“Your jealous face is really ugly. A girl like me—rich and pretty—do you really think I’d have trouble finding a partner? If you ask me, you should hurry up and find someone. Otherwise, a high school graduate with no job like you should be sent down to the countryside!” Chen Xiaolin said, looking at He Yingying’s puffed-up, angry face, finding it rather amusing. Actually, He Yingying wasn’t a bad person, but for some reason she always liked picking on her, as if Chen Xiaolin had stolen the man she secretly admired.
“Chen Xiaolin, just you wait—hmph!” Hitting a sore spot, He Yingying felt so upset she was on the verge of tears. In fact, she had already signed up to be sent down to the countryside today. Because of that, she was in a terrible mood and had come to the state-owned restaurant hoping a serving of braised pork would cheer her up. Who would’ve thought she’d run into her archenemy, Chen Xiaolin?
Chen Xiaolin shook her head helplessly. He Yingying wasn’t worth worrying about—someone like her, a spoiled girl with a simple mind, was at most sharp-tongued.
“Sister, one serving of braised pork and a bowl of rice, please.” Chen Xiaolin scanned the blackboard on the wall and saw that today’s menu only included braised pork, braised fish, stir-fried shredded potatoes, dumplings, beef noodles, steamed buns, and rice.
“That’ll be one yuan and seventy fen, plus half a pound of meat coupons and two liang of grain coupons. When it’s ready, come get it yourself.” The state-owned restaurant server collected the money and coupons expressionlessly and handed Chen Xiaolin a numbered tag.
Chen Xiaolin found a seat and sat down. She was quite curious about what state-owned restaurants in the 1970s were like.
After a while, she finally heard, “Braised pork and rice are ready—come get them.”
Looking at the glossy, red-brown braised pork, Chen Xiaolin picked up a piece and put it in her mouth. No wonder it was a must-order dish in period novels—rich but not greasy, melting the moment it touched her tongue.
She ate mouthfuls of braised pork with rice, finishing the entire plate and bowl in no time. Satisfied, she let out a full burp.
Leaving the state-owned restaurant, Chen Xiaolin planned to go check in at the scrap recycling station.
There were two scrap recycling stations in the capital: one in the east of the city and one in the west. The eastern one was about two kilometers past Chen Xiaolin’s home.
Without a bicycle, she could only walk. After nearly half an hour, she finally reached her destination.
Same kind of scrap station, same type of old man—the worker at the eastern scrap recycling station was also a small elderly man in his sixties or seventies.
“Grandpa, may I go in and look for some textbooks and newspapers?” Chen Xiaolin took a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket and handed it to the old man sitting at the entrance.
“Sure. Go in and look for yourself. When you’re done, come out and we’ll weigh them and you can pay. Just remember not to take anything you shouldn’t,” the old man said, quickly accepting the cigarettes and opening the door for her.
Inside, everything had already been sorted into categories. Chen Xiaolin decided to start with the area where newspapers and textbooks were stored.
After searching for quite a while, she found a complete set of self-study books for mathematics, physics, and chemistry. It was already 1970—there were only seven years left before the college entrance exam would be reinstated.
She set the books aside, then planned to look for some comic books. When she went back to the countryside, she could give them as gifts. She had four older male cousins, and who knew how many nieces and nephews they’d had—she’d better take more, or there wouldn’t be enough to go around!
Whenever Chen Xiaolin came across medical books, cookbooks, or thread-bound volumes, she quietly put them into her space. These books couldn’t see the light of day for now.
Before long, she finished searching the room. She’d collected several medical texts and cookbooks—one of them was even an illustrated Compendium of Materia Medica. It was perfect, since she planned to gather medicinal herbs and earn a little extra money once she returned to the countryside.
The rooms next door were all locked, so there was no way to treasure-hunt there. She could only carry out the set of science self-study books and a stack of newspapers.
“Grandpa, could you help me weigh these books and newspapers?”
“Just give me one yuan. And you can have this burlap sack too,” the old man said casually after a quick glance. He quite liked diligent, studious kids like her.
“Thank you.” Chen Xiaolin took out one yuan and handed it to him, then stuffed the books into the burlap sack and left.
After walking a bit with the sack, she waited until no one was nearby and then transferred all the books from the sack into her space.
On the way back, she happened to pass the neighborhood office. She figured she might as well rent out her house today.
“Xiaolin, what brings you here? I was planning to go check on you later!” Liu Aihong, the deputy director of the neighborhood office, was a friend of Chen Xiaolin’s mother. Her son had just gotten married a few days ago, so she hadn’t had time to visit Chen Xiaolin.
“Auntie Liu, I’m planning to rent out my house and then go back to my hometown,” Chen Xiaolin said. From her memories, she knew Auntie Liu treated the original owner very well. Because Liu Aihong was so familiar with her, Chen Xiaolin was a little afraid she might notice something off.
“Why would you want to go back to your hometown? You’re a martyr’s child—the government will arrange a job for you,” Liu Aihong said sincerely. She really didn’t want Chen Xiaolin to go to the countryside, worried that someone pampered since childhood wouldn’t be able to endure rural hardships. And without her nearby, if anything happened, she wouldn’t be able to help in time.
“My dad wanted me to go back. He said it’s not safe for me to stay here alone, and my grandparents are still in my hometown—they’ll take care of me,” Chen Xiaolin said. Although she didn’t actually plan to live with her grandparents, she couldn’t say that outright without worrying Auntie Liu.
“Alright then. How about you rent the house to me? Your Brother Jianguo is getting married and doesn’t have a place to live yet. I’ll give you fifteen yuan a month,” Liu Aihong said. She’d been looking for a house for her son anyway—this was perfect timing.
“No need for that much. Ten yuan is fine. Auntie Liu, you don’t need to subsidize me—I’m not short on money,” Chen Xiaolin said. She was already a small rich lady. If it weren’t to give herself a reasonable excuse to eat better later, she wouldn’t really want anyone else living in her house.
“Alright then,” Liu Aihong agreed after a moment’s thought. She knew Chen Xiaolin’s parents had earned good wages and must have left her a fair amount of money.
“I’ll bring you the keys in a couple of days, and I’ll come by then to transfer my household registration as well. I’ll head back now—I still need to pack,” Chen Xiaolin said, not daring to interact with Liu Aihong too much for fear she’d notice the difference from before.
“Take these foods back with you. I was going to bring them to you after work anyway,” Liu Aihong said. She’d brought a big bag of food with her that morning, planning to visit Chen Xiaolin after work.