056 Decision
Outnumbered, Aunt Ding was scolded by her neighbors and forced to go back inside, where she dared not argue back.
The Ding couple, who had moved out, listened outside the courtyard for a while, exchanged glances, and finally turned and left with their child.
"Your mother really wants the fourth son to have a bad life. I just don't understand. If she's so disgusted with him, why did she still support him through high school?" Ding's second sister-in-law has lived in the Ding family for several years and still can't understand her mother-in-law's thinking. It makes no sense at all.
Ding Lao Er did know a little: "Before Dad passed away, he paid the tuition for Lao Si's high school education to the factory. It would be a waste if Lao Si didn't go to school."
Sister-in-law Ding suddenly realized, then scoffed in dissatisfaction. Thankfully, Ding Lao Er was still somewhat shrewd and seized the opportunity to make a scene and move out. Otherwise, not only would they have had to hand over their wages, but they wouldn't even know where their money had gone.
"Your mother will regret this later. If Fifth Brother comes to you again, don't pay him any attention. Fourth Brother, Xianguang, and Xianzong can all go to the countryside, so why can't he? If you dare to give up your job, in two years your own son will be the one going to the countryside, do you hear me?"
"Look at what you're saying, I'm not stupid." Why would you give your job to your own son, but to a brother you've never been close to since childhood? That doesn't make sense.
However, "the third son took over his father's job at the factory, and his mother wanted him to give it up."
"Just let him be stupid, and leave him alone."
When the other people in the alley saw the couple, they just assumed they had just come out of their home and found it strange: the unwelcome couple had come home and Aunt Ding actually gave them food?
Ding Ersao scolded, "Listen to what the neighbors in the alley are saying, you're a complete idiot!"
They always brought food back with them, but never took a single grain of rice with them when they left.
Ding Lao Er lowered his head sheepishly.
—
Guan Yuehe listened to the commotion from the neighboring courtyard until she had had enough before carrying her bucket home.
The siblings from the Northwest and Southwest followed behind, asking, "Sister Yuehe, can you take us out to play next time too?"
Of course not!
The two of them are getting more and more mischievous as they grow up. If she takes them out to play, Sister Cai Ying and Officer Song have to go outside to find sturdy sticks, otherwise the sticks at home won't be enough to discipline them.
Northwest sighed, "When will Brother Yiku come back to visit his family again?"
Guan Yuehe raised an eyebrow. "You're not even familiar with him, why are you thinking about him?"
Northwest retorted, "Who said I'm not familiar with Brother Yiku? When he was at home, he often took me and Southwest ice skating."
"Mmm! Brother Yiku even treated us to candied hawthorns." Southwest licked her lips. "I want to be Brother Yiku's sister."
"Song Xinan! You little lackey! Have you forgotten who used to take you to school and treat you to popsicles?!" Northwest was furious, grabbing Xinan's cheek to force her to change her tune.
"I...no, Song Xibei, you stole my popsicle yesterday!"
"I didn't say anything to you when you cut off a leg of my pants!"
Guan Yuehe sighed. The siblings had a great relationship when they were on good terms, but when they argued, it could cause a huge uproar.
Cai Ying was used to it; she watched them bickering from her own doorstep without taking sides.
After the battle ended, Northwest talked about Lin Yiku again, saying that he also wanted to be like Brother Yiku and sign up for the army when he reached the appropriate age.
"Sister Yuehe, what are you laughing at?"
Even the mischievous tyrants of Xiaoyinxing Hutong are thinking of joining the army. Well, joining the army is a good thing; let the troops teach them a lesson.
Seeing that she didn't speak, Northwest brought up the story Lin Yiku had told him about how the army trained.
Northwest often came to Guan Yuehe to talk about his idea of joining the army, because Song Gong'an and Cai Ying didn't really want him to join, but Guan Yuehe never contradicted his idea and always advised him to think about it again. Also, Brother Yiku said that all of Yuehe's classmates were in the People's Liberation Army, and that he could ask Yuehe to find out more about her PLA classmates later.
Northwest thinks Yuehe, who is classmates with the People's Liberation Army, is amazing...
Southwest, even at a young age, dreamed of working in a garment factory when she grew up, determined to make lots of beautiful clothes.
"Sister Yuehe, what do you want to be when you grow up?" Southwest asked, resting her chin on her hands and tilting her head to look at Guan Yuehe.
