Struggle Life in the 1970s

She was just wondering why there were brown stains on the corners of Chu Guangyao's mouth when he greeted her. She was also wondering why Chu Guangyao was still playing in the mud in junior high school. Now that she thought about it, it was probably because he ate the chocolate given by Mu Zhiqing that the stains got on the corners of his mouth.

Seeing Chu Ye accept it, Mu Zhiqing breathed a sigh of relief and continued to search, "I searched there today, but couldn't find your lost textbook. I don't know if it was washed away by the water. I don't know what books you like to read, so I picked a few for you."

As he spoke, he picked up three books. Chu Ye looked at them. One was "The Female Generals of the Yang Family", one was "One Hundred Tang Poems", and the other was "A Collection of Stray Birds".

They were all books she had never read. She looked up in surprise, unable to believe that this person had gone out to look for a book for a whole day just because of her words. And because he couldn't find the book, he gave her his own book.

Besides, what she said was a lie.

Her heart was choked and she was speechless, but Mu Zhiqing thought that she was the one who refused to accept the book, so he forcefully pulled her arm and placed the book in her palm.

"I don't know if you've read these books. Just read them first. If you don't like them, come back to me and I'll give you something else." He scratched his head. "I've read all of these books. I think they're good, so I gave them to you. They're the most suitable for you at your age."

After saying this, he smiled and his eyes curved. It looks like a sunflower, Chu Ye thought.

Now she held the chocolate in her left hand and the book in her right hand, both of which were heavy. Her brain was slow and her throat was choked and she couldn't speak for a long time, she said.

"Were your bedding also washed away last night? Then how are you going to stay tonight?" After saying this, she fell into regret again. She felt that she had asked a stupid question. Even if he really had no place to live, it was not her responsibility to worry about it. Besides, even if she knew, what could she do?
However, Mu Zhiqing was unaware of these psychological activities. He smiled slyly, not seeming to worry about such things. "I still live in the Zhiqing compound. We have a kitchen there, which is divided into two rooms by wooden boards. The inner room was originally used to store some sundries. I cleaned it up at noon and will move in tonight."

"I hadn't packed my things yet, and many of them were still in other educated youths' houses. I was thinking of moving them there slowly, but I didn't expect the flood to destroy the house."

"But fortunately, only the mattress and quilt were washed away. I plan to wait until the villagers have finished dinner, and then go door to door to ask if they have newly made quilts to sell to me."

He scratched his ear sheepishly. "This was an idea given to me by other educated youth. When they first arrived, they would buy whatever they needed from the villagers. I plan to give it a try, too."

After saying that, he seemed to have thought of something and asked Chu Ye, "Do you have a new quilt at home? I can pay for it."

Chu Ye:······

She really has it at home.

Coincidentally, this quilt was made by Chu's mother for Chu Guangyao.

Last fall, Chu Guangyao started to attend junior high school in town. Because it was far from home, he chose to live in the school dormitory. The quilts he brought from home were all used for a long time. Chu's mother felt that they would not be warm enough, so she kept saying that she wanted to make a new one for him.

After the Chinese New Year in winter, the family had extra cloth coupons, so Chu's mother decided to buy a piece of cloth, stuff some new cotton into it, and make a quilt to take to her brother's school. It was only finished a few days ago, and she was waiting for Chu Guangyao to come back on Sunday.

As for whether Chu's mother would sell the quilt, Chu Ye didn't dare to guarantee it. She asked Mu Zhiqing to follow her into the house and asked Chu's mother what she thought.

On the stove in the house, the wooden pot lid was tightly closed, and the fire was licking the iron pot. Chu's mother kept adding straw into it. White steam spread from the edge of the pot, and the aroma of wheat filled people's nostrils.

Chu Guangyao was sitting at the dinner table. His father was standing next to him, tapping the table with a pipe in his hand, and asking him how his studies were going at school.

Chu Ye walked to Chu's mother, followed by Mu Zhiqing. He greeted them generously. Facing the Chu family's puzzled looks, Chu Ye said, "Mom, this Mu Zhiqing wants to pay for our new quilt."

After she finished speaking, she saw Chu's mother looking at her with reproachful eyes, as if blaming her for telling such things to outsiders. So she turned to Mu Zhiqing and said sincerely, "I'm really sorry, Mu Zhiqing, our quilt is still useful, and her brother has to take it to school. Otherwise, you can go to other families to ask?"

Chu Ye was not surprised at all. Mu Zhiqing kept smiling and said it was nothing.

Before sending Mu Zhiqing out, Chu Ye noticed that Chu Guangyao had been staring at the chocolate box in her hand without blinking. She quietly raised her hand, tapped the box, and looked at Chu's mother, her meaning was obvious.

When they reached the gate of the yard, when Mu Zhiqing waved his hand to leave, Chu's mother was pulled out by Chu Guangyao. Although her face and body showed reluctance, she still spoke, "Si Ya, since they are short of quilts, I think your brother is not in a hurry for the time being. Since we have one, we should help. Let him take the quilt."

Chu Ye smiled. She knew that as long as her brother spoke up, there would be room for maneuver.

Mu Zhiqing turned around in surprise and was led by Chu's mother to the side room. This was Chu Guangyao's room. There was an iron bed, a dark blue quilt, a large wooden table against the wall, a cabinet, and an incandescent lamp hanging from the ceiling.

