"But the weather over there, I’m afraid you’ll,"
"If my little sister can take it, why can’t I? Even if my body can’t handle it, it’s okay, as long as my spirit isn’t broken."
"Huanhuan, maybe you’re overthinking it, no one has that much ti,"
You’re wrong, there really are people who have that much free ti, even so of the top leaders went down during that **, let alone you?
Ye Huan couldn’t speak plainly, and could only insist on making these demands of him.
After this incident, Ye Huan beca more vigilant around her colleagues, and her daily life beca more low-key. Even when going out at night, she worried about being followed and was extrely cautious because she had decided to leave; she was determined to go, and after the sumr harvest, the price of grain skyrocketed.
After no one was interested in the fruit from her family, they switched to selling grain, trading it for milk powder tickets, cloth tickets, tobacco and alcohol sideline foods, or dicines. Of course, if there were antique goods like gold and silver jewelry, she would accept those too.
For instance, twenty-one jin of grain on the market, she sold it for ten yuan per jin, eight yuan per jin, much cheaper than others, so naturally her business was extrely good.
Every ti she went out, she would disguise herself, but not at the unit; instead, she would do it in a deserted place. If she discovered soone was following her (and soone really was following her), she would change her disguise to shake them off. So while others were still searching for her all over the streets, she might have already returned to her dorm to take care of the child.
Thus, after a certain year’s autumn harvest, the price of grain soared even higher, and reports of people starving to death or being poisoned erged in various places.
Ye Huan’s family, because of the grain they had stored in previous years, though still going hungry, at least wouldn’t starve to death. At most, they were just not full, and Ye Huan occasionally sent a few things back ho secretly, so the Ye Family fared relatively better that year.
At the end of the * year, Tong Zhan received approval to transfer, allowing him to be reassigned to a position as a regint leader in an independent regint in Xinjiang. Although it was not the sa place as Ji Huzi, they were both part of the Xinjiang Construction Corps. The rank of Colonel ant Tong Zhan’s rank was higher than that of a typical regint leader.
Due to this transfer order, Ye Huan couldn’t return to her hotown that year, and in fact, there was a disaster at ho, with chaos everywhere, making it impossible to bring the child back; the journey was too taxing.
So, Ye Huan sent a bag of sweet potato slices to her ho, along with a letter about their plans to go to Xinjiang after the new year.
The family now knew that the couple had adopted a pair of twins, so not returning ho for the new year seed understandable to them.
That year was spent in the midst of Ye Huan and Tong Zhan’s handover. On the 10th day of the first lunar month, the couple finished handling their family affairs and various relationships, gave away what needed to be given, packed what needed to be packed, and boarded the train to Xinjiang with a group of sent-down youths.
At the beginning of the * year, Liu Hongqing was four and a half years old, Danfeng Chaoyang was nine months old, Ye Huan was 30, and Tong Zhan was already 40 years old.
The train to Xinjiang was packed with people in each carriage, with no seats in these freight train carriages. When the train first started moving, it was filled with cries.
These were soldiers going to such a distant place for the first ti; the male soldiers were the majority and the female soldiers the minority, naturally, it was the female soldiers who were crying, though the situation among the male soldiers wasn’t good either.
It was their first ti away from their parents, away from their hotown, and as the cries reached their carriage, Ye Huan also sighed.
Due to Tong Zhan’s rank, the higher-ups assigned the couple a separate sleeper carriage. After all, they were bringing several children and were both going to support frontier developnt, so a certain amount of preferential treatnt was given.
They were headed to Xinjiang, where it’s especially cold in February. Everyone wore heavy cotton clothing, and though their carriage was sowhat better since they had quilts, the young soldiers were not so fortunate. Using the toilet and other facilities was inconvenient, with people and bundles packed tightly in the carriage.
Supporting frontier developnt, for an unknown number of years, left everyone’s emotions low, which was a normal emotional response.
From ti to ti, Tong Zhan had to attend etings outside, so Ye Huan stayed in the carriage with the three children, tending to their food and drink, ensuring they didn’t run or climb around.
When boarding, she carried one child in her arms, had another on her back, and Tong Zhan also carried one in his arms with luggage on his back. Two soldiers helped them with two large bundles of luggage, allowing them to laboriously board the train.
Ye Huan didn’t know if this step she took was the right one, but she knew that this decision not only spared Tong Zhan from disaster but also maintained his current position. She could also contribute what she had learned. Yes, enduring hardships was inevitable, but trading that for the peace and simplicity of the latter half of life seed worthwhile to her.
So, whether right or wrong, since she had already decided, there was no room for regret.
Before leaving, she had stead a lot of plain flour stead buns. When the children were hungry, she would scrape off a little, soak it in hot water, sprinkle so sugar, and let them eat it. There was no oil or dish, and the white flour was for the children; the couple ate hard, difficult-to-chew vegetable nests, swallowing them with hot water.
Even though Tong Zhan was a regint leader, in the face of grain shortages, everyone received only vegetable nests and hot water; wanting better food was quite difficult.
After all, the Construction Corps in the * year was actually tougher than in ’68. Back then, so places had been developed, whereas when they went, it was likely a barren wasteland.
By chance, Tong Zhan and his group were going precisely to open up a new corps.
User Comments
0 comments from readers