Chapter 130
In August of the new year, Yan Lei stepped down from his position as the military representative of Bocheng County. Regimental Commander Zhao took office.
These were all people under Division Commander Pan’s command.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Yan Lei wanted to go back to his hometown to visit; he hadn’t been back in several years.
Last year, when his father was seriously ill, he was unable to fulfill his filial duties, and it was Qiao Wei who went back in his place.
There wasn’t much going on at the Library, and the daily meetings were quite boring, so as soon as Yan Lei discussed it with Qiao Wei, she agreed.
The couple bought sleeper tickets, took an overnight train, and returned to Yan Village.
This time, the Village Party Secretary came to pick them up personally again.
This time, Yan Lei’s Mother and her husband came out to welcome them eagerly.
Qiao Wei also kept her word; the past was wiped clean.
They took out the gifts to distribute: cigarettes, alcohol, candy, pastries, clothes, shoes, and wool scarves—all items that couldn’t be bought in the countryside.
It was lively and bustling.
Qiao Wei also sat at the table to eat as usual.
When her sisters-in-law saw her, their faces were stiff with forced smiles. Clearly, they had been lectured beforehand by their parents-in-law or their respective husbands.
This time, they finally stayed over.
Yan Lei’s Mother had stayed at a guesthouse with Qiao Wei before, so she knew how clean Qiao Wei liked things and had tidied up the room for them until it was spotless.
Lying on the kang at night, Yan Lei remarked, “Mother has changed quite a bit.”
Her face was much more full of smiles.
Of course; since the chronic ailment that had long made her feel inferior was gone, and the repulsive odor had vanished, how could she not become more cheerful?
Yan Lei held Qiao Wei and wouldn’t let go, “It’s all thanks to you.”
Qiao Wei asked him instead, “What are your plans for coming back?”
Yan Lei admired her, “You guessed it?”
Qiao Wei said, “Whatever you do, don’t drag me into it.”
Yan Lei was disappointed, “Sigh.”
Qiao Wei kicked him twice, “You’re used to being a leader, so you think of yourself as the head of the household, fine. Did you forget that I am the second son’s wife! The second daughter-in-law!”
He actually held such unrealistic expectations of her.
Perhaps it was also because the other women in the family were truly hard to please, so deep down, Yan Lei really hoped that Qiao Wei could manage the household with him.
Men really love to dream.
According to rural customs, it is the eldest daughter-in-law who should manage affairs; it wouldn’t be the turn of the second son’s wife. He shouldn’t even think about dragging her into these trivial matters.
After the hustle and bustle of the reunion, Yan Lei indeed began to reorganize the household. The eldest and second elder sisters, who had married out, also returned to attend the family meeting at their parents’ home.
Qiao Wei deliberately took Yan Xiang for a stroll out to the fields to avoid it.
When she returned, sure enough, her parents-in-law and the sisters had smiles on their faces, while the sisters-in-law all had tense expressions.
But no one was arguing; of course, it was possible that they had already argued and been suppressed by Yan Lei while she was out for a walk. The reason Yan Lei came back personally this time was probably just for this matter.
Yan Lei returned to the room and, without Qiao Wei having to ask, voluntarily reported the situation.
He had taken back the financial power that had previously been distributed directly and transferred it to his parents.
“I made it clear to them that this money is to honor my parents. It was my mistake to distribute it directly before; from now on, it will all go to my parents. I won’t interfere; the money will be kept by my parents. If the family doesn’t separate, the money belongs to my parents. If the family separates, I shouldn’t be giving it to them anyway; each household should be contributing money to support my parents.”
His brothers and their wives were certainly dissatisfied, but Yan Lei was assertive and didn’t fear them.
“From now on, for this family, I will give my parents 20 yuan a month.”
“As for the eldest and second sisters, I will give them 30 yuan each per year, given separately, not through this channel.”
There must have been arguments and unhappiness during the family meeting, but the results of the reform to the distribution plan were immediate.
Even Qiao Wei, who was only staying for a few days, could feel the change in the sisters-in-law’s attitude toward their parents-in-law, especially toward her mother-in-law. They were much more attentive.
What was Yan Lei trying to achieve by giving money to the family? Wasn’t it just to ensure his brothers and their wives would treat his parents better, and that everyone could live a better life?
In fact, as long as his parents had money in their hands, life wouldn’t be difficult.
But if his parents kept the money in their own hands, their own lives would be even better.
This trip back to his hometown had a much more peaceful atmosphere than the one Qiao Wei had made alone a year ago.
