Chapter 20: Entering the County (3)

"What are you looking at?" The young man crouched in the corner, sensing the crowd’s judgmental stares, flushed with embarrassment and anger, and shouted at the onlookers.

"Are you trying to speak up for this man?" He pointed at the old man collapsed on the ground, Lu Jianxun.

The youth who had lit the torch earlier turned and cast a fierce glare at the crowd outside the courtyard.

The previously packed crowd at the entrance instantly scattered. Although many sympathized with the man they still called “Teacher Lu,” everyone knew that in times like these, minding your own business was the key to survival. No one wanted to get dragged into trouble over a stranger.

"What are you sneaking around for, loitering at the doorway with all those bags? Are you carrying reactionary materials? Open them and let me see."

The man clearly relished the fear he inspired. When he spotted Jiang Dahai and his son frozen at the gate, his expression darkened. Pointing at them aggressively, he barked the order, his narrow, sharp eyes filled with suspicion.

Jiang Dahai truly had no idea what had just happened. He had simply been trying to push his way through the crowd. Just as he was puzzled by everyone’s sudden retreat, he ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Scratching his head awkwardly, he steadied the son sitting on his shoulders. With an honest expression, he looked at the man and pointed to himself. “Comrade, are you talking to me?”

He clutched his bundles tightly, warily eyeing the group in front of him.

“Brother Niu, I think this guy’s up to no good. Look at all that baggage—probably trying to trade illicit goods. People like him are the cancer of socialism. I say we arrest him and question him properly,” said the man who had just declared his separation from his father.

The man he called Brother Niu was Niu Kun, the self-appointed ringleader of this group.

“You ungrateful beast!” Lu Jianxun’s bloodshot eyes locked onto his son. Clutching his chest, lips bitten until they bled without him noticing, he rasped out, “That man did nothing to you. How could you slander him like this? If I had known you’d turn into a disgrace like this, I would’ve strangled you at birth.”

It was all his fault. He had raised a son like this. The family’s treasured legacy was ruined, and now an innocent man might be hurt because of it.

“You black element! I severed ties with you long ago!” Lu Xiangguang snapped back, then turned to Niu Kun and said obsequiously, “Brother Niu, please believe in my loyalty to the organization.” He gritted his teeth and picked up a wooden stick pulled from a broken chair. Without hesitation, he swung it at the old man lying on the ground.

The blow landed with a loud crack—not on Lu Jianxun, but on the back of the woman who had thrown herself over him at the last second.

“I brought this sin upon us... I raised him wrong... It’s my fault.” The woman sobbed bitterly, lying across her husband as they wept in each other's arms.

Lu Xiangguang, seeing that Niu Kun was watching like a spectator at a play, gritted his teeth and continued to rain blows down on the elderly couple. One stick after another. The old man shielded his wife, she shielded him in return. They were struck over ten times without uttering a sound, their white hair a tangled mess, their expressions silent and heart-wrenching.

Niu Kun gave them a sideways glance. He felt contempt for Lu Xiangguang’s groveling, yet he couldn’t help but feel a surge of pride. These so-called intellectuals used to look down on people like him. But look at them now—reduced to dogs, wagging their tails for his approval.

A man who would betray his own father was hardly worth respect. But for Niu Kun, this was a win. He’d destroyed a pile of reactionary books today. The higher-ups would surely reward him.

His gaze fell on the rural father and son at the gate. He had no real interest in humiliating such small fry, but the man had walked right into his line of fire.

“You there, open his bundles. I suspect he’s a foreign spy carrying confidential Party documents.” Niu Kun pointed lazily at a few teenagers behind him, their faces still showing traces of youth.

The young Red Guards, who had been enthusiastically looting and smashing, immediately stopped what they were doing. Their eyes lit up with zeal. None of them questioned how Niu Kun could identify a spy based solely on appearance. With fierce expressions, they charged toward Jiang Dahai.

At this point, Jiang Dahai would have to be a fool not to know what was going on. But he was a simple villager who had never even quarreled with neighbors, let alone dealt with this kind of framing. He instinctively stepped back and clutched the child on his shoulders tightly, ready to protect him if things got out of hand.

“Chairman Mao said: ‘No investigation, no right to speak.’ What gives you the right to accuse my dad of being a spy? Our family has been poor peasants for three generations. My grandfather fought against the Japanese and lost a leg on the battlefield. He’s a hero of the Liberation Army. You're slandering a pure and loyal citizen—maybe you're the real enemy agent, trying to divide the people and sabotage the rear lines!”

Jiang Yiliu suddenly poked his head out from his father’s arms and shouted at Niu Kun.

The Red Guards paused and looked uncertainly at Niu Kun. Jiang Dahai did look like an honest, down-to-earth farmer. And the child in his arms was clean, cute, and innocent—nothing about them looked suspicious.

Hot-blooded and easily swayed, the young Red Guards hesitated. These were likely students from the county middle school, full of revolutionary fervor but lacking understanding. They were easily manipulated.

“What are you staring at him for? That little brat is just a smooth talker. You’re going to believe him? Hurry up and catch them. Open the bundles!” Niu Kun yelled furiously. Ever since he had recruited this band of gullible boys, he’d had free rein. They’d never questioned him—until now. And all it took was a four- or five-year-old to shake their faith.

“Hey, what’s that on his back?” one of the Red Guards suddenly shouted, pointing behind Niu Kun.

Niu Kun was baffled. He couldn’t see what was on his back, so he reached behind him.

“He’s trying to destroy evidence!” another youth cried and rushed forward. He yanked something off Niu Kun’s back and held it up high—a sticker emblazoned with the American flag.

“Niu Kun is an American spy! He’s the real reactionary! Down with reactionaries!” the boy declared loudly, his arms raised, his face red with fury.

This time, the evidence was undeniable. The crowd exploded. Everyone lunged toward Niu Kun, desperate to prove their revolutionary zeal.

Niu Kun was quickly buried under a pile of fists and kicks. He tried to defend himself, but the Red Guards silenced him. Blow after blow rained down until he curled up like a shrimp, unable to say a word.

Amid the chaos, Jiang Dahai seized the opportunity and fled with his son.

Peeking from his father's back, Jiang Yiliu looked at the elderly couple clinging to each other on the ground and then at Niu Kun being beaten by the mob. For the first time, he felt no guilt for doing something bad.

That sticker had come from his spatial inventory. He had placed it on Niu Kun on purpose. He knew what would happen to Niu Kun because of it, but he didn’t regret it. In that moment, had Niu Kun not fallen, the one in danger would have been his father.

And if the world had one less Niu Kun, maybe there would be fewer tragedies like what had happened to Teacher Lu.

For the first time, Jiang Yiliu truly understood how terrifying this era was. If he wanted to survive here, he might have to abandon something of himself.

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Chapter 20: Entering the County (3)