As the bell for noon recess rang, Xu Jingan hurriedly packed up her things and grabbed her food container to get food from the canteen.

The canteen was located on the west side of the teaching building - a short run away.

She had to go early, for if she was late, the place would be crowded. Not only would she have to wait for a long time in line, but by the end, all that would be left would be soup with very few vegetables.

By the time she dashed into the canteen with her food container, there were already quite a few people in line ahead of her. Xu Jingan was rather helpless, she always felt like she was proactive when it came to getting food, but she never managed to be the first one there.

"In the world of the strong, there are always stronger ones," she thought. That probably was the origin of this saying!

Having lined up, there wasn't much choice in winter. It would be either cabbage or radish in the depths of winter, with a possible addition of potato, onion, or carrot

the last two depending on luck

.

The school had both boarding students and day students.

Boarding students usually lived far from home and ate all three meals at school. Their household registration and food supply were tied to the school.

Each month, these students would give the school their grain or money. The school would then issue large printed meal vouchers to the dormitory students. From the 1st to the final day of each month, they had to present breakfast, lunch, and dinner vouchers for each meal.

For day students like Xu Jingan, those who lived nearby would go home to eat; those who lived far away or whose families were too busy to cook would only have to eat here during the noon.

Staple foods could be purchased in the canteen, but most people brought their own

which could be heated and cooked in the communal large steam basket during the winter

. So, in most cases, they only needed to get vegetables.

After she got her vegetables, and retrieved her steamed corn bread from the steam basket, she finally managed to squeeze her way out of the crowd. By then, the food line had extended well beyond 5 meters.

Carrying her food container, Xu Jingan turned around to look for a place to sit. The number of tables and chairs in the canteen was limited, and latecomers would have to eat standing up.

The wall was filled with slogans, "Corruption and waste are enormous crimes."

"Every grain of rice and every bowl of soup is hard to come by."

"Every bit of effort counts profoundly, for everyday life can be hard."

"Xu Jingan--, Xu Jingan-- , over here!"

Xu Jingan turned towards the voice, her classmate Wang Jingjing was waving at her.

Although they were not in the same class, they clicked, strangely. Now they have become good friends who share whispers.

So Xu Jingan hurried over, and Wang Jingjing made room for her. "Hurry up and eat, it gets cold quickly in the winter!"

Neither of them spoke, they started to eat immediately. The canteen was filled with noise from the crowd, they had to shout to be heard, or they wouldn't be able to hear each other.

After washing their meal trays, both of them heaved a sigh of relief, it was like they had been through a battle.

"Jingan, my mother told me that there'll be flawed cloth available at her co-op tomorrow for free, do you want some? If you do, remember to have your aunt come over around 10 in the morning." Wang Jingjing whispered into Xu Jingan's ear with her round little face.

Xu Jingan quickly responded, "Yes! Definitely yes! Thank you, Jingjing."

"Why say thank you, we don't need formalities among us. Each person can only take up to 3 feet, no more!"

"That's quite a lot."

In recent times, being able to purchase cloth without a ticket is a major bargain, one shouldn't be so demanding and "ask for the moon".

Xu Jingan wiped her hands on her clothes.

"Shh- let's hurry back to class, it's really cold outside!" The two of them held hands, hunching their shoulders, and jogged back to the classroom.

Upon reaching the upstairs, they separated. Xu Jingan returned to her seat and laid her head on the desk, only when she turned her face towards the wall did she finally sigh heavily.

Xu Jing'an had been in this world for three months.

Nothing special happened before she came here; she simply fell asleep at night and woke up the next day to find the whole world had changed.

After being stunned for a while, she was roused by the hurried footsteps and urging voices of her family. Quickly getting up, she helped tidy the house, wash dishes, and do all sorts of trivial chores.

The original host's second older sister, Xu Jing'ping, was constantly urging: "Third sibling, hurry up, hurry up; you'll be late!"

Xu Jing'an quickly grabbed her bag and followed her second sister, Xu Jing'ping, running all the way into school.

On both sides of the school walls, it read, "Education serves the proletariat class's political service; education must be combined with labor production."

As soon as they entered the school gates, the two separated. She ran to a corner and checked her name and class on her book. Only then did she know that she was Xu Jing'an from senior high class 3.

She found her seat and listened intently. After a nerve-wracking month, she relaxed a little.

Life in the Xu family was challenging. The school had subsidies for students from poor families, and application for free or half-price tuition was available. Xu Jing'an wanted to apply, but upon investigation, she found that many families were poorer than the Xu's.

Xu Jing'an was just an ordinary person, so was the original host.

The Xu family was from a machinery factory with four children. She ranked third, with an older brother and sister ahead of her and a younger brother afterward.

Although there was some neglect, it was the same in every large family. There's always at least one child who is not favored.

Originally, Xu Jing'an didn't care much about it. The current year was 1963, and she would graduate from senior high in 1966. She planned to find a job right after graduation to avoid being sent to work in the countryside.

Since the members of her family were not close, she decided to keep it this way. They would live their own lives. It won’t matter much to her once she’s married off.

But unexpectedly, her elder brother announced last night that he has a girlfriend - Xu Duo Duo, a temporary worker from the National Cotton Factory 1.

She remembered hearing it somewhere; it sounded familiar.

Mrs. Xu was exceptionally pleased. There was no help for it; they were poor at home.

Only Mr. Xu and Mrs. Xu had jobs in the family. Both of them worked in a machinery factory, Mr. Xu made about 30 yuan a month, and Mrs. Xu, in the canteen, made around 18 yuan a month.

After all, no one was born out of the crack of a rock.

The grandmother's household had a fixed pension of five yuan per month; the maternal grandmother's house also fell ill over time. Every time a message was sent to Mrs. Xu asking her to come and visit when she had time. No other words were uttered, and if anyone inquired as to what was wrong, it was because they missed their daughter.

Mrs. Xu could only visit from time to time with some gifts. After all, her sisters-in-law, nieces, and nephews were all waiting at the entrance of the street.

It was a matter of saying to anyone and everyone, "The child's aunt is back to visit the elderly."

"My mother-in-law cares the most for her daughter, she gets anxious if she hasn't seen her in a few days!"

Everyone in the neighborhood watched as long as the old lady was still alive, Mrs. Xu had to take it with a pinch of salt, what else could she do?

All the mothers who favor their sons in the world can always think of various ways to benefit from their married daughters.

Adding in the weddings, funerals, and accompanying human interactions from relatives, friends, and colleague's families, raising four children left little savings at home.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have sent Xu Jianguo, their eldest son, to the oxygen-making factory as an apprentice in the first place. It would be better to use connections to secure a position in the steelworks or in the current machinery factory, where the benefits of a big factory are after all, better.

Now Xu Jianguo also earns less than 20 yuan a month. Plus, their home is less than 30 square meters, divided into 3 bedrooms, just enough to live in.

Without the extra room for a bridal chamber, it naturally becomes hard to find a marriage partner for the eldest son.

Who would've guessed that Xu Jingan started having dreams that very night!