057 A Bountiful Harvest (Catching Bugs)

No matter what the union director said, Guan Yuehe remained unmoved.

But she still went to help decorate the small auditorium on the morning of National Day.

She didn't attend, but Comrade Xie Dongxue came wearing her newly made clothes.

Guan Yuehe pulled her outside the small auditorium to whisper, "Lin Sitian said that good men with good conditions and good character in the car factory can't be found outside the car factory. You have to be careful."

Xie Dongxue laughed so hard she bent over, but as she laughed, she noticed Xie Dongxue's serious expression and said earnestly, "Don't worry, I'm just here to take a look. If there's someone suitable, I'll try to be friends with them. If not, then forget it."

Xie Dongxue is two years older than Guan Yuehe. In her family's opinion, she is not young anymore. She doesn't need to rush into marriage, but she should start dating.

Another thing is, if Xie Dongxue hadn't gone to university, she would have already received her housing allocation qualification. But since she went to university, she'll have to wait a while longer. She's thinking that if she could find someone and get married before her housing allocation qualification comes through, that would be great.

"Then you should look at other factories," Guan Yuehe said with a smile. "If you want to find a car factory, I can ask someone to introduce you to one."

Besides her family and childhood friends, she could also ask teachers Zhang Xinbi and Guo Xusheng.

"I'd rather get to know people from the machinery factory. Do you have any relatives there?" Xie Dongxue asked directly.

When looking for a partner, the more specific your requirements, the better. Otherwise, you'll end up meeting a bunch of people, agonizing over every choice, and finally just picking someone who's passable.

However, Comrade He Shuangshuang, speaking from experience, reminded us that a lifetime is a long time, and we shouldn't settle for just anyone.

Guan Yuehe shook her head, suggesting that she could only look around at the social gathering to see if there were any suitable candidates.

"What are you two whispering about?" Gao Xiaofang walked over from a distance and familiarly pulled them inside. "You two are here for the social event too, right? Perfect, we can all look at each other and see who's the best."

In the past two and a half years, Gao Xiaofang not only successfully obtained her own house, but also transferred from the workshop to the personnel department, and is now a colleague of He Shuangshuang in the same department.

People change.

Who would have thought that Gao Xiaofang used to always look so wronged and like a doormat?

Although she didn't like Gao Xiaofang very much and was certain that she would never become friends with her, seeing her was like seeing a completely different person, and she was genuinely happy for her.

"Yuehe has other things to do," Xie Dongxue reminded Guan Yuehe. "You should leave early, lest you go there and find no one."

"Oh right, I have to get going." Guan Yuehe glanced at her watch, waved, and hurriedly went around to the back of the small auditorium to get her car.

Gao Xiaofang asked in surprise, "Yuehe isn't attending the social gathering?"

"She's going to the school to visit her teacher."

"Oh. Our new guy in the personnel department even asked Comrade Guan from the planning department if he was going to attend the social gathering. It seems his information was wrong; he's going to be disappointed this time."

Xie Dongxue smiled, guessing that Yuehe couldn't possibly like a young man who had just started working.

Perhaps Yuehe will feel she's been ripped off: "I have over six years of service, how many years have you?"

Thinking of this, Xie Dongxue found it even funnier. She would have to ask Yuehe to confirm next time to see if she really thought that way.

Guan Yuehe, who was heading to Peking University, was so focused on getting there that she had no idea that at today's social gathering, many people were quietly asking: "Where is the woman named Guan Yuehe from your clothing factory?"

Comrade Guan Yuehe has arrived at the faculty and staff quarters of Peking University.

A teacher who was busy translating documents at home was startled by Guan Yuehe's arrival and asked repeatedly, "Why are you here?" Her upturned lips revealed her joy.

Guan Yuehe patted her bag, saying, "These are questions I've been accumulating for over two months."

"Ha! I thought you came here specifically to see me." The teacher deliberately lowered the corners of her mouth.

Guan Yuehe immediately changed her tune and said sincerely, "I came here specifically to see the teachers and to ask some questions."

"......"

Guan Yuehe didn't come empty-handed either; her bag contained steamed buns she had made herself. After delivering the buns to the three teachers, she went to ask them questions one by one.

She stayed all morning, asked all her questions, and the teacher offered to let her stay for lunch, but she couldn't stay and rode off on her bike.

