Chapter 12 Succession of Life
"Let's go back first." Ren Peng didn't want to say bad things about other people.
"Go back?" He Jingxian asked, "Do you think what Jiang Moli said is right?"
He Jingxian felt uncomfortable. She couldn't stay in Nancheng, which was very painful.
"Teacher Lu has a lot of students." Ren Peng said.
"You just think what Jiang Moli said is right." He Jingxian said, "Jiang Moli is lucky to be born in South City. If she was not born in South City, but in a small place, I wonder if she can still say such words."
But Jiang Moli was born in South City, Ren Peng thought. There's no absolute fairness in this world, only relative fairness. You have to know that everyone is born differently. From the moment we're born, everyone has different things. We don't all have the same things, and we're not starting from the same starting line.
"It's good to be born in a big city. You can learn those things early." He Jingxian said, "You can also stand on a high place and watch us struggle. Aren't we harder than Jiang Moli? I don't think so. It's because Jiang Moli has had a good learning environment since she was a child, so she can sing so well. Also, her family knows how to get along with others. The teacher said there was no need to bring anything, but Jiang Moli still brought something. On weekdays, I don't know how much Jiang Moli gave to those people."
Ren Peng was speechless. He Jingxian was talking so much on the street, not afraid of being seen by others. If it were Ren Peng himself, he would definitely not say such things on the street. Jiang Moli was still a student, just an ordinary person. She really didn't have the ability to make He Jingxian stay in Nancheng.
"Those people can easily obtain things that we would find difficult to reach in our lifetime." He Jingxian was dissatisfied.
"..." Ren Peng didn't want to comment on those things. The two of them were just ordinary classmates, not lovers, nor relatives. Ren Peng knew too well that there were many excellent people in this industry. Now, because the industry had suffered a serious blow, it was still relatively short of people. It needed people to develop again, but this did not mean that He Jingxian could stay.
When Jiang Moli returned home, she found her mother packing up some belongings to send back to her brother in the countryside. Jiang Moli's brother was Zhao Guodong, the son of her mother and her late ex-husband. Zhao Guodong was less than a year older than Jiang Yuqin.
Zhao Guodong married a local girl in the countryside. He had been there for many years and had children. If he were to return, he would have to bring his family with him; he couldn't abandon his children in the countryside.
When the college entrance exam resumed, Zhao Guodong's family asked him to take it, but his poor grades meant he couldn't pass and return to the city. At the time, it was mostly single educated youth who returned to the city, and those who were married were forced to divorce. Zhao Guodong didn't divorce his wife to return to the city. Even if Zhao Guodong had done so, Jiang's mother wouldn't have approved.
"Mom, are you sending something for my brother?" Jiang Moli took a look and saw milk powder, cloth, and some other miscellaneous items.
Jiang's mother has her own salary and can use it to buy these things. If she has to spend the money from Jiang's father, then Jiang's mother can't buy these things.
"It's for your brother," Jiang's mother said. "Your brother asked me if I could buy some milk powder and send it to him."
"His child wants to drink it?" Jiang Moli asked.
"No, it's his eldest brother-in-law's child. He's low on milk and needs formula," Jiang's mother said. "Your brother married their sister and has been living in their village. He's received a lot of help from them. Now, they're short on formula, so we have to get some for them."
"It's what I deserve." Jiang Moli nodded.
Many of the educated youth sent to the countryside couldn't stand the hardship, so they married local villagers. While it was fine for women to live and eat at their in-laws' homes, it was somewhat unpleasant for men to live with their wives at their father-in-law's. Some families would build new adobe houses, or they would move into vacant properties.
After Zhao Guodong got married in the countryside, he lived in his wife's old house. The old house was a little worse, but he didn't have to live with his parents-in-law, so there were fewer conflicts. After all, Zhao Guodong was not a live-in son-in-law. If he lived with his parents-in-law all the time, it would be easy to be criticized.
Don't think that country folk are pure and innocent. Some of them are very talkative. They don't care about other people's moods at all, they only care about their own moods. They can make things that don't exist seem to have happened, and they can make them sound very real.
"Mom, isn't it time for my brother and the others to return to the city?" Jiang Moli asked.
"That's what I thought, too," Jiang's mother said. "You're about to graduate, and you're already in the drama troupe. You can earn enough to support yourself. I was thinking of giving the job to your brother. If he gets a job, he can stay in the city."
During the years Zhao Guodong spent in the countryside, Jiang's mother suffered a certain internal torment. She sometimes wished she had given up her job to her son earlier so he wouldn't have to go to the countryside. She didn't dare ask him if he blamed her, fearing he would. Jiang's mother and his father were both remarried, and even though they had Jiang Moli, she still didn't feel secure.
Jiang's mother wasn't yet at retirement age; it would take a few more years. That wasn't a big deal; now that policies had been relaxed, Jiang's mother could sell something or do some odd jobs.
"Don't worry, Mom. I will take care of you in your old age." Jiang Moli said.
"That's for the future." Jiang's mother had already packed up her things. "I'll call your brother and ask him to think about coming back. He should be able to come back in the next few months."
