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

To solve the problem of bathing, Jiang Yuan returned to the village and asked a carpenter to make a bath tub.

When Jiang Laoshan brought the bath tub in his donkey cart, he also brought several sacks of charcoal, which he burned himself.

Bao Ya finished making cotton-padded coats for Jiang Laoshan and Liao Chunhua, and asked him to take them back with him. Jiang Laoshan was overjoyed to see that his daughter-in-law had made him new cotton-padded coats again.

During this period, Aunt Chen was often not at home. She said she was doing odd jobs or filling in for others.

She also told Baoya that she could buy some scrap wood at the recycling station or trade it with the villagers for firewood to burn during the winter. After all, people with rural household registrations like them didn't have a share of coal.

A junkyard? A place that frequently appears in novels from this era; I have to go there.

It just so happened that Jiang Yuan was taking a break, so Bao Ya asked him to take her to the scrap yard.

When she arrived at the scrap metal yard, she was a little disappointed. What was all this? Newspapers, leftover bones, toothpaste tubes, scrap metal.

This is different from the historical novels I've read before, but considering the timeline, it's not yet time for large-scale house raids, so it's normal that there aren't any.

In the end, I bought two bottomless iron pots, one large and one small. I took them to the blacksmith to have a large pot made, since the stove in the yard didn't have one yet.

After bringing the large pot back, she bought some firewood from nearby villagers. Once everything was ready, she started braising pig intestines in the yard.

Last time, the braised offal used Chef Sun's spice packet. She didn't throw it away after using it; she washed and dried the spice packet.

I separated all the spices, wrote down their names and quantities, and mixed a few more spice packets myself. And believe it or not, the taste was exactly the same as the last one.

The aroma of braised pig intestines wafted from the courtyard all over the street, and people passing by her house would take a few deep breaths before leaving.

In a short while, a group of children gathered at the door, and they would knock on her door every now and then.

Bao Ya ignored it completely; she had already heard several people beating children in the yard.

Meat processing plant employees can buy pig intestines without coupons. They usually cost two cents a pair, and in the summer they cost one cent a pair, or they can just take them for free.

The meat counters at the supply and marketing cooperatives were reluctant to sell this stuff, mainly because it was too smelly and difficult to clean. Even if it was cleaned, it still had a stench when cooked.

"Knock knock knock, is Bao Ya home?"

Judging from the voice, it was Granny Zhou from across the street. She admired Granny Zhou quite a bit, yet she still dared to provoke her.

"Grandma, I want to eat meat, I want to eat meat."

Grandma Zhou's beloved grandson is back. He already caused a scene at her doorstep earlier, and now he's here again.

"Okay, okay, Grandma understands, wait a moment."

Then they started banging on the door again, and once they started, they couldn't stop.

The banging on the door grew louder and louder, showing no sign of stopping. Bao Ya, who had originally intended to play dead, could no longer maintain the act and grabbed a fire poker to open the door.

"Aunt Zhou, someone in your family has died. Are you here to announce the death? Why are you banging so loudly?"

When Granny Zhou heard this, her expression cracked for a moment, but she quickly suppressed her anger and said to Bao Ya:

"You brat, how dare you talk like that? I just came to visit."

As she spoke, she tried to grab her grandson's hand and squeeze into her house.

Bao Ya raised her hand and held the fire poker horizontally in front of her. The poker had just been taken out of the stove and was still smoking.

"It's not convenient at my place, you should visit someone else."

Despite being blocked by the stick, Granny Zhou was still determined to try. She forced a smile and said to Bao Ya:

"Baoya, you've stewed some meat at home. My child hasn't had meat in a long time. Why don't you give him some? He'll at least call you 'Auntie,' right?"

Hearing what Granny Zhou said, the adults and children behind her all craned their necks to look in this direction. If Granny Zhou succeeded, they would probably follow suit.

Bao Ya glanced at the people behind her. Across from Chen's house, Widow Qin, with her two sons, was there, eager to try their luck.

There were also several children in the front yard, whom Shi Zhenxiang and Niu's wife Xie Laidi were watching longingly.

"Aunt Zhou, you really know how to talk. I'll call you aunt too. Can I borrow your grain ration book for a bit? We see each other all the time, how can you refuse?"

Granny Zhou was taken aback by what she said. Lin Baoya was a rural resident and did not receive a grain ration. She had said this in public more than once.

Before Granny Zhou could react, the eldest grandson of the Zhou family objected, pointing at Bao Ya and shouting:

"You bad woman, give me some meat, or I'll have my grandma beat you to death."

After saying that, he reached out to push her, but Bao Ya wouldn't let him do that, so she raised the fire poker and hit him.

"You little brat, who do you think you are, disrespecting your elders like this?"

"Aww!"

Zhou Dabao, who was hit, let out a pig-like scream, which broke Zhou Pozi's heart.

"Da Bao!"

Granny Zhou hugged her grandson tightly and examined his arm, which Bao Ya had hit.

"Bao Ya, let's talk this out. Why are you hitting the child?"

"Shut up, are you blind? Didn't you see he was about to push me?"

Bao Ya and Granny Zhou started arguing, and Widow Qin took the opportunity to join in, hoping to gain the upper hand and get some advantage.

Even the most shrewish newlywed wife still has some self-respect, right? I bet you can handle her.

"Baoya, I'm not trying to criticize you, but you really need to change your temper. Why get angry with a child? Your sister-in-law needs to teach you a lesson..."

Before she could finish speaking, Bao Ya gave her a disdainful look:

"Widow Qin, what right do you have to speak? You half-dead woman, what are you doing loitering around my door so early in the morning? Don't you feel bad for me? I want to learn from you? Learn what? Learn how to be a widow? You shameless wretch, get out of here!"

"you……"

Widow Qin was most sensitive to people saying she had bad luck. If anyone said anything behind her back, she would make a scene. She never expected Lin Baoya to point her finger at her and curse her.

This makes his face look like a color palette, alternating between red and white.

Widow Qin's husband used to work as a boiler operator at a meat processing plant. He died in an accident, and the plant arranged for Widow Qin to take over her husband's job so that she could take care of her and her two children.

It's understandable for a widow to be a bit shrewish, but if she actively seeks trouble, she shouldn't blame others for mistreating her.

Hearing her say that, Niu Dazhuang's wife, Xie Laidi, walked over with her proud chest puffed out, and said with a look of disapproval:

"Bao Ya is so young and doesn't know any better, and her mother-in-law isn't around. I have to give you a few words of advice. You can't be ungrateful."

"My mother-in-law isn't around, and it's none of your business to meddle. What, is your family all extinct?"

Oh, wait, your family can't even find a wife, so you're here to experience being a mother-in-law? You're just wasting your breath.

"What's wrong with you, girl...?"

Xie Laidi usually only saw others being scolded by Lin Baoya, but she never expected it would happen to her today. She had four sons to rely on, and everyone on this street gave her some respect.

As Bao Ya rolled her eyes at Shi Zhenxiang, she saw her eager expression and, before Shi Zhenxiang could speak, blurted out:

"Hey Aunt Shi, you're still here collecting bills. You don't do any work all day, you could at least go to the street and get some matchboxes to glue together, you just eat and drink for free every day, you really think you can take advantage of your daughter-in-law."

Shi Zhenxiang: I didn't say anything, why are you criticizing me again?