Chapter 82. Zhang Xiuying looked at Yu Hongding, who had become thinner...

Cheng Xiuying looked at Yu Hongding's face, which had become noticeably thinner, and thought he looked even more handsome. Her heart was beating faster than usual. She reached out and took the bag from Yu Hongding's back, leading him inside. "Come back and see our new home."

Yu Hongding had been to Chen Xuefeng's house before. This house had an extra bedroom compared to Chen Xuefeng's! It was so bright and spacious! You could take a shower, wash up, and use the toilet right at home!

What shocked Yu Hongding even more than the house was that Cheng Xiuying had become the deputy factory director. How difficult that must have been!

His wife became the deputy factory director!

The deputy factory director!

What merit or ability did he possess to become the deputy factory director's husband?

Yu Hongding had endless questions; he wanted to know everything.

Cheng Xiuying cut the cake first and gave a piece to each of the neighbors to thank them for their help. They had only ever seen cakes in the newspaper and had never tasted such a beautiful pastry before. They were very excited and thought that Yu Hongding had brought it back from Haicheng.

Cheng Xiuying: "This was developed by Jiajia and Songyan together. You should try it too."

After the cake was delivered, the Yu family started their meal. The eight-inch cake was divided into thirds, and the rest was given to each person.

The two largest pieces were given to Old Man Yu and Old Woman Yu, who had been busy moving and tidying up the house, and they had worked hard. The rest were given to each of them.

Actually, the difference isn't that big!

Yu Hongding, not even bothering with his food, spoke first: "Deputy Factory Director Cheng, please tell me about it."

This all started with Zhu Jinsong's story.

We can't finish talking about it all in a short time, so we'll talk while we eat.

Cheng Xiuying placed a piece of rabbit leg meat on Yu Hongding's plate, gesturing for him to eat while listening. Then she placed a piece of rabbit leg meat on Yu Jiajia's plate as well.

Yu Jiajia: "Thank you, Mom." She also put a piece of good meat on Cheng Xiuying's plate and started eating!

The Yu family dinner table was bustling with activity. Yu Jiajia would occasionally add a few words, focusing on eating the spicy rabbit meat. Her third sister was very generous with the oil when cooking, and the wild rabbit was also quite plump, making it taste especially delicious!

Although everyone was talking, they didn't stop eating the meat. There was a lot of spicy rabbit meat, but the Yu family was large and had a good appetite, so the plate of rabbit meat was quickly emptied.

The thick, dark sauce at the bottom of the plate was also eaten clean by dipping the steamed buns in it.

Yu Jiajia then drank the ham and mushroom soup with satisfaction. The soup was especially delicious. Only after finishing the soup did she start eating her cake.

The order in which you eat is absolutely crucial: eat everyone else's food first, then your own!

This cake looks so beautiful! It's topped with apple and grape pieces, and the buttercream has been colored pink! Yu Jiajia scooped a spoonful and put it in her mouth; it was incredibly sweet!

It was really satisfying to eat.

You don't need to eat this cake too fast, and no one will fight you for it. Eat it slowly, and if you can't finish it, you can have it as a late-night snack.

Unlike last time when they ate cake, Grandpa Yu and Grandma Yu didn't always think about giving it to their eldest son. Grandma Yu wanted to eat it herself too, saying that the cake was so fragrant and sweet!

After finishing the meal, Yu Hongding learned about the recent events that had happened in his family. It was truly dramatic and exciting. He felt so sorry for Yu Jiajia when Zhu Jingsong cornered her in the water. He cursed Zhu Jingsong as worse than a pig or a dog and said that he would definitely go see him when he was executed.

Cheng Xiuying: "I absolutely have to see it! I'll take time off to go see it! I reckon it'll be on Sunday!"

After everyone finished eating the cake, Yu Songqing cleared the dishes, and Yu Hongding opened his schoolbag to give everyone some things.

Yu Hongding bought quite a few things. He bought Cheng Xiuying a blue V-neck long dress and Yu Jiajia a light pink fitted long dress.

Yu Hongding has great taste; both dresses are very stylish, and you can't find this style in Qingshan County!

He brought Yu Jiamin a very elegant beige shirt. Yu Jiamin hugged the shirt, her eyes reddening. She never expected that her father would buy her a shirt.

