Chapter 217: Final Chapter The end of ten years is also the beginning
The atmosphere seemed to be paused.
Zhou Yuesheng looked at her intently for a few seconds and asked, "Is this your biological brother, or a new foreign brother you met?"
"Guess." Yu Zhile gave him a sly smile, "Open subjective question."
When she was about to leave the bedroom, Zhou Yuesheng wanted to hug her waist. She dodged to the side and went downstairs with a smile.
Four dishes and a soup were neatly arranged on the dining table in the living room. Sui Sui sat obediently on the chair, waiting for dinner to start.
"Sui Sui, Lele's mom will take you to eat Western food tomorrow, okay?" Yu Zhile pinched her cheek, "Uncle Sheng is back and he wants to give you a gift."
Sui Sui's eyes lit up, but she didn't agree immediately. She looked at Yu Chuyue first.
"Go ahead. Uncle Sheng hasn't seen you for a while." Yu Chuyue rubbed her hair, then turned to look at Yu Zhile, "She doesn't have classes tomorrow afternoon. Take her to the factory to sleep after dinner. Otherwise, she will be too sleepy if she goes to Brother Hu's house at night."
Yu Zhile should be good.
At that time, Zhou Yuesheng happened to come downstairs. He naturally heard their conversation, and when he saw her smirk and wink, his eyes were full of smiles.
The next day at noon, Yu Zhile drove to Du's house as soon as he got off work, first went to the elementary school to pick up Sui Sui, and then went to the western restaurant.
Sheng Lanyue arrived early and chose a table in the corner. The chair next to him was piled with gift boxes of all sizes, and on the table was the most popular cream cake in Beijing.
"Uncle Sheng, I miss you so much." Sui Sui ran to him and held his arm.
Sheng Lanyue smiled and took out the walkman that he had specially asked someone to bring back from Japan, taught her how to use it, and then helped her put on the headphones.
Yu Zhile watched Sui Sui fiddling with her new toy for a while and said, "Luckily Chu Yue didn't come today, otherwise she would have nagged you for more than ten minutes."
"I heard what Chen Zhao said, so I didn't ask her out." Sheng Lanyue said with a smile.
The two ordered and chatted about their recent situation while waiting.
As he gets older and suffers from injuries, Sheng Lanyue has gradually reduced the number of times she has performed on stage with the art troupe this year and has instead focused more on preparing for international competitions.
"You're not going to participate in the military district's art performance this year?" Yu Zhile asked.
Sheng Lanyue smiled and nodded, saying, "The art troupe has recruited many good talents in recent years. We should give them a chance to show their talents."
"Will it be possible to see Teacher Sheng dancing at our food factory's New Year's Eve party? How about a solo dance at the opening?" Yu Zhile asked with a smile, "This year it will be more grand to welcome the new decade."
Sheng Lan wanted to go, but he was not a free agent and had to see what his boss said. He said he would go back and submit an application and try to give her a reply in early January.
After a while, the special dishes of Xinqiao Western Restaurant, braised beef in pots, braised mud sausage, cream mixed salad and fried fish were served one after another, and they stopped chatting.
Yu Zhile helped Sui Sui turn off her Walkman and let her eat.
The rich and mellow flavor of Russian cuisine instantly captured Susu's heart. She ate until her belly was full and she soon began to feel sleepy.
"Take Sui Sui home for a nap first, and we'll make an appointment next time." Sheng Lanyue paid the bill and moved all the gifts to the car. "I'm going to a neighboring province to participate in an exchange event soon. Please help me give the gifts to everyone. I've marked them all."
"See you next time." Yu Zhile hugged him.
She drove back to the Du residence, carried Sui Sui into the house, and took a nap together.
Sui Sui developed the habit of sleeping for an hour every day and waking up at a certain time. When she woke up, she didn't make a noise, but climbed out of bed to find her Walkman and fiddle with it until Yu Zhile woke up.
Yu Zhile took her back to the office, and just after they sat down for a while, Zhang Wenxin, Ge Tai and Fang Zhuo came.
The four of them were going to have a meeting, so Sui Sui lay on the sofa, crossed her feet and listened to music, looking so comfortable.
Ge Tai and Fang Zhuo took turns to speak and report their achievements in the past few months. They successfully accumulated the first batch of customers by negotiating cooperation with small family-run processing factories and shipping their products to other places for sale.
During this period, they received dozens of private parcels through various channels and successfully delivered them to the recipients, which received unanimous praise from the guests. "I have learned about the current environment. Although it is open, the attitude towards private enterprises is still relatively vague." Fang Zhuo explained the results of the investigation, "So I think it is more likely to be approved if I submit the information in the name of an individual business owner."
