064 Going to the Countryside
When Guan Yuehe returned from her hometown, before she could tell Xie Dongxue and the others that Dr. Jia had been beaten up, she first heard the latest news about Dr. Jia from her colleagues in the planning department.
"I heard he pulled some strings and got a job as a barefoot doctor in the countryside, planning to stay for a couple of years until things calmed down before being transferred back. But guess what? He got beaten up and ran away!"
Another colleague clapped and cheered, "There are plenty of people who want to beat him up, but our fellow villagers are really straightforward."
Knowing that Dr. Jia was incompetent, they simply beat him up—it was so satisfying!
"He was beaten and ran back to the city, so what happened next? He's not going to have to go back to the production team and become a barefoot doctor, is he?"
Guan Yuehe thought that other production teams might not be like those in her hometown, where they would dare to raise their fists if someone seemed suspicious. What if he went to a production team full of people who were all made of dough? How many people would he harm then?
"It shouldn't be like that, right? Our factory wrote a letter of complaint to the health bureau, requesting the revocation of Dr. Jia's medical license."
"That's good."
As they talked, they mentioned that their relatives' children were also going to the countryside this year, and one of them said, "They might even be assigned to this production brigade."
As soon as Guan Yuehe turned around and returned home from get off work, she heard her neighbors say that Ding Laowu's assigned rural work site had been confirmed, which was her hometown's Fengshou Production Team.
Not only Ding Laowu, but also her younger brother Guan Aiguo, and Baoyu from Zhou Dasao's family.
Guan Yuehe forgot to laugh and hurriedly asked, "Aren't Guan Aiguo and Baoyu both apprentices in the factory? Are you sure you haven't made a mistake?"
In March, the factory issued a new regulation: only workers at level 5 or above can train apprentices, and they can only accept students who have graduated from technical schools.
However, before the regulations were issued, Guan Aiguo had already graduated from high school and had been working as an apprentice in the factory for nearly a year. Zhou Hongqi, on the other hand, was well-informed and managed to get Baoyu to graduate ahead of time before the new regulations were officially released. Baoyu had been working as an apprentice in the factory for three months now.
Apprentices have always been considered temporary workers. Although they earn less than temporary workers, it is still a job. So why are they included in the list of those sent to the countryside?
"The factory issued a new document saying that a few days ago they organized an exam and a skills assessment for all the apprentices who had been working in the factory for the past two years, and those who failed were all dismissed. The dismissal list was released this morning, and this afternoon people from the labor union and the educated youth office came to persuade them to leave."
This means that neither Guan Aiguo nor Zhou Baoyu met the requirements, so they were both put on the expulsion list.
Moreover, the educated youth office had already determined her destination in the countryside, and she was assigned to her hometown.
She didn't know whether to say Guan Aiguo was unlucky or lucky.
After thinking for a moment, Guan Yuehe pushed her bicycle directly to Courtyard No. 3, where only Jiang Guiying's sighs could be heard.
Guan Aiguo sat on a small stool with his head drooping, while his sister-in-law and Weiwei remained silent.
"Mom, what's going on?"
Jiang Guiying sighed heavily again and recounted the whole story, which was almost identical to what she had heard at the entrance of the alley.
After saying that, he slapped Guan Aiguo with a look of exasperation, "The factory made them take the exam too, and lowered the admission score by 20 points compared to others. If they could pass the exam, they would be admitted to the technical school through special admission. But he just couldn't pass!"
The newly established vocational school only started enrolling its first batch of students this year. In principle, it should only accept students who have graduated from junior high school.
When students take the high school entrance exam, they either get into a technical school, a high school in the factory, take over the family business, or go to the countryside.
The factory gave these apprentices a chance and even lowered the required scores. If they still fail the exam and are fired, they won't have a legitimate reason to complain.
Guan Aiguo quietly defended himself, "I've been out of school for over half a year, and Zhou Baoyu still hasn't passed the exam, has he? You have no idea how difficult the questions were. I was always among the top in the technical assessment; it was only the exam that dragged me down..."
