What He Dajie had just said was not meant to target He Yingying. She was simply feeling a little wronged. She had not genuinely intended to pick on her sister-in-law.
Strictly speaking, between their family and the second brother’s family, their own family should have been closer to He Yingying. Her husband, as the eldest brother, had always treated his younger sister well. He was nearly eleven years older than Yingying. When she married him, Yingying had only been eight years old. Her husband had practically raised his little sister like a daughter, sometimes acting even more like a father to her than their own father did.
In fact, her husband had just defended Yingying and scolded her for her words.
The second brother wasn’t bad to his younger sister either, but compared with the eldest brother, he was nowhere near as close.
So, logically speaking, how could He Yingying favor the second brother’s family?
In the past, it wasn’t a big deal. She would simply give the second brother’s daughter a few extra bites of snacks or a few more pieces of candy. Although He Dajie wasn’t particularly happy about it, she could tolerate it. After all, most of the things Yingying brought home were divided equally by their mother-in-law, and her own sons didn’t really lose out.
But this time was different.
The thing Yingying had given the second brother’s daughter was a rare metal pencil case. Anyone could tell that it wasn’t cheap.
What made He Dajie feel even worse was seeing her own son staring at it longingly, obviously envious of the pencil case.
Right now, it was only a metal pencil case. Who knew what Yingying might favor the second brother’s family with in the future?
People in the countryside were poor. There were only so many things in a household. If someone ate one more bite, someone else might have to eat one less. As a mother, she naturally wanted to protect her children from losing out.
That was why He Dajie was always comparing her family with the second brother’s family. She wasn’t doing it for herself. She was doing it for her children.
That was exactly why she’d gotten hot-headed earlier and blurted those words out.
He Dajie wasn’t a bad person. She was simply straightforward and sometimes spoke without thinking. If she were the scheming type, she would have been causing chaos at home every day, deliberately driving a wedge between her husband, Yingying, and the second brother’s family.
She had simply gotten stuck in a moment of resentment and said something she shouldn’t have. After her mother-in-law reprimanded her, she immediately felt embarrassed.
She had never had any problem with He Yingying. When she had married into the family, Yingying was still very young, but she had always been sensible. Unlike many sisters-in-law relationships where the younger sister-in-law took advantage of their mother’s favoritism to bully the older brother’s wife, Yingying had never done anything like that.
On the contrary, she often helped her sister-in-law with chores. Before Yingying got married, she frequently helped take care of her nephews too.
Even after getting married, Yingying had never forgotten her maternal family. She genuinely cared about the He family and had always treated both her eldest brother’s and second brother’s families generously.
There wasn’t another married daughter in the village who treated her family as well as He Yingying did.
Just as her mother-in-law had said, the only reason Yingying gave Rou Rou a little extra attention was because Rou Rou was the only girl in the entire family. Other than that, she treated all of her nephews—including those from the second brother’s family—the same.
She had never really favored one child over another.
A good aunt like her was hard to find.
This time, she’d only given Rou Rou a metal pencil case. Yingying had already explained that Jia Jia had bought it herself with her own pocket money as a gift for her cousin. It wasn’t Yingying deliberately treating the children differently.
And when He Dajie thought about it more carefully, she had given birth to another son last year. Her family now had four boys, while the second brother’s family had two boys and one girl.
When she thought about everything Yingying usually brought for the two families, the amounts were actually about the same. If anything, her own family might even have received slightly more.
The more He Dajie thought about it, the more regretful she became.
Her mother-in-law’s words had made her cheeks burn with embarrassment.
She felt as though she’d been blinded by greed.
Why had she been so dissatisfied?
“Yingying, I was wrong just now,” He Dajie said, her face flushed with embarrassment. “I don’t know what came over me. I blurted everything out before I even had time to think. Please don’t take it to heart. I’m sorry.”
He Yingying knew exactly what kind of person her sister-in-law was, and she hadn’t taken the earlier words seriously.
In fact, now that her sister-in-law had apologized, Yingying felt that she was the one who had done something wrong.
She really had been favoring Rou Rou a little.
And this time, the gift was a metal pencil case—not some insignificant little thing. She had given one to Rou Rou but nothing to her other nephews.
It was understandable that her sister-in-law would feel uncomfortable.
Wasn’t this exactly what Yingying herself had understood since childhood? People didn’t necessarily fear having less; they feared being treated unfairly.
When she was young, she had often felt miserable because her grandmother was particularly partial to her eldest uncle’s family.
How could she have ended up doing the same thing herself?
When the He family had still been living together and her grandmother was alive, the old woman had openly favored the eldest uncle’s family. Because Yingying’s father had married her mother instead of marrying one of Grandma’s own nieces, the old woman had treated their family coldly and had caused her mother, as the daughter-in-law, plenty of hardship.
Her two older brothers were at least grandsons, so their grandmother still cared about them to some extent. She didn’t dote on them, but she didn’t beat or scold them either.
But Yingying, the granddaughter her grandmother considered a useless girl who would eventually marry out of the family, was treated very differently.
Her grandmother had never treated her kindly.
If her mother and eldest brother hadn’t protected her, her childhood would have been much harder.
Because of those experiences, He Yingying had become extremely rebellious as she grew up.
The more her grandmother insisted that girls were worthless and that daughters were nothing but burdens, the more determined Yingying became to prove her wrong.
After having a daughter of her own, she came to love girls even more. In her eyes, girls were far better than boys!
That was also why she had a special soft spot for her niece Rou Rou.
Rou Rou reminded her somewhat of herself as a child.
Although Rou Rou was the only daughter in her family, her father didn’t particularly value her.
Yingying had at least had her mother and eldest brother protecting her when she was young. Although her father hadn’t treated her especially well, her mother and eldest brother had loved her dearly.
Rou Rou wasn’t so lucky.
Her parents—Yingying’s second brother and second sister-in-law—clearly favored their two sons more. They weren’t cruel to Rou Rou, but they certainly couldn’t be called particularly loving toward her either. Their attitude toward their daughter was similar to that of most families in this era. They didn’t treat her like a precious treasure.
If it weren’t for her grandmother’s affection for Rou Rou, the girl might not even have been allowed to attend school.
