Chapter 11 Leaving
Food was fine during this time, but housing was the biggest problem. Without a letter of introduction, she couldn't get into a state-owned hotel. While the space was relatively safe, she worried every time she emerged. What if someone saw her? This kind of transformation would scare the less courageous away, but what if the bolder ones were captured and used for medical research?
Ye Qian secretly rejoiced that these days were finally over.
…
Within two days of Ye Qian's return to the village, the letter of employment was sent to the village. Ye Qian thought to herself that people nowadays are quite efficient.
When the village chief handed the letter to him, everyone was actually quite confused. It wasn't that Ye Qian had been away for half a month before returning, and there was talk behind her back. But everyone was used to Ye Qian's silence and wouldn't ask questions.
But now things were different. Ye Qian had suddenly become a worker, making her a hot commodity in the village. For an orphan like her to become a worker, she must have used some tricks. Now, everyone in the village came over to exchange pleasantries with Ye Qian, hoping to get some information about the factory. If they were hiring in the future, they would send a message to the villagers. They also asked her how she knew the factory in the city was hiring.
Since she had already passed the exam, she didn't plan to hide it and told them about her last visit to relatives, which led to this opportunity to take the exam.
Everyone was skeptical. Ye Qian didn't have any relatives; it was just an excuse. Excuses are used to evade others. You ask, I answer. Whether you believe it or not is another matter. After seeing off the enthusiastic villagers, Ye Qian finally had time to sort out the original owner's belongings. She was afraid that after this departure, she wouldn't return.
Ye Qian looked around and found that there was actually nothing that needed to be sorted out in the original owner's house. The clothes of the original owner's parents had not been touched since Ye Qian came. But leaving them like this would not work, because housing is very tight in both rural and urban areas. Every year, educated youth go to the countryside, and the house will not be empty for long. The village will give it to other people to live in. If she leaves the things at home, it will not be long before they are occupied by others.
Ye Qian found the suitcase she had used in her later life and put all the clothes of the original owner's parents in it. If she was not poor, the original owner's family of three could fit all the clothes for the four seasons in the suitcase and still have room to spare.
Ye Qian sorted out her clothes and put them into the space. She still had to carry the old quilt on the bed when she left, so she couldn't leave without taking anything.
Working at the grain factory involved transferring her household registration. The next day, Ye Qian brought gifts: a bottle of wine and a bag of brown sugar. The village chief saw these things and knew an ordinary orphan couldn't afford them. He didn't make things difficult for her and readily arranged the transfer.
A household registration transfer certificate and a letter of introduction were issued on the spot. Ye Qian thanked him repeatedly.
When I returned home, I still felt a little sad when I thought that she was about to leave this home.
She had just arrived in the 1960s, and from being unfamiliar to being familiar, this place also gave her some sense of security. Although it was shabby, it did not make her homeless on the streets.
While feeling sad, Ye Qian decided to have a big meal tonight to leave a deep impression on herself.
As she spoke, she started to move. She had never cooked a proper meal since she came to this family, so she decided to make braised pork today.
As she spoke, Ye Qian took out a portion of pork belly from the space, cut it into small pieces, put it into a ceramic pot and boiled it with water. After taking it out of the pot, she added oil to the pot and rock sugar to stir-fry until the sugar turned brown. She put the meat in, added water and spices, added some salt and soy sauce before serving, and then used high heat to reduce the sauce.
Ye Qian scooped a spoonful and tasted it.
Um.
It smells so good.
She took out the rice from the space, mixed the meat and broth on the rice, and completely forgot the sadness she had just felt. She made a lot of braised pork, so Ye Qian didn't finish it. She put the rest into the space and would eat it next time. After eating the braised pork, Ye Qian had a good sleep. The next morning, she carried her old quilt and her small backpack and left the village.
When Ye Qian arrived in the city again, it was already noon.
Ye Qian first went to a state-owned restaurant for dinner and ordered a bowl of noodles with eggs and vegetables. It looked simple, but the noodles were cooked perfectly, not clumping, and the eggs were her favorite, runny eggs. Sure enough, the city was different from the county; the taste was more than a level better.
After dinner, Ye Qian went to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought some daily necessities, such as towels, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and basins. Although she had the money in her own space, the tickets in her hand were just there for her to use. She would get them in the future anyway, so there was no need to hold on to them.
After visiting the supply and marketing cooperative, Ye Qian went to the state-owned hotel. This was her first time staying in a hotel since the 1960s, and she had no idea what it was like. Curious, Ye Qian walked into the hotel and saw a woman in her twenties sitting at the front desk. She walked over and asked, "Comrade, can I have a room?"
The woman glanced at her and said, "Where is your letter of introduction?" Ye Qian quickly took out the letter of introduction from her bag and handed it to the woman.
The woman took a look and said, "There is one bed in the triple room, and there is also a single room." Ye Qian was not short of money, so she asked for the single room directly, which cost one dollar a night.
After paying, the woman took her upstairs, then stood at the stairs and pointed forward, saying, "This is room 205. Go inside and you'll find the bathroom. There's a kettle in there. Be careful not to break it. You'll have to pay for it if you break it." After that, she gave her the room key and turned around and went downstairs.
The room is very small. There is a single bed near the door with a mattress, a quilt and a washbasin on it. There is a table and chair inside. There are no windows. It is a closed space.
Ye Qian put the things she had just bought on the table, and the old quilt she brought out had been placed in the space before. Ye Qian lay down on C for a while and then went out.
It’s still early now, I can go to the black market, have dinner and come back.
Ye Qian hadn't been to the black market for over half a month. She grabbed her small backpack and headed out. This time, she planned to sell some whole grains, which had come from the original owner's home. Ye Qian had been storing them in her space, but a few days ago, she suddenly became interested. Thinking that everyone in the future would advocate eating whole grains, which was good for the body, she cooked some, but she couldn't finish it all. This time, she came just to sell these whole grains.
Ye Qian had packed the grain in advance. Coarse grains were cheap, so she packed them in 50-jin bags. She carried one bag at a time in her small backpack. After a few trips, she sold all the grain in no time. After selling all the grain, Ye Qian had no choice but to go to the state-owned restaurant for dinner. In those days, there was no other place to eat. Entering the state-owned restaurant, she finally saw a dish on the blackboard that was not braised, and she immediately ordered it.
The main course was stir-fried lamb with green onions, and steamed buns with three-grain flour. The dish had more green onions than meat, and she wasn't a big fan of green onions. After picking out the meat and finishing it, she looked at the green onions on the plate and walked away, afraid that if she walked too slowly, someone would say she was wasting money.
Ye Qian returned to the hotel and went to bed early.
In the 1960s, people had to go to work very early, at 8 a.m. Tomorrow was her first day, and she definitely couldn't be late, otherwise it would give people a bad impression.
(End of this chapter)
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