1978: Female educated youth, don’t want an illiterate husband

"Huh? You sent someone to the county town to report before dawn?"

Cheng Xuemin originally wanted to pick up the bicycles from their commune and make a trip to the county town himself, but little did he know that the person in question was the very same person who had come to Chenjiagou in their commune yesterday to invite him, only to find that he was a pioneer of reform and opening up who had come empty-handed.

The excitement was immediate!
The commune secretary personally received them and told them that the old bridgehead of their commune had ridden a commune bicycle to the county to report to the deputy county head early that morning.

This truly surprised Cheng Xuemin, but it also brought him a sense of relief.

Later, he learned the whole story. It turned out that when he and the old ox passed through the village near the old bridge in the dark, he made fun of the village where the old ox had a long-time lover.

Old Qiaotou was there at the time and knew that the distinguished guest that Old Huangniu had brought in the dark was actually from Yanjing.

At the time, the other villagers didn't quite believe it.

However, the old man at the bridgehead listened to what he heard, because he was from the commune and knew exactly what the deputy county head from the county had come for yesterday.

They came to invite the distinguished guest from Yanjing, a pioneer of reform and opening up, but found nothing. They were told that the pioneer was still on his way and would arrive in the next couple of days.

Old Qiaotou suddenly had a flash of inspiration, thinking to himself, "Could it be such a coincidence?"
The more he thought about it, the more he felt it was such a coincidence. Chenjiagou wasn't far away, so he chased after him and inquired about it.

Upon learning that he was indeed the reform and opening-up pioneer that the deputy county head had invited, he actually arrived today and even brushed past the deputy county head's car.

What a coincidence!

At this point, Lao Qiaotou could no longer sit still, so he quickly thought of reporting the news to the commune and then to the county.

Unfortunately, it was already completely dark, and their place was remote, with mountain roads everywhere.

Normally, we don't cross mountains and walk along mountain paths at night, so we could only endure the night. This morning, we went to the commune secretary's house to deliver the message.

The commune secretary was also taken aback. He told Lao Qiaotou to hurry up and ride his bicycle to the county to report to the deputy county head. At the same time, he prepared to go to Chenjiagou first to visit the reform and opening-up pioneer who was publicized in the newspaper.

Just as things were settled here, the pioneers of the reform and opening-up came to our door in person.

He said he was going to call the county.

Well, I'm sorry, their commune is too backward. Their biological father doesn't love them, their stepmother doesn't support them, and the county hasn't even installed a telephone for them.

"Yes, yes, Comrade Cheng, I really didn't expect that a high-ranking leader like you, who can make the front page of the People's Daily, would actually come back to such a remote mountain village as ours!"

"Welcome, welcome! All the members of our Leyuan Commune and all the members of our Chenjiagou Brigade will certainly give you a warm welcome!"

"Although our commune and Chenjiagou are not in good condition, please rest assured that we will do our best to support and cooperate with you if you have any needs!"

"As long as Comrade Cheng speaks up!"

The commune secretary was clearly flattered. This was a high-ranking leader who could even alarm the deputy county head and send a car to invite him personally. How could a lowly commune secretary not be extremely excited?

Moreover, I never imagined that such a high-ranking leader, whom even the deputy county head values ​​so highly, would be so young.

At that age, he was about the same age as the educated youth who had come from the city to the countryside in their commune.

Unexpectedly, while those educated youth are still working in their respective brigades in the commune, earning work points, this young man has already made the front page of the People's Daily, and it is said that he is also the reform and opening-up pioneer personally selected by Haizi.

This...this must be a very high-ranking leader!
They never dared to imagine that they would travel so far to come to their remote, godforsaken mountain village.

"Thank you! Thank you, Secretary Chen! I didn't expect you to have already sent someone to the county to report the news!" Facing the enthusiastic commune secretary, Cheng Xuemin smiled and thanked him repeatedly.

However, I feel a little disappointed.

If we had known earlier that the commune would send someone to the county to report the incident, we could have had the messenger carry the message and asked the county to arrange a vehicle to bring over the two villains from the guesthouse and their filming equipment.

Unfortunately, they left long ago, and there's no way to contact them by phone. It seems we'll have to wait until the county is in a good mood, and maybe then we can make another trip down there.

But if they don't come over again, Cheng Xuemin can't just wait around doing nothing.

We still need to find a vehicle to bring the equipment over.

If all else fails, the only option is to mobilize the villagers to use their oxcarts and handcarts to haul things from the county.

Immediately, Cheng Xuemin asked again, "Secretary Chen, it's like this! Does your commune have tractors? Or do other neighboring communes have tractors?"

"A tractor?" The commune secretary, Chen, who had been all smiles, was instantly dumbfounded.

He thought to himself, "No way?"
He just gave a direct guarantee, saying that as long as people have any needs, they should just ask, and they would definitely give their full support and cooperation.

