RIRW – Chapter 134

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Li Xue was so firm in her stance that Li Wenchang had no other choice. Now that Guo Caiping had also been arrested, and who knew how long she’d be locked up, Li Wenchang only had this one daughter left. Even though he knew her temper wasn’t good, he could only try to find a way to help her—after all, she was his daughter.

Thinking that someone would surely be home in the evening, he called the Zuo family again after dinner.

Zuo Dacheng was studying with Li Hui when the phone rang. He figured it must be his son or daughter calling, so he happily went to answer it.

As soon as he picked up the phone and said hello, Li Wenchang’s voice came through.

Zuo Dacheng’s cheerful face immediately darkened visibly.

“What is it?”

“Dacheng, I called your home earlier today. Your mother answered. Didn’t she tell you what I said?” Li Wenchang asked.

Zuo Dacheng replied, “No, my mom’s getting old—probably forgot.”

Li Wenchang didn’t press the issue. He was just glad he had called again; otherwise, his daughter’s big matter would’ve been delayed. “Here’s the thing—Xiaoxue is back, and I was wondering if you could recommend her for a spot at the Workers-Peasants-Soldiers University. After all, I already gave that job to Xiaocong.”

Zuo Dacheng felt like he was hearing a joke.

If his daughter hadn’t told him everything clearly before, he really might have thought he owed Li Wenchang a huge favor. But now he understood very well that his son Xiaocong getting that job in the city wasn’t thanks to Li Wenchang—in fact, they were cleaning up after his mess.

“Brother, about Xiaocong’s job, I know the situation. No need to mention it again. As for Li Xue, I can’t agree to that. As the brigade leader, I have to be responsible to everyone. Even if there’s a spot for university, it should go to someone who has shown good performance. If we give it to Li Xue, no one will accept it. Besides, university admission also depends on political background—hers doesn’t meet the requirements.”

After years as a cadre, Zuo Dacheng had all the reasons lined up, leaving Li Wenchang with nothing to say.

Even though he knew his request was unreasonable, Li Wenchang still thought that if Zuo Dacheng really wanted to help, he could. He just had to grit his teeth a bit.

“Dacheng, no matter what, Xiaoxue is my only child. Please help us out. She even fought with me today—said if she couldn’t go to university, she wouldn’t come back. I’m worried she’ll cause trouble over there.”

Cause trouble? With whom? Zuo Dacheng’s expression darkened further. First it was Li Xue causing a scene at his home, and now it was Li Wenchang calling to pressure him. His son and daughter were in the city—if Li Xue caused trouble, it’d surely involve them.

Zuo Dacheng exploded, “How can she just not come back? She only has four days! Today is just the second day. If she doesn’t return on time, I’ll report her for overstaying. She’ll be punished!”

“Dacheng, that’s too harsh,” Li Wenchang said, frowning.

“These are the rules. No room for sentiment.” And frankly, there was no sentiment to speak of.

Zuo Dacheng hung up directly.

Li Wenchang also hung up, then rubbed his head in frustration. Things were really going south. He thought his daughter was too stubborn, but he also felt the Zuo family was being too harsh.

Li Xue waited at home for news. When she heard what her father brought back, her face fell. Then she thought of something and said, “Dad, go find Shen Yiming. He can help. He has a good relationship with the commune secretary—his word carries more weight than Zuo Dacheng’s. He’ll definitely get it done. Go ask him. If this can’t be sorted out, we can’t just let it go. I’ll make such a fuss they won’t have any peace.”

Li Wenchang remembered that Shen Yiming had helped last time with the education bureau, and he felt embarrassed to go ask again. But he couldn’t stand his daughter making a scene either. Honestly, he hoped she would come back. With Caiping not at home, he was all alone—having his daughter nearby would be nice.

The next day, after much hesitation, Li Wenchang went to find Shen Yiming.

Li Xue, worried her father might mess it up, tagged along.

