The Daily Life of a Stepmother in the 1980s
Xu Tao stood to the side, listening to the conversation between Yu Li and Fan Qiumei, feeling somewhat speechless. At a time like this, they were considering asking the elderly for superstitious remedies? Shouldn't they be taking the child to the hospital?
Xu Tao remained silent for a while, noticing that Fan Qiumei seemed to be truly considering Yu Li's suggestion. With a sigh, she said, "I think it would be better to take the child to the hospital as soon as possible and see what the doctor says"
Upon hearing Xu Tao’s comforting words, Fan Qiumei couldn't help but wipe her tears again. "We don’t have the money. We simply can’t afford to take the child to the hospital. If we had money, we would have gone already.
" If it weren’t for their financial difficulties, why would she have left the hospital the same night she gave birth, afraid to even spend a night there?
"...," Xu Tao blinked, as though she hadn't expected this situation.
Xu Tao understood how hard life could be these days, with many families struggling to make ends meet, dividing every penny.
Most people’s average monthly income was barely over forty yuan, and Sun Tonghai’s monthly salary was only around sixty yuan, thanks to his seniority. And that sixty yuan had to cover the expenses of a family of three, clearly not enough.
"My husband works in a factory, and the factory has been struggling in the past few months. He barely earns forty yuan a month. After I gave birth and came home, my pockets were emptier than my face." Fan Qiumei choked up, revealing how overwhelmed she felt by the situation.
"If we had money, we would have sent Shitou to school already. He's almost eight and still plays in the alley every day. Wuwuwu, why is my life so hard?" Fan Qiumei said, sounding heartbroken.
She never imagined life would become so constrained. She couldn't even afford her child’s tuition fees and ended up having a second child.
Xu Tao listened to Fan Qiumei’s words, her mood heavy. She now realized that there were very few families in the alley who were living well. A couple like Xu Tao and Zhao Weiguo, both with jobs and good incomes, were rare.
Xu Tao and Zhao Weiguo worked in the transportation industry, which was relatively prosperous at the time. Over the past two months, Zhao Weiguo had brought home nearly a thousand yuan, not including his extra income from driving long-distance routes to Shanghai.
Xu Tao, who wrote serialized books, also earned several hundred yuan each month. It seemed like they could live comfortably without much effort, but who would have guessed that most people’s lives were far from easy?
"We'll find a way to raise some money for you, and you can take the child to the hospital. The child’s health is the most important" After a moment of silence, Xu Tao spoke to comfort Fan Qiumei.
However, she didn’t immediately say how much money she would help raise, knowing that it's best to be discreet about financial matters. Although they were neighbors, it wouldn’t be wise to be too open about it.
Yu Li, standing to the side, heard Xu Tao offer to help raise money, but her face revealed a slight, helpless smile.
There were very few families in the alley who lived comfortably. Although Yu Li’s family was somewhat better off than Fan Qiumei’s, they weren’t doing great either. Both she and her husband, He Xin, worked at a local paper factory, but the factory’s income was poor. Their wages were low and the work was exhausting, so they could only scrape by.
"Neither my husband nor I have been paid this month" Yu Li said, her expression uncomfortable. "He Xin's father fell and broke his leg recently, so we've had to send most of the money home to support our parents"
Yu Li and her husband were from another province, and neither of them had much education. They worked at a local paper factory, where earnings were low and the work was long and tiring. Their family was barely getting by.
"...," Xu Tao was once again left in a passive position after hearing Yu Li’s words.
She felt bad about Fan Qiumei’s situation but knew that borrowing money could be a bottomless pit, and she was hesitating.
Fan Qiumei, having heard Yu Li’s words, wasn’t surprised. Yu Li’s family was also struggling, but she looked at Xu Tao with hope and expectation in her eyes.
Everyone in the alley knew that Zhao Weiguo and Xu Tao's family was doing well. While Xu Tao hadn’t advertised her earnings from writing, it was evident that their family was better off than most.
It was known that the Zhao family could afford to buy meat and chicken every few days, while Fan Qiumei, who was still in her postpartum confinement period, hadn’t even had a chance to drink chicken soup. The only chicken she’d eaten was a hen her mother sent over, and after boiling it, her mother took away a big bowl of it. Fan Qiumei didn’t even get to eat much meat.
She had been eating very simply during her confinement, while the Zhao family could buy fruit frequently. Zhao Linan was especially generous in sharing snacks with the children in the alley. If life were tight, how could anyone afford to buy toys and snacks for their children?
So, everyone more or less knew that the Zhao family was doing well, and at least in the old eighth alley, they were living the most comfortably.
"I’ll talk to Xiaonan’s father later and see if we can borrow some money to help you" Xu Tao, feeling helpless under the gaze of the two women, replied.
