Proletarian internationalism is built on the notion of seeking truth from facts.
Only when you stand firmly,
insisting on seeking the truth from facts
can socialist modernization
move forward.
We can now enter university!
What has been undergoing, as a practice, is the only discussion we will have to examine the truth.
Like a Flowing River
~ Episode 34 ~
We all are doing business by the docks, right?
- We will see each other no matter what. - Indeed.
We are all in the same field. Today,
it can't be said that we wouldn't be friends if we didn't fight.
Come.
Today, I'll have a good drink with you.
- That's more like it! Come! - Three successive drinks, is that okay?
Come.
- Let's drink until it's right. - Come, let me drink that for her.
Yang, you're back.
I'll drink it for her.
Can you still take it?
I can. How could a man say that he can't anymore?
Brother Shi,
I really
don't know much about doing business.
Next time, teach me more about business.
I'll call you my big brother, is that okay?
I'll surely acknowledge you as my little sister.
Okay!
Timing and subtitles brought to you by The River of Life Team@ Viki
Waiter!
Pack up the leftovers.
Hey.
You're all done eating?
Can you hurry it up?
I still have to get going.
Who are you looking for?
Him.
I'm looking for him.
He said that a friend of his
is a novelist and wants to get inspiration in our Lintang.
He asked me to take him with me when I go back
and even gave gave me ¥20.
He said that we'll be setting out once you all are done eating.
I waited for more than half a day. Just when is he going to leave?
He's looking for you.
Who's looking for me?
Okay.
Go!
Bye!
Looks like that dinner we paid for
was wasted.
Your performance was pretty good.
If this deal is a success,
I'll give you award money.
Okay?
Look at you.
Drink some hot water.
Were you able to contact Section Chief Shi?
- No. - Okay. You can go back.
Close the door.
Dengfeng Electric Cable!
Yang Xun!
Phone call for you!
Okay, coming!
Hello? Who's this?
Oh, yes.
Okay, okay. Thank you, thank you.
What happened?
Xiao Feng.
What happened?
Prepare the goods.
He'll check it tomorrow morning.
Seriously?
- It's for real. - Really?
Nope, it's not true.
Is it really true or not?
- You guess. - You...
Novelist, you're finally awake.
It's going to get dark soon.
What novelist?
- Who are you? - Last night, you were so drunk.
I also don't know where you are specifically going.
I just know that you're coming here to our Lintang.
Hence, I had you sleep over in our house first.
- Lintang? - Yes.
The scenery around here is great.
Novelist like you love to come to our place for inspiration. You must be hungry.
I'll get you some congee.
You said that this is Lintang?
Why am I here?
I drove a tractor all night to drag you here.
You, you, you. Come here, come here.
Let me ask you.
- Where's the tractor? - It went to deliver bricks. It will be back by noon tomorrow.
How am I going to get back?
Return? You won't be able to go down the mountain tonight. You'll have to wait till tomorrow.
It might rain today and tomorrow. You might not be able to head out tomorrow either.
There's no problem with your product. It totally passed the standards.
Brother Dong, I've already told you that our Dengfeng is the top brand within the three provinces around the Yangtze River.
I need a lot of goods this time.
Will you be able to provide before the deadline?
No problem.
It's just that since our brand is good,
there are a lot of buyers. I'm just the sole distributor for Jinzhou.
Nanjing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, we also have authorized dealers there.
The demands are outstripping the supply.
Hence, usually, after signing the contract,
you have to wait about a month.
About a month?
I can't wait for a month.
Brother Dong, if you ask it, no problem. Of course, I must do you this favor.
As long as you ask it, I'll tell the factory to do three shifts,
people can rest but the machines can't, and produce your goods for 24 hours.
Let me tell you.
The earthwork of our infrastructure is basically complete.
We only lacked the electrical part.
2 weeks.
Just 2 weeks.
You must come up with all these items that I need.
Time's not the problem.
But...
But what?
Since the factory workers have to put in extra hours,
we have to give them overtime pay.
Hence, the price...
...might be a bit more expensive.
Just a little more.
As long as you can ensure the quality
amount, and time of delivery,
I'll think of a way
to pay for the additional amount.
No problem. No problem. Thank you, Section Chief Dong. Thank you.
Thank you, thank you. Thank you, Brother.
- You're here. - Yes.
When did you come?
Just now.
I was writing a letter and got tired.
I thought of taking a nap.
Your friend from America
wrote to you again?