I brought a pair of socks for Old Man Yu and a silk scarf for Old Woman Yu.

Grandma Yu pursed her lips. She packed clothes for her wife and daughter, and gave her mother a silk scarf. The scarf felt so soft and smooth. She certainly wouldn't cause trouble now; it would spoil everyone's mood!

Each of the three sons also received a pair of socks.

Yu Hongding then remembered Yu Songchuan: "Where's Lao Wu? Why isn't he home?"

Cheng Xiuying said, "He's on the expedition, so don't worry about him."

Upon hearing this, Yu Hongding knew that something was wrong at home, and it had to be something good! Something he had to keep from his parents.

The rest are some local specialties of Haicheng, such as dried squid, dried small fish, dried oysters, dried scallops, and kelp.

Dried squid strips and dried small fish can be eaten directly, while dried oysters, dried scallops, and kelp need to be soaked and used in soups or stir-fries.

These items also used up all the money and coupons that Yu Hongding had brought.

Cheng Xiuying took out some shredded squid and dried fish for everyone to try, one shredded squid and one dried fish for each person.

None of us had ever tried this before. The squid strips were a bit fishy, ​​but tasted very fresh. The dried anchovies were salty, extremely salty, and very chewy, becoming more fragrant the more you chewed them.

After they finished eating, Yu Jiajia called Cheng Xiuying and Yu Jiamin back to the room to change their clothes.

She wants to try on her new clothes!

She doesn't have a pink dress yet! What little girl doesn't like pink? Her skin is already fair, and wearing a pink dress makes it look even fairer and more delicate, her skin looks amazing, she loves it.

Yu Jiamin put on that beige shirt, with delicate wavy lace trim on the collar and cuffs, which was both exquisite and elegant. Standing under the light, her clothes were smooth and she herself was gentle and particularly elegant.

After the two sisters praised each other, they went to look at Cheng Xiuying's new dress.

Cheng Xiuying also changed into a dress in the next room, wearing a V-neck blue long dress, which softened her cold and hard temperament and made her look a little gentler.

Yu Jiajia: "Mom, you look so good in that! Dad has such a great eye for clothes!" She then praised Yu Hongding: "Dad, you have such good taste! The clothes are super nice, thank you, Dad!"

Yu Hongding was overjoyed. He had carefully selected this gift for a long time. Cloth coupons were in short supply, and he had to scrape together some by exchanging with his colleagues to get enough. Now that he saw how much his wife and daughter liked it, he felt that all the hard work was worth it. He was even happier than if he were wearing the gift himself.

That's obviously fake... You're always happier wearing clothes yourself! He actually had his eye on one too!

But he only had so many cloth coupons. He definitely had to buy some for Sibao, and he couldn't leave his wife behind! Jiamin was also well-behaved, sensible, and filial, so he couldn't treat her too poorly. He gritted his teeth and decided to buy Jiamin a shirt too. The remaining cloth coupons would only be enough to buy him a pair of underwear.

He doesn't even care about underwear!

In the end, he bought himself a pair of socks.

Yu Jiajia, like a sweet and considerate daughter, made a promise to Yu Hongding: "Dad, once I've saved up enough cloth coupons, I'll buy you a woolen overcoat!"

Yu Jiamin: "Thank you, Dad. Jiajia and I will save up cloth coupons together."

Yu Hongding was even happier.

He only knew that Sibao and Jiamin were filial.

Cheng Xiuying and Yu Hongding had been separated for so long, and she missed her handsome husband terribly. She urged everyone to take a shower and go to bed early, as they had to work tomorrow!

It takes quite a while for the whole family to take a bath.

The whole family went to the bathroom to check out the showerhead. It was just like a public bathhouse; you just turned on the tap and hot water came out! The hot water was heated in a boiler room and was supplied until 11 a.m. every day.

Grandma Yu reached out to touch it: "Oh my, this is really good. We won't have to boil water to wash our face and feet in winter anymore."

Cheng Xiuying: "This room has heating, so it's not that cold even in winter. You don't feel cold even when you wash your feet with cold water."

Cheng Xiuying shooed everyone out so she could take a shower first.