"Thank you so much" Fan Qiumei immediately wiped her tears, thanking Xu Tao with emotion.
"Don't rush to thank me, our family is doing just okay, and the salary leaves us with barely anything each month" Xu Tao replied, not wanting to give Fan Qiumei too much hope.
She also didn’t want to suddenly bear such a heavy expectation, and her heart was filled with hesitation and inner conflict.
Of course, she would lend the money. After all, the child was in such a condition, and Xu Tao couldn't bear to turn her back. It was a young life, but how much to lend required careful consideration.
Xu Tao and Fan Qiumei had only known each other for a few months as neighbors, and they didn’t interact much, occasionally exchanging polite words. When money was involved, things became complicated.
There were many instances where lending money led to misunderstandings, and Xu Tao was naturally cautious.
Fan Qiumei nodded without saying much. If someone was willing to lend some money, it was a good intention, but if not, she couldn’t force them. Looking down at her son, Xiao Shu, Fan Qiumei felt a pang of sadness.
After comforting Fan Qiumei, Xu Tao and Yu Li left together. Once they stepped outside, they realized that the Lin family’s door was still shut. The large kitchen knife that Sun Tonghai had been holding was now stuck in the wooden door, and he was sitting on the doorstep, a grown man crying with both frustration and pity, making one feel deeply moved.
If not for life's hardships, he probably wouldn’t have been so angry as to fight with Lin’s old lady.
Xu Tao glanced at him with sympathy and walked over to Zhao Weiguo.
Zhao Linan, the child, was clinging to his father’s leg. Upon seeing Xu Tao, the child ran over to her and grabbed her hand.
Shitou had stopped crying and stood quietly in the alley, head lowered. At seven or eight years old, he was usually the leader of the kids, but now he was strangely quiet, as though he had suddenly matured and become more understanding.
Xu Tao looked around at the neighbors, who were all advising Sun Tonghai kindly. They understood his frustration but could only urge him to stay calm and endure.
Sun Tonghai, once furious, had now calmed down and stood up, walking back home with large steps. Shitou ran after him.
"We should head home too!" When Sun Tonghai returned home, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Zhao Weiguo wrapped his arm around Xu Tao’s shoulder.
"Mm" Xu Tao wasn’t feeling great and had, for the first time, the thought of needing to earn more money.
Money made heroes falter—Sun Tonghai’s emotional breakdown, Fan Qiumei’s crying, and Shitou’s sudden maturity were all caused by money. If they had a little, things wouldn’t have turned out like this.
Zhao Weiguo and Xu Tao returned home with Zhao Li’nan, who seemed a bit down. "Mom, Shitou Ge is so sad"
"Mm, yes! You can comfort him tomorrow" Xu Tao patted the child's head and glanced at Zhao Weiguo, explaining the situation with Sun Tonghai’s family.
"They don’t have any money and aren’t planning to take the child to the hospital. They’re still thinking of using some old folk remedies, like calling the soul. I think it’s unreliable" Xu Tao said, her tone full of disapproval.
"The child was just scared, seeing a doctor probably wouldn’t help much" Zhao Weiguo replied, though he agreed that they should send the child to the hospital. "Are you thinking of lending them money? How much?"
They were going to help, after all, it was a child. Zhao Weiguo knew Xu Tao’s kind and soft nature, so he directly asked her about the loan.
"I’m not sure how much to lend" Xu Tao was troubled.
She spent money freely and didn’t have much experience with financial difficulties. Zhao Weiguo gave her money every month, and she earned money by writing novels. They could still save about 700 yuan each month after expenses, so Xu Tao didn’t have a strong concept of money.
"Thirty yuan should be enough" Zhao Weiguo, however, understood the value of money nowadays.
"Okay" Xu Tao didn’t object.
Thirty yuan was a little over half of Sun Tonghai’s monthly salary. It would ease their immediate problems and be enough to take the child to the hospital for an assessment.
"I’ll go kill the fish" After all the commotion, it was already dark. The family usually ate dinner early, but today they had been delayed.
"I’ll take the thirty yuan over to them"
Xu Tao turned and went to the room. She opened a box from the drawer that contained some loose change, took out three 10-yuan bills, and handed them to Zhao Li’nan.
"Mom, I want to go too" Zhao Li’nan said, grabbing Xu Tao’s hand.
Xu Tao didn’t stop him, and they went to Sun Tonghai’s house. Sun Tonghai had returned home and was sitting in the living room, filled with self-reproach. His mood was still silent.
Fan Qiumei, with red eyes, was preparing dinner, and Shitou stood quietly by the bedroom door, looking dejected. It was clear that the family had not yet recovered from the events.
