RNP Page 216
Page 216
Why did you say you'd be back late again? You didn't wait for her when we were eating.
She must be so busy with housework every day that she's completely exhausted.
Zhao Ailing went out the door and ran as fast as she could.
She stopped when she reached the moat of Beijing.
The biting winter wind blew against her face.
But she didn't feel cold at all.
I was sweating profusely.
It was this cold wind that gradually brought her back to her senses.
He recalled his actions just now.
He kept drooping his chest.
She promised she would never do such a thing again!
Once she got home, she immediately got to work, trying her best to forget about it.
She also had to write to her daughter, reminding her to be careful with money and food coupons, as her brother-in-law worked hard outside and shouldn't spend money recklessly.
The thought of her writing letters to her daughter, in which she would mention He Hongyang several times each time, is still vivid in my mind.
This is clearly an expression of concern for him.
He couldn't help but tell himself that he was now earning 30 yuan, and he shouldn't bother him anymore with sending money and food coupons home.
But she has brought this up several times already.
But He Hongyang always told her to save the money herself, since she still had several daughters who weren't married yet.
When they get married, she, as their mother, will prepare dowries for them.
I always feel so touched when I hear such thoughtful words.
Zhao Ailing would think about it involuntarily.
How fortunate the Wang family is to have found such a son-in-law!
How lucky Zhao Ailing was to live under the same roof as her son-in-law!
If we're talking about the first half of her life, she didn't meet a good man, since her husband has been away from home for so many years without any news.
In the latter half of her life, she found a wonderful son-in-law who was not only good to her daughters but also incredibly kind to his mother-in-law.
147. Unable to transfer her household registration, Qin Huairu flew into a rage.
Jia Dongxu still earns 20 yuan a month.
He can't even keep up with Zhao Ailing's salary now.
She also has to support her family of three.
The pressure was immense!
Every time I come home, I either sigh or hang my head.
She's not even 30 yet, but she looks like she's 35 or 36.
He's always unshaven and has no time to groom himself.
Although he was only 89 years older than He Hongyang, he felt like a 60-year-old man in front of him, prematurely aged!
Every evening, the He family's home is filled with laughter and joy.
Every morning, everyone in the He family has a happy smile on their face.
A person rides a bicycle, happily going to work or school.
Even He Hongyang's daughter joined the factory's training class for young children.
But my own home feels completely lifeless.
Let alone a bicycle, his family's current situation means they can't even afford a bicycle wheel.
Jia Dongxu still walks to work every day.
Seeing more and more people in the factory riding bicycles, his eyes shone with envy.
But she never dared to mention it to her family.
Even worse!
The two women in his family argue every three days, and have a big fight every five days.
It was so noisy that his ears were practically calloused.
Grain prices in Pigeon City are getting higher and higher.
Seeing the same price, they bought back less than half the original amount of grain.
Qin Huairu launched into a tirade of curses.
"What have you been doing? I asked you to buy grain, and you only brought back this little bit. If I had known it would be like this, I would have preferred to let me, a woman, go alone."
Jia Dongxu stammered, "The price of grain in Pigeon City has gone up. It took me a lot of effort to buy this little bit of grain."
Madam Jia listened as she talked about her son.
He muttered, "If you're so capable, go buy it yourself. It's all your fault for not delivering corn and sweet potatoes in the fall, that's why our family is struggling financially."
Upon hearing her say that, Qin Huairu became even more furious.
Although her household registration is in the countryside, her family's harvest this year (July 10th) is much worse than in previous years.
Her parents and brother are almost out of food.
They are still waiting for her help.
How could they possibly bring her food?
Her brother even urged her to quickly transfer her household registration to the city.
With the harvest from those few acres of land in the countryside now, it's meaningless whether you plant it or not!
But he said it was easy.
The household registrations in the entire city of Beijing are not moving at all; they simply cannot be transferred.
She had told Jia Zhangshi more than once before that she wanted to transfer their household registration here.
But she always patted her chest and said: "A rural household registration is better; you not only get land, but also grain."
Now that's great!
They can't get anything if they have urban residency, and they can't get any grain from the countryside either.
Seeing that some people had connections, they tried to transfer their household registration here as early as two years ago.
Seeing that some people have both rural and urban household registrations, they decided to give up their rural household registration this year and keep their urban household registration.
Anyway, no matter what, they can always get a fixed amount of food.
Unlike their family, where both of them need to buy expensive grain!
If this continues, the price of grain in Pigeon City will only get higher and higher.
