Chapter 23

The New Year was only one day, making a table full of delicious food, the whole family gathered together, that was happiness.

The Xu family, except for Xu Mei who had gone to the countryside, everyone else was there.

Before dinner, the whole family went to the post office to call Xu Mei.

“Mom and Dad, Happy New Year! I’m doing well here, don’t worry.  There are educated youths here who are celebrating the New Year together, we even made dumplings, mushroom filling.

I sent a package home before the New Year, dried mushrooms and dried fruits that I dried myself, they taste good.  There are so many fruits here, next year, I’ll be able to take a leave of absence and come back for the New Year.”

Xu Mei’s voice choked up as she spoke, she covered the microphone with her hand, took a deep breath, and wiped away a tear.

“Xu Mei, be careful there, don’t be too frugal, eat more.  Your health is more important than anything, read more when you have nothing to do, come back when you can take a leave of absence.”

Xu’s mother couldn’t control her tears, she handed the phone to Xu Di.

“Big Sister, try not to go to the mountains, there are a lot of mosquitoes and insects.  Be careful when you’re dating, pay attention to the person’s character.”

Xu Di didn’t know how her sister’s boyfriend in Shanghai was, she was afraid that they would go their separate ways when they could return to the city.

“I know, you’re just a child, what do you know.  Alright, I won’t talk anymore, there are people in line.”

Xu Mei hung up the phone and ran back to the dormitory to cry.

The Xu family, with a sense of dejection, walked home, they didn’t know when Xu Mei would be able to come back.

The meal was tasteless.

There weren’t any entertainment programs at this time, no Spring Festival Gala, after dinner, they played for a while, then went to sleep.

The next day they woke up, it was already the first day of the New Year, 1970 was over.

On the second day of the New Year, the Xu family went back to their hometown for a reunion dinner.

They didn’t stay because they had to go back to work the next day, they took the evening bus back.

Xu Yong and the others came over too, they could play for a few days before school started.

Fortunately, the Xu family’s house was big enough and there weren’t many people, otherwise, they wouldn’t have had enough space for four more people.

Xu Jia and Xu Di shared a room, they slept on Xu Mei’s bed.  Xu Jun went to squeeze in with his parents, Xu Yong slept on the sofa in the living room, and Xu Qiang and Xu Jun slept on Xu Jun’s bed.

They had solved the sleeping arrangements, the rest was easy.

Xu’s mother gave Xu Di a large denomination note and a few food tickets, asking her to take the kids out to play, and to cook for them if they got hungry.

It was still very cold in Beijing after the New Year, it was too cold to play outside.

“Let’s go to the movies, there’s a new movie at the cinema today.”

“We’re going to the movies, we’re going to buy soda!”

Xu Jun and Xu Jun jumped for joy, they were happy to have something to eat and drink.

Xu Di locked the door, and they all went to the cinema in the family courtyard.

They bought tickets and some melon seeds, a bottle of soda each, they had to pay a deposit for the bottles.

They found their seats and sat down, Xu Di looked at the screen in front of her, this was a cinema from the 1970s.  The film projector, they wouldn’t see it in a few decades.

The black and white screen, the images weren’t high-definition, but the actors acted very well, everyone was watching with gusto.

After the movie, Xu Jun took Xu Yong and the others to the basketball court, Xu Di took Xu Jia home.

When Xu Di finished making lunch, Xu Jun and the others came back, they were all sweating, their hats were covered in frost.

“Hurry up and wash your hands and eat, you guys are in charge of washing the dishes and cleaning the table later.”

“We know, we’ll clean up.”

Xu Yong was a year and a half younger than Xu Di, they grew up together, they had a very good relationship, they were no different from siblings.

“That’s more like it.”

They lived like this for a few days, Xu Yong and the others had to go back, school was starting in a few days.

Xu’s mother prepared some food and supplies for the children, Xu Di saw them off to the bus.

After the first month of the year, Xu Di’s school was also about to start.

During the New Year, Liang Bo and his wife took their child to visit the Xu family, they brought a lot of food and drinks.

Xu’s mother gave them some of the dried vegetables and frozen tofu that Grandma Xu had dried, they were all farm specialties.  Xu Di also prepared a separate portion, asking Fang Jie to take it to Grandma Qian.

“Xu Di, come over to play when you have time.”

“I know, Sister Fang.”

“Auntie, don’t forget.”

Kangkang reminded her, he liked this aunt.

“I won’t forget, when it gets warmer, Auntie will take Kangkang to the park to play.”

“Okay, pinky swear.”

The little guy wasn’t reassured, he wanted a pinky swear.

Xu Di stretched out her hand, the big one and the small one, their little fingers hooked together.

“Pinky swear, a hundred years won’t change, whoever changes is a little dog.”

Xu Di and Kangkang chanted the slogan together, their expressions were serious.

“We’re going back, come over to our house when you have time.”

“I know, I will.”

Xu Di waved goodbye to the Liang family.

Besides the Liang family, Xu Di and the others also went to her aunt’s house, they had a meal, and then they left.

Xu Di started school, and there were a few fewer students in the class.  She didn’t know if they had found jobs or what.

Xu Di heard that some girls, they didn’t want to go to the countryside, so they found someone to arrange a marriage, if they thought it was suitable, they got a marriage license.

That was just a few, Xu Di was a little older than her classmates, her birthday was later, she would turn eighteen after May.

The other classmates hadn’t reached the age to get a marriage license yet.

After March, time seemed to have wings, it flew by.

Xu Di celebrated her birthday, and it was already mid-May.

During this time, Xu’s father and Xu’s mother were also very anxious.  They used all their connections, but they couldn’t find a suitable job for Xu Di.

Xu Di was also very anxious, she had less than two months left before graduation, and there was no sign of a job yet.

Some of her classmates had already found jobs, although they weren’t regular jobs, but apprenticeships were good too, at least they didn’t have to worry about being forced to go to the countryside.

Xu Di’s deskmate, Yang Dani, also found a job, her parents had arranged it for her, she was an apprentice at her father’s factory.

Xu Di was also looking for a job, she wasn’t at school in the afternoon, she went to the gates of various factories to see if there were any job postings.

While Xu Di was wandering around aimlessly, the Liang family was filled with joy.

“Mom, it’s done.”

“It’s really done, did anything go wrong?”

“No, this time the secretary spoke directly, anyone else who had any objections had to keep it to themselves.”

Liang Bo took a sip of water, he was relieved.

They had started working on the job matter after the New Year, but they had been dragging their feet.

Liang Bo had heard from the side that someone was trying to sabotage them, wanting to take the job quota that his father had left behind.  How could that be, his father had died saving the goods in the department store warehouse.

The job quota was his father’s, the leader was sympathetic and allowed it to be kept.

They didn’t need it before, they all had jobs, they never redeemed it.

This time, they wanted to thank Xu Di for saving Kangkang’s life, and she was a reliable person, so they wanted to give her that position.

As a result, the matter was dragged on for a long time.  It was already the end of May, Xu Di was about to graduate.

Liang Bo found connections, the secretary spoke, and the matter was finally settled.

“Okay, tomorrow let Fangfang go find Xu Di, tell her, that child must be anxious.”

“Yeah, let Fangfang go tell her tomorrow. We’ll get the paperwork done these next few days, just in case things change.”

“Alright, it’s only a month until graduation anyway, let Xu Di go to school to get her diploma.”

The Liang family finished discussing the matter, Xu Di didn’t know that a big pie was heading her way, it was about to hit her head!