Especially Yan Lei’s Mother, whose eyes even expressed heartfelt affection for her second daughter-in-law, Qiao Wei.
Others could only guess, but she was one hundred percent certain in her heart that this time, Yan Lei had suddenly returned to handle this matter because Qiao Wei must have said something to him.
After all, it was Qiao Wei who had told her back then that “money must be kept in your own hands.”
The two sisters-in-law were also affectionate toward her; she hadn’t seen them last time, but she finally met them this time, and they were solicitous and concerned about her.
They brought a lot of dried fruit and dried sweet potatoes that the family had dried for Yan Xiang. Being able to bring these out showed that their life was actually doing okay.
In stark contrast were the three sisters-in-law.
The three of them had very ugly expressions, but they dared not vent at Yan Lei—he was the big financial backer—nor did they dare vent at Qiao Wei—they had already learned of her formidable nature a year ago.
A year ago, they had complained to relatives and villagers that Qiao Wei hadn’t even stayed long when she returned home, leaving without even spending the night.
Others said, “Your father-in-law was in so much pain he could barely walk, and as soon as your second brother’s wife came back, she rushed straight to the provincial capital to get treatment for your father-in-law. What, are you complaining that she went too fast?”
Then they complained that after the medical treatment, she didn’t come back.
Others said, “She has a job. Do you know what a job is? Missing one day means losing one day’s wages. If she didn’t go back, her wages would be deducted, and then who would send money for you to spend?”
They changed their tune to complain that she hadn’t brought anything when she returned to her hometown. They hadn’t seen a single gift of cigarettes, alcohol, or candy.
Others said, “How could there be none? The new mill our brigade bought, wasn’t that money donated by her!”
In short, if you said anything bad about Yan Lei’s city wife, everyone from the village officials to the villagers would chatter at you, determined to prove to you that she was already good enough.
The father-in-law, mother-in-law, and Yan Zhu all praised her endlessly.
“Oh my, you didn’t see it; the director of the big provincial hospital came to pick us up personally, we stayed in a private room, and the department head performed the surgery on Yan Zhus father.”
“The doctors and nurses were so respectful to us, they all knew we had a formidable daughter-in-law.”
“They were all afraid of her!”
“Don’t say it, when she puts on that hat and tightens her belt, even I am afraid.”
The three of them returned and first called the third and fourth sons into the room to lecture them.
The three brothers each returned to their rooms and lectured their wives, sternly warning them never to engage in such disgusting, empty-handed behavior again. Qiao Wei, this city wife, wouldn’t be able to come back many times in her life; if they kept this up, she wouldn’t come back in the future.
It might even cause Yan Lei to stop sending money to the family.
When all is said and done, interests are the true weakness. The last sentence gripped everyone.
Only in this way was Qiao Wei’s trip back to her hometown peaceful and perfect.
Yan Lei had limited vacation time and didn’t stay at home for long. Moreover, returning after many years, he discovered that his hometown was really a place better suited for nostalgia than for returning.
When far away, the memories were all beautiful.
When truly back, his relatives each had their own schemes, and those little thoughts were all written on their faces; seeing them clearly, his heart wasn’t as warm.
By the time he sat on the mule cart to say goodbye to his relatives, Yan Lei actually felt a sense of relief.
Once on the train, he asked cautiously, “You weren’t unhappy on this trip back, right?”
He had been watching every day to see if anyone dared to give Qiao Wei a hard time.
Qiao Wei took a washed apple from her bag and, while peeling it, told him, “Don’t worry, this is your home; whenever you want to come back, I will accompany you.”
Yan Lei let out a long sigh of relief.
Qiao Wei said, “It’s good for a person to have a place they can go back to.”
Yan Lei nodded.
But even though he said that, when he really got off the train and returned to the old military family settlement area in the Xiahekou District of Bocheng County, opened the iron lock, pushed open the courtyard gate, and saw his own light yellow mud walls, the cool bed, and the cushions… only then did Yan Lei truly have a feeling of being home.
This was his true home.
Although it wasn’t the place where he was born, it was a place of peace, a place where he could let his guard down, and a place where he could completely relax.
Yan Lei’s shoulders dropped.
This year passed relatively peacefully.
However, middle schools were now almost unable to hold classes normally. Large numbers of students and unemployed youths who couldn’t be assigned jobs wandered everywhere, giving rise to many social problems.
In fact, in the first half of this year, Qiao Wei had seen Yingzi, from Regimental Commander Zhao’s family, running around all day without attending school, and she had advised Sister Yang to either send Yingzi to a technical school or find a way to arrange a job for her directly.
