Three periods of *Fu* [dog days] plus one autumn, and after autumn comes another *Fu*. The early mornings outside the pass no longer felt the summer heat and began to turn cool. Han Haitao got up early, packed up, and headed straight for the assembly point to participate in today's urban patrol.

There were few cadres at the assembly point, mostly middle-aged. Han Haitao guessed that the young cadres must have gone to participate in the execution of the *Measures for Rural Land Limits*.

Han Haitao guessed correctly. But what he didn't know was that at this time, there were fewer than a hundred cadre members left in Siping City. Among them, 40 young cadres and soldiers were garrisoning key points like the silver vault and military camp. The other 90% of the troops and cadres had left Siping under the leadership of He Rui and others to head for the rural areas.

***

Majiagou. A very ordinary Northeast village. A small ditch extended from the not-so-high mountains to the flat land. There was no water in the ditch at all. Water flow could only be seen when it rained or during the spring snowmelt.

Tang Gui, leader of the Majiagou Village Work Team, looked at the group of indifferent villagers in front of him, feeling a little uneasy in his heart. Taking advantage of a breath while propagating land policy to the villagers, Tang Gui tried to calm himself down.

The villagers' reaction was too indifferent.

For a few moments, Tang Gui even suspected if his Tianjin accent made it hard for the villagers to understand the policy content. But Tang Gui quickly dismissed this thought.

Even though they were incredibly indifferent, the villagers still didn't leave. They were listening, just expressionless. Such an expression was not unfamiliar to Tang Gui. His family and neighbors in Tianjin looked like this every day when they finished work.

Heavy daily labor exhausted everyone's last bit of strength and expectation. If anything could make indifferent or even numb people react, those reactions mostly stemmed from anger.

Calming his mood, Tang Gui continued to propagate the policy.

The land reform policy wasn't complicated. In every village, based on the current population, regardless of whether they were elderly or children, everyone counted as a head, and each person would be allocated 5 *mu* of arable land. Land at the edge of the village unsuitable for reclamation, including mountains and ditches, would be managed by the village, but the village's use of these lands had to obey the government's planning arrangements.

Every family would be allocated land, and this land was prohibited from being bought or sold.

Those who owned more land than the prescribed area had to sell the land to the government, which would then distribute it to others.

He Rui observed Tang Gui explaining the land policy to the villagers and observed the villagers' reactions. Occasionally, he saw a few individuals leaving the crowd with nervous expressions. In the direction where these hurried figures disappeared, the tall ridges of respectable houses could be seen.

***

In Zhangjiatun, 30 *li* away from Majiagou where He Rui was, Chen Deli, leader of the Zhangjiatun Work Team, was doing the same work. Just as he finished explaining the policy, he saw the family members of the village's big landlord, Zhang Debiao, turn and leave. Only a guy wearing a long gown was left, who walked up to Chen Deli and bowed with clasped hands. "Officer Chen, our Master Zhang would like to invite Officer Chen to sit at the house."

Chen Deli smiled slightly. "Understood. I'll take my men to sit at Master Zhang's house in a while."

Hearing Chen Deli say this, the steward smiled apologetically and cupped his hands, waiting for Chen Deli to gather his subordinates to go to Zhang Debiao's house to "beat the autumn wind" [seek gratuitous financial help/extort].

Looking at this overly young "official" in front of him, the steward disapproved in his heart.

The steward completely understood the so-called land policy. Precisely because he understood, the steward was very dismissive in his heart. This was just an excuse to fish for money in a different way.

On the fifth day after He Rui arrived in Siping, Zhang Debiao's family heard about He Rui's method of resolving the original Garrison Regiment in three days. They knew this young Governor was a formidable character.

Later, Governor He rectified taxes and arrested people from the underworld in the city. This fully demonstrated Governor He's ruthless methods.

Master Zhang Debiao had seen so many governors and knew this Governor He would sooner or later make a move on the gentry and landlords. The money had long been prepared.

Sure enough, this young Governor couldn't hold back after staying in Siping for two months and started to move against the big households in the Siping countryside. This was somewhat beyond Master Zhang's expectations; he originally thought Governor He would wait until the autumn harvest to go to the countryside to gather wealth. But sooner or later he would come; this point was never wrong.

