Chapter 5

Liu Qiuping, who had been good friends with Lin Xiang’s mother, naturally brought up the past while chatting with Lin Xiang:

“Your grandfather served as a soldier for a few years. Later, your mother and I both started working at the factory. We were about the same age and had just joined the factory, so we had a lot to talk about. When you were born, she mentioned it—since you were a girl, it perfectly matched the engagement your grandfather arranged with his old comrade, who had a grandson.”

“And who is this person?” Lin Xiang asked, feeling somewhat frustrated. Her recent matchmaking attempts hadn’t gone well, as none of the men she met seemed suitable. She vaguely recalled something about the engagement from when she was very young, but since her mother passed away, no one had mentioned it. Now that someone who knew about it was here, Lin Xiang naturally wanted to find out more.

“I’m not sure. I only remember your mother mentioning it back then,” Liu Qiuping said. She recalled that about a year after Lin Xiang’s mother passed away, Qiu Aiying joined the family, which caused her relationship with the Lin family to fade. On top of that, Lin Xiang’s maternal grandparents seemed to have passed away during the famine years.

“Alright, I’ll ask about it at home,” Lin Xiang said goodbye to Liu Qiuping and hurried back home. She began searching through the belongings left by the original Lin Xiang in the cramped room.

When Lin Xiang first transmigrated, she had only briefly looked through the original Lin Xiang’s possessions. Her situation in the Lin family was tough—she wasn’t just treated worse than Lin Jianxin but also fell short of how Lin Chuchu was treated.

Her entire wardrobe consisted of a few old, patched-up clothes. None of them were new, the fabrics were coarse, and they were nearly threadbare from washing. She had only a few black hair ties and savings totaling two yuan and thirty-five cents.

Holding the meager sum, Lin Xiang could easily guess that the original Lin Xiang’s wages had been entirely handed over to the family. To save this small amount must have been incredibly difficult—her life had truly been bitter.

Other than that, Lin Xiang found a few high school textbooks in an old wooden box. She flipped through them but only found a few loose pages with notes scribbled on them—nothing else.

The engagement Aunt Liu mentioned, arranged by Lin Xiang’s grandfather, seemed plausible. However, after so many years, with her mother and grandparents deceased, the engagement had probably been long forgotten by everyone.

Sitting on her narrow wooden bed with the textbook in her hands, Lin Xiang couldn’t help but laugh at herself. Was she really so desperate that she had started pinning hopes on a long-lost engagement?

An engagement? That was feudal-era matchmaking, leading to blind and mute marriages—worse than modern-day matchmaking.

She had clearly lost her mind!

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After a week working at the steel factory, August arrived. In just over a week, the community committee would finalize the list of urban youths to be sent to the countryside. Apart from volunteers, those meeting the criteria would be mandatorily sent.

Because of this, Lin Guangming and Qiu Aiying urged her again:

“Xiangxiang, hurry up and give up your job. Also, make time to spend more with Comrade Sun Yaozu. Once you’re married to him, you won’t have to go to the countryside.”

Lin Xiang knew Lin Guangming’s feudal, authoritarian temper. He was volatile and wouldn’t tolerate anyone going against him. Her bright almond-shaped eyes darted cunningly as she replied with a smile:

“Xiao Liu from the admin department is on leave because her father is in the hospital. I’ll take care of it when she’s back. I’ll have Jianxin accompany me to handle the paperwork.”

As for the latter part about marrying Sun Yaozu, she left it unanswered. Marry that lecherous, violent man? Absolutely not.

Thinking of his lechery, a detail suddenly came to mind.

In the story, Sun Yaozu was mentioned to be extremely lascivious and was known for peeping at the female workers in the factory while they were bathing.

The next afternoon, when Lin Xiang and her colleagues were heading to the bathhouse, she suggested taking a shortcut.

“If we go this way, we’ll avoid the crowd heading to the bathhouse during peak hours,” she said.

The others agreed, as they had set out a bit late. They took the small path, hoping to reach the bathhouse quickly and secure spots.

Walking alongside Sister Li at the front, Lin Xiang seized the chance to ask about selling her job.

“Sister Li, you mentioned selling job positions before. Is it easy to sell one?”

“Of course! Families with savings would rather buy a job than send their kids to the countryside. The problem is that there aren’t many people willing to sell their jobs,” Sister Li replied. She wasn’t naive and gave Lin Xiang a curious look. “Are you planning to sell your job?”

“Oh, no,” Lin Xiang denied immediately. If word got back to Lin Guangming or Qiu Aiying, it would be disastrous. “A friend of mine is thinking about it.”

“Well, that’s great! I have a relative looking to buy one. Your friend doesn’t need to look elsewhere…”

“Alright, I’ll let you know,” Lin Xiang said. Just as they neared the bathhouse, she glanced up and saw something on the wall. Speaking in a low voice, she asked, “Why is there someone on the wall? Could they be peeping into the women’s bathhouse?”

Sister Li followed her gaze and exclaimed, “Oh my! There really is a pervert up there!”

Fuming, Sister Li rallied the group of women behind her.

“Who’s the scumbag peeping at the women’s bathhouse? Get down here!”

