096 Little Secret
"Didn't the notice say that we should report for duty on the 8th of next month?"
"The notice said that the teacher said there weren't enough people and asked me to help."
She was truly impressed. A few years ago, when she was studying at the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University, the teachers compiled textbooks on the spot. Now that she's going to pursue a master's degree, the teachers are still compiling textbooks on the spot. She always manages to catch up with them.
Although she knew she was going to school, it was still quite a while before Lin Yiku had to accept the news that it was suddenly brought forward by more than half a month.
When are you going?
"I need to explain the situation to the factory, maybe in the next few days." Guan Yuehe turned around and saw him staring at her expectantly, and she could roughly understand his feelings.
When he has to go on a mission unexpectedly, she feels reluctant to leave and unaccustomed to it.
The next day, Guan Yuehe went to see Section Chief Long to explain the situation. Section Chief Long readily agreed and handed over the remaining work to Tao Cheng, thus temporarily ending her work at the Zhuoyue Garment Factory.
Forgetting to reflect on her experiences as a worker at the Zhuoyue Garment Factory, seeing Tao Cheng's wide smile, she guessed, "Congratulations?"
Tao Cheng smiled even more broadly, "Congratulations to you too."
In the afternoon, the factory issued the latest personnel transfer notice: Tao Cheng was finally appointed as the deputy head of the planning department, and Mo Zhinan was appointed as the head of the purchasing department.
Li Pengcheng was furious. When he saw Gu Mannian humming a song and beckoning Guan Yuehe to go back to Ginkgo Alley together, he became even angrier: Gu Mannian must have known all along that Mo Zhinan was going to be transferred to the purchasing department as the head of the department!
At the same time, he was also annoyed that he had miscalculated and should have applied to be transferred to the planning department!
As soon as Gu Mannian stepped out of the factory gate, leaving the rest of the workers behind, he couldn't wait to gloat, "Did you see Li Pengcheng's expression just now? He was so angry he turned green." He even had to stand in front of the bulletin board, gritting his teeth and forcing a smile.
Li Pengcheng tried to ruin his reputation in order to get a promotion! Hmph, all his efforts were in vain! Serves him right!
Guan Yuehe saw it, but she was only concerned about whether his family would cause trouble later.
“Let him scheme against people, he’s really biting off more than he can chew!” Gu Mannian said, “His cousin is no ordinary person. Li Pengcheng introduced her to a worker at an electric fan factory, and she’s only stopped causing trouble now that they’re married.”
Otherwise, the last shred of dignity that Li Pengcheng's family had in the residential compound would be torn apart by his cousin sooner or later.
That's why they say evil people need to be tormented by other evil people.
"Your decision to start school came quite suddenly; the factory wasn't prepared at all."
Guan Yuehe laughed, "It's me going to school, what preparations does the factory need to make? Are they going to give me a big red flower as a reward at the workers' meeting at the end of the month?"
"The factory made a banner for you, but it's not finished yet and we're not hanging it at the factory gate."
Guan Yuehe looked regretful, "I missed a chance to show off!"
Otherwise, she would have to go to the factory early in the morning and stand under the banner to welcome her colleagues to work.
Gu Mannian: "......"
Perhaps because the work ended so suddenly, Guan Yuehe hadn't yet felt any reluctance about "temporarily, or perhaps forever, saying goodbye to Zhuoyue Garment Factory."
She refused Gu Yu's requests to call her "Auntie" and "Cici," and began to pack her luggage to take to school.
The clothes were taken out of the closet, and a large part of the closet was instantly emptied.
She needs to take the tape recorder with her, and she also needs to take the books and tapes... Wow! How did she accumulate so many books!
As she was packing and muttering about how much stuff she had, Lin Sitian returned, smelling strongly of medicine, and invited her to the bathhouse for a scrub.
"Now that you're in school, I can't find any friends to come to the bathhouse with."
Guan Yuehe introduced her to a suitable bathing partner, saying, "You and Cao Lili are a good match to come for a bath together."
Both of them are too fragile to handle; they scream and howl when you apply even a little force.
“We’re the real best friends, it’s different,” Lin Sitian sighed. “Ever since Xu Cheng started working, it’s been so hard for us to get together. Later, you even took turns going to school!”
Although she made some good friends at work, in training courses, and at school, she and Yuehe were the best!
Guan Yuehe glanced at her sideways and said with certainty, "You have a secret!"
The bathhouse was getting more and more crowded. Lin Sitian didn't respond to her words, but instead told her about the trouble that had happened in the hospital ward that day. Her patient had gone to watch the commotion and ended up laughing so hard that he reopened his wound.
