Chapter 24 024 Door-to-Door Visit
Upon learning that the Zhuoyue Garment Factory had released the list of qualified candidates for its recruitment exam, Aunt Bai hurriedly took leave and rushed back, only to run into Aunt Ding, who had already returned after seeing the results.
When Aunt Ding saw the list, her first reaction was sadness that neither of her two grandsons had passed the exam. Her second reaction was that there was something wrong with the list: she could accept that her two grandsons had failed, but how could Bai Xianghong, who also had poor grades, pass? There must be something wrong!
Sure enough, whenever they met, Aunt Ding would ask Aunt Bai in a sarcastic tone where she had pulled some strings, and how she knew to only let Xiang Hong pass, making it seem as if Xiang Hong had passed the exam on her own merit.
Aunt Bai, who usually couldn't stand being insulted, completely ignored Aunt Ding's sarcastic remarks and could only think: Xiang Hong passed the exam?!
She ran to the garment factory, saw the name on the list, and then ran back to her daughter to confirm if number 169 was her exam number.
Bai Xianghong, who had returned after seeing the results, could only wipe away her tears and couldn't speak, nodding repeatedly.
While answering Aunt Bai's questions, Bai Yuejin also wiped his eyes. He had even more tears than her, saddened that he hadn't passed the exam, but also happy that his sister had passed and that he would have the opportunity to stay in the city.
At that moment, Wu Lanxiang, the elder sister-in-law of the two siblings, also ran back carrying her three-year-old daughter, excitedly shouting, "Xiang Hong! You passed the exam!"
Except for Bai Hongjun, who hadn't returned from get off work yet, the Bai family members hugged each other, crying and laughing.
They were happy, but the atmosphere at the Ding family's house next door was completely different.
Aunt Ding was upset and angrily scolded her two grandsons for being useless. She also suspected that the neighbors must have gotten in through connections, so she told them through the wall not to be too smug. She said she would go to the clothing factory the next day to put up a big-character poster reporting that someone was buying and selling quotas!
Aunt Bai was happy, but could she really allow others to slander her like this? Afraid that a fight would affect her daughter's job interview, she only scolded Aunt Ding at home.
Having learned the whole story from Jiang Guiying, Guan Yuehe was speechless.
The exam papers are all stored in the archives; anyone who suspects there's a problem with their grades can check them at any time. Putting up big-character posters doesn't make you a reason to back down.
But Aunt Bai was still somewhat rational. She stopped the fight before the car factory workers got off work, went to cook, and forbade her family members from going out to make a fuss.
Besides Bai Xianghong, two other women from Ginkgo Hutong passed the qualifying test. However, those two women were both high school students, top of their class, and their names were near the top of the list. Bai Xianghong, on the other hand, was at the bottom of the list, and if her interview wasn't good enough, she would likely be eliminated.
So, I still need to be extra careful and prepare for the interview on Sunday morning.
After a few days of excitement and liveliness, Ginkgo Alley became quiet and dull. The sweltering heat was like oil poured on a raging fire, making everyone even more irritable.
But this recruitment drive also caused some people to give up the struggle and resign themselves to preparing the items they would need for going to the countryside.
I took the recruitment exams for both the car factory and the garment factory, but failed both times. My family didn't have any extra jobs available, and I couldn't accept being sent to the countryside. What else could I do?
Some people even got their marriage certificates with their partners as soon as possible the next day, so the wedding banquet could be postponed.
It's likely that they knew the young people in Yinxing Hutong were preparing for recruitment exams recently, which is why the street office and the educated youth office didn't come to mobilize them a few days ago.
Once the list of qualified candidates was released, it coincided with the graduation exams for various junior and senior high schools, so the street office and the educated youth office launched another mobilization campaign.
The educated youth office even sought help from the automobile factory's labor union.
Those who do not meet the conditions for staying in the city and refuse to cooperate with the call to go to the countryside will have people from the automobile factory's labor union sent to do ideological work with their families.
Several families had people crying and wailing.
Jiang Guiying felt bad listening to this. When she went to Aunt Fang's house to borrow a sewing machine, she talked about taking over the job and said with relief, "It's good that Yuehe found a job on her own. Otherwise, Aiguo would have to go to the countryside in the future."
Aunt Fang felt fortunate that she only had two children; the older one didn't need to worry about work, and the younger one could take over. If she had two more, she would be in trouble.
