082 Unknown
Guan Yuehe accompanied Lin Yiku to Changhu Street and watched him ride away on his bicycle before turning around, sighing as she went home.
"Why are you sighing? Get in, Dad will give you a ride."
Guan Canghai saw his little daughter with her head down from afar. He was used to seeing her happy, so when he suddenly saw her looking worried, he wondered if something serious had happened.
Thinking he should say a few words of comfort, his unfortunate daughter responded with "Coming, Dad," and jumped up from the back seat with her hands on the ground.
He wasn't prepared enough, and the car swerved around, almost colliding with his old friend, Uncle Ming.
Grandpa Ming was so angry that his beard bristled. He snorted at the father and daughter, then stomped his foot and turned into the alley.
"Oh no! I was thinking of buying a pork knuckle in a couple of days and having Uncle Ming make it braised, but now I won't be able to eat it." Guan Yuehe sighed.
Guan Canghai thought to himself: If he's still thinking about good food, then nothing serious has happened.
After quietly letting out a sigh of relief, I was in the mood to think about other things.
"How many pounds have you gained since you got married?" Guan Canghai asked curiously.
Guan Yuehe pinched her arm and then her cheek. Her appetite had been normal lately, and it had even decreased a bit because of the warmer weather.
Guan Canghai didn't believe it. After she got married, unless she ate in the factory canteen, whenever she went home, either Lin Yiku would cook for her, or her in-laws would bring her food. The quality of her meals had improved by at least two levels.
No wonder the bike wobbled when she got on, and he had a hard time pedaling.
Guan Yuehe was too lazy to argue with him. Did he think she was still skinny and he was still strong and healthy? They were both over fifty!
"Dad, I saw some people getting their hair permed on the street. When did your barbershop start offering that service?"
Before May Day, she and Xie Dongxue went shopping to buy things for their wedding. In the department store, they saw a woman with wavy hair picking out lipsticks. She was wearing a red polka-dot dress and looked quite pretty.
Xie Dongxue got married on the day of the May Day holiday. I saw it then and was really tempted to have the same hairstyle on my wedding day.
But after visiting several hair salons, they all said they couldn't do it. Xie Dongxue was still disappointed.
"This thing, back when it wasn't banned, was used to burn people with hot tongs. My apprentice who was learning to cut hair once burned a scar on someone's forehead. I haven't done it in years, and my skills have become rusty."
Upon hearing this, Guan Yuehe immediately abandoned her idea of getting her hair permed by her father.
“You can’t do this. You’re a cadre. Look around, how many people have permed hair these days?” Especially in the past, perming hair was not allowed, and you would be criticized if you did it.
"I'm not hot, I'm just asking." Guan Yuehe added, "Even if you dare to burn me, I wouldn't dare to try it. What if I get a scar too? I can't just beat you up to vent my anger."
"...You unlucky daughter!"
As soon as we entered the alley, someone joked, "Yuehe, you're married now, why are you still having your dad drive you?"
Does that mean that once she's married, Master Guan isn't her father anymore?
"More than that, next time I'll have my dad drive me and Lin Yiku."
Guan Canghai was so angry he laughed. He turned around and wanted to slap her twice. It was already hard enough to carry her alone, let alone Lin Yiku.
To thank her father for giving her a ride, Guan Yuehe brought home the few remaining bottles of Moutai liquor for dinner.
Jiang Guiying grumbled, "You two never get to spend a single day of your rest time together. Now look what's happened, Yiku is away on another mission. Your grandma even had your uncle come and ask when your wedding banquet is finally going to be arranged."
"Let's wait until the end of the year. Lin Yiku and I aren't in a hurry. You can tell Grandma and Grandpa not to rush us. We'll definitely let them know when the time is set."
In recent years, she has been so focused on her own little world that she has not bothered to inquire about other relatives' affairs. She is too lazy to know whether her family is on good terms with her maternal grandparents' family, her aunt's family, or her sister-in-law's family. She simply never asks and no one has ever specifically told her.
How can a person have so much time and energy to manage this and that?
During the day, she is busy with work. After get off work, she watches TV, studies, and spends time with Lin Yiku. In her spare time, she eats with friends, goes to the car factory or school to ask teachers for advice, and tidies up her small home. That is enough to keep her busy.
Seeing that she didn't want to say more, Jiang Guiying didn't bother to ask anymore. Anyway, they had already registered their marriage, so the banquet was just a formality.
