This separation may last another ten years, and perhaps we will never meet again in this life. Until the hot July, Zhang Guoqing not only sent off his companions who were serving in the army or going to the countryside, but also sent off young people aged sixteen or seventeen who were like his younger brothers and sisters.
Every time I accompanied them to the train station, I looked at the young people dressed in blue, green and gray under the sun, their faces were full of hope for life even though they looked dark and tired.
In contrast to them, there were parents in the farewell procession, some of whom helped carry large and small bags, while others only carried a linen bag containing bedding.
Some mothers wiped the tears from their faces and gave earnest instructions. Some fathers had red eyes and stared at their children with tears in their eyes.
Of course, there are those who set out alone, and there are those who keep moving forward without looking back.
Having seen so much, Zhang Guoqing couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. Perhaps this behavior of these young people seemed silly and naive to many people, but he was filled with admiration and envy.
What I admire is the passion and enthusiasm of these people, and what I envy is their passion to be moved by their ideals and to be willing to give everything.
Yet, he could never fit in, never resonate with this era. While these people also experienced moments of frustration and confusion, the moment they spoke of defending their country, they instantly ignited a blazing self-image that made him secretly ashamed. Born under the same red banner, they were ultimately different.
In April, the sky was bright and fresh. In order to experience this historical scene in person, Zhou Jiao also came and captured the scenes with her camera...
At this moment, these images are worth commemorating for future generations.
Among them, Jin Lijuan's second daughter, whom she had never met before, appeared quietly in her camera as expected.
She didn't deliberately look for the other family.
Instead, this man was wearing a well-fitting military uniform, a matching dark green military water bottle, a cross-body military bag, Liberation shoes, and a hat with a red five-pointed star pinned in the middle.
Oh, and that camel-colored leather belt around her waist.
Just this outfit is quite conspicuous and impressive in the crowd. It is impossible not to attract attention. After all, not all of the tens of thousands of educated youth who went to the countryside had this outfit.
However, it must have cost Jin Lijuan and her husband a lot of effort and favors.
The sky in the old city is still very blue, the air is still very fresh, and there are not as many tall buildings on the streets as in later generations, and of course not as many buildings and vehicles.
Loudspeakers on street lampposts blared majestic and inspiring songs everywhere. Train after train sent off young people with red flowers on their chests, leaving behind their distraught relatives...
The days passed slowly one by one. With the departure of these young people, the world became much more peaceful and there were fewer people fighting and bleeding on the streets.
Similarly, Jin Lijuan began frequently exchanging tickets with her colleagues, her frown never loosening. The cheerful older sister of the past also began to evolve into Lin Daiyu.
Having seen and heard so much, Zhou Jiao did not dare to ask for advice. She was worried about hearing about women being insulted, and even more worried about hearing about casualties.
Ever since the slogan "Prepare for war, prepare for famine, and serve the people" came out, her father has become increasingly busy, either traveling everywhere or attending meetings non-stop.
At the end of the year, Zhou Jiao went to see her father with some of the information she had collected. She thought that she could not change the general trend, but she could always do her part for women all over the world.
"What is this?" Zhou Xiaozheng looked at his daughter in confusion in the study.
"Hey, you look first."
After a while, Zhou Xiaozheng finished reading, pondered for a long time, and looked at his daughter without saying a word.
"Dad, is this giving you a hard time?"
Zhou Xiaozheng shook his head. "That's not the case. Mainly because this matter is not my responsibility. If I expose it to the public, it will not only be suspected of usurping power, but also be a slap in the face."
Before he could finish his words, Zhou Jiao immediately grabbed the document, knocked her head, and said in frustration: "Oh, Dad, forget it."
Zhou Xiaozheng touched her head with a smile, then got so angry that he slapped her on the forehead, "Is your dad so useless? Let it go, I'll let someone else handle it."
Zhou Jiao looked at his face suspiciously, "Are you really okay?"
"Hide your little tail. As a father, I don't even know my daughter. Tell me, how do you want to deal with this? I don't believe my smart and obedient daughter will act rashly."
Zhou Xiaozheng didn't believe that his child would give up easily after painstakingly collecting information on female educated youth from all over the place. He also didn't believe that his daughter hadn't considered the follow-up issues and didn't know about his own offspring.
Zhou Jiao pursed her lips and muttered softly, "How boring."
"Hmm?" Zhou Xiaozheng raised his eyebrows and looked at her with a smile.
"Dad, what do you say if I send it to Grandpa Zhou anonymously? If we were to come forward with this, it would definitely not be appropriate for our family, but if we don't do anything, I can't get over this."
Zhou Xiaozheng was not thinking about these little things from the beginning to the end. He was worried that someone would bring this up in front of his daughter Jiaojiao first, which would make people doubt the other party's intentions.
"First, my colleague Jin Lijuan, whose eldest daughter was assigned to the Yunnan Provincial Military Region, wrote to me saying that a very beautiful female classmate of hers was assigned to the countryside, but she died within six months."
"After that, I paid special attention to it and found that all the female educated youth who went to the military corps or the rural production teams either married locally or..."
Zhou Jiao said, frowning and shaking her head, "There are too many doubts. Women are already a vulnerable group. These young women from the city are like sheep in a pack of wolves when they go to remote rural areas. It's very dangerous."
Zhou Xiaozheng smiled noncommittally, pondering Jin Lijuan's background and relationships. He couldn't help but investigate his daughter's three colleagues, whom he worked with daily.
"The other party must have often whispered these things to you, right?"
Zhou Jiao looked at him in surprise, "Dad, are you saying that she used me as a knife?"
Zhou Xiaozheng shook his head. "That's not the case. With your intelligence, you must be able to see the flaw. My daughter is still very smart. Ordinary people can't fool you..."
Zhou Jiao smiled brightly upon hearing this and didn't wait for her to reply.
"...She wouldn't dare to plot against you." Zhou Xiaozheng's hesitation made her eyes widen in disappointment. "Dad, can't you just praise me properly?"
As soon as these words fell, Zhou Xiaozheng burst into laughter and stroked her short hair. Oh, how come his little darling is so funny?
I seem to be very busy recently. I have missed many opportunities to communicate with my daughter and have less fun. It seems that I need to slow down.
"dad?"
Zhou Xiaozheng quickly coaxed him, "Okay, okay, Dad won't laugh at you. Leave this to Dad. I'll make sure these documents are displayed in front of those people without involving myself. Are you satisfied?"
Need I say more?
Her father understood her best, and Zhou Jiao nodded happily. With her father's intervention, even if he didn't do anything in person, he would most likely get the job done.
Zhou Xiaozheng shook his head secretly when he saw her. What a silly girl! But this is good. Compared with those young people nowadays, his Jiaojiao is cold but not cold-blooded. Isn't this what he has always been looking forward to?
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