But no sooner had he said that than they actually made a demand!

Need a tractor?

But their commune doesn't have any tractors. Where are they supposed to get a tractor for them?

"It's like this, Secretary Chen, our film crew still has a few large pieces of equipment stuck at your county guesthouse. We need a tractor to transport them over!"

"Originally, I was planning to personally make a trip to your county to seek your help and arrange for one or two transport vehicles!"

When Cheng Xuemin saw that the other person was dumbfounded, he knew that the other person did not have a tractor, so he directly explained his request.

"That's right!"

“Then we really must arrange for a tractor to bring the stuff over as soon as possible, otherwise you won’t be able to make the movie without those things, right?” Upon hearing this, Secretary Chen of the commune nodded repeatedly, realizing that was indeed the case.

"Yes, yes! We can't start filming because the filming equipment and generators can't be brought in!" Director Huang Jianzhong chimed in.

"Yes, yes, although our commune doesn't have a tractor, there is one in the neighboring Zhaochen commune!"

"And Yanggang Commune also has a tractor, but that area is no longer under our county's jurisdiction, nor is it our region or province. It's in the neighboring HUB province, so we definitely can't borrow one!"

When Cheng Xuemin heard the commune secretary say that the neighboring commune had tractors, and that more than one commune had them, he was overjoyed.

However, the Yanggang Commune they mentioned not only spanned multiple counties and regions, but also multiple provinces!
It sounds unbelievable.

But consider that Jiujiang is adjacent to Hubei province, and their county is the westernmost county in Jiujiang, and Leyuan Commune is the westernmost county in their county, which is right next to Hubei province.

Of course, now is not the time to talk about geographical location. As long as we can borrow a tractor, everything will be fine.

Anyway, the funds that Cheng Xuemin and his team brought are more than enough!

"However, Yanggang Commune in the neighboring province has a telephone. I'll go there myself later and call Vice County Chief Ke in the county to explain your situation!"

"I think Vice County Chief Ke will definitely arrange a vehicle to bring your things over!"

Immediately after the commune secretary said that, Cheng Xuemin suddenly understood. It turned out that Yanggang Commune in the neighboring province not only had tractors but also telephones, which was much more convenient.

There was no time to lose, and Cheng Xuemin definitely had to make that call himself.

"Comrade Cheng, even though our two communes are not far apart, we are in different provinces. So when we borrow a phone there, it's always a long-distance call across provinces. We usually don't borrow phones unless it's an emergency!"

Secretary Chen rode his bicycle, taking Cheng Xuemin to the neighboring Yanggang Commune, and said with a self-deprecating laugh.

"Didn't you ever think about the fact that the communes around you could get their telephone lines directly from Yanggang Commune?"

Cheng Xuemin knew that because Leyuan Commune and its neighboring communes were blocked by two steep mountains, forming a natural geographical barrier with their county, transportation was extremely underdeveloped, and it was very difficult to move telephone lines over.

However, they have convenient access to neighboring Hubei. I heard that during the Qing Dynasty, this area was under the jurisdiction of Hubei. It was during the warlord era of the Republic of China that they fought for territory and it has remained like this ever since.

"It's easy to answer calls, but the calls we make are all inter-provincial. We're already poor, how can we afford them?"

Secretary Chen complained bitterly for a couple more times, and Cheng Xuemin, blinded by his own ignorance, started to overthink it.

In this era, geographical boundaries were quite pronounced. Not to mention crossing provinces, even crossing regions or counties would lead to more conflicts.

Moreover, this is not just a matter of being separated by an administrative region.

If they were to actually connect to the phone line, the calls would be long-distance calls across provinces. The transfer switchboard would be located in Jiangcheng, then transferred to Ganzhou, then to Jiujiang, and finally, after a long detour, it would reach their county.

Fortunately, although it was across provinces, Yanggang Commune still gave Secretary Chen some face. When they heard that he was calling their county, they didn't make things difficult for him.

They became curious and gossipy, wondering what major event had happened at their Paradise Commune that required them to borrow a phone to make a call.

After all, they are old neighbors and know each other's backgrounds.

People from the neighboring Paradise Commune generally wouldn't borrow a phone from them unless absolutely necessary or in an extremely urgent situation.

After all, these calls are long-distance calls across provinces. They may borrow the money, but they still have to pay the long-distance call charges.

It costs at least five yuan each time, that's definitely not an exception.

"What happened?" Facing Lao Jiang, who was also a commune secretary, Secretary Chen of Leyuan Commune was not too smug and immediately said with a proud look, "It must be a happy event, a very happy event!"

"A happy occasion? A really big happy occasion?" Old Jiang, the Party Secretary of Yanggang, looked surprised and said in disbelief, "Old Chen, is it true? We live so close by. Although we are several levels apart in terms of administration, we are still neighbors and fellow villagers!"

"If there's any trouble on your side, do you think we in Yanggang wouldn't know?"

