Chapter 114 Chapter 114 It was past nine o'clock when...
It wasn't until after nine o'clock that everyone went home together.
Yu Jiajia and Xia Jing lived in the same building. They were walking upstairs hand in hand when they ran into Xia Lei and his girlfriend walking down the steps side by side.
Under the lights, Lin Qiuyue's gaze lingered on Yu Jiajia's face. The face was strikingly beautiful under the lights, and the fact that she had a mother who was a deputy factory director made Lin Qiuyue's sense of crisis intensify. She naturally took Xia Lei's arm and asked, "Jingjing, who is this?"
Xia Jing smiled and said, "Sister Qiuyue, this is my good friend Jiajia."
"So you're Jiajia." Lin Qiuyue said with a smile, "I'm Lei's girlfriend, Lin Qiuyue." She emphasized the word "girlfriend" and then turned to Xia Lei, her voice tinged with coquettishness, "Lei, look how beautiful Jiajia is, I feel pressured standing next to her."
She expected to hear a polite denial or Xia Lei's words of comfort.
Xia Jing nodded vigorously: "Sister Qiuyue, you don't need to feel pressured, because no one is prettier than Jiajia." She paused, then added comfortingly, "Of course, Sister Qiuyue, you are very beautiful too."
The air seemed to freeze for a moment.
Lin Qiuyue's smile froze for a moment. She was furious, but she couldn't bring herself to lash out at that naive and stupid face. She smiled and said, "Thank you, Jingjing. I'll go home now and play again another day."
Xia Jing said, "Okay, goodbye Qiuyue." She then took Yu Jiajia's arm and went upstairs, adding, "Jiajia is the most beautiful woman I've ever met!"
Yu Jiajia thinks sincerity is the ultimate weapon; Jingjing is so cute!
She laughed: "Jingjing is also the cutest and most innocent comrade I have ever met."
That's true, Xia Jing is really naive! I feel like she'll definitely get along with Zhao Zhao, my third sister's best friend.
Xia Jing's sister-in-law doesn't seem easy to get along with. Xia Jing, this innocent little rabbit, might suffer if she gets along with her.
Moreover, Xia Jing's parents are easy to fool.
Before parting, she held Xia Jing's hand and said, "Jingjing, we're good friends. If you have any troubles, you have to tell me, and we'll figure things out together. Otherwise, I'll get angry!"
Xia Jing was touched by Yu Jiajia's concern: "Jiajia, you're so kind! Thank you."
Yu Jiajia and her friends parted reluctantly. When she got home, she found Ms. Cheng Xiuying studying diligently, summarizing what she had learned from Director Qi, and determined to thoroughly understand it.
Yu Hongding was studying, reading professional books.
Yu Songqing was in his room reading, studying, and researching.
Grandma Yu was doodling in her notebook when Yu Jiajia went over to take a look. She found that the paper was covered in clumps of drawing and didn't know what it meant.
"Grandma, what are you drawing?"
Grandma Yu: "I've written down the recipe for spicy rabbit meat so I won't need Song Yan next time; I can make it myself."
She has a bad memory, so she draws out all the steps. She can't read, but she can understand what she draws.
Yu Jiajia: "!!! Grandma, you're amazing! You can even create characters!"
Grandma Yu grinned and said, "These aren't words at all; I just scribbled them down."
Yu Jiajia gave a thumbs up.
Grandma Yu then showed Yu Jiajia the drawings she had made earlier, saying, "This is crucian carp stewed with tofu, this is boiled fish, and this is braised fish. The food your second brother and third sister make is so delicious. I'll make it like this in the future."
Grandma Yu's pursuit of progress was something Yu Jiajia naturally had to praise, and in the end, she also told Grandma Yu to balance work and rest and not to overwork herself.
Grandma Yu: "I'm not made of clay, how can cooking be tiring?"
The Yu family has already become very focused on learning, with a strong academic atmosphere! Yu Jiajia also took out an extracurricular book and read for half an hour before taking a shower and getting ready for bed. She didn't wait for her third sister to come back.
The next day, Yu Jiamin woke Yu Jiajia up to practice the Five Animal Frolics.
Yu Jiajia immediately perked up: "Third sister, how is it?"
Yu Jiamin: "We put Qin Shuo in a sack and beat him up. He definitely can't go to work today and will have to take the day off. As for A-mei, we still need to keep an eye on her."