The situation she wrote about is a bit troublesome.
What happened to her this time?
She plans to go into a lawsuit with her uncles.
To go through legal means in obtaining the inheritance she deserved.
She's really going to go into a lawsuit with those uncles of her?
It's still good with those uncles of her. The hardest person to deal with is her grandfather.
Before the Communist victory, her grandfather was a banker in Shanghai. He's a very shrewd businessman
and very rational.
Very rational? What does that mean?
It basically means a bit cold and sharp.
Even if it was an old man being unreasonable,
a child shouldn't make it escalate to the level of the court.
- Did you write a letter to urge her to stop? - No.
I'm urging her that in whatever she does, she should be in the active position.
If she decides to sue,
she then must do adequate preparation.
She can't hire professional lawyers like her uncles,
hence, she herself must clearly be familiar with the basic policies and numerous details of American law.
This will be a tough battle to fight.
The why are you still encouraging her to do this?
What if she lose the lawsuit, wouldn't she blame you?
I am not afraid she'll blame me, and I believe she understands my well intentions for her.
She went to the US to take shelter with her relatives, but they are not treating her as part of the family.
Think of how hard it is for a young girl out there to have no one to rely on in a foreign land. What do you think would happen if they really kick her out?
Rather than getting passively beaten up, it's better to take the initiative to grab the power.
I don't get why she's still staying. Is it really worth it to stay abroad?
Won't you be able to still live when you return to our country?
There's something you might not know. The curriculum in the US is very different from our country.
With her current grades, she can definitely apply for top universities abroad.
But if she returns home and take the college entrance examination, I am afraid she might not even make it to the TV University.
She is being responsible for her own future, and I support her for it.
Yes, yes, you're right. You are going to agree with whatever she said anyways.
No way. What are you thinking?
She is only a high schooler, a teenager.
You said I was also young before.
- You are different from her. - How am I different?
You... You know how to cook.
I only have one positive trait in your eyes?
Kitten, let's stop being unhappy for such a little thing.
Anyways, I am not that type of person.
- I didn't. - It's good if you didn't.
Oh, no. I didn't notice the time. I'll be late. Come, let me take you home first.
You are not going to eat anymore?
There's no time.
I can mail the letters for you.
No need, I am not done yet. I will mail it when I am done. Let's go. Hurry.
What?
Daughter.
What's wrong? Who has upset you?
No one. I am not upset.
What's wrong then? You were fine when you left.
Did you have a fight with Little Song?
No, stop trying to guess. Go to sleep.
Don't try to keep it from your mother. Tell me if something is bothering you.
We can work out ideas together.
Okay?
It's not anything serious. It's just that...
What?
There's a girl that write letters to Xiao Hui.
A girl?
He said she's a former student of his.
She lives in the US now.
What did it say on the letter?
He said the girl told him that she wants to fight for
inheritance with her uncle and they're going to court for it.
The letter is all English. I couldn't understand.
That Little Song, what is he thinking.
No, Mom, don't overthink. It's not like what you're thinking.
He has already explained to me that
they are just normal friends and that they haven't seen each other for many years.
How old is that girl? Has she been in United States this whole time? What does her family do?
I am not sure how old,
but she is in high school and is about to take the college entrance exam.
I thought it was something serious. She's only a kid.
Are you being jealous of a high schooler now?
No.
To judge whether a man is reliable not,
you need to see if he lets you manage his money.
Little Song gave all of his salary to you. What are you scared of?
I am not jealous. I'd already told you it was nothing serious, but you made me say it.
The reason I was upset was because...
...we had already agreed
to have a meal together today,
but he has to do overtime again.
You're right, Little Song is too busy.
When they are done with the new workshop, you can ask you father to let him have a break. You two can go out and have some fun.
Really, mother? Can't you go ask father later?
- Go yourself. - I don't want to.
So you know you are bullying your father, right?
No, I didn't.
Okay, I will ask for you.
Thank you mom, you're the best.
Okay. Go wash up and sleep.
Okay. Thank you, mom.
Good night.
I've asked her. Our daughter and Little Song are doing very well.
Tomorrow, I plan to ask her to find a time to go and register their marriage.
You can't. You can't rush this.
Are you also worried about that girl from the States? I don't think Little Song would do that.
Of course, I'm not. I'm not a kid to worry about that. I realized we've made a mistake.
What mistake?
Good things that are too easily obtained won't be treasured.
We always took the initiative.
We can't handle their marriage in this manner.
