153 was arrested (a section was added).
Even after Aunt Ding and Old Man Ding, who had been arguing the loudest, were arrested, the noise in Courtyard No. 3 did not subside.
Two police officers stayed behind. They wanted to find Ding Laoda and his wife to find out Ding Xianguang's whereabouts and to take away the things that Ding Laowu had brought back.
The neighbors then realized that the Ding family had made such a fuss tonight that even the Ding family, who had moved to the gatehouse of courtyard number two, had come back to ask what was going on, while Ding Xianguang, who usually lived at home, had not shown up.
"Ding Xianguang followed his uncle around all day, hoping to get rich together. Now look what happened, he didn't get rich, and he's fallen into a pit too."
"The most serious of the drivers involved in the factory's internal strife will be shot. Ding Laowu and Ding Xianguang, that uncle and nephew... tsk tsk, they'll definitely not get away with it!"
At first, only neighbors from courtyards No. 2 and No. 4 squeezed in to watch the commotion, but when the police made such a big fuss while arresting people, even the courtyards at the very back of the alley heard the news and rushed over. The front yard of courtyard No. 3 was packed with people.
It's lunchtime, and many people are coming out with their bowls and chopsticks. They tiptoe to peek in, chat with their neighbors for a bit, and then take a bite of their food.
The Guan family was about to start their meal when the commotion in the front yard prevented them from eating.
Guan Yuehe took some time to go home and get a large bowl, then brought out the food and ate while watching the commotion.
Tonight's lively atmosphere is really entertaining.
When the police entered the house and asked about the situation, Sister-in-law Ding suddenly burst into tears and cursed everyone in the Ding family.
Aunt Ding is a wicked mother-in-law, a biased and wicked woman; Ding Laowu is a troublemaker who has never learned anything good since childhood; Ding Laoda is incompetent... Even Ding Laosi, who has been away from home for more than ten years, was not left out, and it was said that he deserved not to have passed the college entrance examination.
Hearing this, Guan Yuehe chuckled, feeling so proud of Ding Xuewen that she wanted to shake her leg.
It took a full hour for the front yard to quiet down, but in Ginkgo Hutong, it was impossible to find any peace and quiet.
When Jiang Guiying saw the police enter the house to question Ding Laoda and his wife, she stopped watching and called her family to go back inside for dinner.
Guan Yuehe put down her chopsticks and said, "I'm full."
Amidst the lively atmosphere in the front yard, I ate two and a half bowls.
The others: "......" Why didn't they think of eating while watching?
The next day at work, Li Xuelian ran into her in the corridor and, taking advantage of a spare moment, asked her about what happened the night before.
"I heard that a lot of police officers went to Ginkgo Hutong last night. Did they dig up something good again, or did they catch another big spy?"
Since a number of boxes were unearthed at the entrance of the alley last year, people have been spreading rumors that there are good things buried everywhere under Ginkgo Alley, and that you might find a box or two under someone's house.
Quite a few people outside believed the rumors and would always find various excuses to "treasure hunt" in Ginkgo Hutong. During that time, the elderly men and women in the hutong even spontaneously organized a patrol team, fearing that human traffickers would sneak in to steal children.
Of course, she learned from the gossip of the elderly that many people in the alley believed it and secretly dug up their own houses late at night, while others dug up their yards under various pretexts.
Fortunately, no one dug anything up; otherwise, the entire Ginkgo Alley would have been turned upside down.
Some people discussed hanging a sign or painting a slogan on the outer wall at the entrance of the alley, stating that there is no treasure to be found in Ginkgo Alley.
But it was rejected, as people said it was like trying to hide something obvious, which would only attract more attention.
"Or did you catch another spy and dig up some good stuff?" Li Xuelian exclaimed in shock. "Your alley is just too... amazing."
Everyone rushes to Ginkgo Alley for the latest news.
Guan Yuehe sighed, "Look, outsiders really have a deep prejudice against Ginkgo Alley."
Thinking that there was nothing wrong with talking about what happened last night, she summarized it in just a few words.
"Ah...it's smuggling? I thought..."
Guan Yuehe sighed helplessly, "Let's hope for the best. If they catch another big spy and dig up another treasure, Ginkgo Hutong will become famous throughout Beijing."