Yu Jiajia: "Third sister is amazing!"
"Get up and exercise." Yu Jiamin had been practicing the Five Animal Frolics for a while now. Now that she's a police officer, she cares even more about her physical fitness.
It's really inconvenient not having a yard at home; there's not enough room to practice inside. But you can't practice the Five Animal Frolics downstairs either; you definitely can't let others see it.
After the two sisters finished practicing, Yu Jiajia chose a beige dress, while Yu Jiamin put on her new police uniform.
Yu Jiajia: "Good morning, Officer Yu."
Yu Jiamin: "Good morning, Cadre Yu."
The two sisters both laughed.
Today was just like any other ordinary morning. Everyone washed up, chatted, ate, and went to work until they arrived at the factory and heard the broadcasting station announcing the mobilization order for going to the countryside.
"...It is very necessary to widely mobilize educated youth to go to the countryside to receive re-education from poor and lower-middle peasants."
This day was destined to be different.
Cheng Xiuying braked and stopped, listening carefully to the broadcast.
"We also have two hands; we won't be idle in the city."
Cheng Xiuying's heart skipped a beat. What did this mean?
Yu Jiajia was also listening to the radio; the policy of sending people from the mountains to the countryside had begun.
Everyone else stopped and listened to the mobilization order on the radio. They were all a little confused, but no one dared to discuss such remarks lightly.
After the broadcast ended, everyone rushed to the workshop and office.
The propaganda department was also discussing this matter. They knew even more about it. They had read the People's Daily over and over again and already knew about the policy of sending people to the countryside in big cities. Now this trend had reached Qingshan County!
That morning, the factory's auditorium was packed with people, even the windowsills were full. Everyone had heard rumors, but they were still unwilling to believe it, and everyone was in a heavy mood.
On the podium, Deputy Factory Director Gao analyzed the policies word by word from the official document.
"All eligible young people without fixed occupations are the main force in this wave of 'Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside' movement! The countryside is a vast world, the best stage for educated youth to shine and contribute!"
The audience was completely silent. Who doesn't have one or two children of school age? Even if you don't have any yourself, you have nephews, nieces, or cousins who meet the criteria.
Sending your child to the countryside to farm? To become a farmer?
The sky is about to fall.
Finally, Deputy Factory Director Gao's tone became even more serious. His gaze swept across the entire room, and he said, word by word:
"Now is the time to test us. All Party members, cadres, and activists must set a good example! This is not just a statement, but an action!"
The mobilization meeting lasted for more than an hour. After it ended, the audience was in a state of chaos, with everyone discussing the matter.
The entire steel rolling mill was bustling with activity. A temporary office for educated youth sent to the countryside was set up, with Deputy Factory Director Gao as the main person in charge. In addition, three cadres from each department were transferred to the office to help out, with priority given to Party members and activists.
I don't know what Deputy Factory Director Gao was thinking, but anyway, nobody wanted to go to the educated youth office.
The propaganda department, including Section Chief Chen, has a total of seven people. Three people need to be selected this time. The section chief definitely can't go, and Lu Lingyi, who is always in charge of broadcasting, can't go either. Yu Jiajia and Liu Weidong are both activists and should be given priority. There is one spot left.
Section Chief Chen directly appointed: "Mu Feng, go and help."
Lin Mei is a skilled writer; the propaganda department can't do without her.
Zhou Wenbin is mainly responsible for filming, and he can't be separated from the camera.
He really didn't want Yu Jiajia to be transferred away; Yu Jiajia was his mascot.
Lin Mufeng was quite enthusiastic. He said, "I will definitely work hard and not let the publicity department down."
Yu Jiajia didn't want to go at all. The office for educated youth sounded very busy, and she was afraid she would be so busy that she wouldn't have time to rest. Just thinking about it gave her a headache.
Yu Jiajia and the other two went to the temporary office for educated youth to hold a meeting.
The cadres from other departments had also basically all arrived, and the large conference hall was already full of people.
Zhou Liang was also there. He waved to Yu Jiajia, "Sit here."
There wasn't really anywhere else to sit.
Liu Weidong took the initiative and let Lin Mufeng sit down first. He sat in the middle and let Yu Jiajia sit by the aisle.
