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

Seeing that Jiang Yuan was so obedient, Bao Ya felt much relieved.

She divided the money into three parts and put them in several folded boxes, planning to find a reason to bring her in-laws over. On the one hand, they could occupy the house, and on the other hand, they could keep an eye on Jiang Yuan. Even if something happened, they could ask Jiang Tao for help in time.

Before they could even return to the village to tell them about it, Jiang Cheng brought them here together.

"Is your wife busy lately?"

As soon as Jiang Cheng entered the house, he put on his signature smile, especially when he was with Bao Ya. However, his overly attentive smile made Bao Ya wary, sensing that he had come with ill intentions.

"I'm not in a hurry, why do you ask that, Second Brother?"

Bao Ya asked cautiously, her eyes secretly glancing at Liao Chunhua and Jiang Laoshan, sensing that today's events were related to them.

Ge Chunhua frowned, her eyes red, as if she had been crying, while Jiang Laoshan stood silently smoking welding fumes, not uttering a word.

"Second brother, just say what's on your mind, don't beat around the bush."

Jiang Yuan was most annoyed by his second brother's attitude; it was clearly something bad was going on. He was even more curious about why his parents were acting this way, and whether his sister-in-law had upset them.

"Well, the military called. My brother was injured a couple of days ago, and apparently it's quite serious..."

"What? When did this happen?"

Before Jiang Cheng could finish speaking, Jiang Yuan couldn't stand it any longer and immediately stood up, staring straight at Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng sighed helplessly. Couldn't you wait until he finished speaking? Why are you always so impatient?

"Listen to what they have to say. They said the situation is out of danger, but my older brother is still in the hospital. My sister-in-law is going to give birth soon, and they're asking if Mom can go over and help take care of her."

After Jiang Cheng finished speaking, he unconsciously looked at Bao Ya again. Bao Ya didn't quite understand what he meant. What did it have to do with her that her mother-in-law was taking care of her eldest daughter-in-law? She felt that Jiang Cheng was after her.

"Sister-in-law, could you accompany Mother on this trip? She's getting old and has never traveled far before."

After Jiang Cheng finished speaking, Ge Chunhua and Jiang Laoshan both looked up at her expectantly.

What do you mean? It doesn't seem appropriate for me to go by myself, does it?

"Um, second brother, I've never traveled far from home either."

After saying that, Bao Ya lowered her head and stopped looking at them.

As the sister-in-law, it's fine to visit my brother-in-law when he's sick, but there's no need for me to take care of him. And that sister-in-law I've never met, what business is it of mine if she has a baby? I'm not a postpartum nanny, she can't do that kind of work.

"Second brother, why don't you go with Father and Mother? What's the point of having Baoya come along? Besides, if she stays too long, won't Sister-in-law have something to say?"

Jiang Yuan had a very bad impression of this sister-in-law. She always acted superior and looked down on people. Why did his own wife have to go there and suffer such treatment?

Jiang Cheng glanced at the couple and realized he had made a mistake. He shouldn't have called the third son back; he should have spoken to his sister-in-law alone. Thinking this, his eyes darted around.

"Sister-in-law, you see, we don't have much work to do lately. I have to go out on a trip in a few days, so I really can't leave."

"How about this, you go with Mom for a month, and I'll pay you fifty yuan a month. Is that okay?"

Jiang Cheng originally intended to appeal to their emotions and reason with them. But now it seems that talking to his younger brother and sister-in-law about money is more practical.

Talking about money did tempt Bao Ya for a moment, but only a little. Getting her to be a postpartum nanny for fifty yuan was simply a pipe dream.

"Second brother, aren't you contradicting me by saying that? How can you ask for money to help our eldest brother? It's just that as his sister-in-law, I can't possibly take care of my sick brother-in-law. What would people think of me if they found out?"

