After obtaining her father's approval, Ren Qiying prepared to go out. At this moment, Ren Qiying's younger brothers and sisters just happened to return home from school. As soon as they saw their long-absent sister, the little ones rushed up and grabbed Ren Qiying, asking this and that, calling "Sister" continuously.

Watching his daughter playing and frolicking with her young siblings, a worry peculiar to fathers arose in Ren Yugang's heart: his daughter had really grown up. Ren Yugang couldn't help but say, "Go out after eating."

"Sister, eat together!" the little ones immediately cheered.

Ren Qiying had originally intended to run to the state-run farm to ask about some technical questions and sponge a meal at the farm by the way. Looking at her younger siblings, Ren Qiying was already very happy in her heart. Since her father had also spoken, she had even less reason to decline.

The summer harvest in Fengtai County this year was very good. The basic water conservancy projects built by the People's Party played a big role; both irrigation and drainage came in handy. The common people had suffered a disaster last year, so after being allocated good land this year, their production enthusiasm was originally quite high. There were also many breeding farms that could provide meat cheaply. Especially after the summer harvest, the government indeed only collected thirty percent grain tax. Quite a few women participated in social labor and also earned quite a bit of money. The income of most common people was much better than in previous years. Compared with previous years, not only could they eat rice and white flour, but they didn't even lack meat and vegetable oil.

Although no one in Ren Qiying's family farmed—the land was given to her uncle's family to farm, and the two families agreed to split the harvest half-and-half—the Ren family was well off because two people were earning money, and the children ate for free at school. Their days weren't bad; besides rice and green vegetables on the dinner table, there was even pig head meat and fish. Ren Xushi watched with a beaming face as the children buried their heads in eating. She saw Ren Qiying picking up food for her father, mother, and siblings from time to time, but not eating much herself. She hurriedly picked up a chopstick of fish meat for her eldest daughter. "Qiying, you eat too."

"Mhm." Ren Qiying ate the fish meat with rice and ate a few chopsticks of green vegetables. At this time, Ren Qiying's younger brother had almost finished eating. With rice in his mouth, the little guy asked: "Sister, what do you eat in the county government?"

"About the same as in your school." As the Director of the County Committee Office, Ren Qiying knew the school's funding. The students' meals were actually a large expenditure; although they might not eat too full, they absolutely wouldn't starve.

"Do you also get duck eggs to eat?" Ren Qiying's brother continued to ask.

"Yes."

"You swallow that mouthful of rice in your mouth before speaking to me." Ren Xushi saw her husband's face wasn't very good, so she hurriedly spoke first. Originally, no one dared to speak when the Ren family ate, but now the little ones ate at school, and the teachers couldn't manage that finely. Ren Xushi was afraid her husband would get angry, so she had to scold them first herself.

The little guy was quite obedient; he immediately buried his head and didn't make a sound, continuing to eat.

However, the little guy's topic triggered Ren Xushi's curiosity. She couldn't help asking: "Qiying, what does Chairman Chen usually eat?"

Ren Qiying answered casually: "Chairman Chen eats in the cafeteria with us. Whatever we eat, he eats."

"There isn't a cook specifically cooking for Chairman Chen? Does Chairman Chen have nothing he loves to eat?" Ren Xushi continued to ask.

Ren Qiying really hadn't paid attention to what Chen Ke usually loved to eat. Thinking for a while about Chen Ke's actions on normal days, she suddenly remembered something. "Chairman Chen often works all night. At that time, he also eats some extra meals or something with the comrades on night shift."

Hearing that Chen Ke also had extra meals, Ren Xushi said enviously: "That must be eating something good."

Ren Yugang's face changed instantly. He slapped his chopsticks on the table with a *pa*. "What nonsense are you talking about? Is what Chairman Chen eats something you can make up blindly?"

Ren Xushi was startled. However, she was used to being scolded by her husband, plus she felt this wasn't any big deal, so she said resentfully: "Isn't it just talking about what he eats? What's the big deal?"

Ren Yugang looked at his wife angrily. "What's the big deal? You are arranging him behind his back. Those in high positions hate it most when others arrange bad words about them behind their backs. You didn't hear it from the girl's words..."

Speaking to here, Ren Yugang looked at the two small children staring at him blankly. He said helplessly, "Eat first."

