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◎ Second update ◎
The distance from Crescent Alley to the State Cotton Factory wasn’t too far, but today Liang Baozhen and Xu Shengjie still rode their bicycles to work.
Joining the bicycle army, Liang Baozhen sat on the back seat while hugging Xu Shengjie’s waist. Riding their own bicycle to work felt quite different, and she even had time to look at the blue work uniform army riding bicycles and walking to work.
The only regret was that Liang Baozhen couldn’t ride it herself. The reason was that Xu Shengjie was tall and strong and too heavy. He was nearly 1.9 meters tall and had a strong body from military training, so for a novice cyclist, it was really a bit difficult.
“I’ll carry Xiaowei and Xiaoya next time.” Liang Baozhen hugged Xu Shengjie’s waist and seemed to feel the firm abdominal muscles on his waist through his thin work clothes. “I really can’t carry you.”
A deep laugh came, and Xu Shengjie even felt a little regretful. “Then you should practice more; maybe you will succeed one day.”
“Forget it.” When they arrived at the State Cotton Factory, Liang Baozhen swiftly got off, waved at her man, and headed to her own workshop. “I’m leaving first.”
The woman was as quick as the wind and disappeared into the crowd of people in blue work clothes in the blink of an eye.
Today, Liang Baozhen and Wang Xin followed Meng Ping to continue learning the stretching of fine yarn in the fine sand workshop. While they were working, the workshop director, Yang Jianlin, came over to inquire about the new workers. He asked about everything from production learning to their ideological state. He also mentioned the factory’s literacy classes.
The State Cotton Factory responded to the call of the country and held literacy classes regularly. Most of the workers in the factory had little education, and many of them could not read or write. They entered the factory at a very young age. It was only in recent years that things got better with students from Worker, Peasant and Soldier Universities or secondary schools being assigned to the factory.
There were many illiterate people in the factory, which was a problem because the country wanted to promote education and ideological learning. To address this, the factory office set up a literacy program and assigned personnel from each workshop to participate. The main teachers were also educated workers from the factory.
This month, the literacy class was scheduled for the fine spinning workshop. There were only two workers in the workshop who had attended junior high school, but they had almost forgotten everything. They could still recognize words and had served as literacy teachers a few months ago. This time, they were very happy to see two highly educated female comrades in the workshop, so they asked Yang Jianlin to arrange for Liang Baozhen and Wang Xin to go.
“This literacy class is also a key project of the factory. It is mainly for the workers to improve together. But don’t feel any pressure. One of you has studied in high school and the other has studied in junior high school. You will definitely be able to handle it.”
“Director, when will it be held?”
“Next Friday at 6:30 p.m., in the empty room behind the canteen.”
“Okay, then we’ll prepare.” Liang Baozhen had previously taught Baoling and Mengmeng to recognize characters at home, so with just a few more people, it shouldn’t be a big problem. She agreed immediately.
In addition to their regular learning, the two had an additional task, which was to prepare the lesson for the literacy class.
After learning about this, Meng Ping encouraged them to participate more in such activities. “The factory attaches great importance to ideological education and the learning and progress of workers. Doing this well will also help you become formal employees sooner.”
Besides the literacy classes, the factory also organized ideological study classes after work. They were held in the usual meeting room. A group of workers would read selected quotations from important leaders and discuss ideas from time to time. Liang Baozhen and Wang Xin had never attended these classes. One reason was that the ideological meeting room was small and there were many workers, so they often couldn’t register. The other reason was that neither of them lived in the factory and had to go home after work.
After work, Liang Baozhen and Wang Xin separated at the gate of the State Cotton Factory. Their homes were in different directions, one to the east and the other to the west. They agreed to think about it individually tonight and prepare the lesson together the next day.
Xu Shengjie had to work overtime today because the equipment in the workshop broke down again. It couldn’t stand the recent overtime work. Liang Baozhen left the bicycle for him to use for getting home at night and walked back herself.
But she never expected that someone was waiting for her in the courtyard at this time.
***
There are several black markets in Beijing, all hidden in secluded and narrow streets and alleys.
