HBWnovel Chapter 8 No Rural Areas in the Past 1
Chapter 8 No Rural Areas in the Past 1
When Liu Yuxi opened her eyes again, she was still lying in bed, feeling weak all over and having difficulty breathing. It felt like only a second had passed, but also like an eternity, until she felt her strength return and immediately sat up in bed.
By then she realized that the original owner had suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning. Without even putting on her shoes, she immediately ran to the only source of light in the room—the window. She opened the window, stuck her head out, and it took her a long time to recover.
He then pressed his face against the window, mentally shouting, "Old Six, you really are an old Six! I almost died as soon as I got here. What's going on?"
"I'm sorry, host. I was brushed against while passing through the spatial passage. I'm late. The original owner was already dead when the system arrived. I'll transfer the original owner's memories to you now. The original owner was destined to die now, so you can continue living under her identity."
"Okay, so does this count as possession? Is her body dead or alive now? I'm getting a little creeped out!"
"Host, the original owner's body was in a state of suspended animation when she died. Then you came, and the suspended animation ended. So, don't worry, you are a human being, a normal one!"
"Now that you say that, I feel relieved. Please transfer the original owner's memories to me!" "Okay."
This time, the little girl is even younger. She was born in 1961, so it's December 1974, and she's only 13 years old. She lives in the east wing of the backyard of a large two-courtyard house in Mao'er Hutong, Beijing. The house has two rooms in the east wing and one side room.
Each room in the east wing was 30 square meters, and each room was divided into two smaller rooms, a living room, and three bedrooms. The side rooms were 13 or 14 square meters and served as a kitchen and storage room. Don't ask where the toilet was! Even in the mid-1980s, residents of these tenement courtyards in the hutongs were still emptying their chamber pots every morning!
The girl's family originated from Northeast China. In 1937, her grandparents, along with her 12-year-old uncle and her 2-year-old father, fled from Northeast China to Beijing. On the way, her uncle followed the Eighth Route Army to fight the Japanese.
Later, she met her mother again. Her mother was only 4 or 5 years old at the time, and she was running around with the crowd by herself. Her grandmother saw that her mother was a pretty little girl, but she knew how to make herself look dirty and grimy. She thought that this girl was a bit clever, so she told her mother that she would take her to Beijing, but she would have to marry her son when she reached a certain age. Her mother agreed.
The four of them fled to Beijing. Her grandfather first worked as a porter, and later as a porter. Her grandmother and her mother worked as laundry workers. That's how they settled down in Beijing.
Two years later, feeling that Beijing was relatively stable, she used the "money from the dead" she made on the street to buy her current three houses. So why are there three bedrooms? One for her grandparents, and one for each of her parents before they got married.
After liberation, her uncle returned and found his home. He was 25 years old when he came back. Because of the war, he had not gotten married. Just as her grandmother was arranging blind dates for him, her uncle went to aid Korea and was left there forever.
Her grandparents' health had been poor ever since they received the news. Because of her uncle, the neighborhood committee arranged jobs for her parents so that they could better take care of the martyr's parents.
Her father worked as a porter in a textile factory warehouse, earning 32.5 yuan a month. Her mother worked as a worker in the textile factory workshop, also earning 32.5 yuan a month. Suddenly, the family had two working parents, and life improved. However, her grandparents only lasted until 55, passing away after helping her parents get married.
After that, only her parents were left to depend on each other. Her mother was three years older than her father. People who could escape famine all the way to Beijing before liberation and survive to the end of liberation were all very capable. Therefore, her parents' life in the courtyard was always very peaceful.
However, her parents suffered too much hardship when they were young, and their health was in poor condition, so they were unable to have children. After working for several years, their health was getting better and better, but then they encountered the three years of famine.
When her mother gave birth to her in 1961, her mother was already 30 years old (by the traditional Chinese age reckoning). In those days, if you had a child early, you'd be a grandmother by 30.
Because the child's desires were so difficult to fulfill, even though Liu Yuxi was a girl, her parents granted her every wish. As expected, her mother never felt happy again afterward.
In Northeast China, many people raise their daughters like sons, and her family is no exception. Her parents always called her "old son" because they were worried about her health. Her father sent her to learn martial arts from an old martial arts master that his grandfather had met on the way to escape famine when she was young, until the old martial arts master passed away last year.
Originally, the family of three, with both working, should have been living a very good life. Unfortunately, before Liu Yuxi arrived, the little girl's parents were killed in a fire at the textile factory warehouse. Her father went to put out the fire, and her mother, who was going to find her father to go home with him, also went to put out the fire. They managed to salvage some supplies, but the two of them were tragically killed by the warehouse beams.
The bodies lay in state at home for three days. This morning, with the help of factory leaders, the neighborhood committee, and neighbors, she was finally able to send her parents up the mountain. That night, the young girl was in a daze and forgot to leave the window a crack, which led to Liu Yuxi's arrival.
After receiving the memories, Liu Yuxi felt helpless. This family had struggled so hard to survive, yet they were all gone. Looking at her uncle and her parents, she could only say that most people in this era have a strong spirit of dedication, which is probably a product of the times.
Liu Yuxi noticed that the gas smell in the room had dissipated, so she left a crack in the window, drew the curtains, turned on the light as if from memory, and sat back on the bed.
As usual, let's first take stock of the family's assets. The girl's parents died while rescuing factory supplies. Although they can't be recognized as martyrs, the compensation is still quite substantial, 1,200 yuan per person, which is 2,400 yuan.
As for their savings, their salaries were first used to pay for their grandparents' medical treatment, and after their grandparents passed away, they were used to supplement their own health. Later, they used the money to buy expensive grain during those three years, and then they used it to raise their daughter.
Fearing that the little girl might not be healthy, the two of them would try to exchange their wages for food. Until the little girl was 7 years old, her master Wu said she was very strong, and the family was able to save 20 yuan a month. Adding the more than 200 yuan they had saved over the years, they had a total of 1758.6 yuan in savings.
In addition to the money, the property deed for the house was changed to her name by the neighborhood office this afternoon, and a new household registration book and grain and oil supply book were also processed.
Her grandmother left behind a small box containing the windfall she had made on her journey to escape famine: three small yellow croakers, 20 silver dollars, a gold coin, two gold rings, and an ordinary jade bracelet.
This is all she currently owns. Of course, she will receive a monthly subsidy of 10 yuan from the textile factory until she turns 18. In addition, her parents have reserved two job positions for her. Whether she sells them or waits until she turns 18 to take over their jobs is up to her.
After putting the house deed, household registration book, grain and oil supply book, money and small box on the bedside table in the bedroom, Liu Yuxi turned off the light and went to sleep. She would think about the rest tomorrow!