Father Lin slapped Lin Yingwei on the back of his head. "You've been married for two years now, yet you still speak without any sense of propriety. I don't know where your upbringing has gone."
Lin Yingwan was bargaining with Lin Yingxian about renting the bicycle.
Lin Yingwan had already boasted to her classmates that Lin Yingxian had a Phoenix-brand bicycle that she could ride anytime. If she didn't show up on a bike tomorrow, those snobbish classmates would surely mock her.
Being prideful, Lin Yingwan didn't want to lose face, so she had no choice but to rent the bicycle from Lin Yingxian. In the end, Lin Yingwan paid forty cents to rent Lin Yingxian's bicycle for one day.
In the 1970s, most workers had little to no savings. Whether they earned little or much, they spent almost everything each month, not much different from the "moonlighters" of the twenty-first century.
One significant factor was the stable employment environment of that era. The "iron rice bowl" was not an empty phrase—as long as you showed up for work on time, your monthly wages would be paid in full without fail.
People spent relatively at ease. If they ran out of money by the end of the month, they would tighten their belts and endure a few days until payday. If unexpected expenses arose, they would either borrow from relatives or family, or request an advance on their next month's salary from their work unit.
Another important factor was that usually one or two workers in a household supported an entire extended family. With normal expenses, there was simply no leftover money to save. If one person secured an iron rice bowl, they would be supporting their entire family behind them.
Families like the Lin Family, where everyone was a worker, were relatively uncommon. Comparatively, the Lin Family lived a decent life—except their living space was too cramped.
Keeping up with the times, Lin Yingwan was also a moonlighter. Taking out forty cents at the end of the month felt like cutting into her flesh, as her monthly salary was only around twenty yuan.
Although Lin Yingwan was a year younger than Lin Yingxian, they started working at the factory in the same year. The year before last, when they both reached the age to be sent down to the countryside as educated youths, Mother Lin and Father Lin pulled strings everywhere to secure one job position. They gave that position to Lin Yingwan.
Lin Yingxian was to be sent down to the countryside as an educated youth. Father Lin and Mother Lin told Lin Yingxian they would use their connections to arrange for her to be sent to their hometown as an educated youth, where her grandmother's family could look after her, so it wouldn't be too hard. They also persuaded Lin Yingxian, saying she had lived in the countryside before and would adapt more easily to rural life, whereas Lin Yingwan had never been to the countryside. Besides, Lin Yingwan was the younger sister, so Lin Yingxian should give way to her.
Since childhood, Lin Yingxian had always been the one to yield to others. No one ever thought of yielding to her. In her parents' hearts, she was always the last priority and the first to be sacrificed.
She also longed to be favored just once, to know what it felt like to be cherished with partiality…
For Lin Yingxian, the time spent living at her grandmother's house in the countryside was a nightmare—being called a bastard, bullied and tormented, endless chores, hunger… Lin Yingxian carried deep psychological scars from those experiences. She refused to live like that again.
No matter how much she pleaded or protested by starving herself, Father Lin and Mother Lin never changed their minds. Depressed and further provoked by Zhou Donghong, who painted grand illusions and persistently urged her to go to the countryside, Lin Yingxian bought a bottle of pesticide and drank it, committing suicide.
The present Lin Yingxian had thus crossed over, replacing the Lin Yingxian who had died.
After waking up in the hospital, Lin Yingxian found herself burdened with the severe depression lingering in the body of the original owner. Coupled with her own desire to return to her original world through death, she had no wish to remain in this unfamiliar reality. Lin Yingxian attempted suicide twice, but both times she was rescued. Father Lin and Lin Yingwei restrained her tightly, binding her, and the doctor administered sedatives.
Gradually accepting her circumstances, Lin Yingxian began to contemplate her future life.
She had no intention of severing ties with the Lin Family. As a penniless, homeless, and unemployed orphan, survival in this world was already difficult enough without adding the complications that would arise from cutting off family relations. She was already unfortunate; there was no need to invite further hardship.
