Chapter 27 Yue Ning studies hard

Mo Weiwen walked into the elevator and asked, "So if you go to Hong Kong City at this time, you won't take the college entrance examination?"

"I plan to go to Gangcheng and take the entrance exam to a university in Gangcheng." Yue Ning replied.

Mo Weiwen shook his head and said, "Personally, I think you can take the college entrance examination this year as planned and apply to our school. After two years of study, your eldest mother and I will have friends who can write letters of recommendation for you, and you can go to Hong Kong University to continue your studies. This will be much more convenient. Your sister Xiaoya is preparing to apply to P University in the United States. If everything goes well, she will be able to go to the United States to study next year. If you go to Hong Kong City now..."

The elevator door opened, and Mo Weiwen walked out, continuing, "You took the college entrance examination here, and we let you apply to a school in Shanghai because we wanted to keep you by our side and take care of you. With your ability, to be honest, you can get into any school in China. But if you go to Hong Kong, even though you have a foundation, what you learn is completely different, which means you have to start all over again, which is very troublesome, do you understand?"

"I know. Then I'll take the time to make up for it." Yue Ning said.

Zhuang Baoru said, "Weiwen, it's hard to explain this matter in a few words. Let's go to Uncle Qiming first. We'll have a good chat with Nannan and Mr. Yue later, analyze the pros and cons clearly, and let Nannan make her own decision."

"Yes! Let's sit down and talk about it if you have anything to say." Qiao Qiming also said.

Walking into Qiao Qiming's room, Zhuang Baoru said, "Uncle Qiming, can I use the bathroom for a moment?"

"Go ahead!"

Zhuang Baoru walked into the bathroom, wrung out a hot towel, and handed it to Yue Ning: "Nannan, wipe your face."

After Yue Ning wiped her face, she stood up and tried to put the towel away, but Zhuang Baoru took it over. Zhuang Baoru put the towel away and came back to sit next to Yue Ning.

The Qiao and Mo families were old acquaintances in Shanghai before liberation, and Qiao Junxian's mother and Zhuang Baoru were sisters.

Now that he has a connection with Yue Ning, Mo Weiwen, who was reluctant to talk about his experience in the countryside in order to avoid upsetting his relatives and friends, has also started to talk about his past in the northwest, constantly talking about how Yue Zhirong helped him earn work points and took care of him. He said: "In the countryside, I was really a useless scholar. After Xiao Yue left, my daughter still had to take care of me. When I got sick in the middle of winter, it was my daughter who carried me to the brigade in the wind and snow, and then took a tractor to the commune clinic."

"Uncle, how come you only remember these?" Yue Ning wrinkled his nose and said to Zhuang Baoru, "I'm different. Auntie, you don't know, Uncle Mo is terrible. His way of taking a break is to change subjects. After learning math, he asked me to recite two ancient poems to relax; after learning Chinese, he asked me to do two physics problems to change my mind."

Zhuang Baoru smiled and said, "How could I not know? I got your textbooks from the affiliated school of our school. Besides, after he came back, didn't your sister Xiaoying and sister Xiaoya have to take the college entrance examination? He asked them to do the same. When your sisters resisted, he said, 'Ningning is younger than you and never complains.'"

"Really? Whenever I resisted, he would put his textbook aside and look at me quietly. My dad seemed to have received some signal and came over to complain. They were using the two-wheel tactics. What else could I do except accept my fate?" Yue Ning said this, but her eyes became hot again in an instant. At that time, she hoped that both of them would go away so that she could take a breath. But later, one of them passed away and the other went thousands of miles away.

"It's all over." Zhuang Baoru hugged her.

"Well. Now at least I can see my uncle again."

"What a world this is! Who doesn't have some regrets?" Qiao Qiming sighed heavily.

Yue Ning understood what Qiao Qiming was sighing about. On the way here, Qiao Junxian had comforted her. The world has too many twists and turns, and Qiao Qiming's eldest brother also passed away during these years.

Qiao Qiming talked about Old Lady Ye who adopted Zhuang Baoru. It was a pity that the old lady didn’t even get to see Zhuang Baoru before she died.

Thinking of this, Zhuang Baoru's eyes turned red. When she lost her parents and lived in a refugee camp, the Ye family gave her a home and made her feel like she had family again. The whole family loved her and sent her to study in the United States.

