It was just after six in the morning when her eldest uncle, wearing only a jacket over his clothes, pushed open the courtyard gate.
Zhao Guoshi was outside walking the family goose.
Yes—walking it just like a dog.
A rope was tied around the goose’s neck as she led it around the courtyard. The reason was simple: she didn’t want it honking or leaving droppings all over the road while they traveled.
Hearing the gate open, she merely glanced back at Eldest Uncle Jiang before returning her attention to the goose.
“You haven’t eaten breakfast yet, have you? Go have another bowl of dumplings.”
“I’ve already eaten.”
Eldest Uncle Jiang walked to the doorway, saw Jiang Lai and Little Uncle Jiang eating, then silently headed to the kitchen to split firewood.
Only after watching the goose produce an impressively large pile of droppings did Zhao Guoshi nod in satisfaction. She stuffed it back into a netted sack, then tied its beak shut as well, worried it might honk or peck people on the bus.
Only then did she remember she hadn’t heard the sound of a tractor.
“Didn’t I tell you to borrow the brick kiln’s tractor?”
“The kiln’s been too busy delivering goods this month. I borrowed a donkey cart instead. It’ll do.”
Eldest Uncle Jiang was a quiet, dependable man.
He worked diligently, never argued with his wife, and handed over every cent of his wages.
Although the family had split households years ago, Zhao Guoshi remained the backbone of the entire Jiang family.
When the brick kiln first opened, she’d insisted he apply for a job there. As one of the earliest employees, he now earned a steady wage. During the busy farming season the kiln even gave workers leave so they wouldn’t neglect their fields.
Normally, whenever the family needed transportation, Zhao Guoshi had him borrow the kiln’s tractor.
This time he hadn’t managed to, and she couldn’t help grumbling a few more words.
Jiang Lai smiled.
“Grandma, a donkey cart is fine.”
“Hurry and pack me some dumplings.”
“I probably won’t get to eat your handmade dumplings again for quite a long time.”
The moment Zhao Guoshi heard Jiang Lai speak, she stopped complaining altogether.
She hurried inside, found a lunch tin, and packed every remaining dumpling into it.
Then she turned around and noticed Little Uncle Jiang still had nearly half a plate left.
Without a word, she snatched his plate and dumped the rest into Jiang Lai’s lunch tin.
Little Uncle Jiang had already been in a bad mood after being awakened by a dream, and now he wasn’t even full.
He looked at Zhao Guoshi with wounded eyes.
“Mom…”
“Your own son hasn’t even had enough to eat.”
“That’s enough.”
“You’ve got food in your stomach.”
“You don’t work today, so you don’t need to eat until you’re stuffed.”
Afraid the dumplings would cool during the journey, Zhao Guoshi wrapped the lunch tin in several thick layers of cloth before wrapping an extra jacket around it.
Then she sighed.
“Lai Lai likes my sweet potato starch meat buns best.”
“If I’d known, I would’ve bought some pork yesterday and made them.”
Jiang Lai accepted the heavily wrapped lunch tin as though it were a priceless treasure.
“Grandma.”
“I’ll be back for the New Year.”
“When I come home, you can make them for me then.”
Zhao Guoshi wiped away her tears, comforting herself as much as her granddaughter.
“The child’s grown up.”
“It’s better for her to live in the city.”
“No more working in the fields.”
“She’ll dress nicely and sit in an office.”
“Going back is for the best.”
“Go on.”
“The sooner you leave, the sooner you’ll get home.”
Jiang Lai left quietly without alerting the neighbors.
The scandalous rumors about her had circulated throughout the production brigade for quite some time.
By the time everyone realized what had happened, she’d already returned to the city.
To Jiang Lai, however, those rumors no longer mattered.
Her stage was no longer here.
Because she had insisted on involving the police, the incident hadn’t affected Fenfen’s marriage prospects.
Since she’d always been considered the ideal daughter-in-law, her fiancé’s family raised no objections, and the wedding proceeded as planned.
Changing the fate of even such a minor supporting character gave Jiang Lai far more confidence that she could also change the future of the entire Jiang family.
Eldest Uncle Jiang escorted them to the county bus station.
Only after watching the bus disappear into the distance did he finally turn back home.
There were no direct buses from the county to the provincial capital.
After changing buses three separate times, the pair finally arrived.
By the time the travel-worn Jiang Lai and Little Uncle Jiang stepped off the bus outside Hongxing Textile Factory, it was already around six in the evening—the end of the workday.
