CHAPTER 3
After eating, it was late at night, so she took the child to the public toilet. When she came back, she found a place in the alley that was sheltered from the wind and took out her coat from her bag. As a result, when she opened it, many banknotes fell out. There were 1, 2, and 50 cents, and three one-yuan notes.
She couldn’t hold back her tears, and while picking up the money she muttered, “Brother San, why are you so stupid? You stuffed all the money you’ve saved into my pocket.”
”Mom, this must have been stuffed by my third uncle. I saw him sneaking into the house.”
”Yes.” She wrapped her daughter in her coat and sat on the stone, hugging her. She remembered the kindness of her third brother. She was only one year older than her third brother, and he had protected her since she was a child.
”Go to sleep, mom is here.”
A few years old, a mother is everything for a child. She fell asleep quietly under the sound of her mother’s patting, and she was exhausted after a day of triuble.
The child fell asleep, and Li Xia looked around. Two women wearing red sleeves came over, and she took out the letter of introduction. “The man doesn’t want us anymore, and we really have nowhere to go at night.”
As a woman, she didn’t make things difficult for her. She just told her to return home as soon as possible and not wander around. “Okay just don’t wander around.”
” Yes I won’t “
Unlike later times, in this period, people without a place to live, a household registration, or a job were not allowed to sleep on the streets in the city, and the population could not move around freely. Li Xia exhaled silently, and began to feel troubled.
She only had a few dollars in her pocket, and there was no room for her here. Why not go home first? She could come out in a few years when things are more open. She thought so rationally, but emotionally she didn’t want to leave.
The future belongs to cities, and staying in the city will help you develop earlier. But the problem now is that she is a “no” person, so she can’t stay in the city for a few days even if she wants to.
At night, she held her daughter against the wall and slept for a while. The next morning, the child woke up and came down obediently, saying that she would not let her hold her again no matter what. Her daughter felt sorry for her and knew that she was working hard. She smiled at her and endured the numbness in her legs.
”Mom, are your legs numb from being pressed by me? Let me massage them for you.”
”Don’t, just let mom take it easy.”
She had a bad temper when she was young, and she was often in a bad mood because of the stress and fatigue in her previous life. If she had a chance to do it again, she would try to be kind to her daughter. If the child is timid, she should talk to hrr nicely.
” Okay”
The girl waited obediently, waiting for the pain and numbness from the thousands of needles to pass and for her to stand up. She stamped her feet hard and took her daughter outside.
There was a vendor selling breakfast outside the alley, simple soy milk buns, she bought two buns and didn’t want to buy soy milk. She silently calculated the value in her mind and estimated that there was a profit of 50 to 60 percent. The capital for small business was not large. She had opened a breakfast shop in her previous life, so doing these things was no problem.
She quickly finished her breakfast and wandered around during the day looking for opportunities to stay. She asked people if anyone was looking for a babysitter, or someone who could look after children, the elderly, cook, or do housework.
However, during this period, the population was growing rapidly, but the industry could not keep up. The city could not even find a job for unemployed young people, and there were even fewer families who needed nannies. The security in this area was even stricter, and as it was getting dark, she took her daughter back to the original place.
After searching for a whole day without finding any place, she gave the half-baked steamed bread she had saved to her daughter at night. She put her coat on her and told her to eat quickly. “The water is still hot. If you are thirsty, drink a few more sips. Otherwise, it will get cold in a while.”
”Mom you eat too.”
”Mom is not hungry, you eat quickly.”
”Mom, take a bite.”
The mother was calm, so the little girl was a little bolder. Tentatively, Li Xia took the steamed bread, kissed her little girl’s face, and took a small bite.
The child sat and ate obediently, and she stood up and looked around. She would not stay in the provincial capital for much time, and it would be extremely difficult for her to find a job with her child.
Sitting there worrying at night, a person walked out of the alley. When she got closer, she saw it was an old lady, hunched over with a firm gaze, looking at the mother and daughter for a while.
”Auntie, I…I have nowhere to go, so I’ll just stay here for one night and not disturb others.”
”Do you want to stay in the provincial capital?”
”You, your family needs a babysitter?”
The old lady nodded and shook her head, then sighed and pointed to the alley. “Come on, let’s go to my home and talk.”
”Why.”
Someone invited her home, at worst she might be able to find an opportunity to save herself. So she led her daughter to follow quickly, and after turning left and right in the alley, she found that the big courtyard that the aunt entered was actually the one where Fang Zhongcheng’s family lived.
There are several courtyards inside and outside. These were the houses of the landlords in the past. Now, the original appearance has been affected by illegal construction. In the next ten years, this place will be demolished.
