045 Busy Little Guan
Guan Yuehe had only been back at the factory for one day when, through the conversations among the garment factory workers, it became:
Comrade Xiao Guan is already a college graduate who returned to the factory after only six months!
Comrade Xiao Guan is about to take over the position of head of the sales department, and everyone has begun to speculate that the head of the sales department will be promoted to deputy factory director.
After getting off work, Gu Mannian carried a watermelon to Ginkgo Hutong, greeting the elderly people along the way with practiced ease.
When Guan Yuehe, who was eating half a watermelon, was seen at her future father-in-law's house, he joked, "You're not Comrade Guan anymore."
Guan Yuehe guessed he wouldn't say anything nice next, rolled her eyes, and turned away to continue eating her watermelon.
Gu Mannian continued to laugh heartily, "From now on, I'll have to call you Section Chief Guan, Comrade Little Guan."
Jiang Guiying rushed out of the kitchen, excitedly asking, "Is Yuehe confirmed to have been promoted?"
She hasn't even finished university yet, and they've already decided to promote her to section chief? Are worker-peasant-soldier graduates really that sought after these days?
Guan Yuehe was speechless. "Mom, can't you see he's talking nonsense?"
Instead of hoping she'll get promoted to section chief now, you should hope her sister does. Her sister has already been transferred to the publicity department, which gives her a chance to showcase her abilities, and who knows, she might just rise through the ranks from there.
Gu Mannian didn't expect his future mother-in-law to believe him so easily. He awkwardly scratched his head and said, "I was just kidding."
Some workers in the factory didn't know the situation and thought that Guan Yuehe had returned this time because she had received her graduation certificate. In fact, she still had two and a half years of study to go, and graduation was still a long way off.
"But Mom, it's only a matter of time before Yuehe gets a promotion after graduation. You can rest assured."
“That’s true.” Jiang Guiying realized she was overthinking things and turned her attention to him. “Wei Guoqiu brought a watermelon to our house today. Take this back for your parents.”
“My parents also sent some. I’ll put this in the bucket to soak.” Gu Mannian found the bucket with practiced ease, put the watermelon in, and then rolled up his sleeves and said, “Mom, I’ll help you start the fire.”
Guan Yuehe became more and more confused. She was already calling him "Mom"?
I wanted to ask what happened, but there was only a quiet three-year-old child nearby, engrossed in eating melon seeds, so I had to give up.
"Mom!" Jingjing, her face covered in watermelon juice, jumped up and cheered for Lin Yufeng, who was returning from outside.
Lin Yufeng grabbed a handful of White Rabbit milk candies she had brought back and put them on the table for Guan Yuehe and Jingjing to eat together.
This must be something great, but Guan Yuehe waited for a while and, seeing that her sister-in-law didn't say anything, she ignored it. She picked up a piece of candy, tore off the wrapper, and a milky aroma wafted out.
Jingjing popped one into her mouth, then grabbed two more and went to the kitchen: "Grandma, Uncle, eat!"
Guan Yuehe smiled. It seemed that Gu Mannian had been bribing Jingjing quite often.
In the evening, Gu Mannian was naturally invited to stay for dinner, but he changed his address and called her "uncle and aunt." How could this person be two-faced?
Gu Mannian didn't mention that the new house had already been cleaned, and Guan Yuehe almost forgot that he had been allocated a house this year and was about to move in.
Her father now thinks it's better for his daughter to live closer to the city than in an apartment building. Like her mother, he considered having Gu Mannian and her sister exchange their apartment for a bungalow in the alley, but her sister disagreed, and the topic was dropped.
After dinner, Guan Yuehe helped with the cleaning and then went home to study.
Aunt Zhao stood at the door and listened intently for a while, but still couldn't understand a word. She turned to Chang Zhengyi inside and asked, "Can you understand that foreign language?"
Chang Zhengyi shook his head, "I learned a little before, but what Sister Yuehe read was different from what our teacher taught."
"That's true, what they learn in university is definitely different." Aunt Zhao stopped listening, thinking to herself: This stuff is making me sleepy.
It's not even eight o'clock yet, and I've already yawned several times in a row.
"I never realized Yuehe was so diligent and eager to learn." Aunt Zhao found it quite unusual. She had been Yuehe's neighbor for a year, and she only ever saw her going to and from get off work on time, and whenever she was at home, she was either cooking or preparing to cook. She never seemed to have such a drive to improve herself.
