Zhao Mingyue carried the stack of books back, determined to study them thoroughly. She had worried that after so many years, she might have forgotten everything she had learned. Fortunately, flipping through her junior high school textbooks, they weren't entirely unfamiliar, and she quickly became familiar with them. Now, studying the high school courses, she found them not too obscure either; after reading them a couple of times, she could still understand them. Zhao Minglang, on the other hand, because he graduated longer than her, didn't learn as quickly as she did.

The college entrance examination in 1977 was in December. It's May now, and there's still a year and a half until the exam. If you want to master the three-year curriculum, you need to hurry up.

That noon, everyone was resting after lunch. Zhao Mingyue was sitting at the table doing math problems when she suddenly heard crying coming from next door. Zhao Mingyue listened carefully and saw that it was her cousin Mingxiu crying.

She put down her book and went outside, where she saw Zhao Mingxiu squatting on the ground, clutching her schoolbag, her head resting on her knees as she cried. Mingxiu's older brother, Zhao Minggang, sat on the doorstep, watching his sister expressionlessly. Mingxiu's mother, her face full of anger, muttered, "A girl should be able to write her own name and do basic accounting. What's the point of studying so much? Do you even want to go to university? Even if you do, you'll still belong to someone else's family. It's a waste of my money."

Zhao Mingyue frowned and went over to comfort her cousin: "Xiuer, why are you crying?"

Zhao Mingxiu raised her head, her eyes as red as a rabbit's. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand: "My mother won't let me go to school. She wants me to come back and work."

Mingxiu's mother said again, "Come back and work sooner rather than later. Do you think your schooling is free? It costs three or four yuan a semester. Come back and earn money to help your brother get married."

Zhao Mingyue helped Zhao Mingxiu up and walked to her second aunt, Wang Zhaodi, smiling as she said, "Second aunt, this is a new society now, men and women are equal. If you raise Mingxiu well now, she might be even more filial than your son in the future."

Zhao Mingxiu's eldest brother, Zhao Minggang, is 25 years old this year. He is a bit dull and not very smart. In addition, his family is not well-off, so he has not been able to find a wife yet. His second uncle and aunt are very anxious and are asking around for help to find a wife.

Wang Zhaodi said, "I don't need my daughter to be filial. I will rely on my son to support me in my old age. My daughter belongs to another family. Once she gets married, it's like water spilled out. She doesn't help the family now, so how can I expect her to help the family after she gets married? Minggang has only been in school for two years. She's a girl and she's already in the fifth grade. What else is she dissatisfied with? Do you think I'm being harsh on her?"

Zhao Mingxiu cried beside her, saying, "My brother just doesn't want to study. Can you let me finish this semester's classes? There's only a little over a month until vacation. Can you wait until I finish elementary school, Mom?"

Zhao Mingyue looked at her cousin and sighed. Mingxiu was just too sensible; why didn't she try to stand up for herself? Just then, her second uncle, Zhao Desheng, returned carrying buckets of water. Seeing his daughter wiping away tears, he asked, "Xiuer, why are you crying?"

Wang Zhaodi glared at her husband: "Why do you care why she's crying? Go do your own thing."

Zhao Mingyue looked at her second aunt, unsure what to say. Her second aunt was an extremely shrewd and capable woman. She had never attended school, yet she held everything in her hands, from her husband to her children, all of whom were completely under her thumb. Her second uncle was weak-willed, and his son inherited this trait; both father and son were dull and not very bright. Her second aunt was strong-willed, greedy for small gains, and never willing to suffer a loss. Therefore, she didn't have good relationships with her sisters-in-law, mother-in-law, or neighbors. She was like a hedgehog, always ready to prick others.

Zhao Mingyue said, "Second Aunt, Xiuer's tuition for this semester has already been paid. If you don't let her go to school, wouldn't that just benefit the school teachers?"

Wang Zhaodi blinked: "Okay then, you can't continue after this semester."

Zhao Mingxiu burst into laughter through her tears, quickly wiped them away, and ran off with her schoolbag in her arms.

Watching her cousin's retreating figure, Zhao Mingyue shook her head. Mingxiu was too weak-willed and didn't know how to fight for herself. In her previous life, she had only been married a short time when she heard about the tragedy of Mingxiu's suicide by jumping into a well.

Seeing that her niece, seven or eight years younger than her son, was already married while her son remained unmarried, Wang Zhaodi was extremely anxious. She went everywhere seeking help to find a wife for her son. Later, a family in Zongshan Valley said that there was a poor family with a son and a daughter; their son was thirty and still unmarried, and they were keeping their daughter unmarried, wanting to find a replacement wife for their son. They asked Wang Zhaodi if she was willing.

When Wang Zhaodi heard that a girl was willing to marry into her family, she was overjoyed and agreed without considering the man's character. This practice of exchanging a daughter for a daughter-in-law was called "cotton for yarn" and was once very common in remote and impoverished areas. The man was half-blind, short, and deaf—practically not a normal person. The girl, however, was as beautiful and intelligent as Mingxiu. Relatives and friends advised Wang Zhaodi not to push Mingxiu into such a predicament. Wang Zhaodi was determined to marry him and didn't care about her daughter's well-being. Thus, fifteen-year-old Zhao Mingxiu was betrothed.

The day before her wedding, Zhao Mingxiu disappeared. Her body was found in a long-abandoned well. When Zhao Mingyue rushed back, she saw her cousin's cold body. Her aunt was crying and cursing, still blaming her daughter for not marrying and dying. Zhao Mingyue's heart sank into an ice cave; she would never forget that scene. So now she absolutely could not let that tragedy happen again.

