151. A shady dealing.
In July, Wuxing Automobile Factory held several meetings to discuss the joint venture project. Guan Yuehe, as the main person in charge of the project's external negotiations, participated in every meeting.
This meeting in early August was the fifth major discussion.
After the meeting, Zhang Xinbi waited for her to leave together. She had gone to Haishi on a business trip last month and hadn't participated in the meeting in Beijing. Now that she saw Guan Yuehe, she said, "It's been a while since I've seen you."
Guan Yuehe calculated the time; it had been half a year since February.
So, when Zhang Xinbi learned that her mother was pregnant, she was stunned for a long time. Six months had passed, and the baby was already four months along?!
Zhang Xinbi examined her closely and noticed that Guan Yuehe's belly was indeed a little swollen, but she hadn't noticed anything amiss because it was hidden by Guan Yuehe's briefcase.
"Such a joyous occasion, why didn't you even call to tell us? If you think phone calls are too expensive, you could have written a letter."
"Hmph!" Guan Yuehe waved her hand. "You're busy with important matters, why bother mentioning my little thing?"
But then, Guan Yuehe smiled and said, "I was thinking of bringing the baby over to give you a surprise after it's born!"
"Are you feeling alright? Has it affected your work?"
"Everything is fine, and work is going smoothly."
She hadn't specifically mentioned it to her colleagues at work, but now that it's been four months and it's summer, with thin clothes that can't cover it up, everyone has noticed.
The first to notice was Li Xuelian's colleague in the office. Last month, during lunch, she suddenly asked in surprise if she had gained weight. After that, everyone else found out.
Li Xuelian often left work with her, and Gao Zhiyuan and the others frequently talked to her about work. Since they saw each other every day, it was easy to miss that she had gained weight. On the contrary, it was other colleagues who didn't see her often who noticed her weight gain at first glance.
However, whether she was pregnant or not had no impact on her work. After hearing the news, Director An congratulated her and told her to speak up if she had any difficulties, emphasizing that her health was the most important thing. He didn't mention it again after that.
The fact that her boss didn't pay too much attention to her pregnancy actually relieved her.
Although she failed to scare Zhang Xinbi with the child, Guan Yuehe had other tricks up her sleeve.
Sure enough, Zhang Xinbi exclaimed with delight, "You're already learning Japanese? I told you long ago, you have a talent for languages, you should learn more!"
Guan Yuehe quickly said, "That's enough, that's enough. You've already learned a lot."
Zhang Xinbi did not press her advantage. She felt that every time Comrade Xiao Guan said he had "learned enough," he would grit his teeth and learn a little more.
She believed that once Comrade Xiao Guan had learned Japanese, she would begin new studies.
Zhang Xinbi, with her extensive experience, showered her with compliments until she blushed before stopping.
Comrade Xiao Guan loves sweet talk and is easily flattered.
—
On her way home from work that day, Guan Yuehe ran into Zhang Desheng, who was also returning home from get off work.
Guan Yuehe nodded to him and quickly pushed the cart home.
The last time she greeted Zhang Desheng, he addressed her as "Director Guan," leaving her momentarily unsure how to respond—should she call him "Teacher Zhang" or "Section Chief Zhang"?
She would occasionally refer to herself as "Director Guan" in front of family and friends, but she really couldn't get used to her neighbors calling her that outside.
How embarrassing.
Zhang Desheng received his postgraduate diploma and degree certificate, and went to work at the Municipal Education Bureau in early July.
Not long after taking office, he went to the Wuxing Automobile Factory's affiliated high school to learn about the pilot program of changing the high school to a three-year system.
I heard he really showed off in front of his former colleagues and bosses.
Zhang Desheng now looks like a high-ranking official.
However, despite Zhang Desheng's imposing demeanor as a high-ranking official outside, he would get furious and jump up and down whenever he checked his youngest son's homework at home.
The eldest son, Zhang Quanbin, was also a simpleton, only interested in having fun and watching his father's antics.
For example, right now, Guan Yuehe brought a bag of old clothes to Courtyard No. 3. Before she even entered the courtyard gate, she heard Zhang Desheng's furious roar: "Count on your fingers, what is five plus eight? If you don't have enough fingers, count your toes too!"
Guan Yuehe felt a pang of sympathy for the father and son. The father was struggling to teach them, and the son must be struggling to learn as well.
