Chapter 86

The news of Su Ye’s decision to go to the countryside to teach spread throughout the entire office on the day of the graduation ceremony.

The teachers, just a moment ago, had been basking in the pride of “Su Ye being the top science student” and “Su Ye going to Tsinghua University.” The next moment, they were stunned by this news.

How could she pass up such a great opportunity? Had Su Ye gone mad?

The teachers knew how difficult it was to get into Tsinghua University. Many people ^[1]“Fought tooth and nail” is an idiomatic expression that means to fight or struggle with great effort, determination, and sometimes even aggression. It implies that someone is putting up a … Continue readingfought tooth and nail to get in but failed, and here she was, not only getting in but choosing not to go? What was there to miss about a remote mountain village? Why leave at this critical juncture to go there?

But out of respect, they reluctantly offered Su Ye their blessings. Even though they had worked with her for half a year, many teachers felt that they had never truly understood Su Ye. She always managed to surprise people, including being selected as an excellent teacher and making a remarkable achievement in the college entrance exam.

“Su Ye probably won’t disappoint us.”

“Anyway, going to the countryside must be a good thing.”

The principal held a small farewell party for Su Ye and quietly gave her several food ration coupons before she left. She earnestly said, “The conditions in the countryside are tough, so make sure to take care of yourself.”

The precious fifty-kilogram food ration coupons were placed into Su Ye’s hands, heavy with an unspoken significance. Su Ye touched her nose and thought to herself that to become a principal, one’s ideological awareness must be exceptionally high. She was grateful for the principal’s understanding.

After a brief pause, the principal said seriously, “I’ll give you a letter of introduction. You can return whenever you wish. This trip to the countryside represents all of us at No. 1 Middle School. I hope you’ll carry forward the spirit of our school and bring cultural knowledge to the countryside! Su Ye, don’t forget to keep up with your studies while you’re there. Don’t fall too far behind. You are our school’s most outstanding young teacher representative!”

Su Ye nodded seriously, smiling as she said, “That sounds great. Thank you for the letter of introduction! I will definitely not bring shame to our school!”

In the 1960s, sending educated youth to the countryside was mainly voluntary. Su Ye had an admission letter from a university, and after completing her work, she could return to school at any time. She was going to Shanggou Village, a place she had a connection with, which was one of the reasons Su Ye felt confident about going to the countryside.

Before leaving, Su Ye secretly slipped the food ration coupons into a book on the principal’s desk. Food was hard to come by in those days, and the principal only had thirty-five kilograms of food ration coupons per month. Life was difficult, yet the principal still managed to give her some, which was deeply touching.

Su Ye made a mental note of this kindness and promised that when she returned, she would bring plenty of food to give back to the principal.

_

The Family Compound

The situation at school was easy to explain, but how to confess to Gu Xiangqian was giving Su Ye a headache.

She specially went to the market to get a duck, then went to the cafeteria to pick up two pounds of pork belly to make a hearty meal.

Su Ye returned home and began simmering the old duck soup. The duck meat had a sweet flavor, and after simmering for three hours over a low heat, the rich aroma filled the air, causing the neighbors to stop by and ask:

“Little Su, what delicious food are you making today?”

“It smells so good! More meat again? Xiangqian is really lucky, you two must be having a great meal!”

Su Ye poked her head out from the kitchen, happily saying, “I’m making soup for Xiangqian to help him recover! I’ll treat you all to a wedding banquet some other day.”

She pulled out another stove and began simmering the pork belly. The pork belly was cut into large square pieces, and after two hours, the juices had evaporated, leaving only the fat, and the skin became soft and tender.

When Gu Xiangqian came home from work, he asked, changing his clothes and shoes, “What’s the special occasion today? Why is the meal so extravagant?”

Su Ye eagerly served him a bowl of rice. Gu Xiangqian ate three bowls of rice with the braised pork and drank a bowl of the old duck soup, breaking into a light sweat.

She cleared her throat and said, “Xiangqian, don’t hurry to do the dishes. There’s something important I need to tell you.”

Gu Xiangqian, sensing the serious tone in Su Ye’s voice, smiled faintly and asked, “What’s going on?”

Su Ye took a deep breath and carefully observed his expression. She cautiously said, “Well… I might need to apologize to you. I’m going to Shanggou Village to teach for a while, and I need to pause my studies at Tsinghua University.”

She saw the smile on Gu Xiangqian’s face abruptly fade, and his expression turned ashen. Su Ye’s heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly added, “Don’t be angry, I can explain!”

Gu Xiangqian’s temples throbbed with pain, and the veins in his clenched fists stood out. He gritted his teeth and forced out, “Su Ye, do you have a problem with me?”

Su Ye felt a surge of guilt. She didn’t expect such a strong reaction from Gu Xiangqian. Compared to the disapproving glances from others, which seemed like small matters, this was something entirely different.

How could he think she had a problem with him?

Su Ye wrapped her arms around Gu Xiangqian and, in a flattering tone, said, “No problem, how could I dare to have a problem with you! Comrade Gu Xiangqian is humble and broad-minded, with a noble character and a life of integrity. He is handsome and graceful, a remarkable person, an irreplaceable talent for the Party and the country, and the best man I have ever met in my life.”

Su Ye held his face and kissed him repeatedly, saying, “I swear, every word I say is true, and if I could, I wouldn’t want to be apart from you.”

Seeing Gu Xiangqian suddenly stand up, Su Ye quickly grabbed his arm and sighed deeply.

