202 Hehehaha
Guan Yuehe specifically set aside half a day to go out and see how Guangzhou had changed in recent years. More importantly, she needed to buy gifts for her relatives and friends.
Everyone else is easy to deal with, but Lin Ting's gift can't be anything less than perfect. Otherwise, the title of "big liar" will be hard to shake off in the future.
Gu Mannian's mouth didn't shut up all the way to the Friendship Store.
“I came here with my colleagues from the factory yesterday. I know exactly what the most popular items are. Just follow along… Oh, by the way, I’ve already bought clothes and toys for Gu Yu and Lin Ting. Why don’t you buy something else?” Gu Mannian advised her to take a refrigerator home.
As a pioneering city of reform and opening up, Guangzhou generally has lower prices for home appliances compared to inland cities. Bringing back a large item, even if you only save fifty yuan, adds up to a significant amount.
"The power grid renovation is about to reach our residential compound area. The power supply will be much better in the future. Several families in the compound have already bought refrigerators, and they've been urging us to do so since Grain Rain."
"Imported brands are more than a thousand yuan more expensive than domestic ones. I chose a refrigerator made in Guangzhou. I calculated that buying it here will save me at least a hundred yuan compared to buying it in Beijing. A hundred yuan is equivalent to half a month's bonus."
As Guan Yuehe listened, she finally realized that Gu Mannian was showing off.
"If you get a hundred in bonuses every two weeks, then your monthly salary plus bonuses must be over three hundred?"
Gu Mannian waved his hand, a wide smile on his face, "We got a lot of orders in Guangzhou this time, so our bonuses will definitely go up again."
Guan Yuehe was happy that Zhuoyue Garment Factory was getting more orders. But with Gu Mannian's high salary, she couldn't convince herself not to be envious.
"There are too many people, I can't hear what you're saying, just shut up," Guan Yuehe said sourly, then cleared a path through the crowd and quickly squeezed in.
Gu Mannian called out several times from behind, "Wait for me..."
Although Gu Mannian said he had bought many gifts for the children in his family, Guan Yuehe still picked out quite a few for herself. She even prepared gifts for the babies in Lin Sitian and Wan Xiujuan's wombs.
As she picked up the two bottles, she thought: if Sitian's child was also impatient, he should be born soon.
—
At the Five Star Automobile Factory Workers' Hospital, Lin Sitian was about to leave her office when she suddenly realized something was wrong with her stomach. She stood still for a moment, then turned back and asked her colleagues to help her report the situation to her family and Chen Lizhong's workplace.
Aunt Fang arrived more than ten minutes early today to deliver the meal, and as soon as she arrived, she heard that Lin Sitian was about to give birth.
"They're all so impatient, they can't wait even one more day!"
Aunt Fang was so worried that she kept muttering to herself, and then she busied herself taking care of Lin Sitian, saying, "While you still have the energy, eat your meal first."
Lin Sitian's years in the obstetrics and gynecology department haven't been for nothing. She can eat heartily while screaming in pain, and even find time to joke around.
She had planned to go home to prepare for childbirth after work today, and Chen Lizhong had even borrowed a car a few days in advance to keep at home in case she suddenly went into labor. Unexpectedly, the baby deliberately chose to go into labor today.
That's good, I didn't need the car for now, so I didn't waste a single day of my maternity leave. I even managed to work half a day today.
Like Chen Lizhong, he can't afford to lose even a penny of the money he's supposed to earn.
Stop laughing and joking, and eat a few more bites.
—
The main group of the third exhibition delegation has already returned home. Gu Mannian and his colleagues from Zhuoyue Garment Factory all bought large items and carried big bags and small bags, returning home happily with a full load.
Guan Yuehe, however, will not be able to return for a few more days.
She arrived a few days earlier than the exhibition group and left a few days later. All in all, her business trip lasted a full month.
I had some free time in the evening, so I remembered to write a letter to Chunmei, informing her that the Friendship Store in Guangzhou is now completely open to ordinary people, and that they can pay in RMB without using foreign exchange.
"The sales clerks at Friendship Store have changed a lot. They greet customers warmly. When I went there the other day, they were holding a competition for the sales clerks to package the goods, which was very interesting..."
"These past few days, my colleagues and I have been investigating Guangzhou's foreign trade situation. Seeing the changes Guangzhou has undergone in recent years has been incredibly moving. Chunmei, if you have the chance, I hope you can come back to Guangzhou again. I believe that Guangzhou's rapid development will soon rival the speed of our country's development..."
Just as I finished writing, the phone in the room rang.
"Hello, I am Guan Yuehe."
"Finally got through!" Jiang Guiying said excitedly on the other end of the phone, "Sitian just gave birth. Yiku said she wanted to let you know. They just went to the hospital. It's a girl, both mother and child are fine. Okay, I'll talk to you now."
Guan Yuehe's joy lasted only a few seconds before the call was abruptly ended. She was furious; she was determined to hold a family meeting to discuss this matter when she got back. Couldn't she have said a few more words at such an important moment?
Guan Yuehe paced around the room twice, then finally opened the sealed envelope again and added a few more sentences to the letter:
Chunmei, I'm going to be an aunt-in-law! If I hadn't married Lin Yiku, I would be a godmother right now!
As she wrote this, Guan Yuehe laughed. She suddenly remembered that when she and Sitian were in elementary school, they had secretly made a promise that if they each had a son or a daughter in the future, they would arrange a marriage between their children.
