The conditions at the steel factory were simply too good. After entering the factory, the two brothers, He Chengwen and He Chengliang, could not have been more satisfied with their new lives. They practically wished they could work at this factory until retirement.
Before they left home, their parents and grandparents had repeatedly reminded them that once they arrived in the city, they must listen to their aunt and uncle. It had been incredibly difficult to become factory workers and secure an “iron rice bowl,” so they absolutely could not make any mistakes that might get them sent back to the countryside. Opportunities like this were extremely rare.
The two brothers deeply agreed.
In the past, factories had not even recruited people with rural household registrations. They had assumed that after finishing junior high school, they would have no choice but to return home and work in the fields.
They had never imagined that they could actually become factory workers in the city.
When they first heard the news, they were so happy they could hardly believe it.
Now, even without their elders reminding them, they would treasure this hard-earned job with all their hearts.
They were even more grateful to their aunt and uncle.
If their aunt and uncle had not insisted that all the children in the family go to school, the two brothers would never have been able to pass the factory’s recruitment process.
Quite a few people in their village had heard that the factories in the city were hiring. There were plenty of young people who were old enough to apply.
But most of them were eliminated at the literacy test.
The adults could hardly be blamed for being illiterate. When they had been young, the country had not yet been liberated, and there were no schools in the surrounding villages. Among all the villages in the area, only a handful of people knew how to read and write.
As for their generation, very few families throughout the surrounding villages could afford to send every child to school like the He family had.
In the end, including the two brothers, only four people from their entire village had passed the recruitment process and become factory workers.
Everyone else had been eliminated at the registration stage simply because they could not read.
For the first time, the two brothers truly understood how important education was.
If you did not go to school, you could not read.
If you could not read, you could not become a factory worker.
Now they did not need their aunt and uncle to remind them.
Their younger brothers and sisters were all studying as hard as they could.
Their grandparents had even declared that as long as the younger children were willing and able to continue studying, the family would support them through high school.
As for the two brothers, although they had only just entered the factory, they already had a new goal.
They would work hard, accumulate years of service, and eventually wait for the factory to assign each of them a home of their own.
Then they could bring their family members to live in the city.
The two brothers had only been to the city a handful of times in their entire lives.
And every time they came, they had only visited their aunt’s home.
They had never been anywhere else.
Now that their household registrations had finally been transferred and they had officially become city residents, naturally they wanted to explore the city properly.
However, even though they had already been factory workers for a week, the only places they had been were their dormitory and the steel factory.
Every day, they simply went back and forth between the two.
The steel factory was a huge state-owned enterprise with tens of thousands of employees and many affiliated factories under it.
The area was enormous.
After a whole week, the brothers were not even familiar with the area around the steel factory, let alone the rest of the city.
But they were not in a hurry.
Their aunt had already told them that during their first few days, they should focus on learning their way around the factory.
As for the other parts of the city, their aunt and uncle would take them around whenever they had time and show them how to get around.
Before the brothers left home, their parents and grandparents had also reminded them that whenever the factory had a day off, they should visit their aunt’s family and greet Grandpa Qiao and Grandma Qiao.
The two brothers obediently followed their elders’ instructions.
Early that morning, they took the money and food coupons their grandparents had given them and went to the local department store.
They bought two packages of pastries before finally working up the courage to visit their aunt’s home.
If the two brothers had been buying such expensive things for themselves, they definitely would not have been willing to spend the money.
They would not even have dared to.
Back when they were still in school, the two brothers together were considered lucky if they had fifty fen in their pockets.
The entire family earned only a little over a hundred yuan in a whole year, yet they had to support six children in school.
If their aunt and uncle had not frequently helped them financially, the family would have struggled even to afford enough food.
Spending one or two yuan on pastries was simply an outrageous luxury to them.
But this time, they were buying them as a gift for their aunt’s family.
Their aunt had personally accompanied them when they registered for the factory recruitment.
During their first week at the factory, their aunt and uncle had taken great care of them.
