With the snow on the streets mostly cleared, Director Zhu simply took Yu Jingqiu and her daughter Feng Mingshu to the neighborhood committee office for a detailed discussion.
The “Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside” movement had begun ten years ago, in 1955, modeled after the Soviet reclamation campaign. Back then, a youth volunteer reclamation team led by Someone Yang traveled to the Great Northern Wilderness to cultivate wasteland. Since then, young people from various cities had voluntarily gone to the countryside.
The premise was voluntary participation, relying on the ideological awareness of the youth, emphasizing “voluntarily going to the harsh conditions of the countryside to temper oneself.”
Feng Mingshu clearly knew that in another two or three years, around the winter of 1968, due to changing circumstances, “voluntary” would become “voluntary under pressure,” with every household required to send a child to the countryside—a hard target.
Feng Mingshu didn’t want to be passive, and to avoid next year’s wave, she came to the neighborhood committee early.
But her plan sounded good; upon learning more, she realized she had little room for choice.
Currently, going to the countryside mainly involved reclaiming wasteland and defending the frontier, rather than joining a production team. This meant she couldn’t choose to join a production team in the rural areas near Bin City. Moreover, Bin City had a fixed designated area for going to the countryside—the state-owned farm area far up north.
That place experienced winter for half the year, with temperatures dropping to over -30 degrees Celsius at the coldest. The harsh conditions were to be expected.
Feng Mingshu took it in stride, but Yu Jingqiu frowned as soon as she heard about the state-owned farm area.
She tightly grasped her daughter’s hand, signaling her not to speak, then apologetically said to Director Zhu, “Sister Zhu, I’d like to go back and discuss this with my child first.”
Director Zhu naturally wanted Feng Mingshu to sign the going to the countryside volunteer form on the spot, but this matter truly couldn’t be forced. Director Zhu could only repeatedly explain the policies and benefits, but Yu Jingqiu still refused to agree.
Director Zhu had no choice but to see the mother and daughter out of the office, then pulled Feng Mingshu aside to advise her alone: “Mingshu, the next batch of volunteers is tentatively scheduled to go to the countryside next April. You must sign up before this time, or you’ll miss this batch, and who knows what the policy will be for the next one.”
“Thank you, Auntie Zhu, I’ll remember.”
Feng Mingshu expressed her thanks, then turned around and unintentionally caught sight of Zhang Yunxiao standing across the street holding a broom, looking at her. Perhaps he had overheard her conversation with Director Zhu, his expression quite complex.
“Mingshu.”
Zhang Yunxiao softly called her name, seeming to step forward as if to cross the street to approach her, but Feng Mingshu pretended not to hear, withdrew her gaze, linked arms with her mother, and headed home.
Zhang Yunxiao immediately grew anxious and started to run, but was pulled back by Chu Xuanxuan, who had come looking for him.
“Brother Yunxiao, the ground is covered in snow; it’s slippery. You can’t run,” Chu Xuanxuan softly advised.
“I don’t need you to worry about me!”
Zhang Yunxiao coldly shook off Chu Xuanxuan’s grasp, but in that delay, Feng Mingshu had already disappeared into the alley, out of sight.
Zhang Yunxiao still crossed the street but didn’t chase after the Feng family. Instead, he entered the neighborhood committee office, found Director Zhu, and inquired about going to the countryside.
Director Zhu’s previously dampened work enthusiasm instantly soared. She immediately pulled Zhang Yunxiao aside, and even Chu Xuanxuan, who had followed him in, received a thorough mobilization pitch.
Holding the going to the countryside volunteer form, Zhang Yunxiao asked, “Has Feng Mingshu signed the volunteer form yet?”
Hearing this, Director Zhu immediately understood that this young man was following after the Feng family girl.
That Feng family girl was quite pretty and attracted no shortage of admirers.She needed to be a bit ruthless, using persuasive words to deceive this naive young man into signing the application form, so she could secure a Going to the countryside quota. But in the end, her kindness prevailed, and she told him the truth.
“There is a girl from the Feng family willing to go to the countryside, but her mother is worried about the hardships of rural life and said she’d go back to discuss it. However, in matters like this, once the children make up their minds, don’t the parents always have to give in eventually? Don’t you think that’s reasonable?”