Jiang Yuqin is married and Jiang Moli is about to graduate. Jiang's mother feels that things at home will be simpler.
"If he comes back..." Jiang's mother thought about the house. Zhao Guodong's biological father did not leave any real estate. When his father died, Zhao Guodong was too young, and his job was replaced by other people in the Zhao family.
The Zhao family was full of ruthless people. Zhao's father and Jiang's mother had originally lived in the house shared by all the Zhao family. After Zhao's father passed away, Jiang's mother lived there with her son for a while. Then, those people said that Jiang's mother was still young and would get married in the future. They wanted to drive Jiang's mother and Zhao Guodong out.
Jiang's mother had assumed that Zhao Guodong, being a male, would be able to share a room with her son. However, those people refused to let them stay. Zhao's father's other brothers already had children, and they didn't want to raise Zhao Guodong. They even suggested that he change his surname to Jiang's. Jiang's mother understood clearly that she and her son couldn't live there forever. She had to remarry quickly so that they could have a better life.
"Stay at home for a few days first, and then go out and rent a house." Jiang's mother said.
Jiang's mother wanted Zhao Guodong to stay at home for a while longer, but she was also worried that big problems would arise. Zhao Guodong was not Jiang's father's biological son after all. Jiang's father allowed Jiang Yuqin to make trouble, but he would never allow Zhao Guodong to take advantage of the Jiang family.
"Mom, everything will be fine. Don't worry too much." Jiang Moli said, "It's always good to have my brother and his family come back to the city. The education conditions in the countryside are poor, and their children are already at a disadvantage at the starting line. They have to work harder than others to get into college. Oh, no, it's not certain whether they can get into high school during the middle school entrance exam. Letting them come back will not only change my brother's future, but also the future of my brother's children."
Jiang Moli had no objection to Zhao Guodong returning to the city. She didn't need to take over Jiang's mother's job. The job belonged to Jiang's mother, and the Jiang family couldn't ask Jiang's mother to give the job to the Jiang family. Jiang Moli returned to her room and took out some old clothes, asking Jiang's mother to send them to the countryside.
Whether the size was right or not was unimportant. If Zhao Guodong's wife couldn't wear it, she could give it to a relative, which would at least be a favor.
After Jiang's mother sent the items, she called Zhao Guodong. Zhao Guodong's village committee happened to have a telephone, so Jiang's mother had to speak quickly to Zhao Guodong because the phone bill was too expensive.
"I told your uncle I'll give you my job," Jiang's mother said. "Come back with your wife and children."
"Mom." Zhao Guodong didn't seem surprised when he heard this, but frowned. "Did something happen?"
"Nothing's wrong," Jiang's mother said. "Your sister is about to graduate and can make her own money. You guys should make some preparations. Let us know when you come back, and we'll make some preparations too."
After Zhao Guodong hung up the phone, he went back home and told his wife Niu Cuihua about returning to the city.
"Mom wants me to take over her job." Zhao Guodong said.
"Has your mother finally decided to let you take over her job?" Niu Cuihua wasn't one of those idiots. She wouldn't fake a divorce with her husband and send him back to the city. So many fake divorces ended up being real ones. Those educated youth returned to the city and remarried, leaving their wives in the countryside behind. Niu Cuihua couldn't let herself get to that point.
"That's what I said." Zhao Guodong said, "When we return to the city, you must not speak like that in front of Mom."
"You can say it in the countryside, but not in the city? You city people are really particular." Niu Cuihua is plump and strong. She can do farm work and housework. She is considered a very hardworking and capable country woman.
Women like Niu Cuihua were quite popular in the countryside. The Niu family had originally wanted Niu Cuihua to marry someone else, believing that the couple, who were both hardworking and capable, could lead a very good life. The Niu family didn't like Zhao Guodong very much. They believed that educated youth from the city couldn't endure hardships, couldn't do their work well, and always acted like they knew a lot, didn't understand farming, and kept giving orders.
"If your mother had let you take over her job earlier, you wouldn't have to go to the countryside," said Niu Cuihua.
"If I hadn't gone to the countryside, I wouldn't have married you." Zhao Guodong said. He didn't blame his mother for not letting him take over her job earlier. The family situation was complicated at the time, and his mother had considered letting him take over. He didn't want to take over her job so early, and didn't want her to bow down too much to Jiang's father. "Didn't I tell you? My biological father died a long time ago, and my mother remarried."
"I know, I know." Niu Cuihua said, "Your mother doesn't need a chastity arch. If your mother doesn't marry again, how can she support you? I remember everything you said."
"Remember this well," Zhao Guodong said. "Once I have a job, I can take you back to the city. Get ready and see when the time is right for us to go back."
"I need to tell my parents that it's time to farm now," Niu Cuihua said. "I asked my brother to borrow an ox to plow the land, and we bought seeds and will sow them soon. When we return to the city, we have to arrange the work in the fields. Also, this land has just been divided up, and if we lose our rural household registration, it won't be ours anymore."
"Are you going to the city, or do you want the land in the countryside?" Zhao Guodong asked. "If you want the land in the countryside, we won't go back!"
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