Zhou Liang spoke to Yu Jiajia across Lin Mufeng and Liu Weidong: "You're an activist, right? I knew I'd run into you."
So when no one else was willing to come, he actively signed up and came.
He took the lead in the office, and two more people subsequently signed up.
This relieved the section chief from having to worry about who to choose.
Yu Jiajia: "You guessed right..."
Deputy Factory Director Gao assigned tasks to accurately compile a list of all employees' children who met the criteria for going to the countryside, ensuring that no one was missed. This was a huge workload, so Deputy Factory Director Gao reshuffled the cadres and reassigned them to groups of three, with each group responsible for one or two workshops.
In addition, the publicity department was asked to assist in the publicity efforts, such as posting slogans and creating blackboard bulletins, to create a strong atmosphere of "going to the countryside is glorious".
Yu Jiajia, along with Zhou Liang from the office and Lin Jingwan from the labor union, formed a group and were mainly responsible for the preliminary work of the first and second workshops.
If the atmosphere hadn't been so somber, Zhou Liang would have grinned from ear to ear. He was paired with Jiajia!
He was just wondering how to talk to Jiajia on ordinary days, and this opportunity came!
The preliminary investigation wasn't too difficult; the union had all the records in its booklets. The union fully cooperated with the educated youth office. When the three of them went to the union to get the booklets, Zhou Liang shared Qin Shuo's family's story with Yu Jiajia.
Qin Shuo came back limping last night, and no one knows who beat him up. Apparently, he was put in a sack on his way home from his night shift.
Yu Jiajia tried her best to suppress the upward curve of her lips. It felt so good! Third Sister is so efficient!
Zhou Liang then told him about the recent events in the Qin family. Qin Shuo's parents had argued several times. Although they argued behind closed doors and didn't want anyone to hear them, Qin Yao would always come to him crying. He wouldn't pay attention to her, but he still learned some things.
The Qin family really wants Qin Shuo to win back Yu Jiamin, but unfortunately, Yu Jiamin broke up with him without any lingering feelings.
Zhou Liang believes that Qin Shuo was beaten up by the Yu family last night!
After the union receives the booklet, they will need to conduct another check to see if any children of school age are married, have found jobs, or have misrepresented their age, to ensure that no one is missed.
How can we ensure that? Well, we'll have to ask.
The group leader and deputy group leader were both very knowledgeable and cooperated very well with Yu Jiajia and her two companions.
Almost every family has school-age children who are not working, and the names of these children are registered.
Finding a job is so difficult now; almost every family has a child of working age who is unemployed.
Fortunately, the steel rolling mill expanded its recruitment recently, offering forty job openings; otherwise, there would have been even more suitable candidates.
After a busy afternoon, Yu Jiajia and the other two finally finished organizing the booklet.
They were the most efficient, and everyone cooperated well with Yu Jiajia's work.
Many people have come to Yu Jiajia, begging her to leave their house empty when registering the marriage, but that's definitely not going to work.
Yu Jiajia looked at the booklet and felt a pang of sadness. If they really went to the countryside, how would these people survive there?
Completing the booklet isn't the end of the story; the next step is to get everyone actively involved in signing up.
We ate dinner in the cafeteria, and by the time we finished eating and the meeting, it was already past nine o'clock.
Fortunately, I did today's check-in task with everyone at the factory.
Received [Roasted Chicken*2, Ventriloquism*1 (4/5)];
[Great Unity*3, Tractor Driving and Maintenance Skills*1 (1/3)];
[Sanitary napkins*5, Tractor driving and maintenance skills*1 (2/3)]
Yu Jiajia went home with Cheng Xiuying. Both of them felt exhausted. They couldn't even buy a cream popsicle because the supply and marketing cooperative had already closed.
When they got home, Grandma Yu made brown sugar and egg tea for the two of them, with two soft-boiled eggs in each bowl. Grandma Yu said, "Several groups of people came to our house just now, including neighbors from the old compound and relatives of ours, trying to plead for them to not go to the countryside or to find jobs in the factory. I chased them all away. Last time the steel mill was recruiting, I told them that if they didn't pass the exam, what could be done?"
Cheng Xiuying sighed, "It's no use talking to anyone; the official document has already been issued."
Grandma Yu sighed as well: "The boys are alright, but what about the girls who have gone to the countryside? They don't know how to farm!"