Moreover, not only were the questions difficult, but there were also few people accepted, and his competitors were the children of employees from other factories. He felt that he had really done his best.
He wasn't as bright as his older sister, so who knew the factory would pull this stunt at the last minute? He was quite upset!
Guan Yuehe originally wanted to come over and say a few words of comfort, but seeing Guan Aiguo's indifferent expression that said, "It's already like this, so what if I have to go to the countryside? Anyway, I'll be back in my hometown, just like I'm at home," she felt that any comfort would be superfluous.
She pushed the cart back to Courtyard No. 2.
The atmosphere in Courtyard No. 2 is completely different.
Sister-in-law Zhou was so angry her face turned red. Standing at her own door, she cursed the car factory leaders for their capricious behavior and their complete disregard for the children of the factory workers...
Behind Sister-in-law Zhou, Baoyu smiled shyly at Guan Yuehe. After Guan Yuehe pushed the cart back to the backyard, he tugged at Sister-in-law Zhou's clothes and whispered, "Mom, let's go back. Don't say anything more."
When Sister-in-law Zhou turned around and looked at her eldest daughter, she felt both angry and aggrieved for her. She couldn't help but slap her thigh and cry out, "Why are we, a widow and her orphan, being bullied like this?!"
Many people heard this and joined in criticizing the factory leaders for being out of their minds, saying that special families should receive more care.
The car factory workers returned one after another. Grandpa Chang stood at his door with his hands on his hips, listening and sighing along with them.
Aunt Zhao poked his back with her rolling pin and gestured towards the front yard with her chin. "Doesn't the factory have any explanation? Guifang's family should at least receive some preferential treatment, shouldn't they?"
Grandpa Chang pulled her back into the house before saying, "Why wasn't there any preferential treatment? Otherwise, why do you think those few were assigned to Old Guan's hometown production team? The place isn't far, and they know people there, so they won't be bullied there."
As for the rest, if everyone goes to the leader to tell them about their difficulties, who doesn't have some problems? If you take care of one, you have to take care of another.
Aunt Zhao was impatient with his grand vision and lofty principles, since she also felt that the factory's approach was too one-size-fits-all.
“Zhou was on duty when the accident happened. Guifang has been raising three children all these years on her own. She finally stopped having trouble with her in-laws and had only been enjoying three or four years of good life. Just when Baoyu was about to start working in the factory, this happened again... I’m determined to take Zhou’s photo to the union and demand an explanation!”
"Baoyu's family was poor, so they received preferential treatment. Aiguo was dismissed after a year of apprenticeship, so he also received preferential treatment. What about Ding Laowu? Why did he get preferential treatment?"
“Three members of his family were sent to the countryside. If he is assigned to some remote corner, Aunt Ding will have to dismantle the trade union.”
"Hmph! I knew Guifang would cause trouble!"
Grandpa Chang pulled her back with a headache, "Don't add fuel to the fire now. It's good that Baoyu has gone to the countryside. She can earn a living there, and she'll have a better chance when the factory recruits workers in the future. It's better than her working in the factory for several years as an apprentice."
"You make it sound so easy. Do you think you can just grab food and expect to eat it without doing any work?"
Shh! Shh! Keep your voice down!
"Don't touch me! Just looking at you makes me angry! And you too!" Aunt Zhao's anger suddenly shifted to the silent Chang Zhengyi. "Didn't you see the water tank is empty? Were you waiting for your pregnant wife to fetch water or for me? You have no sense at all..."
After hearing this, Guan Yuehe from next door sighed and realized that her own water tank was empty.
The following evening, Guan Yuehua, who had successfully graduated from the cadre training class, also brought Gu Manyian home.
“Now that everyone’s here, I’ll get to it,” Guan Canghai said. “I’ve discussed it with your mother and asked Aiguo for his opinion. We’ll not let him take over for the time being. He’ll stay in the countryside for two or three years to see how things go. If he can come back through recruitment, that would be best. If not, he can come back and take over my job.”
