Chapter 13

Because he was deeply impressed by the arson case, Huang Li hinted to Chang Yue'e and Ye Mantang shortly after he came here that they should find a better place for Lao Wu to live.

The reason is that the nearby neighbors have special identities, and Lao Wu is unmarried, so living there may affect his marriage.

She thought that if she didn't have any contact with that family and didn't have any conflict with them, the arson could have been avoided at the root.

Ye Laowu gave face to his new sister-in-law. After receiving the suggestion, he decisively changed the yard.

He was a horse-drawn coachman and needed a large yard to raise horses and place his carriage.

Yueya Hutong is the area with the cheapest rent in the entire Zhengyang District.

The house he had rented before was only one house away from Xue Qiaoer's house. After listening to his new sister-in-law's advice, he gave up the lease and rented a larger and more spacious yard about ten houses away. He also planted vegetables in it and raised a brood of chicks and two sows.

When Huang Li found out, he was almost mad to death!

She suggested changing the place, but they had already changed it. If she brought it up again, it would be seen as finding fault.

Besides, the book said that Lao Wu was retaliated by Xue Qiaoer's family because of a neighborhood dispute. Now that the two families are so far apart, there shouldn't be any neighborhood disputes, so she had to give up for the time being.

The arson happened this summer. To prevent Lao Wu or others from having a conflict with the family, Huang Li has recently been going to Yueya Hutong after get off work, often pretending to deliver mail.

"Sister-in-law, just leave me here." Ye Manzhi was sitting on the bicycle frame, so naturally he couldn't see what his third sister-in-law was thinking. He jumped off the bike, smiled and waved goodbye.

"Shall I go with you?"

"No need, you still have a letter to deliver, I can go in by myself."

"Then be careful and go home quickly after you're done."

Ye Manzhi said goodbye to her third sister-in-law on the side of the road, walked into the alley alone, and found the gate of Xue Qiaoer's house according to the address on the list.

The paint-chipped wooden door was closed. She went forward and knocked, but no one responded.

After knocking intermittently for another minute, someone finally came out with footsteps.

"Knock, knock, knock. Why are you knocking if no one is answering?"

The short-haired girl rudely opened the door and asked with a frown, "What are you doing? Who are you looking for?"

"Hello, comrade. I'm from the Guangming Subdistrict Office. I'm looking for Xue Qiaoer."

The short-haired girl leaned against the door frame with her arms folded. She glanced at her snow-white shirt and asked, "What do you want with her?"

Ye Manzhi was just about to explain her purpose when a loud shout erupted from the courtyard: "Zheng Dongmei, who told you to lean on the door? Stop learning those shady habits from those shady people!"

"Leaning against the door" often reminds people of "selling smiles." Zheng Dongmei's face turned purple and she shouted, "Who's leaning against the door? Isn't this someone from the street talking to me?"

Hearing that it was someone coming from the street, the woman with bound feet came out of the house in small steps.

Ye Manzhi took the initiative to greet her: "Hello, Auntie, I'm from the Street Office, and I came here specially to invite your daughter to participate in our street activities."

"What activity?"

Ye Manzhi didn't mention the marriage law at all. She smiled and said, "Teach women how to tailor. In the future, your family can spend less cloth when making clothes. It saves money and cloth coupons!"

Facing the street officials, Aunt Zheng smiled warmly, completely lacking the aggressive look she had just shown when she scolded her daughter for leaning against the door.

"Boss, look at me, I'm already this old, how can I still work? It's useless to learn tailoring!"

Ye Manzhi thought to himself, I see you are not even fifty yet, why can't you work?

"It's okay if you don't want to go. Then let your eldest sister and Xue Qiaoer go together."

Zheng Dongmei withdrew her gaze from her white shirt and said bluntly, "Can't your street office do something more serious? Why are you always keeping an eye on Xue Qiao'er? Last time, your bespectacled director promised to let us become relief recipients, but it's been so long and there's still no news!"

Aunt Zheng slapped her daughter on the waist. "The leader meant well by asking you to attend class, but you can't talk to him like that! Apologize to him now!"

"What did I say wrong? Why are you apologizing?" Zheng Dongmei said impatiently, "My sister-in-law is working outside! I don't have time either. Don't come over again."

After saying that, he brought out a basin of dirty laundry water and poured it onto the dirt road in front of her house.

