Chapter 45: Director Zhao’s Women United Plan

How to use the educated youth is the question.

What the countryside lacks most is not labor. A group of people who have long been detached from productive labor coming to the countryside was originally intended to develop the countryside, cultivate a new type of farmer through knowledge, improve production with technology, or have educated youth serve as accountants, teachers, or health workers…

But the current situation of Zhao Village’s production team is that the brigade rejects educated youth and does not give them many opportunities. The educated youth cannot compete with the farmers in farm work, and their attitudes are somewhat negative, so naturally, they cannot fulfill the purpose of the educated youth going to the countryside.

If Zhao Ke wants to make use of the educated youth, he definitely cannot push them forward directly.

First, the villagers resist them. Second, there is not that much demand right now.

The only option is to set aside those who cannot be used for now and bring them out when needed.

Director Zhao is just that pragmatic.

And at the moment, Zhao Ke needs a married female educated youth for midwife training.

Currently, there are only two married female educated youth in the production team, both forming educated youth couples. One pair is Principal Gu and Teacher Wu, and the other is male educated youth Tang Guowei and female educated youth Yin Xiaojuan, who went to the countryside in ’68.

Zhao Ke went to the team committee and looked through their files.

The two have been married for three years and have a two-year-old daughter, Tang Xiaowan.

At noon, Zhao Ke asked Comrade Yu Xiulan about Tang Zhiqing and Yin Zhiqing.

Yu Xiulan said, “The male educated youth is quite steady, and the female educated youth is gentle and quiet, never made any trouble.”

For an educated youth to be described as “never made any trouble” by Comrade Yu Xiulan, that was already a very high evaluation.

So, after finishing her meal, Zhao Ke headed to the couple’s home.

Tang Zhiqing and Yin Zhiqing’s house was right next to Principal Gu and Teacher Wu’s, both located behind the school.

As Zhao Ke passed by Principal Gu and Teacher Wu’s yard, she saw the two of them sitting under the eaves eating with Shu Gen’er, greeted them, and then continued forward to the next house.

Tang Zhiqing and Yin Zhiqing’s house was very small. From the outside, it looked particularly compact, probably around thirty square meters.

She followed Yin Zhiqing inside. The interior layout was one bedroom and one living room. A woven willow partition separated the inner room from the kitchen, and the stove was directly connected to the kang, providing heating while cooking.

The walls were mud walls, without newspaper pasted on them. There were two cabinets placed on the kang in the inner room, very rough in craftsmanship, likely handmade.

Other than that, the home had nothing else.

“Director Zhao, the house is a bit simple, just sit wherever you like.”

Zhao Ke sat on the edge of the kang, “Yin Zhiqing, you sit too, no need to busy yourself. I’m here for official business.”

Yin Xiaojuan sat across from her. Her daughter climbed into her lap, timidly observing Zhao Ke.

The little girl was a bit thin, her clothes full of patches, but she was clean. One look and it was clear that her parents cherished her and took good care of her.

Zhao Ke smiled at the little girl. Seeing her shyly bury herself in her mother’s arms, she then asked, “Why haven’t I seen Tang Zhiqing?”

“The brigade is building a pigsty, and he went to help,” Yin Xiaojian looked grateful, “I have to take care of Xiaowan, so our family relies entirely on Guowei’s labor points. I heard it was Director Zhao’s proposal to establish the cooperative. If we can get more dividends at the end of the year, our life will be a bit easier. We really don’t know how to thank you enough.”

Zhao Ke said seriously, “My ability is limited, and I can’t do much for the production team, so I need to unite the entire team as much as possible so we can work together for increased production. I came to see you today because I wanted to ask for your help, Yin Zhiqing.”

Yin Xiaojian waved her hand, embarrassed, “What could I possibly help with?”

“I am certain that you can, that’s why I came over.” Zhao Ke explained the purpose of the visit, “You have studied before. I want to ask you to learn the childbirth assistant manual issued by the commune and then conduct simple training for the women who sign up.”

Zhao Ke’s gaze fell on Tang Xiaowan, who was sneakily peeking at her, “Now that the weather is warm, you can just carry the child over directly.”

Yin Xiaojun did not refuse, just hesitated for a moment and carefully asked, “Director Zhao, can I participate in the commune’s childbirth assistant training?”

Zhao Ke did not immediately reply.

Yin Xiaojun hurriedly explained, “I’m not trying to compete with the women in the village, it’s just that our family is indeed struggling a bit, and I also want to supplement the household income.”

Zhao Ke shook her head, “I’m not against you participating, it’s just that this related training may take nearly a year to complete, plus three months of internship. Your daughter is so young, how will you arrange things?”

This was a very real problem.

