"Big sister, I didn't lie to you, did I? This kid is absolutely wonderful. Come to think of it, he hasn't had it easy either. He lost both his parents at a young age and was raised on the help of neighbors and the factory, growing up on food from a hundred households..."
In the courtyard of a single-story house, a slightly plump woman wearing a scarf was speaking with another woman who was thin and wiry.
"You never explained clearly—how did this child's parents die?"
"It was really something strange. His father worked at the steel mill in our county. I don't know the details, but there was supposedly some kind of accident. His father acted bravely and prevented greater losses, but he was scalded to death himself. His mother worked at our textile mill. Less than two months after his father passed, there was a fire at the textile mill. She went in to put it out and never came back either.
"The boy was only twelve or thirteen back then, I think? He was a good student. Originally, when he turned sixteen, he would have been able to start work. By rights, he should have gone to the steel mill, but those bastards over there took his job slot and insisted they couldn't arrange anything for him. They were clearly trying to shove him off onto our textile mill.
"Our old factory director was a decent man. He took the boy into the textile mill and had him study machine repair under an old master. The kid learned quickly, had great skills, and knew how to talk to people. Whenever anyone's family had a problem, he'd help as long as they called on him. He was especially generous when it came to exchanging ration coupons.
"Later, the