To please others? It's better to please yourself.

Xu Jing'an suddenly remembered it in her dream in the middle of the night.

No wonder the name "Xu Duoduo" sounded familiar to her that night; it turns out she had transmigrated into a book!

The book "A Little Sweet in the 60s" tells the story of many married lives. The female protagonist lives with her husband, Xu Jianguo, and his family. Although there are occasional conflicts and difficulties, their lives are still full of happiness.

Many of them were born into families that favored sons over daughters. Fearing that their families would sell them off when they got married, they would quickly find a partner as soon as they started working.

She didn't want any of the dowry or gifts from the groom's family, especially anything in cash or valuables. She felt she couldn't take them with her. Her family was already being lenient by not giving her a severe beating. All she wanted was for the groom's family to give her a stable job.

That way, she can find someone else to help raise the bride price and give it to her parents. Whether her in-laws give her a permanent position or another permanent job, and she gives her current temporary job to her in-laws, they can switch roles.

She can pay off the debts she owes later after she starts working. Won't the money she earns in the future still go to her husband's family?

Besides, jobs are so hard to find! Nowadays, families have many children. If she can secure a job for her husband's family first, won't it benefit her and her husband's little family in the end?

In the end, Xu Jianguo was chosen. His younger sister, a high school freshman, had the good fortune to get a permanent position at the No. 1 State-Owned Cotton Mill. And it was such a good job in the propaganda department.

Duoduo secretly sold her temporary job behind her family's back. Now she had both money and a job.

How wonderful!

Everyone who knows her says, "Xu Duoduo is so lucky!"

Then the text barely mentions the younger sister in the first year of high school, only saying that in 68 the government mandated that someone from every family go to the countryside. Xu Jianguo's unemployed younger sister, Xu Jing'an, went to the countryside.

Now she herself has become Xu Jing'an. The sweetness she felt when she was reading the book back then is now matched by the bitterness in her heart.

It's sweet, but the sweetness belongs to others, while the bitterness is only felt by oneself!

She didn't have the strength to knock down a big tree with one punch, nor the ability to hunt wild animals in the mountains, let alone the skill to engage in verbal battles, and she didn't even have the courage to venture into the black market.

Xu Jing'an was just an ordinary person—not pretty (unable to attract soldiers, rough men in the village, or high-quality, well-connected educated youth), not strong (couldn't even lift 50 jin of rice), timid (afraid of insects, snakes, and had never even killed a chicken), and bad at talking and afraid of trouble (she didn't even dare to think about arguing with the people at the educated youth settlement and the villagers every day; it was too tiring!).

Going to the countryside is out of the question, it's too tough!

After making up her mind, Xu Jing'an lay down again, carefully recalling the parts of the book about herself, and slowly exhaled.

Hearing the sound of Xu's mother getting up, he realized that it was already dawn.

The family was in chaos again, with people going to work and going to school.

During the school's lunch break, Xu Jing'an finally managed to relax a little. At this moment, she carefully considered what she needed to do tomorrow, going over the process and steps again and again, afraid of overlooking anything.

Before afternoon classes, Xu Jing'an quickly went to the teacher's office to ask for leave.

Xu Jing'an knocked on the door.

"Please come in."

As soon as I entered, I saw our homeroom teacher, Ms. Tang, pouring water into a teacup.

Xu Jing'an: "Teacher Tang, I'd like to ask for a morning off tomorrow."

Teacher Tang: "Jing'an, what's up?"

"Tomorrow is the 2nd!"

"Oh right, we have to queue to buy things. Okay, I got it."

Xu Jing'an thanked her sensibly. "Then I'll be going now, teacher. Thank you."

Supplies are scarce now, and you have to queue to buy anything. Sometimes, even if you have a ticket, you can't buy anything.

Today, the 1st, is the day the factory pays wages and issues receipts. Everyone takes them home and has to buy them back the next day.

There was no way around it; everyone had a fixed monthly ration, and after a month, everyone was just waiting for rice to be cooked.

Some families would queue overnight to buy fine grains, meat, and other good things. If they arrived late, they definitely wouldn't be able to buy anything.

In situations like this, leave is granted wherever you go, from school to factory to government office. Because everyone is in the same boat; everyone needs to eat.

As soon as the school bell rang, Xu Jing'an was the first to run out. Once home, she put down her schoolbag and quickly turned on the coal stove to boil water and cook.

As the factory workers gradually returned home, the dormitory building slowly came alive with people fetching water and washing clothes, creating a noisy atmosphere.

Aunt Wang was chatting enthusiastically with someone when she looked up and saw Xu's mother. The two families lived across from each other and were very familiar with each other.

"Jianguo's mom is back?"

Xu's mother: "Oh, you're back. Aunt Wang, are you washing the child's clothes?"

Grandma Wang's voice rose as she spoke of her grandson: "Absolutely! He's been so naughty all day long. In just a short while, his clothes are unrecognizable!"

Xu's mother hurried into the house, placed the lunchbox from the mesh bag on the table, rolled up her sleeves, and went into the kitchen. "How's the food?"

Xu Jing'an: "Mom, the food is ready, all that's left is to cook the dishes. You can take a break."

After a long day, Xu's mother also felt tired. "Okay, I'll sit down for a bit and have some water."

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, Xu Jing'an quickly said, "Mom, Wang Jingjing said today that she has inside information: tomorrow at 10 o'clock, the supply and marketing cooperative will have defective cloth, but each family can only buy a maximum of 3 feet."

Xu's mother was also happy: "That's great! You don't need to worry about things at home anymore. Just go early tomorrow morning to queue up; the supply and marketing cooperative she mentioned is far from our house."

"Okay! Mom, give me the household registration booklet, I need it tomorrow. Don't forget it in the rush tomorrow morning."

Xu's mother got up and went back into the house: "Wait here, I'll go get it now."

Xu Jing'an took the household registration booklet from her mother and quickly put it in her schoolbag before she felt relieved.

"Is dinner ready?" Mr. Xu asked as soon as he entered the door.

Xu Jing'an replied, "Almost done, Dad. Wait another 10 minutes or so."

"Hmm," Xu's father said, handing him a towel after washing his hands.

"Wait a minute, the kids aren't back yet! The eldest is probably working overtime again; his company is demanding and pays little."

As the two were talking, the second son, Xu Jingping, and the fourth son, Xu Jianshe, returned.

Xu Jianshe, the youngest, immediately asked, "Mom, is dinner ready yet? I'm starving!"

"Alright, now we're just waiting for your older brother. Dinner will be served in a bit."

"Then don't wait anymore. Big Brother went to find his girlfriend." Xu Jianshe picked up his teacup and gulped down two mouthfuls.

"How did you know?" Xu Jianping asked curiously.

Xu Jianshe looked up and found that everyone in the room was staring at him.

Xu Jianshe wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "I happened to run into him after school this afternoon. My older brother told me himself. He asked me to come back and tell you not to wait for him."

My eldest son is not young anymore. If he's dating now, he'll be close to getting married and starting a family.

No matter how you look at it, this is a good thing to be happy about!

Mr. Xu nodded with a smile, "Let's eat!"