The educated youth were very satisfied that they could eat two native chickens as soon as they arrived at the First Production Brigade.
However, their mission here is to support rural construction, they cannot just eat and not work, so after settling down, they immediately began preparing lessons and discussing some teaching issues.
But they didn't expect that the two chickens were just the beginning, and the days that followed would be eye-opening.
The chickens raised by Huang Yuelan in the school were slaughtered every few days to improve the food for the educated youth.
This left many educated youth stunned and dumbfounded. Although it was true that all of them were educated youth from the city, if they asked themselves honestly, they would never be able to be so generous in their own families.
One of the educated youth came from Kyoto, the country's capital, where the conditions were among the best in the country.
It is common for them to eat white steamed buns, but they have never eaten chicken every now and then. Not to mention that they have never eaten it this way, she has never even seen it. The same is true for his relatives and friends. Although their life is not very difficult, they still rarely eat meat. They will eat it during the New Year and other festivals, and when relatives and friends come to visit. On ordinary days, few people are willing to eat meat.
Several educated youth felt that the people here were really generous and that they had made the right decision to come to this brigade. After a period of getting to know each other, they also found out that these chickens were not public property at all, but were raised by Huang Yuelan herself.
At first they wondered why Huang Yuelan was so generous because the chicken was not hers but belonged to the collective, so she didn't feel bad about killing it.
But the truth was unexpected, all of them were raised by Huang Yuelan herself.
"Teacher Huang, you can keep these chickens yourself and don't kill them all for us. We are already very grateful to you and there is no need to kill them anymore," one of the educated youth advised.
"Yes, big sister, it's good for you to keep these chickens for laying eggs. When the children are growing up, you slaughtered them for us to eat. Don't we have to buy eggs for the children?" Although their father is the head of the group, with so many children, the expenses are enough, so they still have to save money where they should.
Huang Yuelan smiled and said, "Don't worry, these chickens haven't laid eggs for a long time, and I may leave here in a few days, so there's no point in keeping these chickens."
After she left, Huang Yuelan thought that these educated youth were very clean and would definitely not like chickens that liked to shit everywhere.
"Where are you going, Teacher Huang? Aren't you going to continue staying here as a teacher?" the educated youth asked.
Huang Yuelan: "The children's father wrote to me and said that he had applied to the higher-ups and would come back to pick me and the children up to join the army once arrangements were made. So we left soon. We certainly couldn't take the chickens with us, so we might as well kill them for everyone to eat."
After listening, everyone suddenly understood.
No wonder Huang Yuelan is so generous, it turns out there is a reason.
They said that in their entire lives, and having eaten so much food, they had never seen such warm-hearted people, and this was in a remote mountain production team that had nothing and was known for its poverty.
Now the truth has finally come to light. It turns out that he is about to join the army.
It is definitely better to join the army than to stay here. Even if we encounter difficulties, the country will closely support key departments such as the military and schools.
Ever since receiving Wang Jianguo's letter, Huang Yuelan has been preparing to join the army.
I packed my luggage in advance, ate up all the chickens I had raised, and even brought all the food for the journey. I also quit my teaching job at school and took the children back to my previous home in the mountains.
Team leader Fan Ming was very reluctant to see Huang Yuelan leave the First Production Brigade, because not only was she a good teacher, she also taught the children in the village very well, and she was also responsible for writing big characters and drawing blackboard newspapers in the village.
However, even though he was reluctant to let Huang Yuelan go with the army, one should not be too selfish and only think about his or her own work. She also has her own family and children.
It is not easy for her to raise eight children and two younger brothers alone. If she joins the army, Wang Jianguo can help her and her life will be much easier.
So the captain Fan Ming said some words of congratulations to Huang Yuelan, and said that her family Jianguo had a bright future. He had risen from a small hunter to an officer and brought his family out of the mountains.
He also said that whenever I needed a letter of introduction, I could come to him.
Huang Yuelan was naturally grateful.
After waiting for my two younger brothers to come back, I learned that my sister and nephews were going to my brother-in-law's place, and I felt very reluctant to let them go.
"Sister, I'm not going. I'm thinking of finding a job as a teacher after this semester, right in our production team." Huang Yueqiang didn't want to continue studying. It was already very hard for his sister to support them through junior high school, and he wanted to reduce his sister's burden.
Huang Yuelan said, "Although junior high school graduation is considered a high level of education at present, in the long run, it will become less and less valuable. I suggest that you come with us and go to high school there, and then it won't be too late to come back and become a teacher. You don't have to worry about saving money. Your brother-in-law is now the head of the group, and we are not short of money."
Huang Yuelan hopes that her younger brother can study for two more years, using the delaying tactic to study in high school for two years first. When he graduates, he can take the college entrance examination and then be admitted to university, where he can naturally find a good job.
It would be a pity if I don't go now.
Huang Yueqiang and his brother always listened to their sister, and they were immediately moved by what Huang Yuelan said. In fact, they also wanted to study for two more years. After all, only by learning more and understanding more can they teach the children more.
"Sister, then I will continue to go to high school, but I want to continue studying in our county town. After all, we are familiar with this place and have many friends here. I can't bear to leave them." Huang Yueqiang said.
