Chapter 234 Extra Chapter 12: The Red Flag
Zhou Hongqi has been married for six months, during which time he has frequently resorted to violence.
They not only had to deal with those gossiping about them in the alley, but also with the Jin family who came knocking on their door.
The Jin family came to cause trouble, but before they could say much, Zhou Hongqi slapped them so hard their faces were swollen. If it weren't for the street office and the boiler factory's security personnel coming, the Jin family wouldn't have been able to leave the No. 3 compound at all.
Despite the fact that the families in the front yard of No. 3 often speak ill of Zhou Hongqi and Jin Junwei, they will actually help out if outsiders bully them.
Of course, we don't expect them to throw a punch together; the fact that they closed the gate tightly was already a huge help.
They beat the Jin family members black and blue, so it looks like they'll be quiet for a year or two.
They can finally have a good New Year.
I prepared three sets of the things I bought. I sent one set to my cousin in Northeast China, asked someone to deliver one set to my second uncle and aunt in my hometown, and took the last set to my master's house.
At the same time, they also received three gifts, all piled up on a small square table at home, making it seem as if their family was very wealthy.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Zhou Hongqi put on the red sweater that Jin Junwei had knitted for him, and Jin Junwei also put on the watch he had just bought.
When the children in the courtyard began visiting each other's homes to offer New Year's greetings, their door finally opened as well.
The neighbors in the courtyard were all smiles as they exchanged New Year's greetings. Upon seeing them, one could immediately notice the difference between them.
It's hard not to notice.
In this freezing weather, who would wander around outside wearing only a shirt and sweater? Only Zhou Hongqi can withstand the cold.
And then there's Jin Junwei. He should just eat his sunflower seeds properly, but he has to stretch his wrist and show off his watch, "inadvertently" letting everyone see it.
On the surface, everyone was all smiles and saying nice things to the couple.
"Oh my, Hongqi, your Junwei is so skillful! Look how well he knitted this sweater."
“Junwei, you work at home every day, so Hongqi doesn’t have to buy you a watch. Hongqi really knows how to take care of people.”
Turning her head, she rolled her eyes and said sourly, "Show-off!"
People weren't saying this specifically because they were targeting them.
These days, even getting a ticket for the "three turns and one sound" (referring to a series of small, large, and high-end items) is difficult. Either factory leaders get special benefits, or ordinary workers have to be recognized as advanced, outstanding, or model workers to get a ticket for large items.
If you really can't find any, you'll have to pay someone to buy them, and a ticket isn't cheap.
No matter whose family it is, everyone who buys a big-ticket item loves to show it off. Unless the money for the big-ticket item wasn't earned honestly, and they feel guilty.
Everyone praises those who show off to their face, but then turns around and makes sarcastic remarks; this is a common occurrence.
The people who worked with Zhou Hongqi in the welding workshop said a few good words for Jin Junwei.
"Before, Zhou lived alone, wearing the factory-issued clothes every day. When they got holes, he'd mend them himself until he looked like a beggar. But after marrying Xiao Jin, things are so much better. His clothes are patched up like new, and he even brings me lunch every day. Xiao Jin gets up early every morning to cook..."
Guan Yuehua, who was passing by, scoffed and said disdainfully, "What woman who does housework doesn't do this? You praise men like this?"
The other women were taken aback; Yuehua's words made a lot of sense.
As soon as the other men nodded, Guan Yuehua glared at them again, saying, "You guys are really shameless. You're all busy with housework, but Zhou Hongqi is willing to spend money to buy things for Jin Junwei, while you're all talk and no action."
The men were left speechless.
After Guan Yuehua walked away, the group looked at each other and dispersed.
What should have been a joyous and festive first day of the Lunar New Year turned into a day of heated arguments and table-banging in many homes. The most common argument was: "Look at Zhou Hongqi, and then look at you. I think I should have just married Zhou Hongqi!"
Zhou Hongqi took two quick steps and stood outside the courtyard gate, shouting back, "I don't just look down on anyone!"
Jin Junwei, who was busy kneading dough inside, chuckled to himself and silently straightened his back.
Even if Zhou Hongqi didn't say it, everyone in Ginkgo Hutong knew: Why did Zhou Hongqi have so much trouble finding a partner before? She just wanted to find someone handsome.
Anyway, among the workers and their families at the Five Star Automobile Factory, not a single male comrade was as handsome as Jin Junwei.
Many people look down on him for being a kept man, but most people admit that he is good-looking.
"If the baby we have in the future looks like Hongqi, it would be such a waste," the neighbors said in advance, making sarcastic remarks.
Another year has passed, and Zhou Hongqi is pregnant.
When Zhou Hongqi hadn't had her period for two months, Jin Junwei knew what was going on.
These two, who had never been parents before, weren't flustered at all. They both had experience taking care of children.
Zhou Hongqi couldn't help but laugh when he recalled the time he spent taking care of his younger cousins.
Although she is good at housework, back in her hometown, she usually didn't get the chance to cook. If she did get to cook, she would definitely sneak a lot of food.
Without practice, there's no experience to accumulate, so her cooking is barely edible. Fortunately, her younger cousins are easy to please and will eat anything given to them.
Jin Junwei laughed along. No wonder her younger cousins praised her in their letters for thinking of finding a brother-in-law who could cook well; she was so clever.
My aunt wrote to ask if I needed help. She said she had given her job to my younger cousin and they weren't married yet, so they could come and help for a while.
