Chapter 134 "Ideological Content?" Shu Ran repeated...
"Ideological content?" Shu Ran repeated the three words, her fingertips slightly cold. She forced herself to calm down. She couldn't panic, especially not at a time like this. She bent down to pick up the report papers that had spilled on the floor, moving as slowly as possible to give herself time to think.
"Shu Ran." Chen Yuanjiang helped Shu Ran pick up the papers from the ground. "Don't panic. Let's figure out what's going on first."
“I can roughly guess why.” Shu Ran looked up at him, her voice a little tense. “The work group came down directly to bring people, bypassing the division’s education department. This is abnormal in itself.”
Chen Yuanjiang paused for a moment, his eyes filled with complex emotions: "I'll help you find out the background of the working group and the specific reasons for their arrival."
“No,” Shu Ran refused immediately, her tone resolute, “You can’t interfere. This is an education department matter; you’re from the security department. Interfering will only give them a handle against you and make things more complicated.” She looked at him, “I have to handle this myself.”
Chen Yuanjiang looked at her, seeing the initial shock quickly replaced by rationality in her eyes. He knew she was right; at such a sensitive time, his position was special, and rashly intervening would only muddy the waters, and might even bring trouble to Shu Ran.
He sighed, then finally nodded. "Fine. I won't interfere openly. But if you need anything, let me know." He paused, then added, "At least let me know you're safe."
"I know." Shu Ran nodded and turned to Xiao Liu: "Xiao Liu, thank you for reporting this. Don't make a fuss about it for now. Go back to work and pretend you don't know anything."
Xiao Liu nodded hurriedly and left with a worried expression.
Only the two of them remained in the dormitory. Shu Ran walked to the table and took out the textbook she had edited from the bookshelf.
“I compiled the textbook, and it was approved.” She seemed to be saying this to Chen Yuanjiang, but also to herself. “I have carefully considered every page and every word. There are absolutely no political issues. At most, it just… focuses more on practicality and is more closely integrated with production.”
"A tall tree catches the wind." Chen Yuanjiang said succinctly. He walked to the window and looked outside. "The wind has changed, and there are always people who want to take advantage of the situation."
"I know." Shu Ran closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and when she opened them again, there was complete silence inside. "They came for me. Teacher Liu was implicated because of me."
"Now is not the time to take responsibility." Chen Yuanjiang turned around, looking at her with a deep gaze. "What do you plan to do?"
"Wait." Shu Ran flipped through the textbook. "Since the working group is here, they will definitely come to find me. I'll wait for them. Before that, I need to organize all my drafts, review records, and teaching feedback."
As she spoke, she immediately got to work, opening drawers and cabinets, and placing stacks of manuscripts, mimeographed review opinion forms, and her notes summarizing the situation at each teaching site on the table.
"I'll help you organize them." Chen Yuanjiang didn't say much, simply pulled up a chair, sat down, picked up a stack of papers, and began to categorize them according to time. He was very adept at handling these documents.
Shu Ran glanced at him but did not refuse. The two of them then sorted through the piled-up materials in the dormitory room under the dim light.
Time passed slowly, and the sky outside the window became completely dark. Shu Ran rubbed her sore eyes and looked at the focused man opposite her. He lowered his eyelashes, his movements careful, as if afraid of wrinkling a piece of paper.
"Chen Yuanjiang," she suddenly spoke, her voice hoarse, "If... I mean if, I can't make it through this..."
Chen Yuanjiang looked up and interrupted her: "There are no ifs." His tone was firm. "You can get through this. I believe in your abilities, and I believe that what you've done can withstand scrutiny."
He lowered his voice slightly as he said this, "Even if things really get to the worst point, the livestock farm can still be salvaged. I'll go back with you."
Shu Ran felt a lump in her throat, quickly lowered her head, pretended to tidy up papers, and said in a muffled voice, "Who needs you to accompany me? The deputy director of the security department, going to the animal husbandry company to take care of the children, what kind of behavior is that?"
Chen Yuanjiang looked at her, a slight smile playing on his lips, but said nothing more.
