Chapter 475: Chapter 468: Sinful Acts
Hearing this, Sisi finally understood what was happening and couldn’t help but let out a heavy sigh. Right now, the enforcement of the family planning policy was exceedingly strict, with some officials chasing after achievements by cracking down on extra births like bandits raiding a village, causing widespread resentment among the people.
At this moment, the loud cry of a baby broke out, as if it too sensed the fate it was about to face, wailing louder and louder. The man followed, shouting: "You can’t throw him away, my son is still alive, he’s still breathing, you all can’t throw him away!"
"What are you making a fuss about? How could he possibly survive after being given the medicine?"
That harsh female voice scolded once again, and soon after, the baby’s cries ceased, followed by two tragic screams, one after another.
"My son (my grandson)!"
"You will not die a good death!"
....
Granny Zhao was utterly baffled, having stayed at home all year round, she was truly out of touch with external affairs. Listening to these pitiful wails, she felt a chill all over her body.
"Ah Nan, what’s going on?" Granny Zhao asked softly.
Sisi shook her head slightly and pulling Granny Zhao along, she decided to go have a look, having stumbled upon this incident.
The commotion wasn’t far, within a few steps they arrived. Lying on the ground were an old woman and a middle-aged man. The old woman had already fainted, while the middle-aged man knelt on the ground in a daze, repeating non-stop, "My son is still alive!"
Standing next to these two was a young woman, watching them with an annoyed and stern face. It was none other than Wu Yun, a familiar face from the Disciplinary Committee who had been transferred to the grassroots due to Sisi’s actions.
Sisi had not expected Wu Yun to end up working at the Family Planning Station. She watched Wu Yun with great interest, thinking that Wu Yun really wasn’t a good person. Although the family planning policy is a national strategy, the state didn’t ask for such cold-blooded and heartless enforcement, did it?
Thinking about the loud cries of the baby that Wu Yun had just thrown away, Sisi’s impression of this woman worsened.
Perhaps because she was pregnant, Sisi’s heart was very tender right now, especially towards children. She simply couldn’t bring herself to be harsh, watching a living baby die right before her eyes was something truly difficult to accept.
She hated the people like the man on the ground who knowingly did the forbidden, yet still did it, resulting in these poor little lives being born to suffer. She also hated cold-blooded and heartless enforcers like Wu Yun.
"Quick, somebody help carry this old woman for emergency treatment. What does it look like for her to be lying on the ground like this?"
Sisi called out to the bystanders who had come to watch the excitement. At this time, the common people were still very warm-hearted and kind. Upon hearing her, three or four people stepped forward to lift the old woman, but the man, as if overly traumatized, seemed somewhat deranged, still kneeling on the ground, muttering to himself.
"Don’t lift her, her family still has a fine to pay for the extra birth. Whoever lifts will have to pay up for her."
The men had already lifted the old woman up, but Wu Yun’s cold shout frightened them into immediately letting go, and they all fled far away.
Wu Yun sneered and lifted her head, clearly pleased with herself for having intimidated a few grown men. Sisi only wanted to get the old lady off the ground and to emergency care and had no desire to deal with Wu Yun’s nonsense. After all, she was ostensibly on the side of policy enforcement. But now, seeing Wu Yun’s dismissive demeanor, anger surged in Sisi’s heart.
"Why are you being so excessive, comrade? Fines for exceeding the birth quota is one thing, saving a life is another. They’re completely different matters. This old lady has fainted on the ground. What has that got to do with you, the Family Planning Office?" Sisi questioned loudly.
Granny Zhao has always been one to abhor wrongdoing and had long found the presence of such overbearing people intolerable. She vocally supported Sisi, and seeing someone taking the lead, the surrounding crowd joined in with their various comments.
Wu Yun turned towards Sisi in a rage, intending to unleash a torrent of abuse, but to her surprise, she found herself facing the Deputy Secretary’s Wife. It was indeed the Deputy Secretary’s Wife who reassigned her to the countryside last year. If it hadn’t been for her parents’ connections, she’d still be stuck at that clean government office in the forestry station.
Although the work at the Family Planning Station was good—food, drink, and money were plentiful, and she could occasionally curse and hit people—she couldn’t be content. She used to be a county-level official, monitoring government officials, a highly respected job. But now, she had been demoted to a village-level official, caught up in the demeaning work of chasing down pregnant women and forcing abortions. How could she tolerate such a demotion?
Wu Yun, once a cadre of the Disciplinary Committee, had completely fallen in the corrupt environment of the rural town. Initially, she felt that taking from the villagers was wrong, but unable to stand against her peers, she eventually went along with it. Taking became a habit and she was ruthless against those who defied state policies—ready to beat and scold without mercy.
Although Wu Yun deeply loathed Sisi, she dared not maintain her airs and, lowering her gaze and stifling her fury, muttered: "This family still owes two thousand yuan for violating the birth policy."
Suddenly, a man on the ground blurted out: "No pigs, no cows, no sheep, no sons; we’ve got nothing, nothing to live for!"
Sisi didn’t quite understand, but someone from the crowd sighed, "So sinful!"
Wu Yun coldly said to the man: "Even if you sold all your pigs, cows, and sheep, it wouldn’t cover the two thousand yuan. Instead of crying about it, you’d better figure out a way to make money and pay the fine."
The man trembled at her words, glaring at Wu Yun with bloodshot eyes, as if ready to devour her. Wu Yun was initially startled, but then her temper flared, and she cursed: "What are you looking at? You poor bumpkin, you can’t afford to have kids and still want a son? Keep having them, can you even afford it?"
"Comrade Wu, it’s always best to leave some leeway in what we say and do. Though you’re enforcing the policy, nowhere does it dictate that you should treat the people like Huang Shiren. The way you are, those who don’t know might think you’re the white dog!"
Sisi’s remarks sparked laughter amongst the crowd. Encouraged by Sisi’s candidness, they grew more emboldened, talking nonstop.
"These damn people from the Family Planning Station are the worst. If you have money to give gifts, you can have as many kids as you like, but if you don’t, they fine you mercilessly. Fines aside, the most infuriating thing is how they forcibly abort seven or eight-month-old fetuses, just like what happened to that boy earlier—an actual human life gone, such a sin!"
"Yes, in our village, several have already been aborted. The hearts of those parents have been torn out!"
"These people are even fiercer than the white dog. They grab anything they see as soon as they enter a home, not just from the families with pregnant women, but also from their parents and siblings. They take anything valuable, just like bandits raiding a village."
"Alas, what’s become of the world? Why has having kids become a crime? Isn’t having children the reason people get married?"
....
With a smile that was not quite a smile, Sisi looked at Wu Yun and said lightly: "Comrade Wu, you should really think about it. Remember that you’re dealing with not enemies, but your compatriots. Don’t turn a class enemy’s face towards your own people."
After speaking, Sisi paid no more attention to Wu Yun, but continued to direct others to carry the old lady to the emergency room and paid enough money for her treatment. Then, she left with Granny Zhao.
On the way back, Sisi felt a weight in her heart as if something was stuck there. The crying of the baby earlier seemed to still echo in her ears. When all is said and done, it’s these little lives that are the most pitiable!