Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 132 Settling Down and Building a Career
Brigade Headquarters Office.

Secretary Yang, Zhang Changjiang, Xiao Liewen, and Ye Shubao were all smoking and staring at Zhang Wenliang.

After several seconds, Ye Shubao frowned and said, "What Xiao Chen said makes sense."

Zhang Changjiang's eyebrows furrowed as he exhaled a puff of smoke. "He can speak and write well, repair radios, and now he has a talent for being a veterinarian. Such talent is rare, not to mention Nanhu Commune, even in the entire Gufeng County."

"If we hadn't been so unsure of his background, how could he possibly have stayed in our Lujiawan? He would have been transferred by the commune, or even the county, long ago. They'd give him a clerk position, recommend him for two years of vocational school, and he'd come back as a cadre. How could we possibly keep someone like that?"

Xiao Liewen nodded with a look of disappointment, "More than that, he is also a martial arts prodigy. He had no foundation at all, but he picked it up as soon as he was taught. If he is properly trained for a year or two, he will definitely be able to replace Sanhuzi."

Zhang Wenliang, however, was not worried at all and chuckled, "That's impossible."

Xiao Liewen glared at him, "Why is it impossible? Do you think he can't surpass you in a year or two?"

Zhang Wenliang said matter-of-factly, "That's not it. The main thing is that he doesn't sit in his perfectly good office, but instead comes to mess with me, the militia company commander who never stops working all year round?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Liewen was so angry that he was speechless.

Ye Shubao also smiled bitterly, "Yes, how many people would give up a good life to come to our production team and suffer? Even the educated youth who were sent to the countryside, didn't they all run to the city whenever they had the chance? Cadre positions were right in front of them, and they didn't even have to think about how to choose."

After saying that, he took a drag of his cigarette and added, "Unless we can't find any clues about him, he'll just have to stay in Lujiawan."

As soon as the words were spoken, the group exchanged glances, each revealing a wry smile on the other's face.

They all wanted a veterinarian more than a broadcaster.

Like the man who sold his horse today, if he had a qualified veterinarian to cure his horse, he wouldn't have lost thirty or forty yuan. That's just the direct loss. If you include the contributions the horse made after it grew up, the loss would be even greater.

Without a veterinarian, his present situation could very well be the same as that of some other member of the Lujiawan commune tomorrow.

What if we expand this to the entire production team?

But being a good veterinarian isn't easy. Otherwise, over the years, dozens of cadres have left Nanhu Commune, yet not a single one has been a good veterinarian.

The best doctor was Director Zhou of the veterinary station, but he was only at the level of someone who had completed a basic literacy course. He relied entirely on his old skills and at most a little bit of the new drug usage he learned in the county training course.

Chen Fan was able to find a cure for Xiao Ma simply by flipping through a book; that's the skill of a cultured person!
Why not let other cultural figures do it?
That's possible, but where are the people? Where are they?
The junior high school students in Nanhu Town are mostly children of employees of various units in the town. Very few of them come from the production teams, let alone the county high schools.

Moreover, it's not like Station Chief Zhou hasn't tried recruiting junior high school students into the veterinary station before. But supposedly, today's junior high school students don't have the same foundation as elementary school students from over a decade ago, and they can't understand many things, so recruiting them would be a waste of time.

I hadn't thought much of it before, but this time, the bigwigs of Lujiawan, led by Secretary Yang, have all seen the "abilities" of intellectuals.

If we can cultivate a high school student in the next few years, even if he can't go to the factory or become a cadre, he would still be a treasure of the production team!
Thinking about this, Zhang Changjiang couldn't help but wonder if he had been neglecting Lujiawan Primary School.

But those are all in the future. What's important is what to do right now?
How could we get the "only" intellectual in Lujiawan to take on the job of a veterinarian?

Just then, Secretary Yang, who had been silent all along, suddenly said, "Sanhuzi, tell me what just happened in detail again, don't leave out a single word, starting from when you met."

Zhang Wenliang glanced at him, then lowered his head to recall carefully, saying as he thought, "I went to find him just now, knocked on the door first, and then he said..."

After listening for a short while, Secretary Yang stopped him, staring intently at him, "Wait, say that sentence again."

Zhang Wenliang's eyes darted around slightly. "At best, he's called a 'housing manager,' a far cry from being a landlord." Secretary Yang snorted twice, looked around, and laughed. "Did you figure something out?"

Ye Shubao frowned deeply. "He wants to be a landlord?"

"fart."

Xiao Liewen suddenly chuckled and said, "He's indicating that he wants a share of the homestead!"

Secretary Yang burst out laughing, "This kid is interesting."

He then pointed at Zhang Wenliang and said, "You continue."

Zhang Wenliang then realized what was happening, thought for a moment, skipped over the irrelevant words, and said directly, "He also said that he 'has neither settled down nor established a career here, and will most likely have to go back.'"

Zhang Changjiang clapped his hands and grinned, "In other words, if he settles down and builds a career here, he won't have to go back."

Ye Shubao nearly choked on a puff of smoke, coughing as he chuckled, "This kid's not that old, but how come he's got eight hundred tricks up his sleeve?"

Secretary Yang waved his hand and said with a smile, "As long as you don't do anything bad, the more cunning you are, the better."

He pointed at the group of them, then at himself, and said, "Aren't we scheming against him too? We're no less cunning than him."

Zhang Wenliang turned slightly to the side, gave an awkward laugh, and said, "You guys can talk about yourselves, don't drag me into this."

After laughing for a while, Ye Shubao said, "So, does that mean he can stay as long as he's given a plot of land to live on?"

Secretary Yang waved his hand, "Not necessarily."

Seeing Ye Shubao's puzzled look, Secretary Yang sighed and said, "There are two other situations in which he might leave. The first is what we guessed before: whether he comes from a high-ranking cadre family. If so, even if he wants to stay, he won't be able to."

Zhang Changjiang nodded, pursed his lips, and said, "Secondly, if he has a questionable background or has committed a crime somewhere, the result will be the same. He won't get to choose for himself, nor will it be up to us to decide."

He paused for a moment, then laughed and said, "However, this possibility is unlikely. After he woke up, Yang Chuanfu immediately called Zhu, an officer. Zhu is an old hand at this, and he initially determined that he was not a spy. Later, while looking for clues about him, he also notified the regional public security bureau. They went through all the case files and did not find any suspects with similar circumstances to him, so this possibility can basically be ruled out."

Secretary Yang nodded slowly, silently smoking. "But we can't rule out the first possibility. What's the point of sending Xiao Chen to study veterinary medicine if they come knocking on our door tomorrow?"

Ye Shubao spread his hands, a wry smile on his face, and said, "This won't work, that won't work, what should we do? Just give up?"

They were unwilling to give up on a potential veterinarian who could be the best in the entire Nanhu Commune.

Secretary Yang took a couple of puffs of his cigarette and suddenly asked, "Do you think this plot of land should be granted?"

Zhang Changjiang said without hesitation, "If he can really become a veterinarian, he can stay in Lujiawan. I'd even give him my house!"

Xiao Liewen nodded, "I have no objection either."

Ye Shubao raised his hand. "I agree."

Secretary Yang glanced at them and said meaningfully, "Isn't there a piece of wasteland behind the 6th team of educated youth settlement?"

(End of this chapter)