Chapter Fifty-Three: Complicated

  A simple village has always been a paradise of quiet life, where there are few earth-shaking events, and the things that make many people talk with relish are very rare. From dawn till dusk, life is just about being born, living on, and simplicity.

  Of course, it won't be noisy here either. Simple life belongs to everyone who lives here. Occasionally, the sound of chickens and dogs barking, singing a symphony unique to rural areas, the sudden sound can echo for a long time in the mountain village, accompanied by more echoes, will make the quiet countryside lively for a while, but this won't stop people busy in the fields.

  "According to the land requisition document, the land you are occupying will be replaced with another piece of land. Of course, you can also receive a certain amount of compensation... I think these things should be very clear to you. The government's requisition of land has a very large purpose, and although it will cause you to lose the right to use this land, it will definitely result in some losses. However, the replacement land we provide is guaranteed to be fertile enough, and the compensation fund will definitely include the loss of one year's harvest, and even far exceed the output value of that land for more than three years. You'll get a new piece of land and a substantial subsidy, so I hope you can carefully consider whether to give up your usage rights?"

  "No way, just no way." The old man waved his hand, which was holding a cigarette, and strongly opposed the young people's proposal. "This land cannot be transferred to you under any circumstances. We need to repair roads, canals, reservoirs, etc. I, Old Yang, fully support it and don't want a single penny of compensation from you. What highway are you talking about? I firmly oppose it."

  From 9 o'clock in the morning, the coordinator began to persuade Mr. Yang at his home, but it was all in vain. Having no choice, he followed closely behind Mr. Yang wherever he went to work, talking non-stop from land policy to company subsidies, everything was said but failed to move this stubborn old man.

  The land cannot be requisitioned, the reason is very simple, it's just that this land was intended by the old man as his own burial ground after he passed away. It was a rare opportunity when the land was first distributed to the locals, and Yang Lao had good fortune to get this piece of auspicious land. In order to bring blessings to his future descendants, he naturally wanted to have a good burial ground for himself, so he would not give up this land, and his relatives also had a share in it.

  In the end, what the coordinator has to fight against is the feudal traditional thinking. As a result, cases that are defined as "exchange" themselves, after being coerced and induced with sufficient deterrent force, still do not see any effect.

  The coordinator, who had adjusted his tone countless times, thought for half a day before trying again. After adjusting his emotions, he said slowly and word by word: "If, I mean if, we can find you another place with similar feng shui, would you be willing to make an exchange?"

  "Young man, I think you'd better stop. From the time the sun rose over the stove to now, it's almost noon and you've been talking nonstop. You're not tired of talking, but this old man's ears are tired." After finishing speaking, the old man smiled and took a last drag on his cigarette before extinguishing it and continuing: "Actually, you're not a bad person, you're enthusiastic about your work, and I'm sure you'll accomplish great things one day. Of course, the cigarette isn't bad either!"

  "But..."

  "There's nothing to discuss, it can't be changed." After finishing speaking, the old man flicked his cigarette butt far away and picked up his hoe to leave. With the hoe on his shoulder, he turned around and said to the coordinator again: "Listen, I'll tell you this way! If it were you, would you let a burial site that you finally got your hands on slip away? Once you pass this village, there's no other place like this. Heaven has mercy on me, the good government takes care of me, and only then did this old man get such a good place to rest... You tell me, in all these surrounding villages, where else can you find a piece of land as good as this?"

  After talking for a long time, the old man kept emphasizing one point: this land was originally used for burial, and when it would become a tomb site was only a matter of time; how could it be turned into a highway with cars coming and going in the future?

  "If it weren't for you alone refusing to exchange land, the entire project would be delayed." The coordinator almost pointed at the old man's nose and scolded him. If it weren't for such a heavy feudal mindset, who would still need to farm at such an old age? Who would need a good burial site to ensure a family's long-term happiness? But he endured and finally said with gritted teeth: "Actually, this project is what the government needs, our company is just a contractor, the government needs this road, really!"

  Rumor has it that the government is going to repair the road. The old man, who had just walked a few steps, turned around and looked at the coordinator for a while, from his big flat head, work uniform, backpack, all the way down to his shoes. He shook his head and said: "I don't think you're a government official at all. Government officials always wear red hats and their uniforms are not as good as yours. Besides, if the government wants to use our land, why didn't they come talk to us about it? Even if the government did come, shouldn't they give me an explanation? In the past, the government promised that I could continue to farm on my own land, and I have the right to decide how to use it. Now I've decided to turn it into a burial ground, shouldn't the government respect my decision?"

