Chapter 53: Second Installment

After another grueling night on the train, they arrived near noon at a railway station packed with throngs of people. It was suffocatingly crowded, and the carriage was crammed with bodies and a strange medley of bizarre smells. The empty instant noodle boxes from breakfast were piled high in the aisle, exuding a peculiar, sour stench.

Zhang Yuqin’s legs were shaking and weak, and the sisters Lin Yuexia and Lin Yuxia were in no better shape. This was the first time in their lives they had ever traveled such a distant place—six or seven hundred kilometers away.

This was Lin Xuexia’s first time too, though when she and her group of girls had arrived earlier, they had taken a long-distance bus. While that was even more agonizing, it hadn't been quite as overwhelming as the railway station.

There were simply too many people at the station, many heading south to find work. Lin Xuexia knew that in the coming years, the number of people heading south would only increase—so much so that some would end up sleeping in the streets and parks.

A large population also meant that public security was difficult to manage.

Fu Wei had arranged for a van to pick them up beforehand. Afterward, Lin Xuexia first accompanied Zhang Yuqin and her daughters to apply for temporary residence permits, and then Fu Wei drove her to obtain their marriage certificate, completing the household registration transfer right after.

By the time everything was settled, it was already four or five in the afternoon. Lin Xuexia escorted Zhang Yuqin and her two daughters to her rental apartment. On the train, she and Fu Wei had already discussed that after getting married, she would move in with Fu Wei and temporarily stay with him on the third floor. The new house next door was still undergoing renovations, while Zhang Yuqin and her daughters would live in her rental apartment.

"Don't worry, Aunt Chunyan and Uncle Liu Xigui live right next door. They are all familiar faces, so there's no need to be scared. The landlady upstairs is also a very kind person."

"It's a two-bedroom, one-living-room apartment. The rent is currently sixty-five yuan a month."

Zhang Yuqin was dumbfounded. "Sixty-five yuan?"

In their hometown's townships and counties, you could rent a house for just a few yuan a month. Here, it actually cost sixty-five yuan a month! It was an astronomical price. Coming here meant that even if you did nothing all month, you still had to cough up sixty-five yuan just for rent!

"Sis, that's so expensive..."

Lin Xuexia laughed. "This isn't considered expensive. The stall Aunt Chunyan rents costs two thousand five hundred yuan a year in management fees. Now she and I share it. Besides this apartment, I also rent another small alley storefront in a terrible location, and that still costs a hundred yuan a month."

Lin Yuxia gasped in disbelief. "Sis, your rent alone comes to over two hundred a month then."

"...Even if you sold me, I wouldn't be worth that much." Remembering how she only received five hundred yuan in compensation after Qin Yanyan died, Lin Yuexia’s eyes were filled with confusion. A human life was worth five hundred yuan, yet here, five hundred yuan couldn't even rent a market stall for a year.

Earlier, she had even worried that her family might sell her off for a few hundred yuan in bride price.

"Sis, an apartment here costs over a hundred thousand yuan?! Sixteen hundred yuan per square meter..."

This price was too shocking! Lin Yuexia’s jaw was practically hitting the floor.

Looking at the real estate sales and transfer listings in the newspaper, every single ad was undoubtedly shattering their worldview.

Having traveled by train for an entire day to reach this place, it felt as though they had suddenly stepped into a completely novel universe—as if the two places didn't even use the same currency.

Lin Xuexia bought them a few local newspapers so they could better understand the local conditions. "You guys get a good night's rest tonight, and in a few days, we'll all go see the ocean together."

"The ocean! Can we really see the ocean?"

Lin Xuexia smiled gently. "Of course we can, and we can even go collect seashells on the beach."

The twin sisters, Lin Yuexia and Lin Yuxia, shrieked in delight and hugged each other. It was too incredible!

What was even more incredible was how hot it was here!

