Chapter 65 (Three-in-One)

Song Yiping passed by in the blink of an eye, but he still fell in the footage.

Ye Hongzhen and Yan Guoqiang were so focused on watching the reporters' interview that they only saw someone walk by behind them and didn't get a good look at what the person looked like. Ye Hongzhen asked Yan Minghe, "You saw him clearly just now, are you sure it's your brother-in-law?"

Yan Minghe affirmed, "It was my brother-in-law. He wasn't wearing a raincoat and he even fell down. If you don't believe me, ask my sister. You saw it too, right?"

Upon seeing Yan Ruyi's expression, Ye Hongzhen knew that Yan Minghe had not made a mistake; the person on TV just now was indeed Song Yiping.

She asked Yan Ruyi anxiously, "Didn't you say Xiao Song went on a business trip? Why is he in the southern province doing disaster relief?"

“He went to the southern province. I was afraid you would worry, so I didn’t dare tell you.”

Ye Hongzhen was extremely anxious, "How could he fall in such heavy rain? Sihe, did you see anyone help him up?"

Yan Minghe: "It seems someone went to help him up."

Ye Hongzhen: "What do you mean by 'seems like'? Did they help her up or not?"

Yan Ruyi said, "An arm reached out and pulled him back."

Then the scene switched away.

Ye Hongzhen said, "It's good that someone stopped them."

She started worrying about other things, "Why isn't he wearing a raincoat? What if he catches a cold? Could you go and bring him a raincoat?"

Yan Guoqiang said, "The army would probably give raincoats to civilians instead. You can't give them to him now, because he's so far away. Even if you went, you wouldn't be able to find him and would only cause trouble."

"What can we do? Look at this rain, it's pouring down like a torrential downpour."

...

The whole family was on edge because of this television footage.

Yan Ruyi was also learning for the first time that mudslides were so terrifying, capable of burying people in an instant.

She didn't sleep well at night; every time she closed her eyes, she saw Song Yiping lying in the water.

One second Song Yiping was pulled out of the water, the next second he saw a mudslide slide down the mountain and rush towards Song Yiping and the others. Song Yiping slipped again and fell into the water.

Yan Ruyi let out an "Ah!" and woke up in fright.

She pulled her watch out from under her pillow and saw that it was only 2 a.m.

Thousands of miles away in the disaster area, it was already late at night, but the relief work was still ongoing.

The rain has lessened compared to the daytime, but the danger still exists.

The continuous heavy rains have loosened the soil and rocks on the mountain, making it easy for landslides to occur again.

Soldiers are working against the clock to search for and rescue trapped people and evacuate those who have been rescued.

Just as Song Yiping had rescued a trapped person and turned to continue the search, he heard someone shout, "Commander Song, run!"

Immediately after hearing a dull thud, Song Yiping turned and ran.

He was in good physical condition, and even after days of searching and rescue without much rest, his explosive power was still astonishing, let alone in such a critical moment.

The next second, the spot where he had just been standing was buried by a mudslide.

Song Yiping was panting heavily, still shaken; he had almost lost his chance to see his wife again.

Cheng Chao ran over, so frightened he could barely speak, "Commander, are you alright?"

"It's alright. Were there any casualties?"

"They all escaped; there were no casualties."

"We cannot rule out the possibility of another landslide, so we must hurry to evacuate the rescued people."

Cheng Chao stood at attention and saluted, "Yes!"

Because of that dream, Yan Ruyi was a little listless the next day.

Ye Hongzhen was also worried, but she didn't dare to say it. She comforted her daughter, "There are so many people here, Xiao Song will be fine."

Yan Ruyi hung her head and said, "I know."

But she still couldn't help worrying.

If we talk on the phone, we can call and ask about the situation.

But she couldn't even get through on the phone, so she didn't know who to call to ask.

She was getting restless, so after thinking for a moment, she called Fang Yuru.

Her parents-in-law were both in the military, so if Song Yiping had any news, they would definitely know it sooner than she did.

Fang Yuru answered the phone.

"Mom, this is Ruyi. I wanted to ask if you have any news about Yiping?"

