sjar Chapter 205 Li Ju'an, I will repay you.
Chapter 205 Li Ju'an, I will repay you.
Leader Chen stood up, picked up the teacup beside him, and took a sip of water. He was in a real bind. He was furious, but said nothing. Who told him to ask Li Ju'an himself? He never expected that Li Ju'an would actually dare to ask for it.
Returning to the city for a new household registration—could he possibly get that done? Those stubborn educated youths wouldn't even give face to those in higher positions, let alone him; they held absolute power.
The forestry worker took a few big gulps of water, tried to compose himself, and reluctantly began to ask, "Who is this for? Why did it end up with you?"
"It was made for my sister."
Leader Chen understood immediately and smiled, tapping him: "You're not that old, where would you find such a big girl? She must be a lover."
Li Ju'an also laughed and said, "Everyone in the village says that Leader Chen is a considerate person who cherishes old friendships. Whenever a relative or fellow villager has a problem, Leader Chen is always happy to lend a hand."
Leader Chen, seeing the flattery bestowed upon him, was both amused and exasperated: "You rascal, I've long heard that the villagers have a high opinion of you, otherwise how could you become a gunner at such a young age?" His face darkened, and he said seriously: "However, Xiao Li, I must also remind you that people have varying degrees of closeness and distance. When you associate with someone, you should consider whether it's worth it."
Li Ju'an knew what Leader Chen was referring to. In his previous life, after going south, he met a businessman. When that businessman returned to the city, his family's ancestral graves didn't have any "wormwood" (a symbol of officialdom), so no one could help him find a job, and he didn't have a formal employer. When construction companies needed temporary laborers, he had to volunteer, earning one yuan a day.
After returning to the city, a large group of young people, desperate to find work, were now unemployed. Forced by circumstances, they took any temporary jobs available without hesitation. It was through this experience that he met many like-minded young people after heading south, and together they traded goods from all over the country.
Leader Chen agreed to the matter.
In the following days, Li Ju'an accompanied his family to prepare for the New Year. When he had free time, he would take his hunting dogs into the mountains to set traps and snares, planning to go back into the mountains for a stroll after the New Year.
He didn't expect that Director Chen would actually help him get the necessary documentation for his return to the city.
After obtaining the certificate of destitute status and the list of those returning to the city, he made a trip to Wangxingtun before the end of the year. Qin Yao was very surprised to see him arrive so travel-worn. The list of those returning to the city and the certificate of destitute status he held in his hand bore her name, Qin Yao.
She held the baby, her eyes brimming with tears. She placed the baby on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), ran up to him, and quietly hugged Li Ju'an for a very long time.
"Li Ju'an, I can finally go back to Kyoto. I have something to tell you..."
She lived with her aunt in the south when she was a child, while her parents worked in the government system in Beijing. Despite asking many people for help, they couldn't get the necessary permits. Coupled with the obstruction from Secretary Xiong, her family was extremely anxious. Now that she has finally obtained her urban residency permit and can go home, she feels a sense of unreality, as if she has lived through another world.
Li Ju'an laughed at her, "Why are you crying when you can go home? Isn't this a good thing? Take the train home as soon as possible and don't make your parents worry."
He hadn't remembered who Qin, the educated youth from Wangxingtun, was before. But now, listening to Qin Yao tell the story of her parents' home in Beijing, he suddenly remembered that in his previous life he had heard about a beautiful female educated youth from Wangxingtun. Later, her parents and brother from Beijing came to Northeast China to look for her, crying and begging to bring her back to the city, but they were stopped by the brigade secretary and ultimately failed to bring her back.
That incident caused quite a stir, spreading like wildfire throughout several villages. It was Lu Jinyang who later told him over the phone that the female educated youth surnamed Qin had a powerful family background in Beijing. It was just a pity that her family had offended the people in the regiment headquarters, so their files couldn't be reissued. Even though the people in the educated youth office had connections, they couldn't reissue the files either.
The village secretary, Xiong, obstructed the process, and the regimental headquarters played coy, which resulted in the young woman, in the prime of her life, being left forever in the Xing'anling village. She eventually fell ill from depression and disappeared without a trace a few years later. This incident has left many people deeply saddened.
