Chapter 34 034 Notification
"Guiying, where are you going?" Aunt Erda, who was about to leave through the main gate of Courtyard No. 2, called out and asked.
"Taking the kids to visit their maternal grandparents. Are you going out too?"
"Oh right, I'm going to buy some brown sugar."
After walking a distance, Jiang Guiying urged Guan Aiguo and Guan Yuehe to hurry up, her hands tucked into her sleeves. After leaving the alley, they walked a while on Changhu Street before meeting up with Guan Canghai and Guan Jianguo, who had been waiting there earlier. The five of them then rode two bicycles.
Jiang Guiying berated Guan Aiguo the whole way, saying he was being silly today.
Who would loudly announce in their residential compound or alley that they're going fishing?
We finally arrived at the lake. Many people were chiseling holes in the ice, while others had already finished and were leisurely fishing on the side.
They didn't have the same professional tools as the others, and they didn't know how long they would have to chisel with just hammers. Guan Yuehe looked around, decisively locked onto her target, and walked towards the group of elderly men in front.
"Grandpa, can I make a deal with you? I'll help you dig a hole, and we can come here to fish later."
The elderly man with half-gray hair frowned, sized her up, and waved his hand in refusal. He thought to himself that it would be better for him and his old buddies to take turns doing the work, since she was just a young girl.
"You don't believe I can chisel it out? How about this, I'll chisel it first, and if it works, I'll call my parents over." Guan Yuehe didn't waste any words. Before the old man could react, she snatched the ice pick, glanced at the lines the old men had drawn on the ice, rubbed her hands together, and poked at the ice surface one by one.
This ice pick weighs seven or eight pounds and is the best tool for chiseling ice. Although the ice awl is simpler to use, it is slower.
"Your technique is quite skillful." The old man didn't expect her to actually have some ability and strength. He noticed that the two men in the distance had been struggling for a long time without managing to smash anything.
"I used to watch people chisel ice when I was a child." Although she fell into an ice hole in winter when she was a child, she has no trauma from it.
With the help of her father and older brother, they finally managed to create a hole.
Originally, they planned to share one hole, but later they felt it was inconvenient. So Guan Yuehe borrowed the old men's tools and took her father and older brother to the other side to chisel another hole.
The fishing net was borrowed from Uncle Ming by her father, and the fish bait was bought by her father from a worker at the car factory, which was said to be particularly attractive to fish.
After casting the net, Guan Canghai had to wait a while. He took his fishing rod and went to find the old men from earlier. They sat or stood in a circle, and even though they came from different companies and positions, they could still chat about fishing.
With nothing else to do, Guan Yuehe even went to help others dig holes, and Jiang Guiying couldn't stop her no matter how much she called.
"Day after day, she never has a moment to calm down."
More and more people gradually appeared on the lake, probably because others had heard the news that someone was chiseling an ice hole and came to get a share of the profits.
Guan Yuehe glanced at her two buckets, which contained over twenty grass carp. The largest one was particularly strong and had been stunned by Guan Yuehe. Needless to say, she would eat that one tonight.
"That's enough, let's go back."
Jiang Guiying knew when to stop. She took out the net she had prepared earlier and divided the fish into five portions, so that everyone could take a little and not attract attention.
Generally speaking, fishing in the wild is not a problem. But you can't go too far. There are always some people who are naturally envious. If they see others catching a lot of fish, they might report them if they run into the patrolling officers in red armbands.
Guan Canghai, still not satisfied, made an appointment with several of his fishing buddies to come back here next Sunday to fish and see who has the best fishing skills.
They walked quite a distance before regrouping and riding their bikes back.
I ran into Aunt Erda again at the entrance of the alley.
Both families were carrying two buckets, and a strong smell of fish wafted from them...
No one felt awkward; they could even continue exchanging pleasantries.
"Guiying, you're back from your parents' home?"
"Yes, you bought the brown sugar, right?"
Today we caught twenty-three fish. Guan Yuehe took four of them home and plans to pickle them.
We also had braised fish in Courtyard No. 3 that evening.
Guan Yuehua asked, "Why didn't you call me before you went fishing?"
"If we could find you, there wouldn't be any room left for us on the lake." Jiang Guiying asked, "Did you go out with friends today? Male or female?"
When Guan Yuehua returned, Jiang Guiying still sensed something was wrong and guessed that she might be dating someone again.
