Chapter 54: Evaluating Work Points

Caiyun felt that Yujun's schooling issue needed to be resolved as soon as possible. To avoid gossip from others, she wanted to ask Team Leader Li to step in and handle the matter.

She walked over to the small room and said to Team Leader Li, "There is something I would like to ask for your help with."

"What is it?"

"It's about Yujun going to school."

"Since the child is so eager to learn, he ought to go to school."

"But I am worried that people will say we have not repaid our debts yet still have the money to send a child to school."

"Then what kind of help do you need from me?"

"If everyone thinks that you are the one who noticed how much the child loves to learn and arranged for him to go to school, then nobody will be able to say anything."

"Understood. I will go see the principal right now."

After Team Leader Li went to the school, she returned shortly afterward. Beaming with joy, she said to Caiyun, "Caiyun, I've talked it over with the principal. Yujun can go to school right now, with all tuition and miscellaneous fees waived. He can ask for leave whenever there's something urgent at home, and from now on, Yujun won't have to sneak around just to listen in on classes."

Caiyun immediately stepped forward and tightly grasped Team Leader Li's hands. "Thank you so much! A huge burden has finally been lifted from my mind."

"Auntie, thank you!" Although Yujun's voice was very faint, he spoke quite clearly. Everyone naturally gathered around and, seeing a slight smile appear on Yujun's face, felt a sense of relief. Caiyun reached out and stroked Yujun's head. "Son, you can finally go to school."

"Auntie Li, you are so kind!" Yujun looked at Team Leader Li and smiled.

"Good boy, go to school and study hard, and win some pride for your mother."

"Mm."

"Mom, I can go to school starting tomorrow."

Team Leader Li said to him, "Don't be in such a rush. Wait until your health has fully recovered before you go."

"It's fine. As long as I can sit in the classroom and listen to the lecture, all my ailments will vanish."

The next day, though Yujun's body was still very weak, he ignored the dissuasion of his mother and Team Leader Li and insisted on going to school. After completing the registration, he smoothly received his textbooks and began his true student career.

Yujun went to school in the morning, and that afternoon, Wang Hongbing sought out Caiyun. "I heard Yujun has started school?"

"Yes. Yujun has always wanted to go to school, but family conditions didn't permit it. This time, just to listen to the lessons and study, Yujun almost lost his life. Team Leader Li was furious with me and went straight to the principal to get him into school with all fees waived, so I had no choice but to agree."

"Team Leader Li certainly takes your family's affairs to heart. However, they will only be here for a few months at most. You are a sensible person; don't do anything foolish."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing special, just speaking my mind. Don't take it to heart."

After Yujun started school, there were even fewer people at home who could earn work points. To help alleviate his mother's worries, Yuqiang decided to leave school early and return home to farm.

Once Yuqiang joined the farm work, the family's labor force was somewhat bolstered, but Caiyun did not know what base points Yuqiang would be assigned, or whether Wang Hongbing would make things difficult for him.

One evening, the brigade work team held a working meeting attended by all its members. The main agenda was to arrange the specific work for the next phase, with a primary focus on auditing the accounts.

The work team requested that each production team first review the various accounts of the past three years in broad strokes to uncover suspicious points before conducting a deeper investigation.

The audit focused on three main areas: first, cash accounts, to check whether expenditures were reasonable, complied with regulations, and whether cadres abused their positions for personal gain or took more than their share; second, material accounts, to check whether income and expenditure balanced, alongside physical inventory checks to ensure accounts matched the goods; and third, the production team's distribution, to check whether it complied with policies and was reasonable, and whether there were any instances of cadres embezzling or taking excessive shares.

After the meeting, Team Leader Li led two colleagues to begin the auditing work, while Wang Hongbing arranged for the team's accountant, storekeeper, and work-point recorder to provide key assistance.

In early November, the autumn harvest came to a complete end. Wang Hongbing used the best grain entirely to fulfill the state's requisition quotas, even putting on a false front of prosperity by selling surplus grain, which consequently reduced the grain distributed to the team members. His actions gained the affirmation of Team Leader Li's superior, Team Leader Wu, leaving the members with no choice but to endure it.

One evening, Team Leader Li returned from a meeting at the commune and called Yulan into her small room. "This is a cotton-padded jacket my son used to wear. I think it might fit you. Try it on."

Yulan asked, "Does my mom know?"

"I haven't had a chance to tell your mom yet. Try it on first."

Yulan put it on. Team Leader Li looked her over and asked, "How do you feel?"

"Except for being a little long, everything else fits quite well."

"Being a bit long is fine; you can still wear it next year."

"Will my mom agree?"

"It's fine. I'll talk to your mom."

Team Leader Li led Yulan to find Caiyun. "Caiyun, let your mom take a look."

Surprised, Caiyun asked Team Leader Li, "Whose clothes are these?"

"My son's. They're too small for him now, so I brought them for Yulan to try on. Do you think they're okay?"

Caiyun looked at them and felt the clothes were at least seventy percent new. They looked quite good on Yulan, but she felt she couldn't take someone else's things for nothing. "Such nice clothes, and I have no money to pay you. You should take them back."

"My children are all grown up, and nobody else can wear them. Keeping them stored away is just a waste. I'm very glad if they can be of some use, so please don't decline. Yulan, I'll make the decision—they're yours!"