A short while later, Su Man came to the Yu family's house. She cried to Cheng Xiuying, "Auntie, I don't want to go to the countryside. Can you give me some advice?"
Cheng Xiuying thought to herself, "Su Man was so happy to stir up trouble when the steel mill was recruiting last time. Why is she crying now?" She severely criticized Su Man for her low moral character and said that she should learn more from Chairman Mao's advanced ideas! As an educated youth, she should go to the countryside to contribute her talents and energy.
Suman: ?
Next, before anyone else could speak, she used this same argument to shut them up.
When she encounters someone she's particularly close to, she'll offer some advice: stop waiting and see, find a solution quickly, whether it's giving your job to your children or buying a job at a high price, and if you have a partner, get married as soon as possible.
Since educated youth from big cities had all gone to the countryside, it was natural for them, from Qingshan County, to follow suit.
The policy will be implemented to the end; it will not be taken back.
They even found newspapers about the policy of sending educated youth to the countryside and showed them to everyone.
Work, and more work!
Jobs are hard to find, and it's also difficult to pass on parents' jobs to their children.
That job isn't something you can just give away. Right now, it's at least a regular employee salary of 36 yuan. If you give it to your children, then you'll only get an apprentice salary of 18 yuan. How many years will it take to become a regular employee?
With just 18 yuan, the whole family would starve.
Grandma Yu thought of Cheng Yonghao again. He should be taught a lesson how difficult it is for children in the city to find jobs. He got a good job, yet he's so heartless. He's a real scoundrel.
Yu Jiajia didn't go downstairs to play, and no one was in the mood to play either; the usual liveliness downstairs was gone.
Yu Jiajia sat at her desk, wondering what to do about the educated youth at the steel mill.
Going to the countryside is a done deal and cannot be changed, but we can't just go to the countryside like this.
The educated youth went to the countryside like this, and once they arrived, all they could do was farm.
How much physical strength could educated youth have? They would be a burden even in farming, and the countryside has no shortage of labor! On the contrary, they would be disliked for not being able to work and would have their work points taken away.
If you have the technology, then it's a different story.
In rural areas, what technology is the best?
Scientific pig farming, efficient chicken farming, epidemic prevention, tractor driving and maintenance, small agricultural implement maintenance, canal and dam construction, traditional Chinese medicine processing, barefoot doctor training...
She wrote down everything that came to mind.
The more I write, the clearer my mind becomes.
Once these skills are mastered by the educated youth, they can effectively improve production efficiency and living standards.
Life was good for educated youth sent to the countryside, and life was good for rural people too.
The idea made her heart race.
Why limit it to steel rolling mills?
All educated youth in Qingshan County should have the opportunity to receive such training.
At first, Yu Jiamin just watched quietly from the side. As the paper grew longer and longer, her eyes changed from confusion to realization, and finally to an indescribable shock.
At that moment, she didn't know what to say.
Jiajia is truly amazing.
She never thought about herself.
Yu Jiajia tore up the paper and rewrote it, making it more comprehensive. After finishing, she took the notebook and went out: "Third Sister, I'm going to Deputy Factory Director Gao's house."
That's the advantage of being close by; you can get there in just a few steps if anything happens.
There were several other guests inside, all close relatives of the Yu family, who had come to ask Cheng Xiuying for help.
This family is constantly coming and going, it's like an endless stream.
Cheng Xiuying: "Sibao, where are we going?"
Yu Jiajia: "I'm going to Deputy Factory Director Gao's house."
Cheng Xiuying was relieved: "Okay, sure."
The Gao family was now half full, including people from the steel mill and relatives of the Gao couple, all of whom had come to inquire about the educated youth going to the countryside.
Actually, it wasn't just the Gao and Yu families; other leaders' homes also had guests. This matter was too big, and everyone wanted to ask more questions and plead for leniency.
Yu Jiajia knocked on the door. Gao Wenwen, the deputy factory director's daughter, thought it was another relative. When she opened the door, she was surprised to see Yu Jiajia. She warmly took Yu Jiajia's hand and said, "Jiajia, is there something you need? Come in and let's talk."
Yu Jiajia: "Is Director Gao home? I have something to say to him."
Gao Wenwen: "I'm here!"
There were quite a few people in the room, so it wasn't appropriate to talk about the educated youth. Yu Jiajia then called out Director Gao.
