Reform Farm No. 19
The staff responsible for overseeing the labor reform inmates held a stack of letters, calling out names, “Next, the people whose names I call, come here to get letters from your family. If I don’t call your name, go ahead and eat…”
It was noon, and after a busy morning, Tang Ersong, exhausted, was heading toward the dining hall. As he walked, he passed some people who were reluctant to leave after receiving letters, and a flicker of envy crossed his eyes.
There was a time when he was one of them.
Whenever a letter arrived, he would stand there eagerly waiting, willing to eat leftover food just to see if a letter was for him.
He had a daughter, brothers, nephews, and a beloved younger sister. Though his wife had publicly announced their divorce, surely she wouldn’t be completely indifferent, right?
But after countless waiting and empty hopes, the anticipation turned into indifference.
Tang Ersong’s heart had truly grown cold. He couldn’t believe he had ended up this way, while even the petty criminals here for robbery had people caring about them. Yet, no one ever thought about him.
Just as he was about to enter the dining hall, a staff member called out his name, “Tang Ersong—”
The moment he lifted his foot, he staggered, almost falling to the ground. Barely managing to steady himself, he hurried over, his eyes reddening, his voice hoarse, “Is there a letter for me?”
The staff member nodded and handed over the letter.
Tang Ersong eagerly accepted it, repeatedly thanking the person as though he could thank their ancestors. His hands trembled as he held the letter.
But when he unfolded it, he froze.
He couldn’t read.
After standing there for a while, unsure what to do, Tang Ersong hesitantly looked at the staff member who had finished distributing the letters and asked, “Could you please read this for me?”
The staff member nodded, “Sure, give it to me.”
Tang Ersong handed the letter back, grinning widely, his face full of joy and expectation.
This letter must be from his daughter, right?
Everyone else had forgotten him, but his daughter surely wouldn’t.
The staff member began reading aloud, “Er Ge, it’s Tiantian…”
Tang Ersong’s face, filled with anticipation, dropped a bit, but he was still happy and continued to listen.
The staff member continued, “…San Ya has become impressive. She’s in high school now and even works at the machinery factory. Recently, the news reported some of the great things she’s done. The factory gave her many rewards, and everyone is praising my second sister-in-law for being so lucky…”
Tang Ersong’s heart began pounding in his chest, and he couldn’t help but exclaim, “San Ya is my daughter! My God, she’s already so impressive and even skipped a grade to high school!”
His daughter was remarkable, and it was certainly thanks to him, her father.
The staff member looked at the elderly man before him, surprised. “She’s your daughter? You have such an impressive daughter?”
“Yeah, yeah! This child is really smart. When she was little, she even dared to run into the mountains and live there alone for three months. Now, it’s normal for her to be so successful!” Tang Ersong proudly puffed out his chest, as if all the praise for San Ya was a reflection of his accomplishments.
The staff member laughed. “Don’t talk nonsense. Why would a little girl go into the mountains alone?”
Tang Ersong’s puffed-up chest quickly shrank back, his face awkward as he couldn’t explain. He just fell silent and waited eagerly for the letter to be read.
He couldn’t very well say it was because his wife had treated her badly and scared her, could he?
The staff member continued, now reading the last part of the letter. After finishing, he looked up at Tang Ersong, now with a more knowing expression. “Er Ge, I heard that San Ya changed her last name. She now goes by Li Qingli, and she’s following her second sister-in-law’s last name. And your wife… she remarried…”
Tang Ersong’s face went blank, his expression darkening, his brows furrowed as he tried to snatch the letter to read it himself. But he didn’t dare offend the staff member directly. He couldn’t stop himself from interrupting, urgently saying, “Big Brother, are you sure you read that right?! It must be a mistake! She’s my daughter! How could she change her name? She’s my daughter!”
The staff member frowned. “How could I have read it wrong? This is exactly what it says. Your daughter changed her last name, and now she’s Li Qingli. Your wife remarried too.”
The staff member, just as surprised as Tang Ersong, asked, “What exactly did you do? Why would your wife insist on having your daughter change her last name?”
As the staff member confirmed it for him again, Tang Ersong’s expression turned blank. He couldn’t hear the rest of what the staff member said as he muttered to himself in anger, “How could she be so heartless? She even changed her last name!”
The staff member smirked, disinterested, and shoved the letter back into his hands, waving as he left.
Back at his post, the staff member couldn’t help but discuss the situation with a colleague. “She even made the girl change her last name. This Tang Ersong must have dug up the other person’s ancestors’ graves.”
His colleague narrowed his eyes, thought for a moment, and said, “Is that guy’s name Tang Ersong?”
“Yeah.”
The colleague nodded and explained, “I know him. He allowed his parents to sell his daughter so they could treat his sister’s broken leg. When I saw his file, I was shocked. This kind of person must be crazy. He could have just raised his daughter properly to support him in old age, but he chose to take care of his sister instead.”
The staff member was shocked. “What?!”
“He’s crazy, right? I read in the letter that San Ya’s a really impressive young lady now. She’s a technician at the machinery factory, earning a decent monthly salary with all sorts of bonuses! If I had a daughter like that, I’d be thrilled!”