Huang Yuehu: "Sister, don't worry, we can take care of ourselves. Besides, we usually live on campus and only come back to live for a while during holidays, so you don't have to worry."
The two younger brothers were among the top students in school, so getting into high school was a piece of cake for them.
However, they like to continue staying in the county town, after all, they have friends here whom they have known for several years.
In a new city, everything is unfamiliar and it takes some time to adapt, which may affect their academic performance.
Thinking of this, Huang Yuelan agreed with the decision of her two younger brothers.
"Okay, then I will send you some living expenses every month. You should also write to your sister and brother-in-law frequently. Remember to tell us if there is anything. Don't handle it alone. If there is an emergency, you can send a telegram or call." Huang Yuelan said.
Huang Yueqiang and Huang Yuehu answered in unison: "Okay!"
Everything is ready, now we just have to wait for Wang Jianguo to come back and pick them up.
Huang Yuelan was waiting at home every day.
But no matter how long he waited, Wang Jianguo still didn't come back. He waited for a whole month and still didn't see Wang Jianguo come back.
Huang Yuelan wondered why such a long time had passed and the person still hadn't come back?
Could it be that the work in the army is so busy that one cannot get away; or is the process of applying for family members to accompany the army so complicated that it may not be done in a short time?
Huang Yuelan thought about it and came up with these two reasons.
It's okay. I've been through all these years. What's left? It's okay to wait a few more days, Huang Yuelan comforted herself.
Because they were going to a big city, and in order to prevent her sons from looking too shabby, Huang Yuelan bought new jackets at the market and had them put on them to cover up the tattered clothes underneath so that they would not be so obvious.
Another half month passed, and the two younger brothers had gone back to school, from junior high school students to high school students. However, Wang Jianguo, who had promised to come back to pick them up, still hadn't returned.
Not only did I not see him come back, but even the letters I was supposed to send every month disappeared.
At this time, Huang Yuelan felt something was wrong.
Could it be that something really happened, or that the regiment commander was different from the platoon leader and was too busy to get away?
If it was the latter, it wouldn't be a big deal because she was too busy. After all, she was not the kind of person who had never been out of the house. In her later life, she had been everywhere.
So Huang Yuelan thought that if he was too busy and could not leave the army, she would take the eight children to find him.
I’m afraid of the first possibility, that something might go wrong.
So Huang Yuelan prepared to call and ask.
She didn't have the phone number of her new unit, so she only found the phone number of her previous unit.
"Aiguo, you guys stay at home and look after your brothers. Mother is going to the brigade headquarters." Huang Yuelan said.
Wang Aiguo: "Mother, what are you doing at the brigade headquarters?"
Huang Yuelan: "I'm going to borrow the phone from the brigade headquarters to ask when your father will be back?"
"Yes, okay." Wang Aiguo and the others were also looking forward to it, and had long hoped that their father could come back soon.
Huang Yuelan came to the brigade headquarters, and the brigade leader Fan Ming was a little surprised when he saw her.
He remembered that Huang Yuelan had said a long time ago that she would join the army. It has been almost two months now. Why is she still staying in the village?
No need to guess, there must be a reason.
"Yuelan, what brings you to the team?" said the team leader Fan Ming.
Huang Yuelan: "Captain, I want to borrow the phone at our brigade headquarters to call Wang Jianguo's unit."
"Okay, okay, Accountant Lu, help Yuelan make the call." The captain was worried that Huang Yuelan had never used a phone before and wouldn't know how to use it, so he asked Accountant Lu to help make the call.
Huang Yuelan smiled and said, "Here is the phone number, thank you!"
Accountant Lu dialed the number on the note and the call was answered quickly.
Huang Yuelan immediately stated her identity and then asked about Wang Jianguo's situation.
"Are you Wang Jianguo's lover? Please wait a moment. I will call and ask for the phone number of his new unit for you and tell you later." said the person on the other end.
Huang Yuelan: "Thank you for your help."
"No trouble, no trouble."
Soon the other party informed Huang Yuelan of the phone number of Wang Jianguo's unit, and she dialed a new number.
Huang Yuelan was extremely nervous, more nervous than she had ever been before.
Although the call hadn't been connected yet, she felt a very ominous sixth sense.
She even felt that something might have happened to Wang Jianguo.
However, nothing was certain yet, so Huang Yuelan prayed that nothing would happen and hoped that she was just imagining things.
Soon the other end of the phone answered. Huang Yuelan explained her identity and the purpose of the call, and at the same time hoped to speak to Wang Jianguo.
After hearing what Huang Yuelan said, the other party was silent for several seconds.
In just a few seconds of silence, Huang Yuelan knew that something had happened, just as she had expected.
"Did something happen to Wang Jianguo?" Huang Yuelan asked.
The other party didn't expect Huang Yuelan to have guessed it, so he could only comfort her: "Hello, I hope you don't feel too sad. Maybe things are not that bad. We haven't given up the search yet."
Hearing this, Huang Yuelan seemed to see a glimmer of hope again, "Can you tell me what happened? What exactly happened? Don't worry, I can bear it very well."
The other party quickly explained the whole story and the news of Wang Jianguo's disappearance.
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