RIRW – Chapter 53

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What Xu Dapeng didn’t know was that Shen Yiming wasn’t in a hurry, because he had already anticipated such a situation. Every year, there would be spots allocated by the provincial capital for the communes below, offering job opportunities for the educated youth teams.

It was thanks to his careful planning that he was able to come to the Dahu Commune. This commune wasn’t far from the provincial capital, so when job openings were announced for the communes, it would be easier for him to choose this one. As long as there was a chance, he could maneuver his way back.

Once he returned, no one would be able to make him leave again.

After getting on the bus to the provincial capital, the educated youth all wore excited expressions. Only Li Hongbing kept her eyes fixed on Shen Yiming, her expression filled with confusion.

“Xu Dapeng, let’s swap seats,” she stood up and said to him.

Xu Dapeng glanced at her, then at Shen Yiming. In the end, under the pressure of Li Hongbing’s sharp glare, he reluctantly switched seats. He thought to himself, this woman is so fierce, no wonder Shen Yiming doesn’t like her. It’s the same wherever she goes, no one would want to be with her.

Li Hongbing sat next to Shen Yiming, watching him with his eyes closed, biting her lip in frustration. “Shen Yiming, are you very familiar with that girl from Zuojia Village, Zuo Dan? I saw her dad gave you cake today. You two must be quite close, right? Shen Yiming, we’re all educated youth, I have to remind you, don’t be swayed by their sweet words. Many of our fellow educated youth comrades have been swayed by these people’s sweet talk, and ended up ruining their own future. No national enterprise would want to hire an educated youth with a family to support, don’t you think? If you want to find someone, you should look for an educated youth from the city, someone with a proper background, so that you can progress together and return to the city together. This is the best choice for us educated youth.”

“Poof—” Li Chenliang, who was sitting in front of Shen Yiming, suddenly burst out laughing.

Li Hongbing, embarrassed and angry, reached out and slapped the back of Li Chenliang’s seat. “Li Chenliang, what are you laughing at?”

“Cough, cough, cough, nothing, nothing.” Li Chenliang raised his hand and waved it, then continued to cover his mouth and laugh. What was he laughing at? Of course, he was laughing at how blunt Li Hongbing was in her words. She was practically telling Shen Yiming to choose her, the proper, well-established educated youth comrade. “Go ahead, keep talking, we’re listening.”

Li Hongbing was nearly unable to continue because of Li Chenliang’s interruption. She looked at Shen Yiming, who had his eyes closed, looking like he was asleep. Whether he was really asleep, who knew?

Li Hongbing found it odd. What was so good about that country girl? Why was it that Shen Yiming always preferred to get close to her? That country girl, all rustic and clumsy, what could possibly be good about her?

Li Chenliang saw that Shen Yiming didn’t respond, so he intentionally provoked him. He said to Li Hongbing, “Why don’t you have your dad pull some strings and get Shen Yiming reassigned back? You’d be able to go back too, wouldn’t you?”

The other educated youth all looked at him and Li Hongbing, their expressions a bit complicated.

They all knew that in this educated youth team, Li Chenliang and Li Hongbing were the most advantaged. One was the son of a cadre in the Armed Forces Department, and the other was the daughter of a revolutionary group leader—both had strong backgrounds. Only someone like Li Chenliang could casually suggest something like getting reassigned. Some things, you could only envy but couldn’t change. Being reassigned to a commune near home, like Zuojia Village, was considered lucky. Some unfortunate ones were reassigned to places like Beidahuang or Yunnan…

If they were sent to those places, even during the New Year, they probably wouldn’t be able to afford a ticket. Even if they could afford it, they might not even be able to get on a bus.

Although it was Li Chenliang who said it, Li Hongbing still looked at Shen Yiming. However, she saw that he didn’t make a move and thought he had really fallen asleep. She couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. She had wanted to say this to Shen Yiming for a long time, but as a woman, it wasn’t easy for her to bring it up. If Shen Yiming had spoken up, she would’ve immediately called her family to arrange things.

Xu Dapeng, who was listening from behind, couldn’t help but want to advise Shen Yiming, maybe he should just compromise and accept Li Hongbing. At least then he could go back to the city. But this kind of thing, Xu Dapeng didn’t feel it was appropriate to directly bring up. After all, relying on a woman like that wasn’t something someone proud like Shen Yiming would do. Well, he thought, there would be another opportunity next year. Maybe Shen Yiming could return to the city on his own.