Also, I'm not close to my sister-in-law, and I've never given birth before, so taking care of her during her postpartum period is unrealistic. How about letting my second sister-in-law go with Mom? Her pregnancy is more stable now, so it shouldn't be a big problem for her to go."

As she spoke, Bao Ya looked at him with a troubled expression. The meaning was clear: if there's anything to be done, your wife should go first; why are you asking her?

They only pay 50 yuan for a caregiver and a postpartum nanny? Is that cheap labor? She can easily find something to do at home and earn just as much as a factory worker.

Jiang Cheng pondered Bao Ya's words. She hadn't directly refused, and hadn't even asked any questions, yet she had thought so clearly about what she wanted to do. Considering her sister-in-law's personality, she probably felt that she hadn't given enough.

"How about one hundred? Is that alright with you, sister-in-law? It's not that I'm making things difficult for you, but even if we go with the third brother, we won't be of much help. We'll only be able to stay for a couple of days before we have to rush back to work. It's really not in time. Your sister-in-law's personality isn't suited for this kind of thing."

Jiang Cheng looked at Bao Ya with a troubled expression, but Bao Ya kept her head down and wouldn't look at him. He thought to himself that if there was no other way, he'd just have to pay more.

He made over three thousand yuan from those batches of underwear in the last two months, but he's only willing to spend one hundred this time. He's so stingy.

"Second brother, why don't you and second sister-in-law go together? I'll go with you. Just don't let Mother and Baoya go. They've never been out of the house before. What if they run into beggars on the way?"

Jiang Yuan was worried about his wife going on a long trip. What if such a beautiful young woman was kidnapped by human traffickers? It would be safer for him to go himself. Although his second sister-in-law wasn't ugly, she was getting on in years.

Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes at Jiang Yuan with disdain. He had chosen Bao Ya not only because she was efficient, but mainly because of her strong-willed nature. He had a feeling that their arrogant sister-in-law might fall for her.

Jiang Cheng sorted out his thoughts again and simply told Bao Ya his idea directly:

"Sister-in-law, our mother has never traveled far from home, and she doesn't get along well with my sister-in-law. I'm worried that she'll suffer if she goes alone, so I thought you could go with her to help out."

You know your second sister-in-law's personality; she's not even as good as our mother.

"Here's what we'll do: you go with Mother, I'll give you a hundred, and my older brother will give you a hundred too. Is that alright?"

Jiang Cheng took the initiative to make the decision for Jiang Tao. Who told him to marry a wife who didn't even respect her mother-in-law? It scared his mother so much that she didn't dare to visit him.

Tsk, it seems this sister-in-law is incredibly powerful, scaring them like this. Is it really necessary? She's actually quite curious now about what kind of person this sister-in-law is.

"One hundred a month."

"What?"

"I said one hundred yuan a month. If it's less than a month, it'll be counted as a month. If it's more than a month, it'll be counted as two months. You and your older brother will be the same. I only guarantee that Mom won't be mistreated. I can't guarantee anything else."

She had calculated it; her sister-in-law hadn't given birth yet, and after giving birth, she would need at least two months of postpartum confinement. Even if she didn't need their help with postpartum care, she would try to stay for a month and a day.

So, by this calculation, she can go out for a trip and earn four hundred yuan on the way back, which is a great deal.

"Also, you'll pay for our round-trip travel expenses and the cost of our stay at the guesthouse."

If you don't get along with the people, you might get kicked out, and you'll have to prepare the money for a guesthouse in advance.

Jiang Cheng was stunned by Bao Ya's request, his mouth agape. He was amazed at how shrewd she was at calculating.

Seeing that Bao Ya had agreed, Jiang Cheng quickly went to find someone to buy tickets, planning to set off in two days.

Jiang Cheng bought three sleeper tickets. Jiang Yuan took a few days off to take the two of them there, while Jiang Laoshan stayed in the city to look after their house.

With everything ready, Jiang Yuan took Bao Ya and Ge Chunhua on the train to the military base.