Doctor Qiao took Qin Yuan to the forest farm office next door.
After much pleading and persuasion, the office worker finally relented and said impatiently, “You can only make calls as far as the county town. And you’ve got three minutes—no more! Not even one second over!”
Qin Yuan nodded repeatedly before asking cautiously, “Sorry to trouble you, Comrade. I need to call the County Bureau of Culture and Education about something rather sensitive. Could you… perhaps step outside for a moment?”
The office worker frowned, clearly unwilling.
Qin Yuan hurriedly pulled out two yuan and handed it over with an ingratiating smile.
“Oh, Comrade, I think I just heard the bell outside. Isn’t it lunchtime for the workers here at the forest farm? Why don’t you go buy yourself a couple of steamed buns? I promise I’ll be done very soon.”
Seeing this, Doctor Qiao quickly stepped forward and coaxed the office worker out of the room, even closing the door behind them.
Qin Yuan immediately picked up the telephone.
“Operator, please connect me to the Education Section of the County Bureau of Culture and Education.”
She waited nervously.
To her surprise, the call connected smoothly!
A somewhat familiar voice came through the receiver.
“Education Section. Who are you looking for?”
Qin Yuan hurriedly replied, “Hello, is this Section Chief Wang? I’m Qin Yuan—the girl who came yesterday to collect her worker-peasant-soldier university admission notice but forgot to bring her household registration booklet.”
The voice on the other end sounded lazy and somewhat impatient.
“Oh, it’s you. What, did you forget your household registration booklet again today? We’ll only hold the admission notice for three days. If you don’t come and collect it, you’ll lose it!”
Qin Yuan took a deep breath.
Then, as if afraid she might change her mind if she hesitated any longer, she quickly said, “No, Section Chief Wang. I called specifically to tell you that I’ve agreed to the proposal you made yesterday!”
The person on the other end instantly became excited, his voice turning urgent.
“What? Really? You mean… Ahem. You’re really willing? For five hundred yuan?”
Qin Yuan closed her eyes.
Her voice trembled slightly, but her resolve was unwavering.
“I’m willing. But I’d like to renegotiate the money.”
“Hey! Five hundred yuan is already the highest price anyone in the entire county would pay!”
Section Chief Wang’s tone immediately became tense.
“If the buyer hadn’t heard that your father was a martyr and wanted to give you some extra financial support, there’s no way they would’ve offered as much as five hundred yuan! If you try to raise the price any further, there’s nothing left to discuss!”
“Section Chief Wang, you misunderstood me. I’m not asking for more money.”
Qin Yuan quickly softened her tone.
“I’m saying I can accept less money, but in exchange, I need you to help me with something.”
“You nearly scared me to death! Fine, tell me what it is. As long as it’s something I can arrange, I’ll definitely help you. We’re genuinely sincere about buying your university spot, you know.”
Section Chief Wang breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly made his promise, sounding even more eager than Qin Yuan.
Qin Yuan said, “I have a friend who fell through a hole in the ice and was trapped in freezing water for several hours. His condition has been extremely serious since he was rescued. He needs to be transferred to the county hospital immediately, and an ambulance has to come pick him up because he can’t withstand being moved around or jolted during transportation.
“Most importantly, when he fell into the river, all his identification documents were washed away. Right now, he has absolutely nothing that can prove who he is…”
Before Qin Yuan could finish, Section Chief Wang interrupted her.
“Hey, don’t try playing tricks with me! What kind of ‘friend’ is this? He isn’t some criminal, is he? Or, you know… some kind of spy? I’m telling you now, I’m not getting involved with some suspicious person of unknown background or one of those Black Five elements!”
“Absolutely not!”
Qin Yuan raised her voice anxiously, then quickly lowered it again, afraid of upsetting him.
“Section Chief Wang, I’ll tell you the truth. He fell through the ice because he was trying to save me. You know what an ice hole is like at this time of year. The cold can kill a person! If he were really some dangerous criminal, why would he risk his own life to save mine? I swear on my father’s honor as a martyr that he is definitely a good man!
“If the person you mentioned—the comrade who wants to buy my university spot—can arrange for an ambulance to pick up the man who saved me, take him to the county hospital, and make sure he’s properly settled there, I’ll hand over my university spot immediately.
