mtl008 Chapter 12 No Rural Areas in the Past 5
Chapter 12 No Rural Areas in the Past 5
Director Yin was seated at the main table, but there was no real distinction between the main and secondary tables; it was just that several of the men in charge were there to drink with him.
The remaining family members and children sat at two separate tables. After all the dishes were served and everyone was seated, Liu Yuxi stood up, bowed to everyone, and said, "Everyone knows about my family's situation. Thank you so much, Director Yin and all the uncles and aunts, for all these days. There's still a long road ahead. If there's anything you need from me, Liu Yuxi, please just let me know!"
"Why are you being so polite, child? Everyone has their troubles sometimes!" "Just live your life well from now on. If anything happens, just tell your uncle and aunt. Don't be afraid!" "There are so many people in this courtyard. Why would they need a little girl like you? Just focus on your studies and live your life well!"
Director Yin also said, "If you encounter any difficulties in the future, you can come directly to the street office to find me. If you are unsure about anything and don't want to ask me, just ask the aunties and grandmas in the courtyard."
Turning to the women in the courtyard, he instructed them, "Xiao Yuxi is still a girl, so please take good care of her in your daily lives. Talk to her about things that need to be taught and said in private!" The aunties and grandmothers in the courtyard readily agreed.
"Let's skip the formalities. Today's gathering in your courtyard was very well organized. Everyone should make the most of this delicious meal and start eating!" With Director Yin's order, everyone sat down and began to eat.
The meal was a great success, with everyone praising the dishes, especially the braised pork and fish ball soup, which received unanimous approval. The braised pork was tender, delicious, and not greasy at all.
The fish balls were bouncy and the fish ball soup was exceptionally delicious. After the children finished their meal, they drank bowl after bowl, their little bellies were bulging, and they were still reaching out for more!
After the dinner, life returned to normal, but everyone greeted each other warmly when they met, as if the dinner had brought the neighbors closer together.
On January 1st, Liu Yuxi, along with the aunties and grandmas in the courtyard, took their family's grain ration book and bought all the grain, coal, winter vegetables, and other necessities they needed, and also collected the required coupons.
This was the first time Liu Yuxi had ever queued up at the supply and marketing cooperative in the middle of the night to buy things. In the past, her parents had always done these things, so she didn't have to worry about it. Although it was a bit exhausting, it was also a special experience.
In mid-January, Liu Yuxi's school began its final exams. After the exams, they were on holiday. During the winter break, Liu Yuxi would often seek out the aunties and grandmas in the courtyard to learn how to make clothes, sew quilts, and sew shoes.
When these skills were made public, the aunties and grandmas only thought that Liu Yuxi was quick-witted and learned everything fast, and had no other thoughts. At most, they would just say a few words of admiration to their family members.
They usually gathered on the kang (heated brick bed) at Liu Yuxi's house to do their work. After coming to this world, Liu Yuxi didn't pay much attention to privacy or anything like that. Anyway, she would just put the things in her space directly into her space and never take out anything that didn't fit the times. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
The kang (heated brick bed) at Liu Yuxi's house was warm, and everyone chatted together in a lively atmosphere. As for firewood, each family brought some for Liu Yuxi, and there was no one trying to take advantage of the situation.
While everyone was working, they often gossiped about the surrounding courtyards and factories. Liu Yuxi listened without interrupting, collecting information that was useful to him while marveling at how this era could be both conservative and open-minded, even more so than later generations.
In April of 75, she could clearly sense the anxiety of Aunt Liu's family. Liu Yuxi knew it must be because of the job situation of her second son, Wang Jianjun. In the past few years, when the educated youth were sent to the countryside, the management was strict, and no one had any other thoughts.
However, things have clearly relaxed in the last two years. As long as his family can find Wang Jianjun a job, it's fine if he doesn't have to go to the countryside. But nowadays, jobs are really hard to find. There's a limited pool of people, and even if you spend money to buy a job, there's no way to get one.
Liu Yuxi thought for a moment and realized that only Wang Jianjun and Li Hai's third daughters in the courtyard were the right age, but Li Hai's second daughter had already gone to the countryside, so his family wasn't in such a hurry.
After spending the past six months together, Liu Yuxi felt that everyone in the courtyard was a very good person. After thinking it over carefully, she decided to sell one of the jobs left by the original owner's parents to Wang Jianjun. After all, Aunt Liu usually took good care of her, and even though his family was in such a hurry, they never tried to take Liu Yuxi's job quota and never mentioned it to her.
Having made her decision, she went to Aunt Liu's house that evening. She knocked on Aunt Liu's door, but they had just finished dinner. In those days, it wasn't polite to go to someone's house during mealtime; food was still very precious.
Aunt Liu pulled Liu Yuxi over: "Yuxi, is something wrong? Come and tell your Aunt Liu." "Uncle Wang, Aunt Liu, as you know, my parents left me with two jobs, and I want to share one with Brother Jianjun."
Aunt Liu and Wang Jianjun were both a little excited when they heard this, but they didn't say anything immediately. Instead, they looked at Uncle Wang.
Uncle Wang looked at Liu Yuxi and said, "Yuxi, you're still young and don't understand the importance of work. We appreciate your kindness in thinking of your brother Jianjun, but this is a big deal, and I'm afraid you'll regret it later." Hearing Uncle Wang say this, Aunt Liu and Wang Jianjun also looked at Liu Yuxi with concern.
“Uncle, I’ve thought this through carefully. I’m an only child, and I don’t have any relatives. You all know that. I’ll give one of the two jobs to Jianjun, and I’ll keep the other one for myself. I still need to study, and nobody knows what will happen after I graduate high school. Look how strict the policy was a couple of years ago when educated youth were sent to the countryside, but it’s not as strict now. Nobody knows what the policies will be like in the future. Who can guarantee that these two jobs won’t change? It’s better to give one away. Even if I need to work after graduating high school, I’ll still have one job left, right?”
Listening to Liu Yuxi's words, Uncle Wang also felt that this girl's thinking was quite mature. Indeed, Liu Yuxi did not need two jobs at the moment.
So he said to Liu Yuxi, "Yuxi, thank you first. I won't take advantage of you. I'll give you 1500 yuan for this job. If you want any other tickets or anything else, you can tell me and I'll find them for you. I promise you won't lose out."
"Uncle Wang, you have too much money. Just give me 1000 yuan. As for coupons, please help me exchange some meat coupons, some non-staple food coupons, and some cloth coupons. That's all I need!"
Uncle Wang and Aunt Liu laughed when they heard what she said. After all, she was still a child, and her focus was on food. "Then Uncle will give you 1200 yuan, that's the least you can do. A proper job is worth that much now. Uncle will get you some more meat coupons and non-staple food coupons later. As for cloth coupons, girl, have you forgotten that we are a textile factory? We still have some flawed cloth at home. I'll have Aunt Liu take you over to pick some out later. If you don't have enough, I'll get you more cloth coupons."