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Nie Zhenbang didn’t drive. After sleeping overnight in Urumqi, he boarded early the next morning for Yun County. The fastest bus to Yun County is in the morning. After all, it had to pass through downtown of Xinli City. This wasn’t an issue. He soon arrived in Bazhou City. Within Xinli City, despite it being only the sixth day of the New Year, the whole city was already bustling with excitement. The streets were filled with newly opened clothing stores and restaurants that were packed with people.

At this moment, Nie Zhenbang, who was originally prepared to disembark, suddenly decided to take a look at Yunshan Town. The car drove out of Xinli City and continued towards Yun County. Soon, the car had already left the original boundary of Lixian.

Suddenly, on the road ahead, the traffic had piled up, forming a long line. The minibus driver repeatedly honked the horn in frustration, sticking his head out of the window to see what was going on. After a while, he turned back and helplessly informed the passengers, “There’s a bit of a situation up ahead, we’ll have to wait a bit.”

A few curious passengers started to shout, “Driver, open the door. I want to go see what’s happening.”

At this moment, Nie Zhenbang also left the vehicle. After walking about two hundred meters, he arrived at a T-junction where many curious onlookers had gathered.

Nie Zhenbang stopped a middle-aged man, smiling as he asked, “Brother, what’s happening here? Why is there a traffic jam?”

The man glanced at Nie Zhenbang and shook his head saying, “It’s a calamity, those people from Duan Clan Village are too domineering. It’s such cold weather, and they make a family kneel here. It’s really evil.”

Duan Clan Village?

Nie Zhenbang pondered, Duan Clan Village, isn’t that the model village of MaTou town? After Yun County was incorporated into Xinli City, Nie Zhenbang had specifically studied the data of Yun County.

Despite being poorer than Lixian, Yun County is a nationally known poor county. However, in Yun County, there is a distinctive village, Duan Clan Village, which had been awarded the Provinces’ Rich Model Village for two consecutive years. The village head had been the representative in the city people’s congress for two years in a row and was a nationally outstanding grassroots party member. A series of honours had been bestowed upon him. However, how could such a model village have been described like this?

Nie Zhenbang furrowed his brows and made his way into the crowd. For Nie Zhenbang, walking amongst a few ordinary men was not a problem. Hence, it was not difficult for him to get inside.

Once he entered, the sight before his eyes left Nie Zhenbang utterly shocked. On the road still covered in some residual snow, a family of six was kneeling.

Two adults, a man, and a woman, were wearing somewhat worn-out cotton-padded jackets and kneeling on the ground, looking as if they dared not even take a deep breath. Four children were kneeling beside them; three girls and one boy. The oldest girl seemed to be around twelve or thirteen, followed by the others who seemed to be ten, eight, and six years old respectively.

Around the man’s neck was a sign that read, “I am guilty, I have let down the whole village. I have to kneel to admit my mistakes.” Witnessing this, Nie Zhenbang’s brow furrowed even more. What was going on with Duan Clan Village? If a crime had been committed, there was a legal system to punish it, people’s courts, governments. Kneeling wasn’t how one paid for their crimes. Even if one violated village rules or convention, such treatment was unnecessary. Judging from the family’s clothing, it didn’t seem that they were wealthy. Was there something strange about this Duan Clan Village?

As Nie Zhenbang pondered, he approached the man, grabbed his arm and, with his substantial strength, easily helped him up.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Nie Zhenbang let go, the man knelt down again. He even backed away a few steps and, while bowing to Nie Zhenbang, pleaded, “Young man, please, don’t pull me up again. I have been kneeling for two days already, and it’s just one more day left. Let me finish it, alright?”

His words caused Nie Zhenbang’s heart to ache. He had no idea what authority, what situation had caused such fear in the man and his family, making them endure this humiliation. It was clear that if this family didn’t complete their three days of kneeling, they would face a greater terror waiting behind the scenes.

Instantly, Nie Zhenbang’s face darkened. He didn’t try to lift the man again, but instead squatted down and asked gently, “Fellow villager, why do you say you’re guilty? Why are you kneeling here? Can you tell me about it?”

As soon as the words fell, a voice from the side rose, saying, “Why? Right because this son of a bitch has struck our Secretary Duan. He has delayed the agricultural retention payment. Making his family kneel for three days to apologize is letting him off easy.”

Secretary Duan? Nie Zhenbang found it amusing, a village branch secretary, was he also referred to as the Secretary? And then, the agricultural retention payment. Wasn’t Duan Clan Village a model for wealth? But collecting these payments appeared to be quite challenging. Judging by the looks of this kneeling family, they didn’t seem to be affluent.

