In the morning, Zhou Yiying, Director of the Women's Federation of Liujiapu District, Wuhe County, was reclaiming land with a new hoe made in the base area. Behind her, several ridges of reclaimed field land were very soft and full of vitality compared to the uncultivated flat ground next to them. There were many floods along the Huai River; in such a harsh environment, women mostly did not bind their feet, and Zhou Yiying was no exception. She wore straw sandals made in the base area, stood steadily in the field, and waved her hoe vigorously. The flood had receded for a long time, but the ground became very hard because no one had cultivated it for too long. Every hoeing took a lot of effort, but the effect was not good. The experience summarized by Zhou Yiying after trying many times was that with her strength, to hoe the ground to a depth of 20 centimeters, five strikes were needed at the same position. Zhou Yiying bit her teeth slightly, counting a number for every hoeing: "One, two, three, four, five. One, two, three, four, five. One, two, three, four, five." In just a short while, sweat oozed from Zhou Yiying's forehead. She didn't wipe it either, continuing to work hard in the field.

Women in the countryside generally didn't do farm work like hoeing the land. It wasn't that their families were unwilling, but that girls couldn't use heavy farm tools. Iron farm tools were expensive in these years, and the quality was not very good either. If used vigorously like Zhou Yiying, they were easily damaged. Repairing farm tools cost a lot, and the number of blacksmiths was also very limited. Once farm tools were damaged, they often couldn't be repaired in time, delaying farm work instead. So the reason why farmers used heavy wooden farm tools was not that they didn't know iron farm tools were easy to use, but because they had very practical economic considerations. But wooden farm tools themselves required high physical strength, and women's natural physical quality could not use them effectively, so women were generally not considered among able-bodied laborers.

The iron farm tools newly issued by the People's Party after the beginning of spring this year were extremely easy to use. Not only light, but the hardness and sharpness were unprecedented for Zhou Yiying. Even a woman like Zhou Yiying could use them very well. She had used them vigorously for several days, and the hoe was still as sharp as when she first got it.

After hoeing two ridges of land, Zhou Yiying stopped to wipe her sweat. According to the experience of plowing these days, her physical strength could only support two ridges at a time. Then she needed to rest for about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense. And she couldn't sit down to rest; Zhou Yiying found that once she sat down, it would be very difficult to stand up again. Just struggling psychologically with herself would take a good while, so she simply stood and rested leaning on her hoe like those experienced farmers she usually saw in the fields.

Looking around, there were figures cultivating on the surrounding land. After the beginning of spring, the People's Party began to organize the masses to start cultivating on a large scale. Regardless of whose land it was first, land was distributed according to the standard of three mu per person, and everyone was called upon to start working. After the flood, land was actually not lacking, plus the People's Party also had enough authority. There were plenty of people dissatisfied in their hearts, but few dared to oppose directly. So many common people who firmly supported the People's Party began to work on the distributed land.

Liujiapu was originally close to the Huai River. Although disasters often occurred, the land itself was moist and fertile. Usually everyone planted wheat, which would generally be harvested before entering the flood season in summer. Because only one crop was planted every year, as long as there was a little natural disaster, life would immediately become unsustainable. Last year there was a big flood; Zhou Yiying's family was ruined, and only she and her third brother Zhou Yizheng were left alive in the whole family. If the People's Party troops hadn't brought her fifth brother Zhou Yisheng to Liujiapu, given everyone food, and had the doctor with the army treat the sick, Zhou Yiying would definitely have starved to death in her illness. Not only that, but the People's Party troops also broke the fort, opened the granary to release grain, and saved thousands of common people near Liujiapu.

Because her third and fifth brothers both joined the People's Party troops, and Zhou Yiying herself cooperated with the People's Party work very much, she was appointed as the Director of the Women's Federation of Liujiapu. Because both brothers joined the army, Zhou Yiying's family was only distributed three mu of land. Although the land was not much, if cultivated well, the grain produced would be enough for Zhou Yiying herself to eat for a year.

Every time she recalled the days struggling on the death line, Zhou Yiying felt very scared. If she hadn't always had a desire to survive in her heart at that time, always insisting on wanting to live. Or if the People's Party troops came even one day late, Zhou Yiying would absolutely not be alive now.

