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

For the next few days, Bao Ya kept a close eye on Zhang Ye's beating. After a week, when the police hadn't come looking for them, she finally felt relieved.

According to the information she received, Zhang Ye's kneecap was broken, and even if he recovered, he would be a cripple.

When the police questioned him about what happened that day, he only vaguely explained how he was beaten, why he went there, and what he was doing there.

As for enemies, there were too many. He couldn't explain them clearly, and the police were too lazy to investigate a thug thoroughly, so the matter was eventually dropped.

Not long after, Jiang Cheng came to Bao Ya again to order another batch of bras, this time two hundred pieces.

Those dozens of items were taken to Haishi, where they sold for six yuan each and were gone in no time. He also bought some trendy fabrics from there.

This thing takes up little space, is easy to carry, and is highly profitable; it's much easier than dealing with grains and such.

Two hundred pieces isn't much for Bao Ya. She can cut out several pieces at once, cut, sew, and finally attach hooks, achieving the effect of an assembly line all by herself.

Spring is the season of renewal, and the matchmakers in the neighborhood become very active.

There are eligible young men from the four families across from her house who are seeking marriage partners, especially the Niu family, whose three children are all of marriageable age.

But when the woman heard that he had four sons and only two rooms, she backed out.

Xie Laidi would occasionally try to get close to Bao Ya, her intentions were obvious, she still had her eye on Bao Ya's house.

She'd tried to subtly bring it up with Bao Ya several times, but Bao Ya hadn't responded. Today she came to her again and started nagging.

"Bao Ya, did you know? The neighborhood committee is collecting information on households with spare rooms, planning to help them rent them out."

Xie Laidi tentatively spoke again, stealing a glance at Bao Ya. Grandma Liu and Granny Zhou, standing nearby, also looked at the two of them, knowing that Xie Laidi was up to something and planned to give Bao Ya a hint later.

"Why? Because their houses aren't under the jurisdiction of the neighborhood committee."

These are all private properties with property certificates, so the neighborhood committee shouldn't have any jurisdiction over them.

"Who says otherwise? But I heard that a dairy farm was just built to the east, and the food factory is also expanding. There aren't enough dormitories for employees. Plus, there are many people in our area waiting to be allocated housing. So someone suggested to the neighborhood committee that families with extra houses in the surrounding area should rent them out."

At this point, Xie Laidi paused, leaned closer to Bao Ya, and said:

"I also heard that Zhang Cuifeng specifically mentioned your family to the neighborhood committee, saying that there are only two people in your family..."

When she heard her mention Zhang Cuifeng, Baoya looked up at her and began to think that Zhang Cuifeng might indeed have done such a thing.

I ruined her job; now she's gone from a temporary worker at the neighborhood committee to a toilet cleaner. She must hate herself.

Seeing that Bao Ya had taken it all in, Xie Laidi's face flashed with a hint of smugness, and then she continued:

"If you ask me, instead of letting strangers move in, you might as well rent the house to our eldest son. After all, we've been neighbors for so long and we know each other's temperaments."

Our eldest brother is a very honest person. He does manual labor, is hardworking, and can help with chores both inside and outside the house.

"And with my eldest son around, you won't have to worry about honeycomb briquettes for the winter. He can find a few coworkers to help you make do."

Grandma Liu and Granny Zhou pursed their lips when they heard her words, knowing that this woman was up to something; she was practically obsessed with getting a house.

"That won't do. Putting aside whether we're neighbors, your eldest child is that age, and I'm that age. If we really lived in the same courtyard, who knows what people would say about us?"

Bao Ya didn't even look up, directly giving her reason for refusing. These people were the main gossipmongers in this area; how could she not understand the intricacies involved? She was just pretending not to know.

She didn't want outsiders to live in her house, and she had to keep her cooking a secret. Also, she couldn't let others know about her business with Jiang Cheng.

"Look at what you're saying. None of you are that kind of people. If you think it's not suitable for my eldest son to live here, my husband and I can rent it ourselves.

Bao Ya was rolling her eyes so hard they were practically reaching the sky.

She, Niu Dazhuang, and that old woman Niu who takes advantage of her age and always gives people attitude—is her family lacking an ancestor or something?

Before Bao Ya could refuse, Xie Laidi pressed on, saying:

"You two are living such a comfortable life. If there's always an empty room in the house, your in-laws might move in one day, and then you'll be serving them. It's not as comfortable as living on your own."

Taking care of your in-laws is no easy task; just look at us and you'll see.

You can rent the house to us, so you won't have to take care of your in-laws and you can earn extra money. Isn't that a great thing?

"Your auntie has been through this; she definitely wouldn't lie to you."

Bao Ya couldn't help but laugh. If Xie Laidi had been born in the modern world, she would definitely be a top salesperson. Her words were full of sales techniques: identifying pain points, highlighting selling points, building trust, and closing the deal. She did it all.

Bao Ya secretly gave her a thumbs up in her heart, lamenting that Xie Laidi was born at the wrong time.

However, I really need to consider bringing my in-laws to live with me, even if it's just for a while, and then sending them back after this storm passes.

"Bao Ya, what are you saying?"

Jiang Yuan suddenly called out from behind her, his face now so dark it was almost dripping with water. Xie Laidi had actually tried to sow discord between his parents and his wife.

Bao Ya looked up and saw Jiang Yuan standing beside her. She didn't know when he'd appeared, so she stood up and said to him with a grin:

Aunt Xie told me that it's best not to bring my parents to live with us.

She regrets it terribly now. Grandma Niu is so old, she can't get rid of her, and she can't die either.

They eat a lot but do little, taking up all the space in the house, and now none of their grandsons can get married.

After Bao Ya's rapid-fire chatter, everyone present was stunned. Was that what Xie Laidi meant?

"No, Bao Ya, what's wrong with you...?"

Xie Laidi was a little anxious. Weren't the two of them on good terms? How could their friendship capsize so easily?

Before she could finish speaking, Granny Niu rushed out with a fierce look on her face, holding a rolling pin. Xie Laidi saw that the situation was not good and immediately ran a few steps away.

"Mother, please let me explain, that's not what I meant."

"You heartless bastard, don't think I don't know what you're thinking. If I had known you were this unfilial, even if you slept with my son, I should have made him marry Wen Hehua."

What the hell?

The people who were watching the commotion were stunned. Was the Wen Hehua she was talking about the Wen Hehua next door?

As everyone was wondering, they heard a loud bang, and Wen Hehua, who had been standing at the door, disappeared; her door was now tightly shut.

This was a completely unexpected surprise.

Several people watched with great interest as the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the Niu family played a game of chasing each other.

Old Lady Niu was not yet seventy years old, and was quite healthy, but she usually liked to pretend to be deaf.

But she's not always deaf. If you speak to her nicely, she'll pretend not to hear you. But if you curse at her, she hears it clearly and will chase after you and curse back.

"Hey, this must be Xiao Jiang's older brother."

Bao Ya was engrossed in watching when she heard Grandma Liu exclaim in surprise. Only then did she notice that there were two men in military uniforms following behind Jiang Yuan.

However, the soldier standing at the very back was also stunned when he saw her.