Chapter 32: Dad, You’ll Help Me, Right?

Liu Honghe knew what his family was thinking. He was doing it on purpose.

After being spoken to by Lin Xiangnan by the river, he suddenly had an epiphany. He didn’t want to go to the countryside anyway. Maybe if he pushed his family hard enough, they would find him a job.

It was all an act. He didn’t even bother spending money on rat poison.

He stood outside the Agricultural Machinery Institute for a long time, finally spotting a familiar face. He deliberately acted nervous and shifty in front of Aunt Liu.

The day before, he had made a big scene, even crying at his mother’s grave that night. He looked like he was losing his mind.

Later that night, he was tossing and turning in his sleep, muttering in his dreams.

“Mom, I miss you. I don’t want to go to the countryside. I’ll come stay with you.”

“We’ll all come down to be with you.”

“If we’re going to die, we’ll die together.”

Liu Laohei and Liu Hongshan were both woken up by the commotion. They had been trying to get back to sleep, but Liu Honghe’s ramblings startled them awake, leaving them drenched in cold sweat.

Liu Laohei gently nudged Liu Honghe awake, asking, “What did you dream about? You were talking in your sleep.”

“I dreamt about my mom,” Liu Honghe mumbled sleepily.

Liu Hongshan retorted, “You’re full of it. You were too young when Mom died. How could you remember what she looked like?”

“I don’t remember. I just saw a woman.”

Liu Honghe closed his eyes and asked vaguely, “Why are you two waking me up in the middle of the night?”

Before he could finish, his breathing slowed down, and he seemed to fall back asleep.

Liu Laohei wanted to wake him up again to get some answers, but Liu Hongshan quickly stopped him. “Dad, let him sleep. We’ll ask him tomorrow.”

Liu Honghe was already acting strange. They didn’t want to push him any further.

They let Liu Honghe be, but he didn’t let them be. He continued to mumble in his sleep throughout the night, keeping them up all night.

Liu Honghe wouldn’t dare poison anyone.

But when it came to tormenting people, he had plenty of tricks up his sleeve. He was at that mischievous age where he didn’t need anyone to teach him. Within two days, he had worn the entire Liu family down.

Lin Xiangnan and the others lived next door, getting a free show out of the whole ordeal.

It was the middle of the junior high school graduation exams. After the exams and the results were released, they would get their diplomas.

Lin Xiangnan was sharp as a tack these days. She breezed through the exams with flying colors, earning a diploma that allowed her to skip school registration and become a full-fledged unemployed street urchin.

Since she hadn’t signed up for the countryside program, the next day after receiving her diploma, Xu Dajie from the neighborhood committee came to do some ideological work on her and Hu Meili.

Of course, the Liu family couldn’t escape either.

Hu Meili was a stubborn one, so Xu Dajie was used to her resistance.

But Liu Laohei, who had been so agreeable last time, suddenly changed his tune.

“What’s going on? Did your Honghe find a job?”

Liu Laohei said, “Not yet. It’s not the deadline yet. I want to wait a few more days before signing him up.”

“Look at you. If you really care about your child, you’d sign him up early. He’ll get a better place, and you can get him some things.”

Liu Laohei gave an awkward laugh, unsure how to explain himself.

Xu Dajie patiently advised, “You have so many kids. Someone has to go to the countryside. You can’t spoil them too much. They need to learn to toughen up. If Honghe doesn’t want to go, you just sign him up. He’ll have to listen to you.”

Besides the individuals themselves, their parents could also sign them up.

The policy had loosened up in the past two years. In the early days of the “educated youth going to the countryside” program, each family could only keep one child.

Ordinary workers had a hard time getting their kids jobs, but leaders could. If they had five or six kids, they could get them all jobs, even good ones.

But because they were leaders, they were under more scrutiny. Even if they could get their kids jobs, they were still only allowed to keep one child at home, and the rest had to go to the countryside.

Back then, it was up to the parents to decide who stayed, and the young people had no choice but to obey.

Liu Laohei wanted to get rid of Liu Honghe as soon as possible, but he didn’t dare bring it up. He could only force a smile at Xu Dajie and say, “I’ll try to persuade him again.”

“The countryside program is so good now, and your Honghe is still not satisfied. He’ll know better when the policy changes later.” Xu Dajie shook her head, offering a few more words of advice before leaving.

If she couldn’t convince him today, the factory would send people to talk to Liu Laohei and Hu Meili tomorrow. The pressure would be different.

As soon as Xu Dajie left, Liu Honghe pushed open the door and came out of the room.

“Dad, are you going to sign me up secretly?”

Liu Laohei’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly replied, “Nonsense. Where did you get that idea?”

“Then did you find me a job?”

“Dad’s just looking around for you.” Liu Laohei reassured him. “If I hear of anyone selling a job, I’ll sell everything I own to buy it for you. If that doesn’t work, I’ll marry your sister off and use the dowry money to buy you a job. That should work.”

Liu Honghe was anxious and asked, “What if you can’t buy a job? Will Big Brother give his job to me, or will you give yours to me?”

“This…” Liu Laohei hesitated. He had never considered this question before.

He was a veteran employee at the steel factory, doing manual labor. He earned 45 yuan a month, and with Liu Hongshan’s 20 yuan a month, the family of four could eat and clothe themselves and even save some money.

If he gave his job to Liu Honghe, Liu Honghe would be an apprentice earning 18 yuan a month. That would be half his current salary, and they wouldn’t even be able to afford food and clothing, let alone pay off their debts.

The retirement age was 60, and he was only 41. If he retired now, it wouldn’t be a normal retirement, and he wouldn’t get a pension.

No matter how you calculated it, it was a bad deal.

Liu Laohei tentatively said, “If you go to the countryside, Dad will send you money and food every month. You won’t have a hard time.”

“I don’t believe you. Once I’m gone, you’ll forget all about me.” Liu Honghe said bluntly. “Big Sister has been in the countryside for so many years, and you haven’t even asked about her.”

He was still in the city, so he had some leverage. Once he was in the countryside, who would care about him?

Thinking about this, Liu Honghe warned, “I’m not going to the countryside. Even if you sign me up, I won’t go. I’ll hide in the shantytown and wait for your support. When the factory leaders come to talk to you, don’t tell them where I am.”

This wasn’t a son; this was a debt from a past life. Liu Laohei felt a tightness in his chest after listening to him.

“Dad, you’ll help me, right? Dad?”

Liu Laohei gritted his teeth. “Stop calling me Dad. You’re my Dad. I must have owed you in a past life.”