The family compound where Wen Nuan lives is in a very advantageous location. Just outside the compound is a street full of supply and marketing cooperatives and department stores.
Although she had been wearing it for a while, she didn't go out very often.
I rarely go out in the morning because I will meet many neighbors going to work at this time.
Almost everyone in the family compound knew that the original owner was unwilling to go to the countryside as an educated youth and planned to marry Gu Qinghan. Many people felt that Wen Nuan was not worthy of Gu Qinghan.
Most people of this era are hardworking and simple, and they look down upon people like the original owner who are cunning and don't work.
Gu Qinghan had a good reputation in the family compound. A few years ago, he was already a company commander at a young age, and his military allowance was high, which added up to nearly 80 or 90 yuan. Moreover, he was tall and handsome, which made him popular with many women with daughters.
Many people in the family compound want to marry their daughters to Gu Qinghan.
But no one expected that the original owner would get there first.
The original owner's family favored boys over girls.
She had two older sisters who had married early, and a younger brother. At that time, both she and her brother were of appropriate age to go to the countryside. According to the policy at that time that only one child could be left at home in the family, the original owner had long guessed that her parents, who favored boys over girls, would definitely let her go to the countryside.
The original owner, who was lazy and gluttonous, naturally didn't want to go to the countryside, so she thought about getting married.
The original owner was beautiful, and when she was in school, many people were jealous of her and fought for her. Many second-rate guys knew the original owner's thoughts and expressed their desire to marry her.
When Wen's mother found out that she wanted to get married to avoid going to the countryside, she wanted to marry her to Huang Mazi, a man from the next street, and secretly took a hundred yuan from him.
But the original owner was not a fool, so she naturally wouldn't just marry anyone. If she had to find someone, she would find someone she could rely on and who wouldn't have to work.
Moreover, the original owner is a face control, so she has to look for a good-looking partner, and Huang Mazi is not to her liking.
So Gu Qinghan, who had a high allowance and good looks, became her "prey". Because she knew that Gu Qinghan was a soldier and his family leave was only two days, the original owner jumped into the river right in front of Gu Qinghan.
Gu Qinghan is an upright and enthusiastic soldier. Not only would he help someone up if he saw them jumping into the river, he would also help them up if they fell.
So the moment the original owner was rescued by Gu Qinghan, she deliberately tore off her clothes and held on to him, refusing to let go.
Reputation was the most important thing in this era, and there were quite a lot of people watching. "Wen Nuan" just started crying, and made a fuss, saying that her innocence was gone and she had no face to live in this world anymore.
When Wen's mother knew that she had hooked up with Gu Qinghan, the most promising man in the neighborhood, she no longer cared about Huang Mazi.
The next day, he brought "Wen Nuan" to Gu's house to block people and threatened Gu Qinghan to marry Wen Nuan.
The incident was quite a big deal at the time, and Gu Qinghan thought about it all night before deciding to marry the original owner.
Because of the time constraints, the two of them got their marriage certificate directly after an expedited political review and distributed some wedding candies to their neighbors as if it was a wedding banquet.
The two of them were like strangers after marriage.
After Gu Qinghan returned to the army, he also wrote a letter to her. Although it was only a few short sentences, the original owner ignored it, never replied, and would not take the initiative to write to her.
The only time the original owner took the initiative to contact him was to send a telegram to ask Gu Qinghan for money.
Gu Qinghan never treated her unfairly financially. Knowing that her relationship with her mother-in-law Zhao Wuju was not very harmonious, he would divide the allowance into two and send her a separate one.
But the original owner was a brother-supporting woman, and was proud of subsidizing her mother's family.
Many times, when Gu Qinghan sent money and notes, the original owner would take them back to her parents' home the next second.
So she has neither much money nor any tickets now. In this era, it is really difficult to move forward without money and tickets.
She was also thinking of buying some cotton and cloth to make two winter clothes for her daughter.
The child was born in May, and we didn’t have any winter clothes prepared at that time. Besides, the summers in the south are long, and sometimes it’s not necessarily cold in December.
But now winter is coming soon, so we must start preparing.
Such a young child must not catch a cold.
But when she thought about how little money and bills she had left, she started to have a headache.
*
Wen Nuan carried her daughter on her back and walked out of the side door of the family compound, just to avoid running into gossiping neighbors.
The little guy on my back was also well-behaved. He didn’t cry much because he had just woken up.
Although she has been here for a month, it is extremely inconvenient to take her child out because he is young, so she only goes out shopping once or twice, and she is not very familiar with the streets here.
But the streets in the 1970s were not too complicated, because there were several state-owned factories nearby and there were a lot of people, so life was quite convenient.
There were few cars or bicycles on the street, only people in blue and black work clothes walking in groups.
Wen Nuan planned to go to the state-owned restaurant on the next street to eat wontons. There weren't as many acquaintances there, and no one would point at her and gossip about her.
Every time I go out, the people in the family compound always like to tease the children. Actually, it doesn’t matter, but Wen Nuan can’t accept them pinching the children’s faces without washing their hands. Every time they pinch and touch the children, the children’s faces become black and gray.
The state-owned restaurant is not far away, but because everyone is in a hurry to go to work, not many people eat breakfast in the restaurant.
The buildings of this era are extremely red in nature, with eye-catching red slogans printed everywhere on the walls.
Before Wen Nuan entered the restaurant, a familiar voice called out from behind her: "Xiao Nuan!"