Chu's mother took out a quilt from the cupboard. It was made of new cotton and looked very fluffy. The outer cover was a green plaid cloth. The cloth had a good color and was expensive. When I bought it, the salesperson said that it was mixed with polyester, so it was slippery and comfortable to cover myself with. Chu's mother was reluctant to sell it. She didn't want to sell the quilt. She had worked so hard to make it, and she couldn't sell it even if the educated youth needed it.

But Chu Guangyao said that his school had enough quilts to cover himself, so it would be okay to sell them first. Besides, just now in the yard, the educated youth not only gave him candy, but also taught him how to do his homework.

Of course she was still unwilling, but she listened to Chu Guangyao's advice, saying that after we sold the quilt, we could use the money to buy a better one. He was an educated youth, so he would only give more, not less.

The quilt was originally thick, so Chu's mother held it to cover her upper body. Mu Zhiqing bent down and reached out to take the quilt. He was tall and looked relaxed.

Not only that, he also used his free hand to take out a few banknotes from his trouser pocket, rummaged through them, and handed over two ten-yuan bills. He was still smiling and said, "Auntie, this is the money for me to buy a quilt. I'm really causing you trouble. You can use this money to buy some better cloth."

Now it was Chu's mother who was stunned. She had heard Chu Guangyao say that the educated youth would not give less money, so she thought it would be no more than ten cents, and twelve or thirteen yuan would be considered a lot. She didn't expect that the educated youth would be so generous and didn't even ask the price, but directly gave twenty yuan.

Mother Chu smiled happily, and the little knot in her heart disappeared instantly. She took the money and put it in her arms, "Hey, kid, what are you talking about? There is no such thing as trouble or no trouble. If you can help, just ask. Si Ya, hurry up and send them off."

Chu Ye hadn't spoken since she entered the room. She stood in the corner, took out the chocolates from the box and gave half to Chu Guangyao.

Now Chu Guangyao's pockets are full and he is extremely happy.

When his family had not yet returned from work, this educated youth stood at the door. After learning that he was Chu Ye's younger brother, he gave him a chocolate. He had only heard of this kind of chocolate from his classmates before.

That was Xiaopang from their class. It was said that his aunt was a salesperson in a department store in the city. A while ago, the counter in the mall imported this kind of thing from abroad, so his aunt bought two specially for Xiaopang to have a try.

He still remembered how Xiaopang showed off to his classmates, saying that the chocolate looked dark but was sweet and bitter in his mouth, and that it melted in his mouth like snow after a while. His mouth was filled with the delicate aroma of chocolate, which was completely different from ordinary fruit candies.

Xiaopang's words were so amazing that his classmates drooled over them. But today he also tasted the chocolate, and it was just so-so! Now he has so many. When Chu Ye gave them to him just now, he counted them and found that there were seven! When he goes to learn again, he will take them and let others envy him!
Chu Ye sent Mu Zhiqing to the door, mumbling a few words, and finally spoke when Zhiqing turned around, "You actually gave a little too much money."

Chu Ye was not a traitor. She knew it was not easy for Chu's mother to make the quilt, so she thought it was understandable to charge her a little more for her hard work. However, who knew that the educated youth would be so generous, which shocked her a little.

She spoke with good intentions, thinking that the educated youth did not know the prices of things in the countryside, and asked him not to be so foolish as to give money away in the future, and to be more considerate.

Unexpectedly, Mu Zhiqing looked like he had known about this for a long time. He was surprised that Chu Ye would say such a thing. He smiled nonchalantly and said cheerfully, "I asked other people before I came here and I know what the normal price is."

Seeing the surprise on Chu Ye's face, he smiled again, "But if you give more money, your parents won't blame you. They will be happy to make more money. Besides, you are my savior, no matter how much money I give you, it will not be enough."

After saying that, he waved his hand and walked back, leaving Chu Ye staring at his back, stunned for a moment before closing the gate.

Inside the house, white flour buns were already served, and Chu's mother cooked corn paste and fried Chinese cabbage. White flour buns were always given to Chu Guangyao, and at this moment he was biting a bun and stuffing a mouthful of Chinese cabbage into his mouth.

She lowered her head, not daring to look any further, and only concentrated on drinking the porridge in her bowl. When she was still young, she saw Chu Guangyao eating deliciously, and she also clamored for food, but was scolded by Chu's mother, who said that she, as a sister, was shameless for snatching food from her brother.

At that time, her three sisters didn't dare to speak. The scolding from childhood to adulthood made them understand that the delicious food should be given to their younger brothers first and they should not be greedy.

In her previous life, Chu Ye didn't think there was anything wrong with it. Her mother often said that her younger brother was the pillar of the family. After she got married, her parents would rely on her younger brother for support. Not to mention, if she was bullied by her husband's family, her younger brother could still support her.

But in her previous life, even when her younger brother got married, he still had to ask his sisters to collect the money for the bride price, and his parents still took care of him. She was bullied by her in-laws, and her younger brother didn't stand up for her. She wanted a divorce, but her mother only thought about the bad reputation of the family.

Were all the scoldings she received since childhood correct?

She couldn't help but fall into doubt.

In her previous life, after she strangled Zhao Xuesong to death, she figured out one thing while lying on the bed: to survive, one has to rely on oneself, everything else is bullshit!

(End of this chapter)