He looked up and saw a casually standing man with a somewhat irreverent posture. The man was examining Nie Zhenbang with a hint of disdain in his eyes.

From the side, some kind-hearted onlookers held Nie Zhenbang back, whispering, “Young man, don’t meddle in this business. In our Yun County, who doesn’t know about this Secretary Duan of Duan Clan Village? Some call him ‘Lineage-Cutter’. He’s a notorious local tyrant. Careful not to play with fire.”

Hearing old man’s words, Nie Zhenbang’s heart sank, realizing he should get involved. He even felt relieved that he had happened upon the scene by chance; otherwise, who knows how long Duan Clan Village would have kept this secret from the higher authorities.

Immediately, Nie Zhenbang stepped forward, looking at the man in front of him he commanded, “Who are you? Immediately summon your village officials to me. I am Nie Zhenbang, Xinli City Committee Secretary. Acting lawlessly, treating people inhumanely; making them kneel and beg for mercy in this freezing cold, I really must see if this Secretary Duan is more precious than the goddamn emperor.”

Just as Nie Zhenbang’s words fell, the dozens of people watching from the sidelines quietened, they were not yet fully comprehending the situation. After a while, they opened up their mouths in surprise. Many well-informed individuals also started discussing.

‘Isn’t that the young county magistrate from Li County? He looks so young. But according to my relatives in Li County, life there has flourished under his leadership. The conditions have improved, we even had electricity and telephone services during my last visit to my relatives this Spring Festival. This time, I suppose, we in Yun County are fortunate too.’

Another person seconded: ‘Exactly, our young county magistrate is now a big officer in our Xinli City. This time Duan Changgui is sure to suffer. Such a person should have died a long time ago. With him in Duan Clan Village, he’s a disaster.’

From the side, there were also some dissenting voices. Someone, who obviously didn’t have much faith in Nie Zhenbang, shook his head and said: ‘Not necessarily. As I heard, Nie Zhenbang is quite young. But, usually when officials travel, they are accompanied by a large entourage with police car in the front to clear the way. Does a City Committee Secretary travel in a regular bus? This doesn’t seem right.’

At that moment, the man arrogantly snorted in disdain and said, “Kid, who are you fooling? Are you from Xinli City Committee? Do you have any proof? I’d say I am the Bazhou City Committee Secretary. Dare to come to our Duan village and pretend to be an official. You just wait, we’ll hand you over to Xinli City. You will give us a great credit for Duan Clan Village’s reputation.”

Despite his brazen words, the man appeared a bit apprehensive. Nie Zhenbang’s demeanour and authority couldn’t be faked. Under these circumstances, the man didn’t dare to decide unilaterally; first, he thought of a way to call Secretary Duan to make a decision.

Many of the bystanders also started urging him. An old man said: “Young man, whether you are the secretary of our Xinli City or not, please just leave. Duan Clan Village is a lotus pond and a tiger’s den. Please go back and get your supporters and come later. Soon they will come.”

As the old man’s voice fell, the roaring sound of several motorcycles arrived from behind. At the end of the road leading to the Duan Clan Village, about four or five motorcycles whizzed past, each one carrying two adult men. As soon as they got off, they started shouting angrily, “Move, move, get out of my way. A few of you, go ahead and direct the traffic. Get on with your work and don’t block my way.”

Saying this, a man of about forty years old pushed his way into the crowd, surrounded by eight or nine strong men. His gaze landed directly on Nie Zhenbang, a faint smile playing on his face. He said indifferently, “I heard you are pretending to be the Secretary Nie of the City Committee?”

In truth, Duan Changgui had recognized Nie Zhenbang from the first glance. Although Duan Changgui was domineering in the village, he was politically quite astute. He had been paying attention to Xinli City leadership since its recent establishment, and Nie Zhenbang was undoubtedly the one he had been concerned about most.

At this moment, Duan Changgui was denying Nie Zhenbang’s identity. He was sure that he could cover up the situation as long as he could stand firm, just for the day. Then Duan Changgui had ways to silence this kneeling family. Therefore, he immediately decided to claim Nie Zhenbang as an impostor.

At this point, Nie Zhenbang said in a deep voice, “You must be Duan Changgui. I think your name should be Duan Changwei (Broken Intestine). As for whether I am Xinli City Committee Secretary or not, you, as the representative of Bazhou People’s Congress, can verify my credentials by calling the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress. Now, can you let this family get up?”