The courtyard wasn’t very big, and gossip traveled easily—whether it was about the Zhang family or the Li family, even the slightest noise could be heard from inside the house. Not to mention, these two aunties spoke loudly, making their conversation crystal clear. Ma Huifen, who had swapped shifts and was resting in her room, had been leaning by the window, listening to every word from start to finish.  

The anger Ma Huifen had felt yesterday had mostly dissipated by now, and the tightness in her chest had eased. She couldn’t help but feel relieved—thank goodness her son had married a city girl. If they had really ended up with that Mu family girl, it would be her family being laughed at today.  

Her heart swelled with satisfaction. But when she turned and saw her younger son putting on his coat, ready to go out, her smile instantly vanished. There was still one major problem in the family—this boy, who did nothing but wander around all day. Who knew when school would resume? It was enough to drive her mad…  

As her son headed for the door, Ma Huifen called after him, “Don’t dawdle outside tonight. Come home early.”  

“Yeah, yeah,” Du Jie replied dismissively, waving a hand behind his back before vanishing in a flash.  

For every happy person, there was an unhappy one. Zhang Yulan leaned against the windowsill, listless, her eyes slightly red. She couldn’t help but pound her aching legs in frustration—it was all her own fault for being so useless.  

Ever since her legs had started giving her trouble, gossip had spread relentlessly throughout the compound. She had endured it all, but today’s words cut especially deep. Tears welled up in Zhang Yulan’s eyes, spilling over as she covered her face and slowly lay back down, letting them slide silently down her cheeks.  

As for the subject of the gossip—Mu Jinyue—she couldn’t care less about what outsiders said. Right now, she was just a hired worker; their words had nothing to do with her. At the moment, she was resting in her room, and this all traced back to right after lunch.  

Zhang Yulan’s legs were immobile, so she needed help with daily tasks—including going to the bathroom. Jiang Yi had already explained this to Mu Jinyue. The family had a makeshift toilet: a chair with a backrest, a hole cut in the middle, and a bucket placed underneath.  

Jiang Yi had said it was only necessary twice a day, morning and night, and since he was usually home at those times, Mu Jinyue wouldn’t need to assist much. But if Zhang Yulan needed to go during the day, Mu Jinyue would have to step in.  

But in Mu Jinyue’s view, bodily functions weren’t something that could be scheduled. Besides, she was here to take care of someone—of course, she should be proactive. A worker’s self-awareness was important. So after lunch, she asked, “Mom, do you need to use the toilet?”  

Zhang Yulan froze, immediately lowering her head. When Mu Jinyue glanced over, all she could see were the older woman’s reddened ears.  

She was embarrassed.  

Mu Jinyue felt a little awkward too—she’d never done this kind of work before. She sighed inwardly and asked again, “Mom, do you need to use the toilet?”  

“……”  

Zhang Yulan eventually nodded.  

Though she had been ill for years, Zhang Yulan hadn’t lost much weight—in fact, she was both taller and heavier than Mu Jinyue. The younger woman had to half-support, half-carry her, slowly shuffling to the corner of the room—where Zhang Yulan relieved herself—before helping her sit down. The rest, Zhang Yulan could manage on her own. Mu Jinyue quickly drew the curtain, stepped out of the room, and closed the door behind her. This was undoubtedly an uncomfortable situation for Zhang Yulan, so it was best to be considerate.  

She waited outside for a while until she was called back in. Then, half-dragging, half-holding Zhang Yulan, she helped her back to bed, fetched water, washed her hands, and finally took the bucket out.  

The waste had to be disposed of in the public toilet at the entrance of the compound, after which the bucket would be returned to its spot by the wall. As she carried it, Mu Jinyue kept mentally reassuring herself—and by the time she finished, she had successfully talked herself into acceptance. She completed the task smoothly, washed her hands, and lay down for a nap.  

After dozing for a while, Mu Jinyue felt much more refreshed. She put on her coat, tucked five yuan into her pocket, and prepared to head to the supply and marketing cooperative. But before that, she stopped by Zhang Yulan’s room to check on her.  

Zhang Yulan had mostly regained her composure, aside from slightly reddened eyes. At least, Mu Jinyue couldn’t detect any other changes. Worried she might be cold, Mu Jinyue closed the window and asked a few more questions.  

As she watched the young woman fuss over her, Zhang Yulan’s mind drifted back to the gossip she’d heard at noon. She may be a country girl, but she’s a good kid. Background doesn’t decide everything—this child has had it hard too. Now that they’re married, they should just live well together…

Seeing that everything was fine here, Mu Jinyue asked for directions to the supply and marketing cooperative and left. It wasn’t far—just a few turns from the Jiang family’s place, and the sign was easy to spot.  

The cooperative wasn’t too crowded in the afternoon. Mu Jinyue stepped inside and began looking around, genuinely curious about this kind of place. The space was fairly large, similar to a modern supermarket—except here, nothing was self-service. All the goods were displayed behind glass counters, and customers had to ask the clerks for what they wanted. As for whether the items handed over were good or bad—well, that depended entirely on the clerk’s mood.

