Xu Mingxuan and Er Zhuang saw their uncle and aunt chatting with family members on the sofa as soon as they entered. The two of them first greeted their uncle and aunt. To their surprise, upon seeing the young woman surnamed Song, both of them exclaimed in unison, "Song Wan, is that you? How did you get here? Has something happened at home too?"
Upon seeing her uncle and aunt, tears involuntarily streamed down Song Wan's face. Without even wiping them away, she quickly ran over and cried out, "Uncle Zhang, Aunt Zhang, you're both alive, that's wonderful! It's me, Xiao Wan!"
At this moment, her uncle asked anxiously, "Xiao Wan, didn't you have a job? Why did you go to the countryside too? What exactly is going on? How is your father now?"
Mentioning her father, Song Wan's expression dimmed considerably. She shook her head, "I still don't know what happened. I was at work when the unit suddenly notified me that due to my father's issues, I had to go to the Great Northern Wilderness for labor reform. When I left home, my father hadn't returned for over two months. I don't know how he is now. Where is he?"
Just then, Jiaxing and Jiahe brought out two basins of hot water and new towels. Xu Mingxuan, while urging everyone to wash up and warm themselves, said, "In such a situation, they'll likely be sent to a farm for labor reform too! Before I came back on leave, I heard they were sending a group of people to the Great Northern Wilderness for labor after the annual meeting. I'll keep an eye out."
Her uncle nodded, then as if remembering something, continued, "So how did you two meet?"
Xu Mingxuan smiled, motioned for everyone to eat first, and then turned to his uncle, saying, "Uncle, this is a long story. After dinner, the two of us can go to the small study and talk about it slowly." With that, he turned and introduced them to his uncle, "Come, Uncle, let me introduce you—"
He then spread his hands and pointed to two middle-aged men wearing glasses, introducing them, "These two both teach at universities in the Capital. They're from two different universities in the Capital. One is Professor Chen Shi, and the other is Professor Qian Siyuan. They've also been sent down to the Great Northern Wilderness for labor reform to support our construction here."
Then he pointed to the young woman named Chen, "This young woman Chen is Professor Chen's daughter. She was sent down along with Professor Chen."
Next, he pointed to an older woman and the young man named Zhao, "This is Doctor Zhong, who works at a hospital in the Capital. Young woman Zhao is Doctor Zhong's daughter, and she also works in the hospital."
As he was speaking, the children brought out the freshly made noodles from the kitchen. The steaming noodle soup filled the air with its aroma. Chen Lan saw that everyone was hungry and immediately called out, "Come, come, everyone, quickly eat while it's hot. We can talk about things after we've eaten."
The six ravenously hungry people quickly finished their meal. Chen Lan, seeing that they were still quite cold and probably wouldn't get used to the Northeast's chill anytime soon, turned and, with her daughters, prepared three guest rooms for them. After Chen Lan and her daughters had placed toiletries, clean clothes, shoes, and socks in the guest rooms, they came out and said, "Alright, everyone, please follow me to the guest rooms to wash up. Take a hot bath and change into clean clothes, and you won't feel so cold."
As soon as Chen Lan finished speaking, Chunni called for Jiahe to help take the two professors to the guest rooms. Chunhua and Chunfang then took the remaining four women to two separate guest rooms.
Xu Mingxuan and Er Zhuang followed their uncle to the small study.
After Chen Lan had settled everyone, Xu Mingxuan, Er Zhuang, and their uncle had finished their conversation and were just coming out of the small study, their faces grave. Er Zhuang greeted Chen Lan and their uncle and went back to his own home.
Xu Mingxuan also greeted his uncle and then went upstairs with Chen Lan to wash up. Seeing Chen Lan looking at him, he explained, "Lan'er, it was quite a coincidence. Before we came back, we went to the farm where we used to work. We were taking some things to Qingsong and Daye to help them out. On the way back, we happened to run into them on the road to the farm, and they were lost. They were also assigned to Qingsong and Daye's farm. Look at them; the farm work wouldn't be something they could handle. So, after asking them, I found that among them were teachers and doctors who would be quite suitable for our valley. So, I brought them all back to the valley."
Chen Lan asked with some concern, "Mingxuan, Qingsong and Daye's farm suddenly lost a few people. Will they be implicated?"
Xu Mingxuan replied calmly, "Implicated? Who saw them? Besides, this matter has nothing to do with them. If anyone is to blame, it's the person who sent them. Who knew they were heartless enough to abandon strangers in the middle of nowhere? Moreover, these people never actually reached Qingsong's farm, and no one at the farm saw them. They can send people to investigate freely, can't they? Lan'er, don't worry! As long as these people stay quietly in the valley, no one will find them. By the time the authorities realize these people are missing, it'll be too late. In this freezing weather, with no food or drink, and looking at the endless wilderness and swamps, where would they find them? It will probably just be dropped. As for what excuse to give, they have plenty of reasons and methods. We don't need to worry about that."
Just as Xu Mingxuan had said, who cared? Since they had such excellent resources, how could Chen Lan waste them! So, the next day, she immediately asked Jiaxing to find Teacher Zhou. To her surprise, Teacher Zhou was greatly shocked upon meeting Chen Shi and Qian Siyuan.
The three of them embraced emotionally. Teacher Zhou sighed, "Chen Shi, Qian Siyuan, I never thought I'd see you again. Twenty years have passed, and we've all grown old. Quickly tell me how you've been all these years. Are you both well? How did you end up in the valley?"
After Teacher Zhou finished speaking in one breath, he noticed something was amiss with his two old friends and realized they seemed to have something to hide. He then took them to the small study to talk.
Chen Lan didn't know what Teacher Zhou had said to the two professors. However, after Teacher Zhou gave them a tour of her laboratories, the valley's school not only didn't take a holiday but also added several new courses.
The four women were not to be outdone. Doctor Zhong and her daughter, the young woman Zhao, also started a nursing program, teaching interested older girls and young wives in the valley professional nursing knowledge.
Young woman Song was from the song and dance troupe, and young woman Chen was from the opera house. They both started a vocal class and an instrumental class, teaching the children in the valley professional vocal knowledge.