Chapter 26 The Educated Youth Who Abandoned Their Wives and Children

The family of three set foot on the land of Chengdu, where they were picked up by Ji Huaizhi's colleagues.

“Teacher Ji, this dormitory room was assigned to you by your workplace. It might be a bit crowded for your family of three, but you have a kitchen and a bathroom, and the No. 1 Middle School is nearby.”

"It should be quite convenient for you."

"Thank you is already very kind of you." Ji Huaizhi took out the local specialties he brought back from City A: "I'm so sorry to have taken up so much of your time today. If it weren't for you, we'd still be wandering around the train station."

"Take this local specialty with you and bring it home for your family to enjoy."

"How could I possibly accept that? Teacher Ji, this is absolutely unacceptable."

Ji Huaizhi stuffed it into his arms: "How can this be unacceptable? Of course you should take it."

Chen Chunya found it amusing to hear him imitate other people's awkward dialects.

"Thank you, Professor Ji. If you need anything in the future, just come to Room 302, Building 10, Rongcheng University. You'll be reporting to Room 302 tomorrow too, and I'll take you to the Personnel Department then."

Ji Huaizhi smiled and said, "Okay, then I'll trouble you."

There are still a few days left in the university winter break, so he can't accompany Chun Ya back to see her parents for the time being.

They may have returned twice during their studies, but they were both busy and couldn't stay for long.

"Mom, isn't Dad coming back with us tomorrow?" Ji Xiaotian frowned.

“Your dad is busy, so we’ll go back first. He’ll come over when he’s done. I don’t know if the house is still habitable,” Chen Chunya said worriedly.

She called home, but didn't say exactly when she would arrive.

Ji Xiaotian has grown quite a bit taller now, and he's helping them pack their things.

This room is a small one-bedroom apartment. We can put up a curtain and find a folding bed for Xiaotian to sleep on for now.

"Xiaotian's school registration?" My son's schooling is a big deal.

"It's all set up. We can just go there when the semester starts next semester," Ji Huaizhi said as he moved the things.

"Who did you get it done?" Chen Chunya asked curiously.

After all, neither of them knew anyone in Chengdu.

Ji Huaizhi stood up: "Do you know Chao Mei?"

"You mean the one in charge of your former educated youth settlement?" Chen Chunya asked in surprise.

"Yes, he didn't pass the exam the first year, but his family found him a temporary job. After returning to the city, he studied hard and passed the exam for a vocational school the second year. Now he is a teacher at the affiliated primary school."

This is what I found out while waiting for the allocation results.

After making a few connections, my son's school registration was resolved.

"That's good. You're truly my man. I don't know how I would manage all this without you." Chen Chunya looked at him with loving eyes.

"Is this still a home without me?"

He patted his son on the shoulder and said, "You'll be taking the entrance exam for junior high school in a little over a year. Try your best to get into the top junior high school."

Ji Xiaotian: "If I get into No. 1 High School, will you still care if I read comic books?"

"Yes, manage it."

"Why?" Ji Xiaotian's eyes widened, unhappy with the answer.

"Because I'm your father, why do you say that?"

Chen Chunya took a bus to the county seat, and then transferred to another bus to the town.

Chen Chunsheng was already waiting for them at the door.

"Just the two of you came back? Where's Huaizhi?" Chen Chunsheng's breath turned white from the cold.

“He just went to work this morning and will come back after he’s done. Where’s your sister-in-law?” Chen Chunya asked.

“Your second sister-in-law has already taken Xiaoxiao back to the village, so she can help Mom cook.” Chen Chunsheng put the things she brought on the tricycle.

He heard that they had a lot of things and borrowed them specifically.

"Second Uncle."

"Hey! Xiaotian's so tall now. He'll lie down in the back of the tricycle, and your mom and I will sit in the front." Chen Chunsheng patted the child's head.

When we arrived in the village, everyone stood at their doorways, looking at us: "Is this a spring bud?"

"It seems so. Her husband hasn't even graduated from university yet? Are his grades that bad?"

The villagers thought Ji Huaizhi had repeated a grade, since he had indeed studied for many years.

"Who knows? It's too late today. I'll go over and ask tomorrow. If they've graduated, they should have already been assigned a job, right?"

"mom!"

"Grandma!"

When Chen's mother came out, her eyelids were wrinkled with laughter: "You're back? Come in and warm yourself by the fire!"