That morning, just as Shen Yiming got to work, he received a call from Zuo Dacheng. Zuo told him what Li Wenchang had said the night before. “Yiming, if Li Xue causes trouble over there, give me a call. I’ll come deal with her. She’s from the commune—she can’t overstay. She has to return to the team on time.”

Shen Yiming smiled, “Dad, I understand. Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.”

“How can I let you handle it? Don’t worry, I’m not soft-hearted. If she dares to make a fuss, I’ll go to the provincial capital myself to find her,” Zuo Dacheng said firmly.

“Alright. If she causes trouble, I’ll definitely call you. No need to worry,” Shen Yiming said gently.

Zuo Dacheng was finally reassured. He also told Shen Yiming to warn Zuo Cong, just in case Li Xue caused a scene at the education bureau again.

After hanging up, Sister Chu asked with a smile, “Yiming, your wife must be almost four months along by now, right? Any movement yet?”

At the mention of Zuo Dan, Shen Yiming couldn’t help but smile. “Not yet—she says she doesn’t feel anything. But her belly is definitely growing. We went for a check-up recently—the doctor said everything looks good. He said we should feel movement after the fourth month.”

Sister Chu said cheerfully, “Sounds like a great pregnancy. Must be a well-behaved child. Do you want a boy or a girl?”

“Either is fine—I’ll take what comes.”

“That’s true. But you better start saving up your fabric coupons. Kids go through clothes like crazy. You’ll never have enough fabric coupons,” Sister Chu said like someone who had been through it all.

Shen Yiming gratefully replied, “Thanks for the reminder, Sister Chu. I hadn’t thought of that.” He quickly jotted down “fabric coupons” in his notebook. Then he saw the word “trip” still written at the top of the page, and a pang of guilt hit him. He had promised to take Dandan on a trip after the wedding, but then all sorts of things happened. And now that she was pregnant, they couldn’t travel freely. The plan had been postponed over and over.

“Sister Chu, is it okay to travel while pregnant?”

“Of course! Don’t be so cautious. Back in my day, we still had to do manual labor. Your wife’s in good health, right? No need to treat her like she’s fragile. Why? You thinking of taking her on a trip? If you’ve got the chance, do it!”

Shen Yiming smiled sheepishly, “It’ll be different once the baby is born.”

Sister Chu thought about it and nodded in agreement. Once you have a child, everything changes. Traveling with a baby just isn’t the same. You want to bring them along, but it’s a hassle. Leave them behind, and your heart aches. So she suggested, “Then make plans quickly. Once she’s further along, it’ll be even harder with a big belly.”

Shen Yiming nodded and added “buy sleeper train tickets” next to the word “trip” in his notebook.

Just as he was about to get to work, Uncle Zhang called for him outside.

Shen Yiming went out and heard Uncle Zhang say, “It’s that teacher-like relative again. This time he brought a young lady. She’s quite pretty, but she doesn’t look happy.”

From that info, Shen Yiming already had a good idea who it was.

At the gatehouse, Li Wenchang and Li Xue were sitting on a bench. When they saw Shen Yiming arriving with the gatekeeper, they both stood up. Li Wenchang looked slightly embarrassed. After all, Shen Yiming was just his niece’s husband, and not even a close relation—coming to ask favors all the time was a bit shameful.

Li Xue, on the other hand, bit her lip and looked at Shen Yiming with unwillingness in her eyes.

Even though she had given up on him, she hadn’t expected him to end up with someone like Zuo Dan.

Back then, she had looked down on Shen Yiming because he was a penniless nobody. Now, she had to beg him for help to return to the city. That made her feel even more humiliated.

Shen Yiming glanced at the two of them, then turned to Li Wenchang and said, “Uncle, did you come to see me because of something, or is it about the education bureau again? I spent quite a lot of favors last time just to get someone to agree to let you transition into the new job smoothly. If something else comes up now, I really don’t know who else I could ask.”

