Chapter 1 Chapter 1 On the first day of the eleventh lunar month, do not travel...
In an old brick house in a village in the city, Ning Shaoming changed into his shoes for going out and walked through the living room into the house.
When he pushed open the door of the room, the old wooden door creaked, and he couldn't help but move more gently.
"I'm going to work," Ning Shaoming said softly to his wife lying on the bed, "Breakfast is covered on the coffee table in the living room. I cooked porridge and fried a dish of bean sprouts. If you don't want to eat bean sprouts, you can open a bag of red oil cowpeas and eat them with the porridge."
Zhao Ruyue was lying on the bed with her eyes closed and didn't understand the situation. She heard this familiar yet unfamiliar voice and words in a daze and responded subconsciously.
After getting married, she had experienced countless mornings like this, and it had become a habit. At first, she thought it was just an ordinary daily routine.
Until later, when her husband passed away, this normal life became a luxury...
Ning Shaoming went out with peace of mind after hearing his wife's response.
His footsteps became increasingly distant, and after a while, Zhao Ruyue finally sat up from the bed.
I didn't feel any discomfort from old age or a serious illness. Instead, I felt very light and refreshed, as if I had a good sleep.
Zhao Ruyue looked around the room.
She remembered this small room.
It was the house she rented when she and her husband first came to Pengcheng to work, and it was also a place she often recalled later.
The pink plum blossom old-fashioned mosquito net hanging on the bed, the Shanghai terry pillowcase on the pillow, a big red-edged Double Happiness wool blanket used as a cover and another used to make the bed, and the cotton quilt stacked on top of the wardrobe, Zhao Ruyue has remembered all these for decades.
Because that was all the dowry her parents gave her when she got married, and there were also some large items that she couldn't bring with her that were left in her hometown. In her hometown, there wasn't much dowry that could compare to hers.
The old items produced in the 1990s are of very good quality and very durable. She used her dowry for many years and only replaced it when it was too broken to be used.
The house faces north and there is almost no sunlight inside all year round. The toilet and kitchen are not inside the house, so the rent is cheaper than other houses.
But even so, the couple still have to share the rent with their fellow villagers to afford it.
Zhao Ruyue walked to the old bedside table left by the landlord by the window. On the bedside table there was a rustic round mirror with a red plastic shell.
She picked up the mirror and looked at herself in the mirror. There were no wrinkles or age spots on her young and fair face. Instead, there was plenty of collagen and a vigor and vitality unique to people of this age.
Zhao Ruyue pinched her thigh hard. It hurt a lot. She must be not dreaming.
So he stood up and walked towards the living room.
There was a calendar on the wall of the living room. Most of it had been torn off, leaving only thirty-one pages, a thin stack hanging on the yellowed wall.
Today's one has green letters on a white background saying:
Monday, November 24, 2003, the first day of the eleventh month in the lunar calendar.
Suitable for: offering sacrifices, haircut
Avoid: Travel
She actually returned to her youth and the prime of her life.
Zhao Ruyue stared at today's calendar page until her eyes became sore and tears flowed down her cheeks.
It wasn't until someone knocked on the security door at the door a few times that she suddenly came to her senses.
A woman outside called out, "Ruyue, Zhao Ruyue, are you up?"
Zhao Ruyue quickly wiped away her tears, cleared her throat and asked, "Who is it?"
"It's me. How come you can't even recognize my voice after just one night of not seeing me?"
Zhao Ruyue: “…”
After so many years, even acquaintances who had always been in contact would have their voices change as they got older. She was used to the way acquaintances sounded when they were old, so she really couldn't tell who this young voice belonged to.
The outermost door of the house is a large iron door for security purposes, and the innermost door is an ordinary old wooden door.
In the early 2000s, the public security in the urban villages in Shenzhen was not very good, and many houses were decorated like this.
For safety reasons, even though the other party might be an acquaintance, Zhao Ruyue only opened the wooden door from the inside.
Seeing the face of the person who came, Zhao Ruyue thought about it carefully and finally remembered who this person was. She also couldn't help but think of an event related to this person that was buried in her memory and she was not willing to recall.
Even though her anger and resentment were diluted by time, every time Zhao Ruyue thought of something that happened in her previous life, she didn't want to pay attention to her. She always felt that she must have had ulterior motives in looking for her.
But that incident should not have happened yet. Now they are both fellow villagers and co-workers in the same factory. They interact with each other a lot and have a good relationship. They can be considered good friends. It would be impolite for me to ignore them for no reason.
When working away from home, fellow villagers like to stick together and rent houses close to each other, so that they can take care of each other when they are away from home in an unfamiliar place.
The people renting around here are all acquaintances, and any little news will be reported back home.
She suddenly fell out with her best friend. Everyone except her husband would definitely think she was weird and that she was wrong.
More than a decade later, many people believe that "when fellow villagers meet, they will stab each other in the back" and it is easiest to be cheated by fellow villagers when you go out.
But now, most of the fellow villagers are relatively reliable. Everyone firmly believes that "when you go out, you rely on your friends." There are people like Lu Qiuying, but not many.
The acquisition and circulation of various information these days is not as fast and convenient as in the later era of universal Internet.
When one or a few people go out to work in a distant place, if everything goes well, they will bring their people back home. Changing jobs often relies on introductions from fellow villagers and acquaintances. This is how she and her husband came here.
Zhao Ruyue knew very well that reputation among fellow villagers was still very important at this time. In this day and age, it was impossible for her not to interact with other people.
After all, she has lived for so many years. Apart from anything else, it is not difficult for her to pretend in front of outsiders.
So she suppressed her discomfort and tried to deal with the person to see what tricks she was up to.
