Chapter 35

“How do you know all that so clearly?” Lin Yun asked, a bit surprised.

“I went out with Dad once before. It was exhausting. Sis, you wouldn’t believe it — we left before dawn and didn’t get back until it was pitch dark. By the end of the day, I was so tired I didn’t even want to speak.”

“How does that compare to the rice harvest?” Lin Yumei asked.

“If it’s just for a short time, the rice harvest is harder. But if it goes on for a long time, this job is more tiring. The good part, though, is that it’s a bit easier when coming back. You just carry the shoulder pole and the rope.

Sis, you have no idea how far we walked. It took us six or seven hours just to get there.”

Lin Yun was also surprised. Walking that far every day really sounded exhausting. “Do you have to walk that far every day?”

“Not really. When we take the busier routes, we call out and sell things along the way. Most of the time, we sell out halfway through the trip.”

“So how much do you guys sell them for?”

“It depends, but mostly between 2 to 5 yuan each. Ours don’t need a ticket, and if it’s one that’s been patched up by Dad, we sell those for just a few mao.”

Lin Yun was genuinely shocked. For people nowadays, a few yuan isn’t a small amount. And yet, those pickling jars were selling for that much.

“What? Sis, you don’t believe me?” Lin Yonggang saw the disbelief on his sister’s face. “If you don’t believe me, ask Dad. He wouldn’t lie. That’s really how much they sell for.”

Everyone turned to look at Lin Chuntian. He didn’t say anything, just nodded.

“See, I wasn’t lying. Those jars can last for decades, so the price isn’t actually that high when you think about it. Besides, it’s almost the season when everyone starts pickling vegetables again. These things are absolutely essential in every household.”

“I still think that price is kind of unbelievable. Why would people buy them?”

“First, they don’t need a ticket. Do you know how hard it is to get one of those tickets now? And you think we don’t walk far? We go deep into the mountains, and the people living there hardly ever come out. Plus, not every place has a kiln factory. If we didn’t have one here, we’d have to spend money to buy jars too.”

Lin Yun started to understand. Although most industries were recovering, many people were still stuck in the mindset of the past decade. They were too afraid to try anything new, scared of being reported and criticized again someday.

Sometimes, the mountains really were a major barrier. For some people, the farthest they’d ever been was the town. Even going to town only happened once every few years.

“Alright, why are you all so curious? Just eat your food. Gangzi, you too — you’re signing up for school tomorrow, and you’re still not getting your head in the game. Are you planning to just slack off at school again?” Zhao Lanxiu finally cut off Lin Yonggang’s endless chatter.

Everyone stopped talking and quietly focused on their food.

That night, while lying in bed, Lin Yumei chatted with Lin Yun.

“Sis, do you think we could say our family’s kind of well-off now? I didn’t know Dad was that good at making money until I heard Gangzi today. But then again, if Dad wasn’t capable, Mom probably wouldn’t have married him.”

“Not really. It’s probably just the last couple of years that he’s been earning more. If he could make money earlier, we probably wouldn’t still be living in a thatched hut.” Lin Yun replied uncertainly. “And every time Mom nags us, doesn’t she say the neighbors all look down on us?”

“You’re right. And I guess most of the money they earn still goes to Gangzi. It doesn’t really have much to do with us.” As she said that, Lin Yumei’s tone became a little downcast. After all, it’s hard for a child to admit that they’re not really important to their parents.

“It’s okay, Sis. Once you get into college, you probably won’t even care about their money anymore.”

“You and your sweet talk. You make it sound like I’ve already passed the entrance exam. What if I don’t?”

“I’ll help tutor you. You’ll definitely pass. Let’s work hard together — we can do it.”
What Lin Yun didn’t say out loud was that, although high school wasn’t as prestigious as college, graduating from high school still opened up more paths than not.

Even though they spent a lot of time together at school, it had still been over a week since they last slept in the same bed, so they had a lot to catch up on. The two of them ended up chatting late into the night.

The next day, the two girls took a proper bath and washed their hair before heading off to school. Lin Yonggang’s junior high registration was scheduled for the following day. He really didn’t want to attend — his grades weren’t very good either — but Zhao Lanxiu insisted that her son couldn’t be someone with only a primary school education, so she forced him to go.

Now, Lin Yonggang wasn’t quite as resistant to school anymore. Maybe it was because both Lin Yun and Lin Yumei were there, and going to school didn’t feel like such a dreadful thing anymore.

Monday, September 6, 1982

Lin Yonggang arrived at school to register. Lin Yun and the others were attending their usual classes. During a break between lessons, Lin Yun was chatting with Zhao Baozhu when someone called out from outside, “Lin Yun, your little brother is looking for you!”

Lin Yun followed the student out and, sure enough, saw Lin Yonggang standing there, surrounded by five or six boys around the same age.

“What’s up? You looking for me?”

“Sis, do I need a reason to come see you? Can’t I just come visit?”
Lin Yun rolled her eyes at that. “It hasn’t even been that long since we last saw each other. We just saw each other yesterday, remember?”

“Hehe, actually, I just wanted to introduce my friends to you. They’ve all been curious about you for a while, but since you hardly ever go out, they haven’t really seen you before.” As he spoke, Lin Yonggang dragged the boys — who were trying to hide behind him — out into view.

Lin Yun had heard about these boys from Zhao Lanxiu, who usually called them things like “delinquents” or “no-good kids.”

Looking at the boys now — all tanned, with only their big white teeth standing out — Lin Yun didn’t quite know what to say. She just smiled and greeted them politely, “Hi there.”

The boys instantly straightened up and shouted loudly, “Hello, sister!” The volume startled Lin Yun a bit.

After a bit of awkward small talk, Lin Yun realized she couldn’t handle this kind of situation well. She politely told them she had to get back to class and left.

Back in the classroom, Zhao Baozhu leaned over. “What did your brother want?”

“He just brought his friends over to meet me. You wouldn’t believe how awkward it was trying to talk to them. I really couldn’t handle it.”