But the problem is, will her eldest daughter go back to her old flame and start dating that guy again? Or will it be the same guy who worked with her as the announcer?
Guan Yuehua: "It's a male comrade, we're still getting to know each other. If it works out, I'll bring him back for dinner."
After saying that, he glanced at Guan Yuehe.
Guan Yuehe understood immediately, knowing that this meant she should keep quiet, so she buried her head in her soup.
It seems Comrade Gu Mannian still has a long way to go.
Guan Canghai and Jiang Guiying weren't in a hurry to urge her to get married. After all, it's now encouraged for young people to get married and have children later in life. Their eldest daughter was only twenty-two, which was far from the age recommended for late marriage.
I originally wanted to remind her to keep her eyes open when looking for a partner, but then I thought about how my eldest daughter was quite clear-headed when she was dating Xiao Gao last time. She knew that she couldn't easily step into a family with a lot of problems in the future husband's family, so I didn't nag her anymore.
Their family and Aunt Erda's family bringing back fish couldn't possibly hide it from their neighbors in the same courtyard.
So, the next day, some neighbors also went to break the ice and catch fish.
Guan Aiguo didn't have to go to school. He would spend his days leading a group of playmates of similar age to go fishing with the adults. Sometimes they would bring back one or two fish, and sometimes none, but it was enough to supplement the family's diet.
As the year-end approached, the Bureau of Industry and Commerce relaxed its control over the black market, and fresh fish were available for sale there every day. Compared to pork, fish wasn't expensive, and since it didn't require ration coupons, many people went to buy it.
The entire Ginkgo Alley was filled with the aroma of fish.
Some daring traders even set up shop in the alleyways. They would stand at the alley entrance with a basket in hand, asking people for directions, but in reality, they were showing off what was in their basket.
If the person being asked for directions is interested, they will take the person home and tell the neighbors that it is a relative visiting.
Some middlemen only serve their regular customers. They ask what the regular customers want and then arrange a time to "visit relatives."
The Guan family had lived in Ginkgo Alley for nearly twenty years, so they naturally knew one or two middlemen.
They got some oil and shared some with Guan Yuehe. Guan Yuehe couldn't resist and made a small bowl of fried vegetarian meatballs that very night.
This fried vegetarian meatball also led to a lawsuit.
These days, everyone has a keen sense of smell. You can smell it not just from your neighbors, but even from the slightest hint of meat coming from the chimney of the house next door.
Her fried meatballs inevitably wafted out with their delicious aroma.
Unable to withstand the commotion in the Northwest and Southwest, Tsai Ing-wen also fried vegetarian meatballs for them.
Guan Yuehe wanted to ask Sister-in-law Zhou for help frying melon seeds, so she brought a small bowl of fried vegetarian meatballs to her door. Sister-in-law Zhou accepted the favor and had her three children share the fried vegetarian meatballs.
So, the kids in courtyard number two, along with Baoyu, Baoan, and Baoning from the Zhou family, all gathered together at the main gate of the courtyard and ate heartily. Sun Jiawang, who didn't get any fried meatballs, started to make a fuss.
No one knows what Sun Jiawang said, but Grandpa Sun and Grandma Sun were convinced that Guan Yuehe was excluding the children in the courtyard, giving only the children of Police Officer Song and Sister-in-law Zhou, and omitting Sun Jiawang. This was blatant exclusion and discrimination!
Even if Cai Ying said that the food eaten in the Northwest and Southwest was fried at home by her, Grandpa Sun and Grandma Sun wouldn't believe her.
Grandma Bai's granddaughter, Jinhua, didn't have any either, so why didn't they say so?
"Believe it or not, fry them yourself if you want to eat them," Guan Yuehe said, stuffing another fried meatball into her mouth right in front of them, making the Sun family cry out even louder with envy.
"You, you are really, so despicable!"
Guan Yuehe decided to be utterly shameless, so she devoured another one in one go, exclaiming, "Ah, so delicious! Fried meatballs are so good!"
Sun Jiawang howled until he was too exhausted, so he rolled on the ground, and Grandpa Sun and Grandma Sun howled along with him.
But they miscalculated. Would Guan Yuehe compromise just because they made a scene?
They even brought out small stools and sat at the door to watch the three of them, grandfather, grandmother, and grandson, perform a traditional opera.
Jiang Guiying, who had rushed over to scold her, almost burst out laughing. Her second daughter's way of watching the show with her legs crossed was really infuriating.
