Chapter 36: The Reputation of Bravery (Part 8)
“Family planning is a basic state policy!”
This slogan echoed across the entire nation. Although Hou Weidong had just graduated from school, he knew this phrase by heart. In theory, Hou Weidong firmly supported family planning. However, when they arrived at Guo Manzi’s house and caught him and his daughter-in-law off guard, the look on Guo Manzi’s face filled Hou Weidong’s heart with sympathy.
“Whoever dares to come in, I’ll chop them to death!” Guo Manzi held a firewood knife, standing in the courtyard and guarding the door tightly. Although his nickname was “Manzi” (the Barbarian), he was not particularly tall. Beneath his messy hair lay a pair of fierce eyes, glowing with a cold light like a beast surrounded by hunters.
A tall man in a yellow T-shirt stepped forward to persuade him: “Guo Manzi, put down the knife. Family planning is a major policy; no one can violate it. You will suffer for doing this.”
Guo Manzi held the sharp firewood knife and said, “Secretary Qin, you know my situation. If I don’t have a son, the Guo family line will end. My ancestors will curse me from the grave.”
Secretary Qin usually had a good relationship with Guo Manzi. He patiently advised, “Today, Mayor Chao and everyone from the Family Planning Office are here. They will definitely take Meimei away. Your third son isn’t married yet; there is still a chance he can have a boy. How can you say the Guo family line will end? If something happens to you here, you’ll be in prison, and you won’t even be able to hold your grandchild.”
There was a moment of hesitation on Guo Manzi’s face, but he quickly became resolute. He roared, “My eldest son is in Guangdong and hasn’t returned. No one can take Meimei away. If you want to enter the house, you’ll have to step over my body.”
Meimei hid in the pigpen, covering herself with firewood. Hearing her father-in-law’s roar, she was both afraid and panicked, biting her lip and daring not to make a sound.
Mayor Chao saw that Village Cadre Secretary Qin and Director Jiang had been working for a long time, yet Guo Manzi had found a thousand excuses and refused to move. His anger rose, and he said, “Guo Manzi, we’ve explained the reasoning to you for so long, but you won’t listen. We have no choice but to use force. You are Guo Manzi, and I am Chao Manzi. Let’s see today who is more stubborn.”
Just then, shouts came from outside the gate. A teenager of about sixteen or seventeen and a rural woman in her fifties ran in hurriedly. The teenager carried a carrying pole and rushed into the courtyard, screaming wildly, “Whoever dares to come up, I’ll chop him to death.”
Mayor Chao was furious. “Are you trying to overturn the sky?”
Although he was still a young boy, his physique was much stronger than Guo Manzi’s. He swung the carrying pole toward Mayor Chao, who was speaking. Mayor Chao, wary of Guo’s third son, retreated hastily upon seeing him make a move. The carrying pole whistled through the air and struck Mayor Chao’s arm with a “smack.” Mayor Chao cried out, “Ouch!” and ran out of the courtyard.
Secretary Qin saw Guo’s third son rush in and attack immediately. He hurriedly rushed forward and hugged Guo’s third son tightly from behind. Secretary Qin was a former stone mason and possessed great strength. With his arms locked around Guo’s third son, the boy could not move at all. Guo’s second son roared, “Uncle Qin, let me go! I’ll beat these bastards to death.”
Guo Manzi waved his firewood knife, shouting fiercely, but his wife held his waist tightly. Director Jiang stood nearby, stamping his feet in anxiety, stammering, “Guo, Guo Captain, this won’t do, this won’t do.”
Xi Zhaoyong stood next to Hou Weidong. He had already taken out his handcuffs and said to Hou Weidong, “Disarm him. You take the left hand, I’ll take the right.” Hou Weidong nodded nervously, his heart pounding “thump, thump.” Taking advantage of the chaos in the courtyard, where no one was paying attention to him, he and Xi Zhaoyong moved to either side of Guo Manzi.
“Go,” Xi Zhaoyong shouted, and lunged upward.
Hou Weidong took a quick step and tightly twisted Guo Manzi’s left hand with both of his. Guo Manzi shook his hand, almost throwing Hou Weidong off. However, Hou Weidong was young and had trained in track and field and Sanda (Chinese kickboxing) for several years, so his grip was strong. After two or three struggles, he managed to lock Guo Manzi’s arm.
Xi Zhaoyong also grabbed Guo Manzi’s right hand. He stepped forward with his leg, tripping Guo Manzi, and with a strong push, knocked him to the ground. This move was a擒敌术 (enemy-capturing technique) Xi Zhaoyong had learned in the reconnaissance unit—simple and practical. Guo Manzi struggled desperately as Xi Zhaoyong and Hou Weidong pinned him to the ground. Xi Zhaoyong swiftly handcuffed Guo Manzi, using reverse cuffs.