Then what can we do? If no one would say it, how long would this get dragged on?
Didn't you say that this matter must be settled soon?
Of course, they must marry and it must happen as soon as possible.
But we can let Kaiyan be the one to say it first, it has to be Little Song.
What if Little Song doesn't say it?
We'll just let this drag on?
I will find a time to talk to him about this.
- You're back. - Yes, we're back.
Mom, why are you shutting the door in the middle of the day?
Why aren't you out basking in the sun?
Do you have anything else to do later?
I must return to the brigade office. I've been out for several days. I must ask Shigen
about the situation of the electric cable factory and piggery.
Since it's still daytime, take this and make an offering to the your Uncle's grave.
- Fine. - Do a deep bow and make an offering to him.
Do it so everyone in the village can see. Maybe they will stop with their gossips.
What are the villagers saying?
Nothing much too. The family of Uncle has stopped causing trouble.
That bastard Lei Weiguo has also shut his mouth.
But recently, wherever I go, the villagers would hide.
It‘s as if I have Leprosy or something. I couldn't ignore it anymore so
I went to second Uncle and asked him what was going on.
He told me every one is still mad about what happened to the Old Secretary.
Dongbao, you were also at wrong.
You first said that the Old Secretary took a bribe
and took advantage of the villagers,
yet you couldn't give evidence to that.
Was it because he didn't do anything wrong or were you being soft hearted?
You can't blame the villagers for saying that you forced the Old Secretary to his death.
Other than ignoring you, did the villagers do anything else?
What else can they do? We all are relatives here.
They are ignoring me when they see me, but talking bad about me behind my back.
Fine.
I will go visit Uncle now.
Brother, you are finally back.
What are you doing?
I am here to say my last good bye.
Where are you going?
I can go to Shanghai,
Guandong, or maybe Shenzhen.
You don't even know where you are going? You would starve to death even if you beg your way their.
Auntie.
I don't have time for you.
Brother, brother.
- I am forced to go. I am actually going into hiding. - Sibao,
why do you need to hide?
Auntie, the villagers have started a rumor that
I was the first one who told on the Old Secretary,
which made Brother Dongbao force him to his death step by step.
Sibao, if you heard people gossiping in front of you, why didn't you defend your brother?
The Old Secretary didn't die because he forced him.
Auntie, I also want to defend,
but...you didn't know yet, right? Last night,
they broke Shigen's house's windows. If I tried to jump out in defense, they might even try to dig out my ancestor's graves.
- Xiao Bao, this is serious matter. - Mom, it's alright.
- Would they break the windows of our house? - Let's see who'll dare. Go in and rest first.
Do you know who shattered the glasses of Shigen's window?
I don't know. But,
Brother, it might not be obvious on the outside,
but most people in the village are siding with Old Secretary.
With just a little problem, you're running away?
You're also a member of the village committee.
I now have a task for you to handle. Are you still leaving?
Brother, are you serious?
It's true.
I'm still leaving. I don't want to stay and give you trouble.
Now, they are able to destroy the window of Shigen.
They can then light up my house. I finally can see it.
These people can just turn hostile with you so suddenly.
If I stay, I might lose my life too.
Since I'm unable to make you stay,
- Brother... - it's also good to go out and make a living by yourself.
Once you're unable to continue,
just come back.
Shigen!
Shi...
[ All things going one's way, continue moving up. All things going smoothly, things getting better every year.]
Dongbao.
Who did that?
This is nothing. Don't ask anymore. It was no one.
What 'it's nothing'? Is there no more law here in Xiaoleijia?
You're already hurt and bleeding. Who the hell did that?!
What happened to you?
I got that from a wall.
We're talking about you.
Just a child. I'm fine, but you're different.
How is it different?
You were hit by a child, while my window was threw at by an old man.
The whole village now, including the old, young, and women, are seeking justice for Old Secretary's death.
Dongbao, if you want the village to shut up,
listen to me.
We must continue investigating the accounts and announce the result to the public.
Uncle's family has already given in. Lei Weiguo won't dare to cause any more trouble.
Even if you investigate the books clearly
and post it on the bulletin board, that's just tainting the reputation of Uncle more.
These old and young people are irrational beings. We're different from them.
I'm thinking, must we do things that extreme?
But this dirty water is being splashed at us.
I know that you're aggrieved.
Let me think about it.
- You're not sitting for a while more? - I'm going to the electric cable factory and piggery to check on things.