"After you've eaten, you can clean up yourselves. I'm going to stay at Yuehua's place tonight."
Although Jiang Guiying often complained that if Guan Yuehua and Gu Mannian had found someone to move their house to Ginkgo Hutong back then, they wouldn't have had to worry about how to raise their child in the future.
But when they really needed help from their elders, Jiang Guiying would still make two trips a day to check on them and even stay overnight to sleep there.
It's estimated that once Bangchui gives birth, Jiang Guiying will probably have to stay there for a while, at least to help out during her postpartum period.
"This baby is so slow-paced, we've been waiting and waiting and it still hasn't started. I hope it's really slow-paced when it's born!" Jiang Guiying sighed. An impatient mother and a slow-paced baby, she didn't know how they would manage to live together.
Guan Yuehe quickly finished the last bite of her rice. "Wait for me, I'll wash the dishes and bring them to you."
Lin Yufeng said, "You leave it here, I'll pack it up later and take it to Mom first."
“Auntie, I want to go too.” My little nephew Yangyang also put down his spoon.
"You don't want to." Guan Yuehe ignored him and busied herself going home to get her bicycle.
Just as I rode to Changhu Street, I saw Xu Chengcai also riding his bicycle over. "Yuehe, Aunt Jiang, Sister Yuehua is about to give birth. She just went to the hospital. I came to tell you the news."
"Oh dear! Why did it suddenly start?"
It should have started much earlier; the doctor said the baby was expected to be born in early June, but it's already mid-June!
Guan Yuehe pedaled hard all the way, while Jiang Guiying kept talking at first. But when they came to a downhill slope, Guan Yuehe sped down the slope without slowing down for a long time. Jiang Guiying immediately shut her mouth and hugged Guan Yuehe's waist tightly with both hands.
No wonder Cao Lili occasionally praised Guan Yuehe for riding a tricycle with the flair of a car when she took her to the hospital.
When they arrived at the hospital, Gu Mannian was pacing around in circles.
Upon seeing Jiang Guiying, Gu Mannian finally breathed a sigh of relief. "She gave birth. Yuehua is still inside. Oh, Qin Zilan went to help look after the baby."
After saying that, Gu Mannian shouted into the delivery room, "Yuehua, Mom's here! Mom's gone to see the baby, don't worry!"
Guan Yuehua asked him to take care of the children, but he was worried about both his wife and the children, and he was not at ease going anywhere. He only felt at ease when people from his family came to visit.
Without saying a word, Jiang Guiying asked a nurse for directions and went to see the child.
Guan Yuehe, who hadn't been assigned any tasks, was still a little confused: Can babies be born this quickly?
Who said this kid is slow-paced?
By the time Guan Yuehua finally came out of the delivery room, it was already 9 p.m.
When Guan Yuehe first saw her eldest sister looking pale and weak, she felt a tightness in her chest.
She used to find her older sister particularly annoying—she was a restless sleeper, had a bad temper, and a sharp tongue. But perhaps because it's all in the past, she now feels that her sister wasn't actually that annoying.
At this moment, a rare moment of sisterly affection has emerged.
When Guan Yuehua woke up, she saw Gu Mannian wiping away tears on her left and Guan Yuehe with red eyes on her right.
"......"
These two look terrible.
Guan Yuehe stayed at the hospital until late at night before returning home. After arriving home, she had to go to Courtyard No. 3 first to have her father pack her mother's toiletries so they could be taken there together the next day.
"Why does she need to be hospitalized? How is your sister?"
"It's alright, he can eat and sleep well. Let's stay a couple more days to check on him." Guan Yuehe's expression was somewhat complicated. "Bangchui is a bit different from other children. He sleeps as soon as he's full. He won't open his eyes or cry even after several hours. My brother-in-law and I are worried, so we're going to stay a couple more days."
Her mother said that Bangchui was just like her when she was a child, so there was definitely no problem, but when her sister heard that he looked like her, her face wrinkled up.
"Oh, it's alright then." Guan Canghai suddenly felt something was off. "Did your sister have a son or a daughter? And what's this 'bangchui'?"
Guan Yuehe laughed heartily, "After giving birth to my daughter, the nickname I gave her is known to my sister and my niece."
Guan Canghai: "......"
After working for half the night, Guan Yuehe felt extremely tired when she got home. She quickly tidied up and went straight to bed on the kang (a heated brick bed).
