Chapter 122

Han Shengyi's political sensitivity is far higher than that of ordinary people.

Chu Jiujiu had only a vague idea of the future and was unable to predict the rapid changes in the social environment in the next second. Chu Yue, who had been reborn, could not match Han Shengyi's keen vision.

She was still foolishly waiting for the resumption of the college entrance examination and the reform and opening up. It seemed that in her mind, everything was going according to the route of her previous life and there would not be any change at all.

Born politicians, that's what.

Han Shengyi gradually showed a bit of high-spirited look, but Chu Jiujiu felt that he was a little strange and a little bit disgusting.

But after careful analysis, Chu Jiujiu didn't understand what she was disgusted with. Han Shengyi and Han Jibin had a grudge, which she had known for a long time. At first, she had been urging Han Shengyi to quickly reveal Han Jibin's true face. Now, he finally took action, so why did she start to be pretentious again?

Forget it, don’t get involved. She should just be her background tool.

…

As the Lunar New Year approached, all those who had been away from home returned. The old lady hadn't seen Chu Shao for a long time, so when she saw him, she held his hand and asked him questions non-stop. Wen Xiuwei was becoming more and more beautiful. She didn't know what her teacher's home was, but it felt like a plastic surgery hospital. Every time Wen Xiuwei stayed there for a while, she would come out with a significant change from head to toe.

When she had time, she made a new dress for Chu Jiujiu, which was a bit like the style of the Republic of China. It was said that she got the inspiration from seeing old clothes at her teacher's house. Chu Jiujiu was still a little girl, and seeing new clothes and new shoes was her happiest moment.

As people gradually gathered, the house became lively again. Everyone gathered together, pasted window flowers, ate dumplings, and set off firecrackers. The procedures were the same every year, but people never got tired of it.

On the night of New Year's Eve, Grandma Han took out her camera and asked Secretary Lin to take a family photo for all of them. This photo and the one from last year were hung on the wall. Two years ago, this wall was bare, but now, half of it is covered with photo frames.

There were photos of them visiting tourist attractions, photos of Han Shengyi and Chu Shao graduating, and photos of daily life taken by Chu Jiujiu when she had nothing to do. Grandma Han treasured every one of them and was reluctant to take them down from the wall.

Compared with the previous two years, this year's Spring Festival is more lively because Xiao Ning and his friends are back. As their students, Chu Jiujiu, Chu Shao and Han Shengyi all have to go to their homes to formally pay New Year's greetings.

Teachers are second only to parents in importance. This rule has gradually faded as people become more educated, as they have had so many teachers. However, the experiences of Qingzhu Village cannot be compared to those of ordinary people. The kindness shown back then is not something that can be forgotten once life gets easier.

The first time they visited someone to wish them a happy new year, they brought some gifts with them. According to distance, they first went to Fang Weiping's eldest brother's house.

It hasn't been long since Fang Weiping came back. Now he has no job, and his elder brother and his wife are unwilling to let him go. So, Fang Weiping currently lives in his elder brother's house. He plans to go out and find a factory to work after the Chinese New Year.

There is no way. People with social anxiety also have to face the burden of life. It is not easy for my brother and sister-in-law to take me in. I can't just stay here and eat for free.

When Chu Jiujiu and the others came, Wen Xiuwei also came with them. When Fang Weiping's eldest brother opened the door and saw Wen Xiuwei, he always felt that she looked familiar. Later he remembered that the school organized a movie watching before the holiday, and that movie was starred by Wen Xiuwei.

Wen Xiuwei was so famous that no matter where she went, everyone's eyes were on her. The other members of the Fang family surrounded Wen Xiuwei. Only Fang Weiping, who was unwilling to talk to others, took a few more glances at these former students.

Fang Weiping was only willing to talk more with Chu Jiujiu, and during the conversation, he always tried to get her to give up her current assistant job and focus on literature. However, the university had not yet opened the course, so it was useless to say anything now. Changing her major was possible, but where could she find a job as an assistant at the Chinese Literature Research Institute?

Ever since all her family members went out to work, Chu Jiujiu has realized the importance of a good job. Director Ma said that after she graduates, he will make her a regular employee and promote her to a senior assistant researcher. In this way, after another three to five years, she may even be able to become an associate researcher, which is a title of the same level as an associate professor in a university. Others have to pass the doctoral exam before they can work hard to strive for it, but she got such an opportunity by sheer luck. She must be crazy to leave the institute at this time!

Chu Jiujiu didn't think that this was what she deserved. She just thought that Director Ma was a very kind person. He was willing to give such good treatment to a young girl like her. It was a pie in the sky. In order to respect this pie, she must stand there obediently, raise her head, open her mouth and wait.

