Help others? It's better to help yourself - Chapter 7

In October 1964, Xu Jing’an started her second year of high school.

Xu Jingping, the second eldest, found a job in the workshop of the No. 3 Cotton Mill through her partner’s connections, earning fourteen yuan a month.

The job required shift work and involved the noisy sounds of machinery in the workshop. Despite having memorized the operating procedures, she still found herself at a loss when standing in front of the machines.

The spinning spindles in front of her moved so quickly that they made her dizzy. When she touched them, her hand was burned red.

She had to keep moving back and forth in front of the machines, and her sweat never stopped.

It is said that in the summer, the temperature in the workshop is even higher than outside, but she didn’t dare to complain!

Even though she has a high school diploma, things are different now. Every year, more and more students graduate from high school and middle school in the city, so they’re not as rare as they used to be.

However, jobs are limited, with each position already filled. Everyone wants a light and easy job, so you have to be careful.

Xu Jingping’s fiancé, Yang Hongbing, may not be particularly attractive, but his family is well-off, and he’s their only son.

She had to go through all the boys around her before picking him out. Without her good looks, Yang Hongbing wouldn’t have even glanced at her.

Her mother-in-law said that if Xu Jingping couldn’t find a good job, once they were married and had a child, she would step down to take care of the baby.

She would then pass on her accounting job at the No. 3 Cotton Mill to Xu Jingping. If it didn’t suit her, they would find a way to exchange it with someone else.

Just for this, Xu Jingping had to keep her mother-in-law happy.

As long as she takes over that position, her life will be completely under her mother-in-law’s control.

At that time, her husband’s three older sisters, relatives, friends, neighbors, and even her colleagues would all indirectly pressure her.

Thinking about this, she resolved not to ask for that favor unless absolutely necessary.

The atmosphere in the living room that evening was depressingly tense.

“Oldest son, what exactly are you planning?” Xu’s mother sternly asked Xu Jianguo, determined to get an answer from him.

Xu’s father smoked his cigarette with a stern expression, staring intently at his eldest.

“You know our family’s situation. We, as your parents, couldn’t do anything to help the second child find a job, and we certainly don’t have the ability to find her one.”

Xu Jingping just curled her lip; her father’s words sounded good, but they couldn’t be taken seriously.

They wouldn’t spend their money or favors on her, especially since there’s still the youngest, the fourth child, in the family.

“Well, Mom, can you give your job to Duoduo? We’re going to have a child soon after we get married, and then you can stay home and take care of the grandchild.”

“That’s nonsense!” Xu’s mother suddenly stood up.

Xu Jing’an realized that Xu Jianguo was starting to listen to his fiancée and was beginning to prioritize his own little family.

“Is that something she told you? What, she wants to control me before she’s even in the door?” Xu’s mother pointed at Xu Jianguo and loudly scolded him, her chest heaving with anger. “If you can live together, then do it; if not, don’t. It’s up to you whether you get married or not!”

To parents, when their own child is at fault, it’s always someone else’s responsibility.

Xu’s father exhaled the smoke he’d been holding in his mouth for a long time and said, “Eldest son, the fourth child is still young, and your mom is still young too, so you tell her not to worry about it.”

“Xu Jianguo, why is this family just about you and your wife? What about the rest of us?” The youngest, Xu Jianxie, stormed out of his room, glaring angrily at his older brother.

“Fourth child, what does this have to do with you?” Xu Jianguo anxiously yelled at Xu Jianxie.

“How does it not involve me? If you’re scheming to take Mom’s job, it definitely concerns me!” Xu Jianxie shot back without backing down.

The fourth child had long considered their mother’s job as something that would eventually belong to him.

After all, a lot of money and favors were spent to get the eldest’s job in the first place. There’s only so much to go around in the family, and everyone knows how hard it is to find a job—no one is stupid.

“Enough,” seeing her two sons arguing, Xu’s mother, heart aching, quickly stepped in to stop them.

“Here’s what we’ll do: if you two get married, we’ll buy you a sewing machine, and you won’t have to contribute your salary to the household.”

“But where will we live?”

“You’ll live in the room that the second child is in now. She should get married soon, and the third child can set up a bed in the outer room at night. That’ll work out just fine. Mom will also get you new furniture and fix up the place nicely.”

Xu Jianguo thought it over and decided this plan could work. Xu’s father also nodded in agreement.

After all, Xu Jianguo and his fiancée, Xu Duoduo, had been dating for almost a year.

In an era where people would get married after just one meeting, their situation was quite unusual.