Yin Xiaojun lowered her head in disappointment. The couple had no extra help, and she truly could not leave her child.

If there is a problem, then solve the problem.

Zhao Ke reassured her, “Don’t worry too much. If you really have the intention, learning in advance is never a bad thing. There will definitely be a proper solution. If nothing else, once the child is a little older, you’ll have some free time.”

Yin Xiaojun felt a bit better and nodded, “Yes, what Director Zhao says makes sense.”

Basically, she just followed along and read. Zhao Ke did not worry about whether it was standardized or not. After confirming that she agreed to help with the training, she made an appointment with her, “I’ll sort out all the materials later. You can look over them first and learn while training, is that okay?”

Yin Xiaojun agreed.

Zhao Ke walked home with light steps.

In the afternoon, it was the last day of pig farming training.

Under the unanimous and strong request of the women, Zhao Ke followed public opinion and moved the assessment to the afternoon of the next day.

Most of the women could only write their names, so the assessment could not be a written test and could only be done through oral questioning.

Each person received the same questions. To ensure fairness and impartiality, Zhao Ke even specially invited Zhao Er Nai and a group of elderly women as the jury.

A group of elderly women sat in a row in the brigade office, finding it all very novel.

“Aiyo, who would have thought we’d get promoted?”

“What does a jury do?”

“To prevent them from cheating, of course…”

Zhao Ke sat alone behind the table and reminded them, “Be serious, no cracking sunflower seeds.”

Wei Dahai’s mother, Granny Wei, spat out a seed husk with a “pei” and muttered, “With all this excitement, how can we not crack sunflower seeds?”

Zhao Ke glanced at the pile of seed husks at her feet, got up, took a broom, and swept it clean, saying seriously, “If you make a mess again, I’ll revoke your jury qualification.”

That would be too embarrassing. Granny Wei reluctantly stuffed the sunflower seeds back into her pocket.

Zhao Ke sat back behind the table and continued laying down the rules: “When someone is answering, you cannot speak, cannot give hints, and cannot cause trouble. Understood?”

“Why so many rules?”

Zhao Ke casually said, “You all have eaten more salt than these women have eaten rice. If you listen a few times, you’ll definitely remember. To ensure fairness, of course, things must be said in advance.”

A little bit of flattery mixed with smoothing their feathers worked wonders. The old ladies immediately felt satisfied, and when the women taking the test entered, they all kept their mouths tightly shut.

As for whether they actually remembered after listening a few times, only heaven, earth, and they themselves would know.

The women had never gone through such a formal assessment before, especially with a group of “serious” elderly women staring at them from the side. Almost all of them stammered through their answers.

Zhao Ke didn’t care how they answered, only whether their answers were correct.

Each name had a meticulous score next to it, marking what was correct and what was wrong. If anyone was dissatisfied and came to make trouble, she would be able to respond with solid reasoning.

After all the women had finished their assessment, none of them left. They all waited anxiously in the courtyard.

Zhao Ke finished grading and finally selected five people: Jin Li, Zhao Pingping, Pan Xiulian, Cheng Lianhua, and Sun Xiu.

Cheng Lianhua was called Aunt Zhu by the villagers. Her husband was Zhu Lao Da, and she was also the eldest aunt of Zhu Jianyi, Zhao Feng’s childhood friend.

Sun Xiu was Chang Shan’s Saozi.

Chang Shan’s Saozi and Aunt Zhu had both brought their children on the first day to help take notes. It was not surprising that they passed the assessment.

Among the four, except for Aunt Zhu, the others were all under thirty.

The elderly jury gathered around and asked Zhao Ke who had been selected. Zhao Ke told them.

Zhao Er Nai immediately grabbed onto her authority like a decree issued with a chicken feather and raised an objection, “How can this work? Zhao Pingping’s mother just arranged a match for her with someone from another village; she’ll be married off in the future. Pan Xiulian just got married and hasn’t had a child yet—she can’t do it.”

Zhao Ke subconsciously frowned and refuted, “The requirement is to be over eighteen. Why can’t she do it just because she hasn’t had a child?”

“That’s why I say you’re young and inexperienced.” Zhao Er Nai had a proud expression of “I’ve eaten more salt than you’ve eaten rice.” “You yourself said this job is tiring. What if she gets pregnant and strains herself while working, loses the baby, and damages her body? What if it affects her ability to have children in the future? Can you afford that responsibility?”

Hearing this, Wei Lao Tai was the most touched. “Exactly. How can she go without a son? The other three all have sons.”

Zhao Ke looked up at her, then lowered her gaze.

She was very unwilling to eliminate a woman who wanted to work because of this reason, but what Zhao Er Nai and the others said was indeed a realistic concern.

