B5SB -Chapter 46 Going to the Countryside

Gu Yihan and Maomao strolled slowly toward the machinery factory.

They came across a group of people writing on a wall. Curious, she walked over and saw that they were painting slogans: “Encourage educated youth to go to the countryside and contribute to rural development.”

On another part of the wall, it read: “Receiving education and performing labor as a poor or lower-middle peasant is the most honorable.”

Only then did Gu Yihan remember—it was 1968, the height of the “going to the countryside” movement. It seemed that this batch of high school students who didn’t have jobs would be forced to go to the countryside.

The accounting office was noisy, and Gu Yihan pushed the door open, puzzled.

She saw Zhou Na and Sister Li talking to Wang Xiang about something.

“What’s going on?” Gu Yihan asked curiously.

Zhou Na turned back to her desk and sat down, and only then did she notice.

Wang Xiang’s eyes were severely swollen and red—just looking at her eyes, one could tell she had been crying for a long time.

Sister Li sighed and said, “It’s because of Wang Xiang’s younger brother. Her parents don’t want him to go to the countryside, so they want her to give up her job.”

Zhou Na, standing up for Wang Xiang, said, “It’s the classic preference for sons over daughters. Don’t they think about it? Our accounting department requires exams—just giving up a job isn’t that simple. How naive.”

Sister Zhuang was clever and didn’t comment.

With urban household registration, and Wang Xiang’s family having two children—one with a job, the other without—it was inevitable that one would have to go to the countryside.

Gu Yihan also thought it best not to get involved; she didn’t want to end up caught in the middle.

Sister Li, who usually got along with Wang Xiang, looked at her worriedly and asked, “What are you going to do? Give up your job?”

Wang Xiang looked at her with bewildered eyes. “Sister Li, I really didn’t expect it… my parents want me to go to the countryside.”

Zhou Na almost wanted to bang on Wang Xiang’s head: “You have a job! Why go to the countryside? Just don’t give up your job. Who can force you?”

Sister Zhang, who usually faded into the background, spoke up: “What if your parents use your household registration to register your name at the Educated Youth Office?”

Gu Yihan mentally gave Sister Zhang a thumbs-up—her words hit the mark.

Wang Xiang panicked as if struck by a bolt from the blue: “Then what should I do?”

Zhou Na slammed the table: “Wang Xiang, I remember that day you were talking to a man at the long gate. Is he your boyfriend?”

Wang Xiang blushed as she remembered. “Yes, he’s a first-class fitter at our factory.”

Zhou Na said, “Then just discuss it with him. See if you can get your marriage certificate first.”

Sister Li looked at Wang Xiang in surprise. “When did you start dating? Keeping it secret so well!”

Sister Zhang thought for a moment: “A first-class fitter… that’s 31 yuan a month. The salary’s low. How’s his family situation?”

Wang Xiang answered innocently, “His mother doesn’t work, his father is a boiler operator, he’s the eldest, and he has four younger siblings still in school. They live in a big shared courtyard, only two rooms for the whole family.”

Sister Zhang looked at her meaningfully. “After you marry him, the family burden will lessen—three people with jobs.”

Hearing this, Wang Xiang nodded. “Yes, then he won’t have to work so hard.”

Gu Yihan felt her scalp tingle—this wasn’t marriage, it was poverty alleviation. And Wang Xiang was agreeing with Sister Zhang, apparently not noticing the hidden meaning.

Zhou Na, who didn’t get along with Wang Xiang that well, smiled and said, “Then it’s up to you.”

Sister Li worried for Wang Xiang: “Isn’t that a lot of pressure? Supporting so many people, and then having kids after marriage…”

Wang Xiang, lost in her thoughts, said, “He said we’d move out from his family after marriage. The two of us would have 62 yuan a month, rent a place, and have our own space.”

Zhou Na was impatient with such naivety—just like her sister, who had thrown herself away for love.

She interrupted Wang Xiang before she could continue.

Zhou Na smoothed her newly-styled hair, then spun around the office, showing off her newly bought beige country-style dress.

“I’m not bad-looking, my salary isn’t low, I want someone good-looking and well-off. Isn’t that too much to ask?”

Wang Xiang and Sister Li looked at Zhou Na in unison. “Going on blind dates again?”

Zhou Na raised her chin and said, “None of them meet my standards.”

Wang Xiang looked puzzled: “What standards do you need? As long as he treats you well and has a job, that’s enough.”

Zhou Na looked at her meaningfully. “My rule is, the money I earn is only for me. His money must also be for me. My salary is mine, and his salary is also mine.”

She counted on her fingers: “Clothes, lipstick, every year, skincare… even if not Baique Ling, at least Snowflake Cream. Before marriage, I’ll be beautiful. After marriage, I’ll still be beautiful.”

She rubbed some Snowflake Cream on her hands and held them out to Wang Xiang proudly. “This took me a lot of effort. Do you think I can lower my standards?”

Sister Zhuang chuckled. Being older, she thought from a mother-in-law’s perspective: “With standards like that, few families would dare to marry you. Mothers-in-law like obedient, virtuous wives.”

“Yes.”

Wang Xiang added, “This isn’t marrying a wife, it’s marrying a fox spirit—just a pretty face to live off.”

Zhou Na’s face immediately turned cold. She glared at them. “You deserve to be obedient, virtuous wives forever.”

Gu Yihan’s lips twitched, her stomach cramped from trying not to laugh. Somehow, “virtuous wife” sounded like an insult.

Seeing Sister Zhuang’s face darken, Gu Yihan quickly composed herself and pretended to be reviewing documents.

The office suddenly fell silent.

On the weekend, Gu Yihan lay in bed, stretched lazily, turned over, and said, “So comfortable… I wish I could sleep until I wake up naturally every day.”

After getting up, she went to the kitchen to cook some millet porridge and took out some buns from her space. After finishing a bowl of porridge, she called out, “Maomao, time to eat.”

Maomao, biting its bowl, nudged it toward her, barking twice. Clearly anxious, Gu Yihan patted its head. “Finally a day off… have some patience with me.”

She poured the remaining porridge into Maomao’s bowl and added a few buns.

Gu Yihan went to the backyard to feed the chickens and put the eggs into her space.

Then she watered the vegetable garden. Seeing the lush vegetables made her very happy.

She hadn’t expected that after upgrading the space, the extra little pond, when diluted, worked wonders for watering the garden and feeding the chickens.

Though she had never farmed before, her vegetables grew well, and the chickens laid eggs every day—even in winter, it didn’t stop them.

Five hens laid five eggs a day; the eggs were delicate and delicious.

After tidying up, Gu Yihan stood in the yard and called, “Maomao, want to go to the park for a walk?”

Hearing her, Maomao quickly finished its food and ran to her, clearly ready to follow.