The 1960s: The Story of a Country Girl's Journey to the City

Jiang Tao's value to the elderly couple in the Jiang family was only five yuan a month for their retirement. As for his brother, he was just acquainted with some of his comrades-in-arms from his hometown, nothing more. The Xu family, on the other hand, benefited the most.

Xu's father was over fifty years old and only a regimental-level staff officer, not even in a very important position. Xu Wanyun's older brother, Xu Haoyu, was even older than Jiang Tao and was currently only a company-level officer. For Jiang Tao, the Xu family needed him more.

As for the Jiang family, he has a few comrades-in-arms in their city, but if something really happens, he still has to rely on Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Cheng is perceptive and shrewd. Although Liao Chunhua is annoyed that he lives with his mother-in-law like a live-in son-in-law, he can handle things perfectly when needed. Therefore, Liao Chunhua only scolds Jiang Cheng and never says anything unpleasant to her second daughter-in-law.

As for Jiang Yuan, he was still young and sometimes a bit naive, but he was quick-witted and daring. In three years, he earned more than ten thousand yuan in the black market, not counting his usual expenses.

Back at the family compound, Xu Wanyun took them to the bedroom where Qi Jiaojiao lived and let the two of them stay there.

Qi Jiaojiao reluctantly got up, packed her things, and moved to Xu Wanyun's room.

Her face was now sallow, she didn't even have the strength to speak, and she was staggering as she walked. Bao Ya wanted to go up and help her.

In the afternoon, Bao Ya went to the guesthouse to pack her things. Passing by the post office, she saw that there were quite a lot of people inside. She remembered that she should call her benefactor to report on the progress of her work and do some publicity work.

She took out a form at the counter and then went to queue up to make a phone call. She didn't expect there to be so many people in the afternoon.

When it was her turn, the operator dialed the number, and Bao Ya took the receiver. She then heard a feeding sound coming from the other end.

She quickly recognized it as Jiang Cheng's voice.

"Hey, second brother, didn't you go out on the road?"

Hearing the other person call him "Second Brother," Jiang Cheng paused for a moment, then, thinking of his own younger brother and sister-in-law, felt a little embarrassed and chuckled awkwardly, saying:

"No, it was a short trip this time, I just got back yesterday. How are you and Mother doing over there?"

Before Bao Ya could ask any more questions, Jiang Cheng quickly changed the subject.

"It's not good at all. If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn't have come. But if I hadn't come, I don't know how badly Mother would have been mistreated."

Bao Ya knew that this guy was lying to her about taking the bus, and then she started complaining, saying she would try to raise the price later.

"What's wrong? How is Mother now?"

Jiang Cheng was a little nervous. His mother was a bit of a bully at home; she could be quite eloquent when scolding him, but she was a completely different person outside. Moreover, she was old and her mind wasn't as sharp as it used to be.

"Who sent you the telegram? Why does your sister-in-law act like she doesn't know we're here? Only a soldier greeted us."

When she arrived at her mother-in-law's house, her older brother's mother immediately berated her, saying that she couldn't help with anything at home and that her brother had tricked her into marriage.

Upon hearing her claim of marriage fraud, everyone around her perked up their ears and consciously lowered their guard.

Jiang Cheng was furious. His elder brother's mother-in-law had the nerve to criticize his own mother. He remembered that it was his elder brother's mother-in-law who had gone out of her way to find someone to introduce her daughter to his elder brother.

"What a load of rubbish about a marriage scam! Back then, their family practically begged to marry their daughter to my older brother. Why are they criticizing our mother...?"

Jiang Cheng was aroused and revealed in detail how Lu Xuefen had asked someone to matchmake the two of them back then.

Bao Ya wasn't in a hurry and just listened to him. The phone wasn't well soundproofed at the moment, and the speakerphone was extremely loud, so even the operator, who was concentrating intently, could hear it clearly.

"What do you mean, brother? Shouldn't you come back as soon as possible?"

