201 Twenty Years
Guan Yuehe hadn't had time to think about home since the morning she left, but Lin Ting, who was thinking about going on a business trip with her mother, woke up to find that her mother's large suitcase was gone and her father had gone to work. She cried as if the sky had fallen.
Several elderly family members took turns trying to appease him, and he couldn't even keep the shop open.
At first, I tried to reason with them.
“Your mother is away on a business trip. She doesn’t have time to take care of you. Wait until later, when you grow up, you can go on a business trip to Guangzhou.”
Lin Ting cried even harder, insisting that her mother was a big liar.
In reality, everyone in the family knew that Guan Yuehe would never say she would take her on a business trip. But that's how unreasonable kids can be when they throw a tantrum.
Reasoning with them didn't work, and even trying to coax them with treats didn't work.
Neighbors passing by No. 1 heard the wailing and some couldn't help but come in to take a look. They turned around and went out, laughing, "Yuehe's daughter has a really loud voice. You can hear her from far away."
"Why are you crying, little girl?"
"Yuehe went on a business trip and didn't take her with him. She's making a fuss."
"Oh! I didn't realize she was such a clingy little thing." The little girl usually goes in and out with the older folks, but she's never been particularly attached to her parents.
Lin Ting howled at the top of her lungs all morning, only stopping when she was exhausted. At noon, she ate half a bowl more rice than usual, and after taking a nap, she took a small stool and sat under the ginkgo tree at the entrance of the alley.
"Grandpa's going for a walk, are you coming?" Grandpa Lin waited for a long time but didn't get a response. Lin Ting was sitting firmly on the small stool with her back to him. He didn't need to run to the front to see her, but he could imagine that she was sulking.
Jiang Guiying brought back a piece of pork belly from outside and deliberately waved it in front of Lin Ting, "Grandma is making braised pork tonight, do you want some?"
Lin Ting ignored everyone and turned her back again, now sulking at the ginkgo tree.
Not long after, Aunt Fang came over and coaxed, "Grandma will take you to a Western restaurant to buy a cake tomorrow."
Lin Ting then responded with a soft hum.
But she just wouldn't budge, as if she were waiting under the ginkgo tree at the entrance of the alley until her mother came back.
Jiang Guiying was at her wit's end and sighed to her old friend, "She's just as stubborn as her mother. Let her stay here."
As the sun gradually set, the workers returned on their bicycles, their bells jingling. Many greeted Lin Ting, saying, "Are you working as a gatekeeper here?"
Grandpa Lin stood behind her, greeting each of the old neighbors. Upon closer inspection, the adults realized that the little girl was angry.
Someone laughed and said, "Even when she's angry, she's just like Yuehe when she was little. When she's angry, she sits by the gate of the courtyard and ignores everyone."
As the aroma of food wafted from each house and adults called out to their children to come home for dinner, a familiar motorcycle sound approached from afar.
Lin Ting's mouth started to purse. When the motorcycle reached the alley entrance and the person in military uniform got off, Lin Ting rushed over and hugged his leg, then started howling at the top of his lungs.
"Daddy, Mommy is a big liar, waaaaah..."
Finally, someone took over the stubborn little donkey, and Grandpa Lin visibly breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly running home.
Lin Yiku pushed the stroller home with one hand and carried the baby with the other, and he also had to agree with Lin Ting from time to time to show that he was listening, otherwise he would also be judged as a big liar.
That evening, the whole family watched as Lin Ting ate a big bite of meat, then pouted and made two muffled noises before taking another bite of rice...
Wan Xiujuan almost had a miscarriage from laughing so hard. Her little niece was angry, but that didn't stop her from eating meat heartily.
For a week straight, Lin Ting waited at the entrance of the alley with a small stool. Her anger subsided day by day until Jiang Guiying took her to the preschool class at Zhuoyue Garment Factory for a day. After that, she stopped saying that her mother was a big liar and finally agreed to go to the preschool class.
Meanwhile, Guan Yuehe, the notorious swindler far away in Guangzhou, finally had a chance to relax a little.
On the last day of the first exhibition, when she finished her work and left the exhibition hall, she happened to run into the Five Star Automobile Factory's exhibition group taking a group photo in front of the convention center.
Zhang Xinbi caught sight of her and beckoned her over to take a picture together, saying that this year was especially meaningful.
"They launched a huge satellite this year."
yes.
It's late April now, and the first phase of this year's Spring Trade Fair has just concluded, but the total transaction amount has already set a record.
This year's Spring Trade Fair has been breaking historical records from the very beginning.
Whether in terms of exhibition scale, number of exhibitors, variety of goods, or number of attendees, this year's Spring Trade Fair has set new historical records, making it the highest-level comprehensive international trade event in history.
Guan Yuehe felt that she was really lucky.
This was her first time attending the Canton Fair, which happened to coincide with the fair's relocation. This year is her first time leading the Canton Fair, and the words she heard most often were "breakthrough" and "surpassing".
She was fortunate to witness and participate in it, and she contributed to the “breakthrough” and “transcendence”.
Back at the hotel from the exhibition hall, Guan Yuehe felt she needed to share her excitement with someone.
He dialed the number of Guazi Wang's grocery store, said a few words, and then waited for more than half an hour before finally getting through to Lin Yiku.