And they did not know how many more times they might need their aunt and uncle’s help in the future.
So they felt they had to buy something to express their gratitude.
Besides, in their memories, every time they visited their aunt’s home, their aunt’s family would prepare a huge meal to welcome them.
Rice, vegetables, eggs, fish, and meat in the city all required money and coupons.
Unlike the countryside, where some things could be grown or raised at home, nothing was easy in the city.
If the two brothers came over and ate another meal, wouldn’t that simply add another burden to their aunt’s family?
Therefore, they absolutely could not arrive empty-handed.
Otherwise, they would not be coming to thank their aunt.
They would be coming to freeload.
Neither brother was shameless enough to do that.
Although their hearts ached when they spent the money, they gritted their teeth and bought two jin of pastries and some candy.
They specifically chose the kinds the sales clerk said were the tastiest.
They had borrowed the pastry and candy coupons from workers who shared their dormitory.
Although their household registrations had already been transferred, they had not yet reached the point where they would receive their monthly food coupons and other allocations.
They would have to wait until the following month.
The money they used to buy the pastries and candy was not even their own.
Their family had given them a full ten yuan before they came to the city.
That ten yuan was practically the family’s last savings.
The family’s savings from the previous several years had already been used to stockpile grain.
The remaining ten yuan had originally been kept for emergencies.
But before the brothers left for the city, their parents and grandparents gave all of it to them.
They were afraid that during the first few months, before the brothers received their wages, they would not have enough money to eat and would have to trouble their aunt and uncle again.
If not for buying the pastries and candy, the brothers could probably have kept that ten yuan untouched for a long time.
They had already been in the city for a whole week, yet every day they ate the cornmeal buns and pickled vegetables they had brought from home.
They had not been willing to use even a single food coupon.
Eating in the city required both money and food coupons.
It was simply too expensive.
The money and coupons their family had managed to scrape together for them had not come easily, so the brothers could not bear to use them.
They felt that eating the food they had brought from home was perfectly fine.
They also knew that eating so little for a long time would not be good for their health.
But next month they would receive their wages, food coupons, meat coupons, and other benefits.
At that point, they could eat a little better.
They figured they could endure this hardship for one month.
“Hello, Auntie and Uncle! Hello, Grandpa Qiao! Hello, Grandma Qiao!”
As soon as the brothers entered their aunt’s home, they politely greeted everyone one by one.
“Oh, you two must be Yingying’s nephews, Chengwen and Chengliang! The last time you came here was several years ago. Look at you now—you’ve both grown up into handsome young men. You really do look like Yingying’s family!” Qiao Zhufang said happily as she looked at the handsome brothers.
The He family was naturally good-looking.
He Yingying was tall and beautiful, one of the prettiest young women in all the surrounding villages.
Her older and younger brothers and their wives were also good-looking.
Naturally, their sons were not going to turn out unattractive.
On top of that, the He family had tall genes.
From around thirteen or fourteen, the two brothers had gone through a rapid growth spurt.
The elder brother, He Chengwen, was already 1.8 meters tall.
The younger brother, He Chengliang, was slightly shorter but still over 1.7 meters.
Standing together, they really did look like two tall, straight poplar trees.
Qiao Zhufang had always liked good-looking people.
And the two brothers were so polite and well-mannered that she liked them even more.
She immediately urged them to come inside and sit down.
“Don’t be shy. Treat this as your own home. Besides, you don’t have any other relatives you know in this city. Your aunt is practically the only family you have here, so you must come over often in the future.”
The brothers had only visited once or twice before, and those visits had been with their parents to deliver things or run errands.
The person from the Qiao family they had interacted with most was their uncle, who often visited their home.
They had never expected their aunt’s mother-in-law to treat them so warmly and affectionately.
For a moment, they were both a little embarrassed.
“Where’s Cousin Jia Jia? Did she go out to play? I brought her some candy,” He Chengwen asked curiously when he did not see his cousin.
He Yingying smiled and waved her hand.