Due to the snow, the bus was moving slowly. Originally, they should’ve arrived at the station right as night fell, but the bus didn’t get there until after 9 PM.

There were quite a few people waiting at the station. They had all known their children would be returning to the city today, so they had been waiting there for a while. Outside the station, all kinds of vehicles were crowded together, quickly picking up people. Shen Yiming, with his bag on his back, walked out of the station alone. As soon as he stepped out, Xu Dapeng’s family’s motorcycle caught up with him. “Young man, thank you for taking care of our Dapeng,” the man riding the motorcycle said. It was Xu Dapeng’s father.

Shen Yiming smiled, “It’s all Dapeng’s own ability.”

Xu Dapeng, sitting behind, called out, “Yiming, come with us.”

Shen Yiming smiled and waved his hand, “It’s fine, my place is closer. You head back first.”

Xu Dapeng hesitated, glancing at the things tied behind his motorcycle, looking a little embarrassed. “Yiming, then we’ll head out first.”

Shen Yiming waved, “We’ll leave together on the fifth day.”

Once the motorcycle left, Shen Yiming walked down the road, looking at the wide road, the bright snow, and the lights shining from every household. He couldn’t help but smile. He gripped his bag tightly, swung it over his shoulder, and walked home with big strides.

Zuojia Village had fewer educated youth this year, but it didn’t affect the festive atmosphere. Apart from Zuo Dacheng occasionally mentioning Shen Yiming, everything was still quite lively.

Even though they couldn’t set off firecrackers or fireworks, the other traditions were still preserved. The thing that Zuo Dan liked the most was that she didn’t have to do any work every day and could sleep in until she woke up naturally. After waking up, she could eat and drink, then continue to warm herself by the fire and take a long nap.

If there was something unsatisfactory, it was that there were no computers or phones. Otherwise, this winter would have been perfect.

On New Year’s Eve, Zuo Dan’s family went to Zuo Chengcai’s house to celebrate. After all, the elderly were there, and it was customary to spend the New Year with them. It wouldn’t be right for the children to be around but leave the elderly alone for the New Year.

Now, Grandmother Zuo’s health had improved a little, but her vigor wasn’t what it used to be. She used to have so much energy, but now she seemed listless in everything she did. Fortunately, after all that happened, she hadn’t mentioned the big house matter again, and when they had the New Year’s Eve dinner, she didn’t ask the big house to join them. It seemed that, in comparison, Grandmother Zuo surprisingly gave New Year’s money to Zuo Dan and Zuo Cong. A dime each… better than nothing.

However, Zuo Dacheng and Zuo Chengcai were both quite filial. Each of them gave five yuan to the old lady, allowing her to have some money to feel at ease. Once she received the money, Grandmother Zuo seemed to feel better and spoke with a smile, “I’ll consider it as raising both of you, after all, only you two are filial.”

Whether this was true or not, Zuo Dan didn’t know. But Grandmother Zuo definitely didn’t seem as strong as she used to be in the family. Zuo Dan wasn’t sure if it was because she felt she had no other choice but to rely on her two sons to live now, or if it was because of the incident when she almost caused the whole family to go to jail.

Next door at Zuo Hongjun’s house, it had been quiet ever since Xu Fengxia went to the farm construction work. On New Year’s Eve, they didn’t even light a lamp, though sometimes one could hear Zuo Huan’s complaints. “Can’t even see a piece of meat, how can we not eat meat for the New Year? Can you even cook? No wonder you can’t get married, who would want someone like you?”

When Zuo Dacheng and Li Hui passed by the door with the children, they heard the sounds from inside and both frowned, shaking their heads. Zuo Dacheng angrily said, “This is too outrageous.”

Zuo Dan glanced at the closed door and said, “My uncle’s inside. It’s his business.”

Zuo Dacheng didn’t comment further. After all, his brother-in-law was handling things at home, and he wasn’t close enough to get involved.

When the family returned home, Li Hui began lighting the oil lamps in the room. Normally, she wouldn’t waste the oil, but on New Year’s Eve, the house had to be bright.

Just after lighting the lamps, there was a loud knock on the courtyard door.

Li Hui hurriedly put on her clothes and went to open the door. She was surprised to see Zuo Qing outside, her eyes red from crying. “Qingqing, what’s wrong?” she asked, though she knew Zuo Qing had been scolded by Zuo Huan, but didn’t want to directly bring it up.

Zuo Qing wiped her tears and said, “Aunt, do you have any meat at home? Can you lend us some? We have no meat at home, and Huanhuan is throwing a tantrum wanting to eat meat.”

