Reborn in 97, I solved a cold case at the Municipal Bureau

Chapter 484 Changing Fate Against Heaven
Lu Xiaoshuang's home was a simple house made of adobe bricks.

Zhou Yi had considered how difficult the conditions might be, but he never imagined that the actual situation would be even worse than he had imagined.

Although the environment was simple, it was kept very clean and tidy.

There are two rooms. The larger one is used as a classroom, with about ten tables and chairs, which are obviously handmade.

At the front of the classroom hangs an old blackboard, its paint peeling off in many places. Lu Xiaoshuang said the blackboard is older than her.

The smaller room next door is where Lu Guohua and his wife live.

There was also a simple shed on the west side, with a clay stove inside and some miscellaneous items piled up.

This is the complete picture of Lu Xiaoshuang's real home.

This is just one corner of the entire Yangjiatun area.

Yangjiatun, a rural village in Northwest China, is different from the rural village at the foot of Yunxia Mountain where Zhou Yi's maternal grandmother lived.

The place felt to Zhou Yi like the Loess Plateau he had seen along the way; everything was grayish-brown, and more than half of the buildings, like Lu Xiaoshuang's house, were made of adobe.

There is not much greenery in the village, and the big trees are scattered here and there.

Looking into the distance, there are patches of yellowish-brown fields near the village, but it's unclear what's planted there.

Further away, there is a row of long, tall trees.

Zhou Yi later learned that these trees were windbreaks planted to prevent desertification.

It was planted after Lu Guohua and other educated youth came.

What was planted back then was just a sapling, but now it has grown into a towering tree.

Countless people have silently dedicated their youth and passion to this land.

After helping Zhou Yi move the box into the classroom, Zhao Liang said goodbye to Lu Guohua and his wife and left without even drinking a bowl of water.

Lu Xiaoshuang took Zhou Yi's hand and formally introduced him to her parents.

Lu Guohua and Su Xiuying hadn't even wiped the tears from their eyes when they looked at Zhou Yi's tall and handsome appearance and nodded repeatedly in satisfaction.

In his previous life, Zhou Yi only knew the names of Lu Xiaoshuang's parents and had never seen a photo of them.

Lu Guohua should be about 1.75 meters tall, but he clearly has a bad back and is somewhat hunched. His skin is rough and his face is full of wrinkles, but he wears a pair of thick glasses. One of the temples is probably broken and is wrapped with several layers of white medical tape.

Although he was dressed in shabby clothes and looked every bit the weathered working man, his speech revealed the extraordinary temperament of an intellectual.

Su Xiuying looks slightly younger than her husband, with fewer wrinkles on her face, but her hands are just as rough.

Lu Xiaoshuang looks like her mother, while Su Xiuying has a gentle and graceful look when she smiles, like a woman from the Jiangnan water towns, and her eyes are also very soft when she looks at people.

Looking at her parents' weathered faces, Lu Xiaoshuang couldn't help but cry again.

Su Xiuying comforted her, "Silly child, why are you crying? This is such a happy occasion. Let me wipe your tears."

Feeling her mother's rough skin, Lu Xiaoshuang remembered the things in the suitcase, quickly opened it, and took everything out.

They told their mother that Zhou Yi had prepared everything for them, including two sets of clothes, some local specialty pastries from Hongcheng, and some daily necessities.

Among them was a brand-new radio cassette player, which could not only play the radio but also play English tapes. Lu Xiaoshuang said she would send the tapes home later so that the students could listen to English.

Lu Guohua looked at the radio and waved his hands repeatedly, saying he couldn't accept it; it was too valuable.

Zhou Yi said with a smile, "Uncle and Aunt, I carried this all the way here, are you planning to make me carry it all the way back?"

"This...this must be a lot of money. You're a policeman, and you earn your money through hard work, risking your life."

"Dad, this is Zhou Yi's heartfelt gift, please accept it."

Zhou Yi quickly suggested testing the radio to see how it worked, and then he and Lu Guohua started fiddling with it. Lu Guohua clearly loved it; he would even breathe on it to wipe off any dust that had fallen on it.

Lu Xiaoshuang took out several boxes of clam oil hand cream, opened one and applied it to Su Xiuying's hands, then gently wiped them.

"Mom, you and Dad should use this clam oil more often. Look how rough your hands are."

Su Xiuying looked at her daughter with loving eyes, gently stroked her hair and said, "Xiaoshuang, you've suffered these past six years alone."

Lu Xiaoshuang's nose suddenly stung with tears, and she forced a smile, saying, "I'm not suffering, I'm fine."

