2 hours ago at Shen family house
"Mom do you think Shen Yuying is late? Its already 10 in the morning and she hasn't come yet" said the anxious Shen Yumei.
She woke up early today, tidied herself well, and put on her best dress. Today, she will go to the factory to report for her new job.
But she's been waiting for a few hours and Shen Yuying still didn't come. She's getting anxious.
Li Gihua glanced at her daughter walking back and forth in the livingroom, she felt dizzy just looking at her so she told her.
"It's still early, she might come here for lunch and then go to the factory in the afternoon. She's still probably tidying up the house so just wait patiently. "
She went back to making a new set of clothes for her youngest son Shen Yucheng. He will work soon so its better to finish it quickly.
A few minutes later, Shen Yucheng came back from playing outside.
He went inside the house and saw his mother and elder sister, he didn't see Shen Yuying so he asked "Shen Yuying didn't come?"
Her mother looked at him and smiled "You're done playing outside? Shen Yuying is not here yet, anyway its still early so lets wait for a bit" she turned to look at Shen Yumei and said "quickly get your brother a cup of water."
Shen Yumei looked at the 2 of them angrily but proceed to the kitchen to get water. She's always serving these brothers, she can't wait to go out and work.
In the living room Shen Yucheng sat in front of his mother and said "Mom, my friend told me that he saw Shen Yuying going to the train station early in the morning. "
Li Gihua was shocked and thought she didn't hear correctly "what did you say?" She asked.
Shen Yucheng was annoyed but repeated what he said "I said my friend told me he saw Shen Yuying going to the train station, Are you not paying attention?"
Li Gihua stood up from her seat upon hearing what Shen Yucheng said. She really heard it correctly, she couldn't believe it.
" What are you talking about? She said she'll leave on Wednesday. Your friend might have seen wrongly."
Her heart was beating fast, even she is not convinced by what she said.
Shen Yucheng looked at his mother's reaction and said "Mom what if Shen Yuying left without telling us?"
Shen Yumei who just came back heard the conversation was in panic and at the same time angry.
"What did you say? The b*tch Shen Yuying left?" She was in rage, how could she left.
"Shut up! You two calm down, nothing is certain yet. Lets wait until lunch and if She's still not here, we'll go to her house. Why would she left without telling us? She still has 2 job quotas and a house in her hand. What is she going to do about it?" Li Gihua insisted.
Suddenly a knock on the door was heard. And all 3 of them turned to look at the closed door.
Li Gihua's face visibly became at ease and said "look, she's here now. Go and open the door. Don't forget to be polite." Li Gihua said while sporting her best smile.
Shen Yumei and Shen Yucheng also smiled, she's finally here. They felt stupid for scaring themselves.
Who is Shen Yuying, she is just an orphan. She has no other family, she will definitely come to them for support in the future.
And because of that, she wouldn't dare trick us. His friend said that there are too many people earlier, so he might have seen wrongly. So Shen Yucheng felt relaxed and assured after thinking about it.
Shen Yumei also sported her best smile, anyway its the last day to please Shen Yuying.
After she gets the job quota, lets see how she cleans up this b*tch. She nodded to herself and hurriedly went to open the door.
When the door finally opens, all their smiles vanished. Standing outside the door is someone from the street office.
They were the people who goes house to house to inform the family about sending their children to the countryside to become an Educated Youth.
They were all taken aback and before they could say something, the person left after greeting them and giving them 2 envelopes. Said he's behind schedule and there's still alot of notices to be sent.
All three of them stood at the door like statues, when they recovered, the man who gave the envelope is already far away.
Curious about the envelopes they went inside the house and closed the door. Hurriedly open the 2 envelopes amd started reading it.
The envelopes were notices for Shen Yumei and Shen Yucheng stating that they have to be at the train station on Wednesday at 9 in the morning.
The train bound to Northwest leaves at 10am. The notice also contains the address of the place they will be sent to as an Educated youth.
All three of them were dumbfounded after reading both letters. They couldn't believe it and both slumped on the floor.
"What is this all about? Didn't we say that you two will have a job quota and won't go to the countryside?" Li Gihua said, still couldn't believe what she had read.
Shen Yumei recovered from her shock and told her mother "Mom let's go find Shen Yuying, If we can report to the factory today, they might not send us to the countryside."
Shen Yucheng looked at Shen Yumei and said "that's right, let's hurry up "
The three mother and children hurriedly made their way to Shen Yuying's house only to learn that the house has been sold. And another family is occupying it right now.
They wanted to make trouble but the family showed them the documents and house deed and threatened to send them to you public security if they make trouble.
All three left the building deflated. How could this be? Where did Shen Yuying go?
Shen Yumei still not giving up told her mother and brother "let's go to the machinery factory, she still have 2 job quotas, let's ask about it."
She can't go to the countryside. She lived in the countryside when she was young. They finally left that place and able to live in a big city, she couldn't go back to farming.
