Chapter 34: The Reputation of Bravery (Part 6)

Tie Bingsheng opened the bottle of Yiyang Daqu liquor. He was more relaxed than Sister Chen, saying, "Today, we drink the wine brought by Hou Weidong, eat the white amur carp from Qinglin, and savor the wild boar meat from Qinglin. This is about as good as life gets."

Hou Weidong was very familiar with this way of speaking. It was a common sentiment among the professors at Shazhou College. He thought to himself, "This Tie Bingsheng, serving as the principal of a primary school, has turned Qinglin Primary School into a garden. His taste is indeed extraordinary, making him quite unique even in Qinglin Mountain."

The surname "Tie" was rare in Shazhou. Curious, Hou Weidong asked, "Principal Tie, your surname is uncommon here. You’re not a local, are you?"

Tie Bingsheng closed his eyes, took a sip of wine, and did not answer directly. Instead, he said, "When it comes to Yiyang liquor, the original strength brew from the old town of Wutan is the best. As for tea, the leaves from Qinglin Mountain are unmatched. When the spring tea season arrives next year, I’ll take you to Wangyun Peak to pick some wild tea. I’ll roast it myself. The flavor will be no worse than Longjing or Tieguanyin."

After clinking glasses with Hou Weidong, he continued, still lingering on the topic, "Hou guessed correctly. I am indeed not a local. I am from Shanghai. To understand why I came to Qinglin Township, we have to go back to the War of Resistance Against Japan."

"Back then, when the Japanese attacked Shanghai, my grandfather led the whole family to flee Shanghai and came to Shazhou. For safety, we moved further to the remote area of Qinglin."

Tie Bingsheng explained, "I wasn’t born yet at that time; my father was only about ten years old. Before the war ended, my grandfather worried about the family’s assets left in Shanghai, so he left Qinglin. He never returned. My grandmother searched for him many times but could never find him. With the family home in Shanghai destroyed and the world in chaos, the family stayed in the quiet and peaceful Qinglin. In a flash, more than sixty years have passed. Sigh."

Hou Weidong hadn’t expected such a complex background. He thought, "So he is the descendant of a Shanghai capitalist. No wonder his taste is noticeably different from the ordinary people of Qinglin." He sincerely praised, "Qinglin Primary School is shaded by lush green trees. Even the No. 1 Primary School of Yiyang County can’t compare."

Tie Bingsheng tilted his head back and drank a cup. "Actually, it didn’t cost much money. Osmanthus trees are a specialty of Qinglin Mountain and are everywhere. When the school was built, many villagers donated osmanthus trees. None of the green trees on campus cost a single penny. Today, the greening on Qinglin Mountain is top-tier, not just among primary schools in Yiyang County, but even in all of Shazhou City. However, the transportation up and down Qinglin Mountain is inconvenient. No one is willing to come to the mountain to teach, and those who do come are uneasy, always wanting to leave. Those who remain now are all from families originally in Shangqinglin Township."

Speaking of this, Tie Bingsheng sighed. "My daughter’s grades are quite good. She was admitted to Yiyang No. 1 Middle School, the best in the county. But her English is poor. I can tutor her in math, physics, and chemistry, but I have no idea how to help with English. None of the teachers in Qinglin can pronounce ABC clearly."

Hou Weidong immediately understood why Tie Bingsheng had invited him to dinner. He had a strong fondness for Tie Bingsheng, so he proactively said, "My English grades are decent. If Principal Tie doesn’t mind, I can tutor Tie Ruiqing in English."

Seeing that Hou Weidong quickly grasped his intention and even offered voluntarily, Tie Bingsheng was deeply grateful. "That would be too kind of you, Brother Hou. My wife and I have lived our lives, and our only hope lies with Tie Ruiqing. Tie Ruiqing must get out of these mountains."

Sister Chen, standing nearby, said, "Brother Hou, since you work during the day, the tutoring can only be arranged in the evening. You can come over for dinner every night, and we’ll start tutoring right after. What do you think?"

Hou Weidong waved his hand. "What dinner? Sister Chen, you’re looking down on me. Let’s do this: if there are no delays, I’ll tutor Tie Ruiqing from seven to eight in the evening. Also, learning English requires tools. First, an English-Chinese dictionary; second, a tape recorder. These are essentials. Since there’s no language environment for learning English here, she must listen and read aloud as much as possible. That’s the best way to learn English."

Tie Bingsheng instructed, "Child’s mother, did you hear that? Go to Yiyang County town tomorrow and buy an English-Chinese dictionary and a tape recorder."

