Help others? It's better to help yourself - Chapter 41

Not long after Xu Jing’an came out of the hospital, she heard someone shouting, “Put it on! Hurry and put it on!” A qipao was held up in the air.

A group of people wearing armbands gathered together, continuously shouting, while many onlookers rushed over to join the commotion, causing the crowd to grow larger.

“Don’t wear it! Strip her!”

“Strip her naked and then put it on her!”

A chorus of cries erupted, and after a while, the crowd dispersed. In the center of the group stood a middle-aged woman with a bruised face, her head bowed, wearing a sign around her neck, being pushed and shoved forward.

She held a large gong in her hands, weakly striking it while shouting, “I am—” when someone yelled, “Teach her a lesson!”

A group of people rushed in, punching and kicking, spitting, and throwing stones.

Her hair was being yanked, covered in saliva and even sticky phlegm from the crowd. She was bleeding from her head, feeling isolated and helpless as she was paraded through the streets.

No one bothered to investigate the logical connection between “reactionary” and a former prostitute.

Xu Jing’an, frightened, quickly slipped along the wall and pedaled her bicycle as fast as she could. By the time she reached the banks of the Qin River, her legs felt weak.

She got off and sat on a stone bench to catch her breath when she heard faint moans not far away.

Startled, Xu Jing’an jumped up and searched around until she found an old man lying behind a large tree.

He looked to be in his seventies, his gray hair disheveled, hands clutching his waist, with a pale face and beads of sweat trickling down, in excruciating pain. Beside him lay a tall hat labeled “GZz,” indicating that the rebels had not spared him either.

Xu Jing’an noticed that the old man’s knees were covered in dirt. He was likely hiding here, afraid his family would see him like this and feel upset.

Standing there and watching the old man, she felt very unsettled. When she left home today, she hadn’t brought a bag to carry things, leaving her empty-handed.

So, whether it was sympathy or discomfort, all she could do for the old man was pretend to take out three painkillers, two Anacin tablets, and five large White Rabbit candies from her pocket and place them beside him.

The old man, gritting his teeth against the pain, began to cry. “Thank you, girl.”

Without looking back, Xu Jing’an quickly got on her bicycle and rode away.

……

Xu Jing’an and Shen He had once again entered a sweet period of marriage. The two of them were very affectionate, enjoying a sense of closeness that felt even stronger than during their honeymoon. They spent half a month in this blissful state. With the arrival of Xu Jing’an’s monthly period, they began a brief period of rest.

At the beginning of April, a telegram from the Xu family shattered Xu Jing’an’s peaceful life.

“Xu Jianshe’s gone to the countryside, and even to H City?” Xu Jing’an was quite shocked after reading the telegram.

Initially, it was with the information “not allowing Xu Jianshe to go to the countryside” that she had negotiated with Xu mother for a dowry of 300 yuan.

The two of them had reached a consensus that “there would be no further contact,” and not even a single letter had been sent when Xu Jing’an was pregnant and gave birth, let alone any telegrams or phone calls that required spending money.

As a result, Xu mother had failed to keep Xu Jianshe from going. No wonder she sent her a telegram. Xu Jing’an suspected that Xu mother was filled with anger and had blamed herself as well.

……

At this moment, Xu mother was furious. No one had expected that Xu Jianshe, who was working, would go to the countryside, and that he had been even signed up at the behest of his elder daughter-in-law!

After hearing what the third child said, Xu mother thought about it for an entire night and felt that it wasn’t just baseless gossip.

When ordinary people don’t know what to do, they look at how the leaders and the smart ones handle things and simply copy them.

The current situation was that—those with connections had already arranged for their children to get jobs.

In the past, there were still many young men and women who had reached the right age but were still dragging their feet. The main reason was that they all wanted to find someone with good conditions and good character.

But now, as long as the other party’s conditions were acceptable, many people got married as soon as they reached the right age. This month, she had already received wedding candies from six families, while Old Xu had given gifts at eight different weddings in the factory.

Thinking of this, Xu mother took a deep breath. The next day, she hurriedly took the “face project” given by the third child—a large bundle—and quickly boarded a train home.

When she got home, she quietly shared the news with Xu father and the fourth child. The next day, she took Xu Jianshe to hand over his work.

Although Xu Jianguo and his wife, Xu Duoduo, were not happy, they understood that Xu mother’s job was meant for the fourth child. Moreover, Xu mother had never been ambiguous or changed her mind when she talked about this job. It was very clear that it belonged to Xu Jianshe!

Once everything was arranged, Xu Jianshe smoothly started his job. After six months, he was converted to a formal worker. Xu mother felt a little relieved.

When the nationwide call for educated youth to go to the countryside came, they said, “We also have two hands and won’t eat idle meals in the city.”

When the street office notified every household that anyone without a job must go to the countryside, Xu mother, Xu father, and Xu Jianshe felt even more fortunate.

There were families in the building wanting to transfer their jobs to their children, but the street office staff stated that each family must have at least one person go to the countryside, with exceptions for those already employed and only children.

Once this condition was announced, many parents could only watch helplessly as their only unemployed children went off to the countryside. Parents wanted their children to take over the family business, but the leaders wouldn’t approve.

They could only wait two years to find someone to bring their children back from the countryside, but as time went on, the variables increased, and no one could be sure that it would work out!

The Xu family became even more low-key and spoke more politely to others, fearing that someone might cause trouble.

Xu Jianshe was more than a year younger than Xu Jing’an and wouldn’t turn 20 until October 1971. Xu mother initially wanted her son to marry early, first because it was harder to find a good partner when he wasn’t a formal worker, and second, he was still too young.

Not long after her son was regularized, the notice to go to the countryside came down, and more people began to keep an eye on their family. After all, in the entire building, only five families were lucky enough not to have any children sent to the countryside.

Xu mother didn’t dare to find someone to alter Xu Jianshe’s age, fearing that it would give others a handle to use against her later.

This year, after so much difficulty, Xu Jianshe’s age finally qualified, and Xu mother was busy trying to help her son find a partner. However, no one expected that she would be stabbed in the back by Xu Duoduo.