Li Wenchang became even more embarrassed when Shen Yiming brought up the matter with the education bureau so directly. “No, no, it’s not about the education bureau. Everything’s been arranged over there. I know it was hard for you. This time, I came for Xiaoxue.”

He glanced at Li Xue beside him. “I heard you have a good relationship with the commune secretary. So I was hoping to ask for your help, to see if you could get Xiaoxue into the Workers-Peasants-Soldiers University in the city. She’s your only cousin on our side after all…”

Shen Yiming nodded but didn’t say anything, as if he were hesitating.

Li Xue quickly said, “No matter what, my dad’s job was given to Zuo Cong. That kind of good job was just handed over like that. You should at least give us something in return. You can’t be so domineering.”

Hearing that, Shen Yiming’s face darkened. He looked at Li Wenchang and said, “Uncle, is that what you think too? If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have gotten involved back then—and it even caused problems for me.”

“No, I don’t think that way. Xiaoxue is just anxious. Don’t take it the wrong way,” Li Wenchang quickly said. Then he turned to Li Xue. “I told you before, that matter was thanks to Yiming’s help. It wasn’t just handed to Zuo Cong. Don’t bring it up again.”

Li Xue turned her face slightly. “Anyway, that job belonged to the Li family. Since it was given to the Zuo family, they owe us a favor.”

Li Wenchang was helpless about her attitude. He could only look at Shen Yiming and say, “Yiming, don’t take her too seriously. But this favor—let’s say I owe you.”

Shen Yiming said lightly, “If we’re keeping count, Uncle, then you already owe me quite a bit.”

Li Xue, hearing that he was trying to back out, quickly said, “Shen Yiming, this is a separate issue. We’re talking about the job matter now.”

Shen Yiming didn’t even bother to look at her and said to Li Wenchang, “You were the one who came to me for help in the first place. Now you’re acting like I owe you something… I never thought you’d be the kind of person who burns bridges after crossing them.”

Just as Li Wenchang was about to speak, Shen Yiming added, “Fine, this will be the last time. No matter who owes who, this will be the final favor I do for you. I’ll see what I can do.”

“You can’t be so vague about this, Shen Yiming. You can’t just ‘see what you can do,’” Li Xue said.

Shen Yiming’s face grew darker. “I don’t have that kind of power—to guarantee that the daughter of a convicted criminal can get into the Workers-Peasants-Soldiers University!”

Li Wenchang quickly said, “Alright, alright, just give it a try. We’re not in a rush.”

Seeing that Shen Yiming was angry, Li Xue didn’t dare say more. But since he had said he’d try, she definitely wouldn’t let it go if he didn’t succeed. She then asked, “When will we hear back?”

Shen Yiming replied, “In the next couple of days. Are you going back to the production team?” His eyes relaxed a bit as he said this.

Li Xue quickly said, “I’m not in a hurry to go back. I’ll wait until you have news.”

Shen Yiming frowned. “That’s probably not a good idea…”

“Don’t try to fool me. I’ll be waiting for your answer. Otherwise, I’ll go straight to the education bureau and make sure Zuo Cong’s job doesn’t go smoothly,” Li Xue said forcefully.

Shen Yiming said, “Do what you want. I’ll give you an answer in two days.” Then he turned and walked off, clearly angry.

Li Wenchang sighed, “Xiaoxue, you shouldn’t talk to him like that.”

“I don’t care. Our family and theirs don’t get along anyway,” Li Xue said, completely unbothered. Since Shen Yiming seemed afraid she’d stay in the city, it meant he was wary of her. And that made sense—Zuo Cong had just started his new job, and if there was a scene, it would definitely look bad. She had to stay in the city. That way, she wasn’t afraid they wouldn’t help her.

That evening, when they got home, Shen Yiming told Zuo Dan about it like it was a joke. Sure enough, Zuo Dan laughed heartily after hearing it, thinking Li Xue must have a hole in her brain—a big one at that.