Workers passed by from time to time, casting curious glances at the two plainly dressed newcomers.
Little Uncle Jiang had never been to the provincial capital before.
Wonder filled his face as he repeatedly rubbed the sole of his worn rubber shoes against the smooth concrete.
“This factory sure is extravagant.”
“Even the entrance road is paved with concrete.”
“Our commune only has concrete around the commune offices.”
Jiang Lai looked up at the large sign reading Hongxing Textile Factory, still finding it difficult to believe.
She was actually standing inside the world of a novel.
“This is an old state-owned factory.”
“I heard they’re preparing to take foreign orders in the next couple of years.”
Little Uncle Jiang looked at her curiously.
“You sure know a lot.”
“But where do we go now?”
“I told you we should’ve sent Third Brother a telegram ahead of time.”
“Someone could’ve met us at the station.”
“Now we’re just standing here letting people stare at us.”
Feeling self-conscious under everyone’s curious gazes, he lowered his head and stopped looking around.
Jiang Lai naturally knew where the family residential compound was.
She adjusted the bundle hanging from her shoulder, lifted the sack she’d set on the ground, and strode confidently toward the west side of the factory.
“Follow me.”
Little Uncle Jiang knew every road back in the commune, but the provincial capital was completely unfamiliar.
Afraid they’d get lost, he hurried after her.
“Let’s ask someone for directions.”
“What if we wander off?”
Jiang Lai answered confidently,
“Relax.”
“I’m here!”
Unable to argue with her, he simply shouldered the load and followed.
West of the factory ran a narrow alley.
Beyond it stretched a broad road.
On the north side stood a large gate with the words Hongxing Textile Factory Family Housing painted overhead.
Along the outer wall was a row of storefronts—a barber shop, a cooperative store, a hot-water station…
Factory workers continuously streamed through the entrance on their way home.
Seeing the words Family Housing, Little Uncle Jiang finally breathed a sigh of relief.
His pace quickened until he caught up with Jiang Lai.
The Jiang family home wasn’t difficult to find.
After entering the residential compound, they simply needed to walk to the third row of houses.
Since the Jiang family lived in the same alley as the novel’s heroine, the location had been described numerous times in the original story.
Counting the rows as she walked, Jiang Lai headed straight there.
The moment she turned into the alley, loud cursing erupted from somewhere ahead.
Judging solely by the voice, the woman had quite a fiery temper.
“Shameless!”
“Who dumped their slop right in front of my house?”
“Trying to keep your own place clean by dirtying mine?”
“If I find out which son-of-a-bitch did it, I’ll dump swill into their water tank for three straight days!”
By this time, indoor plumbing had already been installed throughout the alley.
Every household had its own toilet and running water, so there was no longer any need to queue at public latrines or fetch water from communal taps.
The drainage system, however, was still rather primitive.
Open ditches ran along the walls of each courtyard.
Dirty water wasn’t much of a problem, but leftover food scraps quickly made the entire alley stink.
For that reason, every household kept a slop bucket and disposed of food waste at a designated collection point.
Hearing the woman’s furious shouting, Jiang Lai suddenly remembered this scene from the novel.
That afternoon, the heroine had nearly slipped while walking past the Jiang residence.
Her mother had publicly accused Ma Laihua of dumping household waste carelessly.
Being the “villainous neighbor,” Ma Laihua naturally argued back.
In the end, the neighborhood committee punished her by making her clean the alley’s drainage ditches for an entire month.
The same day also happened to be when Eldest Uncle Jiang and Little Uncle Jiang came to the city to discuss Jiang Lai’s situation with Ma Laihua.
Already furious after being wrongly punished, Ma Laihua hadn’t treated the two country relatives warmly.
The neighbors later spread rumors that she looked down on her rural family and had become snobbish.
Eldest Uncle Jiang hadn’t taken it personally.
Little Uncle Jiang, however, had resented his third brother’s city family for a long time afterward.
Years later, after the Jiang family all lost their jobs, he’d even mocked them over it.
Remembering the original plot, Jiang Lai couldn’t help feeling a little regretful.
She had arrived at exactly the wrong time.
Noticing she’d suddenly stopped walking, Little Uncle Jiang poked his head around from behind and asked in confusion,
“What’s wrong?”
“Did we take the wrong turn?”
Jiang Lai slowly shook her head.
“No.”
“We’re exactly where we’re supposed to be.”