“She’s only a little over three years old. How could we let her go outside to play by herself? She’s taking an afternoon nap right now. She’ll probably wake up around three.
“Come and sit down. Once you’re at your aunt’s house, don’t be so polite.
“By the way, how have things been at the factory this week? I work in logistics, so I can’t go over to check on you very often. Don’t let the older workers bully you.”
He Chengwen hurriedly waved his hands.
“Nothing like that happened. The senior worker assigned to teach us has been very good to us and very patient. Chengliang and I have had a really good week.”
He Chengliang nodded beside him.
But the brothers both knew that the senior worker treated them so well partly because of Grandpa Qiao.
Grandpa Qiao’s position at the steel factory was truly impressive.
Many of the workers respected him.
The more the brothers understood this, the harder they worked.
They did not dare become arrogant in the slightest.
They were afraid that if they made even one wrong move, they might cause trouble for Grandpa Qiao and bring shame to him, which could eventually involve their aunt as well.
Their aunt and uncle had already helped their family far too much.
They simply did not have the nerve to cause their aunt and uncle any more trouble.
After waking from her afternoon nap, Qiao Jia Jia came out of the bedroom, yawning.
When she saw her two cousins there, she politely greeted them.
“Hello, Big Cousin. Hello, Second Cousin.”
Because they had not seen her many times, He Chengwen and He Chengliang felt somewhat unfamiliar with their little city cousin.
Now that she had greeted them so sweetly, they became a little nervous.
“Hello, Cousin!”
After saying that, they quickly took out the pastries and candy they had brought and placed them in front of her.
“We bought these pastries and candy for you. We don’t know if you like them.”
As the only child in the Qiao family, Qiao Jia Jia had always been spoiled.
She had never lacked pastries, candy, canned fruit, or other special snacks that many children could not even eat once a year.
Her family let her eat whatever she wanted.
So she was not particularly interested in the candy and snacks that other people considered precious.
She did not dislike them, but she was not especially fond of them either.
However, she could see that her two cousins were nervous.
And whenever she visited her maternal grandparents’ home, her several older male cousins and Cousin Rou Rou were always extremely enthusiastic toward her.
They treated her like an honored guest and were very kind to her.
Now that her cousins had come to her home, it was only proper to return the favor.
She was happy to be a little more enthusiastic toward them too.
“Thank you so much, Cousins! I like all of these!” Qiao Jia Jia said cheerfully, her eyes curving into happy little crescents.
The two brothers were delighted.
“Then we’ll buy more for you next time we come.”
He Yingying immediately stopped them.
“Absolutely not. Don’t buy anything else.
“She’s the only child in the family, and all of this is already enough to last her a long time. If you keep buying things, she’ll never be able to finish them. I’m already worried she’ll eat too much and ruin her teeth.
“Next time you come, don’t bring anything with you. You two have only just entered the factory and are still apprentices. Save your monthly wages for yourselves.
“I’m your aunt. I’m not an outsider. Next time, just come over. Don’t waste money buying things.”
Qiao Zhufang also nodded firmly.
“Your aunt is right. Don’t bring anything next time. We already told you to treat this as your own home, so why are you being so polite?
“You’re still young and growing. Whenever you have some money, spend it on food for yourselves. Your health comes first.”
The two brothers were not ungrateful or unable to distinguish kindness.
They understood that their grandmother and aunt were saying these things out of genuine concern.
They both nodded seriously.
He Yingying also understood their personalities.
If she simply told them not to bring anything, they might become afraid that they were freeloading whenever they visited.
They might even stop coming unless absolutely necessary.
With that in mind, He Yingying added,
“You must remember to come over often in the future. I’ll have plenty of things for you to help with.
“If your uncle and I are ever both working overtime, we’ll need you two cousins to help pick Jia Jia up from school and take her there.
“Also, in a little over a month, it’ll be time to stock up on Chinese cabbage again.
“Our family doesn’t have many people. Every year, we have to make several trips to carry all the cabbage outside to the cellar.
