Chapter 2: Talking about Family

Thinking of Feng Yi, Jiang Liyun’s heart warmed.

Without Feng Yi, she wouldn’t be who she is now.

Shortly after her paralysis, Xiao Yu, whom she treated like a daughter, suddenly disappeared. Her mother, already in poor health, deteriorated further and passed away a few months later.

Xiao Yu left home due to accusations from her sister-in-law. Her elder brother and sister-in-law quarrelled daily, and her second sister was troubled by her child’s silence.

Her family couldn’t help her, but Feng Yi did.

Without Feng Yi, she might not have survived.

In the mid-to-late 1990s, while many families in the village were becoming prosperous, the Jiang family was in chaos, the poorest, and a topic of gossip.

The worse it got, the more she wanted to succeed.

At that time, not only was she paralyzed, but she was also burdened with debt due to medical expenses. Yet, with Feng Yi, they managed a small food stall, working tirelessly to clear the debts within a few years.

Later, they bought a house in town and saved money.

Now, her life was much better than most in the village.

When her son entered high school, they bought a computer.

She learned typing, discovered online shopping, and found business opportunities.

In 2008, she opened an online store, selling locally produced tea. Initially, the business wasn’t thriving, but later, selling chrysanthemum tea alone brought in tens of thousands each month.

After earning money, she opened an online clothing store.

Despite being partially paralyzed, she thrived online, even studying English and expanding her online store to foreign websites.

Before her passing, she had hundreds of employees and savings in the billions.

However, her life was far from good. Feng Yi, in his forties, succumbed to cancer.

As for her, she pushed herself too hard in her early years, underwent numerous surgeries after paralysis, and her health deteriorated rapidly after Feng Yi’s death. In just a decade, she faced a decline in health.

Unexpectedly, she had a chance for a fresh start.

Jiang Liyun finished her porridge, placed the bowl on the stove, and, seeing her mother about to wash the dishes, she took over and started washing.

Jiang’s mother was thin, her arms and legs resembling straw, as if bones were wrapped in a layer of skin.

Years of heavy menstruation had taken away her body’s nutrients, leading to severe malnutrition.

They did take her to see doctors, but in that era, medical facilities in small towns were very limited, and her condition remained unimproved.

Jiang Liyun washed dishes while keeping an eye on her mother.

Not long after her sister’s disappearance, her mother passed away. She hadn’t seen her mother in many years.

Her mother had a tough life, enduring for so many years. Just as the economy was about to take off and everyone could lead better lives, she left early.

Her mother never had the chance to enjoy life fully.

Not only her mother but also Feng Yi left without having the chance to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

If one were to say who was the best to her in her past life, it would probably be Feng Yi.

In sickness and in health, Feng Yi cared for her for nearly twenty years, being attentive to every detail.

While intense but brief love affairs couldn’t move her, the enduring warmth of a steady relationship touched her heart.

She became paralyzed in 1997.

After her paralysis, due to Xie Zugen’s imprisonment, the Xie family kept causing trouble for her, and many other issues arose in her family. At her most difficult times, both inside and outside the home, Feng Yi was her support. Without him, she might not have endured.

Later, when they opened the store together, she, at most, sat in a wheelchair and wrapped wontons. Most of the work was done by Feng Yi.

Later, when she started an online store, Feng Yi not only took care of her but also helped with various tasks.

Feng Yi later developed cancer, likely due to overexertion in his youth.

He never had a moment of leisure, except in the final days when he lay critically ill in bed, not having to do anything.

Even then, Feng Yi worried about her not having anyone to care for her.

Jiang Liyun’s eyes stung, and she took a deep breath, burying the memories in her heart.

If given a second chance, she hoped the people she cared about could live well.

The current year is 1987.

Their small town had changed little compared to the 1970s, but Jiang Liyun knew that in the next forty years, the country would undergo profound changes.

Countless opportunities awaited her.

Of course, before that, she needed to understand her current situation.

She died in 2024, and while she could remember parts of her life in the 1980s, much of it was already fading from her memory.

“Mom, what’s for lunch today?” Jiang Liyun, having lifted her spirits, casually brought up a topic with her mother.

Her mother replied, “I asked your dad to go to town to buy groceries. I don’t know what he’ll bring back. Your sister is coming later; you can make some delicious dishes for her.”

Hearing her mother, Jiang Liyun knew she didn’t have to go to work today.

In the earlier years, factories were often state-owned or operated by a collective. For example, their township, referred to as a commune at this time, had a brick and tile factory. In her village, there was a sofa factory.

Born in 1967, at the age of sixteen in 1983, she started working in the sofa factory.

Initially, the factory’s performance was decent, but starting around this year, the profitability declined, and they would occasionally have days off.

It was towards the end of this year that she and Xie Zugen established a relationship and planned to marry next year.

“Liyun, go pull some soybeans; let your sister take them home to eat. Also, dig some taro and sweet potatoes. I remember there’s a winter melon in the field; bring that too,” her mother kept instructing.

Jiang Liyun responded, “If my sister wants them, she can get them herself from the field.”

Her mother fell silent, a hint of embarrassment on her face.

Jiang Liyun continued washing the dishes, pretending not to have noticed.

Her parents had one son and three daughters, and among the four siblings, she undoubtedly faced the most grievances.

Her older brother, being the firstborn and a boy, naturally received the most favor at home. When her grandmother was alive, anything good would be secretly given to her brother.

Her brother’s life was not bad at all.

Her sister, despite being a girl, is the first daughter in the family and receives good treatment. Especially since she likes to compare herself with her brother, causing a fuss if she can’t surpass him…

Crying children get candy, and her sister hasn’t suffered much. Take, for example, when Xiaoyu was born. Despite many family matters at the time, her sister could still attend junior high school in town without any issues.