She and Song Chengren both watched yesterday's news broadcast, and their worries were no less than Yan Ruyi's.

"We also have no news of Yiping. The disaster there is severe, and communications have been cut off for a long time. We can't get in touch with him."

“I saw him on the TV news yesterday, and I’m a little worried.”

Fang Yuru comforted her, "Your dad and I have seen it too. No news is good news. Yiping has been through the war and has a strong sense of safety. He will take good care of himself. I will call you as soon as I hear from him."

Fang Yuru's words offered some comfort to Yan Ruyi.

Although there were reports of the disaster in the southern province in the following days, Song Yiping was no longer seen on television.

Having heard no news of casualties, Yan Ruyi felt somewhat relieved.

Song Yiping returned a week later.

As Yan Ruyi was tidying up her desk after get off work, the phone rang. She picked up the receiver and said "Hello," to which a deep voice replied, "Wife."

Yan Ruyi asked in surprise, "Where are you?"

"Wait here at the phone booth on Wutong Road. I'll come pick you up right now."

Yan Ruyi hung up the phone, unable to hide the smile on her face.

She couldn't sit still any longer, so she went downstairs and waited for Song Yiping.

Soon, Song Yiping drove over. As soon as the car stopped, Yan Ruyi ran over and, without waiting for Song Yiping to get out, opened the car door and climbed into the car.

Regardless of whether anyone saw her, she hugged Song Yiping as soon as she got in the car, and tears streamed down her face.

Song Yiping: "Why are you crying?"

Yan Ruyi sobbed, "My tears are my own, can't I cry?"

Song Yiping said helplessly, "You can cry, but can we go home first? This is your territory. If you cry like this, your employees will think I'm bullying you and then come over and beat me up to vent your anger. Do you want them to beat me up or not?"

Yan Ruyi was amused by him again.

Song Yiping wanted to take out his handkerchief to wipe her tears, but when he took it out, he realized that the handkerchief had been in his pocket for who knows how long and was wrinkled like a rag.

Yan Ruyi took out her handkerchief, stuffed it into his hand, and then looked up, waiting for Song Yiping to wipe away her tears.

Song Yiping suppressed a laugh and used her handkerchief to wipe away her tears.

Yan Ruyi looked around and saw that everyone had left work and there were hardly any people around.

No one will see her crying here.

Commander Song was lying to her.

Her husband, Commander Song, was a great hero in the fight against floods and disaster relief efforts, so she decided to be magnanimous and not hold it against him.

When did you get back?

Song Yiping smiled and patted her head. "You just got back, did you miss me?"

Yan Ruyi readily admitted, "I've been thinking about it. Let me check if I'm injured."

She pulled Song Yiping up and down, looking him over.

"I'm not injured, I just haven't had time to shave for many days."

As he spoke, he took Yan Ruyi's hand and rubbed it against his chin, asking, "Does it prick?"

Although he wasn't injured, he was tanned and had lost a lot of weight. Yan Ruyi said with concern, "Zha, go home and take a good shower, then shave."

Song Yiping started the car.

Yan Ruyi: "I saw you on TV. There was a TV reporter interviewing you when you suddenly fell down. The camera couldn't see you in the back. It scared us to death."

Song Yiping thought about it and realized that there was indeed such a thing.

"The water was too deep at the time, and I couldn't see the road surface. I tripped over a stone, and Cheng Chao happened to be next to me and immediately pulled me up."

"Then why aren't you wearing a raincoat?"

Song Yiping laughed, "You even noticed whether they were wearing raincoats or not."

"Of course I saw it. You were soaked to the bone in that heavy rain. My mom was worried you'd catch a cold and even wanted to bring you a raincoat, but my dad stopped her."

"At the time, we had just rescued an old lady, so we put the raincoat on her. She was old and couldn't stand the rain, but I was fine getting a little wet."

Yan Ruyi said "Oh", then muttered softly, "I haven't been sleeping well these past few days while you were gone."

Half of it was worry, and the other half was missing him.

"Then let's catch up on some sleep tonight."

