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

"Do you hit people after drinking?"

Aren't all the butchers in period novels supposed to be alcoholics and beat their wives? And they all beat their first wives to death and then remarried. I need to find out more about that.

"Well... I don't hit women."

Jiang Yuan gave a well-thought-out answer.

They chatted casually until Grandma Su returned.

When Jiang Yuan returned home, Grandma Su prepared a few watermelons as a return gift, since there wasn't much good stuff at home at the moment.

When Bao Ya saw Jiang Yuan off out of the village, she secretly slipped the two bird eggs she had left over from that morning into his hand.

Jiang Yuan grinned from ear to ear. "Look, look, I'm still pretty good at this."

Lin Qiao really doesn't know how to date. In her past life, she won her boyfriend with money, but in this life, she's penniless, so she has to find another way.

After finishing his meal, Old Man Lin returned home and sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) smoking his pipe. His grandson-in-law arrived and went to the Su family's house for dinner, bringing his food along as well. Bao Ya didn't bring her son-in-law home at all; it seemed she had completely distanced herself from her family. In the future, her grandson would be relying on this grandson-in-law for help.

If Bao Ya knew what he was thinking, she would definitely tell him that she had taken the chicken home, otherwise where would the chicken have come from?

Granny Lin, lying beside him, couldn't sleep either. She got up and asked Old Man Lin, "What's wrong? You haven't said a word since you came back at noon. What did the brigade leader say to you?"

She felt that the Su family must have done something up again. She had been sitting there smoking since she came back at noon, without saying a word.

"Baoya's son-in-law came at noon and we had lunch at the Su family's place."

Old Man Lin exhaled a puff of smoke and said.

"What?"

Granny Lin sat up abruptly, staring at Old Man Lin in disbelief.

"Even if Bao Ya is raised in the Su family, she's still the Lin family's granddaughter. If our son-in-law comes to our house and eats at the Su family's house, won't that make us a laughingstock in the whole village?"

She wasn't particularly interested in providing a meal; she was just worried about the things her grandson-in-law brought. He had brought so many things last time, and she was sure he would bring just as many this time.

"No, I have to go to the Su family and talk to them about this. They get all the good things, why should they?"

As she spoke, Granny Lin was about to put on her shoes.

"What are you going there for? Bao Ya took her there herself. What do you have to say? Don't you understand what she's doing? She only called me and Lao San's wife. Don't even think about getting your hands on her things. Going there will only make you look bad."

After hearing what Old Man Lin said, Old Woman Lin felt embarrassed. She knew that she wouldn't gain anything by going.

"Is the food at the Su family's house so delicious? What do they eat?"

She spoke softly, her voice lacking confidence. Old Man Lin glanced at her sideways, thinking, "Look at that pathetic little thing."

"That young man brought two catties of meat and cooked it all, including steamed cornbread, vegetable dumplings, eggplant salad, stir-fried green beans, and a stewed chicken..."

He also wanted to talk to the old woman and tell her to be more generous. This old woman was so stingy that she wouldn't take anything out of her hands. No wonder Bao Ya was always making a fuss about food. Compared to others, his family ate almost like pig slop every day.

He could see that this table was arranged by Bao Ya. Despite all the trouble, none of the Su family members were unhappy. But look at this person, it's infuriating to compare.

"You even stewed chicken?"

Granny Lin's voice was almost splitting; she had a bad feeling. She immediately slipped on her shoes and ran to the backyard.

Old Man Lin had no idea what kind of trouble she was up to this time, so he followed her.

Sure enough, there was only one lonely rooster left in the henhouse.

Since stealing another chicken from the Lin family, Bao Ya hadn't come over for a meal for several days. Counting the days, she figured they had almost digested the matter and it was time for her to have a meal, so she strolled over to the Lin family.

When Bao Ya returned to the Lin family home, the main room was filled with laughter and chatter. Only her second aunt, Zhang Laidi, and Su Ruyi were cooking in the kitchen, while Wu Ya was gathering firewood in the yard. Seeing Bao Ya return, she greeted her and carried the firewood into the kitchen.

"Who's here? Why is it so lively?"

Bao Ya glanced around the room and asked.

Su Ruyi gestured with her chin towards the bicycle in the yard:

"The workers from the city have returned. Xiaowen is on holiday too."

"Oh~"

What a coincidence! They came back at just the right time.

Bao Ya deftly pulled a small bag out of her pocket, scanned the things in the kitchen, wondering where to put it. Suddenly, she noticed the white dough that her second aunt was kneading.

"Is this little bit of flour enough to eat?"

That small lump of fermented white dough can only make a maximum of ten steamed buns. Bao Ya knows how much flour is needed to make cornbread. It would take at least half a basin. In the countryside, the basins and water tanks are made of the same material, and that big basin can hold more than 20 kilograms of cornmeal.

The Lin family has about twenty members, and they always need more than half a basin of dough to make steamed buns. Now, the risen white dough in the basin only takes up the bottom of the basin.

"You still want to eat white flour steamed buns? Only men get to eat steamed buns. We'll just have some cornbread. Your second uncle and your father went to the city to do odd jobs today, so we'll have even less than usual."

Zhang Laidi spoke as she kneaded the dough, which seemed perfectly normal to her. She also glanced at Bao Ya out of the corner of her eye; she knew that Bao Ya was pampered at the brigade leader's house. The brigade leader's family was well-off; men and women ate the same food, something other families in the village couldn't compare to.

Looking at the freshly steamed cornbread in the basket next to them, one can understand what's going on. In many families in the village, the best food is reserved for the men and children, while the women eat the less desirable food, and some even only drink thin porridge.

But this isn't the time to dwell on these things. Bao Ya opened the paper package in her hand and sprinkled the contents into the noodles.

"you……"

"Shh~"

"What are you doing?"

Zhang Laidi panicked a little, and her voice trembled slightly. She wanted to say that even if she couldn't get steamed buns, it wouldn't be a reason to poison someone, as it could lead to someone's death.

Wu Ya and Su Ruyi were also shocked, staring at her in horror, not daring to breathe.

Bao Ya could tell from their expressions that they had misunderstood, so she patiently explained to them, "Don't worry, they won't die. It's just to cleanse their intestines."

After saying that, he ignored them, opened the cover on the basket, took two cornbread buns in each hand, walked to the kitchen door, and called to the two boys playing in the yard: "Dog Egg, Iron Egg, come here."

"Sis, what's up?" The two boys quickly ran over.

"Why don't you go to Niu Dan's house for lunch? There are too many people there, and there's not enough room." He said, handing them the cornbread he was holding.

Nowadays, no one is rich. When you go to someone's house for a meal, you have to bring your own dry food. They'll just give you some thin porridge. Vegetables don't matter. Everyone has their own plot of land, and they can't finish eating them all every year.

The two little ones took the cornbread and peered into the kitchen. Today, their older brother was coming back, and Grandma would definitely make something delicious.

"What are you looking at? There's none for you! I'll take you up the mountain to catch rabbits later, and we'll roast them and eat them. We won't give any to them."

Bao Ya continued to coax the two little ones when she saw that they were unwilling to leave.