Because of all this, He Yingying couldn’t help feeling more pity for Rou Rou.
Whenever she came home with food or other useful things, she would unconsciously give Rou Rou a little more.
She hadn’t noticed anything wrong with it before.
But after what her sister-in-law had said today, she realized that her behavior really had been inappropriate.
She had been favoring Rou Rou too much.
Why had Jia Jia bought a gift for Rou Rou this time?
It was because Yingying often mentioned Rou Rou when talking to her daughter.
She rarely mentioned her other nephews.
So, in a way, she herself had caused this situation.
It really wasn’t fair.
Especially since her eldest brother had always treated her so well. If she treated his sons worse than she treated Rou Rou, it was only natural that her sister-in-law would feel hurt.
Thinking about this, He Yingying was actually a little grateful to her sister-in-law.
Those words had awakened her.
If her sister-in-law hadn’t spoken up, everyone might have continued silently accepting her favoritism without saying anything.
Yingying said somewhat embarrassedly, “Sister-in-law, what are you talking about? I should be the one apologizing to you. I really didn’t think this through this time.”
He Dajie already felt that her earlier words had made her look greedy and unreasonable.
Now that her sister-in-law was apologizing to her, she felt even more uncomfortable and ashamed.
She hurriedly waved her hands.
“No, no. Yingying, you don’t need to apologize to me. Just like Mom said, giving something is a matter of affection; not giving something is simply your right. Every time you’ve come home before, you’ve brought something for all the children. You’ve never once come empty-handed. I should have been grateful then, but instead I’m complaining now that I didn’t get enough. I’m the one being greedy. Really, don’t take what I said just now to heart. I was just talking nonsense.”
Seeing that her daughter and daughter-in-law had made up, He Mu was finally satisfied.
Her eldest daughter-in-law was actually a good woman. She handled both the household and outside matters well. Although she didn’t get along particularly well with the second daughter-in-law, she never deliberately caused trouble. She was also very respectful toward her mother-in-law.
So, although He Mu had defended her daughter just now, publicly reprimanding her eldest daughter-in-law had indeed been somewhat harsh.
After thinking about it, He Mu said, “Although what the eldest daughter-in-law said at first wasn’t quite right, I still have to praise her for one thing. If something is bothering you, say it directly. Don’t keep it bottled up overnight. What happened just now was actually good. Look, once you talked it out, wasn’t the problem solved?
“Being willing to speak openly also shows that the eldest daughter-in-law is straightforward.
“So, from now on, if anyone in this family has a problem or feels unhappy about something, do what the eldest daughter-in-law did and say it right away. If we can solve it, we’ll solve it. Don’t keep things bottled up inside.”
The second daughter-in-law secretly curled her lips.
Her eldest sister-in-law had just said something like that, and now Mom was actually praising her?
What did she mean by “straightforward”?
Wasn’t it simply that she couldn’t stand seeing Yingying treat Rou Rou so well and had become jealous?
But she certainly wasn’t going to say that aloud and get herself criticized too.
So she obediently nodded along with everyone else.
It was only then that He Erge finally came sleepily out of the bedroom.
He had no idea what had happened in the main room. He had been taking his afternoon nap.
Working in the fields during the day was exhausting. Whenever he had the chance to rest at noon, he would eat and immediately go to bed, then wouldn’t get up until it was time to return to work.
He was also a heavy sleeper. Even thunder probably wouldn’t wake him.
If his son hadn’t just gone in and told him that his aunt had arrived, he probably still wouldn’t have woken up.
“Yingying, when did you get here?” He Erge asked with a smile. “I was sleeping in the room and didn’t hear anything. Good thing my second son knew to come wake me. Oh, my niece is here too!”
He looked at Jia Jia and smiled.
“She’s getting prettier and prettier. She definitely takes after her mother. She’s going to be a real beauty when she grows up. Yingying was the prettiest girl for miles around when she was young.”
The last time Qiao Heping and He Yingying had brought Jia Jia to visit, everyone in the family had happened to be out working.
The only child left at home was the eldest brother’s baby, who was still too young to walk and had been sleeping inside.
All the other children had gone to the commune school.
That time, only He Mu had been at home. And because of the sudden grain-stockpiling issue, Qiao Heping and He Yingying hadn’t even stayed long enough to sit down properly before leaving.
So Jia Jia hadn’t had a chance to meet or greet her uncles.
This time, they had originally expected to wait until the afternoon, when everyone returned from work.
But they had gotten lucky.
The family hadn’t left for work yet, so Jia Jia got to meet both of her uncles.
Jia Jia didn’t visit very often, but she still recognized them.
Hearing her uncle praise her, she obediently said, “Hello, Second Uncle!”
That little interruption immediately eased the slightly tense atmosphere.
He Yingying knew her second brother’s personality very well.
Compared with their eldest brother, who was upright and responsible, the second brother was five or six years younger and much lazier.
When they were children, he had even taught Yingying how to slack off.
So she wasn’t surprised at all that he had slept until now.
Instead, she asked, “Don’t you have to work right now? When we first arrived, everyone was still home, so I was wondering what was going on.”
He Erge explained, “It’s so hot these days. Going out in the middle of the day would mean being exposed to the sun. What if something happened? Someone from the neighboring village was actually killed by the heat.
“After that, the brigade leader stopped making us work at noon. We can rest at home for several hours.
“But we have to get up early in the morning. We have to leave around three or four. Every time I head out, I can barely keep my eyes open. I’m so sleepy.
“Then after dinner, we still have to go back to the fields and work for a while. That part isn’t too bad because it’s cooler by then.”
As they chatted, nobody mentioned the metal pencil case anymore, and the atmosphere became much more relaxed.
But farm work couldn’t be delayed.
If an entire family failed to show up, the brigade leader would definitely send someone to call them and criticize them.
So before long, apart from He Fu, He Mu, and the children who didn’t need to attend school that Sunday, all the other adults hurried off to work.
Every bit of work points mattered.
Even the children had to help with farm work during this period. Going out with the work team to collect pigweed, cow dung, and other things could still earn them one or two work points.
However, because their daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter had come to visit, He Fu and He Mu didn’t make the children go to work that day.