Don't go to the village committee office for the next few days. Just focus on recuperating.
Okay. I'm fine.
Where are you wife and kids?
When I got hurt, my wife brought my child back to her parents. It's okay.
Endure a little bit more.
Listen to me. Endure a little bit more.
I'm leaving.
Secretary Dongbao.
Please go to the brick kiln. We have a problem. Hongwei is unable to suppress the situation and asked me to come see you.
What happened?
The laborers won't work.
Everyone, can you first light the brick kiln's fire first?
We're unable to. Why don't you give it a try?
You all want to revolt?
Get up!
All of you, get up!
What's going on?
These people are leading the group in causing trouble. They put out the brick kiln's fire.
The kiln is now cold?
How much effort and coal must we now use to make it burn again?
You all are old workers here.
Don't you know this principle?!
And you! How are you managing things here?!
Secretary, when I left last night, the brick kiln was still good.
When I arrived this morning,
the fire is already out. What's going on?!
It was always Old Secretary who watches over the kiln fire.
It was him adding coal and increasing the fire. Now that he's gone,
none of us is able to come and maintain it.
The brick kiln has been operating for 6 to 7 years.
None of you is able to watch a fire, is that it?
You guys did this deliberately.
Shi Hongwei, don't falsely accuse us.
Old Secretary's position got stolen by you for no reason at all.
Now, you're here nitpicking at us. Do you have a conscience?
That's right. Hongwei, you're randomly blaming people.
- You were unable to manage things properly. - I manage—
Shut up, damn you!
You're all more capable now, is that it?!
I won't dwell into who is the one at fault here today.
Quickly lead everyone to do their job.
So many people are waiting for their bricks.
No matter what, light the fire. You hear me?
You hear me?!
Work!
Go.
Changjiao, looking for me? Let's talk inside.
Not anymore. Secretary Dongbao, I won't to resign.
You were doing quite well. Why are you resigning?
I'm unable to get along with Hongwei. I don't feel good working under him.
The salary that the factory gives you is not low.
Where are you going to look for such a good job once you leave Xiaoleijia?
The factory in Hengxi is lacking laborers. They've talked with me a few times.
Hengxi?!
Hengxi's brick factory isn't doing so well. Can they give you a higher salary?
Have you thought that once you leave,
the village might stop the pension,
labor insurance, and medical compensation of your family?
Of course, I'm afraid. You were quite ruthless with Old Secretary,
what more with a little laborer like me.
And you still dare to leave?
It's not only me.
A few people in the brick kiln all want to resign.
Explain yourself clearly. Why?
Why? Old Secretary did a good job in the brick kiln.
He wakes up early and goes home late, doing hard labor with young people like us.
But you? You just took away his position with just one word.
Some people are even gossiping that he was corrupt.
We all were watching. We never saw him corrupt any money.
You weren't able to find anything with the books, right?
Old Secretary's death was too unfair. We all are bearing grudges about it.
Secretary Dongbao, I'm going now.
Stop right there!
What are you planning to do? I'm still leaving even if you beat me up.
I don't have that much idle time.
Changjiao, three days. Give me three days.
If by then, you all still want to leave, I won't stop you.
There's finally a result after so many days of investigation.
Lei Zhenshan, 1981,
¥9,030.
1982...it was ¥9,640.
It was 3,000 during 1983.
He really did corrupt money.
During 1984, it was ¥3,680.
That's ¥30,000. How come...
How come it's this way? How could he has done such a thing?
My god, how could he still be corrupting at his old age?
- How could he has done such a thing? - That's right. - ¥30,000 isn't a small amount.
Indeed. All are hard earned money by the village.
How could he do such a thing?
Everyone, you think Dongbao and his people might have calculated it wrongly?
- Impossible. - No way. How could it be just wrong calculation?
It can't be. Dongbao
has always been fair when doing things. It's impossible.
Didn't it get eventually find out?
Indeed. Old Secretary has really corrupted money and it was a lot.
The pigs we chose are from a good species. That old professor in the county Animal Husbandry Bureau
also chose very good feeds. Seeing how these pigs are growing up and looking different every day,
looking very differently after a month, I reckon that they are growing by half a kilo a day.
Don't tell me nonsense. The Guangdong people are urgently asking for goods. Just tell me if you can complete the task or not.
I can. We currently have 1,500 small and big pigs in total.
Just wait for a month. When these little pigs grow up,
the 1,000 pigs that those Cantonese people want will be no problem.