The next day, she packed up the letters and books she had written and took them to the post office to mail them to Ding Xuewen.
After work, I took the chicken soup that Aunt Fang had prepared to the hospital. Bangchui is now able to open his eyes and howl, so his sister plans to discharge him tomorrow.
“This name is awful, we can’t call her that anymore.” Jiang Guiying couldn’t bear to see her granddaughter given the nickname “club”. “Your sister said we won’t use nicknames, we’ll call her by her full name from now on.”
What's your full name?
"Grain Rain".
No sooner had the words been spoken than Gu Yu, who was less than 24 hours old, started howling.
Guan Yuehe felt that although the little one couldn't speak, he knew how to protest by crying and wailing that he was forced to lose his nickname.
On her trip, she even ran into Xu Xiaomei at the hospital.
Xu Xiaomei and Cheng Peng are both employees of the car factory. They have been working there long enough that they have been allocated housing and moved out.
Seeing them come out of the obstetrics and gynecology department with beaming faces, it's not hard to guess that this couple is about to become parents.
Perhaps it's because her identity is about to change, from a child to a parent, that Xu Xiaomei seems smarter and more reliable than before.
That's amazing.
Xu Xiaomei looked up and saw Guan Yuehe. "You're pregnant too?"
Xu Xiaomei did the math in her head. Guan Yuehe and Lin Yiku had only been married for about two months, so how could they have a child so soon?
Guan Yuehe rolled her eyes. "I came to see my sister."
She and Lin Yiku reached a consensus that they would not consider having children until he was able to live at home permanently.
We should cherish our youth and be together all the time; there's no rush to have kids.
Upon hearing that Guan Yuehua had given birth, Xu Xiaomei pursed her lips, hesitated for a moment, and decided not to go in to visit, since their relationship wasn't very good to begin with anyway.
"No, slow down." Cheng Peng hurriedly caught up with the person who was walking down the street.
When Gu Yu was born, Guan Yuehua took leave to stay home and recover after childbirth. Jiang Guiying went over to help her every morning at seven o'clock and didn't return until after ten o'clock at night. Her get off work hours were almost the same as those of the workers at Zhuoyue Garment Factory who had been working overtime recently.
The number of orders from other provinces to the Zhuoyue Garment Factory suddenly surged. Not only did the workers in each workshop have to work overtime, but the cadres in each department also had to work overtime to coordinate resources from all sides.
The entire factory was bustling with activity; no one was idle. Everyone was hoping that production could be maintained at this level so that there would be openings for new hires.
However, the factory does not need to recruit workers for the time being, and the children of factory workers who are not employed will still have to go to the countryside.
Meanwhile, Song Xibei, who was about to graduate from high school, was torn between three paths: going to the countryside, joining the army, and taking over Cai Ying's job as a canteen worker at the automobile factory.
"Sister Yuehe, Brother Yiku hasn't come back yet?" Seventeen-year-old Song Xibei had grown into a tall bamboo pole, and his voice was no longer the quacking of a duck from a few years ago. He stood at the door of Guan Yuehe's house, peeking out.
"No. Didn't you register and undergo a physical examination? Still no results?"
Song Xibei spread his hands and said, "I suspect my dad secretly sabotaged me."
"That's impossible." Although Song Gong'an didn't want to join the army in the Northwest or Southwest and go to other places, he was still quite open-minded and wouldn't secretly sabotage things.
"Officer Song, have you really done something bad?"
"Oh my god! Dad, that's not what I meant... Sister Yuehe!" Song Xibei thought his dad was home and hurriedly tried to explain, but the door was still closed!
He said that only his sister was at home, and his parents hadn't come home from get off work yet!
Guan Yuehe, having successfully tricked the child, burst into laughter.
Seeing that he was about to explode with anger, Guan Yuehe said, "You really want to join the army? You're fine with going anywhere. Your family doesn't have any objections?"
"Of course!" Song Xibei said with a worried look, "I was also thinking of asking Brother Yiku if there was something I didn't pass, and why there's still no progress."
"They might still be undergoing a background check. There's no use in worrying; Lin Yiku can't help you investigate even if she's at home."
"I know, this is because talking to Brother Yiku gives me some peace of mind."
Guan Yuehe thought he was just idle, so she suggested he go and move bricks for Aunt Niu's house in Courtyard No. 1. If he did more work, he wouldn't be thinking about other things.