As for her, she not only wore her sister’s old clothes from a young age but also took on most of the household chores and farm work.

Going to cut grass with a basket at a young age was nothing for her. After the fields were contracted to households, her brother worked at the commune, rarely coming home at night, and her sister, after finishing junior high, went to work in town instead of going to the fields.

The farm work was done mostly by her and her father. After she started working in the sofa factory, she worked during the day and had to go to the fields in the evening—no leisure time.

She had to work; it was unavoidable.

When it was time to harvest rice, while others’ rice had already been cut, hers was still in the fields. If she didn’t go cut it, would she let the rice rot in the fields?

Her father was disabled, her mother was sickly, and she couldn’t just let it go.

Farm work was truly exhausting, and she had long vowed that when she had money, she would never do farm work again.

In the last few years before her passing, she lived in a villa community where the elderly neighbors enjoyed gardening in their yards. However, she had no interest in such activities.

Despite being industrious at home, she would never willingly gather a pile of vegetables for her sister to take away. Such things weren’t part of her past life, and certainly not in this one.

Jiang Liyun washed the dishes, cleaned the pot, and then started tidying up the kitchen.

Her current health is truly remarkable!

The joy of rebirth filled her heart, fueling her with determination.

She urgently wanted to do something.

It was during the cleaning process that her mind gradually calmed down.

Balancing work and farm activities left her with little time for household chores. Her home was quite messy, and after washing the dishes, Jiang Liyun took a broom to sweep the floor.

While busy, her sister, Jiang Liping, returned.

Jiang Liyun is twenty years old, while her sister Jiang Liping is two years older, now twenty-two.

Despite their parents’ health issues, they had good looks, making all four siblings appear quite attractive.

At twenty-two, Jiang Liping had large eyes, fair skin, permed hair, lipstick, and meticulously shaped eyebrows, giving her a very delicate appearance.

Her attire sharply contrasted with that of the rural folks: a deep blue polyester shirt cinched at the waist, crisply ironed black trousers, and medium-heeled leather shoes. With just this outfit, she would be considered quite stylish, not only in the countryside but also in town.

Jiang Liping, meticulously dressed, exuded a sense of pride, and even as she looked at the dilapidated house, a hint of disdain lingered in her eyes.

Jiang Liyun’s emotions were somewhat complicated.

In her youth, she harbored grievances against her sister, feeling that she had been at a disadvantage while working tirelessly at home.

However, once she started earning her own money in the sofa factory, those resentful feelings faded away.

She had long realized that she had to live her own life, and blaming her sister wouldn’t bring her any benefits; it would only waste her time.

Now, with the rebirth and seeing her well-groomed sister, she could only sigh.

In her previous life, her sister ended up with a despondent heart, leading a mundane existence. Seeing Jiang Liping now, full of vitality, made Jiang Liyun even more melancholic.

Jiang Liping, brimming with vitality, remarked, “Liyun, you’re already twenty. Why don’t you spruce up a bit? Among the female workers at the sofa factory, you’re definitely the most old-fashioned.”

“I don’t have money,” Jiang Liyun replied. In the factory, she indeed appeared old-fashioned. While other female workers might not be as stylish as her sister, they at least had a few new clothes to rotate. In contrast, most of her clothes were hand-me-downs from her sister.

“You get a salary every month. How can you not have money?” Jiang Liping questioned.

Jiang Liyun remained silent.

While it’s true she received a monthly salary, it wasn’t particularly high at the sofa factory. Whether in the sofa factory or the brick and tile factory of the commune, wages were not initially given. Those who worked at the factory were local farmers, paid in work points.

Of course, it wasn’t that they didn’t get any money. The factory would provide some subsidies.

Her brother, who started working at the commune’s brick and tile factory in 1978, received work points. In addition, there was a daily food allowance of twenty cents. If he worked overtime or undertook hazardous tasks, there would be additional allowances. At the end of the month, he would hardly make ten yuan.

Until January 1981, the brick and tile factory underwent reform, transitioning from work points to a wage system. At that time, her brother was a first-level worker, earning one yuan per day. His monthly income was around 33 yuan, with various allowances bringing it to approximately 40 yuan.

Subsequently, due to the country’s vigorous infrastructure development, the brick and tile factory’s profits improved, and her brother’s salary increased every year. By then, he could already earn over 100 yuan per month.

Xie Zugeng worked on the brick and tile factory’s transportation team. Although he never went out with the boat for transportation, he received an additional subsidy, roughly two-thirds of his salary.

By 1987, Xie Zugeng’s monthly income was close to two hundred yuan.

However, the sofa factory was different.

The work at the sofa factory was much lighter than that at the brick and tile factory, but its profitability was lower. At this point, her monthly salary was only around 40 to 50 yuan.

“What can you do in your forties and fifties? Nowadays, many things are in short supply, and prices are not cheap; even a kilogramme of pork costs a whole yuan.

Jiang Liping whispered, ‘You’re just naive, spending all your money on others! But once you get married into a good family, you’ll be able to keep your salary for yourself.’

As she was speaking, she saw her mother approaching. Jiang Liping raised her voice and said, ‘Li Yun, I came here this time to tell you about a good match! My stepfather works at the fertilizer plant, right? There’s a young man named Zhou Dafei in his factory. His wife died of jaundice hepatitis, and he’s looking for another.’

Jiang Liyun knew about jaundice hepatitis; in the 1980s, this disease had ravaged their area, and several people in their village had contracted it; some even passed away due to the illness.

Her sister had mentioned the marriage proposal to her before, and she was aware of what day it was today! “