106. Has experience in showing off.
"Yuehe."
"Aunt Hu? Is something the matter?" Guan Yuehe turned around, waiting for Aunt Hu to speak.
She had just seen Lin Yiku off at the alley entrance and was about to go to the public restroom when someone called out to her.
"It's nothing serious." Aunt Hu wanted to say a few more polite words, but seeing Guan Yuehe nod and about to leave, she knew that her diplomatic approach wouldn't work with Guan Yuehe.
He hurriedly caught up and said, "I heard you and Yiku are going to buy a house? So the house you're living in now will be empty, right? The factory hasn't said anything about taking it back, and the house is still in your names. I was thinking, how about we rent it to you? Oh right, we'll pay you one yuan more rent than you pay the factory, what do you say?"
"Not very good." Guan Yuehe's good expression vanished in an instant, and she quickened her pace toward the public restroom.
She's wasting her time listening to nonsense.
Aunt Hu jogged after him for a while, but couldn't catch up, and stomped her feet in frustration.
After Guan Yuehe returned from the toilet, she went straight to Courtyard No. 3 to file a complaint.
"Mom, Aunt Hu knows I want to buy a house, and now she's starting to have her eye on the house I live in."
Jiang Guiying and Aunt Fang, armed with rolling pins, stormed into the courtyard where Aunt Hu lived, denying that Guan Yuehe wanted to buy the house and declaring that no one should covet her property.
But their denials were useless. The shrewd people in the alley knew exactly what was going on and could figure out most of it from the slightest clue. They were certain that Guan Yuehe wanted to buy a house, but just hadn't managed to do so yet.
Lin Sitian laughed and said, "I've heard many people secretly saying that you've done something silly."
This area is full of state-owned factory workers. Most of them are thinking about waiting for their work units to allocate housing and then spending a large sum of money to buy a house. In their eyes, that's just plain stupid.
Guan Yuehe didn't care about their opinions. "When I graduated early and started working as a temporary worker in a garment factory, many people said I was brainless."
Back then, there was no mandatory rural relocation policy. After graduating from high school, there was a chance of being assigned a job or participating in factory recruitment. If neither of those options applied, people would just wait and see; their turn would come eventually. They simply felt that a newly established small factory couldn't compare to a large state-owned factory.
"They might not be able to buy it even if they want to in the future."
Guan Yuehe just said it casually, but she never expected it to come true later.
—
When Guan Yuehe returned to school after her break, Lin Yiku was also on break, so she had someone to help her carry her luggage back to school. She brought a lot of food with her.
He distributed some to Cheng Shuang and her roommates who stayed on campus, and said proudly, "How is it? Isn't our Lin's cooking amazing?"
Everyone praised, "Very good. Only slightly inferior to yours. Yuehe's dumplings are even better."
The dumplings were made by Lin Yiku!
The corners of Guan Yuehe's mouth immediately fell back down. Just as she was about to correct them, she noticed that everyone was laughing and realized that they had deliberately misspoke.
"I'm giving you a chance to change your tune, otherwise I won't bring you food anymore!"
"I was wrong."
"I was wrong too."
My roommates readily admitted their mistake.
As the new semester began, Guan Yuehe discovered that she had actually taken on all thirty graduate students in the Spanish Department.
“Thirty people, it’s still easy to recognize them, right?” Lan Yunqin didn’t find it strange. “When I was a teacher, everyone looked the same at first, but I soon memorized all the students in several classes.”
Guan Yuehe chuckled, "Maybe it's because all my classmates looked too alike when we were in school last time."
Lan Yunqin exclaimed in confusion, but before Guan Yuehe could explain, she quickly put her doubts aside and asked her if she was going to the library after class.
"Go ahead, I'll go borrow a few books."
Several people gathered around her, saying, "Yuehe, you're fast, save us a spot, we'll be there soon."
"Fine," Guan Yuehe said helplessly, "When can I benefit from your generosity?"
