Volume III: Essays, Anecdotes, (11) Village Rules and Civil Covenants

Recently, under the leadership of Comrade Yao Le as the secretary, we, the villagers of Wuxing, have thoroughly completed the expansion and renovation of the production of the whole village through a series of division of labor. Gratifying achievements have been made, which has solved the troubles that have plagued the villagers for many years and facilitated the livelihood of the villagers. I am very pleased and would like to thank all the participants in this operation as a commemoration.

In the past week, our village has successfully completed the widening and renovation of the production road in the village, solved the problem of poor roads that have plagued us for many years, and started the construction of a group of drainage ditches. So far, the practical work promised to benefit the people during the current term of office is expected to be completed as scheduled. Here, I would like to thank all our cadres for their hard work, the people of the whole village for their strong support and cooperation, and all the villagers who sacrificed their personal interests for this.

The current responsibility of major events is upheld. Facts have once again proved that our cadre contingent is a team that thinks about what the masses think, is anxious about what the masses are anxious about, dares to do things, is willing to do practical things, has the courage to take responsibility, and is dedicated to the masses. This village-wide road construction is related to the vital interests of every household and every person, and it involves a wide range of areas that are unprecedented. Our seven team leaders bravely took responsibility, faced contradictions, acted quickly, and completed the early release work. The three groups of Sun Xirong found out the gray line when the land was divided, and strictly implemented the widening, and was not afraid of the large amount of work. The old road that has been abandoned for many years has been opened up to do practical things for the masses; when Yao Xiaoping of the sixth group put out the line, he called the personnel involved to the scene to communicate with him in a timely manner, dealt with and resolved many problems and contradictions, did solid work, and repaired the road very smoothly, showing his super work ability; Gao Jun of the fourth group adhered to the principle, dared to gnaw down hard bones, cleared all the pepper trees that occupied the road, and took the lead in completing the work tasks; Sun Jili of the fifth group was meticulous, faced with all kinds of complex contradictions, and insisted on a bowl of water that was level, fully prepared, meticulous, and convincing people with reason. Painstakingly worked to complete the road repair of five groups.

The members of our two committees, following themselves, have been on the front line for eight consecutive days, and everyone's WeChat exercise steps are around 20,000, leaving early and returning late, eating a pack of boxed lunches at noon, and not eating the second meal until they go home in the evening. In particular, the three comrades Sun Ke, Sun Shengli, and Li Baihe rushed between the groups every day, and although they were exhausted, no one complained that they were tired, put down everything at home, and devoted themselves to their work. I was really touched by the fact that I was busy on the road during the day and had to receive visitors and deal with problems at night.

I am glad to see that the masses are supportive of our work. Tian Mingliang of the sixth group consciously cleaned up the pepper trees in the line and sorted out the roadbed. Chang Fuxue took the initiative to clean up the obstacles in the line and cooperate with the road construction. Comrade Sun Dingwen, a party member, was the first to take the lead in dealing with the pepper trees in his own line and set an example. A group of Min Baorun, Wen Yinhua, Min Congfa, Guo Mengshi, etc., volunteered to level the road for free, cooperate with Murakami's work, and there are many good people and good deeds that I don't know. Thank you for your noble deeds!

For some people who hinder the construction due to various problems, we listen to the demands of the masses in line with the concept of eliminating worries for the people, effectively solve the problems, and ensure the smooth construction. Thankfully, none of them have any problems with road construction, but they do have things that need to be resolved, and we fully understand.

Of course, this road construction is not yet satisfactory to everyone. Some people have reported that the road surface is not smooth enough, and it is inconvenient for some roads to enter the ground. There are still remaining problems in the first, fifth and seventh groups, which are still being coordinated and resolved. However, we insist on the original intention of working for the benefit of the people, and do good things well. I hope you understand my difficulties, as a non-poor village, we have no source of funds, and it is indeed difficult to do well, but I will do my best to try my best. It is hoped that the masses will do a good job of connecting the main road with their own land, smooth the potholes of the main road, cherish the fruits of Murakami's labor, and consciously maintain the smooth flow of the road.

We will take seriously the problems reported by the masses, attach great importance to them, and study and resolve them. At the same time, it is hoped that the villagers involved can focus on the overall situation, pay attention to the influence of the neighborhood, and establish a good image. Make some small sacrifices and dedication for the big collective of Wuxing Village and win a good reputation. After all, building bridges and repairing roads is immeasurable. After all, it's for everyone's convenience.

Although it is only a dirt road now, I believe that we have done the preliminary work for the hardening of the road surface in the future. I also firmly believe that if we work together, Wuxing Village will have a better tomorrow!

Thank you again!, this is our original home. A place where parents, older sisters, and younger brothers lived together. Once vigorously grew all the freshness of my county seat. This is an old-fashioned two-story building, sitting north to south, with corners at both ends of the east and west, there is a corridor inside, there is a row of cement railings outside the corridor, the railing is covered with trumpet flowers planted by my father, the old courtyard is never lonely, quite a bit of old European architectural characteristics. The parents took care of the small courtyard very warmly. This house is at least a product of the sixties and seventies of the last century.