Wen Nuan was just thinking about whether she should go to the supply and marketing cooperative to look at the fabrics after breakfast. She was so absorbed in thought that she didn't hear the person calling her from behind.
When she was about to step into the restaurant, a hand patted her shoulder.
"Girl, why don't you respond?" Mother Wen pressed Wen Nuan's shoulders directly. A trace of anger flashed across her face, but because they were outside, she did not show it.
Wen Nuan felt a hand covering the baby strap. She paused and subconsciously turned her body to the side, fearing that she would hurt her daughter on her back.
When she saw the familiar face of Wen's mother, a bad thought came to her mind.
In the past, the original body did not always take the initiative to subsidize her mother's family. Usually, it was Wen's mother or her younger brother who came to the staff quarters here to find her.
In fact, the money that Gu Qinghan sent her was not every month, but it was enough for her to take care of a baby.
Unfortunately, the original owner was taught since childhood to help her family and support her younger brother, so when she had money, the first thing she did was to take it back to her parents' home.
Also, when the original owner was able to marry Gu Qinghan, Wen's mother also gave a lot of "ideas", so every time Wen's mother came over, she would say: "If it weren't for me, how could you have married Gu Qinghan?"
So the original owner was brainwashed, and it was all thanks to Wen's mother.
Just last month, Wen's mother came to see the original owner and said that her brother had a girlfriend and was preparing to get married. He needed to buy cloth from the girl to make new clothes and also wanted a gift. The original owner gave all his money and cloth coupons to Wen's mother.
That's why she is so 'poor' now.
Facing Mother Wen's face, Wen Nuan replied indifferently, "I didn't hear it."
Seeing her frown, Mother Wen thought she was still asleep, so she asked, "Why? Why did you get up so early today?"
Then she turned her head to look at the child on her warm back and teased, "Hey, hey, why is this girl getting fat again? Look at those two lumps of flesh on your face. Oh my god, wean her off milk quickly. Why does she drink so much? Her brother will have no milk to drink in the future! Wait until her dad comes back from the army and get a brother."
The little guy didn't know if he understood what Mother Wen said, he was caught off guard and yelled "Ah" twice loudly, and hit Mother Wen's arm twice.
The little guy must not be very strong, so it wouldn't hurt when he hits someone.
But she had just been sucking her fingers, and her hands were covered with saliva, which she now smeared all over Mother Wen's arm. Mother Wen shouted in disgust: "This little girl, why is there so much saliva on her hands?!"
Wen Nuan said in her heart: Good job.
Then he saw that there was still mud on Wen's mother's hands, so he turned around, not wanting her to touch the child anymore.
So he asked, "Why are you here so early?"
"Isn't this coming to see you?" Speaking of this, Mother Wen no longer paid attention to the child, and immediately cried: "Hey, Xiao Nuan, actually Mom doesn't want to come here. But you also know that your brother is dating someone, and your father injured his leg not long ago. Now your brother is about to get married, but the other party asked for 200 yuan. What do you think we should do?"
At the beginning, Wen's mother accepted Huang Mazi's 100 yuan and wanted to secretly "sell" Wen Nuan, but Wen's mother didn't expect that Wen Nuan would find Gu Qinghan.
After Wen's mother rejected Huang Mazi's offer, she turned around and asked for a gift of 120 yuan from Gu Qinghan.
This was an out-of-this-world price at the time.
But Wen's mother said that Huang Mazi could afford to give a hundred yuan, and Gu Qinghan was already a company commander at that time, so it was impossible for him not to be able to give a gift of one hundred and twenty yuan.
In the end, Gu Qinghan gave it reluctantly.
So Wen's mother always thought that Gu Qinghan was rich and had a lot of money.
"Xiao Nuan?"
Wen's mother waited for Wen Nuan to speak. After all, she hadn't gotten any money from her for more than a month. Even if it meant losing face today, she had to ask for some money.
And she knew that he had a warm personality. Although he was lazy and unreasonable, he still loved his younger brother very much.
Thinking of this, Mother Wen simply rubbed the corners of her eyes with her fingers, trying to squeeze out a tear or two.
Wen Nuan raised her eyelids and said indifferently: "I have no money."
Mother Wen's tears haven't come out yet, but her brows are already furrowed. "How is it possible? Hasn't your Gu Qinghan been promoted to deputy group leader? And doesn't he send money back every month?"
Then Mother Wen looked up at the restaurant sign again: "Besides, aren't you planning to eat out? How could you have no money?"
Wen Nuan sneered when she heard what her mother said. She looked carefully and thought that the man might have come to catch her on purpose.
Wen Nuan simply burst into tears before she did, raising her voice and shouting miserably, "Mom, I really have no money, and the money the child's father sent was not just to me! I have already given you all my money and tickets, where else can I get the money? Winter is almost here, and the child doesn't even have a decent winter coat! You didn't even leave me a single cloth or cotton ticket, how do you think the child is going to survive the winter?"
Wen Nuan knew that she couldn't use force to deal with someone like Wen's mother. If she pulled and hurt the child, it would be counterproductive.
Wen Nuan didn't give her a chance to speak, and continued to play the victim: "Mom, as the child's grandmother, you can't just watch her without a winter coat in winter, right? It's okay for me to be cold, but if the child gets cold, her father will blame me."
After he finished speaking, the daughter on Wen Nuan's back seemed to know something and immediately cried out "Wow".