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

After lunch break, Old Man Lin took his eldest son and the second son of the Lin family to work, while Lin Baoya and her adoptive mother rested in their room. They had all taken the day off from work.

Bao Ya was sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) looking constipated, deep in thought and sighing. She wanted to go to the toilet, really wanted to, but she didn't want to use the outhouse. She couldn't stand the dry toilet; just thinking about it made her want to die back there. It was hot, and the smell inside was disgusting, especially since the Lin family's outhouse was almost full.

How can I live like this? I really feel like I have no will to live. Bao Ya stomped her feet and shook her head.

Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of a figure running towards the outhouse through the window—it was Li Jinxiang!

Bao Ya quietly followed, enduring the stench as she approached, and heard that the person inside seemed to have already taken off their pants.

The opportunity had presented itself, and he instantly forgot about his urgent physiological needs, rushing straight to the toilet.

Someone suddenly barged in, startling Li Jinxiang. Upon seeing who it was, she immediately began to curse, "You brat, are you blind? Can't you see I'm inside...?"

Before she could finish speaking, Bao Ya had already put her hand on her head, grinning wickedly.

"What are you going to do?"

Li Jinxiang quickly grabbed Bao Ya's hand, but in the blink of an eye, Bao Ya pressed down hard on her head, causing Li Jinxiang to lose her balance and fall down with a thud.

"Ah! You little slut, do you want to die? Drag me out..."

The Lin family's outhouse was a bottomless vat connected to an external cesspool. The vat's opening was about 40 centimeters in diameter, just big enough to fit a large buttock. Luckily, Li Jinxiang's buttock was big enough to fit snugly.

"Go ahead and curse, keep cursing, you can stay in the latrine and keep cursing."

After saying that, Bao Ya turned around and left. She was too excited and forgot to cover her nose. It smelled awful!

Hearing the commotion, Granny Lin and Su Ruyi came out to see what had happened.

"What's wrong now? You can't keep quiet all day long."

Ever since Bao Ya came back, the house has been in chaos every day, and Granny Lin feels that she will definitely live a few years less.

"My aunt was hogging the outhouse and wouldn't let me use it, and she even scolded me."

Bao Ya clutched her stomach and stomped her feet, looking aggrieved. She was anxious, she was really anxious!

"Sister-in-law, really! She even hogs the toilet seat! She doesn't act like an elder at all!"

Su Ruyi seized the opportunity to add her own comment. Granny Lin was helpless. She didn't understand what was wrong with the eldest son occupying a latrine. Why did he have to fight over a latrine? What an idiot.

"Why don't you just go outside first? I owe you all this, what's the point of taking it from me? You won't be satisfied until you've completely destroyed the family."

Granny Lin turned and went into the house, cursing and swearing, and closed the door, too lazy to deal with these annoying people.

Bao Ya secretly rolled her eyes, then turned to Su Ruyi anxiously and said:

"Mother, come outside with me."

"Okay, okay, Mother will go with you."

"hurry up……"

Su Ruyi quickly put on her shoes and ran outside with Bao Ya.

Inside the outhouse, Li Jinxiang was still yelling and cursing Lin Baoya. The yard was large, and it was hard to hear exactly what she was cursing. This idiot was so focused on cursing that she forgot to call for help. Everyone had gone to work; if they wanted someone to rescue them, they would have to wait until after work.

"What a waste of money, he can't even poop in his own house." Granny Lin grumbled as she sat in the house, continuing to sew shoe soles, completely ignoring what was happening outside.

Su Ruyi ran out with Lin Baoya, spitting towards the outhouse.

In rural areas, every household has an outhouse. Some are built inside the house, while others are built outside the yard. Those built outside are for everyone to use, since excrement can be counted in centimeters. Men are less particular about who uses it, but when women use it, someone usually leaves outside, in case someone accidentally wanders in. Frugal women rarely relieve themselves outside, since excrement comes from their own food.

Lin Baoya pulled Su Ruyi along and ran to her uncle's house. She remembered that her uncle's outhouse had been emptied just two days ago.

Since the fight that morning, she felt refreshed, both physically and mentally, and even the depression she had suffered from heartbreak in her past life seemed to have disappeared. She suddenly understood Lin Baoya's personality and felt that Lin Baoya must be the little devil in her heart who wanted to overthrow the world.

What to do? She's actually fallen in love with this version of herself.

Upon arriving at the old house, Bao Ya rushed into the toilet without hesitation, while Su Ruyi went into Grandma Su's room.

After settling this important life event, Bao Ya walked to the large wooden basin in the yard where water was drying, washed her hands, and then vigorously shook her clothes, trying to use the slight breeze to dispel the stench on her body.

When she felt it was about time, Bao Ya went into the room, climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed) without saying a word.

When Grandma Su saw her come in, she went over and touched her head. It felt cool and she was relieved that she didn't have a fever. She smoothed her hair and tucked the stray hairs behind her ears. Looking at Bao Ya lying on the bed, panting heavily, she wondered what kind of fool she was making this time.

I was holding my breath in the outhouse for so long, I almost suffocated. It felt like I couldn't smell the stench. I feel much better now.

"Grandma, I'm coming home to sleep tonight."

"What? What have you done now? Are they giving you trouble again?"

Grandma Su picked up the shoe soles from the basket, ran the needle along her hair a few times, and continued sewing the shoe soles.

Grandma Su was obsessed with looks; she thought her granddaughter, whom she had raised, was beautiful no matter how she looked at her.

"I'm too lazy to argue with them. The room over there is too small. At night, my dad and Gou Dan make noise by gritting their teeth, farting, and smacking their lips, keeping me awake."

When she said she didn't care, Grandma Su lifted her eyelids to look at her. Seeing her darting eyes, she made up her mind: Was she really the kind of person who didn't care? What had she done this time?

When I was little, I led a group of kids to blow up the Lin family's latrine, and then I ran back to tell her that it was too cold to go out and play.

Grandma Su grunted twice but didn't say anything. She just directed Su Ruyi to clean up the room where her granddaughter used to live.

She kept muttering to herself, "The girl is so grown up now, she needs her own room. The house is so cramped, why are you making her go back to live here?" She was saying all this to her silly daughter.

Her granddaughter was pushed into the water and almost drowned—such a serious incident! She didn't even think to use this opportunity to divide the family property. The children are all so big, yet they're still crammed into that tiny house. She forgot to give her brain when she was born; thankfully, her granddaughter doesn't take after her.

Bao Ya slept soundly until everyone finished work in the evening. When her aunt heard that she had returned, she rushed over to check on her. Seeing that she was alright, she went back to cook.

The old lady doesn't cook; she just boils some water on the stove. She eats at her uncle's place.

After Auntie finished cooking, Uncle returned and invited them over for dinner. The three of them went over to eat together. In the afternoon, Lin Laosan and his youngest son caught half a bucket of small fish from the river. Auntie stewed the fish and also made a pot of flatbread.