Li Hui hesitated. There was some meat left, but it was only a little, and they were saving it for the children to eat on New Year’s Day. The meat they had already distributed was mostly used to make dumplings. The small amount left was intentionally reserved to cook for the children, otherwise, they wouldn’t have any meat for New Year’s Day.

Seeing Li Hui hesitate, Zuo Qing cried and said, “Aunt, please have some pity on me. We’re all pitiful people, you can pity me. Huanhuan’s really throwing a tantrum for the meat, I have no choice…”

“Qingqing, there’s none left. What’s left is for Dandan and Xiao Cong. There’s no extra,” Li Hui replied. She thought about giving the meat to the elderly, but giving it to Zuo Huan didn’t seem worthwhile. Both children had suffered enough before. Everything good had always gone to Huanhuan. But now, that had to change.

“Aunt, Dandan and Xiao Cong don’t make a fuss about not having meat, but Huanhuan will,” Zuo Qing cried.

“Mom, what’s going on?” Zuo Dan came out in her coat, holding a roasted sweet potato in her hand, eating while looking at Zuo Qing.

Li Hui then explained Zuo Qing’s request for meat. Zuo Dan shoved the sweet potato into her mouth and looked at Zuo Qing as though she were an alien. She couldn’t believe there were still people like this—who didn’t fight back when insulted and didn’t speak up when wronged. For people like Zuo Qing, Zuo Dan knew she couldn’t let her get what she wanted. Otherwise, it would cause trouble in the future. Based on her observations, Zuo Qing didn’t seem to understand gratitude. For example, if she gave her a piece of meat today, Zuo Qing wouldn’t think it was an act of kindness but would just feel it was because she was more pitiful than Zuo Dan…

Swallowing the sweet potato in her mouth, Zuo Dan gave her some advice, “Qingqing, I think you shouldn’t come to ask us for meat right now. You should go to Aunt Qi’s place in our village and ask her to help you find a good family for you to marry while Uncle’s not home. That way, Huanhuan won’t be able to bother you anymore, and you won’t be disturbing our family.”

“No way, my mom wouldn’t agree if she came back. My mom wants me to marry someone she chooses. Huanhuan will be married off in the future,” Zuo Qing shook her head firmly.

Zuo Dan stopped trying to persuade her and said directly, “Qingqing, why don’t you go to Uncle San’s place next door? He has money, you can make a scene there.”

“… Grandma will get angry.”

So, this was it—Zuo Dan realized that it was okay to bully their own family. She smiled coldly. Now she understood, there weren’t only people like Xu Fengxia who would throw tantrums and be unreasonable, but also people like Zuo Qing who silently bullied others. Zuo Dan didn’t waste any more time; she grabbed Li Hui’s hand and said, “Mom, you heard that, right? She doesn’t want to do things the right way, so she bullies you because you’re too kind. Close the door now.” She said, and directly shut the door.

Once the door closed, Zuo Qing started crying outside again.

Zuo Dacheng and Li Hui could hear the noise from inside and sighed. Zuo Dan suggested, “Why don’t we just give her all the meat at home? Xiao Cong and I won’t eat it. After all, in the past, all the good food—meat, eggs, anything—went to Huanhuan. Xiao Cong and I are used to it. She has parents who love her and an older sister who dotes on her, she’s born with a golden spoon…”

Zuo Dacheng got up in his slippers and called to Li Hui, “It’s time to rest, it’s freezing outside. We need to get up early tomorrow.”

Li Hui quickly got up to follow.

Zuo Cong, seeing how his parents had been easily led back into the house by his sister’s few words, couldn’t help but grin, “Sis, you’re awesome.”

“I’m telling you, a girl like Qingqing, who solves everything by crying, if you’re not the dictatorial commune secretary, stay far away from her.”

“Why?”

Zuo Dan said, “Just imagine marrying a girl like Qingqing. Picture that scene.”

Zuo Cong immediately shivered. “Sis, it’s so cold. Let’s go to the room and chat.”

Zuo Dan felt like she was giving Zuo Cong a preemptive warning, so he wouldn’t end up liking that type of person in the future. If he did, he’d never dare to come back to his maternal family.

She even unconsciously thought of Shen Yiming, and felt that the guy had a good eye for choosing her. She curled up in bed and couldn’t help but imagine: what if she were like Zuo Qing, always crying and calling Shen Yiming whenever something happened, “Yiming, woo woo woo…” So cold, so cold.

