Chapter 04 Sun Zhiqing Is Really Somewhat Wronged_1

The villagers in the courtyard all burst into laughter and did not pursue further questions, starting to move the sacks instead.

Song Yunuan really felt tired, so she lay down on the kang.

Even though the room was dusty, the walls were patchy mud, and they couldn't even afford to paste newspapers for wallpaper, the quilt was clean and fresh, making it very comfortable to lie down.

As she was thinking, the sound of footsteps thudded closer, and her younger brother Asheng climbed onto the kang, brought over a pillow, and lay down next to his sister.

His voice was soft and gentle, "I'll stay with Sister. If a big rat comes onto the kang, it'll bite me first, so Sister doesn't have to be scared."

Song Yunuan immediately opened her eyes.

Turning her head, the little guy was so clean, with his bare feet, chubby little cheeks, and shiny black eyes which looked adorable no matter how one looked at him.

She pinched his cheek, "Strange, why is there no information about my brother? Could it be that he was adopted and had his name change?"

Song Mingsheng's eyes rolled around before he hugged onto one of Song Yunuan's arms, "Sis, we won't change again, will we?"

"… Yeah, we probably won't."

Song Mingsheng snuggled closer, his little body was soft like a glutinous rice ball, and Song Yunuan, feeling sleepy, perhaps because she had been staring at the ceiling beam earlier, quickly fell asleep while embracing her brother.

Old Mrs. Song stood at the window, quietly speaking to Xia Guilan, "It's strange, Asheng and Siqi have never been close, but look at him, sticking closer all of a sudden."

Xia Guilan laughed, the two siblings nestled together, sleeping soundly indeed.

When Old Mrs. Song finished cooking, everyone had gotten the hang of the rules.

The things they heard could not be spoken of.

Nor could they ask.

They couldn't even discuss them among themselves.

Not to mention reminding Little Nuan.

This was for the best, otherwise, it would be too scary.

Old Mrs. Song brought out a large bowl of fish sauce, and Song Yunuan was woken up; she walked out of the room carrying the chubby little one.

In Nanshan County Town during April, one could endure the chill of early spring, but the sunlight was bright and the sky a deep blue.

Erdao River Village was the poorest brigade in Sunflower Commune, with mud and straw huts for every household.

The Song family had five main rooms, one east wing for living and one west storage room.

Using thatch for the roofs made the houses look low, dilapidated, and ready to collapse. In the windy spring season, even the yards of clean homes would be full of dust when the wind blew.

Yet, from the hall came waves of delicious aroma.

Millet porridge, a big bowl of fish sauce, and a dish of garlic sprouts with scrambled eggs.

In the Song family, this was considered a very luxurious meal.

Old Mrs. Song, disregarding her daughter's pitiful eyes, shifted the majority of the eggs into Song Yunuan's bowl.

"Millet porridge with fish sauce smells so good. I hope to eat this in the future too."

Old Man Song paused for a few seconds, then chuckled, "Little Nuan, I've set another fish trap by the stream. How about Grandpa takes you to check it tonight?"

"Okay."

Song Yunuan obediently agreed.

[Lin Qing reported my father, and some of the contents of the letter are true, but the issues aren't serious—mainly embezzlement of grain seeds, misuse of public funds, and covering for bad people. But an investigation would make clear what's going on. My father would never commit suicide out of fear of crime; it seems like my grandparents never admitted their guilt and went all the way to Beidu to file a complaint. There must be people in the village whom my father had offended.]

As Song Yunuan thought to herself while eating, she didn't notice Song Liang's trembling hand at all.

[The person must be very familiar with Lin Qing; maybe they even contacted each other just before entering the village. I'll go take a walk after I finish eating.]

Over there, Song Liang quickly finished his meal in a few bites, stood up, and said to Old Mrs. Song, "Mom, I just remembered. The three sent-down youths at the re-education spot told me yesterday they've run out of food. We should take some millet and cornflour from our house, and oh, Guilan, we have so much fish sauce, give them some in a bowl to use."

Old Mrs. Song frowned, a bit reluctant to part with the provisions as she fished out her keys, muttering, "We only have so much grain at home. With spring here, it's the lean period. I'm already worried about what we'll do next month..."

Despite her words, in the end, she still took out about seven or eight pounds of each item. Song Yunuan volunteered to help carry the fish sauce, and Asheng insisted on following along, eventually being brought with her. He also didn't go empty-handed, carrying a small bowl filled with salted radishes.

The re-education spot wasn't far.

Upon arrival, they saw smoke puffing out of the chimney.

Once inside, they discovered that two female sent-down youths were in the kitchen, boiling water in a large pot with not a single rice grain—what they were cooking were vegetable roots dug out from the fields.

It looked dark and black.

The two female sent-down youths looked listless and greeted them weakly.

In the courtyard, a young man was splitting firewood, his expression sullen, not even sparing them a glance.

[This Sun Zhiqing is a good student, but because he was disciplined a few years ago—actually, he was framed—this year is the last one that doesn't restrict age or fresher exams. It would be a shame if he missed it. He's no better off than a beggar after Lin Qing used and discarded him... Indeed, he provided the information. Why does he hate my father? Oh, the discipline was imposed by my father. At the time, he muddled through without a thorough investigation, and it got recorded in the file. Actually, the rule was about to be abolished. In a few years, books like that will be everywhere. Sun Zhiqing truly is a bit wronged.]

Song Liang glanced at his daughter, who was talking with the two female sent-down youths: "…The relief food has been delayed in approval, and my father is helpless. Knowing that you're out of food, he's extremely anxious, but the brigade doesn't have a single grain left. My father is sharing some of our family's ration, which is also the brigade's intention. Let's work hard together to pull through this tough time. Things will get better soon."

Song Yunuan spoke softly and gently, her eyes clear and bright, holding the hand of the female sent-down youths with a friendly attitude.

The two female sent-down youths expressed their gratitude, feeling much reassured.

With this food, if they are careful, they could last until the relief food arrives.

They had no choice—without connections, their families couldn't get them back to the city, so they had to endure it here.

Song Liang cast a glance at his daughter, his face breaking into a smile, then squatted down in front of Sun Zhiqing, casually asking, "I see there are quite a few books in the kitchen. Are they for kindling? Have you given up on studying?"

Sun Zhiqing looked at the brigade leader sullenly, holding back his resentment, and said morosely, "I'm not studying anymore."

Study all you want, they won't let you take the exams, so it's pointless.

He has several brothers and sisters, and he can't even secure a place to go back to the city.

Song Liang leaned in closer, lowering his voice, "Sun Zhiqing, I'll tell you a secret. The issue on your record will soon be overlooked. You still need to study. I'll sign you up for the exams in May. You just focus on the joint college exam, and if you get into a good university, I'll be happy too."

Sun Zhiqing looked up incredulously, his eyes full of shock.

That's not what Lin Qing said a moment ago.

She said his issue was very serious, and he still wasn't allowed to take the exam. But if he helped her, she could secure a spot for him to return to the city.

Entering the eighties, getting a slot to return to the city for sent-down youths was very difficult. Once in the city, if there was no receiving unit, the city would not allow them to stay—they would be driven back to the countryside.

"Really?" Sun Zhiqing's voice trembled with emotion.