Yu Jiajia pulled Yu Jiamin back into the house. She made orange juice and sat with her third sister on the rocking chair on the small balcony, enjoying the evening breeze, drinking orange juice, looking at the night sky, admiring the moon and stars.

Not far away is a small square with a basketball court and some simple fitness equipment. There are quite a few people playing in the square right now. Several young people are playing basketball, full of energy, which looks very interesting.

Yu Jiajia lay on the rocking chair, rocking back and forth from time to time, looking at the beautiful scenery. Oh, she loved this kind of life, feeling very content.

Yu Jiamin sat upright, her shirt sleeves rolled up to her elbows. She liked the shirt, she liked her family, and she liked her home.

She looked at Yu Jiajia beside her; she loved her younger sister the most.

After drinking a glass of orange juice, Yu Jiajia should get back to work; the ladies in the performing arts troupe are waiting for her script.

She turned on the balcony light, sat on the balcony to read the script, and after a while, she quickly ran back inside. There were mosquitoes outside, and with the light on, there were even more mosquitoes.

This job still has to be done indoors.

Yu Jiamin smiled and went into the room. After closing the curtain, there was no need to close the door. The room was very cool, and she picked up a book to read.

Yu Jiajia focused on revising the script, changing large scenes, refining language, and adjusting dance moves—everything needed to be changed, resulting in a huge workload. She was truly giving it her all for the young ladies.

During this time, Yu Jiamin called her to take a shower together. The two sisters rubbed each other's backs. Yu Jiajia was younger, only 17 years old, not tall enough, and not in good shape. The third sister was still the prettiest!

It feels so good to take a nice, refreshing shower in the summer! You get so clean and smell wonderful!

I feel so happy.

After washing up, she changed into her pajamas, wrapped her hair in a towel, and went back to her room to continue creating. In order not to disturb Yu Jiamin's sleep, she moved her creation location to the main room.

Yu Jiamin pinched Yu Jiajia's cheek, let her hair down, dried it until it was half dry, combed it, and then made her a cup of malted milk powder. "Don't stay up too late."

Cheng Xiuying came out and gave Yu Jiajia half a bag of dried squid before rushing back into the house. She was currently quite fond of Yu Hongding.

Grandma Yu looked out from inside the house and saw that Cheng Xiuying had gone back. She then came out and fanned Yu Jiajia with a fan, saying, "Take your time writing. Grandma will keep you company. If you get hungry, Grandma will cook you some noodles."

Yu Jiajia smiled and said, "Grandma, I'm not hungry. I ate a lot tonight. You should go back to sleep. I'll write for a while and then go back to my room to sleep."

Grandma Yu fanned herself for a while longer before going back to her room to sleep after being repeatedly persuaded by Yu Jiajia. She also told Yu Jiajia to wake her up and cook noodles for her if she got hungry.

Yu Songqing and Yu Songyan also expressed their concern.

Ah, this sweet burden~

Yu Jiajia stayed up until midnight, finally finished the script, turned off the lights, lay down on the big bed in the room, and fell asleep.

The next day, everyone knew that Yu Jiajia had stayed up all night, so they got up very quietly. It wasn't until almost time to eat that they woke Yu Jiajia up.

Yu Jiajia checked in as usual and received [10 pieces of lard candy].

They even have lard candy! That's great!

She changed into new clothes and braided her hair into two pigtails. In fact, clothing in this era was relatively simple, with blue, gray and black as the main colors. But a young girl could dress up nicely, of course. Moreover, the Yu family was both politically and professionally competent, and Yu Jiajia herself was an outstanding member of the family, so she wasn't afraid of being criticized.

After washing up, Yu Jiajia sat down at the table to eat. Today's breakfast was mushroom and meat buns and seaweed and oyster soup.

The meat buns were huge, almost as big as Yu Jiajia's little face! Yu Jiajia could only eat half of one, and then drink a bowl of seaweed and oyster soup. It was a bit fishy, ​​but still quite delicious.

After breakfast, Yu Jiajia packed up the script she had finished the day before, put the five-inch cake in a lunchbox, and happily went to work with Cheng Xiuying.

Yu Hongding rode a 28-inch bicycle, with Yu Songqing on the back.

