The train was moving at a constant speed on the rails. A bunch of brightly colored osmanthus flowers was placed by the window. The branches trembled slightly as the train moved forward, shaking off the rich fragrance that filled the carriage.

Ruan Xi woke up from a not-so-deep sleep, opened her eyes and looked out the window, "Are we almost there?"

Ling Yao said: "We are almost there, maybe another half an hour."

Ruan Xi raised her hand to cover her mouth and nose and yawned, stretched her shoulders and neck to relax her muscles, and leaned back on the chair again, turned her head to look at Ling Yao and asked, "Are you nervous?"

Ling Yao couldn't help laughing, "Shouldn't you be the one who's nervous?"

It is undeniable that Ruan Xi was indeed nervous. After all, she had never experienced meeting her parents-in-law in her two lifetimes. Fortunately, she already knew Ling Zhiyuan and Zhou Xueyun, so she wasn't particularly nervous and everything was completely under control.

After getting off the train at the station, Ruan Xi followed Ling Yao from the train station to his home.

Ruan Xi knew that Ling Yao's family used to be relatively wealthy, and she had her own imagination in her mind, but when she saw his house, she couldn't help but blink in surprise. Because his family does not live in an ordinary house, but an old villa with a single family!

If this kind of well-preserved old house were put on the market later, it would cost hundreds of millions or even billions of yuan per unit, and it is basically impossible to buy it even if you have money! Because this house, like the Siheyuan, is a historical relic, and its value lies in its small size!

Ling Yao looked at her in surprise and asked her, "What's wrong?"

Ruan Xi cleared her throat and whispered, "Your family is so rich."

Ling Yao held her hand and said, "Now they are just a very ordinary family."

Ruan Xi smiled and said nothing more. Which ordinary family would live in such a house? Most of them lived in the alleys with the whole family squeezed into a few rooms. Those with poorer conditions lived like they were living in a box, so crowded.

When they reached the front door, Ling Yao took her and knocked on the door and went inside. "Mom and Dad, I'm back. I brought Xixi back with me."

As soon as the voice fell, Ling Zhiyuan and Zhou Xueyun came out of the house. When they saw Ruan Xi, their eyes lit up and they came up to greet her with a smile on their faces: "Oh, it's been so many years, Xixi has grown into a big girl."

After returning, they were free from mental stress and their lives were relatively comfortable, so they looked much better than when they were in the countryside. But after all, he had suffered both mental and physical torture, and the traces of time erosion on his face were still very obvious.

Zhou Xueyun was relatively better off because she dyed all her white hair black and curled it.

Ling Zhiyuan has gray hair and looks even more haggard and old.

After a few pleasantries, Zhou Xueyun pulled Ruan Xi into the house and didn't let her stand at the door.

Ling Yao was holding a suitcase and some gifts he bought on the street, and he and Ling Zhiyuan followed behind him into the room. Both father and son were smiling happily, looking very happy.

Such a lively and festive occasion had never happened between the three of them in all these years.

Although their family of three had a better life after they were rehabilitated and returned to the city, and although Ling Yao said nothing after his return and was obedient, sensible, studied hard, and did not cause them any trouble, Ling Zhiyuan and Zhou Xueyun knew that he was still worried about something.

And they all knew that this knot was Ruan Xi.

Originally, they thought that Ling Yao was just lonely and bored in the countryside, and that he had so much fun playing with Ruan Xi that he couldn't leave her. Once he returned to the city and resumed his normal life, with new classmates and friends and a new life, he would slowly forget about Ruan Xi.

The affection between children is very deep at some point, but once they are separated, it is slowly forgotten. After all, life in the countryside was just a short episode, and he and Ruan Xi were only together for two years.

But what they didn't expect was that Ling Yao had been keeping this matter in his heart, and was still unwilling to open his heart to accept other classmates, let alone get along with other girls emotionally when he grew up.

After graduation, many girls liked him, but he didn't even want to say a word to others.

As parents, they were naturally anxious, but they knew Ling Yao's character very well, so there was no point in being anxious and they could only keep it to themselves. Then, when Ling Yao came back to celebrate the New Year, the matter suddenly became clear.

After going around in circles, the person Ling Yao could open his heart to was still the girl from that year.

Ling Zhiyuan and Zhou Xueyun felt very surprised, but also not surprised at all.

What was unexpected was that the two children met again after being separated for so many years. It’s not surprising, because apart from Ruan Xi, who else could make Ling Yao so happy and come back to say that he has found a partner?

