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

"What? They're not feeding Baoya? And Old Man Lin is just watching her longingly? No wonder she eats at the brigade leader's house every day."

"The Lin family made such good promises to Bao Ya when they were coaxing her back, and I actually believed them. But she was pushed into the river just a few days after she got back, and now they're not giving her any food. What are they after?"

"What are they after? They're after a good marriage. When has the Lin family ever suffered a loss? They made us, the Su family, raise their children, and now they're eyeing the children themselves."

"Tsk tsk tsk, the Lin family really has no manners."

The surrounding whispers rose and fell, making Old Man Lin's scalp tingle.

Bao Ya looked at him quietly, waiting for his answer. The old man, trying to hide won't be so easy; they'll have to suffer this loss today, whether they like it or not.

It's true that her surname is Lin, but she was raised by the Su family. To the Su family, she is one of their own, while the Lin family are outsiders.

Old Man Lin didn't expect Bao Ya to bring him up directly. Hearing the surrounding discussions, the old man had no choice but to speak up.

"Baoya, it's not that serious. What are you talking about, cutting off ties? Your grandma just felt sorry for those chickens and said some harsh things, don't take it to heart. But you took all the chickens without saying a word, that's really outrageous."

The old man started dodging the question again, trying to figure out how to smooth things over.

"All of them? There are seven in total, but I only took five. Yesterday, when I brought the chickens out, everyone on the street was watching."

Grandpa and Auntie pulled me out of the water and saved my life. Is it reasonable for the family not to show any appreciation?

Logically, this should be something you should do, but since nothing's happened after waiting so long, I've done it for you. I used a few of my chickens; I hope you don't mind. We live in the same village; we should know how to behave appropriately!

Bao Ya stared wide-eyed at Old Man Lin with a serious expression. Looking at his flushed face, Lin chuckled inwardly. It wasn't that they didn't understand human relationships; they just had no intention of giving her anything and only wanted to take advantage of her.

Suppressing someone is the best way to manipulate them. Give them a bad reputation, make them feel inferior and afraid to contact the outside world, and then let them be molded and manipulated at will, like the second son and his wife of the Lin family. But the previous Bao Ya was not like that, and neither is this one with a different soul.

"No way, no way, Grandpa, you're not planning on thanking them at all? No wonder our family is so unpopular. Tsk tsk tsk."

"That's right, Old Lin. You should thank them for saving your granddaughter. What your family did was really unfair. Don't you all agree?"

"that is"

"that is"

At this point, some people in the crowd started to make a fuss. Giving away a chicken was indeed a bit much, but giving away a few eggs would be more appropriate. After so long without any reaction, everyone understood what was going on.

People around them cast disdainful glances, and some even testified that the Lin family was petty. Old Master Lin's head was buzzing. How could this brat be so shameless? If it were any other young girl being accused of stealing chickens, she would have been too ashamed to lift her head by now, and might even have knelt down and begged for forgiveness. Yet she still had the nerve to argue with him, saying it was his fault.

"You child, you have such a short temper. How could Grandpa not want to thank them? Look at the mess you've made now that you've fully recovered."

"Oh, so you think it was the right thing for me to send that chicken?"

Bao Ya deliberately drew out her words so that everyone could hear her.

"Yes, yes, it was Grandpa who didn't think things through. He should have told you earlier, otherwise it would have caused such a big misunderstanding and made us a laughing stock."

Watching the two of them answer each other, Li Jinxiang couldn't wait any longer. They were even turning stealing chickens into a good thing. Why should they?

"That chicken was a rooster. I did it to do you a favor. Why should it be a rooster? I don't agree!" There was no way she could get away with it. She stole five chickens, gave away three, and ate two herself. She had found out everything.

"It really shouldn't have been paid by the public; it should have been paid by your eldest son's family. It's all your eldest son's family's fault."

"You little bitch, you're talking nonsense! Why should we pay for the chicken you stole? Don't try to fool me."