"Really... So what if you eat a lot? Are you worried that I don't have enough food?" the teacher who hadn't caught up said with a laugh.

After leaving her teacher's place, Guan Yuehe went to a state-run restaurant and ate a large bowl of noodles. Only after being ushered out by the restaurant's staff did she go to the city library.

The city library seemed to have fewer books than when she last came with her childhood friends; most noticeably, there wasn't a single foreign book in the library.

But since she was already there, she couldn't leave empty-handed, could she? Guan Yuehe found a few books related to automobile manufacturing, which she could read to help her fall asleep at night.

"Comrade!"

"The woman in the white shirt in front!"

Guan Yuehe walked a short distance, glanced down at her clothes, looked around to make sure no one was there, and then turned around.

The person behind her was indeed calling her.

A stranger, a seemingly polite man wearing round-framed glasses.

The first thing Guan Yuehe thought to herself when she saw the man was: This man is even fairer than my older sister!

The man caught up with him and handed him a ten-yuan note, saying, "Comrade, you dropped your money."

Guan Yuehe immediately rummaged through her bag. In the innermost compartment lay a neatly folded handkerchief. When she opened the handkerchief, all the money and tickets inside were still there.

"That's not my money."

"Huh? I picked it up where you were just standing."

"It might have been left behind by someone else," Guan Yuehe pointed to the librarian in front of her, reminding him that he could hand over the money he found to the staff.

"You really didn't leave it behind?" the man asked, chasing after them.

"No!" That's really strange. If I said no, then it definitely isn't. If money really fell out, anyone would have pocketed it by now.

The man withdrew his hand, watched as she took the book to register and prepared to leave, gritted his teeth, and chased after her again, calling out, "Comrade."

Guan Yuehe instantly became alert, frowning as she looked at him.

The person in front of him hesitated for a few seconds before quickly organizing his thoughts, "Hello, my name is Zhao Youtong, and I work in the technical department of Wuxing Automobile Factory. Comrade, which unit are you from?"

"You? From Five Star Automobile Factory?"

Zhao Youtong nodded, his face starting to flush as he was scrutinized by the woman in front of him. He quietly tugged at the corner of his clothes, trying to make himself look more energetic.

"I...I brought my identification." Zhao Youtong hurriedly pulled out his worker's ID from his pocket, which indeed had his photo, name, and company information on it.

Guan Yuehe felt relieved and said, "My family also works at the Five Star Automobile Factory. Oh, my name is Guan Yuehe, and I work at the Zhuoyue Garment Factory."

Zhao Youtong exclaimed in surprise in a low voice, "Then we're quite destined to meet, we both work in the car factory."

“I work at Zhuoyue Garment Factory,” Guan Yuehe corrected.

“The workers’ families also work at the car factory.” Seeing her about to leave, Zhao Youtong quickly said, “Where are you going? I rode my bike over; let me give you a ride. Wait for me a moment; I’m going to pay the money…”

"No need, I'm going on my bike." Guan Yuehe waved and hurried off to her next destination for the day.

Zhao Youtong wanted to follow, but then he remembered the money he had found and the pen and notebook he had brought with him in the library. He could only watch as Guan Yuehe turned out of the city library.

Guan Yuehe rushed to the residential compound of Zhuoyue Garment Factory and went straight to her eldest sister's house.

She came to get the meat.

Gu Mannian's family got a lot of pork from their hometown in the countryside. Since the weather is still warm and the meat won't keep for long, they plan to share it with their relatives and friends. It's cheaper than buying it from the meat station and doesn't require coupons.

Yesterday was Sunday, and her parents went back to their hometown early in the morning, only returning today. Gu Mannian informed her family to come and pick up the meat this afternoon, and since she was the only one available at home today, the task fell to her.

"Sis! I'm here!"

"Coming, coming." Gu Mannian hurriedly opened the door and let her in. "Your sister is washing her hair. Sit down first, I'll get you some meat. What would you like to drink? Plain water or sugar water? Do you want some malted milk powder?"

This was Guan Yuehe's third visit to her elder sister's house, and she found that the house had completely changed. The curtains made of floral fabric were indeed more beautiful, and the vase she had found somewhere was also inexplicably elegant.

What attracted her even more was that there was a lot of food in the house.

She said the purchasing department is lucrative, right?! Gu Mannian always says the planning department is even better.

