At four o'clock the next morning, Jiang Hua and Aunt Shen, mother and daughter, left the yard carrying large and small bags.
Seeing the two neighbors, he politely greeted them and gave Jiang Hua a few words of advice.
Jiang Huaquan gave a lukewarm response.
Seeing her like this, the neighbors who had originally wanted to lend a hand decided not to make a fool of themselves and let the mother and daughter carry the huge luggage to the neighborhood office.
First, they had to go to the educated youth office to get their train tickets for going to the countryside, and then go to the train station to take the train.
Jiang Hua was sent to a village in the county seat, not too far from his home. It was only after Aunt Shen begged and pleaded with everyone she knew, pulled countless strings, and spent a fortune that she was able to get this job.
When they arrived at the educated youth office, the mother and daughter took the train tickets. Upon closer inspection, Jiang Hua was dumbfounded.
Isn't this a train ticket to Northwest China?
"Hello, comrade, did you give me the wrong train ticket? I'm not going to the Northwest."
A young staff member from the educated youth office said expressionlessly, "Jiang Hua, right?"
"Yes, yes, I am Jiang Hua!"
"That's right. Comrade Jiang Hua volunteered to go to the most difficult place. Our director was very touched by your sentiment and transferred you to a rural area in the Northwest. Comrade Jiang Hua, do a good job and let the farmers see the vigor of our urban youth," the young officer said.
"What? Officer Sun, you must be mistaken. My daughter's destination in the countryside is Hongqi Commune in this county, how could it be the Northwest?" Aunt Shen was dumbfounded.
The young female cadre, surnamed Sun, had only recently graduated when she took over her mother's job and became a proud staff member of the educated youth office. She was quite a passionate young woman.
“That’s right, Jiang Hua applied for it himself. I still have Jiang Hua’s application form here. The rural assignment location can only be changed with Jiang Hua’s own household registration certificate.” As he spoke, Xiao Sun took a piece of paper from the drawer and handed it to Jiang Hua.
Jiang Hua took the document with trembling hands, opened it, and was dumbfounded. Her name was indeed written on it, and it was indeed an application to go to the most difficult place.
But she... she clearly didn't write this application.
"This is fake! Someone is framing me!" Jiang Hua completely broke down and screamed hysterically.
Officer Sun frowned: "Your household registration certificate can't be fake, right? We can't change your location without it." This is to prevent anyone from abusing their power for personal gain.
"Household registration certificate? It's not real. Someone must be trying to frame me. It's Bu Ling, it must be her. I have to find her." Jiang Hua was acting like a madman. He threw his luggage on the ground and was about to run out.
When Xiao Sun saw this, he immediately panicked, but quickly realized what was happening: "Quickly grab her, she's trying to escape from the educated youth going to the countryside."
These days, once someone is labeled as an evader of the educated youth sent to the countryside, it means that they have a problem with their thinking and will be sent down for education. Their treatment will be completely different from that of the educated youth sent to the countryside. They will live in cowsheds, eat the worst food, and do the hardest and dirtiest work.
At that one sentence, Jiang Hua immediately stopped in his tracks, turned around, and looked at Xiao Sun, his eyes filled with deep-seated hatred.
Xiao Sun, a young woman, took a small step back in fright at Jiang Hua's gaze, but quickly straightened her back and said, "I'm right, the train is about to leave. If you don't go to the train station now, what is that if not running away!"
Aunt Shen was stunned by this series of unexpected events.
"Officer Sun, you've misunderstood. My daughter didn't shirk her rural assignment. She just wants to find out why she was suddenly moved to a different location. Is there something fishy going on?" Aunt Shen said, neither too soft nor too hard.
“Auntie, if you have any complaints, you can file a complaint. Our work process is perfectly correct. But now, please have your daughter go to the train station immediately. The train to the Northwest is about to leave. If you can’t get to the educated youth settlement there on time, I won’t be responsible for any consequences.” Officer Sun also had a temper.
"Officer Sun, could you please make an exception and let us clarify things before going to the countryside?" Aunt Shen said, handing Officer Sun a can of peaches.
When I handed it over, my heart was bleeding with heartache.
"What are you doing! This is bribery! I will report the situation to my superiors!" Young Officer Sun was still a passionate young man.
"No, no, no, Officer Sun, you've misunderstood. I just saw you were working hard and wanted to soothe your throat," Aunt Shen said with a fawning smile.
"I'm not tired, I'm just serving the people." Officer Sun said righteously, "Don't delay, set off quickly. If you miss your train, you'll have to pay for your own tickets."
Aunt Shen still wanted to pester him, but Xiao Sun was too busy to pay attention to her and was busy attending to another young man who had come to the countryside.
In the end, Aunt Shen and Jiang Hua, their faces grim, had no choice but to pack their bags and head to the train station. They dared not bear the stigma of escaping the rural relocation program and could only accept their fate.
On the way, Aunt Shen kept comforting her daughter, saying that she would find out what was going on and then exchange it for her. She told her daughter not to worry, that she would send her money and things every month, and that she should not suffer any hardship.
Jiang Hua nodded without saying a word and boarded the train in silence.
Aunt Shen bought a platform ticket and watched her daughter enter the carriage. Her nose tingled and tears welled up in her eyes. The train slowly started moving. From beginning to end, Jiang Hua did not say a word.
Only when the train became a tiny black dot in Aunt Shen's eyes and could no longer be seen did she wipe away her tears and walk back with her body hunched over.
When they arrived at the courtyard, Bu Ling had just gotten up and was washing up at the tap. She glanced at Aunt Shen as she entered, then continued brushing her teeth as if it were none of her business.
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