Chapter 53 (Combined)

To celebrate her daughter receiving an award on stage today, Ye Hongzhen got up early and made a sumptuous breakfast, including rice porridge, fried dumplings, and steamed her daughter's favorite egg custard.

These are all foods that Yan Ruyi loves to eat.

Yan Ruyi picked up her chopsticks, looked at this and that, then put them down again. "I'm not eating."

Ye Hongzhen, "Why aren't you eating? Are you feeling unwell?"

Yan Ruyi said, "Huihui just finished doing my makeup. It's easy for makeup to come off when I eat, and then I won't look good."

Luo Huihui picked up a fried dumpling and stuffed it into her mouth. "If your makeup gets smudged, I can just touch it up for you."

Yan Ruyi glanced at her watch. "There won't be time to touch up my makeup."

She wants to look her best when she goes on stage to receive the award; she'd be willing to skip a meal, or even a whole day.

Ye Hongzhen said with heartache, "But you can't skip meals."

Yan Ruyi swallowed hard. "I'm not hungry. Huihui, you can eat slowly. I'm leaving now."

Luo Huihui followed her over, took out a piece of chocolate and a small bag of biscuits and stuffed them into her pocket, saying, "I knew you would do this. If you're hungry, just take a bite to tide you over."

Yan Ruyi was so touched by her friend's thoughtfulness that she almost hugged and kissed her.

Luo Huihui slapped her away in disgust, saying, "Hurry up and leave."

The commendation ceremony was held in the city auditorium. When Yan Ruyi arrived, colorful flags were already fluttering outside the auditorium.

The song "Colorful Clouds Chasing the Moon" was playing in the auditorium, and you could feel the festive atmosphere even standing at the entrance.

There were staff members at the entrance of the auditorium. Yan Ruyi took out her admission ticket, and after checking it, the staff member pointed her in the right direction: "The third row from the front."

Yan Ruyi thanked the staff and walked in the direction they pointed.

She arrived a little early; there weren't many people in the auditorium yet. She had just reached the fourth row when she heard someone call her, "Ruyi, over here!"

She looked up and saw it was Wu Meili, waving at her.

She ran over there, calling out, "Sister Meili."

She had seen the list of outstanding workers in the city at Director Liu's place, and Wu Meili's name was on it.

Wu Meili pointed to the seat next to her, "You happen to be right next to me."

Each seat had a name written in front of it; the seat next to Wu Meili had Yan Ruyi's name written on it.

Yan Ruyi went over and sat down.

Their seats were right in the middle, facing the stage.

Wu Meili looked at her, "You're wearing makeup?"

"My best friend did my makeup, isn't it very obvious?"

Wu Meili: "It's not obvious. Your good friend is really good at makeup. You can't even tell unless you look closely. It makes you look even prettier."

The first two rows are for leaders of various units, and there is also a row on the stage for city leaders.

On the platform, directly opposite Yan Ruyi, sat a person who was looking down at the materials in his hands.

Yan Ruyi felt that the man looked familiar. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was Mayor Liu. She whispered to Wu Meili, "Mayor Liu has already arrived."

Wu Meili said, "He was already there when I arrived. No matter what the meeting is, Mayor Liu always arrives early and has never been late."

Because of work, Wu Meili had a lot of contact with Mayor Liu.

She also respected Mayor Liu very much, and told Yan Ruyi a few stories about Mayor Liu's deeds.

As expected of her idol, Yan Ruyi looked at Mayor Liu on the stage with admiration.

The thought that Mayor Liu would present her with an award and shake her hand in a little while filled her with excitement.

Perhaps sensing something, Mayor Liu looked up at her and Wu Meili, then took the materials he was reading and walked down from the podium.

Yan Ruyi whispered to Wu Meili, "Sister Meili, is Mayor Liu heading this way?"

Wu Meili also thought so.

She had more contact with Mayor Liu, and Mayor Liu probably remembered who she was. However, she felt that given her status, it wasn't enough for Mayor Liu to come down from the podium to greet her.

Could it be that they came for Yan Ruyi?

The answer was soon revealed. After Mayor Liu arrived, he first greeted Wu Meili, then smiled and extended his hand, "Comrade Xiao Yan, hello, I am Liu Zhigang."

Yan Ruyi was so excited her heart was about to jump out of her chest. "Mayor Liu, hello."

The seats in front of Wu Meili and Yan Ruyi were still empty. Mayor Liu sat down in front and gestured for them to sit down as well.

