Daily Life in the 70s

Shen Yiqiu pondered for a moment, "Aunt Fan’s house is indeed nice, and it’s close to ours, it’s just her temperament..." When she got to the end, she hesitated as she looked toward Mrs. An.

Mrs. An, with hair that had partially gone gray, was being supported to sit against the wall on the small bed near the room’s edge. Perhaps it had been some time since she had chatted with others; she seemed very enthusiastic about her eldest daughter-in-law’s family, vigorously analyzing the housing situation in and around the courtyard for Yang PeiMin.

As for her daughter-in-law’s concerns, Mrs. An had her own opinions, "The Fan family, although a bit odd in temperament, is close to us. If there’s any issue, we can easily help out. Except for that room, we won’t need anything else from her. As long as we pay the rent on time, what could she possibly say?" When it came to Yang PeiMin, her eldest daughter-in-law’s only sibling, not even mentioning her outstanding brother serving in the military, with her spirited appearance, she showed signs of a promising future. Certainly, her determination to attend university even after getting married was evident.

At her age, she had her own way of assessing people. Moreover, she was quite satisfied with her daughter-in-law—diligent, capable, dutiful, and understanding—having blessed her An family with three sons. On this point alone, she would think highly of her daughter-in-law’s family. And with her three grandsons, there might come a time when they would need support from their uncle’s family.

Upon hearing this, Shen Yiqiu nodded and turned back to explain to Yang PeiMin, "Aunt Fan lost her husband years ago and raised three children on her own. She can be quite domineering and aggressive, but we need not worry; she still relies on tenants renting her property. We deal with her strictly in terms of rent; there’s little other contact."

Yang PeiMin went over it in her mind and got the picture. Essentially, Aunt Fan was difficult to get along with, but Shen Yiqiu was correct; Aunt Fan depended on her tenants for income. She wouldn’t drive away business, would she? As long as Yang PeiMin had a private space, not too dirty or disorderly, with electric lights, she didn’t have many concerns.

"Alright, I’ve got it; I’ll be careful. Thanks to Auntie and third sister."

Shen Yiyue quickly asked, "Where is it?"

Shen Yiqiu lifted the door curtain and pointed to a room diagonally opposite, saying, "It’s that one. She partitioned a room inside; she and her ten-year-old son can live in one room, and she’s thinking of renting out the other. The only issue is that one needs to pass through her hall to reach that room, and it doesn’t have a separate entrance. Plus, with her being a widow, it’s not easy for her to rent it out. She can only rent it to female factory workers who haven’t been assigned dormitories, but there are not many such workers. After we’ve eaten, you can go and take a look."