"Qiumei, here’s thirty yuan. Take it and take the child to the hospital" Xu Tao placed the money on the small table in the living room.
"Thank you, thank you" Fan Qiumei choked on her words, still with wet hands from the kitchen. Seeing Xu Tao place the money down, she immediately wiped her hands on her apron, excited and grateful.
"I’ll go home and make dinner. It’s getting late" Xu Tao didn’t say much more. After leaving the money, she held Zhao Li’nan’s hand and turned to leave.
"Auntie!" Just as Xu Tao was about to enter her own house, she heard Shitou calling from behind.
Shitou had been playing in the alley, and the child was covered in dust. There were no streetlights in the alley, only the dim light from the Zhao family's living room. Xu Tao turned around, holding Zhao Li’nan's hand.
Shitou stood at the bottom, looking up at Xu Tao. Unlike the bold little monkey he was before, he now stood straight and bowed deeply to Xu Tao, then, with seriousness, he said, "Auntie, thank you!"
Shitou had never understood this before—carefree, playing in the alley, never really noticing the differences in wealth. But today, seeing his father’s breakdown and his mother crying, he suddenly realized a lot of things.
His family was too poor, too weak.
"It’s nothing, go home quickly!" Xu Tao smiled at Shitou.
Shitou nodded and immediately turned around, running back home with a "tap-tap-tap" sound. Xu Tao and Zhao Linan stood still, watching Shitou return home before stepping inside themselves.
Zhao Weiguo had already finished dealing with the fish in the yard. The scales were scraped clean, and Xu Tao took over, diving into the kitchen to start preparing the meal.
At the dinner table, Xu Tao served Zhao Linan some greens. After training him, the child, although not actively reaching for the vegetables, would obediently eat whatever Xu Tao placed in front of him.
"Tomorrow, when you get the photos, could you send 100 yuan back home with them? I'd also like to send 100 yuan to my family. Is that okay?" Xu Tao asked after placing the last bit of greens on the plate, looking at Zhao Weiguo.
She had previously neglected many things, focusing solely on enjoying their peaceful life—writing novels to earn money while Zhao Weiguo went to work every day, returning home on time.
The letters from their families were always full of happy news and rarely mentioned anything troubling. They had only mentioned once that Xu Tao's mother wasn't feeling well, and everything else was just casual conversation.
Zhao Weiguo's family was the same. His parents only told him to take care of himself and didn't say much else, merely inquiring about how they were doing in Yangcheng and how Zhao Linan was.
"You decide" Zhao Weiguo replied, without any objections.
His money and salary were managed by Xu Tao, and she earned money too. Sending some back to her family was only natural.
"Okay" Xu Tao nodded, then turned to look at Zhao Linan, noticing that the child didn't have as much of an appetite as usual. "Eat your food. What are you daydreaming about?"
"Mama, what happened to Shitou's brother?" The child asked, not understanding the situation. He had watched the whole thing but didn't really know what had happened.
The child was only concerned because he had seen Shitou crying and felt worried.
"His brother isn't feeling well," Xu Tao replied, carefully placing a piece of braised fish on the child's plate. "Eat the fish. Put it in your mouth slowly, and be careful of the bones."
"Okay." The child swallowed his food and began eating the braised fish.
"I don’t know if that child will be okay. When I went to see him, he didn’t look too well," Xu Tao said with a touch of concern after the child finished his meal and turned to speak with Zhao Weiguo.
"It’s probably just a scare. He should be fine in a few days" Zhao Weiguo replied nonchalantly.
Newborns were fragile, and it wasn’t uncommon for them to get scared. It wasn't a rare occurrence.
"I hope so" Xu Tao said, still worried. After all, the child was so small, only a few days old, and had been suddenly frightened. Babies at this age could be vulnerable to all sorts of things.
As it turned out, Xu Tao was right. Sun Tonghai and his wife used the 30 yuan Xu Tao lent them to go to the hospital. When the doctor found out that the child had been frightened, he advised the couple to take the baby home and care for it carefully for a while.
The child was just scared, and the doctor couldn't find any physical problems. He told them to watch the baby closely, and it should recover on its own.
However, that same night, the baby developed a high fever, and the parents spent the entire night worrying as the child burned with fever.
The Sun family didn’t have any elders to help, but Fan Qiumei’s family had many members. When Fan’s mother heard that her daughter had been bullied during her confinement period, she rushed over with her two sons to visit her daughter.
Fan’s mother was tough and didn’t hesitate to storm into the Lin family’s house. Lin’s elderly mother, afraid, didn't open the door when Sun Tonghai had taken out a knife, and the Lin family’s door remained shut the whole time.