In the 1950s, she participated in the design of warships in the United States. However, all the American aircraft carriers were sent to the Korean battlefield. The planes taking off and landing on the aircraft carriers bombed her compatriots. Mr. Hua's words "Although Liangyuan is beautiful, it is not a place to live for a long time. I will go back home" touched her heart. She returned to Nanyang, bid farewell to her relatives who were not related by blood but loved her, and returned to her motherland.

Even though her husband went to the northwest and she experienced many hardships, she never regretted it. She just thought of her family in Southeast Asia late at night and counted the age of her grandparents year by year, feeling guilty. After the country opened up, her eldest sister and brother-in-law wrote to her as soon as possible. Fortunately, her grandparents lived a long life; unfortunately, both of them have passed away.

Fortunately, the couple has decided that during the summer vacation, they will bring their two children back to Singapore to pay their respects at the graves of Grandpa and Mrs. Ye and tell them that everything is fine.

After chatting about family matters, Mo Weiwen looked at Yue Baohua and said, "Grandpa Ningning, you and Uncle Qiming are old friends, and Xiaoyue and I are brothers in need. Since we are all close friends, I will speak frankly."

Mr. Mo's words in the elevator just now made Yue Baohua realize that there was a better plan for his granddaughter. He said, "Uncle, Ningning was raised by you and Zhirong, and you must have done it for her own good. I was inconsiderate and wanted to take the child back to Hong Kong City."

Grandpa is really something. He subconsciously thinks that it is his fault that they have encountered all these things, and he admits his mistakes without considering the cause and effect. Yue Ning turned his head and looked at Yue Baohua: "Grandpa, did I tell you at the beginning that I want to take the college entrance examination? It is my own decision whether to go back to Hong Kong City with you."

Yue Ning looked at Mo Weiwen again: "Uncle, grandpa came to see me. At first I refused to go to Gangcheng because I felt that grandpa already had a family in Gangcheng. I originally wanted to take the college entrance examination, and then find an opportunity to open a restaurant and accumulate the first pot of gold. But I heard that grandpa has been alone for so many years. Put yourself in his shoes. When I didn't have a father, you were by my side. Grandpa had been looking forward to the opening of the country, but what he waited for was the news of his son's death. If I left him alone in Gangcheng, how sad and lonely would he be? It would be different if I was by his side. I am his hope."

"Ningning." Yue Baohua didn't expect that his granddaughter followed him back to Gangcheng because she was completely considering his perspective and just wanted to accompany him on behalf of her father.

"Grandpa, I have my own ideas." Yue Ning saw Yue Baohua's expression and continued, "Uncle, after these two days, I don't think so anymore. I think it makes more sense for me to go to Hong Kong first than to stay in the mainland to study. These two days, Qiao Junxian and I talked about the production of small household appliances. He should invest in an electric fan and radio factory, right?"

When Yue Ning mentioned it, Qiao Junxian nodded: "Yes, yes. Uncle, I originally wanted to introduce a German home appliance brand that I represented to the mainland, but Yue Ning analyzed it for me and said that the country does not have much foreign exchange reserves, so selling imported products is not feasible. As for investment, I can't come up with hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars, and the Germans are unlikely to invest. Seeing that this business could not be continued, she suggested that I make small home appliances such as radios and electric fans, which require less investment and have a large market scale. At present, this idea has been supported by my grandfather and father. I contacted the Commercial Commission and want to open a factory in the Shekou Industrial Zone."

Qiao Qiming took over the conversation: "Jiahe also told me about this. He and Yingyi think that with the current surge in oil prices and high inflation in the United States, energy-saving electric fans may be a good project."

Yue Ning smiled: "You know, the two sides don't know each other very well now, and the businessmen in Hong Kong are still watching and hesitating about the mainland. Just like the sister from the Cui family just now, she is a Hong Kong businessman who really wants to invest in the mainland, but she is still very worried."

Mo Weiwen nodded. Boss Qiao placed an order with a domestic shipyard that had never done international standards out of patriotism. Most businessmen are still profit-driven, so it is normal to have concerns.

Yue Ning went on to say, "I went to the food factory with her today. First, we found that a canteen chef in the food factory had good skills, but he was not motivated to do things. He even called the customers who came to purchase products "grandsons." Through this incident, I told Sister Cui that the mainland is not short of talents, but what is lacking is the methods to discover talents and the methods to motivate people. I helped her try the soup stock and sauces, and made her sure that her instant noodles would definitely open up the market in the mainland. The soup stock even inspired her and made her see the possibility of opening up the Japanese market. I think it is more meaningful to put the right people in the right place at the right time to maximize their value. If I were in Hong Kong, I could do more things like this and give some help to Hong Kong businessmen who want to invest in the mainland, which would also be valuable."