  The old man became more and more spirited as he spoke, putting down his hoe as if to lecture the young people. "Just now you said that after occupying the land, we need to build a highway, right? Not far from where we are standing, there is a wide cement road, big cars and small cars can all run on it, I reckon our grandsons will be able to ride bicycles in the future, and that road will still be usable. Why do you have to occupy my grave land to build a highway, won't that road become useless? One mu of land can produce quite a bit of grain every year, but instead it's being wasted on building a road that doesn't produce anything, isn't that a waste?"

  "I say, old fellow, isn't this highway producing nothing? The benefits it brings are far greater than just using the land as a farm, and..."

  "What's the point? With such a wide road, it's enough for cars to come and go, why do you need to build an expressway? I've never seen any road that needs to occupy so much land." The old man said as he approached the coordinator, his body almost touching him.

  "Highway is a very wide road. It allows motor vehicles, that is, cars with four wheels or more and can reach speeds of over 60 kilometers per hour to drive separately. Just like the big road you mentioned, although it's a wide cement road, pedestrians, non-motorized vehicles, and motorized vehicles are mixed together, which is too inefficient and can no longer meet the needs of the autonomous region. So we must separate the fast-moving cars and give them better and wider roads to drive on..."

  "Isn't it that according to you, our Yang family's burial ground is not enough? That Wang Baldy's land will also be occupied by a large chunk?" The old man pointed to another piece of land and said with great momentum, his demeanor not at all like an old man who was about to hold his grandson.

  "Not just a big part of it, but all of it."

  The land to be occupied is almost rectangular in shape, and Mr. Yang's estimate is that the terrain is better, so there are some Feng Shui considerations, which were blown up by some villagers who also believed that this land was a treasure of Feng Shui that could not be lost. Of course, when the two families' lands were combined, they just met the requirements for building a four-lane, fully enclosed highway. For farmers, land may be the foundation of their family's livelihood and the fate of the elderly in front of them, but for the autonomous region, the significance of this highway is not so simple.

  "It doesn't matter what highway you want to build, this land is definitely not going to be exchanged. I don't care why Wang Tuo's family agreed to it, but I, Yang Dage, am resolute in not exchanging it." The old man finished speaking, turned around, picked up his hoe and hummed an unknown mountain song as he left, leaving the coordinator standing there alone in a daze.

  "This is a treasure land of Feng Shui!" After scolding, the coordinator stomped his feet on the ground in anger and reluctantly left this treasure land. But the old man's previous words reminded him that he still had to get the government officials to show up, as the old man only recognized those "red hats" who brought hope and actual benefits to him and all the poor people. As soon as they came out, it was estimated that the peasant uncles would respond quickly, while he, a small company employee, should save his legs.

  There are many places where the sun shines, and in this world bathed in sunlight, warmth is shared at the same time, but what happens every day is vastly different. On one side, there is still debate over whether a grave can be exchanged, while on another, people are already about to rest in peace.

  "If the sun sets and no one brings money, you will all die!"

  In the dimly lit cave, under the intimidation of several emaciated but armed men, a similarly shabbily dressed leader wielding a large knife continuously threatened a group of people cowering on the ground in fear. Just yesterday morning they were still passing travelers, but now they had been kidnapped for over a day.

  Not long after the kidnapping, the leader released one person to go back and ask the families of these people to bring money for ransom within a day. The result was that the messenger went for more than 30 hours without bringing any news, which could not help but make the bandits in the cave and the kidnapped people feel that time had become extremely difficult to bear.

  "It's been ages since we've had meat to eat, as long as this batch of goods sells, once we have the money, we'll definitely be able to live it up in town for a while, and maybe even quit this line of work altogether."

  The head was obviously to comfort his more than a dozen brothers, since being defeated by the Yunnan army and the First Division, at that time many people surrendered, but these inferior people with stains on their bodies, how could they have a good outcome after surrendering? The People's Army is extremely skilled at striking down evil landlords, especially those who harm the countryside and wear military uniforms.

  So the troops were defeated and they quickly became familiar with the local situation and slipped away, thinking that they had escaped the storm. When their own food and money were consumed, their greedy desires and lazy habits made it impossible for them to return to farming. In order to make a living, they could only pick up their guns again. With few people and poor weapons, it was impossible to openly become bandits. After becoming mountain bandits, they found that the life of a mountain king was not easy to bear.