Clearly, Li Xue had lived too easy a life and hadn’t suffered enough. She didn’t learn her lesson and acted this recklessly. She really thought the Zuo family wouldn’t report her for overstaying her leave?

“Back then, my parents were very sentimental. But it depended on the person. They’re not stupid—they know who’s good and who’s not. Once they realized someone wasn’t worth it, they stopped treating them like relatives. Li Xue still thinks my parents are soft-hearted and won’t report her,” Zuo Dan said while rubbing her belly and laughing.

Then she asked Shen Yiming, “Comrade Yiming, this girl clearly wants to ride on your head. What are you going to do?”

Shen Yiming leaned beside her, gently rubbing her belly. “If she wants to stay, let her stay for a couple of days. Then we’ll send her back. Honestly, this way saves me some trouble—I don’t need to come up with another excuse.” He then kissed Zuo Dan’s belly. “Let’s not talk about her anymore. Comrade Zuo Dan, do you remember what I promised you before?”

Zuo Dan’s eyes lit up. She deliberately said, “You’ve promised me so many things. How am I supposed to know which one?”

“The one I haven’t done yet.”

“Oh, the all-powerful Comrade Shen Yiming actually has something he couldn’t do?” Zuo Dan teased, grinning.

Shen Yiming narrowed his eyes dangerously and kissed her hard until she was flushed before letting go. “I’m taking time off next week. Let’s take a trip to Shanghai. I’ve made arrangements—we’ll take a sleeper train so I can take good care of you on the way. We’ll have a few days of fun and then come back.”

Zuo Dan, a bit breathless, happily wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

“The doctor said that after three months, we can start doing… certain things…” Shen Yiming said, panting slightly.

“Oh? What kind of things?” Zuo Dan asked while kissing him and holding him close.

Shen Yiming gently laid her on her side. “I’ll show you.”

Two days later, Li Wenchang called Shen Yiming’s office. Shen Yiming set the receiver aside and wrote a bit before picking it up. “I’ve already called Secretary Zhang. He said he’ll consider it.” Then he hung up and continued working.

Li Xue snatched the phone, “How long will that take? Shen Yiming, you didn’t really help, did you?”

Shen Yiming corrected two awkward phrases on the document before picking up the phone again. “I think Comrade Li Xue should head back for now. I’ll give you an answer in a few days.”

“I’m not leaving! If you don’t give me a clear answer, I’m not going back. Shen Yiming, I’m giving you just two more days. If nothing happens, I’ll make a scene at the education bureau!”

“Fine. I’ll contact you in two days.” Shen Yiming hung up.

Two days later, Li Wenchang called again.

When Shen Yiming picked up, he sounded tired. “It took a lot of effort, but Secretary Zhang has agreed. As long as the slots are approved this year, one will be reserved for Comrade Li Xue. Comrade Li Wenchang, the Zuo family owes you nothing from now on.”

Upon hearing that, Li Wenchang was initially pleased, then a bit sorrowful. His lips moved as if to speak, but he said nothing in the end.

After hanging up, Shen Yiming called Zuo Dacheng. Grandma Zuo answered, and when she heard Shen Yiming was looking for Zuo Dacheng, she quickly went to the kitchen to get him.

After taking the call, Shen Yiming said directly, “Dad, I’ve heard some bad news recently—some educated youths have returned to the city without authorization. See if there are any educated youths in the team who haven’t returned. Report the situation to the commune as soon as possible, so that the higher-ups can take remedial action. Otherwise, if they start holding people accountable, it’ll drag a lot of people down.”

Hearing that this was a serious issue, Zuo Dacheng immediately panicked. He didn’t even need to check to know that Li Xue hadn’t returned. She hadn’t come back yesterday, and he’d assumed she would today. Now it’s already been two days. He was even considering reporting the situation to the commune himself if Li Xue kept being stubborn. Now, there was no time to worry about anything else.