“When the time comes, you two can come help us. That way, we’ll have to make fewer trips.
“And every month, when we buy coal on Sundays, we have to use the coal-delivery carts over there, and we have to sign up in advance. There are specific times we’re allowed to go.
“Sometimes Jia Jia’s father or grandfather suddenly has to work overtime on a Sunday, and then Grandma and I have to go haul the coal ourselves.
“Now that we have the two of you, even if Jia Jia’s father and grandfather are busy, we’ll have two extra pairs of hands.”
Although He Yingying’s main purpose in saying all this was to give her nephews a reason to visit more often without feeling embarrassed, what she said was also true.
The Qiao family was small.
Compared with families with many members, they really were at a disadvantage when it came to doing heavy household tasks.
Now that they had two nephews nearby, it would be much more convenient to call on them whenever something needed to be done.
The brothers became extremely excited when they heard that there were things they could actually help with.
They immediately patted their chests and promised,
“Whenever you need us, Auntie, just call us! The two of us have plenty of strength.”
“Good. Then whenever your aunt needs help, I’ll leave everything to the two of you,” He Yingying said with a smile.
He Yingying had already promised to take the brothers around the city once they had settled in.
Fortunately, she had nothing else to do that afternoon.
So she decided to take them around and first familiarize them with the local department store, other department stores, the various supply and marketing cooperatives, the state-run vegetable store, the state-run meat store, the cinema, and other important places.
That way, they could go there themselves whenever they had free time in the future.
Qiao Heping did not go with them this time.
The main reason was that the weather was exceptionally good that day, and he had work to do.
Winter was approaching, so he needed to take out all the family’s thick quilts, wash the ones that needed washing, and put the others out to dry.
Heavy work like this had always been done by him and his father.
Qiao Jia Jia did not go out with her mother and cousins either.
The main reason was that she had to study German with Grandpa.
When she had been only one or two years old, the family had thought she was too young.
They were afraid that if she learned too many foreign languages, she might become confused while learning to speak.
So they had only taught her Russian.
She had learned Russian at the same time as she learned to speak Chinese, and by now she could speak it very fluently.
However, back then the family had only taught her to speak it.
They had never taught her how to write.
Who would teach a one- or two-year-old child to write?
Now that they had noticed how interested she was in learning, they had finally decided to teach her written Russian as well as start teaching her German.
Originally, they had planned to teach her for several hours every Sunday morning.
But that morning, she had gone to the cinema with her mother and grandmother, so her lesson had been moved to the afternoon.
And if she had not insisted, they probably would not have made her study that afternoon either.
Everyone in the family felt that she was not even four years old yet.
There was no need to push her too hard.
She could study whenever she had time.
If she did not have time, they could simply skip it.
But in her previous life, Qiao Jia Jia had been a hardworking student for more than twenty years.
Although she planned to live a more relaxed life in this lifetime, she still found it difficult to get used to doing absolutely nothing for too long.
Besides, she only studied for a few hours a week.
It was not particularly tiring.
Learning another language could only be beneficial.
Who knew?
Maybe one day she would get the chance to travel to Germany.
Then she would not even need to hire a tour guide.
Her family spoiled her far too much—almost to the point of indulgence.
Qiao Jia Jia felt that if she did not impose at least a little discipline on herself, then with the way her family doted on her, all she would have to do was say she wanted to go play, and those few hours of study would immediately be thrown aside.
If she studied inconsistently like that, then no matter how intelligent she was, she would probably need seven or eight years just to learn German properly.
So that afternoon, she studied with her grandfather.
Her grandmother would occasionally worry that she was getting tired and bring her something to eat or drink.
Meanwhile, her father was alone battling with all the family’s bedding.
He was working so hard that he was completely absorbed in the task.
“All right, that’s enough for today. Go play, Jia Jia!” Qiao Qiusheng said with a smile as he stroked his beloved granddaughter’s hair.
Qiao Qiusheng himself was an extremely hardworking man.
He was practically a workaholic.
