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

"Let's go, it's almost time."

Bao Ya gave him a sweet smile, picked up the basin, and went out the door ahead of him.

"What are you doing...?"

Jiang Yuan couldn't quite figure out what his wife was up to, so he quickly followed her out the door.

As they stepped outside, they saw Bao Ya knocking on the Ye family's door, calling out as she did so:

"Aunt Shi, it's time to get up. What time is it? You lazybones, you good-for-nothing who just eats rice all day long. All you do is sleep in."

Bao Ya shouted as she pounded on the door, making a loud "bang bang" sound.

After knocking on this door, he ran to Granny Zhou's house and knocked on the door again.

"Aunt Zhou, it's time to get up. What time is it? You lazy bum, a good-for-nothing who eats nothing but rice all day. You're going to be a burden on your son and daughter-in-law!"

After knocking several times, a few houses nearby turned on their lights, and shouts and curses could be heard.

In the dead of night, the commotion could be heard for two miles. Jiang Yuan stopped and turned back.

Seeing that no one from the Zhou or Ye families came out, Bao Ya simply picked up the broken aluminum basin and started banging it with a fire poker, muttering incantations as she did so.

"Aunt Zhou, Aunt Shi, you two lazybones, it's so late and you're still not up? Waiting for the sun to shine on your backsides! I'm kindly waking you up, and you don't even appreciate it! Hurry up and don't keep everyone up..."

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Jiang Yuan watched his wife's actions, then stopped going to work and lit a cigarette while standing behind her.

My wife's actions will probably anger everyone, so I need to keep an eye on things to prevent her from getting hurt.

After she knocked twice, the neighbors turned on their lights and came out to see what was happening. Some people even shouted every now and then, telling her to stop knocking.

"You're just being silly, waking people up in the middle of the night."

The Niu family was the first to lose their temper. Their house was sandwiched between the two houses, so whether it was knocking on the door or banging on the pot, it would have the biggest impact on them.

"That's right, who would wake others up every day if they weren't full? I won't knock anymore once Aunt Zhou and Aunt Shi are up, I don't care to wake you up."

After saying that, he picked up the aluminum basin and started banging it again.

Niu Yi, who had come out shouting and cursing, wanted to snatch the basin from Bao Ya's hand, but when he saw Jiang Yuan staring at him from behind, he swallowed hard, turned around, and went back into the house.

The others saw that the cow only shouted twice and then went home without doing anything else, so they didn't dare to come over rashly and just watched from a distance.

Those who came out to see what was going on understood what had happened. They all knew what Granny Zhou and Shi Zhenxiang had done, except for Granny Liu who had spoken to them a few times. The rest of them remained silent.

Since no one said anything, it means they tacitly agreed to this service; she just changed the time.

Thanks to Bao Ya's tireless efforts, Granny Zhou and Shi Zhenxiang finally got dressed and came out.

"Lin Baoya, don't go too far. What are you up to, disturbing everyone in the middle of the night?"

"What bad intentions could I possibly have? I'm just repaying a favor to my aunt and uncle. Don't worry, I'll call you for as many days as you ask. I won't call you for even a day more, so you two won't owe me a favor."

After saying that, he turned to the group of people who had come out to see what was going on and said something else.

"Alright, that's all. Everyone go back to sleep. But remember this: in the future, I, Lin Baoya, will never owe you a single penny in such favors."

It means if you dare mess with me, I will definitely retaliate. If you have the guts, bring it on.

After saying that, he swaggered home and went to sleep.

These cowards, not one of them dared to lay a hand on her. She had made up her mind; if anyone dared to fight her, she would go back to the village and get reinforcements. She had to scare them with her first battle.

For the next three days, every single resident on this street, except for a few who worked the night shift, developed dark circles under their eyes, and their resentment was heavier than that of ghosts.

Aunt Zhang from the neighborhood committee has come to her house twice already. That old woman isn't a good person either. When Granny Zhou and Shi Zhenxiang came to knock on the door, she just watched from the corner and never said a word to them.