Lin Yuexia now regretted not bringing her old clothes from home, thinking instead that since she would be living in the city, the new clothes her sister bought her would be enough. But upon arriving here, heavy winter clothes were completely unnecessary. It was so scorching at noon that standing under the sun felt like being baked inside a steamer.

The pedestrians on the street dressed in all sorts of ways. Some who had just come from home still wore jackets while riding bicycles, but the young, robust fellows were walking around directly in short sleeves!

Lin Xuexia said, "Tonight, you should go to the night market to buy a few clothes to tide you over for a bit. I'll have Aunt Chunyan take you around the night market."

"...Go to the night market? Go to a night market in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?" Zhang Yuqin’s face stiffened. She barely dared to walk through daytime markets, let alone night markets.

Lin Yuexia said playfully, "Mom, let's go take a look!"

Lin Xuexia led them to the rental apartment, opened the iron gate on the first floor, went upstairs to brief the landlady, and since Aunt Chunyan hadn't returned yet, she led Zhang Yuqin and the others inside first.

The interior decoration of Chen Miaorong's second-floor rental was nothing fancy, utilizing only the most basic finishes. The hallway was paved with terrazzo flooring, and the rooms featured the same inexpensive terrazzo. The kitchen and bathroom walls were covered with white square tiles, and the flush toilet, having been used for a long time, didn't have very strong water pressure, making it prone to clogging.

Zhang Yuqin looked at the impeccably clean terrazzo floor in the room, the television in the living room, the pristine white walls, and the incandescent light bulb hanging from the ceiling... Everything was so novel, and the conditions were simply too good.

The bathroom was so remarkably clean. Compared to the dry latrines in the countryside during summer where maggots crawled everywhere, this toilet was gorgeous, convenient, and even had a flush mechanism.

"Living in such a nice place... no wonder it's so expensive," Zhang Yuqin muttered under her breath.

When she came here, she had figured she might be able to earn two or three yuan a day and barely scrape by. But now—would she even be able to make enough to cover the rent?

"Xuexia, what kind of job do you think I should look for? At my age, would any factory even want me?"

Lin Xuexia smiled. "At your age, you could still work as a female operative in a garment factory, but there's no need. Mom, you should come work at my stall first. Even though you're my mother, I'll only pay you a starting wage of three yuan a day for now, with bonuses if you do a good job. Later on, you, Yuexia, and Yuxia can pool your earnings to pay for rent and utilities."

"Alright, okay," Zhang Yuqin replied. "Xuexia, won't three yuan a day be too much?"

Lin Xuexia said, "Another Auntie Zhao gets five yuan a day. You should learn a lot from her."

Zhang Yuqin nodded.

Lin Yuexia chimed in, "Sis, what about me? Can I come work for you too?"

"Don't be in such a hurry, Yuexia. Didn't you say you wanted to learn typing and become a typist? If you want to learn, then learn. You now have a junior high school diploma and you're pretty; you should try finding a job on your own first." Lin Xuexia gazed into her third sister's eyes and encouraged her, "Did you see those tall office buildings on the way here? Don't you want to work inside them?"

Lin Yuexia asked incredulously, "Me... can I do that?"

Lin Xuexia nodded. "Go give it a try, be bold. If you manage to find a job on your own, I'll buy you a nice professional outfit and a pair of high heels."

This time, Lin Xuexia did not plan to chase after her youngest sister to spoon-feed her or open a shop for her. If she did that, the sister wouldn't attribute success to her own ability, but rather rely on her sister, wallow in self-pity over her perceived incompetence, and end up being sweet-talked by some garbage of a man again.

How could she persuade her not to get involved with trashy men?

Lin Xuexia pondered and decided that she still needed to make Lin Yuexia clearly recognize her own strengths and value. In the past, Lin Yuexia always complained that she wasn't as pretty as the eldest sister, nor as smart and studious as the second sister.

