Chapter 12 Let Song Nanting go to the countryside for me

It was already one o’clock in the morning, and the family compound of the textile factory was filled with a gloomy atmosphere. Zhao Xiue had been yelling all night, cursing Wei Dani and the entire Pan family over and over again. Song Aiqiang sat at the table with a dark expression, slapping his hand on it. “Enough, you’ve been yelling all night. Isn’t it better to use that time to find Song Nanting and ask her what’s really going on?”

“Yeah, where the hell has that damn girl gone? That cheap little bitch. Girls these days are no good, always betraying their own family,” Zhao Xiue kept cursing. She was talented when it came to cursing—though she didn’t get the upper hand in the fight with Wei Dani today, she didn’t lose either. The two women exchanged insults and even fought a bit. Wei Dani kept insisting that the family was out of money, that Song Nanting had taken everything, but no one believed her. With Wei Dani’s character, if she really had taken everything, she wouldn’t be so calm about it. Pfft!

Zhao Xiue got angrier the more she thought about it. “Tomorrow I’ll go look for that damn girl myself. I’ll bring her back and make a scene at the Pan family. I just don’t believe she actually ran away.”

The whole family finally fell asleep around two in the morning. At daybreak, there was a loud banging on the door.

“Zhao Xiue, Song Aiqiang, someone’s here to bring you good news,” came the shout.

Early in the morning, the Song family’s courtyard was noisy and bustling. It was not unusual for educated youths to be sent to the countryside, but what was surprising was that someone who was already working had volunteered to go down. The problem was, the person who was supposed to go was still lying in bed, unable to get up.

Song Aiqiang and Zhao Xiue had cursed Wei Dani all night and only just fallen asleep in the early hours. Now being woken up by the noise, their mood was very sour.

“Let me see who’s so reckless to be knocking at this hour,” Zhao Xiue said, already on edge from the recent misfortunes. Any loud noise made her nervous. Especially since the shouting outside sounded gloating, it made her even more worried.

She opened the door and yelled, “What are you doing so early? Can’t you let people sleep?” It was only a little past seven, and most workers hadn’t even started heading to work.

Standing at the door was Director Wang from the shoe factory workshop, Song Nanfeng’s direct supervisor.

The moment Zhao Xiue saw Director Wang, her face changed. “Director Wang, what are you doing here? Please come in, please come in.”

“I won’t come in,” Director Wang smiled, “I’m here on behalf of the factory.”

“Comrade Zhao Xiue, you really have raised a good son,” Director Wang said with a smile.

Zhao Xiue was confused; this was the first time anyone had praised her son in front of her. In her heart, she did believe her son was outstanding, but she still had to stay humble in front of the leadership. “You’re joking. I’d be happy if he didn’t make mistakes.”

“No mistakes,” Director Wang laughed, “Comrade Song Nanfeng voluntarily signed up to go down to the countryside to contribute to the country. That’s very admirable and worthy of respect.”

Zhao Xiue’s mind went blank, and she shouted sharply, “What? Impossible!”

Director Wang’s smile didn’t fade. He took out the notice sent by the educated youth office. “Look, here’s the registration form. Name, household registration, work unit—all clearly written. No fakes.”

He handed her an envelope. “This is the factory’s encouragement for Song Nanfeng, who actively signed up to go down and contribute to the country.”

In fact, Director Wang was very pleased. Song Nanfeng wasn’t a good person—he gambled, was lazy, and caused all sorts of trouble. Keeping him in the factory was a disaster. But because it was a state-run factory, they couldn’t just fire him. If they could, he would have been gone long ago.

And this matter? It definitely wasn’t Song Nanfeng who signed up himself. But whoever did it, the factory was happy to handle it, as long as it was official.

Zhao Xiue’s face turned pale in disbelief. “Impossible. He didn’t sign up. He can’t have signed up.”

“I didn’t sign up to go down. It wasn’t me. I don’t have to go,” Song Nanfeng, who was beaten and couldn’t get out of bed, shouted loudly enough to be heard.

His younger brother, Song Nanshan, also bedridden, was gloating, “Big brother, didn’t expect you to be so enlightened, volunteering to go down. Ha ha, you really are something.”

In every family, someone had to go down. In their case, someone should have gone before, but thanks to Wei Dani’s scheming, his second sister didn’t have to go. He’d been worried he might be sent, but now that his older brother was going, he was off the hook.

Song Nanfeng snorted, holding onto a broken stool as he struggled to move. “I didn’t sign up. It’s not me. It doesn’t count.”

Director Wang smiled. “That’s not up to you. The educated youth office will send people soon. If you don’t go, you’re violating policy. The committee will come to get you.”

He said, “I won’t bother you anymore.”

Zhao Xiue grabbed him, “Director Wang, don’t go. My son can’t go down…”

Song Nanfeng also pleaded, “Director Wang, really, I didn’t sign up. I’m the eldest son. I don’t have to go.”

Director Wang frowned. “You’re signed up. You have to go. Whether you’re the eldest or the second, if you don’t go, you’re opposing national policy. The committee isn’t messing around.”

Zhao Xiue was on the verge of tears. Director Wang brushed past them and left.

Soon, the educated youth office staff arrived.

“Is this Song Nanshan’s home?” they asked.

Zhao Xiue was at a loss for how to respond.

Song Aiqiang came out and asked, “Yes, what is it?”

The staff handed over two file folders. “These are the documents for your two sons to go down to the countryside. You need to go to the educated youth office in the next couple of days to complete the procedures. After the Lunar New Year, on the fifth day, they will go down together with the others.”

A buzzing sound rang in Zhao Xiue’s head. “What? Song Nanshan?” Both sons have to go down? Zhao Xiue’s eyelids rolled back, and she fainted on the spot.

Song Nanshan, who had been hiding on the bed behind the big table, gloating, suddenly heard his own name.

“I didn’t sign up!” he shouted, trying to stand up and make things clear. But his knees hurt terribly, and he couldn’t get up. With a bang, he fell to the ground.

Seeing the two brothers like this, the educated youth office staff was momentarily stunned. Then he sneered, “So you signed up but now regret it? Trying to injure yourself to escape going down?”

Song Aiqiang quickly forced a smile. “Comrade, there must be a mistake. We didn’t sign up…”

“Didn’t sign up? Doesn’t your family have quotas for going down? If you meet the requirements, why didn’t you sign up? Now you sign up and then regret it? Do you think the country’s policies revolve around your family?”

The staff member wrote in his notebook, “This is a very serious political mistake. I expect to see you at the educated youth office the day after tomorrow to complete the procedures. Otherwise, I will bring the committee officials to take you both away.”

He shoved the file folders into the stunned Song Aiqiang’s hands. “You’re a father and a proletarian worker. I’m sure you support the country’s policies. I hear you’re in the middle of a critical technical skill assessment? Surely you wouldn’t do anything against the policies, right?”

After they left, Song Aiqiang felt like he was about to collapse. Meanwhile, the neighbors around were gloating, “Worker Song, has your whole family gone crazy from joy? This is a family honor!”

Before the reminder, the two stunned brothers hadn’t realized it, but once it was pointed out, they both broke into tears and cries, “I don’t want to go down! I don’t want to go down!”

Song Nanshan’s mind raced. Crawling over, he grabbed onto Zhao Xiue’s pants leg as she struggled to get up from the floor. “Mom, you have to find Second Sister and make her go down instead of me. Please find her and let her go down instead. I don’t want to go down!”

“Mom, I’m your good eldest son. You can’t make me go down. Let Song Nanting go down instead.”