This is nothing to be proud of.
But she didn't expect that many people had the same idea as Li Xuelian, and more and more unfamiliar faces were heading to Ginkgo Alley.
When Guan Yuehe got home from work that day, she heard Aunt Hu scolding her grandson, telling him not to run home by himself after school, but either wait for the adults to get off work or take the factory bus home.
Seeing her confusion, Jin Junwei, who was getting water from the tap, said, "Jin Jiahe from Wu Erni's family said that when he came out of school to wait for his brother, a stranger tried to coax him with toys. He ran fast and was not caught."
"Was he waiting outside the factory's affiliated school? The security office is right next door. How dare someone kidnap a child from there?" How audacious must this trafficker be? Or is this trafficking ring so large that they're not afraid of the factory's security office?
"Jin Jiahe went to the supply and marketing cooperative outside the factory to wait. He was just a kid, so someone was watching him."
After saying that, Jin Junwei, unusually serious, said to Yuanbao, "From now on, I'll pick you up from school. You'd better wait for me at the school gate."
"I'm waiting for my mom to get off work."
“Your mom’s been busy with work lately and doesn’t have time to pick you up.” Jin Junwei made that decision. Seeing his daughter’s pout, he added, “I’ll take you to Uncle Ming’s restaurant on Sunday.”
"Oh! Dad, I'll help you carry the water!"
Guan Yuehe chuckled, thinking, "Zhou Xinxin is such a little lackey."
A little while later, the neighbors from the backyard also came to get water to wash the vegetables.
That just so happens that we're talking about the Ding family.
“Cuihong, who works in the same workshop as me, has a brother-in-law who works in the factory's security department. He knows a lot of things. Ding Laowu is not only involved in smuggling, he's also selling cultural relics to foreign devils!”
"My goodness! He's got some nerve!" Aunt Hu urged her neighbor to say more.
"Didn't he used to collect old items? Actually, some experts had already examined them and let him buy them as scrap under the guise of collecting junk. Some of these old items have been passed down for generations. It's one thing for them to sell them to their own people, but to actually resell them to foreign devils, what's the difference between them and traitors?"
"He's a traitor!" Aunt Hu spat.
"However, at the beginning of the year, the government just cracked down on a gang that was smuggling cultural relics, so he was out of work. The people who used to ask him to help collect old items now want him to do smuggling. Originally, no one in our factory's transportation team got involved, but he helped set up the connection, which is how the factory's transportation team ended up helping to transport smuggled goods..."
"No wonder he has so much money, buying color TVs and refrigerators for his house!" Aunt Hu said, both angry and envious.
Now everyone finally understood why Ding Laowu's involvement in smuggling wasn't arrested by the factory's security department, but by the city's public security bureau.
So this kid's got a lot of trouble on his hands!
"Someone like him is going to be... right?" Someone made a shooting gesture.
The neighbor, who had been engrossed in listening to the commotion, fell silent.
Many of the residents have been neighbors in Ginkgo Hutong for two or three decades, and Ding Laowu is someone they've watched grow up.
Although Ding Laowu had never been a good person since childhood, the news that he might be shot made everyone feel a bit conflicted.
"You reap what you sow!"
Why does he insist on taking the wrong path instead of the right one? What can anyone do about it?
"By the way, where's Aunt Ding? Hasn't she been released yet?"
Aunt Ding was quite a troublemaker. That night, she was taken away with them and locked up overnight. They released her the next morning, but she refused to leave, demanding justice, and ended up being arrested again.
"She's also someone who's not thinking straight and doesn't follow the right path. When the factory's security department went to pick her up, she still made a scene, so the security department told her to stay for a couple more days until she could talk properly before leaving."
"Aunt Ding always acts stupid when she's around Ding Laowu. Of her five sons, even Ding Laosi, who went to the countryside, is more capable and successful than Ding Laowu. But she just has to favor the good-for-nothing who loves to cause trouble! I really don't understand!"
It's normal not to understand; who can know how someone else's brain works?
Then the topic turned to Ding Xianguang, who has not yet been found. Everyone agreed that Ding Xianguang either hid or ran away long ago.
Guan Yuehe sat at her doorstep for half an hour before Lin Yiku pushed the cart back inside, and they went in together.