But viewed from another perspective, Lin Yuexia was actually prettier than the second sister and better at studying than the eldest. She had managed to study all the way through high school, making her quite a bright individual in the countryside.

If she relied on herself to become a white-collar professional in an office building, would she still be easily deceived by a few flowery words from a man?

In this era, state-owned enterprises and large factories still placed great emphasis on employees' educational backgrounds, requiring college or undergraduate degrees to qualify as regular staff members.

Meanwhile, places like Pengcheng had an overwhelming number of small companies, and most of the people flooding in lacked culture and diplomas. Therefore, even graduates of junior or senior high school had a very strong chance of entering various companies as staff members.

Lin Yuexia hesitated. "Sis, do you think I should learn typing first and practice until I'm proficient before looking for a job?"

Lin Xuexia shook her head. "Silly girl, there's no need for that. You just tell people that you know how to type, but aren't quite fluent yet, and that you can learn on the job... First of all, you need to put on an attitude of being eager and enthusiastic to learn."

"I've heard people say that many skills are gradually honed on the job. You should find a job first; even if you have to switch a few times, it's fine. Just pick up more skills."

Lin Yuexia nodded hesitatingly. Saying it like that... wouldn't it be a bit too shameless?

Lin Xuexia brainwashed her further: "You're just starting to work now, so don't focus too much on the salary. Pay attention to the working environment of the workplace instead. Just think about it: if you go to a company, not only do you not spend a single cent, but you also get to use the company's typewriter, telephone, photocopier, and fax machine for free... You couldn't buy those things without spending several thousand yuan, yet you can use them for free and learn for free. At worst, you might get yelled at a bit, but you get to use all those things for free."

Lin Yuexia was utterly bewildered by her own sister. Working a job had so many benefits?! Yes, her sister was right—were those kinds of machines things ordinary people could normally get their hands on? But a job let you use them for free.

"What if I accidentally break something?" Lin Yuexia worried.

Lin Xuexia reassured her, "Don't worry, you aren't going to smash it with a hammer. Those things don't break that easily."

"Be sweet-tongued to the older employees. Since your sister sells braised pork rice here, you can occasionally bring some for your coworkers, and let people teach you how to use those things. You're still young; entering the workforce isn't about making money, but about broadening your horizons and learning skills, understand?"

"Once you master these skills, various companies will be fighting over you. You'll never have to worry about finding a job in the future, and you can even start your own business!"

Lin Yuexia nodded rapidly like a chick pecking at rice. She looked at Lin Xuexia with adoring, starry eyes. "Eldest Sister, you are so smart, you understand everything!"

Originally, she had been terrified of going out to look for job openings, but now she was brimming with confidence to go out and find work. She was going to freeload—oh, wait, no, she was going to go to a company to learn all kinds of skills with an open mind.

Her sister was right. Compared to learning skills, the salary wasn't particularly important to her at the moment.

It was essentially saving training fees.

She could also wear a pretty formal outfit and high heels, walking in and out of those gorgeous office buildings, attending meetings in conference rooms, and drinking coffee and eating biscuits with colleagues in the office...

Lin Yuexia drifted away into her own fantasies.

"Little sis, you catch on really fast." Lin Xuexia smiled and patted her younger sister's head, thinking to herself that this brainwashing session had probably succeeded.

With the youngest sister's matter temporarily resolved, she felt a lot more relaxed. However, the moment she turned her head, she locked eyes with her second sister, Lin Yuxia, who was radiating an identical, burning gaze.

Lin Xuexia: "…?"

At this moment, Lin Yuxia’s eyes were blazing with intensity as well. In the past, she had always felt that she needed to take the college entrance examination, secure an iron rice bowl, and be assigned a job to work in a state-owned enterprise unit in the future.

Now she discovered that there was another vast expanse of the world out there.

Lin Yuxia couldn't help but blurt out, "Sis, I don't want to study anymore. I want to go find a job too."

Lin Xuexia: "..."