Rachel Holmes hadn't thought much of it and turned to Charlotte Shaw: "Dr. Shaw, the yarn you just bought, let Annette see it. You young folks should have the same taste. Let Annette knit a sweater for little Stuart."
Annette suddenly had a thought—maybe Charlotte really was buying yarn to knit a sweater for Stuart. She watched quietly as Rachel enthusiastically kept talking.
Since the conversation was already at this point, Charlotte had no choice but to open her bag and show the yarn to Annette.
Rachel eagerly pulled out the skeins and held them in front of Annette's eyes: "Look, this yarn would cost seven or eight yuan a pound at the supply and marketing cooperative, but at the market, it's just over five—a bargain. It's pure wool too, and this color would look great knitted into a sweater for little Stuart."
Annette didn't know what to say and forced a smile: "It's pretty, but I'm clumsy with my hands. I'm afraid I'd ruin the yarn."
Rachel waved her hand: "What's there to be afraid of? I'll teach you. Come on, come on. If you don't have enough money, I've got you."
That one sentence shut down everything Annette wanted to say.
She could only be pushed by Rachel toward the yarn stall. After some thought, Annette figured she might be stuck here for a while, so knitting Stuart a sweater as a thank-you wouldn't be a bad idea.
Rachel wasn't blind to Annette's thoughts. She believed Stuart had finally found a wife—it wasn't easy—and if she could keep her, she should. As they walked, Rachel kept trying to persuade Annette: "I know you look down on this place, but it'll get better. And if Stuart performs well at work these next two years, he might get promoted. You can't hold him back now."
She sighed: "Stuart didn't have it easy coming from the countryside. Now that he's married, he has to make it work."
Listening to Rachel repeat these lines, Annette suddenly thought about how rare divorce was in this era.
Divorce, whether for men or women, was extremely shameful.
It could even be seen as a moral failing that might hurt Stuart's future and reputation. Annette didn't care about reputation—she could always move to another city.
But would divorce harm Stuart's prospects?
Charlotte and Jean Zhang walked behind them, watching Rachel link arms with Annette and whispering non-stop. They felt a little resentful.
Under Rachel's urging, Annette bought three pounds of dark navy yarn, spending fifteen yuan all at once, which hurt her deeply.
Then they went to buy meat, and Rachel insisted Annette get two pounds of pork belly for just one yuan.
Stuart had given her twenty-five yuan yesterday, and suddenly nine yuan was gone.
Annette, who had always spent money recklessly and without restraint, now felt the sting of losing money and deeply understood what it meant for money to slip through her fingers.
She grew more anxious to become independent quickly.
On the way back, Rachel was in a great mood, mainly because Annette's attitude today gave her hope that the marriage might be salvageable.
Although everyone in the housing compound knew Stuart had married a "little tyrant," no one thought they would divorce—no one even considered it.
Whether by love or arranged marriage, no one around divorced. No matter how unhappy at first, after having kids, everyone just accepted their fate.
Rachel actually liked Stuart. She had once thought of introducing her niece to him but gave up after hearing he already had a girlfriend back home.
When Stuart married Annette, Rachel had assumed he abandoned his rural girlfriend for a city girl and disapproved.
But seeing the couple's chaotic life softened her heart, and she took the initiative to help mediate.
Now she finally saw some signs the couple might settle down. After Annette had a child, things could really stabilize.
Annette didn't know why Rachel was so happy all the way back. She was worried about money and starting to plan how to earn more.
She planned to have a serious talk with Stuart tonight.
By the time she got home, it was past noon. The stove fire burned strong, and the small dining table held a lunchbox—Stuart must have come back for lunch.
Annette increasingly felt this taciturn man was very thoughtful. If only the original Annette had tried to live peacefully with him, life wouldn't be so bad.
The lunchbox contained half white rice, half stir-fried cabbage, and three pieces of ribs, shiny and tempting.
Annette was surprised—did Stuart's work cafeteria really serve such good food?
While reheating the food on the stove, Rachel smiled and asked about the sweater yarn, glancing at the lunchbox with some surprise: "Did little Stuart bring this back?"
Annette felt a bit embarrassed: "Yes, it should be from lunch."
Rachel nodded repeatedly: "That's good, very good. They only have one group meal a week, and everyone's share is standardized. My husband never dares bring me any home."
Annette blinked: "Isn't it an open buffet?"
Rachel laughed: "Silly girl, there are so many people in the unit. How much would an open buffet cost? It has to be rationed. And everyone has families—if they all brought food home, how much would they need?"
Annette had never thought about this before. A simple meal of white rice and two ribs wasn't easy to come by.
Rachel sighed: "It's much better than a few years ago. Back then, we didn't even have the right to come here. Life was hard."
Then she smiled: "But now, it's good. Families can be together, eat meat during holidays, and have white flour and rice on normal days."
Annette always thought life in '77 wasn't that tough. She hadn't realized that even white flour was still a luxury in some places.
Seeing Stuart bring back his portion, did that mean he had nothing to eat himself? Somehow, her eyes warmed.
Rachel glanced around, caught sight of the small bed against the wall, and smiled again: "Alright, I won't keep you from eating. If you don't know how to knit the sweater, come to my place. I'll teach you."
Annette saw Rachel out, then returned to the stove and the steaming rice, feeling a ripple of warmth and an indescribable feeling inside.
She ate every last grain and, feeling satisfied and cozy, rested on the bed for a bit before getting up to make dumplings.
Didn't Rachel say Stuart loved dumplings?
Then she would make him a good batch.
Thinking the two pounds of meat was too much, she cut off a third to mince for filling, leaving the rest to figure out when Stuart came back.
When Stuart returned, Annette had already finished wrapping the dumplings, which looked plump and full on the board, while the pot of water bubbled.
"You're back! Just in time to wash your hands and get ready to eat."
Annette greeted Stuart with a bright smile, her eyes curved like a crescent moon, full of delight.
Stuart paused for a moment, feeling a bit like he had walked into the wrong room.