Then he turned to Zhou Yi and said, "Brother Yi, why don't you take my dad to see those boxes of stuff?"

She knew that if she didn't change the subject, she would start crying again.

Lu Guohua asked in confusion, "What's inside those big boxes?"

"Uncle, let me take you to see it. It's a small gift that my colleagues and I prepared."

Lu Guohua nodded, carefully put the radio away, and then he and Zhou Yi lifted the curtain at the door to block the wind and sand and went out.

The two rooms are not connected inside; you can only get there from the outside.

It's summer vacation now, so we don't have any children.

The classroom was a bit dark; after all, the structure of the adobe house was not very stable, so the lighting was not very good.

Lu Guohua pulled the light switch, and an incandescent light bulb above his head lit up.

Zhou Yi used his key to cut open the tape on the boxes and then showed Lu Guohua what was inside the four boxes.

Lu Guohua stared in astonishment at the four boxes, tears welling in his eyes as he repeatedly expressed his gratitude.

"This...this must cost a lot of money, I don't even know what to say," Lu Guohua said helplessly.

Zhou Yi quickly explained, "It didn't cost much money. We got these through our colleagues' connections. These books were provided by the library, and the stationery and school uniforms were leftovers from the school's bulk purchases."

Lu Guohua asked with some doubt, "Really...really? You're not lying to me, are you? If this was bought, it must have cost a lot of money. I'll have to pay you back later."

This reaction was exactly what Zhou Yi had expected. He quickly assured Lu Guohua again that he wasn't lying, and only then did Lu Guohua believe him.

“Zhou Yi, which unit are you from? Xiao Shuang’s letter only said you were a police officer, but it didn’t say which unit you were from. I must write a thank-you letter to your unit. I thank you on behalf of the children of Yangjiatun.”

"I'm from the Criminal Investigation Division of Hongcheng City Public Security Bureau. But please don't be so polite, Uncle. We're just taking this opportunity to express our gratitude. It's just a small token of our appreciation, nothing compared to your and Aunt's dedication and hard work over the years."

"So you're a criminal investigator," Lu Guohua said with immediate concern. "Then you'd better be careful at work from now on."

Zhou Yi nodded.

"Hey, to be honest, these things you brought are exactly what I need." Lu Guohua reached out and stroked the items, saying, "There is actually a primary school in the town, but people from the more remote villages basically don't go to school. It's not just because they find it troublesome, but mainly because the people here lack understanding; they think that going to school is useless."

He said with a wry smile, "The most ironic thing is that some people questioned us, the educated youth who were sent to the countryside, in front of us, asking what the use of studying was, since we, the educated people, ended up coming to learn farming from these farmers."

"I was speechless for a moment."

"However, some things happened later that strengthened my belief in running a school. Even if there is only one student, it is still meaningful and valuable."

“When I decided to start this school, Xiaoshuang was not even three years old. I went to the town to ask for some help and support, but the town thought I was doing something unnecessary. Of course, I also knew that the town was in financial difficulty, so in the end all I brought back was this blackboard.”

“I built this classroom bit by bit. Look at these desks and chairs, I learned how to make them myself.”

“At first, I didn’t have a single student, so I went door-to-door asking people to send their children to class. But they actually thought I was trying to scam them out of their money.” Lu Guohua shook his head with a helpless bitter smile. “Guess how I finally managed to get the children to come to class?”

Zhou Yi replied, "You promised to provide meals?"

Lu Guohua burst into laughter: "You're so clever! That's right, I promised the villagers that I would cover lunch for any child who was willing to come to class. And just like that, they all agreed to send their children over."

Zhou Yi was not surprised by this result. It is normal that the more backward the economy and culture of a place, the more primitive people's cognition and logic are.

Children at this age are growing rapidly, and their appetites are getting bigger and bigger.

As the saying goes, "A half-grown boy can eat his father's ass off."

In times of scarcity, farmers would be very happy to save a meal.

Lu Guohua's actions might indirectly stimulate the birth rate in Yangjiatun, since it's a case of "why not take advantage of a free lunch?"

However, for Lu Xiaoshuang and her family of three, this would likely be a heavy burden, and they might have to pay a considerable price for it.

During a casual conversation, Lu Xiaoshuang once mentioned that she felt she had never been full when she was a child.

When she first came to Hongcheng to study in the first year of junior high school, she was the thinnest one in the class.

However, Lu Guohua did not mention these things, but skipped over the various dangers and obstacles he had encountered in the process.