After sitting down, Mayor Liu raised the materials he had been reading and said, "Comrade Xiao Yan, I have read your article, 'Reflections on the Preparation of Jialide,' and it is very inspiring."

Yan Ruyi never expected that what Mayor Liu was looking at on stage just now was actually one of her submissions.

Some time ago, she wrote an article about her insights from learning at Fuji and her ideas for creating Jialide, which she submitted to Director Liu as a year-end work summary.

After reviewing it, Director Liu suggested that she submit it to "New Economy".

"New Economy" is a provincial economic publication. She did submit her article, but she never thought it would be published. After all, anyone who publishes an article in it is a big shot.

So she had almost forgotten about it.

Unexpectedly, I saw her manuscript in Mayor Liu's hands today.

Yan Ruyi said apologetically, "These are just some of my immature ideas."

It's not just immature, it's incredibly bold.

Because in her article she suggested that the government gradually open up the antique market and, with the help of the public, promote the protection of cultural relics and antiques.

Mayor Liu, “Every step forward in this era is a process of moving from immaturity to maturity, from imperfection to gradual improvement. Your suggestion is excellent. I have been looking at it for the past two days and am considering implementing the relevant policies as soon as possible. At least next year, with the establishment of Jialide, the antique market will have a brand new development.”

The attendees of the commendation ceremony entered the venue one after another. Staff members came over and invited Mayor Liu to the stage. Mayor Liu then stood up, greeted the people around him, and went up to the stage.

Even after Mayor Liu left, Yan Ruyi was still immersed in excitement.

Her idol came over and spoke to her, and even praised her!

With such a prelude, the rest of the awards ceremony paled in comparison.

The commendation ceremony ended at noon.

We had lunch at the municipal government canteen.

It wasn't until lunchtime that Yan Ruyi realized she had been so excited that she hadn't eaten a single bite of the chocolate and cookies Luo Huihui had given her.

I didn't even realize I was hungry.

Just as she came out of the cafeteria after lunch, a staff member called out to her and handed her a copy of "New Economy." "Comrade Yan, this is the latest issue of 'New Economy,' which Mayor Liu asked me to give to you."

Yan Ruyi took the document, opened the table of contents, and found the article she had written. Below the article was printed a line of text: Author: Yan Ruyi.

After work, she fluttered her wings like a little bird and headed to No. 68 Wutong Road.

She and Song Yiping had arranged to meet at the new house after work.

Song Yiping has arrived and is assembling the finished bed boards together.

Yan Ruyi rushed over, "Mayor Liu shook hands with me today. It wasn't when he was giving me the award, but before the commendation ceremony even started. He saw me on stage and came down from the podium to shake hands and talk to me. He was holding the manuscript I submitted to 'New Economy' magazine, saying that I wrote it very well and that it inspired him. Mayor Liu is so elegant and speaks so kindly. I've never spoken to him before. I didn't expect him to know me. I wonder if my sister-in-law Huihui took a picture of Mayor Liu talking to me. Tomorrow I'll have Huihui ask her if she took a picture. I'll enlarge it and hang it in our office."

Song Yiping said helplessly, "Comrade Yan Ruyi, although Mayor Liu is your idol and I respect him very much, aren't you afraid that your boyfriend will get jealous if you keep praising another man in front of him?"

Yan Ruyi hugged his neck and kissed him on the cheek. "Hehe, I'm happy."

Song Yiping, "Where's your article?"

Yan Ruyi took the sample copy of "New Economy" out of her bag, and Song Yiping took it and turned to Yan Ruyi's article.

He had read Yan Ruyi's article and knew about her submission to "New Economy".

At the time, he felt that there was a high chance that the article would be adopted.

Mayor Liu is a pragmatic leader. Yan Ruyi's article, whether in terms of viewpoints or suggestions, is well-reasoned and highly feasible. It is no surprise that Mayor Liu was attracted to it.

After reading it, Song Yiping put "The New Economy" into his bag, saying, "I'm confiscating it."

Yan Ruyi, “?”

Song Yiping rubbed her head. "Grandpa came for a check-up, and since the New Year is coming soon, we won't let him go back to the countryside. He's been quite bored at home these past few days. I'll take 'New Economy' back to him to read. Maybe it can give you some more inspiration."

After saying that, he glanced at his watch and said, "Let's go, or we might miss our chance."

Yan Ruyi: "What's wrong with making it?"

"At 8 o'clock, Beijing TV will broadcast news about today's awards ceremony. Don't you want to see how you look on TV?"

