182 Return Date

In reality, Guan Yuehe wasn't in Ginkgo Hutong, but everyone was still having a lively time.

More people are buying fireworks this year than in previous years.

More importantly, this year, television stations broadcast the Spring Festival Gala live for the first time ever.

Twenty minutes before eight o'clock, people started counting down, reminding everyone to eat early and go to the neighbor's house with the TV to join in the fun.

The Guan and Lin families still used black and white televisions, while Lin Yiku had brought back a new television and installed it before the New Year. After finishing their meal, everyone quickly tidied up the house and gathered at his and Guan Yuehe's house with snacks and fried New Year's treats.

Two neighboring families from Courtyard No. 1 came to watch TV, and a large group of people chatted while waiting for 8 p.m. to arrive.

"They're here, they're here. Everyone, be quiet."

Even the sound of people cracking sunflower seeds has disappeared.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year in 1983, the neighbors in the alley got up early to shovel snow and chatted with everyone they met about which program from the previous night was the best, praising the fireworks as beautiful as ever.

I don't know who started it, but someone began humming a song from the Spring Festival Gala:

"Your figure, your singing voice..."

The singing grew louder and louder. Some passersby stopped to watch curiously for a while, then turned around and told others, "A grand chorus is being held in Ginkgo Alley on the first day of the Lunar New Year."

Some people were singing and laughing, while others were frowning and looking miserable.

Zhang Quanbin went out on his motorcycle in the morning and returned in the afternoon covered in abrasions.

"How did you get hurt like this during the Chinese New Year?"

Zhang Quanbin said with a bitter smile, "I'm lucky to be alive. I was robbed while I was driving and someone pounced on me. Luckily I ran fast, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to escape with my car."

"I'm not going to say anything more. I'm going to call my parents first, so they won't get anxious waiting for me."

"Go quickly, and stop by the clinic on the way. You're not married yet, so don't leave a scar on your face."

Zhang Quanbin was amused, but his laughter aggravated his wound, causing him to hiss and hiss again.

As he left, Officer Song frowned, reminding his neighbors to keep a close eye on their children and avoid crowded places to prevent them from being targeted by human traffickers.

"These hooligans are getting more and more arrogant, robbing people in the street and kidnapping children. They should be arrested and shot!"

"Look at him, Officer Song is never free all year round."

With Song Gong's reminder, Jiang Guiying decided to cancel the trip to take Lin Ting back to her hometown to visit relatives, and followed Zhang Quanbin to the street office to make a phone call.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Lin Sitian and Chen Lizhong returned to Ginkgo Hutong and mentioned that several people had been stabbed the day before and were taken to the workers' hospital at the nearby car factory for treatment.

Jiang Guiying sighed a few times and, when Guan Yuehua and her family of three returned, reminded them to be careful when they went out.

But unexpectedly, just a few days after the Spring Festival, agricultural and sideline food stores and barbershops were hit, as some unscrupulous person broke into their homes.

The agricultural and sideline products store was missing a basket of eggs and a basket of beans, and the barbershop was missing some hair oil and shampoo, not to mention that both of its hair perming machines were smashed.

Guan Canghai was so angry that he cursed for a full half hour in front of the barbershop.

Grandpa Ming didn't escape the thief's wrath either. His small restaurant had no leftover ingredients, so the thief couldn't steal much. However, all the knives he had specially made were stolen.

And so, another person started swearing on this little street.

The police officers from Changhu Police Station have visited almost every single shop in their jurisdiction, all because the shops had been vandalized and goods stolen.

For a time, no one dared to go out late at night, fearing they might accidentally run into a thief. Being robbed was a minor matter; the real fear was encountering a reckless thief who might beat them to death without restraint.

"If I had known, I should have built a public toilet in the yard back then. I don't even dare to go near the public toilet at night."

But it's too late to say anything now. I wanted to change my mind and build a public toilet in the yard. The neighbors all agreed, but I still had to apply to the neighborhood committee, and the cost was much higher than when it was first built.

At this moment, someone thought of Guan Yuehe.

"Yuehe's trip has taken quite a while, it's almost March, why hasn't she come back yet?"

"You're hoping Yuehe will come back to deal with the thief, aren't you?"

“She’s not a police officer. She won’t go looking for thieves to deal with unless they run into her.” The neighbors know a little about Guan Yuehe, but “I always feel that as long as Yuehe is in the alley, I can have peace of mind.”

Someone chimed in with a joke, "Yuehe is going to catch the thief, and she'll get another credit and be in the newspaper."

Jiang Guiying, who had been listening from behind for a while, rolled her eyes and suddenly said, "Let whoever wants to claim the credit, do it. Our family doesn't care."

It's not like you'll always be lucky enough to catch a thief. What if you end up getting stabbed?

Look at Officer Song; he's been injured several times while trying to arrest people. Anyone would feel sorry for him.

The neighbor who had just spoken was embarrassed and wanted to explain, but Jiang Guiying had already picked up Lin Ting, who was just able to walk steadily, and taken him home.

"Grandma." Lin Ting pointed outside, indicating that she wanted to go out and play.

"Can we play at home? Look at the time. Grandma, steam the egg custard and we'll go pick up your sister from school."