…

No matter what Fang Weiping said, Chu Jiujiu just perfunctorily replied, "Yeah, that's right, you're right." When the time was almost up, they all stood up and prepared to leave. Wen Xiuwei over there was also being pestered by the children. Seeing that she could finally leave, she quickly turned around and was the first to walk out of the Fang family's gate.

Meeting fans is a very happy thing, but if fans keep asking where your leader father is, she will also feel a headache.

Many people cannot tell the difference between movies and reality. They always feel that her acting is so miserable and her real life experience is also so miserable.

After leaving Fang's house, they went to Deng's house. Deng Guoyuan lived in his old house, which was a tube-shaped building next to Tsinghua University. Chu Jiujiu had passed by it when she came to visit Yuanmingyuan before, but she didn't expect that Deng Guoyuan and Xiao Ning used to live here.

Chu Shao knocked on the door. The three of them stood behind Chu Shao and waited for a while before the door was opened.

A dark-skinned girl stood at the door. She looked around at the four people and frowned. "Who are you?"

Chu Shao didn't recognize her either, and for a moment he thought he had walked into the wrong place. Wen Xiuwei pursed her lips beside him, gently kicked Chu Shao's calf, and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "This should be Teacher Deng's daughter, named Deng Shan."

Wen Xiuwei quickly finished these two sentences while stroking her hair, and the girl didn't notice. Chu Shao immediately regained his stunned expression and politely curled his lips, "Is this the home of Teacher Deng and Teacher Xiao? We are their former students. You must be their daughter, Comrade Deng Shan, right?"

Hearing this, the girl opposite finally looked a little better.

She was taken back home a few days ago. When she was separated from her parents as a child, Deng Shan cried and raged, feeling as if the sky had fallen. But years have passed since then, and Deng Shan has long forgotten the heartbreaking tears she once cried. She only knows that she has no parents and was raised by her grandparents. Her parents were taken away, and the villagers constantly use this to mock her. Her feelings for them, amidst these constant taunts, have slowly faded.

She was happy when her parents came to pick her up, but not because they were finally reunited, but because she could finally leave the desolate countryside and live the city life that everyone envied. But when she got here, Deng Shan found that the city life was not that good either.

No one knew her. When they saw her, they would ask, "Whose relative are you?" Their words would allude to her being a distant relative from a remote village who had come here to collect money. When Xiao Ning explained, they would look very surprised and ask how she could have become like this when she was so beautiful as a child.

Deng Shan was heartbroken. She wanted to yell at the gossipy woman in the village and send her back to her mother's womb, but she was unfamiliar with the place and didn't dare to act so violently. So, she could only vent her anger on the strange parents.

After opening the door and letting the four people in, Deng Shan turned around and left without calling her parents out. Her reaction left the four people confused. It was only when Xiao Ning, who was cutting vegetables, heard the noise and came out that their embarrassment was eased.

Xiao Ning was very excited to see them. She looked at the changes in these people one by one. When she saw Chu Jiujiu, she reacted the most and kept touching her face and her hair. Deng Shan watched from the side and became more and more unhappy.

Since this family has no children, Wen Xiuwei has gone from being the busiest to the most leisurely one. Although she has lived in Qingzhu Village for several years, she will not join in the fun when Chu Jiujiu and others are in class. Out of respect, she also calls Deng Guoyuan and Xiao Ning teachers, but they do not have a teacher-student relationship and can only be regarded as familiar neighbors.

Xiao Ning was talking to Chu Jiujiu, Deng Guoyuan was talking to Chu Shao and Han Shengyi, and Wen Xiuwei was eating melon seeds slowly on the side, drinking a glass of water when she was thirsty. She was entertaining guests with a smile on her face. When she noticed that Deng Shan had been staring at Chu Jiujiu for a long time, she turned her gaze over.

To be honest, Deng Shan's appearance was a bit beyond Wen Xiuwei's expectations.

In Qingzhu Village, Xiao Ning mentioned her daughter the most. She described her daughter as a beautiful and lovely child, just like Chu Jiujiu. Deng Shan wasn't bad looking, except for her skin, which was dark and rough from years of exposure to the sun. However, this wasn't a major flaw. What really made Wen Xiuwei frown was her facial features.

How should I put it...

She seems very mean, the kind who looks down on everyone and cannot be satisfied by anyone.

After looking at her for a while, Wen Xiuwei withdrew her gaze. Some things just needed to be known in her heart and there was no need to say them out loud. After all, this was no longer a cowshed. Their families lived so far away from each other that they would not have much interaction in the future.

Before lunch, they walked out of Deng Guoyuan's house, wrapped in cotton clothes, and stood downstairs. Chu Jiujiu turned around and asked them, "Where are we going next?"

