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In the blink of an eye, she went from the factory director’s daughter to just an ordinary citizen. It hadn’t been easy for her to get a sales job at the supply and marketing cooperative, only to be replaced by someone else. In the end, she married a mechanic. He had seemed decent at first, but at night he became violent, beating her viciously. His mother was extremely patriarchal. Because she failed to give birth to a son, she was forced to keep trying. She ended up dying from hemorrhage during the birth of her eighth daughter.
Meanwhile, Su Ying not only went to university, she even became a doctor—married to a military hospital physician whose family had powerful connections. All his brothers worked within the system.
Every time Su Ying came home with her child, Su Jianshe would go on and on about her: how she had bought their mother a house, brought meat, bought new clothes, and even picked up a jacket for him.
That jacket Su Ying gave him? Su Xiaohan had been furious. When Su Jianshe went out to work one day, she secretly cut it to shreds.
Su Ying, in this lifetime, I will never let you go to university again. And I will never let you marry Zhou Xubei.
Zhou Xubei should be in his second year at Harbin Medical University by now. She’d already checked the score requirements for that school. If she studied hard enough, she might just be able to get in too.
The next morning, after Su Jianshe left for work, Su Xiaohan stopped by Zhao Yumei’s room before heading out.
“Mom, that daughter of Dad’s… she’s pretty good-looking, isn’t she? Honestly, she should be able to marry into a decent family.”
Zhao Yumei paused while making the bed, then looked at Su Xiaohan and smiled.
“You’re thinking exactly what I’m thinking. That girl’s even tougher than her mother—she actually scolded your dad. So I think marrying her off to that disabled veteran is perfect. And it’ll help your dad out too.”
Su Xiaohan lowered her gaze slightly and clutched her shoulder bag.
“Since she’s Dad’s daughter, she should be willing to help him, right? The factory’s in a tight spot, and staying in the guesthouse costs money. We really should settle this matter soon.”
Zhao Yumei agreed—she also wanted to get it over with. But with Su Jianshe’s wishy-washy personality, things were moving way too slow.
That morning, during work hours, she found a chance to slip away and rushed to Su Jianshe’s office to pressure him.
“The higher-ups are coming to inspect soon. If this batch of yarn doesn’t come through, the factory’s production quota won’t be met. When that happens, what are you going to say as director?”
Su Jianshe was already worried. He lit a cigarette, took a puff, and sighed.
“I know, I know. But what do we do about her? These past few days I’ve noticed how stubborn Su Ying is. I’m worried that if we bring it up, she’ll refuse to listen.”
Zhao Yumei cast him a sidelong glance.
“You’re her father—why wouldn’t she listen to you? Besides, this is her chance to stay in the city. Why would she say no? How do you think those older single men in the factory found wives? They all married girls from the countryside—young ones, ten-plus years younger! At least this guy’s a soldier. He’s got issues, sure, but he’s better than those old bachelors, right?”
Su Jianshe took another deep drag. But the man is disabled—how is that any better?
Still, with a government stipend, his standard of living might be better than others.
He stubbed out the cigarette and stood up.
“Alright, I’ll go over now and talk to her directly. Her condition isn’t cheap to treat. If she ends up going back to the village, she probably won’t be able to afford care anyway.”
Zhao Yumei also stood and helped smooth out his clothes.
“Exactly. She needs treatment. If she wants to stay in the city, she’ll have to marry someone. Otherwise, she doesn’t even have an urban household registration. In a few days, they’ll kick her out.”
In the 1980s, a city hukou (household registration) was incredibly valuable. Government subsidies and benefits were only available to urban residents. If Su Ying wanted to stay in Jiangcheng with Chen Shuyun, she would definitely need a local hukou.
Su Ying was sitting at the table, eating a roasted sweet potato, while Chen Shuyun was squatting on the floor doing laundry.
“Mom, what if we sold roasted sweet potatoes too? They sell for way more here than in our village.”
While scrubbing clothes on the washboard, Chen Shuyun said,
“They are more expensive, but coal and firewood in the city aren’t cheap either. Once you factor in the cost, who knows if there’s even a profit to make.”
Su Ying sighed inwardly. Why did I choose to study medicine in the first place? It was hard to find a job. If she had studied finance, she might not be stuck in the 1980s worrying about medicine and survival.
Still, this roasted sweet potato was really delicious. She quickly finished her half and set the other half aside.
“Mom, eat first and wash later. It’ll get cold—”
Before she could finish, a sharp pain suddenly struck her head—like a needle stabbing deep. Her vision blurred and darkened.
She quickly shut her eyes, gripping the edge of the bed tightly.
Damn this illness—it’s acting up again. The aftereffects changed each time: sometimes headaches, sometimes nausea and vomiting, and sometimes even temporary blindness.
She had planned to brew some traditional Chinese medicine to help, but when she asked around the herbal market earlier that morning, one dose cost twenty-two yuan. Between the X-rays and Western meds, they’d already spent a lot. Right now, Chen Shuyun probably only had thirty yuan left, and they still had to pay for food and lodging at the guesthouse.
If they used all their money on medicine, how would they survive afterward?
Su Ying had also thought about finding work at a hospital, but every hospital required a degree. Private clinics mostly only hired family members or friends—she couldn’t find anything in the short term.
As for starting a business, she didn’t even have the capital to experiment.
The stabbing pain cut through her chaotic thoughts. She couldn’t think anymore. She just clenched her teeth and tried not to scream.
Chen Shuyun kept scrubbing clothes. Aside from the sound of splashing water, the room was unusually quiet.
Knock knock knock.
Hearing the knock, Chen Shuyun wiped her hands on a piece of clothing and opened the door.
“You… Jianshe? What are you doing here? Don’t you have work today?”
Su Jianshe only grunted a reply and walked straight into the room, heading toward Su Ying.
“I want to talk to you.”
Su Ying slowly opened her eyes. She was pale from enduring the pain, with sweat beading on her forehead and her eyes slightly reddened.
“…Okay.”
She braced herself on the bed to stand and gave Chen Shuyun a weak smile.
“Mom, I’ll… go outside and talk with him. Don’t forget to eat the sweet potato. It won’t taste good once it’s cold.”
Her legs were shaky, but she managed to stay upright, though her steps were slow.
Chen Shuyun was too focused on Su Jianshe to notice anything unusual. She didn’t know what he wanted to talk about and was a little worried.
“Yingying, go ahead and talk to your dad—but don’t argue, okay?”
Su Ying nodded slightly, then closed the door behind her. As soon as it clicked shut, she leaned back against the wall, gripping her hair tightly as the pain throbbed inside her skull.