"I'll get up early and go to the library tomorrow," a female classmate behind me replied.
"Shh." Suddenly someone gestured for everyone to be quiet, and the group held their breath and listened intently, just as the news was being broadcast again.
We launched a self-defense counterattack against Vietnam.
From that day on, everyone waited for news reports from the front lines every noon and after school, and the discussions in the school became increasingly heated.
Two days later, Lin Yiku suddenly came over to deliver some things to her and told her that he would be going on a mission in a few days and might be gone for several months. Guan Yuehe’s breathing stopped for more than ten seconds.
"Don't overthink it, we're not going to the front lines." Lin Yiku gently rubbed her face with the back of his hand. When she heard him mention the mission, she probably didn't even realize that her face had turned pale.
"Huh? Oh." Guan Yuehe took a long time to recover. She sighed. Although she was mentally prepared, she still couldn't help but worry when she thought about Lin Yiku going to the front line.
Her ideological awareness needs to be further improved.
Lin Yi held her hand tightly, and the warmth from her hand transferred to her, slowly warming her hand back up. "The mission isn't dangerous, don't worry."
"Are you really not going to the front lines? Tell me the truth, I'll be fine in a few days."
"No, it's not."
But Guan Yuehe wasn't entirely at ease, only saying, "Be careful when you go out on missions."
She pulled back Lin Yiku's hand, which he was trying to pull away, and glared at him with dissatisfaction: "What's wrong with me holding your hand for a little longer?"
Lin Yiku gestured for her to look ahead, "The students over there are frowning so much they could trap flies in their brows."
In my nervousness, I almost forgot that the school opposes male and female students getting too close.
Guan Yuehe let go of her hand, but still stubbornly said, "I'm not afraid. If they come and talk to us, we'll just show them our marriage certificate."
"I didn't take it." He came directly in the military vehicle and didn't expect to come today. He didn't put the marriage certificate in his bag when he left home in the morning.
"......"
Guan Yuehe stood up nonchalantly and said in a low voice, "Let's go, let's go somewhere else to talk."
But there was no time to go anywhere else; Lin Yiku had to rush home to pack her luggage. Although the mission wasn't until a few days later, they had to assemble early, meaning she wouldn't be able to go home for the next few days.
Guan Yuehe stood at the school gate, watching him walk away with longing eyes. She felt an emptiness in her heart, and hearing the latest news on the radio made her feel even worse.
I eat an extra bowl of rice every day, run two extra laps every morning and evening, and raise my reading voice by two decibels.
The classmates who followed her breathed a sigh of relief a month later. They were all wondering if she had been provoked by something and wanted to follow the example of some of the more radical students in the school who were clamoring to go to the front lines.
Lan Yunqin actually went to ask her if she had been traumatized.
Guan Yuehe shook her head, "No. I'm perfectly fine." She then added, "You've been running this for half a year now, shouldn't you add more tasks for yourselves, like running a couple more laps every day?"
Lan Yunqin slunk away. She couldn't move.
Guan Yuehe watched Lan Yunqin flee in panic from behind and chuckled to herself.
Less than a month later, the counterattack against Vietnam achieved its objective, and the troops withdrew. Lin Yiku finally sent her a telegram informing her of the good news that everything had gone smoothly. However, he had other missions and could not return for the time being.
She felt happy.
When I'm happy, I want to eat more, run a few more laps, and read aloud.
Ding Xuewen and his teachers and classmates went to Peking University for an exchange meeting and happened to stop by to look for her, only to find out that Lin Yiku had recently gone on a mission.
Without even asking, I know she'll overthink it. "Next time, if something happens, tell us more often, don't keep it bottled up inside."
"It's nothing. Sitian just came to see me last Sunday. By the way, Xu Cheng became a father again, aren't you envious?"
