Chapter 14

A few of the nearby aunties eagerly chimed in, “We definitely won’t tell anyone—just spill it already!”

Aunt Wang bent forward slightly, and soon the small group began walking slower, naturally forming a tight circle, heads almost touching. But Lin Yun could testify that Aunt Wang wasn’t speaking quietly at all—at least not quietly enough for someone like her, walking just behind them, not to hear everything loud and clear.

“It’s that lame guy from the projection team.”

The aunties nodded knowingly and began commenting on the situation.
“No wonder the film guy would be interested in Zhao Defa’s daughter—it’s just that lame one. If someone from the projection team liked my daughter, why wouldn’t anyone like mine too?”

“That lame guy is already past thirty, isn’t he? Is Zhao Defa’s daughter even twenty yet?”

“Nope, I think she’s just nineteen.”

“Then Zhao Defa really is ruthless, marrying his daughter off to some man in his thirties. Must be doing it just to get money for that good-for-nothing son of his to get married.”

“If you ask me, that lame guy isn’t even that bad. My husband told me—you know how much a projectionist makes these days?”

Seeing everyone turn their attention toward her, the auntie’s face was full of pride, as if just knowing a projectionist’s salary was some sort of major achievement. “Twenty-three yuan a month.”

“That’s for one month! Does your family even make twenty-three yuan in a whole year? They say marrying a man means food and clothes. If Zhao Defa’s daughter really marries him, wouldn’t her days be a lot better?”

Once she finished speaking, the surrounding women launched into another round of discussion.

Along the way, Lin Yun kept hearing these aunties gossip about everything—from one family losing a chicken to another couple always fighting. So much gossip that Lin Yun couldn’t even keep up with it all.

But she had to admit—gossip really does seem like human nature. And the level of rural gossip went way beyond her imagination.

Just like that, they walked along listening to gossip, and it somehow didn’t feel like a long walk at all before they reached the spot for the movie screening. The noise grew louder and louder until, upon seeing the gathering place, Lin Yun was shocked by how many people were in the countryside these days.

What lay before her was a sea of people. Lin Yun even saw some folks bringing ladders to sit on, and others had climbed trees—every branch full of people. She even worried for the poor trees.

The large open space was packed tightly. Lin Yun originally wanted to look for Lin Yonggang with Lin Yumei, but after glancing around, she gave up—there were simply too many people.

“Jie, over here!”

Amid the noisy crowd, Lin Yun caught a familiar voice. She looked toward it and spotted a head bobbing up and down in the crowd, along with a few hands waving quickly.

She knew it was Lin Yonggang calling for her, and that must be the spot he and his friends had saved for them. But given the distance and the crowd, Lin Yun decided not to dive into that mess.

So she and Lin Yumei just shouted back to let him know they wouldn’t be coming over. Luckily, it was loud enough that their response didn’t feel out of place.

Whether Lin Yonggang understood or not, Lin Yun wasn’t sure—but a while later, she saw that the waving hands around him had gone down.

People around them were sitting on their little stools chatting. The aunties from before were still gossiping, but Lin Yun didn’t go over again. While walking she could eavesdrop, but now that they were sitting, she was afraid they’d shift the topic to her.

No one knew when the movie would start, so Lin Yun chatted with Lin Yumei instead. From the original host’s memories, Lin Yun knew that Lin Yumei had stopped school after junior high.

“Back then, there was no college entrance exam. Going to high school felt pointless since we couldn’t get into college anyway. It’s just a shame I missed the chance to take the technical school exams. Not that I’d necessarily have passed, but I didn’t even get the chance to try. Sigh.”

Only then did Lin Yun realize that when Lin Yumei finished junior high, the college entrance exam hadn’t been reinstated yet.

“Later, school got so expensive, and we didn’t have money. I’m just a girl—what use is higher education? A junior high diploma is enough.
Oh, right. You know how Mom’s been visiting Auntie a lot lately? She asked her to help me find a tailor to apprentice with. I plan to learn tailoring. What do you think?”

“I heard tailoring is super profitable. They say it even makes more than working in the city! But Mom only mentioned it briefly—maybe the tailor hasn’t agreed to take me yet.”

Lin Yun knew that in this era, any skilled apprenticeship had strict requirements. She wanted to tell her not to learn tailoring—that industry was bound to be phased out. Future demand would keep shrinking, and Lin Yumei couldn’t guarantee she wouldn’t be left behind.

But she also knew how it would come across. If Lin Yun didn’t have memories from the future, she would probably think this tailoring path was a great opportunity too.

“Jie, have you ever thought about going back to school? The college entrance exam is back now. You have a junior high diploma—you could totally go to high school and then take the exam.”

Lin Yun really thought it was worth it. Lin Yumei was still young, and in this time period, even a vocational college graduate was in high demand.

Lin Yumei looked stunned. It seemed like she had never even considered the possibility. She could still go back to school?

She instinctively wanted to argue, but the words got stuck in her throat.

Of course she knew the benefits of education, and she understood why the family couldn’t support it before. But even if she accepted that now, would her future self feel the same if her siblings all became college students and she didn’t?

And if she did go back to school—who would do all the chores at home?

But if she could make money like Lin Yun, maybe she wouldn’t need her family to pay tuition. In fact, she hadn’t even touched the money she got from selling centipedes last time.

Question after question swirled in her mind, but she began to realize none of them were real obstacles. Compared to learning tailoring from someone her aunt found, studying clearly had more potential. Otherwise, why would so many families fight to send their sons to school?

Lin Yun watched Lin Yumei’s expression shift over and over until it finally settled, as if she had made up her mind. Lin Yun felt genuinely happy. For a rural girl in this era, making it out was incredibly difficult, often met with resistance from all directions.

But Lin Yun was willing to help however she could.

Still, this kind of decision was up to the individual. If Lin Yumei ended up choosing tailoring anyway, Lin Yun wouldn’t push her—but she would at least suggest she not limit herself to basic mending.