If Ye Manzhi had not been so agile, he would have been soaked to the skin by now.

Facing the door that closed again, Ye Manzhi urged herself to stay calm!

Even a leader like Director Mu has to be scolded and bullied, let alone a clerk like her who has no official position!

Imagine the glorious scene of becoming a formal cadre, wearing a big red flower, and being commended by superiors. Ye Manyzhi decided to endure it!

She kept comforting herself in her heart, then turned around and walked halfway across the alley to her fifth brother's house.

The door was open, and before I even entered, I could hear the chirping of katydids all over the yard.

"Brother, why did you catch so many katydids? They're so noisy!"

"Children in the city like to buy this stuff. When I go out to work, I will sell some katydids." Ye Manlin threw a freshly washed peach to her and turned back to feed the pony with hay.

"You can only sell this for two cents at most, but the iron katydid that our fourth brother raises can be sold for several dollars!"

"Anyway, the katydids were caught, and I made the cages. It doesn't cost anything, so I make a profit on every one I sell. Besides, how many people are willing to pay a lot of money for iron katydids? I'm selling at a low price!"

"Fourth brother should really listen to this." Ye Manzhi patted the horse's back and pulled Fifth Brother, saying, "Let it eat grass on its own. Come over and try the new shoes I made for you."

Ye Manlin smiled and said, "I haven't worn the one I made last time yet!"

"This time it's different, you'll know if you try it!"

Ye Manlin put on the new shoes as he was told. As soon as he put his feet in, he felt a difference. He asked in surprise, "The thickness of the soles of the two shoes is different?"

"Yes! I recently gave a tailoring class. This was taught to me by a lady in our class. Her son also has different leg lengths, but after he put on these shoes, you couldn't tell when he walked."

Before meeting Wu Zhengrong, Fifth Brother was the most handsome gay man Ye Manzhi had ever seen.

If I had a healthy life, maybe I could become an actor in a drama troupe like my eldest sister, or become a formal worker in a factory like my third brother.

Unfortunately, the fifth brother was born with a deformed left foot. Although it improved as he grew up, one could still see the defect at a glance.

Ye Manzhi didn't know how many times she had felt sorry for her fifth brother.

Therefore, after learning about this special cloth shoe from Aunt Wang, she felt like she had found a treasure. She only regretted that she did not have her ingenious ideas, otherwise her fifth brother would have been able to walk normally long ago!

Ye Manlin put on the new shoes. He was not used to the sudden elevation of his left foot, so he walked very carefully.

But as my younger sister said, after raising one side, the limping condition has improved significantly.

Ye Manzhi let him stroll back and forth in the yard while she sat under the eaves and ate peaches.

"Brother, do you know the family at number 7 in this alley? The one with the girl named Zheng Dongmei."

"I know her. Her brother's name is Zheng Dong. Before I started driving a horse-drawn carriage, I used to ride a tricycle for a while. I rented that tricycle from Zheng Dong." The fifth brother asked doubtfully, "Why are you asking about his family? His family is quite complicated. You should stay away from them."

Ye Manzhi told him what had just happened.

"I wanted to inform Xue Qiaoer to attend the event, but her family wouldn't let me see her. Director Mu said they rarely go out. Where can Xue Qiaoer go to work?"

The fifth brother shook his head and said, "Zheng Dongmei didn't lie. Her sister-in-law does often work outside. Now their family of seven or eight people, young and old, all rely on her to earn money to support the family."

"Where's Zheng Dong?"

"He had an accident a few years ago and has been bedridden. His parents are in poor health and can't do heavy work, so Xue Qiaoer is the one doing the work on the tricycle now."

Ye Manzhi was surprised and asked, "She can pedal a tricycle? Does she have the strength to do that?"

It's not that she looks down on people, but tricycles pull heavy objects, and that's really strenuous work!

There was a hint of mockery on the fifth brother's handsome face.

No matter whether they can pedal or not, they can find a way to make money.

There were some things he couldn't explain to his sister, so he said vaguely, "Those of us in the transport industry have all been transformed by socialism. Now we've established a transport cooperative, so members can look after each other."

I won’t say any more.

Ye Manzhi was unable to get more information from his fifth brother, nor did he wait for Xue Qiaoer to return home, so he could only come back at another time.