Yan Ruyi pushed Song Yiping and walked out, saying, "Why didn't you say so earlier? Hurry up and let's go, the broadcast will be over soon."

When the two arrived at the machine tool factory's residential compound, it was exactly 7:30, just after the evening news broadcast.

Yan Ruyi was stunned as soon as she entered the courtyard.

The room was full of people, all staring intently at the television.

Yan Guoqiang didn't go out to play chess or drink with his coworkers. Instead, he moved a stool and sat properly in front of the television.

Aunt Li, "Why hasn't Ruyi come out yet?"

Yan Guoqiang pulled a newspaper out of his pocket and shook it. "The TV guide says that Beijing news won't start until 8 o'clock."

Ye Hongzhen asked suspiciously, "Where did you get the TV guide?"

Yan Guoqiang: "I got it from the factory's labor union."

Ostensibly, he was showing off the TV guide, but actually, he was subtly flaunting his daughter.

Before tomorrow, the whole factory will know that his daughter was on TV.

Upon seeing Yan Ruyi and Song Yiping return, everyone in the room made way for them.

Aunt Li said, "Ruyi, sit next to me. Let me see in a bit what the difference is between the real person and the one on TV."

Li Yan: "What difference could there be? It's still just one nose and two eyes."

"Don't say that. Take taking pictures, for example. With the same camera, some people's pictures look good, while others' pictures don't."

"Ruyi is so photogenic. The photo of him in the newspaper last time was just as handsome as he is in person."

"Xiao Yan, ask Ru Yi for a photo and look at it often. Maybe the baby she has will be as handsome as her aunt and become a college student in the future."

Li Yan was very unhappy to hear this. She wanted to have a boy, and she was looking at Yan Ruyi's photos every day. What if she gave birth to a girl?

Everyone in the room was waiting to see Yan Ruyi, and they were making a lot of noise when Aunt Li said loudly, "Stop talking, the Beijing news has already started playing."

The commendation meeting for outstanding workers was a relatively important news event because Mayor Liu attended it. Important news is usually broadcast first, so it was broadcast as the second news item. The shots at the beginning were of the leaders on the stage, with occasional glimpses of the audience.

Everyone in the room was looking for Yan Ruyi, so Yan Ruyi simply ran to the TV and pointed out where she was sitting.

As she pointed, the camera panned to her, and Yan Minghe, with his sharp eyes, saw her and shouted, "My sister is out!"

Where is it?

"Didn't you say you were going to go on stage?"

"It's not time yet, you'll be going up on stage to receive your award soon."

...

After the leader finished speaking, the camera switched to footage of outstanding workers going on stage to receive their awards.

Yan Ruyi was among the first to go on stage to receive her award, which was presented to her by Mayor Liu.

The room became lively again. "Ruyi is going on stage."

"Wasn't it the mayor who presented you with the award, Ruyi? The mayor even shook hands with you."

"I think the mayor did speak to you, Ruyi. What did the mayor say to you?"

...

Yan Ruyi whispered to Song Yiping, "I invited Mayor Liu to attend the opening ceremony of the Jialide office building, and Mayor Liu agreed."

Song Yiping felt he needed to work even harder, otherwise his girlfriend would stop paying attention to him.

Chinese New Year is early this year, on January 22nd, the first day of the Lunar New Year.

On January 18th, the Cultural Relics Bureau distributed New Year's gifts: 50 jin of rice, a barrel of oil, and a box of apples per person.

The machine tool factory provides each person with 50 jin of rice, 5 jin of ribbonfish, and 10 jin of dried bean curd.

Yan Guoqiang and Yan Ruyi had just brought their New Year's goods home when Song Yiping's New Year's goods arrived.

The New Year's gifts issued by the military unit consisted of 50 jin of rice, a barrel of oil, 10 jin of cured meat, and a box of apples.

Song Chengren and Fang Yuru both received New Year's gifts. Since his family is small, they couldn't eat all of them, so Song Yiping took them all to Yan Ruyi's house.

Zhao Cuifang said, "I heard that the furniture factory is also distributing rice and oil this year. Once Ertao's New Year's goods arrive, your house will be almost as big as a grain and oil store."

The grain and oil store definitely couldn't keep up, because Li Yan intercepted the New Year's goods that Yan Mingtao sent and took them to her parents' home.

Ever since Yan Mingtao and Li Yan got married, Yan Mingtao has stopped bringing home anything issued by the factory.

Li Yan's family has few working members and many idlers, so she always thinks about giving money to her family.

