Chapter 010: Bearing the Blame, Shrouded in Darkness

Mother Xie nodded. “Yes, we have just a bit over nine hundred yuan in savings right now. If the homestead application is approved, we might need to organize a rotating savings group. I’ll call a few people from the factory, you call a few as well, and we’ll try to pool together five hundred yuan.”

The rotating savings group is a grassroots method of raising funds in the countryside here. A few trusted people get together and contribute money regularly each year. The person who organizes the group—and is in urgent need of money—takes the first round, and the others draw lots to determine the order for subsequent rounds. Each time, the full sum is handed over to one participant, and the process continues, usually twice a year, with interest factored in. For example, if the target is five thousand yuan and there are ten participants, the group completes the cycle in five years, with each person receiving at least five thousand yuan in turn.

There is also a simpler version, where a small group pools funds for one person in need. They draft an agreement, and at each scheduled interval, the recipient pays back a set amount plus interest to the next person in line. For example, with five thousand yuan and ten people, each contributing five hundred, the agreed sum plus interest is given to the next person as scheduled.

Most people choose the full rotating group; the simpler one is usually reserved for close friends or relatives helping a single person.

Right now, the family has just over nine hundred yuan. That would be enough to build a single-story house. But if the homestead application goes through, Father Xie plans to build a two-story home. There’s little awareness of interior decoration at this time, but Father Xie knows the children will grow up and need their own rooms—three children, three rooms, plus one for the couple, at least four rooms in total—so a two-story house is best.

“That’s the plan for now,” Father Xie said after a moment’s thought. “We’ll settle the details once the homestead application is approved. It won’t be quick—probably a month or two. By then, we’ll have enough for the land and the foundation, so there’s no need to worry about the upfront costs. There are plenty of ways to earn money these days. If it comes to it, I’ll sell roasted corn and sunflower seeds outside the cinema at night. That should bring in some money.”

Father Xie wasn’t old-fashioned. Even if many people looked down on small vendors, he thought that selling corn and seeds was a low-cost way to make some extra cash.

Mother Xie agreed, “That works. You go ahead and sell. I’m thinking of asking at Biao’s place. They bought several punch presses recently, and I have experience with those. If they need piecework labor, I can go over in the evenings for three or four hours after dinner and make some money that way.”

There were indeed many opportunities to earn money at this time. The country was rebuilding from the ground up, and anyone with the courage to try could make a living.

Mother Xie was already a highly skilled worker at the hardware factory and even trained apprentices, so operating a punch press was nothing to her.

Xie Yihuang supported her father’s idea to start a small business, but she didn’t want her mother to work the punch press. Even though her mother was experienced, that kind of repetitive work had already caused her chronic hand problems. So she suggested, “Actually, instead of selling seeds and corn, why not make small wontons or noodle soup? It’s simple. Set up a stall outside the cinema at night, and people coming out after the movie will definitely want something to eat. If there’s time, maybe try selling buns, too. If Dad’s business goes well, maybe Mom won’t need to ask at Biao’s. The punch press is exhausting, and your shoulder problem still isn’t better.”

She paused and added, “Just the other day, I heard Old Lady Zhang, Xiao Feng’s grandmother, made quite a bit selling pine pollen cakes at night.”

Working in a hardware factory wasn’t easy, and for Mother Xie to become a permanent employee had taken years of effort and sacrifice. Her hard work paid off—a decent salary—but it also left her with occupational injuries, like shoulder pain. During the rainy season, she always had plasters stuck all over her shoulders.

Xie Yihuang hadn’t intended to say much, but in these times, anyone willing to work hard could earn money, so there was no need to let her mother suffer more.

Father Xie looked at her in surprise. “A-Yi, you even know how to sell wontons, noodles, and buns?”

She gave him a sidelong glance. “It’s not hard. Look at Grandma Jiao and Grandma Xiao Feng—don’t they all sell food? I hear they do quite well.

Mom makes buns for us to eat when she’s off, and her skills are good. I don’t think her wontons and buns would be any worse than theirs.

As for noodles, Sister Yuan’s family across the street sells them, and they also have wonton wrappers. All we’d need is to buy some meat and a meat grinder, which is convenient and keeps costs down. If we don’t sell out, we can eat it ourselves.”

It was definitely better than selling corn and seeds. Nowadays, lots of people go out at night—not just moviegoers but others strolling around, too. If their wontons, buns, and noodles were good, business should be brisk.

Father Xie started to consider her proposal. Just as she said, noodles and wonton wrappers could be bought ready-made, keeping costs low. The more he thought about it, the more he felt it was worth a try.

Mother Xie was also pondering her words. Her bun-making skills were indeed good, and if business worked out, she could help at the stall. That would be much better than working at Biao’s—at least she’d have more freedom.

Xie Yihuang only offered a suggestion and didn’t get involved further. In everyone’s eyes, she was still just an eight-year-old girl. Suggesting small wontons was easily attributed to her own cravings; if she overstepped, people would see her not as a prodigy, but as a little oddity.

At a time of great societal change, it was wise to be cautious. Even if she had a special group chat or a pocket of still time, those were not things she could ever mention.

“Tomorrow, A-Man and A-Yi, take the old newspapers to sell. And this time, don’t go spending the money on comic books again,” Mother Xie reminded them.

Three months ago, the two sisters had sold some old newspapers for thirty-two cents and, passing by the department store, had spent thirty cents on a used comic book, with the remaining two cents going toward candy. That had earned them a scolding and a good switching from Mother Xie.

She’d nearly thrown their new comic book into the stove. When Father Xie returned, he said, “You’ve already bought it; burning it would just be a further waste. Sure, they shouldn’t have spent the money without asking, but if you burn it, wouldn’t that be wasting even more? If you really don’t want it, you can always sell it as scrap paper and get two or three cents back.”