Xu Sheng Nan

When leaving Xing Gou Production Team, Team Leader Xu Tie Zhu had written a letter of introduction for her and her stepmother. With the letter of introduction and a receiving unit, registering their household residence was not difficult.

When filling out her name, Xiao Pei burst out laughing at her name: "This isn't a name, why don't you give yourself a new one?"

The little girl, "Worthless Thing," said without hesitation, "I want my name to be Xu Sheng Nan!"

Xiao Pei raised an eyebrow and gave her a thumbs-up: "Good name, ambitious!"

Xu Sheng Nan stared at the three characters appearing under Xiao Pei's pen, engraving them into her mind. From now on, she also had a name; she was no longer the "worthless thing" in others' mouths. She would also have a bright future.

After filling out the forms, when Xu Sheng Nan walked out, she held a household registration booklet. Although only her name was on it, with it, she was someone who could work for the state.

Hua Jin Yin took the household registration booklet and smiled at the name on it: "This is our Sheng Nan's new name."

Xu Sheng Nan was so embarrassed by her smile that she blushed: "Thank you, Sister. I will definitely work hard in the future and not let you down."

Hua Jin Yin smiled and patted her head: "Tomorrow I'll take you to report for duty. It's late today, so stay at my place for now."

Unexpectedly, Hua Jin Yin would take her home. Xu Sheng Nan had originally thought she would have to endure another cold night on the streets, so she was so surprised that she stammered: "This... isn't very good, is it? I... I'm very dirty."

"It's okay, I have a bathtub at home. When we get home, I'll help you wash up thoroughly."

With that, she bid Sui Yong farewell and led Xu Sheng Nan out of the bureau's gate.

Xia Yu had slept in the bureau's dormitory. When he woke up, feeling refreshed, he vaguely saw Hua Jin Yin leading someone out of the main gate.

Just as he was about to chase after them, someone called him back to discuss work. By the time he looked up again, they were gone.

Xia Yu thought it was getting late, and he could find Hua Jin Yin tomorrow, so he turned into the cafeteria for a meal.

On the way home, Hua Jin Yin first took Xu Sheng Nan to the barbershop.

Her hair, dry as straw, was not only difficult to comb, but her head was also full of lice. If not handled carefully, it would dirty the blankets and bedding at home.

Hua Jin Yin asked the barber to give Xu Sheng Nan a neat short haircut, which would make it easier to deal with the lice and lice eggs.

After the haircut, seeing the barber about to apply lice medicine to Xu Sheng Nan's head, she quickly stopped him.

Are you kidding? She knew very well that what was called lice medicine in this era was actually 666 powder pesticide. Applying it to the scalp when the hair was wet, then wrapping it in a plastic bag, could kill lice, but if not careful, it could poison people.

After paying, Hua Jin Yin took Xu Sheng Nam home, set up a chair for her in the courtyard, and placed a basin of water beside it.

There was still the thick comb Liu Chang E had bought that year in the house. She applied more than half a bottle of hair oil to Xu Sheng Nan's head and carefully combed it little by little with the thick comb.

At first, each stroke of the comb would be filled with white lice eggs and black lice. Each time she flicked the wriggling lice stuck in the comb teeth into the basin of water, Hua Jin Yin frowned, feeling itchy all over.

It was truly horrifying!

Fortunately, Xu Sheng Nan's hair had been cut short, making it easier to manage. It wasn't until late evening that almost no more lice could be combed out.

Hua Jin Yin said, "From now on, comb your hair every day after washing it, and it will be clean in no time."

Xu Sheng Nan's face was as red as a boiled crab. Whatever Hua Jin Yin said, she just nodded.

After dealing with her hair, Hua Jin Yin took out a box of Seagull shampoo and thoroughly washed her hair. Otherwise, her head, full of hair oil, couldn't be cleaned.

After a few more combs, seeing that there was truly nothing left, Hua Jin Yin finally stopped feeling itchy all over.

Two pots of water were boiled in the outer room. Hua Jin Yin went into the storage room and took out the old bathtub. The bathtub was made of tin, and having not been used for many years, it was covered in dust inside and out.

She rinsed it several times with a hose in the courtyard before bringing it into the outer room.

The Hua family used to bathe in the outer room. Both stoves were lit, and thick curtains were drawn, so it wasn't cold even when bathing in winter.

Xu Sheng Nan boiled the water herself. After mixing the water, Hua Jin Yin gave her a bar of scented soap and two loofah sponges. Bath sponges weren't common in this era; people used these.

After giving her the items, she told her to take her time bathing, to wash thoroughly several times, and to call her to empty the water after each wash.

Xu Sheng Nan had barely bathed a few times in her life. Girls couldn't bathe in the river in summer like boys, so the grime on her body must be thick. Perhaps one bar of scented soap wouldn't be enough.

While Xu Sheng Nan was bathing, Hua Jin Yin used two fingers to pick up the clothes she had changed out of and took them to the courtyard to burn. Just now, a quick glance had shown that the clothes were crawling with lice, and the seams were riddled with shiny white lice eggs. Washing them wouldn't clean them, and such tattered clothes wouldn't be worn again, so burning them was the only way to feel at ease.

After changing four basins of water, Xu Sheng Nan finally bathed thoroughly. More than half of the newly opened bar of scented soap was used, and she smelled fragrant. When she emerged from behind the curtain after changing clothes, Hua Jin Yin could barely recognize her.

This pretty, neat girl, apart from her slightly dark and rough skin, no longer bore any resemblance to the country girl she was before. Indeed, fine clothes make the man.

It was just that for such a pretty girl to have to wake up early every day to sweep streets, Hua Jin Yin somehow felt uneasy. But to find her another job, she barely knew a few characters, so she couldn't make things difficult for others.

Hua Jin Yin asked, "Sheng Nan, do you want to learn to read?"

Xu Sheng Nan was surprised, then nodded vigorously as if her head was on a spring: "Yes, Sister, I want to learn to read."

Hua Jin Yin smiled: "Alright, I'll inquire to see if I can find you a teacher. You can go there to study for a while after work."

Although there were no evening classes in this era like in later generations, they would gradually appear by the 80s. She could use these few years to build a foundation. When evening classes became available, if she still wished to study, she could be far ahead of many people of this era.

She was only 17; by the 80s, she would only be 23. It wasn't too late to start studying a bit.

Hua Jin Yin had finished cleaning the two rooms these past few days. In the evening, she let Xu Sheng Nan stay in Hua Xi Rong and Liu Chang E's old room, giving her a new set of bedding.

Xu Sheng Nan caressed the soft bedding, and tears silently fell again: "Sister, I will definitely repay you in the future!"

Hua Jin Yin smiled: "Alright, then I'll wait for your repayment in the future. For now, go to sleep. Tomorrow, I'll take you to the Environmental Sanitation Bureau to report for duty."

Xu Sheng Nan obediently agreed. She had thought that with such a comfortable change of environment, she would be too excited to sleep. But having been hungry and cold for several days, Xu Sheng Nan was already exhausted and fell asleep not long after lying down.