The factory was busy at the end of the year.
Zeng Qingliang left early and came back late every day, sometimes even working the night shift, leaving him no time to pay attention to anything else.
He didn’t understand, “What is ‘family planning’?”
Zeng Shuyi had heard about it today while selling goods. “It means that urban residents, whether having boys or girls, can only have one child in the future. If they have more, violating national policy, they will all be dismissed.”
Her father valued the eldest son greatly, hoping he would get into university and give the Zeng family a grandson.
Now that this policy had come out, Zeng Shuyi silently thought to herself, hoping her eldest brother wouldn’t have a son.
This really made Zeng Qingliang cautious.
Without a grandson, what use was his son no matter how capable?
Who would inherit the family business then?
“Don’t say nonsense.” Zeng Qingliang said.
“Whether it’s true or not, Dad, why don’t you just ask someone and find out?” Zeng Shuyi said. “I don’t care about this anyway.”
She wasn’t married yet, let alone thinking about having children.
Zeng Qingliang couldn’t wait until the next day and immediately went next door to find Liu Hanwang.
After learning that the policy was real, he was left speechless.
Liu Hanwang looked at Zeng Qingliang’s expression and immediately understood what was going on.
“I’m telling you, Qingliang, your family’s Xiang Ping and Shuyue both gave birth to daughters. Before the policy is fully implemented, have them hurry and try to have another child. You want a grandson, right? You can’t let Xiang Ping have no son!”
Zeng Qingliang agreed and ran back home to find his eldest son and daughter-in-law.
As a father-in-law, talking about this was quite embarrassing.
He knocked and called his eldest son into the courtyard.
“Liu Daye and the others said the family planning policy is true. You and my son-in-law better hurry up and get your wife pregnant!” Zeng Qingliang complained, “I don’t know who came up with this stupid policy. They even want to control having kids for everyone. If a family only has daughters, no one will even offer incense for them in the future!”
Zeng Xiangping hadn’t expected it to be true either.
He only cared about studying every day, but what his grandfather said made sense — they still needed a son.
Back inside, Zeng Xiangping told Wang Juan about it.
Wang Juan immediately took their daughter to her mother-in-law.
Next door, Zeng Shuyue was also worried about this. “Shuyi, do you think this family planning thing is real?”
Zeng Shuyi said it was probably true. “The newspaper wrote it that way; it’s mostly accurate. But the newspaper only proposed the guideline; it hasn’t been fully implemented yet. Second sister, do you also want a son?”
The He family lived in the countryside and would similarly want a son.
Zeng Shuyue fell silent, unsure of what she wanted.
Before Second Sister could answer, Zeng Shuyi instead heard coughing noises from the next room—“cough, cough.”
At first, she didn’t understand what was going on.
When her eldest sister urged her to go to bed early, she realized what the noise was.
Her face flushed red, and she flipped over under the quilt.
In the following days, the noises next door were loud.
Until Zeng Xiangping’s eyes darkened and Zeng Qingliang said at breakfast, “Wife, today go to the market and see if you can buy two pig kidneys.”
Zeng Xiangmin asked curiously, “Why buy pig kidneys? They’re not even tasty. Mom, just buy two pounds of meat instead. I want to eat braised pork! Look at me, I’ve gotten so skinny working with carpenter Feng. You should feed me well.”
Zeng Qingliang scolded his youngest son, “It’s not a festival or New Year, what braised pork are you talking about? Finish eating quickly and get to the factory! When I was learning from the master carpenter, I always arrived half an hour early to brew tea first. Only then would the master teach me more.”
Zeng Xiangmin stopped complaining, knowing he didn’t really want to be a carpenter and didn’t want to flatter anyone.
After breakfast, Zeng Qingliang called his eldest son over. “I’m eager to have a grandson, but your body isn’t made of iron. You have to balance work and rest, don’t do that every day, understand?”
That night the noise was so loud he couldn’t sleep and even had to stifle a yawn.
“Don’t care, stop talking.” Zeng Xiangping felt awkward.
“Go to work.” Zeng Qingliang said.
Inside, Zeng Shuyi watched them leave, then quietly went to help her second sister make malt sugar.
Soon, a sweet smell wafted from the kitchen.
It was Zeng Shuyi’s first time seeing malt sugar being made.
Watching from the side, she couldn’t help but dip her chopsticks in for a taste. “So crispy.”
Zeng Shuyue said it would be better after a while. “This is what your brother-in-law’s grandmother taught me, an old craft. You have to pay close attention to the heat. If the heat isn’t enough, the sugar becomes too soft and won’t hold shape. But if it’s too hot, it burns easily.”
Her skills weren’t refined yet, so she was nervous. “Shuyi, don’t add any more firewood. That’s enough.”
Zeng Shuyi was a bit nervous too.
After all, she had spent a lot of grain on the sugar.
If it burned, it would all be wasted.
The two sisters were sweating profusely.
Only when Zeng Shuyue said it was about done did Zeng Shuyi hurriedly help put the sugar into a basin.
