Chapter 23: Do Not Kill It

Shortly after, Secretary Yang of the brigade received a phone call from the commune ordering him to send Wang Hongbing to the commune for a public struggle session. This left Secretary Yang in a panic.

Wang Hongbing was a team leader he had just personally nominated and appointed. To maintain his own prestige, he sought out Secretary Zhou of the commune to report on Wang Hongbing’s outstanding performance in spearheading the conversion of dry land to rice paddies, pleading for a chance to let him correct his "mistake."

After persistent efforts, the commune accepted the brigade secretary's recommendation. Wang Hongbing was spared from prosecution; after writing a self-criticism and a letter of guarantee, he was allowed to remain as team leader to face the organization's scrutiny.

During the autumn harvest, while the early rice and the crops on the unconverted dry land yielded decent harvests, the rice planted on the newly converted land was an almost total failure. Before the grain could even be stored, Secretary Yang urged the collection of the public grain tax, demanding that Wang Hongbing lead the way in fulfilling the state procurement quota as a gesture of gratitude for the leniency and trust shown to him by his superiors.

After the harvest, almost everything was turned over to the state, save for seeds and the most basic rations, yet the procurement quota remained unfulfilled.

To tighten control over grain, the commune, acting on directives from higher authorities, mandated that the brigade assume total management of all grain belonging to its production teams. Secretary Yang immediately decided to consolidate all the teams' grain at the western threshing ground in Wangjiayu. The brigade would manage it directly, and no one was permitted to touch it without his written authorization.

In early November, Secretary Yang led a group of people to the Wangjiayu production team and confiscated all their remaining rations and seeds, bringing them under the brigade's control. From then on, the brigade issued rations at a standard of ten catties per person per month, requiring the teams to find ways to supplement this with substitute foods.

Wang Hongbing organized the commune members to scavenge every remaining grain and fruit from the rice straw, wheat stalks, soybean straw, and peanut vines, including empty or shriveled husks, all of which were put into storage as part of the ration supply.

All rations and food reserves were kept in the small cafeteria storeroom. The team accountant and the storekeeper each held a key. Before every meal, both had to be present to retrieve the grain and supervise the cooking. Without Wang Hongbing's explicit consent, no one was allowed to touch the grain or food in the storeroom.

For breakfast and lunch, each person received a bowl of porridge made from broken rice and vegetables. For dinner, they were given half a bowl of thin, watery gruel so transparent one could see their own reflection in it. People would queue for half the day, only to gulp down their meager portion in a single breath.

The team owned an old ox that could no longer work. To cope with the immediate crisis, the team committee decided to slaughter the beast to improve the cafeteria's meals.

One morning, just as Yulan stepped out of her house, she saw a crowd gathered by the edge of Lingjiao Pond. She ran over and saw the old ox she had been tending pinned to the ground by several men. Some were tying its legs, while a burly man stood by with a long, sharp knife. Seeing Yulan, the ox stretched its neck, lifted its head, and let out a mournful "moo" in her direction.

Only then did Yulan realize they were going to kill it. The ox must have been calling to its owner for help. She rushed forward, shouting, "What are you doing? Let it go!"

Wang Hongbing approached her and said, "Go back. This is none of your business."

Yulan said firmly, "No! This is my ox, my good friend. You are not allowed to kill it!"

She leaned down, touched its nose, and patted it gently. The ox let out another "moo," as if to say, "Little master, I am leaving. This is my final contribution to mankind."

Wang Hongbing said patiently, "It is old and useless. Killing it can save the lives of others."

"It has worked so hard for us! Why must you kill it? Don't you have any conscience?"

"You're just a child, you don't understand. Go home."

"No! I won't let you kill it!"

As she spoke, she lunged to grab the slaughtering knife, but Wang Hongbing immediately pulled her away.

The old ox let out another loud, desperate bellow. Yulan looked back and saw the ox staring at her with wide eyes, two trails of tears rolling down like broken strings of pearls. It would never again have the chance to plow the fields, and it was about to bid a final farewell to its young master.

Seeing this, Yulan screamed at the crowd, "If you want to kill something, kill me instead! Don't kill it!"

While Wang Hongbing carried her away, Yulan cried and shouted, leaving behind the companion she had lived with day and night for over a year.

Caiyun used an old piece of clothing to cover the ox's eyes. The creature calmed down, and in the end, it was bled dry, butchered into pieces, and sent to the cafeteria.

When Caiyun returned and saw Yulan still weeping, she comforted her, "An ox spends its whole life working, and in the end, it cannot escape the knife. Such is its fate. But its soul will ascend to heaven, and it will silently pray for the world to have favorable weather and abundant harvests."

"He was such an old rascal; I will miss him."

"An ox's life is one of eating grass and giving milk. Whether plowing or harrowing, it is always uncomplaining and diligent, laboring for humanity all its life. That is the character of an ox, and we should learn from it."

After dinner, Yulan stood outside her door, gazing up at the sky. A bright moon hung there, and she imagined she saw the old ox—her beloved "old rascal"—inside the moon, quietly grazing on the green grass. She said to the ox, "Come back when you miss me, and we'll sing and dance together!"

Seeing this, Yulan’s heart suddenly felt at ease.

In the desperate search for food, everyone was trying to find a way. Yuqiang brought his slingshot every time he went to school, but he couldn't even catch a glimpse of a sparrow. He cursed the sparrows and other birds for being fair-weather friends who fled the moment there was nothing left to eat.

Facai took his fishing net everywhere, but he mostly returned empty-handed; the fish and shrimp in the ponds had long since been wiped out.

Facai recalled that there might be ripe water chestnuts that had fallen into the pond. He tied several lengths of rope together, attached some stones to them, and fixed both ends to wooden sticks. Along with Yuqiang, he braved the cold and jumped into the pond to drag for water chestnuts, but after half a day of hard work, they had almost nothing to show for it and had to give up.

Facai and Caiyun took hoes to the fields to dig for any yams or peanuts left over from the autumn harvest. After half a day of labor, they found nothing. Undeterred, they went back the next day and actually unearthed two yams, one large and one small. They were ecstatic. Fearing discovery, Caiyun hid them under her clothes and brought them home.

That night, Caiyun retrieved a small iron pot she had hidden in the haystack in the backyard and began to boil the sliced yams.

Before long, she heard someone banging on the door. Wang Hongbing shone his flashlight through the window, sweeping the beam across the room until it landed on the steaming pot on the stove.

Wang Hongbing roared, "Chen Facai, you are incredibly bold! How dare you cook in private? You have no regard for the law! Open the door!"

Caiyun was terrified by this sudden turn of events. She had never imagined that in the middle of the night, Wang Hongbing would be watching their chimney.

She hurriedly explained, "Team Leader Wang, we dug up two yams in the field today. We were afraid of causing you trouble, so we were just cooking a bit of soup for the children in the middle of the night. Could you please show some mercy and let us off this once?"

"Enough talk! You are sabotaging the public cafeteria and the People's Commune! If you don't open the door, I won't be so polite!"

"I'm opening it! I'm opening it right now!" Caiyun quickly unlocked the door, and Wang Hongbing burst in with several men.

Wang Hongbing pointed to the yams in the pot and demanded, "Give an honest account! Where did these yams come from?"

"I already told you, we just dug them up in the field today."

"Lies! Search the place!"

They searched for a long time but found nothing. Finally, they ripped the bedding off the bed, forced Facai and the children to get up, and turned the entire bed upside down, yet they still found no grain.

"Team Leader Wang, other than the two yams in the pot, we found no grain," Caiyun pleaded, trying to appease him.