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

Jiang Yuan saw that his wife had already crawled into bed, and he started to get nervous again; his hands, which were unbuttoning his shirt, began to tremble.

He hurriedly took off his shirt, and almost tripped over himself while taking off his pants. His belt buckle hit the ground with a "clang".

This caused Bao Ya to glance at him sideways, then turn her back to him. She thought to herself, "What's there to be nervous about? This grandma won't do anything to you." She considered letting him sleep in the west room tomorrow; it felt awkward.

As she silently complained, a wave of sadness washed over her. She recalled her past life, after a breakup, when her godmother took her to a brothel to broaden her horizons; those male "Buddhists" were all incredibly awful. She had even donated money for incense, yet she hadn't accepted any of the rituals for salvation.

What were I thinking back then? I thought I had upheld my bottom line. Pshaw, I didn't have a single bottom line! I paid for all the hotel rooms with those scumbags and bitches.

Jiang Yuan stripped down to his underwear and tiptoed onto the bed. He reached for the light cord, and the room suddenly went dark.

Lying in his bed, Jiang Yuan's heart was pounding in his chest. He wondered how he could be a wife he'd love, his mind racing with the advice his brothers had given him. He carefully considered his words before speaking:

"Wife, isn't there something we're still missing?"

"What are you doing?"

"Didn't you finish everything?" Bao Ya thought to herself. She had absolutely no patience left for this fake saint. Her bottom line was respecting his hobbies.

"Um, cough... how about we give it a try..."

As he spoke, Jiang Yuan's trembling hand reached for his wife...

"Hey, be gentle! Can't you even do this?"

"No, how could you do that?"

"My grandma taught me, but your mom didn't teach you yesterday?"

“…………”

After their souls and bodies intertwined, Bao Ya nestled in Jiang Yuan's arms, giggling. She wasn't lying; yesterday, Old Lady Su had blushed and lectured her on the precautions for married life, and she had paid the price with two slaps.

Stroking the double doors beneath her, Bao Ya felt that her time travel had temporarily paid off. This male bodhisattva's skills needed improvement, but his physique was absolutely top-notch.

Jiang Yuan was also reflecting on his experience, realizing he needed more practice; he was too inexperienced, and his wife kept laughing at him. Thinking about it, he became eager to try again.

In the morning, when it was already bright, Jiang Yuan picked up the watch next to his pillow and looked at it; it was not yet seven o'clock.

He turned to look at his wife, who was sleeping soundly in his arms, and couldn't help but smile. He tucked her in, then whispered in her ear:

"Honey, what would you like to eat for breakfast?"

Steamed buns, soy milk, fried dough sticks...

Bao Ya didn't even open her eyes before casually saying a few things.

"Okay, I'll go buy it right away."

Jiang Yuan steeled himself and got up to get dressed. He still had to go to this lousy job, and he was a little reluctant to leave his little wife behind.

After getting dressed and washing his face, Jiang Yuan picked up his lunchbox, pushed his bicycle, and went out.

"Xiao Jiang, going to work so early?"

Grandma Liu, who was carrying a chamber pot next door, ran into Jiang Yuan, who was out buying breakfast, at the gate.

"Good morning, Grandma Liu. It's not time for work yet. I'm going to buy some breakfast."

Jiang Yuan shook the lunchbox in the net bag, then rode his bicycle toward the state-run restaurant.

"Tsk, this wife is so lazy. It's so late, and she hasn't even cooked for Xiao Jiang. It's no good to have an elder in the family."

Old Mrs. Zhou, who lived diagonally across the street, was muttering to herself with a pursed mouth, and all the neighbors passing by could hear her clearly.

"Whether other people get up or not is none of your business. Mind your own business first."

Grandma Liu glanced at Granny Zhou across from her and said that she hated this old woman the most, always gossiping behind people's backs.

After saying that, Grandma Liu turned around and went into her own yard.

