiyun could still tell the difference once he spoke at length.

The construction site where Fucai was working was close to home—only an hour’s journey back and forth. One night, he had dreamt that Wang Hongbing came to knock on the door in the dead of night, and that as soon as Caiyun stepped out, she threw herself into his arms before they headed toward the ox shed. In the dream, he had grabbed a pitchfork and chased after them, stabbing Wang Hongbing to death on the spot, while Caiyun screamed, "Murder! Murder!"

Fucai woke up in a cold sweat, relieved to find it was only a nightmare. He couldn't fall back asleep. Reflecting on recent events, his mind was in turmoil. Ever since Caiyun helped Wang Hongbing—that power-hungry fool—become the team leader, she had been unusually excited, finding every excuse to be near him. Wang Hongbing, in turn, had become exceptionally attentive to her. If he hadn't come home early that day and caught them, who knows if they would have ended up in bed?

And now, at this critical moment, Wang Hongbing had managed to get him sent to the construction site. Fucai was certain there was a conspiracy; he even suspected the two of them had planned it together. The more he thought, the more restless he became. He refused to stay in the dark. He had to uncover the truth, so he decided to investigate for himself.