But she wasn't angry at all; she thought her daughter was smart, knowing that to deal with shameless people like Grandpa and Grandma Sun, you had to be thicker-skinned and more shameless than them.
She didn't even need to say a word; Grandpa Sun and Grandma Sun had already tired themselves out of wailing. Knowing they wouldn't gain anything, they could only grumble and drag Sun Jiawang home.
The police officer opposite her, Song, gave her a thumbs up, thinking that someone like Xiao Guan, who could use force to suppress fugitives and shamelessly resist scoundrels, should join their police force.
What a pity!
Upon learning about the situation at Courtyard No. 2, Lin Sitian brought her lunchbox and came to help.
"Are you here to help argue, or to help eat fried meatballs?"
"Hehe. Stop talking nonsense and let me try Chef Guan's cooking." Lin Sitian gave her half of the shredded meat from the lunchbox and then stabbed the fried meatballs in the bowl with her chopsticks.
"Wow! It smells delicious! I'll come over during the New Year to learn from you, and I'll fry a whole batch too!"
She used so much oil, how could it not smell good?
There was still quite a bit left after we finished eating. She planned to fry it once and eat it for a week.
"I almost forgot, I'll get some for Xu Chengcai." So that next time they won't accuse them of eating good food behind his back.
Lin Sitian lay contentedly on the sofa and announced, "Starting next month, I will be promoted from a temporary nurse to a full-time nurse."
The work is the same, but the title has changed.
Lin Sitian added, "Good things are happening before the New Year, so the coming year will definitely be even more prosperous."
Coincidentally, just before the end of 1970, Guan Yuehe finally received her college admission notice.
The notice clearly stated that students should report to the school between March 12th and 14th of next year, and that they also needed to prepare two personal photos and a letter of introduction from the Municipal Revolutionary Committee. The lower right corner was stamped with the official seal of the Beijing Municipal Revolutionary Committee's Education Bureau.
Guan Yuehe held the notification letter in both hands, reading it word by word over and over again until she could almost recite its contents.
Before this, she thought that working at the Zhuoyue Garment Factory for her entire life, like most people around her, would involve meeting a man she liked, starting a family, and then worrying about her children's schooling, work, and marriage. That was all she could foresee in life.
This thin piece of paper is about to lead her onto another path full of unknowns.
No one could predict what her future would hold after graduation; even the words "English major" on the document were enough to leave her bewildered. She had only learned basic Russian in school and could sing a few Russian songs. As for English? She couldn't even recognize all the letters.
She thought she had chosen the foreign language department and was studying Russian.
Although it was somewhat unexpected, she quickly convinced herself: she didn't know much Russian to begin with, so whether she started learning Russian from scratch or English shouldn't make much difference.
Recently, in order to relearn Russian, she took out a short poem she had learned and practiced it, chanting "Gushi, Gushi, Ga ga ga..." in the house. Southwest heard this and the little girl laughed loudly.
I find myself laughing whenever I think about it.
"Xiao Guan, stop grinning like an idiot! Let us see what a university acceptance letter looks like."
"Yes, yes, everyone should see this."
"English major? So you're studying a foreign language?"
“This major is good. Aren’t we trying to catch up with and surpass the UK and the US? To surpass them, we need to know ourselves and our enemy first. Xiao Guan’s English major is exactly what we need.”
"Huh! Will Xiao Guan be able to come back to our factory office in the future? I'll miss Xiao Guan, but wouldn't it be a waste of his talents if he came back? Right?"
"Hey, you can't say that. Wherever the organization sends us, that's where we make our contribution, right?"
"Yes, yes, yes! Following the organization's arrangements is always the right thing to do. Wait, this means three years of study? We won't see Xiao Guan for three years!"
Xiao Guan quickly replied, "Schools have holidays too, right? I'll definitely come back to see everyone."
"Haha, Xiao Guan, are you back to see everyone or just to eat the braised pork from the cafeteria?"
Xiao Guan couldn't stop laughing, partly because she was happy to finally receive the notification letter, and partly because she was amused by her lovely colleagues in the office.
The notice circulated around the factory office for a long time before finally returning to her.
He carefully folded the notice back into its original shape, put it back in the envelope, and then put the envelope into the inner pocket of his coat.
The admission notice says that you need to present this notice to enroll, so you can't lose it.
Comrade Xiao Guan was full of energy at the moment. When she heard the purchasing department downstairs calling for help, she went downstairs to help without even putting on her scarf.
