Courtyard House: Starting by inheriting the tradition and suppressing the barbarians.

Winter, 1968.

This winter was colder than usual.

The north wind howled like a whistle through the streets and alleys of Beijing, whipping up a sky full of withered leaves and dust.

But what makes people tremble even more than the cold wind is the slogan that has spread throughout the streets and alleys.

And the high-pitched slogans that are played on repeat all day long on the radio!

"It is very necessary for educated youth to go to the countryside to receive re-education from the poor and lower-middle peasants!"

"The world is vast, and there is much to be done!"

The Down to the Countryside Movement swept through every family like an unstoppable torrent.

......

The front yard of Hongxing Courtyard.

Early in the morning, Director Wang from the subdistrict office arrived with several clerks.

The local police officers also entered the courtyard in a large procession.

They held thick rosters in their hands, wore red armbands, and had serious expressions.

"Everyone come out! Meeting is starting!"

"A mobilization meeting for implementing the 'Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside' policy!"

Director Wang's booming voice echoed in the cold wind.

Before long, everyone came out, hunching their shoulders.

Everyone looked somewhat uneasy, especially those with young adults of marriageable age in their families, who were filled with worry and despair.

These days, who doesn't know how tough it is to go to the countryside?

That's going to the Great Northern Wilderness, to the Great Northwest!

No one knows when he'll be back.

Li Xuan was still wearing a crisp Zhongshan suit.

He was holding a hand warmer in his hand, standing calmly on the steps in the backyard.

His family doesn't have much to worry about.

My younger brother, Li Tian, ​​not only joined the army, but also rose through the ranks to become an officer—a truly honorable position!

My sworn sister, Yushui, is a college student and a technical expert, both of whom fall within the scope of the city's retention policy.

Needless to say, the younger sister, Li Xiaoyu, is still young and in school.

As for himself, he is a national-level special talent!

Protected by the State Council, who would dare let him go to the countryside?

Therefore, he was the only one in the entire theater who came purely to watch the play.

Director Wang stood in the center of the courtyard, his gaze sweeping across the entire area.

In the end, it all fell on the Jia family.

"Everyone is already aware of the policy, so I won't go into details."

Director Wang replied crisply and decisively, "Follow the orders from above!"

"Every household must send a young person of working age with at least a junior high school education who is not currently employed to the countryside!"

"No one is allowed special treatment!"

"Those whose names I'm calling now, report to the Educated Youth Section of the Subdistrict Office within three days to collect your supplies and prepare for departure!"

The entire room was completely silent, except for the pounding of heartbeats.

"Yan Jiekuang, in the front yard!"

Yan Bugui swayed and almost fainted.

He had just been suspended from his job at the school, and then his eldest and second sons kicked him out of the main house.

Now even the youngest son is at risk?

"Intermediate Court, Jia Geng!"

When Director Wang read out the name, he deliberately raised his voice a few octaves.

boom!

This sound was like a thunderclap, exploding directly above the Jia family.

"No! I'm not going!"

Banggeng, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, suddenly darted out from the crowd.

His only remaining eye was filled with terror and resistance!

The hideous scar on his face appeared particularly distorted due to his excitement.

"I'm blind! I'm disabled!"

"I'm not going! I'm not going anywhere!" Bang Geng roared hysterically.

Qin Huairu knelt directly in front of Director Wang, tears welling up in her eyes: "Director Wang, please have mercy!"

"He's got a disability!"

"How can he go to the countryside given his condition?"

"Wouldn't that kill him?"

Jia Zhangshi sat on the ground and began to wail, "Old Jia! Dongxu! Show yourselves and come to see!"

"They're trying to drive the only son of the Jia family to his death!"

"I don't want to live anymore!"

Faced with the Jia family's tantrums and outbursts, Director Wang showed them no mercy this time.

She looked coldly at the family and pulled a piece of paper from her file folder: "Disabled?"

"Hmph, don't use that as a shield!"

"We've already verified that the stickleback does have impaired vision."

"But he has all four limbs intact and is fully capable of working!"

"and!"

Director Wang's voice suddenly turned stern, "Comrade Jia Geng, as an unemployed vagrant, spends all day loitering on the streets."

"There are even prior convictions for theft and armed burglaries!"

"Young people with outdated ideas like these are precisely the ones who most need to be sent to the wider world for re-education!"

"The list has already been submitted; this is a political task! We must go!"

"And it's going to the far northwest!"

"If you don't go, then cancel your urban household registration and stop all grain rations!"

These words, like steel knives, completely severed the Jia family's escape route.

Cancel household registration?

Stop issuing food rations?

That would be a dead end!

Upon hearing this, Banggeng collapsed, trembling against the wall.

He recalled the rumors he had heard in the juvenile detention center about the Gobi Desert in Northwest China—

The sandstorms were so fierce they could bury a person; they drank bitter, salty water and ate hard, rock-hard black bread...

"Mom...help me!"

"I don't want to go... I don't want to die there..."

Banggeng grabbed Qin Huairu's trouser leg, crying with snot and tears streaming down his face.

Qin Huairu felt as if her heart was being torn apart.

This is flesh of her own flesh!

Although I'm not very good at it, I've suffered a lot these past few years.

If I really went to a place like that, wouldn't my life be over?

"Director Wang, please, could you possibly make an exception?"

"Even if we're going, could we go somewhere closer?"

Qin Huairu is still making a last-ditch effort.

"The list is coordinated by the district, and the destinations are randomly assigned; I can't change it."

Director Wang bluntly uttered a sentence and then read out a few more names.

Then, he left in a flurry of activity with his men.

All that remained was a courtyard full of people with gloomy faces.

Li Xuan looked at the Jia family's state, as if their parents had died, and a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

Random allocation?

Ha ha!

For others, it is indeed a random assignment.

But stick-shaped ones aren't!

He made a special phone call to Section Chief Liu of the Educated Youth Office last night.

Under the guise of "caring about the progress of neighbors," they specifically "recommended" Bang Geng to go to the most difficult conditions in the Northwest!

This is what happens when you offend him!

......

As soon as Director Wang left, Qin Huairu collapsed to the ground, completely disoriented.

"Huai Ru! You have to think of something!"

"Bang Geng can't leave!"

While crying, Jia Zhangshi pushed Qin Huairu, saying, "Go and beg someone!"

"Aren't you usually quite capable?"

ask for help?

Whom should I ask?

Qin Huairu raised her head, her peach blossom eyes bloodshot, and looked around blankly.

Her gaze first fell on the backyard.

Li Xuanzheng stood there, holding a handful of fish food, leisurely feeding the vicious eagle that had pecked out the eyes of the eagle.

Qin Huairu gritted her teeth, thinking of going to beg Li Xuan.

After all, Li Xuan has a lot of power now; all he has to do is say a word...

Before she could even stand up, Li Xuan seemed to sense something and turned to look at her.

His gaze was so cold, as if he were looking at a pile of trash!

He then turned and went back into the house, slamming the door shut.

The sound of the door slamming shut extinguished Qin Huairu's hopes completely.

She knew that Li Xuan would be doing her a favor by not kicking someone when they were down, so how could he possibly help him?

......