The Xing family home was quiet—no one was around.
Baolan set down her basket and went into the room where she slept, beginning to pack her things.
She didn’t know what the dormitory conditions would be like yet, so for now she only packed summer clothes, plus a padded jacket for autumn—that should be enough.
In their family, the best things always went to Xing Baosong and Xing Baolin. The next best were given to Xing Baozhen and Xing Baomei. Caught in the middle, Baolan only got the hand-me-downs that Baomei and Li Sanniu had already worn.
The decent outfit she wore to the city this time was something she bought herself after she started earning a little pocket money, asking a village aunt who made homespun cloth to tailor it.
Everything else—including the padded jacket—was patched over and over again.
Aside from clothes, there wasn’t much else to bring.
The bedding was shared among the three sisters, and there wasn’t an extra quilt at home. She found an old bedsheet, folded it up, and planned to take her own thin summer quilt with her before leaving tomorrow. That would be enough to get through the summer.
As for autumn… she’d figure something out then.
By that time, she’d have earned two months’ wages—hopefully enough to save up for a set of bedding.
As for washing items like basins and buckets, the family only had one enamel washbasin, one wooden foot basin, and one large bath tub—none of which she could take.
She wondered if Dingqing would bring any of those. If she did, Baolan could borrow them for now and save up to buy her own later. If not, they could pool money and buy one together.
After thinking it over, Baolan only took two ceramic bowls—one large, one small—and a pair of chopsticks from the cupboard.
All her belongings together didn’t even fill half a sack.
Once she finished packing, she sat and waited for the others to return.
The first to come back was Baomei.
Seeing Baolan at home, she asked, “I heard from Third Aunt on the way that you came back. How’s Cousin Li?”
Baolan gave a vague reply and asked, “Where did Mom and Dad go?”
“Dad went to the fields to check the water. Mom… Mom went to Sister-in-law Wu to have clothes made.”
Baomei looked a little shy as she said this. Baolan raised an eyebrow. “Oh.”
“Grandma’s back. If you don’t go greet her, she’ll be unhappy again.”
Their grandmother, Old Madam Chen, had gone to stay at Second Aunt’s house for half a month. From Baomei’s words, she must have returned.
So Baolan went next door to Third Uncle’s house.
Her grandmother, Old Madam Chen, was sitting in the main hall, working on stiffening cloth with Baoju.
When she saw Baolan, she didn’t even lift her eyelids. Baoju greeted her, “Second Sister.”
“Grandma, when did you come back?” Baolan asked.
“What’s it to you when I came back?” Old Madam Chen snapped. “I heard you went to the city. Well? Does the food taste better there? Is the meat sweeter?”
Old Madam Chen favored the second daughter and youngest son the most, and disliked the eldest son Xing Jiafu and his wife. By extension, she also didn’t like Baolan and her siblings, often speaking to them in a sarcastic tone.
Baolan was used to it. She walked over and helped Baoju with the paste.
Since Baolan didn’t respond, Old Madam Chen grew more interested. She set down her work and said, “I heard your mother wants to marry you off in an exchange marriage?”
Seeing Baolan’s expression darken, Old Madam Chen slapped her thigh. “Ha! What did I say before? That Xing Jiafu and his wife have no conscience! And sure enough—look at the kind of things they’re doing! Shameless!”
Baoju felt uncomfortable hearing her scold her eldest uncle and said, “Grandma, stop. Why don’t you try to persuade Uncle not to make Second Sister do an exchange marriage instead?”
Old Madam Chen snorted. “What’s that got to do with me? I’m not going to play the villain. Look at her—she cares so much about her parents. Even if they sell her, she’d still help them count the money. She’s willing.”
Baolan spoke up for herself, “I’m not willing. But I already have a solution, so there’s no need for Grandma to say anything to them.”
Old Madam Chen snorted again, clearly not believing her.
After sitting for a while, Baolan left.
On the way back, she suddenly felt a bit regretful that she hadn’t brought Baoju along this time.