  These days, many passersby have been kidnapped. Those from outside the area will definitely not be able to pay the ransom, so whether they are rich or poor, they will all be killed. However, locals are different and can get some ransom. Especially yesterday, a former landlord who was once wealthy was kidnapped. He originally had money, and after the government bought back his land, he got even more money. His family is very rich, so everyone thought they would make a big fortune. But the person sent to deliver the message has not been seen.

  "Boss, shall we just finish this job or call it off? These days of living on tenterhooks can't last long, especially in the territory of the People's Army." A skinny monkey with a serious nicotine addiction was about to lose his temper and didn't have the energy to hold up his gun to intimidate a group of little lambs, but his mouth was still working. "If that fat pig head's family could send over a big bundle of cash, we brothers would be able to escape to Vietnam and live a happy life..."

  "Let's see if this fat-headed and big-eared guy's family is willing to pay for his life!" The black-faced boy with a shiny knife blade made a striking contrast, while he spoke, he also gestured various actions, the "landlord" with a fat head and big ears and others were thoroughly frightened and trembled even more violently.

  The earth is always rotating, and soon the sun will set. At this time, the sentry outside finally saw a few people stumbling towards this side, each with a very unsightly face. Of course, the sentry's face looked good. Hurriedly rushing into the cave, unable to contain the excitement in his heart, he said loudly: "Boss, the people who brought the goods have arrived!"

  The news spread to the ears of the crowd, and a stone stirred up a thousand waves. Many people began to become restless, especially those who estimated that their families would come to redeem themselves with fat rewards. He even made use of his large body to stir up trouble constantly, causing the entire group of hostages to be in an uproar.

  "What's going on? If you can't get the money, none of you will live!" Seeing that the crowd was getting a bit out of hand, the leader immediately waved his bloodthirsty knife and let out a tiger-like roar to control the emotions of the crowd. After calming down, he gave a sideways glance at two henchmen. "One by one, ransom. Those who haven't been called yet should stay quietly in the cave!" He said, then together with the two men, they dragged out the person who was likely the wealthiest "landlord" from the cave.

  "Whose family is this guy from? Is anyone going to pay a ransom for him?"

  Among the many pale faces, he was now passionately shouting towards the crowd, apparently believing that today would definitely bring a big income, without noticing that a black muzzle had already been aimed at his chest.

  "Housekeeper, did you bring the money? If so, hurry up and pay! I really can't take this life anymore!" The fat-eared landlord's words had just come out of his mouth when everyone looked at him with a different gaze. What era is it now that still has housekeepers? Nowadays, people who can hire housekeepers are either very rich or very nostalgic for their wealthy and powerful days.

  "Old master, I've brought it! However..."

  "What's going on here! Hurry up and hand over the money, and we'll let your old man go." The leader saw that the middle-aged man, who was referred to as the steward by the landlord, had a bulging pocket. After a moment of greed, he waved his knife and said: "Are you or are you not here to pay the ransom for your old man? You dog slave!"

  "Yes, yes, yes, however..." The middle-aged man pinched the small package that had some weight to it and said: "My family's grandmother hopes to redeem everyone at once, not just my family's old master, and the money I brought is enough."

  "This is absolutely not going to work!" The leader looked at the bundle and then at the pitiful people by the entrance, glanced around for a moment, whispered something to one of his brothers beside him, and then turned back to say: "We'll get the person out right away, now you should be able to pay up, shouldn't you?"

  "No way, we have to see them come out first!" The middle-aged man said, touching the package in his hand, clearly wanting to show off the weight in his hand in front of the leader.

  In just a few minutes, the remaining kidnapped people were all escorted out of the cave. The people who had been pale and grey in the face earlier now saw several people coming to ransom them outside, their faces greatly improved, but with a hint of confusion. However, they still respected the leader's arrangement very much, and they all squatted on the ground. Before the leader checked if the ransom was enough or not, they definitely couldn't run away.

  Just as everyone crouched down for a moment, the middle-aged man directly threw the bundle over and then squatted down with his hands covering his head. Before he could catch the airborne object, a bullet flew out from the depths of the mountain slope's dense forest. The bundle hadn't even landed in his arms when the bullet had already pierced his forehead.

