Transmigrated as My Aunt in the 70s-Chapter 13 - 0 Wangjiazhen

Wangjiazhen is about twenty kilometers away from Yuequan Village. The road is a main highway, but now it's just a dirt road full of potholes. Tian Sisi bounced around so much in the back seat that her buttocks ached. She endured without a word – after all, this was already a luxury. There are still many in the village who walk to town to shop, a round trip of over forty kilometers that takes half a day. Tian Sisi would die before walking that far – a sore butt is better than sore legs.

Tian Manjin cycled both steadily and swiftly, arriving at the town government in just over an hour (Old Yang wasn't sure where one went to change names at that time). He parked the bike, walked to the entrance, offered a Xin'anjiang cigarette to the gatekeeper, and asked where the office for name changing was located.

The influence of Xin'anjiang was significant, and the gatekeeper warmly pointed Tian Manjin in the right direction and even escorted them to the office building. Tian Manjin gratefully offered another Xin'anjiang to the gatekeeper, who carefully tucked it away. It was a prized commodity he was reluctant to smoke, preferring to take it out occasionally to smell and satisfy his craving.

The office clerk was a stern middle-aged woman, over thirty, dressed in a gray Lenin suit with neatly combed ear-length bobbed hair, a thin face without an ounce of excess flesh – clearly not an easy person to deal with. Upon seeing that she wasn't male, Tian Manjin withdrew his hand, which had been reaching for another cigarette, and loudly declared, "Comrade, you must be tired. I've come to change my daughter's name."

"Serving the people is not tiring. What's the name change for?" the middle-aged woman answered meticulously. Tian Sisi almost couldn't help laughing out loud – finally, she got to hear the legendary quotations of Chairman Mao. Her mother used to say that during certain periods, one had to recite Mao's quotations when going out to shop or handle official matters or face dire consequences. If one couldn't recite them, the Rebel Faction could take them away as a counter-example.

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Tian Manjin hastily took out Tian Bajin's proof of identification and the family's household registration book and handed them to the woman. She glanced at them briefly, then said sternly, "The name Tian Sisi is not good, it smacks of a capitalist young lady's attitude. Change it."

Tian Sisi was taken aback, what's wrong with this woman, and how did the name Tian Sisi relate to a capitalist young lady? However, she knew she couldn't butt heads with this woman and promptly declared loudly, "The great Chairman Mao teaches us to 'remember the bitterness and think of the sweetness.' The 'Si' in my name comes from this very saying of his."

Upon hearing Chairman Mao's name from Tian Sisi, the woman straightened her posture and her face showed respect. Tian Sisi's justification was irrefutable – to oppose her now would be to oppose Chairman Mao. The woman glared at Tian Sisi for a few seconds, but Tian Sisi did not flinch – hmph, I am now the proud third generation of a red family, not afraid of you!

Actually, the woman was simply jealous of Tian Sisi's fashionable, urban attire. A rural girl dressed more beautifully than her own daughter, who ate the state's grain, stirred an imbalance within her. She thought to exert her official power to suppress Tian Sisi but ended up being outmaneuvered. Reluctantly, she stamped the documents, changing the name on the household registration to Tian Sisi, with Tian Zhaodi becoming the previous name used.

When they came out, Tian Manjin asked his daughter in surprise, "Ah Nan, how did you know Chairman Mao once said 'remember the bitterness and think of the sweetness'?"

Tian Manjin had broken into a cold sweat when the woman said the name Tian Sisi smacked of capitalism. Associating with capitalism in those days spelled disaster. As an honest man, slow of speech, he had no idea how to begin defending the name, but thankfully his smart daughter turned the tables in an instant.

"I heard it on Grandpa's radio; Chairman Mao said we should 'remember the bitterness and think of the sweetness,' treat friends as warmly as the spring breeze, and treat enemies as coldly as the severe winter. He also said that the masses have sharp eyes, and all counter-revolutionaries are paper tigers!"

Tian Sisi made up an excuse, showing off the well-remembered classic quotations of Chairman Mao from her previous life, which had become quite popular on the internet for a while. She hadn't expected they would come in handy now.

