Back to 1984: Earning Money, Raising Kids, and Keeping the Household Busy

Xu Dahai nodded honestly, "The bus heading towards the city center is definitely not going to my third sister-in-law's parents' house. I don't know exactly where it's going."

"Hey! Why didn't you stop them?" Xu Dashan complained.

Xu Dahai's face immediately darkened. "What does this have to do with me! The third brother is already in his forties or fifties. He's an independent individual with a wife and children. Where he goes is none of my business. Besides, we haven't spoken in ages!"

Xu Dashan's face turned pale, then red, then white, and he was powerless to refute. He turned and ran away in a hurry.

Upon returning to the village, he went straight to the old house and launched into a tirade against Old Man Xu and Wang Ximei, “Dad, you still have the mind to smoke! Mom, are you living a comfortable life? Let me tell you, the third son’s family is gone, and they’re really not coming back!”

The elderly couple's expressions finally cracked slightly.

Old Xu narrowed his eyes and asked, "What? He's getting cocky? Fine, don't come back then! Let him be a live-in son-in-law in the Zhang family for the rest of his life!"

"Exactly! He's been spoiled rotten! He used to seem clever and sweet-talking, but after his second son's family moved away, he's nothing! Now he's even going against us. With his limited abilities, he'll be kicked out of the Zhang family sooner or later!" Wang Ximei scoffed.

Although she looked down on Xu Dahai the most, she had to admit that he was the most hardworking of the three sons. It was understandable that his father-in-law would favor her. Xu Dachuan was different. He had always had his older brother take care of him since he was a child, and he had developed a habit of being lazy and good-for-nothing. How could he possibly change?
Seeing that his parents weren't worried at all, Xu Dashan roared angrily, "What do you know! The third brother didn't even go to the Zhang family. He took his wife and children to the city. I don't know if they went to the city or somewhere else. They haven't come back for so many days. Do you think they'll ever come back?"

"What? He went to the city? What's he doing in the city?" Wang Ximei jumped up in surprise and ran to Xu Dashan. "Who told you that?"

Xu Dashan plopped down on the ground. "I went to the Zhang family but couldn't find anyone. I couldn't believe where the third brother would go. When I got to town, I went to the second brother's place to ask him to help me think of something. But the second brother said he saw the third brother's family get on the bus to the city early in the morning."

"Why didn't the second brother stop him? He must have done it on purpose! No way! I have to go and settle accounts with him!" Wang Ximei stormed out in a rage.

Xu Dashan grabbed her arm. "Mom, haven't you made enough of a scene? The second son's family doesn't live in the village, what does he know? Besides, you all know he and the third son don't get along, why are you asking him to stop them? Are you crazy?!"

Wang Ximei was stunned for a moment before she realized what was happening. She then paced anxiously around the yard, "Is the third son also like that ungrateful second son and doesn't care about us old folks anymore? I only scolded him a couple of times. I've scolded him before, so why is it not allowed this time?"

Besides, I didn't say anything wrong! We've had three kids, all three of them are a financial burden, why can't I scold them?! Old man, say something! What are we going to do now?

If Xu Dachuan's family really doesn't come back, all the work on the fields and the old house will fall on the shoulders of the elderly couple. They won't be able to manage it all!
More importantly, their eldest grandson, Xu Jie, is studying away from home and needs money everywhere. If the third son isn't around, who will help him?
Old Xu's face was gloomy, but he remained relatively calm. "What's the rush? Being anxious now won't change the fact that the third son's family is leaving. Since he wants to take his family out to make a living, he shouldn't regret it. The land we agreed to give him will be given to the eldest son in the future. Let's see how arrogant he can be!"

Wang Ximei continued to sigh, saying that those were things that would happen after they passed away, and that saying such angry words would not solve the current problems at all.

One more thing, of the three sons, one has severed ties with them, one has run away, and now there is only one left, and this one cannot run away as well.

It must be said that the elderly couple do share the same ideas on certain matters.

Old Xu immediately spoke up, "Eldest brother, since you haven't settled on a job yet, why don't you come back and help us farm? Everything in the house will be yours in the future, and you can also save some money for A-Jie."

Xu Dashan shook his head without thinking. "Dad, I haven't farmed for years. I don't even know how to use a hoe properly. Please don't make things difficult for me. I'll think of another way. It would be best if I could get a job in a food factory. I heard that the monthly salary is 100 yuan. If I'm careful with my money, I can earn several hundred yuan a year. You can't earn that much by farming."

Old Xu couldn't refute this. He thought for a moment and then said, "Then let's sell that house in the city. Anyway, A-Jie doesn't need that house anymore. It'll be a good opportunity to transfer your wife's household registration back."

Xu Dashan did not give a direct answer, "Let's talk about it later. We don't know where A-Jie's job will be assigned in the future. If he is assigned to the city, we will have to give him a place to stay. Everything is going up in price now. If he wants to settle down in the city, we won't be able to come up with a second sum of money to buy him a house."

Back then, it was only because Wang Fengying was competing with her second son's family that they dared to buy a house in the city. He certainly wouldn't have the guts now. Fortunately, the house has appreciated in value, so it's not a complete loss.

Although Old Man Xu knew that Xu Dashan's considerations were reasonable, he was still unhappy and kept a long face.

Xu Dashan didn't say anything; unable to find Xu Dachuan, he went straight back.

As soon as they left, Wang Ximei started to show her displeasure, saying, "I see none of them are good. From now on, the two of us will have to rely on each other!"

Old Xu rolled his eyes. "What nonsense are you talking about? The eldest son's family is still in the village! Besides, would they really abandon us? If you're worried, you might as well move to the eldest son's place. Anyway, there's an empty house there."

Wang Ximei's eyes lit up. The more she thought about it, the better she felt. She immediately ran to Xu Dashan's house.

When Wang Fengying heard that Wang Ximei wanted to move in, she was extremely unwilling. However, as the daughter-in-law, she couldn't refuse directly, so she could only try to appease Wang Ximei.

Wang Ximei was also a shrewd person. Seeing that Wang Fengying was not giving a definite answer, she directly decided to move over after the autumn harvest, which made Wang Fengying very angry.

To avoid having to serve her in-laws, she went back to her parents' home and asked them to help her find a job. They finally managed to pull some strings and get her a job at a food factory.

The food factory has employee dormitories, double rooms.

She worked there for a month, and when she found out that the warehouse needed to hire two movers, she immediately recommended Xu Dashan for the job.

What job you do doesn't matter, just get the job first.

Xu Dashan thought the same way, and after confirming that the food factory wanted him, he immediately went to report for duty.

The couple were able to be assigned a dormitory room.

The space is small; after putting in a bunk bed and a wardrobe, there's only enough room for one person to pass through.

The couple had no objections to these conditions, and they went back to pack their bags and immediately moved into the staff dormitory.

When Wang Ximei and her husband were preparing to move, they learned that their eldest son and his wife were both living at the food factory and had no intention of returning to the village at all. (End of Chapter)