“If it weren’t for you, I would have transferred my household registration here long ago. Didn’t you say that transferring household registration is as simple as eating a meal, and that you can transfer it whenever you want?”
"And that Yi Zhonghai, what a terrible idea he came up with back then, saying that even if we wanted to transfer our household registration, we wouldn't need the street office at all, we could transfer it ourselves."
"Now look what's happened! I've been to the neighborhood committee several times, but they completely ignore me. When I get annoyed with my questions, they just say, 'Why are you thinking about changing your household registration now? What were you doing all this time?'"
"Marrying into your family is the worst luck imaginable. We live in the city, but we don't even have a city household registration. I'm worse off than a country woman. At least she has food to eat, but I have to buy expensive grain!"
“It’s fine if your son earns a lot, but he only earns 20-odd yuan a month. His salary hasn’t increased by a single penny in the past few years. He’s still just a level 2 fitter. How did he manage to get by like this?”
"Look at the He family. Not only their wives, but even their mothers-in-law have moved their household registration here. Now they are all city dwellers. They can not only earn money themselves, but also send money back to their hometown."
"My own family couldn't help me at all, and my husband's family is doing poorly. I simply can't live like this anymore!"
The Jia family mother and son listened to her scolding.
She's been unhappy these days, and she feels like jumping up and down and yelling at them.
Even if you curse, will it get you a city residency permit? Will it get you food?
Madam Jia was filled with regret!
I thought that letting her and Qin Huairu keep their rural household registration was the wisest decision I'd ever made.
She was still smug about it until last autumn.
Although Qin Huairu's family only sent half a bag of corn and sweet potatoes, she felt that these things were a free gift.
If you have a city household registration, you simply cannot have these things.
But this year, she was completely dumbfounded!
Not only did her family not send anything, but Qin Huairu's family also did not send anything.
He asked someone to pass on a message to inquire.
People all wish they could cut ties with her.
“Now that people in the village are starving, you’re still thinking about your little plot of land. If you’re capable, come back and farm it. If you’re not, just move your household registration out of the village.”
"Don't even think about taking a single grain of rice from your parents' home anymore. A married daughter is like water spilled from a bowl. These past few years, we've only given you a little something because you have land in the village. I never expected you to dare to ask for it again this year!"
"Look at how other girls who marry into the city send things back to their parents' home, and you're still eyeing your parents' things, you're shameless!"
When Jia Zhangshi heard this, she was so embarrassed that she didn't know where to put her face.
Especially after seeing Wang Liying and Zhao Ailing constantly sending things back to their hometown.
The Wang family came here as refugees from famine.
Why is it that other women who marry into the city can thrive while she's getting worse every day?
Jia Dongxu couldn't listen anymore.
"Huai Ru, stop cursing. It's too late to change anything now. Why don't you and Mom go to the suburbs and see if we can dig up some wild vegetables? At least we can fill our stomachs."
Jia Zhangshi had already prepared the basket.
“There are quite a few people digging for vegetables in the suburbs now. If we go early, we might each be able to dig a basketful. If we go late, there won’t be any left.”
Qin Huairu listened to the mother and son singing in unison.
She'd been venting her frustrations for ages, and this is the result!
There isn't even a bicycle at home. It takes at least two hours to walk to the suburbs, and four hours round trip.
Once you get there, you have to squat on the ground and dig for wild vegetables.
Do they think they're made of iron?
This is even more tiring than going to work!
Moreover, those wild vegetables are not fit for human consumption. Eating them once or twice is fine, but eating them every day would turn a person's face green!
Enraged, she launched into a tirade of curses.
"You guys are shameless! You actually made me dig for wild vegetables. Did you marry your wives just so they could eat wild vegetables with you?"
"If I had known it would turn out like this, I would never have married into your Jia family. They said Jia Dongxu was a full-time employee and that his family had a sewing machine."
“But over the years, his so-called permanent employee salary has not increased by a single penny. I think it won’t be long before the family’s sewing machine is sold to raise money.”
"And you, the mother-in-law, just sit at home all day and don't think about anything. Why don't you go to the neighborhood committee to ask around and find a way to transfer your household registration here? If you had transferred it earlier, you wouldn't be suffering like this today!"
Hearing her continue her endless rant, bringing up both old and new grievances, he was shocked.
Even if Jia Zhangshi was very patient, she couldn't bear it any longer.
Is it entirely the fault of the mother and son that this family has ended up like this?
Does she have absolutely no fault?
He's lazy and loves to eat all day, always thinking about eating well and dressing well, and he even treats himself to snacks from time to time.