Zhao Mingyue sat at home reading, feeling restless and anxious thinking about Mingxiu. How could she resolve Mingxiu's problem? Actually, aside from being a little slow-witted, Zhao Minggang wasn't that bad. His biggest obstacle to marriage was probably his mother. No girl wants to marry into a family with a controlling mother-in-law, and Zhao Minggang's weak personality, always obeying his mother, made things very difficult.

In the afternoon, when Zhao Mingyue went to work at the banquet hall, she didn't see Yu Youfen. She assumed Yu Youfen had gone to work at the team's farm and didn't think much of it. Several outgoing young women teased Zhao Mingyue again: "Mingyue, Secretary Shen called you the other day, what good news did he have?"

Zhao Mingyue knew that this kind of thing couldn't be hidden forever, and it wasn't something she had done secretly, so she said, "I borrowed some books from Secretary Shen to read."

"So Mingyue actually wants to become the top female scholar," Cheng Meilai said with a smile.

Zhao Mingyue said, "I was just feeling really bored, so I borrowed a few books to pass the time."

Wang Qiulan pouted and said, "That's right. We illiterate people who haven't read or studied all know how to work and eat. We can't compare to cultured people."

Chengmei teased her: "You don't like people who are cultured? Then why do you ask me about so-and-so every day? He's a high school student."

Wang Qiulan blushed with embarrassment and gritted her teeth as she looked at Zhao Mingyue, saying, "What good is it if I like him! People only like cultured people, not illiterate people like me." It was no secret that Wang Qiulan admired Cheng Yonggang and had become even more direct and bold after Zhao Mingyue rejected Cheng Yonggang's marriage proposal.

Zhao Mingyue took it as a joke. Women in this era spend their days around the stove. Apart from getting married and having children, they really don't have much else to pursue. You can't ask them to do more.

After finishing work, Zhao Mingyue went to her own vegetable garden to pick vegetables and found Yu Youfen carrying water to water the vegetables. She greeted her, "Sister Youfen, didn't you go to the banquet this afternoon? Did you go to work at the team?"

Yu Youfen's expression was complicated. She put down her load and ran over to Zhao Mingyue to say, "Mingyue, I'm so worried right now."

"What are you worried about?"

Yu Youfen bit her lower lip and said, "The textile factory in the region is recruiting female workers, and our production team recommended me."

Zhao Mingyue looked at Yu Youfen with surprise and delight: "Really? That's great, congratulations!"

Yu Youfen showed no joy on her face and said, "But it's not confirmed yet. They're only hiring one person, requiring a junior high school graduate and to be between eighteen and twenty years old. In our brigade, only Zhao Baoli and I meet the requirements."

Zhao Mingyue frowned: "Then what should we do?"

Yu Youfen sighed: "I'm worried too, because my family's class background isn't good."

The idea of ​​solely relying on class background seems ridiculous to later generations, but in that era, it was like a shackle, firmly around your neck. Zhao Mingyue comforted her, "You can't choose your birth, but you can choose your path. Besides, wasn't Zhao Baoli's family also rich peasants?"

“But her surname is Zhao, and if the village recommends her, there’s nothing I can do,” Yu Youfen said.

The surnames in Moon Bay are very diverse, but the Zhao surname is the dominant one. They all basically share the same ancestor, so they are all from the same clan. Now that Zhao Jinyun is the director, he will definitely take care of his own clan first when there are any good things.

Zhao Mingyue frowned, trying hard to recall. Yes, back in 1976, a textile factory in the region had indeed come to the village to recruit workers. It was because of this that Yu Youfen left her hometown, and in the end, it was Zhao Baoli who went to the textile factory. Thinking of this, Zhao Mingyue looked up at Yu Youfen: "Sister Youfen, do you really want to be a worker?"

Yu Youfen looked at Zhao Mingyue and sighed, "If we could get out of the countryside, who wouldn't want to? That way, our family wouldn't be so poor, and it would be easier for my brothers to get married in the future. I can help them out."

Zhao Mingyue understood her current state of mind; she knew she was eager to change her family's situation, but this wasn't a good thing and would only bring greater disaster to her family. Zhao Mingyue thought for a moment and said, "Sister Youfen, actually I think being a factory worker isn't necessarily a good thing, and it might not be suitable for you."

Yu Youfen twisted her fingers and bit her lip: "I never thought I would have the opportunity to work in a factory. Now that the opportunity is so close, I really don't want to let it go. My brother is already twenty-seven and no girl is willing to marry him. You have no idea how anxious my parents are. My brother is also becoming more and more silent. This damned background of ours has really ruined us all."

This was the first time Zhao Mingyue had heard Yu Youfen speak so frankly to her. It seemed that she really wanted to escape rural life. Zhao Mingyue hesitated for a moment: "If it requires paying a heavy price that you can't imagine, are you willing to do it?"

Yu Youfen bit her lower lip: "I'm going all in!" Zhao Jinyun had already hinted at it to her several times.

Zhao Mingyue knew that introverted people were actually very difficult to deal with; once they made up their minds, they were basically unyielding: "What about my third brother?"

Yu Youfen glanced at Zhao Mingyue in a panic. She thought they had concealed it very well, but Zhao Mingyue had seen through her. "I... if I really go to the region, I will indeed feel a little sorry for Minglang."

Zhao Mingyue sighed: "Sister Fen, don't be so naive. Things aren't as simple as you think. Even if you're willing to make sacrifices, you might not get the results you want, and you could even lose everything. My advice is, don't even think about going to the factory. I don't think you can do it."

"Why?" Yu Youfen gritted her teeth. Zhao Jinyun had said that as long as she agreed, he would definitely guarantee that she could go to the factory.