novelraw Chapter 551: Cannon Fodder Stepmother in the 1950s - 30
Chapter 551: Cannon Fodder Stepmother in the 1950s - 30
In 1966, a storm quickly swept across the entire nation. As the movement to suspend classes continuously erupted in many universities across the country, by May, the college entrance examination had completely ceased.
However, for the time being, these events had little to do with Old Wang's family.
When the wind officially started blowing, An Ning had already been working in the Ministry of Finance for nearly a year. Six months prior, she had officially become a full-time employee, with her salary reaching 56 yuan, plus various ration coupons.
Given the price levels of this era, even without any family subsidies, it was enough for her to live quite comfortably.
Add to that her family's clean political background and the fact that she herself was valued by her superiors, the impact on her was minimal for now.
As for the other two at home, it went without saying. Old Wang had been deeply entrenched in the factory for many years, and Manager Yang was no pushover. Even if there were one or two envious or jealous individuals, they couldn't easily stir up any trouble.
It was the neighboring Old Meng family that was different. By the time An Ning heard the news again, the Meng couple had already divorced. It was said that Meng Guo Zhu himself had been the one to bring it up.
The household registrations of the two children also followed the mother.
Apart from being overly doting on his daughter, Meng Guo Zhu, having risen to his current position, was clearly not truly foolish. Even though information was currently blocked, he could still read some of the situation. Plus, the earlier incident had, to some extent, affected his stepdaughter's future prospects.
Knowing that if he delayed any further, his daughter and son's futures would certainly be ruined, after a brief silence, this former Director Meng acted with decisive swiftness."Hui Hui, these past years, it's been me, Old Meng, who has let you down. Here is three thousand yuan, along with some gold and some jade jewelry. Take this money, and as for the rest, remember to bury it somewhere where no one can find it."
"I'm afraid the situation will only get tighter from now on. Remember, you must never let anyone see these things."
In just a few short years, more than a few strands of frost had appeared in the hair of the man before her. Yet at this moment, his gaze was gentle as he carefully explained each detail.
Wen Hui's gaze paused for a moment. In the end, she silently accepted the items.
Before she could speak, the man continued:
"Don't worry about me either. After all, I've walked the battlefield before. Losing my future prospects is one thing, but as for other things... it's not that serious yet, and it hasn't reached that point."
It wasn't until the once lively courtyard was now completely empty that Old Meng finally stared blankly at a certain spot, not quite sure what he was looking at.
Because of the divorce in the Old Meng family, the area around Huaihua Alley was quite lively for a while.
However, other people's affairs are ultimately other people's. Starting from 1967, educated youth going to the countryside had become a trend. Especially for those who still hadn't found jobs, the wailing and lamenting inside and outside the factories was practically deafening.
An Ning's cheap big brother, Jiang Wei Guo, was no exception.
Looking at her eldest son standing before her, his face pleading and urgent, Wei Qiao couldn't help but sigh helplessly:
But these days, where are jobs easy to find!
Wei Qiao had certainly tried to find out earlier, even going so far as to offer to buy one. But not to mention the previous famine years, a job represented a fixed monthly grain ration. No family these days was foolish enough to give that up.
Besides, like her former self, Wei Guo's educational level was just too low.
It wasn't that it was impossible to arrange something, but the situation now was different from before. There were large numbers of junior and senior high school graduates still without placements, many of whom were children of factory workers. For a primary school graduate with no special skills to "luckily" get a job like that...
Who wouldn't think there was something fishy going on?
Especially now, with Old Wang's family having secured stable jobs for all three children, they were already attracting envy. How could they possibly invite more trouble?
When everyone else is still hungry, if you alone have such a big appetite, sooner or later you'll burst.
Ms. Wei understood this principle, and a smart person like Wang Ming De would only understand it even better.
As for transferring her own job to him, that was impossible. Having lived through that earlier period, no one understood better than Wei Qiao what a job truly represented.
Especially during these turbulent times.
After a moment of silence, Wei Qiao finally hardened her heart.
"Your Uncle Wang's meaning is that jobs in the city are hard to find right now. But if you go to the countryside, it's not far, just in our local area. He can help arrange something like a purchasing agent at the Agricultural Machinery Station, or a tractor driver."
After all, it was a machinery factory, and their relations with some local units weren't bad.
Especially Old Wang, his social circle was genuinely not small.
"Wei Guo, think it over carefully. Your uncle said this policy is clearly not something that will last just a day or two. While it's still early and there's still some choice in locations..."
"Little Sister, do you think Big Brother will agree?"
Watching Jiang Wei Guo leave, lost in thought, An Yun, who had been secretly peeking out the window inside the room, couldn't help but reach out and quietly poke her younger sister.
"He'll definitely agree. Big Brother isn't stupid!"
Hearing this, An Ning replied without even looking up.
Don't think that just because this big brother of the original owner couldn't grasp studying at all, he was dumb or not sharp. That was far from the case. At the very least, he was first-rate at assessing situations and adapting accordingly.
Seeing the trend of going to the countryside intensifying day by day, jobs could only become harder to find, especially with his educational disadvantage.
Even if it's in the countryside, it's still a proper job.
Sure enough, not two days later, seeing his unemployed friends disappearing one by one each day, with the Educated Youth Office personnel constantly busy everywhere mobilizing people, Jiang Wei Guo finally compromised. The next day, he came over and said he agreed to go to the countryside.
On the day he left, looking at her eldest son who was now taller than her, Wei Qiao specifically went back and fetched two hundred yuan, plus a pile of ration coupons she had saved over the years.
It wasn't that she didn't want to give more, but a person alone outside, with too much money on hand, could easily run into trouble. It was better to occasionally send some things over than to give large sums of cash directly.
"Daxi Village isn't far from here. Once you get there, if you're short of anything, just write a letter."
Jiang Wei Guo nodded silently.
After all, he was her own son. Seeing his retreating back, it would be a lie to say she wasn't upset. But Wei Qiao also understood in her heart that even if she had to choose again, her earlier decision wouldn't change.
Given the family's current situation, the jobs her two daughters had... to be honest, in earlier years, she wouldn't have dared to dream of such things.
No matter what, Wei Guo's situation was still much better than theirs had been back then...
After feeling upset for a while, Ms. Wei quickly pulled herself together. Over the next two years, as An Ning gradually established her footing and seized an opportunity to steadily rise a level, the number of young people in the factory facing relocation to the countryside also increased. In the end, it even developed to the point where, in families with multiple children, at least one person from each household had to respond to the call.
Under these circumstances, even the eldest son, Xiang Dong, from the original body's second uncle's family was no exception.
But this had little to do with An Ning and the others.
It was just inevitable that the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law pair over at the Old Jiang family started their endless daily bickering once again.
Especially regarding the eight hundred yuan that had disappeared earlier, each insisted they were right, with the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law each having their own version of events. The arguments once reached an irreconcilable level. In these rather difficult times, they single-handedly provided the vast majority of the entertainment and gossip for Huaihua Alley.
Not to mention, it was pretty good to have some gossip to chew on during boring times.
However, soon, she couldn't laugh anymore.
As the New Year approached, all departments in the ministry had been working overtime for the past couple of weeks. Even though An Ning's efficiency was high, during this period, it wasn't good to stand out too much.
That afternoon, just before closing time, An Ning went as usual to submit her report. After everything was done, it was time to get off work. Just as An Ning was about to leave, she heard her superior suddenly speak up with a chuckle:
"Oh, by the way, speaking of which, Comrade Little Wang, you're twenty this year, aren't you?"