“If Aiguo goes to the countryside, let him stay at your uncle’s house. I will take out half of my salary, divide it into two parts, give one part to your uncle to cover Aiguo’s food and lodging, and let Aiguo keep the other part.”
Before anyone else could speak, Guan Aiguo was the first to agree, "I agree!"
His father earned fifty yuan a month, and he gave him half of that, which was twelve yuan and fifty cents. He didn't have to pay extra for food, which was more than he earned as an apprentice!
How to decide this matter is not Guan Yuehe's place to express her opinion. Since Guan Aiguo himself thinks it's good, she has even less to say.
But Guan Yuehua had more to think about. "I told you before that I'd take over the business after graduation, Dad..."
"You don't need to overthink it. It's good for Aiguo to go to the countryside for two or three years to train. Taking over later won't affect him, but it will affect you more."
"Huh? Why?" Guan Yuehe didn't understand.
Jiang Guiying said, "When the union leaders came to our door yesterday to mobilize us, they said that none of our children were sent to the countryside, so we are not an only-child family and do not meet the policy requirements."
Guan Yuehe thought about it carefully and realized that it made sense.
His family has many workers, none of whom go to the countryside. If someone deliberately causes trouble, this is a point of attack.
But what impact will this have on the eldest sister?
Guan Yuehe didn't even have to ask the question before she figured it out herself.
My older sister has returned with her training course certificate and is now listed as a candidate for promotion to a management position. If a new management position becomes available in the factory, she is very likely to be promoted.
Regardless of the organization, in addition to work performance, the selection and promotion of cadres also take into account family background, support for the organization, and so on.
Her family did not respond to the national call to support educated youth going to the countryside, which may lead to her being eliminated during the assessment period.
Thinking deeper, if her competitors are dissatisfied and post a big-character poster on the factory bulletin board, she might not only fail to get promoted this time, but she might never have another chance for promotion in the future.
Guan Yuehe also thought of herself. If Sister Zhu's warning was true, she might have a promotion opportunity next year, and that could also be affected...
The room fell silent.
At this point, Guan Jianguo spoke up, offering to contribute 25 yuan to his family for living expenses from now on.
The family had a rule that adults would pay five yuan and children would pay two yuan. But in recent years, expenses have increased, so the rule has been raised to six yuan for adults and three yuan for children.
The workers eat lunch at the factory, and the living expenses they pay are actually not small.
Guan Jianguo proposed giving more living expenses, which would include the baby still in her womb, with each of the five people contributing five yuan. In addition, he often travels for the transport team and brings back food and supplies from time to time, which adds up to a considerable amount of extra money.
“I have a lot of work now, and my salary plus subsidies are not bad, so it is only right that I pay more for my family’s living expenses.”
Lin Yufeng chimed in, "Jianguo and I have discussed it. Dad, Mom, from now on we'll give twenty-five yuan to the family."
Guan Yuehe blinked and secretly glanced at her elder brother and sister-in-law. It was really strange; it was rare to hear them voluntarily contributing money to the family.
But upon closer reflection on the changes over the past two years, it doesn't seem so surprising anymore.
My older brother runs long-haul transportation, and his combined salary and subsidies are higher than my father's fixed income. Now that he's familiar with the routes, and his mentor is still the team leader, he can secretly resell goods on the roads north and south, making a fortune.
With more money and supplies at hand, there was no need to fight over them anymore, so naturally, people were willing to share some with their younger siblings and help out their families.
"As long as you've reached an agreement, that's fine."
Guan Canghai and Jiang Guiying finally made the decision, agreeing to send Guan Aiguo to the countryside and give him subsidies, and to have Guan Jianguo and his wife pay more for living expenses.
Guan Aiguo said, "Brother, you're going on a long trip in a couple of days. I'll borrow your car for a couple of days to take your luggage to Uncle's house." Then he remembered another question, "Do Uncle and Aunt know about this?"