But Yingzi was only fourteen, and Sister Yang and Regimental Commander Zhao always felt she was “still young” and didn’t think there was any rush.
Qiao Wei couldn’t force them.
Gangzi was fine; he had already graduated from the technical school and entered a factory as a welder.
Sister Yang asked him to hand over all his wages, but he had a mind of his own and refused. In the end, he only handed over half his wages each month and kept the other half.
He was the eldest brother and had the demeanor of an eldest brother, even occasionally giving his younger siblings some pocket money in a proper manner.
His younger siblings listened to him even more now.
That’s how the eldest son is. If the eldest son can stand on his own, he is the second father of the family.
However, the second father of The Yan Household was not Yan Zhu, but Yan Lei.
Qiao Wei wasn’t sure of the exact year of the major event, but looking at the situation of the adolescent students now, she vaguely felt that the big event was also coming soon.
Sure enough, at the end of the year, the Great Leader issued the instruction: “It is highly necessary for educated youth to go to the countryside to be re-educated by the poor and lower-middle peasants.”
The large-scale “Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside” movement that covered the whole country, which Qiao Wei was familiar with, finally began.
After the New Year, the county established an Office for Educated Youth, and the neighborhood committees went door-to-door to take a census. Junior high and high school students in school that year, as well as unemployed social youths who had just graduated, were all within the scope of the census, collectively known as urban educated youth, which is what is commonly referred to in later generations as Zhiqing.
When the census reached Regimental Commander Zhao’s family, Gangzi was already working, so he was not within this scope.
Regarding Lin Xixi, Regimental Commander Zhao had promised to get a household registration for her, but not now. Regimental Commander Zhao promised her that once he found a good match for her, he would transfer the registration.
However, the introductions he had made for her had never worked out. The matter of the household registration had been shelved.
Moreover, she didn’t have much education and didn’t count as an educated youth, so she was not in the census scope at all.
But Yingzi couldn’t escape.
She was a student, not an only child, no one in her family was seriously ill requiring her to stay and care for them, and there were no situations regarding employment or job substitution. In short, she had no legitimate reason that complied with policy to avoid it.
Moreover, at this time, Regimental Commander Zhao was serving as the military representative of Bocheng County, with many eyes watching, so he couldn’t act against the wind.
There was no other way; Yingzi became an educated youth and was arranged to go to the countryside.
But fortunately, they were in a small county town, and specifically, they lived in a small town.
Outside the county town, outside the small town, was the “countryside.”
Unlike the educated youth from big cities, who traveled thousands of miles to completely unfamiliar rural areas with strange customs, strange food, and strange accents.
The place where Yingzi and the other small-town educated youth went to the countryside was only thirty kilometers away from Xiahekou.
On the Sunday one week later, Qiao Wei stewed some meat and brought a bowl to give to Sister Yang. As soon as she entered the door, she saw Yingzi squatting at the kitchen entrance, gnawing on a chicken leg with eyes glowing green, looking like a weasel.
Qiao Wei: “…”
“Auntie, you’re here!” Yingzi greeted Qiao Wei with her cheeks puffed out.
Qiao Wei said, “Why are you back?”
In the countryside, the educated youth were managed by both the Office for Educated Youth and the production brigade; theoretically, educated youth were not allowed to leave the designated area.
Yingzi smiled, “My dad has pulled some strings with the brigade; I can leave the team on Sundays as long as I rush back at night and don’t spend the night there.”
This was really much luckier than the educated youth from big cities.
Qiao Wei said to Sister Yang, “Although it’s close, you should still find a way to get the child back.”
Get her back sooner, arrange things sooner.
When the big wave of educated youth returning to the city comes, job positions will be tight again by then.
Sister Yang had long regretted not listening to Qiao Wei and arranging a job for Yingzi early; she was heartbroken, “They say they have to sleep on large shared beds over there, and the food is not good either.”
Once in the countryside, without a mother or cousin to take care of them, the educated youth had to do their own laundry and cooking.
Since Lin Xixi came to the Zhao family, Yingzi had actually been living a life with a nanny for the past few years; how could she have suffered such hardship?
“Old Zhao is already running around trying to fix it.”
Policies are rigid, but people are flexible.
Besides, her father was a man with some ability.
Yingzi went to the countryside in February, only thirty li away from home.
In June, she was fished back by her father.
In October, Yan Lei and Division Commander Pan each received a letter from Beijing.
Both of their expressions changed.