But when it came to his granddaughter, he could not bring himself to be strict.
He had only taught her for a short while before worrying that she might become tired.
Qiao Jia Jia looked at the tiny amount of notes she had written in her notebook.
Then she looked at the large clock in the living room.
Hadn’t even an hour passed yet?
She immediately put on a serious expression.
“I want to keep studying. I don’t want to go play.”
“We’ve already studied enough today,” Qiao Qiusheng said patiently.
“Jia Jia is so clever. Learning all this in one hour must have taken a lot of effort. Let’s let your brain rest for a while. Go play a little.
“Don’t you like the toys Grandpa brought back from the Canton Fair?”
Qiao Zhufang also nodded.
“That’s right. Our Jia Jia is already amazing enough. Go play for a while.
“Look at your little fingers. They’re all red from holding the pen.”
When they had previously taught their granddaughter Russian, they had simply spoken to her every day.
She had not needed to write so many characters.
Now Qiao Zhufang saw her little granddaughter holding the pen with her tiny hand, the skin on her fingers already rubbed red.
Her heart ached terribly.
She wished she could immediately take the girl outside to play and relax.
Qiao Jia Jia scrunched up her little face.
For the first time, she felt that studying was such a difficult thing.
Fortunately, she was still a child.
She had the right to be stubborn and unreasonable.
And her grandparents loved her dearly.
So after she insisted strongly, they eventually continued teaching her for another half hour.
But after that, they refused to continue no matter what.
They insisted on taking her to play for a while so she could relax her eyes.
Qiao Jia Jia had always thought she was already extremely lazy in this lifetime.
She had waited until now to start learning how to write.
But she had finally discovered that her family could make her even lazier.
Fortunately, although she had only studied for an hour and a half, she had remembered everything Grandpa had just taught her.
Her efficiency was excellent.
She was very satisfied.
So she decided to take a break.
However, Qiao Jia Jia did not feel like playing with her toys.
Instead, she chose to sit with her grandmother and listen to the radio.
Meanwhile, Grandpa began another thorough cleaning of the house.
Qiao Jia Jia discovered that her grandfather seemed to have a slight obsession with cleanliness.
Whenever he had nothing else to do at home, he liked to give the entire house a thorough cleaning.
He also washed his and Grandma’s clothes immediately after they took them off.
Qiao Jia Jia had never once seen clothes left around the house overnight.
Her father had already washed all the quilts and bedsheets and put them outside to dry.
After taking a short break, he called out to everyone,
“I’m going out to buy some vegetables. We’re almost out of food at home.”
With that, he took the necessary coupons and money, grabbed the vegetable basket, and left.
The only people with nothing to do at home were Qiao Jia Jia and her grandmother.
But the two men of the household had never thought there was anything strange about that.
Normally, they practically wanted to take care of every household chore themselves.
They never had the attitude that their wives should have to work alongside them.
Qiao Jia Jia thought that no matter what era they lived in, her father and grandfather were both absolutely ideal husbands.
They were hardworking, capable, devoted to their families, and extremely loving toward their wives.
They were not at all domineering or chauvinistic.
Compared with ninety percent of the men of that era, they were outstanding.
With her grandfather and father as examples, Qiao Jia Jia suddenly felt that her standards for choosing a partner in the future had been raised considerably.
“We’re back! Chengwen, Chengliang, don’t leave yet. Stay for dinner.
“Since you came to the city, you haven’t eaten at your aunt’s home even once.
“Today, let’s have a meal together. It can also be a celebration for the two of you finally becoming factory workers.”
After spending the entire afternoon exploring the city, He Yingying brought her two nephews home shortly after five.
When the brothers had arrived that afternoon, they had brought two packages of pastries and some candy.
He Yingying knew how simple and frugal the two boys were.
Even if they had money, they would probably never have been willing to buy such things for themselves.
They had only spent the money because they felt embarrassed about visiting without bringing anything.
After what had happened with the family’s grain stockpiling, there could not possibly be much money left at her parents’ home.