Did you go pick up the mail today?
Lin Yiku saw that she went straight back to her room, found some letter paper, and filled her pen with ink, so she assumed that she had received a letter from a friend and was now going to reply to it.
But didn't she just reply to Chunmei and Shenghua a couple of days ago? I also heard that there's another classmate named Suping, whom I only recently reconnected with.
It's quite remarkable that she refrained from mentioning her unborn child in her replies. Every time she sealed the envelope, she would laugh, saying she would wait until the baby was born to surprise them and then ask for a "baby gift"...
She's really obsessed with giving everyone a big scare!
However, he guessed wrong this time. It wasn't a reply to his college roommates.
“I wrote to Ding Xuewen to tell him about recent events, so that he would be aware of the situation.”
Since Ding Xianguang has not yet been found, the police will definitely investigate the Ding family's relatives. They might find Ding Xuewen, who was sent to the countryside as an educated youth in Northeast China. By then, the news that Ding Xuewen had already returned to Beijing to study and work will probably be impossible to keep secret.
The cause and effect were clearly explained, but she only heard about it from her neighbors. The police did not release the specific details to the public, so no one knew.
Lin Yiku helped her put the letter into the envelope and said, "I'm off the day after tomorrow. I'll ask a friend to help me find out."
"Alright, next time, let Master Ding treat us to a meal!"
Before Lin Yiku could even inquire about the news, the punishment for Ding Laowu had already been announced.
Good news, Ding Laowu won't be shot.
Bad news: He's going to be imprisoned for thirty years.
The neighbors were shocked when they heard the news.
"Thirty years in prison?! By the time he gets out, he'll be old!" But at least he won't be shot, so there's still some hope.
Aunt Ding, who had just returned from a week at the police station, looked pale to begin with. Upon hearing the news, she was so overwhelmed that she collapsed backward.
"Oh dear! How could this just collapse like that? Quickly, find a cart and take him to the neighborhood clinic!"
Wu Jiawang's tricycle was requisitioned, and a group of elderly people from the No. 3 courtyard went with him to the clinic.
But Aunt Ding's condition was quite dangerous, and the clinic's medical capabilities were limited, so they advised them to take her to the hospital. The group then headed straight for the automobile factory workers' hospital.
Lin Sitian was just about to leave work when she suddenly saw several neighbors from Courtyard No. 3. Just as she was about to ask them what was going on, she realized that her mother was also there.
Before she could ask, Aunt Fang told her the whole story.
"I've only been away from home for a week, and so much trouble has already happened?" Lin Sitian was now filled with regret. She should have known better than to switch shifts and work the night shift for several days in a row. Otherwise, she would definitely have gone home for a free meal and watched the commotion.
She missed such a big news story about Ginkgo Hutong!
Aunt Fang pulled her aside and said, "You should inform Ding Xuewen. If something happens to his mother, and he's in Beijing, it wouldn't be right for him not to show up. If it's nothing serious, tell him not to come over; going to work is more important."
Lin Sitian understood and wasn't in a hurry to go home to rest. "I'll go to the cafeteria for lunch first, and then I'll go see Aunt Ding later."
When Lin Sitian returned from her meal, she heard Aunt Xie pacing anxiously, saying, "Quickly call Ding Laoda and his brothers and ask them to come to the hospital. The doctor said it's probably not going to make it."
The neighbors from Courtyard No. 3 who had come along quickly sprang into action, splitting up to search for Ding Laoda's three brothers.
Lin Sitian didn't delay and went to find a doctor to inquire about the situation. She learned that Aunt Ding might have suffered a cerebral hemorrhage due to excessive emotional excitement, and that she was brought to the hospital a little late...
At the TV station.
Ding Xuewen's hand trembled, and the pen fell to the ground. Just as he was about to bend down to pick it up, his colleague from the reception office rushed over to find him to answer a phone call, saying that there was an emergency at home.
Is there an emergency at his home?
Ding Xuewen's expression was grave. There was no way his family could be looking for him. Could it be that Yuehe and the others had encountered an emergency?
Without even picking up his pen, Ding Xuewen strode out of the office and then jogged to the reception area.
The colleagues in the office whispered among themselves, "Does Comrade Ding have other family members at home? Doesn't he live alone?"