"Hey, if you've worked for three years, wouldn't you have a chance to be recommended to go to school?"
Grandpa Chang, fanning himself, dashed Grandma Zhao's hopes, "I asked around, and no one has been recommended this year. It's questionable whether there will be any in the future."
Aunt Zhao said disappointedly, "Really, how come the recruitment ended again after only a year? It's always changing its mind..."
The backyard of No. 2 courtyard was quiet; neither Guan Yuehe's nor Aunt Zhao's radios were on.
Guan Yuehe needs to study, but Aunt Zhao has a pregnant woman who is about to give birth, so the house can't be noisy and disturb her rest.
But someone was playing a radio at the entrance of the alley, so everyone went to the alley entrance to join in the fun.
Working at the factory during the day and studying at night almost completely filled Guan Yuehe's holiday time.
Too busy to join in the hutong festivities, the neighbors only often encountered her when they went to the toilet at night.
Guan Yuehe had thought she would be going on a business trip with Wang Zheng, but instead, she spent all her time at the factory receiving leaders from other units who came to inspect the factory. She was assigned to work in the sales department, doing the work of the factory office. Sister Zhu joked that, no matter where she went, she was still a factory office person.
Xu Chengcai wanted to invite her and Lin Sitian to a state-run restaurant for a nice meal, but they both said they were too tired from working and studying and just wanted to sleep at home on Sunday.
The important task of replying to Ding Xuewen's letter fell to Xu Chengcai, who was the most idle.
“Our school and the school next door are just setting an example. Other universities may also resume enrollment one after another. As far as I know, quite a lot of educated youth sent to the countryside were recruited. We need to make sure Ding Xuewen is prepared in advance.”
Although we don't know why enrollment was suspended this year, who knows what will happen next year? It's always good to be prepared in advance.
However, there is an age limit for those recommended for university admission; it is specified that they must be around twenty years old. The actual selection process, whether older or younger, will depend on the local circumstances once the quotas are allocated.
In short, we cannot miss any opportunity to return to the city.
It's almost impossible to recruit workers to return to the city. The car factory hasn't even set up jobs for the educated youth who went to the countryside. Half of August has passed, and there's still no news of recruitment from the car factory.
The garment factory has none. Bai Xianghong's batch of temporary workers haven't been promoted to permanent positions yet; Aunt Bai came to her last night to inquire about the factory's permanent staff openings.
Last month, another group of young people were sent to the countryside.
Among them was Ding Dama's second grandson, Ding Xianzong.
Unlike his brother Ding Xianguang, Ding Xianzong knew he would definitely be sent to the countryside, so he took the initiative to sign up and apply to go to the county where Ding Xuewen was located.
Ding Xuewen's letter mentioned his second nephew, saying that he happened to be assigned to the same commune, but not to the same production brigade.
Xu Cheng was writing frantically, "Can you two slow down your speech?"
Lin Sitian slowed down her speech, glanced at the contents of the letter, and frowned, saying, "Your handwriting is terrible. You should practice more when you have time! Even a chicken can write better."
"If you say another word, you can write it!" Xu Cheng was so angry he wanted to go on strike.
"Okay, okay, I won't say anything more."
Xu Chengcai finished writing the letter and went to the post office. He didn't dare go home, fearing that his family would try to introduce him to another woman.
Lin Sitian chuckled and said that someone had asked her to introduce Xu Chengcai to someone, and that Xu Chengcai would avoid her whenever he saw her with her friends outside.
"Just you wait and see, Xu Cheng is definitely up to something. If he doesn't say anything now, he'll cut his wedding gift money in half!"
"Oh, then I was thinking of giving you a pair of thermos flasks... or just one?"
The two of them were laughing so hard their hands were shaking as they held the pens.
"Oh dear! Cai Ying! Cai Ying!" Aunt Zhao rushed out in a panic, only to find that the door to Song Gong's house was closed. So she could only run to Guan Yuehe's house. "Yuehe, Lili is about to give birth. Please go and borrow a tricycle for me."
Upon hearing this, Lin Sitian quickly got up to go help Aunt Zhao at her house, while Guan Yuehe also ran to the neighborhood office.
"Yuehe, what's wrong?"
"Cao Lili is about to give birth, I'm going to borrow a tricycle!"
"Why is it half a month early?! No way, I'll go help." The second aunt slammed the door shut and hurried towards the backyard. "Zhao Damei..."
