222 Comrade Guan Yuehe
Ordinary residents of Beijing have not yet felt the changes brought about by the country's accession to the World Trade Organization, but the fact that Beijing will host the Olympic Games in 2008 has brought changes to many residents.
Take the workers at the Zhuoyue Garment Factory, for example.
In 1999, the Changhu Street area had just completed its renovation. In the summer of 2002, a formal document was suddenly issued stating that some factories in the city would be relocated, including the Zhuoyue Garment Factory and the Wuxing Automobile Factory.
"Are we really moving?" Jiang Guiying said with dissatisfaction, "If we move out, won't we have to go to the suburbs or countryside? The family compound is here, but we have to travel all that way to work, it's such a hassle!"
Gu Mannian sighed, "Who can argue with that? The family compound is close to the factory, it's so convenient. However..."
Changing the subject, Gu Mannian added, "Isn't this for development? When we host the Olympics, people from all over the world will flock to Beijing, so we have to present our best side."
"What are you laughing at?" Gu Mannian looked at Guan Yuehe beside him.
Guan Yuehe gave him a thumbs up, "Deputy Factory Director Gu has a high level of awareness, I admire him."
Gu Mannian was elected deputy factory director by the workers a few years earlier, in charge of sales and purchasing.
When the appointment notice came down, Gu Mannian even came to Ginkgo Hutong to have a drink with her, with a smug look on his face, saying that he had finally outshone Mo Zhinan.
However, Gu Mannian's smugness lasted only two years. Now that Gu Yu is dating Mo Mingqi, he gets so angry that he grinds his teeth whenever he sees Mo Zhinan.
Mo Zhinan was originally dissatisfied with not being elected as the deputy factory director, but now he doesn't dare to go against Gu Mannian in the factory anymore. Maybe they'll even be in-laws in the future.
Gu Mannian snorted twice and said, "I'm no match for Vice Minister Guan."
Guan Canghai, sitting on the sofa, wanted to give each of them a tap on the head: Now that you're a high-ranking official, all you do is show off at home!
Comrade Guan Yuehe has taken another step up this year and has become a vice minister.
She continues to work with great enthusiasm, and her image occasionally appears in news reports about foreign trade on television.
Just then, a familiar loud voice came from outside the courtyard.
"Grandpa Li, Grandma Hua, have you eaten yet?"
"Lin Ting is on summer vacation? We're about to cook rice, want to come over to Grandma Hua's for a meal?"
"No, no, I'll eat at home." Before she even stepped into the yard, her voice arrived first. The adults who had just gotten up to go out and check were surprised and delighted. The next second, sure enough, they saw Lin Ting.
"Grandpa and Grandma, Grandma and Grandpa on my mother's side, I'm home!"
"Ah! Mom and Dad, you're here too? I just got home and didn't see anyone! Aunt and Uncle are here too? Hello, Aunt and Uncle! Oh dear, how did you know I arrived today? Were you waiting for me?"
The four elders hadn't seen her for half a year, and now was a rare treat for them. They pulled her aside and asked if she was hungry. Some went to the refrigerator to get soda, while others busied themselves cooking noodles for her to tide her over... Lin Ting was so happy, she kept saying that home was the best place.
"Why didn't you tell us you were coming home for the holidays?" Guan Yuehe was overjoyed to see her daughter. She looked her up and down and noticed that the girl had gotten a bit tanned after a semester, but her teeth looked bright and shiny when she grinned.
"My classmates suddenly decided to change their route and come to Beijing for tourism, so I just went home on the way. I'll show them around another day."
They were originally going to climb Mount Hua, but a classmate suggested going to the capital instead. Since the minority had to obey the majority, she had to go home.
"Oh, where's your classmate? Why didn't you bring him home?" Jiang Guiying even got up and looked outside the door.
“There were more than a dozen classmates, including some from my class and others from other majors. Our house couldn’t accommodate them all, so I took them to the clothing factory’s guesthouse and booked rooms.”
Lin Ting has always preferred playing with friends outside rather than bringing them home. If a friend accidentally dirties her things, she feels bad if she complains, but she also feels upset if she doesn't.
Let's just play outside and go home when we're done.
Besides, her parents are very busy people and don't have much free time to chat with her during the day, so she doesn't like being disturbed by others.
"Don't even mention my classmate, I'm hungry."
"Let's make the noodles now."
The small house became lively again because of Lin Ting's sudden return.
Lin Ting was slurping his noodles when the adults continued their conversation.
