Cannon Fodder Husband Ch.7-8

Chapter 7 – Experiencing the 1970s

Lu Xia looked around the house.

Their house wasn’t big, only about 50 square meters. It was a house provided by the factory, and all the textile factory employees lived here. It was a typical “tube building.” Lu Xia’s family lived on the second floor. Although the area was only 50 square meters, it was considered decent.

There was no shared space now, it was a solid 50 square meters.

However, with many children in the Lu family, it was crowded with six people living there.

The house had two bedrooms and a living room. The parents had one bedroom, and the three daughters shared the other. The living room was partitioned to give the youngest son his own space.

Although it felt a bit unfair to their beloved youngest son, Father Lu and Mother Lu knew that their daughters would eventually get married and leave, and that room would eventually belong to their son. So they arranged it this way for now.

The remaining space in the living room was also very small, with a table set up, serving as the dining area.

As for the kitchen and bathroom, they were outside. Every floor had them, with the kitchen on the left side of the staircase and the bathroom on the right side. This was the typical layout of these tube buildings.

Every time they went out to use the bathroom or cook, they would encounter neighbors. If someone cooked something delicious at home, the whole floor would soon know. There was no privacy at all.

So in most households, they would have a small stove of their own, so they could cook some simple food at home.

After inspecting the layout of the house, Lu Xia also noticed that there was still food left for her on the table in the living room.

This was really the first time ever!

They probably tried to make amends in a small way, wanting to treat her better so that she would willingly give the work to Lu Chun and happily go to the countryside.

Lu Xia found it amusing. They wouldn’t think that by doing this, she would simply accept her fate and obediently go to the countryside. They were overthinking it. Let’s just wait and see.

But Lu Xia wasn’t polite either. She sat down directly and started eating. The food was not bad, and they even specially steamed an egg custard for her. She wasn’t polite either and happened to be hungry, so she ate it all.

Then she returned to her room and found all the money that belonged to the original owner—63 cents. She took it with her and left the house.

After going out, Lu Xia imitated the original owner’s mannerisms, keeping her head down and walking quickly. Whenever she saw someone, she would shyly smile.

Others looked at her with sympathetic eyes, clearly having heard that she was going to the countryside.

But they probably didn’t know about her job. They likely thought that her family was just skipping over the eldest and sending her, the second eldest, to the countryside.

Lu Xia pretended not to notice everyone’s sympathy. She then walked out of the residential compound and strolled around the streets of 1970s Beijing.

Having just arrived and encountered the mess left behind by the original host, Lu Xia felt a bit overwhelmed and needed to sort things out before figuring out what to do next.

As she walked the streets of 1970s Beijing, Lu Xia looked at the buildings with a nostalgic touch and somehow felt a sense of belonging. She realized that she would have to live in this era from now on.

After a while, she saw a bus parked by the roadside and paid one cent to board the bus.

The bus wasn’t crowded at the moment, so she found a seat by the window, enjoying the breeze and experiencing the cultural atmosphere different from the 21st century. She breathed in the fresh air that hadn’t been polluted yet, and her anticipation for the new life grew.

When the conductor announced the arrival to Beihai Park, Lu Xia got off the bus.

She planned to find a place to sit down and think carefully about what to do next because she couldn’t relax in that house.

Once inside the park, she found a bench near the lake and sat down, gazing at the lush green trees in the distance and the sparkling lake. Lu Xia felt more relaxed.

She slowly began to contemplate the path ahead.

*

Chapter 8 – Plans for the Future

First of all, going to the countryside was already set and couldn’t be changed. So, the only thing she could do was prepare before going.

It was now 1973, and there were still four years until the college entrance exam was restored. In other words, she would have to stay in the countryside for at least four years.

Lu Xia had never been to the countryside, but the orphanage where she used to live was actually located in a poor small county town, and they lived in simple houses as well.

Moreover, because the orphanage was too poor, the director also had them cultivate the land nearby to sustain themselves.

Although the land wasn’t extensive, every time they cultivated, it required everyone’s hard work for a year before they could harvest.

So she knew how hard farmers worked.

And now it was the 1970s, so the hardships in the countryside at this time were definitely beyond imagination.

Therefore, she had to prepare for the upcoming four years in the countryside.

First and foremost, she needed money. Even though almost everything required tickets at this time, she couldn’t afford to have no money.

So the first thing she needed to consider was how to obtain money.

She could forget about her family. Judging by their attitude towards her, they probably wouldn’t prepare anything for her.

So she had to think for herself.

And as of now, she could only think of two ways to earn money.

The first was the food she had stored in her space. She could try selling some of it on the black market, but she didn’t know the current state of the black market. At the moment, the risks were high, so she needed to carefully assess the situation before taking action.

The second was her job. She didn’t plan to give it to Lu Chun and intended to find an opportunity to sell it. Moreover, she had to act quickly. Otherwise, when the patience of the Lu family ran out and they asked her to handle the transfer procedures for Lu Chun, it would be too late.

So currently, she had to prioritize dealing with the job.

Fortunately, although she was accepted, the organization didn’t require them to report immediately. They were given more than ten days to prepare, which could make up a whole month. It would also make it easier for the factory to start paying salaries. Therefore, she was scheduled to report at the beginning of the following month.

Looking at it this way, it coincided with her departure to the countryside. If she handled it well, she might be able to get by.

Once she had money, she could prepare more things for the countryside.

In her memory, the place she was going to was in the northeast?

Lu Xia felt a bit relieved because the place she grew up in her previous life was also in the northeast. She only came to Beijing after going to college and starting work.

So she was somewhat familiar with the climate in the northeast, where winters were very cold.

Therefore, she needed to prepare more warm clothes, thick blankets, and such.

In addition to that, there were many other supplies like utensils and daily necessities that she couldn’t afford to overlook.

Thinking about all this, Lu Xia felt somewhat worried. She realized that there were many things to prepare, but time was limited. She needed to get everything done in these ten-plus days, which posed as a challenge.

Nevertheless, she was determined to make thorough preparations.

In this manner, Lu Xia diligently pondered on what to do next and what she needed to prepare.

Suddenly, she heard voices nearby, probably not far from her, so she could hear their conversation clearly.

It was a male and a female voice, and it seemed like they were on a blind date.

The female seemed quite satisfied with the male, and their conversation carried a hint of shyness.

“I heard that you enjoy painting in your spare time?”

Then she heard the somewhat calm voice of the male, “Yes.”

His voice had a coldness to it, yet it carried a hint of weakness. However, it was clear that he was a young man, and his voice was pleasant to hear.

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