Chapter 48

After Ye Manzhi helped explain the situation to his Soviet friend, he quickly returned.

She had listened to Wu Zhengrong's words before and thought that the Wu family did not come or had left long ago, so she danced happily to several songs accompanied by the symphony orchestra's music.

Unexpectedly, when I was about to leave, I ran into him at the check-in counter.

She didn't know what to talk about with such a great intellectual. After Wu Zhengrong introduced them to her and called them grandpa, grandma and aunt, she stood shyly by and didn't say a word.

Aunt Wu took her hand and said, "Xiaoye, I'm so glad you helped me just now. I didn't expect that at such a young age, your Russian level is so high. I think you speak Russian even better than those students at the Russian Language Institute!"

Ye Manzhi said modestly, "When I was little, I went to the Soviet Union's Overseas Chinese Association kindergarten. I had some skills, but apart from my spoken English, I wasn't as good as a university student in other areas."

"No wonder!"

Wu Xiaogu had heard of the kindergarten run by the Soviet Overseas Chinese Association. The director of education and the teachers were all Soviet. Before liberation, all classes were taught in Russian. After liberation, it was taken over by the government. It was also the only bilingual kindergarten in the city and had been very famous in recent years.

Wu Zhengrong noticed Ye Manzhi's nervousness, glanced at his watch, and said, "Auntie, it's quite late today. You should go back and rest first. Xiaoye's house is curfew, so she has to be home by eight o'clock. I'll take her home first."

"Then you should send Miss Xiaoye back first."

As they got closer, Grandma Wu finally saw Ye Manzhi's appearance clearly. She had a soft and delicate face with a faint smile. She was graceful, quiet and well-behaved. She was indeed a beautiful girl.

She was quite satisfied. After listening to her grandson's words, she felt that the other party had good family education.

Grandma Wu took off a jade bracelet from her wrist and put it on Ye Manzhi's hand.

"This is our first meeting, so we didn't prepare much. Just wear this bracelet for fun. Find a time for Zhengrong to bring you home to play. I'll give you a better one then."

Ye Manzhi didn't dare to accept such a valuable item, and was afraid that the bracelet would break while pushing it. Her wrist froze in mid-air, and she was a little dumbfounded.

Wu Zhengrong helped her lower her sleeve to cover the bracelet. "This is a gift from grandma. You can keep it with confidence."

His grandmother usually gardens and tends to plants, and often moves flower pots, so she usually doesn't carry such fragile jewelry.

It's probably a gift specially prepared for today's meeting.

He glanced at Dean Wu who was acting arrogantly. If it weren't for the incident of the Soviets throwing away clothes, the old lady's preparations would have been in vain.

Ye Manzhi said obediently, "Thank you, grandma."

Since Wu Zhengrong asked her to keep it, she might as well keep it. After all, Wu Zhengrong had given her so many things, and she accepted them all without hesitation.

At worst, after she finishes knitting a scarf, gloves, sweaters and trousers for Wu Zhengrong, she can knit something for Grandma Wu as well.

Compared to Dean Wu who was serious with his hands behind his back, this old lady with a neat bun, wearing a cotton cheongsam, and willing to give her a gift, was so kind and lovely!

Aunt Wu and Grandma Wu talked to her for a long time. Ye Manzhi felt very relaxed when facing the female elders.

However, she was still nervous when facing Grandpa Wu.

Apart from saying a few words when greeting her, Dean Wu stood silently and majestically by the side, as if observing her every move.

It wasn't until they said goodbye at the door that Grandpa Wu slowed down his tone and said, "I've heard from Zhengrong about your medical examination to study in the Soviet Union. I'll keep an eye on it for you. You're still young, and it's a pity that you couldn't study in the Soviet Union, but don't give up on studying so easily. You should continue to learn and improve when you have the chance."

Ye Manzhi thought to herself that she had already taken revenge. Xu Yingxue's study abroad qualification was revoked, and Zhou Mu's study abroad quota was also ruined by him. Please don't keep an eye on it for me!

But the complex relationship was difficult to explain, so she could only nod and say, "Grandpa, I work at the neighborhood committee office. My work unit has recommended me to attend the grassroots cadre training class organized by the Municipal Party School. I attend classes every Wednesday night and Sunday afternoon."

Wu Xiaogu didn't want to listen to Dean Wu's lectures, so she asked with a smile, "Xiaoye has to work and study at the same time, so she must be very busy, right?"