Instead, they let them stay home and chat with their aunt, uncle, and little cousin Jia Jia.
He Fu stayed a little longer to talk with his daughter and son-in-law, but he would also have to go work in the fields soon.
The intensive summer harvesting season was already over, but they were now rushing to sow the next crops, so there was still plenty of work to do.
Normally, everyone from the oldest to the youngest had to work together.
Afterward, only He Mu would remain at home.
He Fu was somewhat formal around his son-in-law, Qiao Heping.
The difference between their family and their daughter’s in-laws was simply too great. Yingying and her husband often helped support her maternal family, which made He Fu feel somewhat lacking in confidence around Qiao Heping.
He didn’t dare rely on his status as his father-in-law to make unreasonable demands.
So when talking to Qiao Heping now, he was much more pleasant and no longer kept a stern expression.
Compared with He Mu, Qiao Heping wasn’t particularly close to his father-in-law.
When he talked to his mother-in-law, the two of them could always find things to discuss, usually talking about Yingying.
But with He Fu, those topics weren’t easy to discuss, so their conversation quickly became filled with polite small talk.
Seeing this, He Yingying took some money from her pocket and handed it over.
“We didn’t bring much this time. Mom-in-law said it wouldn’t look right for us to come empty-handed, so she insisted that Heping and I bring some money home.
“Here in the city, you need ration coupons to buy almost everything. It’s a little easier to get things in the countryside, so we thought we’d just give you the money. Then you can buy whatever you need.”
He Mu immediately frowned.
“Bringing some things home is one thing. Why are you giving us money? Take it back. Your father and I can’t accept it.”
It was one thing to hope her daughter would occasionally help the maternal family.
Taking money directly in front of her son-in-law was another matter entirely.
He Fu valued his pride. He wasn’t willing to accept the money either and waved it away.
Qiao Heping quickly explained, “About the grain we stocked up before—Yingying and I haven’t properly thanked you, Mom and Dad, or Big Brother and Second Brother.
“If you hadn’t warned us, how would we have known about it?
“And afterward, Big Brother and Second Brother spent so much time helping us search for grain everywhere. They put in a lot of effort and even lost time that they could have spent earning work points.
“If we didn’t properly thank you, we’d really be ungrateful. And afterward, we’d have no face to ask you to help us with anything again.
“Originally, we wanted to buy a lot of pastries and food from the state-run store in the city and bring them back. But you know how things are at our factory now. Everything requires ration coupons, and at the time we were short on coupons.
“Since it’s easier to buy things in the countryside, we decided to give you the money instead.
“Mom and Dad, please take it. Otherwise, Yingying and I won’t know how to explain it when we get home.
“My parents specifically told me to make sure we properly thank you. They already felt that simply giving money wasn’t sincere enough. If you don’t even accept the money, I really won’t know what to say when I get home.”
Qiao Heping had grown up in He Family Village and, despite being an outsider by surname, had always gotten along exceptionally well with everyone there.
His emotional intelligence was also very high.
With just a few words, he made his father-in-law feel comfortable.
He Fu no longer felt that accepting the money would be embarrassing.
He Yingying took advantage of the opportunity and added, “Dad, Mom, Heping is right. Big Brother and Second Brother put in so much effort helping us. How could I, as their sister, let them do all that work for nothing?
“We should thank them.
“Mom, just take the money. Think of it as money for the nephews. You can use it to pay their school fees. The new semester’s fees have started being collected, haven’t they?”
Hearing her daughter say that, He Mu struggled with it for a long time before finally accepting the money.
The family really was short on cash.
They lived very frugally.
Most importantly, out of their seven children, only the baby from the eldest son’s family was still too young to walk. All the others were attending the commune primary school.
That was extremely rare in this era.
Hardly any family could afford to send so many children to school at once.
Even though tuition was only five yuan per semester, the combined fees for so many children were still a considerable burden.
As for why the He family was different from other families and was willing to send all their children to school, there was a reason for that.
It was largely because of He Yingying and Qiao Heping’s repeated persuasion.
They had told the family that knowing how to read would create more opportunities in the future and make it possible to become a factory worker.
For rural people in this era, becoming a city worker and receiving a ration of state-supplied grain was incredibly desirable.
A city worker could earn in one month what a farmer might earn in an entire year, and the work was much easier.
No matter how tiring factory work was, it couldn’t compare with working in the fields.
Almost everyone dreamed of entering the city and getting a stable factory job.
But factory recruitment was no longer as simple as it had been in the past.
Previously, if someone was the right age and appeared healthy, they could often enter a factory directly.
Now the cities were becoming saturated.
On top of that, government policies strictly controlled household registration and population movement.
Factory recruitment standards were becoming increasingly demanding.
Applicants generally needed urban household registration and basic literacy.
Sometimes requirements were relaxed enough to allow rural applicants to enter factories, but if that happened, there would definitely be an examination.
Otherwise, why would such a good opportunity simply fall into their laps?
He Fu and He Mu, as well as the eldest and second sons and their wives, naturally hoped their children could eventually become factory workers in the city.
They were already older and couldn’t read. Apart from farming, they didn’t have any other skills.
They had no hope of becoming city workers themselves, and they would never ask their younger sister and brother-in-law to arrange jobs for them.
But they still hoped their children would have that opportunity.
They knew becoming a factory worker was difficult, but if the children went to school, learned to read and write, and learned arithmetic, surely their chances would improve.
If factory recruitment really involved examinations, perhaps their children might actually pass.
Yingying and Heping had also explained that even if the children couldn’t become factory workers, they could still try to find jobs at the commune or elsewhere in town.
Someone who had attended school would certainly have an advantage over someone who hadn’t.
After all, had anyone ever seen a commune official who couldn’t read?
If you couldn’t read, you wouldn’t even be able to understand the policies sent down from above.
Thinking about all this, the adults of the He family had finally gritted their teeth and sent all the children to the commune school.
At the time, it had caused quite a discussion in the village.
Now He Mu handed the money her daughter and son-in-law had given her to He Fu, since he was the head of the household.
He Fu glanced down and was genuinely startled.
There were twenty-five yuan!
How many things could twenty-five yuan buy?