Upon entering courtyard number three, they were greeted by Ding Laowu, whom they hadn't seen in a long time.
In July, Ding Laowu also went to the street office to get a letter of introduction to go to Guangzhou. He hadn't appeared in the alley for almost a month. A few days ago, when he came back, Ding's family got a color TV and a washing machine. Ding's aunt also put on new clothes and looked smug at the entrance of the alley again.
No one found out what Ding Laowu brought back from Guangzhou; all they knew was that he must have made a lot of money again.
"Is there any information that the elderly folks in our alley can't find out?"
Guan Yuehe suspected that some elderly people were eavesdropping under the bed, since they could find out even the most private matters of other couples. But now, she couldn't find out what big business Ding Laowu was involved in?
“He moved out, where are we supposed to find out?” Jiang Guiying put down her needlework, made her stand up, and held the newly made trousers against her waist to measure.
He glanced at the old clothes she had pulled out and said, "The baby doesn't need to wear new clothes right after birth. The old clothes have been ironed and altered, so we can make do with them for now."
Guan Yuehe didn't listen to her completely. "These old clothes are enough to make diapers. Even if we don't make new clothes, we still need to wear them."
Last Sunday, Xie Dongxue picked out the good pieces of her daughter's outgrown clothes and brought them over. Adding to Gu Yu's old clothes, the small closet in her room was already half full, so there was no need to make new clothes.
Even though she and Lin Yiku have high salaries now, they can't waste money recklessly. They only have this one child, and the child grows up quickly. New clothes made will only be worn a few times before being stored away.
Gu Mannian, who was called back for dinner, waved his hand and said, "With me, the uncle, around, the kids will never lack cloth. Make new clothes if they want."
Guan Yuehe didn't respond to him, but then remembered that she had something to tell him.
With the autumn trade fair about to begin again, the list of team leaders was posted today, and her name was not on it this time.
But she wasn't idle either.
There was a foreign investment conference in September, and she was selected to attend the conference with the vice minister.
This time, the person leading the team to the Autumn Trade Fair was a different leader.
Guan Yuehe specifically told Gu Mannian that she would not be attending the Autumn Trade Fair.
"How about I ask one of my colleagues if they can bring you back a color TV?"
After all, when Gu Mannian returned from the Spring Trade Fair last time, she said that if she went to Guangzhou again, she would bring him one.
Gu Mannian told her not to worry, and said in a low voice, "A large number of color TVs have recently entered the market in Beijing. No tickets are needed, and the price is the same as those sold in department stores."
Guan Yuehe knew immediately that something fishy was going on.
Sure enough, Gu Mannian continued, "Your sister said that someone might be involved in smuggling, and that goods from the south are being transported to Beijing."
"What does this have to do with you buying a color TV? Are you planning to buy smuggled goods?"
"Do I look like I have the guts?" Gu Mannian rolled his eyes at her. At most, he would use his position to bring back some rare items from the countryside when he went to the countryside to buy supplies. He didn't dare to do it when his relatives from his hometown invited him to join them in reselling pork.
“If these smuggled goods are discovered, they will be confiscated. Confiscating them is fine, but with the crackdown on smuggling so severe these days, what if they were brought back from Guangzhou...? I'm afraid I won't be able to explain myself then.” Gu Mannian made up his mind and said, “I’d rather take Gu Yu to Mo Zhinan’s house to watch TV every night. When I get the tickets, I’ll go to the department store to buy them. With proper invoices, I won’t have to worry about anything.”
Guan Yuehe praised him, "Brother-in-law, you've thought of everything so thoroughly."
Gu Yu only listened to half of what was said, and excitedly said, "Great, Dad! Let's go to Mo Mingmiao's house to watch TV tonight!"
"...Dad is going to his foreign language class tonight, you can come with him."
Gu Yu sighed deeply, then mischievously pointed at Guan Yuehe, "My aunt knows many foreign languages, let her teach me!"
Jiang Guiying smiled and poked Gu Yu's forehead, "You're the best at making arrangements."
After putting away the old clothes that Guan Yuehe had brought, Jiang Guiying glanced at the time and said, "Stop chatting and set out the bowls and chopsticks for dinner."
