Chapter 57 One Must Not Be Reckless with Their Strength

Zhang Dashan was so startled by the roar that he fumbled frantically for the keys.

He was not putting on an act; his hands were trembling so violently that he missed the keyhole several times.

"Stop dawdling!" The veteran Party secretary shoved him aside. "Give me the keys!"

Snatching the keys from his hand, the old secretary aimed precisely at the lock.

With a crisp click, the lock sprang open.

The old secretary pushed open the warehouse door with a force that sent a wave of stale, musty air rushing into their faces.

Li Xiangyang quickly followed, holding up his hurricane lamp to illuminate the interior of the warehouse.

At first glance, the supplies were indeed all there: chemical fertilizer neatly stacked against the eastern wall, farm tools leaning against the western side, and grain and seeds placed upon the northern platform.

Seeing that the materials were present, the old secretary's expression softened slightly.

Just then, however, the light from Li Xiangyang's lamp swept across the bottom of the fertilizer sacks, revealing a dark, ominous little hole right in plain sight.

"Wait..." Li Xiangyang crouched down to examine it closely.

A closer inspection revealed that the bottoms of an entire row of fertilizer sacks bore the gnaw marks of rats.

"Old Secretary, take a look at this..."

Before his words trailed off, a rat scurried out from the hole, followed immediately by another.

"Damn you, Zhang Dashan!" The old secretary trembled all over. "The fertilizer and grain may not be missing, but look at what state they're in!"

"Uncle, where there is grain, how can there not be rats? This really has... has nothing to do with me..." Zhang Dashan stammered in self-defense.

"Absolute nonsense!" The old secretary's face turned livid with rage. "Who is in charge of this warehouse? You come here every single day to fetch things, and you mean to tell me you never noticed a rat hole?"

"I..."

"You what? Did you deliberately let it slide, thinking that once the rats chewed through everything and you stole some on the side, no one would ever be able to figure out what was missing?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhang Dashan's face drained of all color in an instant.

"You..."

Seeing his reaction, how could the old secretary fail to understand the truth?

Overwhelmed by a sudden surge of blinding rage, his body swayed, and he toppled straight forward.

"Old Secretary!" Li Xiangyang's reflexes were sharp; he lunged forward and caught the man just in time.

"Quick, fetch the donkey cart! Find a doctor, the old secretary has been angered into a faint!"

Supporting the old secretary with one arm, Li Xiangyang shouted toward the doorway.

Seeing this, Zhang Dashan made a move to run, but Li Xiangyang's fierce shout nailed him to the spot: "If you dare to run, I guarantee not a single soul in this village will ever let you off!"

The crowd outside erupted into chaos.

"Careful now, take it slow!" Li Xiangyang called out while cradling the old secretary's head.

Several commune members rushed over in a flurry to help lift the old secretary onto the donkey cart.

"A mat, quickly bring a mat!" someone shouted.

Instantly, someone emerged from a house carrying a cotton quilt, which they tossed haphazardly onto the bed of the donkey cart.

The old secretary's face was deathly pale, his eyes tightly shut, with beads of sweat the size of soybeans oozing across his forehead.

Li Xiangyang's heart tightened even further.

"Go call Doctor Qian!" someone yelled from the crowd.

"He's already on his way!" an unknown voice replied.

Doctor Qian was the only traditional local physician in the village, renowned for his exceptional medical skills.

Within a ten-li radius around Liangjia Village, anyone suffering from a sudden ache or fever always sought him out for treatment.

Not only was he adept at taking pulses and prescribing herbal remedies, but he was also a master of acupuncture and Tui Na massage.

Before long, Doctor Qian arrived in a hurry, carrying his battered old medicine chest.

Though well past sixty, his stride remained vigorous.

"Make way, everyone make way." Doctor Qian pushed through the crowd and hurried to the side of the donkey cart.

First, he checked the old secretary's breathing, then carefully felt his pulse, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper.

Withdrawing silver needles from his medicine box, he swiftly inserted them into several key acupuncture points on the old secretary's body, including Renzhong and Neiguan.

The onlookers watched in breathless silence.

After about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the old secretary finally stirred back to consciousness, letting out a faint groan.

"Old Secretary!" Li Xiangyang cried out with relief.

Doctor Qian waved a hand to signal for quiet, took the old secretary's pulse once more, and then let out a heavy sigh. "The old secretary's heart vessels have suffered damage. I cannot cure this condition; he must be taken to the hospital immediately. Hurry!"

Upon hearing this, the surrounding villagers grew even more panicked.

To be sure, when a doctor of Qian's caliber declared himself unable to treat an ailment, it was no laughing matter.

"Listen, don't just stand there dazed. For a sickness like this, just the hospital stay and medicine alone won't come to less than several dozen yuan. We need to pool our money together right now!"

Having diagnosed the cause, Doctor Qian spoke with urgent anxiety.

As soon as these words were uttered, the surrounding area fell dead silent.

In this day and age, several dozen yuan was no small sum; an ordinary household could barely save that much over the entire course of a year.

Furthermore, with an incident like the one Zhang Dashan caused fresh on everyone's mind, it would be impossible for people not to harbor some resentment.

"I have the money. Given the circumstances, everyone step aside and stop blocking the way. Let's rush him to the hospital."

Fearing the old secretary might suffer grave consequences, Li Xiangyang had brought money precisely for this contingency. Hearing Doctor Qian mention a sum of several dozen yuan, he immediately stepped forward and shouted.

"Wait..."

Just as the crowd began to part, the old secretary suddenly grabbed Li Xiangyang's hand and sat upright.

Once seated, he swept his gaze across the surroundings. Seeing the villagers' furious glares all fixed upon Zhang Dashan, a jolt of alarm went through his heart.

He knew the temperament of these hardworking farmers all too well; once they resorted to violence, it would be a miracle if they didn't beat Zhang Dashan to death today.

"Fellow villagers," the old secretary said, forcing his weakened body to stand, "I have something to say."

"Old Secretary, please don't talk anymore, get to the hospital first..."

"Let me finish!" The old secretary's tone suddenly turned unyielding. "What happened with Zhang Dashan is a failure of my discipline, and I bear the responsibility. I will compensate for the losses. After all, his father, Yongfu, was a real man who fought the Japanese invaders. Before Yongfu died, he held my hand and asked me to look after his child..."

Hearing this, the villagers' anger subsided a fraction.

Some lowered their raised fists, though their gazes remained frosty.

Noticing this, the old secretary added, "Fellow villagers, I admit I failed to raise the boy right. And I admit I brought up Yongfu to plead his case. But Yongfu left behind only this one son. You may beat him, but you cannot be reckless with your blows..."

As he spoke, tears streamed down the old secretary's face.

This plea finally achieved its effect.

Though the villagers were still glaring fiercely at Zhang Dashan, no one was holding a ready fist anymore.

The old secretary had even invoked his father's memory.

At this point, even though Zhang Dashan had committed a grave wrong, they still had to show a shred of respect to his deceased father.

"This boy Zhang Dashan, I am the one who spoiled him..."

The old secretary tried to say more, but a violent fit of coughing cut him off.

"Old Secretary, don't talk anymore," Li Xiangyang intervened hastily, "getting you to the hospital is what matters most."

"That's right, old brother, you really shouldn't speak. My acupuncture can only do so much; I dare not guarantee we'll reach the hospital safely if this continues."

Terrified that the old man might perish, Doctor Qian felt his heart leap into his throat.

As the donkey cart slowly rumbled into motion, Li Xiangyang cast a final, stern glare back at Zhang Dashan. "If you are half a man, clean up this mess yourself! Stop disgracing your father."

Hearing these words, Zhang Dashan trembled violently, and tears burst from his eyes.

Li Xiangyang's single sentence felt like a blade plunging directly into his heart.

His father was a hero, but what about him?

What kind of things had he been doing?

For the sake of a single pack of cigarettes, he had helped outsiders bully his own fellow villagers; for the sake of petty, meager gains, he had allowed rats to destroy the village's entire supply of grain and fertilizer.

He suddenly recalled his childhood, when every Qingming Festival the villagers would go burn paper money for his father.

Back then, the old secretary would always hold his hand and tell him, "Your father was a hero. You must grow up to be a good man just like him."

And what had he become? Not only had he failed to be a good man, but he had also worried the old secretary into falling ill.

"I... I'm sorry..." Zhang Dashan choked out through his sobs, collapsing abruptly onto his knees. "I'm sorry, Uncle..."