Chapter 16
◎ The sunset outside the door was beautiful, and Feng Guangmei was still waiting for her to come out.
See yourself◎
The sunset outside the door was beautiful, and Feng Guangmei was still waiting for her to come out.
Seeing him come out, Feng Guangmei immediately came up to him and asked, "How's it going? Do you have a job?"
Bei Bitang shook her head and said, "No, let me go back and wait."
Feng Guangmei immediately put away the joy on her face and said indifferently, "I'm better than you. I do have a job, but it's not very good. I don't like it very much."
Bei Bitang smiled and said sincerely, "Congratulations, Guangmei!"
She didn't feel jealous, but she had just heard in the office that Feng Guangmei graduated from high school, and thought about why Xu Zeli broke up with her and dated a female college classmate. It was simply because he felt that she was a junior high school student and he was a college student, so she was not worthy of him.
She was just a little sad. If she had been admitted to university, or graduated from high school, would Xu Zeli still break up with her? Would he break up with her without any hesitation?
But overthinking it was pointless. Xu Zeli was just that kind of person. Even if she got into university, this match would only be temporary. He was a man who loved to hang out with the rich and powerful. If he met someone better in the future, he would ruthlessly abandon her. That day would only come later or later.
Feng Guangmei patted Bei Bitang on the shoulder and comforted her, "Don't be discouraged. Work is like bread, there will always be something to eat."
Bei Bitang appeared calm, but deep down she was grinning. "I've lived for nineteen years, and I've never eaten bread. Is this a sign? It means I won't have a job for a long time."
Bei Bitang made up her mind, determined to agree to the request from the employee who accepted her "good intentions" as long as it wasn't too excessive. She wasn't so naive as to think that a simple gesture of solidarity would secure her a highly sought-after job.
The two walked side by side in the alley.
"Bei Bitang, wait for me!"
Bei Bitang heard someone calling her from behind, so she stopped and turned around to see Kong Baoer, wearing a long white floral dress and slippers, trotting towards her.
Looking at the hem of her skirt lifted by the wind, Bei Bitang was a little worried about her. She looked around and fortunately no one was passing by.
Kong Baoer handed the ice cream in her hand to Bei Bitang, smiled sweetly and said, "Hey, Bei Bitang will treat you to ice cream."
The ice cream was the most expensive kind, Guangming brand cream ice cream, which cost eight cents a stick.
Looking at Kong Bao'er's generous attitude, Bei Bitang took it with mixed feelings, smiled and said, "Thank you."
Kong Baoer rolled her eyes and saw Feng Guangmei next to her. In order not to show favoritism, she also handed over a cream ice cream.
Feng Guangmei refused to take it, so Kong Baoer forced it into her hands. Feng Guangmei stammered, "Thank you," which was unusual for her.
Kong Baoer tossed her hair, waved her hand and said casually, "You're welcome. I'll be leaving first. Otherwise, the ice cream in my basket will melt. You guys should eat it quickly."
Watching Kong Baoer's figure walking away, Bei Bitang tore off the paper outside the ice cream, half-closed her eyes, and licked it slowly.
Feng Guangmei stared at the ice cream in her hand and whispered, "Bitang, do you know why Kong Baoer bought so many ice creams at once?"
Bei Bitang then asked, "Why?"
Feng Guangmei replied: "Because she has a refrigerator at home."
Bei Bitang paused while biting the ice cream, turned her head abruptly, and looked at Feng Guangmei in surprise with her almond-shaped eyes wide open.
Feng Guangmei burst out laughing at her amusements. She took a bite of the ice cream, held it in her mouth, and said, "Kong Baoer's father is a seaman. Not only does he have a high salary, but he also has many connections. What's a refrigerator to him? You didn't see it the day the refrigerator was delivered. The Shikumen was bustling with activity, even more lively than welcoming a bride. Everyone rushed out of their houses at once, and I didn't realize that so many people lived in this small alley."
"Everyone crowded into Kong Baoer's house to see the refrigerator. The house was full. Later, Kong Baoer's mother had no choice but to let people queue up to come in and see it."
"During that time, neighbors would always ask each other, 'Your hands also touched the refrigerator, right?'"
Bei Bitang said in a worldly and low voice: "Same person, different fate."
They both lived in Shikumen houses and were girls living in alleys, but their living conditions were completely different, one was as far apart as heaven and earth.
Feng Guangmei seemed not to hear this and continued, "Bitang, you just saw the skirt that Kong Baoer is wearing. This skirt has a very special origin. You can't buy it even with foreign exchange coupons at the Friendship Store. Kong Baoer's father sailed a large ship to Europe and brought it back specially. You can't buy it in China."
Bei Bitang savored the sweet taste of the ice cream and changed the subject, saying, "Guangmei, if you go to work, you can earn at least 27.5 yuan a month. You can afford to buy a cream ice cream every day."
Feng Guangmei smiled and said, "Yeah, I had this idea before I even started working. When I get my salary, I'm going to eat crab roe dumplings, sheng jian (stir-fried dumplings), fresh meat mooncakes, butterfly cakes, chestnut cakes... I'm going to eat all of these at the most famous restaurants in Shanghai. I'm going to go to the restaurant on Yanping Road for the crab roe dumplings, and Guangming Village for the fresh meat mooncakes... I'll also treat you to some cream ice cream then."
Bei Bitang didn't take it seriously and said with a smile: "You don't have money to treat me to a meal. You want to eat something, but twenty or so yuan can't buy it at all."