On the way, they encountered a dark-skinned, thin young man walking furtively on the road, looking around suspiciously. He didn't seem like a good person.

Yu Jiajia glanced at him again and felt that something was wrong with the man. The next moment, the dark-skinned, thin young man pulled out a pair of scissors from his waist and rushed towards a little girl carrying a schoolbag.

Yu Jiajia grabbed a rock from her pocket and threw it at the thin, dark-skinned young man's face, shouting, "Mom! That man on the left is going to kill someone! Quick!!!"

[Mutual care and concern. A special reward is hereby awarded: 100 yuan + 2 meat coupons (per jin) + 1 Intermediate Materials Science Theory Level (10/10)]

My God, what kind of deep-seated hatred could drive someone to stab someone to death?!

The dark-skinned, thin young man was hit in the eye and covered it in pain. He paused in his stabbing motion, but soon continued to rush towards the little girl.

The little girl noticed it too, and while looking back, she hurriedly ran away.

Yu Jiajia continued to throw stones at the dark-skinned, thin young man.

Cheng Xiuying also rode her bicycle over and kicked the dark-skinned, thin young man, sending him flying several meters away before he fell to the ground.

Cheng Xiuying got out of the car with a cool and confident air and rushed towards the dark-skinned young man, stomping on his chest. "You son of a bitch, you think you're so tough, stabbing that young girl with scissors?"

Yu Jiajia quickly parked her bicycle and went to see the little girl.

The little girl panicked and trembled with fear.

Yu Jiajia held her hand: "Don't be afraid, it's okay now. My mom has already subdued the bad guy. My mom is really amazing!"

Yu Songqing also ran over, but there was nothing he could help with.

Cheng Xiuying had already unbuckled her belt and tied up the dark-skinned, thin man. She reached out and slapped the man's face repeatedly: "You beast, all you do is take your anger out on children. If you're so capable, go find a strong man. Sibao, I'll take this thing to the police station first. You and your older brother take the girl to school or home."

The little girl's eyes were red. "Thank you, Auntie. Thank you, Sister."

Cheng Xiuying comforted him, "It's alright now." She grabbed the thin, dark-skinned man and headed towards the police station, with Yu Hongding pushing his bicycle behind them.

Yu Jiajia asked softly, "Are you going to school or going home?"

The little girl was too scared to go to school. Tears welled up in her eyes as she said she wanted to go home, so Yu Songqing and Yu Jiajia took her home. She also lived in the steel mill's staff quarters, in the same building.

Yu Jiajia didn't know the little girl, but she knew the little girl's parents, Section Chief Xia and Accountant Hu from the Housing Management Department.

Director Xia has already started work, and Accountant Hu is just about to leave for work.

The little girl threw herself into Accountant Hu's arms, crying, "Mom!"

Accountant Hu was terrified, thinking something had happened to her daughter, and asked repeatedly, "Jingjing, what's wrong with you?"

The little girl kept crying and couldn't say a word.

Accountant Hu became even more worried about her daughter, and her eyes welled up with tears.

Yu Jiajia explained, "On her way to school, my sister was followed by a man who was holding a pair of scissors and almost stabbed her. We happened to run into him, and my mother had already taken the man to the police station. We were afraid she would be scared on the way, so we brought her back first. Aunt Hu, don't worry too much, my sister wasn't hurt, she was just quite frightened."

"Being followed, with scissors?" Accountant Hu's legs went weak. How could her daughter have encountered such a thing?

Xia Jing finally calmed down and choked out, "Mom, I was so scared. Luckily, my sister saw it and threw a stone at that man, otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to escape."

Yu Jiajia reassured him, "Don't be afraid, he'll be locked up by the police."

Yu Jiajia and Yu Songqing had to go to work, so after offering a few words of comfort, they said goodbye to Accountant Hu. Accountant Hu thanked them profusely and asked Yu Jiajia to call Section Chief Xia back.

The child has had such a serious incident; we absolutely have to go to the police station.

After leaving the Xia family, Yu Jiajia quickly completed her intermediate-level materials science theory course. She looked lovingly at Yu Songqing riding his bicycle, knowing she would urge her older brother to make his dream come true.