"Quickly thank your auntie."

"Thank you, Auntie!"

Seeing that Yulan was wearing a relatively new cotton-padded jacket, Wang Hongbing felt puzzled. Caiyun hadn't even paid off her debts; where did she get the money to buy clothes for Yulan?

"Yulan, you look so pretty in your new clothes. You're turning into a big girl."

"They're not new. Auntie Li's son couldn't wear them anymore and gave them to me."

"Auntie Li is certainly very good to you."

"Yes, she likes me quite a bit."

"What do your mom and Auntie Li usually talk about?"

"Just everyday family matters."

"Did they mention me?"

"It doesn't seem like it."

"Did you finish the White Rabbit creamy candies I bought you last time?"

"I finished them."

"I'll buy you some more next time."

"No need, I had my second uncle buy some for me."

"Why won't you let me buy them for you?"

"I'm afraid my mom will scold me if she finds out."

"You can hide them in the haystacks behind your house. How would your mom ever find out?"

"Even so, I don't want you to buy them for me."

"Why?"

"My mom won't let me spend too much time around you."

"Do you think Little Uncle is a bad person?"

"No, you're the team leader, a cadre, and a good person."

"That's right. Go along and get busy with your work."

Only then did Wang Hongbing realize that the clothes Yulan was wearing had been brought by Team Leader Li. Coupled with the fact that Team Leader Li had recently gone to the principal to resolve Yujun's schooling issue, it seemed Team Leader Li intended to make an issue out of Caiyun, and Caiyun must have given her plenty of help with her work as well.

After a period of investigation and understanding, Team Leader Li decided to join her two work team colleagues in having a talk with Wang Hongbing to hear his perspective on the issues reported by the masses.

Regarding the matter concerning his wife, Wang Hongbing's attitude was very sincere. He explained that it was mainly the masses' opinion at the time, and he hadn't thought much of it. Now, however, he realized it was indeed unreasonable and stated he would correct it as soon as possible. But when the conversation turned to the matter of stolen grain hidden inside the ancestral tombs, his reaction was extremely fierce. He claimed it was frame-up, malicious slander, and an attempt to use the work team's influence to excavate his family's ancestral tombs and incite tension between the work team and the masses. He demanded a thorough investigation to clear his name.

Because of Wang Hongbing's agitation, the conversation had to be suspended. Team Leader Li reported this situation promptly to Team Leader Wu and sought his advice.

"Team Leader Wu, what do you think of this matter?"

"Are there many people reporting this issue?"

"Not many, just one person."

"Would it be convenient to mention who this person is?"

"She is a paternal cousin-in-law of Wang Hongbing."

"Does she have any grudges against Wang Hongbing?"

"No."

"What did she say at the time?"

"She said that one night in the moonlight, she saw a person walking from the Wang family's ancestral tombs toward Wang Hongbing's house. She could confirm that this person was Wang Hongbing, and he was carrying something on his back. She suspects Wang Hongbing stole grain and hid it in the ancestral tombs."

"It's hard to make a judgment based solely on this information."

"Others have also reported that during that extremely difficult era, not only did no one in his family starve to death, but not even a single person suffered from edema. According to the standard of two taels of grain per person per day back then, if there were no other sources of grain, this outcome would have been impossible. Therefore, comprehensively analyzed, this suspicion still holds some validity."

"Have you checked with other villagers?"

"We did. They all said they hadn't discovered any issues regarding the use of ancestral tombs to hide grain."

"Have you scouted their family's ancestral tombs?"

"We went. We didn't find anything unusual."

"We cannot easily jump to conclusions about this matter, nor can we act rashly. Even with clear facts and sufficient evidence, we can only take the next step after petitioning our superiors."

"I know that, but some members hope Wang Hongbing can provide a reasonable explanation as to how his entire family made it through that exceptionally difficult era safe and sound. We feel this issue is rather difficult to handle."

"Even so, we cannot presume he has a problem based solely on this; perhaps there are other factors. You can chat with him tactfully."

"When I first arrived at Caiyun's family's place, he sent people over with tables, benches, and other furniture, saying he would take them back after we left. I felt it wasn't appropriate and asked him to move them away. He was extremely unhappy and only moved them after seeing how urgent I was about it. Ever since then, he seems to have had some preconceptions about me, and communication always feels uncomfortable. Why don't you have a chat with him instead?"

"Very well, I will handle this matter. You folks focus on investigating the economic problems of the team cadres. Of course, other issues shouldn't be relaxed either."

"We have been investigating the team cadres' economic problems all along, and so far, no obvious issues have been found."

As the end of the year approached, following tradition, the team held a general meeting of members to evaluate work points. Wang Hongbing invited Team Leader Wu and three work team members to attend.

At the meeting, Wang Hongbing first made a statement: "My wife Han Xiuxia's base points were set a bit too high and should be adjusted. During the last work-point evaluation, everyone suggested setting it at eight and a half points. At the time, I didn't think much of it and simply agreed along with everyone else's wishes. Now it seems somewhat inappropriate. I propose adjusting Han Xiuxia's base points to six. Let's see if everyone agrees or not."

The majority expressed that six points was too low and suggested setting it at seven. Wang Hongbing found it difficult to make a final call on this, and in the end, it was Team Leader Wu who stepped in to set it at seven points.