She hadn’t expected to find a job in Mingfeng City on her very first trip. In the future, she could keep an eye out for opportunities for Baoju—and… Baomei too.
Baomei still hadn’t noticed that Baolan had packed half a sack of belongings.
By the time Xing Jiafu and Li Sanniu returned and sat at the doorway to rest, Baolan carried a small stool over and sat across from them.
Li Sanniu lifted her eyelids and glanced at her.
Xing Jiafu asked, “You’re back? How are your cousin and the others?”
Baolan said, “I didn’t go to Cousin Li’s house.”
Xing Jiafu tapped his pipe. “What did you say?”
“I said I didn’t go to my cousin’s. I went to Mingfeng City these past two days.” Facing their astonished looks, she continued, “I passed the exam and got a worker’s position. Tomorrow I’ll go complete the onboarding procedures, and I start work on Monday.”
The sudden flood of information left Xing Jiafu stunned.
Li Sanniu jumped up. “What do you mean? You found a job? Who are you trying to fool?! Don’t think you can trick me with some made-up story—you must marry into the Chen family!”
Leaning against the doorframe, Baomei’s face showed a mix of shock and envy. Rationally, she knew her second sister never lied—especially not about something as big as finding a job in Mingfeng. But… how could her second sister possibly pass and become a worker?
“Second Sister… are you telling the truth?”
“Why would I lie to you?” Baolan turned to Xing Jiafu. “Dad, I’ve already packed my things. The factory has a dormitory, so I’ll be living there from now on. I won’t be coming back. Also, my household registration needs to be transferred to the factory—I’m telling you now. I’ll go find Uncle Yu later to handle the paperwork.”
Another thunderbolt.
Xing Jiafu finally reacted. “Transfer your household registration?”
“Yes. In the city, everything is rationed by coupons. If my registration is there, food, clothing, and daily life will be much more convenient.”
Otherwise, like this time—if the Xinxing Guesthouse hadn’t provided meals, she and Dingqing would have had no grain coupons and could only chew on dry rations in the city.
Xing Jiafu puffed on his leaf tobacco, silently weighing whether what his second daughter said was true.
If her registration was moved, she’d be removed from the household register… and their family’s land allocation would be reduced too.
Li Sanniu looked at Baolan, then at Xing Jiafu. “Second girl, you say you passed and became a worker just like that? So easy? Look at yourself in the mirror! I don’t believe you have that ability!”
A worker! In all the surrounding villages, aside from Li Li and Zhang Erwa from Zhangjiadian, who else had become a worker?
Li Li only got into the city early by luck. Zhang Erwa’s family spent a huge sum of money just to get him a temporary job at a brick factory. What gave Xing Baolan the right?
“Believe it or not,” Baolan said indifferently.
Her attitude was cold, completely unlike her usual respectful self—as if she truly had something to rely on now.
Li Sanniu thought of Zhang Erwa’s family buying a job, and suddenly flew into a rage. “Aha! Did you buy that job? Did you hide money? Did you steal our money to buy it?!”
Even Baomei and Xing Jiafu felt embarrassed hearing that.
Zhang Erwa’s family had spent over two hundred yuan to buy that job. If the Xing family had that kind of money, would Baosong still be struggling to learn carpentry? They would have bought him a job in the city long ago!
As for Baolan secretly saving two hundred yuan—that was even more unrealistic. Unless she had looted a landlord’s treasury, how could she possibly earn that much?
And when the landlords’ property was confiscated, Baolan had only been ten years old.
Even though Baolan had expected her mother not to believe she could become a worker, she hadn’t expected such an absurd accusation.
At this point, she didn’t feel hurt anymore—only a sense of absurdity.
Was there really a mother in this world who would rather believe her daughter stole money than believe her daughter was capable?
“Mom,” Baolan said, “does admitting that I’m capable make you uncomfortable? I really want to ask you and Dad—am I actually your biological daughter? Or was I picked up somewhere? Why else would you treat me so harshly?”