Chapter 21: “Who cares about this village, whoever wants to go, just go. As for him, he’s not going!”

At the same time, Lu Zhao had already arrived at the Youth Volunteer Office.

Li Xiaomei at the office looked up as Lu Zhao entered. She eyed him carefully, as he seemed unfamiliar to her. However, his well-dressed appearance and elegant demeanor made him seem quite refined. She politely asked,
“Comrade, who are you looking for?”

Lu Zhao entered without much chit-chat and spoke directly, “I’m here to sign up my son to go to the countryside.”

Li Xiaomei’s gaze wandered over him with a puzzled look.

This was the first time she had met such a conscious parent.

When others hear about going to the countryside, they think of how to avoid it, and their families come up with all sorts of ways to help their children escape the assignment.

This had added a lot of burden to the Youth Volunteer Office and the community.

But this man, without waiting for them to approach him, came on his own initiative.

Li Xiaomei secretly gave him a big thumbs up in her mind.

She pointed to a bench nearby and said warmly, “Comrade, please sit down, and we’ll first register your information.”

Lu Zhao walked over and sat down.

Li Xiaomei took out the Youth Volunteer Registration form and handed it to Lu Zhao, smiling, “Please fill in your son’s information. You’re the first one to voluntarily come here to sign up for your child. You can choose the location where your child will be sent to the countryside.”

This was a privilege granted to Lu Zhao.

Lu Zhao nodded, took the form, glanced over it, and began filling it out.

Once the basic information was filled out, when it came to the countryside destination section, he hesitated for a moment, then wrote down the farthest location from the capital, the remote northwest.

That troublesome kid had been bullying everyone at home for years, so he should be sent to the toughest place, the northwest, to experience a completely different life from the capital.

Without hardships, how could he understand the struggles of life or the difficulties his parents face?

Lu Zhao wasn’t at all worried whether Lu Sinian would adapt to life in the northwest.

Huiru was right—people’s adaptability changes with their environment.

He had completely lost faith in Lu Sinian, and after hearing Wang Xiaoyun’s advice last night, which seemed to be concerned about Lu Sinian, it further solidified his decision to send Lu Sinian to the northwest.

Two minutes later, Lu Zhao handed the completed form over. “Comrade, I’ve finished filling it out.”

Li Xiaomei casually glanced at the form and paused when she reached the countryside destination section. She looked at it carefully, seemingly in disbelief. “Comrade, are you sure you want to send your child to the northwest? To be honest, the conditions there are worse than in other places. Would you consider another location? I think the eastern provinces would be good.”

Li Xiaomei only said this because of Lu Zhao’s high awareness and scholarly appearance.

Lu Zhao shook his head. “No, it’s fine. Let him go to the northwest. If we’re sending him to help build the countryside, it should be where the people need him most.”

Li Xiaomei still felt something was odd.

She felt like she had gained some new perspective today.

Not only did she meet a parent who proactively came to sign up their child for the countryside, but also one with such strong principles.

If she didn’t know better, she might think this child wasn’t even Lu Zhao’s own.

Li Xiaomei shook her head and silently scolded herself for unnecessarily worrying about others.

It wasn’t her child anyway, and as long as there was an extra spot for the northwest, the other spots would open up, and she could use them to help others.

“Alright, you can go back and wait for news.”

Lu Zhao paused for a moment and asked, “Comrade, when will they depart?” Then, worried that Li Xiaomei might misunderstand, he quickly added, “Since this countryside trip was decided last minute, I haven’t had time to buy the necessary items. Knowing the departure date will help me get everything ready in time.”

Li Xiaomei didn’t think too much and replied, “There will be a group of Youth Volunteers leaving the day after tomorrow, and coincidentally, they’re heading to the northwest. You have today and tomorrow to prepare, so make sure to get everything you need.”

Lu Zhao felt a sense of relief in his heart.

After all, he was doing this in secret, without telling Lu Sinian or the old man, so it would have been hard not to feel uneasy.

Fortunately, he’d be able to send that troublesome kid off in two days.

“Thank you, Comrade. Time is tight, so I’ll head home now.” Lu Zhao hurriedly pretended to be in a rush to prepare.

After leaving the Youth Volunteer Office, Lu Zhao immediately wiped the anxious look off his face and calmly headed towards the school.

He had taken advantage of the lunch break to sign that troublesome kid up, but he still had classes in the afternoon.

The preparations for the countryside trip were nothing he needed to worry about.

As Xiao Yun had said last night, she would handle the arrangements.

He trusted Xiao Yun completely.

He was confident that by tomorrow, or even today, she would have already gathered all the necessary items for the trip.

…

After escaping from the school, Wei Jianshe went straight to the Lu family to find Lu Sinian.

He was lucky; if he had come any later, Lu Sinian would have already left the house.

Only Lu Sinian was at home.

Wang Xiaoyun had left after lunch, and who knew what she was up to!

“Sinian, something big has happened!” Wei Jianshe ran all the way over, out of breath. Before he even had time to catch his breath, he urgently blurted out the words.

Seeing Wei Jianshe, who should have been at school but was now out of breath and standing at his door, and hearing his panic-stricken voice, Lu Sinian immediately knew something was wrong.

His expression darkened. He stepped aside, “Come in and talk.”

Wei Jianshe placed his hands on the doorframe and leaned in, peering inside. “Maybe we should talk outside.”

After all, what he was about to say was important. It wouldn’t be good if someone else overheard.

Lu Sinian paused for a moment, then realized Wei Jianshe’s concern. He wanted to say that there was no one else at home, but wasn’t sure if Wang Xiaoyun would suddenly return.

“Alright, let’s go outside.”

Lu Sinian led Wei Jianshe to a spot where he frequently met with Wei Ping’an.

This was a place no one else dared to approach.

Lu Sinian leaned casually against a wooden post with his hands in his pockets, looking lazy. He raised his head to look at Wei Jianshe, then nonchalantly asked, “Go ahead, what’s going on?”

Wei Jianshe looked at Lu Sinian and angrily said, “Sinian, I managed to get some information from that bastard Lu Mingyang. If nothing else, your family is planning to send you to the countryside without telling you.”

He then explained everything about Bai Wenjie getting information from Lu Mingyang and the analysis Bai Wenjie had shared with him.

Lu Sinian was stunned for a moment before suddenly breaking into a light laugh. His lips curled into a shallow smile, and his face, pale and calm, suggested that he wasn’t surprised by the news at all.

But in the part that Wei Jianshe couldn’t see, his hands, hidden in his pockets, had already turned into fists.

A mocking smirk appeared on his lips. He should’ve guessed it earlier!

Two years ago, that old man had tried to convince the grandfather to send him to the countryside.

At the time, the old man had been furious and given them a good scolding!

He thought that had made them abandon the idea of sending him away. But no, they’d been planning it all along.

As soon as the old man left, they couldn’t wait to act.

Nice job!

But too bad, they were about to be disappointed.

Who cares about going to the countryside? Whoever wants to go, let them go—he sure isn’t going!

He wasn’t going to do something he didn’t want to do, no matter who tried to force him.