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

At 1:30 a.m., Jiang Yuan got up to prepare for work. Bao Ya wanted to get him something to eat, but after several attempts, she couldn't get him up, so she simply closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

Jiang Yuan made himself something to eat, ate quickly, and went to work.

He locked the main door from the outside and the outer door from the inside. Then he jumped over the wall and went out.

As he walked, he pondered how to find a new job, as it wasn't safe for his wife to be home alone so late at night. He also wanted to hold his wife and sleep until dawn.

The next morning, when Jiang Yuan brought breakfast back, Bao Ya was already up. After they ate breakfast, Bao Ya told him to go back to sleep, and she took her sewing basket to chat with Grandma Liu.

"Baoya, come and see, this is your sister-in-law Chen, she lives at the first house on the west side of the road."

When Grandma Liu saw her, she quickly introduced her to Sister Chen.

"Hello, Sister Chen."

Mrs. Chen looked to be around thirty years old and seemed to have a straightforward personality.

"Oh, good, good, this girl is really pretty."

After greeting them, Bao Ya also moved a small stool and did needlework with them.

She was new here and didn't know many things, so she decided to ask them about the situation and see if there were any ways to make money.

Bao Ya was stumped by the sole and upper of the shoe. Putting on the upper was hard work; she had to poke a hole with an awl first before she could put the needle through.

She tried several times, but each time she missed the mark, leaving her panting and exhausted.

"That won't work. Give it to me and I'll fix it for you."

Sister-in-law Chen couldn't bear to watch any longer, so she took the shoes from Bao Ya's hands and started helping her put on the uppers.

Bao Ya craned her neck to see what Aunt Chen was doing. It looked like she was making velvet flowers.

A block of wood, a clip, and some red yarn.

"Sister-in-law, is this a velvet flower?"

Sister Chen looked at the things on the stool and sighed:

"That's right. The job I took at the supply and marketing cooperative seemed simple at first, but it turned out to be quite different in practice."

Bao Ya got up and switched places with her, picked up her tools, and began to knead the velvet flowers. She had done this before in her past life, and the things she made were much more exquisite.

Evenly sandwich the thread between two thin strands, comb it evenly with a small comb, trim the two sides with scissors, and then roll it with your fingers to form a strip of wool.

The velvet strips were folded back and forth several times, and they became the pattern that Sister Chen had just made.

"Oh, yours is exactly the same as their sample. Why don't you go to the supply and marketing cooperative and take this job?"

Seeing that she was doing a good job, Sister Chen immediately offered her suggestions.

"Me? Then what about in the future...?"

"Sigh, I can't do this job. I've had the materials for a month and I've only made a dozen or so. When I showed them to Director Wang, she pointed out several that were substandard. I'll have to pay extra to finish them."

Hearing her say that, Bao Ya didn't hold back. If someone is doing well, she shouldn't interfere and block their path to making money.

"However, you have to pay for the materials yourself first, and then the supply and marketing cooperative will buy them back at the purchase price."

Grandma Liu, who was listening nearby, suddenly interjected.

"Yes, these tools and thread are from the supply and marketing cooperative. I take fifty at a time and pay five yuan. Once they're done, the cooperative will charge me 15 cents each. I can work on them from now until the fifteenth of the twelfth lunar month."

As Chen's wife spoke, Bao Ya calculated in her mind that fifty of them would earn her two yuan and fifty cents, and at her own pace, she could finish them in less than half a day.

Two yuan and fifty cents a day, twenty-five yuan in ten days, seventy-five yuan a month, more than what you earn at a regular job, this is a good job.

Once she had made up her mind, she told Sister Chen that she wanted to take the job. She also asked for two yuan from Sister Chen's tools.

Sister-in-law Chen readily agreed and said she would take her to the supply and marketing cooperative to find Director Wang later.

She really didn't want to do this job anymore; she was busy all day but couldn't earn any money, and might even have to pay out of pocket.

As the three were chatting, Granny Zhou from across the street came over to join in the fun. Seeing that Bao Ya and Sister Chen were both there, she started making small talk.

The conversation was full of criticism about rural wives like Bao Ya and Sister Chen.

The three people were focused on their work and didn't pay much attention to her, but she acted as if she didn't see them and kept talking to herself.

Just then, a commotion arose outside. The door was not closed, and the four of them looked out. They saw a group of people carrying newly made furniture westward.

"The eldest son of the Ye family, Guosheng, is getting married this weekend."

Grandma Liu looked up and said something. Granny Zhou immediately picked up the conversation:

"That's right, Guosheng and Xiaojiang are only a week apart."

To be honest, Xiao Jiang looks much more energetic than Guo Sheng, and he's much better at choosing a wife than Guo Sheng. Guo Sheng married a saleswoman from a supply and marketing cooperative who gets a monthly salary. His father-in-law is an eighth-grade fitter at a machinery factory…”

When the topic turned to the eighth-grade fitter, Granny Zhou raised her chin high, held up her right hand to make the number eight, and glanced at Bao Ya and Sister Chen, putting on an arrogant air.

"You know, an eighth-grade fitter? They can earn over a hundred yuan a month, tsk tsk tsk, Guosheng is really lucky to have a wife..."

Aunt Chen glanced at her sideways and then went back to work. Grandma Liu tried to interrupt her several times, but she continued.

Bao Ya rolled her eyes at her, then burst into laughter.

This made Granny Zhou laugh so hard she was stunned, and Aunt Chen and Grandma Liu also looked over at her.

"Aunt Zhou, I find you city people quite interesting."

Don't even mention an eighth-grade fitter; even a tenth-grade fitter wouldn't feed or drink you, and they certainly wouldn't let you spend their earnings, yet you still dedicate an ear to listen to their bragging. And after listening, you even help them brag about it—aren't you stupid?

In our village, people wouldn't even mention it if their own son didn't earn a hundred a month.

After saying that, she let out a string of silvery laughter.

Granny Zhou's temples throbbed with embarrassment. Her old face flushed crimson, and she was so choked up she could hardly breathe, almost fainting. She'd been scorned by that brat again.

Grandma Liu and Sister-in-law Chen bit their lower lips tightly, trying not to laugh out loud.

Come to think of it, what business is it of yours how good someone is? Why are you showing off like this?

After finishing the uppers on the two pairs of shoes, Sister Chen took Bao Ya to the supply and marketing cooperative. Bao Ya went home and got ten yuan, and also took the twenty velvet flowers she had made with her.

After inspecting the velvet flowers made by Bao Ya, Director Wang of the supply and marketing cooperative said they were acceptable and settled the bill for Sister Chen.

"Baoya, our local custom is that you have to pay for the velvet flower material yourself, and the supply and marketing cooperative will pay you according to the buyback price when it's recycled. The main problem is that this stuff is prone to breakage, so..."

Bao Ya nodded, indicating her understanding. She then took out ten yuan and decided to buy a hundred this time.

This is different from pasting matchboxes; it requires higher standards. It's only available around the Lunar New Year. If you factor in the losses for each person, the supply and marketing cooperative not only doesn't make a profit, but it also has to pay out of pocket for labor costs.

When Wang Juhua saw that she had agreed, she asked Chen Fang at the counter to get her the materials.

As Chen Fang led them aside to get their materials, Ye Guosheng's mother, Shi Zhenxiang, walked in from outside carrying a lunchbox.