093 New Ideas
Thinking that Guan Yuehua rarely came back, and that she should talk to her husband and children more, Jiang Guiying and the others did not stay long.
When they left the residential compound of Zhuoyue Garment Factory, Li Pengcheng's mother-in-law and her niece were still confronting each other at the gate. This time, not only was the director of the Women's Federation there to mediate, but the director of the Trade Union and the police officers from Changhu Street Police Station also came.
One of the police officers greeted Jiang Guiying familiarly as soon as he saw her: "Aunt Jiang, are you here to see your granddaughter?"
Guan Yuehe chuckled. The police officers there practically frequented Ginkgo Alley every day, so they knew quite a bit about the family relationships in every household there.
Although she had just fought with the two people who were surrounded inside not long ago, Jiang Guiying would never miss out on any excitement as long as it had nothing to do with her family.
Guan Yuehe was stopped by her, who said she wanted to watch the excitement before going back.
Guan Canghai couldn't get the two of them to come, so he had to go back first and return the car.
After watching for a while, the mother and daughter both felt it was pointless. One insisted that she had taken them in out of kindness, while the other just kept wiping away tears. They couldn't even start arguing.
"It's more interesting to watch the old folks in our alley arguing."
But the elderly folks in Ginkgo Hutong have stopped arguing lately. They've started arguing within their own homes instead.
Another batch of educated youth went to the countryside this year, but many of them also received quotas to return to the city.
But even if someone returns, they might not immediately have a job; they'll have to wait for assignment. A grown person at home without income, yet still needing food and lodging, will eventually cause complaints from other family members, and even small things can escalate into major arguments.
The Kang family in the back building of courtyard number two has been arguing every day lately, and the noise can be clearly heard from the back building to the gatehouse in the front yard.
Grandpa Kang's house has two and a half rooms, which have been divided into three rooms. He and his wife live in one room, his eldest son and his wife live in another, and his youngest son and his two grandsons live in the third. His second son, who has just returned to the city, can only sleep on the floor in the living room.
The first month after they returned was peaceful, but gradually, Kang Lao Er became anxious because he hadn't been assigned a job for a long time. The others complained that he was always running around outside and didn't help with the housework. One day, because two steamed buns went missing, Kang Lao San accused Kang Lao Er of stealing them, and the whole family started arguing from then on.
Aunt Er went to help mediate, but was rebuffed by Aunt Kang with the words, "You make it sound so easy. Your house is spacious, why don't you give us a room too!"
The others felt they didn't have any extra empty houses to divide, so no one bothered with other people's family affairs anymore.
Aunt Zhao even scolded Uncle Chang for having nothing better to do than try to mediate the fight, almost causing the old man to get caught in the crossfire.
As soon as Lin Yiku got home, he said to Guan Yuehe, "I just ran into Aunt Kang at the entrance of the alley. Why did she give me a hard time?"
"It's alright, she wasn't targeting you. She rolled her eyes at everyone in the second courtyard." Guan Yuehe slammed her college acceptance letter on the table. "It was delivered this morning!"
Lin Yiku took it and read it carefully twice before saying, "I will try to schedule my days off for Sundays in the future."
"Haha." Guan Yuehe couldn't help but laugh at the thought of what she was going to say. "Then you can go to Peking University with your brother-in-law on Sunday."
Lin Yiku was worried that he would be living alone in the house for the next three years, but she was having a good time.
"If you set off with him, you should help him with the grain rain; it's better if you go your separate ways."
That makes sense!
"By the way, how was your trip to the garment factory's residential compound today?"
Guan Yuehe said smugly, "With me, my mother, and my eldest sister around, we won't suffer any losses!"
After gloating, she immediately mentioned what her sister had said, and finally clicked her tongue twice in admiration, saying, "My sister's mouth is too sharp; she'd be perfect to be a righteous official in the future."
When the phrase "upright and just official" was mentioned, Guan Yuehe started laughing again.
The elderly people in the alley couldn't accept the words "lawyer," "judge," or "prosecutor," insisting that her sister was going to become a righteous official after graduation.
Before going home, her sister took out several skirts that her brother-in-law had asked someone to bring back from the south, and gave one to her. She immediately said, "Thank you so much, Your Honor!"
She was chased downstairs by her sister with a feather duster.
Lin Yiku laughed when she heard this, thinking to herself that Guan Yuehua's fiery temper needed someone like Yuehe, who was both infuriating and endearing, to tame it.
"Oh dear, I forgot where I was when I was talking to you." Guan Yuehe glanced at the letter on the table. She had received the notification letter and was thinking of writing to Chunmei to share the good news.
