My era, 1979!

Chapter 9 Progress Remnants
"Not waiting for Officer Liu's reply?"

Inside the mud-brick house at the educated youth settlement, Zhao Gang was squatting in front of the stove, gnawing on a cornbread bun, with bits of cornmeal falling onto his clothes.

He said there might be news from the provincial education department today.

"Go to the county town to complete the formalities first, and stop by the post office on the way."

Xu Chengjun pulled the straw hat down over his head, the brim pulled low.

"The sooner it's done, the more at ease I'll feel."

It's not about showing off, it's just that if I don't lower the sun a bit, my face will get sunburned and scabbed!
"I asked the team leader for leave to go to the commune with you."

He stuffed the last bite of cornbread into his mouth and mumbled something indistinctly.

"While you're at it, go to the supply and marketing cooperative and get my mother a piece of cloth; her jacket is so tattered that her elbows are showing."
-
On the way to the commune, I passed that old locust tree again.

It was late autumn of 1978, and the weather was already quite cold.

The stationed cadre's voice was hoarse.
"The collective land only yields 300 jin, but your land yields 450 jin per mu?"

Xu Chengjun was standing in the third row at the time.

Watching Wang Kui, an old man, being held down by two militiamen, his head bowed low, revealing prominent veins on the back of his neck.

The meeting lasted for two hours.

When the meeting ended, Xu Chengjun saw the old man's grandson squatting under the locust tree, tears falling onto the ground, leaving small puddles.

"I only found out later," Zhao Gang said softly, "that old man Wang Kui secretly distributed the extra wheat he harvested to the three poorest families in the team."

Xu Chengjun remained silent.

He recalled that when he went to the warehouse to take inventory yesterday, old man Wang Kui was squatting in the corner turning over the wheat grains to dry. His back was more hunched than last year, and his cough sounded like a bellows.

Upon seeing him enter, the old man quickly hid the small cloth bag behind his back.
-
Behind the counter at the post office, the old postman was keeping accounts with an abacus, the beads clicking loudly.

"Xu Chengjun?"

He looked up, adjusted his reading glasses, and pulled a kraft paper envelope from the drawer. "It was sent by the county cultural center and arrived yesterday afternoon."

The envelope was in Officer Liu's handwriting, with a small checkmark drawn in the upper right corner.

Xu Chengjun's heart skipped a beat. He opened the envelope, and inside was only a note:
"Deputy Director Wang of the Higher Education Department of the Provincial Department of Education has already given instructions; just mention my name."

Below the last sentence, Officer Liu drew a thick horizontal line.

He let out a sigh of relief.

The hardest part is always the beginning! But once you get off to a good start, everything else becomes easier!

Let's hope so!
As I left the post office, the sun was already high in the sky.

Section Chief Zhang from the Education Bureau was a short, stout middle-aged man. When he saw the recommendation form in Xu Chengjun's hand, his brows furrowed.

"The recommendation quota from 78 has expired according to regulations."

He traced the date on the form with his fingernail. "Your case needs special approval."

Okay, got it!

Can't I just move people?
"Officer Liu said you know Deputy Director Wang." Xu Chengjun handed over Officer Liu's note. "He said you could help make an exception."

Section Chief Zhang glanced at the note and suddenly smiled: "We have to give Old Liu face."

He took an official seal out of the drawer and stamped it on the recommendation form with a "smack." "I've already called Deputy Director Wang. You can go to the Provincial Department of Education to find him the day after tomorrow. It will take most of the day to get there, so don't miss the early bus."

Looking at Section Chief Zhang's shamelessness, Xu Chengjun shook his head speechlessly.

These days, everyone else is like this.

As they walked out of the Education Bureau, Zhao Gang suddenly pointed to the earthen slope opposite and said, "Isn't that old man Wang Kui?"

Xu Chengjun looked in the direction he was pointing and saw old man Wang Kui arguing with the storekeeper: "This wheat is clearly 120 jin, why did you count it as 110 jin?"

"Your scale is inaccurate." The custodian waved his hand impatiently. "I say it's this much, and that's the amount."

"My scale was calibrated by Xu Laoshi from the team!" Old Man Wang Kui was so anxious that his face turned red, his cough flared up again, and he was bent over and couldn't straighten up.

Xu Chengjun quickly went over and helped the old man up by the arm. "Weigh him again using the commune's standard scale."

He told the custodian in a low but steady voice, "If there's a pound missing, we'll make up for it; if there's an extra pound, we'll refund it."

The storekeeper recognized him as Xu Chengjun from the educated youth settlement, pursed his lips, and still moved the wheat onto the standard scale.

The pointer stopped steadily on the "120 jin" mark.

"The extra ten pounds... I..." The storekeeper's face turned bright red.

“It’s part of the team’s grain quota,” Xu Chengjun said, coming to his rescue. “Uncle Wang, you unload the wheat first, and I’ll issue you the invoice.”
-
"Going to Hefei the day after tomorrow?" Zhao Gang suddenly asked.

"Ah."

Xu Chengjun gazed at the wheat fields in the distance.

If we don't go now, we'll miss out on the best opportunities.

"If it can be done smoothly, great; if not, consider it an opportunity to broaden your horizons."

When we returned to the educated youth settlement, Li Erwa was squatting in front of the stove cooking corn, and a faint aroma wafted from the pot.

Seeing them come in, he quickly added some firewood to the stove, his voice muffled: "I...I cooked two extra, I saved some for you."

"Brother Chengjun".

He suddenly said, "I heard from the supply and marketing cooperative that people in the city need to be literate to be hired. Do you think I can get a job in a factory if I learn to read from Brother Qianming?"

This kid also has a heart that wants to grow!

Zhao Gang patted Li Erwa on the shoulder: "It's a good thing that you want to learn to read. Since Qian Ming isn't here, I'll teach you to write your own name tomorrow."

The corn on the stove was bubbling and its aroma filled the entire educated youth settlement.

Xu Chengjun gazed at the wheat fields outside the window. The people on this land have always been striving, in their own way, towards a sweeter life.

No matter how difficult it is to cook corn in a pot, it will eventually be cooked through.

(End of this chapter)