Chapter 202: Chapter 199: Gravely Ill, Telegram

After Wang Futang resigned as brigade secretary, the original security director Guo Zhanrong became the brigade secretary.

Secretary Guo, wrapped in an old sheepskin coat, gathered half a basket of manure at the village entrance early in the morning before returning home for breakfast. Only then did he slowly head to the brigade office.

After the implementation of the land responsibility system, the work at the brigade office reduced significantly without production teams to manage. During spring and autumn, there were still matters of seeds, fertilizers, retained payments, and public grains to handle, but come winter, the farmers had leisure, and so did the brigade office.

Brigade accountant Wang Lianju was always the earliest to arrive. He would sweep the floor and light the coal stove in the office, so by the time the brigade secretary and others arrived, the water on the stove was almost boiling.

Guo Zhanrong, hands behind his back, entered the brigade office and immediately noticed a stack of newspapers on the desk: “Hey, the mailman sure is diligent today, delivering the papers this early.”

“Indeed, there’s a telegram too, which prompted their early visit,” Wang Lianju said, retrieving the telegram from under the newspapers and handing it to Guo Zhanrong, “Secretary Guo, have a look. It’s for Liansheng of the Wang Family. What should we do with it? Should we pass it on, or make a phone call? I think the old secretary has his number…”

Guo Zhanrong, his vision slightly blurred, walked to a brighter spot near the doorway, held the telegram at arm’s length, and squinted at it: “Jiang Province… Father is critically ill, hopes to see you in Jiang.”

“Ah, this… this isn’t for Liansheng, it must be for Liansheng’s wife!” Guo Zhanrong, having been friends with the old secretary for decades, was fairly familiar with the Wang Family’s relationships and, with a moment’s thought, arrived at a possibility.

In rural areas, the wife’s name is seldom known, and it’s common to write the husband’s name on letters and telegrams.

The recipient named on the telegram was Wang Liansheng, but since Wang Liansheng’s parents were in the village, the ’father’ in the distant west could only refer to the father of Liansheng’s wife.

Her father and two brothers reportedly left to visit relatives, and there had been no word from them for almost a decade.

Ah, they must have gone to Jiang Province!

Such matters as telegrams, especially concerning critical illness, were something Guo Zhanrong couldn’t delay.

He grabbed the telegram, informed Wang Lianju, and hastily left the brigade office, heading towards the old secretary Wang Futang’s home.

Upon reaching the entrance of Wang Futang’s home, seeing the newly built row of red-brick houses, Guo Zhanrong couldn’t help but sigh with a hint of envy: The old secretary truly was blessed!

After more than twenty years of serving as the old secretary, he resigned when land was divided among the households, neatly concluding his career at the right age for retirement.

Then, both his sons rose to success.

The second son, Wang Lianfa, amassed wealth through business, while the eldest, Wang Lianqi, formed a construction team, not only working on commune projects but also linking up with the county construction company, heading to Huicheng. It’s said that this project alone earned them several hundreds of thousands.

The commune urged each brigade to report their affluent households. Many brigades counted their households several times over, even counting their pigs, yet couldn’t identify a single affluent household. But as brigade secretary, Guo Zhanrong had no such worries as their brigade had two ready examples in the Wang brothers.

Nevertheless, after discussing with the old secretary Wang Futang, Guo Zhanrong reported only one, and it was the eldest, Wang Lianqi.

After all, they were of a different nature. Wang Lianqi led the villagers in doing odd jobs—it was perceived as manual labor and hard work.

That kind of business that Wang Lianfa engaged in was dubious; who knows if fortune shifts one day and he’s suddenly labeled as speculating and profiteering.

With a momentary feeling of sourness, Guo Zhanrong lifted his foot, walked into the neat new gate of the Wang Family: “Old secretary, are you home?”

Wang Futang’s wife heard him and came out smiling from the house: “Zhanrong, come in and warm yourself up.”

“Is the old secretary in?” Guo Zhanrong cheerfully inquired.

“He is, watching TV inside,” Qu Cui replied warmly, as she called to her eldest daughter-in-law, “Run to the commune and get a couple of pounds of meat so your Uncle Zhanrong can have lunch with us.”

“Old sister, don’t busy yourself. I’m just here to discuss something with my old brother and will leave soon. I’m busy today, but I’ll definitely come over another time to enjoy the steamed dishes you make.”

“Oh, really no time? … Alright, come in. I’ll make tea for you two.”

Exchanging a few pleasantries, Guo Zhanrong pushed through the cotton curtain into the house, and Qu Cui didn’t follow closely but went straight to the kitchen to make tea. After all, the families had known each other for more than a decade, and they were as familiar as family, without needing formalities.

Wang Futang, holding the telegram, dug out his old reading glasses, put them on, and looked closely at it before glancing upward through the lenses at his old mate: “Is this the father-in-law of the fourth son?”

Guo Zhanrong exhaled a puff of smoke and nodded: “I think so too. Sigh, who would have thought that old man Ling went off ten years ago and ended up in Jiang Province.”

The two older men sat, drank a cup of tea, and pondered the situation, though they couldn’t be certain who sent the telegram. Nonetheless, they did not delay. Wang Futang personally rode to the commune to call Wang Liansheng.

By coincidence, the children had their final exams that day, so school let out an hour early. Wang Liansheng, who stayed home as a babysitter, had informed his workplace to leave early.

Therefore, when the call from his workplace came, Wang Liansheng missed it.

With no other option, Wang Futang then called the fourth daughter-in-law, Ling Chengyan, only to be told that Commander Ling was on a mission and not at home.

Putting down the phone, after thinking for a while, Wang Futang decided not to go home and personally took the trip to Huicheng.

In case they guessed correctly, if the telegram sender was indeed the fourth son’s father-in-law, critically ill and possibly on his deathbed, wishing to see his daughter one last time? Such a matter, if delayed, would be a lifelong regret.

Wang Liansheng, having watched the children finish their lunch and head back to school, took little Shi Tou’s hand and set out, sending the child to daycare before going to work.

Then, at the gate, he unexpectedly encountered his uncle, Wang Futang, covered in dust and chilled from the journey.

“Uncle, what brings you here?” Wang Liansheng was quite surprised to see his uncle so suddenly, given he had no idea what had occurred, “Did something happen at home?”

Rushed and hungry, having skipped lunch, and feeling cold and exhausted from the journey, Wang Futang was too tired to speak.

He waved his dry tobacco pipe, saying nothing, and pulled a somewhat crumpled telegram from his pocket, handing it over: “Received this morning, take a look.”

Taking it and glancing at it, Wang Liansheng instinctively looked towards his uncle Wang Futang: “Well… it’s hard to tell who sent it…”

However, even as he said it, his first thought was of his father-in-law and the two brothers-in-law, who, not long after their marriage, had gone to visit relatives and disappeared without a word for nearly ten years.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep