Font Size:
She wasn’t the type to be indecisive, and she felt that if she missed out on Han Shiguo, it would be difficult to find someone who was as handsome and compatible as him within her current circle. So, if his character wasn’t too problematic, she really did want to settle down with him.
However, her eagerness to marry made the whole family laugh.
Jiang’s father shook his head helplessly. “Once a girl grows up, you can’t keep her forever!”
Jiang Qian realized what she had said and her face turned bright red. She muttered, “I was talking about serious matters.”
“Sister Zhirou, you have a high school education. Do you think you could take over her job?” Zhao Aiying stopped teasing her younger sister-in-law and asked the third sister-in-law with a smile.
Zhao Aifeng quickly asked as well, “Sister Zhirou, you think you could handle it?”
They had just learned to read and write, so they definitely couldn’t take over the job. However, if they were to sell it off, it wouldn’t be worth it. Although the salary at the Town Primary School wasn’t high, it was still fifteen yuan a month!
Don’t think fifteen yuan is little; for them, that was a salary that would make people envious!
Because they were really poor!
For example, after their family received their grain allocation this year, the total money they ended up with was just over one hundred yuan!
And that was only possible because Jiang’s father was the brigade captain, and there were strong laborers like Jiang Shouhai, Jiang Shoutao, and Jiang Shouhe in the family!
There were also Zhao Aiying and Zhao Aifeng, the two hardworking sisters-in-law, who earned full work points as female laborers.
Su Zhirou was a little behind, but she didn’t hold anyone back and was considered adequate.
Zhou Guiyun, although not as young as she once was, still worked in the fields to earn her share of the food rations.
This was still the extent of their income.
And even then, it was one of the few households in the village that had this kind of income!
But the places where money was needed were many. What in life didn’t require money?
Take food, for example. The grain allocated by the brigade was only the basic ration, and many people would run out of food before the next year’s harvest came in.
At this point, they had to pay the brigade to buy more, and if they couldn’t afford it, they had no choice but to put it on credit.
Some families even owed the brigade money, let alone getting any share of the profits!
Now, let’s talk about clothing.
How expensive was fabric? And it wasn’t just expensive—it was limited too. Each family was only allotted a small amount of fabric tickets.
Although the villagers could lend each other fabric in urgent situations and barely manage to gather enough to make clothes, even the cheapest coarse cloth cost eight mao per foot!
A full set of clothes for an adult would cost around eight or nine yuan!
For families with children, it was even more expensive, as they used up a lot of fabric!
And this didn’t even include things like cotton for winter—everything costs money.
How could they possibly afford to spend the little money they had?
This doesn’t even account for expenses like medicine from the health clinic when someone falls ill, or other daily necessities, as well as spending on social obligations.
By the end of the year, if a family manages to save one-third of the money distributed by the brigade, that’s already impressive—this means the housewife has been very frugal and careful!
Take the Jiang family, for example.
In fact, if they relied solely on farming, they wouldn’t be able to save much money at all.
Most of the family savings actually came from the salary of Jiang Shouchuan, the fourth son, who worked as a purchasing clerk at a shopping mall in the city.
His salary was thirty-two yuan, which was double Jiang Qian’s.
In addition, over the past two years, Jiang Qian had also contributed to the family’s income. As a primary school teacher, she earned fifteen yuan a month, which added up to one hundred and eighty yuan a year!
With such wages, it was no wonder that people in the village were envious.
Many families were even eager to marry Jiang Qian into their households.
However, Zhou Guiyun, from the village, did not look down on Jiang Qian’s prospects. It wasn’t that she was too picky—she didn’t dare to expect her daughter to be rich and powerful—but she certainly didn’t want her daughter to settle for someone beneath her.
If Jiang Qian were to marry someone lower, and they truly appreciated her, that would be fine.
What Zhou Guiyun feared was that the entire family might latch onto her daughter and drain her dry, with no real benefit in the end!
The risk of this “losing both the wife and the soldiers” was simply too great, so Zhou Guiyun never entertained the thought.
Additionally, when Jiang Qian was younger, Zhou Guiyun and her husband had allowed her daughter to attend high school in the city alongside their fourth son, Jiang Shouchuan.
This decision also sparked gossip among many in the village. People would mutter, “Why does a young girl need to study so much? In the end, she’ll just get married and become someone else’s wife.”
But Zhou Guiyun and her husband paid no mind to what others said. Their goal was to raise a college graduate.
If their daughter and son had the ability to get into university, they would go to any lengths to support them, even if it meant selling everything they owned.
In truth, Jiang Shouchuan was more of a “studying for the crown prince,” meaning he was capable enough that even if he didn’t attend university, he could return to the village. But their daughter, Jiang Qian, had been frail since she was young, and she simply couldn’t handle that kind of work.
The couple had hoped that their daughter, who couldn’t work the fields, would be able to earn a living with a pen, ensuring their future would be worry-free.
But things didn’t go as planned. The college entrance exam was canceled. However, fortune turned in their favor when the town’s primary school was looking for teachers.
Their daughter passed the exam and became a teacher at the town primary school, securing that position tightly.
With the salary she earned, she was able to support her parents, bringing a sense of pride to Zhou Guiyun and her father.
Thanks to the monthly salaries of Jiang Shouchuan and Jiang Qian, this pair of “dragon and phoenix twins,” the Jiang family was considered relatively well-off in the village.
Let’s put that aside for now.
As of now, whether it was Zhou Guiyun or Zhao Aiying and Zhao Aifeng, the two sisters-in-law, all supported Su Zhirou taking over Jiang Qian’s job.
Although the job could be sold, it was worth around 500 yuan, a substantial amount, but with a monthly salary of 15 yuan, it would take three years to recoup that cost.
However, the job could last a lifetime!
If someone in the family could take over, that would be the best solution!
This was the characteristic of the era, being able to arrange for Jiang Qian’s job to be passed on.
Of course, Su Zhirou would still need to undergo an interview and exam, allowing the school to assess her qualifications. Only if she passed could she take over the position.
“I can do it,” Su Zhirou said confidently.
She had been a sent-down youth and had graduated from high school. Back when she was in school, her grades were among the top.
Teaching third grade at the town’s elementary school wouldn’t be a problem for her.
To be honest, Su Zhirou was really afraid of farm work. No matter how hard she tried, she could only just manage to keep up, barely meeting the minimum standard!
But if she could teach, she would definitely give it her best effort!
Hearing her third sister-in-law say this, Jiang Qian smiled, “Alright, let’s settle on that.”
Zhao Aiying and Zhao Aifeng both knew their sister-in-law wasn’t good at farm work, so they were happy that she could go teach and bring in some income for the family.
Zhou Guiyun was in a very good mood. She smiled and said, “Qianqian, you eat your breakfast first. After you’re done, make sure to tidy up. They’ll be coming over soon. And you, dear,” she added, turning to Jiang Qian’s father, “change your clothes too. The other family will be here soon, including the parents.”