Chapter 36: Confrontation in the Courtyard

This rule had actually been proposed by He Daixing himself back then. At the time, there was a family in the village consisting of a widowed mother and her child. With the man gone, they had no labor force and could only survive with the support of the plants and animals from Maple Leaf Mountain and assistance from the Brigade.

The child had some mental difficulties and was prone to conflicts whenever they went up the mountain. If they saw something, they would pick it up without caring whether it belonged to someone else.

Because of this, the Brigade would receive complaints almost daily. He Daixing, wanting to take care of the family, had convened a Brigade meeting and established this rule.

Now, ironically, it had come back to bite him in the face.

Encouraged by the support around him, Liu Damazi puffed up with confidence and held the wild pheasant tightly in his hands.

“Brigade Leader, if you want me to hand over this pheasant, He Goudan needs to return what he stole first. Otherwise, we won’t accept it.”

Expecting He Goudan to return anything? That was impossible, unless the Brigade Leader could bring the dead back to life.

Liu Damazi felt a surge of satisfaction and exchanged a proud look with his companions, glancing at Tang Yao and the other girl whose faces were streaked with tears.

“Also, Brigade Leader, when did it become okay for the ‘reformed’ to just take public property? Today, my Brothers are being generous letting them have the mushrooms, but next time we see them, don’t blame us if we hit harder.”

“Exactly! I’ve hated these reformed folks for a long time,” said an elderly woman wearing a black headscarf, pointing at Fang Mingxi and the others with disgust.

“Maple Leaf Mountain belongs to our Maple Leaf Brigade. We work ourselves to exhaustion for work points and rely on what we can find on the mountain to fill our stomachs. Now they take the mushrooms, what are we supposed to eat?”

Others muttered their agreement.

“Yes! I’d say Liu Damazi isn’t wrong. Good thing he caught the pheasant. Otherwise, why should these reformed folks get meat?”

“The higher-ups sent them down to work, not to enjoy themselves. We only get meat at New Year. There’s no way they can seize our commune’s property.”

“Exactly! No way.”

Half the crowd started complaining. Their resentment toward the reformed wasn’t new, but the Brigade Leader forbade them from causing trouble, insisting that everyone in the Maple Leaf Brigade was part of the same unit. The reformed were already suffering enough, unless they caused trouble again themselves.

Many wanted to ask why. Before fighting landlords, the landlords never felt pity for them. Now these capitalists were being reformed, it was their own fate. Why shouldn’t they be allowed to give them trouble?

The Brigade Leader’s leniency only added fuel to the fire. The reformed of neighboring brigades didn’t get the same privileges, no mushrooms, no year-end meat, did he ever think about his own men’s feelings?

A single spark stirred up a storm. Someone shouted to report them, and the crowd lost all restraint, rushing forward in anger.

Punches and slaps flew, all aimed at Fang Bo Song and his companions.

Fang Bo Song and the others quickly shielded the two sisters behind them, avoiding any retaliation, afraid that defending themselves would escalate the situation.

Fang Mingxi, hiding behind them, felt a chill. Liu Damazi was clearly seeking revenge, inciting the crowd to create bigger conflicts so no one would target the pheasant he had caught.

What a sly move by Liu Damazi, she hadn’t expected him to be capable of manipulating even his own allies.

She glared at him in the crowd, seeing his calm, composed face, completely unflustered. This man truly had hidden depths.

She considered just letting go of the pheasant when her jade pendant glowed red in her backpack, flashing a vision before her eyes.

Some years back, Liu Damazi, already sporting a beard, held a cigar between his fingers, wearing an ill-fitting suit, as he kicked open the courtyard of the Brigade Leader’s house with the police at his side.

The vision shifted: Liu Damazi in another suit, sitting obediently at a dining table, raising a glass and offering congratulations.

Hearing him say “Happy wedding, Xixi,” her hand tightened. Could Liu Damazi be connected to He Xi?

“Stop! Is this how you fight? Keep it up and I’ll call the militia!”

He Daixing slammed his hand on the table, his face dark. “What is this behavior? One or two of you, okay. But all of you? People might think you’re upstanding peasants, but those who don’t know would call you bandits. Everyone, stop now!”

His chest heaving, he had to pound the table several times before the chaotic crowd relented.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

“Did you hear me? Stop it!!”

The crowd finally released their grip, muttering curses under their breath.

Among those attacked, Tong Lingxian and Wu Meixia were shielded behind others and remained unharmed.

At the front, several men bore red welts across their faces and necks, and the meat they had just acquired was nowhere to be found.

Seeing this, He Daixing scolded the crowd again, his anger boiling over as he pointed at Liu Damazi.

“Liu Damazi, take your pheasant and leave! If this happens again, I’ll go straight to the militia captain.”

“And…” he swept the crowd with an indignant glare. “Yes, this rule was proposed by me, but it was agreed upon by all of you. Now that He Goudan has passed away, this rule no longer applies.”

“As Brigade Leader, I don’t care if you can fight a tiger. But anyone who dares to steal from children in the future, don’t blame me for being strict.”

“You’re all grown adults, stealing from kids? How shameful.”

Still dissatisfied, Liu Damazi raised his hand. “What about Cattle Shed? Why can they take things from our Maple Leaf Brigade?”

He Daixing glared at him. “Then go to the commune or the county magistrate and say you don’t agree. If they accept your words, fine. Otherwise, they’re part of the Maple Leaf Brigade.”

Mentioning the county magistrate deflated Liu Damazi. He could cause trouble within the team, but he wouldn’t dare approach the county office.

He Daixing continued: “I’ll repeat it: whether it’s people from the Cattle Shed or new educated youths in the future, if their household is registered in our Brigade, they’re Brigade members.”

“If they don’t cause trouble, of course they can gather mushrooms. You stopping them from picking firewood, how else are they supposed to cook? Starve them to death?”

“If that were the case, you’d be the landlords.”

The instigators bristled. “Brigade Leader, don’t speak nonsense! We’re third-generation peasants!”

“Who said they can’t go up the mountain? I didn’t say that.”

He Daixing snorted coldly. “Of course, if they cause trouble, I won’t let them off. But the premise is that it’s not sabotage by those with ulterior motives.”

He cast a meaningful glance at Liu Damazi and Wang Dazhu before slamming the table again.

“Bang!”

“Alright, meeting dismissed!”