In the past, whenever Qiao Heping and He Yingying visited, they brought plenty of goods, but they never gave much cash—usually only two or three yuan.
In the countryside, honestly speaking, two or three yuan could be enough to get through an entire month.
After all, unlike city residents, rural families didn’t have to buy every bit of food. They were largely self-sufficient.
Qiao Heping and He Yingying understood this, so they had never given their parents a large amount of cash at once.
They were also worried that doing so might make their parents uncomfortable.
But this time, they had given twenty-five yuan because they genuinely wanted to thank them for warning them about the grain shortage and helping them stockpile food.
After all, that had been no small matter.
But now He Fu and He Mu hesitated.
They had expected perhaps a few yuan, which they could accept.
But twenty-five yuan was simply too much.
That was more money than many families spent on a bride’s dowry.
Although He Fu did have a little selfishness in him, he wouldn’t dare simply accept such a large sum.
He was just an ordinary rural man.
His family had merely helped their daughter and son-in-law with something, and now they were being given such a large amount of money.
Even though it came from his own daughter and son-in-law, he couldn’t feel at ease accepting it.
He was afraid something might go wrong.
Seeing the obvious unease on his in-laws’ faces, Qiao Heping spoke before they could say anything.
“Oh, right. There’s actually another matter I wanted to ask you to help us with.
“Didn’t a large portion of the grain we bought earlier get sent to the old house on my side of the family?
“Although we hid it securely in the cellar, there’s always a chance someone could sneak in one day. If nobody is there to keep an eye on things, someone might slowly steal the grain.
“So we’ll need you to go over every so often and check on it.
“Also, if grain stays in a cellar for too long, it can become damp and moldy. You’ll need to help us take it out and dry it from time to time.
“Especially the second task—it isn’t easy.
“That’s why we thought we’d give you a little more money. We’re probably going to trouble you for the next two years.”
Only after hearing this did He Fu and He Mu feel relieved.
He Fu patted his chest and promised, “Don’t worry. We’ll take good care of the grain at your place. You two can rest assured in the city.”
Once the important matters were settled, He Yingying finally said, “Heping and I brought Jia Jia here this time because we wanted to go to the back hill and pick some fruit. We didn’t get the chance last time, so we’re making up for it today.”
“Oh, you’re going to pick fruit?” He Fu said. “Then go ahead. I’ll mention it to the brigade leader when I go to work later.”
The fruit on the back hill technically belonged to the production team, but normally nobody made a fuss if villagers picked a few things for themselves.
Qiao Heping and He Yingying had both grown up in He Family Village, even though they now lived in the city.
As long as they weren’t filling sacks with fruit, nobody would consider it a problem.
Telling the brigade leader was enough.
“Why don’t you take Chengliang and Chengzhu with you?” He Mu suggested. “They’re still young, and there’s no point expecting them to earn many work points anyway. Let them go have some fun with you.”
He Yingying didn’t refuse.
She waved to her nephews and nieces.
“Come on. Later, come with Auntie to the back hill to pick fruit. But if you want to go play with your friends, you can do that too. You don’t have to follow Auntie.”
The children adored He Yingying.
Not a single one wanted to leave her side and go play with friends.
Rou Rou, who was still clutching her precious metal pencil case, was especially eager to go.
Her aunt treated her so well.
“All right, Dad, Mom, you two go ahead and get to work. Heping and I are taking Chengliang, Chengzhu, Rou Rou, and the others out now!”
He Yingying waved as she held Jia Jia’s hand.
Qiao Heping went over to the bicycle and took the two hats from the basket.
He put one on his wife and one on his daughter.
As he adjusted them, he teased, “You two better not get sunburned. If you just get a little darker, at most Mom will scold me for not taking good care of you.
“But if you get sunburned, that’s serious. Won’t Mom chase me around with a broom?
“She loves both your pretty faces the most.”
He Yingying lightly pinched her husband.
“You’re really something. Aren’t you afraid of getting tanned? You didn’t even bring yourself a hat.”
Qiao Heping scooped Jia Jia up and put her on his shoulders, then laughed as he strode forward.
“What does it matter if a man gets a little darker? Mom has been looking at my face for so many years. I’m sure she’s already used to it. Even if I get a little darker and uglier, she probably won’t care.”
He Yingying immediately raised her hand as if to hit him.
Qiao Heping quickly laughed and ran forward with Jia Jia.
“Don’t drop our daughter!” Yingying called angrily.
“I know! I’m being careful. There’s no way I’d drop our daughter.”
But despite saying that, Qiao Heping stopped running.
He didn’t dare carry Jia Jia while running anymore.
Seeing how obediently her husband had listened, He Yingying couldn’t bring herself to hit him.
She merely snorted, straightened the hair that had been messed up by Jia Jia’s hat, and then went over to chat with her nieces and nephews.
The back hill was very close.
It took them less than ten minutes to reach it.
They had only come to pick fruit and stayed near the outer edge. None of them intended to go deep into the hills, so there was little reason to worry about danger.
He Yingying let the children go off on their own.
They had grown up here, after all. There was no need for adults to watch them every second.
“Come on, Daddy will carry you so you can pick some!” Qiao Heping said to his daughter.
Jia Jia didn’t actually want her father to carry her. She wanted to pick fruit herself.
Unfortunately, she was too short.
At only three years old, she couldn’t even reach the lower branches, let alone pick the fruit.
In the end, she still needed her father’s help.
Seeing the slight frustration on her daughter’s face, He Yingying smiled.
“Wait until you’re a few years older. Then you’ll be able to pick fruit yourself. You won’t need Daddy to carry you anymore. You can go wherever you want.”
Jia Jia happily nodded.
“Okay! When I’m older, I’ll definitely be able to reach them just by raising my hand!”
She was very confident about her future height.
Neither her grandparents nor her parents were short.
She refused to believe she would be the exception.
Then she patted her father’s shoulder and pointed ahead.
“Let’s go! Let’s go pick fruit!”
“All right! Ride the big horse and go pick fruit!”
Qiao Heping carried his daughter on his shoulders as he laughed.
Although Jia Jia had been in her twenties in her previous life, and even after being reborn she wasn’t truly a child mentally, she had nevertheless been genuinely treated as a child for the past three years.