"Aren't you cold? Your face must be all wrinkled from the wind."

She patted Xiaotian's head and told him to hurry inside.

When Ji Xiaotian went in, he saw Er Ya. Er Ya was holding a basin and her hands were covered in frostbite, which made him feel alarmed. "Sister Er Ya."

"Xiao Tian is back? Grandpa, Xiao Tian is back."

Chen Xiao also lifted the curtain and came out, shyly greeting everyone while holding a rosy-cheeked child in his arms: "Brother Xiao Tian?"

"Whose child is this?" Ji Xiaotian asked, puzzled.

“This is your brother, your second uncle’s child,” Chen’s father said as he came out, a pipe in his mouth.

"They're so big already? It feels like only yesterday you called to share the good news." Chen Chunya was surprised, and upon taking the child, she found him to be quite robust.

"Chen Xiao is already an older sister."

Tang Aiju also chimed in: "Yes, she's very sensible at home, and her younger brother likes her too."

He patted Chen Xiao on the back of the head and said, "Go play with Brother Xiaotian. It's been so long since we last saw each other. It's winter break now, so don't be so reserved."

Chen Xiao glanced at her younger brother reluctantly, but considering that her older brother Xiao Tian only came back once in a long while, she decided to stay with him.

"Brother Xiaotian, let me take you to find Brother Gou Dan." He then turned to Chen Erya: "Sister Erya, let's go together."

Mr. Chen also said, "Go ahead, it's been so long since we last met. We used to play in the mud together all the time when we were kids."

Chen Erya looked inside, and Chen Chunya returned the child to Tang Aiju.

Seeing her hands, he took out some frostbite cream from his pocket and applied it to her hands: "Er Ya is too diligent. You finally have a holiday, so take your younger siblings out to play. Here, take this frostbite cream and apply it again before you go to bed tonight."

"Where are you going? We're cooking, why is she going out now?" Zhang Pandi's voice was still as sharp as ever.

"With so many people, can't we cook a few dishes?" Chen's mother said as she came in.

Zhang Pandi glared at her daughter, then turned and went back inside.

"Er Ya isn't in school anymore," Tang Aiju said softly. "She wasn't allowed to continue her studies after graduating from elementary school."

“Mom and Dad said they would pay for Er Ya’s tuition. They believed that girls should study more. They also tried to persuade my older brother, but my sister-in-law said that she should stay at home to help with the work and that they would marry her off when she was older.”

"So that she doesn't become as wild as Daya."

Chen Chunya didn't know what to say.

She was annoyed by all the Chen family's children, but now she realized that studying really is useful.

Because her husband is a college student, people are much more polite to her.

When Ji Huaizhi returned a few days later, Chun Ya had already tidied up the courtyard of his old home.

"Didn't you say you'd wait for me to come back so we could go together?" Ji Huaizhi came in carrying his things.

Chen Chunya was packing her things when she saw the man running over excitedly: "Is the matter resolved?"

"Yes, my company said I can come back for a winter break and then focus on work after school starts." Ji Huaizhi put his things away and helped her clean up.

"Are we eating at home or at Mom and Dad's tonight?" Ji Huaizhi asked.

“Go over there. The house isn’t ready yet. Anyway, I gave them living expenses and helped them with their things.” Chen Chunya’s tone was a little unpleasant.

Ji Huaizhi guessed that she had argued with her sister-in-law.

"Do you know? My sister-in-law made Er Ya drop out of school. Now Er Ya only has a primary school diploma." Her face darkened when she talked about it.

"You even said you'd help Gou Dan review when you get back. You're a teacher, that's what you should do. She knows she still needs to study, so why not let Er Ya study?"

Ji Huaizhi: "Didn't Er Ya make a fuss? I guess Mom and Dad wouldn't agree, right?"

“Er Ya didn’t make a fuss, but my parents did. My sister-in-law said that all Er Ya does is cry, and she can’t stand up on her own.” Chen Chunya was initially quite sympathetic to her niece when she first came back.

Now she understands why her parents were so disappointed in her.

“My parents told her not to worry about tuition and to just continue her studies. But she still listened to her mother.”

"Not only do they not know how to fight for it, but they also hold others back."

"Alright, what's there to be angry about?" Ji Huaizhi took out a small box: "Look what this is."