Lin Sitian came to see her last Sunday and told her that Xu Chengcai and Qin Zilan had a son, and Lin Sitian even went into the delivery room to help with the baby's birth.
Ding Xuewen said helplessly, "I wouldn't dare to be envious. I don't even have a partner yet. If I were to become a father, things would get really complicated."
However, Xu Chengcai and Qin Zilan had a second child before the new family planning policy came into effect, so they were lucky.
Guan Yuehe thought about it and realized that what he said made a lot of sense, so she laughed out loud.
How is your English learning going?
"He's still learning from the radio. Chen Lizhong is currently busy completing his credits ahead of schedule, so he's temporarily put his English studies on hold."
Guan Yuehe raised an eyebrow. "He wants to graduate early too?"
Ding Xuewen smiled without saying a word. It seemed everyone was aware of his little scheme, but no one dared to expose it.
However, Ding Xuewen looked at her and asked, "You don't want to graduate early too, do you?"
I can finally ask her!
Guan Yuehe couldn't hide her smugness in front of her close friends, and laughed, "My teacher said I don't need to waste a year writing a thesis. Now I can start working on my graduation thesis whenever I have free time, and I can write it while attending classes next semester."
There were only 10,000 graduate students in 78 cohorts across the country. The assessment criteria for their graduation placed more emphasis on their practical abilities.
Her mentor was Professor Qin, who only had her as a student and usually didn't have time to manage her studies, but would add her name when asking her for help translating materials.
In Teacher Qin's words, with her current skill level, she is fully capable of graduating!
Ding Xuewen looked like a proud father, praising her for her abilities while saying regretfully, "It would have been even better if she could have chosen a major to study from middle school."
Guan Yuehe laughed. Was he implying that she used to dawdle while studying?
Ding Xuewen glanced at her sideways, still grinning foolishly.
He always felt that she, Lin Sitian, and Xu Chengcai seemed to have never grown up, even though they had gotten married and become parents.
"You're a big spender, treat me to the cafeteria." Guan Yuehe glanced at her watch; it was lunchtime. She called to Ding Xuewen to head to the cafeteria.
Ding Xuewen lost his composure after being called "big dog" by her. He quickly followed her and asked if they could change his nickname.
“No way, you and Chen Lizhong are now recognized as big spenders in the dog world.” Guan Yuehe said through gritted teeth, “I get jealous just thinking about how quickly you bought a house.”
Yes, Ding Xuewen came to see her today and brought her good news: he had spent all the money he had and moved to a 15-square-meter apartment.
His requirements for buying a house were not as many as hers. After making up his mind to buy a house, he immediately shortlisted a few places to look for one.
Initially, I wanted to buy a house near Chen Lizhong's house, but Chen Lizhong is also a wealthy man, and the houses near his house are too nice and too expensive, so I simply couldn't afford them. In the end, I chose a bungalow near the Normal University, so that it would be convenient for him to go back and stay for one night occasionally.
After the house was transferred to his name, he went back to school and hasn't had time to tidy it up yet.
He wanted to write to his friends to share the good news, but in the end he held back and decided to tell them in person.
Guan Yuehe is now the first person to know that he bought a house.
Guan Yuehe retorted, "They deliberately kept it to themselves to say in person, probably because they wanted to see how envious we would be!"
Ding Xuewen insisted that he simply felt that telling them in person would show more sincerity.
"Don't explain. I have a lot of experience showing off this to people's faces."
Ding Xuewen finally laughed out loud, "Yes, I just wanted to show off to you guys."
Guan Yuehe ordered two meat dishes without hesitation, adding, "Once you've finished cleaning up the house, you must treat us to a good meal again."
"Okay," Ding Xuewen readily agreed.
Guan Yuehe clinked her bowl with his, holding her soup bowl, and said sourly, "Congratulations! Hope you can upgrade from a small house to a big one in the future."
Ding Xuewen wanted to express his gratitude, but his throat suddenly choked up, and he couldn't make a sound for a long time.