Her entire family had spoiled her beyond measure.
She had sat on her father’s shoulders countless times, and even her grandfather’s shoulders weren’t unfamiliar to her.
Her family truly treated her like a precious treasure, afraid she would get hurt if they held her too tightly and afraid she would melt if they cherished her too much.
Being constantly spoiled really could change a person’s mentality.
Jia Jia’s mindset had gradually begun shifting toward that of a real child.
She was becoming more and more childish.
So when her father announced that they were going to “ride a big horse,” Jia Jia immediately burst into giggles.
“Let’s go! Let’s go!”
Rou Rou watched her cousin with some envy.
Her uncle was so good to Jia Jia!
Her own father had never carried her on his shoulders.
But the thought only lasted a few seconds before she pushed it aside.
Her mind was completely occupied by her beautiful metal pencil case.
She could already imagine how jealous the children in the village and her classmates would be when they saw it!
Even though she had followed her aunt to the hill to pick fruit, she had brought the pencil case with her.
She had wrapped it tightly in one of her freshly washed clothes because she was afraid of dropping it.
“Rou Rou, what are you carrying?”
There were only a few places where the village children usually played, and the back hill was one of their regular spots.
So before long, Rou Rou ran into some of her friends.
Rou Rou proudly hugged the pencil case to her chest.
She raised her head and said, “My cousin from the city gave me this metal pencil case. You can only buy them in the city. It’s really expensive. Do you want to see it?”
A metal pencil case was such a rare thing!
The children immediately gathered around her.
“Quick, quick! Let us see it!”
“Is it really a metal pencil case? Your city cousin is so generous!”
“Zhenzhen! Zhenzhen! Rou Rou has a metal pencil case! Come look!”
A little girl shouted toward a figure standing farther away.
That figure was He Zhen, the brigade leader’s daughter.
In the village, Rou Rou and He Zhen each had their own close group of girl friends.
But neither of them had originally attended school.
Among the girls their age who did attend school, only Rou Rou and He Zhen were enrolled.
The commune primary school wasn’t very large, so naturally they ended up in the same class.
They went to school together and came home together every day.
Over time, they gradually became closer and eventually became good friends.
When Rou Rou saw He Zhen approaching, she finally took the carefully wrapped metal pencil case out of her clothes.
With a little hint of pride, she held it out to her best friend.
“Zhenzhen, look! This is my metal pencil case! My cousin from the city gave it to me. Isn’t it pretty?
“When we go to school, we can use it together. You can put your pencils in my pencil case.”
As someone who had transmigrated from the twenty-first century, what kind of good things had He Zhen never seen?
To her, this metal pencil case was nothing more than an ordinary pencil case.
She wasn’t nearly as excited as the other children.
She could naturally tell that Rou Rou was showing it off a little.
But she didn’t mind.
In this era of scarce goods, whenever a child had something others didn’t, it was natural for them to show it off.
There wasn’t necessarily any malicious intent behind it.
So He Zhen went along with Rou Rou’s excitement.
“Wow! Your metal pencil case is really pretty. Then I’ll put my pencils in it when we go to school. Thank you, Rou Rou.”
Rou Rou was delighted.
She even handed the pencil case to He Zhen so that her friend could touch it.
The other children were only allowed to look.
He Zhen didn’t think the pencil case was particularly special, but in order to maintain her friendship with Rou Rou, she pretended to be fascinated and turned it over in her hands, examining it from every angle.
Meanwhile, Jia Jia had finished picking fruit with her parents and was heading out of the hills.
She happened to see this scene.
She simply assumed He Zhen was her cousin’s good friend and didn’t pay much attention.
She had absolutely no idea that these two girls were actually the heroine and supporting female character of a novel.
After all, she didn’t even know that she herself had transmigrated into a book rather than simply being reborn in another era.
Naturally, she had no idea about heroines and supporting characters either.
Who would normally think about such things in everyday life?
As for He Zhen, her impression of Jia Jia was simply that she was her good friend’s cousin from the city and seemed to come from a well-off family.
Other than that, she knew nothing about her.
The whole family had originally come to the hill to pick fruit.
Now that they had finished, they planned to head back.
It was simply too hot outside, and the sun was exhausting.
When the nephews and niece—including Rou Rou—saw their aunt and uncle getting ready to leave, they immediately decided to go home too.
“My aunt is leaving, so I’m going home too,” Rou Rou told her friends. “I’ll bring the metal pencil case out again tomorrow and show you.”
By the time Qiao Heping, He Yingying, Jia Jia, and the children returned to the He family home, He Fu had already gone to work.
Only He Mu was there.
When she learned that her daughter and son-in-law were preparing to leave, she brought out a large sack of vegetables she had prepared earlier.
“Here are some radishes and spinach. I just pulled the radishes out of the ground, so they’re still fresh.
“When you get home, dig a little hole and put the radishes in it. They’ll keep for a month or two.
“But you need to eat the spinach soon. If you leave it too long, it’ll spoil.”
Then she took a dark brown jar from beneath the table.
“Oh, right. There’s also this jar of dried radish. I salted and pickled it after drying it. Once you take it home, it’ll be ready to eat after sitting for a few days.
“I remember your mother-in-law likes it. Last time she even said my pickled radish tasted good.”
Whenever they visited, they never came empty-handed.
And whenever they left, they never went home empty-handed either.
The Qiao family never considered their son and daughter-in-law’s gifts to the He family as one-sided financial support.
They saw it as an exchange.
The He family never let their daughter and son-in-law return empty-handed either.
Regardless of how much the things were worth, the thought behind them was precious.
They never believed that a married daughter was simply supposed to send things back to her maternal family.
They always prepared something for her to take home too.
From the perspective of Qiao Qiusheng and Qiao Zhufang as in-laws, the He family was actually quite decent.
They weren’t the sort of unreasonable relatives who caused trouble.
There were plenty of parents in the world who expected their daughters to constantly send money and goods back home but were unwilling to give their daughters anything in return.
If the He parents had been like that, then even though the Qiao family wasn’t short of money, they wouldn’t have allowed their daughter-in-law to be so generous with her maternal family.
Otherwise, they might simply encourage the maternal family’s greed and create even more problems in the future.