  The loud gunshot did not stop there, and the crowd that saw the leader's head being hit and his brain smashed like a watermelon was stunned. Just as they were stunned, several bullets with a self-rotating speed of about 200,000 times per minute hit the stunned bandits at a speed exceeding twice that of sound.

  The sudden attack left the bandits with little reaction time, and more than a dozen people who were standing around, eager for big gains, became the best human targets. What's even better is that they were all in a stationary state, which made it easy for the well-trained militia soldiers to hit each one with a single shot.

  The battle was a foregone conclusion, and with the help of a shooter armed with a semi-automatic sniper rifle, the bandits were completely annihilated before they even knew what hit them. This can't be blamed on anyone; if anyone's to blame, it's themselves for being too incompetent and not professional mountain bandits.

  "Everyone was shocked, now it's safe, you can all go home!"

  After all the bandits had become corpses, a group of disguised soldiers emerged from the jungle. They were dressed in dark green uniforms and wore black jungle combat boots on their feet. On their heads, they wore helmets with long green branches attached to them, and their faces were smeared with alternating black and green camouflage paint. Of course, the guns in their hands were originally black rifles, but now they were wrapped in gray cloth strips like clubs. However, these did not surprise anyone, nor were they important. What was important was the accurate marksmanship each of them had displayed earlier. Twelve soldiers had taken down nineteen bandits in less than a minute, quickly freeing the kidnapped villagers from danger.

  "Harmful bandits, rogue soldiers, and evil tyrants in the countryside are all our common enemies. Including those bandit soldiers who kidnapped you, being resolutely eliminated is the only outcome they can get. The government will not compromise with any evil forces, and the people's sons and brothers in arms will not abandon the people..."

  The class leader quickly took on a leadership role to calm the emotions of the crowd. The people squatting on the ground were almost frightened to the point of forgetting to breathe. The person who had just been bullying others with the gun in his hand had now become a corpse with his head blown to pieces, and red and white matter was splattered everywhere.

  "Deputy squad leader, take three soldiers and escort the villagers back."

  The class leader finished speaking and gave the deputy class leader a look, which clearly meant that they should comfort these frightened people on the way, especially that person who was so scared that he had wet his pants. If they didn't comfort them, it's likely to leave psychological trauma.

  Of course, he himself had to take the remaining warriors to sweep the "battlefield". In the mountainous and dense forest of Yunnan Province, there are many places suitable for bandits. The Sixth Division, which has not been on a large battlefield before, finally caught up with the opportunity for actual combat, and naturally had to practice well. The result of practicing troops is that so far, not a single prisoner has been captured, which is also related to no one surrendering voluntarily. Today, let the soldiers experience the feeling of real combat sniping, the squad leader felt very good.

  "One shot one kill, you little devil fired a few more shots today?" The squad leader chuckled and said to Ban Jie while collecting the bodies. Of course, he also took a glance at the sniper rifle on Ban Jie's back, which had become a "fire stick" now, but this stick was a deadly thing, with the nickname "Sharp Shield" and the alias "God of Death".

  "If conditions permit, I will definitely only fire one shot in the future. However, just now there were two who were obviously trained, and if they weren't killed, the consequences would be severe." The mountain bandits aren't that scary, what's scary are those former soldiers who have turned to a life of crime and harm the countryside, dealing with them isn't easy at all. Of course, today's luck might be better, encountering another group of rookies.

  "It doesn't matter, the first division had already given them a chance to surrender. Many of those who surrendered at that time have since reformed and become free people, some may even have stable jobs and their own land, becoming honest and upright individuals. Even if they don't have a secure future for now, it's definitely better than theirs. They insisted on becoming bandits, and this is the result, hopefully in the next life they can be good people..."

  The two of them lifted the corpse together, preparing to move it to the temporary cremation platform made from dry wood they had found earlier. Ban Bian looked at the person he was carrying, the dark and gaping wound, the fresh blood that had already started to congeal into clots. Perhaps his soul had already drifted far away. Shaking his head, he said: "The forest is vast, with all kinds of birds! If they didn't become enemies of the people, perhaps they could have been good men who built homes and started families... Beautiful lives were ruined by momentary greed..." After finishing speaking, the two of them used their combined strength to throw the corpse into the blazing fire, one after another.

  The high flames that quickly surrounded the corpses may also symbolize the burning of all kinds of corruption and greed in human hearts to ashes, belonging to the old era. With a balance of softness and firmness, the road ahead for the autonomous region will slowly become smoother in this complex world.