Hou Weidong said, "I have some English tapes at home, so there’s no need to buy them. Just buy a few tapes that sync with the textbook."

The two men exchanged pleasantries and ended up finishing a whole bottle of Yiyang Daqu. Hou Weidong’s head felt slightly dizzy. He returned to the small courtyard, sat in the office for a while, and then went back to his small room to sleep.

When he woke up, it had been more than seven hours. Summer nights came late, and evening mist hung over the mountain peaks, with the sky displaying brilliant colors. He stood on the corridor for a while, admiring the beautiful sunset. Remembering that the ground floor was still unlocked, he went down, turned on the lights, picked up a broom, and swept the office and meeting room. He then used a cloth to wipe the tables clean.

Just as he finished cleaning, he saw Township Head Gao and Xi Zhaoyong walking in from outside. Both were covered in sweat. As soon as Xi Zhaoyong entered the courtyard, he took off his shirt, revealing his upper body. Hou Weidong saw the blocky muscles on his abdomen. The two men entered the office. Township Head Gao said happily, "Today’s case was solved brilliantly. The police station actually found drugs at the hideout. The county magistrate in charge of political and legal affairs and the public security bureau chief both came to Qinglin. Following the clues, they dismantled a drug trafficking gang that had wandered into Shazhou."

Hou Weidong hadn’t expected that they had busted a roaming drug trafficking gang. He was both surprised and delighted. "Were the others caught?" Xi Zhaoyong, also excited, said, "We caught three people. We also found out the names and addresses of the other two. They can’t escape. This is a group of drug users who wandered over from Jiangsu. They sold drugs to support their addiction. When the Jiangsu police pressed them hard, they followed a member of the gang and hid far away in Shazhou. They robbed money to buy drugs. They didn’t expect to capsize in the gutter and get caught by our Qinglin police station."

"This time, the police station made a merit, eliminating a harm to the locality. If this group hadn’t been caught, they would have poisoned many young people in Qinglin." Township Head Gao said happily, "Come to my house for dinner tonight. My wife’s cooking is decent. Let’s have a little drink to celebrate."

Township Head Gao, Xi Zhaoyong, and Hou Weidong all went upstairs. It was only then that Hou Weidong realized Xi Zhaoyong also lived in the building. Township Head Gao and Hou Weidong lived on the first floor, while Xi Zhaoyong lived on the fourth floor.

Upon entering Township Head Gao’s home, Hou Weidong immediately felt a different style from Tie Bingsheng’s house. Tie Bingsheng’s home was spotless, with furniture arranged neatly. In contrast, Township Head Gao’s home was much more cluttered. On the table, there was a piece of glass pressing down some photos. Hou Weidong glanced at them casually. There were some photos of soldiers and a group photo of the Qinglin Revolutionary Committee, giving a strong sense of historical vicissitudes. Hou Weidong recalled the furnishings in Tie Bingsheng’s house for a moment. It seemed there was a picture frame on the wall containing a family portrait.

Aunt Liu served the first dish: stir-fried pork with garlic sprouts, its fragrance spreading far and wide. It was already seven o’clock, and Hou Weidong was starving. When Township Head Gao signaled to start eating, he focused his attention on this plate of stir-fried pork.

After a few more dishes were served, Aunt Liu brought out a basin of clear liquor. Hou Weidong looked at the basin, estimating it could hold at least two jin (one jin is about 0.5 kg). He was surprised and said, "Are we three going to drink this much?" Township Head Gao said earnestly, "How can you work at the grassroots level without drinking? Today, University Student Hou was very brave and performed well. Let’s have a good drink together."

Township Head Gao poured a large cup. "This is medicinal wine I brewed with over a hundred yuan worth of herbs. It’s a family recipe. It won’t make you dizzy. Since Hou Weidong arrived in Shangqinglin Township, I haven’t had a chance to welcome him properly. Today counts as a welcome dinner."

With the conversation reaching this point, and looking at the sturdy Shangqinglin wine cups, Hou Weidong had no choice but to face the challenge.

This round of drinking could be described as a whirlwind. Township Head Gao, in his fifties, still had a drinking capacity that rivaled Xi Zhaoyong and Hou Weidong. After finishing the basin of wine, they poured another half basin. After finishing that, when Hou Weidong returned to his small room, he only wished the corridor were wider.

He turned on the light, found a stack of letter paper, and started writing: "Dear Xiaojia." But he couldn’t write any further. Although he had only been in Qinglin Mountain for two days, for Hou Weidong, the steps into society were proving so difficult. He had written "Dear Xiaojia" countless times in his mind, but thousands of words could not express what he felt.

Qinglin Days