In a secluded alley twenty miles away from Crescent Alley, a lot of people were secretly trading.
“Comrade, how much are these eggs?”
“Are there any TV tickets for sale?”
“How about a bicycle ticket?”
All those doing business were very cautious and kept looking outside for fear that any unfamiliar faces, especially those wearing red armbands, would come in.
Liang Baojun had just sold 150 eggs for twelve yuan. The eggs at the supply and marketing cooperative were 5 cents each, and it requires you to have an egg ticket when you buy one, but he sold them for 8 cents each without a ticket, and they were still very popular.
People in the city had money but no tickets, so it was difficult to buy things. Just then, a man who looked like a worker bought fifty eggs in one go.
Liang Baojun first discovered the black market when he came to the city two months ago. He had always heard about it, but was really surprised to see it in person. Here, many things that require tickets can be bought as long as you have money.
He quietly watched as some people made money efforlessly just by reselling goods, which was what they could only earn by working in the fields for a year.
He has a sharp-eye and found Xiao Quan from the next brigade of Hongqi Commune was also there. Even though he was wrapped like a dumpling, he recognized him! Because this man was his elementary school classmate in the town. They both dropped out of school after only a few years. Later, he heard that he went to work as a temporary worker in a towel factory in the city. How did he end up working in the black market?
Liang Baojun was intrigued and persistently connected with Xiao Quan. After not contacting him for many years, they had become good brothers. Liang Baojun started a reselling business on the black market with Xiao Quan.
However, the black market is dangerous, and you can get caught if you’re not careful. They come very rarely; in the past two months, they had only been there three times and mainly traded agricultural products from the village.
“Are you not leaving yet? If it’s too late, you won’t be able to catch up with the people from the commune.” Liang Baojun went into the city with the cadres from the commune who were buying fertilizers. He volunteered to help move the fertilizers and got the letter of introduction with good reason.
“You go back to your factory first; I’ll go see my sister.” Liang Baojun calculated the time and thought that if he went to see Baozhen, he could still catch the last bus back.
“Okay then, be careful.”
Liang Baojun’s trouser pockets were heavy with twelve yuan from selling eggs, a huge sum of money. He seemed to walk with the wind, a bit arrogant and a bit cautious. There was nothing else except that he was worried about losing the money from time to time.
He asked along the way and arrived at Crescent Alley. Looking at the densely packed courtyards, he had no idea which courtyard the Xu family lived in.
“Comrade, where is Xu Shengjie’s home?”
There was a group of kids playing at the entrance of the alley. A few boys were playing marbles, and a few girls were playing with bracelets. A gust of wind blew by, and no one paid any attention to him.
“You’re not very good at playing marbles.”
Wei Guobiao was aiming at the marbles with his chubby little hands when he suddenly heard someone criticizing his marble-playing skills. He looked over and saw it was an older brother.
“I’m very good at playing marbles.” He held his head high as he spoke, looking very proud.
“Really?” Liang Baojun half-knelt on the ground and approached the children, “Let’s compete and see.”
Oh, someone actually comes to challenge the strength of the marble tyrants in Crescent Alley. Biaozi and his friends decided to roll up their sleeves and accept the challenge.
Liang Baojun fought against Biaozi, Xiaolong, Xiaohu, and Xiaowei in a rotation, one against four.
Xiaoya, Qin Xiaoyue, Song Xinhe, and Song Xinmiao also put down their bracelets and came over to watch the fun.
As a result, unfortunately, Crescent Alley suffered a disastrous defeat!
Biaozi was sweating profusely. He looked at his three disappointing brothers and wanted to cry but had no tears. “No, no, let’s compete again.”
Xu Shengwei was also unwilling to accept defeat. The four of them were the best and were all marble experts in school. How come this time… Looking at Liang Baojun, who stood up like a mountain, he immediately said confidently, “It’s not fair. You are so old, and you’re bullying us.”
“That’s right.” Everyone came to their senses and felt that it was shameful for adults to bully children.
