"Brother Chen Yang, you're really not going back?"
"I heard that the competition for the first batch of returning-to-city quotas at the end of this year is the fiercest. If you go back first, you'll be able to sort out your job first. Once all these rusticated youths return to the city, it'll be harder to find work later on."
Just as Chen Yang was salting preserved meat, Zheng Weiguo and Liu Maosheng brought him some earth-shattering news.
The grand ten-year-long activity of educated youths going up to the mountains and down to the countryside was finally coming to an end.
As fellow rusticated youths, Chen Yang, Zheng Weiguo, and Liu Maosheng all hailed from Jinling City in Jiangsu Province.
Being born in the ancient capital of six dynasties gave them a natural sense of superiority, and they had no desire to stay in Anhui Province to become farmers in a small village.
In his past life, Chen Yang, Zheng Weiguo, and Liu Maosheng had seized the opportunity of the first batch of returnees to go back to Jinling.
Originally, according to policy, those who married in the countryside or were recruited by local enterprises would lose their status as rusticated youths and be unable to return to the city.
However, in his past life, Shen Xue, for Chen Yang's future and to help him regain his city-dweller status and have better conditions to attend university,
She divorced Chen Yang voluntarily and then, almost on her knees and fighting with all her might, pleaded with the old village party secretary, Shen Fuguo, to conceal the fact that Chen Yang had married her in Shenjiaba Village. This preserved Chen Yang's rusticated youth status, allowing him to return to the city smoothly.
Therefore, hearing this news again now, Chen Yang felt a sense of daze.
Of course, there were still several months before the official return to the city began. It was nearing the end of the year, and the return would gradually start and continue until 1980.
"You don't need to ask about this anymore. I've married Xue'er and we have a little girl. If I go back, what will happen to them?"
Chen Yang smiled freely. He had no idea that as he was talking to Liu Maosheng and Zheng Weiguo, Shen Xue, who had been holding the salt jar to cure the meat, dropped the jar she was holding.
Shattered!
"Brother Yang, I'm sorry. Although we understand the difficulties you mentioned, and we might not find jobs even if we go back."
"But, but I still want to return to the city. My home is there. My father, my mother, my elder brother, they are all in Jinling. I don't want my son to only be able to farm in the future, without even the qualification to eat commercially rationed grain."
Looking at the calm Chen Yang, Zheng Weiguo gritted his teeth. He knew that going back might mean, as Chen Yang had said, that they wouldn't find jobs and would have to rely on their parents for support.
But he truly didn't want to stay here.
It wasn't that he was unwilling to endure hardship, but in the eyes of people of this era, city dwellers were inherently nobler than rural dwellers.
They were born with the qualification to eat commercially rationed grain, while rural people had to pay grain taxes every year from their farming. He really didn't want his descendants to endure such a life.
Liu Maosheng didn't speak, but his eyes clearly showed that his thoughts were aligned with Zheng Weiguo's.
Chen Yang didn't force anything upon them. The countryside was inferior to the city; this was a consensus among everyone in this era.
Not only did city dwellers think this way, but even many rural dwellers did. Who would be willing to stay in the countryside to dig mud and farm if they had the chance to enter the city?
This sentiment persisted even into the 21st century. How many migrant workers worked themselves to death on construction sites for half their lives, simply to earn a down payment for a house in the city for their children.
"It's good that you've thought it through. During this time, you two have saved some money. Even if you can't find a job when you go back, you won't just be loafing around waiting to die."
"You'll always find a way to make a living!"
"Maybe in a few years, I'll bring Xue'er and the little girl back to Jinling. If things get tough, you can come and work for me."
Chen Yang smiled faintly. In this life, he had already brought about a change in Zheng Weiguo and Liu Maosheng. By following him to catch fish and sell them these past few days, they had saved at least dozens of yuan.
By the time they officially returned to the city, they would probably have saved a hundred to two hundred yuan. It was still July, and there was still some time left for catching fish.
After all, they had gone to the countryside together. In the early days after arriving at Shenjiaba, they had supported each other. Chen Yang felt he had repaid that kindness.
As for how Zheng Weiguo and Liu Maosheng would fare, it would depend on their own fortunes.
"Brother Yang, words cannot express our gratitude. If it weren't for you, we'd still be muddled and lost."
"With money in hand, we at least won't have to rely on our parents' food when we go back."
Zheng Weiguo and Liu Maosheng suddenly knelt before Chen Yang, surprising him. A man's knees are made of gold; these two truly saw him as a benefactor.
"What are you doing? We went to the countryside together, like brothers. When I first arrived, I was stung by a hornet on my foot, and you two took turns carrying me to work every day."
"Besides, catching fish is how you two earned money with your labor. I didn't pay you for nothing. There's no need for this. If you kneel again, we won't be brothers anymore."
Chen Yang quickly helped them up. Having witnessed the magnates of capital in his past life, he had underestimated what earning ten yuan a day meant to people of this era.
The parents of Zheng Weiguo and Liu Maosheng were workers who had worked for decades, earning only twenty to thirty yuan a month.
If they could catch fish for a month, they might earn two to three hundred yuan, which was equivalent to their parents' annual salary.
This was not a small sum, but a fortune.
For families with slightly poorer conditions, with this money, they could afford some of the "three turns and one whistle" (bicycle, sewing machine, watch, and sewing machine) and could even get married in the city.
"Brother Yang, we have nothing more to say. You will always be our elder brother."
"With this money, and with some connections at home, it should be much easier for us to find jobs. If we achieve something in the future, we will definitely not forget your kindness, Brother Yang."
Zheng Weiguo and Liu Maosheng knew in their hearts that their family connections in the city were only average. However, with the money from selling fish, they might actually be able to secure a job.
Therefore, they were genuinely grateful to Chen Yang!
"Haha, if you two really become leaders in the future, and I return to Jinling, don't you dare avoid me."
Chen Yang laughed heartily. Indeed, with a sum of money, Zheng Weiguo and Liu Maosheng might actually be able to get a job, unlike their miserable fate in his past life.
However, he had no interest in returning to the city to become a worker. In his past life, he could get into university and study abroad. With his experience from his past life, he had even less reason to return and become an ordinary worker.
More than ten years later, if the state-owned enterprises where Zheng Weiguo and Liu Maosheng worked were to go bankrupt, they might have to rely on him to acquire them.
After seeing Zheng Weiguo and Liu Maosheng off, Chen Yang returned to continue salting the meat. However, because it was too dark, he didn't notice that Shen Xue, opposite him, had red eyes, clearly having cried.
"Wife, add more soy sauce. Let it soak overnight. That way, it'll be flavorful. We'll dry it tomorrow, and then we'll have good food."
Chen Yang busily arranged the strips of meat in the jar, excitedly imagining the crystal-clear appearance of the dried preserved meat. Just thinking about it made his mouth water.
"Mmm."
Shen Xue responded absentmindedly. Looking at the man diligently curing the preserved meat, her heart trembled violently.
The better he treated her, the more distressed she felt. Letting him go, she couldn't bear it. But if she didn't let him go, she would be delaying his bright future!
Shen Xue bit her lip tightly, her heart as if two small figures were struggling in pain.