Chapter 100

There was something that Yan Lei had been worrying about: “What about your graduation certificate?”

“…” Qiao Wei coughed to cover up, “Ahem…”

Yan Lei stared at her. “You didn’t forget, did you?”

“Ahem… No, it’s just that something happened that day.” Qiao Wei explained.

She recounted how they went to the photo studio on National Day, then watched a movie and returned home. That night, Yan Xiang said something shocking, and Yan Lei didn’t return home all night.

The next few days were all about that incident.

With a series of subsequent events, Qiao Wei had truly forgotten about it.

It wasn’t something she had been paying much attention to in the first place.

Yan Lei was quite displeased. “You should pay more attention.”

“Uh-huh…” Qiao Wei placated him.

Yan Lei could tell she wasn’t taking it seriously. This woman!

He followed behind her. “Can you show some attitude, huh? Tomorrow, call Lin City. If you need to take an exam, study well, take a leave of absence, and I’ll arrange a car to take you to the exam.”

Qiao Wei was getting a headache from his nagging. “Okay, okay, I got it.”

He didn’t let up, grabbing her waist and forcing her to promise that she would definitely call tomorrow, or else he would leave a red mark on her neck.

Qiao Wei had no choice but to agree.

The next day, she really did make the call. The local operator connected her to Lin City, and from there, to the Lin City Second Factory Middle School.

At that time, it was difficult to reach someone directly with just one phone call.

There were generally two methods. One was to leave a callback number for the other person, then wait in place. The person responsible for answering the phone on the other end would go find that person, who would then call back.

The second method was to leave a message directly. The person in charge of the phone at the organization could convey the message.

If it was a street phone call, there would be a dedicated messenger who would either memorize or write down the message. After hanging up, the messenger would run to the street corner and shout, “XXX, XXX’s XXX called you, to tell you XXXX’s matter XXXX.”

They conveyed information like this.

Mainly by shouting.

There was no privacy.

But this was only possible in cities.

In places like the Xiahekou District, which was just a town, only government offices had telephones. Telephones hadn’t yet reached the streets.

Bringing both running water and telephones to the streets was something that Secretary Meng,had been striving to achieve after the town and county merger.

Qiao Wei chose the first method, leaving her phone number here and saying, “I’ll wait.”

She waited for less than ten minutes before the phone rang. “Is this Qiao Wei from the office? There’s a call for you from Lin City.”

“Alright, I’m waiting here. Please connect the call.”

The operator then connected the call for her.

“Hello? Teacher Zhang?”

Before she could say another word, the person on the other end fired off questions like a machine gun: “Is this Qiao Wei? Were you in my class before? Your father worked in Workshop Four, and you left school to work, then got married and moved to Yongming, is that the Qiao Wei?”

“Yes, yes, that’s me,” Qiao Wei said. “Teacher Zhang, do you still remember me?”

“Qiao Wei! I’m asking you!” Teacher Zhang exclaimed excitedly. “Is the Qiao Wei who has been publishing articles in the city newspaper really you?”

“Yes, it’s me,” Qiao Wei explained. “I’m now in Yongming, no, Bocheng. I’m currently on loan to the County Committee in Bogcheng, mainly writing articles.”

“It’s really you!” Teacher Zhang’s voice sounded very happy. “The first time I saw your article, when I saw ‘Qiao Wei’ and then saw the merger of the towns and counties, I remembered that my student Qiao Wei seemed to have married and moved to that area. I told the principal, and he didn’t believe it at first hahaha, but it turned out to be true! Oh right, Qiao Wei, what can I do for you?”

Qiao Wei explained her request and asked, “Do I need to take an exam? I can prove my qualification for graduation through the exam.”

But Teacher Zhang burst into laughter. “What exam? Students don’t take exams anymore. Besides, you’re already a writer now, who would test you? Let me talk to the principal, he’ll have to hang banners to welcome you to receive your diploma. And your articles will be displayed on the bulletin board.”

No, it can’t be…

Qiao Wei’s forehead broke out in a sweat.

But Teacher Zhang assured her.

Qiao Wei sincerely thanked him.

The call ended. Less than an hour later, Teacher Zhang called excitedly to confirm, “The principal said it’s okay. The principal insists that you come and give a lecture.”

Qiao Wei: “…”

Qiao Wei went home and told Yan Lei.

Yan Lei was extremely happy. “When? Take a day off. I’ll accompany you! I’ll arrange a car for you, don’t worry!”

Qiao Wei: “…”

She could only take a day off. Now, her affairs were directly managed by Secretary Huang, so she had to ask for leave from Secretary Huang.

Secretary Huang asked her what was going on, and Qiao Wei told him the truth: “When my father passed away, there was no one at home, so I dropped out. Now I’m contacting the school to get my diploma.”

Secretary Huang thought for a moment and asked, “Do you still want to go to university? It’s best to be cautious. The political winds are unclear right now, and universities are a bit chaotic.”

“Ah, no… I haven’t…” Qiao Wei said.

But Secretary Huang felt that she was just not saying it directly. Some people indeed didn’t like to tell others what they were doing before they had accomplished it.