"Oh dear, I've been staying at my mom's place for the past few days, and Da Hua is still there."

"I'll go let Mom know I'm safe and sound, and then I'll bring Dahua over."

Did you tell your mother you were back?

"I've already made the call."

...

Song Yiping drove directly to the machine tool family compound.

When Ye Hongzhen saw that her son-in-law had returned safely, she finally felt relieved.

The whole family surrounded Song Yiping, asking him all sorts of questions.

Song Yiping then repeated everything he had said to Yan Ruyi.

Ye Hongzhen wanted them to stay for dinner, but Yan Ruyi wanted to spend some time alone with her husband, Commander Song, so she said to her mother, "Let's go back to eat, Mom. Where's Dahua? I want to take Dahua with me."

Ye Hongzhen: "I just saw it was still in the yard."

When Yan Ruyi went outside, she saw the two cats cuddling together and sleeping.

They were so close their faces were practically touching.

She picked up Dahua and said, "Dahua, let's go home."

Da Hua was sleeping when Yan Ruyi suddenly picked her up. Still a little dazed, she let out a soft, childish "meow."

Xiao Hua, however, was not having it. She barked fiercely at Yan Ruyi and demanded the cat from her.

Yan Ruyi said, "How about I take Xiaohua with me?"

Yan Minghe rushed over and hugged Xiaohua tightly, saying, "No."

Yan Ruyi said to Xiaohua, "Look, it's not that I don't want you to be with Dahua, it's that Sihe doesn't want you to come with us."

After a little provocation, Yan Ruyi, carrying Da Hua, followed Song Yiping away triumphantly.

After returning home, Song Yiping took a shower and shaved, and he was once again the handsome Commander Song.

As Song Yiping came out of the shower room, he heard a series of crackling sounds from the kitchen.

He went over to take a look and found that Yan Ruyi was actually cooking.

Yan Ruyi had never cooked before, but she had seen it before, so she followed the example. She poured oil into the pan, then put in the chopped scallions to sauté them.

As soon as she put the chopped scallions in, oil splattered everywhere, startling her so much that she quickly put the lid on the pot.

When Song Yiping arrived, he smelled a burnt smell.

Did it splash on you?

"No, quickly lift the lid and take a look."

When Song Yiping lifted the lid, he saw that the scallions had all turned black.

Song Yiping sent her off to play with Da Hua.

Yan Ruyi originally wanted to cook a meal herself to reward her hero.

Looking back now, it seems that her not cooking was the biggest reward for her husband, Commander Song.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. That night, as soon as they got into bed, Yiping hugged Yan Ruyi and nuzzled her fair face with his chin. "I won't prick you anymore."

Although Yan Ruyi also wanted to, she considered his health and pushed him away, saying, "You've been working so hard for so many days. You should rest well tonight and recharge your energy. We can do it tomorrow."

Song Yiping kissed her, "You'll know if you're tired once you try it."

This test lasted until midnight.

Before falling asleep, Yan Ruyi was still thinking about how her Commander Song might sometimes be exhausted.

After thorough preparation, Kariday held its first auction on June 15th.

Thanks to effective pre-auction promotion, many people signed up to participate in the auction, and the auction hall, which can accommodate 200 people, was packed to capacity on the day of the auction.

Many of them are familiar faces.

He Zaixian and Li Guangyan also came.

Li Guangyan shook hands with Yan Ruyi from afar. After shaking hands, he lowered his voice and asked Yan Ruyi, "Comrade Yan, have you seen all the antiques in this auction?"

Yan Ruyi smiled and said, "I've already seen it all. We at Jialide don't have a 'no guarantee of authenticity' clause. It's all clearly stated in the contract, so you can rest assured when you place your order."

Because authenticating antiques is quite difficult, most auction houses, in order to avoid liability, will state "authenticity not guaranteed" before the auction, and the buyer must bear the risk themselves.

This is why Li Guangyan was able to buy fake antiques at auction.

Garrett was the first auction house to dare to remove this clause from the contract.

Clearly, they are very confident.