“Who knows what he was thinking? I guess it’s karma now,” the colleague chuckled. “His wife publicly announced their divorce. Once that got out, it led to a whole chain of events. They ended up saving a lot of girls who were sold…”
The staff member shook his head and spat, “Serves him right!”
He looked almost as if he’d been wronged, and the other staff member couldn’t help but suspect that the woman was quite bad.
Well, now it served him right.
He sold his daughter—why wouldn’t she change her last name?
Tang Tiantian didn’t go to school. She could have when she was younger, but at that time, she thought it was too tiring. She only went for a few days before deciding she didn’t want to anymore. Most of the children in the village were like her, not going to school if they didn’t want to. After all, farming didn’t require knowing how to read.
So, she had the brigade leader help her write this letter, and once it was sent, her mission was complete.
Satisfied, Tang Tiantian returned home.
Once her second brother was released, she would look for San Ya. San Ya would take care of him, so she wouldn’t have to worry about food or clothing, and she could finally divorce!
She didn’t want to divorce right now because if she did, she’d have to support herself, and it would be too tiring. She didn’t want that!
Not long after, she received a letter from Tang Ersong, and she smiled. She then had someone write a reply: “Er Ge, I went to find San Ya, but I couldn’t see her. Second Sister-in-law stopped me and said that San Ya doesn’t want to see me…”
Time flew by, and in 1968, a large number of college graduates were unable to find employment. The country’s “Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside” movement officially began, and countless young people with dreams were sent to rural areas.
In Qingli’s brigade, two batches of young intellectuals arrived within a month.
The previously spacious houses were suddenly full, and for the time being, the young intellectuals had to stay with the local villagers. Qingli’s family didn’t have enough room, so they weren’t assigned anyone.
She spent long hours at the factory, only getting a day or two off each month to come back. She hadn’t interacted with any of the young intellectuals yet.
Soon after, the third batch arrived.
A group of young men and women, all dressed in olive-green, with fair complexions, got off the train with backpacks and bundles, looking a little dazed as they came from the more advanced cities to this backward place.
“Head this way for the Third Brigade!” someone called out.
A group of young men and women who had also gotten off the train went up to discuss things with the staff. After confirming, they led their group away.
Only a group of about ten people was left, ignored.
The newly arrived youths were a bit flustered. Looking at one tall, skinny young man, they all asked, “Tao Zhiqing, do you think they’ll come to pick us up?”
The young man who was asked appeared to be in his early twenties, his face full of youthful vigor. Even though tired, he still radiated energy. After looking around at the situation, he smiled and said, “They will. I checked before coming, they’re supposed to come pick us up. After all, we don’t even know which brigade we’ve been assigned to.”
Seeing that some were impatient, he pointed to a spot he had found. “Let’s rest here for a while. It’s a good spot to see if anyone comes to pick us up. If no one shows up in half an hour, I’ll make a call.”
“Okay, okay,” the others said, immediately relaxing. They followed him to the open space and sat down with their belongings, eagerly watching the entrance.
However, Tao Zeming didn’t sit down. He asked someone to keep an eye on their things, then stood up and walked toward the entrance. He bought an ice pop and returned, holding it out. “Here, I’ll treat everyone to ice pops.”
“Wow!!!”
The young intellectuals, who already held him in high regard, burst into delighted cheers. The fatigue from their long journey seemed to disappear as they gratefully accepted their ice pops and quickly thanked Tao Zeming.
As expected of someone from the capital, he was so wealthy! It was such a joy to follow him!
Tao Zeming shook his head with a smile, waving his hand. He, too, bit into his ice pop, the sweet, cool treat refreshing him. Yet, he couldn’t help but wonder why no one had come to pick them up yet.
Was it possible that the brigade couldn’t be bothered to come?
He had heard they were the third batch of intellectuals; perhaps there were too many of them.
Just then, a tractor roared past. Tao Zeming’s eyes lit up, and he quickly glanced over, but to his surprise, the driver was a pretty young woman.
He froze. Someone next to him asked, “Tao Zhiqing, is that her?”
Tao Zeming hesitated, “I don’t think so.”
If it was a girl driving, the person who informed them should have mentioned it beforehand. It would have been so much easier to recognize.
The tractor stopped near the gate, and a middle-aged man jumped off the back of the vehicle. He looked around and then walked toward them.
Tao Zeming hurriedly went up to greet him. After confirming that this was indeed the brigade leader coming to pick them up, he relaxed and smiled. “Your brigade truly lives up to its reputation. Even the tractor drivers are girls! Your brigade must be full of talent.”
The brigade leader smiled proudly. “You bet. Our brigade is pretty impressive.” After a moment of self-satisfaction, he pulled out a list. “Now, I’m going to call your names—”
Before he could finish, Tao Zeming suddenly turned toward the tractor. He saw that the girl who had driven the vehicle was now being hassled by a middle-aged man. The girl’s expression was cold, and she didn’t want to deal with him, but the man was still trying to force himself on her.
Tao Zeming’s face darkened. He walked up to them, kicked the man hard, and said, “How dare you act like a thug? Don’t you think I’ll send you straight to jail?”
“Ah!” The man was sent flying and landed on his butt, clutching his stomach in confusion and anger, shouting, “I’m her real father!”
Tao Zeming: “???”
The girl turned around and smiled at him. “Thank you.”
Tao Zeming stood there, stunned, scratching his head in embarrassment.
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