The relocation of Wuxing Automobile Factory and Zhuoyue Garment Factory was a foregone conclusion, and the workers who were still employed began to make plans to sell their houses and move or buy houses in the suburbs.
Gu Mannian: "If you ask me, it's better to buy a house. Keep the houses here to rent out."
In any family, there's always one person who's particularly enthusiastic about buying houses. Guan Yuehe and Gu Mannian are those two people in their respective families.
However, Guan Yuehe has the final say at home, while the other two family members are opportunistic and fickle. Whenever she brings up the issue of buying a house, it always gets unanimous approval.
The last time she bought a house was in 1998, at 2,000 yuan per square meter. She bought Lin Ting a three-bedroom apartment of over 80 square meters. After paying the down payment, her monthly housing provident fund and the rent she received covered most of the mortgage payments, leaving her with only a little over 200 yuan to pay.
After the turn of the millennium, wages were adjusted upwards, and she and Lin Yiku enjoyed corresponding benefits in terms of food, clothing, housing, and transportation. They were able to save most of their monthly wages and subsidies.
This year, she saved up another 80,000 yuan, gritted her teeth, took out a loan to buy two adjacent houses in the suburbs, found Director Zheng's decoration company, did some simple renovations, and then listed them with Jin Junwei's real estate agency, and the houses were rented out.
The rent collected can cover nearly one-third of the mortgage payment.
She and Lin Yiku couldn't engage in business activities, so the money would become worthless if left idle.
Ye Zhi Qiu is right. Since she can't invest in other things, she might as well buy a house. If the house price goes up, it can be considered an investment in disguise.
Not only are she and Lin Yiku unable to do business, but Lin Ting will also face significant limitations if she wants to do business in the future.
However, it seems that after a year of schooling, Lin Ting is now preoccupied with building rockets and going into business, which is probably not her thing anymore.
Because of Guan Yuehua's cadre status, Gu Yu and Lin Ting are also not allowed to engage in business activities.
Gu Mannian, the "financial officer" in charge of the family's finances, just like Guan Yuehe, spent all the money he saved on buying a house.
However, the Zhuoyue Garment Factory was doing well, especially after China joined the World Trade Organization, its exports surged, and Gu Mannian's salary alone was equivalent to that of Guan Yuehe and Lin Yiku combined. Every time they bought a new garment, they would buy two adjacent sets, saying that no matter where Gu Yu lived in the future, they would live next to her.
Gu Mannian is saying all this to urge Guan Canghai and Jiang Guiying to quickly take out their money and buy an apartment.
Every year people say that housing prices will drop, but they keep rising. This year I thought I'd save up for two more years to pay in full, but two years later I realize I'll have to save for another two years... It never ends. I might as well buy now and earn some rental income.
The rest of the family members had already been persuaded by Gu Mannian to buy apartments, such as Guan Aiguo and Wan Xiujuan, and Jingjing, who went to work at Zhuoyue Garment Factory after graduation.
Even Guan Weiguo bought two houses in the city to give to his two children.
Speaking of Guan Weiguo, there are some houses in the city where you can transfer your household registration after buying them. He hesitated about whether to transfer his household registration, but Gu Mannian stopped him.
Factories and small businesses are now moving to the suburbs. Some places are developing industrial parks. Villagers living nearby can make a lot of money by building more houses on their own homesteads and renting them out.
Once the household registration is moved out, the ownership of the homestead becomes uncertain. Homesteads in the suburbs and countryside are difficult to allocate these days.
Finally, Guan Weiguo gave up on the idea of changing his household registration and used all the money he had to build a house in the village. He's probably busy with the construction at home right now.
Gu Mannian kept talking nonstop, and the others listened patiently without getting annoyed.
Comrade Gu Mannian has given his family every single suggestion over the years, and he is widely recognized as the family's most business-minded person.
Jiang Guiying was tempted, but she also had other considerations.
"The two families next door, and the two families with the back house, all want to sell their houses. We older folks have discussed it and are thinking of buying them. Once we close that front gate, we'll have our own little, independent yard..."
As people get older, they become less attached to apartment buildings and actually find single-story houses quite nice, more down-to-earth. I heard the subway is going to be built to Changhu Street, which will make getting around much more convenient.
The reason why so many young people in the family are gathered here today is because the older folks specifically called them back to discuss buying the side rooms and the rear building.
Just as he finished speaking, Lin Sitian and Chen Lizhong's family of three, along with Guan Jianguo and Lin Yufeng, also arrived.
The first thing Chen Yu did upon seeing Lin Ting was to run outside.
