Struggle Life in the 1970s

What Sister Nianci said happened to coincide with Chu Ye’s thoughts.

After getting married in her previous life, she had been living in Zhaojia Village. The farthest place she had been was to visit her parents-in-law and her son. Zhao Xuesong's parents were employees of the town's textile factory. They had a small apartment allocated to them, and they usually lived there for the convenience of going to work.

In her previous life, she knew about the resumption of the college entrance examination, the reform and opening up, and the influx of migrant workers into the southern cities. But these had nothing to do with her, as she had never left the mountains in her life.

Chu Ye sat there and listened to Sister Nian Ci talk for a long time. Under her supervision, he finished eating the two eggs before going home.

When she got home, she had nothing to do. She suddenly remembered the three books that Mu Zhiqing gave her. After she received them that day, she casually placed them on the small table beside the bed.

She went over and found the books, and the first one she opened was the one she was most unfamiliar with - "A Collection of Stray Birds". She had only heard of this book from Teacher Chu before.

Teacher Chu had graduated from high school and liked reading books. She still remembered that Teacher Chu said that this book was a collection of poems written by a foreigner, and the sentences were full of love and hope.

Opening the book with a white cover, Chu Ye saw lines of English on the left and rows of Chinese characters on the right. She tried to read the English first, but found that there were many words she didn't know. She relied on her clumsy translation, but didn't feel the beauty of it at all.

Looking at the flying birds and falling leaves on the right, she understood them but she just didn't understand the deeper meaning.

Chu Ye put it down reluctantly and flipped through the other two books casually. He was instantly attracted by the story in "The Heroines of the Yang Family" and read it with deep concentration.

Unconsciously, the bright sunlight outside the window turned crimson. Seeing that it was almost time for people to get off work, Chu Ye quickly put down his book and prepared the meal before his family came back. After finishing his own bowl of rice, he washed the dishes and took out his school bag.

This is an old cloth bag used by her second sister. It is made of a piece of black rough cloth and has a long strap so it can be carried on the shoulders.

She picked out a few books, put them in a cloth bag, and went to the educated youth compound.

Her home was only a dozen minutes away from the educated youth compound. On the way, some villagers who were returning from work were surprised to see Chu Ye, but they just greeted her without asking any further questions.

The compound is on the west side of the village. It was originally a wasteland. Later, as more educated youth went to the countryside, the town government approved money to build a building here.

There is a two-story building in the yard. The roof of the second floor at the southwest corner is sunken, as if it has collapsed. Next to the building is a small house, with smoke rising from it. It must be their kitchen.

There were three poplar trees planted in the yard, surrounded by a circle of mud bricks, and a large iron gate at the entrance, which was open at this time. Chu Ye wandered around the door and had no intention of going in.

Firstly, she was not familiar with the place, and secondly, she was afraid of causing disgust among others if she entered rashly.

She looked around and saw a willow tree on the roadside not far from the iron gate. The branches were drooping and there was a little green on them. She moved over and stood under the willow tree.

The slender willow branches fell on her sides, and if she didn't look carefully, she wouldn't have noticed that there was someone standing there.

Chu Ye originally wanted to wait for Mu Zhiqing here, but she didn't expect that in a moment, she heard quick footsteps behind her, accompanied by a cry of "My savior——"

She turned her head in confusion and saw Mu Zhiqing had run behind her, only an arm's length away from her.

Mu Zhiqing had probably just run out of the yard. When he saw Chu Ye, he had a smile on his face. Chu Ye took a step back imperceptibly, distanced himself from him, and asked him, "You didn't come back from the fields? Why did you run out of the yard?"

She boasted that she had arrived not too late, and had not seen any educated youth come back yet. She tilted her head in confusion, her eyes fell on the smoke from the cooking not far away, and said slowly, "Are you cooking?"

"That's not the case," Mu Zhiqing said with a chuckle, embarrassed, "I knew you were coming, so I came back early this afternoon. I'm staying in the kitchen room on the first floor now, and I'll come out to check on you after a while."

"I guess you've never been here before. I'm afraid you'll have to wait outside for a long time."

"Let's go to the kitchen first. Deng Zhiqing is cooking there."

After Mu Zhiqing's explanation, she realized that the educated youths prepared their own meals in this small kitchen. When they first arrived, they divided the work up, with the girls taking turns cooking while the boys picked vegetables, washed dishes and did the heavy work.

Today was Deng Zhiqing's turn to cook. When Chu Ye walked in, a fragrant smell of noodles wafted into the air. Amid the smoke, he saw Sister Deng guarding the stove, adding vegetables to the pot.

Seeing Chu Ye coming, she greeted him warmly.

She was making thin noodles tonight. These vegetables were given to the educated youth by the villagers. Now that the vegetables were in the pot, Sister Deng closed the lid and said with a smile, "Simmer for a while, and then we can have dinner when the vegetables are cooked."

Soon, their meal was ready. Mu Zhiqing wanted to serve a bowl to Chu Ye as well, but Chu Ye refused desperately, saying that he had just eaten at home before coming, so he had to give up.

Seeing that they were starting to eat, it was not appropriate for Chu Ye to sit here, so Mu Zhiqing opened the door, led her to the inner room, and let her sit at the desk to rest for a while.

This inner room is now Mu Zhiqing's residence. Although it is a partition in the kitchen, it is not dark. Although the ground underfoot is dirt, it is very clean. There is a wire window on the wall and a piece of clean glass on top.

In the middle of the room was a single iron bed with a dark green quilt on it, folded neatly and placed at the end of the bed. Light grey sheets and dark grey pillows were neatly placed. At first glance, these fabrics were different from the ordinary old coarse cloth, but more like "Dacron" material, which looked smooth and slippery.

