RIRW – Chapter 158

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In the capital city, Zuo Dan was currently celebrating Shen Youyou’s birthday along with Shen Yiming.

Zuo Dan had specially made a bright red silk bellyband for Shen Youyou, dressed him up in it, tied two little pigtails on top of his head, and even painted his cheeks red. He looked just like a little lucky fortune doll.

Grandma had borrowed a large bamboo basket and placed it on the table. Inside, she arranged books, a fountain pen, a military cap, a toy wooden gun, and so on. Zuo Dan also added an abacus. Grandma saw it and let her do as she pleased.

Shen Youyou was overjoyed. It was rare for so many people to accompany him and play with him. Both Mom and Dad were home, all focused on him. His mom even kept changing him into beautiful clothes.

After he sat in the bamboo basket, he touched this and that, wanting everything he saw.

“You little greedy thing, you can only pick one. Greed leads to nothing,” Zuo Dan taught him.

Shen Youyou didn’t understand what his mom said, but he could read her expression. Seeing her stern face, he sensed she didn’t like him touching the stuff. He felt a little wronged—if she didn’t want him to play with them, then why put them there?

Though he felt aggrieved, he didn’t dare to make a fuss. So he cautiously stretched out his little hand to test the waters—touched one thing and saw Mom wasn’t happy, touched another and saw her expression soften.

When he touched something with lots of little beads, Mom smiled.

He stretched his chubby hand to pick it up but couldn’t lift it, so he just kept touching it, babbling happily.

“Aiya, our little Youyou is going to be a businessman who earns big money in the future. Not bad, not bad. Shen Yiming and I can enjoy our retirement comfortably,” Zuo Dan said with a grin.

Grandma chuckled, “This clever little one, if he really does go into business, he won’t be at a loss.”

Shen Yiming directly placed a red treasure book into Shen Youyou’s arms. “Let him try everything. We’ll see what suits him best before jumping to conclusions.”

Shen Youyou opened his mouth and looked puzzled at what his dad stuffed into his arms. Wow, it’s red—he liked it. So he let go of the abacus and hugged the red book.

Zuo Dan watched his reaction, puffed out her cheeks, and poked his little head. “Such a fence-sitter. No principles at all. I wonder who he takes after.”

Shen Yiming just smiled silently. After all, he couldn’t exactly tell the truth.

After the “Zhua Zhou” (first birthday item grab) ceremony, Shen Youyou changed into different clothes and had the red makeup wiped off. The whole family went out to the courtyard to play with him.

Both parents were usually busy and rarely had time to spend with their child. But on his birthday, they made sure to play with him.

Zuo Dan gave him a hand-held rattle as a gift, while Shen Yiming gave him a mini basketball. After shaking the rattle for a while, Shen Youyou switched to playing with the ball.

“I’ve decided—we really need to have a daughter,” Zuo Dan said jealously.

Hearing that, Shen Yiming thought seriously for a moment, then leaned in close to her ear and whispered, “Not now. After you graduate, I’ll plant the seed.”

Zuo Dan’s face turned bright red in an instant, and she pushed him away. “What nonsense! I’m not having another one! It was hard enough raising this one. Who’s going to help raise the next?”

It was already lucky that Grandma was able to help raise this one. She didn’t want to keep burdening her.

Seeing the two whispering, Grandma laughed so hard her mouth couldn’t close. When she saw Zuo Dan’s blushing face, she immediately understood that Yiming had said something improper and quickly changed the subject. “By the way, is the issue back home resolved? That university admission substitution scandal really harmed people. I wonder if that student can still go to college smoothly.”

“We’ve contacted the family. Everything’s been thoroughly investigated. The perpetrators have been detained—it’s a criminal matter. My parents are trying to get the provincial education department to step in, so the teacher’s university can accept Su Dai and let him catch up on the missed curriculum.”

Grandma sighed, “If that works out, that’d be great. Sigh… and this is only one case that got discovered. How many more lives must’ve been changed in the places that went unnoticed? If you ask me, this issue really needs to be taken seriously. Dandan, if you ever go into education, you must find ways to correct such unfair practices.”

Zuo Dan thought of all the news reports she had seen later on. Clearly, this wasn’t an isolated case.

“Shen Yiming, I think I can do more. I want to write a proposal and submit it to the education authorities—raise some suggestions to help prevent these issues. Even if we can’t completely eliminate them, at least we can reduce the chances of them happening.”

Shen Yiming nodded. “Good idea. You can even use Su Dai’s case as an example. That’ll help draw the attention of the higher-ups. And it means Su Dai will be able to attend college too.”

After agreeing on the plan, Zuo Dan went inside to write the proposal.

Shen Youyou was still playing ball. When he saw his mom leave again, he pouted and shook the rattle, but when she didn’t return, he tossed it aside and went back to playing with the ball.

After Zuo Dan submitted the proposal to the education department’s mailbox, the provincial education bureau also sent the application to the Teachers’ University.

From top to bottom, the school leaders and teachers all had only one thought: This is complete nonsense!

They actually admitted a fake student—could anything be more laughably disgraceful than this? If word of this gets out, what face will the Normal University have left? And to make things worse, the provincial education department below even instructed them to switch the two students… Sure, the operation is simple enough. But they could already imagine that very soon, this matter would spread throughout the entire capital.

Right now, although that Su Dai—no, Yang Wenxin—had already been taken away, they could still claim that the student had been removed due to issues with conduct. But if another person came in now, still named Su Dai, then everyone would immediately understand what had really happened.

As a result, two camps of opinion emerged within the Normal University. One side suggested letting this student continue taking exams, and next time they could prioritize admitting him. The other side insisted on setting things right and returning each person to their rightful place.