The atmosphere at home was good at the beginning of the year, and it has been good for more than half a year, until this day when Ling Yao brought Ruan Xi back. This joyful and comfortable atmosphere reached its peak.

Zhou Xueyun took Ruan Xi to the living room and sat her down. She brought her food and drinks, her face full of excitement. She said, "I asked Yaoyao to bring you back a long time ago, but it took until now to bring you back."

Ruan Xi was still a little unfamiliar with it, and said with a smile: "I just haven't had the time."

However, this strangeness after not seeing each other for a long time disappeared after she talked to Zhou Xueyun and Ling Zhiyuan for a while. After all, Ling Yao was beside her, and after all, she had talked to Zhou Xueyun and Ling Zhiyuan on the phone in the past six months.

After quickly regaining the sense of familiarity, Ruan Xi naturally stopped being polite and did not consider herself a guest. She was busy with Zhou Xueyun, Ling Yao and Ling Zhiyuan. Although they did not let her interfere too much, they only let her eat, drink and have fun.

After dinner, Ruan Xi and Ling Yao stood on the balcony upstairs, holding the railing and looking at the moon.

The moon on August 15th was as big as a disk, hanging high in the sky, illuminating the smiling faces of the two people.

Ruan Xi and Ling Yao returned home after celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival at Ling's house. They arrived home in the evening at sunset. The gate to the house was locked and no one was home. Ruan Dabao and the children from the alley were playing with spinning tops next to the stone lions.

Seeing Ruan Xi and Ling Yao coming back, he called out from afar: "Big sister, Big brother Ling Yao."

Ruan Xi responded to him, but before he and Ling Yao reached the gate, Ruan Changsheng suddenly rode up to them on his bike. Ruan Changsheng was panting. He stopped the car and said hello: "You are back."

It was obvious that something was wrong, so Ruan Xi asked, "Why are you in such a hurry?"

Ruan Changsheng took a breath and said, "It's nothing. Xiaojie is about to give birth and has gone to the hospital. Your fifth aunt has gone there first. I will come back to take care of Dabao. Do you want to go or not? If not, Dabao will be left at home."

How could she not go when Ruan Jie was about to give birth? Ruan Xi quickly took out the key to open the gate, "Of course I have to go."

After opening the gate and putting down the suitcase in the house, she and Ling Yao pushed their bicycles out and followed Ruan Changsheng to the hospital. Ruan Dabao was taken away by Ruan Changsheng before he even put down his schoolbag.

When they arrived at the hospital, Ruan Jie had just entered the delivery room. Because there were other women giving birth in the room, men were not allowed to enter, so Chen Weidong waited anxiously outside the delivery room while Qian Chuan took care of her inside.

Qian Chuan had experience in childbirth, so she felt relieved to have her taking care of the baby. Ruan Xi did not go in to cause trouble, so as not to disturb Ruan Jie's delivery. She couldn't help much if she went in, so she might as well wait outside.

After standing outside the delivery room and waiting for a while, Ruan Xi heard the hoarse screams coming from the room and felt a layer of cold sweat on her back. I was really panicked when I heard it, and my fingers unconsciously clenched together.

Ling Yao could see every subtle reaction on her body, and reached out and silently held her hand in his palm.

After waiting for half an hour, Ruan Jie still didn't come out.

Ruan Xi raised her wrist to look at her watch from time to time, and her expression was no less anxious than Chen Weidong's.

Ruan Changsheng seemed calmer because he had experienced Qian Chuan's childbirth.

After waiting for another twenty or thirty minutes, the door of the delivery room suddenly opened.

As soon as the door opened, all the family members waiting outside crowded around and asked the nurse if their child was alive.

The nurse shook her head and said the baby hadn't been born yet. Then she looked at Chen Weidong and Ruan Xi and Ruan Changsheng and said, "You are Ruan Jie's family members, right? Ruan Jie is having difficulty giving birth now. You two should discuss whether to switch to a caesarean section."

Hearing this, Chen Weidong subconsciously rushed in, but was stopped by the nurse.

The nurse said anxiously, "It's no use for you to be anxious. You can't enter the delivery room. You should make a decision quickly whether to switch to a caesarean section. We also explained to you that caesarean sections have risks. If you decide to switch, your family members must sign."

Even in big cities, the medical conditions in hospitals are not very good now, especially in the obstetrics and gynecology departments. There are many doctors who can deliver babies, but there are very few who can use a scalpel to perform a cesarean section.