Aunt Zhao ignored the advice of the "experienced" old ladies in the alley and refused to call a midwife. She insisted on sending Cao Lili to the factory's clinic.
Oh no, it's now called the Five Star Automobile Factory Workers' Hospital.
Chang Zhengyi was called back and was about to ride his tricycle when Guan Yuehe grabbed him and pulled him off. "You go pick up Aunt Zhao, I'll take Cao Lili to the hospital first."
After saying that, he pushed off with his foot, and the car shot forward.
Normally it takes Guan Yuehe forty minutes to get to the factory gate by bicycle, but today she just pedaled hard and arrived at the car factory workers' hospital in just over thirty minutes.
"Two people, help her walk." The nurse was looking for someone when Guan Yuehe saw Cao Lili's pained expression and guessed that she was having trouble walking, so she picked her up and asked, "Where are we going?"
The nurse and she stared at each other for a moment. "Oh, you, wait, put her down and let her walk around."
Now it was Guan Yuehe's turn to nod and agree, doing exactly as the nurse told her to do.
Just as Aunt Zhao and Chang Zhengyi arrived, Cao Lili was being wheeled into the delivery room.
"Yue, Yuehe, thank goodness you were home." Aunt Zhao was still panting, and Chang Zhengyi was even worse off, his face drained of color.
Once she got the person to the hospital, her mission was complete. Guan Yuehe said goodbye and rode her tricycle back home.
"Yuehe, has she given birth yet?"
"...I don't know, you should go see for yourself." Guan Yuehe lowered her head and smelled herself. Ugh, she smelled of sweat.
Go home and boil water for a bath!
The next day, Aunt Zhao came back and cooked food to take to the hospital. Only then did everyone learn that Cao Lili had accidentally fallen at home and the baby had come half a month early.
After a day and a night in the hospital, I finally gave birth smoothly. It was a son, but I still have to stay in the hospital for a few more days.
The neighbors in courtyard number two got together and said they had to go to the hospital to visit him. So, another week's morning was arranged to go out like that.
"Let Yuehe hold the baby. We need to thank Aunt Yuehe properly." Aunt Zhao handed the child over, but Guan Yuehe was so frightened that she waved her hands and didn't dare to reach out.
It's tiny, like a little mouse.
Grandpa Chang thanked Guan Yuehe several times, saying that she should be allowed to sit at the main table when the child's one-month celebration is held.
Because of this, Guan Yuehe received a lot of praise from the elderly people in the alley. They even went so far as to praise the old man who guarded the clothing factory.
But Guan Yuehe didn't even have time to attend Shunshun's full moon celebration.
Once August was over, she had to pack her things and go back to school.
All told, she returned to the factory for a month of internship without receiving a salary, but the factory gave her two meal tickets every day.
When I returned to school, my notebook was nearly half full of dense notes. The weight on the back of my bicycle had increased a little.
Although she eats and sleeps better at home, she misses her roommates.
If no one supervises her, she won't be able to continue studying!
So, on the way back to school, I pedaled like crazy, eager to see my roommates as soon as possible.
As soon as the dormitory door opened, Guan Yuehe was met with a row of dark-skinned faces. She hesitated for a moment, took two steps back, and looked up at the dormitory number. It was correct. Looking at her roommates, who all looked the same, Guan Yuehe tentatively asked, "Shenghua?"
No one answered. Guan Yuehe called out several names in a row, but still no one responded.
The dormitory was silent as Guan Yuehe tried to make out facial features from among the group of dark-skinned people...
A burst of laughter suddenly erupted in the dormitory: "I knew she wouldn't recognize me!"
The laughter was so loud it practically exploded throughout the dorm.
"Did you go to the coal mine to sunbathe?!" Guan Yuehe had to stare at people's faces carefully to distinguish them. If the dormitory lights were turned off at night, she wouldn't be able to tell her roommates apart, let alone tell people from objects!
After being pulled back to the army for a month of intensive training, her roommates not only turned into charcoal brittle, but they also became stronger and ran faster. Guan Yuehe had to hold her breath and try her best to keep up.
Before the official start of the semester, they also had to submit a report on their thoughts and feelings during the summer vacation. Guan Yuehe and her roommates racked their brains in their dormitory.
"Yuehe, you must have a lot of things to do back at the factory, right?"
"Going to work, coming home, and studying. What about you?"
"Training and learning".
They exchanged a glance, gave a wry smile, and continued working at their desks.