When Yue Ning talked about this, his eyes sparkled. "In addition, I want to introduce Uncle Zhongyi, Aunt Chunmei, A Biao, Xiuxiu and others to work outside after their factory is opened. Even if Sister Huiyi's factory expands and needs a designated supplier of chickens and ducks, can I lend money to Uncle Agen to set up a breeding farm in Pengcheng? If I can help some people in Xiaoyanggou Brigade get out of poverty and let them have enough food, isn't this more meaningful than me going to Shanghai to study at university?"

Mo Weiwen was worried when he thought about his child not taking the college entrance examination. But when he heard her talk about family affection and social benefits, and that she had already taken action and was capable of doing so, he nodded and said, "It's just that your father has always hoped that you could study and be educated. And you have worked so hard for so many years, don't you think it's a pity?"

"Then work harder. The experiences of the past few days have made me realize that going to Shanghai to study foreign languages ​​or economics is not a good choice at this stage. Obviously, foreign language teaching in Shanghai is not as good as that in Hong Kong. When the mainland has not yet fully understood the planned economy and market economy, economic subjects are definitely not as good as those in Hong Kong. You must study, but it is not so important to study a year earlier or later. I have already asked Qiao Junxian about the college entrance examination in Hong Kong..." Yue Ning told Uncle Mo about his plan, "If you can't get into a satisfactory school in one year, then take the exam for two years. Work and learn at the same time."

Zhuang Baoru looked at the man and said, "Nannan has thought it through. You should be relieved now."

"Yeah!" Mo Weiwen breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhuang Baoru stood up and said, "It's getting late, let's go back to the guesthouse." Mo Weiwen and Zhuang Baoru stood up.

"Aunt, uncle-in-law, it's so late. I'll go downstairs and get a room. You two can stay here for the night, right?" said Qiao Junxian.

Zhuang Baoru shook her head. "The guesthouse is not far away, and it only takes about ten minutes to walk there. This time, I came to Beijing for a meeting with several colleagues. After your uncle and your grandfather came, there were rumors that I was going back to Singapore. Since the country opened up, many people have left, and the leaders are also nervous. If the two of us stay here for one night, who knows what gossip will spread tomorrow. Although rumors are nothing, it is better to have less trouble than more, so let's focus on shipbuilding."

"Yes! Let's go. Anyway, we have already arranged to go to Singapore in August and will stay in the port city for a few days. We will be able to meet soon." Mo Weiwen said.

Everyone went downstairs together and saw the couple out the door. Mo Weiwen said, "Nannan, uncle really can't spare the time, please help uncle say a word at your father's grave, I will visit him later."

Yue Ning nodded and followed the two down the stairs: "Uncle, Aunt, I'll take you to the guesthouse."

"It's late, why are you sending us off?" said Mo Weiwen.

"I want to chat with you guys for a while."

"If you want to say it, just say it here. Don't go there. It's too much trouble to go back and forth."

"I'll go, I'll go!" Yue Ning insisted on going.

Qiao Junxian also followed: "Aunt, uncle-in-law, Yue Ning and I will see you off together, so that we can have company when we come back."

"You two!"

Qiao Qiming smiled and said, "Let them go!"

Yue Ning took Zhuang Baoru's arm and said, "Grandma, let's go."

The four of us walked out together. Chang'an Avenue was bustling and brightly lit. After turning into the alley, there was a dim street lamp hanging on the wall after a long distance. A cat jumped onto the wall, making some noises. Fortunately, the four of us were walking together and talking about something, so we didn't feel scared.

Although Mo Weiwen agreed with what Yue Ning said, he thought that she wanted to change to a completely different and much more difficult examination system. Even though he knew that his child had a solid foundation, he knew the English middle schools in Hong Kong City, so how could he feel at ease?

"Uncle, don't worry. I believe that Yue Ning can achieve her goals if she has the will. She is even thinking of selling a plate of mixed shredded radish for 880 yuan and selling it to rich people!" Qiao Junxian comforted Mo Weiwen.

"One hundred and eight. It's one hundred and eight." Yue Ning corrected.

Mo Weiwen was confused, so Qiao Junxian told him that Yue Ning wanted to study for a master's degree and then open a high-end restaurant: "She said she is kind and will not cheat poor people."

