Mother Lin Wants Her to Go to the Countryside

This program was produced by Tomato Listening.

Mother Lin and Second Sister were the only ones from the Lin Family who came home for lunch. Once they returned, she only needed to stir-fry a dish and heat up the food. But in the morning, the whole family needed breakfast. Everyone left early for work, so she had to get up early too. Otherwise, everything would fall on Mother Lin alone.

Clearly, Mother Lin had no intention of spoiling her youngest daughter.

Lin Yuzhu lived every day being nagged awake. This start was excruciatingly refreshing. In her previous life, she at least got up whenever she pleased. Now, there was no point mentioning it.

Lin Yuzhu had just lit the stove when she heard Mother Lin shouting beside her, "What are you dawdling for? Hurry up and put the pot on! Boil a kettle of water! Everyone will be up soon. If you wait until then to boil water, how are you supposed to cook?"

Lin Yuzhu yawned, got up, used the stove hook to set the stove ring in place, then lifted the already-filled iron kettle onto it. Mother Lin immediately told her to wash the vegetables, so Lin Yuzhu went to do that without expression.

The water in the vat was icy in the morning. Lin Yuzhu had suffered from menstrual cramps in her previous life, so she normally dared not touch cold water. But in the Lin Family home, Mother Lin never waited for the hot water to finish boiling.

Lin Yuzhu had none of the original owner's memories, so she did not know whether this body had the same problem. If it did, she would probably suffer unbearably.

Still, she felt as though she had forgotten something.

It was not until Mother Lin started stir-frying and Lin Yuzhu was shaping cornmeal buns that the eldest daughter of the Lin Family, Lin Yumei, finally came out. Looking at the two busy women, she said with a slightly embarrassed, coquettish smile, "Mom, there were too many people at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative yesterday. It was so busy that I was exhausted. I didn't even hear you knocking this morning."

Mother Lin had always treated Lin Yumei as warmly as sunshine. Smiling, she replied, "I know your work is tiring. You don't need to make breakfast."

Lin Yuzhu's face was numb. Would she feel upset over Mother Lin being so biased?

Of course not. First, Mother Lin was not her real mother, so there was nothing to be jealous about.

Besides, she had figured it out. In the Lin Family, everyone's status was proportional to how much money they contributed to the household. In Mother Lin's eyes, only those who could earn money deserved a pleasant expression from her.

Cursing fate once again, Lin Yuzhu kneaded the cornmeal buns while pondering her future path. Why had heaven sent her to this damned era?

Recently, she had heard that if she could not find work, the Street Office might arrange for her to go to the countryside.

Mother Lin had even given her a meaningful glance that day. That had been rather telling.

Why had Mother Lin looked at her like that?

Once she finished kneading the buns, inspiration suddenly struck her. Mother Lin wanted her to go to the countryside. Xia Xiang could actually accept that. She truly did not want to keep being a quail in the Lin Family home.

Back when she had first tried to establish herself in the Lin Family, she had talked back a few times. Mother Lin had hit her backside with a broom board twice. She had been furious, but this body was only sixteen years old. She lacked the strength to resist and did not dare fight Mother Lin.

Once the label of being unfilial was attached to her, her political future and social standing would be criticized for the rest of her life.

When she saw the neighboring girl, who was a year younger than her, being whipped with willow branches for talking back, her heart instead calmed down.

She felt that in life, sometimes one had to keep a low profile and develop quietly.

So from that day onward, she obediently played the original owner's role and became a quail.

What else could she do?

In this era, if you had no money, no ration coupons, and no letter of introduction, you had better bring a rope if you ran away from home. If you truly could not survive, at least you would have something to hang yourself with.

Once the food was ready and placed on the table, the family had more or less all arrived.

After washing up, while everyone was present, Lin Yuzhu spoke in a voice as soft as a mosquito's. "Mom, it's not really a solution for me to keep staying home like this. How about I go to the countryside?"

She had already decided that if she took the initiative, perhaps Mother Lin would remember the bond between mother and daughter and give her a little more money.

For the journey.

Going to the countryside meant going there as an educated youth.

The family was waiting for Mother Lin to serve the porridge, so they did not pay much attention to what Lin Yuzhu had said.

But Mother Lin had sharp ears. Her hand paused slightly as she served the porridge, then she glanced at her youngest daughter, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief.

Hmph. This girl had finally gotten smart for once!

"Fine. The authorities' current policy is that every family must send one child to the countryside. If you're willing to go, I won't stop you. I'll find some connections later and see if I can get you assigned to the Northeast."

When Second Sister Lin heard that, she said disdainfully, "I heard the winters in the Northeast are freezing. Wouldn't sending Third Sister there just make her suffer?"

After being here for so many days, this was the first time Lin Yuzhu had heard Second Sister speak up for her. She felt somewhat flattered.

Mother Lin shot Second Sister Lin a glare. "What do you know? They don't lack food in the Northeast. When winter comes and it gets cold, you won't have to go out to work. Isn't that better than the south, where you still have to work outdoors in winter? Not only would your hands be covered in frostbite, it's damp and cold too. Your sister would find that even harder to bear."

Lin Yuzhu quietly took the porridge from Mother Lin and slowly drank it, still reserving judgment about Mother Lin's words.

Do not think going to the countryside meant avoiding hardship. None of the older generation of educated youths ever said it was not hard.

Listening to Mother Lin, Lin Yuzhu understood. Mother Lin had probably arranged for her to go to the countryside long ago. If she had not brought it up today, perhaps one day she would have simply received notice that she was being sent away.

