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

Grandma Liu said that walking around is just walking around; the neighborhood committee is at the end of the street to the west, and the supply and marketing cooperative is at the end of the street to the east, which is quite convenient.

Along the way, Grandma Liu introduced him to the neighbors. Knowing that she was Jiang Yuan's new wife, everyone would exchange a few pleasantries and that would be it. However, there were always some oddballs who would jump out and cause trouble.

Just as she was about to reach her doorstep, she ran into Granny Zhou and a group of women chatting. Grandma Liu frowned when she saw them. But she couldn't just ignore them.

"Oh, this must be Jiang Yuan's wife. It's great to finally meet her in person."

Grandma Liu had just finished introducing her when Granny Zhou exaggeratedly slapped her thigh.

Bao Ya smiled, called out "Aunt Zhou," and said nothing more.

But this person had no intention of stopping and continued:

"I'm not trying to be mean, but Jiang's wife, a woman can't be too lazy after getting married. Sleeping until dawn isn't enough. And then there's the breakfast of steamed buns and fried dough sticks from a state-run restaurant. Tsk tsk tsk, what kind of family does that? Life isn't lived like that. Look around now, who isn't careful with their money..."

Then everyone heard Granny Zhou rambling on and on. After a while, everyone understood that Granny Zhou was just jealous. What business is it of yours how late someone sleeps? They didn't pay for the state-run restaurant.

Some people watched the spectacle, while others looked at Granny Zhou with disapproval; no one uttered a sound.

Bao Ya listened quietly to what she had said, without showing any displeasure, knowing that the old woman was deliberately picking a fight.

As soon as she finished speaking, Bao Ya's eyes widened, staring at her in disbelief. Zhou Pozi, confused, thought there was something on her face and reached up to rub it a couple of times.

"Aunt Zhou, what did you just say?"

My grandma told me that city people are so lucky; they don't have to work and they have an endless supply of rice and flour. She said I married into the city to enjoy life.

What's wrong with eating a fried dough stick and a steamed bun? We country folk sometimes buy some to treat ourselves. What, can't your family afford it?

"No way, no way, how come city people are poorer than us country folk?"

Bao Ya looked utterly astonished, like a country girl who had never seen the world before discovering something extraordinary. Her gaze towards Granny Zhou was a mixture of surprise and pity. Anyone who looked at her would have thought she was serious.

No, is that what she meant? Granny Zhou was momentarily confused. She was from the city, how could she be considered inferior to a country person? What did she mean by that?

After hearing Lin Baoya's words, everyone distanced themselves from Granny Zhou. They could occasionally eat at state-run restaurants at their own homes, and Granny Zhou made them feel like they were worse off than country folk.

"What nonsense are you talking about? My family is not poor at all. We have three workers in my family."

As she spoke, Granny Zhou puffed out her chest, saying that although her youngest son was a temporary worker, he was still a decent person.

"Three workers can't even afford fried dough sticks? You must be living a really miserable life."

"How could my family not be able to afford it..."

"Yes, yes, yes, it's not that they can't afford it, it's that they won't buy it for you. They're so unfilial."

"What nonsense are you talking about? How could my son be unfilial?"

"Sigh, even after all this, you're still covering for them. Parents' hearts are truly full of love and worry."

…………

Bao Ya's expression became even more exaggerated. She didn't care what she said, and her gaze became even more incredulous. Wasn't she just showing off her superiority in front of her? She was convinced: you're worse off than me, let's see how you prove it.

Granny Zhou had fallen into a self-incriminating trap; Lin Baoya's pitying gaze deeply pierced the heart of this city dweller. No matter how she explained, it was all in vain.

People around her didn't think Bao Ya did it on purpose; they just assumed it was because rural people were ignorant.

Moreover, judging from Jiang Yuan's attitude, he might promise some girl he'd eat well every day when they're dating.

When young men are dating, they're willing to agree to anything; they all know that.

Granny Zhou explained until her throat was dry, but no matter what she said, Bao Ya nodded in agreement, but her expression seemed to say: Yes, yes, you're right, but I just don't believe it. Even the people around her looked at her strangely.

Finally, Granny Zhou's eyes reddened, and she hung her head dejectedly like a defeated rooster as she went home to cook.

Grandma Liu almost burst out laughing when she saw Granny Zhou's expression. She had never seen this woman suffer a setback before. Jiang Yuan's new wife was quite interesting.

To be honest, this feeling is quite familiar to Bao Ya. In her previous life, when her biological father first brought her and her grandmother to live in the city, he encountered many people like this. They weren't doing very well themselves, but they always wanted to find a sense of existence in others.

Thinking back to her past life, Bao Ya frowned. She only returned to her parents' side when she was in high school. By then, her grandmother had passed away, and her parents expressed their love by giving her money—lots of money. She just rarely saw them.

Later, her biological father passed away, and she was remarried. But she never truly fit in with their social circle.

At noon, Jiang Yuan came back from the cafeteria and ate with her. Bao Ya only cooked porridge.

The food at the meat processing plant canteen is quite good; there's a meat dish every week, and married couples often bring it home to eat with their families.

Jiang Yuan opened the lunchbox and placed it on the table. Today's meal consisted of braised pork with vermicelli, hot and sour shredded potatoes, and multigrain steamed buns.

Jiang Yuan picked up a piece of meat and placed it in Bao Ya's bowl.

"Try the pork stew in the cafeteria, how is it?"

Bao Ya took a look and thought the dish looked ordinary; it was just typical factory canteen food.

I picked it up and took a bite. It was alright, but a bit greasy.

"It's a bit greasy, not as good as what I make. Could you take the pork back and cook it yourself?"

She was very picky about food in her past life, and her chubby little body was all thanks to her eating.

A while ago, she had no means of support and could only barely make ends meet. Now that she has the opportunity, she wants to treat herself to better food.

"You can't bring the meat from the cafeteria's cooking back. If you want meat, I'll get it for you later."

"Alright."

Bao Ya nodded and didn't say anything more. The current situation didn't allow it, so they would think of another way.

Living next to a meat processing plant means you'll never go hungry. If there's no pork, there's always offal. Especially pig intestines—I've loved them since my past life.

However, she planned to wait until her adoptive father finished cooking the stove outside before making it, because the taste was too sour and pungent, and after cooking the pig intestines, the house would be uninhabitable.

"What's wrong with Aunt Zhou across the street? She was giving me a weird look just now."

"She was craving fried dough sticks, but her son wouldn't buy them for her."

The next morning, Jiang Yuan got up early and went out. Bao Ya knew he was going out but didn't care and continued to sleep.

"Honey, wake up. We're going to your house soon. Get up and eat something first."

Jiang Yuan whispered soothingly in Bao Ya's ear. Looking at the little girl's rosy cheeks and pink lips, he couldn't resist giving her a kiss.

The two cuddled for a while before Bao Ya got up, dressed, and washed up. Breakfast today was steamed buns and soy milk. State-run restaurants only offer these few things; tomorrow she'll make something different. Eating the same thing every day gets boring.