The materials were organized until midnight, categorized meticulously. Shu Ran marked all the paragraphs that might be related to her thoughts, and attached the original thought process and supporting evidence, as well as the comments from her superiors.
"That's about it." Shu Ran straightened up, feeling stiffness and soreness in her back.
Chen Yuanjiang stood up: "I'm leaving. Get some rest. No matter what happens tomorrow, stay calm."
"I know." Shu Ran saw him to the door.
Chen Yuanjiang stopped at the door, turned to look at her, his eyes deep: "Shu Ran, you are not alone in moving forward."
The door closed gently. As Shu Ran listened to his footsteps disappear at the end of the corridor, the turmoil in her heart subsided considerably.
The next day, Shu Ran went to work at the Education Section as usual. Her expression was normal, even calmer than usual. She first went to see Director Sun, showed him the table of contents and key parts of the materials she had prepared the night before, and reported that Teacher Liu had been taken away.
After listening, Director Sun's expression turned grave. He paced back and forth in his office. "The working group was sent directly from above, bypassing the division. I just received the confirmation myself." He looked at Shu Ran, his eyes filled with concern and scrutiny. "Shu Ran, I appreciate your work. But the winds are blowing differently this time, so you need to be prepared."
“I understand, Director,” Shu Ran said calmly. “The materials are all here. I will accept any test.”
The atmosphere in the Education Department was somewhat delicate throughout the day. Wu Jianguo tried several times to come over and pry for information, but Shu Ran coldly brushed him off each time. The other colleagues looked at her with a mixture of emotions—sympathy, worry, and schadenfreude.
Shu Ran ignored everything and focused on dealing with the backlog of daily tasks, contacting various teaching sites to understand the situation, as if nothing had happened.
Just before the end of the workday in the afternoon, two unfamiliar faces dressed in gray Zhongshan suits appeared at the entrance of the Education Section.
"Which one of you is Comrade Shu Ran?"
The department fell silent instantly, and all eyes were on Shu Ran.
Shu Ran stood up from her seat, her back ramrod straight: "Yes, that's me."
"We are from the xxxx working group." The man flashed his badge. "Regarding the issue of teaching materials at the teaching site, please come with us to cooperate with the investigation."
The working group's temporary office was located in a suite at the very back of the division headquarters guesthouse. The curtains were drawn, and the light was dim; Shu Ran felt a somewhat oppressive atmosphere as soon as she stepped inside.
The person in charge of the questioning was still the same middle-aged man in the lead, surnamed Li, with a young clerk sitting next to him taking notes.
The questioning began. The questions were extremely detailed, even demanding, and focused closely on the content of the textbook written by Shu Ran.
"Comrade Shu Ran, could you please explain why 'How to Identify Poisonous Weeds and Pasture Grasses' was chosen as the teaching content in Lesson 3 of the 'Practical Literacy Reader (Pastoral Area Edition)'? What is the underlying idea of this lesson?"
Shu Ran remained composed, her tone even: "Team Leader Li, this teaching material is designed for illiterate adult herders and mobile children in pastoral areas. Identifying poisonous weeds and forage grasses is the most direct and urgent knowledge they need in their herding operations. Teaching them to recognize and write these words can directly prevent sheep from dying from poisoning and reduce property losses. I believe that equipping the masses with the skills to protect their property and develop production is itself one of the most effective ways to demonstrate the superiority of our system and consolidate border construction."
Team Leader Li stared at her without saying a word. The recorder beside him scribbled down notes rapidly.
"So, regarding this poem, 'The Shepherd's Tune,'" Team Leader Li turned to another page, "is its tone too petty-bourgeois? Could we add more distinct revolutionary elements?"
“These are traditional folk songs that have been passed down in pastoral areas, and the children are very familiar with them,” Shu Ran replied. “We use familiar tunes to fill in new words and teach them to recognize new characters, which makes it easier for them to accept. In the early stages of literacy education, interest and acceptance are key. If we start by instilling overly rigid content, it may backfire. We plan to gradually add more thought-provoking content after the students have a certain foundation.”
"Gradual integration? In other words, you believe ideological education can be implemented gradually, rather than being prioritized?"
