104 Reform and Opening Up
Seeing her belatedly frown, Teacher Ye laughed and stopped joking with her. She pointed to the materials on the empty seat left for her and said, "This is the task Teacher Qin assigned to you."
"So many?" Guan Yuehe gasped. How long would it take to get them all?
"Don't rush to finish it. Take it home during your vacation and bring it back when school starts," Teacher Ye said. "Those who are capable should do more."
Okay.
Guan Yuehe didn't feel that the extra work was unfair. She wasn't the only one being "worked on"; the school was going to publish an English newspaper, and the task fell to the English majors. Every student in her class was assigned a task, even the first cohort of English majors had to help.
Teacher Ye remarked with emotion: "The policies have changed. With the opening up to the outside world, so many people want to learn a foreign language, and English is the most sought-after."
He even joked, "When you go home for the holidays, someone might want to ask you for tutoring."
This year's policies have indeed been quite changeable.
In October, the government issued a new policy deciding to gradually reduce the scope of educated youth sent to the countryside and allow some of them to return to the cities. Beijing, meanwhile, abolished its policy of forcibly sending educated youth to the countryside.
In December, the country proposed "domestic reform and opening up to the outside world".
Internal reforms began in rural areas. Xiaogang Village in Fengyang County, Anhui Province, implemented the household contract responsibility system, which involved distributing land to individual households and assigning responsibility for profits and losses. Countless production teams across the country were waiting to see the results of Xiaogang Village's efforts.
When Lin Yiku came to visit her on her day off, she mentioned that her uncle now listens to the radio every day without fail and has repeatedly reminded her father to pay close attention to changes in government policies.
As for opening up to the outside world, first Zhao Youtong and other young talents from various industries who were skilled in technology and foreign languages went abroad to study, followed by frequent diplomatic visits.
Some time ago, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs selected people from the Department of Western Languages at Peking University to join the diplomatic delegation.
These are all major national events, and ordinary people seem to have nothing to do with them. But once the policies are fully implemented, they become closely related to the country.
At least the students in their Spanish department are all very motivated now and feel that they have a bright future after graduation.
Guan Yuehe carried the documents back to her dormitory, and Cheng Shuang from next door followed her over to borrow her English cassette tapes.
"I see that your English major undergraduates have organized a reading aloud activity, and anyone who wants to participate can go. Why don't you organize one too?"
Lan Yunqin flipped through her textbook and smiled, "Our graduate students in the Spanish Department also organize reading activities, and it's good for their health too."
I run a few laps every morning and evening, and after that we gather to read aloud. Surprisingly, after running, my voice is warmed up, and I read with even more enthusiasm.
The main reason was that Yuehe was leading the way. She only cared about reading her own words and completely ignored the stares of passersby. Others were also able to quickly immerse themselves in their own readings.
Upon hearing this, Cheng Shuang shrank back. She couldn't stand their activities of running around outside and then stomping their feet while reading. "They borrowed an empty classroom from the Youth League Committee and held all their activities indoors."
"That's no fun at all. It's much more exciting to read aloud outside." Guan Yuehe laughed at her. "Are you afraid of the cold? You need to carry a blanket just to go between dorms."
Cheng Shuang hummed twice, saying that she was thick-skinned and of course she wasn't afraid of the cold.
"Are you going home or staying at school during the holidays?" Guan Yuehe also asked her roommates, "What about you guys?"
This inquiry revealed that, apart from locals from Beijing, everyone else had decided to stay at the university to study, including Cheng Shuang, whose hometown is in Fujian Province.
For other roommates who are not from Beijing, going home is not easy, and they feel that the winter vacation is not long enough, so they might as well wait until the summer vacation to go home.
"I'm not taking my thermos back; you can use it as you like," Guan Yuehe said as she packed her luggage. She had thick winter blankets and clothes, and she also wanted to take her books, translation materials, and her tape recorder... She had quite a lot of stuff.
Cheng Shuang and Lan Yunqin hunched over and escorted her downstairs, helping her tie her luggage to her bicycle before hiding their hands again.
"Happy Chinese New Year in advance, Guan Yuehe."
Guan Yuehe pulled her scarf down a bit and waved to them, "I'll bring you some delicious food made by Comrade Lin Yiku when I come back."
She pushed her bike forward for a while and ran into several Spanish majors.
"Yuehe, see you next semester."
"Yuehe, be careful on your way back."
"Okay, let's run and study together again next semester." Guan Yuehe waved as she walked, and after a while, she turned back, feeling inexplicably cheerful.
Her current classmates are quite lovely too.
Guan Yuehua, who was already waiting, saw her bouncing around a few times while pushing the cart and clicked her tongue. "She's twenty-seven years old, but she still acts like a seventeen-year-old. Where does she get so much energy every day?" She really couldn't understand it.