Guan Yuehe was amused.
Northwest flicked her younger sister's forehead with disdain, "Sister Yuehe is already an adult!"
Turning around, Guan Yuehe, now an adult, was arguing with someone over the last popsicle at the newly opened supply and marketing cooperative across from the garment factory.
"I arrived first! I've already paid!" Guan Yuehe insisted, taking a bite of her popsicle.
"He's just a child, can't you, as an adult, give in to him?"
Guan Yuehe glanced at the child who was about the same height as her, took another bite of the popsicle, and exclaimed loudly, "The popsicle is so delicious today!"
"Ah! Mom, look at her!" the young man yelled angrily.
Guan Yuehua, who had been waiting for her to come out of shopping, was speechless.
"Sister, are you here to buy fabric?" Guan Yuehe squeezed out of the crowd and saw Guan Yuehua.
Throughout Beijing, wherever there are crowds, there are supply and marketing cooperatives. The one in Changhu Street was small, located at the end of the street, and residents always had to wait in long lines. The newly opened cooperative here is at another end of Changhu Street; it has three large storefronts, is more spacious, and offers a wider selection of goods. People in Yinxing Hutong now prefer to shop here.
It's more convenient for Guan Yuehe; she can stop by the supply and marketing cooperative on her way home from get off work.
When it's hot, buy an ice pop and it will cool you down from the heat all day.
A new batch of fabric just arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative, and the queue has stretched all the way to the gate of the garment factory.
Many of the people in the group were neighbors from Ginkgo Hutong.
Guan Yuehe thought to herself that her sister had arrived at the wrong time. If she had arrived two minutes earlier, she could have asked her sister, who was ahead of her in line, to help her buy the fabric. But now that she had squeezed out of the queue, she couldn't help her buy it.
"You didn't buy anything?" Guan Yuehua noticed that the bag she was carrying only resembled a lunchbox, and she only had an ice pop in her hand.
"without."
She went back to work at the factory last month and received two sets of work clothes issued by the factory this year, one thin and one thick, so she doesn't need any clothes to change into for the time being. The cloth ration coupons she received this month were borrowed by Xie Dongxue, so she can't buy any more even if she wants to.
"Are you waiting for your brother-in-law to get off work?"
This year's university admissions process involved canceling initial admissions, then re-confirming the recommended list, and with the start of the semester in September, the admitted students had very little time.
Her sister has already handed over her work and doesn't need to go to work now; she's just waiting to go to school to register.
Speaking of this new result, although she got into university, her sister was very dissatisfied.
Nine people from the car factory passed the exam, but after the results were invalidated, only her sister and another colleague still received recommendation slots, while the other colleagues who passed were not recommended.
In her sister's words, originally everyone had to rely on their own abilities, but now some people can get into school through connections. Even if she got a spot, her sister still felt resentful.
What's even more infuriating is that her sister, who clearly had the ability to get into Huazhong University of Science and Technology, ended up being recommended to Huazhong University of Science and Technology because of her poor exam performance and unremarkable work, while her sister was recommended to another university in another province.
Guan Yuehe and her family felt it was unfair, but the recommendation result had already been determined. Guan Yuehua would have to return to work at the car factory after graduation, and they were afraid that she would be treated unfairly when she returned to work. So they could only endure this unfairness.
Jiang Guiying and Guan Canghai could only comfort them by saying: "At least you can still go to university."
Yes, at least they can still get a recommendation to go to school. People like Ding Xuewen and Chen Lizhong didn't get a recommendation this time, and it might be even harder for them to get one in the future.
"No, I'm looking for you." Guan Yuehua said unusually, "I'd like to treat you to a meal at a state-run restaurant."
Guan Yuehe stood there dumbfounded.
"Let's go. Don't you want to eat?"
"Eat, eat, eat!" Guan Yuehe hurriedly pushed her bicycle to catch up, curiously looking at her sister, and tentatively asked, "Did you and Gu Mannian have a fight?"
Guan Yuehua found it amusing; she kept switching between "brother-in-law" and "Gu Mannian," she was more fickle than a weather vane.
"Don't guess. Are you still going to eat?"
Guan Yuehe didn't ask any more questions. She patted the back of the bicycle and said, "Get on! Hurry up! If we're late, the state-run restaurant will close!"
