Farmer

Author: Li Yiqing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: "Oh, I'm so worried to death!" said Chen Suhua. I asked, "What then?" She lowered her head and thought for a moment, then suddenly looked at me with bright eyes and said, "Hey, genius, isn't there a mountain pond in the village?" That pond was built during the "Great Leap Forward" era. I didn't react at first and asked her what was wrong with the pond. She said, "Find Dejiang, we'll lease it and raise fish." That was actually a pretty good idea. I immediately found Dejiang, and surprisingly, he agreed readily. I signed a five-year contract with the village. In the spring, we stocked the pond with a lot of fish fries. Now, if I recall, it was also the year we started going downhill. It was like wading through muddy water—taking one step forward, sinking deeper and deeper. That year, fertilizer prices went up, seed prices went up, and so did pesticide and plastic film prices. In short, anything a farmer needed to buy increased. But what the farmers sold didn't increase at all. That year, agricultural taxes increased, as did township levies and village contributions, along with all sorts of fees and fund-raising campaigns. Fortunately, our fish pond started generating some income. After paying the annual lease fee, agricultural tax levies, fees, and fund-raising contributions, and the loan to the township credit union for building a new house, we had no money left, not a single cent. As long as we had the fish pond, we would slowly make money. Chen Suhua said, "Five years, the lease term is up, we'll lease it for another five years." I said, "Why not just keep leasing it until we don't want to anymore?" But soon after I said that, Hu Dejiang came to my house with a message. When I arrived, he was busy in the wine workshop, sweating all over. I asked him what he wanted, and Dejiang said, "The fish pond." I asked, "What's wrong with the fish pond? We've been leasing it for five years, and we've paid the lease fees on time." Dejiang said, "I know that, but some people are complaining that the lease fee is too low, and the villagers are very unhappy." I immediately panicked and shouted, "We signed a contract! Can't that contract be binding?" "Don't hurry, I haven't finished yet," Dejiang said, patting my shoulder. "This isn't your fault, it's all my fault for acting unilaterally. I didn't consult the village party branch, the village committee, or the villagers." I said, "You're the party secretary, so you can just decide." Dejiang said, "Ah, things aren't like before now. Everything has to be democratic." I asked, "What then?" Dejiang said, "Isn't this what we're discussing with you?" After thinking for a moment, he added, "How about this: You still lease the fish pond. But some issues need to be resolved at a village meeting." I asked how to resolve them, and Dejiang said, "It will depend on what the villagers decide." I went home and told Chen Suhua, and she didn't even let me finish before she cursed, saying, "Look at this! The hardworking person is doing the lazy person's job, and the lazy person is enjoying it! The day I started catching fish, I saw those damn eyes shining like fire, red as if they were about to burst with blood! Just as I thought! They don't even think about how much hard work we put into leasing the fish pond!" That was true. Most of the fish we stocked that year were grass carp. Grass carp eat grass, no feed needed. Chen Suhua had to go out early every morning and late every evening to cut grass. On weekends, Xiaosanzi and Cao Cao, who had just come home from school, also went to cut grass. Cutting grass became Chen Suhua's daily routine, while all the fieldwork had to be done by me—how exhausting! At night, we also had to guard the fish pond. It was truly exhausting during the day, exhausting at night, and even after the night was over, we still had to work. Chen Suhua cursed enough, then lowered her head and cried softly. I couldn't help but sigh along with her. This was when we waited for Dejiang to call the village meeting to mediate. Since the land was divided among households, people rarely gathered for meetings anymore. Now, suddenly needing to hold one, everyone was actually quite excited. That day, people came very early. As soon as the village secretary and head, Hu Dejiang, finished explaining the meeting's agenda, all eyes in the hall turned to my wife and me. The way they looked at us was as if we had stolen something from everyone. My wife was about to stand up, but I quietly pulled her back, and she had to sit down with a groan. I wanted to hear what the villagers had to say first. Sure enough, the villagers were furious. Some said the fish pond belonged to everyone in the village, so why was it only leased to Niutai. Others said the fish pond could produce hundreds of loads of grain if turned into farmland, so why was the lease fee so low—only 500 yuan per year. Some questioned Dejiang, asking why the fish pond was leased without consulting them, causing chaos and confusion. My head was buzzing. It was as if Dejiang was making a self-criticism, admitting he wasn't democratic enough, that leasing the fish pond was such a big deal and shouldn't have been decided without consulting the villagers, harming the interests of everyone. This only fueled the fire, and the villagers strongly demanded the fish pond be taken back and re-leased. A few people were particularly aggressive. I recognized one of them as Ermao, the son of Chen Xing. Dejiang called for quiet, then shouted to me, "Genius, you've seen it all. The villagers are very unhappy. How about this: The contract won't be voided, but it won't be voided either. First, you'll continue leasing it, and the lease term can even be extended to ten years, which is good for your investment and development. But, ah, the lease fee... as you've seen, the villagers' emotions are high, so it can't be too difficult for me." I hadn't even spoken yet, but my wife yelled, "Ah, headman, you're so bold! Is this signing a contract like playing house?" Dejiang said, "The words on the blackboard can be erased and rewritten." "Are the words written on the blackboard?" my wife said, seizing the advantage. "They're on paper! White paper with black ink! Big red seals!" "That's good," Dejiang said. "I won't change them, as long as you present your case." At this point, the hall erupted again, this time led by Ermao shouting, "Niutai, we want more money!" A chorus followed: "Niutai, we want more money! Niutai, we want more money!" Even Da Yuan, that damn dog, joined in, still using his usual lazy tone, "If you don't increase the money, you can. If you want fish, you won't have to go to his pond to catch them?" Immediately, someone else chimed in, "I won't eat someone's fish for free. I'll just go to that pond to wash pesticide bottles." Ermao was even quicker, demanding to go to the fish pond to release water. Seeing the situation getting out of hand, I quietly told Chen Suhua, "For heaven's sake, I'm afraid we'll have to pay more. Otherwise, how will we raise the fish? Can we afford it?" When she didn't object, I asked Dejiang how much more. Dejiang said, "Let's have an open bidding! Starting at 500 yuan per year. The last one to bid without raising the price wins." As soon as he finished speaking, someone shouted 600, then 700, and soon after, 800, then 1,000, with everyone shouting wildly. After a few rounds, it reached 1,500. I thought that should be enough, but Da Yuan, that damn dog, still lazily said, "I'll bid 1,600." Immediately, someone countered with 1,700, then 1,800. I was so angry I wanted to rush over and kick him. I knew that damn dog was just inflating the price—he didn't really want to lease the fish pond. He had told me himself he was going to open a bamboo crafts shop in the township market.