"You should be glad I have the strength of an ox!" Guan Yuehe didn't know what she was thinking, but she couldn't help but smugly say as she moved half of her luggage over and tied it to her own car.
While squeezing onto the bus, Guan Yuehe praised herself again. Without her incredible strength, they would have to pedal all the way home in the freezing cold. She was strong, but she didn't want to suffer like that just to save a few cents.
"I heard that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is selecting people from your department to join their delegation?"
Guan Yuehe took a breath before saying, "Don't think too much about it. They're only choosing one person; it's not my turn."
They select someone, but there's no guarantee they'll be chosen to participate in diplomatic activities. The one selected was an undergraduate who had completed a year of university studies. Having grown up immersed in diplomacy, she already possessed considerable knowledge, so her selection was quite normal. She was very clear about her own capabilities.
Guan Yuehua glared at her, annoyed. Seeing that she didn't care at all, she muttered, whether out of resentment or disappointment, "You're no worse than her!"
Guan Yuehe, with her keen ears, quickly pursed her lips to suppress a laugh, cleared her throat, and said, "Of course, even if it's a little bit off, it's only a tiny bit."
But she felt very satisfied.
Ten years ago, she would never have imagined that she would be recommended to go to university and pursue a master's degree. She had been learning English for almost eight years, just in time for a time when the country needed people who knew foreign languages in various sectors.
"One should be content, Your Honor."
The slight pity Guan Yuehua felt because of her vanished instantly, and she grabbed the hat that the girl had taken off and tried to cover her mouth.
Every time she says "the upright and just official," she seems like she really needs to be taught a lesson.
"What do you mean by being content or not? Can't you be a little more ambitious?"
"That's great! The steamed buns are cooked in just three minutes."
Guan Yuehua was even angrier; she was quite quick-witted when she was arguing with her!
The person in front of the car looked back but couldn't find anyone imitating a goose's call.
"Stop laughing, give her your seat." Guan Yuehua tugged at her, and the two of them gave their seats to the pregnant woman with her child.
Guan Yuehe first went to the family compound of Zhuoyue Garment Factory and took her sister's luggage up there. The two of them then went back to Ginkgo Hutong together.
"Yuehe!" Aunt Hu, who hadn't been out and about for a long time, looked at her as if she had seen a giant panda. "I heard you're going abroad with the national leaders?"
Guan Yuehe rolled her eyes. "Who spread rumors about me this time?"
"We're all neighbors, what can't you say? This is a good thing!"
After repeatedly verifying the claim, Aunt Hu discovered it was indeed a rumor. She slapped her thigh in anger, exclaiming, "I'm going to settle accounts with Matchmaker Liu! She's spouting nonsense again!"
As Guan Yuehe walked from the alley entrance to her home, she kept explaining, "Rumors! They're all rumors! I don't have that ability!"
The older folks are really imaginative. When they heard that a national leader was going on a visit abroad, they thought that Guan Yuehe, who speaks English, could go along too.
Guan Yuehe herself wouldn't dare dream of something this big even when taking a nap during the day.
She is still very down-to-earth.
The first thing I did when I got back was to check how much stuff we had stockpiled. There were quite a few sauerkraut jars in the storage room, a lot of cured meat and pork sausages hanging in the kitchen, and cabbages piled up in the cellar, along with a lot of potatoes and sweet potatoes, and half a basket of apples.
He was satisfied: Comrade Lin Yiku was also a good comrade who knew how to manage his life well.
It's been more than two months since I last saw her. One-and-a-half-year-old Guyu can already walk very steadily without an adult's support. She's just wearing too many clothes, making her look like a round ball.
As soon as Gu Yu arrived at her house, she reached out her hand, and Guan Yuehe cut a piece of the freshly washed apple and gave it to her.
Sitting around the stove to warm up, I felt all warm and cozy.
Courtyard number two was unusually quiet. Even though it was a weekday, it shouldn't be that all the kids on holiday were home. And what about Aunt Bai, Aunt Er, and Wu Lanxiang? They weren't at work, yet they weren't home either?
Jiang Guiying brought over a basket with two bowls of hot noodles inside, and told the two sisters to eat some to tide them over.
"They've all gone to see the foreign devils."
"Huh?" Not only Guan Yuehe, but even Guan Yuehua was stunned.
"It's strange. Recently, a lot of foreigners have come here to travel. It's understandable that they go to the Forbidden City and such, but some of them specifically wander into our hutongs and take pictures."
Jiang Guiying initially went with her neighbors to see the foreigners, but after a few visits, she got bored and stopped. However, the children on winter vacation found it all very interesting and kept calling out to each other to go see the foreign devils.