Gu Mannian glanced at the three dishes and one soup on the table and exclaimed, "Oh!" He then turned to Guan Yuehe and said, "Thanks to Yuehe, autumn hasn't even arrived yet, and everyone's already starting to gain weight."
"What? Did I shortchange you?" Jiang Guiying glared at him.
"Oh dear, I misspoke. Mom, let me help you clean up."
"Go away, you're in the way." Jiang Guiying took an aluminum lunchbox and cleared out Guan Canghai's meal. There were many people getting their hair permed at the barbershop today, and the old man hadn't closed up shop and gone home yet.
Guan Yuehe raised an eyebrow. "You only left food for your husband, but not for your youngest son?"
"Him? Love makes me content with just water, I can't be bothered with him."
Little Mouth Gu Yu exclaimed loudly, "My uncle went on a date with his girlfriend! They went out to eat and see a movie after work! How fashionable!"
"Oh!" Guan Yuehe and Gu Mannian exclaimed in unison, "Who are you dating?"
Jiang Guiying didn't really know who it was, but she wasn't in a hurry to find out.
Of the five children she gave birth to, only Weiguo was someone she met through a blind date; the others were all people she found herself, and she only brought them home after things had progressed to a certain point.
Guan Yuehe retorted, "No! I brought Lin Yiku home as soon as we started dating."
"..." Jiang Guiying put a chicken leg in both her and Gu Yu's bowls. "Eat your food and don't talk."
After dinner, Gu Mannian took Gu Yu back to the Zhuoyue Garment Factory, just in time for the evening foreign language training class. After class, they would go back to their residential compound.
Guan Yuehe also returned home, just as Lin Yiku came home from get off work. She had just turned on the TV when Guan Aiguo, who had gone on a date with his boyfriend after get off work, suddenly showed up.
They also brought over two bottles of Coke.
Coca-Cola, which only went into production in April, is already on the shelves of department stores and department stores.
Guan Yuehe had paid close attention to the production and sales of Coca-Cola. When she first learned the price of Coca-Cola, she didn't show it at work, but as soon as she got home, she slapped her thigh and exclaimed, "What a rip-off! In March, it cost one dollar a bottle at the Guangzhou Friendship Store, and I even brought it back from all the way here! Now it's only 45 cents a bottle!"
Although it's cheaper now, Guan Yuehe hasn't bought any yet. Mainly because she doesn't have time to go to the department store.
Unexpectedly, Guan Aiguo was the first to deliver it to her.
"This foreign stuff is on sale at the department store; buy a bottle and get a free balloon."
Guan Aiguo thought to himself: If his second sister hadn't bought it before, he wouldn't have bought it. It's three times more expensive than Beibingyang soda and four times more expensive than the soda produced by our Wuxing Factory.
"We were browsing in the department store and noticed that there weren't many people buying anything."
They're both soft drinks, but Arctic Ocean soda has long been a staple in people's lives. Few people would specifically buy such an expensive imported soda.
Lin Yiku pinpointed the key point: "You went to the department store on a weekday? With whom?"
Guan Aiguo, who had been chattering away just moments before, suddenly fell silent, as if someone had choked him.
Under her brother-in-law's probing gaze, she put the cola on the table and slipped away.
What's wrong with him?
"He's dating someone." Guan Yuehe shrugged. Guan Aiguo wasn't going on a date after get off work; he took time off work to go on a date.
Wow, she never even considered taking time off work to go on dates when she was dating someone.
"Oh." Lin Yiku understood.
Upon closer inspection, Guan Aiguo is already twenty-two or twenty-three years old, which is normal for someone his age to be dating.
When Yuehe started dating him, she was only twenty-three.
Guan Yuehe was watching the news when she suddenly noticed him holding her hand and examining it closely.
"The watch you gave me, I've been looking at it for years, what's so interesting about it anymore?"
Guan Yuehe felt that his touching her hand would distract her from watching the news, so she pressed his hand down and said, "Watch TV!"
After watching for a short while, the TV suddenly went black, plunging the room into darkness.
The people outside the alley entrance yelled several times.
After a while, the power came back on, and everyone grumbled as they turned on the TV. After the screen flickered with static for a while, a normal picture appeared.
The television is broadcasting news that the government recently busted a group smuggling watches.
Author's note: See you at 10 PM... I need to get my chaotic sleep schedule back on track [cat paw]
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