Chapter 44: The Training Team

In a barracks dormitory at Ma Niao Fort, Tan Xiaoqin silently gazed at the training ground outside the window. The trees around the training ground were already over a person’s height. When she and the villagers from the salt fields came here to plant trees, the saplings were only as tall as a seven or eight-year-old child.

It was winter now. Although the leaves on the trees were green, they looked gray and dusty. The vegetation was not as lush as in other seasons. The training ground was empty, and her heart felt empty too.

After the New Year, she would be twenty-four. Tan Xiaoqin thought to herself, a sense of inexplicable panic rising in her heart.

Tan Xiaoqin had not read many books and naturally could not recite poems of sorrow and reflection, but her mood, like that of literary young women throughout history who had enough to eat, was full of melancholy.

Twenty-four years old. In the village, women of this age were already mothers of several children. Even if they had no children, they were already married. If a girl was still unmarried at this age, she would be considered a veritable old maid.

Since Tan Xiaoqin had entered the training class at the Ma Niao Agricultural Lecture Institute and become a women’s cadre, she had come to understand many “Australian principles.” When the Yuanlao trained these native students, they not only used words but also their own actions to spread the concepts of modern civilization to them. Therefore, she knew that twenty-four was still a “good time of youth and strength” for women, a time to “build a career.” She still remembered Chief Du’s earnest words to them: “You have come upon a good era. When I was your age, I could only stay at home and read and write. I couldn’t do any concrete work, let alone work independently like you do! You new-era women cadres must cherish this opportunity!”

The words were true. Since Tan Xiaoqin had “followed the dragon,” she had been continuously promoted, from a small women’s committee member in the salt fields village all the way up. Now, she was the section chief of the Industrial and Economic Section of Chengmai County. Due to her young age, long service, and background from the Agricultural Lecture Institute, she had been listed for “key cultivation.” For this northern expedition, the organization department had selected cadres from all over Hainan to go north to take over the government. She was among the first to be chosen. It was said that she would be entrusted with an important task, possibly even becoming a county magistrate.

Her father and her relatives were all extremely excited. For generations, the Tan family had been poor people who carried water and dried salt. Now, one of them was going to be a “county magistrate”! Although she was a girl, she was still from the Tan family. The saying “when one person achieves the Dao, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven” was still the mindset of the Tan family elders.

But her mother’s thoughts were different from the men’s. Before she was selected for the northern cadre training team, she had a vacation to visit her family. After a flurry of noisy congratulations, her mother pulled her into her room and asked in a low voice: what about her own marriage?

“…You’re not young anymore. You’re a real old maid now. In the past, at this age, you could only be a second wife.”

The reason for saying “in the past” was that now in Lingao, there were too many strong young men without wives.

“…Your father, your uncles, they are all hoping you’ll be promoted. Of all the people from the Tan family who have become officials, you’ve been promoted the fastest. They are all counting on you to get rich so they can benefit. They haven’t thought about you. If you go on like this year after year, are you planning to get married at thirty? A girl can’t afford to wait. When a person gets old, their value depreciates! Don’t think I don’t know what your father is thinking. He’s hoping that by being an official, you’ll have more chances to meet the Chiefs, and one of them will take a fancy to you and make you his concubine. He doesn’t even think that if a Chief wants to take a concubine, he’ll want a young one, not an older one.”

These words made Tan Xiaoqin’s face burn. In fact, it wasn’t just her father and uncles who had this idea; she herself had once harbored such thoughts. But in the end, no Chief had taken a fancy to her. The Yuanlao who valued and liked her the most was Chief Du, but she was a woman.

Then her mother began to play matchmaker, suggesting a child of a relative from her mother’s side. He was twenty-eight and worked as a boiler stoker on the Lingao City Railway—in Lingao, this was a genuine “skilled technical job” with a considerable income.

“…His family is well-off, and he’s a decent-looking person. I’ve watched this child grow up. His parents are not picky people, and our two families are related. You won’t suffer if you marry him…”

At that time, she was actually a little moved. She had been a cadre outside for several years, and her age was increasing day by day. Even if she had no thoughts in her mind, the hormones in her body constantly reminded her of the physiological needs of a normal woman. Especially when working alone in a different place, those long nights, sleeping alone in the dormitory, it was inevitable to feel empty, lonely, and cold. Besides, the man’s conditions were quite good: a naturalized citizen skilled worker was a highly sought-after commodity in the Lingao marriage market.

But she remembered that during the talk with the organization department, the superior had made it very clear: regardless of gender, no one could get married before departure, and female cadres could not get pregnant. Any violation would result in suspension and being sent to a “study class” for “re-education.”

Tan Xiaoqin was not very interested in being a county magistrate. But “violating discipline” was a huge matter for her. The consequences would undoubtedly be severe, not only for her personally but for her entire family and even the entire salt fields village. In the end, the matter did not go through. Her mother sighed repeatedly in disappointment, and her heart also felt very heavy.

