Chapter 1677 - Village Head Fan Tries a Case

Now that the Senate had decreed "no foot-binding," Liu Yuanhu had become the most zealous anti-foot-binding crusader in the village. Old Yan the Fifth, something of a "literary scholar" with a shameful taste for the "lotus obsession," had always agreed outwardly while opposing the policy in secret. His household was already notorious as a "foot-binding difficulty case"—his wife's bindings remained intact, and now he'd been caught doing the same to his daughter. The moment this reached Liu Yuanhu's ears, the man sprang up as if galvanized, mustered a few militiamen, and dragged Old Yan the Fifth from his house.

Yun Suji watched the scene unfold from behind the window. Seeing the half-old man trembling with terror stirred a twinge of sympathy in him. He considered stepping out to mediate, but then recalled the abhorrent nature of foot-binding and decided the man had brought this upon himself. Besides, intervening would only obstruct the village's work. Better to first observe how the local cadres handled matters.

Before Village Head Fan could even speak, dozens of onlookers had materialized from all directions. Yun Suji noted with approval that they were reasonably well-dressed, their spirits passable.

Village Head Fan gave a theatrical cough. "The spirit of the Senate was conveyed at the last general assembly. Everyone knows it. Everyone pledged their commitment: this village will be the first foot-binding-free village in all of Qiongshan. Any man whose daughter or wife refuses to unbind—that man will be punished."

The assembled villagers stood in respectful silence. When he finished, they chorused their agreement: "That's right," "Yes indeed..."

Village Head Fan thrust out his belly with evident satisfaction. "Old Yan the Fifth's wife still secretly binds her feet to this very day. The village has yet to pursue this matter, and now he goes and binds his daughter's feet too. Such behavior cannot go unpunished—the state has its laws, and families have their rules. The Senate is the Emperor. If you dare defy what the Emperor commands, that's the crime of deceiving the sovereign. Off with your head."

Old Yan the Fifth and his wife felt their legs turn to jelly. They collapsed to their knees, kowtowing frantically and pleading for mercy, crying that they "would never dare bind feet again."

Yun Suji was secretly amused, thinking this village head certainly knew how to leverage powerful connections for intimidation. Now he was even more curious to see how the man would render judgment.

Village Head Fan waved his hand imperiously. "Since that's how it is, we'll handle this according to the old rules. Auntie San, bind him up!"

A middle-aged woman squeezed through the crowd. Her expression was reluctant, clearly loath to participate. She sidled up to Old Yan the Fifth with an apologetic smile. "Old Fifth, this is official business. Please bear with it..."

"Hurry up, hurry up!" Liu Yuanhu snapped impatiently. As he spoke, he shoved Old Yan the Fifth down onto a long bench.

Old Yan the Fifth clearly hadn't anticipated this. His face cycled through gray, white, and crimson—a tortured expression worse than someone desperately holding back a bowel movement during a meeting. When he saw Auntie San bending to remove his shoes, he jerked upward as though seized by a cramp, frantically clawing at his own footwear. "Hold him!" Liu Yuanhu barked. Several militiamen surged forward, seized Old Yan the Fifth, and pinned him firmly down while stripping both shoes from his feet.

Yun Suji watched with puzzled fascination. Auntie San moved with practiced efficiency, half-kneeling on the ground to cradle one of Old Yan the Fifth's mud-blackened feet. She placed his right foot on her knee, dabbed alum solution between his toes, squeezed the five digits tightly together, then bent the instep forcefully into a curved bow. Cloth strips followed; after only two layers of wrapping, she produced needle and thread to stitch the binding shut. The work was ruthless and thorough. Four militiamen held the man fast while two others immobilized his foot—he couldn't move at all. By the time the procedure was complete, his foot burned as though filled with smoldering coals, waves of agony washing over him. Caught between pain and humiliation, he wailed piteously.

Yun Suji watched with his heart in his throat. He truly hadn't expected the village head to possess such a creative approach.

"Now put these lotus shoes on him too. Very pretty," Village Head Fan commanded.

Auntie San bent at the waist. "Old Fifth, forgive me—this is official business." She picked up the pair of diminutive shoes sewn by Old Yan the Fifth's wife and attempted to fit them onto his feet—an obvious impossibility. Liu Yuanhu drew a knife, slit open the heel of the shoe, and forced it onto Old Yan the Fifth's newly created "Golden Lotus."

Village Head Fan continued his judgment. "Old Yan the Fifth bears fault in this matter, as does his wife. Yuanhu, give her forty strokes with the carrying pole! Don't remove her trousers—she's a woman, so leave her some dignity."

Liu Yuanhu acknowledged the order and led his men to drag Old Yan the Fifth's wife to the ground. The carrying pole rose and fell in steady rhythm. Old Yan the Fifth's wife howled for mercy, crying to heaven and earth that she "would never dare" again.

When all forty strokes were delivered, Liu Yuanhu instructed Auntie San to remove the wife's shoes. Sure enough, inside her capacious outer shoes, her feet were still bound, stuffed with cotton to conceal the truth. The foot-binding strips were immediately unwrapped.

"Yuanhu, fetch a foot cangue and lock Old Yan the Fifth to the stone mill for three days. Let everyone in the village get a good look at his dainty little feet. You like telling others to bind their feet? Now taste the flavor yourself. Don't just concern yourself with your own pleasure after the lamp is blown out while ignoring the suffering of your wife and daughter. Everyone, am I right?"

Everyone agreed he was right.

