“Lin Zijin, is your brain filled with paste, or did a door crush it?
I finally managed to bring you out of the countryside, and yet you’re insisting on going back!
You’ve studied so much you’ve turned your brain into mush!
Is the countryside even a place for humans to live?
Haven’t you had enough already?!”
Yang Qingqiu gritted her teeth in disappointment and jabbed Lin Zijin’s forehead hard as she scolded her.
Lin Zijin shrank her shoulders under the scolding, lowered her head, and softly tried to argue, “Mom, it’s different.
Going to the countryside is responding to the nation’s call. Chairman Mao said, ‘educated youth should go to the countryside, receive—’”
Hearing this, Yang Qingqiu’s anger flared even more. This girl was so stubborn, nothing like her at all.
If she didn’t look a bit like her, she would have suspected she had been switched at birth.
She fiercely poked Lin Zijin’s head, cutting her off, and lowered her voice through gritted teeth.
“Stop quoting Chairman Mao at me.
It sounds nice to say it’s for rural construction, but the truth is, it’s weeding grass and cleaning pig and cow manure.
It’s working from dawn till dusk in the fields.
You’ve never done any real work at home—your little bit of work points won’t even fill a gap between your teeth.”
The more she spoke, the more agitated she became.
“You think going to the countryside is some kind of construction project? Are you stupid?!
It’s not like we don’t have examples. In the past two years, those students who shouted the loudest about going to the countryside—what happened?
Every one of them came back during visits looking miserable.
Look at the daughter of Aunt Wang next door—she’s a living example.
When she came home for New Year, the hands that once held a pen were covered in layer after layer of scabs. Her face looked older than mine at forty, and her skin was rough like old tree bark.
You want to end up like that?!”
Lin Zijin shook her head and said softly, “I don’t want to.
But the street office director said that building the new countryside needs us young people to contribute. He said we could achieve great things in the vast rural lands…”
“Bullshit!” Yang Qingqiu shouted immediately.
“Why don’t Director Wang’s own son and daughter go?
He already arranged good jobs for his son and a marriage for his daughter.
He’s feeding you all nice-sounding lies, and you’re actually falling for it!
Lin Zijin, your mother is from the countryside. Don’t I know what it’s really like?
It’s suffering far beyond what you imagine.
If you really insist on going, then tomorrow I’ll send you to your uncle’s house so you can experience it for a few days.”
Lin Zijin pouted. “Mom, that’s different, that—”
Seeing her daughter completely unresponsive, Yang Qingqiu felt like her lungs were about to explode.
“If you even think about going to the countryside again, I’ll break your legs!
And tomorrow I’m finding someone to arrange a marriage for you. We’ll settle your wedding early—then let’s see how you go to the countryside!”
With that, she slammed the door and stormed out.
Bang! The sound startled not only Lin Zijin sitting on the bed, but also Lin Xue in the next room who had been secretly listening.
Hearing everything between mother and daughter, Lin Xue’s eyes were filled with jealousy before she quietly left.
“Sigh.” Lin Zijin flopped onto the bed and sighed. “So annoying.”
Lin Zijin had just turned eighteen, had only just finished high school, and it was the year 1970—the peak of the sent-down youth movement.
Yesterday, she went to school to collect her graduation certificate. At the school gate, the street office director stood holding a loudspeaker and shouted, “The countryside is a vast world! The countryside needs young people like us to contribute…”
Hearing these slogans made her feel fired up and excited. Together with her classmates, she felt particularly tempted, and they even made plans to go to the countryside to see the wide rural world.
This morning after breakfast, while she was watching her mother preparing to take clothes out to wash, she told her about this matter.
When Yang Qingqiu heard it, her expression immediately changed. She threw down the basin of clothes, grabbed her directly—like lifting a chick—by the collar, and dragged her back into the room.
Then she gave her a harsh scolding.
After being scolded, her mind became much clearer. Thinking about the hard life in the countryside her mother described, she couldn’t help but shiver.
But she had just graduated and didn’t want to go on blind introductions for marriage!
If she had known earlier, she wouldn’t have said that today. “Sigh!”
Lin Zijing was the daughter of Yang Qingqiu and her ex-husband. After her ex-husband died, her in-laws despised her for giving birth to a daughter and constantly made things difficult for her. In the end, she brought her daughter along and managed to “climb up” to a better situation.
She married Lin Jiancheng, a city man whose wife had died.
The reason Yang Qingqiu was able to marry into the city and marry Lin Jiancheng was because she had planned it. She had inquired about his character and knew he was responsible and needed a woman to take care of the children.
What she wanted was Lin Jiancheng’s urban identity—his household registration, stable job, and ration coupons—which could provide her and her daughter with a safe place to live.
When she met Lin Jiancheng, she “accidentally” bumped into him, and the two gradually became acquainted.
During that time, Yang Qingqiu showed just the right amount of gentleness and diligence, which moved Lin Jiancheng. After learning she was a widow with a child, he directly proposed marriage.
Right after obtaining the marriage certificate, Yang Qingqiu took her daughter and changed their surname, transferred their household registration, and made Lin Zijing call Lin Jiancheng “Dad.”
At first, she took good care of her husband and his four children—one son and three daughters.
Later, as time passed, she slowly integrated into the family and made the children feel at ease. Only then did she give birth to another child, a son.
Including Lin Zijing, Lin Jiancheng had six children. The eldest son, Lin Lei, was already 27 years old, married with children, and had been allocated housing through the steel factory.
The second daughter, Lin Qing, was 24. She married at 16, choosing her own partner.
The third daughter, Lin Xue, was 18—one month older than Lin Zijing—and had just graduated from high school like her.
The fourth was the stepdaughter, Lin Zijing.
The fifth daughter, Lin Shu, was 15. Her studies were a complete mess; she always ranked last in exams. Lin Jiancheng found her embarrassing and didn’t let her continue school. She spent her days either lying at home or playing with friends, but she was still his precious child.
The sixth, Lin Ziyou, was four years old and Lin Zijing’s younger half-brother.
Life was steadily improving, but unexpectedly, Lin Zijing insisted on going to the countryside. This immediately triggered all of Yang Qingqiu’s long-suppressed temper.
Fuming, Yang Qingqiu picked up the basin and clothes left in the living room and went to the alley to fetch water and wash them.
The neighbor next door, Aunt Wang, saw that she was very upset and asked, “Sister Yang, I just heard you arguing at home? What happened? Your expression doesn’t look right either.”
Yang Qingqiu forced a helpless smile. “Oh, Sister Wang, you’ve seen me make a fool of myself. It’s nothing serious—it’s all because of that girl Zijing. She’s going to drive me crazy!”
As she spoke, her tone was full of a mother’s worry.
Aunt Wang became curious. “Oh? That shouldn’t be. Zijing is usually very well-behaved.”
“She’s well-behaved? Hah, she’s incredibly stubborn.
I saw that she’s getting older now, so I wanted to ask around for a suitable young man for her. I told her about it, but that girl is just too stubborn—her little mouth kept talking nonstop, arguing every point…” Yang Qingqiu sighed.