"Later, I thought about it again. I didn't intend to cheat the rich. Of the 180, 8 yuan is the visible value, and the 172 yuan is the inner satisfaction, which is the intangible value."

Mo Weiwen was both angry and amused. Zhuang Baoru couldn't help laughing, "Nannan, you grew up in the northwest. Where did all these capitalist ideas come from? Capitalism's jewelry and high-end clothing have no actual value. They are meant to make the poor unable to afford them and give the rich spiritual satisfaction."

"My father forced me to practice cutting potato shreds, saying that the shreds should be as thin as hair. I was wondering, if the shreds are cut as thick as chopsticks, will they not taste good? Do you know what my father said?"

Qiao Junxian cooperated and asked, "What did your father say?"

"He said, 'Potato shreds as thick as chopsticks can only be sold for one cent, while those as thin as hair can be sold for ten cents. Are you willing to learn?' I immediately replied, 'What fool would be willing to pay so much more to eat a potato?' He told me, 'This is not a fool, but a gourmet. They call this exquisite. We want to sell expensive Kung Fu dishes to those who are particular.' Then, he told me about the things that rich people eat for novelty, including Sanzhier. When I heard it, I thought it was simple. It's just like looking for a nest of little mice..."

Mo Weiwen's face changed, he remembered that scene: the chubby little girl, carefully holding a nest of newborn mice, a pair of innocent eyes twinkling: "Uncle Mo, let's have Sanzhier tonight, okay?" He was so scared that he almost had a heart attack, he would remember this event for the rest of his life.

Mo Weiwen hurriedly stopped her from saying, "Stop talking, stop talking. When we get to Hong Kong City, just cook whatever you like. Don't make these weird things, okay?"

Yue Ning nodded obediently: "I know, I know."

Mo Weiwen couldn't help but recall the past in Xiaoyanggou, and talked about the "terrifying" things that Yue Zhirong, the old Cantonese chef did. Yue Zhirong always wanted Mo Weiwen to taste the five-snake soup he made himself.

Yue Ning immediately comforted his uncle: "Don't worry, uncle, I will cook for you next time."

"No, I'm just talking casually."

After turning a few alleys, they arrived at the entrance of the guesthouse. The gatekeeper let the couple in, and Yue Ning said to Qiao Junxian, "Go back!"

The two returned the same way, and Qiao Junxian said, "I called my eldest cousin, and he has noticed the news. Someone has come out to speak for Baohua Building today."

"oh?"

"A talented man in Hong Kong, the editor-in-chief of a newspaper, wrote a memoir about Po Wah House today, saying that since the door to the mainland was closed, your grandfather took good care of people who smuggled from the mainland to Hong Kong because his son was in the mainland. Three of his six apprentices came this way. Even this talented man came to Hong Kong in 1963 and served dishes in Po Wah House when he was hungry and cold. He did not explicitly say that Ding Shengqiang was framing Po Wah House, but just said that your grandfather waited for more than 30 years, heard that his son had passed away, and went to the northwest to pick up his granddaughter. It was really sad that such a thing happened at this time."

"Ding Shengqiang and Lou Jiafu?"

"Yes, they are all! Hong Kong has grown from 3 million people in the early 1960s to more than 5 million now. Many of the new population came from the mainland and Vietnam." Qiao Junxian shrugged. "How should I put it? These are new immigrants, and so are we. My family's ancestral home is Ningbo. My father was born in Shanghai and went to Hong Kong when he was thirteen."

Yue Ning suddenly laughed, gently pushed Qiao Junxian, took the opportunity to switch seats with him, and said without thinking: "Look at you, you're so silly!"

Before Qiao Junxian could react, a dark shadow jumped out. Yue Ning quickly hit the man on the chin with his elbow, and the man fell heavily to the ground, holding his chin and sobbing...

Before the man could move, Yue Ning had already knelt on one knee and pressed him down, and the man let out another wail.

Yue Ning said to Qiao Junxian, "Hurry up and go to the main road ahead. I remember there are state-owned units there. Go and ask them to help call the police."

Qiao Junxian immediately turned around and tried to run, but after running a few steps, he turned back. Yue Ning looked at him and said, "Go quickly. I can beat any of them. If I can't beat them, I can run away."

That makes sense! Qiao Junxian continued to run forward.

Yue Ning looked around again and found that there was only this one criminal.

On the way here just now, Yue Ning noticed this section of road. There are design institutes, industrial and commercial units and the like on both sides of this road. The gates of the units do not open this way, and there are high walls on both sides. There is only one light installed on the left wall of the nearly 100-meter road. If a young girl is blocked in such a place, she will be helpless.