Finally finished speaking, Jiang Cheng asked Bao Ya again. Bao Ya sighed and said:

"Mother said she would go back in a few days. My sister-in-law is about to give birth, so she can't leave now. She's afraid it will be difficult for my brother if she leaves. She won't even tell my brother about how my sister-in-law made my cousin have a big bed all to herself and forced my mother to sleep on the floor."

I stayed at a guesthouse with my mother for a few days, but my sister-in-law persuaded us to go back home after crying and pleading.

Jiang Cheng was so angry that his liver trembled. He knew that the Xu family was no good. Luckily, he had let his younger brother and sister-in-law go with him, otherwise his mother would not know how badly she would have been bullied.

If I go with them, I can't go and argue with my sister-in-law's family, and I might not even win the argument.

He knew of his sister-in-law's reputation in the meat processing plant area; the last time he drank with Tan Xinmin, he listened to him complain for a long time.

Even the instructor at the local police station was terrified of his sister-in-law, feeling that the Xu family was no match for her.

"Second brother, why aren't you saying anything? Phone calls are expensive, remember to reimburse me when you get back. Also, these past few days we've been using the money Mom and I brought to help our eldest brother recover, buying meat and vegetables. We've almost spent it all, could you send us some when you have time?"

Before hanging up, Bao Ya quickly finished saying what she wanted to say, which made Jiang Cheng on the other end of the line angrier and angrier.

"You cook every day, didn't your sister-in-law give you any money?"

"No, my sister-in-law didn't mention it. My brother has been eating the hospital's 'patient meals' all along."

"I don't have time to send it to you. You can tell your older brother to borrow some from the logistics department first."

Jiang Cheng believed in his sister-in-law's abilities; she was sure she could do it, and might even be able to cover his brother's entire salary for the next year.

"Oh, I'll give it a try. I'll call you again if it doesn't work."

The phone call cost eight yuan, and Bao Ya took out a small notebook and wrote down the expense. She planned to have Jiang Cheng reimburse her when she got back, but she wouldn't object if Jiang Tao wanted to reimburse her for more.

The operator and several women at the counter were practically craning their necks to listen to this whole drama unfolding at her place.

Even those queuing behind to make phone calls stopped in a hurry, patiently listening to the whole thing and summarizing what they had just heard.

When she went to pay, the woman smiled brightly at her and even casually struck up a conversation with her:

"Young comrade, are you here to visit family at the military base?"

"Yes, my older brother is seriously injured, and my sister-in-law is about to give birth, so my mother and I came to take care of them."

The eldest brother was a seriously wounded soldier, and the sister-in-law was about to give birth. Everyone automatically filtered the information in their minds, gradually narrowing down the possibilities.

"My husband is also in the army. Which regiment is your older brother in?"

The eldest sister's eyes were burning, and her gossip was practically overflowing.

"I don't know, but my brother is the regimental commander."

The seriously injured regimental commander was one of the few names that came to mind.

"Really? My man's surname is Chen, he's in the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Regiment. What's your older brother's surname? Maybe he's in the same regiment as my man."

My older brother's name is Jiang Tao.

If you want to know, I'll tell you. She's here for publicity. She needs to seize the high ground in public opinion first, since they'll be staying here for a month. They need to make money, but they can't afford to lose their reputation.

Whether Jiang Tao's family falls apart or not is none of her business. Xu Wanyun doesn't want Jiang Tao to associate with people from his hometown, and she has no interest in trying to curry favor with them. At worst, she'll just cut ties with them altogether.

The woman who was given a big piece of gossip stared wide-eyed and exchanged glances with her colleagues behind her, as if she had heard some earth-shattering secret.

Bao Ya felt they were being overly excited, but it didn't matter; she had done what she wanted to do anyway. She went to the guesthouse to pack her things and returned to the family compound.

Bao Ya had no idea that the phone call had such a surprisingly good effect. Lu Xuefen worked at the post office, just not at the front desk.