"What's the point of you, a girl, studying so much? Your older sister didn't even finish fifth grade, and look at her now. If she marries well, she can even earn money. Don't you know our family's financial situation? If you hadn't insisted on going to junior high, I wouldn't have made Old Fourth wait two more years?"
Chen Liyuan was starting junior high the next semester. Attending school in the commune meant she couldn't come home for lunch, which would incur even greater expenses. Going to town was out of the question. Wu Chunmei and Chen Mantun, the couple, hadn't even considered it.
Chen Lishu listened to her mother's increasingly unpleasant words and couldn't help but interrupt, "Mom, is this really about money, or is it because there's no one to look after the children?"
"The older ones at home are all clamoring to go to school. Tuition fees alone are several yuan per person per year, and there are several more mouths to feed. Your father and I..."
Chen Lishu cut her off, "So it's a lack of money."
As Chen Lishu spoke, she looked at her younger sisters. "Big sister doesn't have much capability, but I can afford to send you to school. If you need tuition fees in the future, just tell me."
Seeing her say this, Wu Chunmei felt a bit embarrassed. She wanted to explain a few things but didn't know how to say it. "It's not entirely about money. If everyone goes to school, what about the younger ones? Your father and I go to work, who will watch Lizi?"
"Mom, I'll carry my younger sister to school," Chen Liwan chimed in.
After all, many students carried their younger siblings to school to help out, and the school teachers tacitly approved. She could do it too.
Chen Liwan's words made Wu Chunmei open her mouth, but in the end, she said nothing.
After returning from the Chen family's home, Chen Lishu also began to study diligently. The next day, she went to the production team and directly applied for a work stoppage. For the next two days, she stayed at home reading and studying, looking up information or asking Gu Xingping when she encountered difficulties.
One day, as Chen Lishu was reading at home, the loudspeakers at the brigade headquarters suddenly blared, "Chen Lishu, Chen Lishu, please come to the brigade headquarters immediately for a phone call. Chen Lishu..."
"Third sister-in-law, the radio says there's a phone call for you," Gu Xingping, who had been feeding chickens in the yard and hadn't seen anyone come out for a long time, hurried into the house to call her.
"Alright, I got it." Chen Lishu guessed that the call might be from Zhou Bin.
Indeed, not long after she arrived at the brigade headquarters, the phone rang again.
"Hello?"
After Chen Lishu answered with a "Hello?", Zhou Bin's voice came from the other end of the phone. "I've found a house for rent for you. It's a standalone courtyard, but the price is a bit high, ten yuan a month. Do you want to take a look? If you think it's too expensive and don't want to rent it, I'll keep looking for something else."
At that time, people's wages were generally over thirty yuan, so a rent of ten yuan was indeed not cheap. However, when Chen Lishu heard it was a standalone courtyard, she thought the conditions were good. She arranged to go and see it with Zhou Bin the next day.
After leaving the brigade headquarters and returning home, Chen Lishu told Gu Xingping about it. Since Gu Xingping had nothing else to do at home, they decided to go and see it together the next day.
The next day, the two sisters-in-law went to the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative. Not long after, Zhou Bin came out and led them to the rental house.
"My wife's relative had a job transfer. You know, in a county town like ours, ten yuan a month is not a small amount. But I went to see it in advance. The environment is good, the room is quite clean, and it's fully furnished with furniture. If you move in, you'll basically be able to live there without much tidying up."
Zhou Bin was very meticulous, not only inspecting the environment in advance but also arranging to meet the landlord.
The three of them arrived at the house. Chen Lishu found the location of the house to be very good, about two to three hundred meters from the main street. It was not too close to be noisy, nor too far to affect convenience.
There were three proper main rooms, with side rooms on either side, one for the kitchen and one for the storage room. There was also a small courtyard of thirty to forty square meters, and near the wall, a fenced-off area where vegetables were currently planted.
Chen Lishu took a liking to it at first sight.
The landlord was a kind-faced lady in her forties. Upon learning that Chen Lishu, a young girl, was renting it, she was very enthusiastic. "From your appearance, you seem like a good child. My husband and I got married here, and I have feelings for this place. I especially hope to rent it to someone like you who will definitely take good care of the house."
As the landlord spoke, she led them into the house to inspect it. Indeed, as she had said, the rooms were very clean, and the floors were not bare cement but covered with linoleum.
There was a sofa in the living room, and a bed and wardrobe in the bedroom. Chen Lishu was already eighty percent satisfied; the only thing holding her back was the price.
"Auntie, it's not easy for me to move to the city from the countryside. If I rent this house, I will definitely take care of everything here as if it were my own home. Could you perhaps lower the rent a little?"
"If you can pay for the entire year upfront, I'll charge you a hundred yuan. Otherwise, I really can't lower it any further."
Waiving two months' rent upfront showed the landlord's sincerity. This price was close to Chen Lishu's target price, so Chen Lishu agreed without hesitation.
After a simple rental contract was signed and witnessed by Zhou Bin, Chen Lishu paid the money, and the landlord handed her the keys.
"Thank you so much, Brother Zhou, for today." Since Zhou Bin had to return to work, Chen Lishu walked him to the院门口.
"Now that I know where you live, it will be much more convenient for me to pick up goods. By the way, about the 'fake collars' you mentioned last time..."
"Then Brother Zhou, you can come and pick them up in a week." She had stopped working at the production team, so she had more time now and could spare it to make the 'fake collars.'
After they agreed on a time, Zhou Bin turned and left.
"Third sister-in-law, the house was rented just like that? I feel like I'm dreaming."
Gu Xingping, who had been silent the whole time, looked at the courtyard and the house in a daze.
She had always thought that city dwellers with their wages and rationed grain were unattainable. She never expected her third sister-in-law to be able to rent a house in the city so easily now. Although it wasn't an apartment building, she felt it was even better than one.
"What dream? This is just the beginning. You study hard, and after you get into university, you'll be assigned to a big city. Not only will you get a salary, but you'll also get a house. Wouldn't that be great?"
Gu Xingping's eyes also showed a hint of longing, and she couldn't help but murmur, "Yes, wouldn't that be great?"
Afterward, the two of them briefly wiped down the rooms and then locked the door and went home.
The next day, Chen Lishu estimated that the batch of clothes she had bought in the provincial capital should have arrived. So, she went to the commune with Gu Xingping.
Upon inquiring at the post office, they confirmed that the items had indeed arrived. After collecting their goods, they did not return to the village but went directly to town by car.
It was the height of summer in July, and the blazing sun was scorching the earth. The cement road in the town was so white it was blinding, and even through the soles of their shoes, they could feel the heat radiating from it.