Li Guangyan: "I'm relieved to hear Comrade Yan's words."

During this auction, Li Guangyan took a liking to two paintings and calligraphies. With Yan Ruyi's words in mind, he decided to acquire both paintings.

This was Kariday's first auction. Since they didn't have a particularly large collection of antiques, they didn't hold separate sessions; instead, they auctioned them all together.

It started with the hugely popular porcelain.

Qian Dongcheng's father's Ming Dynasty clove-glazed lotus leaf bowl was auctioned off to He Zaixian for NT$35,000.

Another Qing dynasty famille rose peach blossom vase, due to slight flaws, was auctioned off for 20,000 yuan to a buyer from Hong Kong.

...

Feng Jiacheng was experienced and had a good understanding of the market value and historical background of the auction items. He firmly controlled the pace of the auction, and as the auction hammer rose and fell in his hand, all 200 antiques and cultural artifacts were sold.

Finally, there's Chen Feiyong's set of top-mounted cabinets.

This was also the largest item in the auction; it was so big that it took four people to carry the cabinet onto the platform.

Because furniture is not a popular collectible, it is rarely seen at auctions.

However, collectors all have their own preferences, and in the end, this set of cabinets was auctioned off to a buyer surnamed Zhang from the provincial capital for 18,000 yuan.

The auction ultimately generated nearly 400,000 yuan in sales.

Yan Mingtao used to work in a furniture factory with about a hundred employees, whose annual income was only around 100,000 yuan.

The set of porcelain donated by Qian Dongcheng accounted for the majority of the price, and together with the pieces sold at the craft shop, it totaled 96,000 yuan.

Qian Dongcheng didn't want a single penny of the money; he donated it all to the Cultural Relics Bureau.

After the auction, Yan Ruyi took her notebook and went to ask Director Liu for the money.

"Director Liu, you promised me that once Qian Dongcheng's money arrives, you would approve one-third of it for our expenses."

She took an abacus out of her bag.

Director Liu exclaimed in shock, "You even brought your abacus?"

"How can we settle accounts if you don't bring them along?"

Yan Ruyi learned to use an abacus when she was in elementary school, but she hasn't used it since, so she's forgotten a bit of it.

In order to get money from Director Liu, she crammed for several days before she could finally pick it up again.

She fiddled with the abacus beads for a while, then showed them to Director Liu. “One-third of 96,000 yuan is 32,000 yuan. I’ll deduct this amount and keep it for Jialide. Director Liu, is that alright?”

The cultural relics bureau received 64,000 yuan for nothing without paying a single penny.

This can protect so many cultural relics!

Director Liu was overjoyed, his eyes practically popping out of their sockets. He kept saying, "No problem, no problem. You can keep this money with Jialide directly. As for the remaining 64,000 yuan, have the finance department process the transaction and then transfer it to the Cultural Relics Bureau."

The 32,000 yuan went to Jialide, and with the auction commission, the total came to over 80,000 yuan.

Jialide no longer has to live frugally.

Yan Ruyi got the money from Director Liu and went downstairs happily.

Just as they were about to reach the main gate, Zhao Dongsheng called out to them.

Zhao Dongsheng followed her downstairs, but he didn't call out to her until they were almost at the gate.

Contrary to his usual behavior, Zhao Dongsheng was very kind to Yan Ruyi, saying, "Little Yan."

"What is it, Teacher Zhao?"

"Xiao Yan, it's like this. I see that you're short-staffed over there, and I'd like to come and help you. Director Liu said that if you just give the nod, I can immediately transfer the relationship."

Zhao Dongsheng had no hope of promotion at the appraisal center, and he was somewhat unwilling to give up, so he set his sights on Jialide.

After this auction, Karl Lide's reputation soared, and its subsequent development was meteoric.

If you transfer there now, you'll be a veteran at Jialide.

Moreover, Xia Pengfei is in charge of the appraisal and evaluation department of Jialide. Xia Pengfei is not as qualified as him. If he is transferred there, he might be able to squeeze out Xia Pengfei and become the director of the appraisal and evaluation department himself.