The steward looked at the common people who had listened to the so-called land policy and hadn't dispersed immediately, feeling somewhat unhappy in his heart.

He knew these poor people didn't believe what the government said at all. But when the government came to the countryside, sometimes for the sake of appearances, they would force the big households to hold a banquet for the poor. These people were waiting to sponge a meal.

"These bastards, really good for nothing," the steward cursed silently. Hosting a banquet also cost money. Saving this money to add a few more meat dishes for the Governor's subordinates later—wouldn't that be better than letting these bastards eat it?

Just as he was thinking, the sound of footsteps rang out. A moment later, a large group of police loaded with live ammunition rushed straight along the village dirt road toward Zhang Debiao's house.

Before the steward could ask, two policemen came up, pinned him to the ground, and tied him up.

Only then did the steward shout, "Officer Chen, what is this for! Misunderstanding! It's a misunderstanding!"

Seeing so many police suddenly arrive, the villagers knew something big had happened. They dared not watch anymore and immediately fled home. Once inside, they closed the windows and doors immediately. Only a few bold ones fled to a distance, hiding behind corners and trees to watch. Those who fled home secretly peeked out through cracks in the doors or over the walls.

Seeing the villagers disperse, Chen Deli actually felt much more relaxed. In the arrangement for this trip to the countryside, He Rui emphasized that local tyrants and evil gentry were not covered by the new land policy, and the government would not purchase their land. To promote the land policy, the first ones to be decisively knocked out were these local tyrants and evil gentry.

Although the steward beside him was tied up, he still struggled and tried to explain, "This is a misunderstanding." Chen Deli turned to the steward and smiled. "Zhang Debiao colluded with Sun Qitian—Sun Er—to murder and rob; where is the misunderstanding?"

Hearing Chen Deli say the nickname "Sun Qitian," the steward's sophistry stuck in his throat and couldn't come out. Sun Er was a habitual bandit in the Siping area. The steward actually knew about the things Zhang Debiao hired Sun Er to do.

At this time, Armed Police Captain Duan Yongpeng ran over quickly, stopped in front of Chen Deli, and saluted. "Report to the Captain. Zhang Debiao's large compound has been surrounded."

"Did anyone escape?" Chen Deli asked.

Duan Yongpeng shook his head. "We didn't see anyone when we surrounded it."

At this time, Zhang Debiao's large compound was in chaos. The gunmen [private guards] living in the backyard learned they were surrounded, rushed to the main hall with muskets, and the leader shouted loudly, "Master, which road of bandits are those blind fools from? Daring to smash our 'ringing kiln' [fortified house]. Don't they know there are government people in the village?"

After speaking, the gunman leader saw several people in the hall looking at him like he was a fool, and was very puzzled for a moment.

He saw Zhang Debiao's face changing, with anger and confusion. He neither answered the question nor ordered the gunmen to mount the walls to resist.

At this time, a gunman who had already gone up the wall ran into the hall and said to the gunman leader in panic, "Big Brother, I didn't see any bandits outside smashing the kiln."

"Then who is outside?" the gunman leader asked angrily.

"Outside... outside are all government troops." The gunman was at a loss after speaking.

The gunman leader was also overwhelmed by this unexpected news. Ignoring how Zhang Debiao answered, the gunman leader went out quickly and climbed the wall. He saw that the loaded troops outside were all wearing police uniforms.

The gunman leader knew bandits would absolutely not dress like this. Even if they wanted to trick the gate open, they couldn't get so many police uniforms.

"Big Brother, what do we do?" The gunmen who had already climbed the wall and watchtower ran over to ask. This was their first time confronting government people.

At this time, they heard the police outside the wall shouting, "Gunman brothers up there, we are here to arrest Zhang Debiao. Zhang Debiao colluded with the bandit Sun Qitian—Sun Er. Sun Er has already been caught and confessed to the crimes of murder and robbery committed with Zhang Debiao. You are just hired by Zhang Debiao; everyone is just making a living. It's not worth losing your lives here for Zhang Debiao."

Hearing this persuasion, the gunman leader didn't delay. He ordered his brothers, "Open the gate; let the government people in."

"..." The gunmen on the wall didn't know if they should do this for a moment.

The gunman leader shouted angrily, "If we fight bandits, we can seek a reward from Zhang Debiao. If we fight the government army, who are we going to ask for a reward?"