The 1960s: The Story of a Country Girl's Journey to the City

Bao Ya turned around and caught sight of Aunt Hua, who was pressed against the wall listening to the commotion. Realizing she'd been discovered, Aunt Hua gave an embarrassed smile.

"Bao Ya, where are you going instead of eating at home?"

Normally, Bao Ya dislikes her for being a chatterbox and doesn't like to talk to her. She only asked casually to ease the awkwardness, not expecting Bao Ya to answer. After asking, she turned and walked into her room. That girl is very shrewd; don't go looking for trouble.

"I'm going back to my uncle's house to beg for food. The Lin family can't afford to raise their daughter, so they're telling me to go out and beg for food, and they're even severing ties with me!"

Bao Ya shouted at the top of her lungs, determined to anger the Lin family to death.

"What?"

Honestly, she didn't really want an answer; she was just asking casually. But Bao Ya wasn't about to let this notorious gossip of the village get away with it. She slowed down and said to Aunt Hua:

"My grandma said that all the refined grains I brought back were thrown away, and she didn't cook for me. She told me to go beg for food myself."

"What? The grain is missing? How much grain went missing from your house? Have you caught the thief yet?"

What kind of ears do you have? Why can't you hear the important part? Bao Ya is worried for her.

"I don't know how much was lost, but all the fine grains I brought back were gone. It's probably an inside job. From today onwards, the Lin family won't have any food for me."

After shouting her piece, Bao Ya turned and left. She didn't plan to wait for the Lin family to come out and confront her; she figured the whole village would know by the afternoon that the Lin family wasn't feeding Bao Ya. The rumors in the village weren't limited to the wise or the mentally challenged; they ended with another, even more sensational rumor.

Everyone in the Lin family house except for Lin Laosan and his wife had dark faces. Since they brought Baoya back, the villagers have been speculating about all sorts of things. The events of the past few days have given them plenty of opportunities to gossip, and they're sure to be talked about behind their backs when they go out this afternoon.

Lin Laosan and his wife didn't even blink, continuing to eat. They weren't worried about their daughter going hungry; she'd eat much better at her brother-in-law's house. Her mother-in-law even cooked for her, which was much better than at home. That's how simple and straightforward the couple was.

Bao Ya walked briskly towards the brigade leader's house, repeating her earlier words to everyone she met along the way, even embellishing the story. She explained the situation to the big yellow dog sunbathing by the wall. She was also scheduled to broadcast the explanation over the loudspeaker at the brigade headquarters that afternoon.

She wasn't embarrassed at all. If the Lin family was capable of doing it, she was capable of saying it too; there was no need to hide it. From then on, she would tell everyone about the missing grain every day before going to work.

Bao Ya tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. Her mind was filled with thoughts of how to deal with the Lin family.

The family must be separated; they must be forced to separate. Without separating, and without dealing with this extreme character, her time travel seems meaningless.

She lay on the kang (a heated brick bed) until the sun was setting, and she felt she had to do something, otherwise she would feel uneasy. With that thought, she jumped up, tidied her hair, and headed towards the Lin family's house.

There's no one in the Lin family's courtyard now. The workers haven't returned yet, the children have all gone to gather pig feed, and even the lazy Li Jinxiang and Lin Siya aren't there.

There wasn't much work to do in the fields at the moment, so families who could afford it would work half a day in the morning and rest in the afternoon. But Granny Lin wanted her whole family to work every day to earn work points.

She walked to the window of the main house and saw that Granny Lin seemed to be asleep. She tiptoed to the backyard.

The chicken coop is in the backyard. There are no regulations on how many chickens a family can raise, so most households raise six or seven, mainly because they don't have enough grain. If they had enough grain, they would probably raise even more.

Looking at the seven chickens in the coop, she felt like she hadn't eaten meat in a long time. She had never been so hungry in her past life. She had never lacked food and drink since she was a child. She never thought she would live such a poor life, eating flatbread and boiled vegetables every day. Her mouth was so bland that she could hardly stand it.

After staring at the chickens for a while with his mouth watering, he started catching them.

As soon as she put her hand in, the chicken pecked at her. She tried several times but failed. Damn it, she didn't even know how to catch a chicken.

