Hu Huiyun was an educated youth who was sent to their village back then. She was three years older than Chu Wan, and she would occasionally tell Chu Wan some stories about the city. Chu Wan liked her very much.

Once, Hu Huiyun had a fever and a cold. Chu Wan took care of her, cooked for her, and went to the mountains to pick herbs to make medicine for her. Hu Huiyun had always been grateful, and the two had a good relationship.

Hu Huiyun returned to the city a few years ago and now worked as an editor in a publishing house.

Her family lived in poor area and their living conditions were not good, but her parents were nice people. They were very welcoming when they saw Chu Wan and said they wanted to make dumplings for her.

Chu Wan took out the fruits and a piece of meat she had brought with her, which made Hu Huiyun’s parents feel embarrassed.

They knew that Chu Wan and her great-grandfather depended on each other for survival and that their family was not well off, so they couldn’t bear that she did this.

Chu Wan said, “I got this from my grandfather Lu’s house. You’re welcome to have it, Uncle, Aunt. Besides, I will have to bother you here again in the next few days.”

Hu Huiyun helped her, “Wanwan brought some meat, so let’s use it to make dumplings! Wanwan and I are good friends, so let’s not be too polite!”

Hu Huiyun’s parents didn’t say anything anymore and hurriedly washed their hands to prepare dinner to entertain Chu Wan.

While Hu Huiyun’s parents were cooking, Chu Wan followed Hu Huiyun into her bedroom. Her bedroom was not big and the bed was also small, but the two girls could sleep there if they squeezed together.

Hu Huiyun held Chu Wan’s hand and chatted about this and that. She mentioned that she had found someone on a blind date. “He’s okay, but he has three older sisters. I guess his family favors boys over girls.”

Chu Wan listened and said, “In that case, you have to think about it. For a family with several sisters like this, they will definitely want you to give birth to a son to carry on the family line. With the family planning policy being so strict now, it will definitely not be easy to be their daughter-in-law.”

This advice was also inspired by Chu Wan’s own experience. In her previous life, when Hu Huiyun married into that family, she had an abortion in order to try and give birth to a son, but in the end, she still gave birth to a daughter, and the family had always been uneasy.

Chu Wan knew that it was difficult to change a person’s fate with just a few words. She and Hu Huiyun were only good friends; she couldn’t control her life. But she couldn’t bear to let her go through this again and wanted to give her some advice, just in case she changed her mind.

Hu Huiyun thought about it and said, “Then I’ll think about it again.”

Chu Wan nodded, “Yes, you can talk to him and tell him that you only like sons and must have one, and see what he thinks. If he objects and says either is good, then that’s fine. If he agrees with you, or just smiles and says nothing, then you’ll understand…”

Hu Huiyun was surprised when she heard this, then suddenly realized and laughed, “Wanwan, your trick is quite cruel!”

Chu Wan said solemnly, “This is called luring the enemy deep into our territory.”

Seeing her serious look, Hu Huiyun was so pleased that she wanted to pinch her face: “You clever little thing!”

Then she sighed again, “You’re too thin. You should eat more. You’ve been running around outside these past few years. You must have suffered a lot. You’ve become so thin.”

Chu Wan didn’t care about it, “I’m still young, I can grow up in the future.”

Hu Huiyun was stunned for a moment, then laughed even harder. “You’re already nineteen!”

Chu Wan, however, was very serious about this. Later, she would really grow more; she would be 2cm taller, and she would not be as thin as she was now, and her hair would also get better. In short, she would become very beautiful.

So she thought, no need to be in a hurry, just take it slow.

The dumplings for dinner were delicious. Hu Huiyun’s family even put out some vinegar to dip them in. Chu Wan was very satisfied with the meal.

In the past few years, she has been wandering around, having no fixed place to live, and her life is not much better than that of a beggar. She was hungry one day and full the next, eating whatever she could get.

After she came back, she found that her great-grandfather’s diet was as light as that of a monk. She was the only one who ate at home, so she was too lazy to cook anything and often just made do with what she had, so she had occasional meals. 