"Northwest, have your parents gotten off work yet?" Staff from the educated youth office came to the door, clearly there to persuade them to go to the countryside.
Although many organizations and state-owned factories have freed up recruitment quotas in recent years, these quotas are only a drop in the ocean compared to the huge number of educated youth sent to the countryside.
Young people who have just graduated and are unemployed still have to go to the countryside according to policy.
However, for the staff of the educated youth office, the mobilization work in recent years has been much easier than in the years before the forced rural assignments. The rural assignment locations are closer together; the only difference is that they won't be able to get government-subsidized grain rations. They don't have to leave their hometowns, which is already a good thing.
Guan Yuehe hurriedly said, "The car factory is rushing to meet production targets recently, and Sister Cai Ying has to work the night shift to make late-night snacks for the workers. Song Gong'an is also busy lately. Why don't you wait until Sunday to come? Song Xibei is just a teenager and doesn't know anything."
She was afraid that Song Xibei would be too impulsive and directly agree to go to the countryside, which would prevent him from joining the army.
The staff at the educated youth office hesitated for a moment. They had come several times before, but each time they had failed to catch any of the adults from the Song family.
Guan Yuehe added, "It wasn't their fault. They couldn't ignore the factory's production, and the people needed the police's help. Officer Song is the station chief, so he couldn't just ignore it. Let's do it another day, you two comrades."
Song Xibei watched as she politely coaxed and dragged the staff of the educated youth office out of the house. She truly lived up to her reputation as the famous "Strong Sister" of Ginkgo Alley.
"Sister Yuehe, you're saying we're calling on educated youth to go to the countryside, but we're also arranging jobs for them to return to the city. What's the point of going to the countryside then?"
Song Xibei didn't quite understand. "Sister Baoyu said that Ding Xuewu couldn't do any work in the countryside and was stealing chickens and dogs. He's been arrested and locked up several times. Why send someone like that to the countryside? Just keep him in the city and let him roam around with his family. I really don't understand."
"It's understandable if you can't figure it out. We're not leaders, so let's mind our own business first."
Guan Yuehe found him too talkative, so she took out two yuan from her pocket and ordered him to run an errand, "Go and buy two watermelons."
Guan Yuehe breathed a sigh of relief as her ears were finally at peace.
She couldn't understand whether the college entrance examination could ever be reinstated, or if educated youth sent to the countryside could participate.
Sigh, I wonder if Ding Xuewen received the package yet.
Meanwhile, Ding Xuewen, whom she was thinking about, was busy in the private plots of the educated youth, his body covered in sweat and mud. From afar, he could hear the brigade leader's grandson waving to report the news:
"Teacher Ding! Your package has arrived!"
"They're here!"
Ding Xuewen asked the student who delivered the message to sign for it, then took the package; it was heavy.
After enduring two or three difficult years, in the following years, he and his childhood friends only sent each other food and supplies before the Lunar New Year, and otherwise only wrote letters.
Why send so many things when it's neither a holiday nor a festival?
But upon closer inspection, he realized something was amiss: why were so many books being sent to him?
Upon opening the package, the first book on top was a high school math textbook. He paused for a moment, then quickly realized a possibility, and his breathing became uncontrollably rapid.
The following books are also high school textbooks!
After flipping through it again and again, I finally found the envelope on the side. I could tell from the handwriting that it was written by Yuehe.
In her letter, Yuehe wrote about her experiences at the Canton Fair this year, and the "respect for knowledge and respect for talent" policy proposed at the central government meeting at the end of May...
The letter didn't mention any news of the resumption of the college entrance examination; it was all Yuehe's own speculation. Therefore, she only reminded him in the letter:
"What the future holds is still uncertain, but as our Zhuoyue Garment Factory Director Zheng Xingmin said, opportunity favors the prepared mind! Comrade Ding Xuewen, you must not fall behind in your studies!"
Ding Xuewen felt his blood boiling and couldn't help but laugh: Yuehe really seized every opportunity to promote Zhuoyue Garment Factory and Factory Director Zheng Xingmin.
In the evening, Chen Lizhong returned from the pig farm and asked him to go bathe in the nearby river.
When Ding Xuewen recounted Guan Yuehe's letter, Chen Lizhong suddenly popped his head out of the water with a splash. The two stared at each other for a long time before Chen Lizhong finally managed to speak, "What do you think...?"
