Following Jiang Lai’s reminder, everyone’s attention turned to the pile of slop on the ground. Sure enough, several large fish bones were mixed in with the scraps. Everyone knew that Yuan Huiping’s family had eaten fish the day before.
Yuan Huiping forced a smile.
“I was just going home to get a broom to clean it up. Who knew all of you would show up first?”
“You dumped garbage all over the ground and didn’t clean it up immediately. Wenwen almost slipped when she came home.”
“What if some elderly person came out tonight and couldn’t see it? What if they fell?”
Song Wenwen’s mother, putting on the airs of an official’s wife, continued laying into Yuan Huiping.
“My slop bucket broke, and I got splashed all over. I only went home to change my pants…”
Yuan Huiping didn’t dare offend Song Wenwen’s mother. Though she felt terribly wronged, she could only keep explaining and apologizing.
Ma Laihua turned, ready to argue on Yuan Huiping’s behalf, but Jiang Lai tugged her back.
“Mom, I’m exhausted. Let’s hurry home.”
Ma Laihua spat on the ground.
“You’re no good either! You stood back there listening the whole time and didn’t come out to explain yourself.”
“If today weren’t such a happy occasion, I’d scratch your face to pieces!”
After throwing out one last vicious threat, she allowed her daughter to pull her back into their courtyard.
Only after they left did Yuan Huiping tearfully clean up the mess.
Song Wenwen’s mother and Ma Laihua had been at odds for years. Since Ma Laihua had already gone inside, Song Wenwen’s mother simply flicked her sleeve and left as well. Everyone else in the alley was afraid of her and had long since lost any desire to argue with her.
The onlookers, meanwhile, were still shocked by Jiang Lai’s sudden return and couldn’t stop gossiping.
“Isn’t that Laihua’s daughter? The one she sent to the countryside right after she finished her confinement?”
“They seem pretty close.”
“She looks even prettier than Laihua did when she was young. It must be her.”
“Like mother, like daughter.”
“Even the way she tears into people is exactly the same.”
The house was too cramped to bring everything inside, so the luggage was temporarily stacked in the courtyard.
The little courtyard had been secured for them by Ma Laihua through the factory union.
With six official factory employees in the family, they ranked among the better-off households in the factory.
Even so, the house wasn’t large.
Three bedrooms and one kitchen.
When three generations squeezed into a three-room courtyard, space inevitably became tight.
After the eldest and second sons married, each couple occupied one bedroom.
The third son lived in a room converted from the kitchen.
Since Ma Laihua had spent a thousand yuan buying Jiang Lai a guesthouse receptionist position, although the exact date of her return hadn’t yet been determined, they’d already cordoned off a tiny area in the already cramped living room with a curtain, preparing a place for her to sleep.
The living room measured less than twelve square meters to begin with.
Once partitioned, only about five square meters remained.
There was no sofa or coffee table.
Instead, a dining table stood in the center, surrounded by eight folding chairs.
Two large cabinets stood against the wall, with a sewing machine tucked into one corner.
There wasn’t a single household appliance in sight.
It was Little Uncle Jiang’s first visit.
Curled up awkwardly on a chair, he held a teacup in both hands while looking around.
The admiration he’d felt upon entering the city quickly faded, replaced by mild disappointment.
“Third Sister-in-law…”
“So your whole family lives in a place this tiny?”
Ma Laihua laughed.
“Well, that’s the downside of city living.”
“The more people there are, the more crowded it gets.”
Jiang Lai had returned so suddenly that no bedding had been prepared for her.
As Ma Laihua chatted with Little Uncle Jiang about things back home, she pulled quilts from the wardrobe and carried them outside to beat the mildew out of them.
The sun had already set, but at least airing them out a little was better than nothing.
Little Uncle Jiang peeked at the narrow single bed behind the curtain and clicked his tongue.
“Back home, you at least had your own room and wardrobe.”
“This little space…”
“If someone runs too fast after going to the toilet, they’ll probably knock somebody over.”
Jiang Lai had already prepared herself mentally.
In the novel, most families squeezed five or six people into two or three rooms.
It wasn’t unusual for unmarried grown sons and daughters to still share bedrooms with their parents.