"Grain Rain." Lin Ting frowned.

"Hey! No respect for elders, you have to call her 'sister'." Probably because she'd heard adults call her that so many times, she started calling Gu Yu by her full name too. Every time we corrected her and told her to call her 'sister', she would cover her ears.

"Look, your sister even bought you a new tin frog."

Speaking of the new tin frogs, Jiang Guiying felt terrible. Gu Yu not only gave all the tin frogs she had hoarded to Lin Ting, but also bought new ones for Lin Ting every now and then.

I really don't understand why this kid is so obsessed with tin frogs. Does he want to catch all the tin frogs in the country?

"Grain Rain! Grain Rain!" Lin Ting called out twice to correct him.

Jiang Guiying: "......"

Upon hearing the sound of a motorcycle, Lin Ting immediately put down the tin frog in his hand and turned to walk out the door.

Seeing this, Jiang Guiying immediately followed and grabbed Lin Ting by the back of her collar just before she staggered and was about to fall.

There was nothing she could do; whenever Lin Ting heard the sound of a motorcycle, she would assume it was her father returning and would rush out to pick him up every time.

However, this time she was right.

Lin Yiku returned.

Lin Yiku rode his clanging motorcycle back. Just as he reached the entrance of the alley, he saw Lin Ting peeking out from the gate of No. 3 Courtyard.

When he discovered her, she laughed and immediately covered her face, thinking that this would hide her.

Lin Ting's eyes look exactly like Yue He's; they are always bright and sparkling.

"Did you get through to Yuehe on the phone? What did she say? Has a date been set for her to come back?"

Guan Yuehe set off on the second day of New Year's Day, and now it's the end of February. Two months have passed in the blink of an eye.

Although they had a phone, it was difficult to contact people who were overseas. They couldn't reach Guan Yuehe, and every two weeks, someone from her workplace would call to let them know she was safe.

Guan Yuehe had been abroad for two months, and this was the first time her workplace had called the local street office to ask a family member to come to her workplace to answer the phone.

Lin Yi went out very early and only returned at this hour, which shows how difficult it is to contact people both domestically and internationally.

"Time was tight, so we didn't get to say much. Everything's fine on her end, and she's expected to be back in mid-March."

Lin Yiku added, "She said she wanted her father to reserve a table with Uncle Ming in advance, because she wanted to have a big meal when she got back."

Jiang Guiying was relieved. The fact that she was still thinking about food meant that she hadn't encountered any major problems.

"He'll be back in mid-March, which is about half a month." Jiang Guiying knew what to expect, so she told him to drive to pick up Gu Yu.

"Isn't my brother-in-law at the factory?"

“It’s the Spring Trade Fair again, and he’s going to Guangzhou with him this year.” Jiang Guiying shook her head. Like Yuehe and Yiku, Yuehua and Mannian, the couple, also had busy jobs.

Lin Yiku didn't choose to drive. Instead, he pushed the car outside the door, locked it, and then put Lin Ting on his shoulders and rode her to the nursery at Zhuoyue Garment Factory to pick up Gu Yu.

When Lin Yiku came back, she carried one child and held the other's hand. Even though the two children weren't standing next to each other, they could still start arguing.

One of them called Gu Yu by her full name with a smile, while the other had a stern face and demanded that Lin Ting correct her mistake.

Lin Yiku watched them bicker, thinking to herself that the two sisters were practically carbon copies of Yuehe and Guan Yuehua.

When we talked on the phone today, Yuehe lowered her voice and told him that he was the one she missed the most.

Comrade Guan Yuehe is truly adept at using sugar-coated bullets.

Gu Yu looked up angrily and saw her uncle-in-law smirking. She immediately snorted loudly.

With a quick glance, she pulled her uncle to the supply and marketing cooperative, holding snacks in her hand, and successfully got Lin Ting to call her "sister".

On the other side.

After finishing her phone call with Lin Yiku, Guan Yuehe was full of energy again, wishing she could finish all her work in one day, then pack her bags and board the plane home.

But it's not working yet.

Missing your loved ones and children?

"Yes," Guan Yuehe said honestly, "I also miss the food from home."

Zhang Xinbi chuckled, "As expected of Comrade Xiao Guan."

"There's one last project to inspect. Once I'm done, I'll head back."

The first few inspection projects went smoothly, and Guan Yuehe thought the last one would be no exception. However, she did not expect that all the difficulties would come at the last moment.

Gu Mannian had already returned from his business trip to Guangzhou, but Guan Yuehe still hadn't confirmed a date to go home.

I was expected to be able to go home in mid-March, but it was delayed until the end of March.

The overseas inspection trip was finally completed successfully. Guan Yuehe touched her arms and legs and felt like she had lost several pounds.

When Guan Yuehe received her overseas allowance, she remembered that she had promised Gu Mannian that she would bring him a color TV back with her.

Besides the two appliances, one large and one small, Guan Yuehe also brought back a bunch of books, all of which she could use during this period, as well as books recommended by other colleagues.

Only when she finally boarded the plane again did Guan Yuehe feel relieved, certain that she was really going home.

Author's Note: [Cat's paw]