Ding Xuewen's colleagues in the office all knew that he was a local, but none of them knew anything about his family situation.
"What's so strange about moving out since your workplace is far from home?"
"His place isn't close to his workplace, is it? I heard he bought his own house."
"Ha! He bought a house already? I heard he was a sent-down youth before going to university, he couldn't have saved enough money to buy a house on his own, could he?"
In this office, most people either have families to support or have only been working for a few years; they may not actually have the money to buy a house.
Ding Xuewen, who had just run off to answer the phone, returned, abruptly ending the discussion in the office. However, Ding Xuewen didn't notice the awkward atmosphere. He tidied up the documents on his desk before explaining the situation to his supervisor and asking for leave.
Judging from his appearance, everyone guessed that the situation at home wasn't too serious.
—
When Ding Xuewen arrived at the Workers' Hospital, Lin Sitian, who was already waiting at the entrance, led the way and explained the situation to him.
"The doctor said it might only take a day or two. Your three brothers have all come over. Aunt Ding is not in a conscious state right now... Ding Xuewen."
Lin Sitian grabbed him and said seriously, "She's not thinking straight. You don't have to listen to everything she says, and you shouldn't agree to anything she says. If you act like a dutiful son now, I'll make sure Yuehe beats you up after she gives birth!"
Ding Xuewen, who had been in a state of confusion, finally calmed down completely, breathed a sigh of relief, smiled at her, and replied earnestly, "I don't know how."
Maybe he's just destined to be without family.
On his way here, he kept replaying the scene from when he went to the countryside in December 1968 in his mind.
He only found out he had signed up for the rural assignment the day before he was supposed to leave. Before that, he had regretted not passing the recruitment exam for the car factory, but he wasn't discouraged. Yuehe said she would help him ask if the garment factory still had any temporary worker openings. He thought that, like Chengcai, he would work as a temporary worker first and try to get a permanent position later.
As soon as the news came out, Cheng Cai cried with snot and tears streaming down his face. Si Tian pulled Grandpa Lin to go find the people from the neighborhood committee. Yue He, who lived in the factory dormitory, knew nothing about it.
The next morning, he boarded a train to Northeast China with only a small package.
Sitian and Chengcai emptied their savings and gave them to him, saying they would send him something soon.
For the next ten years, there were always people who thought about him and said they were waiting for him to come back. But they weren't his family members.
—
Before I even reached the ward door, I could hear the dry, mournful sobbing coming from the third ward.
Ding Xuewen took a deep breath, pushed open the door, and went inside.
Apart from Aunt Ding, who was delirious and trembling and unable to speak, the rest of the Ding family stared blankly at Ding Xuewen, who had suddenly appeared.
When he walked over, the neighbors outside the ward recognized him. Apart from Aunt Fang and Jiang Guiying, the others were stunned.
"Fourth brother, when did you get back?"
He doesn't look like he just came back from Northeast China; he looks more like he came from his workplace.
Ding Xuewen ignored these words and stood at the foot of the bed, looking at the old lady with white hair on the hospital bed.
Lin Sitian's worries had no chance to exist at all.
After a brief moment of lucidity, Aunt Ding was still thinking about Ding Laowu and how her other three sons could help raise money to ease the financial burden for a few years.
"Still trying to raise money? I think he'd be better off being shot!" Old Ding was so angry he wanted to kick something.
The brothers treated the fifth brother well, but what happened? The fifth brother became increasingly demanding, asking for money before graduation and then asking for a job after graduation.
Now he's done a whole bunch of shady things. He didn't even try to benefit from it, but what happened? He ended up with a younger brother who's involved in smuggling and trafficking in cultural relics!
After being glared at by his wife, Ding Lao Er stopped talking.
Ding Laoda and Ding Laosan didn't speak, but they agreed with Ding Laoer's words.
Not getting the answer she wanted, Aunt Ding's hands trembled as she went to the Latin dance club. In her excitement, her head tilted to the other side.
The ward was quiet for a few seconds, then Ding Laoda and the others suddenly started howling again, this time without any hesitation.
Ding Xuewen, who hadn't uttered a sound, felt empty inside.
All the grievances, resentment, and bitterness of so many years have come to an end at this moment.
Author's Note: [Cat's paw]
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