The entire Unity Brigade was in an uproar.
The brigade leader and the village secretary were seeing this legendary exoneration document for the first time. They read it over and over again, and finally, they carefully touched the official seal on the last stamp before they realized what was going on.
While inviting the heads of the Revolutionary Committee and the personnel department of the machinery factory to sit down and have tea, the two of them kept him company and talked to him. They then sent someone to quickly invite Gu Zhiyuan over.
Without them even having to tell them, some quick-witted ones had already run off to Gu Zhiyuan and Xu Ningyan's house.
Gu Zhiyuan and Xu Ningyan were weeding and turning over sweet potato vines in their private plot.
Xu Ningyan had gotten some watermelon seeds from somewhere and scattered them in a corner. No one knew what variety they were, but they were growing very well. Now the watermelons were as big as large bowls, with green stripes, and two of them were probably seven or eight tenths ripe.
I picked one this morning and put it under the tree to chill in cool river water.
Xu Ningyan looked at the cloudless sky and the scorching sun that made her dizzy. Her clothes were soaked with sweat several times over. She straightened up and said, "It's getting late. Let's go back! Let's try some watermelon!"
Seeing Xu Ningyan's excited and expectant look, Gu Zhiyuan also wiped the sweat off his face with the towel draped around his neck and stood up as if on cue.
No sooner had he entered the courtyard than several familiar young men rushed in, grabbed Gu Zhiyuan without saying a word, and dragged him outside.
Gu Zhiyuan moved his arm, breaking free from their restraints, and looked at them warily.
Xu Ningyan reacted quickly, grabbing a kitchen knife she was about to use to cut a watermelon and rushing out: "What are you doing?"
The young man leading the group, the Party Secretary's youngest son, realized that their actions were quite misleading and quickly explained, "Don't misunderstand, it's good news! Comrade Gu's rehabilitation document has been issued! People from the County Revolutionary Committee have arrived! Also, people from the County Machinery Factory have come, saying they want to hire you, Comrade Gu, to work at their factory!"
"Everyone's at the brigade headquarters right now. The brigade leader and my dad want us to bring you over there quickly!"
Gu Zhiyuan and Xu Ningyan exchanged a glance.
Xu Ningyan put down the knife in her hand: "Shall we go take a look?"
A group of people escorted the two towards the brigade headquarters.
The commune members, who were watching from afar, couldn't help but mutter, "Who would have thought! These 'Five Black Categories' can be exonerated? This is truly an eye-opener!"
"That's right! Have you heard? That's a rehabilitation document from the capital! That's where he lived!"
"Comrade Gu is really lucky. Over the years, although our village has not had any, those few people sent down from the neighboring village are either old or weak. I wonder if they will ever have such a day!"
"Why are you worrying about that? You should worry about yourself. You haven't offended Comrade Gu, have you? Not only has he been exonerated, but he's going to work at the county machinery factory! That's where Xu Zhenzhu's boyfriend works! He'll be living on city-provided grain rations from now on!"
"If you've offended someone before, hurry up and apologize, and give them a gift!"
"No way! I don't think Comrade Gu is that petty, do I?"
"Exactly. Back then, he was a member of the 'Five Black Categories.' Even if we had a bad attitude, it wasn't our fault. Wasn't it because of his bad class background?"
"Yes, yes, our child is just a little naughty! He's just a child who doesn't understand things yet, is he really going to hold a grudge against him?"
"I'm not afraid at all. I have impeccable political background, with three generations of poor farmers in my family. Who am I afraid of?"
...
They all spoke with conviction, until Gu Zhiyuan walked up to them.
The ones who had spoken the harshest earlier were the first to rush up to Gu Zhiyuan: "Oh, Comrade Gu! Congratulations! Our child was ignorant before and may have offended us. Please forgive him for his past mistakes—"
“Comrade Gu, when you were first sent down to our brigade, I could tell at a glance that with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, how could you possibly be a black element? You must have been wronged! I was right!”
"Comrade Gu, this is wonderful news! I'll have my wife bring you an old hen later! It's been raised for three years, it's incredibly nourishing! Take it home and make some soup, it'll be good for you!"
The person who said this was despised by everyone. "You little brat, you're such a sycophant!"
Then a large group of people chimed in, "My son just caught two fish in the river yesterday, we're going to take them home and braise them!"
"I still have a piece of cured pork rib at home—"
"I have some salted duck eggs at home—"
...
It was the Party Secretary's youngest son who pushed through the crowd: "Don't stop us, the leaders are still waiting! We can talk about it later."
Finally, a path was squeezed out.
They took the person to the entrance of the brigade headquarters.
When they reached the door, Xu Ningyan stopped, intending to let Gu Zhiyuan go in alone.
But Gu Zhiyuan grabbed his arm and pulled him inside.
The leaders of the Revolutionary Committee had been waiting impatiently for some time; it was hot in the countryside and there wasn't much to offer them.
Even the tea leaves had a musty, stale smell.
Outside, a bunch of country bumpkins were pointing and making a ruckus.
If it weren't for the fact that I was standing next to the head of the personnel department of the machinery factory, I would have already left the documents behind and gone home.
Finally, I got to see him in person.
My eyes lit up immediately.
A man and a woman entered. The man was tall with handsome features. Although he was wearing drab, patched clothes and his cloth shoes were covered in dust, his overall demeanor suggested that he was no ordinary person.
Especially when those dark eyes looked over, the leader of the Revolutionary Committee felt as if he had been doused with snow water, and he shivered. He immediately realized that this man in front of him was not someone he could afford to offend.
That's right! If he didn't have some skills and connections, how could he not only get exonerated in Beijing, but also have the head of the personnel department of the machinery factory personally come to recruit him?
It's called a job recruitment, but it's really just giving out employment letters and asking people to come to work!
Such people should not only be avoided, but also treated well to build good relationships.
Upon thinking this, the leader of the Revolutionary Committee immediately put on a smile, took two steps forward, and extended his hand: "Hello, Comrade Gu Zhiyuan, I am Zheng Weiguo from the Revolutionary Committee of Jingshan County. I have received a mission from my superiors to come and deliver the exoneration documents to you!"
Gu Zhiyuan extended his hand, shook hands with Zheng Weiguo, took the exoneration document, quickly glanced at it, and handed it to Xu Ningyan, who was standing next to him. He did not show any particular excitement.
Zheng Weiguo became increasingly wary. At such a young age, he was already so unfazed by honor or disgrace, and so composed in his emotions. What would he be like in the future?
He then introduced, "This is Section Chief Xiao from the Personnel Department of our Jingshan County Machinery Factory—"
"I am Xiao Lei! I have been entrusted by Factory Director Wu and Director Lin to invite Comrade Gu Zhiyuan to become a designer in our factory's mechanical design department. This is the appointment certificate!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com