Later, most people returned to the city, but Dad was an exception. According to Mom, Dad didn't have many people left in his family, and he told Mom that it didn't matter where he was, as he was always alone anyway.
Dad was alone in a strange environment and didn't fit in with the other groups, spending most of his time by himself.
Once, Dad was working late and encountered a heavy rainstorm, getting soaked. The next day, he came down with a fever.
At that time, he happened to be working in the same group as Mom, and shortly after starting work, he fainted. The fellow educated youth with them took him to the clinic on a cart.
In the following days, Mom secretly brought Dad some food and helped him wash his clothes without Grandpa and Grandma knowing.
Mom spent all day hovering around Dad, and gradually, she entered his heart.
Grandpa and Grandma had only one daughter, no sons. Seeing Dad, an educated youth, with no family, spending years here without any news of being recalled, it seemed likely he'd settle in the countryside. If he married Mom, it was almost like having a son-in-law live with them.
The old couple was pleased about this marriage. That year, when Dad was twenty and Mom was eighteen, they held a simple wedding.
After Dad joined the family, Grandpa stood much more upright, and no one in the village dared to look down on them. Less than a year after Dad and Mom's marriage, my brother was born. Mom said that was the happiest time for her and Dad.
When my brother was two, I was born. At that time, there was little chance to get rich, and Dad worked hard every day, earning as many work points as three people, just to let them and Mom eat better.
Dad always had a dream to join the military. When she was three years old, and seeing both of the children growing up, the urge to join the army grew stronger. After much thought, Mom finally made up her mind and encouraged Dad to join the military.
Just then, there was a slot in the village, and Grandpa sent two bottles of good wine and five feet of cloth tickets to the secretary of the brigade.
The secretary gave the military recommendation slot to Dad, but since Grandpa only sent gifts to the secretary and not to the village chief, the village chief took offense. Later, after Dad left, the village chief often made things difficult for their family.
The whole family happily escorted Dad onto the recruitment bus, and within half a month, they received Dad's letter.
Grandpa and Grandma's worries were eased.
When Dad was sent to the army, many from the village advised Grandpa against letting him go, saying Dad wasn't really from here, and what if he got dazzled by the outside world and didn't return?
Unexpectedly, their words came true. Soon, Dad didn't send any letters, and people in the village often teased Grandpa about Dad's disappearance. After Ye Qing's mom's incident, the villagers compared Mom and Ye Qing's mom, laughingly gossiped about them, often pointing fingers behind their backs.
Ye Qing's mom heard some things from the village about her own mom's situation.
Her dad left two years later, and a large batch of educated youth began voluntarily going to the countryside again. Ye Qing's mom noticed Wu Guodong from Z City.
Wu Guodong's parents were ordinary workers at a steel factory, and relying on family connections to return to the city was impossible.
At that time, the authorities organized efforts to change college admission policies, allowing rural recruitment, thus providing educated youth with opportunities to attend university. The slots were very limited, with only one or two being recruited.
Thus, he focused his attention on the village secretary's daughter, Qiu Hualan, thinking that if he could win Qiu Hualan's heart, and have her speak good words to the secretary, combined with some extra effort, he might return to the city sooner.