Gu Mannian made her a large cup of malted milk powder and then ran to the kitchen to get some meat.

The sound of water in the bathroom stopped, and after a while, Guan Yuehua came out with her wet hair wrapped up. She found it amusing to see Guan Yuehe sitting obediently, "There are peach shortbreads in the cabinet next to you, take some and eat them yourself."

"Didn't you finish the peach shortbread at home?" Gu Mannian poked her head out. "I remember we finished it."

Guan Yuehua: "I bought it."

Guan Yuehe raised an eyebrow. Her sister was stockpiling food at home? That was strange.

With a peach shortbread in her left hand and malted milk powder in her right, she decided that once she received her paycheck at work tomorrow, she would also buy a can of malted milk powder.

As for the electric fan I wanted to buy when it was too hot to sleep in August, I'm not in a hurry. I'll wait until it gets hot next year to buy it.

“Here, this one is for the family, and this one is for you.” Gu Mannian patted the bag. “Your sister is about to go back to school, so she won’t let you stay for dinner.”

Her sister isn't home, so she definitely won't stay for a free meal.

The portion for the family was a gift from her eldest sister and brother-in-law to their parents. Guan Yuehe paid for her own portion, which was a bit larger; besides the fatty meat, it included two pig's trotters, a gift from her brother-in-law. She planned to go to Uncle Ming's place tonight to ask him the best way to cook pig's trotters.

"If there are any more good things like this in the future, be sure to call me! Thank you, brother-in-law!"

My brother-in-law then asked, "Tell me the truth, will the planning department's plan be changed again?"

"That depends on whether the higher-ups have other ideas. That's the truth!" They're family; if she had concrete information, wouldn't she reveal it? She genuinely didn't know, and even her section chief might not know.

Gu Mannian sighed, it seems things will change again.

—

Guan Yuehe had a busy and fulfilling day, riding her bicycle around half of Beijing, visiting several places, and gaining a lot.

Several pages filled with notes, several books related to automobile manufacturing, and two heavy bags of meat.

"Yuehe, the garment factory had a social gathering today, didn't you go?" Aunt Bai came over and grabbed a handful of dried sweet potatoes for her, then casually asked, "Do you know any female colleagues you could introduce to Yuejin..."

"Aunt Bai, your Yuejin is only nineteen this year, right?"

"He's over twenty." Aunt Bai thought she was making a fuss. "Chang Zhengyi wasn't even twenty when he secretly got his marriage certificate, but our Yuejin didn't find a partner until he was over twenty. Oh, by the way, our Yuejin has already become a full-time employee."

Guan Yuehe congratulated Bai Yuejin, saying that after three years as an apprentice, he had finally become a full-fledged worker. All three of Bai's children were now employed, and their family income was much higher than when Bai was a factory worker.

Guan Yuehe quickly realized something was wrong.

Aunt Bai's real purpose in coming to her was not to ask her to help find suitable female comrades for Bai Yuejin, but to show off that Bai Yuejin had been officially promoted.

After praising Bai Yuejin, he didn't mention finding him a partner again. Instead, he turned around and went to the other side of the street with dried sweet potatoes to "keep an eye out" for Cai Ying.

Guan Yuehe didn't take it seriously. She thought, if Aunt Bai wanted to find a female colleague who worked at the Zhuoyue Garment Factory for Bai Yuejin, wouldn't it be better to just have Bai Xianghong keep an eye out?

Just as she was about to take the meat to Courtyard No. 3, her mother came over with a bag of things first.

“Your uncle and aunt gave this to you. The brigade had a good harvest this year, and we received a lot of grain, so they gave you some.”

Guan Yuehe leaned closer to take a look; the small bag was full of white flour, which was very valuable.

“Just take it,” Jiang Guiying said. “Your aunt said that the defective cloth you sent back was good, so she took half of it and exchanged it with the people in the brigade for flour, and that’s how she managed to gather this much.”

Only then could Guan Yuehe accept it with peace of mind.

She used up all her share of the defective fabric the factory produced to exchange for a considerable amount. She planned to have her mother take it back to their hometown, give half to her aunt, and exchange the other half for grain. Unexpectedly, she was able to exchange for quite a lot.

It seems this year's harvest is really good.

Jiang Guiying delivered the grain and then received a bag of meat, exclaiming with delight.