There were many forked paths in the courtyard, and Auntie was not in the same courtyard as the Fang family. When she arrived, she found that the routes were different, but the two courtyards were actually separated by only a wall. The Fang family lived in a small and cramped courtyard, but Auntie’s courtyard maintained its original appearance, a square courtyard.
The aunt entered the main room, and she led her daughter to follow. The three main rooms were separated by partitions, with the living room in the middle and bedrooms on the east and west sides. The house was quite large, spacious and well-lit.
The old lady did not arrange for them to sit down, but led her to open the door of the east room. Inside, there was a wardrobe, a bed, a dressing table, and a man lying on the bed.
The man’s cheeks were sunken, and he didn’t move at all when they came in. The old lady brought two stools for them to sit on, and she sat on the bed herself. She stared at the man on the bed for a while, then turned to her and got straight to the point.
”My son is in a vegetative after an accident. My daughter-in-law divorced him and left behind my grandson. We both the grandparent and grandchild, we depend on each other for survival. But, I won’t hide it from you. I have a disease and I won’t live long. I think…”
”You want to hire me as a nanny to take care of you and your son? I can do that. I…”
Li Xia didn’t think too much about it. She was just happy to find a job when the old lady waved her hand to interrupt her. She was confused, if you don’t want me to be a nanny, then why did you bring me back?
”Will you marry my son?”
No, your son is already in a vegetative state, how can he marry a wife? Li Xia was very confused and didn’t understand what the old lady was thinking.
”There are only three of us in this family. When I’m gone, you, an outsider, won’t be able to stay here. When you’re driven away, my son will be in this state, and my grandson will be so young… How are they going to live? They’ll be at the mercy of others.”
Oh, the old lady has considered it very well. To hire a nanny, there must be a civil person in the family, otherwise how can a nanny be the head of the family? But she just got divorced, and if she married a vegetative person in order to stay? And she also has to raise a child?
”Where’s your grandson?”
”He’s playing in the west room.” The old lady smiled kindly when she mentioned her grandson. “He’s seven years old, a very good, smart and obedient child, when I told him to find a mother for him, he nodded in agreement, saying that he would listen to his mother.”
”My son is 33 years old this year and used to work in the procuratorate ( agency responsible for legal prosecution and prosecutorial investigation) ….I… I don’t know if he can wake up, but I always hope that he can wake up. He is so young, how can he…”
The old lady explained the situation, and Li Xia looked at the motionless man with mixed feelings. Seeing that she didn’t say anything, the old lady wiped her tears and continued to speak.
”If you are willing to marry him and take care of him and his son, then this house will belong to you. I will find someone to help you and your daughter get a permanent residence.”
What? Changing from rural to non-rural, Li Xia’s eyes lit up immediately. With the housing issues and household registration solved, the mother and daughter can stay here, and the child’s schooling will not be a problem.
There were no private schools during this period, and if you wanted to go to school in the city, you had to have a household registration. She was most worried about her daughter’s schooling, but she also understood how difficult it was to change from a rural to a non-rural during this period. Even those educated youth who wanted to return to the city could only return by themselves, and the families who brought their wives and children back could not register their household registration. If you wanted to study in the city, you had to use connections to pay a large amount of tuition.
Being a nanny was the first step for her to stay here. Now the conditions are much better than being a nanny. In the late 1980s, it was said that it was impossible to transfer
household registration from rural to non-rural status even if they gave 10,000 yuan.
But if she married this man, she would have to consider supporting them. Maybe the family had no savings, and if the man lived for another ten or eight years, she would not only have to take care of him but also support them. This matter had to be legitimate, otherwise she would be driven away as soon as the old lady died.
By raising the father and son, she got a household registration and a house. She paid a lot, but she also got a lot. These two things are hard to find in the city nowadays, and you may not be able to get them even if you have money, let alone she has no money.
”Even if I marry your son, it won’t be that easy to get a household registration, right?”
Seeing that she was moved, the old lady smiled and said, “My son was injured at work, and there is compensation for this kind of situation. We can arrange jobs for his family members, and settle their household registration and other issues.”
Oh, so that’s how it is. In this era, there is a policy of replacing a job, and she has heard of this kind of thing. Although she doesn’t have this iron rice bowl job that everyone is fighting for now, she is very satisfied with getting a household registration and a house.
”Can I see the child?”
”Okay, wait.”
The more cautious she was, the more reassured the old lady was. This was a responsible act, not a casual lie. The old lady shouted at the door, and soon a little boy came in. He was about the same height as Huihua, with gentle features, and looked at her a little timidly.