In the small courtyard near the Provincial City Middle School, Shen Yiming’s house was brightly lit. Unlike in the countryside, there were already electric lights here.

Grandma had prepared a table full of delicious dishes. As a retired middle school teacher, her pension was quite substantial, enough for her to live comfortably. Plus, with the inheritance left by her late husband, they didn’t usually have to worry about food or clothing.

Shen Yiming offered incense to his grandfather and mother before sitting down with his grandmother to eat.

Grandma happily served him food, “I’m so glad you didn’t go too far, or I would’ve had to spend the New Year alone.”

“Grandma, I won’t be far from you,” Shen Yiming smiled.

“I know, my good grandson, you’re so considerate.” Grandma’s loving face smiled warmly. “When are you going to bring that girl to see me? Is she a fellow educated youth or a local girl?”

“Grandma, it’s still early.”

“It’s not early, you’ll be twenty after the New Year. You’re old enough to get married. You need to hurry up. I’m even planning to help you have kids while I’m still young.”

Hearing Grandma’s words, Shen Yiming smiled warmly, “It’s not the right time yet. She hasn’t shown any interest in your grandson. I’ll have to wait until I’m back in the city to talk about it. If I bring it up now, she’ll definitely disagree.”

“How come? Does she want to go back to the city?” Grandma asked.

“Not exactly. I think with her personality, she’ll probably worry that I’ll leave ahead of time. I’ll wait until things are settled before talking about it.” Shen Yiming explained. “She’s so cautious and always wary of others. Right now, she probably doesn’t consider me much, but if I openly make it clear, she’ll probably treat me like a plague.”

Grandma actually liked this kind of personality. If she were the type of girl who would just follow a man without saying anything, that wouldn’t work. In their family, a woman couldn’t be too innocent; otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to handle things. Although sometimes she didn’t insist on Shen Yiming bringing any particular type of girl back, if she had a choice, she would prefer one who could stand on her own. In this world, who knew what could happen? “Our Yiming already has someone he likes. You should have told your mom, it would make her happy.”

“I’ll tell her once things are settled.” Shen Yiming said calmly.

Grandma smiled, seeing the confidence in his demeanor. When Yiming got married, a new member would enter the family, making it feel even more like a home.

In the provincial city, the second day of the New Year was when people started visiting relatives. Shen Yiming hadn’t left yet when Song Gang arrived with a gift basket. It was the same smoked meat and fruits as last time, but this time, there were oranges.

“This year there are a lot of gifts. I guess people bought them in bulk during Mid-Autumn Festival, and now they’re selling them in larger quantities. But this quality is rare. I grabbed two—one for my parents and one for Teacher Zhao.”

“You’re just wasting money,” Grandma scolded.

Song Gang grinned mischievously, “My salary grade went up, so spending a little is fine.”

Grandma shook her head, “Young people should save money for their future wives.”

“Soon, soon, Teacher, I’ll take Yiming out for a stroll. He hasn’t been in the provincial city for a while, so he needs to go see the sights.”

“Go ahead, come back for lunch though, I’ll make something delicious for you.” Grandma waved them off with a smile. She wasn’t going to meddle in the young people’s matters. If Yiming dared to bully anyone, he’d get a good beating.

“Alright!” Song Gang quickly pulled Shen Yiming out the door.

Of course, they weren’t just going for a casual stroll. Song Gang was eager for Shen Yiming to return to the city soon. Before he came back, Song Gang had already started asking around, preparing to take Shen Yiming to make connections. Waiting for the official notice to return would be too uncertain.

But Shen Yiming wasn’t keen on it. “There are people watching me in the provincial city. If I go, by the time I figure things out, the paths might all be blocked.”

“Why not give it a try? Maybe it’ll work. Are you just going to wait around?” Song Gang said, frustrated.

Shen Yiming laughed, with no warmth in his eyes, “You know, I put in so much effort just to stay in the city. Everything was about to be settled, and in the end, it all came down to someone else’s words.” He still remembered that line clearly: “The son of Wei Guohua absolutely cannot take shortcuts. The policy must be followed!”

“These people are all worthless,” Song Gang couldn’t hold back and cursed, “You don’t know, sometimes when I’m on my way to work, I bump into them, and I just want to curse them out. For all these years, they didn’t care about you, but when it comes to sending people to the countryside, suddenly they think of you. They really have the nerve to talk about Minister Wei being impartial and just. He could even send his own son to the countryside, but why didn’t he send his daughter? Oh, if the daughter isn’t biological, then she can take shortcuts, right?”