Zuo Dacheng didn’t even eat dinner. He hurriedly drove the tractor to report the situation to the commune.

Back in the provincial capital, Li Xue was still happily packing her things at home, preparing to return to the commune to handle her city-return procedures. Although the Worker-Peasant-Soldier University hadn’t opened yet, she still needed to go back to the city. She had no desire to return to that awful countryside place.

That evening, Li Wenchang even went to a restaurant to bring home some meat and dishes.

Just as they were about to eat, there was a knock at the door.

Li Wenchang got up suspiciously to open it, only to find a middle-aged man dressed like a cadre standing there, along with two people in green military uniforms.

“Who are you?”

The middle-aged cadre asked, “Is this Comrade Li Xue’s residence?”

“Yes,” Li Wenchang nodded blankly.

Before he had time to ask what they were there for, the cadre waved his hand, and the group barged into the house. Right in front of Li Wenchang, they restrained Li Xue.

The middle-aged cadre spoke sternly, “As an educated youth, it is your duty to respond to policy and support rural development—that’s the central government’s directive. Comrade Li Xue violated regulations by overstaying her family leave and not returning. This is a blatant violation of the central spirit and the rules. Take her away!”

“Don’t arrest me! I’m about to be approved to return to the city!” Li Xue shouted.

The cadre asked, “Have you completed the procedures?”

“No, but—”

“No procedures means no official return. A violation is a violation—there’s nothing more to say. Take her away.” With that, he walked out of the house.

The two young men dragged Li Xue out.

Li Wenchang hurried after them. “Where are you taking my daughter? She wasn’t refusing to go back, just a few days late…”

A few days late? If everyone did that, wouldn’t everything be a mess? The officials ignored him completely, shoved Li Xue into the vehicle, and drove off.

After another scene at the Li household, everyone in the building looked out their windows. Knowing someone had been taken away again, they felt uneasy. They thought this family was too chaotic—people were always getting arrested. Things weren’t like the old days anymore when people got picked up easily. So if someone still got arrested now, they must have done something wrong.

Maybe they were bad people.

Living near people like this didn’t feel safe at all.

Li Wenchang couldn’t sleep all night. He didn’t know who to turn to, so he went to find Shen Yiming again. Early the next morning, when he arrived at the newspaper office, Shen Yiming hadn’t shown up yet, so he waited at the gate. Eventually, he saw Shen Yiming driving up and rushed over.

“Yiming! Something’s happened—Xiaoxue’s in trouble! They took her away!”

Shen Yiming’s face darkened. “Comrade Li Wenchang, why are you still coming to me? I went through a lot to get her case approved. I told her to go back early, but she refused and insisted on staying in the city. Just yesterday after work, Secretary Zhang called me and gave me a thorough scolding. He said I had dragged him down. Now our relationship is strained.”

Li Wenchang asked, “What happened? Was it Zuo Dacheng who reported her?”

“This can’t be blamed on my dad. Didn’t you know? In some places, educated youths have been sneaking back to the city. The authorities are cracking down hard. And right at this time, Comrade Li Xue caused trouble. Even if my dad kept quiet, he couldn’t hide it.” Shen Yiming said angrily, “Don’t come looking for me again. I did everything I could. It didn’t work out, but that’s not my fault. Comrade Li Wenchang, you know who’s really to blame for this.”

With that, he drove straight into the compound.

Li Wenchang stood there sweating for a while before turning to go home. As soon as he got back, an elderly couple was standing at the door. When they saw him, they frowned and walked over.

The old lady said, “Xiao Li, we can’t rent you this place anymore. Our family has no place to live.”

“But didn’t you say this place was sitting empty?” Li Wenchang asked in surprise.

“We’re short on housing now. Could you please move out today if possible? We really don’t have any other choice,” the old lady said awkwardly.