She hadn't seen her cousin for over a decade since she came to Beijing with her master.
We've maintained contact all these years; it's impossible for me to say I don't want to.
But Zhou Hongqi thought about it and shook his head, saying, "Forget it. There's nowhere for my aunt to stay when she comes. When Yuanbao is a little older, I'll apply for a new room allocation. Then we'll have an extra room and our family will have a place to stay."
"Yes, let's move to a bigger house in the future."
Although it's unclear how long this will take, it's becoming increasingly difficult to get a room in the factory.
But now, they are living a very good life.
My aunt couldn't come, but my second uncle and aunt came a few times and brought them some fine grains.
July 1972.
Zhou Hongqi was taking the bus home from get off work when her water broke halfway there. Luckily, her sister-in-law was also on the bus and found someone to help take her to the hospital.
With a series of loud cries, Zhou Hongqi and Jin Junwei had a daughter.
The day after Zhou Hongqi gave birth to her daughter, several older women from Courtyard No. 3 spontaneously went to the hospital to help.
Firstly, I knew that the couple had no elders to help them. Since we were all family members of workers in the same factory and neighbors, I would help them if I could.
Secondly, everyone had their own ulterior motives, hoping that Zhou Hongqi would take their children as apprentices. That way, if their children became apprentices, they would be considered half-workers in the factory, have jobs, and be able to stay in the city, thus avoiding the need to respond to the call to go to the countryside.
Although Jin Junwei had prepared everything, he didn't need to help with anything. But the aunties' enthusiasm and willingness to help were overwhelming.
"Wow, this child is so chubby!"
“There aren’t many babies in our alley who were born fatter than this one.”
It's just that everyone's life was rather difficult in recent years, and there was a lack of nutrition, so the babies born naturally appeared thinner. The nurse said their daughter was of normal weight.
After returning home, Zhou Hongqi began her postpartum confinement period. Neighbors from other courtyards would occasionally come to her door to inquire about her taking on apprentices.
Jin Junwei kicked everyone out.
Once the door was closed, only the three of them remained inside.
As soon as the person left, he quickly moved to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), looking at the older one and then at the younger one.
Remembering what his neighbors had said, he laughed, "Sister Hongqi, our daughter has been raised for half a month, and she's really quite chubby now."
Babies look healthier when they're a little chubby.
Tingting, the daughter of Xie Zhenhua and Liu Axiu in the backyard, was a chubby little girl. Both parents worked and raised only Tingting. In addition, Liu Axiu's parents gave her a lot of subsidies, and all the good food went into Tingting's belly. She was fatter than Zhang Quanbin from Zhang Desheng's family.
Zhou Hongqi was very satisfied and said, "It's good to be a little chubby. For technical jobs like ours, you need to have the stamina."
However, what she was most pleased about was that everyone who came to visit said her daughter looked like Junwei.
Oh, that's wonderful!
In the future, there will be two good-looking people in the family, one is her husband, and the other is her daughter. Just looking at them in the morning can make her happy all day.
"My daughter's name..."
"How about Zhou Xinxin?" Zhou Hongqi said, "The nickname will be Yuanbao."
Jin Junwei met her eyes, unable to utter a word of rebuttal, and simply said, "This name is good!"
Although he was illiterate, he had learned to read and write when he was with his master, starting with the Three Character Classic. After he got married, Sister Hongqi said it didn't look good to have "illiterate" written in the education section, so she asked Zhang Desheng next door to take the exam at school. Now he has a primary school education.
For the past six months, he's been collecting all the characters he thinks are good, trying to come up with a nice-sounding name for his child...
But then again, Zhou Xinxin is a good name, and it even includes his surname.
A total of six gold medals!
—
Zhou Hongqi had suspected that her neighbors were deliberately flattering her by praising her daughter, but as her daughter grew up, she did indeed become more and more likable.
As soon as she gets home from work, she grabs her daughter and kisses her several times.
There's a crackdown on personal conduct everywhere, so even married couples can't be too intimate in public.
Since he couldn't openly admit it to his own daughter's father, he had to back down and accept the status of his own daughter.
Engineer Su heard her say many times, "I always said I wanted to find someone handsome. Look, the baby born from this also benefits. It's truly a win-win situation!"
Engineer Su: "......"
"Master, please try Junwei's braised pork. He learned it from Yuehe in the next courtyard."
As Su buried himself in his food, he thought to himself: "Bringing Xiao Jin to my home to arrange a blind date was definitely the right decision!"
After they finished eating, Engineer Su started asking her about taking on apprentices.
She is an eighth-grade worker, and she teaches apprentices from scratch, but she doesn't necessarily have to teach the basics.
Some people in the factory changed their approach and wanted to make her apprentice Zhou Hongqi an apprentice.
Zhou Hongqi had previously said he would only take on apprentices after she became a level six welder, but now he has changed his mind.
"I've already made the decision. I'll start by taking Baoyu as an apprentice to try it out."
Su Gong didn't care who she took on; once she got a definite answer, she stopped asking questions.
"Bringing gold coins home on the first day of the Lunar New Year to celebrate."
"Okay."
So, when Yuanbao was six months old, Zhou Hongqi formally accepted Zhou Baoyu as his apprentice.
All that's left is for Zhou Baoyu to get his graduation certificate and start working in the factory.
From then on, Zhou Xinxin, this chubby little girl, began her happy days of ruling the Ginkgo Alley.
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Let me see.
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