After finishing the meal and cleaning up, Ren Yugang called his wife and Ren Qiying to the main room and closed the door. Only then did he say: "According to what Qiying said, Chairman Chen is an extremely self-disciplined person. He is in a high position and has endless official business every day. If one day he is suddenly free and chats casually with the people around him, and as a result of chatting, he hears someone arranging bad words about him behind his back. Say, if Chairman Chen asks casually again, 'Who said this?', what will the people around Chairman Chen think, and what will they do?"

These words were actually said extremely implicitly. Ren Yugang didn't want to say Chen Ke was hypocritical, but since he was a person who kept himself clean, few didn't care about their reputation at all. Ren Yugang knew very well that if you ruined someone's business, at most everyone wouldn't interact in the future, but if you ruined someone's reputation, that was never-ending.

But he was afraid his wife and daughter didn't understand where the problem lay, so he couldn't help saying: "Misfortune comes from the mouth!"

Ren Xushi was actually just extremely proud in her heart because her daughter had become a high official, so her actions inevitably had a flavor of getting carried away. Hearing her husband say this, she thought of Chen Ke's status, and then thought of the more than eight hundred people killed a few months ago. Her face was instantly scared somewhat pale.

Ren Qiying completely hadn't expected that her father was actually so proficient in the human heart of officialdom. She had met Chen Ke many times and knew Chen Ke's personality was actually quite generous; he might not really view vain reputation that heavily. Never engaging in special privileges was just a matter of Chen Ke's personal integrity. But the matter of "ruining someone's reputation" that her father Ren Yugang reminded her of gave Ren Qiying a new idea.

Chen Ke resolutely didn't allow the government to forcibly guide the formation of "production teams" this time; she was afraid there was the reason of worrying that if the government didn't do the work well, its "reputation would be ruined" instead. It seemed people proficient in the human heart were all like this; things could be not done, but they couldn't be done recklessly. The matters of taking the blame and wiping asses were actually mostly borne by those above. Even if the subordinate who made a mistake was punished severely, once this reputation was ruined, it couldn't be retrieved no matter what.

Thinking of this, Ren Qiying suddenly regretted a bit. Was the risk of her striving to promote the production team model a bit too big?

Ren Yugang saw Ren Qiying's flickering gaze and knew his daughter had words she wanted to say to him alone. He said: "Girl, aren't you going out? I'll send you off."

The father and daughter went to Ren Qiying's room. Ren Qiying told her father her worries once. Ren Yugang smiled: "This doesn't matter. Since Chairman Chen thinks production teams will be run sooner or later, making a model is nothing. Girl, actually, I've been studying with Mr. Yan Fu these days and also read some of Chairman Chen's books. I admire the scientific attitude they both emphasize very much. What passes in this world is reason; this science is reason. Just do it according to this scientific reason. The only troublesome thing isn't science, it's the human heart. If this person has too heavy a selfish heart, or gets confused, that is a big troublesome matter. I support your meaning. The reason Chairman Chen let the common people form production teams themselves is also worrying about encountering some confused eggs who can't be reasoned with clearly. One piece of rat dropping ruins a pot of soup; sometimes not letting confused eggs mix in is actually a good thing."

Hearing Ren Yugang explain the reason clearly, Ren Qiying felt she had a bottom in her heart. She smiled: "Thank you, Father, for the advice."

Ren Yugang nodded. He asked somewhat hesitantly: "Girl, do you think the People's Party can withstand the court's attack?"

"Uh?" Ren Qiying was very puzzled by this sudden question. The People's Party had continuously won several great victories on the battlefield; how come Ren Yugang started worrying instead?

Ren Yugang thought for a while before saying: "Girl, I heard they are going to do household registration (*hukou*)."

Ren Qiying also knew this matter. This was proposed by Chen Ke; in the future, it would be divided into urban household registration and rural household registration. Ren Qiying didn't know Chen Ke prepared to promote a strict urban-rural dual household registration policy. In history, during the early days of the founding of the People's Republic, because the household registration issue wasn't solved, the population flow issue caused many troubles. Chen Ke felt that rather than causing such problems, he might as well promote a strict household registration policy in the early stage. As the level of education and economic development improved, plus the enhancement of state management means, relaxing it slowly later wouldn't cause a huge impact.

Although she didn't know Chen Ke's plan, Ren Qiying knew about this matter. "Father, what's wrong?"

Ren Yugang answered: "I was thinking, our family might as well switch to urban household registration. We aren't good at farming either, and I don't want your younger brothers and sisters to farm in the future. You and I both work in the county; it's not a good thing for a family to always be separated like this. Let's just hand over the land and join the urban household registration."