They said it was difficult to write, but in reality everyone was writing furiously. The report was supposed to be two pages long, but some people had already written four pages.
Guan Yuehe gasped, then steeled herself and started writing another line. Her roommate, who was also secretly watching her, gritted her teeth and continued writing as well.
With no new students enrolled this year and fewer welcoming activities, they immediately adjusted back to their studies upon returning to school.
Two more teachers came to teach them English; I heard they were transferred back from the May Seventh Cadre School.
The teachers were extremely skilled, and everyone would rush to the teachers' offices to ask questions after each class. At that time, being fast became an advantage in learning.
Guan Yuehe, who was praised by her teacher for doing well in the last semester's exams and for taking particularly good notes, would stretch her neck out in class every day, as if afraid that others wouldn't be able to see her.
Of course, among the group of dark-skinned students, the teacher on the stage could only see her or another student from Class Two who came from a working-class background.
Guan Yuehe's name was frequently mentioned by the teacher. Since there were no assigned seats, it was difficult for the teacher to distinguish which student was which for a short time.
"Yuehe, come down quickly." The roommates carried the quilts downstairs to air them out, and didn't forget to call Guan Yuehe.
"It's too sunny, I'm not going." Guan Yuehe poked her head out of the window and laughed loudly, "I'm not falling for that!"
Want to turn her into a lump of coal too? She won't go.
But one arm can't fight a dozen arms, and in the end she was dragged downstairs to sunbathe.
A dozen or so people stood in a neat row, basking in the sun and practicing reading English.
The students passing by stared at them as if they were idiots.
Guan Yuehe was sandwiched between Shenghua and Suping. She looked to her left and then to her right, raising her voice defiantly.
Shenghua and Suping: "......"
Before long, reading English turned into shouting English.
Half a month after returning to school, Guan Yuehe finally met Xie Dongxue and He Shuangshuang.
He Shuangshuang, along with her teachers and classmates, completed the compilation of this semester's textbook, and her name is on the cover.
Xie Dongxue produced an article she wrote while traveling with her teacher, which was even published in a newspaper.
Guan Yuehe suddenly felt like she had fallen behind.
But after much thought, there was no opportunity for her to show her talent for the time being, so she could only devote all her enthusiasm to her studies.
Chunmei: "Last night when I went to the restroom, I heard people practicing their spoken English. Who are you?"
Guan Yuehe looked stunned and, along with everyone else, shook her head, "It wasn't me!"
This became an unsolved mystery in the dormitory.
This National Day, Guan Yuehe and her roommates couldn't participate in the parade. Guan Yuehe was a little disappointed, but could only comfort herself by saying, "It's okay, my sister is getting married on National Day, and I have to go home."
Her roommates didn't expose her, and instead said, "Please congratulate our sister for us."
After knowing each other for a while, they all started calling each other "our dad," "our mom," "our sister," and so on.
"Are you really not going?" Guan Yuehe asked again to confirm.
Chunmei joked, "The food your family prepared probably isn't even enough to fill our teeth."
But in reality, they had other plans and couldn't leave at all.
Guan Yuehe got up early and went home, finally managing to get home before Gu Mannian came to pick her up.
This time, both my maternal grandparents' family and my aunt's family came.
The previous unpleasantness stemmed from issues of "borrowing a house" and "borrowing a job," but now, when these relatives see Guan Yuehe again, they greet her with smiles and ask about her situation at school, as if the previous unpleasantness had never existed.
Only my cousin from my uncle's side was unhappy because she refused to lend him the house. Although he still got married, he lived in cramped conditions and they often had conflicts over the house.
But what does this have to do with her?
As long as they didn't cause trouble on good days, Guan Yuehe was too lazy to embarrass them and would answer any questions they might have. When the opportunity arose, she would sneak into her sister's room to hide.
My second sister-in-law, Li Qiuyue, was also there, along with a few of her sister's friends, so the room wasn't crowded.
Guan Yuehua's clothes, books, and other belongings were moved to the new house. The old cabinets were used as firewood, and now only a bed and a set of tables and chairs remain in the house.
Guan Yuehe swept the room clean. After her sister left today, this room would be converted into a room for Weiwei and Jingjing.
"Yuehe."
Guan Yuehe looked in the direction of the sound and was somewhat surprised to see Gao Xiaofang there.
After she moved out of the factory dormitory, she and Gao Xiaofang hardly spoke anymore. Mainly because the two worked in different areas and rarely saw each other.
