Era: I was a farmer at the foot of Yaoling Mountain

Fang Wei's mind was no longer on these matters. The situation had become increasingly delicate recently, and there were more and more meetings. He had just gone to the capital to attend another meeting.

It was at this time that newspapers published several typical cases of contracting out land to individual households, and the call to loosen the constraints on farmers grew louder and louder.

In fact, the term "loosening restrictions" is not accurate, because under the existing "three-level management with the team as the foundation" system, farmers' production, livelihood, medical care, education, and so on are all guaranteed.

Moreover, not every production team practices egalitarianism. For example, the Xiatang Brigade has always adopted the distribution principle of "more work, more pay, while taking fairness into account."

The brigade implemented a work point system with strict supervision measures, rewarding diligence and punishing laziness, so there was no question of eating from the same pot.

However, this call still gained the approval of many people.

There's a saying that goes, "When people are poor, they think of ways to change." But most people can't see what the consequences of those changes will be.

The media, however, pays little attention to the plight of another group.

Second team.

The atmosphere in the dormitories for educated youth this year was completely different from the past. Some people received letters from educated youth in Southwest China, and most of them learned about the difficult situation of their fellow educated youth.

The treatment of educated youth in Southwest China was completely different from that in Xiatang Brigade.

"Secretary, something seems a little off."

Zhao Jinsheng's keen sense far surpassed Zheng Hu's; he immediately noticed the ominous signs.

Fang Wei slapped his forehead; he didn't want the educated youth in the team to get into chaos.

"Let's go, convene a meeting of the educated youth from each team."

Without saying a word, Fang Wei instructed Zhao Jinsheng to issue a notice requesting that the educated youth from each team attend a meeting at the brigade before evening, with dinner provided by the canteen.

Next, he convened a short meeting with the brigade cadres and production team leaders, with only one requirement: to ensure that the educated youth in each team remained calm and that no trouble was caused.

As the cafeteria began preparing dinner, Fang Wei angrily threw several newspapers on the ground.

At this point, newspapers were still advocating for further expansion of the "Down to the Countryside Movement," wasn't that just adding fuel to the fire? These media outlets, on the one hand, exaggeratedly claimed to be loosening the reins on farmers, while on the other hand, they turned a blind eye to the plight of the vast majority of educated youth. It's really hard to understand.

evening.

All the educated youth in the brigade came to the canteen and began to eat in silence.

After finishing their meal, they arrived at the entrance of the brigade headquarters in an orderly manner. Fang Wei had already had tables and chairs set up, and he then announced the start of the meeting.

“I know what you’re thinking, and I know who you’re indignant about. But none of that matters. Let’s talk about something practical: when can the vast number of educated youth return to the city unconditionally?”

Fang Wei didn't mince words with them. Some of these educated youths had come to the team at a very young age, and now they were all quite old.

Offering empty promises is useless when dealing with a group of people who have experienced the hardships of life, so he did not shy away from the issue of returning to the city from the beginning.

Zhao Jinsheng and the others sitting to the side were startled, thinking to themselves, "Isn't the Party Secretary deliberately bringing up a sore spot? What if the educated youth get emotional and flip the table?"

His words immediately caused an uproar.

"Quiet down! Everyone, stand up and speak one by one. Anyone who shouts or yells again, please leave immediately."

Zhao Jinsheng was very experienced; he knew he couldn't be too weak at this time and had to keep everyone in check. Otherwise, if everyone's emotions got more and more intense, who knew what would happen?

Fortunately, his prestige was not low, and the noise at the scene gradually subsided and soon became completely quiet.

“Secretary Fang, we are very grateful for everyone’s care for the educated youth, and we have treated the brigade as our own home. However, there are still many places where the educated youth live in very difficult conditions, not even one-tenth as well as us. Is no one taking care of us anymore?”

Seeing that everyone's emotions were gradually stabilizing, Fang Wei began to call on people to speak.

The first educated youth to stand up had tears in her eyes; she wasn't crying for herself, but for the educated youth in Southwest China.

“How could no one care about you? The situation varies across the country, but only a portion of the educated youth are living in hardship. A considerable number of the educated youth are living quite well, just like you.”