Lin Yi raised an eyebrow, her tail practically wagging in the air as she "shared" the story.
Without disturbing her as she continued writing, I got up to boil water for a bath.
"There's hot water in the pot, no need to boil it anymore," Guan Yuehe reminded him without looking up. "I've changed your towel, it's on the shelf."
Lin Yiku, who was about to go to the kitchen, immediately changed direction and went to the wardrobe to find clothes.
After he finished showering, she finished writing her letter and was watching TV in the living room.
Wu Erni's family got a TV, and all the kids who used to come to her house to watch TV went to Wu's house, which finally gave them some peace and quiet.
"My parents said they want to buy a TV. I told my mom that you have the day after tomorrow off, so you can go with her then."
"Okay." Lin Yiku was drying her hair with a towel, still damp from being wet, when she stood by the sofa and watched TV with them.
"What about Dad?"
Guan Yuehe shook her head, "There are no tickets available for now. We'll buy them when they become available."
After a while, Guan Yuehe sighed, "In just one or two years, the supply of televisions has increased significantly. Oh, and not only that. Now the supply of fabric has also increased. Except for some nice fabrics that require queuing to buy, I don't think other fabrics are hard to find. There's also more meat at the butcher shops..."
Looking at just one or two years, the changes are not very noticeable, but when compared over five or ten years, the changes are enormous.
"By the way, your comrade mentioned in his last letter that two areas in the south were designated as export bases. What's the situation now?"
"I'm not sure about the current situation. I'll write to ask next time." Lin Yiku felt that the moisture on her body had mostly dissipated before sitting down next to her. "Why did you suddenly think of asking this?"
"Ding Xuewen minored in economics at school. His teacher said that if the country wants to develop, it must develop its economy and reforms will be necessary sooner or later. He also said that reforms might start in the south, because it's more convenient for foreign exchanges there or something. I was a bit confused and didn't understand these economics people. I just remembered that your comrade mentioned the situation in the south, so I asked him about it."
Guan Yuehe leaned against him and said, “I used to think that it was enough to go to work on time and strive to be a Red Flag Bearer, a model worker, or an outstanding worker at the end of the year. But look at the current situation, national policies are changing one by one. If you just bury yourself in your work and don’t look up to see the changes outside, you will become a backward element.”
No wonder her sister said that the more knowledge she learns, the more she feels behind.
"What?" Guan Yuehe looked up and found him staring at her intently, which felt rather cheesy.
He replied earnestly, "Commissar Guan is right to remind us that we must always study advanced theories to arm ourselves and keep up with the pace of national development."
“…” Guan Yuehe pushed his head away to the side, “Stop talking, watch TV.”
A moment later, Lin Yiku leaned closer again. Just like Yuanbao needs a pillow to hug while watching TV, he was using her as a pillow!
Why isn't she the one hugging him?
Aunt Zhao came back from outside with a flashlight. She heard Guan Yuehe saying that Lin Yiku was cheating and wanted to arm wrestle again. There was another banging sound in the house. She shook her head and ran home to continue watching TV.
Upon entering the house, I saw Chang Zhengyi and Cao Lili watching TV quietly. I thought to myself, "That young couple next door is really energetic all the time."
—
On Monday, Guan Yuehe arrived at work and was greeted by Tao Cheng, who called out to everyone to clap: "Congratulations, Section Chief Guan, on passing the postgraduate entrance exam!"
Tao Cheng was so happy that her eyes were almost closed, and she kept clapping, even more excited than the person who had passed the exam.
Of course he was excited! He had been waiting for Guan Yuehe, this "roadblock," to move out of his way for two and a half years! He thought he would have to wait another year or two, but he was wrong!
Tao Cheng sincerely offered his congratulations again.
Guan Yuehe echoed her joy.
In the two years since she became deputy section chief, although Tao Cheng had been holding a grudge, he had never made things difficult for her. Guan Yuehe felt that Comrade Tao Cheng was also a good colleague, and she would be happy for him if he took over her position.
Just as the excitement subsided, when Guan Yuehe went to the cafeteria for lunch, an aluminum lunchbox was suddenly placed across from her. She looked up and saw Director Zheng.
"Is this spot empty?"
"No."
"I heard that Section Chief Guan received his notification letter? Congratulations."
Guan Yuehe smiled and thanked him, then stopped eating and waited for Director Zheng to continue.
Factory Director Zheng glanced at the young girl across from him, who was sitting up straight with a serious expression, and immediately thought of his own daughter.
Her daughter has always imitated her husband since she was little, folding her blankets into neat squares and always standing or sitting upright.
He chuckled and said, "No need to be so serious, let's eat and chat."
