“Liu Min, how can you be like this? You were the one who came to sign up in the first place, and we even double-checked with you. You were the one who said it yourself, crying while you spoke. You said you couldn’t bear to part with him, but you had no other choice. Your voice was hoarse from crying, and you said Old Chen kept blaming you—that’s why you went ahead with it!”
“Exactly! You even said your own health was poor, and in a couple of years when you retire, your son can take over your position. What’s this now? You insisted on signing up yourself, your son’s name is on the roster, and you’ve already collected the two-hundred-yuan relocation allowance. Now you’re telling us you aren’t going? What were you doing this whole time?”
“That’s right!”
“But I never went there at all!”
“How can you say you never went? Several of us saw you with our own eyes. It won’t do you any good to claim it’s a mistake now.”
“How can you all talk nonsense? I really didn’t go!”
By this time, the neighborhood committee official was losing her patience. What kind of person was this? They had specifically made sure of everything back then.
“Your name is already registered on the list. Whether Chen Jinbao likes it or not, he has to go. We’re telling you now, so you’d better get yourselves ready.”
With that, the official refused to waste any more breath on them and walked away.
Liu Min was truly terrified now. She could never let her son go to the countryside! Countryside life was exhausting, and the worst part was that once he went, nobody knew when—or if—he would ever be able to come back.
However, since he was officially signed up, he had no choice. To make matters worse, the scumbag husband was already glaring at her and blaming her.
His own precious daughter had been forced to go to the countryside precisely because of this son of hers, and look at the chaos it had caused him. Now, this useless woman had gone behind his back and signed her son up for the countryside too. If that was the case, what was the point of all his scheming and shouting?
“Liu Min, what is wrong with you?!” he bellowed. “I just sent Xiaoya off to the countryside, and we had a massive falling-out over it! And look at you—things are already this messed up, and you went and signed your son up anyway? If I had known it would come to this, I wouldn’t have bothered sending Xiaoya away at all! Why didn’t you just send your son in the first place? You sat there giving me all kinds of excuses… What the hell was the point of all my tossing and turning?!”
“Then why did everyone just say you were the one who went?”
“I really didn’t go! Sob… I don’t know what’s going on either! Sob, sob, sob…“
The scumbag husband paused, his brow furrowing. He rushed over to check the household register. He found it resting right where it should be, except that tucked inside was a rustling countryside assignment certificate. He glanced at the name: it was unmistakably Chen Jinbao.
A chill ran down both their spines. Neither of them had gone to sign up… so how on earth did this happen?
“Could it have been Xiaoya?”
“Stop talking nonsense! Can Xiaoya magically turn into your face?”
“Then what on earth is going on?! Sob, sob, sob…“
“I don’t know!”
“What are we going to do now?”
“He has to go now. There’s no way around it. Go find Jinbao, bring him back, and start getting his things ready. There are only a few days left.”
“Sob, sob, sob… My poor Jinbao! Sob, sob, sob…“
The scumbag husband had no clue what was happening either. Suddenly, a chilling thought crossed his mind. Could it be Xiaoya’s mother? Was this her way of getting revenge on them?
Just thinking about it made him shudder. It was too terrifying.
Liu Min sat there crying for a while longer, but with no other options left, she dragged herself up. Still weeping, she walked down to send a telegram to her maiden family, urging Chen Jinbao to rush home immediately before returning to the house.
“Old Chen, we need to buy Jinbao the basic daily necessities he’ll need,” Liu Min said, wiping her eyes. “How many ration coupons do you have left? I hardly have any left on my end.”
“I don’t have two coupons left to my name either,” he muttered.
“Then where did your coupons go?”
“Xiaoya went to the countryside, to such a far-away, freezing place… Most of my money and coupons were spent on her.”
“Then what are we supposed to do about Jinbao?!”
Honestly, Liu Min felt a fierce urge to beat the living daylights out of him. He gave everything to that daughter of his, and now what was supposed to happen to her son?
“Well… this is all that’s left,” he said, pulling out a pitifully small handful.
“Figure something out! Besides, didn’t you collect the relocation allowance?”
“I told you, I never went to sign up! Where would I get a relocation allowance?”
“This is all I have. You’ll just have to find a way for the rest. You know how big of a scene was made the other day. You saw for yourself—everything was completely cleaned out, let alone having any spare cash. Even the things in the house miraculously vanished.”
Hearing this, Liu Min suddenly remembered that all her own hidden money and belongings had vanished into thin air as well.
The next day, when Chen Jinbao hurried back home, he demanded to know what on earth was going on.
Tears streaming down her face, Liu Min explained the entire situation to him. Chen Jinbao stood there in a daze. How could so many drastic things happen just because he was away for a few days?
“Where’s that money-losing wretch?” he snarled.
“She’s already gone to the countryside.”
Chen Jinbao was seething with rage, but there was nothing he could do. He had no choice but to accept his fate and prepare for the countryside.
For the next two days, Liu Min scrambled to put together his departure package. Because the money and coupons they had left were painfully limited, she had to borrow left and right, finally managing to pull together a bundle of necessities just in time.
On the day of Chen Jinbao’s departure, the two of them escorted him to the railway station. After helping him stow his luggage away inside the carriage, they stepped back down onto the platform.
Standing outside the train window, Liu Min watched her son and wept uncontrollably, continuing to cry even after the train pulled away and she could no longer see his face.