It would already be impressive if they had managed to give the brothers ten yuan to bring to the city.
The two boys had not received their wages yet.
They were living entirely on the small amount of money their family had given them.
Life would certainly be difficult.
And now they had spent another one or two yuan buying pastries as a gift.
Their money must be even tighter.
If He Yingying asked the brothers to take the pastries and candy home, they would definitely refuse.
Besides, the items could not be returned anyway.
If they took everything home and ate it themselves, the brothers would probably feel heartbroken every time they ate some.
They might even lock the food inside a cabinet and save it until they went home again.
Given what He Yingying knew about her nephews, they were absolutely capable of doing something like that.
So instead, it was better for her to accept the gifts.
Then she could simply invite the brothers over for several meals.
Before they left, she could also slip a few yuan of pocket money into each of their hands.
That way, they should have an easier time getting through the next month.
The brothers had originally been too embarrassed and wanted to refuse.
They knew that food rations in the city were fixed every month.
If they ate one extra mouthful, their aunt’s family would have one mouthful less.
But Qiao Zhufang came over and joined her daughter-in-law in pulling the two brothers back into their seats.
She refused to let them leave.
Qiao Qiusheng, the head of the household, also spoke up and told them to stay.
In the end, the brothers had no choice but to remain and eat with everyone.
As they ate, however, they silently decided that from now on, they would do more work for their aunt’s family.
Their parents and grandparents had specifically instructed them before they left home to repay their aunt and uncle’s kindness whenever they could.
During dinner, He Yingying asked how the factory cafeteria was.
The brothers could not answer.
It was then that she learned that, in order to save money and food coupons, the two of them had never even gone to the cafeteria.
Every day, they had simply eaten the cornmeal buns and pickled vegetables they had brought from home.
They had somehow endured an entire week like that.
He Yingying was furious.
The two boys were at an age when growing boys needed enormous amounts of food.
They were also factory workers now, and they did not have light jobs.
How could they possibly get enough nutrition from eating so little?
If they continued like that, they would eventually ruin their health.
Qiao Zhufang was naturally soft-hearted.
Besides, these two children were not strangers.
They were her daughter-in-law’s nephews, and they were so sensible and well-behaved.
It was impossible not to feel sorry for them.
She immediately took some of the family’s unused food coupons for that month and gave them to the brothers.
She also stuffed several yuan into their hands.
Then she spoke earnestly.
“Your health is the foundation of everything. You can’t ruin your bodies.
“Take these food coupons and this money. Don’t feel embarrassed or refuse them.
“You’re factory workers now. Next month, you’ll receive your wages, food coupons, and other benefits.
“It’s not like you’re taking this for nothing and will never be able to repay it.
“If you refuse, I’ll have your aunt drag you over here for dinner after work every day.”
In the end, the two brothers accepted everything with tears in their eyes.
They felt that their aunt’s entire family was simply too kind.
In their hearts, they swore that they could never become ungrateful people who forgot their aunt and uncle’s kindness.
Time passed quickly.
The brothers’ lives at the steel factory gradually settled into a routine, and they began visiting the Qiao family more and more often.
All the neighbors in the apartment building knew that the Qiao family had two extremely sensible nephews.
The boys often came over to help with various chores.
And they were both very handsome young men.
For Qiao Jia Jia, the biggest change after her two cousins became factory workers in the city was that there were now more people available to take her to and from school.
On weekends, whenever her parents or grandparents were busy, her two cousins would often take her outside to play.
As they spent more time together, Qiao Jia Jia grew very fond of her two cousins.
Both brothers were the type of people who remembered kindness and always wanted to repay it.
The better her parents treated them, the more they wanted to return that kindness.
Whenever there was something that needed to be done, they would become extremely energetic, as if someone had injected them with a dose of adrenaline.
They would do their best to finish the job—and then some.
Qiao Jia Jia absolutely loved the family she had in this lifetime.
They were wonderful.
Everyone was such a good person!