There was no one else in the room. Jiang Guiying was happy and whispered to her youngest daughter, "I used to worry that your sister would still spend money recklessly after getting married. If she married a man who also spends money recklessly, the two of them would starve. But now it's all good. Your brother-in-law is good at managing money, so they won't go hungry."

Guan Yuehe thought to herself: It's not just that we won't go hungry; there's plenty of good food at my older sister's house.

"I spend money lavishly." Now that I have a little money, I start thinking about what to buy.

"I don't care about you, you can't go hungry anyway." Jiang Guiying exclaimed again, "I have to hurry back and tell your sister-in-law not to buy meat, you should eat at home tonight."

We'll eat at home tonight, but Guan Yuehe can't be idle either. She'll process the meat we brought back, either marinating it or frying it for oil. The remaining two pig trotters will be set aside for now.

Winter is better; meat keeps longer in winter.

As evening approached, everyone was busy cooking, and the aroma of meat wafted together, making it impossible to tell whose house the chicken smell that had just reached our noses was coming from.

Today is National Day, and tomorrow we'll be able to get our wages and coupons again. The adults took out their saved meat coupons and splurged on a delicious meal.

People still lack oil and nutrients nowadays, but compared to three years ago, it's much easier to replenish them.

Even if you don't go to the black market, you can still get some meat or grain by asking colleagues or neighbors who have relatives in the suburbs or countryside.

"I think there's nothing wrong with sending children to the countryside when they reach a certain age."

"Tch! I bet you just don't want to pass the job on to your daughter, huh? Making excuses, huh?"

"Don't even mention my daughter, I can't let my son take over either. We only have one job. If the kid takes it, what will we do? I think you're just jealous of my daughter's good grades, so she can get into the factory's technical school later."

Along the long alleyway, people from different courtyards would come out with their rice bowls, eating and chatting. If they couldn't agree on anything, they would easily start arguing.

Guan Yuehe jogged from courtyard number two into courtyard number three, shaking her head. These people wouldn't stay still unless they caused something interesting every day.

Just after finishing their meal, Zhou Hongqi and Jin Junwei came over with Yuanbao in their arms.

Zhou Hongqi was straightforward. After exchanging only a few pleasantries with Jin Junwei, she got straight to the point, saying that she wanted to ask Jiang Guiying to help her find relatives in the countryside to exchange for some grain.

"You can exchange it for cloth coupons or industrial coupons. I also have a sewing machine ticket. We don't use a sewing machine at home. Could you ask my relatives in the countryside if they want it?"

Sewing machines are expensive items, and it's easy to exchange them for cash in the city, but it's not so easy to exchange them for grain. It's more cost-effective to exchange them in the countryside.

When Jiang Guiying heard that they weren't in a hurry to change it now, she agreed to it.

When I turned around to talk about something else, I found Yuanbao sitting on his little girl's lap, laughing so hard that drool was running down his face.

Guan Yuehe wiped her drool, pinched her chubby hands and feet, and then pinched her chubby cheeks.

His facial features resemble Jin Junwei, while his physique seems to be inherited from Zhou Hongqi. This chubby baby is quite amusing; he doesn't get angry no matter how much you pinch him.

"By the way, what's Yuanbao's real name?" Guan Yuehe asked. She only knew to call him Yuanbao along with everyone else, and it had just come to her realization that no one had actually mentioned Yuanbao's real name.

Jin Junwei handed over a napkin and replied, "His full name is Zhou Xinxin."

Which "xin"?

"Xin, which has three golds."

Guan Yuehe stared silently at the chubby baby who was smiling with his head tilted back and eyes squinted for a long time, then sighed, "No wonder you're called Yuanbao, you're so rich!"

—

"Xiao Guan, a lot of men were asking about you yesterday."

"Really?" Xiao Guan asked casually, "Are there any good-looking and outstanding men asking?"

"Ugh..." The woman behind him couldn't help but sigh in disgust.

Guan Yuehe immediately turned around, her eyes sparkling with excitement, "What happened at the social gathering?"

"There was this guy at the car factory who seemed like a good catch, but later in the conversation he revealed he was divorced and had a daughter back in his hometown. I really wanted to slap him to death for wasting my time!"

Guan Yuehe clicked her tongue: "I knew it! If there were any eligible single men in the car factory, they would have been arranged for blind dates by the older men and women there long ago. Why would they need to attend a social event?"

