Time Travel: Volume 1! Starting from a Small Mountain Village

Around noon the next day, Old Chen slowly drove his oxcart back to the village. Brigade leader Lin Guodong was also on the cart, and the two returned from the commune together.

Long Lifan could no longer contain her curiosity; she was eager to know what had happened last night. So, she went to the village entrance and pretended to bump into them by chance. She casually inquired about the events of the previous night, but her eyes gleamed with undisguised eagerness and anticipation.

"Hey!"

Lin Guodong sighed deeply, then said, "Director Huang's leg injury is too serious; the commune hospital can't do anything about it. Secretary Ma and the other two comrades have already transferred Director Huang to the county town!"

The brigade leader spoke of Director Huang's ordeal with deep sorrow. Just yesterday, Director Huang was full of energy, but overnight, such a drastic change had befallen him. Doctors at the commune hospital revealed that Director Huang's leg injury was extremely severe and unlikely to recover; even if he were transferred to the county for treatment, his chances were slim.

After listening to the captain's words, Long Lifan felt secretly pleased, a faint smile appearing on her lips, as if she had everything under control.

However, she still feigned regret and said, "Ah, life is truly unpredictable. Who knows what will happen next?"

"Who says otherwise!" Lin Guodong echoed, feeling for some reason that Director Huang's incident last night was not as simple as it seemed.

The final news about Huang Shi and the others didn't arrive until a few days later. That day, Secretary Ma rode alone on an old bicycle, slowly entering the Dongwan Brigade. His face held a hint of solemnity, yet also a trace of relief. This time, he wasn't just visiting; he brought the latest developments regarding Huang Shi and the others.

So, upon arriving at Dongwan Brigade, he immediately convened a meeting at the village committee with Lin Guodong and others. In fact, after Huang Shi was transferred to the county hospital, Secretary Ma had already reported his condition to higher authorities word for word. After all, Huang Shi's injuries were so severe that it couldn't be hidden.

The higher authorities attached great importance to this matter and quickly established a special investigation team to conduct a detailed investigation into Huang Shi's various actions after he went to the countryside.

The investigation revealed a shocking truth: during his time in the countryside, Huang Shi abused his power, using the government's name to seek personal gain. His actions, like a sharp knife, severed the trust between the government and the villagers. Two of his subordinates, who accompanied him, stepped forward at this crucial moment, listing numerous instances of Huang Shi's illegal and disorderly conduct, providing key evidence for the investigation.

Ultimately, Huang Shi was sentenced to 30 years in prison for serious violations of discipline and law, and he will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Upon hearing this, Long Lifan remained calm, as if she had already seen through everything. She secretly pondered to herself that she already knew Huang Shi's true colors, but she hadn't expected that his injury would prematurely reveal them.

However, Lin Guodong and the others reacted quite differently. Upon first hearing of Huang Shi's actions and the punishment he had received, their faces were instantly filled with shock. Their eyes revealed disbelief, as if this sudden news had struck a nerve. Their hearts were filled with horrification, unable to calm down.

Long Lifan sighed inwardly as she observed their reactions. She knew that some things, once revealed, could never be undone. And Huang Shi might pay a heavy price for it.

However, judging from Secretary Ma's description of the significant impact of Huang Shi and his group's actions, which even damaged the government's image among the people, it's good news for Long Lifan. It means that the higher-ups are unlikely to send anyone down in the short term. She can also take some time to visit her grandparents in Yunyang Commune.

"Long Zhiqing, do you want to go to university?"

Seeing that everyone was still preoccupied with Huang Shi's matter, Secretary Ma changed the subject, looking intently at Long Lifan. Besides informing her of Huang Shi's handling of the matter, he had another important purpose in coming to the Dongwan Brigade.

"Huh?" Lin Guodong and the others stared wide-eyed, their faces filled with astonishment.

Long Lifan was taken aback by the sudden question for a few seconds, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes. After a moment, she composed herself and asked, "Secretary Ma, what makes you say that? Do you mean I have a chance to go to university?"

"Ok!"

Ma Jianshe nodded slightly, his eyes revealing a mixture of seriousness and anticipation. He paused, then continued, "To be honest, Long Zhiqing, I came to Dongwan this time for two reasons. First, to inform you of the outcome of Huangshi's case, so you have a clear understanding. Second, and more importantly, the higher-ups have granted our Hongxing Commune a valuable opportunity to attend university, and specifically, this spot is for you..."

"Specifically assigned to me from above?" Long Lifan's lips twitched as she murmured these words, but in her mind, she was wondering who Secretary Ma was referring to. It couldn't be that her grandfather used his connections! If it really was her grandfather, he would definitely have given her a heads-up beforehand.

She certainly wanted to go to university, but it wasn't the university she wanted to attend.

Long Lifan truly didn't know how to evaluate universities during this unique historical period. In this turbulent era, university campuses were not spared. The once vibrant institutions of learning, boasting a strong faculty, were now shattered by a sudden upheaval.

Many highly educated individuals, those teachers who once stood on the podium to impart knowledge and resolve doubts, were forced to leave their beloved teaching positions due to being demoted or dismissed, returning home to live in obscurity. The number of teachers in schools became sparse, like two or three cats, hardly enough to support a large number of students.

The student body is incredibly diverse and of varying quality. Currently, university admissions are based on a recommendation system; some recommended students may be highly knowledgeable, while others have only completed a few years of primary school before being hastily pushed onto the university stage. This student composition makes university teaching exceptionally challenging.

The old textbooks could no longer meet the current needs and had to be rewritten to suit the diverse knowledge of these students. She estimated that current university textbooks were roughly equivalent to high school textbooks in later years, which was why she couldn't possibly go.

Moreover, she now knows for certain that her maternal grandparents live in the neighboring Yunyang Commune, so she is even less likely to leave.

Little did she know that while Long Lifan was deeply immersed in contemplating the current state of university life, the other people in the room were watching her with complex and unspoken emotions. Those gazes contained envy, reluctance, and endless anticipation and worry for the future.

A chance to go to university!

For these villagers who have been rooted in the countryside for many years, this was an unimaginable stroke of good fortune. In their eyes, this was no longer just a simple case of their ancestral graves emitting auspicious smoke; it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, like the ancestral graves exploding!

On the one hand, Lin Guodong and his colleagues sincerely hoped that Long Zhiqing could seize this opportunity to pursue further studies at university and have a brighter future; on the other hand, they selfishly did not want Long Zhiqing to leave, fearing the loss of this pillar of support and worrying that the village's livestock industry would be affected as a result.

Such conflicting and conflicted feelings wove together in their hearts, making it difficult for them to make a decision.

"I'm sorry, Secretary Ma, I won't take this university spot!"