Chapter 8 Tang Mingmei Returns to the City
"Tang Mingli, it really is you!"
Tang Mingli looked in the direction of the sound and saw the person walking excitedly toward her. It took her a while to figure out who it was, and she immediately smiled and responded.
"Li Baohua".
Strong and powerful limbs, a round face, big eyes, and two small dimples when she smiles.
Who else could it be but Li Baohua?
Li Baohua was once the envy of many children of her generation, simply because her father worked at a meat processing plant.
In those days when meat was hard to buy even with ration coupons, she often got to eat offal and other such things because of her father's connections, and she was chubby and fair-skinned from a young age.
As she got closer, Li Baohua gave Tang Mingli a playful punch, muttering, "How did you become so beautiful? I almost didn't recognize you just now."
The punch, delivered without restraint, caused Tang Mingli to hiss in pain.
No wonder it grew up eating pig offal, it's incredibly strong.
However, few women are happy when praised for their beauty, so even though she was in pain, she smiled and said, "Maybe life is better now, and we can afford to eat meat."
"That's right, my dad says pork is the most nutritious food."
Hearing this, Tang Mingli couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Your dad is absolutely right."
The two, who hadn't seen each other in a long time, chatted for a while. Li Baohua said with some regret, "I really wanted to have a good talk with you, but I have something to do and have to rush home."
"Okay." Tang Mingli nodded with a smile.
She didn't ask Li Baohua what it was about, but Li Baohua started chattering away on his own.
“My brother went back to the city, and he’s only been back for two days. My mom is already arranging blind dates for him. Tonight, we’ve arranged for the matchmaker to meet the girl at her house, so I can’t be late.”
Tang Mingli knew that many blind dates were like this at this time, with the man going directly to the woman's house, but she had never heard of the man and his whole family going to the woman's house before. However, since she was an outsider, although she was surprised, she didn't say anything.
Before parting, Li Baohua asked Tang Mingli for her phone number, saying they could meet up another day.
Tang Mingli did indeed like Li Baohua quite a bit, so she saved it for her.
On her way home after saying goodbye to Li Baohua, Tang Mingli couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if she hadn't agreed to the marriage. Would she have been willing to go on blind dates, marry, and have children with someone she didn't even know?
Just thinking about it sent chills down her spine.
Such a future is truly frightening.
But how could she possibly make such a choice?
-
When he got home, his mother was already back, and she and his mother were chatting about something.
Seeing Tang Mingli return, he quickly waved her over.
"Why are you only getting back now?"
"I went to the department store for a while, and on the way back I ran into a former classmate and we chatted for a bit."
When Li Baohua was mentioned, Tang Mingli found it amusing and talked more about her school days. Back then, everyone liked to call her "Pork Girl" because she was the only one who could eat pork often. Her friends, who hadn't eaten meat in a long time, liked to ask her what it tasted like, which made Old Madam Fu and her mother both amused and saddened.
No one knows better than those who lived through that era how difficult it was.
After talking about Li Baohua, the topic returned to Tang Mingli's uncle's family. Fu's mother asked her with concern how her trip to her uncle's house went and whether things went smoothly.
Tang Mingli answered honestly, "My uncle was at work and I only saw my aunt. I told her that my cousin was coming back soon, and she cried with excitement after hearing that."
However, that was all she said; she didn't mention her aunt's increasingly demanding requests.
She knew the situation of her uncle's family. She always avoided mentioning things that even she found annoying.
Take the matter of helping her cousin find a job, for example. She herself felt it was inappropriate, and telling the Fu family about it would only make things difficult for them, without any difference.
Both Mrs. Fu and Madam Fu are mothers, so they naturally understood the feelings of Tang's eldest aunt and said a few words of sympathy.
Perhaps deeply moved by the events, Fu's mother blurted out, "It's truly fortunate that Mingli married our Fu Ci back then, otherwise it would have been her who went to the countryside."
Madam Fu nodded subconsciously, "That's true."
While it's not good to think this way, people are naturally biased, and right now they naturally prefer Tang Mingli, with whom they've spent two years.
During a break in her mother-in-law and grandmother's conversation, Tang Mingli took the opportunity to show them the spoils she had bought that day while shopping, thus ending the previous topic.
Tang Mingli certainly has a good eye for choosing things; both Madam Fu and her parents really liked the bags she gave them.
Especially Madam Fu, who loved it so much that she examined it over and over again.
She was still a little worried, though, "At my age, is it inappropriate for me to use a bag like this?"
"Won't."
"How could that be?"
Tang Mingli and Fu's mother spoke in unison.
Mrs. Fu looked at Tang Mingli and smiled, "Let Mingli say it, she chose the bag."
Tang Mingli smiled sweetly and said to the old lady with a serious expression, "This bag is simple yet elegant, and it is most suitable for mature women, especially mature and intellectual women like Grandma."
The praise for Madam Fu's wisdom was not unfounded.
Although she was born and raised during the Republic of China era, she was a graduate of a proper women's normal university and was a teacher before retirement.
Madam Fu was overjoyed by the praise, but said, "You're so old and toothless, yet you still say you're mature."
Tang Mingli argued, "The word 'mature' doesn't have an age limit."
"You're right," Old Madam Fu said, unable to argue with her, and happily accepted the answer.
