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

If they put a little meat in the stir-fries at home, and the kids ate a couple more bites, Grandma Lin would scold them for being reincarnated starving ghosts, which the kids didn't like to hear. But when they heard there might be roasted rabbit, the two boys readily agreed, grabbed their cornbread, and ran off.

The three people in the kitchen were still in shock, wondering if the contents of the noodles would really cause trouble. They stared wide-eyed at Bao Ya.

Bao Ya turned around and was startled by the expressions on the three people's faces. Why were they looking at her like that?

Su Ruyi opened her mouth, wanting to speak, but was interrupted by Bao Ya:

"Why are you all staring at me? Hurry up and go to the toilet, or you won't even get a turn!"

The three of them looked at each other, seemingly confirming something, and then ran to the outhouse in a row.

Seeing that they were all going to the outhouse, Bao Ya went straight to the basin and started kneading the dough, so that Zhang Laidi wouldn't be too scared to pull it out later.

Croton charcoal is slightly yellow in color. The wheat flour at this time was not as white as the enriched flour of later generations. When these two were mixed together, it was completely impossible to tell the difference.

When the three returned, Bao Ya instructed Zhang Laidi to knead the dough more evenly before going back to her room to rest.

Soon, it was lunchtime.

As usual, we ate at two separate tables.

At the men's table were Old Man Lin, Old Woman Lin, Lin the eldest son, and his three sons: Lin Xiaoquan, Lin Xiaohong, and Lin Xiaowen. Lin the second and third sons had gone to the city to do odd jobs today, and Tiedan and Gou Dan had been sent to Niu Dan's house by Bao Ya, so neither table was as crowded.

Grandma Lin was still distributing the food: a bowl of vegetables and a bowl of pickled vegetables. The men's table had more food, while the women's table had less. Each man got one steamed bun, Grandma Lin got one, and Lin Xiaoquan's city wife, Xiang Chunhua, also got one. If she remembered correctly, eight steamed buns were steamed in total, so why were there seven left on the table?

Bao Ya and Zhang Laidi exchanged a glance, both seeing the doubt in each other's eyes. Could it be that Old Mrs. Lin left this for her other two sons? They'd have to remind them later, lest they get accidentally harmed.

Li Jinxiang was, after all, Xiang Chunhua's mother-in-law. Since Xiang Chunhua didn't like eating alone, she broke off half a steamed bun for her. Li Jinxiang didn't stand on ceremony and took it. She then broke off half of the bun and gave it to Lin Siya. Lin Siya took the bun and ate it in small bites, her head bowed. She didn't dare look up, feeling that Bao Ya's gaze towards her had become increasingly frightening these past few days.

Zhang Laidi, Su Ruyi, and Wuya stared intently at the steamed buns, their expressions tense. To Lin Xiaoquan's wife, Xiang Chunhua, this meant they were craving the buns. Liuya was also staring; she was indeed craving them.

Bao Ya gently nudged Su Ruyi, signaling them not to be nervous. Zhang Laidi and Wu Ya also saw this, and the three of them quickly buried their heads in their food.

Seeing this, Xiang Chunhua's disdain became even more blatant: a bunch of peasants, so greedy over a few steamed buns. She was satisfied with the Lin family's hospitality towards her, a city dweller, but she despised the simple meal on the table.

Xiang Chunhua broke off pieces of steamed bun and fed them to the mouth in small bites, scanning the people eating at the table with what she thought was an elegant posture, occasionally rolling her eyes.

Her gaze stopped when it swept over Bao Ya. A village girl, yet she had such a face—like a vixen. Xiang Chunhua thought bitterly, this village girl is too lucky. She felt resentful when she learned that Bao Ya had successfully found a partner from the city worker.

Why should a country girl be able to find a city guy? After finding out about the Jiang family's financial situation, she became even more resentful. She even went to the matchmaker near the meat processing plant because her younger sister was also looking for a partner. She wanted the matchmaker to help her find someone, since her sister was at least a city girl and much better off than the country girl. But the matchmaker completely ignored her.

"I heard Bao Ya's marriage is settled. When are you planning to hold the ceremony?"

Xiang Chunhua couldn't help but open her mouth and ask.

Bao Ya then looked up to examine her "city girl" cousin-in-law. She had a habit of not even bothering to look at people she didn't know, so after exchanging greetings, she had only glanced at her casually. It was only when Bao Ya spoke to her that she looked up and looked at her properly.

This person has a rather low-profile appearance: a square face, high cheekbones, sparse eyebrows, small eyes, single eyelids, and rather thick eyelids. The corners of their mouth droop down, and their face looks like a Transformer, which is a bit comical.

The Lin family members are all good-looking. Although Granny Lin is not as beautiful as Granny Su, she was still a pretty girl in her youth. Old Man Lin was a handsome young man when he was young, so all of their children are good-looking. Among the grandchildren, Bao Ya, who combines the genes of both the Lin and Su families, is the best.

Xiang Chunhua's appearance is hardly impressive in the Lin family. Lin Xiaoquan married her because he valued her status as a city dweller.

"Oh, the date hasn't been set yet, it'll probably be after the autumn harvest."

Bao Ya gave a standard, conventional answer and smiled politely at Xiang Chunhua.

But that smile stung Xiang Chunhua, and a wave of bitterness welled up inside her.

"There's not much time left. Have you settled on the bride price? Is their family willing to pay it? Bride prices aren't common in the city. Getting married in the city is different from getting married in the countryside. If you don't reach an agreement, they can refuse to pay."

Xiang Chunhua blurted it out without thinking, as logic didn't matter as long as it disgusted the other party.

Bao Ya hadn't expected this unrelated person to get involved, so she replied casually:

"Oh? They don't dowries in the city? Didn't your wife ask for a 100 yuan dowry when she got married? What? Isn't your wife from the city?"

Looking at this person whose face practically screamed "troublemaker," Bao Ya looked at her with a mocking expression. The rest of the Lin family, having heard what was happening, also turned to look.

"Well, of course I'm a city person, but, but I married into our village, so naturally I have to follow local customs," Xiang Chunhua argued somewhat awkwardly.

Bao Ya: "Oh, that's how you use the phrase 'when in Rome, do as the Romans do,' haha. The Jiang family are also from the countryside, living in a mountain village. They'll have everything they need, so I'm not worried about that."

Xiang Chunhua: "Your sister-in-law has been through this, and she's just concerned about you. Did the Jiang family say how much they would give?"

Bao Ya: "No one said anything. Just follow the crowd. It's not like we're selling girls."

Xiang Chunhua choked. In the village, the bride price is usually only 10 or 20 yuan. Anything over 50 yuan is considered a high bride price. People rarely mention the "three turns and one sound" (a traditional Chinese stringed instrument, a watch, a radio, and a bicycle). Villagers don't have ration coupons unless someone in their family is in the army or works in the city. Men add these to make it look good, but the new bride will bring them back to her husband's family when she gets married.

In rural areas, families are often large with many children. Demanding a high dowry can damage the family's reputation and affect the marriage prospects of other siblings. However, if the groom's family is wealthy and offers to pay the dowry voluntarily, the situation is different.

When Lin Xiaoquan got married, the Xiang family made an outrageous demand, asking for three turns and one sound (referring to a set of three watches, one watch, and one radio) plus a dowry of 150 yuan, which caused quite a bit of unpleasantness between the two families. In the end, they bargained down to 100 yuan, and nothing else. When Xiang Chunhua got married, she left the 100 yuan dowry to her family.