After tidying herself up, Hu Jiaojiao headed to the light bulb factory. When Sister Li in the office saw her, she said, “Oh, Xiao Hu, your fever’s gone?”
Hu Jiaojiao quickly lowered her head and replied, “Much better today. I just came to take a look so I don’t delay work.”
Sister Li added, “You need to fully recover before you can work better, right?”
“Yes, yes, Sister Li is right,” Hu Jiaojiao echoed.
She hurried to her desk and pretended to busy herself. There wasn’t much to do that morning—she just proofread a radio script, then went to the canteen for lunch. The whole afternoon, she idled away the time until finally it was time to get off work. The job really was quite easy.
Hu Jiaojiao didn’t want to go to the countryside. Life like this was good. But she couldn’t avoid it—her personality was too different from the original owner of this body, and she was afraid of being exposed. Going to the countryside might at least give her a chance to “change” gradually.
She wandered outside until dusk before heading home, casually asking around how much a temporary job could be sold for these days. For someone like her working in an office, eight hundred yuan was the minimum—and people would scramble for it.
The moment she stepped into the courtyard, she heard Third Sister whining, “Mom, did you tell Second Sister? I don’t want to go.”
Mother Hu lightly slapped her arm. “Go on, get out of the way. I’m cooking. We’ll talk about it at dinner.”
Third Sister brightened. “Mom, you’re the best!” She skipped out of the kitchen, then quickly wiped the smile off her face when she saw Hu Jiaojiao entering, and went back to her room.
Hu Jiaojiao snorted inwardly. Oh, so they’d already decided everything without even discussing it.
When dinner was laid out on the table in the main room, Hu Jiaojiao sat down and looked at it. Five bowls of thin porridge—two slightly thicker ones placed in front of Father Hu and Fourth Brother, while the other three were so watery you could see reflections in them. There was a basket of coarse-grain buns, a plate of pickles, and in front of Father Hu, a small dish of peanuts and a tiny cup of liquor.
Father Hu took a sip—barely lowering the level—then popped a peanut into his mouth, smacking his lips as if savoring it. Hu Jiaojiao couldn’t help mocking inwardly: Can you even taste anything? And you’re savoring it? But that was just how life was in this era.
While she was still complaining in her mind, Mother Hu spoke, “Jiaojiao, I’ve signed you up to go to the countryside. You’ll have to leave in three days, to the eastern province. Tomorrow, hand your job over to your younger sister. Pack your things and get ready. In a few years, when your brother—”
Before she could finish, there was a clang. Hu Jiaojiao had tipped her empty bowl, knocking it against the pickle dish. In a low voice, she said, “I have a job. Why should I go to the countryside? I won’t go!”
Both parents froze for a moment. Then Mother Hu slammed the table. “You think you can just refuse? Your fourth brother doesn’t know anything—how could he survive there? Your third sister is weak; sending her would be a death sentence. You’ve worked since you were little, you’re capable and strong—you’ll manage to feed yourself in the countryside.”
Hu Jiaojiao was so angry she laughed. “So I’m easy to bully? Just because I don’t talk much, you can push everything onto me? Since I can work, I have to go?”
Third Sister lowered her head guiltily and pretended to eat. Fourth Brother stayed silent. Father Hu kept sipping his endless cup of liquor.
Hu Jiaojiao knew none of them would speak up.
Mother Hu softened her tone. “In a few years, when your brother gets married, I’ll retire and let you take over. Then you can come back to the city. The neighborhood office is pushing hard…”
Hu Jiaojiao thought for a moment and seemed to relent. “If I go to the countryside, what do I get?”
Mother Hu brightened. “The educated youth office will give you a subsidy of 120 yuan—you can use it to buy what you need. If you’re short of anything later, you can buy more. And if we have extra money, we’ll send you living expenses.”
Hu Jiaojiao continued, “And my job? Just handed over to Third Sister for free? Jobs like mine are selling for 800 yuan outside—and people fight over them.”
Third Sister blurted, “What, you want money too?”
Hu Jiaojiao sneered. “Why shouldn’t I? You don’t want to go, so you pushed Mom to send me instead. If I sell my job, what’s wrong with that? If I have money, life in the countryside won’t be so hard.”
Third Sister turned anxiously to their mother. “Mom, look at Second Sister…” but didn’t continue.
Mother Hu sighed. “We’re family. Don’t argue like this.”
Hu Jiaojiao replied coolly, “Now you remember we’re family? Then let her go instead.”
Mother Hu choked. “Your name is already registered with the neighborhood office. It can’t be changed.”
She remembered the look the staff gave her earlier that day—like she was an extremely biased mother—and felt uneasy.
Hu Jiaojiao didn’t want to argue further. “Fine, I can go to the countryside—”
Before she finished, Mother Hu exclaimed happily, “Good, good!”
“Don’t rush,” Hu Jiaojiao continued. “Hear my conditions first. My job is worth 800 outside—I won’t ask for that much. Give me 500. Tomorrow I’ll complete the transfer. And prepare everything I need—pots, bowls, bedding, quilts. Once that’s done, I’ll leave immediately.”
Everyone stared at her in disbelief. The usually silent second daughter had suddenly become so assertive.
“Don’t just stare,” she added. “If you can do it, I’ll go. If not, I have a job—I don’t have to go.”
Mother Hu hesitated. “How can we have that much money? We’re family—why be so calculating?”
“If you don’t have enough, figure it out yourselves. I’ll wait until tomorrow morning.”
With that, Hu Jiaojiao stood up and returned to her room.
In fact, she had already done the math. The Hu family could come up with 500 yuan. Both parents were workers, each earning thirty to forty yuan a month—together around seventy, which made over 800 a year. That didn’t even include the money her eldest sister used to contribute before getting married—ten yuan a month for three years.
Thinking this through, she fell asleep.
The next morning, the sounds of washing and rinsing came from the courtyard. Hu Jiaojiao got up unusually early, stretched, and leaned against the doorframe. “So, have you decided?”
The three people washing up froze for a moment. Why three? Because Third Sister was still hiding in bed like an ostrich.
Mother Hu spat out toothpaste foam and said, “Wait till breakfast, I’ll give it to you.” She muttered something under her breath, but Hu Jiaojiao didn’t care—as long as she got the money.
Sure enough, at breakfast, Mother Hu reluctantly took out a small cloth bundle. Just as she was about to speak, Hu Jiaojiao grabbed it, opened it, and began counting without ceremony. There were a few ten-yuan notes, but most were small bills and coins—a thick stack, quite a sight. Exactly 500 yuan.
Hu Jiaojiao extended her hand again. “And the 120 yuan subsidy from the educated youth office.”
Before Mother Hu could say anything, Father Hu tapped his bowl. “Hurry up. We still have to go to work.”
Mother Hu went inside and brought out another handful of money. Hu Jiaojiao didn’t even count it—she stuffed it into her pocket, though in reality she stored it in her personal apartment space.
She then took out a transfer note and wrote that she voluntarily transferred her job to Hu Aihong. Too lazy to handle the rest herself, she turned and left.
Without her involvement, the job was quickly transferred to Third Sister. In those days, jobs could be passed to relatives or inherited within families. Third Sister was delighted at first, but later, when the factory office realized she couldn’t write scripts and kept making mistakes in proofreading, she was reassigned to the workshop.
But that was a story for another time.