The older women in the bathhouse immediately gathered around, asking, "Are you from the new residential compound? I heard someone suspected their husband of having an affair, got scolded by their mother-in-law at home, and it turned out that their father-in-law was the one having an affair. The old man ended up in the hospital. Is that true?"
Guan Yuehe no longer cared about Lin Sitian's little secret and urged her to hurry up and tell the gossip.
But now Lin Sitian is a doctor, unlike when she was a nurse, she can't find excuses to gossip, so she's much slower at keeping up with gossip.
I'll tell you tomorrow.
"You absolutely must come for a bath tomorrow!" the older woman reminded Lin Sitian.
After leaving the bathhouse, Lin Sitian looked around and, seeing that no one was around, said, "I suspect that Chen Lizhong has feelings for me."
"Who?" Guan Yuehe was a little stunned when she heard the news. The words seemed familiar.
"Chen Lizhong, a pig-raising expert." Lin Sitian wondered if Guan Yuehe only remembered his nickname and had forgotten his real name.
"What do you mean? Did you meet with him privately?" Guan Yuehe recalled the several gatherings where Si Tian and Chen Lizhong were present, but she didn't find anything unusual. When did Chen Lizhong start having these thoughts?
But it's not surprising that Chen Lizhong has his own ideas. Many people like Sitian and want to pursue her, so it's normal for him to be one of them.
“After we had dinner last time, he came to our hospital to visit relatives and stopped by to see me. He wanted to ask me to help him out, so he treated me to dinner. In total, I’ve seen him at the hospital six times. The time before last, he asked me if my supervisor had introduced him to anyone. The last time, he asked me what kind of person I was looking for.”
She's had relationships before, and she's been pursued by classmates and colleagues quite a few times. Chen Lizhong's behavior when he's alone with her is very abnormal.
Guan Yuehe calculated the time; less than ten days had passed since their last meal together, and they had already met six times.
"Yes, it's quite possible." After she took a liking to Lin Yiku, she went to him every day. She considered herself an experienced "veteran" and thought Chen Lizhong was indeed suspicious.
“But he’s still in college, so he can’t date.” Guan Yuehe reminded her, “If you two start dating, you must keep it a secret and don’t let anyone else know.”
If someone with ulterior motives discovers this and reports it to the school, Chen Lizhong might be expelled. It would be such a waste to be expelled after all that hard work to get back here.
"It's best not to talk about it during this time." If the two of them like each other, it would be better to wait until Chen Lizhong graduates before talking about it.
“I won’t date him. If he even thinks about dating while he’s in school, I’ll give him a piece of my mind!” She doesn’t date people who don’t know what’s important.
Guan Yuehe never questioned Lin Sitian's intelligence when it came to dating, and chimed in, "I could beat him into a pig's head too."
"whee."
After they finished talking, they kept the matter to themselves, making it another little secret between them.
Lin Yiku saw the two of them whispering to each other from afar, so she slowed down her pace and waited until they were both home before pushing her cart back to Courtyard No. 2.
If she could let him know, Guan Yuehe would have told him that very day, unless she had forgotten about it. He didn't hear her mention Sitian until he went to work the next day, which told him that he couldn't know their little secret.
But at this moment, he couldn't care less about what little secrets the two of them might have.
He knew she was going to school early when he saw a full suitcase on the sofa, half the bookshelf in the bedroom was empty, and two shelves in the wardrobe were also empty.
But he didn't expect it to be so much earlier than planned.
"Leaving tomorrow?"
"Go early and finish the work early, and maybe you can come back for a few days before school starts." The main reason is that she has experience going to university and doesn't lack anything. She can just pack her bags and leave without having to stay at home any longer.
"I can't take the day off tomorrow." Lin Yiku looked at her apologetically. His unit's training was busy, and they rarely had time to talk to each other throughout the day.
Guan Yuehe didn't care about that. She patted her luggage bag and said, "You don't need to see me off. I can even carry you, so carrying this is no problem for me."
When it comes to spending time together, she cares even less. If he's not free, does that mean she is?
"I'm going to test the results of my years of independent learning!"
Guan Yuehe stood proudly with her hands on her hips, her face practically screaming: "Watch me show off in front of the teachers and classmates!"
He even solemnly reminded Lin Yiku, "Deputy Regiment Commander Lin, falling behind means being vulnerable to attack. You can't fall behind in your studies!"
Lin Yiku's reluctance to part was half dissipated by her words, and he couldn't help but reach out and pinch her cheek, "I know, Deputy Section Chief Guan."
