She wasn’t truly enthusiastic, but the man had given her a big red envelope with ten yuan, and he said he must find a marriage partner soon.
When they met, Han Yi asked if she was willing to marry him. At that time, due to her father’s influence, Lin Wan didn’t like such people.
However, upon hearing that he had a house in S City and a monthly salary of over thirty yuan, she was moved. She had been scared of poverty for years. In addition, while attending university, there was fierce competition. Although she wasn’t wearing patched clothes, it wasn’t much better. Whenever she saw other students wearing trendy dresses, she was extremely envious. Moreover, Han Yi promised that after marriage, she could continue to attend university.
Back then, Lin Wan’s family was very poor. Her brother worked two jobs in the county town, earning just over ten yuan a month. Mom, besides taking care of the family’s three acres of land, went to the town hospital to wash sheets, washing thirty to forty sets a day, and only earned ten yuan a month. During summer vacation, she tutored children, running from one family to another all day long, earning a mere ten yuan a month at most. On Sundays, while her classmates went on dates and watched movies, she had no time, busy doing odd jobs to earn pocket money.
There were two wage earners in the family, and they had to send her five yuan for living expenses every month. At the end of the year, saving money was out of the question; it was difficult even to have enough to eat and wear. And let alone her brother wanting to go to school.
In Lin Wan’s view, Han Yi’s conditions at the time were very attractive. If she married him, she could at least save quite a bit of money for the family, and her brother could also afford to attend university.
Seeing Lin Wan hesitate, he did not press her and gave her a few days to consider.
That night, Lin Wan pondered all night, and the next day, she agreed to Han Yi.
Han Yi asked for her dormitory phone number and told her to prepare the household registration book. They set a time to register at the civil affairs bureau.
On the first day of their marriage, before it was over, Han Yi went to his unit, leaving for several months.
In retrospect, although Lin Wan and Han Yi had been married for two years, they didn’t have much interaction, and even the number of times they were intimate could be counted on one hand. Moreover, it was not very pleasant.
As Lin Wan was lost in thought, the few people inside had already finished eating.
Director Zhang called out, pulling Lin Wan back to reality, "Girl, how much is it?"
"It’s three yuan six, but three yuan five will do."
"Can I pay with food tickets, dear?"
"That’s fine." At the restaurant, those without money gave tickets, and those without tickets gave money. She accepted both, as they were all money anyway.
Director Zhang handed Lin Wan five pounds of special supply tickets. Special supply! At the supply and marketing cooperative, these tickets allowed you to skip the line and receive priority treatment, which made Lin Wan very happy.
When Director Zhang handed Lin Wan the food tickets, the remaining people had already walked out.
Han Yi also went out.
Lin Wan kept looking outward following Han Yi’s figure, so much so that when Director Zhang placed the tickets in her hand and turned to leave, she didn’t even notice.
Not until the wall outside blocked her view did Lin Wan come back to her senses, put the tickets in her pocket, and step out.
Only then did she realize their car had already driven a hundred meters away.
Lin Wan felt a bit of regret, yet also a bit of anticipation. If Han Yi was stationed at this base, did it mean she still had a chance to see him and would not need to go to S City to have any interaction with him? Could it be possible to marry him earlier in this lifetime?
At the thought of this, Lin Wan was overjoyed. But after the excitement, she realized the reality that she didn’t know anyone at the base. Their people wouldn’t often come out. Who knows when she would see him again. Furthermore, she knew Han Yi didn’t like girls being too forward. If she appeared too eager upon seeing him, would it not put him off?
The days passed, and their store was bustling with business. The mother and daughter had to work late into the night every day. Although tired, seeing the money they earned bit by bit, nothing felt unachievable.
One day, her brother wrote back, roughly stating he was doing well over there and telling them not to worry. He mentioned that the school offered student assistance, with food tickets and five yuan each month.
After some thought, Lin Wan went to the county town, got a passbook, and deposited over a hundred yuan she had saved during this time. She exchanged thirty or more meal tickets for some tickets she could use, and there were places specifically for exchanging tickets.
Each ticket would give you two more cents, and quite a few people did this kind of business. Lin Wan exchanged for all kinds of different tickets from a ticket seller.
After exchanging the tickets, Lin Wan went to the state-owned department store for a stroll and was pleasantly surprised to find that they actually sold yarn.
She vaguely remembered that at this time, big cities had already started the trend of knitting sweaters. In another couple of years, it would be popular nationwide.