Liang Baojun didn’t care about that. He patted the heads of the children one by one and smiled smugly. “You should accept the loss if you are willing to bet. Don’t talk about adults bullying children. I’ve actually gotten worse over the years. When I was ten, I was even better at marbles than I am now. If ten-year-old me were to compete with you, you’d lose even more miserably.”
“Ah?”
“You’re really that good?”
“Well then.” Biaozi thought about it and realized that they were still lucky not to have faced his ten-year-old self.
“Alright, next time I get the chance, I’ll teach you a couple of tricks to make sure you’re unbeatable everywhere.” Liang Baojun tossed the marbles back and repeated his earlier question, “Do you know Xu Shengjie? Where does his family live?”
When Xu Shengwei heard his elder brother’s name, he immediately pricked up his ears, he looked at the strange man suspiciously to make sure he didn’t know him, “Who are you? Why are you looking for him?”
“Brother…” Xu Shengya stared at Liang Baojun for a long while. Gradually figuring things out, she quietly approached Xu Shengwei and whispered in his ear, “Do you think he looks a bit like sister-in-law?”
After hearing what his sister said, Xu Shengwei looked at the man carefully again, and indeed saw some resemblance!
“Is your surname Liang?” Xu Shengya asked timidly.
Liang Baojun raised his eyebrows. He didn’t expect this little girl to be so smart. He asked her cheerfully, “Is your last name Xu?”
“How do you know?” Xu Shengya smiled, thinking that this man was amazing.
Knowing that his last name was Liang, she must have guessed that Baozhen and him were related. The person who could have guessed this was most likely someone from the Xu family. Plus, Xu Shengjie had younger brothers and sisters who were about the same age as Baoling, so they were the two little ones in front of her.
“I’m very smart.” Liang Baojun pointed ahead and called out, “Xiaowei and Xiaoya, right? Lead the way; I’m your sister-in-law’s second brother.”
***
When Liang Baozhen returned home, she heard a voice coming from inside the house. It was a familiar voice, very much like…
“Second brother!” Seeing Liang Baojun sitting at the Xu family’s table, Liang Baozhen’s jaw dropped. The surprise and joy of seeing her family in the city was incomparable to anything else. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to see you, and Grandma Zhou.”
On the table was a can of malted milk, which Liang Baojun bought on the black market. The worker selling it said it was a work benefit issued by the towel factory in the city. The man’s family was short of money, so he decided to sell it, which was supposed to be eight yuan per can at the supply and marketing cooperative. Liang Baojun took this opportunity to visit and bring a gift for Zhou Yun.
He represents the Liang family, so he certainly can’t come empty-handed the first time he visits.
“Baozhen, your second brother just arrived a while ago. I asked him to stay for dinner, but he refused. You should try to persuade him.” Zhou Yun talked to Liang Baojun for a while and was coaxed into laughing by the sweet-talking Liang Baojun.
“Grandma Zhou, don’t trouble yourself. I really can’t stay for dinner. I need to head back to the village soon. Next time, I’ll definitely come to take advantage of you.”
“Oh, you child, we’re all family here. Why are you being so polite?”
“Grandma Zhou, I’ll be leaving first.” Liang Baojun was usually casual, but he was on his best behavior in front of his brother-in-law’s grandmother. When Zhou Yun stuffed him with four taro steamed buns, he thanked her repeatedly.
Liang Baozhen was puzzled about why her second brother suddenly came to the city and was leaving so soon. As they walked outside and saw no one around, she quickly asked, “Second brother, why did you come to the city? Where did you get the money for the malted milk?”
Malted milk was expensive; their family couldn’t afford to buy it, and Liang Baojun himself wouldn’t spend money so extravagantly.
“I helped the commune buy fertilizer in the city. Don’t worry about the money.” Liang Baojun didn’t want to say more. He didn’t want to hide things from his family, but he was afraid of alarming them. He didn’t even dare to go back and tell his parents that he sold the eggs he collected from his home and the neighbors for 30 yuan and was worried that they would accuse him of betraying his principles.
With Liang Zhigao’s temper, he might even force Liang Baojun, who went to the black market to resell things to surrender himself.