The state-run restaurant in Changhu Street closes on time every day, regardless of whether it has sold out of food.
As soon as Guan Yuehua got on the bike, it sped off, startling her so much that she quickly grabbed Guan Yuehe's clothes.
They arrived early; the state-run restaurant wasn't crowded yet. As soon as the noodles topped with meat sauce arrived, Guan Yuehe started eating, while her sister showed no sign of saying anything.
After finishing her meal, Guan Yuehe put down her chopsticks and quietly watched her sister pick out each piece of food.
"What do you think about me giving up my university recommendation spot to the factory's cadre training program?" Guan Yuehua said, "University is a three-year program, held in another city. The training program is a year-long program, held in Beijing. What do you think?"
Training programs for cadres have existed since universities began recruiting worker-peasant-soldier students.
Like the Peking University where Guan Yuehe studied, almost all the short-term training courses and cadre training courses offered on another campus were for technical personnel and cadres commissioned by their work units.
Lin Sitian still occasionally goes to the medical college for training, which are actually short-term training courses.
Once you complete the training and obtain the qualification certificate, you can transition from a nurse to a doctor.
If it were Guan Yuehe herself, she would definitely choose to go to university.
But everyone's situation is different.
Before Guan Yuehe could offer any advice, Guan Yuehua analyzed the situation herself: "If you go to another province to study Arabic, there won't be any suitable positions in the factory."
Even the translation team in the design department currently doesn't need Arabic translators.
“The car factory is different from your garment factory. If I go abroad to study, someone will definitely take over my current position. When I come back in three years, I will be reassigned, and I may not be able to get into the publicity department again.”
"If I attend a cadre training course and come back to work in the propaganda department and be listed as a candidate for promotion, then I will be fine."
"Your brother-in-law said he supports my choice, but I also have to consider my family and my future job..."
Guan Yuehe suddenly leaned closer and whispered, "Did you get the count mixed up while you were counting melon seeds at home?"
Um?
"For example, if I have a meat coupon, should I use it to buy pork belly or exchange it for grain coupons? If I can't decide, I'll grab a handful of roasted melon seeds and count them. If I decide to buy pork belly, I'll go buy pork belly."
“If the last one is exchanged for grain coupons…” Guan Yuehe laughed, “Then I’ll count it again!”
Guan Yuehua now completely understood why the person who didn't get the last popsicle was so angry. When Guan Yuehe was laughing and joking, she just looked like she wanted to be hit.
"...You can't think of anything else besides food, right?"
"You've already made your decision, so don't ask me." If you hadn't thought it through, how could you possibly analyze it clearly? Given your usual bad temper, you would have already bought a train ticket, packed your bags, and prepared to leave.
"I'm not full, buy me two more meat buns," Guan Yuehe demanded matter-of-factly.
Guan Yuehua hadn't expected to get any advice from her, and clicked her tongue, "Are you an idiot?"
It was one thing to complain about her large appetite, but they still took out their food coupons and said, "Comrade, give us four more meat buns."
Guan Yuehe's eyes lit up, "Two more will be enough."
"...Your brother-in-law wants to eat too!"
Oh, for the moment, I can't even remember that person.
The next day, Gu Mannian brought Guan Yuehe a plate of stir-fry as an extra meal. "Did you persuade your sister to stay in Beijing for a cadre training course?"
Guan Yuehe once again earnestly clarified, "My relationship with my sister is really not as good as you think."
Who does she think she is? How could she possibly persuade her sister?
"Your sister really wants to attend this training course. Could it be that she changed her mind because of me?"
Guan Yuehe hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.
Who does he think he is, to be able to persuade her sister to change her mind?
I'm not going to say anything more; saying too much will hurt our feelings.
Gu Mannian couldn't find the answer from Guan Yuehe; his heart was in turmoil, unable to find a solution.
"By the way, what's going on in your planning department again? The procurement targets have changed again. The textile factory's goods have all been allocated, so if we ask for more, they can't find any..."
Guan Yuehe covered her ears, "Go talk to our section chief, I can't make the decision!"
Actually, their section chief had no choice. The higher-ups suddenly gave Zhuoyue Garment Factory more responsibilities, so they had to shoulder the burden, solve problems when they encountered them, and in short, complete the tasks on time!
Guan Yuehe used to do odd jobs in the factory office, unlike now in the planning department, where she really has to do practical work.
