Beijing City, the Steel Factory Family Dormitory Building.
After Liu Pandi was taken away, Ye Tangsheng still didn’t know what had happened.
His wife hadn’t come home all night, but he didn’t care—he went straight to the steel factory for breakfast as usual.
It wasn’t until lunchtime, when many people started pointing and whispering at him, that Ye Tangsheng realized something was wrong.
Even then, he still didn’t know what had happened.
In the end, it was someone he was familiar with who told him that his wife had been fired for trafficking children and had been sent down to a farm for ten years of reform.
The moment he heard this news, Ye Tangsheng felt like the sky was collapsing.
What was even worse was that when he rushed home, he saw Ye Jinbao and Ye Ying being taken away by officials.
“What are you doing? Why are you taking my children?” Ye Tangsheng rushed forward to block them.
“We’re from the Educated Youth Office. According to policy, youths aged sixteen and above who have no job must go to the countryside to participate in construction. Both children in your family meet the requirements, so naturally they must be sent.”
They didn’t mention Ye Weiliang at all.
For a family this inhuman, they felt nothing but disgust.
“What? We didn’t sign up for this!”
“Didn’t you hear us? This is policy. Move aside—don’t interfere with our work.”
“I—”
“Dad! Dad! I don’t want to go to the countryside! Save me!” Ye Jinbao wailed, crying so hard his face twisted.
The staff from the Educated Youth Office felt like throwing him straight onto the ground.
They had truly never seen such an ugly man.
And once he cried, he became even uglier.
That little Ye girl was truly as beautiful as a celestial being—one glance was enough to tell she wasn’t from the same family as these people.
These three all looked the same—equally ugly.
The staff member looked at Ye Jinbao seriously. “Comrade, going to the countryside is a policy issued by the central leadership. Are you questioning the leadership’s decision?”
“No, no, the child is just talking nonsense. Of course he’ll go to the countryside—he must go and participate in construction.”
The moment Ye Tangsheng heard the words “central leadership,” he immediately backed down and changed his tune.
Seeing this, Ye Jinbao didn’t dare say anything more and could only beg his father to prepare some things for him.
“There’s no time now. You’ll be getting on the train soon. Go first—your father will mail things to you later.”
They were afraid people might run away, so they only came to take them at the very last moment.
Ye Ying had been sitting in a wheelchair and originally didn’t need to go.
But the doctor had certified that her leg could still walk—it would just limp.
So she was sent along as well.
Ye Tangsheng’s entire savings amounted to only a few yuan, money he’d borrowed from neighbors.
How could he possibly afford to mail them anything?
He had no idea that the fifty-yuan subsidy had already been taken away by Ye Weiliang.
Even if he had known, he wouldn’t have been able to get it back.
When he turned around to look for Ye Weiliang, he realized he couldn’t find her anywhere.
Meanwhile, Widower Luo had gone to the Public Security Bureau to report the case—turning himself in and accusing Ye Tangsheng’s family of trafficking women.
Ye Tangsheng was immediately arrested.
When he heard that Widower Luo had confessed, he even wondered if that man had gone insane.
In the interrogation room, Ye Tangsheng couldn’t withstand the pressure and confessed as well.
He was sentenced to ten years of labor reform on a farm—a very heavy punishment.
However, he wasn’t sent to the same farm as Liu Pandi.
Liu Pandi was sent to a farm in Xinjiang City, the harshest kind.
Ye Tangsheng was sent to a farm in the Tibetan region.
Although it was also considered part of the Great Northwest, it was still a great distance from Qing City, making it extremely difficult to ever see Ye Jinbao again.
Moreover, once someone entered a labor farm, getting out was virtually impossible—sending letters was nothing but a fantasy.
Unless Ye Jinbao went to visit him.
After riding the train for an entire day and night, Ye Weiliang finally arrived in Hei Province.
She carried only a small bundle as she walked out.
Li Xingxing, on the other hand, had several large bags and struggled to lift them.
“Sister Xingxing, let me carry one for you.”
“Huh? No need—it’s too heavy, you won’t be able to—”
Li Xingxing tried to refuse, but after seeing Ye Weiliang casually lift one of the big bags, she wisely shut her mouth.
She hadn’t expected that Ye Weiliang, who looked so delicate and soft, would have such incredible strength.
Ye Weiliang felt that the “superhuman strength” cheat given to her by Lord Yama was simply amazing.
Seeing Ye Weiliang carrying the bag so easily, Yi Manyu arrogantly tugged at her.
“Hey, since you’re so relaxed, carry one of my suitcases too.”
Ye Weiliang shot her a glance. “Carry your own things yourself. I’m not your mother.”
Warm reminder: If you think this book is good and don’t want to lose it next time, please remember to add it to your bookshelf.
“How can you talk like that? We’re all educated youths—shouldn’t we help each other?” Yi Manyu was furious.
