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

"You have a solution? Tell me about it."

Director Hou would listen to anything that was good for her son.

Seeing that she was willing to listen, Bao Ya simply told her her thoughts, of course, without mentioning the matter of registering the work points under her own name.

"I think these kids all come from well-off families and haven't experienced much. It's not enough to just talk about it. They need to experience it for themselves before they'll understand their parents' good intentions."

Hearing her words, Director Hou frowned. She knew her son needed some experience. But if he was sent away, he might not be coming back anytime soon.

"Xiao Lin, you may not know our current policy. The country is now advocating for people to go to the countryside, and it is estimated that this will be enforced in a while. If he goes, he won't be able to come back for several years."

"Director, that's not what I meant. I meant to send him to the countryside first, let him experience the hardship of farm work, and then ask him if he wants to go. It won't take long, just a month or two."

"You mean...where would be a suitable place to send it?"

Director Hou understood what she meant, but then worried about where to send him. She definitely wouldn't want him to go to a place that was too hard, since her son was so frail.

"Director Hou, how about sending it to my brigade? My uncle is the brigade leader, and our brigade is the best-equipped brigade in the commune."

My grandma's house is spacious enough to house four or five people, but they have to provide their own food.

Bao Ya quickly explained her family's situation, explaining that if she didn't go to her own home, the work points wouldn't be credited to her.

Director Hou nodded in agreement. She knew where Bao Ya's family lived; it was the highest-yielding production brigade in the surrounding communes, and it was all plains with no mountains, so it shouldn't be too tiring.

"Okay, I'll ask their families later and see how many to send over. You can tell their families then."

"No problem, go ahead and ask. Just let me know when you've found out."

Bao Ya smiled obsequiously, making me feel like a human trafficker.

She wouldn't let any opportunity to exploit them pass by. They come to her house to eat and drink every day; it's not unreasonable for her to recoup some of her investment, is it?

The matter was quickly settled, and all four boys in the courtyard went. A day later, Zhang Kangmei also came to tell her that she would go too.

Alright, one more is one more. She'll go back and tell her grandma to keep an eye on Zhang Kangmei, since that girl isn't very bright.

After everything was finalized, Bao Ya led a few people back to the brigade. When she handed them over to her uncle, she specifically instructed him not to give them any special treatment and to assign them the same work that the educated youth were supposed to do.

They were allowed to live in their maternal grandmother's old house, and their food expenses were also given to their grandmother, with each person receiving 30 jin of grain coupons plus ten yuan per month.

Bao Ya figured that with these people's appetites, they definitely wouldn't have enough 30 jin of grain coupons left over, but they wouldn't be able to spend all ten yuan. They would give the rest to their grandmother as pocket money.

Finally, he specifically instructed his eldest uncle to record all their work points under his own name, since his household registration was still with the brigade.

After settling them in, Bao Ya went home.

Jiang Yuan brought back more than 7,000 yuan from the black market, which Bao Ya deposited in three separate folds.

As the weather gets hotter, a newly opened popsicle factory nearby starts production, and the meat processing plant receives a batch of popsicles as a welfare benefit for its workers.

When Jiang Yuan got off work, he brought back six popsicles. Since there was no refrigerator at home, they melted before they could be finished. In the end, the two of them ate all the popsicles.

Jiang Yuan was alright, but Bao Ya started having stomach cramps in the middle of the night. She couldn't hold it in for long, so she woke Jiang Yuan up to accompany her to the public restroom to defecate.

The moon in the sky was very round, illuminating the surroundings and dispelling the usual gloom, with a cold light emanating from the base of the walls.

It was past one in the morning, and the surroundings were quiet except for the chirping of insects. Bao Ya felt a chill run down her spine and unconsciously quickened her pace on the way back.

Jiang Yuan sensed that she was a little scared, so he tightened his grip on her hand.

Finally home, Bao Ya breathed a sigh of relief. She went inside first, while Jiang Yuan locked the door behind her.

Just as Bao Ya entered the house, she caught a glimpse of something standing upright in the west courtyard next door.

She was a bit far away and couldn't see it clearly, so she took two steps closer and finally saw what it was. She was horrified.

Under the cold, pale moonlight, a person dressed in white cloth, with disheveled hair, stood in the west courtyard, looking exactly like the Mako who crawled out of the television.

"Ah! A ghost!"

She screamed, pointing at the west courtyard, feeling her heart clench in waves, then her eyes rolled back and she fell straight backward.

"Baoya, what's wrong?"

Jiang Yuan, who had just locked the door, rushed over and caught her in his arms to prevent her from hitting her head on the ground. Seeing that she was pointing towards the west courtyard, he stood up with her on his toes and glanced at it.

That one glance almost scared him half to death. He saw a disheveled figure running around like a headless fly in the west courtyard, trying to open the door and enter the house.

Without thinking, Jiang Yuan raised his hand and hurled the flashlight over the wall. He heard a "yelp" and the thing crouched down on the ground, clutching its head.

Two screams rang out in quick succession, and someone opened the door to check on the situation.

"Feng Shuangxi, something's come into your house, get up quickly."

Jiang Yuan, holding Bao Ya, couldn't go over to grab the thing, so he could only shout in the yard.

What was that thing? It looked like a person. The person had long, flowing hair that covered their entire face. They were wearing a pale white dress, which appeared even more eerily pale in the moonlight.

"Bao Ya, Bao Ya, how are you?"

After shouting, Jiang Yuan carried Bao Ya into the room, laid her flat on the bed, and quickly pinched her philtrum.

Bao Ya was jolted awake by a sharp pain under her nose. When she met Jiang Yuan's face, which was almost touching hers, she rolled her eyes and nearly fainted again.

"Baoya, wife, don't be afraid, it's me."

Seeing that Bao Ya's eyes were about to get dizzy again, Jiang Yuan quickly spoke up.

Hearing his voice, Bao Ya managed to stay upright and not faint.

It terrified her; when you see a ghost, your instinct is to faint.

Seeing that she was awake, curled up in a ball in fright, Jiang Yuan quickly sat on the bed and hugged her, gently comforting her:

"It's okay, don't be afraid, I'm here."

There was a commotion outside, as if someone was shouting that someone had been caught. Then things gradually quieted down, followed by another gasp.

Inside the house, Bao Ya huddled in Jiang Yuan's arms, trembling uncontrollably. It was terrifying; that female ghost had stood stiffly in the west courtyard, and her appearance was horrifying.

Bao Ya firmly believes in ghosts and spirits. Since she herself is a soul that has traveled through time, she naturally believes that ghosts exist in this world.

The west courtyard was already packed with people. The Niu family father and sons surrounded the thing and punched and kicked it, making the man howl in pain.

"Stop hitting him! Stop hitting him! You'll kill him if you keep going!"

Feng Shuangxi from the West Courtyard had been shouting at everyone since he came out, his voice was so loud it was splitting, but everyone was too excited and no one listened to him.

It wasn't until everyone was tired and stopped to catch their breath that they heard him speak.