"My girl is really smart, knowing so many quotations!" exclaimed Tian Manjin, proud as could be. No other girl in the village was as beautiful and clever as his daughter.

"That's right, I am the smartest!" Tian Sisi replied arrogantly, thoroughly enjoying Tian Manjin's praise.

"Daddy, let's go shopping on the street, I want to buy something." Tian Sisi begged Tian Manjin with a whining voice.

As a doting father, Tian Manjin naturally agreed. Tian Sisi winked triumphantly at Dong Hua and Qinghua, signaling them to hurry up and follow. In the future, Wangjiazhen would flourish with a booming clothing industry, resembling a small city. However, Wangjiazhen of the present was scarred and dilapidated.

The street only had a bare restaurant, a Supply and Marketing Cooperative, and a post office, without a single street vendor in sight. Tian Sisi deflated instantly; the situation was more dire than she had estimated. It seemed impossible to rely on street selling to make money. She would have to think of other ways to earn.

In front of the restaurant was a cart with steaming hot buns, wafting an enticing meaty aroma. Tian Sisi wasn't bothered, but the two little fellows, Dong Hua and Qinghua, couldn't resist, their eyes glued to the bun cart, frozen in place. Seeing his sons act so embarrassingly, Tian Manjin's face turned stern, contemplating whether to slap each small culprit. Their family already ate more meat than others, three or four times a month; how could they still be so gluttonous?

Seeing their state, Tian Sisi quickly stopped Tian Manjin. In her view, Dong Hua and Qinghua were already extremely well-behaved. Every day they diligently gathered firewood-even some children their age in the future would still need to be fed by adults!

Tian Sisi hurriedly crossed the street to the restaurant's entrance and called out to the waitress crisply, "Auntie, I would like ten meat buns, please."

A pretty young girl always received more affection; moreover, Tian Sisi's dress suggested she came from a well-off family. The chubby waitress at the restaurant smiled warmly as she packed up ten large meat buns in paper, handing them to Tian Sisi, "Six cents each, so ten buns cost sixty cents. Be careful, it's hot, little lady. Where are your parents? Why let a little child like you buy buns?"

Tian Sisi pulled out one yuan from her pocket, handed it to the waitress with a cheerful smile, and said, "Thank you, auntie. I'm not afraid of the heat!"

After receiving the forty cents in change, Tian Sisi ran back to Tian Manjin, hugging the warm bundle of buns. Tian Manjin had been startled when she dashed across the road without a word, quickly following with Dong Hua and Qinghua in tow. Seeing Tian Sisi had bought the buns, he took them from her, scolding affectionately, "Ah Nan, you scared Daddy half to death. If you wanted buns, why didn't you tell me? Daddy would have bought them for you!"

Tian Sisi rolled her eyes secretly. Tian Manjin was definitely biased to the extreme; an outsider wouldn't know the sons were also his own! But she liked such a father, "These buns are actually for Daddy and my brothers. I bought ten, enough to save some to take back for Granny, Mama and the others."

While saying so, she handed a meat bun to each of her brothers, Dong Hua and Qinghua. They happily accepted and began to devour the buns. Sister had been acting so strangely since she recovered from her illness; not only would she let them eat the good stuff, but today she actually spent money to buy them meat buns. In the past, these treats always went to Zhong Yuying. They truly hoped Sister would never revert to how she used to be!

Little did Tian Sisi know about her little brothers' thoughts. She handed the buns to Tian Manjin, but how could he compete with the children for food? He kindly refused and told Tian Sisi to eat. Reluctantly, Tian Sisi took a bite of the big bun, revealing greasy meat inside. She had intended to take a symbolic nibble and then give it to Tian Manjin, claiming she was too full to eat, but she hadn't expected the buns to be so genuinely stuffed with greasy meat.

Well, no need to pretend anymore; she genuinely didn't want to eat it. Tian Sisi handed the bun to Tian Manjin with a look of disdain, "Daddy, I don't like meat-filled buns, they're too greasy. You have it."

Dong Hua and Qinghua looked up and thought to themselves, Sister was really too delicate. The meat buns were so delicious, fragrant and rich, and mouthfuls were full of grease. If they could eat meat buns every day, their lives would be more comfortable than immortals.