Jiang Guiying nodded, "That's what they said, that you'll stay at their house when you go to the countryside."
She had only hoped that her older brother and sister-in-law would help take care of him and prevent him from being bullied in the brigade.
But his elder brother and sister-in-law suggested that since there was an empty room in their hometown, Aiguo could stay there and eat better. As for the rest, he would do whatever work the other educated youth did. His elder brother, as the brigade leader, had to set an example and couldn't show favoritism by assigning him easy tasks.
But being able to stay at her uncle's house was already much better than being one of the other educated youth sent to the countryside.
"Well..." Guan Aiguo grinned and leaned close to Jiang Guiying, asking tentatively, "Mom, I need to prepare things for my trip to the countryside, right? Or can you give me the money and coupons, and I'll go and buy them myself?"
Jiang Guiying was feeling sorry for her youngest son one second, but the next second she lost her temper and tapped him on the head, saying, "Sending you to the countryside is for you to work and do manual labor, not for you to wear a white shirt and leather shoes and show off in the fields!"
She gave birth to him, how could she not know what he was thinking? He even talked in his sleep about going to buy a white polyester shirt!
Guan Aiguo said guiltily in a low voice, "I didn't say I was going to wear it to show off..."
Can't he show off in Beijing? He's going to the countryside, not that he's not going home.
Unable to get any favors from his parents, Guan Aiguo thought he could slowly save up money to buy tickets. It didn't matter if he didn't have a ticket; he could just go to the black market and spend money to exchange for one.
But before she left, his older sister called him out and said she would buy him a new outfit in a couple of days.
His brother-in-law secretly slipped him some money, saying, "Buy whatever you want."
After seeing the person out of the alley, Guan Aiguo turned around and saw his second sister walking this way as well.
"Second sister, sigh! You really don't need to buy me anything, I'll buy my own sneakers..."
"I never said I'd buy it for you." Guan Yuehe looked at him like he was an idiot. "You have your own allowance now, so buy it yourself. What did you say you'd buy me when you had some money?"
Guan Aiguo immediately lowered his head, not daring to meet his second sister's gaze. Who knew this job would be gone so suddenly?
—
Since Guan Aiguo and Zhou Baoyu were also going to the countryside, Ding Laowu finally stopped making a fuss and accepted the fact that he was about to go to the countryside.
Moreover, he received a considerable amount of subsidies privately, all from Aunt Ding. His three older brothers also contributed some. This was the first time he had received so much money, and Ding Laowu immediately straightened his back.
Besides the three of them, several other children of factory workers also went to the Fengshou Brigade, one of whom was the son of a factory leader. This made him feel a little more at ease.
Of all the people who went to the countryside with him, the one he disliked the most was Zhou Baoyu. Zhou Hongqi, who lived in the same courtyard, preferred to take Zhou Baoyu as an apprentice rather than him. This had made him angry until now, but he had finally calmed down.
What's the point of taking on apprentices? In the end, they still have to go to the countryside!
Just as she finished thinking, she heard someone outside the courtyard shouting, "Congratulations, Guifang! This is wonderful news!"
He couldn't remember who Guifang was for a moment, but when he went outside and saw Zhou Dasao being surrounded by people congratulating her, he realized that Guifang was Zhou Baoyu's mother.
Just as he was wondering what the joyous occasion was, he heard Wu Erni from Courtyard No. 2 say, "Baoyu has been recommended by the factory to attend a barefoot doctor training course. If he learns well, he can have a skill to make a living. Look at Sitian from Engineer Lin's family, I heard she's taking the certification exam now. If she passes, she can become a doctor!"
Sister-in-law Zhou smiled and waved her hand modestly, saying, "I dare not ask for so much. I'm relieved that she has a skill to rely on."
Ding Laowu's face turned pale. He hurriedly asked others about the situation and learned that Zhou Baoyu had been recommended by the factory to attend a barefoot doctor training course. After obtaining the certificate, he would go to the Fengshou Production Team and become a barefoot doctor there.