Ruan Xi herself had never given birth to a child, so she looked at Ruan Changsheng and said, "Fifth Uncle."

Ruan Changsheng had no idea. Qian Chuan and Ruan Cuizhi were both born at home, and they directly hired a village midwife. He didn't even know what a caesarean section was, so he didn't dare to make a decision.

Chen Weidong asked the nurse anxiously: "Can I give birth without a cesarean section?"

The nurse was used to seeing these things, so she didn't look anxious. She just said, "It's very likely that the baby won't be born."

Chen Weidong asked again: "What will happen if the baby cannot be born?"

The nurse said, "What do you think? Something bad will happen!"

Chen Weidong's eyes suddenly filled with bloodshot. At this time, Qian Chuan also came out, looking anxious and nervous, "Xiao Jie can't give birth. You guys should make a decision quickly. What should we do? The doctor said that a caesarean section is necessary. Is a caesarean section possible?"

Ruan Xi had no confidence in the medical conditions of this era, but things had come to this point, so could they just drag it on like this? It was obvious that Ruan Jie couldn't give birth, and there would only be one result if we delayed it any further.

So she opened her lips and said, "Let's...cut open..."

Chen Weidong also seemed to have realized what was happening. "I...I'll sign."

While Chen Weidong was signing, the nurse had already pushed Ruan Jie to the operating room.

While Ruan Jie was administering anesthesia, the nurse came out and asked Chen Weidong, "Dangers may occur during the operation. We need to confirm in advance. If a critical situation occurs, should we save the adult or the child?"

Chen Weidong was already anxious, and he started shouting, "You still have to ask this damn question! No matter what happens, the adults must be safe!"

The nurse rolled her eyes at him. If she hadn't seen that he was worried about his wife's difficult labor, she would have scolded him at least.

The nurse rolled her eyes and went in, leaving Ruan Xi and the others waiting outside the operating room.

Chen Weidong slid down the wall and squatted at the foot of the wall. He hugged his head tightly with his hands and burst into tears in anxiety.

Ruan Xi's eyes were also red, and she was extremely flustered. If this happened in an era of advanced medicine, cesarean section would be a very common and safe operation, and it would not make people so scared and panic.

But even in this age of advanced medical care, there are still many people who lose their lives during childbirth.

Ruan Xi sat on the chair, bent over, covering her forehead with her hands and closing her eyes, not wiping away the moisture that seeped out.

This time she didn't even look at her watch, she just waited.

I don’t know how long I waited, it felt like a lifetime. At the end of the dark space and time, I suddenly heard a baby crying. Ruan Changsheng and Qian Chuan suddenly turned their heads to look towards the operating room, and Chen Weidong and Ruan Xi also raised their heads.

A moment later, a nurse opened the door and came out holding a child. She said, "It's a boy."

Chen Weidong ran over in a hurry. This time he did not rush into the operating room. He asked the nurse with tears on his face, "How is my wife? How is my wife?"

The nurse handed the baby to Qian Chuan, then looked at Chen Weidong and said, "Congratulations, both mother and baby are safe."

Hearing this, Chen Weidong suddenly laughed again, and it was extremely funny that he was crying and laughing at the same time.

Ruan Xi breathed a sigh of relief but at the same time she could no longer hold it in. She turned her head and buried it in Ling Yao's arms. Her tears quickly wet his clothes. I was holding back my tears just now, but now I am letting it out without caring about anything.

In the ward, Chen Weidong held Ruan Jie's hand and continued to cry while lying beside the bed.

Ruan Jie looked at him and smiled, then said weakly, "I'm fine."

She had used up all her strength when giving birth, and then was forced to undergo surgery before the baby was born, which further damaged her vitality. So she looked extremely weak and her lips were pale.

Qian Chuan put the child next to Ruan Jie, and with red eyes, she said to her softly, "Xiao Jie, you are a mother now."

Ruan Jie turned her head to look at the child. His little face was wrinkled and he was curled up in a red swaddling cloth, with his eyes not yet open. Her heart instantly softened and she said with a smile, "Welcome, little one."

Two years later.

Ruan Jie was holding her son Chen Xu and standing by the jujube tree. Ruan Xi picked a few jujubes and washed them in the sink. Then she brought them to Chen Xu and teased him, saying, "Xiao Xu, call me auntie and say that I am the prettiest."

Chen Xu said incoherently: "My aunt is the most promiscuous."