Clearly, the old idea that "more children mean greater strength" is no longer applicable today.
With more children, even basic necessities like food and housing become problems, let alone finding a sought-after job.
As they talked, the conversation turned to Lin Sitian and Guan Yuehe's important life events.
"Then who's still looking for you?" Jiang Guiying raised her chin towards the main courtyard of the neighboring No. 2 courtyard.
Aunt Fang snorted, dissatisfied, "If she really wanted to matchmake Sitian and Zhengyi, she should have just told me openly. This half-hearted approach is pointless. Does she think her son Zhengyi is some kind of hot commodity? She's got her eye on Yuehe, and since you haven't said anything, she's already set her sights on my Sitian. Are we going to let her choose between our two daughters?"
Aunt Fang put the ball of yarn aside and continued, "Anyway, I can't stand her. She's honest and straightforward, but she listens to Aunt Zhao too much and has no opinions of her own. How can I expect her to support the family in the future?"
More importantly, she had talked to Sitian, and Sitian didn't like people like Chang Zhengyi. Since she didn't even approve of him, she wouldn't force the child.
Jiang Guiying found a kindred spirit and wholeheartedly agreed, saying, "I think so too. My Yuehe is very opinionated, and Aunt Zhao is a good person, but she's too domineering at home. If they live together in the future, the two housekeepers will easily clash."
"It's good that your Yuehe is assertive. A girl should be like that, with a gentle temperament. If she doesn't have a good-tempered husband's family, she might suffer a lot."
Aunt Fang suddenly sighed, "I'm not worried about Sitian. She's only nineteen, so I'll keep her here for at least two more years. It's the recollections of hardship that make me sad. If I weren't tied up here, I would have gone all the way south and made him get married before he came back."
"He's in the south and he's in the north, there's no use worrying about it. The organization won't just stand by and watch him stay single, they'll always introduce him to potential partners."
To be honest, Jiang Guiying thought that if Lin Yiku hadn't joined the army, given his previous mischievous and disruptive behavior of climbing on roof beams and removing tiles three times a day, he probably wouldn't have been able to find a wife in Ginkgo Hutong.
"Forget it, let's not talk about him anymore." Aunt Fang waved her hand and said, "I get angry as soon as I talk about him."
Just then, Lin Sitian returned from outside, carrying a large package. "Mom, my brother sent something back."
Aunt Fang, who had just been complaining, immediately stood up. "Quickly, check if the letter has been mailed..."
Jiang Guiying smiled and shook her head, helping them put away the needles, thread, and yarn balls so as not to delay them from unpacking the package, saying they could use the sewing machine another day.
"No, with our relationship, you can keep using it." Aunt Fang wanted to check the package, but also wanted to call her old friend back. Standing in the middle of the living room, she didn't know which to look at.
"Hey! I'm not in a hurry. I'll come find you another day, then we can talk."
"Alright then."
After seeing Jiang Guiying out, Aunt Fang hurriedly turned back into the house to check the opened package. The letters inside had already been opened by her daughter.
"Quick, read it to me! What did your brother say? Did his boss introduce him to anyone?"
"Don't rush me, let me see... My brother said he's done another good deed and has finally been promoted to battalion commander!"
People in the alley used to say that her brother was successful because he became a battalion commander. Although her parents explained many times that he was a deputy battalion commander, people always omitted the word "deputy".
"I sent back some local dried fruit and seafood so you don't need to make clothes for him anymore; he doesn't wear them often... Oh, and I've attached a recent photo. He'll send his salary for the first half of the year when he's on vacation, so you can save it for him to use when he gets married..."
As Lin Sitian read, she shook the envelope, and a photo and two watch tickets fell out.
"Two watch tickets, for Sitian and Yuehe... Hmph, at least he still knows he's the older brother and didn't leave me out."
Lin Sitian held two watch receipts stamped with the official seal of Beijing Department Store in her hand, deep in thought. After her mother gave her the old watch, her father gave her a new one, and Yuehe bought a watch herself... The extra one was perfect to give to Xu Chengcai!
I wonder how her brother got the tickets. I'm thinking of saying nice things about him in my reply, and maybe even sending him something...
Aunt Fang took the photo. In the photo, Lin Yiku was wearing a military uniform, standing on the training ground, grinning with his teeth showing. The black and white photo didn't show that Lin Yiku had changed from fair to dark, but he seemed to have grown taller and stronger than he had three years ago.