Yue Ning's reaction ability was also developed through training over the years.

There are good people and bad people everywhere. Xiaoyanggou has been relatively peaceful in recent years under the guidance of Yang Fugen. Agen sent the trafficked woman away and was called a "fool", but he also got some real benefits. It's great to be a veterinarian.

Xiaoyanggou was still okay, but what about the neighboring brigade? Her father died, Uncle Mo also left, and she grew up. People in her own brigade knew that she was strong, but people in other brigades didn't know. Several bachelors who couldn't find a wife set their sights on this beautiful orphan with a poor family background.

There was one who urinated in front of her while she was herding sheep, and was hit by clods of earth scooped up by her sheep shovel, almost killing him; there was another who sneaked into her house in the middle of the night, and was chased by Dahei and fell to the ground; there was even another who followed her and took advantage of her going up the mountain to fetch water alone, trying to take advantage of her, but she pressed him into a bucket and almost lost his life.

With these impressive "achievements", she finally became famous throughout the commune, and no one dared to have any bad thoughts about her anymore.

The man spat out a bloody tooth from his mouth and begged for mercy in a lisp: "Auntie, please let me go! It's been two years since I came back from Inner Mongolia, and I'm still unemployed and have no work to do. I can't make ends meet anymore."

"The educated youth who went to the countryside?"

"I am an educated youth who went to Inner Mongolia."

"Oh!" Yue Ning asked him, "Have you read Pu Songling's "Wolf"? "

The man was stunned for a moment, thinking, what does this have to do with the educated youth?

Yue Ning held his chin with one hand. How could his chin, which had just been hit hard by Yue Ning's elbow, withstand such force? He cried out in pain: "I have read it, I have read it."

"Recite it to me."

"I can't recite it." What was going on? The man thought he had run into a lunatic and became increasingly panicked.

Yue Ning smiled gently: "Then I will recite it to you, okay?"

In the deep night with a cold moon hanging in the sky and shadows of trees swaying nearby, her smile seemed particularly eerie.

"A butcher was returning home with his meat. It was already evening. Suddenly a wolf came and looked at the meat on the butcher's shoulder. It seemed to be salivating. It followed the butcher for several miles..."

When Yue Ning was learning this article, he was forced by Uncle Mo to memorize it, and he even lost interest in it.

Her voice was like a little monk chanting, flat and without any ups and downs. The man lying on the ground looked at her and now he didn't think she was a lunatic, but rather a lifeless ghost.

This man was filled with fear, hoping that the person in the distance would come over quickly. He really didn't want to listen to her reading these things in the middle of the night. It was too weird. He...he felt like he was dying.

Finally, the light from a flashlight in the distance shone in. Seeing someone approaching, the man shouted at the top of his lungs, "Help!"

Qiao Junxian ran out of breath and saw Yue Ning pressing down that person. The person she was pressing down had a sallow face and a puddle of urine under his pants.

"Help! Help! She is not a human being... not a human being..."

"Why am I not a human being?" Yue Ning asked while pinching his chin. The man screamed in pain again.

The two people behind Qiao Junxian looked at the man on the ground who seemed to be half dead, and asked uncertainly: "Is he the one who robbed you?"

Just now, Qiao Junxian said that his sister was robbed, so they ran away without thinking, worried that the little girl would encounter the robber... But in this situation, who is robbing whom?

"Yes!" Yue Ning answered affirmatively, and then asked Qiao Junxian, "Have you called the police?"

"I'll be there soon." Qiao Junxian responded.

Just as he finished speaking, the headlights of a motorcycle illuminated the road, and a two-seater motorcycle drove up. Two public security comrades in white uniforms got off the motorcycle.

As soon as he saw the police, Yue Ning immediately let go of the person on the ground and stood up: "Hello, comrade, we are experiencing a robbery..."

The man came to his senses, got up, and wanted to pounce on the police officer immediately. Yue Ning kindly reminded him: "You have wet your pants, be careful not to dirty the police officer's clothes."

"You are not a human, you are a ghost." The man pointed at Yue Ning with horror in his eyes.

The public security comrade's face darkened and he handcuffed the man: "This is New China, we believe in materialism, where did the ghost come from?"

A police car drove in with sirens blaring, the door opened, and the public security comrades stuffed the man into the car, followed by Yue Ning and Qiao Junxian.