She thought her sister and Gao Xiaofang had only a casual relationship.
The next second, when she saw her sister roll her eyes behind Gao Xiaofang's back, Guan Yuehe knew: their relationship must be just so-so.
But she hadn't had a chance to ask her sister why Gao Xiaofang had come.
"The marriage alliance has arrived!"
Someone in the front yard shouted at the door, and everyone rushed to look outside.
Gu Mannian carried candy and handed out wedding candy to his neighbors as he walked in, his eyes crinkling into slits with a smile.
After the lively atmosphere at home subsided, the Guan family and the neighbors from Courtyard No. 3 followed the newlyweds to the clothing factory's canteen.
The head chef was a cook from the cafeteria, and the person who officiated at the wedding was the head of the purchasing department. Relatives and friends from both families ate together.
Besides this newlywed couple, another couple got married in the cafeteria.
Guan Yuehe recognized him immediately; it was Huang Wenlin, the man the women from Ginkgo Alley wanted to take back as their son-in-law. His girlfriend was an acquaintance, a radio announcer.
National Day is truly a joyous and festive day.
Guan Yuehe attended her elder sister's wedding banquet at noon, and then went to Aunt Zhao's house for her baby's one-month celebration in the afternoon.
Unexpectedly, she still managed to get into this meal and was seated at the head table.
The only downside is that as soon as she finishes eating, she has to rush back to school.
Her mother stuffed a net full of things into her bag and told her to take it back and share it with her roommates. The three lunchboxes clattered all the way.
"Yuehe, you're the best! You didn't forget us even when you went home for your wedding. Hope your sister's wedding went well!"
"Successfully." Guan Yuehe squeezed in with effort, "Give me some broth."
"Just go home and eat your fill, eat less."
It took her a lot of effort to ride her bike here; she's already almost digested what she ate.
She still managed to squeeze in; even the coarse steamed buns dipped in sauce tasted good.
Guan Yuehe spent every day with her roommates. One day, she suddenly noticed that the skin tone of her roommates' faces had returned to normal, and the first snow began to fall outside the window.
My roommate, who comes from the south, saw snow last year, and was still amazed when she saw it again this year.
The atmosphere at school, like the weather, seemed to have changed.
After a year-long hiatus in student recruitment, the school is about to enroll a new batch of students.
"It's not just Tsinghua and Peking University; I heard that universities in other places are also resuming enrollment." He Shuangshuang, who is always well-informed, was talking to Guan Yuehe about the news she had recently heard in a small corner of the library.
The enrollment process still follows the same "public recommendation and leadership approval" method, and the application requirements are almost identical to those of the first enrollment.
Guan Yuehe was feeling relieved, thinking that more schools were recruiting, which meant that Ding Xuewen had a better chance of being recommended. But the next second, He Shuangshuang poured cold water on her enthusiasm.
"Let alone being assigned to the commune, there aren't many spots available even for those in the county seat. With such low entry requirements, don't you think some people might snatch up the spots, or give them to their relatives?"
Not every organization can be as fair and transparent as Zhuoyue Garment Factory.
Guan Yuehe sighed, "You're right."
With such a great opportunity, it's hard to guarantee that no one will have ulterior motives.
Guan Yuehe still wrote a letter to Ding Xuewen, asking him to pay more attention to the news in the local county.
That's all she could do.
But she quickly lost interest in paying attention to this news, as she was busy preparing for the exam. After the exam, they would all have to proofread the textbooks.
During this period, they were also organized to shovel snow and clear roads, and to clean up empty classrooms and dormitories in preparation for the arrival of new students next year.
All the tasks for this semester were not finished until two days before Lunar New Year's Eve.
Her roommates were assigned to spend the Spring Festival at the military region in Beijing, while she went home.
Outside, gusts of wind and snow lashed at people, but Guan Yuehe didn't try to keep riding. When she got to the bus stop, she carried her bicycle and took it home.
She kept muttering to herself on the way back.
Oh no! She didn't stock up on anything this year, what is she going to do?
When she got home, she found coal briquettes and sauerkraut jars neatly stacked in her storage room, and two baskets of Chinese cabbage and white radishes in her cellar.
Feeling much more at ease, all that's left is to go buy some meat!
"Yuehe! Look who's back?!" Lin Sitian shouted excitedly.
Xu Chengcai was also shouting, "Guan Yuehe! Come out quickly!"
Guan Yuehe's eyes lit up, and she ran out.
ah!
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