Now she lived in Hu Huiyun’s house. The iron kettle on the small, white stove was making a clattering sound, the roasted sweet potatoes next to it were emitting an enticing aroma, the dumplings with thin skin and thick filling were cooked steaming hot, and they tasted delicious when dipped in vinegar. She felt that this life was really so comfortable.

She even felt a little envious, thinking how nice it would be if her parents were still alive and she could live with them like this.

But it was just a thought. She had no idea what her parents looked like. In those days, they didn’t even get a photo taken.

When she was very young, she was ignorant and ran to Third Aunt, imitating Chen Lei and wanting her aunt to hold her.

Her aunt did hug her as she wished, and she was very happy, feeling that she was the same as Chen Lei.

Chen Lei laughed at her and pushed her to the ground. She hit a stone and started crying loudly.

Chen Lei was frightened and also cried when she saw her appearance.

The two children were crying, each more pitiful than the other. Third Uncle and Third Aunt came and hugged Chen Lei with heartache.

Chu Wan stared at the scene blankly and went home.

She had a big bruise on her leg, but she didn’t cry. She asked her great-grandfather to apply medicine on her.

Great-grandfather looked at her, sighed, and said that this was all retribution for the sins committed by their ancestors, and that was why the child had to suffer this misfortune.

However, Chu Wan has already faced the reality and would no longer be sad about this.

Anyway, she had Great-grandfather, and he only had her in this world, and he loved only her.

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

That night, Chu Wan and Hu Huiyun squeezed into the same bed and talked for a long time. Chu Wan mentioned that she wanted to go to university. 

Hu Huiyun was a little surprised, but she still gave her some advice, “The competition is very fierce now. You must come to the city to sign up for tutoring classes. These tutoring classes are quite popular. Otherwise, you won’t be able to compete with those students in high school.”

She added, “If it really doesn’t work out, you can find a high school to take classes for a year or half a year. It’s better than studying on your own.”

Chu Wan nodded, “You’re an editor now, so different. This idea of yours is quite good.”

Hu Huiyun smiled and said, “Just go find the Lu family and ask them to help you find a solution.”

Hu Huiyun knew about Chu Wan and the Lu family. She knew that the Lu family was very good to her and always responded to her requests.

Chu Wan sighed, “It’s not easy to keep going to them for help. The main thing is that I don’t necessarily want to marry into their family. It might turn Grandpa Lu off in the end.”

“Do you still want to be with Su Yanjing?”

“That’s not the case. I just feel that marrying into the Lu family has its disadvantages, but of course there are advantages as well. I’m undecided right now.”

She immediately told her about her troubles. Chu Wan didn’t know which one to choose and whether the person she chose would be a suitable one.

“I’m thinking now, I could actually just pick someone to fake marry, but then I feel like that would just be fooling Great-grandfather.”

Hu Huiyun laughed and said, “That’s easy. Draw lots! Marriage is destined by heaven anyway!”

Chu Wan glanced at Hu Huiyun with an indescribable look, “Forget it…”

This clearly showed that this person was concerned there wasn’t enough chaos in the world.

Hu Huiyun became serious. “But I think any guy from their family would be great. Look at the guy I’m dating. His conditions are way worse than those of the Lu family. If your family doesn’t have this connection, it would be difficult to marry into the Lu family. With the reform and the market opening up over the past two years, people’s mindsets have changed. Now, everyone values money and power.”

Chu Wan sighed, “What you said makes sense.”

Great-grandfather was so old and had no desires. There was really only so much she could do for him. If she could find a man who could make him feel better, of course she was willing to do so.

But she couldn’t find a good one anytime soon. If she really found a worker who only earned a few dozen yuan, he might never make a name for himself in the production line his whole life. If she made a lot of money in the future, she didn’t know how his attitude would change. He might even perform worse than Lu Jianshi.

To put it bluntly, there must be compatibility between husband and wife. Not everyone could remain consistent when facing his wife’s sudden wealth. Most people’s temperament would change when they saw so much money.

Many people could share poverty but not wealth, and huge wealth could easily distort people’s hearts.

But then again, except for Lu Jianshi, the other members of the Lu family were generally okay.

Pearls and Jade Beside Me in the ’80s translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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Chapter 8 — The Beauty of Line Carving
Chapter 9 — In My Eyes, This Is 200 Yuan