Sister Zhu smiled and shook her head. Young people are full of energy; they have spirit for everything they do.
At noon, Guan Yuehe and Xie Dongxue met and couldn't hide their laughter. They nudged each other and giggled.
"It would be even better if we were in the same major," Xie Dongxue said with a slight regret.
He Shuangshuang chose the Foreign Languages Department, so she could only go to the Literature Department.
But this small regret seems insignificant compared to the fact that "they are about to go to university together and make progress together".
Guan Yuehe said, "But you're good at writing, wouldn't going to the literature department be a better place for you to utilize your strengths?"
"That's true. My mom said the same thing." Xie Dongxue touched the envelope in her pocket, wishing she could go home right now. Suddenly remembering something else, she said, "My mom said she'd make you a scarf. What color do you want? Don't refuse yet, or she'll just pick one. She said we must thank Comrade Guan Yuehe for her act of bravery!"
Since she couldn't refuse, Guan Yuehe said, "I didn't say I refused. I want the red one, but if they don't have it, I'll like the white or blue one too. I'll thank Auntie next time I see her."
They didn't see He Shuangshuang, otherwise they would have praised the baby in He Shuangshuang's belly for being so sensible, arriving at the perfect time. By the time they went to report for duty in March, He Shuangshuang's baby was about two months old, enough time for He Shuangshuang to finish her postpartum confinement.
"Oh, by the way," Xie Dongxue glanced around furtively and whispered, "Xu Qianjin from the propaganda department, the one He Shuangshuang was talking about before, used to go to Workshop 1 a few months ago to try and win over Gao Xiaofang. Gao Xiaofang ignored him. Guess what? He's been hanging around me a lot lately."
Xie Dongxue, who had worked in the union for a year, helping to organize social gatherings and mediating worker conflicts, was no fool. She saw through Xu Qianjin's scheme at a glance and didn't give him a chance to pester her.
"Be careful too. If he contacts you saying a friend gave him a movie ticket he doesn't need and offers it to you, don't accept it. When you get to the cinema, you'll definitely see him sitting next to you, and he'll tell you his friend couldn't come, but he happened to be free and came. After the movie, he'll definitely say that it's fate that we met, and invite you to a state-run restaurant for a meal, saying he can ask you for some work-related advice from the factory office..."
After Xie Dongxue finished speaking, she curled her lips in disgust. These were all old tricks; she knew them even if she had never been in a relationship.
Guan Yuehe was amused by Xie Dongxue's tone and laughed for a while. Under Xie Dongxue's serious gaze, she said with certainty that she would not be fooled.
But she didn't expect Xie Dongxue's prediction to come so quickly.
She ran into Xu Qianjin in the hallway as soon as she got off work. After greeting him, Xu Qianjin took out a movie ticket from his pocket.
"I heard you received your university acceptance letter, congratulations! My friend gave me a movie ticket, but I don't need it since I'm single, so I'll just pass it on to you, Yuehe."
Guan Yuehe stood a step higher than him, looking down at him as she spoke. The more she listened, the wider her eyes widened: Comrade Xie Dongxue's calculations were too accurate!
Xu Qianjin, who was being stared at by her, almost lost his smile after he finished speaking and saw no reaction from her. Just as he was reflecting on whether there was anything wrong with what he had just said, he heard Guan Yuehe ask seriously, "You don't have a boyfriend anymore? Comrade Xu, you change boyfriends way too fast!"
Xu Qianjin was taken aback for a moment, then quickly realized, "You might have some misunderstanding about me."
"Impossible! I never misunderstand people." Guan Yuehe ignored his excuses and stated directly, "If someone talks nonsense, I never waste words; one punch is all it takes to shut them up."
Xu Qianjin's lips twitched slightly: "..."
—
Guan Yuehe finally received the admission notice, and Guan Canghai and Jiang Guiying were finally relieved.
Before they received the notification letter, they were always worried, especially since their colleagues and neighbors kept asking, "Has the notification letter arrived yet?" This made them anxious, fearing that things might have changed.
"Guiying, are you making so much meat? Aren't you going to live a normal life?" Aunt Fang asked in surprise. Yesterday, they went to the black market to buy pork together. The old friends said they were going to marinate it and save it for the New Year. But today, they chopped it up and made dumplings.
"Isn't it because Yuehe received her acceptance letter? It's been a long time since our family has had such a joyous occasion. Let's have a good meal tonight."