She was going to tell her best friend Yao Yao that Sister Lin Ting was back, and that they could go to another province to see the sea with Sister Lin Ting this summer. With Sister Lin Ting around, the adults should feel at ease, right?
—
They said they would ask the children to come home and discuss it, but in reality, the four elders had already made up their minds.
The reason for calling them back is to also revise the will in front of them, so that the siblings won't end up in court over the house when they're all old.
With two upright and just officials in the family explaining the law to us, now the older folks in the family have to talk about the law before doing anything.
Standing on the side, Lin Sitian hugged Guan Yuehe's arm and whispered, "My brother and I will never have a fight. With Yuehe around, I won't suffer any losses."
Guan Yuehe said happily, "Of course, I'll assign him a storage room, so you won't be left out."
They've been childhood friends since they were toddlers, playing together since they were little, and they have a very close bond.
Lin Yiku, who had been assigned to the storage room in advance, had nothing to say. When she looked up, she saw Lin Ting laughing so hard that his shoulders were shaking.
Tsk! His dutiful daughter is making fun of him again.
No one in the family objected, and the decision to buy the neighbor's house was made.
Of course, the money was all paid by the elderly themselves. They didn't ask their children for money, so no one could object.
Lin Sitian: "It's good to live here. My parents can still go for walks and chat with their old neighbors."
However, they weren't the only two families who wanted to buy their neighbor's house.
Two days later, the four elderly people went to the housing management office and the bank with their neighbors.
Once all the formalities were completed, the backyard of Courtyard No. 3 became the residence of the Guan and Lin families.
The side rooms on the left and right belong to the Lin family. Aunt Fang said that this would make it easier for the Lin Yiku and Lin Sitian siblings to divide the rooms between their respective families in the future.
The main house and the rear building belonged to the Guan family. To be precise, two-thirds of the main house belonged to Guan Aiguo and his wife, who paid for two-thirds of the house when it was purchased. The remaining one-third of the main house and the rear building belonged to Jiang Guiying and Guan Canghai. There was no specific division of ownership; it was only stated that they should split the proceeds equally after the house was sold.
Jiang Guiying insisted that everything be written down clearly and in detail.
Apart from the east wing of Guan Yuehe's house, all the other houses in Courtyard No. 1 were bought by Jin Junwei. The houses in the backyard were renovated and rented out, while the other houses in the front yard were converted into offices for a real estate agency.
If it weren't for Aunt Fang and Uncle Lin's desire to run a small shop to pass the time, Guan Yuehe would have even considered selling the house to Jin Junwei.
Wu Jiawang bought all the other houses in the front yard of No. 2 courtyard, making the front yard his exclusive property. The back yard, on the other hand, was bought by Aunt Bai's family.
Other courtyards also have houses for sale or exchange.
I don't know who organized it, but they said they wanted to take a group photo in the alley as a souvenir.
The suggestion was met with enthusiastic response, and Aunt Hu, who loved to meddle in other people's business, went to each courtyard to inform the elderly men and women in charge, asking them to organize the people in their courtyards.
As more and more workers from the Five Star Automobile Factory were laid off and became unemployed, the elderly men and women who were in charge of the courtyards in Ginkgo Hutong gradually lost their presence!
After the renovation, the water and electricity meters for each household were separated. Instead of the old man and the old woman in charge reading the water and electricity meters and then collecting money from each household, each household paid their own water and electricity bills.
If it weren't for the sudden announcement of a group photo, Jiang Guiying would have forgotten that the old man in charge of Courtyard No. 3 was Zhang Quanbin.
Taking advantage of the summer vacation, the children were also on holiday at home, so the time for taking a group photo was set for Saturday morning.
The photographer they hired had someone build a high platform right in the middle of the alley entrance so he could take pictures of the neighbors crowding the alley from above.
This is the second and last group photo taken in Ginkgo Hutong.
The last time we took a group photo was in 1983, when a TV reporter came to do an interview and took a group photo for them.
Lin Tingchong laughed loudly as the photographer carrying a huge camera stood on tiptoe behind her parents, while Wangwang in her arms grinned foolishly.
Just now, her mother recalled the past, saying that the last time they took a group photo in the alley, her parents each held Gu Yu and her, but unfortunately Gu Yu went to another city for an internship this summer.
She opened her arms to her mother, playfully asking for a beating, "Let Daddy hold Wangwang, Mommy, you pick me up, and we'll take another picture of the same thing."
“I can’t carry you, you stand.” Guan Yuehe turned around and looked at her daughter, suddenly realizing that Lin Ting was a head taller than her.