Ruan Xi smiled and put the dates into Chen Xu's palm.

Chen Xu brought the dates to his mouth and started chewing them. Ruan Jie put him down and asked him to go play with Ruan Dabao and Ruan Yue.

She also raised her hand to pick a few dates, washed them, and ate them while talking to Ruan Xi, asking her: "You and Ling Yao have been married for so long, and you still don't want a baby? Were you scared when I gave birth to Xiaoxu?"

Speaking of this, it is indeed true.

When Ruan Jie gave birth to a child, Ruan Xi was so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat. If the surgery was not done in a city hospital where caesarean section was an option, but in deep mountains, the consequences would have been disastrous.

Ruan Xi took a date from her hand and said, "I don't want to have a baby yet, let's talk about it later."

The two stood by the jujube tree and talked for a while, and Ruan Cuizhi and the others prepared dinner. Ruan Xi and Ruan Jie went over together to help serve the dishes. They brought the dishes to the round table in the main room, put them down, set out the bowls and chopsticks, and started eating.

During the meal, Ruan Cuizhi asked Ruan Xi: "Xiaoxi, how is the recruitment of designers going?"

Ruan Xi continued, "I interviewed a few people today, but I still don't think they are that good. Let's wait and see."

This year, the first batch of college students majoring in fashion design graduated, and Ruan Xi has been recruiting designers for some time. We have successfully recruited several designers into the factory, who mainly design affordable clothing for Rose Pavilion.

Now she is recruiting designers with better abilities because she is starting to prepare to create mid- to high-end brands. As the business grows bigger, she can't handle it alone. When opening a fashion company, a design department is naturally essential.

Now that the living standards of city dwellers are improving, it's time for her to try opening a mid- to high-end brand store.

In the past two years, in addition to marrying Ling Yao, she also did a lot of other things.

Because there were too many unemployed young people in the city, many educated youth could not find work after returning to the city and remained unemployed at home. In order to solve this problem, the country passed the "Decision on Economic System Reform" in 1984.

The historical event that led to the adoption of this decision was the convening of the Third Plenary Session of the 12th Central Committee.

The decision clarifies the necessity and urgency of reforming the entire economic system with a focus on cities. ①

This conference marked the beginning of the reform's move from rural areas to cities and the entire economic sector, and China's economic system reform thus entered the second stage, namely the stage of reform implementation. ②

After the urban reform began, the development of the city has naturally been even more tremendous in the past two years. More and more people are following the trend to do business, and more and more people are moving from rural areas to cities to work, and they are no longer just going to the south.

Whenever there is a policy change, Ruan Xi is the first person to respond.

After the reform policy was implemented, she immediately prepared to register a company and applied to establish a factory.

Before this, due to various restrictions, registering a private enterprise was not allowed, so she, like others, only registered for a self-employed business license and has been doing business as a self-employed person.

But if you want to expand into a larger business, you can’t just keep doing it as an individual.

Individuals are subject to regional restrictions and can only engage in business activities locally, and cannot explore markets outside of their home areas.

Of course, it was almost time for her to split the profits with Ruan Cuizhi and Ruan Changsheng. Since we need to do business together clearly and keep clear accounts, it is natural to set up a company and divide the shares, because individuals cannot form a partnership.

I and Ruan Cuizhi and others jointly established a company and built a factory by sharing the profits. All of this was accomplished in the past two years.

After the factory was built, more workers were recruited and trained.

As all members of the company's marketing department, Ruan Changsheng and Qian Chuan traveled to countless places across the country in the past two years, explored the markets in many places, and successfully opened several stores outside the city.

As far as the current clothing industry is concerned, the markets in other places are all lucrative. As long as you open a store there, you can make a lot of money without much effort, and make people remember the brand of Rose Pavilion.

Of course, the prerequisite is that the clothes are beautifully made and of good quality, so that they can spread word of mouth and gain reputation.

After a wave of capital recovery, Ruan Xi has recently applied to build an office building in addition to recruiting designers. She plans to build a three-story office building, and all company affairs will be carried out in the office building.

Because she had made a lot of classmates and friends during her four years in college, and everyone was scattered in various departments, and because she had made friends with many colleagues during the half year she worked at the Industrial and Commercial Bureau, it was relatively easy for her to apply for these things.

The office building was only half built at this moment, and Ruan Xi was not particularly anxious about the designer. After all, she had accumulated a lot of designs over the years, and it was not difficult to just come up with some simple styles to open the first store.