Wen Xiuwei buried her face in her scarf, and her voice sounded a little dull: "Chu Shao and I are going to my master's house and will be back before dinner."

Deng Guoyuan's home is also far away from the city, but it is not particularly far from Master Wen Xiuwei's home. It only takes half an hour to get there by bus.

Seeing that she was also going to visit her master, Chu Jiujiu suddenly realized something and asked Han Shengyi, "Should I also go and wish Director Ma a happy new year?"

Director Ma wasn't her master, but he was the one who introduced her to this industry. Han Shengyi nodded and said, "It's reasonable and logical for me to go there."

Looking at her empty hands, she continued to ask, "Should I bring something?"

Han Shengyi thought for a moment and said, "Look around on the way. If there's anything for sale, buy some. If not, forget it. Director Ma won't bother with you about it."

Director Ma lives in the city, and they don't know how long it will take to get back. Since they have discussed it, the two of them said goodbye to Chu Shao and Wen Xiuwei. Director Ma and Master Wen Xiuwei were heading south and north respectively. Wen Xiuwei watched them leave quickly, and found that Chu Jiujiu turned around and waved to them. She took her hand out of her cotton coat pocket, waved to them quickly, and then put it back into her pocket.

When they were out of sight, Wen Xiuwei turned around and said to Chu Shao, "Have you noticed that Jiujiu is becoming more and more obedient to Shengyi?"

Chu Shao had a lot of Yang energy in his body, so he wasn't afraid of the cold even in the middle of winter. He didn't even wear a scarf, just standing naked in the cold wind. He rolled his eyes, as if he had just realized something, "Is there?"

"Yes," Wen Xiuwei said softly, "Jiujiu used to ask you when she had problems, but now she only asks Shengyi."

At this point, Wen Xiuwei asked him teasingly, "Do you feel a sense of loss?"

Chu Shao frowned, "What's there to be disappointed about?"

Wen Xiuwei: “…”

Men are so heartless.

Wen Xiuwei pouted and stopped talking about this topic. She looked in the direction and walked towards the bus stop. After taking a few steps, she found that Chu Shao had not caught up. She stopped and shouted to the back: "Let's go. It's early. We can still get a free lunch."

Chu Shao twitched his ears and then took a step forward.

…

There is no such happy thing as the Spring Festival market these days. Once the New Year comes, all the shops are closed, whether it is the supply and marketing cooperatives or the state-owned restaurants, they are all on holiday. The streets are so quiet that you can't even find a bird. If you are hungry at this time and want to buy something to eat, you can only use newspapers to fill your stomach.

Wen Xiuwei and the others planned to go to their master's house for dinner, while Chu Jiujiu planned to go to Director Ma's house for dinner. As for why they didn't eat at Deng Guoyuan's house?

Two years have passed since they last saw each other. It's not a long time, but it's not a short time either. At the very least, they no longer feel the familiarity they once had without worrying about etiquette.

What's more, the Deng family's conditions are not good now. There are four of them, four mouths to feed. If they really eat at the Deng family's house, they will probably have to eat up all the dishes they had for the New Year. If that happens, Deng Shan will definitely look at them with even more unfriendly eyes.

Chu Jiujiu is not such a delicate person. She doesn't notice the subtle changes and details of the people breaking up and getting together. She never makes the decision when it comes to coming in and out. She just follows others wherever they go. She is used to not thinking about anything. From this perspective, this is actually a good thing.

Chu Jiujiu was very busy that day, running around. Except for breakfast at her own home, she had lunch and dinner at other people's homes. In previous years, she still needed Chu Liqiang to accompany her when visiting New Year's greetings, but now, Chu Liqiang went to visit his predecessors by himself, and the children went to find their own friends and elders. They were all grown up, so Chu Liqiang had nothing to worry about.

From the first to the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, Chu Jiujiu was busy almost every day, except for the second day.

This is the day when people generally go back to their mother's home, but none of them have a mother's home or a grandmother's home. Since they don't have one, they can't disturb others, so they just stay at home and watch TV all day.

The warm winter sun shone in through the window. Chu Jiujiu was still nestled in her seat. Han Shengyi and Chu Shao were playing chess on Grandpa Han's chessboard. Wen Xiuwei was chatting with Grandma Han. Chu Liqiang and Grandpa Han were sitting straighter than each other, both in the middle of the bench.

Earlier this month, the Military Commission held a meeting and finally added Chu Liqiang's name to the list. Now he has another position, but this one is more important than the divisional political commissar and chief of staff combined. Moreover, with this position, he can be stationed in the city. The military region can just let the deputy political commissar handle the work, and he can go back occasionally when he has time.