"It's OK. It was pretty quiet a while ago, but a coal stove factory just opened on the street recently, so it's a little busier." Ye Manzhi glanced at the silent Wu Zhengrong and added, "We produce a new type of honeycomb coal stove, which was designed and manufactured by Zhengrong. The residents' response has been very good!"

Upon hearing this, Grandpa Wu looked at his grandson with an expression that was hard to describe.

He wanted to tell his grandson not to waste his time on material things and tinker with the coal stove. If he had that much time, he might as well study the hydraulic crane project.

However, I think about the fact that my grandson is 26 years old and still hasn’t married.

He also felt that he should not stop his grandson from showing his affection, and that he should marry his wife first.

The two sides said goodbye at the door. After the people had gone away, Aunt Wu asked, "Dad, what do you think of this girl? She's pretty good, right?"

"What can you tell from just meeting her once? She seems quite quiet and doesn't talk much, but her education level is a little lacking."

Wu Xiaogu was shocked: "High school is so bad? I also graduated from a girls' middle school."

"When you were in that turbulent time, it was already a good thing that you could go to middle school. Now the country is in a state of disrepair and needs more high-level talents. High school only teaches you the basics. What can you do with that little knowledge?" Grandpa Wu paused for a moment and sighed. "Forget it. No one is perfect. I don't have any other requirements. As long as she is virtuous and well-educated, that's enough."

*

Comrade Xiao Ye, who is well-educated, gentle and virtuous, ran back to her room as soon as she got home to admire the gift she had just received.

She had limited knowledge and only knew that gold and silver were valuable, but she had no idea how much the jade bracelet was worth.

The only thing that is certain is that this bracelet should be quite expensive.

Lihua kept meowing beside her, but she didn't dare take the bracelet off and just kept it on her wrist to admire it.

After admiring her enough, she turned around and asked, "Lihua, what are you yelling about today? Are you hungry?"

Lihua is a well-known playboy in the building. She goes out to eat during the day and goes home to sleep at night. She is particularly good at saving food for the family.

However, when winter comes, everyone closes the doors and windows, making it very inconvenient for Lihua to go out to find food. It seems to have lost some weight recently.

She turned Lihua's belly over and examined it in detail. She was sure that there was nothing seriously wrong with her, except that there was some unknown liquid on her chin. She then felt relieved and stopped paying attention to it.

As soon as she let the kitten go, she heard a cry from outside the door.

She and Lihua were both so frightened that their fur exploded.

She hurried out in her slippers and asked, "Maddo, why are you crying?"

"Woo woo woo, I want to drink milk!"

Shen Liangmei slapped her son's butt twice, "Are you that greedy? Is that milk yours? Why are you clamoring for it?"

Huang Li half leaned against the door and said casually, "Don't make indirect accusations. I leave half a bowl of milk for Mai Duo every day. He didn't drink it today, so someone else must have drunk it."

The Ye family does not have the habit of drinking milk, but Huang Li thinks they should eat more meat, eggs and milk to supplement nutrition. Meat and eggs need to be purchased with tickets, but milk can be bought as long as you have money.

So, after winter came, she went to the milk station every day to get a pound of milk on the pretext of supplementing calcium, and then boiled it before drinking it.

She drank a big bowl and gave a small bowl to the kid, Maiduo, and no one in the family had any objections.

Today, someone stole the small bowl of milk and Shen Liangmei took the opportunity to beat the child to act sarcastic.

Shen Liangmei said with a sullen face: "Sister-in-law, except for you, no one in our family likes to drink milk. Who would steal something from a child for no reason? If you don't want to leave it for the child, just say so..."

Huang Li interrupted, "Okay, then I won't leave any for him in the future, so he doesn't get blamed for not getting a drink."

“…”

Ye Manzhi burst out laughing, quickly retracted his head, and tiptoed to close the door.

Wong Tai Sin does have a way of dealing with his fourth sister-in-law, haha.

She lay on the door and laughed for a while, then she spotted the suspect cat and picked up Lihua.

"Did you drink Maiduo's milk?" Ye Manyi wiped the kitten's chin and got a hand full of wet milk.

Ye Lihua has seriously affected family harmony, and she, as the owner, should bear some responsibility.

So, before going to work the next day, she discussed with Wong Tai Sin and asked her to buy an extra pound of milk next time.

"Did you hear us arguing yesterday?" Huang Li waved his hand and said, "Your fourth sister-in-law is taking advantage of you. You can't always indulge her."

"I'm not doing this for her, and the milk isn't for her. I just want to drink the milk myself, and save some for Maddox."