At that moment, Lin Jiazhen came in from outside, looking worried. “I stayed in the yard to keep watch, afraid someone would come in suddenly. How is it? Is it done?”
Zeng Shuyi said it was done. “Mom, taste it, it’s really sweet!” She scraped off a bit and handed it over.
Lin Jiazhen put it in her mouth, and the sweetness instantly dissolved. “Wow, it really is good!”
“Thanks to Second Sister’s skill, this malt sugar is well made. It will definitely sell well!” Zeng Shuyi was already eager to go sell it and make some money.
The ratio of wheat to glutinous rice was about one to five.
One jin of wheat made one jin of malt sugar.
This was their first batch, so they only used the amount of wheat from two jin.
Zeng Shuyi put the malt sugar into a basin. “I’ll go sell first. When I make more money, I’ll give some to Second Sister.”
Zeng Shuyue said no need, but her younger sister had already run off.
She sighed helplessly. “Shuyi does things so hastily. Do you think she can sell it all?”
“I don’t know.” Lin Jiazhen was also worried about whether her daughter could sell all the malt sugar.
Grain meant money; if it didn’t sell, it would be a big loss.
“I hope so. Shuyi actually just wants to make some quick money,” Zeng Shuyue understood her sister’s mindset.
Like her, she stayed at home because she had been passed over just for being a daughter.
Lin Jiazhen had no advice to give.
She had bought two young chickens and had been raising them for half a month.
The leftover malt sugar mash was perfect for feeding the chickens.
After helping tidy the kitchen, she asked about her two daughters’ jobs. “If you really can’t find one, maybe spend some money to buy a job.”
“Mom, where would we get that kind of money?” Zeng Shuyue worried about work. “To buy a good job costs hundreds of yuan. Since marrying Shengnan’s father, I’ve lived in the village. We’ve only saved a few dozen yuan total. I just don’t have that kind of money.”
Lin Jiazhen didn’t have money to buy jobs for her daughters either.
She could spare a few dozen yuan, but not hundreds.
Her eldest son worked and only gave her five yuan a month for living expenses.
Her money mainly came from her husband’s wages.
With so many people to support and social obligations, she barely saved anything all year.
Money was hard to come by for a good man.
Zeng Shuyue worried day and night about work.
“Mom, I’m going to go out and look around more. I don’t want to trouble you at home. If I can’t find work, I really won’t be able to bear staying here.” To settle in the city, she needed a job, or else she’d eventually have to return to the countryside.
Since the day she came down from the countryside, Zeng Shuyue had wanted to return to the city.
Since her three sisters were so hardworking, she wanted to fight for herself as well.
“Go ahead, look around more. Maybe you’ll get lucky.” Lin Jiazhen also hoped one of her daughters could get a job.
While Zeng Shuyue went out looking for work, Zeng Shuyi had already arrived at Ma Shufen’s door.
“Granny Ma, I’m here to sell malt sugar!” Zeng Shuyi saw the door was open and knocked.
Ma Shufen was preparing lunch.
Hearing Zeng Shuyi’s voice, she tied on her apron and came out to greet her. “You finally came. The neighbors have been asking about you every day. Oh, so this is the malt sugar you made. It looks pretty good. Wow, great!”
Zeng Shuyi picked two pieces with a small stick and gave them to Ma Shufen. “This is for you to try.”
Ma Shufen smiled and said okay.
Forgetting about cooking, she quickly gathered the neighbors. “Since you and Shuyi talked about it, Shuyi has been thinking about you all. She brought us the first batch of malt sugar!”
“Miss Shuyi, you’re so capable. Give me two portions first; my kids are craving it.”
“Give me two as well. We have guests coming in a few days, I’ll use it to make sweet soup.”
“I want some too!”
Zeng Shuyi quickly sold all two jin of malt sugar, making a total of 1.9 yuan.
She didn’t go anywhere else, only selling in these few apartment buildings.
Malt sugar was expensive, so the earnings were good.
The best part was buying from Zeng Shuyi didn’t require a receipt, but buying from the supply and marketing cooperative did.
Nowadays, people had a bit more money than in the sixties and seventies, but it was still hard to get a receipt for scarce goods.
After selling all the malt sugar, Zeng Shuyi was very happy.
Seeing it was still early, she planned to continue selling.
Before leaving, she deliberately asked Granny Ma about Wang Jie.
Talking about the Wang family, Ma Shufen immediately got excited. “That Wang Jie, ever since he was detained, the factory also punished him. He was demoted from a level five fitter to level two, a drop of three levels, and his salary was cut in half. Now his family can’t even think about it.”
She said this happily. “Before, the Wang family bragged every day, saying how great Wang Jie was, how capable. Before thirty, he’d become a level five fitter. Now look, he’s back to square one. Whether he can get promoted again is uncertain!”
Zeng Shuyi listened and felt satisfied. “He deserved it. Who told him to do bad things?”