Zhao Dongsheng, having made a shrewd plan, immediately went to Director Liu to express his wishes.

Director Liu said, "Although I have a nominal position at Jialide, it is actually Comrade Xiao Yan who is in charge. If you want to transfer there, you still need Comrade Xiao Yan's approval. As long as she approves, I will process the paperwork for you immediately."

Zhao Dongsheng: "...Okay, then I'll go find Xiao Yan. She's short-staffed right now, so she'll definitely welcome me over."

He originally wanted to call Yan Ruyi, but before he could make the call, Yan Ruyi came to see Director Liu.

He didn't call out to Yan Ruyi upstairs because he felt it would be disgraceful for a senior to ask a junior for help.

I was thinking of telling Yan Ruyi after she came downstairs, so that no one would hear me.

If he got transferred, he would tell people that Yan Ruyi had asked him to go. Once he made up his mind, he followed Yan Ruyi downstairs.

Yan Ruyi didn't even need to think about it to know what Zhao Dongsheng was planning.

Zhao Dongsheng has always been someone who doesn't act without a profit motive.

When Jialide was first being prepared, he was terrified of being transferred there, so he stayed as far away from it as possible.

Now that Jialide has risen to prominence, they want to come and reap the rewards.

Director Liu passed the buck to her, and she passed the buck back to Director Liu.

“Teacher Zhao, you are the backbone of our appraisal center. I would never dare to poach Director Liu’s talent. Why don’t you ask Director Liu to give the word? As soon as he gives the word, I will process the paperwork for you immediately.”

Director Liu said that he agreed as soon as Yan Ruyi nodded.

Yan Ruyi said that she nodded when Director Liu spoke.

This is a vicious cycle, commonly known as passing the buck.

Zhao Dongsheng, a veteran, was being passed around like a scapegoat by a junior.

He was a little embarrassed. "Xiao Yan, are you afraid I'll go over and take your place?"

Yan Ruyi smiled and said, "If you could take it away, you would have done so long ago."

Zhao Dongsheng was so angry that he turned and left.

Jialide is currently short-staffed, especially in the appraisal and evaluation department, which only has Xia Pengfei. The antiques collected for the last auction were appraised with the help of Jiang Dongming and his team.

Yan Ruyi wants to build her own appraisal team.

She had Yu Jinxiu place a job advertisement in the newspaper.

Recruitment information has also been posted on the bulletin boards of each subdistrict office.

She had heard Xu Licheng say that before liberation, there were two auction houses in Beijing: Hengyi Auction House and Fuhe Auction House.

Hengyi mainly auctions goods confiscated by customs, bank collateral, and other items.

Fuhe, however, primarily auctions antiques and calligraphy and paintings.

After liberation, due to the implementation of the planned economy, both auction houses closed down.

With the auction houses closed, the auctioneers and antique and calligraphy appraisers from these two auction houses were forced into the workforce, either being assigned other jobs by the government or having to find their own way to make a living.

Old Fu from the Cultural Relics Bureau's Appraisal Center used to work at Fuhe Auction House before being assigned to work at the Cultural Relics Bureau.

Some people, after getting into sports, may be afraid of the impact and may even retire completely.

These are the people Yan Ruyi wants to recruit.

These people have been working in the auction house for a long time. They are experienced and know the tricks of the trade in antique forgery. They are much more shrewd than the academics.

Just before she was about to leave work, Yan Ruyi received a call from Fang Yuru. "Ruyi, Grandpa's 80th birthday celebration has been moved to this Sunday. Since everyone is off work, let's get together. We're not inviting anyone else, just our family. We'll have a meal at home. I called Yiping, but he's not available. If you see him, please let him know."

"Okay, I'll talk to him after get off work."

"You and Yiping don't need to think about what gifts to give. The old man doesn't need anything. Just having you both come is better than giving any gifts."

"Okay, Mom."

Fang Yuru said not to send gifts, but how could I really not send any?

After all, it was the old man's 80th birthday.

The old man likes antiques, so giving him antiques would be the best gift.

However, Yan Ruyi has not yet found one she likes.

