In the book, the female supporting role dreams of being an idle fish

"We are grateful for your kindness. When our elder brother and his wife were alive, they treated us well. His wife even taught you how to sew and tailor."

"Big brother taught you kung fu and protected you. He is not a stingy and selfish person. He doesn't hide the things he bought for his own use."

"We've received the patronage of our eldest sister-in-law and eldest brother. We're raising these three children as a way of repaying their kindness. Only by taking the job will your sister-in-law have a legitimate reason to stay."

"Think about it carefully. What's more, if I go to the countryside, can you guarantee that you will be willing to support these three children?"

"Your sister-in-law and I have jobs together, so this family won't break up."

"Let these three children live on the streets? I can't do such a thing, and neither can you. If you could do it, you wouldn't have taken care of the third child so badly in the two years since the eldest sister-in-law passed away."

"Lixia has always been an excellent student since childhood, always at the top of her class. She is qualified for this job. This is the best of both worlds."

Jiang Wen paused and spoke again.

"Of course, there's nothing I can do if you don't understand. After all, you're still young. You're only 14 years old and in fifth grade this year. You won't be entering junior high school until the end of the year."

"I still don't know how I'll do on the exam. Will I even be able to pass? It would be best if I passed on the first try, so it would be easier to find a job after I graduate from high school."

"Your sister-in-law and I plan to let your sister-in-law take the position first. After you graduate from high school, you won't go to the countryside yet."

"Take over the job first. By then, your sister-in-law might have given birth and said she's not feeling well and needs to stay home to take care of the child."

"This way you can stay in the city with a legitimate reason. You're 14 years old this year, and there are brothers and sisters in our family compound who went to the countryside."

"What do they look like when they come back? You've seen it too. Chilblains on their hands, fatigue on their faces. They look several years older."

"You are also a good child with a clear mind and good eyes. I believe you have seen all of this. Your sister-in-law is treated very badly at home."

"She was a pitiful girl. She only started primary school at the age of 11. She always ranked first in her grade in exams, but her family still didn't want her to go to school and wanted to sell her for money."

"Her mother is a typical example of someone who grew up in the countryside and never received a single day of education. She always calls you a cheap girl and a lazy person."

Then he changed the subject, "On Sunday, we'll go back to the village. One reason is to go back to see my parents and my eldest brother and his wife, and the other reason is that Lixia and I are newlyweds after all. I plan to have the cabinets and other things made directly by Zhao the carpenter in the village, and I'll pay for them."

After hearing Jiang Wen's words, the three children and Jiang Xiu all burst into tears. Jiang Huainan choked up and said, "Uncle, I believe you, and I believe Auntie too."

"I'll go to the factory with you this afternoon. I have no objection to the work. Grandpa's job is Grandpa's... In fact, I heard it the other day. Let your aunt do the work. I'll take over after I graduate from high school."

After Jiang Huainan finished speaking, Xiu'er also opened her mouth and said intermittently: "Second brother...you know what kind of person I am."

"I'm not stupid. I'll also write a letter of guarantee. I'll say that if I can't keep this job, I'll leave it vacant and let Huainan take over when he grows up."

"Although I am also my father's child, it has always been passed down from father to son, not from daughter to daughter. I know that."

"I'll listen to you. In the past, we all listened to Big Brother and Dad. From now on, I'll listen to you on all family matters."

After listening to his nephew and sister, Jiang Wen said, "There was a total of 869 left in the money jar, along with some bills and 64 cents in change."

"Marrying a wife is the responsibility and obligation of parents. We already have a bicycle, a radio and a sewing machine at home, and we won't separate them. These are the four most popular wedding items nowadays."

"I'm planning to buy Lixia a watch this afternoon, a Shanghai brand. The sewing machine will cost an additional 200 yuan. We're not having a wedding banquet, so that's 100 yuan. The betrothal gift is 66 yuan. And I don't know how much the cabinets will cost, so I've already deducted 366 yuan."

"Besides, ever since we had you three children, we haven't been able to save up any cloth or cotton coupons. We only have one new single-size quilt, so Lixia and I will make do with it. After dinner, I'll go find Lixia to get the marriage certificate."

"Huainan, clean up the pots and pans. Xiu'er, change into your going-out clothes, and change Lao San's clothes as well. After we get the marriage certificate, we'll go to the factory to complete the paperwork."

"Before the night gets too long and dreams arise, some leader might secretly sell our jobs. This has happened many times over the years, and we can't put it off any longer."

After saying this, Jiang Wen stood up, took his household registration book, went to the street office, got a marriage certificate, and walked out to Lixia's home.

Gu Lixia, sitting at the Gu family's dinner table, was lost in the memories of the original owner again.

In this era, children who start school early start first grade at the age of eight, and those who start school late start at the age of nine.

In order to take care of her younger brother, she was 12 years old before she could go to school with her 9-year-old brother.

There she was, still knitting insoles, watching her nine-year-old brother, about to start school, playing under a tree. Neighbors in the housing estate asked her, "Why aren't you in school yet? Women hold up half the sky these days. Now that we're liberated, you should go to school too."

"If you don't go to school and stay at home to take care of your brother, your brother will grow up and go to school, and he won't need you to take care of him anymore, so your mother will send you to another family."

"Go and beg your mom. Your mom is a very proud person. Wait until Sunday, when they come out to chat and it's time to cook, you should prepare the meal first, then come out and call your mom."

"There were a lot of people there at the time, so you asked your mother, 'When can you go to school? Can you still go to school?'"

"Just tell your mother that going to school won't interfere with your housework and taking care of your younger brother. Your mother will definitely let you go."

"If you can't do that, just go to the factory and make a scene. If your mother insists on not sending you to school, no one will care unless you sue her. Go to the factory and cry. There's a women's director there, and she'll help you."

The original owner knew that it was useless to quarrel with her mother Liu Xiaocao.

I followed Gu Laosan directly to the food factory.

Thanks to the help of the women's director, the original owner began to live a school life. After school, she ran back home and had to do laundry, cook, and serve her brother, father, mother, and younger brother. She was a complete pitiful thing.

Every time there was an entrance examination, the parents were afraid that the younger brother would fail, so they told him in advance that he should write his name on the completed test paper first, and after he finished writing, they would exchange the test paper with his brother.

But we couldn't take exams together every time. My younger brother had to repeat a grade since the third grade because they were assigned to two different exam rooms, which separated me from my younger brother.