Before leaving, Li Ju'an slipped her two ten-yuan bills and told her to take the child out of the mountains and to take the train so that the journey would be less arduous.
Qin Yao's expression was very complicated, her eyes filled with indescribable emotions as she looked at him. Before leaving, she pulled Li Ju'an to the edge of the kang (heated brick bed) and kissed him twice more, then watched him leave with a reluctant look in her eyes.
"Qin Yao, take good care of yourself when you get back, and stay healthy in the future."
Qin Yao pursed her lips, nodded vigorously, and said to him, "Li Ju'an, I know you're not someone who'll stay in the mountains forever. You'll definitely come out of the mountains. This is my home phone number. If you come to Kyoto, contact me."
Li Ju'an laughed: "Why would I contact a woman like you? It'll just cause gossip."
Qin Yao shook her head and said earnestly, "Li Ju'an, I will repay you."
Li Ju'an smiled, turned, and left, not taking her words to heart. Qin Yao was a beautiful and perceptive woman; no amount of reward could compare to her proactive and enthusiastic advances.
Later, when he actually reunited with Qin Yao in Kyoto, he realized how wrong he had been. The Qin family in Kyoto was indeed quite powerful, and Qin Yao was no ordinary woman.
After Li Ju'an returned to his family village, he was preparing for the New Year with his mother and sister when he suddenly heard Sun Weimin casually bringing him some earth-shattering news from Wangxing Village:
"Damn it! Have you heard? That female educated youth from Wangxingtun went back to the city. Fine, she went back, but after returning to Beijing, she actually contacted the Women's Federation and brought all the other female educated youth from Wangxingtun out. And her father-in-law, Chen Guoan, almost had a heart attack from anger. She didn't even acknowledge her own child, just dumped him on her father-in-law and left! She doesn't even recognize the child she gave birth to!"
Aunt Zhang, Aunt Lu, and Aunt Sun are all gossipy women, and they were wide awake at the first sign of this interesting news. Inside the snow shed, the men were playing cards, and the women passing by were still chatting animatedly behind their backs.
"A woman who doesn't even want her child is truly heartless."
“Isn’t the child her own? What woman wouldn’t want her own flesh and blood?”
“When she goes back to her parents’ home, who will know about her past? She can still go on blind dates and find a partner, and live the life of a virgin.”
"If you ask me, Chen Guoan from the Chen family is a pitiful man. His son died, and as a result, his daughter-in-law didn't even want the child and ran back to her parents' home, refusing to acknowledge him. That old man Chen Guoan is really pitiful; at his age, he still has to raise his grandson."
When Sun Weimin mentioned this to his family, his mother gave him a hard knock on the head, making him cry out in pain:
"Mom, why did you hit me? What does it have to do with me?"
Sun's mother frowned and stared at him, saying, "You'd better keep your eyes open when you look for a wife, and bring her home for your parents to check on. Don't end up with a girl like Qin Yao from Wangxing Village, or your whole family will suffer. She's so heartless, like she's made of stone. She doesn't even acknowledge her own child. She's heartless."
Li Ju'an frowned as he listened to the village elder's assessment of Qin Yao. Few people probably knew the truth. He also felt that Qin Yao was no ordinary woman; she appeared gentle on the surface, but was actually hard-hearted. A woman with such determination to start her life anew would thrive back in the capital.
The village is celebrating the Lunar New Year. The festive atmosphere of the village in the 80s was truly wonderful.
The Lu family raised pigs in their backyard; they were piglets they caught last spring, and the pigs were plump and healthy. The old man of the Lu family called his son to bring people to slaughter the pig, and all the villagers came to help, making it a lively affair.
Li Ju'an rolled up his sleeves and joined the team helping to hold down the New Year's pig. The festive atmosphere was lively, and shouts echoed throughout the village. Several young men were holding down the pig in the yard, while hunting dogs barked loudly to cheer them on, and the pig squealed loudly.
This fat pig is really hard to hold!