Naturally, the female workers were furious about such behavior. They rushed over, and one of them hurled an enamel basin at the figure, knocking the “pervert” off the wall.

The group pounced on him, delivering a barrage of punches and kicks while shouting, “Catch the pervert! Someone’s peeping at the women’s bathhouse! Call security!”

Lin Xiang itched to join in and kick him a few times herself, but the older women were too fierce. She couldn’t even get close!

Finally, the factory’s security arrived and “rescued” the groaning man from the beating. When they turned him over, revealing his face, everyone was stunned.

The pervert caught peeping in the women’s bathhouse turned out to be the youngest son of the factory director!

If it had been someone else eager to climb up the social ladder, maybe the situation would have been different, but for the group of female workers, it didn’t matter whose son he was. They weren’t about to let it slide. With strong determination, they marched to the security office, determined to make the factory take action and give them an explanation!

Amidst the chaos and noise, while everyone was preparing to leave and demand an answer, Lin Xiang finally found an opportunity. She squeezed her way into the crowd, quickly kicked the still lying down Sun Yaozu twice.

Hearing Sun Yaozu’s dazed “Ow!” she couldn’t hold back and kicked him once more.

He deserved it!

Sun Yaozu was escorted by the female workers toward the factory security office. None of the workers were afraid, and with such a large group, not even the factory director would be able to stop them.

Sister Li, who had worked at the factory for over twenty years, and Aunt Wu, who had been there for more than thirty years, led the charge. They demanded an explanation from the factory director.

The head of security, who initially thought about pulling strings for the director’s son and quietly letting him go, quickly realized he couldn’t do that. The female workers were furious, and he knew better than to provoke them further, lest he end up getting beaten too.

Lin Xiang, a newbie in the 1970s, followed her colleagues to the security office and didn’t wait long before Factory Director Sun rushed in.

Frankly speaking, Factory Director Sun appeared to be a man of integrity, but his youngest son had a round, bloated face. Perhaps it was due to a life of comfort, but he looked like a spoiled rich kid.

After hearing the workers’ account of the situation, Director Sun’s cold gaze swept over his son, still sitting dazed on the floor, and he angrily shouted, “Sun Yaozu, look at the mess you’ve made!”

Sun Yaozu, who had been beaten senseless by the workers, saw his father and immediately tried to seek protection. “Dad, these women hit me, I—Ah!”

Before he could finish, Director Sun kicked him in the chest, and then he turned to face the crowd, solemnly declaring, “Comrades, don’t worry. If this investigation proves true, the factory will make sure to give everyone an answer.”

Director Sun seemed like a man who wouldn’t cover up for his son, and the workers, satisfied with this response, started recounting Sun Yaozu’s misdeeds, demanding that such lecherous behavior be punished. Lin Xiang listened for a while, feeling good about the situation, and decided to leave.

Sun Yaozu was a vile pervert who had done countless indecent things, so seeing him beaten was very satisfying. Lin Xiang, in a good mood, slowly made her way to the back gate of the steel mill, bought a small bean popsicle, and let the cold treat soothe her.

In the summer, the popsicle factory arranged for workers to wheel wooden carts to sell popsicles at various large state-run factories. Inside the wooden boxes were thick layers of old cotton blankets to help keep the popsicles from melting too quickly.

The sun wasn’t too hot, and a gentle breeze blew as Lin Xiang sucked on the sweet popsicle, finally feeling at ease.

However, as she turned around, she found someone staring at her.

It was none other than her stepsister, Lin Chuchu.

Seeing Lin Xiang enjoying her popsicle, Lin Chuchu’s eyes darkened with displeasure, which left Lin Xiang confused.

“Hey, get me a popsicle too,” Lin Chuchu demanded, having just returned from outside, sweating profusely from the heat.

Lin Xiang, hearing her entitled request, frowned slightly. Without giving her so much as a glance, she turned and headed back toward the factory.

“Lin Xiang, you…” Lin Chuchu couldn’t believe how her stepsister was ignoring her now. In the past, Lin Chuchu could order Lin Xiang around freely, but now, Lin Xiang was acting so defiant.

Frustrated, Lin Chuchu felt around her pockets but realized she didn’t have any money. She couldn’t even buy a popsicle. The anger was boiling up inside her.

“Little girl, is this the steel mill?”

Just as Lin Chuchu’s temper was rising, she heard an annoying voice. She looked up and saw an elderly woman in black clothes, the fabric worn thin, and her hands rough and wrinkled. The woman seemed like someone from the countryside.

Frowning, Lin Chuchu replied irritably, “Can’t you read? It says right there!”

The sign clearly showed the name of the steel mill.

The old woman didn’t seem to care about Lin Chuchu’s attitude. She kindly continued, “I can’t read. I’m here to ask about something. Do you know if there’s anyone named Lin Guangming and Feng Huiling working here?”

Lin Guangming? Lin Chuchu was taken aback. What did this woman want with her stepfather? And besides, Feng Huiling was her stepfather’s previous wife.

“Who are you?” Lin Chuchu’s voice was sharp and filled with annoyance. “What do you want with them?”

“I’m their relative,” the old woman explained gently, with a package slung over her shoulder. “My son was betrothed to their daughter when they were kids. I came to ask if that betrothal still counts.”