Unlike before, when she went to other departments to help out, and they were naturally welcome, now when she goes to other departments it's a "change of plans," and they wish they could avoid her altogether.
Fortunately, her father is no longer obsessed with being recognized as an advanced worker; otherwise, given her current popularity in the factory, he probably wouldn't be able to collect rat tails for her.
There's already so much to do at work, and when you finally get a Sunday off, you still have to work: cleaning up stinky ditches and hauling stones to repair roads.
Not only her, but also cadres from several nearby units had to go and do the work.
Since she didn't have time to eat together, she returned the meat coupons that Lin Sitian and the others had saved up.
Lin Sitian prepared the books according to the list provided in Ding Xuewen's letter and was ready to send them over. After discussing it, the three of them in the city decided that there was no need for any more words of comfort, and they would just write down all the interesting things happening around them in the letter as usual.
It's as if this year's abruptly ended college entrance exam never happened, and everyone's lives have returned to normal.
Guan Yuehe went out to work and came home covered in dirt. Northwest and Southwest didn't come any closer and ran out, covering their noses.
Sun Jiawang finally found his companion and cheered, "You fell into the stinky ditch too!"
Wu Erni twisted his ear and took him home, saying, "You talk too much!"
September.
Guan Yuehua went to Huada University's cadre training class with her luggage, which shocked everyone.
But after the initial shock, everyone praised Guan Yuehua's cadre training program as even better.
"Isn't it good that the training will make you a leader?"
"So, can she still be considered a proper college student?"
"Who cares? Graduates from university will still end up back in factories. What good is a college degree? It's better to be a cadre."
College student Xie Zhenhua's face immediately fell. He felt that he couldn't connect with these illiterate people, so he went back into his room to read his book.
Zhang Ersao noticed this and signaled to the others to say less about the college students.
"Oops! Look at me! I forgot that Teacher Xie is a college graduate."
Xie Zhenhua was unlucky when he graduated. According to the job assignment, he was supposed to be assigned back to a unit in his hometown county. However, since he and Liu Axiu had already registered their marriage, the assignment was adjusted. It's just that they got their marriage certificate a little late, and there weren't any good units to assign him later, so he was transferred to the Third Middle School to become a middle school teacher.
Just as everyone was lamenting Xie Zhenhua's bad luck, Zhang Desheng suddenly interjected, "Teacher Xie has been transferred to our automobile factory's technical school as a teacher."
Ignoring the sour tone in Zhang Desheng's voice, everyone eagerly asked, "Really? What does Teacher Xie teach? How does the technical school at our car factory recruit students? Can our eldest child, who just graduated from junior high school, enroll?"
Guan Yuehe moved her small stool forward a bit, also curious about what the newly established technical school at the Five Star Automobile Factory was all about.
"The higher-ups approved the school's establishment. After graduating from junior high, the factory children can take the exam, and they are guaranteed job placement after graduation. They can either go back to our automobile factory, or go to another automobile factory in the city, or a tractor factory... Why can't they be assigned jobs? This was approved by the Municipal Revolutionary Committee, and it's a joint school run by several units! After graduation, they will naturally be assigned back to these units!"
"Can't high school graduates apply?"
"I don't know about that, but I heard that after graduating from junior high school, you can choose to take the entrance exam for a technical school or a high school." Zhang Desheng continued, "In places like machine factories, they have their own technical schools. Only the children of factory workers who can't get into technical schools go to take the high school entrance exam. Why? So that they can get a job after graduation!"
Jiang Guiying was so angry that she slapped her thigh: Guan Aiguo missed a good opportunity and failed to get into a technical school.
Guan Yuehe comforted her, saying, "It's fine now, anyway, his chances of passing the exam are slim."
"..." Jiang Guiying felt much better. "That makes sense."
In the Guan family, most of their brainpower for studying and exams came from their eldest daughter, while their younger daughter has also grown considerably in the past two and a half years since starting university. As for the others... let's not even mention them.
Surrounded by his neighbors, Zhang Desheng took a leisurely sip of water before continuing to share the information he knew.
"What does Teacher Xie teach? Physics."
The others were bewildered. "Isn't he a math teacher?"
"Sigh, he already knows physics, so teaching math will be easy for him." Although Zhang Desheng was envious of Xie Zhenhua being transferred to a technical school as a teacher, he still envied his university degree. Back in the day, university students...
