Seeing Ma Huifen’s displeased expression, Du Yu patiently explained, “This is a policy from above. My father-in-law is just a factory director—what can he possibly do? This is the first year the policy is being implemented, and inspections will definitely be strict. If we offend the wrong people, what if they assign my brother to some remote, backwater place?”

Ma Huifen was clearly frightened by his words and hesitated. “Th-That can’t be, right?”

“Nothing’s certain. We’d better prepare properly,” Du Yu said, signaling to his brother with a glance.

Du Jie quickly chimed in to reassure her, “Mom, don’t worry. It’s just going to the countryside. With your son’s skills, I won’t suffer no matter where I go. If you’re worried I’ll have a hard time, just prepare some extra money and ration coupons for me. With those two things, I’ll manage just fine anywhere.”

Du Jun added from the side, “The Chairman’s policies are never wrong. I think this batch of young people could use some training and experience. Going through this hardship will help them become truly useful in the future.”

The father and sons took turns persuading her, and eventually, they managed to calm her down. Now, they needed to properly prepare for Du Jie’s departure to the countryside.

Once Ma Huifen seemed settled, Du Yu returned to his room. The room was dark, and he fumbled his way to bed, only to find his wife lying with her back to him.

“Yunyun…”

When she didn’t respond, Du Yu wrapped his arms around her, blankets and all, and lifted her up. Then, he whispered in her ear, “Don’t worry, I didn’t agree. I would never ask your father to take such a risk.”

Only then did the person in his arms look up, a trace of doubt in her voice. “You really didn’t agree?”

Du Yu leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Really, I didn’t. How could I agree when you told me not to?”

The woman shot him a playful glare. “You’d better know what’s good for you.”

…

As the registration deadline drew closer, the courtyard grew increasingly lively. Lin Tong’s family had confirmed she would be sent to the countryside. Recently, Lin’s mother had been busy trying to secure a favorable placement for her daughter and shopping for supplies to pack, so things had quieted down on their end. However, the other families in the courtyard with eligible young men were particularly restless these days, causing quite a commotion and disturbing everyone’s peace.

But given the circumstances, no one was being unreasonable, and everyone was relatively understanding.

Mu Jinyue paid little attention to the outside turmoil. Her days were spent either focusing on her studies or waiting for news from the newspaper office. But as time passed, and with only two days left until the registration deadline, there was still no word about her submitted articles.

It seemed none of them had been accepted. Although she had mentally prepared herself, she still felt a sense of disappointment when she woke up that morning, lacking energy and motivation.

But breakfast still needed to be prepared. She mustered her strength, got up, and started making breakfast. After eating, she retreated into the kitchen to wash the dishes.

Before leaving for the day, Jiang Yi walked into the kitchen to remind her, “You can buy more groceries than usual these next couple of days. It’s chaotic outside right now—try not to stay out longer than necessary.”

Mu Jinyue looked surprised. She hadn’t expected Jiang Yi to be so attentive. Zhang Yulan had already mentioned this once during breakfast, yet he came to tell her again.

The city had indeed been restless lately. Perhaps because there was no room left for negotiation regarding the rural assignment, young people were venting their frustrations on the streets, often picking fights over mere glances. Mu Jinyue had been extra cautious while grocery shopping these past few days.

“Mm, I know. I value my life—I won’t stay out longer than necessary,” she assured him.

Only after hearing her commitment to staying safe did Jiang Yi leave with peace of mind.

Since she planned to buy enough groceries for three or four days, she bought not only vegetables but also some meat. The fatty pork at the meat stall had already been snatched up, leaving only lean cuts. Mu Jinyue loved lean meat, so she bought some within the limits of her meat ration coupons. She also bought a few small fish, enough to meet their nutritional needs for the next few days.

Back home, she prepared lunch, ate, and then attended to her studies. It wasn’t until after her lessons ended that she finally had free time—time to wallow in melancholy and lament the injustices of the world… But this mood didn’t last long.

Truth be told, her financial struggles made her feel that indulging in sadness was a luxury. Time was precious, and she ought to channel her energy into striving and working hard!

She wasn’t one to give up so easily—abandoning something after just one failure wasn’t in her nature. Mu Jinyue adjusted her mood, gathered her paper and pen, and prepared to try again.

But her mind felt blank, offering no inspiration to put pen to paper. She held a pen in one hand while absentmindedly fiddling with the little cabbage sprouts in the flowerpot with the other. The greens had already sprouted new shoots, now about the length of a finger, though it was hard to say when they’d be ready for the cooking pot.

Lost in her thoughts, she was suddenly pulled back to reality by a commotion in the courtyard. “Sis, is sis at home?”

The question interrupted her reverie, and she quickly climbed off the bed and hurried out to look. As soon as she opened the door, she saw an unfamiliar man standing at her doorstep.

The man was tall and slender with unremarkable features, though his face was somewhat narrow and elongated. He held a cardboard box in his arms and introduced himself, “You must be the missus? I’m Brother Jiang’s friend—you can call me Dao Yu.”

The name “Dao Yu” (Knifefish) was quite vivid and fitting.

“Come on in.”

“Alright.” Dao Yu followed her into the house, carrying the cardboard box. He didn’t venture further inside, simply placing the box near the entrance.

He explained, “Sis, Brother Jiang asked me to bring this over. It’s for you. I’ve got things to attend to, so I won’t stay long. I’ll be on my way.” With that, he left.

Mu Jinyue was puzzled. It was for her? And such a large box of things?

Although the box wasn’t sealed with tape, the flaps were tightly interlocked. As curious as she was, she decided not to open it, thinking it would be better to wait until Jiang Yi returned.

Still, leaving it by the entrance was inconvenient, so she picked it up and carried it into the bedroom. It was surprisingly heavy. What could possibly be inside…?

Jiang Yi returned home just before dinner, as usual. During the meal, she didn’t bring up the box. Zhang Yulan had naturally heard the afternoon commotion but, knowing it was a gift from her son to her daughter-in-law, didn’t pry.

It wasn’t until after dinner, when everything had been cleared away, that Jiang Yi entered the room and noticed the still-unopened box. “Why haven’t you opened the box yet? Do you not like what’s inside?”

“No, I just wanted to wait until you came back to open it.”

Her words lifted his mood. “I’m back now. Go ahead and open it.”

Mu Jinyue crouched down and quickly opened the box, only to find it filled with newspapers.

“Why did you bring these back?”

“Your submission didn’t get accepted, right? Reading more newspapers might help you find new ideas. There might still be hope.”

There was no hiding her writing and submission efforts—the house was too small for secrets. She had only stored her luggage in the wardrobe and left everything else untouched. Her drafts were mostly kept in the bedside drawer, though covered by textbooks. Still, anyone looking closely would have noticed.

She had expected he might find out, but since he hadn’t said anything, she hadn’t bothered addressing it. She just never imagined he’d bring back newspapers for her.

The newspapers in the box were from various years—some from this year, others from several years back. Gathering them couldn’t have been easy.

She had indeed considered that her writing might not align with current trends and was still pondering solutions when these newspapers appeared. It would be a lie to say she wasn’t touched.

Seeing her prolonged silence, Jiang Yi said, “You’re not thinking of giving up, are you? If that’s the case—”

“No, I won’t give up,” she responded immediately.

“Suit yourself. Keep working hard, but don’t forget your main responsibility—taking care of my mom. Don’t put the cart before the horse.”

“…”

“Mm, don’t worry. I’ll take good care of Mom… and thank you for preparing these newspapers.”