As the noon class dismissal bell rang, Xu Jing'an hurriedly packed her things, grabbed her lunch bowl, and headed to the cafeteria to get food.
The cafeteria was west of the teaching building, and she jogged all the way there.
If she went late, there would be a crowd. Not only would the queue take forever, but by the end, all that would be left was mostly soup with little solid food.
By the time she rushed into the cafeteria with her bowl, there was already a considerable line ahead. Xu Jing'an felt helpless. She considered herself quite proactive when it came to getting meals, yet she had never managed to be the first in line.
"There's always someone better," she figured this saying must have originated from situations like this!
She got in line. In winter, there wasn't much variety to choose from for the meal. In the deep cold, it was either cabbage or turnip, with potatoes, onions, or carrots added at most (the latter two depended on luck).
The school had both boarding and day students.
The boarders lived far from home and ate all three meals at school. Their household registration and grain ration relations were handled by the school.
Each month, these students would hand over grain or money and ration coupons to the school, and the school would issue them a large sheet of printed meal tickets. From the first to the last day of the month, they had to present a breakfast, lunch, and dinner ticket for each meal.
Day students like Xu Jing'an, who lived close by, went home to eat. Those who lived farther away or whose families were too busy to prepare lunch could only eat at school at noon.
You could buy staple food at the cafeteria, but most students brought their own (in cold weather, they could place it in the communal large steamer to heat and cook it through). So, most of the time, you only needed to get the vegetable dish.
After she got her dish and retrieved her steamed cornbread bun from the steamer, finally squeezing her way out of the crowd, the line had already stretched over five meters long.
Holding her lunch bowl, Xu Jing'an turned to look for a place to sit. The cafeteria had a fixed number of tables and benches; those who came late had to eat standing up.
The walls were covered with slogans: "Corruption and waste are great crimes."
"Treasure every grain of rice, for it is hard-won."
"Cherish every thread and piece of cloth, remembering the toil involved."
"Xu Jing'an—, Xu Jing'an—, over here!"
Xu Jing'an looked toward the voice. Her classmate Wang Jingjing was waving at her.
Although they weren't in the same class, it was just one of those magical things—they clicked. Now they had become close friends who shared secrets.
So Xu Jing'an hurried over, and Wang Jingjing scooted inward to make room. "Hurry up and eat, it gets cold fast in winter!"
Neither of them spoke, both burying their heads in their meals first. The cafeteria was packed with a noisy, bustling crowd at this hour. You had to shout to be heard over the clamor.
After washing their bowls, both of them sighed with relief once outside. The whole process felt like going through a battle.
"Jing'an, my mom said the supply and marketing cooperative where she works will have flawed fabric available without ration tickets tomorrow. Do you want some? If so, remember to tell your mom to come around 10 a.m." Wang Jingjing, with her round little face, whispered close to Xu Jing'an's ear.
Xu Jing'an quickly said, "Yes! Of course I want it. Thank you, Jingjing!"
"What's there to thank? Between us, do we need such formalities? The thing is, each person can only get up to three chi. No more than that!"
"That's plenty already."
In these times, being able to buy fabric without ration tickets was a huge bargain. "Don't push your luck asking for more!"
Xu Jing'an wiped the water from her hands onto her clothes.
"Brr— let's get to class quickly. It's really cold outside!" Holding hands, they tucked their chins in and jogged all the way back to the classroom.
Upstairs, they parted ways. Xu Jing'an returned to her seat, slumped over the desk, and turned her face toward the wall before finally relaxing.
Xu Jing'an had been in this world for three months.
Nothing particularly special happened before she arrived. She just went to sleep one night and woke up the next day to find the whole world had changed.
After a moment of stunned confusion, spurred by the hurried footsteps and urging voices of her family, she quickly got up, helped tidy the house, washed dishes, and did various other trivial chores.
The original host's second sister, Xu Jingping, kept urging, "Third Sister, hurry up, hurry up, we'll be late!"
Xu Jing'an hastily grabbed her schoolbag and followed Second Sister Xu Jingping, running all the way to school.
On the walls flanking the school entrance were written: "Education must serve proletarian politics and be combined with productive labor."
Once inside the school gate, the two separated. She ran to a corner, checked the name and class on her books, and only then learned she was Xu Jing'an from Class 3, Grade 10.
She found her seat, listened attentively in class, and lived on tenterhooks for over a month before she could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Life was tough for the Xu family. The school provided subsidies for students from financially struggling families, allowing applications for full or half tuition waivers. Xu Jing'an had considered applying, but after asking around, she discovered there were plenty of families even poorer than the Xus.
Xu Jing'an was an ordinary person, and so was the original host.
The Xu family was connected to the machinery factory. There were four children, and she was the third. An older brother and an older sister ahead of her, and a younger brother behind.
Although she was somewhat overlooked, it was the same in every family with many children. There was always one child in a household who wasn't the parents' favorite.
Originally, Xu Jing'an didn't mind much. It was 1963, and she would graduate from high school in 1966. She thought she could quickly find a job after graduating, thereby avoiding being sent down to the countryside.
If family relationships weren't close, then they'd just proceed accordingly. Eventually, everyone would live their own lives. As a daughter who would marry out, she wouldn't have much to do with them anyway.
Unexpectedly, her eldest brother announced last night that he had a girlfriend, a temporary worker at the No. 1 National Cotton Mill named Xu Duoduo.
She immediately thought the name sounded familiar, as if she'd heard it somewhere.
Mother Xu, however, was overjoyed. There was no helping it; the family was poor.
Only Father Xu and Mother Xu in the whole family had jobs. Both worked at the machinery factory. Father Xu earned about 30 yuan a month, and Mother Xu earned 18 yuan a month working in the cafeteria.
But no one springs from a crack in a rock.
Grandma's side required a fixed five yuan per month for elderly support; Grandma's side also fell ill every now and then. Each time, they'd send word to Mother Xu, asking her to find time to visit. They wouldn't say anything else. If anyone asked what was wrong, the answer was simply that they missed their daughter.
Mother Xu could only visit every so often, bringing things with her. There was no choice. After all, her sister-in-law and nephews and nieces would be waiting at the street corner.
They would tell anyone they saw, "Their aunt has come to visit the elders."
"My mother-in-law dotes on her daughter. She gets anxious if she doesn't see her for a few days!"
With all the neighbors watching, as long as her own mother was alive, Mother Xu could only grin and bear it. What else could she do?
Mothers in this world who favor their sons can always think of all sorts of ways to extract benefits from their married daughters.
Add to that weddings, funerals, and social obligations among relatives, friends, and colleagues, plus raising four children, and the family had managed to save virtually no money.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have let the eldest son, Xu Jianguo, become an apprentice at the oxygen generator plant back then. They would have asked someone to pull strings earlier to get him a formal position at the steel plant or the current machinery factory, since big factories had better benefits.
Xu Jianguo now earned less than 20 yuan a month. Furthermore, the family's house was less than 30 square meters, partitioned into three bedrooms, just barely enough to live in.
With no extra room to serve as a wedding chamber, it was naturally hard for the eldest son to find a marriage prospect.
Who would have thought that very night, Xu Jing'an started having dreams!