When my family moved from Yijun to Yaoxian, they initially lived in two suites on the west floor of the building, separated from the other residents by a plywood. At that time, there were seven or eight families living in this building, nearly 20 people, men and women, ping ten-pong, speaking different accents of the country. At first, my father's office was located in the front yard where we lived. Every noon or evening, the courtyard is full of smoke, flames flash, food is fragrant, and the family area in the backyard is not warm.

When it's time to go to work, the yard is quiet, the babies go to school, and the front yard and backyard are sacred. At night, there is no discipline at all, Hu'er, reprimanding women, Aunt Zhang, Uncle Li, the southern and northern tones, lively and fragrant, and very lively.

I remember that there was a long cement platform on the east side of the front yard, with a drain in the middle and pools on either side. Every weekend, the unit is not working, and the people in the backyard who wash clothes, wash vegetables, wash rice, and brush pots gather one after another. Talking, laughing, noisy, and exciting. Clothes and sheets are colorful and hung all over the front and back yards. Sometimes we finish our homework and join in the fun, playing in the water and fighting. I remember Uncle Lei's daughter Ellie and I were playing in the water, and accidentally bumped into the edge of the cement flower bed in the middle of the yard, and my head was broken, and the bleeding was not stopping, and my father hit me for the first time, blaming me for provoking Ellie.

The concrete-walled flower bed in the middle of the yard was sparsely planted with some moonberries and thornberries. It is always half-dead, with many small grass vines, always green, but it grows vigorously, and it does not rest until autumn. Occasionally, it seems that inadvertently, there will be flowers blooming in the grass, like a brilliant surprise, but this surprise will disappear in two days, and the courtyard is still an ordinary green. There was a big tree next to the flower bed, bent over, was it a locust tree or a willow tree? I don't remember exactly. Under the tree used to be the place where my father and his colleagues discussed national affairs, and sometimes they blushed and had thick necks, and they could quarrel for most of the night.

Of course, none of this is now. The flower beds have long been bulldozed, and the yard is completely paved with a flat cement surface. A few years ago, a southerner who ran a building materials business rented an old home, and when he heard that he had made a lot of money, he left. At this time, under the noon sun, the old courtyard was unusually monotonous and dazzling.

After living in the old home for more than three years, our family moved again. The name of the new home is called the Family Courtyard of the Economic Commission, which is in the former West Street of Yaoxian County, now Wenying West Road, Yaozhou District. It is bordered by the district to the east**, a highway running through the east and west to the south, and a vegetable field to the north. Further west is the school I attended in junior high school, the West School. At that time, my brother and I were very happy that it was much closer to our school. From the old courtyard to the new courtyard, it is necessary to cross the entire county in a diagonal line and walk out of a long diagonal.

The new building is also a renovation of the old office building, in a green and shining wood, the front and back three buildings, cement to the top, at that time was considered tall. Three units on three floors, eight families in each building. Our home is the east household on the first floor of the second unit of the middle building. There are stairs next to it to go up to the top of the building, stand on the top of the building and look to the north, ho! There are green vegetable patches everywhere, one on the left and one on the right, the sky is blue, the clouds are long, and the appearance is endless. Look, look, I can always see the locust tree on the edge of the Fu River, and the locust tree has become a vague black shadow, and it seems to move after a long time.

I lived in the family home of the Economic Commission until I got married. After his father retired, he returned to his hometown to return the house to the unit. In the past few years, every time I went back to my hometown, my father always asked me if the two old homes were still there, whether anything had changed, and so on.

During this year's May Day holiday, I once again returned to the old people's home for the families of the Economic Commission. The front one has long been demolished due to the expansion of the road, and the last two old buildings are still hard, but they are too old to recognize each other. The doors and windows are rotten, the paint is peeling, the corridors are still clean, the musty smell is scattered, and it is dilapidated. The weeds in the open space in front of the building were growing to the ankles. In the courtyard, I also met a few residents, but most of the faces were unfamiliar, and I couldn't read any warmth. A gray-haired aunt came over, as if she was a little familiar, and only after the hustle did she recognize it as Aunt Tian, a neighbor on the second floor. Aunt Tian only has one daughter, three years older than me, named Liu Lan. We often play together. We haven't seen each other in over twenty years. Aunt Tian said that her daughter married in Hangzhou, and her son-in-law was doing business in Hangzhou and was very busy. My daughter's children are older, and she is idle. A few years ago, she went back to Yaozhou District to visit her brother, but she couldn't go to Hangzhou due to the impact of the epidemic. The house in the old courtyard is still in her name, so she lives there.

The brilliance and grace of the year have become a thing of the past in an instant. Alas, "It is common to see it in King Qi's house, and Cui Jiutang has heard it a few times before. It is a good scenery in the south of the Yangtze River, and the season of falling flowers is a good time." Life is impermanent! It seems that I will not grow old in an instant, and I will look around at a loss.

In those months when the stars were scarce, what about the friends who often got together to play crazy and fight with their eyelids? Sister Liu Lan, Yanan, Guo Pingfang, and Aili...... Where have you all gone? People say that the sunset is the end of the world, and you can't see your home at the end of the world, are you all okay?

The old courtyard is silent, the old courtyard is silent, things are people, carrying growth and stories will decline with changes.

When I walked out of the old courtyard that day, it was raining in the sky, and it was a little cold in an instant. This year's weather is particularly strange, it is cold when you see the rain and stars, and in the beginning of summer, it is full of gloom and cold.