"Wait!" Guan Yuehe reached out to stop him from hugging her. "You smell of sweat, don't hug me!"
Lin Yiku insisted on getting closer, asking, "It doesn't smell like soap anymore?"
"Hey... if you keep acting like that, don't blame me for beating you up!"
Guan Aiguo, who came over to deliver the little leather shoes to her, immediately dropped his cheeky expression. He didn't dare to show off in front of his second sister. Even Yi Ku Ge got beaten up, so he'd better behave himself.
Fearing that the fight between the two immortals inside might affect him, Guan Aiguo waited outside the door for a while. When he heard Lin Yiku going to boil water for a bath, he peeked inside and saw his second sister watching TV before going in.
A square cardboard box was placed on the table. Guan Aiguo didn't look at her and awkwardly said, "I didn't break my promise."
"What is that?"
"Little leather shoes." Guan Aiguo glanced at her discreetly, then looked back at the shoebox. "My salary is pretty high now."
Guan Yuehe raised an eyebrow, got up to open the box, and inside was a pair of small black leather shoes. If he hadn't come to deliver the shoes, she would have forgotten that he had said he would definitely buy her a pair of shoes when he had a salary.
"Aren't you still a temporary worker? How much can your salary be?"
Guan Aiguo immediately became proud, "My perming skills are good, which brings in a lot of revenue for the barbershop. My monthly bonus is as much as my salary."
The two combined make a considerable sum.
"Second sister, try them on. If they don't fit, you can exchange them."
It was a rare treat to receive a gift from Guan Aiguo, so Guan Yuehe didn't stand on ceremony and immediately tried it on. She walked around the living room and found that it fit perfectly, so she didn't need to change!
Lin Yiku brought out a half-full bucket of hot water from the kitchen and exclaimed, "It looks beautiful."
Guan Aiguo called out "Brother-in-law," and after he left, while Guan Yuehe was looking down at her shoes, he rolled his eyes: "Did he even see the shoes? He's just staring at his second sister's face and saying they're pretty!"
"Isn't my eye good?" Guan Aiguo waited to be praised.
"Great, keep it up!" Guan Yuehe exclaimed, "We've finally recouped some of the money we spent on buying you sneakers."
Guan Aiguo didn't forget the sneakers his second sister had bought him, which satisfied his little vanity at the time. Even though his second sister absolutely refused to buy him Warrior brand sneakers.
He immediately said generously, "Go to the hair salon on your day off, and I'll treat you to a perm!"
"Forget about getting your hair permed. Next time, you can treat me to a meal at the state-run restaurant next to the car factory."
It would be cheaper to treat her to a meal, but Guan Aiguo was unconvinced, "Second sister, you don't believe in my hair-perming skills!"
That's a huge misunderstanding! She didn't believe it at first, but so many people have praised him, and she's not deaf.
"The school does not allow students to perm their hair."
"Huh? Oh." Guan Aiguo scratched his head. "You can get your hair permed after you graduate. I'll practice for another three years, and I'm sure I can do a better perm then."
Why do you have to perm your hair?
Guan Yuehe replied perfunctorily, "Okay, I'll get my hair permed by you next time."
After admiring her new shoes, Guan Yuehe realized that Guan Aiguo's appearance had changed drastically.
Before going to the countryside, he wanted to dress up but didn't have the money. After going, he received a stipend from his family, but for the sake of convenience while working, he didn't bother with dressing up. Now it's different. He's applied a lot of hair oil, and while he's still wearing a white polyester shirt, the style of his clothes makes him look more energetic. Oh, and he's even wearing Zhuoyue brand sneakers.
She joked, "Didn't you used to insist on buying Warrior sneakers?"
Guan Aiguo grinned, showing his teeth, "I didn't wear it today, but I bought it anyway."
Guan Yuehe: "......"
Okay, sure, people who love to look good can't possibly own only one pair of shoes.
After giving the gift, Guan Aiguo did not leave immediately.
He bought the shoes a few days ago, intending to give them to his second sister before she started school in September, but he didn't expect her to go to school earlier.
"Do you have something else to do?" Guan Yuehe wrapped the shoes in old newspapers, picked up her duffel bag, shook it to make some room, and stuffed the new shoes inside.
"My older brother's house has been allocated, and he'll be moving there in a while."
Guan Yuehe said "oh". She knew last month that her older brother had been allocated a house, but he had been waiting for the people in the house to vacate for a month before moving to the new house.
Seeing that Guan Aiguo seemed hesitant to speak, she asked directly, "Do you feel awkward because you haven't reconciled with your older brother and sister-in-law?"
