◎ Second update ◎ 

“Hmph! Xu Shengjie must be out of his mind, treating a country bumpkin like she’s some kind of treasure,” Luo Hongmei retorted. After being scolded by the younger generation, she sat down on a bench at home, fuming. 

Her husband, Yao Guangrong, poured her a cup of hot water and coaxed her, “Why do you care about what others do? You will only ruin the harmony with our neighbors.” 

“Yes, Mother, why are you so concerned about them?” Yao Haoyu said, interrupting casually as he drank from his enamel cup. 

“I’m just worried that Zhou Yun is being foolish. It’s true that good people don’t get rewarded!” Speaking of good people, she thought of the cabbage that was lost from her home. Wei Jinrong and his men searched for a long time but couldn’t find the thief. 

But she couldn’t stand it! 

“That rotten thief who stole my cabbages! How dare they steal from me? May that person only give birth to sons without a—!” 

“Cough, cough, cough!” Yao Haoyu choked on a mouthful of water and started coughing madly, shocking Luo Hongmei so much that she rushed forward and patted her son on the back. 

“You’re all grown up now; how can you still choke on water?” 

Her son was her pride and joy. Luo Hongmei’s eyes were filled with concern as she gently patted his back. 

“It’s nothing, Mother. But you’re scolding too much. Let it go; it’s just a few cabbages, what’s the big deal?” Yao Haoyu’s eyes darted around as he quickly tried to console her, hoping his mother would forget about it. 

“No way! How dare they steal my cabbages? I won’t let them off!” 

Yao Guangrong waited until his wife finished scolding before interrupting, “Hongmei, do you think there is any way to get Xiaoyun back to the city? Qingdang bought a job and came back. Let’s…” 

“Where would we find a job? Your son hasn’t even secured one yet. Besides, Xiaoyun is doing fine in the countryside.” 

Yao Guangrong and Luo Hongmei have a son and a daughter. The eldest son, Yao Haoyu, is twenty-two years old this year. He dropped out of school in the first grade of junior high school and has not found a proper job in these years. He has been idling around until this age. 

Her daughter Yao Haoyun studied until the first year of high school, but when the family needed to send a child to the countryside, Luo Hongmei felt sorry for her son. So, she forced her daughter to drop out of school and go to the countryside while letting her son stay in the city.

This was already Xiaoyun’s fourth year in the countryside, and she had been sent even further north, where it was cold. 

“Then let’s send Xiaoyun some more money. She can buy some thick cotton. I heard that place is cold enough to freeze people to death.” Yao Guangrong’s salary was handed over to his wife, and all the family’s finances were managed by Luo Hongmei, so he had to listen to her on everything. 

“Didn’t we just send her five yuan three months ago? Xiaoyun is in the countryside, and it’s hard to buy things there anyway. Even if you send money, it won’t do much good. The educated youth staying there can help each other out.” 

Yao Haoyu’s eyes lit up when he heard about the money, “Mother, give me five yuan.” 

“Why do you want money again? I just gave you some the day before yesterday.” Luo Hongmei looked at her son with worry. Without a proper job, even getting a wife was difficult. “Haoyu, listen to your mother and go find a job, okay?” 

“I want to find a job. I know a worker at the tractor factory. He said there might be a temporary position available, and if I give him five yuan, he could help me ask around…” 

“So expensive?” 

“You call this expensive? Others may not help even if they give me ten yuan!” Yao Haoyu frowned, looking quite impatient. He looked fine, but he was a bit lazy and liked to talk with a crooked mouth. “Forget it if you don’t want to give it to me. It’s not my fault that I can’t find a job.” 

“Take it, take it!” 

Luo Hongmei couldn’t do anything about her son, so she took out five one- yuan bills and gave them to Yao Haoyu. 

“Alright, I’m going out. Mother, don’t make a fuss over such a trivial matter. It’s not a big deal!” 

After saying that, he rushed into the night and disappeared. 

“Bah! I’m sure it was someone from our courtyard who did it. It was probably Wu Changlong. I’ll make sure he gets caught red-handed!” 

After nearly a week of busy work in the courtyard, there was still no sign of the thief. Finally, Wei Jinrong had no choice but to call it off. Only a few cabbages had been lost, and each family endured the loss in silence. 

After a long time, no one cared about this matter, except Luo Hongmei. 

The Xu family had also lost three cabbages. Xu Shengjie wasn’t particularly upset about the cabbages but was concerned about the noise Liang Baozhen had heard that night. 

He re-tightened the locks of his house and added two wooden bolts at opposite corners of the door. 

“If anything comes up, don’t go rushing out and try to force your way in. Look for me first when I’m at home. If I’m not around, don’t go alone—get a few more people to help, understood?” 

“I know, I know.” He repeated it many times to the whole family, who agreed continuously. 

Zhou Yun was knitting a sweater, one for Xu Shengwei and one for Xu Shengya. She had nothing to do during the day, so she had to keep busy while watching her grandchildren head to work and school. 

Unfortunately, there was another uninvited guest that day. 

Liang Zhiqing and Fang Yuehe came to the door carrying things. When they saw Zhou Yun looking at them, they hurriedly introduced themselves. 

“Is this Xu Shengjie’s grandmother? We are Baozhen’s uncle and aunt, and this is Baozhen’s cousin.” 

It was the first time for the three of them to go into the city. They finally found the team leader to issue them a letter of introduction, and then they got on the bus and asked along the way before they found Crescent Alley. 

“Baozhen’s uncle?” Zhou Yun didn’t expect to meet Baozhen’s uncle’s family before seeing her parents. “Come in quickly. It’s cold outside. It must have been difficult for you to come here.” 