After looking at the photos and feeling sad for a while, she remembered the important matter and asked, "Didn't your brother say he was going home for vacation this year? Also, he's sending his salary back to save for his future marriage. Has his boss introduced him to any potential partners?"
Lin Sitian turned the letter over to look at the back, shrugged, and said, "It didn't say anything."
"That little bastard is fooling people again! I'll call him and ask him tomorrow!"
Lin Sitian stuck out her tongue. Her brother had always been particularly annoying since he was a child. Look, even her mother, who is usually so good-tempered, easily gets angry when he is mentioned.
After putting away the watch ticket that had traveled across most of the country, Lin Sitian began to look at the other items in the package.
Guan Yuehe also received a small bag of dried fruit. She immediately took out a piece, took a bite, and kept nodding and saying it was delicious.
Although she didn't need the watch ticket Lin Yiku sent back, he had helped her find it, so she should at least express her gratitude.
"What are you sending to your brother? I'll contribute some money too."
Lin Sitian didn't refuse, and even dragged Xu Cheng into it, saying, "Let Xu Cheng contribute as well."
Xu Cheng, who had received the watch voucher, nodded eagerly, "When sending things to our brother, I have to get a share!"
Lin Sitian rolled her eyes. "You're such a bootlicker. When my brother tricked you into climbing onto the roof and you couldn't get down, didn't you say you'd never call him brother again?"
"...Is that so? You must be mistaken."
Guan Yuehe laughed loudly, "You were so scared you peed your pants, and Ding Xuewen got soaked climbing the ladder to catch you."
Xu Cheng's face instantly turned red, and he jumped up and down in anger and embarrassment, "Say that again and I'll get angry!"
Guan Yuehe stopped talking, but she and Lin Sitian laughed until they were breathless.
Lin Yiku's letter only caused a brief stir in Ginkgo Hutong before everyone's attention turned to the job interviews at Zhuoyue Garment Factory on Sunday morning.
No one in the Guan family had time to care about other people's affairs; the whole family was waiting for Guan Yuehua's boyfriend to come to their door.
Guan Canghai and Jiang Guiying pulled out white shirts that they didn't usually wear and sat upright on the sofa waiting for someone to come, but they would occasionally crane their necks to look outside.
Guan Yuehe also came early to help, taking Weiwei and Jingjing out to buy peanuts, melon seeds and fruit candies to entertain the guests, and then she took a small stool and sat down next to them.
My eldest uncle is the production team leader, and it's the busy season for farming, so he doesn't have time to come home. My second brother and aunt also need to earn work points, so they're too.
Otherwise, for such an important event as the eldest sister's boyfriend's first visit, her uncle's family would definitely have to be invited.
Speaking of her older sister's boyfriend, she only found out his name was Gao Yuansen last night.
Coincidentally, Gao Yuansen is Gao Xiaofang's cousin, but the high school classmate her sister mentioned wasn't Gao Xiaofang, but Gao Yuansen's younger sister, Gao Yuanlin.
She wasn't familiar with her sister's high school classmates, since she had never followed her sister around before and didn't know who her sister was close to.
"Aiguo, go to the alley entrance and see if the person has arrived yet?"
Guan Aiguo said "Oh," ran out, and ran back in less than a minute. "Mom, we've arrived."
Guan Canghai and Jiang Guiying immediately busied themselves, tugging at their clothes, touching their hair, craning their necks to take a look, and then quickly sitting up straight when they heard the exclamations of the neighbors in the courtyard.
Guan Yuehe found it amusing. Her sister-in-law had been just as nervous when she first visited, and now, several years later, her sister's boyfriend was visiting, and they were still like this.
Weiwei and Jingjing couldn't sit still. They leaned against the door and peeked out, shouting without any regard for their voices, "Auntie's boyfriend is here!"
They weren't cheering for their aunt's boyfriend, but for the meat they'd bought to entertain him. So they were eagerly awaiting his arrival.
Lin Yufeng grabbed one of them with each hand, saying, "Stop making a fuss!"
If you were to ask who in the family most hoped that Guan Yuehua would find a good partner and get married, it wouldn't be her parents, Guan Canghai and Jiang Guiying, but rather her elder brother and sister-in-law, Guan Jianguo and Lin Yufeng.