Fang Wei unhesitatingly used his data magic weapon. There were statistical data on the situation of educated youth, and because of his representative status, he happened to have access to this kind of data.

After he finished speaking, the educated youth sat down, seemingly in a much better mood.

"Secretary Fang, you always say we'll be able to return to the city on a large scale soon, but how long will it actually take?"

The second educated youth whose name was called stood up and asked a question that everyone was concerned about.

"Let me put it this way, the problem of educated youth in the Southwest will be resolved soon. Maybe this month, maybe next month, the large-scale return of educated youth to the cities will begin."

The question you need to consider now is whether you are willing to stay at that time, not when you can go home.

I can confidently tell you that, in my assessment, the issues you are concerned about will have a resolution by the end of this year.

Fang Wei was too lazy to hide it anymore; the course of history was basically no different from his memories.

Therefore, it's not unreasonable for him to proactively predict what would happen within a few months.

As soon as he finished speaking, cheers erupted from the audience.

Some of the educated youth may not have decided whether to return to the city yet, as they will face many practical problems upon returning, such as employment, housing, marriage, and registering their children's residency.

But having a choice and not having a choice are two different things. They still hope to gain social recognition rather than be abandoned by society.

"Fangshi, if I want to stay, can you allocate me housing?"

At this moment, the atmosphere on site had already relaxed considerably without anyone realizing it.

The next question asked by those in the know was no longer related to returning to the city, but rather inquired about the treatment they would receive if they stayed.

"First of all, on behalf of the brigade, I welcome every educated youth who is willing to stay. I can tell you that if you stay and start a family, you will be able to get a new house."

You are not required to marry a local; marriage between educated youth is also acceptable. However, there is one condition: if someone who has been allocated housing wants to return to the city, the village committee will reclaim the housing.

Fang Wei relaxed a bit. People have a herd mentality, and if the situation isn't controlled properly, it could easily escalate into a major incident. It's good that things are like this now; everyone is discussing the issue calmly, instead of being completely controlled by emotions.

It's actually quite understandable; Fang Wei gave them hope.

People generally don't go to extremes when they have hope. We've made it through so many years, can't we wait a few more months?
Finally, the educated youth returned home satisfied, and the tense atmosphere from before had completely dissipated.

However, no one expected that Fang Wei's words would come true so quickly!
Two weeks later, the matter of the educated youth in Southwest China came to a conclusion, and most people from top to bottom sympathized with them.

Although no official statement was issued, their demands were implicitly acknowledged, and some regions, sensing the opportunity, began to accept local educated youth back to the city on a large scale.

Of course, this only covers settling down in the city; no one can guarantee you a job.

First, an official letter from Shanghai was sent to all the communes, allowing all educated youth from Shanghai to return to the city and settle down.

However, there is an exception: the spouses of married educated youth are not included.

For example, if the spouse of a former educated youth has an agricultural household registration, they cannot return to Shanghai to register their household registration. Similarly, if the spouse is from another city, they also cannot return to Shanghai to register their household registration.

Those with children will, according to custom, register their household registration with their mother.

Fortunately, this kind of thing was expected among the educated youth, and they rarely married locals. When two educated youths got married, they usually married people from the same village. Those who didn't care about these things were naturally willing to stay in the countryside, and there's not much to say about that.

Following this, many places began similar operations, and educated youth began a large-scale return to the cities.

This night.

Fang Wei had just fallen asleep when a commune member came to call him: "Secretary, go and talk to them. Yu Hao and his wife are fighting over returning to the city."

Upon hearing this, he was completely bewildered and quickly got up and rushed to Yu Hao's house.

Yu Hao and Liang Xueqin had a very good relationship; the couple had always been very loving, so it was unexpected that this would happen.

When he arrived at Yu Hao's house, thankfully, the couple hadn't been fighting; only two bowls had been broken, which had frightened the child into crying loudly.

"Look at your pathetic self! Can't you discuss things properly? If you really can't reach an agreement, you can always keep your opinions to yourselves. Divorce is fine too. What kind of skill is it to smash things?"
"Yu Hao, are you even a man? You can't control your wife, you just listen to her. All this arguing solves nothing. Tell me, what really happened? Liang Xueqin, you go first."