Shu Ran met his gaze without flinching: "Team Leader Li, I believe that for people who don't even know basic Chinese characters, we must first let them experience the usefulness of learning and how it can solve practical difficulties in their production and lives before they are willing to sit down and listen to our reasoning. If even the most basic communication tools are lacking, even the most lofty ideas cannot be effectively conveyed. I firmly believe that in an environment like the border and pastoral areas, practicality is the cornerstone for the literacy campaign to proceed and the prerequisite for ultimately achieving ideological guidance."
Her answers were clear, logical, and well-founded, with each sentence closely tied to keywords such as "frontier," "pastoral area," and "production reality," anchoring everything she did to the overarching goal of "consolidating the frontier and serving the people."
The interrogation lasted a full three hours. The questions became increasingly tricky, as if they were trying to find some kind of evidence from every angle.
Shu Ran remained calm and composed throughout. She knew every word of the textbook by heart and was intimately familiar with the actual conditions at the teaching site. She constantly cited feedback from herders and company staff, using concrete examples to prove the effectiveness of her methods and winning the support of the masses.
When Team Leader Li produced a letter that was supposedly a complaint from the public, accusing her of misleading teenagers with the textbooks she had written, Shu Ran straightened her back instead.
“Team Leader Li, I don’t know which member of the public wrote this complaint letter.” Shu Ran remained calm. “But I can provide signatures from nearly a hundred students and their families at the Hongxingyan Livestock Team and the other dozen or so teaching sites I’m in charge of. They can testify to how their lives have changed after the training. If this is misleading, then what is guiding? Should we just let them continue to be blind to the truth?”
Her gaze met that of Team Leader Li: "Or, the leaders could personally visit these teaching sites, take a look, and listen to what the real grassroots people have to say. See if they've become reformed simply because they learned a few words, or if they've simply gained a clearer understanding of life and are more grateful to the motherland?"
Team Leader Li clearly hadn't expected this seemingly quiet and refined young woman to be so decisive, so clear-headed, and to speak so flawlessly.
Team Leader Li then asked, "Comrade Shu Ran, do you have any questions about our work?"
Shu Ran lowered her eyelashes. "I dare not. I am just stating the facts. I believe in the organization and I believe that the leaders will see things clearly and will not wrong any comrade who is sincerely working for the border region and for the people."
The conversation finally ended. Team Leader Li told her to go home and rest, while reminding her that there might be further questions or discussions.
When Shu Ran walked out of the guesthouse, it was almost dusk. She took a deep breath and felt the tightness in her chest dissipate a little.
She knew that although the first round of confrontation was over, some people were clearly not going to give up easily.
Back at the dormitory building, she immediately spotted that familiar figure.
Shu Ran walked over.
Upon seeing her, Chen Yuanjiang immediately stood up straight, his gaze quickly sweeping across her face as if to confirm whether she was unharmed.
"How is it?" he asked.
"I'm fine for now." Shu Ran forced a smile. "The question was very leading, but I think I answered it well."
Chen Yuanjiang's expression relaxed slightly. He hummed in agreement, "Are you hungry? The cafeteria is probably out of food. I'll go get you something to eat."
“No need,” Shu Ran shook her head. “I still have naan bread and milk tea powder in my dorm. That’ll do.” She looked at the dark circles under his eyes and asked, “Have you been waiting here all this time?”
Chen Yuanjiang looked away and gazed into the distance: "...Just finished my work and stopped by to take a look."
Shu Ran knew he was lying, but she didn't call him out on it.
“Chen Yuanjiang,” she said softly, “thank you.”
Chen Yuanjiang turned to look at her, his eyes seeming to hold a lot to say, and finally raised his hand to pat her shoulder.
"Let's go up, it's getting windy."
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Author's Note: This is a fictional novel set against the backdrop of a specific historical period. While the plot has been artistically rendered, it is entirely unintentional to smear or demonize any public officials or groups who have dedicated themselves to the country and its people in any era. All characters and events in this story are artistic creations; please do not attempt to draw parallels with actual historical events.
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