197 Good things
Guan Yuehe took her two mothers out, and halfway there they ran into Lin Yiku, who was returning from get off work.
"We're so in sync!"
The two mothers were so happy their smiles stretched to their ears. Lin Yiku immediately guessed, "Has the promotion been decided?"
Guan Yuehe clicked her tongue. She had wanted to drop a bombshell on Lin Yiku, but he had guessed it right away, so half of the surprise she had prepared was gone.
Lin Yiku was also quite sensible. Pretending that she hadn't said anything just now, she changed her question and asked, "Is there any good news at home?"
"Great news!" Guan Yuehe immediately cooperated, coughed twice, and said seriously, "Commander Lin, you have to call me Deputy Director Guan from now on!"
"Deputy Director Guan," Lin Yiku readily changed her form of address.
Upon hearing this, Guan Yuehe couldn't help but laugh; the title sounded quite impressive.
While laughing, he shooed Lin Yiku out of the car, got in himself, held the front of the car, and called his two mothers to get in.
“We’re not going to ride in your car. You two go to the neighborhood office first and call your dad and Lin Ting. We’ll walk there ourselves.” Jiang Guiying said with a look of resistance, pulling her old friend away as they ran off.
The young couple behind them overheard them muttering, "Oh dear, I wouldn't dare ride in her car! Riding a bicycle used to be like riding a car, now riding a motorcycle is like flying a plane..."
"Who says otherwise? Last time you drove me to the hospital, it scared me to death. Only Yi Ku and Lin Ting like taking the express car."
Upon hearing this, Guan Yuehe snorted twice and loudly reminded them, "I can hear you!"
Noticing a large stove pressed against his back, he started the car and sped towards the neighborhood office like a plane, intending to pick up the small stove.
The open space next to the neighborhood office was full of members of the local folk drama troupe. Jin Junwei, who had practiced basic skills as a child, was recommended to be the troupe leader.
This community drama troupe was established a year ago, and this year it was invited to participate in the city's National Day performance and even brought back a third-prize certificate.
As soon as they received the award certificate, the elderly men and women in the drama troupe were energized, saying they would strive to win first prize next time.
Sure enough, they get together three or four days a week to rehearse for an entire afternoon.
Retirees like Grandpa Lin, who enjoy listening to opera, love to come and join in the fun, listen to the opera, and also help take care of the kids. Changhu Subdistrict Office has become the liveliest place in the area.
When Guan Yuehe arrived, Lin Ting was lying in a rocking chair with his legs crossed, eating half an apple while watching the show.
Look at how carefree she is, no wonder she absolutely refuses to go to the preschool class.
But then again, Guan Yuehe also thought the play was quite good.
Unfortunately, I only watched it for a short while.
"That's enough for today, everyone. Come back another day." As soon as Jin Junwei saw that it was time, he immediately stopped the rehearsal, told everyone to clean up the props and the trash on the ground, and also returned the long benches borrowed from the street office.
Standing among a group of retired elderly men and women, Jin Junwei stood out.
"Brother-in-law Jin is already in his early forties, but he looks like he's in his thirties." Guan Yuehe said with some emotion. Brother-in-law Jin and Sister Hongqi have been married and moved into Ginkgo Alley for nearly twenty years.
When Brother-in-law Jin first came to Ginkgo Hutong, it caused quite a stir; many young women and married women came to see him. But all these years later, Ginkgo Hutong has yet to produce another man who is as universally acknowledged as "worthy of being a kept man" as Brother-in-law Jin.
As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Ting rushed over and tried to climb on her, so Guan Yuehe had no choice but to pick her up.
This is a solid baby, quite heavy.
Grandpa Lin said he would walk over slowly, and let the family of three ride their motorcycles. Guan Yuehe raised an eyebrow; she suspected that her father, Lin, also thought she was driving too fast.
