Struggle Life in the 1970s

When the rooster crowed three times, Chu Ye opened her eyes, quietly stood up with the cloth bag in her hand, and walked to the main hall door. Just as she was about to open it, she saw that the two door handles were firmly locked together by an iron lock.

It is true that no one knows a daughter better than her parents. In order to keep an eye on her, these two people even locked the door of their house overnight.

She could no longer make any excuses for her parents. If they didn't love her, they didn't love her. This feeling would not change just because she became outstanding.

She felt sad to have such parents. Just like her name, Chu Ye, Chu Ye, as casual as a leaf, she could be found anywhere.

And the brilliance of light represents the love and expectations of the parents.

She walked back to the bed in a daze and lay down again, keeping her eyes open until dawn outside the window.

There was a noise coming from the stove. It was Chu's mother who made breakfast and called Chu Ye to come and eat. She ignored it and Chu's mother didn't call again. After a while, she heard Chu's father say that he was going to work in the fields. She heard the iron lock open and "click" again, trapping her and Chu's mother in this small house.

Chu's mother didn't think there was anything wrong with it. She came over with a bamboo sewing box, put the things on the table beside the bed, pulled a stool over and continued to knit the slippers.

"Si Ya, you've been studying too much outside. There's no woman who doesn't get married. You should find a good man while you're still young and have a job. Then your parents will feel at ease in the future."

Seeing Chu Ye lying motionless on the bed, she continued to persuade him earnestly, "When you said you wanted to study, your father and I didn't stop you. We let you study if you wanted to. We also let you go to school if you passed the exam in the city. Do you see any girls in the village who are like you? There are so many who didn't finish junior high school and came back to help the family. Your father and I have been good to you. Just save us some worry."

“Besides, the ones we’ve seen this time all have good conditions. They work in the same unit as Guangyao, the work is easy and the salary is high. When the time comes, you can come back and you two can start a family and live a comfortable life.” Chu’s mother is an experienced person. She met Chu’s father through a matchmaker. She didn’t have much interest in him at first, but after they got married and started living together, they just walked through life step by step.

As a woman, everyone goes through this.

The person on the bed reacted when she heard the last part of the sentence. She said in a light tone, "In the same unit as Chu Guangyao? Is that what he told you?"

"Of course not, otherwise how would your father and I know that there are so many single guys in that state-owned factory." Mother Chu lowered her head and continued chatting, "The last time your brother came home, your father and I were wondering if he had a girlfriend recently. He said that most of the guys in their factory are single and haven't found a partner yet. He also said that his colleagues in the factory told him that if there are single girls in our village, they can arrange to meet them."

"Your father and I thought that the working conditions in a state-owned factory would not be too bad. We must seize such a good opportunity. That's why we hurriedly called you back. We took this opportunity to meet and pick a good one to settle the deal quickly."

Chu Ye lay in bed, silent. Mother Chu finished her nagging and talked about something else, "Nianci is now like you, she has found a job as a teacher in the village primary school. Thanks to An'an being older now and not clinging to Nianci every day like before, your Aunt Wang can help take care of her, and she can also work to supplement the family when she has time."

"That's good." Chu Ye said calmly.

Running away was out of the question today, but that was okay, she had patience.

No one spoke in the room for a while, only Chu's mother was threading the needle. Occasionally, when she encountered a difficult spot, she pushed hard, and then there was a light "chi" sound like smoke. Chu Ye knew that it was the sound of a needle piercing the insole. But thinking about herself, what Chu's mother said was like a needle piercing her heart.

After an unknown amount of time, there was a knock on the door. Chu's mother put down the things in her hands, asked who was coming, and went to search their house. Soon, Chu Ye heard the iron lock being opened and the voice of Chu's father was heard.

"Come in, please. My girl is at home now." After saying that, he walked towards the room while shouting to Chu's mother to pour water.

When he saw Chu Ye lying on the bed like a corpse, lifeless and without any etiquette for entertaining guests, he frowned and said, "Get up and sit properly! You are so old and have no manners at all. Hurry up and say hello to the people!"

And someone followed closely behind him. Chu Ye didn't look up. Then the footsteps got closer and a big face appeared in her sight.

The matchmaker smiled and was not at all annoyed by Chu Ye's attitude. He just looked carefully at Chu Ye's face, then moved his eyes down to his whole body. Then he nodded with satisfaction and pulled Chu's father and mother to the yard.

Through the door, their conversation could be vaguely heard.

Basically, the matchmaker thought Chu Ye was good-looking, tall and well-built, so she would have no trouble finding a good partner. Chu's father and mother introduced her job. She said that after graduating from a teachers' college, she would be assigned a job right away, and it would be a stable job.

The matchmaker smiled from ear to ear and said that the state-owned factories in the town had not yet closed for the holiday. Once the holiday started, she would arrange for a few young men with good conditions to come and meet her.

When they were discussing my blind date, it was just like the way they were discussing pork prices, Chu Ye thought numbly.

Maybe there is a difference. When we discuss the price of pigs, the pigs are dead, but when we discuss her, she is still alive.

After the matchmaker left, the door remained locked. The sound of the needle poking into the insole of her shoes could still be heard in her ears. She covered her eyes with the quilt and fell asleep again.

In the next day and a half, she would get up to eat when the meal was ready, and then go back to sleep in bed. It was September 30th. That afternoon, Father Chu went to the fields to harvest corn, while Mother Chu was busy in the kitchen. She kneaded and rolled the dough in one go, and then heated the pan to fry the sauce. When the aroma reached Chu Ye's nose, she guessed that Chu Guangyao might be coming back today.