Deputy Factory Director Gao was also driven crazy by his relatives' nagging. He really didn't want to take over the matter of sending educated youth to the countryside, but the new factory director had entrusted the task to him, so he had no choice but to do it, and he had to do it according to the rules.
He's worried just as much as others are worried.
When he heard that Yu Jiajia was looking for him, he said, "It must be something to do at the factory. You two talk first, I'll go take a look."
When Deputy Factory Director Gao's wife saw Yu Jiajia, she also said, "Then you should go quickly."
When Deputy Factory Director Gao came out, Yu Jiajia handed the notebook to him: "Director Gao, please take a look."
Deputy Factory Director Gao: "Don't call me that, I'm the deputy factory director. Jiajia can just call me Uncle Gao." He took the notebook, looked down at it under the streetlight, and after reading a few lines, he understood. He was shocked; this was no small amount of work.
But the biggest problem with the educated youth going to the countryside has been solved!!!
He continued reading.
Yu Jiajia said, "There's still more than a month before we go to the countryside. There's definitely enough time to master one thing. Our factory has tractors, so we can have the instructors teach everyone how to drive and repair them. The maintenance of small farm implements is also simple, and we can teach that too. For pig and chicken farming, epidemic prevention, and orchard planting, we'll need Director Lu's help, but that's definitely not difficult. I know a bit about processing traditional Chinese medicine, and I can teach everyone, although that's not really suitable for me, as it's hard to learn in a short time. Our health center can also run a training course for barefoot doctors. Going to the countryside and becoming a barefoot doctor in the village would be a great option."
After reviewing the handwriting in the notebook, Deputy Factory Director Gao looked up at Yu Jiajia and said solemnly, "Comrade Jiajia, this is a brilliant idea! On behalf of all the young people who are about to go to the countryside, thank you! You have found a bright path for them. A skill is their capital to settle down and thrive in this new world. This notebook of yours may open up a completely new situation for our work with educated youth in Qingshan County."
He genuinely hadn't thought about any of that.
But the little girl in front of me had an idea!
Yu Jiajia: "I hope everyone can live a better life!"
The matter of sending educated youth to the countryside could not be delayed, so Deputy Factory Director Gao immediately said, "Let's go find Factory Director Qi now!"
Of course, it wouldn't be appropriate for the two of them to go, especially since it was the middle of the night. So, they called Cheng Xiuying along, and the three of them went to the steel mill's guesthouse together.
Factory Director Qi had just finished work, and when she saw the three of them coming over, she invited them inside to talk.
This was Yu Jiajia's first time meeting Director Qi, and her first reaction was that he had a really strong presence!
He's 1.6 meters tall, but has the presence of someone 1.8 meters tall!
Moreover, he was younger than I had imagined. Even though he was dressed in dark factory clothes and had his hair neatly styled like a cadre, he couldn't hide the youth and sharpness in his eyes.
Yu Jiajia felt that the new factory director was at most twenty-five years old.
However, she didn't dare to look directly at Director Qi, only glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.
Gao Weimin handed Yu Jiajia's notebook to Factory Director Qi for him to see, and then asked Yu Jiajia to repeat what she had just said.
Yu Jiajia repeated it again.
After reading it, Director Qi smiled and said, "Jiajia, would you be willing to take the lead on this matter?"
Yu Jiajia: "...I'm afraid I won't do it well."
Factory Director Qi spoke gently: "Go ahead and do it. If you encounter any difficulties, I'll take care of them."
Since Director Qi had said so, Yu Jiajia couldn't refuse any longer. She said, "Thank you for your trust, Director Qi. I will definitely work hard."
Factory Director Qi asked the three of them to sit down, made them some brown sugar water, and handed one cup to Yu Jiajia: "I believe in you."
Yu Jiajia thought Factory Director Qi was really easy to talk to! And so gentle and generous!!!
She is a very likable and strong woman.
Cheng Xiuying also held a cup and drank brown sugar water. She was so moved that she almost cried. She had been so busy these past two days that she hadn't seen the new factory director drink a drop of water. Now, not only was there water, but it was brown sugar water.
Gao Aiguo sat upright, unable to believe that Factory Director Qi could be so warm and friendly, treating Yu Jiajia like a gentle breeze! He had never seen Factory Director Qi smile when he was working with him! Now, the smile never stopped.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
