Chapter 90: A New Chapter in Life

Now that the brigade leader had encountered difficulties, he quite naturally thought of seeking Li Sheng’s help, which contradicted his earlier promise to let Li Sheng rest and not drive trucks for the time being.

But since there was no need to travel far—just going to the brigade office every day, sometimes running errands for the leader—Li Sheng hesitated only a little. The brigade leader quickly added, “I’ll count ten centimeters of work points for you every day, and for the New Year, your family will get an extra three jin of meat.”

Seeing that Li Sheng was still unconvinced, the leader gritted his teeth and said, “When the New Year comes, I’ll give you a ten-yuan red envelope.”

Those ten yuan would come straight from the brigade leader’s own pocket.

Of course, such generosity was not without reason. The brigade leader was, in truth, a decent man, always working diligently for the prosperity of the people in Harvest Brigade, striving to ensure a better life for everyone. The trouble was, despite all he’d done, he lacked the knack for summarizing his achievements and presenting them in reports. For years, his year-end evaluations were always unremarkable, while other brigade leaders, more cunning and verbose but less accomplished, were rated as outstanding.

How could the leader of Harvest Brigade be content with that?

There was no one else competent enough in the brigade. Li Sheng, having spent several years driving for the transport team and traveled far and wide, was considered experienced. More importantly, the brigade leader’s wife offered some advice: “Li Sheng married an educated city girl. She’s an intellectual.”

If Li Sheng was asked to help, and there were things he didn’t know, surely his wife would assist him.

Indeed, only a woman truly understands another woman, and there are details that only a woman would think of. With the leader’s wife’s subtle suggestion, the brigade leader acted as he did.

Such a handsome reward was tempting for Li Sheng. The transport team did give year-end bonuses, but these were small amounts of grain handed over to his mother for household use. If he could earn a little extra, he could finally buy some nice things for his wife.

So, in the end, Li Sheng accepted the brigade leader’s request. After all, for written reports and such, he could get his family to help.

He knew that everyone at home had been learning to read with his wife, and the results were promising.

When the time came, letting them help write a few words in exchange for some benefits, he didn’t expect anyone would object. As for running errands, Li Sheng wasn’t worried at all. Hadn’t he handled plenty of such things over the years? The reason he was taciturn at home was simply that he was tired and felt there was nothing worth saying to them.

But now things were different. Every day, Li Sheng found he had much to say to his wife.

Therefore, he could no longer stay at home with her nearly every day as before; he had to go out and take care of matters. However, the workplace was closer, so he could come home daily for all his meals and rest.

Tang Xin had no complaints about this. She was not the sort who needed her man by her side at every moment. She understood that a man should have his own career. Previously, when Li Sheng was away driving, she had been anxious and sleepless for special reasons—mainly fear that something might happen to him while he was out. Now, with him working close by and visible every day, what was there to be reluctant about?

Moreover, thanks to Li Sheng’s special work at this time, she could learn about the outside world.

This was the most crucial period of the “educated youth sent to the countryside” movement—the hardest, most hopeless, and most uncertain phase. Policy reviews were becoming ever stricter. Many youths tried to return to the city by using connections or claiming illness to get transferred back, but for various reasons, most failed.

Someone like Lu Liqin, for example—his family had the means to bring him back, but he chose to stay and contribute to rural development. People like that deserved praise, but not everyone could be so selfless.

Some educated youths had already spent seven or eight years, or even longer, in the countryside. They had long resigned themselves to their fate, worn down by endless labor and the realization that there was no hope of returning home. Some married fellow educated youths, but very few married locals, for that meant they could never change their household registration back to the city and would become farmers for life.

From what Tang Xin knew—having read books and reports online in her previous life—some who had married locals later found an opportunity to return to the city and managed to divorce and leave alone. Tang Xin didn’t know what promises they made in private, but from what she’d read, almost every brigade had educated youths who eventually returned to the city. None who went back alone ever returned to visit the spouse or children they left behind in the countryside.

Especially a few years later, when the country resumed college entrance exams and educated youths returned to the city en masse, hardly any were willing to stay in the countryside for the sake of family. Some took their spouse and children out of conscience, while others heartlessly left them behind. Those who returned became city dwellers again, possibly went to college or found good jobs, and could easily find a partner of equal standing or someone helpful to their careers. Their lives began anew—who would remember past stains? For those whose conscience was lost, marrying in the countryside was nothing but a blemish.

Back then, Tang Xin had sneered at such people. Now that she herself was an educated youth, married to a local, she naturally would not become someone without conscience.

She was sure she’d return to the city one day—but not alone. She would take her husband and future children with her.

If possible, she even wanted to bring Li Sheng’s younger siblings as well. They were all lovable “children” who wanted to strive for a better future—why shouldn’t they have one?

During this period, with Li Sheng helping the brigade leader, he sometimes came home for assistance—he hadn’t received much education himself, so for many written tasks, he turned to his wife for help.

Thus, Tang Xin gained a deeper understanding of the outside world and her husband.

She finally understood why someone like Li Sheng, a native of the countryside with a less-than-ideal family background, could become a driver. He even had some basic medical knowledge, could recognize herbs and prepare simple remedies, which was why he’d been able to handle her situation so well that very first night after she’d arrived in this new life.