Actually, she and Chu Guangyao haven't seen each other for a long time. The last time they met was during his college entrance examination. Because their school was used as an examination venue, the school gave the teachers a five-day holiday. She rushed back at that time to accompany Chu Guangyao to take the exam.

After the exams were over, Chu Ye hurried back to school. Later, she wanted to earn more money, so she found a temporary job in the city during the summer vacation. When the work was over, she went to the internship place as arranged by the school. All in all, the two hadn't seen each other for almost four months.

When the sun set, Chu's father came home with his pipe. He stood by the stove, opened the lid of the pot and found it was empty. Then he thought of something and went to the yard silently.

When smoke from cooking fires rose from every household, a loud male voice rang out from the doorway, "Dad, it's almost dark, why are you still sitting in the yard?"

Father Chu tapped his pipe, then happily stood up and went to open the door, "Stinky boy, I'm still waiting for you."

"Then you've waited for the right thing! I bought some things after get off work today. Look, there's a big carp and a pound of pork!" He held it high in front of Chu's father, who laughed and scolded him, "You little bastard, you're wasting money."

The two entered the room one after the other. When Chu's mother saw them, she quickly took the things from Chu Guangyao's hand. Just as she put them down, she saw him take out two white towels and a pair of work shoes from the army green cloth bag he was carrying. "These are free. They were given by the factory. I have some left for myself. I'll bring these back for you to use."

"You've really grown up and know how to care for your parents. Sit over there and take a rest. I'll go cook." She pushed him to the dining table, turned around and hurriedly boiled the pot, added water, and rolled the noodles.

Chu Guangyao sat down happily and just took a sip of water when he saw Chu Ye walking out of the room and standing motionlessly at the door looking at him.

"Sister? Why are you back so early! I thought you wouldn't be back until tomorrow." Surprise flashed in his eyes. He put down the bowl and hurried over, wanting to pull Chu Ye to sit with him.

However, Chu Ye did not respond to his words, but just looked at him calmly. Chu Ye had round eyes, which should make her look cute, but at this moment her eyes were full of coldness, which made him shiver.

"What, what's wrong? Sister, why are you looking at me like that?" He scratched his head, somewhat puzzled, and subconsciously tried to think whether he had done anything to upset his fourth sister. However, after racking his brains for a long time, he could only remember the back of his sister who sent him home and left in a hurry after the college entrance examination.

Is it because I didn't do well in the exam? Or is it because I didn't buy her anything today? That's impossible, right?
Just when he was puzzled, Chu's father banged his pipe behind him and said, "Okay, Guangyao, come and sit down to eat. Don't pay attention to her. She reads a few books every day and has forgotten who gave birth to her and who raised her."

Chu Guangyao heard this and widened his eyes in disbelief. He looked between the two of them, feeling confused. What was going on? Why did his father say this about his fourth sister? What on earth had happened?

He was just about to ask when Chu's mother shouted that the noodles were ready and asked the family to come and get some.

What he was about to say was interrupted. He looked at Chu Ye and found that she was still calm after hearing what Chu's father said. He lowered his head and saw her wrinkled clothes and a pair of shoes covered with dry yellow mud. Then he turned around and looked at the indifferent expressions of his parents. He felt that the atmosphere in this family was very weird. What happened at home during this period of time?
Thoughts were flying in his mind, and Chu Ye was too lazy to push away the person who was blocking his way. He walked around to the stove, picked up the bowl, filled himself with half a bowl of noodles, added some臊子, and sat at the table to eat in silence.

Chu Guangyao followed her closely with his eyes. He stood there in a daze, not understanding why his fourth sister's attitude towards him had become so strange after not seeing her for a few months. Hearing Chu's mother's urging, he slowly walked to the table, took the bowl of rice handed to him by Chu's mother, and sat next to Chu Ye.

The bowl contained hand-rolled noodles, topped with red and green carrot and green pepper sauce. The tempting aroma filled his nostrils. In the past, he would have eaten it in big mouthfuls, but today he picked up the chopsticks several times and put them down again, looking at Chu Ye, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

Chu Ye didn't care about that. She quickly ate up the food in her bowl. Before she stood up, she said casually, "You said there are a lot of single men in your factory?"

Her question was out of context, but Chu Guangyao knew she was asking him. Although he didn't know why she suddenly asked this, he did say this before, so he nodded honestly.

Chu Ye's face became even colder. After putting down the bowl and chopsticks, he went back to the room without saying a word. Chu Guangyao felt more and more uneasy. He turned his head and asked, "Why would my sister ask me such a question? What did you tell her?"

"Don't worry about it, kid. What can we say to her? She's just become wild after staying out there for a few years and is eating your food." Father Chu was dissatisfied.

"Yes, yes, isn't she staying at home and doing well? Eat quickly, the noodles are about to clumping together." Chu's mother also echoed. Seeing that he had hardly touched the large bowl of food in front of him, she was afraid that he would be hungry.

Chu Guangyao was not a fool. The atmosphere at home was obviously not right. His parents' words seemed to be nothing wrong, but when he listened carefully, they were very awkward. He recalled the way Chu Ye looked at him, coldly, as if looking at an insignificant person. This look reminded him of the way his fourth sister looked at him when she woke up from drowning a few years ago.

He quickly finished his meal and wanted to talk to Chu Ye, but found that the light in her room had been turned off.

Forget it, I’ll look for her tomorrow, Chu Guangyao thought.

However, what he didn't know was what kind of surprise life would give him when he woke up tomorrow morning.

(End of this chapter)