Struggle Life in the 1970s

The next day, Sister Zhao announced the fight in the girls' dormitory in the factory. The result was that Sun Jiao's group was disbanded and arranged to different dormitories, and the workstations were also rearranged.

As for Sun Jiao and Chu Ye, because of their bad influence, they will each have ten yuan of salary deducted. If it happens again, all of them will be fired. As for the injuries of the two, since they were both at fault, they will no longer be forced to pay compensation and will deal with it on their own.

In contrast, Chu Ye expressed no objection. She had originally prepared to leave, and now it was just a fine and warning, which she accepted well.

Sun Jiao was obviously not satisfied with this punishment. Wasn't it just like being beaten for nothing? But looking at Sister Zhao's eyes, she didn't dare to say anything more.

As for the people in the small group, after this incident, their relationship with Sun Jiao was no longer as good as before. They clearly helped her out of sisterhood, but in the end, their group was directly disbanded and they were warned that they would be kicked out of the factory if they bullied others again.

What bad luck!

With Chu Ye's strong support, she and Xiaoya exchanged dormitories and workstations together.

"I'm sorry, Xiaoya, for making you suffer by following me." After the dust settled, Chu Ye apologized with a smile.

"No, it's okay," Xiaoya also smiled, with a hint of shyness on her pretty face, "I wasn't brave enough at the time. If I had said it earlier, maybe you wouldn't have gotten angry and hit me."

Chu Ye was stunned for a moment when she heard this, then she felt warm in her heart. She raised her hand and touched Xiaoya's hair like an older sister, saying seriously, "You are very brave. If it weren't for you, I would have been driven away by now. Besides, she touched my things, so I have to beat her up to vent my anger."

Xiaoya nodded and smiled easily.

The two are now assigned to a factory that cuts patterns. In fact, the work they do is not much different from before. It mainly requires quick eyes and hands. But the good thing is that there is not such a strong smell of burnt plastic here.

In the morning, the person in charge brought the two people over and arranged work stations for them. He watched them until they learned the job before they left. At this moment, no one was talking in the factory, and the only sound was the sound of machines working.

Suddenly, a soft voice called "Hey~Chu Ye!" Chu Ye thought she had heard it wrong. She turned her head to look at Xiao Ya, but Xiao Ya was working and didn't call her.

"Here," a shaking hand appeared in the left field of vision, and then a round-faced, short-haired girl ran over with a smile, bending over like a thief.

"Pan'er, why are you here?" Chu Ye exclaimed in surprise. The person who came was Xu Pan'er. She had already run to Chu Ye, her face like a New Year picture full of joy.

"My aunt and I work here. We are destined to meet again so soon." Pan'er was worried about her before, afraid that she would end up on the streets alone. Now, she doesn't have to worry anymore.

Before Chu Ye could answer, Pan'er spoke in rapid succession, "Sister Chu, did you come here to find your relatives? Do your relatives also work here?"
"When I heard your name this morning, I thought it was someone with the same name, but I didn't expect it was really you!"
"It's really great. My aunt doesn't work in the same factory as me. No one has talked to me these days. I'm so bored."
"Luckily you're here. Now I have someone to talk to. Let's go eat together after work!"
"By the way, which floor is your dormitory on? Can I hang out with you tonight?"

After saying that, Pan'er looked at him with hope on her face. Chu Ye was so confused by her words that he didn't know which sentence to respond to first.

Xiaoya also stopped what she was doing in amazement and looked at Pan'er in surprise.

Really...you said so many words in one breath without even taking a breath...

Pan'er blinked her eyes. Chu Ye thought for a moment, stretched out his hand and rubbed her cheek, then spoke carefully, "... Pan'er, there is something I want to tell you. Don't be angry."

"Sister Chu, you said, I won't be angry with you." Pan'er was rare and quiet.

"Actually, I don't have any relatives here. I couldn't stay at home anymore, so I ran here alone. What I said to you on the train was a lie." Chu Ye's eyes were serious as he carefully observed Pan'er's expression.

Xu Pan'er waved her hand and said unconcernedly, "Well, I knew it a long time ago. My aunt said that you couldn't even keep up your lies, so she pointed out a way for you."

"Then will you have lunch with me at noon? Let me tell you, I run very fast and can buy meat for every meal." After saying this, her face was filled with joy, as if the braised pork in the cafeteria at noon was already on her lips.

"Yes! Okay, then the three of us will go together!" Chu Ye agreed with a smile, and recommended Xiaoya over. Pan'er was naturally happy to have another friend.

Xiaoya was also very reserved at first, but few people could resist Paner's enthusiastic attack, and the three of them soon burst into laughter.

With two good friends, Pan'er and Xiaoya, Chu Ye felt that life in the factory was much better.

However, she did not go south to work all the time, so in her spare time she would take Pan'er and Xiaoya to hang out outside the factory, and sometimes they would even go to the town. After a few months, the three of them had already traveled all over the area.

That day, Xiaoya stayed in the dormitory to rest, while Chuye and Paner came to the edge of the town. This was their third time here.

"Little girl, you're still here to see the fish pond! I told you a long time ago that the rascal never touches the ground and has disappeared long ago." The ragpicker kindly reminded her again that this place was so desolate that no one wanted to come here, but these two young girls had been hanging around here for countless times.

"Okay, uncle, I got it." Chu Ye also responded. Unlike the previous times when she just looked and left, this time she walked up to the uncle, picked up the waste, and then threw it into the woven bag in the uncle's hand. "Hey, little girl, these things are too dirty, you don't have to touch them." The uncle stretched out his hand to stop her, but failed. Not only did he fail to stop her, but Pan'er beside him also joined in because it was fun.