Mu Jinyue glanced around and spotted the vegetable counter, heading straight for it. Today’s vegetable selection was decent—there were leeks, eggplants, and potatoes, along with the ever-present cabbage. However, since it was already afternoon, these were the leftovers, and their quality wasn’t great: wilted, shriveled, and somewhat limp. No wonder they were still here.  

But even so, Mu Jinyue had to buy them—otherwise, there’d be nothing to eat for dinner. This only strengthened her resolve to wake up early for grocery shopping in the future.  

She stepped forward and asked for the prices. Leeks were eight fen per half-kilogram, eggplants four fen, potatoes seven fen, and cabbage five fen.  

The Jiangs had just finished their last batch of cabbage, so she decided against buying more today. But she picked up some of the other three. Potatoes kept well, so she bought two kilograms. As for eggplants and leeks, she bought less—eggplants shrunk drastically when cooked, so she didn’t need too many.  

All in all, it came to just over six mao. Grocery shopping is so cheap these days, she thought as she handed over the money. She was about to browse other sections when it suddenly hit her—this was the 1960s, and money was very different from modern times.  

She stepped aside and did some quick calculations. Six mao for vegetables could be considered a day’s worth. That meant eighteen yuan a month just for vegetables—and that didn’t even include rice, flour, oil, medicine, or the meat, eggs, and fruit Jiang Yi had mentioned. If she added all that up, thirty yuan might not even cover it. She wondered if Jiang Yi’s monthly salary was enough.  

With that in mind, she abandoned the idea of further browsing. Instead, she decided to go back and draft a meal plan for Jiang Yi to review—that would give her peace of mind.  

Carrying her cloth bag of groceries, Mu Jinyue returned to the compound. At the entrance, she unexpectedly ran into Du Yu’s wife from next door. Standing side by side, the contrast between them was stark—one dressed in bright, fashionable clothes, the other in coarse, homespun fabric.  

The woman looked her up and down before smiling. “Grocery shopping?”  

Mu Jinyue nodded but, feeling her response was too curt, added, “Yeah. Just got off work?”  

The woman’s smile widened. “Yep, just finished.” With that, she walked inside.  

Mu Jinyue followed, the two entering the courtyard one after the other. Once inside, Zhen Yunyun immediately called out toward the main house, “Mom, I bought some meat! Let’s cook it for dinner!”  

Ma Huifen was chopping vegetables in the main room and frowned at her daughter-in-law’s loud announcement. Still, she stepped outside.  

It was dinnertime, and most households were busy cooking. Hearing the commotion, people peeked out into the courtyard, their eyes filled with unconcealed envy at the mention of meat. Under so many admiring gazes, Ma Huifen’s gloom instantly lifted, her face blooming into a smile. “Oh, good, good! I’ll cook it right away. You’ve worked all day—go rest inside.”  

As she spoke, she studied Zhen Yunyun’s expression. Her son had gone to his in-laws’ place today, and she wasn’t sure how things had gone. But judging by her daughter-in-law’s mood, it must have been fine. Relieved, she happily took the meat and went back inside.  

Mu Jinyue had entered the courtyard right behind Zhen Yunyun and heard everything. She frowned—that’s what she’d forgotten. Today, she’d been so focused on buying vegetables that she hadn’t asked where to get meat. She hoped the supply and marketing cooperative sold it so she wouldn’t have to go searching elsewhere. Silently praying, she headed inside.  

The courtyard’s little drama didn’t escape anyone’s notice. The two aunties who had been gossiping under the tree at noon were perfectly in sync—as soon as they finished their kitchen chores, they reconvened beneath the tree.  

“Did you see that? Meat! City girls are something else—they’ve got money to spend however they want. That family’s sure lucky,” Auntie Tang said enviously.  

The plump Auntie Wang, however, disagreed. “Hmph. In my opinion, daughters-in-law shouldn’t have money. Once they do, they just waste it on whatever they fancy.”  

Auntie Tang nodded in agreement. “True, but at least they’re better off. Now look at the Jiang family—three mouths to feed, all relying on that one young man. Bet they’re living on scraps every day.”  

At this, Auntie Wang’s expression shifted. “Absolutely! I saw the Jiangs’ daughter-in-law—her face went dark the second she heard about the meat, like some kind of magic trick. Tsk, tsk, tsk.”  

“Hahaha! If you ate nothing but scraps, your face would be dark too!”  

Mu Jinyue heard every word. After returning, she had checked on Zhang Yulan and was about to use the bathroom before starting dinner. She had just stepped out when she caught the two aunties’ gossip.  

She touched her face. Hadn’t her complexion always been this sallow? How could it “go dark” all of a sudden? Her mind conjured an image of a pitch-black stick figure, and she shuddered, shaking her head to dispel the horrifying thought. I really hope I can get my fair skin back someday.

Standing here wasn’t doing her any good. The side rooms were crowded, and with people coming and going during dinner prep, eyes kept drifting toward her.  

She hadn’t wanted to draw attention, originally planning to wait until the two aunties finished gossiping and left. But seeing how engrossed they were, she decided to make the first move. Quickening her pace, she hurried to the kitchen. Glancing back at the tree, she sighed—the two aunties were too busy chatting to even notice her.