"Later, the number of students increased, reaching a maximum of fourteen. The village secretary reported my situation to the town, and the town government took good care of us, acknowledging Yangjiatun Primary School and paying me a salary every month, which helped us get through the difficult times."

Zhou Yi asked, "After all these years, haven't the child's parents thought of showing any appreciation?"

Zhou Yi's purpose in asking this question was actually very simple: he wanted to know whether these people were simple and honest farmers or ignorant people from poor and remote areas.

Fortunately, Lu Guohua's answer made him feel relieved.

"Yes, the second year someone felt bad and brought them grain, and there were similar instances later on."

The word "also" contains two pieces of information. First, not all parents brought food; some kind-hearted people took it voluntarily, and others felt bad seeing this and later also took some. But some parents didn't take any, indicating that their purpose in sending their children to school was still to save that one meal.

Secondly, Lu Guohua did not harbor any resentment because of this incident.

Zhou Yi has a deep understanding of human nature. He knows that what people fear most is not scarcity but inequality. When anything is unfair, people's psychology is easily unbalanced.

Even those who didn't care before will start to care, wondering why he gets more benefits than me.

Sixteen years later, Lu Guohua still speaks of this matter in a nonchalant tone.

This shows that he remained true to his original aspiration and did not feel resentful because some people handed over grain while others did not.

This alone is enough to prove that he is a noble person.

Poverty is not great; what is great is to retain a childlike heart while living in poverty.

Zhou Yi didn't know how to praise Lu Guohua, because all words of praise seemed inadequate in the face of this matter.

"Uncle Lu, how many children have you taught in these sixteen years?" Zhou Yi asked.

Without hesitation, Lu Guohua gave a number: "Ninety-seven, including Xiaoshuang."

"Besides Xiaoshuang, are any of these children in college?"

Lu Guohua nodded: "Of the ninety-six children besides my own daughter, seventy-eight went to junior high school in town, thirty-three went to high school in the county, and five went to university."

It's astonishing that such an impoverished village produced five college students in just over a decade, especially considering this was in the 1980s and 90s.

“Uncle Lu, you changed their lives. Without you, they would either be farming here with their parents or working in the county or city,” Zhou Yi said sincerely. “You are the benefactor of this land.”

Lu Guohua and Chen Gengyun were both sent-down youth, both went to the countryside, and both went to the most remote and impoverished places.

But Lu Guohua had no karmic debts, no dishonest conduct, and no pretense.

He burned himself to light the way forward for the children of this land in the darkness.

Although there are only five college students, 80% of the children have completed junior high school and are no longer illiterate, and 30% have been admitted to high school, possessing a certain level of cognitive and thinking abilities.

This is already the maximum effort they've made to defy fate!
It gave them a layer of armor as they navigated the tides of the times.

In response to Zhou Yi's praise, Lu Guohua simply waved his hand and said indifferently, "A person should do something meaningful in this life."

After Lu Guohua thanked Zhou Yi again on behalf of the children, the two walked out of the classroom.

Just then, Su Xiuying pulled Lu Xiaoshuang out. Su Xiuying had clearly been crying, as her eyes were red and swollen.

Lu Guohua was taken aback and asked, "What happened? Why are your eyes swollen from crying?"

Su Xiuying wiped her nose and pulled Lu Guohua over, saying, "Old Lu, kowtow to your benefactor."

He was about to kneel down as he spoke.

Fortunately, Zhou Yi reacted quickly and caught the other person.

Zhou Yi knew that Lu Xiaoshuang had told her mother about the major case.

"Auntie, please don't do this. You are my elder, and I can't accept your kneeling." Zhou Yi quickly said, and Lu Xiaoshuang also tried to persuade him from the side.

Lu Guohua was still a little dazed, but he also came to his senses and asked his daughter in a trembling voice, "Xiaoshuang, did... something happen to you?"

Su Xiuying cried and said, "If it weren't for Zhou Yi, you wouldn't have a daughter."

Upon hearing this, Lu Guohua turned pale with fright.

He had indeed been worried about what Lu Xiaoshuang said in her letter when he received it, but he had never thought about it to this extent.

Zhou Yi didn't know exactly what Lu Xiaoshuang had said, but he couldn't reveal the specific details of the grand case. He could only explain that they had misunderstood, that Xiaoshuang had been accidentally involved in the case, and that the matter itself wasn't directed at her, so it would be fine once it was over, and that they didn't need to worry.

It was the police who investigated the truth and cleared her name; she was just one of them.

After Lu Guohua learned what his daughter had gone through in Hongcheng, he was filled with lingering fear.

Because this is a matter of life and death with a very low chance of survival.