Fang Yuehe walked in front and looked at the Xu family’s courtyard carefully. In the countryside, her own family had several rooms and a small yard, but now it seemed that the city was really crowded. 

“Head of the household, did you see this? What kind of place is this? You can’t even turn around.” Fang Yuehe muttered softly while Zhou Yun went to pour water. 

“What do you know! Every inch of land in the city is worth a lot of money.” Liang Zhiqing gave his wife a blank look, thinking she lacked insight. 

Looking at Zhou Yun’s kind demeanor, the three of them started chatting with her. 

*** 

Liang Baozhen had been reading at the radio station. Even with warm clothing, the cold winter made it uncomfortable, so she could only hold an enamel cup and drink water to keep warm. 

The manuscript of the factory newspaper’s interview with Chen Yong had been written. She gave it to Huang Cuie to read. The two discussed and revised it again before giving it to Xue Lijun for review. 

Once Xue Lijun approved it, it would be sent to Chen Yong. 

This is the process for interviewing important people in the factory. Every word must satisfy the leader before it can be sent out. 

However, the advantages of sitting in the office came into play at this time. Liang Baozhen packed up and went back to the office just in time for the end of the workday. It was much more relaxing than working in the workshop. 

Wang Xin had come to see her several times and was extremely envious. She was younger and must have felt even more tired in the workshop, so today they agreed to go see Sister Meng Ping that day. 

Meng Ping has been suffering from knee pain when the weather gets cold recently. Liang Baozhen knows that it is rheumatism and advises her to get acupuncture, but Meng Ping was reluctant to spend the money and just agrees. 

The two apprentices she recently taught have been converted into regular employees. Wang Xin continues to work in the fine sand workshop, and Liang Baozhen works in the factory office. As their mentor, she’s very pleased. 

“Baozhen, how are you doing in the factory office?” 

“It’s good. Everyone is nice and takes good care of me.” Liang Baozhen is indeed very satisfied with the work in the factory office. Writing suited her better than physical labor, and it allowed her to read and review books in her spare time—killing two birds with one stone. “Sister Huang and I went to interview the factory director not long ago.” 

“Interviewing the factory director?” Wang Xin was somewhat envious. In her mind, the factory director was one of the highest authorities in the State Cotton Factory, so she had some respect for him. “Sister Baozhen, you are amazing. I have only seen the factory director from a distance once since I came to the factory, and you have interviewed him.” 

Liang Baozhen wanted to hear more about Chen’s family’s younger days from Meng Ping. “You’ll have opportunities in the future. Next year, the factory will have a sports meet. If you participate and win a prize, maybe the factory director will personally award you.” 

“I can’t do that. I’m not good at sports.” 

When Meng Ping heard Liang Baozhen mention the factory director, Chen Yong, she couldn’t help but be impressed by his transformation. Being older than Chen Yong and having joined the State Cotton Factory before him, she had seen the young Chen Yong, who was quite different from the imposing yet kind director he had become. “When Chen Yong first joined the factory, he was not as imposing as he is now. Back then, he was quite hotheaded and was always eager to show off his bravery and he often faced criticism from the factory. But his enthusiasm and hard work earned him the workshop director’s favor.” 

Speaking of the past, Meng Ping recalled it again and whispered to Liang Baozhen, “He once courted your mother-in-law, but she chose your father-in-law over him.” 

Chen Yong actually pursued his mother-in-law Wu Huacui? Liang Baozhen was stunned by the information and needed a moment to process the news. 

*** 

On the way home, Liang Baozhen sat on the back seat of Xu Shengjie’s bicycle, put on a hat, and huddled behind him. The weather was getting colder, and the biting wind felt like knives against her face. 

“Are you cold?” Liang Baozhen spoke with difficulty, feeling that the air she exhaled was icy cold. She stretched out her hand to touch Xu Shengjie’s cheek, only to feel a chill.

“It’s not cold.” Xu Shengjie resisted the cold and held the handlebars of the bicycle with both hands. Fortunately, he had on the gloves knitted by Liang Baozhen. Except for the scratches on his face, everything else was fine. “Put your hands in your pockets.” 

“Got it!” The wind was so strong that one had to shout to speak. 

After a quick pedaling, they finally reached home. As they walked in, they saw Liu Nianhua carrying some food in the yard and heading towards Aunt Zhang’s house. 

“Sister Hua.” 

“Baozhen, Xiao Xu, you’re back?” Liu Nianhua’s hands were full. “Go home quickly; it’s windy outside.” 

“What are you doing with the food?” 

“I asked Aunt Zhang to help me look after my sons. We were going to her house for dinner today, so I prepared two dishes.” Liu Nianhua gestured to a serving of stir-fried pumpkin and a serving of braised tofu in his hands. 

“With Aunt Zhang helping with taking care of your sons, you can work with peace of mind.” 

“That’s right, I’m really grateful to her.” 

“Sister Hua, give me the bowl and I’ll bring it in.” Zhou Qingdang saw Liu Nianhua talking outside, so he helped bring the dishes in first. 

With her hands free, she spoke a few more words to Liang Baozhen before heading to Aunt Zhang’s house. 

Liang Baozhen and Xu Shengjie turned a corner and walked towards their home. When they reached the door, they realized something was wrong. Who were these three people? Liang Baozhen thought she must be seeing things; otherwise, how could she see her uncle’s family here? 

“Baozhen, you’re back? Come in and sit!” Fang Yuehe quickly stepped forward, grabbed Liang Baozhen’s hand, and warmly pulled her inside.