"Carrying it on your back is fine too," Lin Ting thoughtfully offered a better solution.
Lin Ting was almost beaten up by the couple. He took several hits on the back and laughed loudly.
Wu Jiawang, carrying his child, glanced at the scene and then silently pulled his wife to the side to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
The neighbors who lived next to them watched the whole thing, and they all gloated and said to Guan Yuehe and Lin Yiku, "You two are so lucky to have such a filial daughter!"
She's in her early twenties and still needs her parents to carry her.
Since they were moving anyway, they were unusually assertive for once, unlike twenty or thirty years ago when they were afraid of being beaten by Yuehe.
But they were also a little reluctant to part with it.
Back then, Ginkgo Alley was so safe. Thieves didn't dare to wander in there. I wonder if I'll ever have reliable neighbors like Yuehe, Engineer Zhou, and Police Officer Song again.
"If you can't get a shot from the back, move forward a bit and take another one. Everyone smile, look at me here..."
There was a buzzing sound.
The once bustling Ginkgo Alley is frozen in time at this moment.
—
In the following six months, the property rights of the houses in Ginkgo Hutong underwent another major change.
When the street office staff came to do population registration at the end of the year, they found that the number of permanent residents in Yinxing Hutong had decreased by half compared to the previous year.
Before 2003 arrived, the old neighbors who had sold their houses moved out of Ginkgo Hutong one after another.
Some people moved in a hurry, while others would invite their neighbors to a meal in the yard, and the lively atmosphere would last for a long time before it ended.
Guan Yuehe received invitations from several of her old neighbors.
Zhang Quanbin's house, Auntie Yi's house, Auntie Zhao's house, Auntie Hu's house...
When the relocation news first came out, everyone agreed to live together again and continue being neighbors.
Now that we're really moving, we've all bought apartments in different neighborhoods, which aren't close to each other. It'll be really difficult for us to get together again in the future.
"I used to think apartment buildings were nice, but now that I'm actually moving away, I feel really uneasy." As the older woman spoke, her eyes welled up with tears.
Having lived in this place for half my life, I feel incredibly reluctant to leave now that it's time to go.
Aunt Bai, who chose to stay in Ginkgo Hutong, was also reluctant to leave. All her old friends had moved out, and there would be fewer people to gossip together in the future.
But, “Why are you crying? Everyone is going for a better life, so we should be happy. If you miss your old neighbors, just come back for a visit. Once the subway opens in our neighborhood, it will be convenient to come and go.”
That makes sense. Everyone is moving there hoping for a better life, so it's time to move out happily.
The Song family was the last to move out because Song Xibei brought his wife and children back to visit relatives, which delayed their move by a few days.
Unfortunately, Guan Yuehe was abroad during those days and didn't run into her old neighbor.
When she returned, she learned from Aunt Bai that Song Gong'an and Cai Ying had bought a house next to the Southwest, and that they would live next to the Southwest from now on.
It's cold in the north right now, so after the couple moved, they simply went south with a family of three from the northwest to spend the winter there, and they'll come back when the weather in Beijing warms up.
"Song Gong'an even said he wanted to travel around, he and his wife can't stay idle."
Aunt Bai was envious but not jealous. Her husband, Xiang Hong, had signed her up for a tour group for factory workers' families, so she could go on a trip someday.
Guan Yuehe was envious too.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, both she and Lin Yiku will retire before the age of sixty. But Guan Yuehe isn't sure exactly which year they will retire.
She will relinquish her position the day the organization finds a better candidate to take over.
When they all retire, they'll also join tour groups to see the beautiful landscapes of our motherland. Ye Zhi Qiu's travel agency even has special tours for seniors.
Fresh lychees are now available in Beijing, but she still longs to go to Guangzhou when she has time to eat lychees that have just been picked from the tree.
But given the current situation, she doesn't even have time to go to Guangzhou to eat lychees, let alone visit Lin Ting University.
“There are plenty of opportunities.” Lin Ting counted on her fingers. She was supposed to get a doctorate, but she was only a sophomore now and had a long way to go before graduation.
"Oh, right," Lin Ting said as she rummaged through her suitcase after returning from winter break, "Mom, Aunt Cheng asked me to bring you a gift."
Lin Ting served as a mail carrier every time school started or ended, becoming a bridge between Beijing and the Northwest.
Speaking of Cheng Shuang, Guan Yuehe suspected that even though she had retired, Teacher Cheng might not be able to retire and might even have to be rehired as a teacher.
He even said he'd come back to Beijing to see her during winter and summer vacations, but he's never had the time.
