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

Tan Xinmin listened to her words, which were unreasonable, yet every word made sense.

After a divorce, who would want the other to be happy, especially when things are so tense now?

None of the Li family members were easy to deal with, so it was best to just end things once and for all, saving them a lot of trouble.

"Xiao Lin, you're still young. You can't live like this. There's no deep conflict between them, and this marriage doesn't have to end in divorce."

Your sister got divorced at such a young age, she'll inevitably be gossiped about in the future...

Before Hou Longteng could finish speaking, Bao Ya interrupted him directly:

"Boss, what era are we living in? How can you still have such thoughts? No wonder Li Qiang doesn't take his wife seriously. It turns out the root of the problem lies with you."

What does it mean to say there aren't any deep conflicts? These are all conflicts.

Bao Ya pointed at the Li family members with her hand and continued:

"Are they going to die any minute or what?"

Let's put it this way. If my sister gets divorced, she can get a settlement. She has a job, and even with a child to raise, she has her family to support her. How hard could life be?

If I don't get a divorce, I won't have a penny, and I'll even have to pay ten yuan of my salary to their family. I'll have to serve their whole family every day and I'll be constantly annoyed.

Think about it yourself, if it were you, would you divorce him or not?

Everyone present began to ponder her words, and it seemed to be true. Divorce had so many advantages. How come they hadn't thought of that?

The meeting room fell silent again.

Even though Han Xinmin is a man of many experiences, he has never encountered anyone who has explained the benefits of divorce so specifically. He guesses even his wife would want a divorce if she knew.

Seeing that they were all silent, Bao Ya gave the two leaders a disdainful look and continued:

"Let's stop wasting time. If you can't solve the problem, call their factory leaders tomorrow and we'll go to the city bureau to resolve it."

You're all so slow and inefficient; you have no sincerity whatsoever.

Bao Ya got fed up with talking to them; these two leaders were incompetent and couldn't solve the problem.

"Aunt, let's go to the Municipal Bureau this afternoon. Their work is incompetent; it's a complete waste of our time."

"Look at you, so capable, going to the Municipal Public Security Bureau? Do you even know which way the gate opens?"

Seeing that the two leaders were trying to reconcile them, Li's mother became bolder and made sarcastic remarks.

"I not only know which way the city bureau gate opens, but I also know that your youngest son and Zhao Xiaotao work at the light bulb factory."

Later, I'll go to their gate and put up some big-character posters, exposing all three of them's adultery, and see if anyone comes to punish you.

"You, you're talking nonsense! That's not true! Stop spouting this rubbish."

"Whether or not you almost drove my sister to her death is not up to you to decide. Everyone has a brain and can think for themselves."

"Who forced her to her death? A hen that can't lay eggs should have been let go long ago."

"You may be able to lay eggs, but do you even know who these eggs are for? He's always thinking about his sister-in-law, he can't even get on his wife's bed, what kind of eggs can he lay?"

"You, you little bitch, I'll fight you to the death!"

As she spoke, Li's mother climbed onto the table again, intending to hit Bao Ya. She had only climbed halfway when Bao Ya took out the police baton she had hidden underneath and struck her arm with it.

"Aww~"

Li's mother winced in pain and withdrew her hand. Li Qiang quickly pulled her back to check on her.

"Bao Ya, haven't you made enough of a scene? My family's affairs are none of your business."

Before Bao Ya could speak, the door was pushed open with a bang.

"Can I interfere? Li Qiang, my daughter is determined to get a divorce. You have to get a divorce whether you like it or not."

Liu Damei stood at the door, her gaze resolute, as if she had mustered all her courage.

"Mom, how could you say that?"

Li Qiang was getting anxious. He didn't understand why everyone was hoping for his marriage to get divorced.

"Do you know what my daughter has suffered in your house all these years? Your mother, that shameless old woman, is always sniffing your clothes. Do you know how disgusting my daughter feels?"

Your family lives in a small place. Every time you two sleep together, your mother gives my daughter a hard time the next day, cursing and saying that it's shameful for her to do that with you.

She's not vulgar at all; she'll even smell your underwear several times.

Huiru couldn't stand staying in that house anymore and was hoping you could move out when you got your own rooms. But what did you do? You're about to hand the house over to your younger brother and sister-in-law.

My daughter can't stand living like this in your house anymore. You need to divorce her right now, or I'll tell the whole world about all the disgusting things your mother has done.

Liu Damei's words stunned everyone present. What was that? Had they misheard? Was this something they were supposed to hear?

Li Qiang, in particular, stood there dumbfounded, completely numb. How could his mother do that?

After Liu Damei finished speaking, tears streamed down her face like a burst dam. What kind of life was her daughter living?

She was in the next room and couldn't hear what they were saying.

However, if even Bao Ya, who is not related to Hui Ru by blood, can be so willing to go all out, how can she, as her mother, hide behind and not come out?

"So you not only had an affair with your sister-in-law, but also with your mother... tsk, your family is way too open."

Bao Ya summarized her remarks. While such a strong attachment to one's son was common in later generations, it was considered extremely shocking in this era.

Li's mother rolled her eyes and fainted on the spot.

"mom……"

Li Yong and Li Na rushed over to help him up, but Li Qiang stood there motionless.

Tan Xinmin and Hou Longteng were completely stunned. Even with their extensive experience, they were deeply shocked.

In the end, Li's mother still gave Xu Huiru two thousand yuan.

Xu Huiru did not divorce Li Qiang; they moved to the newly allocated house.

Since then, Li Qiang has dared not spend time alone with his mother. Every time he visits her, he puts down his things, stays for two minutes, and then leaves.

Li Qiang's younger brother, Li Yong, felt ashamed, and Zhao Xiaotao felt disgusted whenever she saw Li's mother. So, the two of them applied to their workplaces to work elsewhere.

Li Na quickly found a man of modest means and married him, and never contacted her mother again after that.

The matter concerning the Li family ended abruptly. The leaders of the police station warned those present not to go out and talk about it, and everyone avoided it like the plague, tacitly refraining from mentioning the Li family's affairs again.

Bao Ya never expected that her first setback in the city would be in the bathhouse of the meat processing plant.

The meat processing plant has a staff bathhouse, and workers are given bath tickets every month.

Jiang Yuan usually showers in the small bathroom in the slaughterhouse. The slaughterhouse has its own boiler, since hot water is needed to remove pig hair. He gives the monthly shower tickets to Bao Ya.

Bao Ya was annoyed the first time she went to the bathhouse. There were no partitions between the faucets, just a large expanse of white skin, and all the women, regardless of their size, had their naked bodies completely exposed.

The woman next to her was very talkative, and she chatted with all the women around her. Bao Ya felt like she was in a pond, surrounded by countless ducks quacking.

Somehow, the conversation turned to her. A group of older women looked her up and down, saying her skin was so tender and white, and marveling at Jiang Yuan's good fortune. Feeling annoyed, she quickly finished her shower and came out of the bathhouse.

Within a few days, the news of Jiang Yuan's wife's fair and tender skin spread throughout the factory, and this time even Jiang Yuan's face darkened.

Bao Ya didn't recognize the naked woman in the bathroom, and couldn't find anyone to take revenge on.