Chapter 19 : Shock

Hearing the screams outside the window, the educated youth in the carriage felt a chill in their hearts. When they saw the fiery look in Yun Siying’s eyes, they instantly grew a bit afraid. They had thought she was just a delicate little beauty who needed protecting, who would have imagined she was so strong? One second she was politely smiling, and the next she could toss someone out of a moving train.

The male comrades who had been thinking of chatting her up quietly abandoned the idea and quickly averted their eyes as if nothing had happened. A fierce female comrade like that was clearly out of their league.

Yun Siying didn’t care about how the others were looking at her. She simply turned around and sat down. Seeing the horrified expressions on Shu Ruxue and Shen Subai’s faces, she closed her eyes in satisfaction and pretended to sleep. Recalling the figure of Shen Muyu she had seen in the educated youth office earlier, she could already guess why Shen Subai had gone to the countryside.

Meanwhile, Li Dazhuang the man who had been thrown off the train was still paralyzed and unable to move. He could only stare helplessly as the train rolled away. His heart was full of sorrow, but he had no tears left to cry. Next time he traveled, he swore, he would have someone check a person out first. This trip had really been a streak of bad luck.

He and Brother Jiang had made some money doing illegal trades, and he’d gone to visit his uncle in the city to see the world. That’s when he met a beautiful, gentle female comrade. They hit it off and spent several wonderful days together. He did everything he could to meet her needs. But within a week, the woman had scammed him out of most of his money and then vanished.

Worried, he went to the address she gave him and asked around. Everyone said no such person lived there. After searching for several days with no results, he finally realized he had been scammed. Shamefully, he boarded the train back to his hometown.

Without a ticket for a seat, he sneaked into the educated youth carriage and grabbed an empty one. Unfortunately, that turned out to be the seat of a beautiful female comrade. Still bitter from his previous encounter, he assumed another pretty girl couldn’t be up to any good. So he stayed put and refused to budge. Who could have guessed that this time, the woman would toss him right off the train? He deeply regretted his choice.

Thankfully, he still had some money and his ID on him. It was just that the train had taken off with a few of his best clothes still aboard. That hurt a little.

Who would have thought a delicate-looking girl could have such terrifying strength and such a ruthless heart? If he’d known, he would’ve moved immediately. Now this was just another shameful mark in his life. If he ever met her again, he swore he’d make her pay.

Back on the train, the carriage was filled with young men and women wearing bright red flowers on their chests. They were all educated youth sent to support rural development.

After parting with their families, everyone had been feeling down. Their hearts were full of reluctance to say goodbye to loved ones and anxiety about the unknown life ahead. People from different parts of the country had come together in this single carriage.

But Yun Siying’s bold, violent display had somehow swept away the sorrow and hesitation. About half an hour later, someone began humming a red revolutionary song.

The familiar melody was like the first ray of sunlight breaking through the clouds, warming everyone’s hearts. Gradually, more and more people joined in. The singing grew louder and louder until the entire carriage was filled with passionate voices.

The faces of the educated youth lit up with anticipation for the life ahead. Their eyes sparkled with hope. Every note they sang seemed like a vow from their hearts. Every verse carried their dreams for the future. They sang of the beauty of their homeland and the hope of an era filled with ideals and dreams.

As the song reached its climax, the emotions of the educated youth also soared to their peak. Their singing gathered into a powerful force, filling the entire carriage with energy and vitality. In that moment, they forgot their exhaustion and the sorrow of parting with their loved ones.

At that same time, in the Shu household, Shu Zhisheng’s expression was grim. Earlier that day, an old friend had said to him.

“Old buddy, even though Siying isn’t your biological daughter, she’s a bright, capable, and sensible child. Even if she cut ties with your family, how could you kick her out and not let her take anything with her? After all, she’s the one you raised and nurtured from childhood. Aren’t you being too heartless?”

Seeing the disapproving look on his friend’s face, Shu Zhisheng felt his own face flush with shame. He hadn’t even known about this. After exchanging a few brief words, he returned home from work and went to check Siying’s room , sure enough nothing had been taken.

“Shu Guofeng, when Siying left that day, did you stop her from taking anything with her? And Lingxue, you didn’t buy her any supplies for going to the countryside, did you?” Old Shu stared sharply at the couple.

“Dad, she didn’t want to take anything. We didn’t stop her. You can’t blame us,” Tang Lingxue said defensively, completely unaware of any wrongdoing.

“Very well. Do you know what people in the entire military compound are saying about our family now?” Old Shu tapped his cane hard against the floor a few times, then shouted, “How did I end up with such a foolish son?”

“Dad, don’t be angry. I didn’t think it through,” Shu Guofeng replied quickly, now realizing their family’s reputation was probably in shambles.

Back on the train, Yun Siying opened her eyes it was already lunchtime. She first went to get some hot water, then mixed a cup of malted milk in her enamel mug. She pulled out two white flour buns and a container of meat sauce.

She sipped half the malted milk, then split the buns, poured the meat sauce inside, and began eating with satisfaction. The rich aroma of the meat sauce filled the carriage, drawing the attention of the other educated youths, who kept glancing over at her.

Shu Ruxue and Shen Subai were eating plain white flour dumplings. When they smelled the savory meat sauce, they could only look on from afar and drool. But remembering Yun Siying’s earlier show of strength, they didn’t dare approach.

Once Yun Siying had eaten and drank her fill, she got up, washed her enamel mug, and packed it back into her suitcase.

Then she took out a period novel to read. Although the cover was disguised as a ruby-red political book, the content was a novel. She wanted to learn about the lives of educated youth in the 1970s and hoped to find some parallels in the story.

The rest of the journey went smoothly. After three days and three nights on the train, the group finally arrived at the county town’s railway station. Yun Siying and the other educated youth squeezed off the train together. Her white Huili sneakers were marked with several new shoe prints, clear evidence of how packed the train had been.

After disembarking, they saw tractors and ox carts parked nearby. In front of each vehicle, someone held a wooden sign with the name of their brigade written on it.

Yun Siying had sharp eyes and quickly spotted the sign for the Hongxing Brigade. She walked toward it briskly, it looked like a relatively well-off brigade, given they had sent a tractor to pick people up.

As she approached, she heard a middle-aged man shouting.

“Educated youth sent down to the countryside from the Hongxing Brigade, gather here! Educated youth from the Hongxing Brigade, over here!”

“Hello, Uncle. I’m Yun Siying, a sent-down youth assigned to the Hongxing Brigade,” she said politely as she walked over to him.