If what Zhao Er Nai described really happened, it would be a big problem.

And in reality, the training and assessment, though labeled as fair and just, had some behind-the-scenes maneuvering.

For example, although the team committee did not privately communicate about it, none of their family members participated in the selection for livestock caretakers.

Those with relatively better family conditions, like the two aunts from the Yu family and several families with the Zhao surname, also did not participate.

The brigade hoped to give this opportunity as much as possible to commune members with relatively poorer conditions.

People were still waiting outside for the results.

After considering, Zhao Ke said, “Zhao Pingping fully meets the requirements. We can’t disqualify her just because she might get married into another village. At most, if she does get married and can’t continue as a caretaker, we will select the sixth-ranked person as a replacement.”

“What about Pan Xiulian?”

Zhao Ke asked in return, “Even if she doesn’t become a caretaker, wouldn’t she still have to go to work?”

“That’s different. At work, she can still catch a breath. But taking care of pigs? You have to carry water, carry feed every day, and clean the pigsty…”

Zhao Ke said, “The choice should be left to Pan Xiulian. If she wants to do it, she will be one of the caretakers.”

“Why are you so stubborn, young girl?”

Zhao Ke stood up. “As for the assessment results, Er Nai, do you have any objections?”

The elderly ladies were actually quite muddled. Even if Zhao Ke had manipulated the results, they wouldn’t have been able to tell. But they could see that these five people had indeed answered very fluently.

Zhao Ke took their silence as agreement and went outside to announce the results. Then she called Pan Xiulian in alone to talk.

After hearing Zhao Ke’s words, Pan Xiulian sighed. “Actually, Xiang Quan doesn’t want me to be a caretaker. He says he can’t bear to see me suffer. He will work hard to earn money to support me and make me fat and white, just like Ma Saozi you all saw in the county.”

Zhao Ke remained expressionless. “What does San Sao think?”

“I think that this family isn’t just his; I should work hard with him. And I’m not lacking anything, so why must I be supported by someone else?”

Zhao Ke’s lips curved. “Then don’t consider Wang San Ge. Just consider whether your body can handle the heavy work of being a caretaker and whether you truly want to do it. I must remind you, at the pig farm, you absolutely cannot slack off like in the fields.”

Pan Xiulian was very conflicted. She definitely wanted children and didn’t want any mishaps. But she also didn’t want to lose the caretaker job she had secured.

After thinking for a while, the scales in her heart tipped toward having a child. She proposed a solution, “Can I temporarily give the position to my mother-in-law or my Saozi, and take it back after I have my child?”

“If you give it to someone else in your husband’s family, it won’t necessarily still be yours later.”

Zhao Ke didn’t want to open this precedent. She didn’t want future selections to become favors distributed based on personal relationships.

Pan Xiulian was somewhat dejected. “Then what should I do? Do I have to give it up?”

Zhao Ke said, “Two proposals: One, your spot will be reserved. If the pig farm expands in the future and more caretakers are needed, and you still want to do it then, you can be exempted from the assessment. Two… I heard you’ve been attending your production team’s literacy classes and doing quite well?”

“Huh?” Pan Xiulian blushed. “Did Xiang Quan just make things up to you? I’m just good at using an abacus…”

Zhao Ke took out Accountant Niu’s abacus from the cabinet, handed it to her, and directly gave her some problems to solve.

At first, Pan Xiulian was a little shy and hesitant, but she quickly sped up.

Zhao Ke secretly calculated the answers on a newspaper and saw that they all matched. Then she said to Pan Xiulian, “My idea is that everyone has their own strengths. Not everyone needs to do heavy labor. In a few days, I plan to start literacy classes for the women in our village. You can start learning first and wait for other job opportunities.”

Pan Xiulian asked, “Will our production team have other jobs?”

“Jobs have to be created. I believe there will be.”

Zhao Ke explained clearly, “You should know that keeping a reserved spot will invite objections. As the women’s director, I have to consider all the women. So if you decide not to be a caretaker now, you can only choose one of these two proposals. You can’t take both. Think it over and give me an answer later.”

It was certainly not perfectly fair—no matter what, some people would think it unfair.

But people must learn to weigh their options and make choices, right? The moment they started thinking and making decisions for their own lives, they had already taken a big step forward.

Zhao Ke couldn’t push them along forever.

Pan Xiulian left the office, her whole person in a state of being pulled back and forth.

The old ladies in the village were not tight-lipped; anything that happened would be spread around. Some women were waiting outside, asking her what she had decided.

Pan Xiulian shook her head, said nothing, and went home.

As soon as she entered the Wang family’s house, she unexpectedly received an enthusiastic welcome from her mother-in-law and two sisters-in-law.