Once his hands were cuffed, Xi Zhaoyong and Hou Weidong let go. Guo Manzi’s wife pulled him up. With his hands cuffed behind his back, Guo Manzi jumped up and down, cursing, “You sons of bitches! May your children be born without anuses! I’ll fuck your mother!”
Meimei, hiding in the pigpen, heard the noise and cursing outside. She looked down at her slightly swollen belly, and a few tears fell. She stood up and went to the window of the pigpen. Seeing Guo Manzi handcuffed and Secretary Qin holding Guo’s second son, she knew she could not get through this ordeal. She burst into tears and walked out the door.
Seeing Meimei standing at the door, Director Huang and Duan Hongxiu, who were standing nearby, hurried forward. Director Huang, with a stern face, said, “I am from the Qinglin Town Family Planning Office. Meimei, come with us to the office.” Meimei cried, “Can we leave the child? We will go find money to pay the fine.”
Director Huang refused, “We are not doing family planning to collect money.” Duan Hongxiu advised from the side, “Meimei, it’s okay. It doesn’t hurt.”
Seeing Meimei come out of the house, Guo Manzi sat down on the ground and began to sob, “Woo, woo.” As he cried, he said, “Wife, pull the third son back into the house.” He then cried out to his third son, “Guo Jiayong, go back inside!”
Once the situation was under control, Mayor Chao walked back into the courtyard from outside. There was a red, swollen mark on his arm from the carrying pole. He walked back into the courtyard and said to Guo Manzi, “Captain Guo, don’t blame me. This is policy. We eat this bowl of rice; there is no other way. Later, when your third son’s wife gets pregnant, the Family Planning Office will take her for a checkup. If it’s a boy, you can keep it. If it’s a girl, you must terminate it early.”
Guo Manzi raised his head and said, “Chao, get lost. I’ll fuck your mother.” Mayor Chao did not get angry. He said, “I hope you understand. This is not targeted at your family. The whole town is handled this way.”
The group led Meimei down the mountain, allowing only her mother-in-law to follow.
When they reached the upper part of Qinglin Town, Hou Weidong wanted to return to the courtyard. Mayor Chao said, “Hou Weidong, Xi Zhaoyong, come down the mountain together. There are still matters to attend to below.”
Since Mayor Chao had spoken, Hou Weidong had no choice but to obey. Xi Zhaoyong, however, said, “I have family matters. I’d like to take leave.” Mayor Chao said half-jokingly, half-seriously, “Officer Xi, you really can’t be persuaded, can you? If Secretary Zhao called you, or if Director Jiang arrived, I’m afraid you’d be down the mountain in ten minutes.” Xi Zhaoyong smiled without warmth, “Of course. If the Public Security Bureau Chief of Shazhou came, I would jump off Qinglin Mountain and be at the police station in one minute.”
Mayor Chao was annoyed that Xi Zhaoyong did not give him face. However, the police station was directly under the Public Security Bureau. The town had no personnel or financial authority over it. The police station only listened to the top secretary and often dared to ignore the mayor’s face. As the deputy mayor in charge of political and legal affairs, he was helpless against these thick-skinned, slick-tongued, well-connected police officers with small amounts of power.
Except for Xi Zhaoyong from the police station, the rest of the group headed down the mountain.
Having overcome the difficulty and completed the work task, the expressions of Director Huang, Li Hui, Duan Hongxiu, and others from the Family Planning Office relaxed. Li Hui, in particular, began telling dirty jokes without restraint.
Looking at the sorrowful Meimei and her mother-in-law, Hou Weidong felt very reluctant. He understood that family planning was a basic national policy and that the national population was growing explosively. If everyone were allowed to have as many children as they wanted, the country would inevitably be unable to bear such a large population. He thought to himself, “If we had listened to Mr. Ma Yinchu’s advice earlier, we would not have faced such serious consequences.”
However, as the parties involved, their desire for a son was reasonable and human, evoking deep sympathy.
The conflict between the greater good and the individual family, between the whole and the individual, was so sharp, and the focus of this contradiction fell squarely on the township cadres.
Following the mountain path, they soon descended. Hou Weidong and the others followed Mayor Chao into the township government of Qinglin Town. Standing in the government courtyard, Mayor Chao watched as Duan Hongxiu led Meimei into the Family Planning Office. He then said to everyone, “You’ve worked hard today. Let’s eat at He’s Restaurant for lunch.”