What about joining the educated youth and moving to the countryside to distance herself from them? Her current physical condition was poor and weak. The rural areas of this era were far from the modernized new countryside of the future. From the original owner’s memories, she could glimpse some of the hardships involved. Moreover, she had no special advantages or "golden fingers." Years of arduous labor would likely cause her frail body to collapse completely.
A sickly, weak individual like her, unable to even handle a chicken, would only become a burden to the farmers and cause trouble if sent to the village.
Lin Yingxian wept to Father Lin and Mother Lin, lamenting her uselessness for failing to die and thus unable to make room for Eldest Sister-in-law to raise her child. She also explained why she refused to go to the countryside, recounting the miserable experiences she had endured while living at her grandmother’s house as a child.
Lin Yingxian’s pitiful state, combined with her repeated suicide attempts, stirred Father Lin and Mother Lin’s hearts. The dormant parental love they held for her was rekindled.
Zhou Donghong, who had married into the family just over half a year ago, found herself outmaneuvered by Lin Yingxian. She lost her standing at home, becoming the person who had nearly driven her sister-in-law to death. From then on, Zhou Donghong dared to quarrel and clash with Lin Yingwan, but she never dared to provoke Lin Yingxian’s displeasure.
Father Lin and Mother Lin were uneasy about sending Lin Yingwan to the countryside. Having been raised in pampered comfort, Lin Yingwan would likely struggle immensely to adapt to the hardships of rural life.
After Lin Yingxian’s incident, they also dared not send her to become an educated youth.
Father Lin and Mother Lin were overwhelmed, desperately trying to find a job for Lin Yingxian. Jobs were exceedingly difficult to come by.
If it weren’t for the surplus of unemployed youth in the cities and the lack of sufficient job opportunities, the policy of sending educated youth to the countryside might not have even existed.
Later, Lin Yingxian managed to secure a job as a worker at the Pharmaceutical Factory through her own efforts, finally resolving Father Lin and Mother Lin’s dilemma.
Feeling guilty toward Lin Yingxian, Father Lin and Mother Lin told her she didn’t need to contribute to the household expenses and could keep her earnings for herself. Lin Yingxian, however, didn’t take this literally. She still gave a portion of her monthly income to the family for household expenses.
Lin Yingxian felt that Father Lin and Mother Lin weren’t devoid of love for her; it was just that among their three children, she received the least amount of affection. She treated them as relatively close relatives, fulfilling all necessary social niceties. She held no expectations for parental love. The greater the expectations, the greater the disappointment.
Among five fingers, some are long and some are short; Lin Yingxian was the short one. Both the palm and the back of the hand are flesh, but Lin Yingxian was the back of the hand, where the flesh is thin…
In less than an evening, everyone living on the same floor as the Lin Family knew that guests had visited. They just didn’t know what urgent matter had caused the guests to leave without even staying for dinner.
While Mother Lin was bathing in the public bathroom, Aunt Li approached her and said, “I heard your relatives stayed until almost dinnertime before leaving. People in the building are saying you don’t know how to treat guests properly—your relatives came all this way bringing fruit to see you, and you didn’t even invite them to stay for a meal.”
Mother Lin had been bathing in the public bathhouse for over twenty years, yet she still wasn’t used to others suddenly approaching her while naked. She quietly shifted away to create some distance. "He’s an educated youth who went to the countryside and was in a hurry to return. He didn’t have time for dinner, so my husband gave him some food ration coupons to take with him."
Aunt Li immediately changed her expression, indignantly condemning those busybodies who spread baseless rumors.
Mother Lin knew that Aunt Li was cut from the same cloth as those people, but she couldn’t be bothered to argue. She pretended to listen earnestly while merely humoring Aunt Li.
After finishing her bath and returning home, Mother Lin was quite upset as she recounted the incident with Aunt Li to her family. She didn’t dare speak too loudly, knowing that even a slightly raised voice would be heard by everyone in the hallway.