However, the single women at their Zhuoyue Garment Factory are also very popular; otherwise, the joint social event organized by several factories would not have been held at the garment factory.

"Xiao Guan, don't worry, most of the people asking about you are from the machinery factory. Nobody from the car factory is asking."

If the men at the car factory really wanted to know about her, they wouldn't need to come to the social gathering. Her father, older brother, and older sister all work at the car factory; they could ask around in Ginkgo Alley much faster.

As for the machinery factory... she had no idea that her reputation had grown so much that it had even reached the machinery factory.

"The soap, toothpaste, and toothbrushes from the daily chemical factory, the sportswear and sneakers from the clothing factory, the rice, flour, and cooking oil from the machinery factory... Comrade Xiao Xie was overjoyed."

Guan Yuehe exclaimed in shock, "Nobody told me there was a prize draw!"

Otherwise, she would have stayed to draw a prize before going to school to find the teacher!

"That's right! They didn't tell us beforehand, we didn't know either, otherwise I would have signed up too!" A woman in the next line said angrily through gritted teeth.

"You're married and have kids, what are you still doing?"

"If I don't tell you, who will know?" the older woman joked. "At worst, we can just get a divorce first, then enter a lottery to get the marriage certificate back."

The people in line burst into laughter.

"Stop laughing, Comrade Xiao Guan, it's your turn!"

When Guan Yuehe took the money and pay slips to check them, her hands were shaking with laughter.

After laughing it off, the social gathering was over. Only when Guan Yuehe ran into Xie Dongxue at the factory did she chase after her to ask what exactly was in the grand prize.

"I thought you were more concerned about whether I was dating any gay men."

"I've heard from others that you didn't find anyone you liked."

Hearing Xie Dongxue list a string of items, Guan Yuehe felt a pang of heartache. "How could I have missed this?"

"The factory will hold another social gathering at the end of the year, and you can still attend."

"Forget it, so many people are asking about me. What if they all start chasing after me?" Just thinking about it is annoying.

Suddenly, I didn't feel heartbroken anymore.

Before the end of the year, many people came to pursue her. However, someone unexpected asked Director Wen of the automobile factory's labor union to act as an introducer and introduce her to him.

Director Wen made a special trip to Ginkgo Alley, and, holding Guan Yuehe's hand, praised the man as being exceptional.

Guan Yuehe tried to recall what Zhao Youtong looked like.

I didn't look closely at her features, but I felt at the time that Zhao Youtong looked like the type that her sister and Xu Xiaomei had always liked.

"Director Wen, I've met that Comrade Zhao before, and I don't like people who look like him."

Guan Yuehe's bluntness made it impossible for Director Wen to continue praising Zhao Youtong.

Looking at Guan Canghai and Jiang Guiying, the two of them didn't respond. When asked, they said, "She's the one who's dating. She can find whoever she wants."

Anyway, they can't make the decision; at most, they can help find out the situation. They shouldn't try to show off their parental authority in front of outsiders.

“When it comes to living together, you can’t just look at appearances. Comrade Zhao is quite good-looking too, would you like to take another look? I even brought his photo with me.”

Guan Yuehe disagreed, "That won't do! If she doesn't look good to me, it will affect my appetite, and I won't be able to live a comfortable life."

There's no need to look at the photos anymore; she's seen him in person. He is quite handsome, but she doesn't like that kind of look.

"Um, so what kind of appearance do you like? Aunt Wen will look for you again?"

"Huh?" Guan Yuehe was also taken aback by the question. She scratched her head, unable to give a specific request. She pointed to the photo in Director Wen's hand and repeated, "Anyway, I don't like this kind of photo."

Guan Yuehe remained unmoved by any persuasion, leaving Director Wen with no choice but to take the photos and leave.

After leaving the Guan family's house, Director Wen took a detour and went to Aunt Fang's house next door.

"Your Yiku is still single, right? Remember Old Xue who manages the warehouse? His daughter is twenty this year and wants to marry into the military. What do you two think? Why don't you send Yiku a photo and ask her?"

"Don't want to look for women from the car factory? Is he targeting the women from our own factory?" Director Wen was so angry he laughed. Who would specifically say they wouldn't look for women from any particular unit?

Just like Yuehe from the Guan family next door, she only says she doesn't like girls who look like that, but she won't say what kind she wants!

That's infuriating!