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

When Sister Chen came to find Bao Ya, Granny Zhou and Shi Zhenxiang were both there.

Seeing Chen's wife like this, the two of them didn't say anything nonsensical as usual, but were both deeply sympathetic.

In this day and age, it is common for men to beat their wives, and in family conflicts, women are the ones who usually suffer the most.

Because of the injury on her face, Sister Chen hasn't left the house for the past few days.

Recently, the government has been encouraging young people to go to the countryside, and many parents have started to look for jobs for their children, even temporary ones.

So those who used to ask others to cover their shifts when something happened have become more cautious and dare not be absent without reason, resulting in a significant decrease in Mrs. Chen's income compared to before.

"Sister-in-law, what's wrong?"

I heard from Granny Zhou that Sister Chen hasn't left the house for several days. She probably came to see me today because she was feeling frustrated and wanted to talk to someone.

"Oh, don't even mention it. It's all because of my mother-in-law. She just left two days ago and then came back again, saying she won't leave unless she gets a hundred yuan this time."

She brought my sister-in-law along this time; she wants to find her a husband in the city.

As Chen's wife spoke, her eyes reddened again. Her husband, Wu Dayong, worked as a boiler operator at a meat processing plant, earning thirty-two yuan a month.

Previously, she gave her mother ten yuan a month for her old age, and the rest was for their household expenses.

If they lived frugally, twenty-two yuan would be enough for three people to live on. But Wu's mother and sister-in-law would always find excuses to ask them for money. Wu Dayong was blindly filial, so although he was unwilling, he would give it to them every time.

It was because of this that Wu Saozi had to take odd jobs everywhere to supplement the family income.

Old Mrs. Wu gave birth to five sons and one daughter, but only her eldest son, youngest son, and youngest daughter survived.

Old Mrs. Wu usually favored her eldest son and youngest daughter, and never paid any attention to Wu Dayong. She only remembered him when she needed money.

This time, it's because Wu's eldest grandson is getting married, so they've started tentatively asking if Wu Dayong's job could be given to his grandson.

After being refused, he asked for another hundred yuan. He said that Wu Dayong had a job, but his eldest son did not, so Wu Dayong had to pay for his nephew's wedding.

This time, Sister Chen disagreed no matter what she said. She argued with Old Lady Wu for a few words, and Old Lady Wu threatened to kill herself and asked Wu Dayong to beat her.

Bao Ya didn't really feel anything when she heard that; it was just that she was given too much money in the past, which led to this bad habit.

Therefore, people should learn to proactively make demands of others, otherwise others will have endless demands of you.

"You should learn from Bao Ya and just fight them back!"

Granny Zhou said indignantly that ever since she witnessed Bao Ya's fighting prowess, her admiration for her had grown to an extreme. It was just a pity that she, the old lady, was not good at fighting, otherwise she would also want to fight.

Bao Ya looked at the old lady; she was getting more and more violent. She didn't just hit anyone.

"It's all because you were spoiled. You used to be too easy to talk to, and you spent your money extravagantly."

"If you earn money, you should hide it away. Just spend that twenty-two yuan a month, and if you run out of money, let Wu Dayong figure something out. If you don't make things difficult for him, he'll make things difficult for you instead."

Bao Ya nodded, deeply agreeing; she felt that Shi Zhenxiang was right.

"Ah, who can argue with that? I regret it now too, but unfortunately, there's no going back."

Judging from my mother-in-law's attitude, she won't leave until she gets the money; she's going to stay at my house indefinitely.

Sister-in-law Chen shook her head, realizing she had been foolish before, why was she so strong-willed?

"Sister-in-law, why don't you just find a husband for your sister-in-law who's willing to give a dowry of 100 yuan?"

Bao Ya thought about it and realized that this was the best solution. Her sister-in-law got married and had money. How wonderful!

"Pfft."

Granny Zhou couldn't help but laugh out loud, put down the shoe sole she was holding, and said to Bao Ya:

"Do you think we didn't think of that? Her mother-in-law would have been willing to accept a dowry of less than 100 yuan. Her sister-in-law looks just like Wu Dayong, and even Niu Yi was unhappy about it."

Niu Yi, a bachelor with four brothers, had the lowest standards for choosing a partner on the street. Bao Ya once thought that he would be fine as long as it was a woman.

"This is really troublesome, Baoya. Do you think there's no way to get rid of them? What will you do if your mother-in-law acts like this?"

Shi Zhenxiang felt that this was an unsolvable problem, and there was no other way but to break off relations.

"My mother-in-law isn't that kind of person. Besides, I'm such a filial daughter-in-law, would I make things difficult for her? If she asks me for a hundred yuan, I'll give it to her right away."

I'll ask Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yuan for a hundred each later.

When it's time to establish a persona for yourself, you absolutely cannot hesitate; she is the most filial daughter-in-law in the world.

Shi Zhenxiang was taken aback; how could she not believe it?

"Then there's no other way but to let that old woman do whatever she wants. She demands 100 for her eldest grandson's wedding, another 100 for her second grandson's wedding, and then she'll use that to buy a dowry for her daughter. Is there any end to this?"

Granny Zhou was also indignant when she thought about this. Every family has a few troublesome relatives, and when faced with such a situation, one can quickly empathize with them.

"It's not that there's no way, it's just that I'm afraid you won't be willing..."

Bao Ya rolled her eyes and thought for a moment. This trick was a bit unethical, and she was afraid she wouldn't dare to use it.

Granny Zhou and Shi Zhenxiang perked up when they heard this, saying, "How could Lin Baoya possibly be helpless?"

"Sister-in-law Chen, you're doing this..."

Bao Ya whispered something in Chen's ear, and Chen's eyes lit up immediately. How come she hadn't thought of that?

Late at night, when all was quiet, Sister Chen sat up in bed. Wu Dayong next to her was snoring loudly. She listened carefully again, but there was no sound from the outer room.

Fortunately, she sent the child back to her parents' home the day before yesterday, otherwise things would have been really difficult today.

She tiptoed out of bed, first opening the outer door a crack, then went back inside to retrieve the things she had placed under the bed before going to sleep, and lit a candle.

The whetstone was placed on a small stool, while he sat on another stool, getting into position.

Wet the whetstone with water, and then the room begins to make a rhythmic "sizzle, sizzle, sizzle" sound as the knife is being sharpened.

Chen's wife remained expressionless, her gaze cold and distant, seemingly oblivious to her surroundings, her eyes fixed intently on the kitchen knife that was being sharpened to an ever-increasing edge.

After pacing for a while, seeing that no one in the room had woken up, Sister Chen felt a little annoyed. Was she the only one who couldn't sleep?

She stretched out her leg and kicked a chair hard to the side. With a loud bang, Wu Dayong on the bed stirred. Sister Chen quickly lowered her head and continued sharpening the knife.

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle."

Wu Dayong heard the sound, stirred, and vaguely sensed light. He slowly raised his head to look at the floor inside the room.

In a daze, he saw his wife sharpening a kitchen knife, but the sight of her made him shudder.

In the dim candlelight, Chen's wife stared blankly at the kitchen knife, seemingly lifeless.

"Erni, Erni, what are you doing up so late at night?"

Wu Dayong mustered his courage and asked a question, but Sister Chen seemed not to hear him and did not react at all, instead continuing to sharpen her knife.

Wu Dayong felt uneasy. He slowly sat up and called her name softly again:

"Erni, Erni, it's past midnight, time to sleep."