"It's Qiuying," Zhao Ruyue yawned and rubbed her eyes to hide her red eyes after crying. "I'm still sleepy and didn't recognize your voice just now. Why are you here so early in the morning?"
Lu Qiuying glanced at her with disdain: "It's still early? Look at the time now. We agreed to go to the pedestrian street together last night. You didn't forget, did you?"
Zhao Ruyue had almost forgotten what time the shops on the pedestrian street opened, but it was definitely not in the morning. Lu Qiuying came to see her so early, most likely not to go shopping.
"It's just past eight o'clock. I finally get a day off. If you hadn't called me, I would have slept until I woke up naturally." Zhao Ruyue said this and opened the iron gate to let the person in.
"Tsk tsk, you even slept until you woke up naturally. Look how much Third Ning spoiled you." After Lu Qiuying entered the living room, she walked to the coffee table and lifted the plastic table cover. "Tsk tsk tsk, even breakfast is ready."
Zhao Ruyue curled her lips quietly and thought: My husband is willing to spoil me, what does it have to do with you!
In the past, Zhao Ruyue would definitely ask Lu Qiuying if she had had breakfast and then ask her to eat with her.
But Zhao Ruyue was not willing to entertain her now: "That's nothing, just cooking a meal. Our family's custom is that whoever gets up first makes breakfast."
She said and went back to her room, taking out the keys to the kitchen and bathroom.
The kitchen and bathroom are in the yard, in a separate small tiled house.
The small tiled house is divided in the middle, half is the kitchen and the other half is the bathroom. It has to be locked when not in use, otherwise when you get home from get off work, you may see a small tiled house that has been robbed and is empty.
"I have to wash my face, brush my teeth, go to the toilet, and wash my hair first. I don't think I'll be done that quickly."
Zhao Ruyue didn't expect that Lu Qiuying couldn't wait for her to invite her to eat together, but shamelessly took the food without asking. "It's okay, go ahead, I'll wait for you here. I just didn't have breakfast. I saw that your family's Third Ning cooked a lot of porridge and vegetables. You definitely can't finish them by yourself. I'll help you use up some of them. Don't thank me, hehe!"
Zhao Ruyue almost couldn't help rolling her eyes in front of her.
Although fellow villagers who live close to each other and get along well with each other will occasionally eat with each other, it is different when someone actively invites you and you just force yourself to eat with them.
In the past, Zhao Ruyue and Ning Shaoming were quite generous when it came to eating, and they would often take the initiative to invite others to eat together. At that time, they really didn’t realize that Lu Qiuying was that kind of person.
In order to avoid being noticed, Zhao Ruyue didn't say anything more. She took the key and quickly went to the bathroom built in the yard outside to wash up.
When she came back wiping her wet hair, Lu Qiuying had already drunk two bowls of rice porridge and was smacking her lips as she sipped the third bowl. One hand was holding the bowl and pouring porridge into her mouth, while the other hand, holding the chopsticks, was not idle either.
The chopsticks, which were soaked in porridge and saliva, moved back and forth in the dish. When picking up food, he picked up a handful and put it down again, doing this three or five times before he picked up a piece of food with chopsticks and put it into his mouth, chewing it with a smacking sound.
Seeing Zhao Ruyue coming in, she started to complain with drool before she had even finished swallowing. "When your Ning Lao San comes back, you have to talk to him about it. His cooking skills are pretty good. This dish is fried crispy enough, but it's a pity that it's too bland. Next time, put more salt in it. It's not like we couldn't afford salt in ancient times. Don't be stingy with this little bit of salt."
Zhao Ruyue couldn't help but roll her eyes when she saw someone else's food being so picky. "I just like the bean sprouts fried lightly."
In fact, she didn't like the bland bean sprouts at all, but Ning Shaoming deliberately made the dish a little bland.
Because Zhao Ruyue likes spicy food, when she eats stir-fried bean sprouts, she likes to add some garlic chili sauce made by Ning Shaoming. The chili sauce is relatively salty, so she adds a little salt to the stir-fried bean sprouts and then mixes them with garlic chili sauce. The taste is just the right amount of saltiness.
The house that Lu Qiuying rented was right next to Zhao Ruyue's. She had come here to eat quite a few times. If she was attentive, as a good friend, she would remember some of Zhao Ruyue's obvious dietary preferences.
However, having taken so many advantages of Zhao Ruyue, she obviously did not take Zhao Ruyue seriously, nor did she regard Zhao Ruyue as a true friend.
Looking at the plate of bean sprouts that Lu Qiuying was stirring with chopsticks, Zhao Ruyue felt sick and didn't want to drink the porridge anymore. She wanted to find out what Lu Qiuying was up to, so she said slowly, "I just got up and don't have much appetite. When you are full, clean up your bowl and chopsticks. I'll go blow dry my hair."
Lu Qiuying looked at her thick, slightly curly black hair that looked like seaweed, burped, and said with disdain, "Your hair is so long and thick, and the weather is so humid today, it won't take a long time to blow dry your hair?"
As far as she knew, Zhao Ruyue's family didn't have a hair dryer. When the weather was not too cold, they used an electric fan to blow their hair. Lu Qiuying did buy a hair dryer and used it secretly, but she was reluctant to lend it to others.
As she spoke, she began to complain, "You should have washed your hair before going to bed last night. You're wasting my time by washing it now!"
Lu Qiuying thought that after she said this, Zhao Ruyue would be as considerate as before. She hurriedly blew her hair half dry and tied it up, and went out with her with her uncomfortable half-wet hair.
Zhao Ruyue tried to hold it in forbearance but couldn't bear it any longer and said directly, "Why do you care about the world and when others wash their hair? I am happy to wash it in the morning! If you can't wait, go first!"
Some people are weak when you are strong, and will take advantage of you when you are weak. After being confronted, Lu Qiuying really became obedient.
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