They truly had no choice. That morning, several of her old friends from the provincial committee compound told her to reclaim the house and not rent it to people like that. Otherwise, they wouldn’t even feel safe living there themselves.

Everything happened so suddenly that Li Wenchang didn’t know what to do.

He went inside and looked around. He didn’t have many belongings himself—most of the stuff belonged to Guo Caiping and Li Xue. He had to go out and find a guesthouse to stay in temporarily, and began slowly moving things out.

Each time he walked out with something, he glanced toward the Li family’s direction. Their front gate stayed closed, and there was no one at the windows.

By the time he finished moving everything and was about to leave, no one came out. He could only leave the provincial capital university area in disappointment.

At the Li household, Grandfather Li was reading a book. Grandmother Li came away from the window, feeling stifled. “They’ve moved out.”

Grandfather Li didn’t even lift his head. “Good. Constant drama—no peace at all.”

Grandmother Li sighed too. But she had no intention of asking Li Wenchang to come back. If he returned, Guo Caiping and Li Xue would come too.

Forget it. Just thinking about it was disgusting. As long as her son didn’t come to his senses, the Li family’s doors would stay shut.

Zuo Dan hadn’t expected Shen Yiming to resolve the Li Xue issue so swiftly and cleanly.

That night, as the two of them discussed their travel plans to Shanghai, Zuo Dan asked, “Li Xue got taken away—she won’t be back anytime soon, right? Someone like her really needs a harsh lesson. She never learns.”

“She’s been sent to a farm even more remote than the one grandparents lived in. There’s not a single house for ten miles around. Her mother has a criminal record, her political background isn’t clean, and she’s made trouble before. This time she openly broke the rules again. Even the commune cadres dislike her. The county has labeled her a ‘problematic educated youth.’ She won’t be eligible for any future policy benefits.”

Zuo Dan clicked her tongue. “She sure knows how to stir up trouble. I wonder if she’ll cause more chaos there.”

Shen Yiming said, “If she behaves, she’ll be fine. But if she doesn’t, she’ll only be hurting herself. Comrade Zuo Dan, some people who can’t behave won’t be lucky forever.” Especially manipulative young women.

Then he remembered Guo Caiping’s situation and added, “Oh right—the Public Security Bureau said Guo Caiping got two years. She’s lucky. A few years ago, stealing could’ve gotten her… For what she did, two years is light.”

Zuo Dan said, “For someone like her, prison time is punishment enough.” Then she yawned. “Shen Yiming, I’m sleepy. Are you done planning the route?”

“You sleep—I’ll keep looking. Just follow me, I won’t lose you,” Shen Yiming said confidently.

Zuo Dan fell asleep as soon as she lay down. After all, she had visited that place a few times before—even if it was in the future. The big landmarks wouldn’t change. She was much more familiar than Shen Yiming.

Starting Sunday, Shen Yiming began his vacation. He took annual leave and added a few more days—ten days total.

Then he and Zuo Dan packed their things and prepared to leave.

Grandma worriedly packed some powdered milk for Zuo Dan and reminded Shen Yiming to take good care of her.

Zuo Dan smiled, “Don’t worry, Grandma. I’m healthy. Oh, if Xiaocong misbehaves while I’m gone, feel free to teach him a lesson!”

“Xiaocong is very obedient—much better than Yiming was,” Grandma said with a smile.

“Then I feel at ease! Make sure to practice Tai Chi every day at home. One day we’ll travel together.”

“Okay, I already feel much better.”

With Xiaocong keeping Grandma company, Shen Yiming and Zuo Dan had no worries. Shen Yiming carried their luggage and they headed to the train station.

Thanks to Shen Yiming’s military district connections, they got sleeper tickets. Sleeper tickets were hard to get at that time—only people from good work units traveling for business could get them. The train wasn’t crowded either.

They had lower berths. After settling in, Zuo Dan leaned by the window, watching the scenery go by.