It is said that it was originally a military factory, and after being separated, it is now managed in a semi-military manner.
The machinery factory had its own hospital, school, supply and marketing cooperative, post office, and cinema; the factory area occupied almost half of Jingshan County.
I heard that their supply and marketing cooperative's product distribution channels are different from those of other supply and marketing cooperatives and department stores.
Normally, the factory workers don't come out easily, and outsiders have to go through several procedures to get in.
So even if the supply and marketing cooperative has the best things, it's useless if Xu Ningyan can't get in.
Xu Ningyan was speechless, having followed the commune all the way to the county town only to find it was a misunderstanding.
You could say you learned from your mistakes.
And since we've already come all this way, we can't just leave empty-handed, can we?
Fortunately, this bus not only goes to the machinery factory, but also passes by the county hospital and the supply and marketing cooperative.
Xu Ningyan got off the bus at the People's Hospital stop, thinking she would go get a medical check-up.
After all, Xu Siya had been through many years of hardship and was now sixteen years old, yet she hadn't even started menstruating, which clearly indicated that she was physically weak and malnourished.
It's the right thing to see a doctor and get it checked out as soon as possible, since this is a body you'll be using for the rest of your life.
The county hospital was much larger than the commune hospital and looked more professional.
I asked the nurse on duty at the entrance, registered, and listened to her instructions as I entered the outpatient department.
The doctor on duty was quite old. He took my pulse, looked at my tongue, asked a few questions, but didn't prescribe any medicine.
He simply told Xu Ningyan to eat more good food, and to eat more eggs and meat. He said that if food could make up for the deficiency, he should not take medicine.
They issued another certificate, which allowed me to buy a pound of brown sugar and a can of malted milk powder at the supply and marketing cooperative without needing a coupon.
Xu Ningyan thanked the doctor, since judging from her clothes, the doctor probably guessed she was short of money and therefore didn't prescribe any medicine.
This certificate isn't issued casually; there's a fixed number of months for it. The doctor issued it to her because he genuinely sympathized with her and gave her the greatest help he could.
Because you can secretly use this certificate to exchange for money or goods from people who need it but don't have a ticket.
After leaving the hospital with the certificate, the county department store was right across the street.
The county department store has two floors, and the exterior walls are painted with the slogan: "Develop the economy and ensure supply."
The county department store doesn't close for lunch, and since it's lunchtime now, there aren't many people inside.
Just as Xu Ningyan was about to go in, she heard someone hesitantly call out from behind, "Siya?"
Xu Ningyan turned around and saw a middle-aged man and woman who looked somewhat familiar yet unfamiliar standing behind her, scrutinizing her suspiciously.
Seeing her turn around, the middle-aged woman's eyebrows shot up, and she immediately began to berate her: "How dare you come to the county? Who let you come? How dare you even show your face in public? You unfilial brat! You've disgraced our whole family—"
People who were about to enter the department store stopped in their tracks and looked over when they heard this.
Xu Ningyan smiled contemptuously, looked the middle-aged couple up and down, and then slowly said, "Oh, so you're the couple who only care about giving birth but not raising their children, working in the city and getting paid, but abandoning your three-year-old daughter in the countryside and not caring whether she lives or dies, the parents who have cut ties with their daughter!"
The onlookers' eyes lit up; they no longer cared about buying anything. There's no time when you can't buy things, but this gossip is a rare treat.
That middle-aged couple were none other than Xu Siya's biological parents, Xu Yinlai and Shen Yue'e.
Shen Yue'e's face stiffened, and she raised her voice guiltily: "You brat, what nonsense are you spouting? When have we ever only cared about giving birth and not raising you? If we hadn't raised you, would you have grown up like this? We, as your parents, worked so hard to raise you, and all we've raised is an ungrateful wretch like you—"
"Reason doesn't lie in raising your voice! Besides, I didn't say those words! It was your mother-in-law who said them, and her original words weren't as polite as mine! Do you want to hear them?" Xu Ningyan rolled her eyes.
Among the onlookers, some people started chanting, "We want to hear it! We want to hear it! We want to hear it!"
Xu Ningyan immediately agreed.
"This is what your mother-in-law said back then: 'That second son, that brainless bastard, is such a good-for-nothing! He's been bewitched by that bitch Shen Yue'e! The two of them are enjoying their lives in the city, while they leave this little brat for me to raise! My Xu family finally managed to produce a worker, and it's all thanks to Shen Yue'e!'"
"She doesn't give any of that money home every month; Shen Yue'e must have taken it all to her parents' house! I've never seen such a heartless woman. She doesn't care about her own children, who eat and drink her mother's food, but she raises her nephew like a black piglet!"
Shen Yue'e's face turned pale and then red. Miao Cuihua had indeed said these words to her face and behind her back. Now that they had been exposed in front of these people, she felt as if her face had been ripped off and she wished she could find a crack to crawl into.
Seeing that things were getting out of hand, Xu Yinlai quickly put on a stern face: "Fourth girl, no matter what, we raised you. Your grandmother was just confused and said those things in anger. Do you really believe her? Even if we don't take care of you, we still send money home every year. Otherwise, do you think your grandmother could have raised you?"
“I’ve heard everything from your aunt. You’ve long harbored resentment towards the family, always feeling wronged! Now that you’ve grown up and think you can earn work points to support yourself, you’re looking down on everyone. You cause trouble at home every day, threatening to kill or set fires, trying to force us to separate from the family! You disobedient and unfilial daughter, I didn’t have time to discipline you while you were in the countryside! Now, as your father, I’m going to teach you a lesson—”
As he spoke, he reached out and slapped Xu Ningyan across the face.
Xu Yinlai was originally from the machine repair team. He looked big and strong.
When the palm, as big as a fan, was slapped, the people around couldn't help but gasp in surprise.
Xu Ningyan chuckled and gently pinched Xu Yinlai's wrist.
Xu Yinlai felt a sharp pain in his wrist, and then Xu Ningyan flung him away. He stumbled back several steps before regaining his footing.
He stared at Xu Ningyan as if he had seen a ghost.
Xu Ningyan cracked her knuckles: "I was originally going to give you some face out of consideration for the fact that you raised me! Since you yourselves don't care about face anymore, then don't blame me—"
In this era, people believe that family scandals should not be aired in public. No matter how many unpleasant things happen in the family, they should be covered up, for fear of being laughed at.
Xu Ningyan didn't care. It was already a scandal. How could he not help spread it and make up for the suffering the original owner had endured?
“I was only three years old when you sent me back to my hometown in the countryside and abandoned me. I didn’t even have a household registration. It was the brigade leader who took pity on me and registered me under your brother’s name. I was considered the eldest son’s daughter. Every year the production team distributed food rations to me, and that’s how I survived.”
“From the day I went back, I had to do laundry, sweep the floor, feed the chickens, cut grass, and take care of my aunt who was three years older than me! When she got a little older, I would cook on a stool, play with my aunt, let her ride on my back, and take care of the family’s private plot! From the age of six, I had to work in the fields to earn work points during the busy farming season, and I also had to cut grass for the cows and pigs when I was free!”
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