Fourth sister-in-law’s apprenticeship in the drama troupe has ended. The troupe does not have any staff recruitment, which was agreed upon long ago.

It was already great that she was able to learn the pastry craft there for a few months.

However, it is difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. After leaving the drama troupe, the fourth sister-in-law could not find a job for a while and could not adapt to the life of a housewife.

I have been in a very bad mood these days and get easily irritated.

Ye Manzhi was afraid that she would upset Chang Yue'e at home, so she took the initiative to find her fourth sister-in-law and asked, "Sister-in-law, the coal stove factory needs salesmen. They will give a 2-cent bonus for each coal stove sold. Do you want to work?"

Shen Liangmei asked: "Isn't it 5 cents?"

"That's the price paid to the driver. He has to pay for the transportation costs."

"What's wrong with being a rickshaw driver? As long as I can sell the stove, it's fine," Shen Liangmei bargained with her sister-in-law. "Just take 5 cents. Even though I don't have a rickshaw, walking still hurts my legs!"

Ye Manyi thought about it and felt that what she said made sense.

Those who wait for customers in the store should be rewarded with 2 points, and those who take the initiative to go out to find customers should be rewarded with 5 points.

"Okay, then I'll give you 5 cents. Start selling today, and any profits you make will be yours."

Ye Manzhi found a temporary job for his fourth sister-in-law and then went to work leisurely.

Every time after a happy weekend, especially after a happy weekend with Wu Zhengrong, she didn't want to go to work on Monday.

There is nothing urgent at the coal furnace factory. Although sales are lukewarm, we can still ensure that goods are shipped every day, reducing inventory backlogs bit by bit.

Ye Manzhi felt no pressure, so she started knitting a scarf in the office, planning to get Wu Zhengrong that pretty green sweater as soon as she finished the scarf.

hey-hey.

She also learned two new tricks from Aunt Feng, which she could put into practice when the time comes.

Apart from issuing two letters of introduction to the residents, Ye Manzhi spent almost the entire morning weaving.

At noon, near lunch break, Xue Qiaoer suddenly came to the street office and called Ye Manzhi's name at the door.

"Qiao'er, come in and sit down. It's very cold outside."

"Comrade Xiaoye, I have something to tell you, but you have to get back to work!"

Ye Manzhi put down her knitting needles, lifted the door curtain and went out with her.

"What happened?"

"It's not my business," Xue Qiao'er asked in a low voice. "Cadre Xiaoye, are you in charge of that coal furnace factory now?"

"Yes, I even asked your former colleagues in the team to help me sell coal stoves!"

Xue Qiao'er hesitated for a moment, then leaned in close and said, "Someone in the team made a coal stove and sold it to others, saying it was a product of your coal stove factory. Each stove is only 1.5 yuan."

Ye Manzhi's heart skipped a beat. "Did they sell a lot?"

"I don't know exactly how much, I just heard from others that if you sell a few coal stoves, you don't have to pull a cart for a month."

"Okay, I understand," Ye Manzhi said, holding her hand. "Qiao'er, thank you!"

"It's okay, I'm leaving first. Just don't tell anyone that I told you."

Ye Manzhi sent her away and thought about it for the whole afternoon. When it was almost time to get off work, he told Director Mu and Zhang Qinjian about the situation.

Zhang Qinjian, looking as if someone had robbed him of his money, said sullenly, "Our stoves are made of simple materials and are easy to make. I anticipated imitations. If residents were making them for their own homes, it wouldn't be a big deal. The problem is that some people are using the names of our factory and the supply and marketing cooperative to resell homemade coal stoves at exorbitant prices. We need to report this to the Industrial and Commercial Bureau."

Mulan frowned and said, "Private production isn't the most troublesome thing. I'm just worried that other factories will follow suit and produce this kind of coal stove, grabbing our market. If we can't open up sales channels, these small factories may go bankrupt before spring."

There are bankrupt factories on Guangming Street.

They don't have much experience of success, but they have a lot of experience of failure.

"Xiao Ye, what are your plans for the future?"

Ye Manzhi was a little confused and couldn't think of a good solution for a while.

After Wu Zhengrong gave her advice last time, she had already sent the manuscript to the newspaper.

But no newspaper has published it yet.

However, Wu Zhengrong's thinking also reminded her that they could not limit their focus to the Guangming Street area.

"Director, can we contact the Municipal Bureau of Commerce or the coal company? Ask them to promote honeycomb coal stoves from top to bottom. They can directly distribute the products to various stores and supply and marketing cooperatives."

If we could get the leaders above to say a word, sales would be opened up instantly.