Guan Yuehe didn't know what to say, so she ate while waiting for the factory director to ask her questions.
"Do you want to go back to the factory after graduation?"
If Comrade Xiao Guan had encountered this problem a few years ago, he would have nodded without hesitation and said, "Of course we must go back to our Zhuoyue Garment Factory!"
Comrade Xiao Guan now has a different idea and honestly replied: "At the workers' meeting at the beginning of the year, you told the workers who were admitted to university that the country is using all its resources to cultivate talents, hoping that they will continue to contribute to the country in the positions that the country needs after graduation. I don't know what positions the country will need me for then, so I can only follow the organization's assignment."
Guan Yuehe laughed again, "But if the factory sets up positions that require foreign language skills, you must go to the school and recruit me back as soon as possible!"
From the moment she decided to prepare for the postgraduate entrance examination, she had already prepared herself for the possibility of being assigned to another unit, and she was no longer as resistant to going to another new unit as before.
If she were assigned to another unit right after graduating from a worker-peasant-soldier university, she might feel like the sky has fallen.
But now my thinking is more mature. Being assigned to another unit won't cause the sky to fall. At most, I'll have to buy a house near Ginkgo Hutong in the next two or three years.
Factory Director Zheng said with satisfaction, "Good, you study hard at school, and the factory will try its best to develop exports. I'll go to the school to ask for your help when the time comes."
"Really?" Guan Yuehe's eyes lit up. "If I could go back to our factory, that would be the best!"
—
"Yuehe, what did you talk about with the factory director?" As soon as Factory Director Zheng left, Gu Mannian immediately sat down with his lunchbox.
"They asked me if I wanted to go back to the factory after graduation."
Gu Mannian frowned. "Is that even a question? Of course they want to come back!"
She has worked in the factory for so many years and has built a solid foundation among the staff. Wouldn't it be easier for her to get promoted in the future?
Guan Yuehe snorted, "Can't I have some lofty ideals, like becoming a translator or something?"
"That's true!" Gu Mannian slapped his forehead. He hadn't thought things through. For example, Yuehua had clearly told him that she didn't want to go back to the Five Star Automobile Factory after graduation. It's normal for Yuehe to want a job related to her major.
"Future translator, could my daughter Gu Yu stay at your house for a day next Sunday?" Gu Mannian asked, trying to negotiate.
"You and my sister are going on a date alone? How is bringing Gu Yu into your way?" Guan Yuehe glared at him irritably.
“Yuehua’s class organized a Great Wall climbing activity, and they said family members could bring along. I want to go too.” Gu Mannian glanced at her, and seeing that she didn’t refuse immediately, she added, “Grandma is sick and hospitalized, and my parents said they’re going to visit her this Sunday.”
His parents don't visit often, so Gu Yu definitely wouldn't want to go to their place. Asking Sister-in-law Yuehua for help? He couldn't bring himself to ask.
Guan Yuehe thought about her plans for Sunday. She was going to join the fun at Bai Xianghong's new apartment. It was the staff quarters of the garment factory, so she nodded in agreement.
Gu Mannian thanked him repeatedly.
"If you and your brother-in-law have children in the future, we can help you take care of them."
Guan Yuehe couldn't help but roll her eyes at him.
Not to mention that she and Lin Yiku would have to wait three years to have a child, how could her sister and brother-in-law, both working professionals, possibly help take care of the child? She didn't believe any of that nonsense!
Gu Mannian: "I'm telling you the truth. Whether you herd one sheep or two sheep, it's all the same. If you two want to go out on a date on Sunday, you can leave the child with us."
"Then thank you in advance." Guan Yuehe didn't take it to heart at all, and asked again, "When will you be getting ready for your new apartment?"
"In a few days, the house we were allocated will still be occupied. People haven't moved out, so we can't clean it up."
At the end of May, Zhuoyue Garment Factory finally allocated housing again after several years.
Those who meet the criteria can move to a larger house, such as Gu Mannian, who moved from a large single room to a one-bedroom apartment.
However, not everyone was allocated a newly built house.
For example, Gu Mannian was assigned a house that someone else was preparing to vacate, and he could only move in after the people in the house moved out. And the house he is currently living in will also be taken back by the housing management department and distributed to other workers.
Bai Xianghong was lucky; the house she drew in the lottery was a newly built house, and she could start tidying it up as soon as she got the keys from the housing management office.
On the day Bai Xianghong moved into her new home, most of the neighbors in Courtyard No. 2 went to help her move furniture and clean, and also to add some life to her new house.
Guan Yuehe went to her sister's house early in the morning, and then took Gu Yu with her to join in the fun.