Fan’s mother wasn’t about to let them off easily. She stood in the yard, shouting insults at the Lin family, and even had her two sons scale the walls to throw things inside the Lin house. They destroyed many things in the house, including dishes and cookware.
Lin’s elderly mother screamed and cried, but no one dared to stop them. The two sons of the Lin family and even Lin Xiaoqiang, the grandson, were too scared to interfere. They simply let Fan’s family destroy everything, and no one dared to stop them.
Lin Fang wanted to stop it, but as a woman, she was powerless. After a glare from Fan Qiumei’s brothers, she quietly stepped aside and watched.
The destruction of the Lin family was soon known throughout the alley, as Fan’s mother made no attempt to hide her actions. Lin’s elderly mother complained loudly, crying that they had even destroyed the stove, making it impossible to cook, but no one sympathized with them.
"Serves them right" Xu Tao said, having heard the commotion from Lin's house. Fan Qiumei’s brothers had made a mess of things.
It was truly satisfying to see the arrogant Lin family get their comeuppance. Lin’s elderly mother, who had always been so cruel, was no match for Fan Qiumei’s mother. Xu Tao felt a sense of relief at the turn of events.
o0o
After the commotion in Laoba Alley, the once peaceful alley fell silent. Shitou, who used to play and laugh with a group of children under the sun, had changed. Now, he seemed like a different person, becoming more mature and helping at home.
Zhou Haizhi, although young, had a troubled family situation. He used to play in the alley at first, but later spent most of his time wandering outside, picking up trash.
Every morning, he would leave the house and return only after dark. Zhou Yu, his mother, paid no attention and even seemed happy to save some food.
Xu Tao knew about the changes in the alley but didn't pay much attention. Life always changes, and her family of three continued to live a warm and happy life. Naturally, Xu Tao didn't try to change anything.
In November, Yangcheng was still hot, but there were occasional showers. One evening, after dinner, light rain began to fall outside. Xu Tao and Zhao Weiguo didn’t need to water the vegetables and decided to rest in their room and help Zhao Linan fall asleep.
Zhao Linan knew that every time he fell asleep, his parents would quietly go to the next room. There were times when he woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, but he was always alone.
At first, he was scared and would knock on the door for his father, Zhao Weiguo, to take him. After a few nights, Zhao Weiguo started controlling his water intake at dinner, and Zhao Linan soon stopped waking up during the night. He became used to sleeping alone, though it was hard at first. But at least, before bed, his mother was always with him.
After Xutao finished the story in her head, she went to the bookstore to buy a few short storybooks that had the characteristics of that time. That night, she read a little-known story to Zhao Linan, which was quite interesting, even with a hint of suspense typical of that era. Xutao was absorbed in the reading, and the quiet, rainy night added to the atmosphere.
"Seems like someone is knocking on the door" Zhao Weiguo, who was sitting nearby reading a military book, suddenly spoke while listening to Xu Tao's reading.
Xu Tao immediately felt a chill down her spine and widened her eyes, "Don't scare us like that"
"Mom! Ah, there's a ghost!" Zhao Linan also panicked, moving closer to his mother. Both mother and son were startled and gave Zhao Weiguo an angry look, thinking he was trying to scare them.
"...It's real, someone is knocking at the door. I'll go check" Zhao Weiguo said, unable to hold back a smile. He closed the book and stood up.
It was then that Xu Tao realized Zhao Weiguo wasn’t joking. She also listened closely and faintly heard the knocking at the courtyard door.
Zhao Weiguo, with his tall figure, quickly left the room and jogged to open the courtyard door. There, he saw Zhou Haizhi, a small child holding a garbage bag. The boy was drenched, his face pale, shivering in the cold rain.
"Uncle... Can I sleep at your house for one night?" Zhou Haizhi, trembling, looked up at Zhao Weiguo and asked, clearly cold and unsure. After bravely asking, he lowered his head.
Zhao Weiguo frowned as he saw the boy, bent down, and picked him up, closing the door behind them.
Xutao noticed what was happening outside and quickly walked to the window. She saw Zhao Weiguo carrying Zhou Haizhi inside. The boy, drenched and resembling a drowned chicken, was shivering from the cold.
"Xiao Zhi, what happened to you? You're all wet!" Xu Tao hurriedly grabbed a dry towel and walked to the living room.
After Zhao Weiguo placed Zhou Haizhi down, the boy was still shivering. He was small, drenched, and cold, his teeth chattering.
"Auntie!" Zhou Haizhi lowered his head "The door at my house is locked. I... I have nowhere to sleep. It's so cold outside, and I just wanted to hide in your living room for the rain to pass." If it hadn't been for the rain, he could have found a corner in the alley to sleep, but today it was too cold, and he had nowhere to lie down. He was also extremely tired and hungry.
o0o