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

In the afternoon, when it was time to make dinner, Simao didn't go anywhere but just followed Baoya around. What's wrong with this child? Why is he following her so closely? It hasn't been like when he was a child.

"Si Mao, what's wrong?"

Simao scratched his head, opened his mouth, looked at Grandma Su, and said mysteriously, "Sister, could you make noodles again tonight, the kind that leader surnamed Wang eats?"

"Whose surname is Wang?"

"Oh, it's that big, dark-skinned guy, the one who looks pretty fierce."

"What's wrong with him? He's here again?"

Bao Ya looked around warily.

No, no.

Si Mao scratched his head, a little anxious, wondering why he and his sister were becoming less and less in sync.

"It's not him, it's the noodles he ate for lunch, the ones with chili and half a spoonful of oil. Can we have that for dinner too?"

"Hehe, okay, go ask your grandma for the flour and oil."

Simao glanced in Grandma Su's direction, then at Baoya, and said with a troubled expression, "What should I do if my grandma hits me?"

Bao Ya reached out and tapped him on the head.

"Are you stupid? I'd get beaten up if I went to ask for it."

In the afternoon, after the diners left, the old lady put away all the oil. She felt that if Bao Ya continued to cook, she would waste all the oil in the house.

Simao looked into the house, a little scared, and hesitated whether to go or not.

Just as I was hesitating, I heard Gou Dan running outside shouting:

"Sister, sister, have you heard? Our family has split up!"

Bao Ya rolled her eyes. This brat had been running around outside all day, and only now did he find out about such a big thing happening at home.

"Sis, will we all be staying at Uncle's house from now on?"

This mud monkey looks so silly, it's unbearable to look at. He thinks that separating the family means he, his parents, and his sister can all live at his uncle's house.

Captain: Why am I so unlucky?

The silly boy didn't care whether anyone responded to him or not, and kept rambling on about the wonderful life he would have at his uncle's house.

Bao Ya and Simao exchanged a glance, both understanding each other's meaning. Simao pulled Gou Dan inside.

"Dog Egg, go tell your grandma..."

"Grandma, I want to eat oil-splashed noodles!"

You look like a bowl of oil-splashed noodles!

Less than half a minute later, the old lady rushed out carrying a feather duster, causing chaos in the yard.

"Grandma, why did you hit me? It's Gou Dan who wants to eat it."

"He's dreaming! He doesn't even know what oil-splashed noodles are. You two taught him that."

"Grandma, I don't want to eat anymore."

Bao Ya also ran quickly, afraid of being caught.

"We haven't even settled accounts with you for wasting so much oil at noon, but you were the one who started it."

The game of chasing each other only stopped when the old lady ran out of energy.

For dinner, I made oil-splashed noodles again, not just a bowl, but a whole pot. I put all the remaining sauce in, poured half a spoonful of oil over the noodles, and everyone ate with great relish.

After dinner, Lin Laosan and his brother-in-law discussed building a house. The site plan was drawn up, and construction would begin in the next few days. The house would be built with mud bricks inside and blue bricks outside.

This is already the best house available. We can't afford to use all blue bricks, and red bricks are more expensive, so we can't bear to use them.

Bao Ya thought that blue bricks were fine. It was 1965 now, and by the 1980s, people's ideas about building houses would be different, so a house that could be lived in for ten or twenty years would be enough.

Like Lin Lao Er and Lin Lao San, they both built three main rooms, two side rooms, and a toilet. Since the two families built together, they could get a discount on the materials.

They would borrow mud bricks from families in the village and return them when they had free time.

Lin Lao Er and Lin Lao San went out to do odd jobs as bricklayers. They could do all kinds of house building work. The villagers would help them and pay them directly. They would try to build the house before the autumn harvest, and then take care of the rest of the odd jobs themselves after the harvest.

These past few days, Lin Laosan has been planning to move from the Lin family home to the Su family's old house for a while. Lin Pozi's constant grumbling is too annoying, and besides, his daughter will be getting married after the autumn harvest, so he wants to stay together for a while to get closer to her.

The day before the move, Lin Laosan and Lin Laoda chatted for a while in the old couple's room. When they came out, everyone looked grim. The next day, Lin Laosan started packing for the move.

Lin Laosan wanted to sell the house to Lin Laoda's family. Lin Xiaohong and Lin Xiaowen now share a room, while Lin Siya lives in a partitioned section of Lin Laoda's house. Since girls get married when they reach a certain age, they never thought of giving her a separate room. Everyone sleeps on the same kang (heated brick bed).

When Lin Xiaoquan brought his wife back, the eldest son of the Lin family squeezed into the old man and woman's room, while Li Jinxiang shared a room with her son, daughter-in-law, and daughter. It was just a matter of a day or two. Originally, they planned to build three new rooms in the backyard when Lin Xiaohong got married, which would be enough for them to live in. Who would have thought that the family would be divided at this time?

The third Lin family lived in two west wing rooms in the courtyard, connected to the kitchen on the north side. The second Lin family lived in two east wing rooms, with an outhouse on the south side. Originally, apart from the main house which had a tiled roof, the other wing rooms had thatched roofs.

A few years ago, the roof was in terrible condition. Lin Laosan told Lin Laotou that he wanted to replace the roof with tiles, but the old man and woman disagreed and suggested that they find some thatch to make do. Lin Laosan refused and made a fuss for a while. In the end, several of Su's uncles helped buy bricks and tiles to rebuild Lin Laosan's two houses.

Lin Lao Er also wanted to build one, but his parents wouldn't give him any money, and his wife's family wasn't supportive, so he could only continue using thatched roofs. Now, Lin Lao San's two rooms are the best in the house.

Lin Laosan wanted Lin Laoda to spend some money to buy the house so that Lin Xiaohong wouldn't have to build it for his wedding. But Lin Laoda and his wife thought, why waste that money? You can't move the house anyway. Once you move, you can just take over the house. If you don't like it, let your mother fight you to the death.

Since reasoning with him was futile, Lin Laosan stopped talking and moved a few days earlier than planned. He called a house repairman to come and help him move. They removed all the roof tiles, the new bricks, and the newly replaced purlins to build outbuildings for the new house. Even the doors, windows, and broken bed boards were taken away. In the end, only a meter or so of walls remained in the two rooms; they were likely to be completely destroyed by the next rain.

Grandma Lin was so angry that she cursed and swore in the yard all day and didn't even eat dinner.

The bricks and tiles they brought back were moved directly to the new house. There were still some left over, so Lin Baoya suggested using the remaining bricks and tiles to build a chicken coop. The chicken coops in the village were all enclosed by fences, with wooden frames and thatched roofs. Lin Laosan's family had the most luxurious chicken coop in the whole village, with a tiled roof on top.

The Lin Laosan couple moved into the old house with Gou Dan. At first, things were fine, but after a few days, Lin Baoya couldn't stand it anymore.

That brat Gou Dan is so annoying! In my past life, my little nephew was only two years old, so adorable, and he'd do whatever I asked. Now, Gou Dan is at an age that even dogs hate; he's only been here a few days and he's already getting beaten up by Bao Ya every day.

The kid was so dirty. He ran back from outside and jumped straight into the big wooden tub in the yard to bathe in the family's bathwater that had been left out to dry. Lin Baoya was completely stunned; it was so filthy. He got a beating every day, more punctual than mealtimes.

Grandma Su got a headache from the noise, so she went to the carpenter's house and bought a wooden basin specifically for Lin Baoya.