"Hey, Zhang Desheng, hurry up and tell me! I'm so anxious!"
Zhang Desheng could only continue, "Our neighbor Zhou Hongqi teaches welding to students, Grandpa Chang from courtyard number three teaches fitter work, and there are also instructors for becoming caregivers, who will later be assigned to work at the Workers' Hospital. Oh right, there's also a driving class, taught by Guan Jianguo's mentor..."
I heard a lot of names listed, and half of them were old acquaintances who lived in Ginkgo Hutong.
"Can a sixth-grade fitter become a teacher?" some questioned. "There's an eighth-grade fitter in the factory who wasn't chosen to be a teacher, but they chose him?"
"Teaching students is like training apprentices. A level six worker isn't qualified enough, is he? How can a level eight worker have time to train them?"
Grandpa Chang, who was standing outside the crowd, was also angered and left, just like Xie Zhenhua.
The news that the Five Star Automobile Factory was about to establish a technical school was a great thing that would benefit all the workers and their families. The news spread quickly throughout Ginkgo Hutong, and no one cared about who was recommended to go to university anymore.
Children in the alley were being driven to school by their parents with sticks, and many people wanted to find teachers to help their children catch up on what they had missed, especially those whose children would be graduating from junior high school next year. Xie Zhenhua's doorstep was practically worn down by the constant stream of visitors.
Aunt Xie felt she had never been so upright before. Every day when she went out, she stretched her neck out and her nostrils almost pointed to the sky.
Guan Yuehe works at the factory, and many of her colleagues come to her to inquire whether the Wuxing Automobile Factory Technical School recruits junior high school graduates from other schools.
"I heard they're recruiting, as long as there are no issues with the student's background." Guan Yuehe could only tell them to pay close attention to the specific recruitment details later. The technical school for the car factory is currently under construction.
"It would be great if our garment factory could set up a technical school, specializing in training people to make clothes and shoes, and then they could be assigned back to our factory after graduation," an older woman said hopefully.
Guan Yuehe thought about it and felt it was a bit difficult to achieve. Their factory could barely be considered a medium-sized factory, and there was no need to set up a technical school at the moment.
Sister Zhu said, "The policies are much better now. After graduating from middle school, if you can't get a job, you can go to the countryside, which isn't too far away."
This year, Beijing introduced a new policy regarding the relocation of educated youth to the countryside.
Previously, students were required to go to the countryside when they reached a certain age. Now, the policy has been changed: if a family already has a child going to the countryside, one child can be exempted from going. Only children can also stay in the city instead of going to the countryside. The destinations for educated youth going to the countryside have also been changed to the suburbs of the city.
Whether it's the enrollment of newly established technical schools or the changes in the policy on sending educated youth to the countryside, these are policy announcements that are directly relevant to the residents of Yinxing Hutong. As for those policies that are unclear to them or that are far removed from their lives, almost no one discusses them.
Before October arrived, a deputy director of the Five Star Automobile Factory was sent to a labor reform farm. Everyone kept their mouths shut even more, never mentioning anything unrelated to daily life, and even reduced their visits to the black market.
It's National Day again.
This year, Guan Yuehe was fortunate not to have any relatives or friends getting married or holding banquets, so she saved on gift-giving and had more time to go out and visit her teachers at her school.
Faced with the invitation from the union director, Guan Yuehe naturally shook her head vigorously, wanting to refuse: "I really have something to do, I don't have time to go."
The union director forcefully shoved the registration form into her hand, saying, "Comrade Xiao Guan, you're the factory's undisputed beauty, the most outstanding single woman in the factory. You have to support the factory's own social event!"
Despite the lavish praise, Guan Yuehe remained perfectly clear-headed. "I'm totally supportive! How about I help decorate the auditorium? That should be enough support, right?"
The union director added, "No, this social gathering is being held jointly with the machinery factory, the automobile factory, and the daily chemical factory. It's in our factory's small auditorium. I heard that all the attendees from the automobile factory are outstanding single men, like Xiao Guan..."
Comrade Xiao Guan still shook his head.
If there were truly outstanding single men at the Five Star Automobile Factory, wouldn't she know?
She's a family member of a worker at the Five Star Automobile Factory! She also has a childhood friend who works at the factory's workers' hospital and knows all the factory gossip.
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