Jingjing is over two years old and not difficult to take care of, so she and Guan Jianguo are thinking of having another child. They plan to put up a bunk bed in the room where Guan Yuehua lives and move the two children there.
Everyone in the house had their own thoughts, while the neighbors in the alley were all incredibly loud.
"Yuehua, is this your boyfriend?" After her initial surprise, she looked him up and down, focusing on the gifts he was carrying.
With canned fruit and malted milk powder, the gifts I brought for my first visit were quite substantial.
He's quite handsome, a bit less so than Jin Junwei, but better than Xie Zhenhua. Of course, Yuehua is a vain girl; she wouldn't choose a partner from a group of short guys.
Guan Yuehua was in a rare good mood, her temper subsided, and a smile appeared on her face. When asked by a neighbor, she replied, "Yes, this is my boyfriend, Comrade Gao Yuansen."
But when others pressed her for details about her boyfriend's workplace and home address, she stopped talking and continued walking inside with Gao Yuansen.
When they reached the entrance of Courtyard No. 3, they saw Gao Yuansen stop and take a deep breath. Guan Yuehua said with a smile, "You know about my family. They're not difficult to get along with, so you don't need to worry."
Gao Yuansen smiled sheepishly, "I'm quite nervous about this first visit."
Stepping into courtyard number three, he saw several people sitting at the doorways of each house in the front yard, all eyes fixed on him. His heart, which had finally relaxed a little, began to pound with tension again.
The people in Compound No. 3 knew that Guan Yuehua was bringing her boyfriend home today, so instead of joining the crowds at the garment factory's recruitment event, they stayed in the compound to wait and see what kind of man Guan Yuehua would bring back.
"Dad, Mom." Guan Yuehua led the group into the house and introduced them: "This is my boyfriend, Gao Yuansen. This is my parents, my older brother and sister-in-law, my younger brother and sister-in-law, and my nephews and nieces."
Gao Yuansen stood up straight and said, "Hello, Uncle and Aunt!"
Guan Canghai gave a faint "hmm," and Jiang Guiying secretly pinched him.
Jiang Guiying warmly invited him to sit down, and seeing that he had brought a lot of things, she said he was too polite.
After exchanging pleasantries, Jiang Guiying got down to business and began asking about Gao Yuansen's personal situation.
"Xiao Gao, when did you start working? Oh, you've been working for six years, two years earlier than Yuehua. No one in our family works in the railway system. What do you usually do at work? Is it busy?"
Gao Yuansen placed his hands on his knees and answered the questions one by one: "I work as a projectionist at the railway bureau's cinema. I'm not usually very busy."
"Working at the movie theater is great. There's a guy in our compound who works as a projectionist there." He was referring to Xu Chengcai's third brother. It's all thanks to Xu's wife's family's connections; otherwise, how could Xu Chengcai have found such a good job?
After praising Gao Yuansen, Jiang Guiying asked him how his family was doing.
Although it was Gao Yuansen's first visit to his girlfriend's home, he knew some of the "jargon." Without Jiang Guiying asking, he started talking about the other family members.
In Gao Yuansen's family, his father is a railway track worker, and his mother used to be a ticket seller, but she handed the job over to his younger sister and now stays at home to take care of the household chores. He also has two older brothers who are both married and work for the railway bureau.
These days, job postings from various systems mostly circulate internally, and some companies even explicitly state that they only hire children of their own employees. Therefore, it's not uncommon for entire families to work in the same system or factory.
The Gao family seemed to be doing well, but Jiang Guiying wasn't entirely satisfied with one thing: Gao Yuansen's family hadn't separated into different households; the whole family lived in the same building, their houses weren't connected, but they ate together as a family.
Gao Yuansen's eldest brother was allocated a house and lives in it alone with his wife and children. Gao Yuansen's second brother was also allocated a house, but he lent it to his brother-in-law and now lives in the large house that Gao's parents used to have with his wife and children.
Gao Yuansen's parents' house is quite large, a 50-square-meter apartment divided into three rooms. If Gao Yuansen's sister hadn't gotten married, even three rooms wouldn't be enough for them.
Gao Yuansen hasn't been allocated a house yet, but he will be eligible after getting married. In that case, he will have to live with his parents first.
Jiang Guiying wasn't unhappy that her daughter wanted to live with her in-laws; the housing situation was cramped, and it was already a blessing if they had any spare rooms for her daughter's wedding.