Liang Baozhen stared at her second brother, trying to figure out what was going on, but he always had a cheerful look on his face. If someone suddenly had money and could buy expensive things, they must have found a way to make money.
“Did you pick up some money on the street?” Could it be that my second brother also found the gold bars somewhere? Or were the gold bars that I hid discovered? Did my second brother use them?
“What are you thinking? If I were that lucky, I wouldn’t need to work so hard,” Liang Baojun pulled out the prepared purple glass hairpin from his pocket. “Here, I found something nice. You can wear it. Your birthday is coming up.”
There are a lot of things on the black market. Today he saw someone selling hairpins and hair ties. They were all new and in pretty styles. It was said to be goods from the south, and this style wasn’t even available in any department store in the city.
The glass hairpin was a soft purple, glossy and elegant, and the workmanship was more refined than those sold in department stores. You can tell at a glance that it is very expensive.
“Brother, where did you get the money? This thing is not cheap.”
“Money just fell from the sky and happened to hit me on the head. Anyway, I need to go back now. I also bought some food for the family. If I stay any longer, I’ll end up as a beggar.” Liang Baojun handed the hairpin to his sister and prepared to leave. “I just met my brother-in-law’s family, and they’re all good. You can rest assured in the city. There’s a temporary worker at the towel factory named Xiao Quan who I know. He’s from the next brigade and often returns to the commune. If you need anything, just ask him to bring a message back.”
“Okay, be careful on the road. I like this hairpin very much. Thank you, brother!”
“I’m glad you like it. Head back now, and I’ll come to visit again when I have time.” Liang Baojun waved at his sister as he walked away and asked her to go back to the courtyard.
***
It was already dark when Xu Shengjie came home from work. Everyone in the family went back to their rooms to rest. He placed his bicycle in the living room, washed up, and then headed back to his room. Liang Baozhen appeared to have fallen asleep; she was curled up in a ball, without any movement.
Next Friday was Liang Baozhen’s birthday. Xu Shengjie took out the hairpin he had bought from the supply and marketing cooperative and placed it on the table. He noticed another purple glass hairpin on the table, shining softly under the light.
“You’re back?” Liang Baozhen was waiting for Xu Shengjie to come back, but she didn’t realize that she had fallen asleep. She opened her eyes when she vaguely heard some noise in the room.
“Did you buy the hairpin on the table?”
“Mm?” Liang Baozhen rubbed her eyes, looked at the purple hairpin, and then told him about her second brother visit. “My second brother gave it to me. It looks good, doesn’t it?”
Xu Shengjie saw Liang Baozhen sitting up and excitedly talking about the hairpin Liang Baojun had given her. Her eyes were still sleepy, but she couldn’t hide the smile on her face.
“The color is so beautiful and the shape is so delicate. I didn’t expect that my second brother has such good taste. He is really good at choosing.”
“This one is from me. Your birthday is coming up soon.” Xu Shengjie was originally going to wait a few days before giving it to Liang Baozhen, but when he saw Liang Baozhen talking about her second brother’s gift, he couldn’t help but give her the bow hairpin in his hand.
Liang Baozhen looked at the delicate bow hairpin in Xu Shengjie’s palm. It was small and exquisite, with a blue and white checked bow adorning it; the hairpin looked extraordinarily lovely.
Liang Baozhen didn’t expect to receive such a birthday gift. She blinked and looked at Xu Shengjie, “Thank you.”
She took the hairpin and looked at it over and over again, then added, “I like it very much.”
Seeing his wife’s smiling face, Xu Shengjie was satisfied. He sat down on the bed and pointed at the hairpin Liang Baojun gave her. “Which one do you like more, the one from your second brother or the one I gave you?”
The author has something to say:
Xu Shengjie: This damn desire to win!
Liang Baojun: I hope I didn’t lose.
Liang Baozhen: So childish.
***
🌸 Thank you so much for reading! 🌸 If you’d like to download the PDF or EPUB version of The Little Sweet Wife Arrives At The Courtyard In The Seventies, feel free to visit my Ko-Fi page! ☕📖✨ Chapters 1-98 are available for download. 😊