Compared with many families, the Jiangs were actually above average.
She smiled casually.
“It’s fine.”
“If I work hard, maybe the guesthouse will assign me a single dormitory room someday.”
Her tone was optimistic.
It was now 1980—the early days of Reform and Opening Up.
She might not have a magical cheat system, but with her own abilities, earning herself a house in an era overflowing with opportunity wasn’t exactly difficult.
Of course…
That was a rather oversized dream to be selling at the moment.
Hearing her words, Ma Laihua smiled warmly instead of dampening her enthusiasm.
“Then you’d better work hard.”
“If you perform well, maybe you really can earn yourself a single dorm room someday.”
It had been nearly half a year since Ma Laihua last visited the countryside.
She missed her daughter dearly.
Rather than rushing to rebuild their relationship, however, she first questioned Little Uncle Jiang about everything that had happened back home.
They hadn’t even chatted for half an hour before the courtyard gate opened and the rest of the family returned.
Jiang Jianshe and Second Brother Jiang Chunyang walked in carrying two lunch tins, followed closely by Second Sister-in-law.
Jiang Jianshe was the first to notice the luggage in the courtyard.
“Your uncle’s here?”
Little Uncle Jiang hadn’t seen Jiang Jianshe in ages.
The moment he heard his voice, he hurried out of the house.
“Third Brother!”
Jiang Jianshe froze briefly before recognizing him.
His face immediately lit up as he wrapped an arm around Little Uncle Jiang.
“When did you get here?”
“Why didn’t you let us know beforehand?”
“Second Brother and I could’ve taken leave to pick you up at the station.”
Jiang Lai quietly slipped out of the room.
“Dad.”
“I wanted to surprise you.”
She hugged his arm affectionately and grinned.
“So? Surprised?”
Jiang Jianshe stared blankly at his youngest daughter for quite some time.
The original Jiang Lai had grown up with Grandma Zhao in the countryside and had never been especially close to her biological father.
Jiang Jianshe himself had always been awkward around his youngest daughter, carefully watching every word and action because he never quite knew how to interact with her.
This was the very first time she’d taken the initiative to cling to him.
His emotions became surprisingly complicated.
Still, the first thing he noticed was that his once-plump little girl had become much thinner.
His heart ached.
He nodded repeatedly.
“Surprised?”
“Of course I’m surprised.”
“You should’ve at least sent a telegram or made a phone call.”
“I would’ve gone to pick you up.”
Jiang Lai smiled.
“I’m not a little kid anymore.”
“The address was written on the envelope.”
“Little Uncle and I just followed it here by bus.”
Ma Laihua took the lunch tins from Jiang Jianshe’s hands and was surprised by how heavy they were.
Only then did she remember she’d spent the afternoon arguing with Song Wenwen’s mother and had completely forgotten to cook dinner.
Seeing her daughter safely home put her in such a good mood that she immediately announced,
“Chunyang!”
“Go reserve a table at the state-owned restaurant.”
“We’re eating out tonight.”
Little Uncle Jiang’s eyes lit up instantly.
“I’ve never eaten at a state-owned restaurant in the provincial capital before!”
Although he was two years older than Jiang Chunyang, the two had grown up playing together whenever Jiang Chunyang returned to the countryside.
They were quite close.
Now that his uncle had come to the city, Jiang Chunyang slung an arm over his shoulder.
“Come on, Uncle.”
“What do you want to eat?”
“My treat.”
Little Uncle Jiang had never explored the provincial capital before, so he happily let Jiang Chunyang lead him toward the gate.
Since there wasn’t enough room at home, Ma Laihua shouted after them,
“Book your uncle a room at the guesthouse!”
“Don’t wait until after dinner and find out there aren’t any left!”
Jiang Chunyang called back without even turning around,
“Our factory guesthouse hardly ever has guests.”
“It won’t be too late to book it after dinner.”
Hongxing Textile Factory was the largest and oldest textile mill in the provincial capital.
Its guesthouse had been built during the factory’s heyday in the Republican era.
It mainly hosted business clients, though it also accepted ordinary travelers to generate extra income.
Since this wasn’t the busy season, there were very few guests staying there, so Jiang Chunyang was completely confident they could book a room after dinner without any trouble.