*

There were more than ten people on the list given by Director Mu. Ye Manzhi and Chen Caixia successfully mobilized six of them to participate in the activity. The rest had to be defeated one by one according to the specific situation.

It has been raining heavily for the past few days, and it is also the day in the lunar calendar that is not suitable for getting married, traveling, and breaking ground.

The number of residents coming to the street office for business has dropped significantly, and the young cadres have nothing to do, so they get together to study the patterns for the evening tailoring class and Ye Manzhi's fashion album.

"Xiao Ye, if we replace the colorful plaid with twill and make a braid like the one on the second page, will it look good?" Chen Caixia asked while flipping through the album.

Ye Manzhi thought about it carefully and shook her head. "Not necessarily. This kind of skirt isn't suitable for solid-colored fabrics. Twill looks okay up close, but from a distance, it has no pattern and looks almost like pure black or blue..."

Zhuang Ting continued, "That Cairouge dress isn't very nice, actually. The base color is a caramel color, and it makes me look a bit darker."

When several female comrades and Liu Jinbao were discussing heatedly, Zhang Qinjian pushed the door open from outside wearing a raincoat.

Ye Manzhi's desk was by the door, and she took the initiative to greet him: "Director Zhang, are you back? It's raining pretty hard outside, right?"

It was just a normal greeting, but Zhang Qinjian stopped and corrected him, "Don't call me Director Zhang anymore. Be careful about the impact!"

"Huh?" Ye Manzhi was stunned for a moment. "What else should I call if not Director Zhang?"

"You call me Director Zhang, but that puts Director Mu in a different position?" Zhang Qinjian said sternly, "The deputy director is the deputy director. Don't bribe with titles."

Ye Manzhi: “…”

If you can be bribed by just calling "Director", then you are too easy to bribe.

Zhang Qinjian glanced at Chen Caixia's desk and said dissatisfiedly, "Also, the atmosphere in our unit has been very bad recently. The problems of hair perming and eyebrow tattooing haven't been solved yet, and some comrades have started to study their clothes and appearance again. How will the people view us?"

The people who were studying how to dress fell silent.

"Speaking of which, I have to mention one more thing," Zhang Qinjian said to Chen Caixia and Ye Manzhi, "I think you should put that tailoring class on hold for a while."

"Why? Marriage Law Promotion Month is supposed to last a month," Chen Caixia argued cautiously. "Deputy Director Zhang, it would be a shame to suspend classes now!"

"Are you promoting the Marriage Law? I think it's gone awry! Instead of teaching us the real things, you're teaching us to be ostentatious and competitive! Clean, simple clothing is enough. Why make so many beautiful clothes? Isn't that a waste?"

These words were equivalent to completely denying Chen Caixia and Ye Manzhi's recent work achievements.

Chen Caixia's eyes immediately turned red with anger.

She had just gotten married and did not go home after get off work every day. Instead, she did legal publicity for everyone in order to gain recognition from her superiors and become a formal cadre.

As a result, she sacrificed her rest time to work overtime and was even criticized by her boss!

She muttered quietly, "Director Mu even praised our tailoring class!"

"Director Mu praised them, so why can't I criticize them? I think it's because there's too much praise, and some comrades have become arrogant! Promoting the marriage law is the focus of our work, but with you guys doing this, everyone's paying attention to how they dress!"

Ye Manzhi winked at Sister Caixia, asking her to think about the cadre establishment and not to be impulsive!

Zhang Qinjian is the deputy director and has the power to decide whether small cadres stay or go!

It would be unwise to contradict him at this time.

Ye Manzhi continued, "Since Director Zhang thinks the tailoring class is unnecessary, then we will follow his lead. However, we need to explain this to the residents."

"Yeah." Zhang Qinjian nodded.

Ye Manzhi asked with a smile: "Director, is your family a husband-bearer and a wife-homemaker? Is your wife the one who has the final say in all matters at home?"

"What does this have to do with what we're talking about?"

"Of course it matters. I can tell you're not the head of the household. Actually, what you said about everyone making a lot of clothes doesn't really happen. We each only have 15 feet of cloth coupons per year. It sounds like a lot, but it's only enough to make you a set of cadre uniforms. If you want to make a cotton-padded jacket for winter, there's no cloth left."