He Mu had prepared quite a lot of things.
Fortunately, Qiao Heping was very skilled at riding a bicycle.
Otherwise, carrying his wife, daughter, and such a huge sack of vegetables at the same time would have made him genuinely worried about falling.
Because they had so much to carry, Qiao Heping rode more slowly than usual.
He wasn’t trying to get home quickly.
He just wanted to make sure everything was safe.
Jia Jia had played for most of the day and hadn’t taken an afternoon nap like she normally did at kindergarten.
So on the way home, she became sleepy.
She was carried by her mother and sat on the back of the bicycle.
Before long, she fell asleep.
When she vaguely woke up, she discovered that her hair had already been combed, her clothes had been changed, and she was lying in her own bed beneath a blanket.
She looked toward the window.
The sky outside had already darkened somewhat.
It was nearly evening.
She rubbed her eyes.
Moisture gathered in her large, bright eyes.
Then she gave a tiny yawn and finally became more awake.
She found her slippers beneath the bed, put them on, and toddled into the living room.
There she saw her parents and grandparents making dumplings.
“Jia Jia is awake?” Qiao Zhufang asked, wiping the flour from her hands. “Are you hungry? Just wait a little longer. The dumplings will be ready soon.”
“Grandma, what kind of filling are we having today?” Jia Jia asked softly as she walked up to the table.
“Dumplings with shepherd’s purse, glass noodles, and tofu.
“Your maternal grandmother gave us a huge bag of shepherd’s purse too. I don’t even know how long she spent digging all of it up. She went through all that trouble to get it for us, so we can’t let it go to waste.
“We need to eat it soon. If it sits around for too long, it’ll dry out.
“You’re still little, so you’ve probably never eaten shepherd’s purse before.
“Let Grandma tell you—although shepherd’s purse is a wild vegetable, it tastes delicious. Around October, it’s especially tender.
“After another month, when the weather gets colder, it won’t be as fresh and tender as it is now. If you miss it then, you’ll have to wait until next spring.
“We haven’t had dumplings in a long time anyway, so we’re making them today.
“Besides the glass noodles and tofu, we put in a little dried shrimp and even added a drop of sesame oil.
“Once they’re boiled, we’ll take them out and let them cool a little. Then you dip them in just a little vinegar. They’ll taste wonderfully fresh.”
Jia Jia hadn’t been particularly hungry before.
But after listening to her grandmother describe the dumplings, her stomach suddenly seemed to growl.
She was hungry now.
By the time Jia Jia came out, the dumplings were already almost finished.
As Qiao Zhufang talked, Qiao Heping and He Yingying were already carrying the bamboo trays of dumplings into the kitchen to cook them.
Seeing that her granddaughter had only just woken up, Qiao Zhufang said, “Come on, my good girl. Let’s wash your face. Dinner will be ready soon.”
Jia Jia nodded.
“Okay!”
They used a coal stove in the kitchen.
And because the weather was still hot, the kitchen was extremely warm.
Qiao Heping felt sorry for his wife and tried to push her outside.
“I can boil the dumplings myself. Go keep Jia Jia company!”
He Yingying ignored him.
She went into the room, fetched a palm-leaf fan, and came back.
She fanned herself and her husband as she said, “I’m not that delicate. Besides, the kitchen window is open, so it’s not unbearably hot. I’ll stay here with you until the dumplings are ready.”
Qiao Heping took the fan from her hand and smiled.
“My wife really does care about me. Give it here. I’ll fan us.”
The two of them stood together in the kitchen.
Even though it was hot, they didn’t mind being close.
They quietly chatted together while waiting for the dumplings to cook.
Outside in the living room, Qiao Qiusheng finished cleaning up the table after the dumpling-making.
While waiting for the dumplings, he swept and tidied the room as well.
Only when the floor was completely clean did he finally look satisfied.
“The dumplings are ready!”
Before long, Qiao Heping and He Yingying carried the dumplings out.
They were steaming hot, and if someone leaned closer, they could smell the distinctive fresh fragrance of shepherd’s purse.
Jia Jia was still small, and her hands weren’t very strong.
If the dumplings were too large, she would have trouble picking them up with chopsticks and eating them.
So when the adults made the dumplings, they deliberately made more than twenty extra-small ones for her.
They were small enough to finish in two bites.
Qiao Heping was particularly attentive.
Afraid his daughter might burn herself, he put the dumplings on a large plate and let them cool for a while.
Only after they were no longer too hot did he bring them to Jia Jia.
Jia Jia had never eaten shepherd’s-purse dumplings before.
She found them fascinating.
She carefully bit a tiny corner off one dumpling, revealing the fragrant shepherd’s purse, tofu, and glass-noodle filling inside.
Then she dipped it into a little vinegar and stuffed the whole dumpling into her mouth.
The fresh flavor of the shepherd’s purse immediately burst across her tongue.
Jia Jia thought the dumplings were absolutely delicious.
Her appetite suddenly returned, and she ended up eating a full fifteen dumplings.
Although the dumplings were small, fifteen was still quite a lot.
Qiao Heping and He Yingying were afraid she had overeaten and would feel uncomfortable when she went to bed.
So after dinner, they insisted on taking her outside for a couple of walks.
Jia Jia hated exercising.
She had been like that ever since she first learned to walk.
Now she instantly looked as though her life had lost all meaning.
After eating, shouldn’t the happiest thing be lying flat on the bed?
She absolutely did not want to go walking.
Unfortunately, when it came to her health, there was no way Jia Jia could win against her parents.
In the end, they dragged her outside for two rounds.
Afterward, Jia Jia couldn’t help thinking bitterly:
What did they mean by “two rounds”?
Those two rounds felt like several 800-meter runs combined!
She was exhausted.
Perhaps because of all that exercise, Jia Jia actually felt tired.
After taking a bath, she lay down in bed and immediately fell asleep.
Her long afternoon nap hadn’t affected her nighttime sleepiness at all.
In the other bedroom, He Yingying was already lying in bed when she suddenly said to her husband, “I’ve decided that from now on, I won’t favor Rou Rou anymore.
“I’ll treat her the same way I treat the other nephews.