What you can see on the market now is not as good as the old man's own collection.

Yan Ruyi thought she would discuss it with her mother and ask for her opinion on what would be a suitable gift for the elderly person's birthday.

She wasn't that busy today, so she went home on time.

From a distance, I could see a crowd gathered at the entrance of the Zhao family's courtyard next door.

The Zhao family only has one person, Granny Zhao. Why is there such a commotion in front of her courtyard?

Could it be that she scolded some young wife again, and then that person smashed up her house again?

Yan Ruyi stomped her foot a few times and got closer, then heard a series of curses coming from the Zhao family's courtyard.

One of them was Granny Zhao's voice, and the other was indistinct, but it could be identified as a woman's voice as well.

Sister-in-law Wan squeezed through the crowd and asked, "Ruyi, you're off work?"

Yan Ruyi got out of the car. "I'm off work."

She gestured towards the Zhao family's house with her lips, "What happened to them?"

After watching the commotion all afternoon, Sister-in-law Wan couldn't wait to share the gossip with Yan Ruyi. "Didn't I tell you last time that Zhao Yushu, that is, Granny Zhao's son, went mad and ran away 5 years ago? It's been so many years and there's been no news of him. Everyone thought he was probably dead out there. Who would have thought that he would come back, and not alone, but with a wife."

"Isn't he crazy?"

"He wasn't originally crazy, but his wife drove him mad. Now he doesn't seem crazy anymore; he's quite energetic."

"Isn't this a good thing? Why is Grandma Zhao cursing?"

Sister-in-law Wan curled her lips and said, "The daughter-in-law has only just entered the family, and she already wants to control her. Who knew that this daughter-in-law is not as easy to control as Li Baoling. For every one curse from the old woman, she can come back with 10 different ones. Right now, the two of them are cursing each other. The old woman has met her match this time. She still wants to control her daughter-in-law. This time, she will probably be controlled by her daughter-in-law."

Yan Ruyi couldn't understand it. They had already learned from the previous experience, wasn't Granny Zhao afraid of driving her son crazy and driving him away again?

Sister-in-law Wan said, "Brine sets tofu, one thing subdues another," and went home to cook.

Yan Ruyi also went home.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law next door have really met their match. They started by hurling insults at each other, and then they started smashing things. It was a lot of clanging and banging before they finally quieted down.

Yan Ruyi wanted to peek over the wall to see how angry Granny Zhao was when she met her match.

Song Yiping returned around 6 o'clock, carrying a live chicken in his hand.

“I bought it from an old lady at the intersection. She said it was her own chicken. Her grandson came back to stay and complained that raising chickens was too smelly, so she didn’t let him keep them. She took them out to sell, saying they were old hens that she had raised for three years.”

Yan Ruyi had originally planned to raise a few chickens, but after hearing what Song Yiping said, she immediately gave up the idea.

She doesn't want her house to smell bad.

Song Yiping tied the chicken up and threw it on the ground, then went to boil water, preparing to slaughter the chicken and make soup.

Yan Ruyi followed behind him. "When I got off work, my mom called me and said that Grandpa's 80th birthday celebration had been moved to this Sunday. She said she would call you, but you weren't available, so she asked me to tell you."

"I was in a meeting all afternoon and didn't receive a call from my mom."

What gift should we give Grandpa for his birthday?

"Grandpa doesn't care about gifts; he'll be happy as long as we go back."

“You said the same thing as Mom, but 80 is a big birthday, it’s not good to go back empty-handed. I’ll go and talk to Mom about it tomorrow.”

Song Yiping boiled the water, then took a knife to butcher the chicken.

Yan Ruyi had been following him, but when she saw him take out a knife, she stopped following him.

Song Yiping laughed and said, "Why aren't you following anymore?"

Yan Ruyi argued vehemently, "A gentleman keeps away from the kitchen."

After saying that, he hid inside the house and only came out when he heard the chickens stop crowing.

Song Yiping put the slaughtered chicken into a basin and poured in the boiled water.

Seeing Yan Ruyi come out of the house, he told her, "Don't come over, it smells terrible."

