Summary

In the summer of 1972, Zhao was 15. He waited for the train with his father. The night before, Zhao's father had given him his old "white designer shirt" (1). When he was young, his father had worn it whenever "he needed to feel strong" (1). On the platform, before saying goodbye, Zhao's father told him to always remember that "Forgetfulness is essential to moving on" (1). Though they were both emotional, they focused on not crying. They feared they might never see each other again.

Zhao was leaving Shanghai for a "rural town, X" (1). He had been stationed there per "central government policy" so that peasants could reform him (1). Zhao’s class was wrong, because his parents were both teachers. The peasant reform assignment was meant to amend this status issue.

The trip took three days. When he arrived in X, Zhao did not "know where to...