Aunt Fang exclaimed in surprise several times, then complained, "What kind of relationship do our two families have? You didn't even tell me about such a happy occasion."
"Yuehe just received the notification today, and I just found out too. Look, I was thinking of making a bowl for you and bringing it over."
"Then I can share in the joy." Aunt Fang turned around, went home, and brought over a few eggs. "To add some dishes for Yuehe."
"Really, why are you being so polite with me? I've eaten plenty of the seafood your family sent back from Yiku."
The two were chatting and laughing. Aunt Xie was curious and was about to come over to ask what they were talking about, but her eyes were drawn to a bowl of minced meat that Jiang Guiying had prepared. She asked the same question as Aunt Fang: "Are you not living like this anymore?"
Upon learning that it was to celebrate Guan Yuehe receiving her university acceptance letter, Aunt Xie felt a pang of envy and resentment.
Not to mention the entire No. 3 courtyard, even looking at the entire Ginkgo Hutong, only her eldest son, Xie Zhenhua, is a college student—a college student who genuinely entered university through the national college entrance examination!
With the college entrance exam canceled, what's the point of this recommendation system for university admission? In Aunt Xie's opinion, these recommended university students are utterly incompetent and not even one ten-thousandth as good as her son, Xie Zhenhua.
However, recommending workers, farmers, and soldiers to attend university was the current policy, and she dared not speak ill of it publicly for fear of causing trouble. Privately, though, she often complained that Guan Yuehe's status as a prospective university student was unreliable.
Aunt Xie lost all interest in envying others eating meat and went home sulking.
When the workers from the Five Star Automobile Factory returned from their shifts, the Guan family's door was soon filled with people, who came not only to offer their congratulations but also to see what the notification letter looked like.
"Hey, hey, don't reach out! What if you tear it?" Guan Yuehe slapped away the hand that suddenly reached out, glaring at the person with a sharp look, making them laugh awkwardly and retreat from the crowd. She held up the admission notice for everyone to see, but wouldn't allow anyone else to touch it.
The Guan family could not close their doors and eat dinner until 7 p.m.
Weiwei and Jingjing buried their faces in their bowls and ate several in a row to satisfy their cravings. Only then did they look up at Guan Yuehe and ask, "Auntie, when are you going to bring the admission notice back?"
Dream on! You'd be lucky to get this chance even once in your life.
"No more, you can only take it once."
Weiwei and Jingjing let out a disappointed sigh. Being young and naive, they only thought it was the first time they'd ever eaten pork dumplings. Hearing there wouldn't be a next time, the dumplings in their bowls became even more precious. They no longer wolfed them down like before, but savored them slowly, one small bite at a time.
Guan Aiguo laughed at his nephews and nieces for not thinking things through, saying, "We'll be going back to our hometown the day after tomorrow for a wedding banquet, and we'll get to eat meat then!"
Weiwei's eyes lit up. Yes, his second uncle was getting married, so there would definitely be meat to eat.
More than that! Tomorrow is the New Year's Day bonus distribution. Guan Yuehe already knew in advance that each worker would receive a large piece of meat, and she's been waiting for it.
I just don't know exactly how big a "big piece of meat" is.
Tonight's meal was even more lavish than the New Year's Eve dinner. Guan Yuehe took a bowl of the leftover dumplings home to eat tomorrow.
But after the meal, everyone happened to ask Guan Yuehe about her schooling.
There were many people before the meal, and Guan Canghai suppressed his doubts and didn't ask, "This English major... is it okay to study a foreign language?"
"It's alright." Guan Jianguo knew a little about it. "Some people in the machinery factory were recommended to study this major because they said it was a good major. Dad, think about it. The manuals for the machines in our factory that we bought from abroad are all written in English. If our maintenance workers understood foreign languages, wouldn't it be difficult to repair them? It would save us from having to find experts from outside to translate every time."
Even Guan Yuehe was surprised that an English major could be used in this way, and her eyes lit up when she heard it.
But... their Zhuoyue Garment Factory didn't buy any machines from abroad! All their sewing machines are domestically made; there's no need for translation at all!
Other members of the Guan family: Yes! They don't need it at the garment factory!
Guan Yuehua broke the silence and said, "It's a good thing to be able to go to university. Study hard and study diligently. Don't waste this precious opportunity!"
After saying that, her eyes couldn't help but turn red.
"I'm going to sleep now."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