He had lived for thirty years and finally owned a house of his own. Until just now, he hadn't felt particularly happy about the house being registered in his name.
But Guan Yuehe's joyful remark had just overwhelmed him with immense happiness.
As he quietly thanked her and prepared to lower his head to eat, he heard Guan Yuehe mutter softly, "Sitian was right when she said you're a crybaby now."
"Xu Cheng will be ecstatic to hear that," Ding Xuewen said, echoing her words.
The crybaby used to be Xu Chengcai.
After finishing his meal, the tears in Ding Xuewen's eyes disappeared, and he looked like a refined intellectual again.
Even with his looks, he still attracts the attention of female classmates.
Guan Yuehe noticed that a female classmate glanced at him casually a few times, then whispered and laughed with her classmate.
When Ding Xuewen felt uncomfortable, Guan Yuehe told him to relax.
"When they see a good-looking gay person, whether it's a man or a woman, they can't help but want to take a few glances. Don't overthink it, they won't pounce on you."
After all, the school's rules are there, and a normal person wouldn't be so foolish as to give up their studies just to date.
Besides, she and Lin Sitian still occasionally mention Comrade Huang Wenlin, the male beauty of the Zhuoyue Garment Factory.
Everyone has a love for beauty.
Guan Yuehe added, "Don't worry, if there are any abnormal people, I will help you."
However, the next second, when a female classmate came over and asked Ding Xuewen what his major was, Guan Yuehe ran faster than a rabbit.
Ding Xuewen reached out to call her back, but she ran away in an instant, waving at him gleefully.
—
Lin Yiku's mission lasted for several months, but every month he would send back news to report that he was safe and sound. Guan Yuehe was sometimes relieved and sometimes worried.
Even after she finished the semester, Lin Yiku still hadn't finished her mission and gone home.
But people still come to see her on Sundays.
Sometimes it was Lin Sitian, sometimes it was her brother-in-law and Gu Yu. Of course, her brother-in-law would stop by to see her, bring her food prepared at home, and also bring Gu Yu.
Every time Gu Yu saw her, she would cling to her leg and wouldn't let go. Eventually, it became a situation where her sister and brother-in-law would go out on dates while she took Gu Yu to school.
She suspected that it was a scheme devised by her sister and brother-in-law to deliberately give Gu Yu to her!
Fortunately, the semester is finally over, and Gu Yu can't come to school to cling to her for the time being.
Before the holiday, Teacher Qin specifically talked to her and told her to pay more attention to graduating early and to write a good thesis.
Another thing is that she was recommended by Teacher Qin to intern at Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press for a month.
"You'll be going here after graduation?" Guan Yuehua asked.
Guan Yuehe didn't take it to heart. "When I was studying at the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University, I even did an internship at the Five Star Automobile Factory."
Teacher Qin wanted to write her a letter of recommendation, but she also wanted to find out more about her before making a decision.
Her internship at Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press starts in August, which is still half a month away. She plans to spend this time exploring the area around Ginkgo Hutong and try to finalize her housing situation as soon as possible.
Since I had already decided to graduate early, time suddenly became tight.
Guan Yuehua reminded her, "If you return the garment factory, even if you buy a house, the allocated house won't be taken back."
"Huh? Who said that?"
“Your factory has issued a document,” Guan Yuehua said. “As long as you’re not fired or transferred to another unit, the welfare housing you’re allocated won’t be taken back. Your brother-in-law is also thinking about buying a house. The car factory has the same policy.”
According to Gu Mannian, when this policy was introduced, the family compound was bustling with activity for a while, but very few people actually wanted to spend money to buy a house.
This might be a test from the factory. The factory has no plans to continue building welfare housing in recent years and wants to encourage workers to buy houses outside to solve the problem of housing shortages for their children's weddings.
Sure enough, when she came back this time, no one approached her to ask to rent her house.