Lin Ting hugged her mother's neck, looked at her father following behind, and chattered on and on about how her second uncle had brought apples to their house today. "Uncle wants me to go back to the brigade to pick apples! Mom and Dad, are you going? Please, please, please ask Director Guan..."
Guan Yuehe was amused by her and reached out to pinch her cheek, correcting her, "You need to change how you address me from now on, Director Lin."
Then suddenly a completely unrelated question popped up: "Do you think Dad is more handsome, or Uncle Jin?"
"Dad," Lin Ting said without hesitation.
"You have good taste, just like your mother. I'll reward you with roast duck leg tonight." After Guan Yuehe finished speaking, she turned around and looked at the people following behind her. Some of them were practically grinning from ear to ear.
Lin Yiku kept smiling as she looked at the two sugar-coated bullets, one big and one small, in front of her.
—
Before all the dishes were served, the large round table was already full of people.
"Old Guan, Old Lin, what's the occasion for your two families?" The old neighbor at the next table asked curiously. Looking at the two families, apart from Old Guan's eldest son's family, their children had all come with their families.
"Oh! Nothing much, it's just that we were all able to get together, so we thought we'd come over for a meal." Jiang Guiying casually asked, "Is something good happening in your family?"
"My second son got a new apartment, what a joyous occasion! We came over to celebrate." The old neighbor sighed, "Life is better now, but getting an apartment is harder than before. We've been waiting for so long... Sigh, if you ask me, the garment factory up ahead still has better benefits."
Everyone quickly offered their congratulations, and after a few pleasantries from the elders, the old neighbors stopped chatting with them.
It was quite a coincidence.
Every day after school, Gu Yu would go to the gatehouse to find Wan Xiujuan, and then wait until Guan Aiguo came to pick them up to go back to Ginkgo Hutong together.
When Guan Yuehua and Gu Mannian came to pick up Gu Yu today, they found no one at home, so they came here. Lin Sitian and Chen Lizhong also came at the same time.
What started as a small get-together turned into a large gathering for both families.
Gu Mannian brought over half a case of cola from outside and asked Gu Yu to distribute it to everyone.
"So many people at the supply and marketing cooperative bought Coca-Cola that we almost couldn't get any."
"It's become very famous now, and everyone is scrambling to buy it; it's in high demand."
“I see their ads every day after watching the news, who doesn’t know them?” Jiang Guiying said with a laugh. “Weiguo brought a whole box back with him when he came to town today, saying he’d keep it for visiting relatives. Are you going to give them as gifts for every holiday from now on?”
"It's not surprising; some people even give cakes as gifts for the Mid-Autumn Festival."
Guan Canghai sighed, "It's not like before. In the past, foreign gadgets were considered bad, but now everyone says they're good."
The dishes they ordered were served just in time, and Guan Yuehe quickly interrupted Old Guan's "reminiscences," saying, "Eat while it's hot, and we can chat after you've eaten your fill."
"Alright, grab your chopsticks quickly, no need to wait for all the dishes to be served." Jiang Guiying said to Lin Sitian and Wan Xiujuan, "You two can't go hungry, eat first..."
Lin Sitian and Wan Xiujuan became pregnant one after the other in the second half of this year, and next year, there will be two more babies to keep things lively.
If they were eating at home, Guan Canghai would inevitably bring out a drink and have a toast with Guan Yuehe. But since they were out, his wife often reminded him: "Don't show off in public."
So, at this moment, I can only drink Coke like alcohol, taking a sip and exhaling, feeling dizzy, as if I've drunk fake alcohol.
Looking at the younger generation in front of him, Guan Canghai repeated his old saying: "You guys are really lucky to have come at such a good time."
When he was young, it wasn't an option for ordinary people like him to be literate, become a cadre, or attend school. However, they proved themselves worthy of their efforts.
Looking at his two daughters across the table, Guan Canghai grinned so broadly his face was wrinkled enough to trap flies. Back when he was still toiling away in the countryside, who could have imagined that two of his family members would become high-ranking officials?