Fang Wei hates people who smash dishes and bowls whenever something happens. If they break up a business, how can they survive?

So as soon as he came in, he berated both of them before asking what had happened.

After the two finished speaking, Fang Wei couldn't help but shake his head.

The two were initially very much in love and insisted on getting married despite their families' objections, but when it came time to return to the city, conflicts arose.

This couple isn't from the same place, and given the current policies on returning to the city, it's impossible for them to live in the same city. Even if they were to move together in the future, it would still take time.

Don't even think about it, it will take several years.

Yu Hao decided to stay in the village, but Liang Xueqin strongly disagreed, resulting in a big argument between the two.

"You're all brainless idiots, you can't even figure out something this simple. Liang Xueqin, take the child and move your household registration back first, don't touch Yu Hao's household registration yet."

That way, the team won't take back the house, and Yu Hao can continue working at the bamboo ware factory. We'll figure out how to transfer Yu Hao's household registration later, then your whole family can be reunited, right?

Fang Wei knew that Yu Hao didn't want to leave the bamboo ware factory. This year, the factory had intensified its reform of the distribution system, and Yu Hao's monthly income could reach more than 200 yuan.

Now all the regular employees in the factory are paid wages, and they can buy their food rations at the supply price. Their rights to welfare distribution and profit sharing are retained.

To put it bluntly, what decent job could a former educated youth like him possibly get after returning to the city? He'd be more likely to stay unemployed at home.

What's there to worry about? Right now, Yu Hao is destined not to live in the same city as Liang Xueqin, but there will be opportunities in the future. He can transfer his household registration as a spouse and take his time to process it.

But the most crucial thing right now is how the family will make a living. Everything costs money in the city, but no one will give you food rations or pork. You can only earn money through your own efforts and then spend it.

Liang Xueqin's family doesn't have any connections, so she'll most likely be unemployed after she goes back. If Yu Hao is unemployed too, how will they survive?
The bamboo ware factory is doing very well now, and the pay is good, so Yu Hao can work there for now. Liang Xueqin and the others can transfer their household registration back first, so they have a backup plan if all else fails.

"I'm sorry, Secretary Fang, we were wrong."

Yu Hao and Liang Xueqin were brought back to reality by Fang Wei's scolding. They both calmed down and realized that the other's suggestion was quite good.

After all, Yu Hao works in sales, so he still has time to visit Liang Xueqin and her child.

As for whether their marriage would encounter any unexpected problems due to the temporary separation, both of them felt that it wouldn't.

Following Fang Wei's advice, Liang Xueqin quickly took her child back to her hometown and registered her household there.

However, things were more serious than she had imagined. She had no housing in the city and would have to live with her parents when she returned home. At the same time, her employment problem remained unresolved, and she couldn't even get a job at a small local factory.

Without housing or a job, she endured countless scornful looks before realizing how bleak her dream of returning to the city truly was.

She now finally believes what Yu Hao said: staying in Xiatang Brigade is a million times better than going back to the city!
Unfortunately, life doesn't offer "what ifs." Although Yu Hao sends her and her child living expenses, she feels insecure and fears that he might change his mind and abandon her and her child.

Fortunately, Yu Hao would visit her and her child from time to time, which prevented her from breaking down.

Xiatang Brigade.

Most of the educated youth chose to return to the city, but there were exceptions.

For example, some of the educated youth who married locals couldn't overcome their conscience and chose to stay in the countryside. Lin Hanyang and some other educated youth working in the factory didn't transfer their household registration and are still observing the situation.

They were reluctant to give up their current jobs, after all, these people were the backbone of the factory, what could they do if they returned to the big city?

In general, the term "educated youth" in the team has become a thing of the past. Those who returned to the city became unemployed youth, workers, or other identities. Those who stayed naturally became commune members and farmers.

As the tide of the times sweeps in, each person is but a speck of dust.

The team decided to demolish the dormitories for educated youth, as they would no longer be needed. (End of Chapter)