Ye Hongzhen didn't argue with her. The family didn't lack Yan Mingtao's New Year's goods, so Li Yan could give them to her family if she wanted.

Song Yiping also brought over all the New Year's goods.

Lunar New Year's Eve arrived before we knew it.

Yan Minghai rode his bicycle, with Fang Caiyun holding Miaomiao as they sat behind him.

On Lunar New Year's Eve, the three of them spent the day at the machine tool factory.

"Wonderful!"

Fang Caiyun turned around and saw Yan Ruyi waving at her from the car window.

Fang Caiyun said to Yan Minghai, "Ruyi and Xiao Song are here."

Yan Minghai stopped, and Song Yiping quickly drove up. The two got out of the car, and Miaomiao called out "Auntie" and wanted Yan Ruyi to hold her.

Yan Ruyi picked her up and said to Fang Caiyun, "Sister-in-law, let my brother ride the bike by himself. You and Miaomiao can ride home in Yiping's car."

Fang Caiyun smiled and said, "You hold Miaomiao and sit here. I'll ride in your older brother's car."

Yan Ruyi kissed Miaomiao, "Auntie will take you for a ride in the car."

Yan Ruyi carried Miaomiao to the passenger seat, then leaned out to say something to Fang Caiyun before Song Yiping drove off.

He was driving, but his eyes kept glancing at Miaomiao.

Miaomiao wore a red satin cotton-padded jacket today, and Fang Caiyun tied her hair into a ponytail with a big red ribbon tied to it.

Like her aunt, Miaomiao's skin is fair and her eyebrows and eyes are delicate. Dressed in red, she looks just like a happy doll in a New Year's painting.

Yan Ruyi thought there was nothing wrong with Miaomiao's outfit and asked Song Yiping, "Why are you staring at Miaomiao?"

Song Yiping turned around and said, "Miaomiao looks so festive and beautiful in this outfit today."

Miaomiao was soft and cuddly, making her especially lovable. Song Yiping was a little envious, thinking that his future daughter with Yan Ruyi would definitely be even more lovable than Miaomiao.

He had already started imagining what his daughter would look like, but his partner was shy, so he only dared to think about it and didn't dare to say it aloud.

The car quickly arrived at the machine tool family compound.

Yan Ruyi carried Miaomiao out of the car. Ye Hongzhen heard the noise and came out of the kitchen. Miaomiao called out "Grandma" and reached out to Ye Hongzhen to hold her.

Ye Hongzhen wiped her hands on her apron and took Miaomiao from her. "Did you miss Grandma?"

Miaomiao said in her childish voice, "I want to."

After thinking for a moment, he gestured a large circle with his hand, "I have that thought."

Ye Hongzhen was overjoyed and gave Miaomiao a big kiss. "Miaomiao is such a good girl. Grandma will cook some meat for Miaomiao in a little while."

Hearing the commotion, Zhao Cuifang came over from next door. "I heard a car. Is it Commander Song?"

Ye Hongzhen: "I'm here."

After saying that, he called to Yan Mingtao, "Ertao, bring out the red paper, brush, and ink, and let Xiao Song write the couplets."

Ye Hongzhen heard Yan Ruyi say that Song Yiping had excellent calligraphy skills, so she insisted that her future son-in-law write this year's Spring Festival couplets.

When Zhao Cuifang found out, she also said she wanted Song Yiping to write couplets for their family, saying she wanted to share in the good fortune.

Song Yiping was busy with work at the end of the year and hadn't had a free moment until today.

The sun was shining brightly today, so Yan Mingtao moved the table out of the house and set it up in the yard. He also brought over the calligraphy brushes, ink, and a piece of cut red paper, and placed them all on the table.

Yan Ruyi picked up the largest piece of red paper and spread it in front of Song Yiping. "This one is for the main entrance. Write this one first."

Song Yiping picked up the brush, thought for a moment, and then began to write with great skill and precision.

First line: May you enjoy peace and good fortune year after year, and may your whole family be filled with joy.

The second line reads: May every year bring abundant harvests, continuous good fortune, and a radiant glow throughout the house.

Horizontal scroll: Happy Chinese New Year.

The second couplet is for the entrance of the main hall. The first line reads "Auspicious signs for a bountiful year welcome good fortune," and the second line reads "Blessings fill the four seas to celebrate reunion." The horizontal inscription reads "Auspicious blessings fill the door."

...

