Daily Life in the 70s-Chapter 166 Devoted

Yang Peimin waved the lunchbox in her hand, "I was just about to go get breakfast. Is there something you need?"

Wen Qing walked over, smiling awkwardly, "Not really, the performance is tomorrow, and I was worried you might have something going on, so I hurried over to check."

Perhaps unaccustomed to such anxious acts, Wen Qing reached out to smooth her hair behind her ears, then smiled awkwardly again, "I guess I was just being impatient."

Yang Peimin pursed her lips in a smile, "I’ve got nothing going on today; I was just waiting for Mr. Wen to show up."

Wen Qing seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, "That’s great," then her eyes brightened as she looked at her and asked, "Can you really complete the set?"

Yang Peimin nodded.

At that moment, the two were standing in the hallway. The wives and children of the soldiers were frequently coming and going; some curiously stopped to look at them, while others asked, like a Red Army wife, "Comrade sister, this lady came looking for you last night. Are you friends or fellow villagers? She looks so spirited."

Wen Qing smiled and replied, "We are friends."

Yang Peimin smiled at the Red Army wife and then called out to Wen Qing, "I’m about to go down for breakfast, do you want to join me?"

Wen Qing snapped back to her senses, embarrassedly said, "Look at me, all I’ve been doing is talking; I was actually planning to go soon too, so now I have company."

They walked downstairs together.

The staircase was not very wide, and nearly half of it was missing pieces. When avoiding a child, Wen Qing misstepped and almost fell, but Yang Peimin quickly grabbed her.

When they reached the ground floor, Wen Qing was still a bit shaken as she patted her chest, "I was really lucky just now; I thought my face was going to be scraped."

"In the morning, there are more people coming and going, and it does get relatively busier. I almost fell down here last time too. After that, I started paying more attention."

"It seems quite damaged here. I didn’t expect Camp Commander Shen to be assigned a house in this area. The houses in the second block are better."

As they walked side by side toward the dining hall, Wen Qing brought up the topic of the houses. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

"Now that the situation outside is gradually improving, there are more job positions. Some factories even assign housing, both for singles and couples...Better positions could get direct allocation, like my cousin..."

Yang Peimin was not very familiar with this, just listened to her with a smile.

Wen Qing, seeing her clueless expression, asked more gently, "What grade is Peimin in?"

"High school."

Wen Qing paused briefly, then quickly smiled and said, "That’s really great, have you considered looking for a job?"

Yang Peimin smiled, "I haven’t planned that yet, maybe in the future."

Wen Qing nodded, her gaze drifting across Yang Peimin’s face, then added, "Speaking of which, you could actually contact my cousin, she works around here, knows some people."

"No need to bother, jobs are hard to find." Yang Peimin declined politely.

Wen Qing did not expect her to refuse, thinking she might not be aware of the benefits of these jobs, she explained in detail, "Peimin, you’ve been in school before, and not long after coming out, you got married. You might not know about the current job benefits; even ordinary workers’ salaries can reach more than 25 yuan, plus there are grain subsidies and housing allocations, and household registration can be transferred to the city. Work hours are simple, no need to bear the sun and rain, and with your education, the work would be easier, and promotion isn’t impossible."

Yang Peimin wondered why she suddenly started worrying about her job prospects. After all, their interaction had been due to Qiao Ying, and they weren’t that close, merely acquaintances. Job positions those days were hard to come by, usually requiring one to beg for help, not someone voluntarily offering. And it was only their third meeting; although she had asked for her help on a small matter, such a heavy return seemed premature and possibly had an ulterior motive, as Yiguang mentioned.

Hearing this, she merely agreed, "It sounds great."

Wen Qing gave her another look, seeing no sign of excitement on her face, she was somewhat surprised.

Not sure if Peimin was just being honest or genuinely uninterested in working, though this thought didn’t show on her face nor did she continue the topic.

She then asked about what had just happened upstairs, "I saw from afar and it looked quite lively; I saw you watching too, was there some celebration?"

"No, just mother-in-law and daughter-in-law issues."

Wen Qing chuckled, "That’s indeed a timeless problem."

"You’re right."

"Were you guys just watching, didn’t anyone go up to mediate?"

"Some did. It’s hard for an outsider to resolve domestic issues; it’s not without reason. Outsiders can only offer a few words. Speaking of which, I myself am not good at this. I was just going to get food when someone pulled me over to join in the mediation; I stood there for a while. Were you standing at the staircase for a long time too?"

Wen Qing, momentarily stunned, nodded and turned her head back; by then, they had arrived at the dining hall.

They got their breakfast and ate in the dining hall before returning to their dormitory.

Wherever Yang Peimin lived was always tidy and clean, so there was no need to worry about a mess in case someone visited.

When Wen Qing entered, she quietly looked around and saw nothing out of place. From two pairs of men’s Liberation shoes, and two pairs of slippers—one each for a man and a woman—by the door, she could tell a couple lived there.

Their dormitory was all girls, none of whom were sloppy, but perhaps because of the number of people living together, she always felt there was a certain odor. Others said they didn’t notice it, but with no higher position that would allow her a room to herself, she had to endure. She knew these girls’ dorms were relatively good; the men’s were off-limits, one time when their troupe performed for the troops and stayed temporarily in the male soldiers’ dorm, the soldiers’ belongings weren’t moved, and they lent their bedding to them...she remembered vomiting from the smell.

Now, Yang Peimin’s dorm, unexpectedly, didn’t have any odor, not even the usual musty scent of furniture and bedding or the dust on the concrete floor—and there was a faint smell of fresh grass.

Yang Peimin invited her to sit down, and she took out some makeup tools from a wooden chest by the bed.

However, due to the limited space and furniture, they only placed the items on the dining table.

Seeing Wen Qing moving to help, Yang Peimin said, "No need, just sit." She wanted to arrange everything to her own convenience.