“Old Third, stop being lazy. Get up, eat. I’ve called you several times already. Why are you still not up!” the woman said as she walked into the room. Seeing that her younger sister was awake but just staring straight at the ceiling, she got even more annoyed and threw a piece of clothing at her. “Stop spacing out. It’s just because Mom said a few words to you. What’s there to feel wronged about? Hurry up and get dressed and eat!”
He Qiutang stared blankly for a moment, then pulled the clothes off her face helplessly and got up to get dressed. No matter what, she should eat first—she was starving.
She had transmigrated into this body last night. When He Qiutang first arrived, she was completely buried under a quilt and almost couldn’t breathe. She was just about to suffocate.
She nearly died from being suffocated the moment she transmigrated—who could she even complain to?
Before transmigration, what was she doing? Of course, she was on a self-driving trip with her husband. They were about to arrive at a hotel when a black car suddenly rushed out, going the wrong way.
Seriously, sir, it’s the middle of the night—could you be more careful driving that black car? Our car was clearly lit up, and you still crashed straight into us! After the crash, you didn’t even call 120 (emergency services), so we might’ve still had a chance to be saved!
When she regained consciousness again, she was already suffocating under a quilt. Because it was late at night, no one noticed anything unusual about He Qiutang, allowing her to slowly accept the original owner’s identity information.
It was now the autumn of 1970, in the capital city. The original owner had just turned eighteen and had graduated from high school. Under current circumstances, she was supposed to go down to the countryside. But her mother, Shen Lanxiang, was absolutely unwilling. In her words: “I worked so hard to marry into the city, I didn’t raise my daughter to send her back to the countryside!”
So Shen Lanxiang used a strategy: delay. Delay as long as possible. After finally managing to stall for some time, they received news that a daily necessities factory was recruiting workers. Shen Lanxiang felt she had made the right move and believed her slow-witted daughter was actually quite lucky.
In Shen Lanxiang’s view, there were three ways to avoid going to the countryside: first, pass a recruitment exam and get a job; second, marry someone and avoid being sent down; third, if she truly couldn’t marry off her daughter, then give her own job to her.
But this silly daughter somehow thought about going down to the countryside with some guy named something Kai after the New Year, which almost drove Shen Lanxiang mad.
Last night at dinner, Shen Lanxiang told her to go take the recruitment exam at the factory in a few days. The original owner argued with her, got scolded, and went back to her room crying under the quilt.
In the eyes of her mother and elder sister, vague love meant nothing compared to a steamed white bun. So crushing the “spark of love” in her daughter’s heart brought them no guilt at all—only the daughter felt wronged.
He Qiutang wanted to say: sister, life in the countryside is not as easy as you think. Going down to the countryside is not a picnic. That guy named Xu Zikai was clearly just deceiving young girls. He wanted her to go down with him because he saw that her family was well-off—three out of four family members were workers. Once in the countryside, they would still receive subsidies, and eventually he could just marry her there.
He Qiutang got dressed and went out. Looking at her mother, brother, and sister who all seemed normal, she sat down at her seat. Glancing at the food on the table, the He family really was doing quite well.
Golden egg custard neatly divided into four portions, clearly for each family member. Pickled vegetables shredded and stir-fried in oil with a few drops of chili oil. Freshly pickled cucumbers. The staple was mixed grain pancakes—He Qiutang took a bite; a bit rough on the throat, but still tasty.
“Eat, eat! If you go to the countryside, you think you’ll still have this food? Cornmeal pancakes would already be good enough!” Shen Lanxiang said, watching her youngest daughter gobble down food, both annoyed and exasperated. She had three children, all of them food lovers—and she knew very well they took after her.
The entire family, under Shen Lanxiang’s management, had stable livelihoods. She worked in a food factory, taking over her late husband’s position after he died in service, along with compensation from the factory.
The eldest daughter He Suqin was a well-known college student in the area, now an official cadre in a textile factory after attending junior college. The second son He Yiyang was excellent in studies, went to a railway technical school, and was now working in the railway system, often traveling by train. Only He Qiutang, the least academically successful, remained.
Shen Lanxiang thought: university, technical school, high school—each one worse than the last. Thank goodness there wasn’t a fourth child, or it would be even more of a headache.
“Mom, I didn’t eat well last night. Just let me eat. You’re right—some things really can’t compare to white steamed buns.” He Qiutang knew very well how hard life in the countryside would be. As for that Xu Kai guy—what did he have to do with her? She might not even be able to adapt to 1970s city life, let alone rural life.
Hearing this, Shen Lanxiang finally felt half relieved. She had already hidden all the family documents, afraid her daughter would act impulsively and go register to go down to the countryside. “And you’re not allowed to look for that Kai guy anymore. I’ve never even heard of him before. If he harasses you again, tell Mom—we’ll report him for hooliganism and send him to the labor farm!”
He Qiutang immediately nodded to reassure her.
“Remember to wash the dishes and clean the house. I’ve left money and ration coupons on the table. Go buy some eggs, and if there’s meat, buy some meat. I’ve also left meat coupons. And remember—no more seeing that Kai guy!”
“Mom, don’t worry, I’ll definitely complete the mission!”
After breakfast, Shen Lanxiang and He Suqin rode their bicycles to work. Their workplaces were far, and the family only had one bicycle, mostly used by the two of them. Meanwhile, He Yiyang packed his luggage.
“Old Third, just listen to Mom, alright? Mom is always right.” He was leaving on a train south at noon and wouldn’t be back for ten or fifteen days.
If He Suqin was the typical strong career woman, then He Yiyang was a total mama’s boy.
He Qiutang almost swore to the heavens that she would definitely listen to her mother. She quickly sent her second brother out the door before he could continue nagging. He even pulled out a handful of fruit candies from his bag to coax her into behaving.