Zhao Cuifang didn't know many characters and couldn't understand what was written. She just thought that Song Yiping wrote quickly and had beautiful handwriting. She whispered to Ye Hongzhen, "Teacher Wang has to look up the content in books when writing Spring Festival couplets. But Commander Song doesn't need to look up any books. He writes them effortlessly. If this were ancient times, he would be a man of both literary and martial talents. No wonder Lü Chunfang is making sarcastic remarks."

Lü Chunfang also lived in the machine tool factory's residential compound and had always been at odds with Ye Hongzhen.

When Yan Ruyi and Song Yiping started dating, Lü Chunfang told people that Yan Ruyi was like a toad eating swan meat.

She was only jealous of others because she herself lacked talent, and Ye Hongzhen didn't even bother to pay her any attention.

After writing the Spring Festival couplets for the Yan family to put up, he also wrote some for Zhao Cuifang. When Aunt Li heard about it, she also came over with red paper.

I wrote a total of twenty paintings, big and small, before I was finally done.

Yan Ruyi rubbed his hands, "Are your hands sore?"

Song Yiping: "It's alright, it's just that I haven't written in a long time, so I'm a bit rusty."

Fang Caiyun: "Xiao Song's handwriting is excellent; you must have practiced for many years, right?"

Song Yiping said, "I started practicing when I was 5 or 6 years old."

His grandfather said he had a talent for writing, and he started him practicing calligraphy when he was 5 or 6 years old.

At first, he didn't like it; he preferred wielding swords and spears.

Later, it became a habit, especially when I was feeling irritable. Sitting down and writing a few words would calm me down.

It's only in the last two years that I've been too busy with work to write much.

Ye Hongzhen came out of the kitchen with a bowl of paste and assigned a task to Yan Minghe, "Sihe, help your second brother put up the couplets."

Song Yiping: "I'll post it here."

Ye Hongzhen felt sorry for her son-in-law, "You rest, let Ertao and Sihe take care of it."

Yan Minghe loved pasting couplets. He would bring the paste, and Yan Mingtao would take the brush. They would apply the paste to the door frame and then paste the couplets on.

Yan Ruyi followed to check if the stickers were pasted crookedly.

The banners were pasted on all the doors, from the main gate to the small gate, and even on the coal stove. The banner read: "A prosperous stove brings harmony to the family; exquisite cooking skills result in delicious and fragrant dishes." The horizontal scroll read: "The kitchen is filled with fragrance."

Inside and outside the house, everything was bright red, exuding the joy of the Chinese New Year.

Looking at the bright red coal stove, Ye Hongzhen felt that this year's New Year's Eve dinner would smell even better.

After writing the Spring Festival couplets, Song Yiping was about to head back.

When Ye Hongzhen heard from Yan Ruyi that Aunt Liu had gone home for the New Year, she thought about how none of the four members of Song Yiping's family knew how to cook. So, when it came time to prepare New Year's food, she made extra: steamed buns, mantou, sausages, braised meat, fried fish, fried tofu, crispy pork...

She didn't know what families like the Song family usually ate.

However, when chatting with Song Yiping, they felt that the Song family ate similar things to them, so they gave Song Yiping some of each kind of food for the New Year.

"These are mostly cooked, you can just heat them up and eat them. You're all busy, especially during the Lunar New Year, so there's no need to go to all that trouble to cook them."

Song Yiping didn't stand on ceremony and took them all, putting them in the car.

Before driving away, he winked at Yan Ruyi when no one was looking. Yan Ruyi gave him a playful glare, but finally mouthed to Song Yiping, "I understand."

There have been many happy events in my family this year.

Yan Ruyi found a suitable partner, Li Yan became pregnant and the family was about to have a new addition. At the end of the year, Yan Minghai was promoted to deputy director of the workshop.

Even Yan Minghe improved his ranking by 5 places in the final exam, from 10th from the bottom of the class to 15th from the bottom.

Ever since Yan Ruyi and Song Yiping started dating, things have been much smoother at home than before.

People are in high spirits when they have good things to do. On New Year's Eve, Ye Hongzhen cooked a big table of dishes for the family reunion dinner, and the family enjoyed a lively meal together.

The Yan family has a tradition of staying up all night on New Year's Eve, usually until midnight, setting off firecrackers before going to sleep.

In previous years, we stayed up late on New Year's Eve without a TV, just sitting there staring at each other.

This year we had television to watch, so after dinner, the whole family gathered around the TV to watch the Spring Festival Gala.

While everyone was engrossed in watching TV, Yan Ruyi quietly told her sister-in-law and then sneaked out.