Okay.
Secretary.
Be direct with your words.
I just want to ask how you plan to handle the matter of Old Secretary.
Didn't we already post it in the bulletin board? What else do you want us to do?
Isn't it already clear with everyone know?
Old Secretary corrupted quite a huge amount of money. People in the village are discussing
that the son should pay the debt of the father.
Although these words may sound ungrateful, they are reasonable, right?
The person is dead. You all still won't let it go?
No... Everyone just wants an explanation from the committee.
Okay.
Since you guys want an explanation,
I'll hand the right to decide to you all.
For the matter regarding the Old Secretary, we hope that we can have a closure today.
We've already posted the result on the public bulletin board.
The Old Secretary,
altogether has embezzled
¥31,000.
What Secretary wants is to handover the decision
on what to do with Old Secretary's matter to the village members through a vote.
Either it's forgetting the debt since the person is dead,
or asking the son to pay for the father's death,
will be decided by everyone.
Four-eyed. Hongwei.
Distribute the seeds to everyone.
Everyone, take a look. There are two baskets here.
Those who agree with the son paying for the father's debt should cast your vote on this basket.
Those who agree to forego the debt since the person is dead, cast your vote in this basket.
Everyone must think about what they want to do. Each person can only vote once.
Everyone will get one. There's no rush.
Come here.
Cast your vote here and then leave thru that way.
Come.
Get it from me. Right.
Those who are done getting it, keep moving forward.
Right.
There's still more? Go ahead.
- Do you have one?
Let's go. Let's go.
Are you still the Xiaoleijia people that I know?
Each one...
...throwing a stone to someone already down. So heartless and ruthless.
All his life, the old secretary did so much for all of you.
Go and count it with your fingers. Can you really count them all?!
You all actually voted for the son to pay for the father's debt.
Where did your conscience go? All you care about is money!
Let me ask you one question.
Is the former secretary's life worth ¥31,000?
You all better think well! Think got damn well!
The person is dead so his debt is gone. That is how this matter is being settled today.
Whoever still has something to say, come find me.
Ping Ping, say, when people are poor,
no matter how hard and tiring it is,
even if there are no salary for several months,
everyone is united in risking their life to work.
But now that days are better,
human heart has changed to something that I can't recognize anymore.
Are they still the people of our Xiaoleijia?
Today, the village had a voting exercise.
Those who agreed to let Uncle off
were actually just ten plus people.
I feel so disappointed.
The Old Secretary was indeed wrong.
But he's done so many good things for the people.
Why doesn't anyone remember that?
So I was thinking...
...could there come a day...
...when they will treat me the same way
as they did to Uncle?
Don't find me such a nag.
I have no place to vent.
I miss you.
I miss our son.
- Dongbao. - Aunt.
We didn't catch anyone at your house, so we came here.
Auntie, sit down. I was just about to go to your place.
Dongbao.
We didn't come here for anything else.
We just want to pay back
the money that your uncle owed.
This is ¥10,000. For the remaining,
we want to earnestly ask the village to give us more time.
Aunt.
I've wronged Uncle.
No. No. It's not your fault.
I hated you before because...
...I thought you were only targeting your uncle.
Now that it's been clearly posted on the village board,
among so many cadres of our village,
only your uncle corrupted money.
Your uncle chose to kill himself
because he was too ashamed to see you.
Dongbao.
Our village from now on
must still rely on you.
- Dongbao. - Yes.
Don't hate Uncle.
I don't hate him.
Let's go, mom.
Aunt.
Timing and subtitles brought to you by The River of Life Team@ Viki
♫ Flowers quietly bloom in the spring ♫
♫ Looking forward to the big and ripe golden fruits of Autumn ♫
♫ Those seeds of hope that our predecessors sowed ♫
♫ will be reaped by their successors ♫
♫ The proud sun of summer burns like fire ♫
♫ Emerging layers of waves are still warm ♫
♫ Push open a window, let the breeze blow past, ♫
♫ as if spring has come to visit ♫
♫ The wind and snow of winter sweep past ♫
♫ Bringing songs of harvest during autumn ♫
♫ When did the rain fall? When did the wind stop blowing? ♫
♫ Telling stories of the past ♫
♫ The spring breeze continues to blow, still looking forward ♫
♫ to the flowing rivers of age; time fleetingly passes by ♫
♫ A journey of difficulties and loud songs ♫
♫ All belong to us ♫
♫ Smilingly watch as time passes by ♫