Granny Zhou grunted twice and then fell silent. Shi Zhenxiang, who came from behind, nudged her arm.

"What's wrong? What are you talking about?"

"It's nothing. The Jiang family's new daughter-in-law hasn't gotten up yet. I just said a few words, and that old Liu woman immediately defended her. What does it have to do with her?"

At this moment, Granny Zhou lowered her voice to a level that only the two of them could hear.

"Aren't all country wives hardworking? How come this one is so lazy?"

"She looks like a little vixen. I think Jiang Yuan's interest is just temporary. Who knows what will happen after this period of time? There's no food ration. He'll have a lot to worry about after she has a child. She's nowhere near as good as my niece."

The two of them carried the chamber pot and murmured to themselves for a long time before finally going home to eat, satisfied.

A short while later, Jiang Yuan returned with breakfast. He placed the lunchbox on the octagonal table in the main room and went inside to check on Bao Ya, who had just gotten up and was getting dressed.

"I bought it early, you can eat it after you wash up."

The two were a little awkward when they saw each other; the process of going from being somewhat familiar to being completely open with each other was rather fast.

Jiang Yuan felt a little hot when he saw his wife looking at him, so he simply went inside, squatted down, and put socks on her.

Tsk, a male bodhisattva who doesn't charge a penny, and the service is this attentive? Thinking this, Bao Ya couldn't help but curl the corners of her mouth into a smile.

Seeing his wife happy, Jiang Yuan hurriedly went to pour her water to wash her face.

After washing up, Bao Ya sat at the table, looking at the breakfast she had bought: four fried dough sticks, four steamed buns, and a lunchbox of soy milk.

"Hurry up and eat, or you'll be late."

Jiang Yuan checked his watch; there was still half an hour left.

"It's okay, it's close by, only five minutes away. I'll just go in through the side door."

The alley to the west of his house leads directly to the back gate of the meat processing plant.

Bao Ya didn't know where the small door he was talking about was, but seeing that he wasn't in a hurry, she didn't care either.

The two started eating breakfast, chatting casually.

Are you coming back for lunch?

"Come back. I'll just make some porridge for lunch. The factory has meat and vegetables today. I'll bring some back so we can eat together."

"it is good."

"I'll go back to your parents' home with you tomorrow. The gifts for the return visit are in the cupboard in the west room. See if that's enough. If not, I'll go buy more this afternoon. If you need anything, just ask Grandma Liu in the east courtyard."

"Okay, I understand."

Bao Ya nodded as she ate. It was best that he had arranged everything; she didn't even know where to buy things herself.

After finishing breakfast, Jiang Yuan rushed off to work. Bao Ya washed the dishes on the table, then wandered around the rooms, unsure of what to do next.

Finally, she found a few small bags in the storeroom and collected the dried vegetables from the yard. Then she looked at the chicken coop in the backyard and asked her adoptive father to come over when she had some free time to build a stove for her against the west wall and renovate the chicken coop in the backyard.

I don't know if it's allowed to raise chickens here, but since no one can see from the backyard, it shouldn't be a problem to secretly raise a couple. If they're discovered, we can just slaughter them for meat.

"Little Jiang's wife, what are you busy with?"

Looking in the direction of the sound, one could see an elderly woman with gray hair peeking out from behind the east wall.

"It's nothing, just tidying up a bit. You must be Grandma Liu."

"Yes, why don't you come with me to the supply and marketing cooperative and take a walk around this street to get to know the people?"

Bao Ya knew that Jiang Yuan had asked Grandma Liu for help, so she smiled and said to Grandma Liu:

"Okay, I'm free right now. Grandma Liu, should I buy some candy to share with everyone?"

"No need, Jiang Yuan's mother already distributed them yesterday. You just need to come with me for a walk. We're not going to their house, so there's no need to take anything."

Upon hearing what Grandma Liu said, Bao Ya immediately closed the door, locked the outer gate, and followed Grandma Liu out.