Thinking of this, Zhou Yiying felt a chill on her back, and then her whole person cheered up. The original fatigue was driven away completely by fear. she swung her hoe and continued to work.

"Director Zhou, Director Zhou." Just as Zhou Yiying had done half of the farm work in the plan, she heard someone calling her. Stopping her hoe to look, the one shouting was the messenger from the county. The young man was of medium height and very robust. Because he had walked a long way, his round face was red, and his forehead was full of sweat. He strode up to Zhou Yiying. "Director Zhou, Secretary Wu wants you to go to the county town now."

"What happened?" Zhou Yiying felt very puzzled.

"I don't know the specific situation either. Secretary Wu should tell you when you go to the county town." The messenger was tight-lipped and didn't reveal the specific situation at all.

Seeing she couldn't ask anything out, Zhou Yiying stopped asking more. But she looked at the half-cultivated farmland and couldn't help showing a trace of embarrassment.

"Director Zhou, Secretary Wu already explained before I came; I will do the farm work delayed for you." After speaking, the messenger took the hoe from Zhou Yiying's hand.

Zhou Yiying hurried to stop the messenger. "It's not appropriate to let you do it either; besides, you are exhausted from running so long."

The messenger laughed heartily. "Director Zhou, you see me running around every day but never see me work; do you distrust me? We all have our own land in the troops. Don't look at me running outside; when planting land, I don't do a bit less work. Besides, Director Zhou, you also specially learned how to do farm work in the troops. Do you still distrust us?"

Hearing the messenger say this, Zhou Yiying couldn't say anything more. She originally had no experience in reclaiming land either; the skills she learned now were all collectively trained during cadre training. How to hold the hoe, how to exert force, how deep to hoe, how to distribute physical strength reasonably, and how to fight against one's own inertia. As the saying goes, "Killing a pig by the head or by the butt, each has its own way." A method of training farming like the People's Party seemed very strange.

But the cadre responsible for training opposed this idea. Zhou Yiying still remembered that the seemingly very young cadre said: "The so-called 'each has its own way,' one of the biggest differences is whether one is willing to use one's full strength. If one doesn't really want to work in one's heart, naturally there are various sayings. If one only thinks about doing the work well in one's heart and thinks of nothing else, then the methods I teach you are summarized and refined, the best methods. If there are any differences, it is because of everyone's height, weight, physical strength—these actual existing gaps lead to different strengths and number of exertions. This is the so-called difference. But the method we teach everyone is not wrong."

Zhou Yiying didn't believe it at first, but after she tried it herself for a few days, she found that everything was indeed as the training cadre said. As long as she had other thoughts in her mind, whether wanting to be lazy or hoping to work faster. Anyway, as long as there were any thoughts in her mind other than working completely step by step, this farm work was very tiring. And she would always encounter some other problems disrupting the original plan. When she completely followed what the training cadre said, thinking of nothing, just completing it bit by bit step by step. Using as much strength as needed, resting when needed, this farm work could be completed on time and with quality instead. Although the body was tired, the heart was not tired at all. Instead, she ate well and slept soundly.

For this reason, Zhou Yiying specially asked the training cadre what exactly this was about. The training cadre said proudly: "This is the science Chairman Chen of our People's Party talks about."

What "science" is, Zhou Yiying hasn't figured it out yet, but she confirmed two things: first is to follow the People's Party, second is to listen to the People's Party and Chairman Chen. Up to now, as long as she did these two things, she hadn't suffered a loss.

"Then finish reclaiming the rest of my land." Zhou Yiying said while leading the messenger to confirm the range of her family's land.

"Where to send this hoe after use?" the messenger asked.

"Send it to the Peasant Association in the village. My hoe has a number on it. After you explain the situation, they will put the hoe away."

After asking the questions, the messenger didn't say much either. He just said simply "Okay!", then swung the hoe and started working. Zhou Yiying could see that this young man indeed worked completely according to the method trained by the People's Party. The movements were neither fast nor slow, completely in line with his own rhythm. Boys are strong; Zhou Yiying needed five strikes to reclaim to a depth of 20 centimeters, while the young man did it in only three strikes. The messenger concentrated on working without distraction like this; those stretching, natural, and vigorous movements looked pleasing no matter how she looked. Zhou Yiying was unable to move her gaze away from the messenger for a moment.