Yan Ruyi had already smelled it.

The stewed chicken smells so good, how come it smells so bad when it was slaughtered!

Song Yiping washed the chicken clean and buried all the plucked feathers before Yan Ruyi came out of the house.

The old hen was laying eggs, and there were still newly formed eggs inside her belly. Yan Ruyi took the eggs out, intending to cook them for Da Hua.

Tonight's meal is stewed chicken with monkey head mushrooms, which I bought last time I went to Yangcheng. Stewing it with an old hen is so delicious it'll make your eyebrows fall off.

Yan Ruyi ladled out a bowl, "I'll take one to Grandma Li and ask Du Miao how her exam went."

Du Miao took the college entrance examination on July 7th, 8th, and 9th. Now she should be estimating her scores and filling out her college application.

Yan Ruyi took the bowl to Grandma Li's house.

Du Miao was feeding the cats in the yard when she saw Yan Ruyi arrive. She called out to the kitchen, "Grandma, Sister Ruyi is here."

The kitten that Du Miao was feeding meowed at Yan Ruyi; it turned out to be a big-flowered kitten.

“I told it that it hasn’t been eating much these past few days and I was thinking of taking it to the vet to see if it was sick. Turns out it’s been eating its fill at your place.”

Du Miao chuckled and patted Da Hua's head. "Da Hua is such a good girl."

She sniffed. "It smells so good, Sister Ruyi, did you make stewed chicken?"

Yan Ruyi said, "Yiping bought an old hen when he got off work and made a pot of chicken soup for your family to try."

Grandma Li came out of the kitchen and said to Du Miao, "Your sister Ruyi has been carrying it all this time, hurry up and take it from her."

"There's no need to resell it."

Yan Ruyi placed the bowl on the dining table.

Du Miao said, "Thank you, Sister Ruyi."

Yan Ruyi asked Du Miao, "Have you already started estimating your scores and filling out your college applications? What score did you estimate?"

Du Miao said excitedly, "I estimated my score to be 610, which is about the same as our last mock exam score. Our homeroom teacher also said that if I performed normally, this should be my score. I applied to your school and majored in the same field as you."

"With your score, applying to our school is a bit of a waste. Based on previous years, this score would have been enough to get into Peking University's cultural heritage program."

Du Miao whispered, "If I apply to Peking University, my grandma will be all alone at home. I'm worried about that, so I want to stay in Beijing so I can go home to visit her often. Sister Ruyi, don't tell my grandma about this, otherwise she'll feel like she's a burden to me."

"I won't say anything, but if you're still interested in this industry after you graduate, you're welcome to work for Jialide."

"That's exactly what I'm thinking, Sister Ruyi. You can't abandon me when the time comes."

Yan Ruyi laughed and said, "Top students are sought after by many companies. I'm afraid our Jialide won't be able to compete with other companies."

Grandma Li chimed in from the kitchen, "What are you fighting over? Can't you even win?"

"We're busy grabbing seedlings, you guys go ahead and eat, I'm going back to eat."

"Sister Ruyi, once the admission notices arrive, I want to treat you and your husband to dinner. You can't refuse."

"Okay, we'll be waiting."

When Yan Ruyi returned home, Song Yiping had already served the meal.

Yan Ruyi washed her hands and sat down to eat.

As the two were eating, they heard a loud thud from next door. Yan Ruyi, who had just picked up a piece of chicken, was so startled that she dropped it onto the table.

Then they heard Granny Zhao shout at the top of her lungs, "Help! Someone's been murdered!"

Song Yiping didn't know what was going on and thought someone was attacking with a knife, so he told Yan Ruyi, "Don't go out, stay at home."

He put down his chopsticks and ran out.

It's probably Granny Zhao causing trouble again.

Yan Ruyi hadn't told Song Yiping about the Zhao family's affairs, so Song Yiping would probably assume that Granny Zhao had truly been wronged.

Fearing that Song Yiping would interfere, she also ran out.

Granny Zhao's shout attracted a lot of people, who gathered at the courtyard gate to watch the commotion.