Ruan Cuizhi and the others didn't know much about design, so they just asked a few questions as if they were chatting about family matters and then stopped there. Of course, when chatting about family matters, she would ask whatever came to mind, so she asked Ruan Changsheng and Qian Chuan: "Are you planning to recruit people?"

Ruan Changsheng and Qian Chuan also discussed it and said, "We can still cope with it for now. Let's recruit more after the office building is built."

By then, we will strengthen their marketing department and strive to expand the business to all parts of the country.

Ruan Cuizhi's side is the most stable at the moment. She and Yue Haofeng are managing the factory. They have workers, machines, equipment, materials, designers and everything. Production has long been on track. Ruan Cuizhi is the factory director and Yue Haofeng is her deputy director.

They chatted for a while about the company and the factory. Ruan Zhigao suddenly waved his chopsticks and said, "You are not allowed to talk about work at home. Oh, it's true. We can't understand a word you say, and we can't get a word in."

Liu Xinghua, Ling Yao, Ruan Jie and Chen Weidong agreed and nodded together.

Ruan Xi and the others laughed, "Okay! Then let's make a rule that you are not allowed to talk about work when you get home!"

After finishing their meal and cleaning up, Ruan Jie and Chen Weidong took Chen Xu home. Ruan Cuizhi and Yue Haofeng left with Ruan Yue, Ruan Zhigao and Liu Xinghua. They now live in the city and bought a courtyard house.

Chen Weidong helped find the yard, and Ruan Cuizhi and Yue Haofeng bought it with their own money.

After everyone left, the house became quiet. Seeing that it was getting late, Ruan Xi and Ling Yao washed up and went to bed.

After getting married, Ling Yao's company allocated a house to him, but Ruan Xi didn't want to make any more trouble. After all, all her things were in this yard, which made it convenient for her to work, so she and Ling Yao did not move to the apartment building in the community.

Originally, Ruan Xi lived alone in the main house, but now she lives with Ling Yao, and the west wing has naturally become empty again, returning to its original purpose - a guest room.

After getting into bed and covering herself with the quilt, Ruan Xi put her legs on Ling Yao and asked him, "Do you want to have a baby?"

Ling Yao said without even thinking: "No."

Ruan Xi turned over and pressed directly on him, kissed him on the lips, and deliberately whispered: "But I want it."

His fingers rested on her waist and reached into the corner of her clothes. Ling Yao whispered, "Just be happy for a while."

He was also scared by Ruan Jie giving birth to a child at that time, and until now he has no intention of having a baby.

Ruan Xi looked at him and smiled, then said in a lower voice, "Then be happy."

After saying that, she bit his lips lightly and reached out to turn off the light...

In the next few days, Ruan Xi interviewed several graduates who applied for design positions, but was not satisfied with any of them. She didn't require them to reach a high level right after graduation, but at least she had to see that they were in this line of work.

What she is going to do next is mid- to high-end brand clothing, so the design cannot be casual.

She no longer designs clothing for the Rose Pavilion brand herself. She only does the final review work, looking at the design drafts and samples and giving suggestions, freeing up her energy to take care of other things.

In addition to recruiting designers, she also oversees the construction of the office building.

Today she came to the construction site for another inspection. Since this project cost the company a lot of money and was a very large engineering project, she managed to understand all the construction drawings and learned a lot about construction.

After completing the inspection, she took off her helmet and left. She looked at the time and went to the restaurant for dinner.

She has an appointment with her friend Jiang Suyun tonight, who was her best colleague when she worked at the Industrial and Commercial Bureau. At that time, Jiang Suyun did a lot of work to help her find a partner. Later, when she resigned, Jiang Suyun also advised her for a long time with earnest advice.

Ruan Xi took a taxi to the restaurant. When he got off the car, he saw a blue sedan parked in a parking space not far away.

The sedans of this era were naturally ugly, square like boxes, and there were not many of them.

Ruan Xi has thought about buying one, but has not found the time yet.

After looking at the car, she turned around and headed for the restaurant. Before she reached the hotel's glass door, she suddenly heard two words: "Master Xi?! Ruan Xi!"

Ruan Xi was subconsciously stunned for a moment, stopped and turned around, and saw a young man with a familiar smile walking towards the place where the car stopped. The man was wearing a black suit, with a black leather bag under his arm and his leather shoes polished to a shine, looking like a real businessman.

After a moment, Ruan Xi spoke: "Xie Dongyang?"