Yu Zhile had also heard a little about this matter and said, "Then do it according to your method and get the license as early as possible to avoid unnecessary trouble."
"Okay, I'll start preparing the information tomorrow." Fang Zhuo continued.
In addition, as the business expanded, they needed more manpower and planned to recruit some new people, so they made a simple plan for Zhang Wenxin.
Zhang Wenxin read the entire document at a glance, and after finding no problems, he stamped it and told them to remember to go to the Human Resources Department to complete the information after they recruited the right people.
After the brief meeting, the other three went back to work. They gathered at the door after work and set off together to the small courtyard rented by Hu Laosan.
Those who attended the barbecue were all old acquaintances. Everyone had a great time and went home only after eating and drinking to their heart's content.
After Hu Shuang left Beijing, Hu Laosan devoted all his energy to the stall, and the scale of the stall continued to expand. Eventually, he and Hu Lan moved their stalls to a street-side shop. At Yu Zhile's suggestion, they submitted their documents and applied for a business license for an individual business owner.
November and December of 1979 passed quietly, and people entered the new decade with greater spiritual vitality, including everyone at the Haiyu Food Factory.
Everyone was well aware of the grandness of this year's annual meeting, and began practicing their signature pieces early, preparing to show off their skills on stage. Therefore, the sounds of various musical instruments could be heard one after another in the food factory in the evening.
In mid-January, Yu Zhile received the first good news of the new year.
"Captain Ye and Teacher Wen have approved our one-month cultural and artistic exchange activities. I will live in the factory from today." Sheng Lanyue appeared in her office directly with her luggage.
Yu Zhile agreed and took him back to his two-bedroom apartment.
Zhang Wenxin announced the good news during the break in the workshop, causing Sheng Lanyue to be watched for a whole day and was only able to resume his daily training the next day.
Sheng Lanyue's training intensity has remained the same for ten years. He appears in the cultural room before dawn, takes a two-hour break during lunch and dinner, and then trains until ten o'clock in the evening before returning to the dormitory.
However, he was not as tense as when he first joined the art troupe. During short breaks in training, he would also give guidance to the children in the factory who were learning to dance.
The second good news in 1980 came on January 25th. The application submitted by the logistics group was approved and they obtained a sole proprietor license.
To add to the joy, Hu Lan and Hu Laosan also obtained a license and held a grand opening ceremony for the Hu family shop.
As February approached, the rehearsal atmosphere in the factory became increasingly intense. Everyone wished there were 48 hours in a day so that half of the time could be spent on eating, sleeping, and working, and the other half could be spent on rehearsing.
Sheng Lanyue rarely rested and took a walk in the factory with Yu Zhile. Seeing this scene, he couldn't help but sigh: "The atmosphere here is comparable to the eve of our art troupe's art performance."
"Of course, this is a big deal that will affect our appearance on TV." Yu Zhile said with a smile.
She likes this kind of lively scene and likes to see everyone's energetic appearance.
"Then I have to train hard and not fall behind." Sheng Lanyue made a gesture as if he was going to start a race.
The two looked at each other and smiled.
The Little New Year arrived quietly in a tense atmosphere. This year, as usual, everyone gathered in the cafeteria to make dumplings and watch TV.
At the same time, universities across the country began to have winter vacations, and college students working in food factories also returned to the factories one after another.
Yu Yang forgot to eat and sleep for three days, wrote a script about the story of Haiyu Village, and organized college students to rehearse the stage play. They ran to a nearby open space to rehearse, and returned to the dormitory every night until they were exhausted.
Amidst the great anticipation of the public, the 1979 Spring Festival Gala of Haiyu Food Factory arrived as scheduled.
That morning, a long burst of firecrackers broke the tranquility of the food factory. The factory was not quiet for the whole day after that.
Those who were going to perform arrived at the auditorium early to rehearse for the last time. Those who were not going to perform were not idle either, they happily helped in the cafeteria to prepare dishes for the banquet tonight.
"Le Le, we're back." Lan Yuanyuan took Du Sheng's arm and walked into the auditorium, greeting him excitedly.
Behind the father and daughter, Amy and her brother wished a happy new year to Yu Zhile, Zhang Wenxin and Yu Chuyue in broken Mandarin, and ran to hug them enthusiastically.
The others had never seen blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners before and looked at them curiously.
Chen Zhao had heard of these two foreign friends before. He picked up the microphone, introduced their identities, and asked everyone to play a short musical instrument to welcome them.