“And I’ll only take three hundred yuan!
“The two hundred yuan I’m giving up should be more than enough to cover an ambulance trip several times over. I only came to you because I don’t have a father anymore and I don’t want to beg my relatives for help. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’re my only option!”
It had to be said that Qin Yuan’s mixture of truth, bluffing, and confidence successfully intimidated Section Chief Wang.
The other end of the line fell silent.
He was clearly struggling with the decision.
Qin Yuan’s heart rose into her throat.
She gripped the receiver tightly, barely daring to breathe too loudly. She was afraid that if she missed even the slightest change in his tone, she might lose the upper hand in the negotiation.
Only after a long while did Section Chief Wang slowly speak.
“Fine! I understand. Basically, you want us to find a way to send an ambulance, take your friend to the county hospital, and make sure he doesn’t get arrested as some suspicious criminal. Is that right?”
“Yes!”
In truth, Qin Yuan felt angry hearing her benefactor described as a “criminal.”
But she was the one asking for help, so she had no choice but to keep her tone gentle and clearly explain what she needed.
“He’s been unconscious this whole time. Forget about the possibility of people mistaking him for a criminal because he has no identification. What worries me most is that his lack of identification could delay his treatment.
“So what I need from the person buying my university spot is this: provide him with documentation that can temporarily verify his identity, send an ambulance to pick him up, get him admitted to the county hospital, and make sure good doctors treat him!”
“You certainly have a lot of demands!” Section Chief Wang complained, though he didn’t refuse.
“I don’t think I’m asking for that much. After all, two hundred yuan can accomplish quite a lot, can’t it?” Qin Yuan refused to back down verbally, though inwardly, she had already relaxed considerably.
“Fine, fine. I’ll ask the person who wants the university spot and see whether they’re willing to help.”
Section Chief Wang sounded impatient before asking, “Where are you right now? Give me the basic information about this friend of yours—gender, age, and so on. If I can arrange everything, I’ll contact you immediately.”
Qin Yuan gave him the name of the forest farm where she was staying, along with a rough description of her benefactor’s height, weight, and age.
Section Chief Wang told her to call back in about twenty minutes, then hung up.
Qin Yuan slowly lowered the receiver.
Leaning against the wall, she gradually slid down until she was sitting on the floor.
Her body trembled uncontrollably.
It wasn’t because she was afraid.
She had been tense for so long that now that the weight on her heart had finally eased, her body could no longer hold itself together.
There was something she hadn’t dared tell her mother before leaving home.
Yesterday, when she had gone to collect her worker-peasant-soldier university admission notice, she could actually have received it even without her household registration booklet.
All Section Chief Wang needed to do was call her production brigade headquarters and verify her identity.
But Section Chief Wang had deliberately refused.
Instead, he had quietly pulled her aside and asked whether she was willing to sell her university admission spot.
Someone was offering five hundred yuan for it.
At the time, Qin Yuan had rejected the offer without even thinking.
That university spot had been obtained through her father’s sacrifice!
And the process of finally receiving that spot had been especially difficult and uncertain.
First, because of the death of an important national leader, the selection process had been postponed for two months. Later, rumors spread that this would be the last time university places were allocated through recommendation and that there would never be another opportunity like it.
Her entire family had waited for this university spot with their hearts constantly hanging in suspense.
To make sure Qin Yuan could successfully receive it, her mother had even voluntarily given up the temporary job the commune had arranged for her.
Everyone in the family was counting on Qin Yuan to use this opportunity to leave farming behind and build herself a brighter future.
How could she possibly sell it?
After she refused him that day, Section Chief Wang hadn’t tried to persuade her further.
Instead, he stubbornly insisted on “following the rules.”
No household registration booklet, no admission notice.
At the time, Qin Yuan had hated Xia Min for delaying her and causing her to forget the booklet. She had also resented Section Chief Wang for deliberately making things difficult for a young woman like her.
She had planned to bring the household registration booklet the next day and make another trip to the county town.
Only when she had the admission notice firmly in her own hands would she finally feel at ease.
But who could have known…
In her previous life, she had ultimately failed to keep that university spot anyway.
Little Wangwang: To save you, I gambled with my life.
Qin Yuan: To save you, I gambled with my future.