She was worried that Gao Yuansen's second brother and sister-in-law were difficult to get along with, and that no family would squeeze into their parents' room after being allocated a house, leaving their brothers to live in cramped conditions.
She felt a little dissatisfied, but didn't show it on her face. Turning her head, she saw her eldest daughter with a long face. Was she upset that she had asked too many questions?
Jiang Guiying cursed her eldest daughter in her heart, but didn't ask any more questions about the Gao family. She just invited Gao Yuansen to drink some water.
To prepare for Gao Yuansen's meal, the family had saved up all their meat coupons for the month. Jiang Guiying went to buy meat early in the morning and happened to run into someone selling fish privately, so she bought one as well. Today's lunch was very sumptuous.
Guan Canghai, who hadn't had a chance to speak until now, finally seized the opportunity and chatted with Gao Yuansen with a smile. They talked about everyday trivial matters. Gao Yuansen felt that the Guan family was quite amiable, and his shoulders unconsciously leaned back in his chair, and he relaxed completely.
Guan Yuehe, the invisible woman, had noticed early on that her sister's expression was off.
When Gao Yuansen mentioned that his second brother and sister-in-law were also living at home, his sister frowned, as if it was the first time she had heard about this.
At noon, the aroma of meat wafted from the house, making the children in courtyard number three drool and keep looking towards the main courtyard. But even the most unreasonable Aunt Ding wouldn't let her children go to the Guan family's house.
Normally, if a child comes to someone's house begging for food, at most they're just annoying. But now, if someone's family is entertaining their daughter's boyfriend and the child, who's still too young to understand, comes begging for food, then they're making a fool of themselves in Ginkgo Alley and even in the railway bureau's residential compound.
After lunch, Gao Yuansen sat for a while longer before getting up to say goodbye. Jiang Guiying then sorted out the gifts he had brought, took out two cans of food, added two packets of pastries as a return gift, and returned the valuable items like malted milk powder as is.
After arguing back and forth at his doorstep for a while, Gao Yuansen finally took the return gift and left.
Guan Yuehua saw him off, and only stopped when they were quite a distance from Ginkgo Alley did she question him: "Didn't you say before that your second brother had been allocated a house? Why is he still living at home?"
Gao Yuansen looked helpless. "I only found out later that my second sister-in-law's younger brother didn't have a house to get married, so he lent out the house they were allocated. Don't worry, once my second sister-in-law's younger brother gets his own house, my second brother will move out."
"What if they keep not getting housing?"
"Oh? No way, we'll definitely get housing in a year or two at most. Even if we don't, it's okay, we'll live at home. After the wedding, my two nephews will definitely share a room with my second brother and sister-in-law..."
Guan Yuehua frowned even more, feeling annoyed that her plans had been suddenly disrupted.
Seeing Gao Yuansen's carefree expression, she felt uneasy and didn't agree with his talk of marriage. Suppressing her anger, she said, "The car is here. You can go back now."
"Okay. Are we going to the movies again next Sunday? They're showing...."
"We'll see." Guan Yuehua turned and walked back before he even got into the car.
There was a pebble lying in the middle of the road, which she kicked to the side of the road.
Before she could completely calm down, she was greeted by Liu the matchmaker at the alley entrance in a strange voice: "Yuehua, you've found a good partner yourself, he works for the railway bureau, no wonder you didn't like the one I introduced."
"So you're blind? You insist that something dirty and smelly smells good. You think older, divorced men are good? Why don't you introduce one to yourself?"
"Others are easy to talk to, but I'm not. I'm too lazy to bother with you today. If you dare to say a word against me in public, I'll have Guan Yuehe slap you across the face!"
Guan Yuehua glared at her warningly, then turned into courtyard number three with a sullen face, not seeing Guan Yuehe who was about to step out of courtyard number two.
Liu the matchmaker was so angry at that she couldn't even retaliate. Just as she came to her senses, she spat on the ground and was about to open her mouth to curse when she looked up and saw Guan Yuehe.
Matchmaker Liu: "......"
Guan Yuehe: "......"
After staring at each other for a full minute, Guan Yuehe spoke first, "Aunt Liu, are you about to start a tirade?"
Matchmaker Liu: "...Nothing of the sort. Hehe."
Just then, a gasp came from the alley entrance: "Xiang Hong has been recruited?!"
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