Granny Zhao lay on the ground, slapping her thighs with both hands, wailing and lamenting.

Her son and daughter-in-law sat at the table eating, ignoring her and letting her cry and scream.

Zhao Yushu had a cold expression on his face and didn't even glance at Zhao Pozi the whole time.

Those who don't know the truth would definitely think that Zhao Yushu and his wife are unfilial and don't feed their mother.

That's what Song Yiping thought.

Yan Ruyi took him home.

After I got home, I told him about the Zhao family's situation. Judging from his expression, I knew that his values ​​had been greatly shaken.

I never imagined there could be a mother like this in the world!

Yan Ruyi said, "This is what they call 'the wicked will be punished by the wicked.' If you see this again, don't meddle in other people's business."

Emotionally speaking, she was quite happy to see Granny Zhao being tormented by her daughter-in-law.

The next day, I went to the machine tool factory's residential compound and shared this gossip with my mother.

She added with relief, "Luckily, Yiping's mother isn't like that, otherwise, Yiping and I would already be divorced by now."

She couldn't stand Granny Zhao's attitude and had no interest in fighting with that kind of mother-in-law.

Fighting is too exhausting; just get a divorce.

Ye Hongzhen poked her forehead. "Do you think your mother's eyes are just for show? The first time I saw Yiping's mother, I could tell that your mother-in-law is a kind and reasonable person. She wouldn't do something like tormenting her daughter-in-law. Otherwise, do you think you could have married Yiping?"

If the in-laws are not good, you shouldn't marry them no matter how good the son-in-law is.

Fortunately, my in-laws are all good people, which is why they raised such a good son.

After sharing some gossip, Yan Ruyi got down to business, humbly asking her mother for advice on what would be a suitable gift.

Ye Hongzhen said, "At Grandpa's level, there's really nothing special about him anymore. But 80 is a big birthday, and it's really inappropriate for you younger generation to celebrate empty-handed. Otherwise, Mom will make some longevity buns. They look festive and are something special. You can also buy some other things that the elderly like to eat."

Yan Ruyi has always blindly trusted her mother. Since her mother said to send longevity buns, then she will send longevity buns.

Although she didn't know what longevity buns looked like.

Ye Hongzhen, “Longevity buns tend to dry out if left out for too long. I’ll make them for you on Sunday morning. You and Yiping can come and pick them up around 8 or 9 a.m.

On Sunday, Yan Ruyi and Song Yiping went to the machine tool factory's residential compound.

Ye Hongzhen came out of the kitchen. "It's just steamed and ready to be taken out of the pot."

Yan Ruyi was curious about what longevity buns looked like, so she went to the kitchen with her mother.

Ye Hongzhen lifted the pot lid, and Yan Ruyi was immediately stunned.

The longevity bun her mother made had three layers. The bottom layer was a round base with delicate lace trim. Above the base, there was a ring of longevity peaches. In the very center of these peaches was a large longevity peach, which was larger than the smaller peaches around it.

On the large peach, there is also a bright and eye-catching "longevity" character.

Each longevity peach is sculpted to a lifelike appearance, complete with a red peach tip, making it look especially festive.

It's much more upscale than the birthday cakes sold in bakeries.

Yan Ruyi asked in surprise, "Mom, did you make this yourself?"

"I didn't make it. I learned it from your grandma when I was a girl."

Yan Ruyi exclaimed, "Mom, you're amazing! It looks so beautiful!"

Ye Hongzhen said modestly, "It's been so many years since I've done this, my skills are a bit rusty. Otherwise, I could have made it even better."

Yan Guoqiang muttered under his breath, "They've been practicing for so many days, how could they not do it well?"

He's been eating this for several days in a row, and there are still some uneaten, substandard buns left in the basket at home.

Ye Hongzhen said righteously, "Don't listen to your father, he's maliciously slandering you."

Comrade Yan, who had been unfairly accused, quickly slipped away with his hands behind his back.

-----------------------

Author's note: My brother participated in flood relief efforts. It was really hard and dangerous. Salute to our most lovable people!