When they grew up and learned that arranging betrothal gifts for children was a feudal practice, they never mentioned it again.
After receiving a call from home, Guan Yuehe kept thinking about when she could go home whenever she had a spare moment.
After much anticipation, the day finally arrived for me to return to Beijing.
She was having so much fun that she didn't even see her colleague reaching for her luggage.
The colleague next to him was a little confused and thought about helping to lighten the burden on the leader, but the leader took a few big steps and walked to the front with a large suitcase in each hand.
—
As soon as Guan Yuehe returned to Ginkgo Hutong, her neighbors asked her why she hadn't brought a refrigerator back with her.
It seems that the news of Gu Mannian bringing back a refrigerator has already reached Ginkgo Hutong.
She had only said a few words when a small head suddenly popped out of the No. 3 courtyard and looked in her direction.
"Oh my, Yuehe, your daughter has sharp ears. Lin Ting, look who this is! Can you still recognize her?"
Lin Ting's eyes lit up, she jumped up and down twice, and ran towards Guan Yuehe with a loud shout.
Seeing Lin Ting rushing over, Guan Yuehe quickly put her luggage bag on the ground and caught the solid little cannonball.
As soon as I picked her up, I instinctively weighed her in my arms. She seemed a bit heavy, so I pinched her cheeks. She hadn't lost any of her plumpness.
Guan Yuehe was completely relieved.
Lin Ting clung to her mother and babbled a bunch of things.
"Mom, Guyu has a refrigerator now, and lots of popsicles! Uncle will make lots of delicious popsicles!"
"My uncle brought lots of pretty clothes and toys!"
"I... I even performed a show!"
Before Guan Yuehe could ask, she continued to chatter on.
"Mom, Auntie had a little sister..." Lin Ting immediately lowered her voice and whispered in her ear, "Grandma said the little sister looks just like me, but Mom, what should we do if the little sister is so ugly?"
Guan Yuehe laughed out loud, "Babies are like this when they are first born. They will grow up to be beautiful. You were the same when you were a baby."
Lin Ting frowned, staring at her suspiciously, then wrapped her arms around her neck, rested her head on her shoulder, and muttered to herself, "Mom is a big liar!"
After a while, Guan Yuehe, with a chubby little girl hanging on her back, walked home amidst the laughter and chatter of her neighbors, her hands busy carrying luggage.
She immediately noticed the new certificate of merit on the wall at home.
"Lin Ting, a student in the senior class of the Early Childhood Education Program, won third prize in the May Day Arts Performance..." Guan Yuehe was shocked. "You went to the Early Childhood Education Program?"
"You're really amazing! You just started your child development class and you've already brought back an award certificate."
Lin Ting blushed with pride at the compliment, and then pulled Guan Yuehe to look at the photos in the house. "Dad took these photos of me. There's also an old man who took a picture with me. He said he knows Mom."
Guan Yuehe looked in the direction she was pointing and saw the gatekeeper in the photo.
—
After tidying up for a while, Guan Yuehe went next door to see Lin Sitian and her little niece.
I happened to see Chen Lizhong washing diapers in the front yard.
"When I heard your voice, I didn't believe it, but it's true." Chen Lizhong said regretfully, "A new production line came to the factory, otherwise I would have gone to the Canton Fair this year. Your brother-in-law said that there is good news everywhere this year."
"It will definitely be the same next year."
Chen Lizhong smiled and nodded, "Okay, I'll wait a little longer."
"Lin Ting, want to come play in the water?"
Lin Ting shook her head. She wasn't stupid. Her uncle was trying to trick her into washing diapers!
—
"Everyone says the baby looks exactly like Lin Ting when she was born."
Guan Yuehe looked at it carefully for a while and wholeheartedly agreed with Lin Sitian's words, "It's exactly the same!"
We still have photos of Lin Ting taken the day after she was born; a comparison will show the difference.
Upon hearing this, Lin went to see her younger sister, who was wrapped up tightly, and her eyebrows furrowed like caterpillars.
"That doesn't seem like it at all!"
Guan Yuehe and Lin Sitian burst into laughter upon seeing her reaction.
Guan Yuehe now feels that taking photos of Lin Ting, who was only two days old at the time, was a very correct thing to do.
Lin Sitian chuckled mischievously, "The same goes for the little one. I took a picture of her the day she got back, so she won't not recognize me later."
When Aunt Fang brought in the chicken soup, she saw the two of them exchange a few words and then burst into laughter, while Lin Ting, standing next to them, stared at her younger sister with a worried expression.
She and her husband moved into Ginkgo Hutong with memories of the past and thoughts of the present, and became neighbors with Guiying. After that, both families moved twice, and finally moved to No. 3 Courtyard. They have been neighbors for more than 30 years.
Watching Sitian and Yuehe grow from tiny babies who couldn't even walk to adulthood, the little babies of yesteryear are now married, have families, and have become mothers.
These two have always been like this, laughing and joking endlessly when they're together. Even now, in their thirties, they're still the same.
But Aunt Fang couldn't help but laugh along, "There's still chicken in the pot, go get some and eat it, it'll help you recover... Why do you look so thin?"
"Right? I noticed that too." Guan Yuehe seemed to have found her tribe and said that she would go to Uncle Ming's restaurant tomorrow.
Author's Note: [It's melted]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