“I can’t keep thinking that she’s like I was as a child and then trying to make up for everything by giving her extra attention, as though I’m compensating for my own childhood.
“Big Sister-in-law was right today. I really have been a little biased.
“When she apologized to me afterward, I actually felt uncomfortable.
“When I was little, I hated Grandma’s favoritism more than anything.
“Thinking about it now, if I keep acting like this, maybe one day my nephews will see me as someone just like Grandma.”
Qiao Heping couldn’t help saying, “If you want to treat someone well, then treat them well. Why think so much about it?
“Everyone naturally favors the children they like a little more. That’s just human nature.
“As long as you don’t go too far, what’s the problem?
“How could what you did even be called favoritism? It was just one gift.”
Everyone had some degree of favoritism.
The only difference was how much.
As long as it wasn’t blatant or excessive, it wouldn’t really affect anything.
Just like him.
On this matter, he was also biased toward his own wife.
He didn’t think his wife had done anything wrong.
He simply wanted her to follow her own feelings and not worry about what other people thought.
It was admittedly a little hypocritical.
But those other people had nothing to do with him.
The only person he cared about was his wife.
As for the He family’s nephews and nieces, Qiao Heping felt the same toward all of them.
He didn’t particularly favor one over another.
When it came to children, he only truly cared about his own daughter.
His kindness toward the others was merely politeness.
In his heart, his own family came first.
Everyone else could move aside.
At this moment, he didn’t want his wife to worry over such a small matter.
He even wanted to say:
So what if they say you’re biased?
Then be biased.
Treat whoever you want to treat well.
Your own happiness matters most.
But Qiao Heping also knew that such thoughts were selfish and somewhat unreasonable.
If he said them aloud, his wife would definitely hit him.
So he kept quiet and merely comforted her.
“It’s fine. From now on, whenever we prepare something, we’ll just make several equal portions. We won’t favor anyone.
“Besides, we’re not short of money.”
He Yingying sighed.
“From now on, we’ll just treat everyone normally and equally.
“Next time we go back, I’ll have to prepare some things for Big Brother’s sons.
“Big Brother treated me the best when I was little, but now I’m favoring Second Brother’s Rou Rou because of my own feelings.
“I feel like I’ve let Big Brother down.
“It would be such a shame after how much he cared for me when I was young.”
Qiao Heping simply nodded beside her.
Whatever his wife decided, he would follow.
Everything was up to her.
The next day was Monday.
As a student in the kindergarten’s small class, Jia Jia had to go to school again.
As kindergarten students spent most of their day playing and didn’t learn much academic material, they didn’t have to arrive as early as primary or middle school students.
Usually, arriving around eight or nine was perfectly fine.
If parents had to go to work early, they would send their children to kindergarten earlier.
If the parents weren’t in a hurry and didn’t have to work early, they could bring their children at nine or even ten.
The teachers wouldn’t complain.
Jia Jia usually slept until she was fully rested and left for kindergarten around eight-thirty.
Most of the time, her grandmother took her.
But now that Grandma had found a job at the neighborhood office, Jia Jia realized she might have to start going to school earlier.
Otherwise, if she left too late, everyone would already have gone to work and there would be no one to take her.
After Qiao Zhufang learned what her granddaughter was thinking, she laughed.
“The job at the neighborhood office is actually very flexible. That’s exactly why I looked for work there.”
Although this meant her salary was a few yuan lower than other people’s, Qiao Zhufang didn’t care about losing those few yuan.
A few days later, using her free time after work, He Yingying finished turning all the dacron fabric she had bought at the department store into clothes.
She worked together with her good friend Shu Meilan and used a sewing machine, so the clothes were finished quickly.
As a result, Jia Jia suddenly had several more brightly colored outfits.
The vivid colors of the dacron fabric stood out dramatically among the mostly dull gray and brown fabrics worn by everyone else.
And Jia Jia herself was exceptionally pretty.
She was like a delicate little doll from a department-store display window.
Whenever she went outside in her new clothes, people couldn’t help turning around to look at her.
The neighbors in the apartment building naturally noticed that the Qiao family’s little girl had gotten several new outfits.
And they were made of dacron too!
Not only the children but even the adults were envious.
Who would be willing to make so many new clothes within a single month?
Most people wouldn’t even make one new outfit in an entire year.
They still had to support their families.
At the same time, everyone couldn’t help sighing over how much the Qiao family spoiled their child.
And she was a daughter, no less.
How much money had they spent?
That amount could probably have supported several more children!
But the Qiao family didn’t care what outsiders thought.
As long as nobody came directly to their faces and complained, they didn’t care.
That evening, after dinner, Qiao Qiusheng sat at the table and said seriously, “There’s something I need to tell you. I’m leaving on a business trip the day after tomorrow. I’ll probably be gone for at least half a month.”
Qiao Zhufang immediately asked, “Where are you going this time? Shanghai again?”
“No. This time I’m going to Guangzhou. The Canton Fair is about to begin, and I’ll be going with the factory director.”
“Didn’t they not take you to the Canton Fair last time? Aren’t the factory leaders normally the ones who go?” Qiao Zhufang asked, puzzled.
Qiao Heping immediately raised his hand.
“Mom, I know why!
“Dad speaks several foreign languages, doesn’t he?
“Besides Russian, he also knows English and German.
“Most of the people attending the Canton Fair from overseas are foreigners, right?
“If Dad goes along, it’ll be much easier for the factory director to communicate with them and negotiate business deals to earn foreign currency.
“And Dad understands the technical side of things too.
“Wouldn’t he be much more reliable than finding some translator after they get there?”
Qiao Qiusheng nodded at his wife.
“That’s exactly it.
“Although our steel factory is one of the biggest state-owned factories in the provincial capital, we didn’t manage to negotiate a single order last time.
“The director was so anxious he nearly became ill.
“This time, he’s determined to secure at least one order.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a small one. As long as we can help the country earn some foreign currency, it’ll be worthwhile.”
Although Qiao Zhufang had grown up in the old society, she strongly supported the new China.
When she heard that they were going to help the country earn foreign currency and contribute to something important, she immediately said,
“Then prepare well. You have to make our country proud.
“Although we hope they’ll place orders with us, we don’t need to beg them.
