Two days later.
The victims were only willing to tell the story to the police, but not to talk about it in front of others. One of the girls had gone insane and just sat there blankly all day, while the other had married a divorced man who lived far away.
Ultimately, Hao Qiang's five-year prison sentence was increased to fifteen years. Bai Meilan, as an accomplice, was suspected of knowing about the crime but failing to report it and helping to cover it up, and was also sentenced to four years.
Because of his inadequate supervision and his arbitrarily arranging marriages for educated youth, the brigade leader was dismissed from his post and expelled from the Party. People with such low awareness are no longer qualified to be village cadres.
Hu Doudou's assignment to work in the queue was terminated early. She was taken back by her parents and the local police officers. Her household registration will be processed back later.
Of course, her engagement with Hao Qiang was no longer valid.
As for whether or not the educated youth settlement in Taojia Village should be closed, that decision still needs to be made by the government. The Public Security Bureau has only informed the government about this matter.
This incident also made the authorities begin to pay attention to the personal safety and marital status of the educated youth who were sent to the countryside.
...
In mid-December, the children had finished their exams and received their report cards, and the school officially began its summer vacation.
The educated youth are also gradually preparing to go home.
Everyone was in a very heavy mood. Now, when they went out and encountered villagers, they were all on tenterhooks, afraid of being beaten.
After being dismissed and returning, the brigade leader became despondent and fell ill. The prestige and image he had built up in the hearts of the villagers over the decades collapsed instantly. It's no wonder he couldn't hold on.
After discussing with the new brigade leader, Gu Yifeng told the educated youth to finish their tasks and then pack their things to buy train tickets home so they could go home.
The village has now elected a new brigade leader, who is Tao Shize's father.
Originally, everyone wanted to elect Uncle Lin, but Uncle Lin refused, saying that he was not a party member and did not have the ability.
The biggest reason Uncle Lin refused was that his family wasn't originally from this village; they moved here during the war.
The village's previous leaders had always been people surnamed Tao, and Uncle Lin refused to take the position to avoid trouble.
Finally, considering various factors, the higher authorities selected another member of the Tao clan to serve as the brigade leader.
Although Tao Shize's family was poor, his father was a member of the Communist Party and had received an education. That's why he insisted on raising his son to study hard, even though his family was poor.
This time, the commune elected him, and the villagers also thought he was capable. Tao Shize's father, Tao Gang, thus became the new brigade leader.
Before leaving, Gu Yifeng and his group had to report to the captain.
Tao Gang readily approved their application, and told them to go back and reunite with their families, and to wait for their return next January.
Tao Gang also told the educated youth that he would do ideological work with the villagers to guide them to deal with the matter and the educated youth in the right way.
Gu Yifeng and the others agreed.
The day before Wenyan and Qiuyi left, Uncle Lin called them back for a meal.
The two elders told them that even if they didn't need to come back next year, they should still remember to visit their godparents whenever they had time.
Qiu Yi and Wen Yan both cried and agreed.
This incident almost broke the mental health of the educated youth, especially when they saw the villagers so united in their opposition to them. They were not only afraid, but also heartbroken.
They worked alongside them for almost a year, and when there was no work in the fields in winter, they even gave them literacy lessons, teaching them to read and write. But the other party showed no gratitude whatsoever, which really hurt them.
On the 20th of the twelfth lunar month, all the educated youth left.
When Fang Mei was leaving, it was Tao Shize who saw her off.
In early December, Fang Mei mustered up the courage to have a private conversation with Tao Shize. The two decided to give dating a try, and if things went well, they would get married next year.
However, after only a few days of getting to know each other, Hu Doudou's situation frightened Fang Mei.
She didn't dare to see Tao Shize for several days.
The matter was resolved in the past few days, and they were finally on vacation. Tao Shize was worried that Fang Mei was overthinking things, so he went to see her and talked to her again.
They've both talked things out and will remain friends for now. As for whether there's a future together, let's see what fate has in store!
If they are notified next year that they don't need to come back as educated youth anymore, then the two of them will always be friends.
Both of them were actually somewhat attracted to each other, but it seemed like they were always just a little bit out of fate.
When they were together, they were just colleagues, but now that they were parting ways, they both suddenly felt a little reluctant to part.
As Tao Shize watched Fang Mei board the train, he felt a void in his heart.
But he couldn't say anything, he could only smile and wave goodbye to her.
He only found out about what happened that night the next day.
He caught a cold that day, took some medicine when he got home and went to bed early, completely unaware of how chaotic the educated youth team was that night.
His father did go, but when he came back, he saw that his son was sleeping soundly, so he didn't wake him. He knew that his son was usually busy at school, and it wouldn't be good if he was woken up in the middle of the night, as it would make his condition worse.
He was unaware that the villagers had been listening to the educated youth's lectures during the day, and that at night, because of Hao Qiang's matter, they even tried to protect their own, stopping the educated youth from going to the police.
Tao Shize could only say that he had nothing to say.
Fang Mei sat on the train, silently lowered her head, and shed tears.
Tao Shize was the first boy she liked, and perhaps they would never have the chance to see each other again.
The moment the train started moving, she looked up at Tao Shize outside and seemed to see that his eyes were red.
Fang Mei couldn't help but cover her face and cry.
Many educated youth were returning home on the train, and some of them were crying.
Fang Zhuoyang and Fang Mei were sitting next to each other. He glanced at her silently and then turned his head away.
Although they share the same surname, they are not from the same city.
He had a good relationship with Tao Shize and knew what was going on between the two. All he could say was, "Let fate decide!"
Qiu Yi and Wen Yan took a different train, which left yesterday.
After the educated youth left, the courtyard of the educated youth team was locked.
Tao Shize held the key.
Now that his father has become the brigade leader, his family suddenly has many more relatives and visitors, a stark contrast to the days when they had few relatives and little contact with each other.
Tao Shize was too lazy to deal with these sycophants. Every day he would still go to the school, clean up, check on the situation in each class, read a book, and practice his calligraphy.
Before Qiu Yi left, he told him that he had already submitted an application to the higher authorities, and if the educated youth settlement was closed next year, then he would take over the position of the primary school principal.
Qiu Yi instructed him to continue recruiting high school graduates to teach, following the same assessment methods they had used initially. He also told him to keep the primary school running well, to cultivate relationships with those in the education department, and to seek benefits for the school, all for the sake of the village children's future.
Tao Shize agreed to all of them.
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