Lin Ting snorted twice and looked at her: "You two are equally bad." One said she would take some time to go back to Beijing, and the other said she would make time to go to the Northwest. They talk about it every year, but nothing ever comes of it. So, let's stop talking about it.
Lin jokingly said, "I think you should arrange to get together again after you retire..."
Guan Yuehe smiled.
That's quite possible.
Guan Yuehe was planning what to prepare for Lin Ting to send to Cheng Shuang when the ear-piercing whirring of machinery starting up outside started again.
If Lin Ting hadn't come back from her holiday, she wouldn't have liked staying at home listening to the noise of subway construction outside on her days off; she'd rather go to the park outside for a walk and some exercise.
Fortunately, there's no construction at night, so it's relatively quiet; otherwise, people living nearby would be up all night with panda eyes.
It's so noisy.
Lin Ting was noisier than the outside.
Like a trumpet, it circled around her, its mouth never stopping for a moment.
"Mom, have we bought our New Year's goods yet?"
"Mom, where's the toolbox in the storage room? Oh dear, we have so many old things in our house. Is this black and white TV still working? Oh, and the bicycle is still perfectly fine..."
The things in the storage room made a clanging sound as they bumped into each other. A moment later, Lin Ting pushed out an old bicycle.
Guan Yuehe and Lin Yiku have a dedicated bus to pick them up and drop them off at get off work every day, and their motorcycle was sold to a scrap yard after the city introduced a policy to ban and restrict motorcycles.
Two new bicycles were parked in the yard. When she and Lin Yiku were at home on their days off, they would ride their bicycles out to buy groceries and take a walk.
Lin Ting cleaned and washed the old bicycle, took it to a nearby repair shop for repairs, and it became Lin Ting's new means of transportation.
Guan Canghai recognized the bicycle immediately upon seeing the license plate on the back; it was the bicycle Guan Yuehe had bought before attending the Workers-Peasants-Soldiers University.
It was hard not to recognize her. Guan Yuehe had a bicycle back then, and she showed it off a lot, as if she was afraid others wouldn't know.
"Why did you bring out your mother's old bike?" Guan Canghai himself was reluctant to buy a new bicycle, but he was very generous to his grandchildren. As he spoke, he took out a black plastic bag from his inner pocket, pulled out three hundred-yuan bills, and said, "Go buy a new one."
"What a waste, I'm not buying it." Lin Ting waved his hand, then sprinted off and quickly disappeared into the alleyway.
Guan Canghai called out from behind a few times, "Ride slowly!"
I don't know if the kid heard me or not, but he stood there angrily muttering, "You don't learn the good things from your mother, but you learn the bad things one by one."
He rides a bicycle like he's flying an airplane, a true mastery of Yuehe's skills.
One day, Grandpa Ming went out for a stroll and saw Lin Ting riding a bicycle to buy New Year's goods.
Lin Ting then acquired the nickname "Captain Lin".
Lin laughed heartily; she had even inherited her parents' nicknames.
This year's Spring Festival was much quieter than in previous years. After all, there are fewer people living here, and the new residents haven't gotten to know the old residents yet. The scene of people visiting each other and giving each other fried meatballs, which used to be a common sight in the alley, has become a rare occurrence.
But time doesn't stop just because someone leaves or someone arrives.
Days went by one after another, and the new neighbors gradually became old neighbors who knew each other inside and out.
The old neighbors who moved out gradually lost contact with each other due to various trivial matters in life.
With the completion of the subway station on Changhu Street, the noisy construction noise disappeared, and the date on my phone changed to October 2007.
These days, mobile phones aren't bulky like those old-fashioned brick phones; they're small, flip-screen phones with buttons.
Guan Yuehe and her siblings pooled their money to buy their parents a mobile phone and even held a "literacy class" to teach them how to use a mobile phone, striving to keep up with the times and learn to use new technologies.
"The outside world is developing so fast! Small changes every day, big changes in a year. You're never too old to learn. Those who can't keep up with the times will become relics of the past..."
"Stop, stop, stop!" Jiang Guiying hurriedly interrupted Guan Yuehe's incessant chatter, saying with disdain, "Don't bring all those high-sounding principles you preach outside home; they're irritating my ears."
"Then should I speak louder?"
"My hearing is perfectly fine!" Jiang Guiying was so angry that she tried to hit her, but missed.
The old lady next to her adjusted her reading glasses and pulled out her phone book. The first page had the phone numbers of Lin Yiku and the other three, and the second page had the phone numbers of Lin Ting and Xiaoyu.