At this point, Jiang Guiying immediately said mysteriously, "Some people even did business with foreigners, selling them food for US dollars. Oh, Teacher Xie's daughter Tingting is the smartest; she gave directions and earned quite a few dollars."
"Tingting is really capable," Guan Yuehe praised.
The US dollars they received could probably be exchanged for a considerable amount of money on the black market. But, Tingting has been learning a foreign language from Teacher Xie?
"That's right!" Jiang Guiying exclaimed. "Teacher Xie used to secretly tutor Tingting at home, and nobody outside knew! Many people were so envious, saying that Teacher Xie was so knowledgeable and didn't remind them."
Jiang Guiying sneered. In the past few years, who would have specifically studied a foreign language unless they were recommended to do so or needed it for work?
If they're targeted by malicious individuals who claim to have overseas connections, their whole family will be ruined.
Xie Zhenhua is quite bold, and Liu Axiu and Tingting are also very tight-lipped.
"No wonder people used to say that if you study hard, you can become an official and make a lot of money... Hurry up and eat, or it will all turn into a lump."
Seeing that Gu Yu was about to eat noodles, Jiang Guiying stopped them from feeding her. "She's so young, she doesn't know when she's full. She's only been eating for a short time, and she wants to eat more when she sees others eating. Her cravings are just showing again."
Gu Yu circled around her mother and aunt several times, but still didn't get a single bite of noodles. She sat on a small stool, fuming, and started eating an apple.
—
Around 4 p.m., Guan Yuehe took off the covers from the quilt she had brought back and washed it with hot water.
Children of all ages ran home in droves in the yard.
"Aunt Yuehe, did you go see the foreign devils?" Song Xinan saw that she was at home and rushed over to ask, not even bothering to go home first.
I've seen Guan Yuehe a few times at school; she's there for a visit.
She reminded Song Xinan, "You can't call people that in public."
“Hehe, we know.” Song Xinan chuckled. “The uncles and aunties from the neighborhood committee came to the alley for a political lesson, so we can’t be rude.”
"There are even special ideological classes?" Guan Yuehe asked in surprise.
"Ugh!" Song Xinan said to her with a worried look, "Some people in my class have signed up for English classes and are taking lessons with outside teachers during the holidays. My mom wants to sign me up for one too. Aunt Yuehe, could you please tell my mom that I don't want to learn?"
Guan Yuehe was delighted. Teacher Ye was right; there were already English tutoring classes outside, and they were even for junior high school students.
But upon closer reflection, she realized it wasn't surprising. The college entrance exam now requires English scores to be included in the total score, although it's only 10% of the total score. Given the current situation, it's possible that one day it will be counted as 100% of the total score.
There aren't enough teachers in schools who can speak foreign languages these days, and some schools probably haven't even started offering English classes yet.
“I won’t say anything, but learning another language is good for you.” Guan Yuehe added, “Do you want an English cassette tape? I can lend it to you.”
Song Xinan immediately covered his ears and ran home.
When Cai Ying came home from get off work, she actually came over to borrow the cassette tape from Guan Yuehe.
Cai Ying said irritably, "Those foreign language tutoring classes, the students who signed up went for a few days and came home saying it was boring, just like what the school teachers taught. One student's uncle is a college student. He went to listen to one class and said the teacher was teaching nonsense, so the parents came to his door to demand a refund."
Guan Yuehe found her a cassette tape. "You can make money by running tutoring classes now?"
"What? Doing it secretly!" Cai Ying started talking, mentioning that others were also making money.
"The family that sells melon seeds no longer roasts them at home. I heard they found a place outside where they can roast a lot at once, and the whole family goes to various movie theaters to sell melon seeds after work."
"Recently, there have been more clothes coming from the south. They are nicer than those in department stores, and they don't require coupons. They are a bit more expensive, but you can't even buy them in a flash."
“Some people even go to the countryside to buy chickens and ducks from fellow villagers and sell them in the city, which can earn them a lot of money.”
Cai Ying: "I only know how to work in the cafeteria every day. If it weren't for my husband, I wouldn't know there are so many ways to make money outside!"
Don't let Song Gong'an's current position as the head of the police station fool you; he still handles countless trivial matters on the streets, in the alleys, and in the residential compounds. He's always out there walking the streets and is frequently assigned to arrest people who resell goods. It's hard not to know him.
Guan Yuehe also said, "I'm at school every day and I didn't know!"
These news reports are shocking.
But what shocked her even more was that someone actually came to her asking her to teach foreign languages?!
There was no way to teach them. Guan Yuehe returned the nutritional supplements they had brought and only suggested that they go to the bookstore to buy tapes and learn by themselves. She advised them to listen and read more, and they would gradually learn.