While the debate at the Normal University was heating up, the education leadership in the capital was also holding a meeting.

The chief leader sat at the head of the table, holding a letter in his hand and shaking it. “Do you know what this is? It’s a petition written by a student from the education department of Peking University. In the letter, she raises an issue: in last year’s college entrance exams—1977—a student who passed the exam had their admission letter intercepted midway, and then another student replaced them and entered college in their place. That’s right, we actually had a case of the old ‘switching the crown prince’ trick during college admissions! Comrades, we must not treat this lightly. This isn’t just a matter of one student not being able to attend college—it’s that someone who didn’t deserve to be in college got in. A person with questionable character may go on to enter important positions. What consequences will that bring? And even more shocking, this happened with the cooperation of certain local cadres. Comrades, tell me, isn’t this appalling? Just a single chance to go to college, and look at how many shady figures it’s dragged into the light!”

After finishing his speech, he passed the letter around the room for everyone to read.

After quickly reading through the contents, those present wore expressions of mixed emotions.

Indeed, there had been some irregularities in last year’s college entrance exams. Many people who technically weren’t eligible managed to register. Some abused their positions to stamp approval for themselves. Others passed the exams only to fail the political vetting afterward. After the exams, a review was conducted, and those issues were addressed. As a result, this year’s college entrance process had been relatively smooth. Yet now, something like this had happened again.

This couldn’t help but raise suspicions—how many other similar cases might be out there?

Just thinking about it made them angry. For such a major issue, there were still people bold enough to manipulate it.

The leader continued, “I looked at the suggestions in the petition. They’re actually quite feasible. For example, including a photo on every student’s application form. Another is the public announcement of admission results—step by step down the hierarchy—all the way to the student’s school, commune, and neighborhood. I don’t believe every level can be falsified. Admission letters should be collected by the student in person, and no proxy pickup allowed without special circumstances. If a student can’t even collect such an important document themselves, that just shows a lack of seriousness. Also, the postal departments need to have oversight mechanisms. We can’t let their mistakes prevent a student from going to college. Lastly, any acts of fraud must be strictly punished. All involved personnel should be held accountable. We must set an example to warn others—those who have bad intentions will have to think twice. These are just some general points, you can review the details yourselves and improve on them. In any case, if a college student can spot a problem and propose solutions, it proves that our college entrance system is still working well.”

Everyone in the room nodded in agreement. These were indeed issues that needed serious attention. Otherwise, how could the public continue to believe in the integrity of the college entrance exams?

This was a high-level issue—one the top leadership was watching closely. It could not be taken lightly.

The final matter discussed was Su Dai’s college admission.

Given the special circumstances, it would be handled with special consideration. Su Dai was a victim. Since it was still only the first semester and the issue had been discovered early enough, as long as the student was willing, everyone would return to their rightful places.

Very soon, the decision was passed down to the Normal University. Before they could even finalize their internal discussions, the higher authorities had already settled it. So, no one had any more to say—things would proceed as instructed.

When Su Dai’s admission letter arrived at Dahe Commune, it was personally delivered by Zuo Dacheng to the elementary school in Zuo Village, where he handed it directly to Su Dai.

Looking at the admission letter that had been delayed for half a year, Su Dai immediately burst into tears.

Zuo Dacheng encouraged him, “Comrade Su Dai, you’ve suffered an injustice. But the organization has taken this matter seriously and given you fair treatment quickly. In fact, your case has caught the attention of the higher-ups. Thanks to this, future students may be spared the same experience. Comrade Su Dai, this might be a blessing in disguise. I hope you study hard at the university, catch up as soon as possible, and complete your education smoothly. In the future, give back to the country. Don’t let down the hopes everyone has placed on you.”

Su Dai wiped his tears and nodded repeatedly, but he also thought of Zuo Qing. He wanted to ask about her situation: “Zuo Qing… how is she?”

“Don’t dwell on that,” Zuo Dacheng advised. “She made a mistake, and whatever punishment comes her way, we’re in no position to interfere.”

Su Dai sighed, feelings mixed. He had always hoped to go to college and take Zuo Qing with him, to leave that family behind and build a new life elsewhere. But now, he could finally go to college—yet that dream could never be fulfilled.

Just after finishing his conversation with Su Dai, the current production team leader, Zuo Aimin, came running over.

Zuo Aimin was the grandson of Zuo Mugen and the grandnephew of Zuo Shuisheng. After Zuo Dacheng left, there was no one suitable in the entire Zuo Village to take over. Coincidentally, Zuo Aimin had learned some literacy skills in the adult class at the local elementary school. He could read and write, so he became the team leader of the Zuo Village production team.

Now he had found Zuo Dacheng at the school, visibly agitated. “Uncle, you have to hurry back—your mother is trying to tear down Comrade Hongjun’s house!”

“…”

What now? Zuo Dacheng felt utterly exhausted.

He rushed back in a hurry, only to find that the front gate of Zuo Hongjun’s house had already been smashed with bricks by the old lady. She was still yelling at the top of her lungs, cursing, “You disgraceful thing! How did the Zuo family end up with someone as shameful as you? No other family in this entire village is as disgraceful as yours!”

Grandma Zuo was so angry she could spit blood. She now deeply regretted ever giving birth to such a humiliating child. She used to be the envy of the entire village—her third son had gone to work in the city, her second son was a commune secretary, her grandchildren were attending college in the capital. She lived in two big houses, and could eat meat for half the month. Who didn’t look up to her?

Wherever she went, people respected her. Her good days had only just begun, and now a scandal like this had broken out. Two of her granddaughters had committed crimes and been taken away by the police.

Taken away by the police! In their family’s history, no one in three generations had ever been dragged off to the authorities!