After arriving at the steel rolling mill, the brother and sister went to the housing management department and briefly explained the situation to Section Chief Xia. Section Chief Xia thanked Yu Jiajia and her brother and hurriedly went home.

Yu Jiajia went to the auditorium with her schoolbag and lunchbox. The older boys and girls had already arrived and were stretching and warming up their voices. When they saw Yu Jiajia coming, Tian Lili stopped stretching and walked over in a few steps, looking expectant: "Jiajia, your dress is so pretty! It makes you look especially fair."

Tian Xiaoxi also looked on expectantly: "Jiajia's skin is already fair, she doesn't need clothes to accentuate it! But this outfit is really beautiful, you can't find anything like it in the city."

Everyone praised Yu Jiajia's new clothes as beautiful.

Yu Jiajia said happily, "My dad came back from Haicheng yesterday and bought me clothes."

Tian Xiaoxi: "No wonder it looks so good. It turns out it was bought from Haicheng. Your dad is so kind."

Everyone else gathered around as well.

They were all curious about the script, but none of them asked.

Surrounded by her female companions, Yu Jiajia walked in. Without keeping them waiting, she immediately pulled out the script from her bag and showed it to everyone. As for the cake, she hadn't brought it out yet; there were too many people, and a five-inch cake wouldn't be enough to go around.

She wants to give it to Lily, Xiaoxi, Xiaoyu, and Dahua.

People are always prone to favoritism.

Since the playwright from the performing arts troupe didn't come to the county with them, there's no need to show the playwright the play.

Tian Lili and the others received the script, and as they read it, tears welled up in their eyes, and an overwhelming surge of passion welled up in their hearts.

This is so well written!

They loved the script so much.

In addition, the script incorporates many dance sequences, which the performing arts troupe needs to choreograph themselves. Professional tasks should be done by professionals! Their performance yesterday was excellent, and with the addition of some new elements, it will be even better.

The victim's solo dance should be poignant and lonely, every movement imbued with sorrow, heartbreaking and moving; the hero's dance should be full of passion and fervor, with firm steps and a proud posture, carrying an indomitable belief; and the soldiers' group dance should be magnificent, like a thousand troops surging forward, inspiring trust and making them worthy of being entrusted.

With Tian Lili overseeing the process, almost no modifications were needed, and Yu Jiajia thought it was perfect in every way.

While Tian Lili and the others were queuing, Yu Jiajia got a little bored and started to feel sleepy. She yawned several times and tears welled up in her eyes.

After all, I stayed up late, so my sleep quality was affected.

Tian Lili felt sorry for Jiajia. She knew Jiajia must have stayed up all night writing the script to be so tired. They had to rehearse properly! She took a coat and covered Yu Jiajia with it, telling her to rest first and not to keep watching her.

Yu Jiajia: "Lily dances so well, I want to keep watching."

Tian Lili pouted and went to rehearse again.

Lin Mei also felt that this version was better. As she watched, her nose started to sting and her eyes started to blur. At some parts, she felt her blood boil and her emotions were completely stirred.

She leaned down next to Yu Jiajia and said, "I don't know what's wrong with the accountant. She said she won't pay salaries today. I was planning to buy some snacks for Comrade Li at noon."

Yu Jiajia yawned again: "I want to buy clothes!"

Lin Mei was shocked: "Didn't your dad just buy you a new dress?"

Moreover, Yu Jiajia herself has a lot of dresses.

Yu Jiajia: "I'm still missing autumn and winter clothes, I need to start saving up now. What snacks do you want to buy?"

Oh, right, she still owes Lu Chenzhou cloth coupons... she might not be able to buy clothes.

Lin Mei: "Caozi cake and braised chicken legs, look how thin Comrade Li is, he could be blown away by a gust of wind."

Yu Jiajia also looked at Li Yuhe and whispered, "If Comrade Li gets fat, he won't be able to be the mainstay. Xiaomei, don't take it to heart. They're not from Qingshan County."

Lin Mei: "I know. But he's so handsome, I want to buy him something. Just like you always want to give Lily and Xiaoxi delicious food. Is there something tasty in your lunchbox? I can smell the aroma."

Yu Jiajia: "...I'll bring you some another day."