"I heard there's more grain in the Northeast than elsewhere. If it really is like that after you go, send some back home. It's hard to get grain from the grain station these days."

After saying that, Mother Lin deliberately watched Lin Yuzhu's reaction.

"Then you'll have to give me money to buy things for you."

The moment Mother Lin heard that, she glared at her. "Would I let you go hungry?"

"Money, money, money! All you ever talk about is money!"

Then she began rattling on about every member of the neighboring family, from old to young.

Lin Yuzhu continued pretending to be a quail.

In her previous life, Lin Yuzhu's hometown had been toward the north. It was considered close to the Northeast, though not actually within the Northeast. In a way, she could be considered half Northeastern herself.

The winters there were truly cold. Mother Lin was not worried about her daughter freezing at all. All she cared about was whether the family could benefit from it. What kind of mother was that?

From the meaning behind Mother Lin's words, it seemed her trip to the Northeast was basically settled.

Mother Lin seemed dissatisfied with Lin Yuzhu's quail-like behavior and could not help complaining, "The older you get, the less willing you are to talk. You're like a stuffy gourd all day. If you marry into another family, won't your in-laws torment you to death?"

Lin Yuzhu slurped her porridge without offering an opinion.

Did she think she did not like talking?

She simply did not dare say too much. The country was vast and populous, and even one province could have several dialects. The Lin Family's dialect was not particularly obscure, so Lin Yuzhu could mostly understand it. But speaking was another matter. It would be easy to give herself away. Otherwise, would she want to speak in a mosquito-like whisper every day?

Thinking about it, going to the countryside might be a good thing.

After the meal, those going to work went to work, and those going to school flew off with their schoolbags. Naturally, the pile of dishes and chopsticks on the table became Lin Yuzhu's work. She rolled up her sleeves and got to it.

How had an executive like her fallen to this point?

This damned era.

After cleaning the house, she had to clean the yard. Any work within sight had to be done, or Mother Lin would scold her once she noticed.

Once she had more or less finished tidying up, she checked the old wall clock at home. There was no time to rest. She had to make lunch for Mother Lin and Second Sister.

Mother Lin and the others actually had rather leisurely jobs. Unless something special happened, they mostly handled neighborhood disputes at the Street Office. It was not far from home, and if there was nothing to do, they would bring their two daughters home early and even take an afternoon nap.

Lunch for the three of them was easy enough. Heat up the cornmeal buns made that morning, cook some corn porridge, then stir-fry a vegetable dish, and that would do. The only troublesome part was that lighting the stove took some time.

Once Lin Yuzhu had finished preparing lunch, Mother Lin and Second Sister Lin returned.

When the three of them sat down to eat, Mother Lin said, "Your trip to the countryside has been arranged. I heard it's Black Hands. You'll leave the day after tomorrow, so spend these next two days packing up."

Lin Yuzhu was somewhat astonished by Mother Lin's speed. Just as she had guessed, Mother Lin must have arranged for her to go to the countryside long ago.

Fortunately, Mother Lin had not kept pressuring her. This youngest daughter still got to enjoy the wonderful time of taking an afternoon nap.

After lying down on the bed with Second Sister Lin, Lin Yuzhu could not fall asleep. She was being sent to the countryside just like that, so she had to prepare some things, right? Did the original owner have any secret savings?

Definitely not. Mother Lin wished she could count every cent. She knew perfectly well how much money every person in the household had.

This was an era where even having money without ration coupons meant you could not buy anything, much less having neither money nor coupons.

While Lin Yuzhu was considering what to bring from home for her trip to the countryside, she suddenly remembered that everyone in the Lin Family used old newspapers that Mother Lin brought back from work when they went to the toilet. Only when they had their periods could they get toilet paper from Mother Lin.

Her expression turned strange. She hurriedly got up and rummaged through the boxes and cabinets, finally finding something that seemed to be the legendary menstrual belt.

Lin Yuzhu's expression was complicated. Frankly, even after a month, whenever she wore the original owner's clothes, she still felt a tiny bit of indescribable discomfort.

And now she was looking at menstrual belts?

Second Sister Lin was kept awake by Lin Yuzhu's noise. She sat up in bed and said irritably, "What are you doing?"

"It's the middle of the day. Are you going to let people sleep or not?"

Hearing that Second Sister Lin was unhappy, Lin Yuzhu knew she had disturbed her sleep. It was naturally rude of her, so she put down what she was holding, lay back down, and muttered, "Second Sister, do you think Mom would buy me another menstrual belt if I asked?"

Second Sister Lin turned over and replied with a yawn.

"Ah, you might as well beg Eldest Sister."

Lin Yuzhu thought about it and felt that made sense. Then a terrifying thought suddenly struck her. She had been here for nearly a month and had not gotten her period once. Her mind went blank. Could this girl have done something foolish?

Lin Yuzhu broke out in a cold sweat, her heart nearly jumping into her throat. Unmarried pregnancy had serious consequences in this era. She did not want to start out by inheriting a child.

Perhaps Second Sister Lin had gotten past her sleepy spell, because she suddenly turned around and said, "Why are you buying menstrual belts for? You've only used that thing once or twice. Your periods are like Mom's, only coming once every few months, and there isn't much flow. That menstrual belt is practically new. Mom definitely won't buy you another one."

After saying that, she sounded rather envious and muttered, "Sigh, if only I took after Mom too. This thing comes every month. It's so annoying."

After hearing Second Sister Lin's words, and based on the month she had spent observing the original owner and accurately imitating her personality, Lin Yuzhu concluded that the original owner did not seem like someone bold enough to do something outrageous. Only then did she finally relax.