“Yes, now the Wang family people are all timid. Everyone in our apartment building says it’s Wang Jie’s karma.” Ma Shufen couldn’t help but laugh. “Since then, Wang Jie’s son hasn’t been praised even once.”
Zeng Shuyi said that was a good thing.
“I’ll go now. When I have more sugar, I’ll come find you again.”
You can’t sell in the same place every day.
People need to eat daily but don’t eat sugar every day.
They needed to space it out before selling here again.
Fortunately, Rongcheng was the provincial capital, and Zeng Shuyi’s home was in the city center, so she could sell in different places every day.
Compared to malt sugar, other small goods were obviously harder to sell.
By the end of the day, Zeng Shuyi was parched and only made an extra fifty cents.
Back home, Zeng Shuyi gave two cents to Second Sister for the sugar, one cent as labor fee.
She couldn’t give more.
“Shuyi, I can’t take it.” Zeng Shuyue said.
“Why not?” Zeng Shuyi said.
“This is your hard-earned money. You’ve been busy all these days. I only gave you two cents; I feel bad. Take what’s yours. Come on, Shengnan, Yuling, I’ll make you some sweet soup.”
There was still some sugar left in the basin.
Zeng Shuyi poured in hot water and stirred.
The two kids heard there was sweet soup and looked eagerly at the basin.
Zeng Yuling reached out eagerly, but Zeng Shuyi reminded her not to use her hands.
“Wait a bit, don’t be impatient.”
“But Third Auntie, I really want to eat.” Zeng Yuling tried to pull the basin closer, eyeing the sweet soup. Zeng Shuyi frowned.
“I told you, you’ll have some later. If you keep this up, I won’t give you any.” Zeng Shuyi felt that her eldest sister-in-law didn’t know how to teach the kids. She didn’t like her eldest brother’s wife but wouldn’t quarrel with her niece. She sternly said, “You’ve already spilled some on yourself. It’s hot. Aren’t you afraid?”
Seeing her aunt’s serious face, Zeng Yuling got a little scared and nodded dumbly.
“That’s it. Kids have to listen. When Third Auntie says you’ll have some, you will. Shengnan and you will each have a bowl. Third Auntie isn’t partial.” Zeng Shuyi patted the kids’ heads, waiting for the sweet soup to cool before giving them their portions.
She also drank a bowl herself.
The sweet soup was so sweet it filled her mouth.
At that moment, Zeng Xiangping and Wang Juan returned from work.
Hearing there was sweet soup, Wang Juan thought her mother-in-law had bought white sugar and said she wanted some too.
Lin Jiazhen awkwardly said, “Xiao Juan, the sugar was made by Shuyi. She just gave it to the kids.”
Wang Juan glared at her sister-in-law.
“Shuyi, don’t be so petty. We’re all living under the same roof. If you keep holding grudges, how will we get along?”
She had been holding back for a long time.
Before it was socks, now it was sweet soup.
They hadn’t split the household, so why was she the only one watching it?
“Eldest Sister-in-law, I’m just stubborn and hold grudges. Not only now, I’ll remember it forever.” Zeng Shuyi looked at Wang Juan’s angry face and was happy. “Am I petty? If I were, I’d hide the sugar and eat it secretly myself instead of sharing it with everyone.”
After a pause, she added, “Besides, a few days ago when you bought egg cakes and took them home, you didn’t share them with us, right?”
She had seen it.
Wang Juan sneaked into the supply and marketing cooperative like a thief, carrying a bag of egg cakes out.
They weren’t at home, so she must have taken them back to her parents’ house.
Wang Juan really did bring egg cakes to her parents’ house because of her cousin’s matter.
She was constantly pushed aside there.
Her younger brother was about to get engaged, so she specially bought the egg cakes to take back.
But she definitely wouldn’t admit it.
“Don’t talk nonsense. I never bought egg cakes.”
“Fine, then you’re the kind who buys egg cakes only for your parents, not for us.” Zeng Shuyi didn’t want to argue more with her eldest sister-in-law and turned to the kitchen.
They had bought fish balls today, and she was already hungry.
Wang Juan couldn’t argue with Zeng Shuyi and could only go back to her room to complain to Zeng Xiangping.
“Xiangping, how are we supposed to live with Shuyi like this?”
Zeng Xiangping was feeling weak lately and less talkative.
“Bear with it a bit longer. When I graduate and get a new job, we’ll move out and live on our own. For now, we still have to rely on the family. Otherwise, if I go to university, you and Yuling will have a hard time alone.”
At first, Wang Juan planned to stay at her in-laws’ to take advantage of them.
But recently, she hadn’t been happy.
Every time she saw Zeng Shuyi, she got annoyed.
The worst part was she couldn’t win any arguments with her.
This pressure made her reconsider.
But her husband’s studies were more important.
Wang Juan planned to endure a bit longer, waiting until her husband got into university.
Days passed. 1980 ended, and January 1981 came.
Zeng Shuyi had sold goods for two more months and saved up a hundred yuan.
She took out the thirty yuan she initially used to get her individual business license and bought a roasted chicken, happily heading home.