Guan Aiguo gave an awkward "hmm".
But he also felt that it wasn't entirely his fault.
“I snore and I can’t control it. Weiwei thinks it’s noisy, so my sister-in-law tells me to go to bed later, saying that Weiwei dozes off at school during the day, even though he stays up late at night reading comic books under the covers… I said it’s Weiwei’s problem, and my sister-in-law said that I don’t want to share a room with Weiwei. My sister-in-law also brought up how my brother found me a job, saying how good my brother is to me, and told me not to worry about it.”
Guan Aiguo said aggrievedly, "It's not the first time I've shared a room with Weiwei, and I didn't say anything!"
“Last week, my sister-in-law asked Weiwei to pack his things. I heard her say to Weiwei that he and Yangyang would be sharing a room from now on, and that he should just bear with it a little longer.”
He was so angry that he rushed in and confronted Weiwei, demanding to know whether his snoring was keeping him awake or if he was staying up too late reading comic books, which caused him to be sleepy in class.
Weiwei pulled out a shoebox full of comic books from under his bed, and his sister-in-law finally fell silent.
Perhaps feeling embarrassed that he had overheard their private conversation, she didn't say a word to him at home.
His parents thought he had a private argument with his older brother and sister-in-law over the family house.
"Second sister, you be the judge, how can this be entirely my fault?"
Guan Yuehe was wondering why she hadn't thought to just rush in and confront them when she heard her sister-in-law and Lin Yuzhen discussing changing jobs.
"Second sister?"
Guan Yuehe came back to her senses. "There's nothing to argue about, and you don't need to take it to heart. Think about this again after some time, and you might find it insignificant."
As you get older, you'll have different ideas about how to handle family relationships.
Because of the new shoes, she added a word of advice, "Look at your older sister, when has she ever cared about her relationships with relatives?"
“...Yes.” Guan Aiguo glanced at his second sister and thought to himself: You too.
"Alright, you've finished complaining. You can go now. Don't keep me from watching TV." The thought of not being able to watch TV every day at school made Guan Yuehe really want to move the TV to her dormitory.
As soon as Guan Aiguo stepped out, he was almost startled by Lin Yiku, who was squatting outside the door drying her hair.
"Finished talking? Want to chat a little longer?"
Guan Aiguo could hear another meaning in those words: Why do you have so much nonsense to say?
His second brother-in-law wasn't as easy to talk to as his eldest brother-in-law. "I'm leaving now, brother-in-law."
Lin Yiku finally got up and went back to her room.
Before going to bed that night, Guan Yuehe told Lin Yiku what she had been thinking.
"I actually managed to resist rushing in and beating up those two sisters... no, I couldn't beat both of them by myself."
Lin Yiku also thought of her sister's good friend from her memories, praising her for not impulsively hitting someone back then, as it was highly likely she couldn't have won.
"What if I hadn't joined Zhuoyue Garment Factory back then, and I was unemployed after graduation?"
Who could say for sure? At the time, no one expected the mandatory rural relocation policy to come out two years later. She didn't insist on waiting until graduation to ask her family for help.
"Relying on others is unreliable; relying on yourself is the most dependable thing." Guan Yuehe didn't think too much about it and patted the notice, letter of introduction, and certificate on the table. "A happy life must be created by oneself."
Lin Yiku didn't say anything, but kept staring at her.
"Of course, our good life now is also thanks to Comrade Lin Yiku's contribution." Guan Yuehe gave examples: "Television, camera, new sofa..."
Lin Yiku: "Did I contribute my share, or did I contribute my savings for a wife?"
Guan Yuehe laughed heartily, jokingly saying, "Although they later mandated going to the countryside, it wasn't impossible. Just find a working man to go on a blind date with and marry, and you can avoid it. Hehe, if I really don't have a job, Sitian will definitely come and ask me, 'Why don't you get a marriage certificate with her brother first, haha, then maybe we can get married a few years earlier...'"
As she laughed, Guan Yuehe suddenly thought of something else and whispered mischievously, "She still contributed her share."
She even winked at him after she finished speaking.
Lin Yiku remained silent. She really was something else!
He didn't reply, but urged her to quickly pack her documents and other necessary items, saying, "You need to go to school tomorrow, go to bed early."
"No need." Guan Yuehe glanced at the watch on her desk. It was only nine o'clock, and the power hadn't been cut off yet. Her study time for the evening wasn't over.
"I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon, so I don't need to get up early."
Lin Yiku took a deep breath, finally managing to clear her mind of all her chaotic thoughts, when she suddenly noticed that she was secretly laughing.
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