And what's more, the place they will be sent to is too remote and mountainous. Its even 10x worse the place she grew up with. She could not accept it.
The three hurriedly made their way to the machinery factory. Only to be told that Shen Yuying had already sold the 2 job quotas last week.
All 3 of them like a deflated balloons left the machinery factory in confused state.
They still didnt know what happened, and what went wrong. They have been planning about this since Shen Jianjun died.
In the end, they couldn't do anything and even Shen Yuying is gone.
They decided to go to the Educated Youth office to ask about when Shen Yuying will depart, and also ask about the notices they received earlier.
The person in charge was the same person that Shen Yuying had met last week, she looked at Shen Yumei and said.
"Comrade Shen Yumei, didn't I tell you last week that your cousin Shen Yuying will depart today. And then you and your brother will leave with others on Wednesday" the clerk calmly responded to them.
Shen Yumei was confused, when did this old woman told her "You told me last week?" She asked her.
"Yes, when you came here last week to add yours and your brother's name to the list of Educated Youth going to the Northwest. Did you forget?" The clerk said.
Then the clerk turned to look at Li Gihua who was standing next to Shen Yumei and Shen Yucheng, she smiled at her and said.
"Mrs Shen, your family has a high ideological awareness, the cousin gave up her job at the factory and came here to become an Educated Youth in a remote area in the Northeast 2 weeks ago. And then your children followed their cousins example and also volunteered to be an Educated Youth in the Northwest just last week. Your family elders have taught them well"
The clerk had a very big smile, loud and excited voice that was heard by everyone inside the office.
She then turned around to face other people and said "we should give their family a round of applause.
As soon as she said that, there were applause from around them and some people even cheered for them.
The 3 were still confused while the people around them came to them one by one and complimenting them for having a high ideological awareness.
They were surrounded by people for awhile and all they could do was nod and smile. After the excitement died down, they walked home in a confused manner.
When they reached home, they discussed what happened one by one and came to a conclusion that all these are what Shen Yuying did.
Shen Yumei passed out in anger, and Li Gihua and Shen Yucheng sat in the stool in daze.
They couldn't believe what was happening.
None of them could swallow their anger, but the Shen Yuying has already left.
Because of what happened, all three had no appetite for lunch, they don't have energy to prepare food either.
Now that this happened, Shen Yumei and Shen Yucheng will have to comply and be an Educated Youth in the Northwest.
No matter how much they curse Shen Yuying, nothing will change. They have resigned to their fate.
Shen Yuying on the train just finished her meal and went to the bathroom to clean up.
She made a mistake, the weather is too hot in summer and even hotter inside the train. She is wearing a military uniform, so she doesn't feel too comfortable.
It was truly a challenge to eat inside the train in the middle of summer. She's surrounded by different people with different smells.
Some took off their shoes and many are sweating, the sour smell is everywhere in the carriage.
But she has to endure for 3 days and 3 nights. She planned to go to the bathroom after dinner and go inside the space to wash up and cool off.
Because of the time difference, the plan is doable. She doesn't have to take a bath, but she needs to wash up atleast or else she'll be uncomfortable.
The days in the train passed by slowly, most of the people try to pass time by talking or sleeping.
No matter how much food one brought with them, after 3 days in the train most of the stocks were depleted.
The enthusiastic Youth at the beginning of train ride are now lying on the floor resting.
Everyone was mostly exhausted and hungry after a long train ride.
A voice suddenly was heard in the radio, they were about to reach their destination.
The people who were sleeping are woken up and the people on the ground stood up and prepared their things.
A sharp sound was heard signaling the arrival of the train. Many Youth couldn't help but cheer.
After many days inside the train, they could finally get out and stretch, and breath in the fresh air. The mood inside the train changed.
They hurriedly got out of the train sighing in relief, at least its no longer suffocating.
The Educated Youth was welcomed by the people working at the Educated Youth office. They were asked to follow them with their luggage.
Not far from the train station, several trucks were park at the side of the road. Each of them had commune names written on it.
Educated Youth will have to find their own ride. Everyone scrambled their way to the trucks and struggled to climb inside.
Each of the trucks were full of Educated Youth but since the truck is an open space, it is not suffocating.
Shen Yuying and the others were also able to climb quickly and found a good spot in the truck. About 50 students sat with them in the truck. Not long after, the truck took off.
The truck drove through the dirt road. There were a lot of potholes that made the ride bumpy.
Although the road is big and wide, it was not concrete after all so the whole ride was dusty.
Not only they have to cover their faces because of the dust, they also need to hold unto something tightly to avoid falling.
After many bumps and 4 hours of driving, the group arrived at the Chaoyang Commune.
Everyone got off the truck and saw several tractors and donkey cart parked outside the commune.
According to the information, Chaoyang commune has 8 brigades. Thus, about 50 Educated youths will be divided between these brigades.
All the Educated all were asked to register in the commune. One by one the students fall in line to register.
After Shen Yuying's turn, she was told to go to the secretary's office. She was confused, but she followed the person.