Li Jinxiang completely exploded when she heard that they had to pay them back. She started spewing profanities.

"You old bastard, shut your mouth! You're spewing filth, you've eaten too much shit and haven't even digested it yet."

Upon hearing this, the people around her remembered her falling into the cesspool, and they consciously moved back to avoid her.

"I'm doing this for your own good. I gave the chicken to the aunt who saved me that day. She pulled me out of the water and saved my life, which also saved your whole family."

Li Jinxiang curled her lip in disdain; she thought it would be better if Lin Baoya drowned.

Bao Ya ignored her and turned to Lin Dahe, saying:

"Uncle, I'm not trying to criticize you, but the person who saved me also saved your whole family. How come you don't understand human relationships?"

If I die, Lin Siya will become a murderer, and your whole family will be the murderer's relatives.

Even if Lin Xiaowen gets into university, he won't pass the political background check, and Lin Xiaoquan will probably be fired from the factory. Lin Daya might even be divorced by her in-laws. And Lin Xiaohong, forget about becoming a worker, he probably won't even be able to find a wife.

After hearing her out, everyone started discussing the matter. They didn't know what a political background check was, but having a murderer in the family was definitely not a good thing. Even joining the army required a thorough investigation of one's family history for generations.

Old Man Lin and Lin Dahe both fell silent. They both knew, but they thought it was just the kids playing around and didn't take it too seriously. After all, no one had died, so why was Bao Ya making such a fuss?

Then Bao Ya turned around, raised her voice, and said to Old Man Lin:

"Grandpa, tell me, am I right? My eldest uncle is so clueless about social etiquette. How can he expect to be a brigade cadre? Even if we gave all our possessions to Secretary Yan, it wouldn't make a difference!"

With a sudden "buzz," the crowd erupted again, this was far more sensational than the old story of Lin Siya pushing someone into the river.

"Lin Dahe wants to become a village official?"

"Did the Lin family even give gifts to Secretary Yan?"

"No wonder he always goes to the commune."

"Does he even deserve it?"

"A guy who burrows into cornfields."

"He even gave gifts; we can't elect him even if the brigade cadres are re-elected."

Now Old Man Lin and Lin Dahe were having another headache. When would this brat ever stop? They were talking about chickens, and somehow it's gotten back to his gift-giving. This whole thing was a secret scheme between the father and son, and now Bao Ya has exposed it; all their previous efforts have been in vain.

At that time, everyone was equally poor, and everyone felt at peace. If you were to live better than me through your own abilities, I would feel jealous, but I would have nothing to say. However, if you tried to surpass me through underhanded means, everyone would definitely pull you down.

"Everyone, stop arguing and listen to me. Secretary Yan asked me to pass on a message to my uncle."

Bao Ya turned around and ran to the high platform to speak to everyone.

Secretary Yan sent a message, and everyone quieted down to see what the leader had to say about the matter.

Old Man Lin and Lin Dahe felt a chill in their hearts; what they said in front of everyone certainly wouldn't be in their favor.

"Secretary Yan said that the commune leaders decided in a meeting to give all the gifts my uncle gave to the five-guarantee households in the name of the commune."

I gave my uncle Lin Dahe a verbal reprimand, telling him to stop doing these useless things and that anyone who tries these crooked practices again will be sent for re-education.

Bao Ya looked at Lin Dahe with a smile, wondering how things had started. She hadn't expected the ending to be like this. Wasn't this news explosive enough? A verbal reprimand—in other words, it wasn't written down, so it couldn't be found later, and no one could accuse her of lying.

"Uncle, why are you doing all this? With your greedy nature, if you really became a brigade cadre, you'd probably move the brigade's granary to our house."

Su Daqiang and Su Erqiang squatted behind the crowd and listened; they knew it was an unexpected result.

Lin Baoya single-handedly propelled the Lin family to the top of the local trending topics list once again.