Chapter 11: This is the Bearing Our Chinese Sons and Daughters Should Have

Su Jinyan flipped through her memories and finally learned that the original owner scored 509 on the college entrance examination.

This was incredible!

After all, it was the first year the college entrance examination was reinstated, and with the 30 points for English, the total score was only 530.

“Yes.”

Su Jinyan nodded calmly. Unexpectedly, the middle-aged men who came in were excited and rushed over.

The man who spoke first was at the forefront. He reached out to shake Su Jinyan’s hand, saying, “Truly remarkable, truly remarkable.”

Su Jinyan extended her right hand and gently shook his, nodding slightly. “You flatter me.”

“Principal Qin, you’re scaring our classmate Su,”

Someone beside him walked over, chuckled, and said, then introduced himself, “Hello, classmate Su, I’m Chen Xuenian from the Municipal Education Bureau. The one shaking your hand is Principal Qin from your Yanchuan County High School.”

“This is Secretary Zhang from the Municipal Office, this is Deputy County Magistrate Li, this is Director Huang from the County Education Bureau, this is Reporter Liu from the Municipal Newspaper, Reporter Hu…”

After Chen Xuenian introduced them one by one, Su Jinyan nodded and greeted each of them. Throughout the process, she showed no sign of being overwhelmed or timid, which earned her favor with them.

“We’re here today mainly to present you with an award!”

Present an award?

The surrounding villagers instantly erupted in an uproar. Su Jinyan raised her eyebrows, somewhat surprised.

After all, the book didn’t mention this.

At this moment, she also noticed that one of them was holding a neatly folded piece of red cloth, which should be a banner or a silk banner.

Su Jinyan’s calm and unperturbed demeanor made the leaders even more satisfied.

As expected of someone from a big city, this poise, cultivated from a young age, couldn’t be changed no matter how many years she spent in the countryside.

At this moment, Secretary Zhang from the Municipal Office narrowed his eyes, scanned the surroundings, and asked faintly, “Classmate Su, I wonder if there’s been some trouble here? I heard someone shouting just now, were they yelling at you?”

With so many important figures present, let alone Li Shi, who was trying to play dumb, even the village leader felt apprehensive.

If the brigade he managed was in such a mess, these people only needed to say a word, and he would be removed from his position.

But he could also see that these people had come for their village’s top scorer in the city, and they were likely here to support her.

Steadying himself, he stepped forward and nodded to the group. “Greetings, leaders. I’m the brigade leader. I’m ashamed to say that I haven’t managed the villagers well.”

“Well, you see, Comrade Su passed the university entrance exam, and her husband also passed. So, they plan to take their parents and children to study in Beijing together. This way, the children won’t be separated from their parents and will have someone to look after them. Now, Comrade Su’s mother-in-law, that is, Li Shi, heard that the whole family is going to Beijing and is demanding that they take her youngest daughter with them, wanting Comrade Su to find her youngest daughter a husband and a job in Beijing.”

In a few words, Zhao Changqing explained the main points of the matter. Several leaders looked at Su Jinyan. This young woman was planning to take her husband, children, and in-laws back to the city.

Secretary Zhang’s expression softened slightly as he looked at Su Jinyan and smiled. “Comrade Su, when you return to the city, do you plan to take your husband, parents-in-law, and children with you?”

During this period, they had been troubled by the news of educated youth returning to the city and abandoning their wives and children, or husbands and children. It wasn’t just their city; almost the entire rural area of the country was in despair. So, suddenly hearing that an educated youth returning to the city was not only taking her husband and children but also her parents-in-law, how could they not be pleasantly surprised?

Su Jinyan pursed her lips and smiled softly. “Yes, the children are too young, and it’s not good for them to be separated from their parents for a long time. Moreover, my father-in-law injured his leg during his military service and hasn’t received proper treatment. This time, when we go back to Beijing, we plan to take him for a thorough check-up. My mother-in-law’s eyes also need treatment. Due to their health, they can no longer work, so we need to take them back to Beijing for medical treatment and also to help us take care of the children.”

The current villagers, as long as they belonged to this brigade, had to work. So, Su Jinyan also explained the reason for not working.

“However, as you can see, our family is dirt poor. My mother-in-law demands that we be filial and take my younger sister-in-law back to Beijing, but we are really unable to do so. Moreover, when we separated the household, my mother-in-law took away 1500 yuan that was meant for my father-in-law’s medical expenses. The remaining money has been spent on medical treatment and medicine over the years. We are still worried about the expenses of settling down in Beijing, and we really don’t have the ability to be filial to my younger sister-in-law…”

As Su Jinyan spoke, she gave a helpless bitter smile, looking as if she was being forced into a difficult situation. Coupled with her delicate and gentle appearance, it was evident that she was usually bullied severely.
Those from the city and the county, since they were conducting a home visit, had naturally learned some information beforehand, such as whether this educated youth was married, whether she had children, where her hometown was, etc. At the same time, they also knew that Su Jinyan had a father-in-law with a broken leg and a blind mother-in-law.

Secretary Zhang frowned, cast a sharp glance around, and said faintly, “I heard from your commune director that it was a severance of ties, not a separation of the household, right?”

Just now, walking all the way from outside, they had heard the shouting from afar, and also heard Su Jinyan clearly calculating the 3500 yuan and her sharp words.

She was quick-witted and wouldn’t be bullied for no reason.

This is the bearing our Chinese sons and daughters should have.

Don’t bully others, but if others bully you, you must fight back!

Only people like this, if they succeed in their studies, will be useful to the country. Otherwise, even if they are excellent students but are gentle and weak and dare not retaliate when bullied, what future can they have when they enter society?

Li Donghua’s heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly glanced at Secretary Zhang. Seeing his cold eyes, she quickly lowered her head and weakly argued, “We are blood relatives, how can we just sever ties?”

“So, you mean this severance of ties is something you can decide to do or not do as you please?”

“Just now, Comrade Su has already generously given you a choice. If you say sever ties, then it’s severed. If you say not severed, fine, take out 3500 yuan, and they will support you in your old age.”

Li Shi’s heart tightened, and then she sat down on the ground with a thud, slapping her thigh and opening her mouth to wail, “Where would I get that kind of money…”
“You shrew, if you dare to wail, I don’t mind asking the police comrades to invite you for tea.”

Secretary Zhang didn’t speak, but the Deputy County Magistrate stepped forward and said coldly.

Today was embarrassing enough. After all, this was within his county’s jurisdiction, and there were also several reporters present. If the higher-ups found out that villagers were bullying educated youth and the city’s top scorer, the county committee would be in trouble.

“Brigade Leader Zhao, a severance of ties is a severance of ties. What, does the seal of you, the brigade leader, and the commune not count? If it doesn’t count, you can go to the county, and I’ll put another seal on it!”

“Secretary Zhang and the bureau chiefs, principal, have important matters to discuss with Comrade Su. Hurry up and disperse the villagers.”

Deputy County Magistrate Li was afraid that if the situation continued to escalate, things would become even more unmanageable, so he said urgently.

Zhao Changqing nodded. “Yes, Deputy County Magistrate Li.”

After speaking, he looked at Li Donghua and the rest of the Zhao family who were pretending to be quails. “Zhao Dagang, quickly take your parents and sister back. Don’t mention today’s matter again in the future. A severance of ties is a severance of ties.”

“The rest of you, hurry up and leave.”

With the deputy county magistrate speaking, no one dared to stay any longer. Li Donghua and Zhao Xiaofei, no matter how unwilling they were, could only tuck their tails between their legs and flee.