“I don’t know when I’ll be able to come back,” Tan Xiaoqin thought about her own marriage, and couldn’t help but feel sorry for herself.

“Xiaoqin, what are you talking about?” The dormitory door opened, and Lu Cheng, her roommate whom she had met during this training, came in. Based on the content of the training, she guessed that Lu Cheng’s work after going to the mainland would be similar to hers.

Lu Cheng was a little younger than her but very mature. She was also very meticulous in her work. Tan Xiaoqin heard that she had originally worked in the finance and taxation department—no wonder she had a maturity that did not match her age.

“It’s a holiday for the next few days. Aren’t you going to stroll around Dongmen Market?”

The training had ended yesterday. Starting today, the northern cadre training team had a week off. The team members could go home to see their families or buy things they needed after arriving on the mainland. Then they would enter a state of combat readiness, ready to depart at any time.

“I’m too lazy to go,” Tan Xiaoqin said listlessly. “I don’t want to buy anything either. Besides, everything we need has been issued.”

“Not even going home to see your family?”

“My home is right here in Ma Niao, just a short walk from the base gate.” What Tan Xiaoqin didn’t want to say was that going home would inevitably mean listening to the nagging of her parents and other elders. After being a cadre for a few years, she already felt very distant from the people and affairs of the Tan family, even a sense of impatience.

“You’re so convenient. It takes me a city train ride and a carriage transfer to get home,” Lu Cheng said, taking out a package wrapped in large leaves. “I bought some melon seeds, freshly roasted. Have some.”

The custom of eating melon seeds was also popularized by the Australian Chiefs. In the past, few people in Lingao ate melon seeds—it was a pastime for the rich and idle. Most people didn’t even have enough to eat. Now that living standards had improved, snacks like melon seeds had become popular among the naturalized citizens.

The two sat on the bed and cracked melon seeds. To change the subject, Tan Xiaoqin asked, “What was all the commotion last night? I saw an ambulance came.”

Lu Cheng was the little loudspeaker of the training team, well-informed about everything. She knew a little about everything.

“Someone from the fourth squadron self-harmed,” Lu Cheng indeed knew. “He didn’t want to go to the mainland. During self-study last night, he hid in the training ground and stabbed his own foot with a training bayonet, saying the bayonet fell and stabbed him. That’s too fake. You don’t even need a doctor to look at it. A nurse could tell it was wrong at a glance. He confessed everything at the infirmary before his wound was even stitched up…”

“That’s serious. He’ll be dismissed from public service, right?”

“More than just dismissed. I heard he’s going to be exiled to the south to serve hard labor,” Lu Cheng sighed. “His family must be devastated. I heard he’s only been married for half a year. I don’t know how much his wife will cry when she finds out…”

Tan Xiaoqin’s heart stirred. After a long while, she said lazily, “So that’s how it is. No wonder he was so confused for a moment.”

“Who can say otherwise,” Lu Cheng said. “A bright future ruined in an instant…”

“He’s still considered smart, thinking of using self-harm to escape. The one from the second team last time, he cried and shouted that he wouldn’t go, and his whole family knelt and cried in front of the Chief’s door. That was really stupid.”

Since the training team started, there had been an undercurrent among the mobilized and selected northern cadres. Although most people were eager to participate in the upcoming mainland campaign, hoping to make a name for themselves, there were also many who held a negative attitude. It wasn’t that they questioned whether the Senate could win, but they were unwilling to leave their families and familiar environment. They were even more afraid of losing their lives in the mainland campaign—they had only been living a good life for a few years.

So since the start of the class, there had been no end to those feigning illness, deliberately failing exams, using connections to find Yuanlao, and having their wives and children come to the training team to cry and beg…

“Short-sighted,” Lu Cheng scoffed. “My dad also rambled on to me, saying what’s the point of a girl like me making such a fuss, it would be better to be a small cadre and live a stable life. I can’t even be bothered to talk to him.”

Neither of them said anything more. Every naturalized citizen cadre in the northern cadre training team knew that this trip north to take over was the beginning of the Senate’s “conquest of the world.” Not to mention what would happen to them, the followers of the dragon, in the future. For now, they would at least be promoted one level when they reached Guangdong. When the entire Guangdong province was stabilized, it was possible for a former small clerk or village chief in Hainan to become a county magistrate—a large number of official positions were waiting for them.

For these people, most of whom were starving and in rags a few years ago, to have such an opportunity was a blessing that could not be cultivated in several lifetimes! The Yuanlao would change the dynasty and sit on the dragon throne, and they, the naturalized citizens, would all be meritorious subjects. Not to mention themselves, even the wealth and honor of their descendants would be secure.