Ding Laowu was so angry his chest ached: What kind of rural service is Zhou Baoyu doing?!
"That's not fair!"
The others were stunned by his shout. Soon, they pushed him aside and said, "How is it unfair? This is what he deserves. Engineer Zhou collapsed on the job. The factory can't let the workers down."
Ding Laowu was so angry that he wanted to bring up his father, but then he realized that was not right.
His father was seriously ill and handed over his work to his third brother before passing away.
"It's unfair! It's just unfair!" Old Ding Wu ran out in anger.
Guan Yuehe, who came home from get off work and saw him going crazy again, was speechless.
That evening, Sister-in-law Zhou and Zhou Baoyu brought a bag of roasted melon seeds to thank Guan Yuehe.
"If you hadn't reminded us, we wouldn't have known we could have focused on barefoot doctors. Please accept this offer."
Baoyu nodded in agreement, his eyes shining as he looked at her.
"Then I'll accept it, thank you Sister-in-law Zhou and Baoyu." Luckily, it was just roasted melon seeds; she wouldn't dare accept anything else valuable.
Sister-in-law Zhou finally smiled, her mood improved, and she spoke more cheerfully.
"Sister Zhao told me that I should go to the labor union to try to get a spot. I was wondering how to do it when you reminded me that I could ask for a spot in a barefoot doctor training course."
“There’s only one job in the family. If we give it to Baoyu, life will be tough for us. Studying medicine is good. It’s not far to go to the countryside, and I can visit him from time to time.”
Guan Yuehe reassured her, "The brigade leader is my uncle, and Aiguo is also going to the countryside with him. We're all neighbors in the same alley, so he'll definitely help take care of Baoyu."
He then jokingly added, "As long as Baoyu goes to the training class and studies hard, that's fine. The brigade recently chased away a quack doctor. This kind of haphazard treatment will definitely not allow him to stay in the brigade well."
“I will definitely study hard!” Baoyu said immediately.
After chatting for a while, Sister-in-law Zhou got up to say goodbye. "I still need to go and thank Sister Zhao, Hongqi, and Sitian. They all helped me. I also prepared some roasted melon seeds for them. It's not much, just a small token of my appreciation."
A moment later, Aunt Zhao's loud voice rang out from the main courtyard next door, "Luckily you listened, otherwise you would have suffered! We're in the right, so why can't we make demands?"
Grandpa Chang kept urging Grandma Zhao to keep her voice down, which Guan Yuehe found amusing.
As for being asked sarcastically by Aunt Ding, "When good things happen, don't you think about your own brother? I'm patriotic, but I don't acknowledge you as my sister."
"impossible!"
"Hmph, why not? You're siding with outsiders..."
“I said, Aunt Ding, you can’t possibly be my own brother! If Guan Aiguo were this kind of scoundrel, I would have crippled him long ago.”
Aunt Ding: "......"
Guan Aiguo: "......"
Guan Yuehe was too lazy to waste her breath; everyone knew perfectly well what was going on.
Barefoot doctor training courses aren't new; many people know about them. But what's the use? Just because you know about them doesn't mean you can sign up. You need a recommendation from your workplace!
Sister-in-law Zhou took the matter of Mr. Zhou not being on duty to the labor union to make a fuss. She didn't ask the factory to arrange a job for her, but rather for a training quota. She was in the right, and it didn't affect the implementation of the factory's new regulations, so the chances of getting it done were higher.
If it were someone else causing trouble, their family members working in the factory would definitely be implicated and criticized and educated.
Regardless of what everyone thought, once July arrived, Baoyu went to a training class, while the others carried their bedding to the production brigade they were assigned to.
The series of events brought about by the factory's new regulations have finally come to a close.
The absence of one person in the family didn't cause much of a commotion. Jiang Guiying didn't have time to worry about it; she was busy preparing things for the newborn, just waiting for Lin Yufeng's due date.