Although he said this, Ren Yugang's thoughts just now were far from this simple. To really make him give up all his land, it wasn't that easy for Ren Yugang to make up his mind in his heart. He even worried that if the People's Party lost the battle, at that time he wouldn't even be able to return to the countryside to farm. But on second thought, his daughter was already a high-level official, and he was teaching here in the People's Party. Even if there was land in the countryside, if the People's Party were destroyed, would he have good fruit to eat? Since it was so, he let go instead.

Ren Qiying knew her father was a knowledgeable person. Making the whole family into urban household registration wasn't a big deal. It was just that she wanted to promote production teams now, and she originally hoped her family could participate. It wasn't for that bit of income, but if her own family didn't lead, this matter couldn't be justified. But thinking about it, the People's Party opposed exploitation the most. Her whole family didn't farm but gave the land to her uncle's family to farm. Speaking of this, it wasn't some very aboveboard matter. Since her father just said "don't ruin one's reputation," her practice probably could also be classified into the category of bad reputation.

Thinking of this, Ren Qiying nodded. "Father, I'll go back now and handle this matter immediately."

In late August, people's elections began in all areas of the base area except Anqing. The troops returned to the localities on leave. Although the common people knew the troops had won a great victory, the common people all wanted to hear clearly from these soldiers of their own village and land how exactly this battle was fought. The soldiers had all accepted the task; although they couldn't mention the names of their unit commanders, they could mention the war.

Listening to the soldiers recount how thousands of Hubei guys were beaten to pieces and not a single one escaped, the elders of Anhui were all very happy. After listening to the stories, everyone began to ask about the election. The soldiers all had experience in Soldier Committee elections, and the political commissars had explained the reasoning thoroughly to everyone, so they naturally spoke at length about the significance of the election.

The common people of Shouzhou counted as a relatively early liberated area. In Shijiaji, after an old man finished listening to the local soldier explain the election system, he couldn't help asking doubtfully: "Sanwa, according to what you said, after this election, the ones in power won't be your People's Party, but us common people?"

The soldier called Sanwa was named Shi Yousan; he was just ranked third. His older brother was called Shi Yousheng, not the Japanese kind of name ranked by numbers. These two brothers were both soldiers of the People's Party. This time, not all troops were disbanded on the spot. Because of war preparations, a considerable portion of backbone and new recruits remained. For this quota of returning home to visit family, Shi Yousan went home to visit, while Shi Yousheng stayed in the army.

The one asking was an old master of Shijiaji, Shi Xiuyu. Shi Yousan answered: "Fifth Grandfather, this world originally belongs to us common people. Elections are to choose officials we approve of ourselves. These officials naturally have to serve us common people. Otherwise, why would we elect him as an official?"

Shi Xiuyu laughed: "Where in this world is there a reason for officials to serve the common people? Sanwa, were you deceived by someone?"

Hearing this, quite a bit of laughter also came from the surrounding villagers. Shi Xiuyu's words spoke everyone's heartfelt thoughts. In generations of ancestors, where had they heard of such officials as Shi Yousan described?

"Since these officials are elected by everyone, if they don't do things for everyone, then we won't elect them," Shi Yousan said loudly.

Shi Xiuyu saw Shi Yousan's attitude was so tough. He naturally couldn't lose to a junior in momentum. He asked: "Then Sanwa, let me ask you. If an official is elected, then who do you soldiers listen to? Listen to the elected official, or listen to your People's Party?"

This question could be said to be very tricky. Fortunately, the political commissars had also specifically raised these questions in the meeting. If the political commissars hadn't prepared fully, Shi Yousan would really have been stumped. "Our Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army is the Party's troops. Naturally, we listen to the Party."

Shi Xiuyu felt his words had succeeded and was preparing to continue. Shi Yousan snatched the lead and continued: "The official elected in our Shijiaji this time is elected by everyone to do things for our Shijiaji. If the official elected in our Shijiaji doesn't do things for our Shijiaji, but instead manages Yuezhangji in Fengtai County across the river, does everyone think this makes sense?"

Hearing this, the crowd surrounding Shi Yousan couldn't help laughing heartily. Actually, everyone was fellow villagers; they all knew Shi Xiuyu's thoughts. When Shi Xiuyu was young, he loved to seek personal gain, but in the end, he didn't even manage to become a *Lizhang* (village head). Now he wanted to be an official, but hearing that officials had to do things for the common people, he was naturally unwilling. That was why he talked nonsense like this.