Ding Xuewen interrupted him, saying firmly, "Factory Director Zheng Xingmin said that opportunity is for those who are prepared! If the college entrance examination is really reinstated one day, we won't be scrambling to start reviewing at the last minute."
That makes sense, but the high school textbooks they brought with them when they went to the countryside were all worn out from being handled so much.
Ten years.
They stayed in the Sidaogou production team for ten years, and now he can recite a certain knowledge point to the exact page and line with his eyes closed. If pigs could talk and listen to him read and recite every day, even if they only lived for a year, they would have at least a primary school education.
But, "Who is Factory Director Zheng Xingmin?"
—
In early July, Guan Yuehe finally had some free time. She chose a Sunday and asked her neighbors at home to help her move some of her furniture to Grandpa Lin's house in courtyard number three.
Lin Yiku's room had been quite empty since he joined the army. After they got married, all his belongings were moved to her place, and there was nothing here except a bed and a desk.
It could barely hold all her belongings.
Unable to wait for Lin Yiku to return and finish her work, she decided to paint the walls of the house as soon as possible to avoid further delays.
Many hands make light work. Besides her, her father, her older brother, and Uncle Lin who came to paint the wall, several neighbors in the courtyard brought tools to help.
Some people cleaned, some repaired the kang (a heated brick bed), and some went up to the roof to check the condition of the tiles. The rest of the people were responsible for painting the walls and moving unwanted furniture to the open space at the entrance of the alley. Anyone who wanted it could take it back. If no one wanted it, it would be left for two or three days before someone would take it away.
It's a rare opportunity for everyone to get together to work and chat.
"It's so convenient to be able to come home every day after the bitter memories," said the second aunt after walking around the house. "I think you should partition off the child's room as soon as possible. You'll have to tear down the walls and move the room, right? Your kang (heated brick bed) is too big!"
Guan Yuehe usually didn't allow outsiders into her bedroom, let alone let anyone sit on the kang (a heated brick bed). Gradually, everyone forgot that her kang was actually quite long and wide.
Guan Yuehe disagreed; she insisted on sleeping on this large kang (heated brick bed).
She and Lin Yiku went to collect family planning supplies every month, even taking the shares meant for their colleagues and comrades-in-arms, but their child was still a long way off.
Guan Yuehe didn't respond, and the others, finding it boring to talk about her, started gossiping about other people's affairs.
As they were chatting, they saw Officer Song returning from outside come over to greet them and ask if they needed any help.
"I wouldn't dare trouble someone as busy as you." Auntie Er hurriedly asked, "Have the thieves who stole from the chemical factory warehouse been caught yet?"
Grandma Bai was shocked. "There's a thief involved? I heard that an old man in the alley ahead killed his daughter-in-law?"
Aunt Zhao exclaimed in surprise, "Didn't they say that someone from our factory was having an affair and his wife caught him?"
Guan Yuehe followed the tone of the older women's voices with surprise and alarm; she had really missed out on too many things lately!
I'm ashamed to say that she wrote to Sitian last month, saying that Ginkgo Hutong has been peaceful lately, with no gossip at all!
Police Officer Song: "...I can't say for now, don't ask."
The older women looked at each other knowingly. "We understand. We can't talk about it. We're very tight-lipped."
Seeing that he had enough manpower, Song Gong'an didn't linger and went home to rest, yawning repeatedly.
He had just gotten home when the aunties all said with absolute certainty, "I told you it was true! Even Officer Song confirmed it."
Guan Yuehe clicked her tongue twice. If she hadn't been there listening and watching, and the older women hadn't said it, she might have really thought that the news had been confirmed by Officer Song before it was released!
These middle-aged women are really good at making things up.
But he's really efficient at his work.
After only one morning of work, Guan Yuehe had almost finished all the chores at her house.
Song Xibei and Wu Jiawang, who had been assigned by Guan Yuehe to run errands, returned with watermelons and popsicles. They first distributed them to the adults who were working, and then to the children who were eagerly looking up at them.
As Guan Yuehe ate her popsicle, she looked at the newly painted house. The traces of the past seven years had been covered up, and soon the traces of another seven years would be added.
In the afternoon, she went to pick up the new sofa she had ordered, along with the newly replaced tables and chairs.
When Lin Yiku comes back, he'll probably be shocked by the house.
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