Hu Meili originally thought the matter would end there, but she never expected that afterward, those teachers would actually take the lead in isolating the two children at school.
Younger Brother, who used to be such a lively character.
In less than a year, his whole personality had changed.
Now when he comes home, he doesn't like to talk much either, and some time ago, he even started showing signs of school aversion and loss of appetite.
"I was left with no choice, so I had to ask for a month's leave for them first, planning to take them out for a proper change of scenery."
After understanding all this, Jiang Si also fell silent. "Have you reported this matter to Division Commander Yao?"
"We've reported it many times, and we've even changed several teachers, but nothing worked," Xu Mingjuan said helplessly. "The general atmosphere on the island has changed now, and the children's... the children's thinking has also started to become somewhat distorted."
Seeing Jiang Si's look of surprise, Hu Meili said, "Do you remember Battalion Commander Wang, the one who lived in front of our house?"
Jiang Si nodded; of course she remembered.
Battalion Commander Wang's mother had once tried to set her sights on Third Uncle, but later Battalion Commander Wang persuaded her to return to their hometown.
"What happened to their family?"
"His eldest son reported his own mother."
The reason was laughable. Battalion Commander Wang's wife had merely complained a few times at home.
She said work was hard, that she came back late every day, and if she went too late, all the good stuff at the service cooperative would be gone.
As a result, her son took it to the extreme, slapping labels on her like "ideologically lax" and "lacking firm revolutionary will."
"Just last month, there were three incidents like this," Hu Meili said gravely. "Now everyone in the family compound is on edge. No matter what you say, you have to say it behind the children's backs, afraid they might hear and go out to talk carelessly."
Punishing the children is useless. The moment you discipline them, they can turn around and bring the Little Red Guards to smash up their own home.
"......"
After listening, Jiang Si was speechless for a long time.
She had always thought these things only existed in historical documents and TV dramas.
She never expected to encounter them in this way, right before her eyes.
"Sigh, I've come to accept it now," Hu Meili said. "At worst, they just won't go to school. We absolutely cannot let the children be poisoned by them."
Xu Mingjuan's child was still young and didn't have to experience this pain yet.
But she was still deeply worried.
If a child never goes to school, won't they become illiterate later?
Her own Lei Zi had already suffered because of his lack of formal education.
Otherwise, with his seniority, he would have been promoted to a regular position long ago.
Jiang Si pursed her lips. "But staying at home all the time isn't a solution either."
Two years ago, the country reformed the school system. Now, most places nationwide follow the "Five-Two-Two" system.
Weimin had just entered fourth grade in the latter half of this year. Doing the math, by the time he graduates from high school, the college entrance examination will probably have been restored.
This would be among the first batch of university students after the restoration, and their value is self-evident.
"Sister-in-law, have you and Brother Xiao ever thought about transferring to another military district?" Jiang Si tentatively asked.
With no outsiders around, Hu Meili spoke frankly, "We discussed this months ago, but the situation in Old Xiao's hometown is pretty much the same."
To be precise, the whole country is basically like this now.
It's just that the severity differs from place to place.
"The situation here in Capital City is relatively better," Jiang Si said.
There was an elementary school near the old family residence. Her two young nephews were about the same age as Weidong and Weimin, so she had a rough idea of the school situation there too.
"I know," Hu Meili said. "Your Old Huo already mentioned this to us before."
It's just that their Old Xiao's original household registration wasn't in Capital City. Wanting to transfer here, the procedures would likely be difficult to manage.
Unless his rank could be raised one more level.
But that would take at least another two or three years.
Of course, the main reason Hu Meili hadn't made up her mind was her worry that Capital City might one day become like this too.
"It probably won't."
If someone else had asked, Jiang Si wouldn't have spoken so definitively.
But during her time on the island, these two sisters-in-law had taken great care of her, so she felt she could speak openly.
As for the reason, it wasn't hard to understand.
The Capital City General Military District encompassed the army, navy, and air force. Unlike the Fourth Division, here, if you randomly threw a brick, you'd likely hit several officers at the regimental level or above.
Moreover, those who could stay in Capital City were basically the elite of the group armies.
No one understood the importance of knowledge better than they did.
This was also evident from the schools near the old residence.