A young man couldn't help teasing: "Fifth Grandfather, actually, managing Yuezhangji in Fengtai County would be wasting your talent too much. I feel that after our Shijiaji elects, you should just go to the capital city to be the Emperor. If you became the Emperor, you could just look after us people, and we could also borrow your light. Say, wouldn't that be great?"

As soon as these words came out, there was an even greater roar of laughter. Shi Xiuyu's face flushed red. He pointed at the young man who spoke and cursed a few sentences, then pushed through the crowd and left angrily.

Looking at Shi Xiuyu's back, Shi Yousan said: "We have been bullied by officials for so long. In the future, in our liberated area, no one can bully us common people anymore. The officials are elected by us ourselves. The People's Party and us common people are of one heart. Our troops have always educated us that our Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army is the sons and brother soldiers of us common people. So everyone has nothing to be afraid of. Boldly elect officials that make us feel at ease ourselves. Whoever is willing to do things for everyone can recommend themselves. As long as what you say can make everyone believe, and everyone is at ease with how you handle affairs on normal days, then everyone will elect you."

The young people listened with shining eyes one by one. Although they didn't dare completely believe what Shi Yousan said was true, young people all hoped they could establish meritorious deeds. This opportunity to elect officials looked like an opportunity for promotion in the short term.

A young man asked: "Third Brother, how about you participate in this election? We'll all elect you."

"We military men cannot participate in local elections. This is the rule." Shi Yousan refused very appropriately according to the content of the political commissar's education.

"Then Third Brother, who do you think can get elected?" Learning that a soldier like Shi Yousan who had such a big backer as the People's Party wouldn't run, the youths let go of a big stone in their hearts. They wanted to get some words out of Shi Yousan's mouth again.

Shi Yousan continued: " everyone elects, naturally electing people they trust themselves. I naturally can't say anything; this is also discipline."

There was still a youth who couldn't hold his breath. He asked: "Third Brother, tell the truth. Is it okay if we don't elect People's Party people this time?"

This question was the matter most emphasized by the political commissars. Soldiers absolutely couldn't canvass votes for personnel dispatched by the People's Party to the grassroots. Shi Yousan answered: "Elections are to elect people who can do things for everyone and make everyone feel at ease. What does this have to do with whether he is a People's Party person or not? We common people elect people we can be at ease with ourselves, not elect People's Party people. Everyone doesn't need to worry about our People's Party retaliating. We are here to let everyone live a good life and let everyone not be bullied. We ourselves will absolutely not bully everyone."

"Third Brother, does what you say count?" The youths were still uneasy.

"I'm sitting here not moving. You can go ask the People's Party cadres in the locality now. See if the cadres say the same thing. If they don't say the same thing, I'll go reason with them," Shi Yousan said loudly.

While Shi Yousan was propagandizing the election system to the common people of Shijiaji in Shouzhou, Wu Liao, the County Committee Secretary of Wuhe County, glared with round eyes, pointing at the clerk Zhou Fengxiang in front of him and questioning loudly: "You say, who let you tell the common people that they must elect People's Party cadres in this election?"

Zhou Fengxiang had never seen Secretary Wu Liao lose such a big temper. He was so scared he lowered his head and dared not make a sound.

Such a pitiful appearance couldn't quell Wu Liao's anger at all. Wu Liao never expected that after he urged repeatedly at the Wuhe County cadre meeting that cadres were absolutely not allowed to coerce common people to elect themselves, a person like Zhou Fengxiang still appeared. Moreover, Zhou Fengxiang was caught this time because when Zhou Yizheng, a military cadre home on leave, was propagandizing the election system, masses reported to Zhou Yizheng that Zhou Fengxiang asked common people to elect him. After understanding the situation, Zhou Yizheng found Wu Liao to talk about this matter.

Zhou Fengxiang was a clerk in logistics; he wasn't a candidate the organization prepared to recommend at all. He privately asked common people to elect him; this had already greatly destroyed the People's Party's discipline. This could be counted as a major event destroying organizational discipline. Wu Liao came from an early military background; he knew what this meant in the army. Although he was now a civil administration cadre, Wu Liao still had the habits of a soldier.

Zhou Fengxiang was scolded by Wu Liao for a good while. Wu Liao didn't just curse him out but also asked Zhou Fengxiang to state the reason. Seeing he couldn't dodge it, Zhou Fengxiang simply asked back: "Secretary Wu, since the election system says people over 18 can all run for election, why can't I run? I feel this regulation is unfair."