"Sister Caixia and I used our downtime to organize this event. On the one hand, it was to promote the Marriage Law, and on the other hand, it was to share with housewives some fabric-saving tailoring techniques. If the tailoring is done properly, your wife will still have two waistbands left over when she makes this cadre uniform for you!"

Zhang Qinjian: “…”

Liu Jinbao wanted to laugh in an unkind way, but after Ye Manzhi secretly glared at him, he held it back.

"As for your accusation that our classes have changed and don't teach about marriage law, that's really unfair to us!"

Ye Manzhi took out a notebook from the drawer and handed it to him.

"We have to introduce two cases related to marriage law in each class. We are still new here, so we have to prepare lessons in advance. This is our lesson plan."

Zhang Qinjian took it, flipped through it, and nodded. "I can see you've put in some effort, but the change in classroom culture I mentioned isn't limited to this. Xiaoye, I heard you have several fashion albums that are widely circulated among residents, even reaching the First Residential Committee! I strongly disapprove of this kind of extravagant hedonism."

"Director, I don't approve of hedonism either! But the reason you're passing around my album isn't really for pleasure. Think about it, each person can only make one set of clothes per year. Who wouldn't want to make a decent and beautiful one?"

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about this anymore." Zhang Qinjian waved his hand. "Put a break from that tailoring class for now, and focus on promoting the marriage law. And put away those fashion albums of yours. Stop circulating them around the neighborhood. It's not nice."

Chen Caixia glanced at Liu Jinbao and Zhuang Ting. They were good at performing folk art, but they were not good at giving tailoring classes.

It’s just making clothes, but it’s become a luxury!

But after being reminded by Xiao Ye, she realized that she couldn't act rashly and had to endure it even if she felt very dissatisfied.

In accordance with Deputy Director Zhang's request, the two of them prepared to announce the suspension of classes in the next tailoring class, and there was no need to mobilize the female comrades in the special population.

At the same time, we also need to think of other ways to promote the law. After all, the Marriage Law Promotion Month has not ended yet.

Since starting working, Ye Manzhi has gone to bed early and gotten up early every day, and especially likes to come to work at the street office.

Even her mother, Chang Yue'e, was not used to her daughter's diligence.

However, just when the work was getting better, it was stopped by the leader, just like an athlete was called for a false start just after the start. Then the work declined and finally became exhausted, which greatly dampened the enthusiasm for work.

Ye Manzhi started to stay in bed again, and Chang Yue'e had to urge her many times every morning to get her to go to work.

When he arrived at the office, he didn't like to talk. Apart from helping residents with their business, he just read the newspaper like Aunt Feng.

…

There was another heavy rain on Wednesday afternoon. There was thunder outside, but Director Mu braved the heavy rain and brought back a middle-aged woman.

"Come here, Xiaoye, let me introduce you. This is Comrade Zhou Min. He lives in the First Residential Committee and is also a family member of Factory 656."

Some people come to the street office to do business, just like going to the hospital to see a doctor, and they have to find someone they know to feel at ease.

Ye Manzhi had received several people with connections with him, and was accustomed to greeting them with a smile.

Zhou Min sat down across from her and pulled out a slightly curled album from her bag. "I borrowed this fashion album from the neighborhood committee. I heard it was created by Comrade Xiao Ye. He also has several other copies. Can you lend it to me?"

"I drew this, but it's not my work. I copied it from a shop window. Look," Ye Manzhi pointed at the lower right corner with her index finger. "It even has the name of the garment factory written on it!"

She pulled out another album from a drawer and said, "This is the only one I have on hand right now. The others are all borrowed. Do you want to make a cadre uniform or a braid? I can help you with some advice."

Zhou Min smiled without saying anything, opened the album, and after carefully flipping through each page for a long time, he finally tapped the back cover.

"I forgot to introduce myself just now. I work at the Provincial Fine Arts Publishing House, specializing in book publishing."

Director Mu helpfully added, "Lao Zhou is the director of the first editorial department of the publishing house."

Ye Manzhi called out "Director Zhou" and waited for the next words with doubts in his heart.

"Your two fashion albums are very unique. Currently, there are no books on the Chinese market that specifically introduce women's fashion." Zhou Min asked with a smile, "Comrade Ye Manzhi, would you be willing to compile the content of the albums and publish them through our Fine Arts Publishing House?"