After a while of excitement, the men gradually left, a group of children ran to play in the sports facilities area of the family compound, and in the end, only the women of Compound No. 2 were left, chatting and eating sunflower seeds.
At this moment, Gu Yu was sitting in her lap, eating a steamed bun, and looking at whoever spoke.
At this moment, Gu Yu was staring intently at Wu Erni directly in front of her. Wu Erni sighed and said, "Waiting for job assignments is difficult!"
“Your family doesn’t need to worry. You have two children and two jobs, so you can take over either one.” Luo Guifang said with concern, “If neither Bao’an nor Baoyu can get into a vocational school, I’ll only have one job. Sigh!”
Gu Yu sighed, which made everyone laugh.
Although everyone knows that getting into university is better, with so many people registering for the college entrance exam, only a small percentage actually get accepted, so it's not easy.
Rather than having their children take the college entrance examination later, people prefer them to go to vocational schools or technical secondary schools in factories, where they can be assigned jobs after graduation and start working and earning money a few years earlier than college students.
"I think you're worrying unnecessarily! Bao'an Baoyu's grades are good, he'll definitely pass the exam!"
Luo Guifang shook her head, and was about to speak when she heard someone calling Wu Jiawang downstairs. She reminded Wu Erni, "Keep an eye on Jiawang, or he might pick up bad influences from outsiders."
"What's wrong? You're making me nervous. Is someone causing trouble for him again?"
"No." Luo Guifang glanced around at the people present, none of whom were the type to spread rumors, before whispering, "Isn't there someone in our alley secretly gambling? Aunt Niu's third son was tricked into playing, lost a lot, and wrote IOUs, borrowing more than two hundred yuan in one night. People came to collect the debt. Aunt Niu dragged him to the educated youth office to register for going to the countryside."
The people in the room gasped. Over two hundred yuan in one night?!
You don't know how hard it is to earn money until you work. Two hundred yuan is the income of an old worker who doesn't eat or drink for half a year!
Aunt Niu wanted to renege on her debt, but the people who came to collect the debt were not from the car factory. They weren't afraid of making a scene and said that if she didn't pay back the money, she would go to the car factory to demand an explanation.
The factory has repeatedly emphasized that workers and their families are not allowed to gamble. If caught, the consequences range from fines and written self-criticisms to demotion or dismissal.
If this gets out of hand, all the workers at Aunt Niu's house will be affected. Will Niu Laosan ever be able to work at the car factory again? Absolutely not.
Grandma Niu had no choice but to grit her teeth and pay off his debts. Fearing he would continue to gamble, she simply sent him to work in the countryside.
“No wonder some people say that Aunt Niu is heartless to her son and is another Aunt Ding. I was wondering what they meant at the time.” Second Aunt said, “If that’s the case, I think Aunt Niu did the right thing. She should send him to the countryside, preferably far away, so that he can’t come back to gamble during holidays.”
Aunt Bai curled her lip, "The ruthlessness of the family next door is probably unmatched by anyone in the entire alley."
Luo Guifang brought the conversation back to the main point, "In short, keep an eye on your own children and don't let them learn bad things from outsiders."
Especially those from well-off families, dual-income households, and with good economic conditions, and Wu Jiawang fits these criteria perfectly.
A group of people started speculating again about who had started the gambling, and even singled out several people who were usually lazy and didn't do anything productive, thinking these people were the most suspicious.
As they talked, the conversation drifted back to the topic of room allocation.
Guan Yuehe, who was allocated a house early on and even got two and a half rooms, has been mentioned by many people.
"Oh, right." Aunt Er remembered something funny and laughed, "Some people in the factory said that the second and third courtyards in Ginkgo Hutong have good feng shui. Some people there have been admitted to college or graduate school, and others have been selected to join the army. There are even doctors and police officers. They're thinking of finding someone to exchange their apartment for the bungalows in the second and third courtyards."
If it weren't for what I said earlier, some people in the house might actually be interested in the apartment building. But after hearing what Auntie Er said, they suddenly realized that the feng shui of courtyards number two and three was good.
"Who did they switch with? I haven't heard a thing."
The second aunt said, "We found the Xu family in courtyard number three. Their apartment building also has two rooms. We'll exchange them for two rooms in their single-story house here, and we won't have to pay extra. The eldest Xu couple were happy to do so, but Grandpa Xu and Grandma Xu didn't agree."
Others, upon closer reflection, can understand. The two rooms in an apartment building are not necessarily the same size as the two rooms in a single-story house. The two large rooms in a single-story house can be divided into at least four small rooms.