Their intention was clear: since she was going to have a child and it would be inconvenient to be a caretaker, she should give up the position to a family member.

Pan Xiulian explained, “Director Zhao said that if I don’t take it, it will just go to the next person in line; I can’t give it to family.”

Aunt Dong was dissatisfied, “That Zhao Ke, how can she be so unreasonable? Didn’t she give her own sister the job at the bearing factory?”

The second daughter-in-law Cui Xiuli said, “You’ve already got the caretaker position, why should you give it to someone else? Go talk to Zhao Ke again and reason with her.”

Pan Xiulian felt awkward and couldn’t bring herself to refuse too bluntly.

Wang Lao San saw them pestering his wife and came over to mock them, “Why don’t you go find Director Zhao yourselves? You know she’ll shut you down, so you’re using us as a shield?”

Aunt Dong gave a dry cough, her tone a bit weak as she tried to save face, “We have reason on our side; why would she shut me down…”

Wang Lao San said, “If you have reason, what are you afraid of?”

Aunt Dong, angry, smacked him, “Siding with outsiders—do you talk to your mother like that?”

Wang Lao San pulled his wife back into their room.

Cui Xiuli watched them, angrily pushing her husband, “Why don’t you know how to stand up for your own wife!”

Wang Lao Er remained silent.

Inside the third room, Pan Xiulian repeated Zhao Ke’s words to her husband, distressed, “It has to be one or the other—how do I choose? Why can’t they just hold onto my spot? If I find another job, then I won’t need it anymore.”

Wang Lao San had gone out with Zhao Ke once and knew a little more. He guessed, “Maybe there are too many people in our production team who want the opportunity, and she can’t just take care of you alone?”

Pan Xiulian frowned tightly, “So that means anyone can replace me?”

Wang Lao San laughed at her, “You make it sound like you got something amazing, talking about replacement…”

“So annoying~” Pan Xiulian lightly punched him with a clenched fist, “Director Zhao even tested my abacus skills! She’s a high school graduate, she really appreciates me!”

Wang Lao San laughed even harder, “Oh wow~ you’re so impressive.”

His tone clearly didn’t take it seriously, which made Pan Xiulian unhappy.

Wang Lao San stopped laughing and said, “Why don’t you just stop worrying about it? It’s not like I can’t support you.”

“We want to move out sooner, how can we rely only on you?” Pan Xiulian frowned, “Don’t bother me, let me think properly.”

Since it wasn’t hard labor, anything was fine, so Wang Lao San stopped interfering.

·

Meanwhile, Zhao Ke went home, greeted her family, and went straight into her room.

Yu Xiulan stood outside in the main room, peeking in. Seeing that she was once again sitting at her desk writing and drawing, she turned around and complained sourly, “Busy all day long—only she’s busy! Always pretending to be busy.”

Zhao Jianguo said, “If she’s not busy, you’re annoyed. If she is busy, you’re still unhappy. At least be reasonable.”

“Who’s being unreasonable?”

Zhao Jianguo looked at her.

Yu Xiulan got angry, making noise as she fiddled with things in frustration, “If it’s not this, it’s that—making it seem like I’m a worse women’s director than her.”

“You’re just jealous.” Zhao Jianguo teased her, “Jealous of your own daughter—Comrade Yu Xiulan, your heart is too small.”

Yu Xiulan glared at him, then angrily flopped onto the desk to read a book.

The desk was moved from Zhao Feng’s room, and the book was a middle school textbook Zhao Ke had given her.

Zhao Jianguo said, “It’s already getting dark—don’t you care about your eyes?”

Yu Xiulan said, “Even if I’m not as good as her as a Women’s Director, I won’t lose to her as a teacher.”

Even as a mother, she was this competitive with her own daughter?

Zhao Jianguo was helpless, “Just read for a bit and wake up earlier to study tomorrow.”

Yu Xiulan was rebellious, “Mind your own business and leave me alone.”

Zhao Jianguo: “……”

Meanwhile, Zhao Ke, who had unintentionally triggered Yu Xiulan’s competitive spirit, was seriously writing something that seemed serious but actually wasn’t all that serious—

【Zhao Village Women’s United Plan】

【Goal: Strengthen Zhao Village women’s sense of ownership and responsibility, cultivate their independence and self-reliance, mobilize women to help each other, free the Zhao Village women’s director’s hands, reduce the Zhao Village women’s director’s burden…】

As she wrote, Zhao Ke realized she had exposed her private motives and crossed out the last two lines, changing them to—

【Free the minds of Zhao Village women, reduce the burden on Zhao Village women.】

Author’s Note:

Director Zhao is so serious, so proper, so responsible… I can’t keep up this act anymore.