Feng Guangmei glared at him and said, "Bei Bitang, stop looking down on me. Wait until I throw the cream ice cream in your face."
Bei Bitang pleaded, "Okay, I'll wait."
After the two of them joked around for a while, they fell silent at the same time.
The light of the sunset is a little cold.
Feng Guangmei, who was born with a pair of smiling eyes, suddenly said seriously: "Mom and Dad can't be changed. We girls from Shikumen, generation after generation, used to do housework and take care of our brothers and sisters, then got married and became housewives. Later, we joined the workforce, and then we were able to go to school and receive an education from a young age."
"For our generation, the luckiest path would have been to not be sent to the countryside as educated youth, but to be assigned a job right after graduation. But unfortunately, the college entrance exam was reinstated, and we could take the university entrance exam. If we could get into university, we could live a life like Kong Baoer, which was like a second life."
Bei Bitang stared into Feng Guangmei's eyes and said, "Guangmei, do you want to take the college entrance examination?"
The tone was very affirmative.
Feng Guangmei smiled wryly, saying, "I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss it. But I'm not very smart, and I'm a bit of a fool. When I was in high school, even though I couldn't learn much, I still listened carefully to lectures, took notes, and did my homework. But my final exam scores were worse than those who skipped classes, slept or played around in class, and never did their homework."
"One year, two years, three years? It took me one year to pass. I originally wanted to find a less busy job so I could study after work. But I was assigned to a grocery store, which is notoriously busy!"
"The college entrance exam registration fee is only 50 cents, less than the price of seven ice cream bars. I already have high school textbooks. I have to try, even if it's just once. If I fail, I'll be content. If I succeed, I'll have taken a huge step forward."
"I want to try too," the words lingered in Bei Bitang's mouth for a few times before she swallowed them back. Feng Guangmei could have said she wanted to take the Gaokao and see if she could get into university. If she said that, she would be ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth and would be ridiculed.
Although I disdain Xu Zeli's character, I cannot deny his intelligence and learning ability. Not every junior high school student can get into university like Xu Zeli.
When Xu Zeli was in junior high school, he always ranked among the top students in his grade every semester, even when he deliberately let his grades down to avoid getting into trouble. His family has a long history of learning, with both his parents being teachers. He was educated at home from a young age, studying both at school and at home.
"Bitang, do you want to take the college entrance examination with me?" Feng Guangmei asked.
"Ah." Bei Bitang came back to her senses, avoided Feng Guangmei's eyes, lowered her eyelids, and whispered, "I want to work and make money first."
Feng Guangmei is obviously a child living in a happy family. Although her family is not as wealthy as Kong Baoer's, she wants to take the college entrance examination. Her parents will definitely give her verbal and practical support, but she cannot do that on her own.
Even if Xu Zeli returned the 1,000 yuan and she had 1,500 yuan in her pocket, she would not dare to gamble and spend the 1,500 yuan and risk a cold war with her family while preparing for the college entrance examination.
Just like Feng Guangmei said, it would take one, two, or three years to pass the exam. For her, this was not a matter of two or three years. She had to make up for the high school courses, and with her weak foundation, it would take more than three years.
Feng Guangmei was not disappointed. She winked at Bei Bitang and said, "Bitang, you have to keep this secret for me. I haven't even told my parents that I'm going to take the college entrance examination."
Bei Bitang nodded and agreed, and told Feng Guangmei not to worry that she would not tell anyone about this.
Bei Bitang walked into the kitchen, which was deserted.
Miao Xiuxiu picked up the little kid crawling around on the floor and told her, "My son-in-law sent a message saying he's going to his brother's house to drink tonight, so don't make him dinner. You'll be the one to make dinner. Make a little less, just one dish, like vegetable soup."
Bei Bitang said nothing as she opened the food cabinet, thinking indifferently, Huang Dashan wasn't being kind; he was just worried his family would be hungry waiting for him. He'd sent word because he didn't want to cook a delicious meal and then have nothing to eat while he was gone. You see, without Huang Dashan coming home for dinner, they couldn't even get a bite of fine food.
Seeing Bei Bitang start to get busy, the room was already stuffy and hot, and the cooking made it even more greasy and hot.
Miao Xiuxiu said lovingly to the little kid in her arms who was making a fuss about going to the ground, "Grandma will take you downstairs to get some fresh air. Don't let our little kid get too hot."
Bei Bitang didn't listen to Miao Xiuxiu's words. She picked up two small crucian carps the size of a palm from the basin, scraped off the scales with a knife, and cleaned the internal organs.
Put it in the pan and fry it on both sides with lard, then add hot water and tofu cut into small cubes.
Lin Bilan met Miao Xiuxiu and Xiao Maotou downstairs after get off work. When the three of them came back together, the dishes for tonight were already on the table.
Milky white tofu and crucian carp soup, stir-fried rapeseed with mushrooms, and half a plate of stir-fried Chinese mustard greens with the leftover oil residue from lunch today.
Miao Xiuxiu sat down, slammed the table, glared at Bei Bitang and said, "What did I tell you before I went downstairs?! You were so careless, you cooked both crucian carp, and that plate of mushrooms and vegetables, it's shiny and greasy, how much oil did you put in it?"
Lin Bilan's stomach growled from the aroma. She wiped the little boy's hands and then his face with the same towel. Then she sat down with the little boy in her arms and said, "Okay, Mom, I've already done everything. What's the point of saying this? She doesn't work, so she doesn't know how hard it is to earn a salary. Mom, go wash your hands and eat. I've been hungry all day."
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