She had just finished saying how much the transaction volume of the first phase of this year had exceeded last year's, and Lin Yiku said "Congratulations" without having a chance to say more, when Lin Ting had already snatched the microphone and huffed twice, "Big liar mom!"
"Yes, I'm a big liar."
Guan Yuehe chuckled. She had long guessed that Lin Ting would be angry if he woke up and didn't see her, but she had explained several times before leaving that her mother couldn't take the child with her on her business trip. Who told Lin Ting to ignore her words?
More than a week had passed, and Lin Ting had calmed down. When she heard her mother's voice, she turned back into a sweet and charming person.
"Mom, did you bring me something delicious?"
"I'll bring you some treats and toys when Mommy goes back." Hearing her daughter's soft voice, Guan Yuehe completely forgot about her daughter's naughty and troublesome behavior.
"It's Dad's turn to use the phone," Lin T reminded Lin Ting.
But Lin Ting held the microphone tightly and said several more words before bringing it close to her father's ear, her big, round eyes staring at him without blinking.
When customers come to answer the phone, the couple from Guaziwang always thoughtfully stand to the side so that people don't think they are eavesdropping.
Lin Yi swallowed back the words she had been holding back for days under Lin Ting's gaze.
Guan Yuehe on the other end of the phone talked excitedly for a while. Her voice was a little distorted because of the unstable signal, but he could still hear her excitement.
He replied after she finished speaking. Unfortunately, she couldn't hear him clearly and asked him to repeat himself.
Lin Ting put the microphone to her mouth and said loudly, "Dad said, 'I wish Comrade Guan Yuehe all the best in her work! May her sales reach new heights!' Comrade Guan Yuehe, can you hear that?"
"Mom, phone calls are expensive, goodbye!"
She learned this phrase from her mother, who would always say it at the end of every phone call.
After speaking, Lin Ting put the microphone back down and looked at Lin Yiku, who looked helpless and puzzled, "Dad, what kind of goose is 'transaction amount'? Does Grandma's house have geese that make 'goose, goose, goose' sounds like that? Does it hurt when it bites?"
Lin Yiku: "..."
"Dad, I haven't bought any food yet." Lin Ting hugged his leg.
"You'd like to eat stir-fried bamboo shoots with pork today." Lin Yiku picked her up and carried her away, ignoring her struggles, but refusing to buy her any snacks.
Caught off guard by the sudden phone call, Guan Yuehe gritted her teeth in anger, muttering "you little bastard."
But in the next two periods, the transaction volume broke records, and Guan Yuehe felt that every day was a good day.
In particular, during the third phase, the textile trade delegation still achieved a transaction volume of $800 million. When the results were tallied on the last day, many staff members of the participating companies cheered and wiped away tears at the same time.
When Guan Yuehe was setting up her booth in the third phase of the exhibition, she heard someone mention that not only were transactions of commodities such as cotton yarn and cotton cloth being controlled and prices being raised, but supplies were also scarce, making it too difficult to surpass last year's transaction volume of 770 million US dollars.
But they still delivered better results this year than last year.
Up ahead, the exhibitors from Zhuoyue Garment Factory were also cheering.
Shu Gu Mannian was cheering the loudest, but Guan Yuehe thought to herself, "I'd better not go over there. Soon everyone will know he's her brother-in-law..."
In the end, I couldn't escape it.
Guan Yuehe led the team to shake hands with each of the participating groups one by one. "Suzhou Textile Factory has really taken off this year, Director Zhao, congratulations."
"Director Zhu..."
We offered our congratulations all the way until we reached the booth of the Excellent Garment Factory.
Guan Yuehe temporarily ignored Gu Mannian, who was grinning broadly behind Director Zheng, and reached out to shake Director Zheng's hand.
"Director Zheng, congratulations to you all, congratulations to Zhuoyue Garment Factory."
"Congratulations to you too." Director Zheng smiled and met her gaze. Comrade Guan, who had come from their Zhuoyue Garment Factory, had already reached a new level. From a temporary worker in a small state-owned factory to the current Deputy Director Guan, it had taken him twenty years. To be precise, he was four months shy of twenty-one years old.
Zhuoyue Garment Factory has grown from a small factory with 20 employees to a large factory with nearly 2,000 employees in just over 20 years.
As soon as Guan Yuehe let go of her hand, Sister Xu next to her shook it again. This was her last year coming to the Canton Fair with the factory's delegation; next time, it would be the younger generation from the factory taking over. Unexpectedly, on this last exhibition, she ran into Comrade Guan... oh right, Comrade Guan, who is now a high-ranking leader.
When Guan Yuehe finally shook hands with Gu Mannian, she found that his expression had changed again. He had just been grinning, but now his eyes were red.
Gu Mannian himself couldn't explain why, maybe he felt too proud. Their Zhuoyue Garment Factory was really doing well! And Xiao Guan, who came out of the first workshop with him, was also really promising!
Guan Yuehe only stayed at the Zhuoyue Garment Factory's booth for about five minutes, but she felt as if she had stayed for a long time.
Twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye.
As Guan Yuehe continued walking, she heard her colleague say, "The Zhuoyue Garment Factory we just visited is amazing. They break records every year. They should be among the top foreign exchange earners this year."
Guan Yuehe secretly gloated: Need I say more?! That's the Zhuoyue Garment Factory!
Author's Note: [Cat's Paw] A small section has been added to the end of Chapter 199.
I got confused while writing last night and miscalculated the numbers [covering face and peeking]
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