Someone reported her to the neighborhood committee. But the neighborhood committee isn't the Revolutionary Committee, so she's not afraid. She thinks that disturbing the peace at night should be resolved at the police station.

Lin Laosan drove his donkey cart to help them build a stove, and also brought her a lot of vegetables, as well as grain and eggs.

Jiang Yuan brought back the pork offal that Bao Ya had asked for early in the morning, and also got a braising sauce packet for her from Chef Sun at the state-run restaurant.

Early in the morning, Bao Ya got ready and had Jiang Yuan set up a makeshift stove in the yard to stew the pig offal.

The people across the street felt a pang of envy when they saw Lin Laosan and Jiang Yuan carrying that truckload of things into their yards.

"Sis, what kind of meat is in this pot? It smells so good."

As soon as Gou Dan entered, he noticed the big pot burning. He had never eaten such fragrant meat before. With his big, round eyes wide open, he stood by the pot, drooling.

"Just pull up a stool, sit there, and watch the fire. You'll be able to eat it in a little while."

Bao Ya handed him a stool and slipped a few pieces of candy into his hand. The child had never had a proper meat meal in his life; today she would grant his wish.

The little guy was very obedient, sitting quietly in front of the pot, eating candy and smelling the sweet and fragrant aroma.

Lin Laosan went inside, took a sip of water, and started working. First, he and Jiang Yuan built up the chicken coop in the back, and then they began to build the stove in the front yard.

Knowing that Bao Ya's father had arrived, someone immediately ran to the neighborhood committee, hoping he would talk to her and tell her to stop banging pots in the middle of the night.

Bao Ya was cooking inside. She planned to make some pancakes for them to eat as braised soup at noon, but not the kind with unleavened dough, as that was too hard for her to eat.

Is Comrade Lin home?

Director Yang Wei of the neighborhood committee led Aunt Zhang in from outside.

"Sis, sis, someone's looking for you."

Seeing someone coming, Gou Dan hurriedly called into the house, but his bottom didn't leave the stool. His sister had told him to sit there and watch the fire, and he hadn't forgotten.

Bao Ya had just finished kneading the dough when she heard Gou Dan shouting outside. She came out to see what was happening without even washing her hands.

"Comrade Lin, I need to speak with you about something. Is now a convenient time for you?"

Yang Wei was a middle-aged man around forty years old. He looked refined and gentle, and seemed easy to talk to.

"I'm busy right now, why don't you come back later?"

Bao Ya knew why they were there, so she didn't give them a friendly look. Why didn't they think of that sooner? Now they're all anxious.

She doesn't want to get up in the middle of the night every day. We haven't knocked enough times yet, how can we stop?

"Well... Comrade Xiaolin, I'll only take up a little bit of your time. We'll get this sorted out and everything will be fine."

As he spoke, his eyes glanced at Jiang Yuan and Lin Dahai, who were working by the west wall.

"Okay, go ahead and say it."

Knowing he's from Chonglin Laosan, let him see how Lin Laosan acts as a father, and he'll definitely regret coming here.

"Hey Comrade Lin, could you please stop banging that basin? It's been going on for days, and the neighbors aren't getting enough rest and it's disrupting their work."

Seeing Bao Ya standing on the platform, looking down at him without any intention of letting him sit, Yang Wei reluctantly spoke up.

"It's only been three days, not several days. I can't possibly owe them a favor."

Yang Wei felt a lump in his throat. What kind of favor was this? It was better not to repay it.

"But this has nothing to do with other people, and we can't let everyone be implicated along with them."

"Isn't it their business? Aunt Zhang, tell me yourself, how many times have you watched this spectacle?"

Even the cadres in your neighborhood committee are like this. Director Yang actually said it's none of anyone else's business. I thought she was sent by your neighborhood committee.

Which "others" are you referring to? Does it include the neighborhood committee?

Bao Ya wasn't buying it. They'd seen plenty of laughs at her, but to see her make a fool of herself, you had to buy a ticket; she was just collecting interest.