Lu Xiaoshuang didn't want her parents to worry too much, so she grabbed Zhou Yi's arm and said, "Mom and Dad, with Zhou Yi here, and many other police officers like him, you don't need to worry."

Lu Guohua and Su Xiuying nodded repeatedly, their eyes filled with tears.

Su Xiuying wiped away her tears and said with a smile, "We've been so busy chatting that it's almost noon. I'll go cook. Lao Lu, go to Aunt Yang's house and buy a chicken, some eggs, and a bottle of wine. Since you're in such a good mood, have a couple of drinks with Zhou Yi."

Zhou Yi knew they usually ate simple meals and lived a hard life, and didn't want them to spend money, so he said, "Uncle Lu, how about I..."

Lu Xiaoshuang immediately covered his mouth with her hand, and only after watching her parents leave the house happily did she say, "It's okay, let my dad go buy it. This is also their way of expressing their feelings."

Zhou Yi nodded.

……

In the evening, after dinner, Lu Xiaoshuang took Zhou Yi for a walk around the village.

Returning to the place where she grew up, Lu Xiaoshuang was noticeably more cheerful and composed, no longer reserved.

Zhou Yi then realized that she was actually very talkative, taking the initiative to greet the elderly, chat with the middle-aged, and happily hug her childhood playmates.

Moreover, she was chatting with people in the local dialect that Zhou Yi couldn't quite understand. However, it was clear that her dialect sounded a bit unnatural and not very authentic.

Yangjiatun is not a large village, with only about fifty or sixty households in total. Most of them are three generations living together, with a total population of only two or three hundred.

After looking around, Zhou Yi discovered that there were very few educated youth like Lu Guohua in the village, probably only two or three. They were easy to identify because the one who spoke Mandarin when chatting was probably Lu Guohua.

Of course, they didn't visit each household individually; there must have been others as well.

On the way back, Zhou Yi asked this question.

The situation of educated youth going to the countryside varied. The larger groups, like Chen Gengyun's construction corps, were composed of soldiers, educated youth, and locals, and were responsible for reclaiming wasteland.

But most of them were probably like Lu Guohua and his group, who were sent to work in remote rural areas.

This situation is not fixed; large villages will certainly have hundreds of such villages.

There are about ten small villages.

Because the educated youth didn't come all at once, but in batches.

“I heard my dad say that a total of sixteen educated youth came to Yangjiatun, but less than half of them stayed in the end. The few you just saw all stayed because they married people in the village. Those who didn’t get married either went back through policy or enlisted in the army. Only my parents stayed on their own initiative.”

"So your parents had a chance to leave?" Zhou Yi asked in surprise.

Lu Xiaoshuang shook her head: "I don't know, they didn't say, but there used to be an uncle in the village who was also an educated youth. Although he didn't go back to his hometown, he works in the city now. So I guess if they are willing to leave, they should at least be able to go to the city."

"Xiaoshuang, do you have any complaints about your parents' choice to stay in this impoverished place?"

Lu Xiaoshuang answered without hesitation, "Of course not."

She smiled and turned around, saying, "Where your home is doesn't matter; where your family is is what matters most."

In the dim twilight, only her eyes shone brightly.

At night, Lu Xiaoshuang slept in the same room as her mother. Lu Guohua somehow got hold of two door panels and set up two makeshift beds in the classroom.

There was a quilt on Zhou Yi's bed, and a worn-out mat on top of it.

Lu Guohua's bed was bare except for some dry straw.

"Zhou Yi, the conditions here are quite harsh, I'm sorry to trouble you."

“Uncle Lu, this is already very good. People in our line of work often don’t sleep all night. Even when we do sleep, it’s just a quick nap, in the car, on a chair, anything is fine. It’s already very good to have a bed to sleep in.” Zhou Yi said, pulling out the blanket he was using as a cover, explaining that he was too hot because he was too hot under the blanket.

Lu Guohua then removed the hay with some skepticism and placed the quilt on his bed.

After they both fell asleep, Zhou Yi felt that the bare door panel was a bit uncomfortable.

I had just turned over when the door started creaking.

At this moment, Lu Guohua suddenly spoke up: "Zhou Yi, you're not asleep, are you?"

"No, Uncle Lu."

"Were you sleeping uncomfortable?"

"No no."

"How about we chat for a bit, just the two of us?"

"Okay."

Even so, Zhou Yi didn't know what to talk about, and a slightly awkward silence fell in the darkness.

“Actually…” Lu Guohua began, “This isn’t the first time Xiao Shuang has been in trouble.”

(End of this chapter)