”This is the new mother that grandma found for you, call her quickly.”
The child’s lips moved, and he was obviously resisting the stranger, looking at her with scrutiny. Li Xia quickly spoke up: “No, no, don’t rush to let the child call. Well, just call me auntie.”
This time the little guy nodded obediently: “Hello, Auntie.”
”Hello. What’s your name and how old are you?”
”My name is Shen Hui, I’m seven years old.”
Shen Hui, why does this name sound so familiar? Li Xia thought about it and realized that she had seen this name in a newspaper news in her previous life. A murderer who committed manslaughter and murdered his mother had this name. He was seventeen years old in 1992, so the age was right.
But the child in that case is the child of a single mother and has no father, so it’s just a coincidence, right?
She was thinking about something, and the old lady looked at her with burning eyes. “My daughter, what do you think? I know it’s a heavy burden, but Huihui is getting older and older, and he can help take care of his father, so you don’t have to work so hard all the time.”
The little guy nodded when he heard it, “I will take care of Dad.”
The child is so sensible, it shouldn’t be difficult to raise him. “I’m responsible for taking care of them. Just feed them and keep them warm, right?”
”Um.”
”Okay, let’s do it this way.”
It was settled, and thet would do it one by one tomorrow. The old lady got up to cook, and Li Xia quickly followed and said she would do it. She rolled out the noodles and made a pot of noodles. Everyone was very happy to eat. The old lady praised her for her delicious cooking. The little guy was pushed by his grandmother and nodded.
When she learned that the two side rooms on the east side were also hers, Li Xia felt more comfortable. Without the old lady telling her, she went to fetch water to wash the man’s face and feet, and carefully asked the old lady what she needed to pay attention to in taking care of him.
After talking to the old lady for a long time about the precautions for taking care of the man, the mother and daughter were arranged to sleep in the west bedroom at night. After wandering for a long time, they could finally lie down and sleep peacefully. There were bedding, sheets, pillows and quilts. After washing up, they lay down steadily. The feeling of stretching made them sigh uncontrollably.
”Mom, it’s so comfortable to sleep in bed.”
”Well, go to bed quickly.”
After all this, both mother and daughter were very tired and fell asleep quickly. The next day, Li Xia was awakened by her biological clock at dawn. She got up, dressed and cleaned the three main rooms. The old lady was usually quite clean, but she was no longer physically fit. With her at home, the family immediately became more lively.
The old lady came in and saw her turning her son over in bed, then after a moment’s hesitation, she took off his clothes. It took a lot of effort for her to do this because she was old, but she turned him over without much effort. She wiped his back and turned him over again, dried the other side, and put on clean clothes for him.
”It’s still early. I’ll go wash my clothes first. Can we make porridge for breakfast?”
What a neat woman! The old lady nodded with a smile. “You do the laundry, and I’ll make breakfast.”
”You can take a rest. I work very efficiently and won’t waste any time.”
Li Xia is not just talking, she is really good at work. First she goes to the kitchen to turn on the stove and add water to the pot to cook porridge. After the water boils and the rice is added, she closes the air vent below, so that the fire becomes smaller, in this way coal is saved, and the pot will not explode. She used it when she ran a breakfast shop in her previous life.
After cooking porridge on the fire, she went to the yard to wash clothes. A neighbor who had been watching the fun noticed her and asked her curiously why she was there.
”From now on, she will be the daughter-in-law of our Shen family.”
”What, your daughte-in-law?”
The old lady happily announced the good news to the neighbors in the yard. Li Xia worked silently beside her, smiling whenever she met someone’s eyes. This happy event seemed strange to others, but it was indeed a happy event to her. From now on, she would settled down in the provincial capital. Her daughter can go to school in the provincial capital and start a business to make money. This is a great joy.
The old lady became more and more excited as the crowd gathered around her. She wanted to establish Li Xia’s status, to let her support the family, and to let her stay here legitimately after her death.
After breakfast, she took her to the Civil Affairs Bureau eagerly. They were the only strange among the couples. The staff came forward to ask about the situation and told them that this was not feasible.
”Marriage requires the consent of both men and women, and both must be capable of talking. Old lady, your son has become a vegetative, so he is not eligible for marriage.”
The old lady didn’t understand this. Li Xia lived in a small place in her previous life. She learned a lot of knowledge from TV and movies, so she didn’t understand much about this. Both of them were basically ignorant of the law. They thought that marriage was voluntary. The old lady immediately took Li Xia’s hand and asked.
”She agreed. Is it not okay if she agreed? I agreed on behalf of my son’s. Is it not okay ?”
