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

"Hey, Baoya, your dad doesn't have much money on hand for your wedding. Here's twenty for you as a dowry. I'll make up the difference when I earn more money later."

Lin Dahai, a little embarrassed, took out twenty yuan from his pocket and handed it to Lin Baoya.

He felt terrible, thinking he owed his daughter too much. Before they separated their households, he couldn't give her anything and had to shamelessly leave her with his mother-in-law.

Lin Baoya looked at the money in his hand and knew that this was all the money left after the house was built. Before, she had been tightly controlled by Granny Lin and had no savings of her own.

Seeing Lin Dahai's slightly red eyes, Lin Baoya said to him:

"Father, keep the twenty for yourself. Give me Lin Xiaoquan's IOU, and consider the two hundred as my dowry."

She had already decided that she would go to the city to get the two hundred yuan back from Lin Xiaoquan. She had no source of income and couldn't be without money to rely on.

"No way, that IOU isn't worth anything. You should keep this one. I'll make up the difference when I earn more money, up to two hundred."

When Lin Dahai talked about making up for her debt, his voice choked up. He thought his daughter felt sorry for him and didn't want to take the money, so she wanted to give him an IOU to save face.

He knew in his heart that he probably wouldn't get the two hundred yuan on the IOU back.

"Never mind that, just give me the IOU. I'm in the city, close to Lin Xiaoquan, I'll go ask him for it later. But let's make it clear first, whatever I get back is mine."

"What……"

Seeing Lin Baoya's serious expression, everyone in the room was terrified, especially Su Daqiang, who immediately sat up straight and stopped smoking the welding fumes.

"Bao Ya, don't do anything reckless. That's the city. If something happens, we can't handle it. Your uncle can't do anything about it either."

"I know, I'm not causing trouble, I'm just collecting debts from them."

Hearing her say that, Su Daqiang became even more worried.

They could all imagine the scene of Lin Baoya clashing with Lin Xiaoquan in the city. They were a bit far away and not around, so they didn't know if the girl would suffer a loss.

Lin Baoya thought they were overthinking it. She was asking Lin Xiaoquan for money, not asking him to fight. What could possibly happen?

The whole family was at a loss for words, their hearts filled with anxiety.

The next morning, Gou Dan ran to the Su family's old house and chattered around Bao Ya for a long time, asking her sister to go with them to catch fish in the stream.

Bao Ya watched Gou Dan circling around her like a puppy and wanted to slap him. In the end, she didn't. This kid was carefree and only knew how to play all day, but he genuinely cared about his older sister.

She didn't know that in Gou Dan's heart, his sister was a hero, the kind who could take on ten people at once.

After Bao Ya finished breakfast, she took Simao and Gou Dan, carrying buckets and fishing nets, and went to the stream.

Niu Dan had been waiting there for a while, and started calling out to them from a distance:

"Sister Baoya, Brother Simao, Gou Dan, come over here, I've reserved a good spot."

He marked out a piece of land for himself on a shallow beach by the river with a stick, and chased away any other children who came near.

The stream was shallow and clear. The water in the spot where Niu Dan stood was just above ankle level, and you could see the round pebbles at the bottom. You had to take off your shoes and stand in the water to get there.

"You two go over there, I'll use the net to catch them."

Bao Ya pointed out the patch of land that Niu Dan had occupied to the two of them, and then took the net and walked towards the deeper part of the shore.

This fishing net is made by attaching a loop to a bamboo pole, and then covering the loop with a net made from an old mosquito net. It can be used to catch small fish in the water.

In no time, more than a dozen children had gathered in the ditch, as if they had made an appointment to catch fish there.

Gou Dan and a group of teenagers rolled up their trouser legs, revealing their tanned calves. They bent over, their hands gently groping in the water, like a group of wary kittens.

"There's one here!"

Someone shouted, and the children immediately gathered around, causing tiny ripples to spread across the water. Gou Dan, eager to see what was happening, stood on tiptoe and craned his neck to peer inside.

A moment later, Simao pulled up a small fish the size of his palm. When the group of children saw it, they all exclaimed "Wow!"

Bao Ya used a net to scoop up a few small fish from the deeper water. The biggest one was only as long as her middle finger. She was a little discouraged. She had been thinking too much. With so many children in the water, how could big fish dare to come this way?

After fishing for a while, Lin Baoya gave the net to Simao and stood aside watching them fish.

Among the children in the brigade, only she and Simao could play together with them.

Fang Mingda was wandering around in the woods. Their work was nearing its end, and they would be returning to their unit in a few days.

Hearing children playing by the river, I didn't pay much attention at first. But when I looked over from the mountain, I saw Lin Baoya there. I don't know what I was thinking at the time, but I came here on a whim.

"Comrade Kobayashi."

Bao Ya heard someone talking, turned around and saw Fang Mingda, then looked behind him. He was alone today; the big, dark-skinned guy wasn't there.

"Why are you the only one here?"

"Old Wang went to the city on business today."

Fang Mingda then realized that he didn't know what to say to the other person, and awkwardly touched his nose.

"Well, our mission is almost complete, and we'll be heading back in a few days."

"oh."

Bao Ya didn't care what he said. Whether he left or not was none of her business. Her eyes were still fixed on the little babies in the water, afraid that they would go to the deep water area.

"Well, the clues you provided this time were very useful. We'll apply for a reward for you later; there should be some bonus."

Fang Mingda looked at Lin Baoya and said that he didn't know why, but every time he saw her, he couldn't help but get closer to see what she was doing.

"Bonus? How much?"

Bao Ya's attention was successfully drawn to the words "bonus," and her eyes lit up as she looked at Fang Mingda with anticipation.

"Uh... well, there probably aren't many."

"How much is a little?"

Lin Baoya persisted, feeling that this was quite important, since she was short of money now and might be even more so in the future, and needed to find a way to make money.

"The specific amount depends on the opinion of higher authorities, which may take a while."

Xu Mingda didn't expect Lin Baoya to be so interested in the prize money. Usually, in this situation, one would just say polite words.

Lin Baoya ignored what he was saying and just rolled her eyes, thinking that she was not only short of money but also short of tickets. Why not discuss with him about splitting the money and tickets in half?

"Could you give me half money and half coupons? After all, you can't spend money without coupons. I'm not picky, I'll take any kind of coupons, whether it's sugar, cloth, or meat. I really don't care at all."

The little girl's bright eyes gleamed with mischief, making Xu Mingda want to laugh. Everyone needed these tickets, yet she wasn't picky. He had no idea what was going on in that little head of hers.

"Okay, I'll try my best to apply for it for you."