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

"Never mind him, let him do it himself. You boil some water in that pot outside later, and wash the pig's head after he's done cleaning."

Bao Ya looked out the window at the clumsy monkey outside; by the time he finished, it would probably be dark.

The monkey was devastated and used everything it could find: fire tongs, stove hooks, and fire pokers.

But the pig's head in front of him just wouldn't listen; it was so hard to flip it over. His fingers were burning red.

Bao Ya led Simao out of the house and looked at the pig's head that was almost charred. She couldn't bear to watch anymore. He wasn't burning the pig's head; he was cremating it.

If he keeps burning it, we probably won't get to eat pig's head meat today.

"Hey monkey, how can you be so useless? It's so late, and you haven't even finished cooking a single pig's head. Looks like we won't be eating today."

The monkey was furious with the pig's head; his hands and face were covered in soot. Hearing Bao Ya's comment, he retorted, "..."

"Knowing I can't do it, can't you help me? The reason we can't eat is because you're too lazy."

That brat, he can even turn the tables now. He still needs to be taught a lesson.

"Yes, yes, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have bothered you. Please continue."

After saying that, Bao Ya walked into the house. Giving him even a glance would be a loss for her.

"Oh, no, sister-in-law, that's not what I meant."

The monkey was now filled with regret. "That damn mouth! How could she be so tactless? I should have at least gotten her to help me with some chores!"

"Sis, how about I..."

Simao couldn't stand it anymore. He wasn't worried about the monkey; he was worried about those two idiots. They'd burned all the perfectly good meat in no time.

"What do you mean 'you'? They don't need your help, don't be so kind."

Bao Ya shouted at Simao from inside the house. She was saying it to the monkey, that wicked child, his words were so awful.

"Who said no? Brother, help me out, and I won't let you help me for nothing. Just you wait."

After saying this, the monkey threw down the fire tongs and reached for a cloth bag on his bicycle. He took out a pair of military-style oversized boots.

Bao Ya looked out the window and thought to herself, "This kid really does have some good stuff."

These shoes were only issued to the military. The upper was made of tan suede, and the lining was wool. Even when walking in the snow in winter, the inside wouldn't get wet.

People usually wear homemade cotton shoes, which get soaked when walking in the snow and have to be dried by the stove frequently. After drying them a few times, they become too cold.

"Hey bro, what size are your feet?"

"I……"

Si Mao tilted his head, thinking about his shoe size. He wore shoes made at home, so he had no idea what size they were.

Bao Ya quickly came out of the house and spoke first:

"What size shoes do you wear, and what size feet does he have?"

The two of them were stunned. What did that mean?

Then the monkey realized that this person was really something, squeezing even a toad until it peed.

He glared at Bao Ya, then shoved the shoe into Simao's arms.

"Brother, help me clean up this pig's head, this is my way of thanking you."

"Isn't this too expensive? You should keep it for yourself."

Simao looked at the shoes but didn't dare to take them back, so he pushed them back to him.

"They're too small for me, they're too tight, I'll just give them away anyway."

"Alright, Simao, take the shoes. Help him pack up his things. Monkey, go boil a pot of water; we'll use it to wash the pig's head later."

Bao Ya wasn't worried that Simao's shoes wouldn't fit. With so many people in the family, anyone could wear them. It was good enough if there were any shoes in the village; there weren't many requirements.

After Bao Ya finished arranging things for them, she went inside to caramelize the sugar. She only used half a pound of rock sugar, and put the rest away.

With Simao's help, things went much faster. After everything was tidied up, Baoya asked Simao to split the pig's head open, take a bowl and take out both pig brains, and then asked Simao to blanch the pig's head.

Seeing Bao Ya preparing pig brains, the monkey still looked disgusted, just like he did yesterday when he saw pig intestines.

Bao Ya rolled her eyes at him, thinking, "If you're so capable, then don't eat later."

Once everything was ready, Simao put the pig's head, trotters, and tail into the pot, while Baoya poured in the prepared caramel coloring, seasoning packet, and soy sauce and started cooking.

Before long, a fragrant aroma wafted through the courtyard.

People started peeking in from the doorway again, but seeing the monkey, no one dared to come in and try to take advantage of the situation.

Bao Ya peeled off the membrane on the pig's brain, washed it clean, and made a garlic pig brain dish.

By dinnertime, the brightly colored pig's head meat was finally ready.

Bao Ya cut her half into a plate, and Monkey also contributed his pig's trotters and tail. Everyone enjoyed a delicious meal.

In particular, the monkeys ate half of the pig brains in that bowl; if they hadn't been quick, they probably wouldn't have gotten a single bite.

From then on, the monkey would come to her house for dinner every few days. Of course, Bao Ya would still take every opportunity to fleece him.

This kid is no pushover either; he'll seize any opportunity to take advantage of you. Bao Ya feels like she's met her match.

Another month passed in the blink of an eye, and at the end of the month, Bao Ya took out her little notebook for keeping accounts again.

This month, Si Mao gave her ten yuan, and she earned three yuan making clothes for others. The rest were used to exchange for other things.

We exchanged another fifty honeycomb briquettes, a piece of flawed cloth, two jin of wheat flour, five jin of cornmeal, five jin of sweet potato flour, three cans of food, six jin of biscuits, plus half a jin of rock sugar and two bottles of wine.

Bao Ya felt that her family had almost finished preparing the New Year's gifts for visiting relatives.

According to Xie Laidi, the biscuits broken in the biscuit factory workshop were sold to the employees for one cent per pound.

Looking at the neat cracks on the biscuits, it seemed like they had deliberately broken them.

She finished writing the Spring Festival couplets and making the velvet flowers, and was just waiting to go to the market. With less than a month until the New Year, she was already idle again.

While tidying up the money box, I suddenly found the IOU written by Lin Xiaoquan. Now I have something to do.

According to Lin Laosan, Lin Xiaoquan hasn't returned home since the family split up. He probably doesn't intend to repay this IOU.

Bao Ya thought to herself that she should remind him to return the money, which was the dowry money that Lin Laosan had given her.

However, if he just leaves like this, Lin Xiaoquan might not be willing to repay the money readily, so we need to think of a solution.

She looked down at the clothes she was wearing, then turned to look in the box. Inside were all the new clothes she had made for her wedding. The old, worn-out clothes she had kept were left at home for Grandma Su to make shoe soles for.

Finally, they found a patched-up, diagonally-buttoned jacket in the west room, which Liao Chunhua must have left behind when she came to help tidy up the house.

Bao Ya checked it and found some scraps of cloth to patch up the extra holes. Then she put it on. She looked in the mirror and thought it looked alright; it fit perfectly over her cotton-padded coat.

He then took out an old scarf belonging to Jiang Yuan from the cabinet, wrapped it around himself, locked the door, and headed towards the machinery factory.

As Bao Ya walked down the street dressed like this, people passing by stopped to stare, wondering where this little beggar had come from. When she turned around to look at them, they quickly moved away, afraid that she would come up to them and ask for food.

Bao Ya strolled over to the entrance of the city's machinery factory, looked up at the large characters above, tilted her head and thought for a moment, then rubbed her face a couple of times before walking towards the gatehouse.