Even someone like Chu Jiujiu, who was particularly slow to follow the wind, could see that Chu Liqiang was being reused, and that his status had undergone a qualitative change. From now on, he was no longer the head of the front-line troops, but one of the leaders in charge of the central government.

Chu Jiujiu heard that this was inseparable from Grandpa Wang's strong recommendation, and Chief Qi also said a few words. No wonder when Chu Jiujiu said she wanted to stay at Qi's house for two days this time, Chu Liqiang agreed without saying a word.

This is what it means to be soft-hearted when you receive favors from others.

…

However, there was one thing that made Chu Jiujiu feel a little annoyed, that was that more and more people came to their house.

Before Chu Liqiang joined the Military Commission, few people came to the Chu family. Even if others came, they would go directly to Chu Liqiang and no one would stay at the Chu family. But this year, a few weirdos appeared. They found out the address of the Chu family from somewhere, and when they entered the door, they started praising the family. When they saw Chu Jiujiu, they started praising the family again. When they saw Wen Xiuwei, they continued to praise the family.

Chu Jiujiu was confused, but Wen Xiuwei was not. After the New Year, Chu Shao went to work at the military base research institute again. If Chu Liqiang was not there, there would be only the two of them at home. Wen Xiuwei looked at the other person with a smiling face, looked her up and down several times, and then pulled Chu Jiujiu behind her.

This person was not young, and looked to be in her fifties. Her attitude was very familiar to Wen Xiuwei. In the old society, when a family wanted to arrange a marriage, they could not go and do it themselves. The people they sent first were all eloquent and silver-tongued pioneers like this aunt. In layman's terms, they were matchmakers.

Wen Xiuwei thought that this person was going to introduce a girl to Chu Shao, and the few thorns in her body suddenly exploded. Usually, she would not say much when someone came to the Chu family because she felt that she was not surnamed Chu and could not be the head of the family. But today, no matter what others might say, she directly put herself in the role of the host.

"Auntie, are you coming to our house to look for Uncle Chu?"

The woman opposite smiled very kindly, "Ah, yes, Xiao Chu is not here, right? It's okay, I can come to you."

Chu Jiujiu was a little stunned, while Wen Xiuwei was more certain of her guess. She pursed her lips and smiled, "Auntie, why are you looking for us? Jiujiu and I don't have much to say to each other."

"Well," the woman said, acting very familiar, "there's nothing to say. The moment I saw you two, I knew we were destined to be together. Especially Jiujiu's little face, it looks just like my niece when she was little!"

Wen Xiuwei: “…”

She's starting to get close to me. Why is it my niece again? Last time there was a niece, and now here again. Aren't you annoying?

The woman pretended to pinch Chu Jiujiu's face. Chu Jiujiu thought this person was a little strange, so she dodged for a moment. She felt embarrassed, but the embarrassment only lasted for a moment. She pulled Chu Jiujiu and Wen Xiuwei to sit down, acting as if she was the host and they were the guests.

By this time, Wen Xiuwei no longer had any good feelings towards her. She just wanted to fool this person away as soon as possible, so no matter what the woman said, she just retorted indifferently. After a while, the woman also heard her hostility and couldn't help but despise Wen Xiuwei a little.

Isn't she just a little girl staying here for a while? She's acting so arrogant. If her niece marries into the Chu family, she'll have to help improve the family's reputation. Especially those vixen like Wen Xiuwei who eats and lives for free, she'd better drive them away as far as possible.

Wen Xiuwei's profession is an actor in modern terms, and an actor in ancient terms. Many people discriminate against her and belittle her because of this, but if those people had Wen Xiuwei's face, they would definitely go to the studio and beg those people to let them act.

Wen Xiuwei was rude to the woman, and the woman didn't want to waste any more expression on her, so she simply turned around and started concentrating her firepower on Chu Jiujiu.

"Jiujiu, you must be bored staying at home alone. Your dad never comes home. Do you feel lonely?"

Chu Jiujiu looked at her and felt that something was wrong with her. Wen Xiuwei was very hostile to her, but she was even more curious. She wanted to know what this person was doing here. "I won't be alone. Weiwei will accompany me."

Hearing this, Wen Xiuwei's eyes showed a hint of admiration. Well done, it's worth my dressing, cooking and braiding your hair for so many years.

The woman glanced at Wen Xiuwei obstructively: "She...she's with you. You two are the same age. No matter how good the relationship between sisters is, it can't compare to the good relationship between mother and daughter, right?"

Wen Xiuwei: “……?” What the hell?

Chu Jiujiu was even more stunned, "Huh?"

The woman looked at the naive and gullible Chu Jiujiu. She patted Chu Jiujiu's hand with a distressed look on her face. "A child without a mother is like a weed. Your father raised all of you by himself. He had it harder than you did, right?"

Chu Jiujiu: “…”