No matter what conditions others offered, Guan Yuehe shook her head. She and Lin Yiku received monthly salaries from their work units and the military, so they couldn't afford to mess around.
Lin Sitian feigned regret, saying, "Yuehe missed a chance to make a fortune. Sigh... Hey, Mom, I was just kidding! Mom!"
Aunt Fang poked her forehead with her finger, "You're not allowed to think about getting rich or anything, just go to work and get your salary."
"I was just saying. What else can I do? People are willing to pay to learn a foreign language because they want to make money from foreigners. Who would want me to study medicine?"
Aunt Fang said seriously, "They're not asking you to study medicine, they're asking you to tell them if the baby in their belly is a boy or a girl. We can't do something so unethical."
She said irritably, "If they don't want their daughters, let's see what kind of throne they can produce."
"Mom, what you said is the same as what Aunt Jiang said. You two are both good comrades with high awareness."
Lin Sitian cleared away the dishes and slipped out the door. Aunt Fang couldn't even call her back in time, and said to her husband beside her, "Even if I were Lin Yiku, I'd be annoyed with her to death."
Grandpa Lin chuckled, "What can we do? Yuehe is just happy that she's gone."
In the neighboring courtyard, Lin Sitian was chatting and laughing with Guan Yuehe.
Lin Yiku had other matters to attend to at the military base today and did not return.
Before going home that night, Lin Sitian deliberately asked, "How about I stay and keep you company tonight?"
"Come on if you're not afraid of being kicked off the bed tonight."
Lin Sitian ran home with a big laugh.
—
The day after she returned, Guan Yuehe began preparing for the Chinese New Year and made a list.
The first person I went to was Luo Guifang in the front yard, to ask her to help me roast melon seeds.
Luo Guifang had the twins write it down, "So many people have asked me to roast melon seeds this year, I'll get them all mixed up if I don't write them down."
Bao Ning snorted and whispered, "Why don't we go to the movie theater and sell roasted sunflower seeds? Our family's roasted ones are even better."
"Don't get any crazy ideas," Luo Guifang warned her two daughters. "What if we sell them and get arrested? We're not starving!"
After the state adjusted the policy of sending educated youth to the countryside, many people returned to the alley in the past two months. They were all young people in their early twenties, some of whom brought their families back. They waited for recruitment and job assignments, so they secretly resold goods to make money.
If you have a job, you should do this. If you get caught, you'll definitely lose your job.
"Oh," Bao Ning replied reluctantly.
Guan Yuehe spent two days running around, visiting department stores, supply and marketing cooperatives, and the black market, and finally managed to buy everything she needed.
In previous years, people had to scramble to buy meat, but this year it's much easier.
Gu Mannian rode his bicycle to Ginkgo Alley to deliver meat to the Guan and Lin families, as well as Guan Yuehe's place.
Guan Yuehe looked at the pork belly and ribs on the table; there was enough to last her until the start of the new school term.
"Your relatives back home have started sending meat to the city again?"
"We can only exchange meat at the end of the year when there's an abundance of it." Gu Mannian sighed. "It all depends on future policies. If everyone can do their own thing, you won't have to worry about not having meat to eat."
“That’s true.” When she ran to the black market, she found that there were many more kinds of products for sale there, and she even bought a lot of flour and oil.
Maybe we'll really be able to eat white flour every day in the future.
Jiang Guiying put away the meat in the house and ran over to find Gu Mannian, saying, "You and Yuehua are coming back for dinner tonight."
"No, thank you," Gu Mannian refused. "We'll take Gu Yu out to eat."
"With so much meat at home, what good food is there outside?" Jiang Guiying didn't understand, but she didn't try to keep them any longer. She reminded them, "Guyu just recovered from a cold, so don't take her out in the wind."
"Okay." Gu Mannian delivered the meat, then rushed home to find his wife and children to go out for a big meal.
"And you? Where are you and Yiku eating tonight?" Jiang Guiying asked, looking at her remaining youngest daughter.
"Lin Yiku and I are going out this afternoon too, so we won't be eating at home," Guan Yuehe said with a grin.
Jiang Guiying couldn't bear to watch, thinking to herself: Every day, they come up with so many tricks.
But when Jiang Guiying saw Lin Sitian leaving with the two of them, she guessed that they had gone to see Ding Xuewen again.
Although she didn't press for details, she guessed that Ding Xuewen must have taken the exam and returned to Beijing.
Turning my head, I saw Aunt Ding going out in her new cotton-padded coat, looking quite festive, so I casually asked, "Going out?"
For once, Aunt Ding didn't look sullen and responded happily.
How strange!
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