When the door opened and Shen Yuying was invited inside she saw a man in Police uniform.
She doesn't recognize him but she had an idea of who might this person be.
Zhao Weiguo who was sitting stood up when he saw a young girl coming through the door.
He smiled and her and said "Shen Yuying right? Although your eyes are similar to your father but everything else looks exactly like your mother."
Seeing Shen Yuying's face at ease he continued "My name is Zhao Weiguo, you can call me uncle Zhao. Your father and I belongs to the same unit in the army when we were still both active. We were good friends and your Uncle Han is our Captain."
Hearing what Zhao Weiguo said Shen Yuying smiled at him and took a step forward and introduced herself.
"Hello uncle Zhao, my name is Shen Yuying." She said respectfully.
Shen Yuying was curious when Zhao Weiguo mentioned her mother, so she asked "Uncle Zhao, do you also know my mother?"
Zhao Weiguo smiled at her and said "There was a time when your mother stayed at the military base where your father and I were assigned. That's where they met each other and I was also a friend of your mother."
Shen Yuying smiled sadly "I didn't know about that, my parents didn't tell me how they met."
She didn't know that Qin Xiuying met Shen Jianjun at the military base. It must have something to do with Qin Xiuying's parents old leaders and friends.
Zhao Weiguo looked at her with pity and said, "Your parents fell inlove with each other at first sight and decided to get married. When you have time visit your aunt and uncle and I will tell you stories about your parents."
Shen Yuying smiled at Zhao Weiguo and said "Thank you Uncle Zhao, I will look forward to it. And also thank you for taking your time to come and meet me today."
Looking at her being polite, Zhao Weiguo was happy and said "Your Uncle Han sent a telegram about you coming here, of course as your parents friend I have to come and meet you."
Shen Yuying remembered the letter that Uncle Han gave her, so she put her hand in her small bag and took the letter from space and handed it to Zhao Weiguo and said.
"Uncle Zhao, this is the letter that uncle Han told me to give you "
Zhao Weiguo reached out his hand to receive the letter. Tear it open and read its content. After reading he put it in his chest pocket.
"Your Uncle Han told me to take care of you and also mentioned your package. It actually arrived at the commune the other day. It was already sent to the production brigade, you can ask the village captain about it. " Zhao Weiguo started.
"When I heard about you, I went to check the village you're assigned to and had a talk with the Village Chief. The place is not bad, the people are reasonable and most of all they have previous records of good harvest."
"I heard the Educated Youth are having hard time adjusting with the life in the village. So I talked to the Village captain to be more forgiving towards you."
Shen Yuying was very thankful, she never thought this Uncle Zhao will go out his way to pave a path for her.
" Uncle Zhao, thank you but don't worry I will try my best to adapt to the village as soon as possible." She assured him.
Knowing how reasonable she is, Zhao Weiguo is happy and told her "I will go to the provincial capital tomorrow to attend a seminar I had promised to help the village captain buy farming tools, so don't worry about it and take your time adjusting in your life in the village."
"Uncle I'm very thankful, I'm so embarrassed to have disturb your work." Shen Yuying responded.
"There's no need to be embarrassed, your father and I go way back. We did alot of mission together, we even shared the same dormitory for many years." Zhao Weiguo said remembering the past with a slight smile on his face at the same time he felt sad about Shen Jianjun sudden death.
This child is too pitiful, If here parents were alive, she wouldn't have to suffer like this.
As a good friend of her parents, he needs to do his part and protect this child. For sure if the situation is reverse, his friend Shen Jianjun would never abandon his children.
Looking at Shen Yuying he suddenly remember something. "By the way this is for you, your Aunt made you lunch." Pushing a lunchbox to her.
"Your aunt made this, she knows you'll arrive today and must be tired and hungry after a long train ride" Zhao Weiguo explained.
They knew she'll arrive early morning via train and has to travel more than 4 hours to the village.
Shen Yuying accepted the lunchbox with a big smile.
"Thank you uncle. Say thank you to Aunt for me. I will come and visit when I have time, and I will return the lunchbox by then." Shen Yuying said.
Although she's very embarrassed to receive another lunchbox, she couldn't refused as this was prepared specifically for her.
Shen Yuying was truly amazed, how could there be such good people? They are basically strangers as they have never met before. And they even give her food on top of the favors. Food nowadays are very scarce and expensive.
"Then if you have time, come and look for me at the Public Security bureau at the county. Your Aunt would love to meet you, let's have a meal at home next time." Zhao Weiguo said, pleased with her attitude.
Zhao Weiguo turned to look for the cadres in the commune and thanked them for letting him borrow the office.
He then said goodbye to Shen Yuying and left in his patrol car.
Shen Yuying also greeted the cadres and thank them. Thankfully they all treated her nicely and didn't give her a hard time.
She's become more thankful to Zhao Weiguo, she said her goodbye to the cadres and the hurriedly walked to where the others are.