Grandpa Lin leaned over to look, his gaze landing on Lin Ting's name. He sighed, "I haven't called my eldest granddaughter in over half a year."
When Lin Ting was mentioned, the other three elders fell silent.
After graduating from university, Lin Ting stayed on to pursue postgraduate studies. After starting her postgraduate studies, she reduced the frequency of her phone calls home to once every six months, and she didn't even have time to go home for the Chinese New Year last year.
I don't know if I'll be able to come back this year.
In July 2006, several comrades approached Guan Yuehe and Lin Yiku, informing Lin Ting that the project she was currently involved in required secrecy, and that she could not go home or contact anyone outside the company.
At first, the older family members kept nagging Lin Ting about not calling for a long time. The more they nagged, the angrier they got, and they even planned to beat her up the next time she came back.
Of the children from both families, only Lin Ting went to study in another city.
Xiaoyu and Yaoyao, who stayed in Beijing to study at university, returned home frequently.
In Jiang Guiying's words, the two of them were practically bandits. Every time they went home, they would return to school carrying large bags and bundles, as if they wanted to take even the rice from home with them.
Guan Yuehe only listened to half of what he said.
If it weren't for the four old folks always preparing a ton of stuff for them to come back, and getting upset if they didn't take it with them, would they have become bandits?
Back when Lin Tinggang received his acceptance letter, everyone said the school was great and that young people should go out and explore more.
Now that Lin Ting hasn't been home for over a year, they feel that it's not good for her to study far from home.
Guan Yuehe repeatedly made excuses, saying that Lin Ting was too busy with his studies. After the elderly in the family could not contact Lin Ting, she gradually began to suspect something and stopped nagging him.
Although they miss their child, they are incredibly proud when they think about the great things their child is doing.
It's a pity I can't show it off outside.
"Let's not talk about that rascal anymore, he'll only cause trouble if he comes back." Jiang Guiying changed the subject, her words not reflecting her true feelings.
"By the way, Yuehe, write down Xiaoqi's phone number for me."
Xiao Qi?
Oh, Mo Mingqi.
After graduating, Gu Yu started working at the court. She and Mo Mingqi had been in a relationship for many years and finally decided to get married and register their marriage after the New Year.
Guan Yuehua and Gu Mannian accepted it completely, thinking that at least the two families knew each other well, and Mo Mingqi was well taught by He Shuangshuang, so he was more reliable than someone else who introduced him to them.
There's nothing that can be done if they don't acknowledge it; Guyu is a stubborn mule.
A few days ago, Gu Yu delivered a wedding invitation to her and casually asked Lin Ting when she would be back for winter break.
"The date is set for after the New Year. Lin Ting should be able to make it, right?"
"She might not be coming back for the New Year again?!" Gu Yu frowned and said angrily, "She thinks she's all grown up now. Wait until she comes back, and I'll teach her a lesson!"
Gu Yu was even thinking of having Lin Ting be her bridesmaid, since Lin Ting was her closest younger sister.
Guan Yuehe laughed at her at the time: "With your skinny arms and legs, who can you take care of? You need to get more exercise..."
"Oh dear, Auntie, I'm going to invite my friend to a wedding." Gu Yu covered her ears, and Mo Mingqi skillfully followed behind, the two of them disappearing very quickly.
Guan Yuehe found it amusing to think about this.
I still feel a little disappointed.
Gu Yu was someone she watched grow up, and in her heart, even though Gu Yu was almost thirty, she was still a child.
She understands her sister and brother-in-law very well. If Lin Ting brings a boyfriend home one day, she'll roll her eyes even harder than her sister.
Thinking of this, Guan Yuehe took out Mo Mingqi's contact information, copied it down, and added it to their mobile phones as well.
While she was busy, Guan Canghai asked about her again.
"Yi Ku has been retired for almost two years now, when are you going to retire?"
Comrade Lin Yiku retired honorably at the end of 2005 and became Grandpa Lin in the alley. Like many retired grandpas and grandmas, he goes out for a walk every day and tends to the flowers and plants in his small courtyard. Guan Yuehe, having nothing else to do, goes home for dinner on time.
As the elderly in the family get older, they suffer from many ailments, and Lin Yiku has been the one who worries the most since she retired.
Of their group, only Guan Yuehe and Lin Sitian are still working; the others have all retired, so they are returning to Ginkgo Hutong more often.
Lin Sitian was rehired by the hospital after retiring and is now an expert at the hospital.
Xu Chengcai and his wife have become grandparents. After retiring, they are busy helping their children take care of their grandchildren.