Not knowing why, looking at the vigorous figure of the messenger, Zhou Yiying suddenly felt her face burning a little, and an indescribable panic and nervousness in her heart, as if a little rabbit was jumping wildly in her chest. She endured this mood and turned towards the county town.

When Zhou Yiying rushed to the Party Committee office in the county, she saw that besides the County Party Secretary and the County Magistrate, there were several strangers sitting inside. Whether the County Party Secretary, the County Magistrate, or those few strangers, they all wore military uniforms. Especially those few strangers, not only wearing the four-pocket cadre uniforms, but also wearing leather belts instead of cloth belts at their waists, with pistols hanging on the belts. They looked majestic. These people didn't have much smile on their faces and didn't talk much. When listening to others speak, their eyes were always cold. Just looking at these people eye to eye, Zhou Yiying felt a chill on her back.

"This is Comrade Zhou Yiying, the Director of the Women's Federation of our Liujiapu District." County Party Secretary Wu Liao introduced both sides. "Comrade Zhou Yiying, these are... uh..." County Party Secretary Wu Liao suddenly paused.

The leader among those strangers interrupted calmly: "We are from the Investigation Section of the People's Internal Affairs Commission. We came here this time to understand the armed conflict incident that just happened. I heard Comrade Zhou Yiying played a big role in it, so we invite you to come and talk about the situation."

In these months, Zhou Yiying roughly understood the general functional departments of the People's Party and the new government. There were the Party Committee, the Military Commission, government organs at all levels, as well as departments such as Public Security, Procuratorate, and Court. There were also organizations such as the Armed Working Team and the Peasant Association. But she had never heard of such a department as the "People's Internal Affairs Commission." Looking at the County Party Secretary's slightly embarrassed look, Zhou Yiying didn't understand who these people were either. But so far, in the initial impression these people gave her, they were definitely not easy to deal with.

"Everyone sit down." The leader said. After everyone took their seats, he took out paper and pen and said calmly: "Comrade Zhou Yiying, please state your name, gender, and age."

"Ah?" Zhou Yiying didn't know what this meant. Asking her age, this was understandable. But sitting face to face, the other party called her name while asking her name and gender. Couldn't these people see she was a girl?

The comrade from the People's Internal Affairs Commission looked at Zhou Yiying's confused look and wasn't anxious either. Instead, he said again in a calm voice that could almost be called cold: "Comrade Zhou Yiying, please state your name, gender, and age."

Facing such making things difficult, Zhou Yiying didn't know how to respond. She looked at County Party Secretary Wu Liao with a seeking help gaze. And County Party Secretary Wu Liao didn't have his usual cheerfulness either; he said in a helpless tone: "Comrade Zhou Yiying, just answer truthfully. Is there anything you can't answer?"

Since Secretary Wu Liao said so, Zhou Yiying braced herself and looked at the comrade from the People's Internal Affairs Commission. "My name is Zhou Yiying, female, 23 years old this year." After answering these three simple questions, Zhou Yiying felt uncomfortable all over. Especially admitting her female gender directly to men, Zhou Yiying felt so ashamed that she wanted to hide.

The comrade from the People's Internal Affairs Commission calmly recorded these contents, and then continued to ask: "Introduce your family situation."

Hearing this question, a twitch suddenly appeared on the face of County Party Secretary Wu Liao. He stood up. "Comrades, if there is nothing else, I will go to work with the County Magistrate first."

"Okay, Secretary Wu, you go busy first." The comrade from the Internal Affairs Commission replied.

"Comrade Zhou Yiying, tell the truth about the questions asked. Just telling the truth is enough." Wu Liao exhorted again, then left the conference room with the County Magistrate.

Looking at the several calm and scary comrades of the People's Internal Affairs Commission in front of her, and listening to the collision sound when the door closed, Zhou Yiying couldn't help shivering slightly.

Perhaps seeing Zhou Yiying's uneasiness, the look on the face of the comrade opposite relaxed slightly. For the first time, there was a slightly comforting tone in his voice. "Comrade Zhou Yiying, please don't have any worries. Our investigation is just to figure out the sequence of events. We have no intention of making things difficult for you; this is our work process. Please cooperate with our work."

"I know." Zhou Yiying replied. She could only answer this way, because there was simply no reason to refuse this statement.

"Then Comrade Zhou Yiying, introduce your family situation."

The inquiry continued like this.