They're worried that the new apartment they're moving to will be too small, and after they move there, Grandpa Xu and his wife might have to share a room with their grandson, who's in his twenties.
As the saying goes, no one dislikes apartment buildings, but if the space is too small, it's better to live in a bungalow. Even if you have to build a shed, you can still find an open space if you squeeze in.
Aunt Er laughed again, "Someone went to Zhou Hongqi and said that she is now a level seven welder and should have been allocated a bigger house long ago. They wanted to exchange with her for this bungalow. Anyway, she can apply to the housing management department for a two-bedroom apartment no matter which house she takes."
Aunt Zhao was surprised, "Zhou Hongqi has already obtained the Level 7 certificate?"
She felt envious and a little sour. Her husband, Lao Chang, was always sixth in line. He hadn't gotten a level seven fitter's certificate all these years!
"I think so. I heard that Zhou Hongqi has already passed the exam." Aunt Er steered the conversation back on track and continued, "That person is dreaming, but Zhou Hongqi disagrees. He says he just wants to live in Ginkgo Alley."
At this point, Aunt Er slapped her thigh with joy, "Zhou Hongqi turned around and encouraged Zhang Desheng to go to the housing management department to exchange for a bigger house, saying that it was not appropriate for his two children to share a room. After Zhang Desheng moved out, the house became available for her, so she didn't have to compete with others for an apartment."
The others chuckled, "So what did Zhang Desheng say?"
“Zhang Desheng would definitely disagree! He also said that his youngest son should be exposed to the cultural atmosphere of the compound so that he can go to university in the future.”
"Ha! I think he still hopes to be more practical."
"Anyway, I won't change it even if you ask me to." Aunt Bai said smugly, "I think our No. 2 courtyard is better. The neighbors are so friendly. It's much better than the No. 3 courtyard next door."
"That's right!"
Everyone tacitly ignored the fact that the Kang family had rolled their eyes at the other families in the No. 2 courtyard a few days ago.
Listening to the older women chatting like this, Guan Yuehe's mood brightened up: changing houses back then was definitely the right decision!
"Oh dear, we've had enough to sit in." Aunt Zhao glanced at her watch, reminding the others that it was time to go join the next lively event.
Starting today, the hair salon at the Five Star Automobile Factory is offering perming services, and many women who love beauty lined up early this morning.
Many people still hold prejudices against perming hair, including the middle-aged women in this room. But that doesn't stop them from going to watch the spectacle.
"Yuehe, are you going or not?"
"Oh right, the hairdresser who gets his hair permed is your brother, aren't you going to go and support him?"
Guan Yuehe shook her head violently, making an excuse that she still had to take care of Guyu and wouldn't go out to cause trouble.
In reality, she didn't trust the skills Guan Aiguo had learned over the past few months, fearing he might ruin the woman's hair and cause her trouble.
"What's the big deal? We'll take the bus there, we won't get sunburned or wet. With so many of us, we're not worried about not having anyone to lend a hand."
"No, no." Guan Yuehe refused the aunties' enthusiastic invitation, picked up Gu Yu, and quickly slipped away, heading straight home.
He wobbles with every step he takes. "No wonder your parents don't want to take you to climb the Great Wall, you've gained weight, haven't you?"
As Gu Yu passed the supply and marketing cooperative at the factory gate, she danced with excitement, thinking she was going to buy some delicious food again.
But she could only watch helplessly as the supply and marketing cooperative ran further and further away. She screamed and her aunt responded with "oh, oh." Just as she was about to burst into tears after the cooperative disappeared from sight, a biscuit was stuffed into her hand. She took a couple of bites and then completely forgot about the cooperative.
After finally waiting for Xiaobangchui to fall asleep, Guan Yuehe lay flat on the kang with her arms and legs spread out, fanning her once, then fanning herself twice, sighing one after another.
"If I ever help your parents take care of their kids again, I'm out of my mind!"
Taking care of a child is so tiring. All they can do is scream and cry, they can't even talk... Guan Yuehe turned over and poked Gu Yu's chubby cheek, "You're already a year old, and you still can't talk?"
Gu Yu suddenly swung her fist, her eyes still open, and pouted, startling Guan Yuehe, who immediately patted her stomach gently, "Go to sleep, go to sleep!"
In the evening, Gu Mannian came over to pick up Gu Yu with a big smile on his face, while Guan Yuehe rolled her eyes at him several times.
"Say goodbye to your aunt."
Guan Yuehe and Gu Yu stared at each other, and when Gu Yu reached out her hand, Guan Yuehe quickly waved her hand, saying, "Goodbye, goodbye."
He ran home without looking back.
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