Finally, with a determined heart, he picked up half a brick from the corner with his right hand and quickly grabbed a chicken leg with his left hand, pulling it out of the cage. Just as it was out, the brick came crashing down on it.

"Snap!" The skull shattered. Ugh, how cruel. Let's continue.

Five chickens in a row have been killed. That's enough. I'll keep one rooster and one hen; they can lay eggs and hatch chicks.

I found a piece of straw rope and tied the chicken legs, each with its broken skull, together. They were quite heavy to lift.

"Bao Ya, what are you doing?"

"Oh my god, you scared me to death!"

Bao Ya clutched her chest, looking at Aunt Hua who was grinning slyly, and almost choked on her breath.

"Auntie, this person is terrifying, absolutely terrifying!"

"Hey, Auntie, I didn't mean it. What are you doing here?"

Aunt Hua looked at the dead chickens in her hand with an ambiguous expression. Her eyes clearly showed the smugness of catching a thief.

"Oh, this is from a few days ago when I fell into the water. Thanks to a few aunties, I was pulled out. This is a thank-you gift for them. Here, this is yours."

Bao Ya had made up her mind. There was no share for her in the Lin family. If she stole one to eat, people would definitely say she was greedy. It would be better to share it with everyone as a thank you gift and keep two for herself. That wouldn't be too much to ask, would it? She would have both substance and face.

Aunt Hua looked at her as if she had seen a ghost. The one who fell into the river was the brigade leader's niece, and the main rescuer was the brigade leader's wife. They just helped cover it up and carried her back. Besides, she was holding the Lin family's chicken. Everyone in the village knew about the Lin family's troubles.

"Auntie, don't be so polite with me. You saved my life, you're even closer than my own aunt. What's a chicken? I think it's too little. Take it."

Aunt Hua was a little dazed. Was this Bao Ya? Had she hit her head and gotten stupid?

Seeing that Aunt Hua didn't move, Bao Ya threw the remaining four chickens on the ground and stuffed one into Aunt Hua's hand.

"Auntie, I heard Xiaoshanzi say he wanted to eat meat the other day, and his sister-in-law slapped him twice. Look how skinny he is, it breaks my heart to see him like this. If you don't want to eat it yourself, take it back and give it to your child to help him get some nutrition."

Thinking of her little grandson, Aunt Hua gritted her teeth and accepted the chicken. The child was born during a famine; at six years old, he was tiny, about the same height as other three- or four-year-olds.

"Okay, I'll take it. Baoya, thank you, Auntie!"

"Auntie, you're too kind. If they see it, just say I took it. Don't worry, I have a way to deal with them."

Having established a relationship over this chicken, Aunt Hua was much more agreeable than before. She even considerately took the chicken and told Bao Ya to walk through her private plot so as not to disturb Granny Lin. After seeing Bao Ya off, she first helped her clean up the scene, and then went home to stew the chicken.

Bao Ya carried four chickens and swaggered through the village. When she reached Aunt Pang's house, she saw that Aunt Pang was home and tossed one of the chickens to her. Aunt Pang declined for a while but eventually accepted it.

When she arrived at her second uncle's house, the door was closed. She stepped on the pile of mud bricks by the wall and looked into the yard. Her second uncle and aunt were there. She threw one over the wall.

My second aunt let out a "whoosh" and was about to start cursing when Bao Ya poked her head out from the wall.

"Aunt, it's me."

Upon seeing it was her, her second aunt fell silent. Seeing the chicken on the ground, she pointed and asked her:

"Where did this chicken come from?"

"Never mind where it came from, just stew it and give it to my second uncle to help him recover."

My second aunt was obedient and didn't ask many questions.

Do your maternal grandmother and your eldest uncle have any?

Bao Ya thought about it and realized that her uncle couldn't get involved. He was a village official, and if he ate some, given Lin Pozi's unreasonable and argumentative nature, he would probably have to pay for all the chickens.

"Why don't you invite Grandma over for dinner tonight? My uncle doesn't eat, he can't eat any at all."

"Okay."

Hearing this, I understood everything; these chickens must have a story behind them.

"Second Uncle, I still love you more, don't I?"

Su Erqiang chuckled foolishly.