Even in her previous life at Zhao Xuesong's house, she had never seen such fine cloth.

There is also a desk and a wardrobe in the room. They look like items bought from villagers' homes. They are not new, but they are wiped clean.

Other educated youth came into the kitchen outside one after another. They usually took their meals and went to eat in the yard. Chu Ye didn't want to go out to greet them while they were eating, thinking that there was a long time to come and there would be opportunities in the future.

Then she took out her textbook from her bag and began to read it. Time passed slowly, people came in and out of the kitchen, and it soon became quiet.

At some point, Mu Zhiqing and Sister Deng stood at the door. Mu Zhiqing reached out and turned on the light, and the room became bright in an instant.

Chu Ye's heart skipped a beat, and she turned around to see Sister Deng walking towards them with a ball of red wool and knitting needles in her hands. And Mu Zhiqing was carrying two stools in his hands, placing them on the left and right of Chu Ye.

Originally the desk was placed against the wall, but now three people each occupy one side. Fortunately, it is a big desk, so it doesn't seem crowded.

Sister Deng sat down first, right to Chu Ye's right. She put the wool on the table and asked Chu Ye with concern if there was anything he didn't understand.

Chu Ye quickly flipped through the book and asked about the parts he didn't understand. Mu Zhiqing was sitting on the other side. Seeing that the two of them had started talking, he took out an English book from the desk and slowly began to read.

Outside the window, you can see the moon and the starry sky, and there are insects chirping in your ears. Time passes by unknowingly.

There are already four or five rows of knitting needles in Sister Deng's hand. Chu Ye had just asked her if she was going to knit a sweater for herself.

Her learning efficiency was very high tonight. After all, two young teachers were assisting her. She could ask directly if she didn't understand something. She felt that the unhappiness of her previous life disappeared in her studies, and she was slowly moving towards another life.

When the moon was high in the sky, Chu Ye realized it was too late. She put away her book and said goodbye to the two of them.

Unexpectedly, Mu Zhiqing also closed the book with a snap, stood up, and insisted on sending her home. Chu Ye was so scared that she quickly waved her hand to refuse, "I grew up in this village, I know this road very well, there's really no need to send me home."

Chu Ye felt that this was really unnecessary, but Mu Zhiqing was also very persistent, "This is etiquette. If my family knew that I let my savior walk back home at night, they would scold me to death."

"Wouldn't it be better if you didn't let them know?" Chu Ye said helplessly.

"No, I won't be able to live with my conscience if I do that." Mu Zhiqing also answered very seriously.

Both of them looked serious, which made Sister Deng very happy. In the end, Chu Ye couldn't persuade him and had to agree to go with them.

There were no street lights on the country roads, but the moonlight spread across the ground, so it wasn't pitch black. The two of them walked along in silence, and occasionally there were a few houses that were still awake, and the lights on them fell on them.

Only when he reached the door of his home did Mu Zhiqing feel relieved. He left a message saying "My savior, please go to bed early," and turned around to go back.

Chu Ye called him, and thinking that they would meet often in the future, he said this, "Well, Mu Zhiqing, just call me by my name from now on. It's a bit weird to keep calling me savior."

Mu Zhiqing was stunned, then he smiled and nodded, "Okay, then I'll call you Chu Ye, and you call me Mu Jiajun."

"it is good."

-

At home, Chu's father and mother had already gone to bed. Chu Ye pushed the door open and walked into his room without turning on the lights. He groped his way into his room in the dark.

Passing by the stove, I heard the voice of Chu's mother from the next room calling, "Si Ya, are you back?"

"It's me, Mom, you continue to sleep." Chu Ye answered softly, and then heard a rubbing sound coming from the next room, and the rest was his father's snoring.

Chu Ye must have gone back to sleep after asking questions, so she felt relieved and walked back to her room. She had already taken off her clothes and lay down, but she suddenly thought of the ointment that Mu Jiajun had given her in the morning.

After receiving them, she placed the ointment and food in a large wooden box at the end of the bed. She then got up and rummaged through the box, groping in the dark to find the ointment, and applied it on her face based on her feeling. Accompanied by a cool herbal scent, Chu Ye fell into a deep sleep.

Early the next morning, the rooster in Aunt Wang's house began to crow. The white mist outside the house had not yet dissipated, and dew was still on the flowers and plants.

Chu Ye got up early in the morning to cook for the family. By the time the old couple washed their faces in the yard, Chu Ye had just heated up the steamed buns.

"Si Ya, why did the red mark on your face disappear so quickly?" Mother Chu sat at the dinner table, a look of surprise on her face.

Father Chu looked up and saw that the slap mark that was red yesterday was indeed much lighter today. This was because Chu Ye’s face was pale. If it was someone else, it would probably be even less obvious.

Chu Ye was a little surprised when she heard this. She got up in a hurry this morning and had no time to look in the mirror.

She put down the steamed bun in her hand, walked into the house, and took out a small mirror from the table. Sure enough, although the red marks were still visible, they were much better than yesterday. Moreover, when she gently touched it, it did not feel the burning pain like yesterday.

This ointment is really good stuff, and it probably isn't cheap. She thought to herself that when she was done using it, she would have to return it to Mu Jiajun.

Also because it was not very obvious on his face, after the family finished their meal, Chu Ye also went to the fields.

Apparently, the news about Zhao Xuesong had spread throughout the entire village. When everyone was resting, they sat in the fields and chatted, and their words were filled with heartache for Chu Ye.

(End of this chapter)