A Tale of Two Cities Supporting Xinjiang

Zhou Mingyu was looking down at the equipment list in his office when a series of hurried footsteps came from not far away.

Han Changfu placed the list in front of him. "Mingyu, you happen to be familiar with the situation in Xinjiang. This time, another aid mission to Xinjiang has been assigned. I've selected a few candidates. Could you take a look and see who would be most suitable for our unit to send?"

Zhou Mingyu picked up the list and examined it carefully.

"Li Donghao can't do it. His elderly mother is paralyzed in bed and needs him to feed her and bathe her every day. He can't leave."

"Chen Shilong is not suitable either. He has two children, the older one has just started elementary school and the younger one is still an infant. His wife simply cannot take care of them all by herself."

When he saw Wang Linan's name, Han Changfu couldn't help but interject, "Wang Linan is thirty this year, has no children and no burdens, and just got married, so this isn't a big deal, is it?"

"The newlyweds have only been married for less than three months, and the aid mission to Xinjiang will last at least a year and a half. It's not appropriate to send them away at this time."

……

Every time Zhou Mingyu saw a name, he could find a reason why they were unsuitable to go to Xinjiang for aid work, and Han Changfu's face also darkened.

"Mingyu, I've sifted through this list three times, picking those with the lightest family burdens. Why are none of them suitable for you? Tell me, who is appropriate?"

Zhou Mingyu put down the list, looked up, and said decisively, "I'll go."

Han Changfu was stunned for two seconds before reacting, waving his hand and laughing, "You're kidding me! Last time you went to Xinjiang, your wife was pregnant when you left, and you only saw the child twice after it was born. Now the child is just three years old, and has just met you as his father, and you still want to go to Xinjiang?"

"Besides, your parents have high blood pressure and diabetes and need to go for check-ups every month. Given your circumstances, it seems more difficult for you than for anyone on the list. How dare you say you can do it?"

"Director, I'm familiar with the situation in Tacheng. I drew up the blueprints for those three medical stations in the last round, I visited the sites, and I know exactly what medicines the herders need. Now the equipment is halfway delivered. If we send someone else, it will take a long time just to familiarize themselves with the situation, and the herders can't wait. If I go, I can continue the work from the last round and get the medical stations up and running as soon as possible."

Han Changfu stared at him for a long time, then finally waved his hand: "Don't get involved in this. Just pretend I didn't ask. I'll send out a notice later, and everyone can sign up voluntarily. We'll select people based on the number of applicants."

After saying that, he picked up the list, turned around and left, not giving Zhou Mingyu another chance to speak.

That evening, Zhou Mingyu sat at the dining table, picking at the rice in his bowl, but suddenly lost his appetite for his beloved sweet and sour pork ribs.

"Hey, what are you thinking about?"

Zhou Mingyu's wife, Song Linglong, asked, puzzled.

"Oh, it's nothing."

Zhou Mingyu still looked absent-minded.

"What's wrong? Is something bothering you at work?"

Under her repeated questioning, Zhou Mingyu finally told her what had happened during the day.

"So who will go in the end?"

"I'll go."

Song Linglong's chopsticks froze in mid-air, her face hardening. "Don't you know what's going on at home? Mom was hospitalized last week because of high blood sugar, and Xingchen has just started to develop feelings for you. And you just leave like that? I really don't know what you're thinking! You might as well just live on your own!"

Zhou Mingyu wanted to explain, but seeing his wife's attitude, he chose to eat in silence, feeling extremely unhappy.

The moment the notice about the Xinjiang aid program was posted, the office erupted in discussion.

"Li Donghao, you said there's another opportunity to go to Xinjiang for aid work? Do you want to go?"

"To be honest, I also want to go, but I've heard that the work in Xinjiang is very tough, and I don't know if I can stick with it."

Wang Linan spoke her mind directly.

"Why don't we listen to Zhou Mingyu? He's the only person in our unit who's been to Xinjiang, so he must have the most experience in that area."

Without much thought, the two brothers found Zhou Mingyu.

"Brother Zhou, what exactly do you do in Xinjiang? It sounds like a very meaningful job."

"Supporting Xinjiang is about helping the people of Xinjiang live a happy life. It's definitely meaningful, but don't just look at the surface. The conditions there are much harsher than here. In winter, it's tens of degrees below zero, the infrastructure is inadequate, language communication is not easy, and the work is plentiful and varied. I doubt that you two can endure the loneliness and hardship."

Zhou Mingyu paused, then added, "I'm not trying to scare you, the conditions are really very tough. You'll see when you get there."

The excitement on Li Donghao and Wang Linan's faces vanished instantly. They looked at each other and didn't ask any more questions.

Although Chen Shilong had a heavy family burden, he still wanted to take advantage of his youth to accumulate some experience and temper himself in the work of supporting Xinjiang. He signed up at the personnel department without hesitation.

Although Han Changfu disagreed with Zhou Mingyu going to Xinjiang for the aid mission, Zhou Mingyu thought it over and decided to sign up anyway. When he saw that Chen Shilong had also signed up, he secretly approached Chen Shilong.

"Chen Shilong, think about it again. Your two children are still young and need someone to accompany them. Your parents can't come to help. You're a cadre, which is different from those other aid workers. They can stay for at least a year and a half, but you have to stay for at least three years. What will happen to your family?"

"I thought it was an honor to go to Xinjiang to help, and I wanted to do my part for them."

"It may be glorious, but it was truly tough. I worked there for three years, how could I not know what it was like there?"

Zhou Mingyu sat down and continued, "In winter, when conducting research outdoors, your hands get so cold you can't even hold a pen; the signal in the village is bad, and you have to run several miles to find a signal tower if you want to video chat with your children; sometimes, to help the villagers solve irrigation problems, you have to stay on the ridges of the fields all night. If you're just going there to get seniority, you might as well not go at all, but if you really want to do real work, you simply won't be able to take care of your family."

Hearing this, Chen Shilong suddenly felt uncertain.

The next morning, Chen Shilong went to the personnel department, blushing, and said, "I haven't thought through my family's situation before, so I won't register for now."

When the registration deadline arrived, Han Changfu saw that only Zhou Mingyu's name was on the registration form, and his anger flared up immediately.

The director called Zhou Mingyu into his office. "Mingyu, you've already been to Xinjiang once for aid work. Your elderly parents still need care. Don't go this time. Let the other young people in the unit get some experience."

"Director, young people aren't familiar with the situation there. If I go, I can avoid many detours. I've already made arrangements at home, so I must sign up this time."

However, Han Changfu found it strange that only Zhou Mingyu had signed up, so he went to the head of the personnel department to find out about the whole registration process.

"Director, Chen Shilong also signed up before, but less than a day later he came to me and told me that he was not going to sign up anymore."

Why?

"They said they had carefully considered it and decided not to go."

Han Changfu immediately found Chen Shilong and said, "Chen Shilong, I heard you signed up but then changed your mind?"

Chen Shilong stammered, unsure how to answer.

"Did someone say something to you?"

Han Changfu, with his extensive experience, pressed on with further questions.