That evening, during dinner, Xia Liang told her parents about the job offer. Her mother excitedly grasped her hand, saying, "Really? Liang, did I hear that right?" Xia Liang smiled and said, "Mom, you heard right! I can start working next month." Her father was also speechless with joy, but his beaming face revealed his immense happiness. This was certainly something to be overjoyed about, as everyone knows how difficult it is to find a job these days. With a job, her household registration could be transferred to the city, meaning she could receive a government-subsidized food ration.
After a few days of washing and cleaning, the house was already looking quite nice. Two days before the appointment Xia Liang and Sister Peng had made, Xia Liang's mother came to Xia Liang's room and handed her something: a top. The fabric looked like the same piece that her grandmother had given her a few days ago. Xia Liang's mother told her, "Try it on quickly and see if it fits." Xia Liang obediently put on her first new outfit since arriving here and twirled around for her mother to admire. Xia Liang's mother smiled with satisfaction, "Our daughter is so beautiful."
Xia Liang was indeed very beautiful, the kind of woman who could debut as a celebrity in later years—an oval face, big eyes, a high nose, and cherry lips. Xia's mother said, "You must take good care of yourself when you go to the city. Your mother is powerless to help." She wiped away her tears and continued, "Your brother is reliable and capable, and good-looking too, but he's already twenty and still hasn't found a wife. And you should have found a husband long ago. It's all my fault for dragging you down." She started sobbing. Xia Liang quickly comforted her, "Mom, don't cry. Once I have a job, it will be much easier for my brother to find a girlfriend. Maybe he can even marry a city woman. As for me, I'm only seventeen, still young. Besides, I'll have a job soon. There are so many good young men in the city; why should I worry about not getting married?" Xia's mother finally smiled and scolded, "Shameless!"
Seeing her mother finally smile, Xia Liang earnestly took her hand and said, "Mom, don't worry! I'll definitely bring you and Dad to the city to enjoy a better life." Zhao Danxiang couldn't help but feel happy seeing her daughter's confident expression. Her sister-in-law had married into the city and lived so well even without a job, always buying her mother-in-law malted milk powder when she came back, and wearing clothes without a single patch. Her daughter, on the other hand, would be a worker in the city. The mother and daughter whispered in the room for a while, mainly because Xia's mother was reluctant to part with her daughter. After telling Xia Liang to take care of herself and go to bed early, she went back to her room.
After packing her luggage and washing up, Xia Liang lay down on the bed and fell asleep listening to the crickets chirping outside the window. Early the next morning, Xia Liang took the cornbread her mother had baked for her and headed to the village entrance.
When they arrived in the county, Aunt Xia was still cooking. Seeing Xia Liang, she quickly invited her in. Aunt Xia washed her hands and poured Xia Liang a glass of water: "You arrived so early, haven't you eaten yet? Wait a moment, my food will be ready soon." Xia Liang said, "Yes, there's only one oxcart trip. If we hadn't come early, we would have missed it. I've already eaten two corn buns, Aunt Xia, don't worry." Hearing that Xia Liang had eaten two buns, Aunt Xia wasn't in a hurry anymore and said, "Alright, your cousins will eat when they get home from school." With that, she went out to continue her work.
After sitting for a while, Xia Liang heard her cousin and in-laws' voices outside. Xia Liang quickly stood up to greet them, "Hello, Grandma in-laws." Ma Lianhua, seeing that it was her daughter-in-law's poor relatives from the countryside, replied indifferently, "Hmm, sit down." As she spoke, she glanced at Xia Liang up and down. Seeing that Xia Liang was carrying a bundle, she assumed that Xia Liang was going to stay at her house for a long time and said, "Where are you going with that bundle? Are you going to visit relatives? How many days are you planning to stay? These days, housing is difficult for city people. I see that your bundle is quite large. Your relatives' houses must be quite large." Didn't Ma Lianhua know that Xia Liang's family had no relatives in the city besides hers? No, actually, what Ma Lianhua meant was, "We don't have a place for you to sleep. If you know what's good for you, you'd better get back to the countryside."
Xia Liang understood the implication in Ma Lianhua's words and said, "I'm here to work, so I brought a lot of luggage. I've already found a guesthouse. I'm just saying goodbye to my aunt and leaving." Xia Liang had originally planned to stay overnight at her aunt's house before meeting up with Peng Yingyan, but after hearing Ma Lianhua's words, she felt embarrassed to stay any longer. Soon after, Xia's aunt called for dinner. Xia Liang helped serve the dishes: scrambled eggs with chives, cucumber salad, and coarse grain pancakes. Ma Lianhua quickly put the eggs into her two grandsons' bowls, as if afraid Xia Liang would take them from her. Xia Liang didn't mind and ate the pancakes with the cucumber salad. Although Old Zhang's family had two workers, there were still many people to eat! The two younger cousins picked up the palm-sized coarse grain pancakes and took a bite, losing a third of them in one go.
Aunt Xia was a good cook; she made simple home-style dishes look, smell, and taste delicious. Xia Liang ate one piece of flatbread and then put down her chopsticks. Aunt Xia said, "Why are you eating so little? Don't be shy here, eat your fill." As she spoke, she handed Xia Liang another piece of flatbread, but Xia Liang quickly refused, saying, "I'm full, Aunt, you can eat slowly." Grandma Ma said sarcastically, "This young girl eats quite a lot, she's not a son, eating this will give her strength." As she spoke, she kept putting food and flatbread on her two grandsons' plates.
After finishing their meal, Xia Liang helped her aunt clear the dishes and said, "Auntie, I'm going to the guesthouse. I'll come back tomorrow to meet Aunt Peng." Xia Liang's aunt had overheard what Old Lady Ma had said, but she didn't dare contradict her directly, after all, she was her mother-in-law. Xia Liang's aunt looked ashamed and said, "It's my fault for being useless. You've come all this way and I still made you stay at the guesthouse." Xia Liang quickly comforted her, "It's alright, Auntie, I was planning to go to the guesthouse anyway." Xia Liang's aunt wiped away her tears and saw Xia Liang out.
As Xia Liang walked down the street in the 1960s, she saw only a few bicycles passing by on the wide road and couldn't help but marvel at how quickly times had changed. Who could have imagined that in just a few decades, these bicycles would be a rare sight, and cars would be the norm?
Xia Liang stayed at the guesthouse for one night. The next day, she went to her aunt's house in the family compound. When her aunt had time, she took her to the garment factory. Outside, she told the gatekeeper she was looking for Peng Yingyan. She then waited under a big tree at the gate for him to announce her arrival. The garment factory's loudspeaker announced, "Peng Yingyan in the sewing machine workshop is looking for someone!" The announcement was repeated three times. Soon after, Peng Yingyan ran out and greeted Xia Liang, saying, "You're here. Come in with me." "Just say you're my aunt's granddaughter," Peng Yingyan whispered to Xia Liang. Xia Liang nodded and replied, "Okay." After saying goodbye to her aunt, she followed Aunt Peng inside.
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