After returning home, Jim Thorne relayed the message exactly as he'd heard it. Phoebe Huxley was in the courtyard washing clothes. She had to do communal labor during the day, leaving only the nights for housework. Of course, she could have chosen not to work. Many married women in the village didn't; they stayed home to care for the young and old, tend their private plots, and raise pigs, chickens, and ducks, which kept them busy all day.
Felix Thorne didn't want her to do the communal labor either, but Phoebe Huxley was strong-willed and wanted her family to be more prosperous. Her work points for the year were worth over two hundred yuan. Felix Thorne earned full work points, which only came to about three hundred and fifty yuan a year, so Phoebe Huxley's earnings were nothing to sneeze at.