Soon, all the rubbish in this area was picked up by the three of them. The old man also saw Chu Ye's purpose and dragged the woven bag to the fish pond. There was a small house next to the fish pond. The old man walked over slowly, and Chu Ye and Pan'er followed behind him.

This small house doesn't look big, but you can tell it's carefully designed just by looking at its exterior. There is a lock hanging on the black iron door. The old man put the woven bag under the eaves, then walked to the door, fiddled with his hand, and the door "clicked" open.

Chu Ye:......
Pan Er:……
Is this my uncle's house? Or is this a daytime robbery?

The two men shifted their gazes to the old man with difficulty. The old man seemed unaware of how shocking his actions were, and walked in with a hunched back.

Chu Ye poked her head out and looked around quietly, only to see a small bed behind the door, a small wooden table next to the bed, on which was a toy model of a sailboat, and several large posters on the wall at the head of the bed. There were beautiful girls and tall buildings on the posters. In addition, she could vaguely see several pieces of clothes stacked at the head of the bed, as if waiting for someone to come back.

On this side, the old man walked to the wooden table and groped for something inside. After a moment, he turned around with satisfaction, closed the door and locked it happily, then walked to Chu Ye and put the thing in his hand in hers.

"Thank you so much for helping me today. This is for you. I heard from that brat that young people love to eat this." Chu Ye looked down and saw three candies in his palm. They were exquisitely packaged and well sealed, so there was no possibility of tampering.

After the old man finished speaking, he pulled Pan'er and gave her three candies as well. Pan'er thanked him happily, and the next second she tore open the package and put the candies in her mouth.

"Mm! Delicious!" Pan'er gave his evaluation immediately. The old man smiled so hard that his teeth were showing. "I told you! This brat is really lucky when it comes to food."

Chu Ye also thanked him quietly and put the candy into his pocket. The old man pretended not to see it and turned to walk under the eaves. There were two steps there. The old man sat on the steps, which happened to be in the shadow of the sun.

A breeze blew, causing ripples on the water. The old man looked towards the fish pond, his eyes full of nostalgia.

"Little girl, you come here every few days, aren't you just doing it for fun?" The old man's eyes were gentle and full of kindness, as if he had seen through her purpose.

Chu Ye did not answer immediately. She pulled Pan'er to sit over. The three of them were soaking in the wind, surrounded by green fields, which looked very comfortable.

"Uncle, I want to know if I can rent this fish pond?" Chu Ye went straight to the point. She had come here three times and met the uncle three times. It was too much of a coincidence. Moreover, when she observed the door lock just now, it didn't seem to have been pried open. Instead, there were two keys tied to the uncle's belt.

Thinking back to the old man's action of opening the door just now, it really didn't look like he was picking the lock. It seemed more like he was rubbing the key on his waist to open the door. In this way, everything makes sense.

"Haha, little girl, I can't answer your question. These fish ponds are not mine." The old man seemed to see Chu Ye's confusion and explained kindly, "These two fish ponds and this house belong to that bastard. If you want to buy them, you have to talk to him."

As if he had thought of something, he sighed and waved his hand, "But don't waste your energy. Although he doesn't come back often, he probably won't sell this place."

He turned to look at Chu Ye. This girl was pretty, thin and weak, and her tone didn't sound like a local. Why didn't she buy clothes to dress herself up but instead thought of buying a fish pond?
Thinking of this, he asked.

Chu Ye considered it for a while, and then spoke sincerely, "Uncle, I came here to work, but I can't work for the rest of my life. I was thinking about whether I could start a small business and make more money."

The old man didn't expect to hear such an answer and was quite surprised. Pan'er also looked at him in surprise, "Sister Chu, you are better at studying and looking far ahead. I can't do that. I am very satisfied working in the factory with my aunt."

She smiled so innocently that Chu Ye couldn't help but rub her little face.

"So...what do you want to do by renting this fish pond? This fish pond...has been abandoned for three or four years." When he said this, the old man's tone was full of resentment, as if he was dissatisfied with someone or something.

Chu Ye was puzzled. Although there were few people living around here, it was not that far from the town. Moreover, the fish pond seemed to have been well renovated before. There were two fish ponds symmetrically on both sides of the small house. Fresh water was brought in from somewhere, and the water was flowing. One could even see fish floating to the surface to eat bubbles.

Such a good place is actually abandoned?
The old man saw her confusion and explained nonchalantly, "This was a fishing ground specially built by Boss Han. It was originally two small puddles, but the surrounding environment was good, so Boss Han paid to clean it up. Even this house, although it is not big, was specially built by someone at that time."

The old man's eyes were filled with nostalgia, and his tone was leisurely. The memories of the past unfolded like a picture scroll before his eyes. "After the fishing ground was built, this place was also very popular. The people who interacted with Boss Han were all big bosses. A group of people would meet here when they had nothing to do. At that time, there was a gatekeeper at the door, and ordinary people were not allowed to come in."

However, the former prosperity is in stark contrast to the current desolation.

"So now, has something happened to Boss Han? No one dares to come here?" Pan'er asked cautiously. After all, the old man described the place as being so glorious in the past, and looking at the present, one can't help but think more.

The old man looked at him with a complicated expression when he heard this, "You are wrong! Boss Han is even more popular now. Not only did he not get into trouble, he even went to live in the United States with his concubine!"

(End of this chapter)