Chapter 284 Seeking Praise

The group of angry young men fled as if they were running away.

The neighbors were quite frightened by the arrogant attitude of these people. Although they felt relieved, they also felt that it was too easy on them.

A few young men came here and said that there was something wrong with their thinking. They wanted to forcibly demolish the newly built wall. They were acting all high and mighty. I wonder if they were eating fake food in the past, otherwise why would they act like humans and speak like humans?

"Commander's wife, what if they refuse to write self-criticisms?"

"Just writing a self-criticism is too lenient on them! I've never seen young people like them before. Don't they know how hard life is? I don't know what's going on in their eyes and hearts!"

Many young people like them follow the crowd, wandering the streets together, finding fault with others, and making things difficult for them, as if they are the most clear-headed people in the world.

Song Lubai has no right to make them write self-criticisms; asking their workplace just now was merely to scare them.

Don't pursue a cornered enemy; who knows if there might be an extreme villain like Lu Jianxi among them, someone who holds grudges and seeks revenge?

That should scare them a little; she figured those people wouldn't dare come back again.

She said to her neighbors, "Even if you build a back wall, don't treat the yard as your own. Our houses and yards belong to the farm. You should all have this awareness, otherwise don't build it."

After everyone responded, someone flattered her, saying, "The regimental commander's wife is really something. If she hadn't come back, we wouldn't have been able to save our wall, and we wouldn't have been able to build anything in the backyard."

Song Lubai said, "We persuade people with reason. If everyone reads more newspapers, they can improve their thinking and correct others when they have problems with their thinking."

My name is Song Lubai. From now on, you can call me Comrade Song or Little Song, but please don't call me the regimental commander's wife anymore.

For many people, calling someone "the regimental commander's wife" is a respectful title, but it's not the same for Song Lubai. She is Wei Yang's wife, but she doesn't want to live with the title of "the regimental commander's wife." Over time, people have forgotten what her real name is.

Many people feel that the title "regimental commander's wife" is an honor. One older woman asked, "Why can't we call her the regimental commander's wife? It's such a glorious and proud title."

Song Lubai walked back carrying the pottery jar, saying, "I am me, and the regimental commander is the regimental commander. You all call me the regimental commander's wife all the time. If I make a mistake in the future, won't it implicate Regimental Commander Wei?"

“You two are husband and wife, you can’t be separated, no matter what you say, it won’t change the fact.”

Song Lubai said directly, "Then what's the point of my parents giving me this name? What will you call me when my husband is no longer the regimental commander?"

The old woman who had been speaking fell silent.

She thought the regimental commander's wife was out of her mind. How could a wife hope for her husband's downfall?

If Song Lubai knew what this old lady was thinking, she would scold her for having a problem with her brain. Couldn't she think positively and say that after Wei Yang stopped being the regimental commander, he could be promoted to a higher position?

Zhao Hongying followed Song Lubai all the way. When Song Lubai arrived at her doorstep and saw that Zhao Hongying was still following her, she asked, "Is there anything else?"

Zhao Hongying came seeking praise.

She felt that she was still very useful today.

Seeing the look in her eyes, Song Lubai paused for a moment and said, "Comrade Zhao Hongying, you need to be more quick-witted in the future. You shouldn't have waited for me to come back and resolve such a small matter today. I made myself clear enough the other day, but when all the neighbors were beaten to their doorsteps, not a single one of them could stand up for them. I had high hopes for you, but you... Sigh, never mind, take it slow. You are still much better than others. Remember, you need to read the newspaper more often, learn to recognize words, and learn to reason with people when you argue with them, so that those who are looking for trouble have nothing to say."

Comrade Zhao Hongying's heart died and came back to life repeatedly in Song Lubai's words. Finally, she nodded heavily and said, "I remember, Comrade Song. I will definitely continue to study, learn more words, and read more newspapers in the future."

Song Lubai nodded. "Comrade Zhao has a high level of awareness. She will definitely be a role model for the women in our area in the future. It's time to cook. Go back and cook."

Zhao Hongying left excitedly.

In her heart, the regimental commander's wife was the most discerning person.

The regimental commander's wife discovered her talent and knew that she was highly conscious, so she placed high hopes on her.

Although the regimental commander's wife had also scolded her, why did she only scold her and not others? Wasn't it because the regimental commander's wife had expectations and demands of her that she treated her that way?

Faced with the special treatment the regimental commander's wife gave her, Comrade Zhao Hongying decided to firmly support the regimental commander's wife from now on and follow her to accomplish great things!

On the other side, the few educated youths who had escaped reunited in a secluded spot.

The group of people, still shaken, sat under the tree, and no one spoke for a long time.

Looking at the wide, dry riverbed in front of them and the densely packed people digging sand in the distance, the group felt a sense of powerlessness.

The hardships here are obvious to everyone; what will we do in the days to come?

He originally wanted to find something to do, make some contributions, and gain some fame so he could find a good job, but who would have thought he almost got himself killed.

"Are we going to be assigned to dig sand here?"

"Shall we write a self-criticism? That woman just now was the regimental commander's wife! And she's actually from Henan Province too."

"What's the point of writing anything? She doesn't even know our names! If we don't hang around them anymore, I don't believe she'll remember us forever."

"I heard that the company lives in dugouts. If we can't live in brick houses here, we can live in mud houses. What's the difference between a dugout and a rat hole!"

The original purpose of causing trouble today was to cause trouble, but now, thinking of those rows of mud houses and the soon-to-be-completed mud walls, a sense of jealousy rose in their hearts.

Damn it, at least I lived in a brick house in the city, but here I can't even afford a mud house.

Looking at the arid Shahe River, the once "powerful" educated youth in the city felt utterly powerless.

Just as the group was feeling disheartened, a man approached.

“Tell me what happened before.”

…

With limited vegetables and the tofu shops in the troupe all closed, Song Lubai was cooking the same few dishes every day.

As she was stir-frying gourds at the door, Deng Hong, the wife of Deputy Regiment Commander Wu, arrived.

When the commotion started, a large crowd gathered in this area, and many people from other districts also came to watch the excitement.

Deng Hong was one of them.

Deng Hong genuinely thought Song Lubai was very eloquent.

In just over a week, Song Lubai was busy distributing vegetables at the supply and marketing cooperative and driving away educated youths who were trying to find fault with her. Yet, she managed to avoid giving anyone any ammunition against her. This made Deng Hong think that Commander Wei's wife was no pushover.

Nowadays, almost everyone in the regiment has seen Song Lubai distributing vegetables at the supply and marketing cooperative. Every household loves to talk about her. Deng Hong also whispers with her husband at home quite often.

Song Lubai remembered that Deng Hong had brought some eggs, and greeted her, "Sister-in-law, have you eaten? Why don't you have some at my house?"

Deng Hong smiled and said, "I've already eaten. I don't have anything else to do, I just came to drop by. You guys go ahead and eat, I'll come again next time."

Song Lubai tilted her head as she watched Deng Hong's retreating figure, wondering what she meant.