“Those foreigners are like that—the more you flatter them, the more they look down on you.
“You have to remain neither arrogant nor servile. Only then will they think you’re not someone they can bully, and only then will they treat you with respect.
“I saw plenty of things like that when I was young, when I used to go to the trading houses.”
Qiao Zhufang’s family had once been wealthy.
When she was young, she had accompanied her family to foreign-owned trading houses and department stores, so she had some understanding of foreigners and their ways.
That was why she couldn’t help giving her son a few more words of advice.
Qiao Qiusheng held his wife’s hand.
“I’ll remember what you said.
“Let’s not talk about serious matters anymore. How about I bring you all some gifts?
“There’ll be exhibitors from all kinds of industries at the Canton Fair, so there should be plenty of things to buy.
“I heard from people who went last time that there are even companies specializing in silk and scarves for export.
“Foreigners really like things with traditional Chinese designs.
“Since those companies will already be at the Canton Fair, buying from them should be convenient.
“How about I bring a scarf back for each of you three?”
Qiao Zhufang immediately nodded.
“Good!
“Oh, right. The guesthouse there should have a telephone, right?
“Once you arrive and get settled, remember to call the neighborhood office.”
The Qiao family didn’t have a telephone at home.
But the factory and the neighborhood office both had telephones.
Normally, when workers needed to make a call, they went to one of those two places.
“Don’t worry. I’ll definitely call once I arrive.
“I won’t make you worry.
“You take good care of yourself at home too.
“If anyone gives you trouble, remember their name. When I get home, I’ll deal with them for you.
“Or tell Heping, and he’ll handle it.”
Qiao Qiusheng knew his wife very well.
She was too soft-hearted and kind, and she wasn’t very calculating.
Sometimes people took advantage of her and she didn’t even realize it.
Now that he was going to be away for more than half a month, he couldn’t help worrying about her.
Qiao Heping really didn’t want to interrupt the affectionate moment between his parents.
But unfortunately, he had something to announce too.
After hesitating for a while, he said, “Well… I have something to tell you too, just like Dad.”
Qiao Zhufang turned toward him.
“What is it? Are you going on a business trip too?”
Qiao Heping clapped his hands.
“Mom, you guessed it.
“I have to go on a business trip tomorrow too.”
“I was only joking!” Qiao Zhufang said in disbelief. “And you’re really going on a business trip?
“How could it be such a coincidence?
“You father and son are leaving at the same time?”
Qiao Heping nodded.
“That’s exactly what happened.
“They only told me this afternoon, and I have to leave first thing tomorrow morning.
“They originally wanted me to leave this afternoon, but I refused.
“I argued with them for quite a while before they finally agreed to let me leave tomorrow morning.”
He Yingying exchanged a look with her mother-in-law.
Neither of them had expected this.
They could go months without either father or son having to travel for work.
And now, suddenly, both of them had business trips at almost exactly the same time.
This time, it was He Yingying’s turn to interrogate him.
“Come on, tell us. What exactly are you going to do? Where are you going? How long will you be gone?”
He Yingying was impatient by nature, so she asked everything at once.
“It’s like this.
“There’s a sulfuric acid factory in one of the counties under our provincial capital.
“They recently received a batch of imported foreign machinery.
“But they’ve spent two and a half months trying to install it, and nobody knows how.
“The machines are still sitting there unused.
“If they can’t find someone who knows how to install them, the machinery will become worthless, and all that money will have been wasted.
“Imported machinery costs foreign currency, so there’s no way the factory director is going to just let those machines sit there and become scrap.
“They searched everywhere and eventually contacted our factory.
“I suspect they originally wanted to find Dad.
“Everyone in our factory knows how good Dad is at installing machinery. No matter how complicated the foreign equipment is, Dad can figure it out.
“But Dad is going to the Canton Fair.
“So after going around in circles, they eventually found me.
“The factory is sending me with some comrades from the sulfuric acid factory to help them install the machines.
“They originally wanted me to leave this afternoon.
“I told them that they’d already delayed things for two and a half months, so waiting one more day wouldn’t make much difference.
“That way I managed to buy myself one more afternoon.
“We agreed that I’d leave tomorrow morning.
“As for how long I’ll be gone, it’s hard to say.
“If the machine is simple and easy to install, I might leave in the morning and be back by noon.
“But if it’s complicated, I may have to stay there for several days.”
Qiao Heping explained everything clearly.
Qiao Qiusheng asked, “Did they say what country the machinery came from?”
“Germany.
“They didn’t specify it in the contract, and the supplier didn’t provide a manual.”
Qiao Heping had learned all this from the workers at the sulfuric acid factory.
And he wasn’t particularly surprised that this situation had occurred.
At this time, the fact that they hadn’t even provided a manual could already be considered lucky.
At least the machine itself was probably functional.
There were countries that deliberately sold outdated or scrapped machinery to China at the price of brand-new equipment.
They would even deliberately put traps in the contracts, leaving the buyer with no legal grounds to argue.
But China still needed their technology.
Even after suffering such a huge loss, they had no choice but to swallow their anger.
The next time they needed equipment, they still had to cooperate with those same countries and import their machinery.
Cases like the sulfuric acid factory’s were not uncommon.
Earlier that year, a factory in the provincial capital had encountered a similar problem.
Because the contract hadn’t required a manual, the supplier simply didn’t provide one.
Fortunately, that factory eventually found someone who knew how to install the machinery, so it didn’t waste as much time as the sulfuric acid factory.
However, Qiao Heping had heard that something had apparently been installed incorrectly.
Nobody noticed the mistake at the time.
Eventually, the entire machine was ruined.
A large amount of valuable industrial resources had been wasted.
After that incident, factories throughout the provincial capital that knew about it began specifically writing into their import contracts that the supplier must provide an instruction manual.
Hearing this, Qiao Qiusheng frowned.
Both he and his son were going to be away on business.
That would leave only the three women at home.
Naturally, he wasn’t completely at ease.
Qiao Zhufang, however, waved it off casually.
“You and Heping can go on your business trips without worrying.
“There’s nothing to worry about at home.
“What could possibly happen?
“Do you really think anyone would dare come bully us just because you two aren’t home?”