“I rarely act impulsively. Every decision I make is carefully considered. I have to go there at this moment. If I don’t do this in this lifetime, I will regret it forever. It’s just like what you told me last time—if the country calls you, you would go without hesitation.”

“Shanggou Village and Beijing have a train once a week. As long as I have time, I will take the train to visit you.”

When Gu Xiangqian heard “the country calls,” his body stiffened.

His mind buzzed as the flattery continued to fall like light rain in his ears, relentless. Gu Xiangqian’s face gradually softened, but the corners of his mouth, pressed thin, still showed his terrible mood.

It wasn’t that Gu Xiangqian thought Su Ye’s decision was the right one, but recalling how many times she had unconditionally supported him, waiting at home for him, he knew she would need his support just as much in the years to come. Gradually, his anger began to subside.

Su Ye kissed Gu Xiangqian and said, “I really didn’t make this decision impulsively, and I didn’t mean to upset you. Give me two years, and I’ll come back with good news!”

“Mm.” Gu Xiangqian responded.

In the end, Gu Xiangqian stopped opposing Su Ye going to the countryside, but the entire evening, he wore a long, sour face.

Su Ye had no choice but to keep appeasing him.

In the morning, Su Ye went to the Women’s Federation to take care of some paperwork, transferring her grain and oil account from the No. 1 High School to Shanggou Village. She went from holding a steady job in the city to becoming a rural teacher in the countryside, earning work points by teaching.

Su Ye said, “I’ve already applied to teach for two years in Shanggou Village, Shangxi County, J City. Comrade, please help me transfer my grain and oil account. This is the recommendation letter from the principal of No. 1 High School.”

The staff in the Women’s Federation office looked at Su Ye with confused expressions.

Had they misheard something, or was Su Ye the one who was mistaken? Every word she said was understandable, but when put together, it didn’t make sense.

They had just accepted that Su Ye had become a respected and admired graduate from a prestigious university, yet now she was telling them that this soon-to-be college graduate was planning to go teach in a remote mountain village?

These days, everyone is aiming to land a secure job in the city and get a city household registration, yet at this critical moment, she actually gave up a promising future and ran off to the countryside? After Su Ye left, the entire office erupted.

He Meimei was holding back her anger and couldn’t wait to find Su Ye. “Is it really worth it to go at this time? Wouldn’t it be better to finish university first and then go?”

It seemed like she was treating Su Ye the same way she would treat a student who had gone astray. But Su Ye wasn’t one of those immature students. She was a mature, thoughtful young person, and all He Meimei could feel was confusion towards herself.

Su Ye patted He Meimei on the shoulder, nodding seriously. “It’s definitely worth it. If I don’t go, I’ll regret it. I’ve already discussed it with Xiangqian, and he doesn’t oppose it.”

“He Meimei, if you ever can’t make ends meet, maybe you’ll have to come to me. I welcome you to Shanggou Village!” Su Ye joked.

This remark indeed angered He Meimei. She punched Su Ye lightly. “Why are you still thinking about me coming to rely on you? If you can even get enough food over there, I’ll be thankful!”

Su Ye silently smiled but said nothing, thinking that maybe this could really come true.

Looking at the current situation in the city, with everyone getting only thirty pounds of grain per month, including ten pounds of sweet potatoes, everyone was tightening their belts. But the countryside was a vast place where it wasn’t hard to have enough to eat at every meal. Just the grain from the live stream gifts would be enough for her to live comfortably.

—

Su Ye wrote a letter to Ma Gensheng, informing him that she and her students would be going to the village’s primary school to teach. Ma Gensheng was very happy. Now that his finances were more comfortable, after the autumn harvest, he had gathered all the strong laborers in the village and built a new dormitory for the group of educated youth heading to the countryside.

Since the Chairman called for educated youth to go to the countryside, several young people had already gone to the village, but the first batch of newcomers didn’t get such good treatment. Although they ate their fill with the entire production team, they were housed in renovated old buildings. They saw the team leader and the village party secretary leading the whole village in building a new dormitory for the next batch of educated youth and couldn’t help but feel envious, their eyes nearly turning red.

Su Ye set the date for going to the countryside and had to arrange the wedding feast in advance. Gu Xiangqian wrote the invitations with a cold face. The words he wrote were stiff and harsh, like blades. Su Ye, who was cutting red paper cards next to him, felt her heart race but dared not provoke him.

Su Ye decided to try and make it up to Gu Xiangqian. She took out the cloth coupons awarded by the Women’s Federation recently and made three sets of new clothes and new cotton socks for him. Under He Meimei’s guidance, she knitted a sweater and a scarf by hand, her fair fingers getting blisters from the effort.

Su Ye had never experienced such hardship before. Not to mention knitting a sweater, even sewing a simple patch on clothes would end up looking a mess. She had never done housework as a child, so how could she get used to knitting sweaters and scarves? Back when Su Ye was studying, her roommate knitted scarves for her boyfriend, and all Su Ye did was complain that the style and color weren’t trendy enough.

Thanks to Su Ye’s diligent efforts, she managed to knit a gray-black scarf and a pair of socks. When Gu Xiangqian received these items, his expression finally softened a lot.

He had once remembered a scene where he envied his comrades who received scarves, sweaters, and socks made by their significant others. What was so great about those things? Gu Xiangqian had thought dismissively about this before, but now, as he put on the socks, his lips, which had been tightly pressed, could no longer suppress a slight smile.

They really weren’t that bad after all! The socks were so warm.

Su Ye kept asking, “Do you like them?”

Gu Xiangqian pressed his lips together and softly muttered, “Mmm.”