“I’m only fourteen years old, and I’ve already helped Sister Xingxing carry a big bag. Isn’t that enough?”
Ye Weiliang was stunned by this woman’s twisted logic.
She ignored Yi Manyu and continued walking forward with Li Xingxing’s bag.
They still had to follow the Educated Youth Office staff and take another vehicle to Qi City.
After being transferred again and again, by the time they arrived in Qi City, it was already night.
They were to stay one night at a guesthouse, then take a vehicle early the next morning to Gannan County.
“Liangliang, let’s sleep in the same room, okay?”
When Li Xingxing saw that rooms were shared by two people, she hurriedly grabbed Ye Weiliang.
She really didn’t want to room with that capitalist young lady.
“Sure.”
Unfortunately, there weren’t enough double rooms, so the capitalist young lady still ended up sharing with them—in a triple room.
Inside the room, Yi Manyu complained about everything, acting picky and delicate.
Ye Weiliang responded by slapping her hard, leaving her completely stunned.
Li Xingxing was also stunned.
She never imagined that the soft, delicate Ye Weiliang would actually slap someone so fiercely.
But this didn’t diminish Li Xingxing’s admiration at all.
She never thought that one day she would admire a girl even younger than herself.
Yi Manyu sniffled and sobbed, not daring to say another word.
Ye Weiliang and Li Xingxing had already spent a full day and night on the train and were exhausted.
After washing up in the public bathhouse, they went straight back to sleep.
They slept soundly through the night.
The next morning, under the knocking of the Educated Youth Office staff, everyone gathered at the entrance of the guesthouse and boarded a vehicle to Gannan County.
After several hours of bumpy travel, they finally arrived.
At the Gannan County Educated Youth Office, the team leaders from various production brigades were already waiting, ready for the staff to assign the youths to be sent down.
This was the first batch of educated youths going to the countryside.
The team leaders were quite eager—after all, having extra hands to work was a good thing.
However, once they actually saw the youths, they weren’t quite as happy anymore.
“Ye Weiliang, Ao Jiarui, Li Xingxing, Shao Song, Yi Manyu, Yu Xingyun, Hao Jianguo, Zhao Boyi—assigned to Xing Fourteen Village, Bingbeiling Production Brigade.”
“Chen Pingyao, Gan Huangui, Bai Jiaoming… assigned to Xing Fourteen Village, Dachiling Production Brigade.”
“…”
When she heard that she was assigned to the Bingbeiling Brigade, Ye Weiliang knew that the Educated Youth Office staff had definitely helped arrange things for her.
After the assignments were finished, she went over to thank them.
“Comrade, I’m Ye Weiliang. Thank you for taking care of me!”
“You’re welcome. If you have any difficulties, you can come to me.”
This comrade had followed them all the way from Beijing and would be staying here from now on.
All future educated youths would pass through him.
“Alright, thank you!”
Ye Weiliang quietly slipped a pack of Da Qianmen cigarettes to the staff member.
Seeing how tactful she was, Xie Jinding naturally planned to look after her a bit more.
“Educated youths assigned to the Bingbeiling Production Brigade of Xing Fourteen Village, come over here to report!”
The Bingbeiling team leader shouted from not far away.
Ye Weiliang nodded to Xie Jinding and walked over.
The Bingbeiling team leader’s surname was Liu, named Liu Aimin.
Most families in the brigade were surnamed Liu, with a small portion being refugees who had fled there during the war years.
When Ye Weiliang and the others arrived in front of Team Leader Liu, he saw three delicate young girls and smiled warmly.
“Everyone, get on the cart.”
Yi Manyu looked at the ox cart with disgust.
She had never ridden in such a vehicle before.
“This thing is so dirty and broken—how are we supposed to sit on it?”
The pampered capitalist young lady started causing trouble again.
Liu Aimin’s face darkened immediately.
“Ride it or don’t. If you don’t, I’ll be even happier. This old ox is the treasure of our brigade—I’m worried you’d crush it.”
Yi Manyu refused to get on the ox cart no matter what.
Liu Aimin was so angry his face turned black. He couldn’t be bothered with her anymore and drove the cart away.
Yi Manyu was left standing there.
In the end, it was Shao Song who gave the team leader a pack of cigarettes and a bag of candy to plead on her behalf, and only then did the team leader reluctantly agree.
Under Shao Song’s stern gaze, Yi Manyu pinched her nose and climbed onto the ox cart.
Ye Weiliang sneered inwardly.
If she couldn’t even handle this, what awaited her later would be far worse.
Li Xingxing’s goal was very clear—stick close to Ye Weiliang.
At first, it was to protect her.
Now, it was to cling to her thigh.
Li Xingxing never felt ashamed about relying on a girl younger than herself.
She only had one firm belief— as long as she followed Ye Weiliang, the days ahead definitely wouldn’t be too hard.