"Alright, eat yours." Jiang Guiying said this, but she couldn't help but laugh herself.
There's a guy in the alley who became a workshop director at a factory, and his family is so arrogant. They're already being very low-key; otherwise, they should be setting off firecrackers in front of their house.
Gu Mannian picked up the soda bottle and said to Guan Yuehe, "Yuehe, congratulations."
Guan Yuehua reminded him, "Don't be arrogant. Just do your job well and stick to the bottom line."
Tsk! This year, the upright official was transferred to work in the procuratorate. Now he has to say "hold the line" to everyone he sees, and he looks at everyone as if they have violated laws and regulations.
Even Lin Sitian, who was sitting next to Guan Yuehe, couldn't help but straighten her back and exchanged a secret glance with Chen Lizhong: See, now you know why Yuehe always calls her sister "Lord Justice".
Just as Chen Lizhong was about to laugh, Guan Yuehua glanced at him, so he immediately picked up his cola and congratulated Guan Yuehua, thus avoiding the gaze of the upright official.
Although he was just a technician in a state-owned factory, in the eyes of the upright official, everyone was pretty much the same, and everyone had to stick to the bottom line no matter what they did.
"You're not trying to make me drink soda first so I won't be able to fight you for the roast duck leg, are you?" Guan Yuehe took a small sip. The dishes weren't finished yet, she couldn't get full just like that.
Lin Sitian reached out and touched her stomach, "I think you can still eat two big bowls of rice."
Will Yuehe ever have a chance to eat her fill?
Guan Aiguo belatedly realized that this meal was different from others. After waiting for everyone to finish speaking, he hurriedly asked, "Is there anything else I don't know?"
Upon asking, he learned from his mother that his second sister had been promoted again.
Although somewhat surprised, he was already used to it.
How many big things has his second sister accomplished over the years? Ever since she was able to find a job on her own before she was even sixteen, Guan Aiguo has felt that his second sister is someone who is destined for great things.
Besides, who can learn one foreign language and then immediately start learning another? I recently picked up Guyu from school and heard him babbling in some incomprehensible foreign language. That's when I found out that his second sister has been learning Russian recently.
They have inexhaustible energy all year round, and they constantly add more burdens to themselves.
Turning his head, he met the eyes of his older sister, and Guan Aiguo sighed inwardly: This person also has inexhaustible energy when working.
—
Guan Canghai felt that the meal was not enjoyable enough, so he discussed with Guan Yuehe about inviting his uncle and elder brother's families to celebrate together at home.
But getting all these busy people together wasn't easy, and in the end, they couldn't set a date.
After dinner, everyone went home. As soon as Guan Yuehe entered the house, she went straight to the wardrobe in the bedroom and found the gift that Lin Yiku had hidden.
Lin Yiku, who followed closely behind, asked helplessly, "When did you find out?"
He had been preparing a gift since Guan Yuehe first mentioned the possibility of a promotion, but he still couldn't hide it. When he came back, he was wondering whether he should wait until Lin Ting fell asleep before taking it out.
All that thinking went to waste.
Guan Yuehe raised her chin and said to Lin Ting, "Your daughter found it when she was hiding the tin frog."
Lin Ting, who was mentioned, had no idea that she had ruined her father's plans. She leaned over to look at the golden circle in her mother's hand, then immediately turned to hug her father's leg and said, "Dad, can you give me one too? Nezha has this circle too, and I want one too."
"Nezha slept in his own room, why don't you learn from him?"
Lin Ting ignored that sentence and followed suit, reaching out to ask for a circle.
Guan Yuehe was left admiring the large gold bracelets under the lamp. She had already collected four large gold bracelets, and when she took them all out at the same time, she put them on. Her hands were even more dazzling than the incandescent light bulb above her head.
Author's Note: The second update is a bit late, I'll check back tomorrow morning! (I haven't decided when it will be finished yet, mainly because I'm too busy with work and writing is slow. But it's almost finished, and any additions will probably be in the extra chapters.)
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