—
The first thing Guan Yuehe did when she got home was to tear down the old almanac hanging on the wall.
She and Lin Yiku weren't home. Other family members would occasionally come over to help with cleaning, but they never touched anything in the house. The first day of the month in the old almanac was still February.
The torn-off old almanacs were kept as kindling for firewood. After five months, they accumulated into a thick stack, which was the thickness of the time she and Lin Yiku had not seen each other.
The day after returning, Guan Yuehe immediately began her "house-hunting plan".
After waiting for a while, Jiang Guiying, who insisted on going with her, finally arrived, bringing Gu Yu with her, who looked very excited.
"Isn't my sister on vacation?" Guan Yuehe looked down at Gu Yu, who was clinging to her leg again. Taking a chubby little girl out in this hot weather is a hardship for both adults and children.
"Her father-in-law was hospitalized, and she and Manyan went to visit him at the hospital, so it wasn't appropriate to bring Guyu along."
That's true. Children are more likely to get sick if they go to the hospital, so it's better to go less often.
"Then you and she can stay at home, I'll go see it myself." After saying that, Guan Yuehe discussed with Gu Yu, "You stay at home with Grandma, and Auntie will bring you popsicles when she comes back. If you go with Auntie, you won't get any popsicles today. It's your choice."
“Tell her, what can a two-year-old understand? You go by yourself today, and I’ll go with you tomorrow.” Jiang Guiying said, and started to pick up Gu Yu.
Two-year-old Guyu thought about it seriously for a moment, then let go of her hand, "I want an ice pop."
Jiang Guiying asked in surprise, "You really know it?"
"She can run, jump, and talk at two years old. She's young, but she's not stupid. Talk to her nicely; she's very clever."
You have to use food as bait, otherwise she'll pretend she doesn't understand.
Jiang Guiying thought to herself, "The stubborn little donkey will have to be dealt with by the big stubborn donkey."
—
When Guan Yuehe went out to look for a house, her first stop was the housing management department of the subdistrict office. She asked them if there were any reclaimed or unclaimed houses for sale, and if anyone had entrusted the subdistrict office to help sell their house.
Director Ma from the neighborhood office came over with an enamel mug. "Sister Fang and Sister Jiang come every other day. If there were any, they would have known by now."
Director Ma reminded her, "Some people are unwilling to come to the subdistrict office, so you still have to go find them yourself."
Many people, after taking back their houses, quietly sold them. Some went back to their hometowns, while others went to stay with relatives and friends, fearing that if they stayed, others would covet their property.
Guan Yuehe could only ride her bicycle from one alley to another.
On her very first day, she was treated like a human trafficker. Her student ID and worker ID were useless; the elderly folks wouldn't listen to her explanations and blocked the alleyway entrance, preventing her from entering.
“I’ll go with you tomorrow,” Jiang Guiying said.
When she goes out and interacts with the elderly, she still needs these older folks. Jiang Guiying has become familiar with everyone in the surrounding area.
Guan Yuehe stood in front of the mirror, looking at herself from left to right, and no matter how she looked at it, she felt that she had a righteous face.
Next to the mirror on the wall are a certificate of merit issued by the Municipal Public Security Bureau and a newspaper article that reported on her back then.
Why does it sound like human traffickers?
When Lin Sitian returned and heard her complaining about how the elderly people's eyesight was poor, she laughed heartily.
As he laughed, he suddenly gestured with his chin behind her and said, "Look, that way you won't be mistaken for a human trafficker."
"What do you mean?" Could there be someone who looks even more like a good person than her?
Guan Yuehe turned her head and saw that it was Officer Song, who was wearing a police uniform. There was no doubt about it.
Given Song's popularity among the locals, many people would recognize him even if he weren't wearing this uniform.
Just as I was about to look away, I saw Lin Yiku carrying luggage and dressed in military uniform.
This person is unlikely to be identified as a human trafficker!
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