There were three women in courtyards No. 2 and No. 3 who were about to give birth. Just in case, Aunt Zhao contacted the neighborhood office early on and borrowed a tricycle to park in the alley.
"Oh dear! How did they all end up together?!"
Aunt Bai slapped her thigh anxiously. Her daughters, Wu Lanxiang and Cao Lili, had just been sitting and chatting happily while enjoying the fan when suddenly they clutched their stomachs and cried out in pain.
There are few unemployed people at home in the No. 2 courtyard, which is a disadvantage now. If you want to find a strong laborer to take someone to the hospital at a critical time, you have to go to the neighboring courtyard.
Meanwhile, Jiang Guiying from the next courtyard was also looking for someone.
"Guiying, I'm going to the neighborhood office to find someone. You stay home."
Hearing the noise, Aunt Fang rushed out and ran outside. The neighbors who were home in the courtyard, regardless of whether they had any conflicts with each other, all came out to help.
"No, I heard Aunt Bai from next door shouting too. Is her daughter-in-law about to give birth?"
"I reckon they don't need that many here. I'll go with you and lend them a hand," Aunt Xie said, gesturing to Sister-in-law Xu and Sister-in-law Ding as they hurried toward Courtyard No. 2.
"Good heavens, all three families had their babies born on the same day! Are these kids being mass-produced from the same production line?!"
"At a time like this, you still have time to joke around? If you can't help, then get out of here!"
"We can squeeze into a tricycle and everyone can push it together?" But if we can't find a strong person among the neighbors who are free at home, what else can we do but push it?
"Make way! Yiku is coming!" Aunt Fang had found someone from the neighborhood office and returned. On the way, she saw her son. Without asking him about his return, she immediately asked the young man from the neighborhood office to help with the luggage, and then she took her son back to ride her tricycle to take him to the hospital.
Lin Yiku reacted quickly. After seeing that the three women had gotten into the car and settled in, he told the others to follow on bicycles. With a push of his feet, he pedaled the bikes off.
"Don't just stand there! Pack your things and get to the hospital right away!"
"Oh right, pack your things." Aunt Bai came to her senses, handed Shunshun to Jin Junwei to help take care of, and called someone to go to the scrap yard to call Aunt Zhao, while she went back to her room to pack her things.
The alley, which had just been in complete chaos, has quieted down again, and many people are relieved.
I dare not imagine how long it would have taken if Lin Yiku hadn't happened to come back.
"Thank goodness. Last time Cao Lili gave birth while Yuehe was at home, and this time it happened when Yiku came back. If something really happens in our alley, we still need the people who can help to step up."
"Oh right, there's also Zhou Hongqi."
"By the way, why did Yiku suddenly come back?"
"What you're saying is ridiculous. He's been in the army for so many years, and including this time, he's only come back three times. It's perfectly normal for him to come back to visit his family."
—
When Guan Yuehe returned to the alley entrance after get off work, she encountered Jiang Guiying carrying a net bag full of things, and her car was forced to turn around again.
"Did your sister-in-law give birth?"
"She hasn't given birth yet. Your older brother is keeping watch over her. I'll bring her some food. Have you eaten yet?"
"I've already eaten at the factory canteen." Otherwise, how could she pedal so fast?
But, "Why send this much food?"
You won't know until you ask, and what you find out is quite surprising.
"Three of them going to start at once?" Guan Yuehe clicked her tongue twice. "They'll have company when they're all together."
They could also be born on the same day, month, and year.
Jiang Guiying went straight to the inpatient area after getting off the bus, while Guan Yuehe lagged behind as she went to park the car.
"Yuehe."
"Ah? Lin Yiku?! You're finally back!"
If he doesn't come back soon, Aunt Fang will scold him again, saying that the recommendation to military school must be fabricated. Otherwise, why doesn't he reply to letters and can't be contacted? He said he would come back in early July, but it's already mid-July and he's still nowhere to be seen.
Touched by the surprise in her voice, Lin Yiku's mood also brightened, and she answered affirmatively, "I'm back."
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