Village Head Fan then addressed Old Yan the Fifth's wife. "Originally, I intended to lock both your 'Golden Lotuses' to the stone mill for public display, but your family still has sons and daughters waiting to be fed, so I'll spare you this once. No more foot-binding! Take your daughter and go home immediately."

Old Yan the Fifth's wife, too pained to care about her burning backside, kowtowed hurriedly and scrambled to her feet. Her daughter rushed over to support her, and mother and daughter limped away together.

Yun Suji watched this impromptu trial with mixed feelings. Honestly, his impression of Village Head Fan and Liu Yuanhu wasn't particularly favorable, but to dismiss their methods as simply "crude and rough" didn't seem quite right either. Take today's foot-binding case—it contained a certain peasant-style wisdom. The village's title of "advanced village" evidently had some genuine substance behind it.

While he was still pondering, Village Head Fan walked in and bowed. "My apologies for the unseemly spectacle, my apologies. If we don't handle things this way, it's impossible to get anything done."

"It's no matter," Yun Suji replied, and only then presented his letter of introduction. Village Head Fan accepted it and read:

"Hereby the Tiandihui Technical Instructor, Senator Yun Suji, proceeds to Qiongshan for inspection and supervision of agricultural grassroots work. All parties are requested to provide assistance..."

Having read the letter, the village head's legs turned to water. "Good heavens, it's actually a Chief!"

He ushered Yun Suji into the inner room, offered a few polite phrases, and suggested that Yun Suji come to his home for tea. With an ingratiating smile, he said: "Chief, this humble one hails from Laizhou. It was Chief Lu who saved this lowly one's life and elevated this lowly one to this position—gave me land to farm. The Chief's kindness is vaster than the sky. You haven't eaten lunch yet, have you? I'll have someone prepare it at once!"

"No need for formalities," Yun Suji said. "And don't rush to feed me. First, brief me on the village's situation."

The village head attempted conventional courtesies, but Yun Suji cut him short. "This is system protocol. It cannot be broken casually!"

Seeing this rustic-looking visitor speak with such firmness, the village cadre couldn't immediately think of how to handle him. "Very well, Chief. Please rest a moment while I fetch the village archives!"

With that, he left the public office to find the village accountant. The accountant was a Zhejiang refugee who had once been a shop assistant—quick with the abacus and smooth as oiled silk, the village head's trusted "strategist." The village head typically followed his counsel.

He first showed the accountant the letter of introduction, then described how this visitor dressed in such rustic attire.

The village accountant said: "I heard Chief Liu mention such a person a few days ago. You absolutely mustn't underestimate him! Chief Liu reportedly has to consult with him before handling certain matters."

The village head nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes, yes! Now that you mention it, I remember. During that Tiandihui meeting in Lingao County about scientific farming, the Chief convened a preliminary session, and I believe this man was there—wearing blue clothes, eyebrows and features just like that."

The village accountant said: "I think we should entertain him generously and not give offense!"

The village head walked to the door, then turned back to ask: "I invited him to eat at my house, but he refused. He wants to see the archives. What should I do?"

The village accountant grew impatient. "If the Chief wants to see archives, just show them to him. Our ledgers are all complete."

"But how can we show them now! Dozens of different forms, large and small—more than half remain unfilled."

"Now isn't the official inspection period. Chief Yun is a central government cadre; what would he know about the details...? Just bring out whatever's finished, speak persuasively, and muddle through," the accountant advised. "Did anyone come from the county?"

"Four guards came along. They're resting under the banyan tree outside the village office."

"That's nothing to worry about. Now then—go get the archives. I'll go beat the gong and summon the group heads of each Jia to meet the Chief. Oh, and be sure to tell Liu Yuanhu to have the militiamen watch those old troublemakers closely. Don't let them come out and cry grievances."

Yun Suji waited for some time before the village head returned, face wreathed in smiles. He opened the file cabinet in the wing room and brought out the ledgers, stacking them on the table one pile after another.

"These aren't quite complete yet. Chief, which categories would you like to see?" The village head smiled ingratiatingly. "I'll bring out everything you need."

"No need." Yun Suji clicked his tongue inwardly. Just these ledgers piled on the table, and the collection still wasn't complete! Setting aside the bureaucratic implications, given the actual competence level of the naturalized cadres, one should probably thank the effective cadre education program that they hadn't repurposed the forms as toilet paper.

Yun Suji asked: "How many households are in your village? Where are they from? What's the total population? How many able-bodied laborers?"

Seeing that Chief Yun merely flipped casually through the various booklets, the village head felt slightly relieved. When he heard the questions, he quickly rose to his feet.

"Sit down and talk, sit down and talk," Yun Suji said.

The village head settled back down. "We have eighty-four households here. The whole village totals four hundred and thirty-one people. Most are from Shandong, with some from Shanxi, Zhejiang, and Fujian. One hundred and ninety-two able-bodied laborers."

Yun Suji nodded. "Your village really does have plenty of laborers."

"Chief, most of us here are refugees—many young and strong, few old or young."

Yun Suji continued his questioning. Fortunately, when he asked about paddy fields, dry fields, yield per mu, water conservancy, soil moisture retention, and pest control, the village head could answer everything coherently, rattling off data with apparent ease. Chief Yun seemed quite satisfied.

Suddenly, the sound of gongs and drums erupted outside. Chief Yun started. "What's that for?"

The village head explained this was to notify each Jia to assemble for a meeting and greet the Chief.

Chief Yun laughed. "No need to be so formal. Let me eat something first to fill my stomach."

The village head seized the opportunity. "What would the Chief prefer for a simple meal? We have chickens, ducks, fish, shrimp, and vegetables."