Even taking a step back, even if the school teachers refused to teach, as long as the children wanted to learn, there were plenty of other ways.
Seeing that both sisters-in-law were very interested in this, the day after visiting the Forbidden City, Jiang Si took them from the North Gate of the Forbidden City to Jingshan Park.
1970 Capital City Children's Palace
At that time, the Capital City Children's Palace was located in the Shouhuang Hall within Jingshan Park.
It was the weekend, and there were many people coming to the Children's Palace to study.
Before setting out in the morning, Jiang Si had specifically informed her second sister-in-law, whose cousin worked as a teacher here.
When the group arrived, the woman was already waiting at the main gate of the Children's Palace.
"Sis, sorry to trouble you today," Jiang Si greeted her with a smile.
"Hey, we're family. No trouble at all," the woman smiled and introduced herself, "My name is Yang Meifang. You can just call me Fangzi."
With that, she quickly ushered everyone inside.
As soon as they entered, the Weidong and Weimin brothers were captivated by the various activity groups on the sports field.
Seeing them reluctant to move on after a long while, Yang Meifang said with a smile, "Whichever one you like, you can go take a look and try it out."
"Really?"
"Of course." Yang Meifang pinned a badge on each of them. "Go ahead. If you don't understand something, just ask the teacher directly. Say I sent you."
Then, she proceeded to give Jiang Si and the others an overview of the Children's Palace.
"Not many groups are open on weekends. The main ones on this sports field are Radio, Model Aircraft, Biology, Astronomy, and Photography."
Radio Group
"Choir, Dance Team, and Instrumental Music Group are in that building over there."
Instrumental Music Group
"Oh, and we also have Painting, Embroidery, Puppetry, Peking Opera, Martial Arts, Gymnastics, Swimming, Abacus, Bench Work... over thirty groups in total. Usually, any child who comes can find something they like."
Embroidery Group
Puppetry Group
"Come on, let me take you to the back for a look."
Jiang Si had lived in Capital City for a while now, but this was her first time visiting the Capital City Children's Palace.
It had to be said, the courses here were much more diverse than she had imagined.
When there were fewer students nearby, she helped Teacher Hu ask the question she most wanted to ask.
"Sister Fang, could we go see the groups for academic subjects?"
"No problem."
Yang Meifang led the group through a side path to the building at the back, where the environment was relatively quieter.
"Currently, the Children's Palace only offers Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, and Chinese language subjects. Foreign languages aren't taught."
Everyone nodded, understanding the situation.
It was class time, so no one spoke. They quietly stood by the back door of the classroom and listened for a while.
"This teacher explains things so well!" Hu Meili couldn't help but exclaim as they walked downstairs. "Also, this Children's Palace teaches such a wide variety of things."
Before coming, she had always thought the Children's Palace was just a place for kids to sing and dance.
She never expected the academic subjects to be taught so thoroughly.
Speaking of this, Jiang Si actually knew a bit about it. "In the past, Capital City didn't have enough teachers or classrooms, so the authorities implemented a 'two-shift system' policy. The children attended school for half a day, and spent the other half-day learning things at the Children's Palace."
This was something Mother Huo had told her.
"That's right."
Yang Meifang, afraid they might worry, specifically explained a few things. "Many of the teachers at the Children's Palace are retired professors and master craftsmen. Don't worry, as long as the children are willing to learn, we guarantee they will be taught until they master it."
As they talked, the group returned to the playground.
By now, the Weidong and Weimin brothers had already plunged headfirst into the model airplane group and, along with the other group members, had started assembling models.
It was originally agreed that today's visit was just to watch for a while and get a feel for the place.
But by the time all the group activities had completely ended, the two brothers were still not quite ready to leave.
"Mom," the younger son looked up, a small flame of enthusiasm rekindled in his eyes, "can we come again tomorrow?"
"Absolutely not!" It's too much trouble for Comrade Yang every time we come.
As soon as these words were spoken, the brothers' little faces fell.
Hu Meili couldn't spare the effort to comfort them right now. Her eyes were shining brightly as she looked at Jiang Si—
[There are over 30 pictures; a few are shown here in the text. The Children's Palace was already quite impressive in that era!
Wishing all you darlings a happy Mid-Autumn Festival, and don't forget to give that 'more updates' button a tap~~]