After retiring, Ding Xuewen and Chen Lizhong made a special trip back to the brigade where they had been sent to work.
"What's the rush?" Guan Yuehe laughed. "When I'm about to retire, I'll let you know in advance, and you can throw me a retirement farewell party at home."
"Your company won't process it for you?"
"What your workplace provides can't compare to what you get at home. You don't need to worry about what retirement gift to give me; a bottle of Moutai will do."
Guan Canghai snorted angrily, "You sure know how to ask for an exorbitant price! This wine is so expensive! Aren't the two cases you have at home enough for you? You wretched daughter, you didn't even give me a bottle for my birthday... Ugh!"
Jiang Guiying pinched him, interrupting him, "At your age, you're still thinking about drinking. When you live a few more years, you can drink as much as you want, I won't stop you. But now you better watch your mouth. Live a few more years, and your kids won't even be married yet..."
Guan Yuehe laughed gleefully.
The two cases of wine in her house were stockpiled along with Ye Zhi Qiu and the others.
Apart from Guan Yuehe, the others were not fond of drinking. Their initial motivation for hoarding the wine was that Ye Zhiqiu believed the price of the wine would continue to rise, and the wine would not expire if stored away, so they treated it as an investment like buying a house.
Unexpectedly, in recent years, the price of Moutai liquor has been rising steadily, and the price of houses outside has increased even more dramatically.
When Guan Yuehe heard that someone had spent over 100 million yuan to buy a courtyard house, she was so shocked that she couldn't close her mouth.
The couple, Guazi Wang and his wife, really had foresight; they spent hundreds of thousands of yuan to buy a large courtyard house years ago.
While several hundred thousand was a high price back then, now hundreds of millions is practically an astronomical sum.
Of course, courtyard houses worth hundreds of millions are definitely in the minority. But even ordinary courtyard houses outside cost several million.
In short, she will never live in a traditional courtyard house in her lifetime. She is content with having a small, independent courtyard house to live in.
—
The last day of July 2008.
Guan Yuehe plans to leave work by herself today.
"Minister Guan, the car is waiting downstairs."
"No need, my husband is picking me up today." Guan Yuehe gave the last remaining brand-new Hero brand fountain pen to her secretary, with whom she had worked for many years.
Her personal belongings have all been cleared out of the office; a new colleague will be arriving soon.
Guan Yuehe carried her briefcase downstairs, greeting her old colleagues along the way.
It was as if it were just an ordinary workday.
But everyone knew in their hearts that Comrade Guan Yuehe had officially retired from this moment on.
During her 28 years at the Ministry of Foreign Trade, she witnessed the development of the country's foreign trade, especially after China joined the World Trade Organization. It would not be an exaggeration to describe the development of foreign trade as rocket-speed.
I suddenly remembered the scene when I received the notice from Teacher Qin, telling me to report to the Ministry of Foreign Trade after graduation.
Teacher Qin's earnest words are still vivid in my mind: "This is precisely the time when the country needs you..."
Whether she entered the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University or later pursued postgraduate studies, she benefited from the country's policies and cultivation at the time. It was only natural for her to obey the assignment and go to the position that needed her.
They even assigned her to such a good unit...
She believes that she has lived up to the trust placed in her by the organization and her leaders over the years, and has no regrets about her work.
As for the future, that depends on the next generation.
Guan Yuehe walked briskly out of the company gate and immediately saw Lin Yiku waiting not far ahead.
He actually understood the romantic gestures of young people quite well, and came to pick her up with flowers.
When she sees Sitian again, she'll definitely say it again: "Lin Yiku is no fool!"
“You hold the flowers, I’ll give you a ride.” Guan Yuehe hung her briefcase on the handlebars of the bicycle and was about to grab it when she said, “Now that I’m retired, I should exercise sometime. I want to sign up for your senior Tai Chi class.”
"They call it the Tai Chi class, and some of them are in their forties or fifties, but they're not as agile as me." Lin Yi couldn't win the competition, so she could only obediently sit in the back seat.
“That’s perfect, the two of us can take down all these retirees if we join forces.” Guan Yuehe became more and more cheerful as she spoke.
"Oh, I just remembered something."
"What?" Lin Yi asked in distress.
"On the day my dad and Uncle Ming retired, it was snowing heavily. If I hadn't squeezed in, those two old men might have cried all the way home."
"...Don't say this to Dad and Uncle Ming. They're too old for that kind of stimulation." If they get angry and lose their temper, they'll suffer.
Guan Yuehe laughed heartily.