Zhang Yunxiao responded with a dazed “Hmm,” his gaze fixed on the Going to the countryside application form.
Feng Mingshu hadn’t signed the previous University application form, but now, on this one, could their two names be signed together?
Seeing Zhang Yunxiao’s interest, Chu Xuanxuan grew anxious and snatched the application form away: “Brother Yunxiao, you can’t go to the countryside! We agreed to take the university entrance exam together!”
“I never made any agreement with you to take the exam together, and what I do is none of your business,” Zhang Yunxiao said coldly, reaching out his hand. “Give the form back to me!”
“Fine, you don’t owe me any explanations. It’s me who’s been pestering you. But don’t think you’re going to the countryside with Feng Mingshu either—I’d rather tear it up than give it to you!”
Chu Xuanxuan, in a fit of desperation, began tearing the application form forcefully. Zhang Yunxiao’s expression changed, and he reached out to grab it, but Chu Xuanxuan crashed into his arms, and the two of them fell to the ground together, causing a scene.
Even the experienced Director Zhu felt he was witnessing something unprecedented: “You young people, whatever emotional disputes you have, don’t cause a commotion at the neighborhood committee! What kind of behavior is this?”
Feng Mingshu was unaware of the drama at the neighborhood committee. When she returned home and was about to start persuading her mother, Yu Jingqiu waved her off: “It’s almost eight o’clock; I need to rush to work. We’ll talk about your Going to the countryside matter when I get back.”
Yu Jingqiu was an accountant at the department store, a job assigned to her by the government after the Feng family’s business underwent public-private partnership. With the year-end accounting deadlines approaching, it wasn’t a good time to request leave.
But Feng Mingshu clung to her mother’s arm and pleaded: “Mom, let me go with you and be your assistant, okay? I’m really good at calculations.”
Yu Jingqiu shot her a mock-stern look: “If you don’t mind the tiredness, then come along.”
Feng Mingshu, of course, didn’t mind and happily carried her mother’s bag.
When they arrived at the department store, she saw several long lines of people waiting at the entrance, eagerly anticipating the store’s opening.
With the New Year just a few days away, holiday supplies had to be snatched up; otherwise, families wouldn’t be able to prepare properly for the celebrations, and neighbors would gossip.
It had snowed all night, otherwise, people would have started lining up as early as three or four in the morning, wrapped in quilts and carrying stools.
The Feng family was spared this ordeal because Yu Jingqiu worked at the department store and could purchase scarce goods internally. Occasionally, she even helped neighbors buy some items, which was one reason she was well-liked in the community.
Taking the internal passage into the department store, Feng Mingshu glanced again at the bustling crowd outside and thought of the fully stocked New Year supplies at home. She couldn’t help but sigh: “Mom, it’s really wonderful that you work here.”
Yu Jingqiu smiled at her: “If you think this job is so good, why don’t you take over by Replacing a job?”
Feng Mingshu shook her head repeatedly: “No, I still want to go to the countryside.”
Going to the countryside was a fallback plan. She would go first to scout the way. If, despite all arrangements, her mother and younger siblings couldn’t avoid the political movement, she could have them use family visitation as a pretext to leave Bincheng. Then, she would find a way to settle them in a village near the farm, so the family could be reunited.She was about to elaborate, but her mother didn’t pick up the conversation.
Yu Jingqiu said calmly, “Let’s go into the office. It’s time to get busy.”
They were indeed very busy. Settlement slips from all the counters in the department store needed to be consolidated in Yu Jingqiu’s office. The mother and daughter worked from morning until noon, with almost no time even to drink water, so Feng Mingshu naturally couldn’t find an opportunity to discuss the matter of going to the countryside with her mother.
When it was time for lunch, just as Feng Mingshu was about to bring it up, one of her mother’s colleagues entered the accounting office carrying a lunch box.
“Mingshu, this is your Aunt Huang. Her second daughter is currently working in the state-owned farm area up north,” Yu Jingqiu introduced her daughter, her tone carrying a meaningful implication.