Just as Old Jiang said, even though it's only a dozen miles away, the villagers from their Leyuan Commune often go to the market in Yanggang; they travel there almost every day.

So if there's any good news at the amusement park across the street, especially a huge one, how could Yanggang not hear about it?
But in fact, so far, it seems... there really is one!
Seeing Old Chen's arrogant and smug look, Old Jiang from Yanggang Commune couldn't help but ask, "Old Chen, are you talking about a film crew that just came from your Chenjiagou? I heard they came from Beijing?"

Speaking of this film crew, Lao Jiang and his group in Yanggang must have heard about it.

After all, they've been here for almost a week, and they really did come from Yanjing.

Good guy!
I don't know how they found the people from Yanjing to film the movie. They managed to come all the way from the imperial city of Yanjing to such a remote place to film, and they even chose Chenjiagou, the Paradise Commune of Old Chen.

What's so interesting about filming in Chenjiagou?

Anyway, now all the villagers in both places who have heard about it are talking about it.

"That's right!" Secretary Chen of the Paradise Commune nodded, then asked, "Do you know who the young man who just went in to make a phone call is?"

"Finished? About three minutes. Same as always, five yuan!" Old Jiang from Yanggang saw the young man who went in to make a call come out, and before he could hear Old Chen's boasting, he habitually asked, "Old Chen, are you paying, or will this young man pay himself?"

This completely baffled Secretary Chen of the amusement park. I asked Lao Jiang to guess who this person was, but you didn't even try to guess. You just came up and asked him for money and phone bills.

Okay, okay, your Yanggang Commune is awesome.

Comrade Cheng Xuemin, a pioneer of reform and opening up from Yanjing, borrowed your Yanggang Commune's telephone to make a call, and you actually charged him five yuan! You guys are really something!

"I'll pay for it, Comrade Cheng, how can I let you pay for the phone call!" After a brief moment of surprise, Secretary Chen of Leyuan Commune quickly offered to pay for the phone call.

"No, no, Secretary Chen, this is our own business, how could we let you spend money on it!"

"I brought money! I brought money!"

How could Cheng Xuemin let someone pay his phone bill in advance? Although five yuan wasn't much, it would be a painful expense for the poor, remote commune.

So Cheng Xuemin felt embarrassed and quickly took out a ten-yuan note from his pocket and handed it over.

"Oh dear, Comrade Cheng, how can we accept this?! If our County Chief Ke finds out that we made you pay for a phone call out of your own pocket, he'll criticize us for not being hospitable enough!" Secretary Chen tried to grab Cheng Xuemin's phone a few times but failed, so he could only say this awkwardly.

"Secretary Chen, this is what we should do, we shouldn't trouble your local authorities!"

This flurry of activity, with everyone vying to give money, completely baffled Secretary Jiang of Yanggang. What was going on?
Who exactly is this young man who borrowed the phone to make the call?
According to Old Chen, he even has connections with County Chief Ke of their county? And judging from the way this young comrade keeps saying "I don't want to trouble the locals," he's got the air of a big leader.

"Hey, Lao Chen, what did you ask me just now?" Then Lao Jiang realized that before he asked for the money, Lao Chen seemed to have asked him what the young man's identity was. Was that what he asked?
"Okay, okay, no trouble at all. Next time you need to use the phone, just come and call!" Before Old Chen could reply, the young man said he was leaving. Old Jiang's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly smiled and saw him off.

Hearing Old Chen, who was a few steps behind, say in his ear, "Old Jiang, what I asked you just now was, do you know what Comrade Cheng's identity is?"

"Yes, what's his identity? Judging from your tone, Old Chen, it seems like he's related to Deputy County Chief Ke? Are they relatives?" Old Jiang was also very curious and asked quickly, taking a few steps back.

"He's not really related to our County Chief Ke, but he personally sent a car to invite him yesterday!"

"What? Your county magistrate, Ke, came to invite you personally? Then... who exactly is he?"

The fact that the deputy county head of the neighboring county personally sent a car from afar to invite them means it's definitely not just a simple movie shoot.

"Comrade Cheng's full name is Cheng Xuemin, you should know him, Lao Jiang!"

"His name is Cheng Xuemin?"

When Secretary Yanggang, Lao Jiang, heard the name, he subconsciously realized, just as Lao Chen had said, that he knew the name; it was very familiar, but he didn't immediately recognize it.

But after taking only two steps, Old Jiang suddenly realized what was happening, and his body stopped abruptly, frozen in place. He stared at the young man's back with utter disbelief, and asked in a trembling voice, "Is that Comrade Cheng Xuemin?"

"Are you Comrade Cheng Xuemin, the pioneer of reform and opening up? Are you the author of 'Wreath at the Foot of the Mountain,' the one whose name was recently mentioned in a notice issued by our province, region, and county, and who is responsible for organizing all commune members to read?"

……

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