As I laughed, I couldn't help but get teary-eyed.
Especially when passing by the former site of the Zhuoyue Garment Factory, my nose felt sore.
Zhuoyue Garment Factory completed its relocation in 2005. Subsequently, the site was leveled and new buildings were constructed.
The former Zhuoyue Garment Factory has now been transformed into a science and technology innovation park and a grand theater, leaving no trace of its former self.
Even the nearby Zhuoyue Garment Factory's residential compound saw many workers choose to sell their houses there and move to apartments closer to the factory due to the factory's relocation.
Those who remain in the garment factory's residential compound are mostly retired workers.
Passersby could hardly imagine that this area once developed from a few small bungalows into a large factory.
Comrade Guan, who was under sixteen years old at the time, started his journey from here, and now he is Comrade Guan, who is nearly sixty years old.
Comrade Xiao Guan and the Zhuoyue Garment Factory both fulfilled their respective missions during specific historical periods.
However, only Comrade Xiao Guan has retired honorably. Zhuoyue Garment Factory has taken on a different mission in the new era, bearing the livelihood of tens of thousands of families.
—
Guan Yuehe only sighed for a short while before she ran into Xu Chengcai, who was carrying drinks on his way home.
"Tsk tsk!" Xu Cheng shook his head. Yuehe is so old, yet she still loves to ride her bike and give people rides.
"We've been waiting for you to come back and cook." Xu Cheng put the drinks in the basket without any ceremony. "We didn't call the younger ones. Let's celebrate a little today and then go to a restaurant for a bigger celebration this weekend."
Guan Yuehe understands.
When Ding Xuewen and the others retired, they all cried their eyes out, afraid that the younger generation would see and laugh at them. She understood.
"Hey, Yuehe's back. Tell her to make braised pork. Old Ding, yours doesn't taste right."
Guan Yuehe laughed. Who exactly is retiring? Why is she being asked to do it?
But since everyone else seemed to be in the right, Guan Yuehe had no choice but to go into the kitchen.
At the dinner celebrating Comrade Guan Yuehe's glorious retirement, Guan Yuehe didn't shed a tear, but the others were quite quick to cry.
She said it before: these people can't handle any alcohol. The older they get, the worse their alcohol tolerance becomes. They want to cry as soon as they touch a little bit. They're so pathetic!
Guan Yuehe turned her head and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
She turned her head and found that her childhood friend and their family members were all staring at her and smiling.
This made her eyes well up with tears again.
My childhood friends, whom I've known since we were toddlers, are still the same few of them, even after most of my life has passed.
Lin Sitian corrected, "Only the two of us knew each other when we were wearing open-crotch pants; the other two met later."
Of course, compared to most of a lifetime, missing a couple of years is insignificant.
The next day.
"Happy retirement, Comrade Guan!"
Lin Ting's loud voice came through the phone, making their ears ring.
Guan Yuehe is planning to put her trip to the Northwest on the agenda. Even if she doesn't get to see her daughter, it would be good to visit old friends.
But before heading off on her long journey, she will stay in Beijing for a while longer, waiting for some old friends to arrive.
—
Since last year, Chunmei and her friends have been saying they want to come to Beijing to visit their teacher and her, and also to take a look around the capital.
However, due to various reasons, the plan was never implemented. It wasn't until July of this year that everyone finally made a final decision: they would come to watch the Olympics.
Before coming to Beijing, the group of women and their families went on a trip to another place together. Guan Yuehe, who was nearing retirement at the time, was furious every time she received their calls.
That's why she and Lin Yiku came here today specifically to pick them up.
Now you can't pick people up on the platform anymore; you just have to wait patiently outside for them to come out.
As the time approached, Guan Yuehe waited for the announcement of arrival.
These people are quite trendy. The country's first high-speed railway has only recently opened, and they made a special trip to the neighboring city to take a ride.
"Is that Yuehe?"
"Oh my, it's Yuehe! I recognized her at a glance!"
It would be strange if you didn't recognize her. She was holding up a big sign above her head that read "Classmate Guan Yuehe"!
The group that left on the rickety green train has returned to Beijing, riding the country's new speed.
It took exactly thirty-five years.
It took nearly two generations.
Author's note: After many revisions, I've decided to end it here.
I'll update the extra chapters after the main story is finished. I need a few days to sort out this book and organize the timeline (it's been a long and complicated process, and some parts are a bit blurry [facepalm and crying emoji]).
Lastly, I hope you'll rate this article. Thank you for following along, and see you next time! [heart emoji]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