Just then, Grandpa Fu, who had gone out for a walk, returned. Seeing the three women so happy, he chuckled and chimed in, "What happy thing happened this time?"
Madam Fu proudly held up her bag: "My granddaughter-in-law bought a gift for my Yujuan."
Fu's mother's full name is Wei Yujuan.
"You're so happy." Old Master Fu didn't seem to care, but in his heart he sighed that girls were more thoughtful, since Fu Ci had never bought him or his son any gifts.
"Oh, there's one more thing."
Madam Fu said this to Old Master Fu.
"What is it?" Old Master Fu asked as he walked over and sat down.
After he was seated, Madam Fu continued, "Caiping called this afternoon to say that Gu Lin's marriage is settled and the wedding will be next month."
The Caiping mentioned by Madam Fu is none other than Fu Caiping, the half-sister of Old Master Fu.
The siblings had a rather ordinary relationship, but they maintained a degree of kinship.
The turning point came four years ago when Fu Caiping's eldest granddaughter, Gu Lin, faced the possibility of being sent to the countryside.
Fu Caiping didn't want her granddaughter to go to the countryside, so she humbled herself and begged her grandfather for the first time.
However, Grandpa Fu was stubborn and inflexible. He believed that going to the countryside was a national call and that no one should be given special treatment because of their status or position, so he refused his sister's request.
Madam Fu still remembers the way Fu Caiping gritted her teeth and uttered harsh words before leaving the family four years ago. She did try to mend the relationship between the two siblings afterward, but all her efforts failed. Fu Caiping didn't even show up for Fu Ci's wedding two years ago.
She thought the two families had reached an end, but today she suddenly received a call from the other party. How could Madam Fu not be moved?
As for Old Master Fu, perhaps his heart was not as calm as it appeared, otherwise he wouldn't have remained silent for so long after hearing this.
After a long pause, Old Master Fu finally spoke, his voice somewhat hoarse, "Gu Lin is getting married."
“She and Fu Ci are the same age, and Fu Ci has been married for two years.”
Actually, there was something else that Madam Fu didn't say: if she hadn't gone to the countryside, she might have gotten married a few years earlier.
Grandpa Fu nodded and said to his wife and daughter-in-law, "Marriage is a big deal. Ask around and see if there's anything you can do to help."
The mother readily agreed.
After saying this, Old Master Fu went to his study.
I don't know if he wanted to read a book or if this matter made him feel sentimental.
Only after the study door closed did Fu's mother ask her mother-in-law in a low voice, "Is Dad alright?"
Madam Fu knew her husband well enough to shake her head and say, "Don't worry, people who have been on the battlefield aren't that fragile."
Although Tang Mingli listened attentively the whole time, it was really difficult to piece together what had happened from just these few sentences.
She timidly interjected, "May I ask what happened?"
Mother Fu then realized that in the two years since her daughter-in-law married into the family, their family and her sister-in-law's family had lost contact, so she naturally didn't understand the reason. Therefore, she briefly explained the situation to her.
Tang Mingli roughly understood.
The question is, since Grandpa is so upright and incorruptible, will be asking Fu Ci to help my cousin return to the city sooner cross his bottom line?
But in the past few days, I haven't sensed that he has any dissatisfaction with me at all.
After pondering for a while, Tang Mingli could only guess that perhaps times had changed and that the current Old Master Fu was different from the one a few years ago.
-
That evening, Fu Ci, who had called back a few days earlier, called again, mainly to ask Tang Mingli what kind of nuts she liked to eat.
Can I still choose?
Tang Mingli, without any hesitation, rattled off several of her favorite dishes.
After hanging up the phone, I realized that my whole family was looking at me and laughing with amusement.
She forced herself to find a reason: "It's true, we don't even know what to buy."
However, the Fu family did not let the matter rest.
Madam Fu joked, "Asking is probably just an excuse." Then she deliberately asked her daughter-in-law, "When has Fu Ci ever thought about home when he was away on business?"
Madam Fu shook her head and sighed, "That's certainly not true. I thought this child was just like his father, but it turns out he's a bit better than his father."
What she said was indeed the truth. Although Fu Ci had never been on a business trip for as long as this time before, he had never called home before.
Madam Fu gave a light hum and took the paper, saying, "He's a million points better than his grandfather."
Unwittingly implicated, Mr. Fu and his father could only exchange a knowing smile, unable to defend themselves.
Tang Mingli was glad that she had a thick skin, and this teasing wouldn't really make her shy, but she still had to pretend to be a little embarrassed.
After finishing her explanation and watching the TV series, she said shyly, "Oh dear, if you keep talking like that, I... I'll go upstairs first."
It's about time to rest. Only with enough sleep can one have energy.
Today, we first went to my uncle's house and then went shopping at a department store. I was so tired that Tang Mingli fell asleep as soon as she lay down.
-
On the other side, Lijia Village.
Just a few days after Tang Mingli told her aunt and cousin that she was going back to the city, Tang Mingmei learned from the brigade leader that she could also return to the city.
She hadn't received a reply from home yet, so naturally she didn't know what was happening back home. While still wondering when she could return to the city, she was overwhelmed by the news and burst into tears.
"Finally, I can go back to the city! Waaah, finally, I can go back to the city..."
No matter how hard-working you are, nobody likes a life of toiling in the fields.
Returning to the city was the deepest longing in the hearts of every educated youth who had been sent to the countryside.
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