He pushed his glasses up. “Be cautious first, there’s no rush. My wife also wants to go to university. I’ve been trying to persuade her.”

“Oh?” Qiao Wei followed his lead. “She wants to go to university…”

“Yes, my wife is very studious,” Secretary Huang said. “She’s a very hardworking person. Back in school, I was more of a writer, and she was more of an artist.”

Qiao Wei felt that she and Secretary Huang hadn’t reached the level of discussing each other’s spouses. She was always cautious about the “colleague” relationship, especially in organizations like this one.

And this was the second time Secretary Huang had praised his wife in front of Qiao Wei. Was he a man who loved to boast about his wife so much? To be honest, you couldn’t tell from his usual work demeanor.

Qiao Wei felt it was a bit strange… but she also felt that it was much better than many men in this era who would disparage their wives as soon as they opened their mouths.

She felt that men who praised their wives in front of others should be encouraged.

So she went along with his words and successfully took the day off.

On the day of the event, Yan Lei got up early in the morning, not only made breakfast but also picked out a clean set of clothes for Yan Xiang, directing him to dress like a miniature veteran cadre.

“Put on some more face cream,” he shouted to Qiao Wei through the window. “Put on more, your face is so fair and bright, it looks great.”

Qiao Wei, who was washing her face at the basin, replied, “…”

Yan Lei borrowed a military vehicle, and Xiao Zhang drove.

Xiao Zhang was also in a good mood. “My sister-in-law is going to give a lecture? I have to listen too.”

Qiao Wei was no longer the delicate and unpopular person she used to be among the families. Qiao Wei’s reputation now was quite good even in the army.

The family of three drove towards Lin City in Xiao Zhang’s jeep.

Entering Lin City, many memories from the original owner matched up with the streets and scenes. Qiao Wei even passed by the factory where the original owner’s father had worked, and the workers’ compound where the original owner had grown up…

The school was also very close by, as it was originally a school for the children of workers.

Qiao Wei thought Teacher Zhang’s mention of the principal hanging banners to welcome her was just an exaggerated rhetorical device. She never expected that there would actually be a banner at the school gate: “Welcome Qiao Wei, Class 1 of the XX Generation, Alumni, Back Home.”

The principal and several teachers heard the students call out, “The car is here, the car is here,” and came out to greet them.

Yan Lei warmly shook hands and exchanged greetings with the principal and teachers, introducing himself: “I’m Qiao Wei’s spouse.”

The principal and Teacher Zhang knew that Qiao Wei, their alumna, had married a soldier, but they never expected him to be a cadre of such a high rank. It was quite unexpected for a cadre of such a high rank to visit their school for children.

Qiao Wei had thought that giving a lecture would involve speaking to one or two classes of students from a podium in the classroom. But when she saw all the students sitting on chairs in the schoolyard, with a row of tables set up on the platform and covered with red tablecloths…

Qiao Wei was stunned.

She had truly underestimated how much people in this era valued someone who had been “in the newspapers.”

But Yan Lei was very satisfied.

Qiao Wei now had a reputation as a prominent writer even in Bocheng. He felt that this grand setting was fitting for her.

The principal insisted on inviting Yan Lei to the platform as well, but Yan Lei politely refused with a smile. “I’ll stay down here.”

Despite the principal’s repeated invitations, Yan Lei used Yan Xiang as an excuse: “The child is still young, he might need to go to the bathroom…”

The principal didn’t insist any further, praising Yan Xiang for being clean and polite, and arranged for Yan Lei and Yan Xiang to sit in the front row directly below the platform.

Yan Lei was also very satisfied with this position.

From this angle, he could admire his wife speaking on stage, which was simply the perfect spot.

Qiao Wei was invited to sit on the platform next to the principal, in the middle.

The principal gave a speech first, introducing Qiao Wei’s many articles published in the city newspaper, and even mentioned the article about capturing spies, which had been reprinted by other newspapers. He expressed his admiration and welcome for Qiao Wei.

“Students, let’s give a round of applause, welcoming your senior sister Qiao Wei to give a speech to everyone.”

The applause was sparse. These teenagers couldn’t sit still at their age. The mountains of literature and speeches were unbearable for them.

They begged the principal and senior sister to keep it short.

Qiao Wei glanced at the teenagers below.

They didn’t yet know what the future held, what kind of turmoil their best youth would face.

To alleviate urban employment pressure, and due to the increasingly tense international situation, intellectuals were being sent to the countryside, dispersing the urban population, and mobilizing for all-out defense.

The best youth…

Qiao Wei withdrew her gaze and unfolded her prepared speech.

“Thank you, Principal Liu, all the school leaders, and beloved teachers, for giving me this opportunity to speak. I am very happy to be your senior sister and share my expectations for the young people like you.”

“The theme of my speech today is—”

“The direction is bright, but the road is winding.”

“We must grasp both knowledge and ideology.”

“Knowledge guides us to create airplanes and cannons, while ideology tells us where to aim those cannons.”

“The resistance against France, the support for Vietnam, the resistance against the US, the support for Korea… Every battle that has taken place over the years has clearly told us—dignity lies only at the edge of the sword, and truth lies within the range of the cannon!”