"Wow, so sharp." Amy's eyes widened in surprise and she blurted out in standard Cantonese.
Afterwards, Lan Yuanyuan took them for a stroll around the factory so that everyone could concentrate on rehearsing.
Amy and Alan, with their blonde hair, became the focus wherever they went, but the onlookers were nothing to them. They easily mingled with others and even went to the cafeteria to help.
Du Sheng stayed in the auditorium, watching the lively scene and thinking about the progress of the logistics team. He felt very happy.
"I'll transfer the money from my account and give each person a five-dollar bonus packet for the start of work," he said.
Yu Zhile smiled and said, "Then I would like to wish you a happy new year in advance on behalf of all the employees. I wish your business will reach a higher level next year."
At the end, she emphasized the pronunciation of the word "lou".
Du Sheng noticed this detail and smiled even more. He said, "Don't just congratulate me. When you have time on weekdays, come to Hong Kong City to see me and add some popularity to your house."
Yu Zhile and the other two responded in unison.
On the other side, Chen Zhao and Qi Er were working on the details until lunch time, when they only went through the entire process.
"Gather here at one o'clock and we will continue rehearsing." Chen Zhao said loudly.
Everyone didn't feel tired, and responded to him with full energy, and then went to the cafeteria to eat. There was only a simple pig-killing dish for lunch, but everyone ate happily.
The afternoon passed quickly and night slowly fell. Everyone slowly gathered in the auditorium, and the atmosphere inside the auditorium became more lively.
Hu Shuang came back, and Hu Laosan and Hu Lan also came. No one in Yu Zhile's family was absent, except Zhou Yuesheng who was going to attend the commendation meeting.
The annual meeting started with a solo dance by Sheng Lanyue, who sang his famous piece. His graceful dance made everyone hold their breath, and everyone in the Ocean Team thought of him singing by the sea.
Then came Yang Suyun’s solo, a skit by the three Zhang brothers, a martial arts performance choreographed by Yu Qi...the atmosphere on the scene became more and more lively.
However, happy times are always short-lived, and the performance is about to enter its finale - Yu Yang's stage play.
The name of the stage play is the same as Qi Er's documentary, which tells the development process of the sideline group in Haiyu Village. The passionate music, coupled with the immersive performances of the actors, made the audience feel excited and couldn't calm down for a long time.
The last program was a children's chorus. The children's ethereal voices soothed everyone's excited emotions and brought the event to a perfect end.
"Here, I want to announce a good news to everyone. From today, Haiyu Logistics Company is officially established." Chen Zhao said loudly, "In the next ten years, we will continue to move forward side by side."
Then, with a snap, the red curtain above the stage broke apart. Small ribbons flew all over the sky, and Yu Zhile quietly left the stage.
Qi Er clapped the marker board and said softly, "The filming of the documentary "Looking Back and Moving Forward: Haiyu Village's Ten-Year Struggle" has been completed."
Afterwards, he handed the scene over to his partners and caught up with Yu Zhile.
"Sister-in-law, I've made up my mind to make a commercial film for you, but the script must be written by me." He is as dedicated to movies as before.
Yu Zhile nodded in agreement and walked quickly towards the door.
After the commendation meeting, Zhou Yuesheng immediately drove to the food factory. When he arrived, he could faintly hear the last program of the annual evening party, the chorus.
The last note fell, applause broke out, and Chen Zhao's voice was mixed in. Soon, everything returned to silence.
Zhou Yuesheng got out of the car and waited silently. When he counted to two hundred, Yu Zhile appeared in his sight and ran towards him with a smile.
"Captain Zhou, Happy New Year!" Yu Zhile imitated the magic tricks in the evening party and conjured up a red rose crocheted with wool out of thin air.
Zhou Yuesheng took it with a smile, put it in his chest pocket, and then patted his shoulder.
The pine green shoulder strap style has changed from two bars and four stars to one ear and one star.
"Back off?" Yu Zhile raised his hand and gently brushed away the snowflakes that were about to melt for him.
Zhou Yuesheng took out a medal, pinned it on her coat, and said, "I'm sorry for making you worry for so many years. Thank you."
"That's not enough." Yu Zhile said angrily, "You have to pick me up from get off work every day, cook for me, and exercise well."
Zhou Yuesheng chuckled and said, "I'm happy to serve Mr. Yu. However, the reward must be countless kisses."
After that, he leaned over and kissed his lover.
The north wind whistled past, and snowflakes fluttered and fell on the two of them.
Yu Zhile kept the answer in her heart. She wanted to say - there is still a lifetime of love.
(End of text)
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