052 Snowfall (with supplement)
Because everyone had experienced some happy events in the past year, the Spring Festival of 1973 was particularly lively and festive.
But Guan Yuehe felt that, overall, the new year is always better than the old year.
The second day of the Lunar New Year is the day for visiting one's maternal grandparents. Guan Yuehua made an excuse not to come back and went to see a movie with Gu Mannian instead. The gifts were entrusted to Xu Chengcai to bring back on the first day of the Lunar New Year.
Jiang Guiying was so angry that she kept muttering, "We've been married for a year and a half, and I just asked her when she planned to have a child. She's really something, she doesn't even come home anymore."
Guan Yuehe, who was standing next to her, didn't respond and just kept drinking her soup, thinking to herself: If it were me, I would also go to see a movie and not come back to listen to her nagging.
"I've said so much, can't you even give me a response?" As Guan Yuehe slurped down another bowl of hot soup, Jiang Guiying, while talking, suddenly remembered that there was still a wooden figure in the room who hadn't spoken for a long time.
Since she was asked to speak, she told the truth.
"You said it's none of their business, so why are you asking? Do you care if they want children or when they want them? Don't you find taking care of children tiring?"
Take the kids in courtyards number three and two, for example. They're all mischievous, big and small. They won't behave unless she gives them a good beating every day. It's exhausting just watching them.
"Are you taking my side or your sister's side?"
“I’ll speak up for myself,” Guan Yuehe said. “After I get married, please don’t keep nagging me every few days. I have my own plans.”
Jiang Guiying chuckled and looked at her, "What's your plan?"
Suddenly her expression changed drastically. "You didn't find someone at school, did you? Are you stupid? You only have six months left until graduation, how could you not resist?"
Guan Yuehe was amused and said in a rambling manner, "Then I'll bring the person back for you to see after I get my graduation certificate."
"Really...?" or "Fake?"
Before Jiang Guiying could finish speaking, she saw her little girl already shaking her shoulders and laughing loudly. Jiang Guiying breathed a sigh of relief and patted her on the shoulder, amused and annoyed, "You never tell the truth! You scared me to death!"
Despite saying that, Jiang Guiying still moved next to her youngest daughter and whispered, "Tell me the truth, have you seen anyone you like at school?"
"Didn't you say that our class is full of PLA soldiers from other places? If I date one of them, I'll have to go with them to their military base. You told me to be careful."
"Silly girl!" Jiang Guiying said with exasperation, "There are more students in your major than just yours at school. Your friend, Xie Dongxue, has many worker classmates, right? Surely some of them work in state-owned factories in Beijing?"
Guan Yuehe really didn't know if there was anyone. Xie Dongxue and her Chinese class often went off-campus to do creative work, and she only knew Xie Dongxue among the Chinese class students.
"If you don't have one, you don't have one. You can look for one there after you graduate and go back to the garment factory. By the way, if both of you are employed, can you reapply for housing? You only got a single room back then..."
Seeing that the topic had already strayed far from the main point, Jiang Guiying completely forgot about bringing up her eldest daughter's lack of plans to have children, and her temper changed from irritable to peaceful.
Guan Aiguo, who was in the room, breathed a sigh of relief, tiptoed to open the door, and prepared to sneak out to find his friend.
"Guan Aiguo, where are you going?"
He didn't manage to sneak away. After his second sister called out to him, his mother started to give him instructions, "The factory starts work tomorrow. You'll go with your eldest brother to the transport team and help out with odd jobs, understand?"
"oh."
Guan Aiguo still slipped out the door, and as soon as he turned his head, he saw Lin Yiku standing at the door of the house next door. He immediately stood up straight and said, "Brother Yiku."
He and Lin Yiku were much older than each other, but before Lin Yiku joined the army, he was often disciplined by Lin Yiku at home. He wasn't her biological brother, but he was even fiercer than a biological brother.
This is why he still acts like a mouse seeing a cat whenever he sees Lin Yiku.
Where to?
Guan Aiguo honestly replied, "Ice skating."
Seeing Lin Yiku walking with him, he made conversation by asking, "Brother Yiku, where are you going?"
"If you have nothing to do, ice skating is fine. I can go with you on the way and we can chat."
Guan Aiguo: "......"
I should have known better than to ask.
Hearing their voices fade into the distance, Jiang Guiying shook her head and sighed, "Your Aunt Fang has been so worried about remembering the bitter past that her hair has turned white."
Guan Yuehe subconsciously looked up at Jiang Guiying's hair, noticing a few white hairs mixed in with the black hair.
Children and grandchildren have their own blessings; worrying about them is futile. This is easy to say, but difficult to get elders to accept.
She didn't waste her breath.
Jiang Guiying didn't care whether she responded or not, and just said whatever came to mind.
"Your Aunt Fang hopes he'll settle down soon, but she doesn't want him to just marry anyone and settle for someone else. Yi Ku is the same; he's been stubborn since he was a child... Well, you're stubborn too."
Guan Yuehe hummed softly, saying that she was just talking about Lin Yiku, so why drag her into it?
“You are much better off now than we were back then. Now we advocate free love and we don’t allow arranged marriages. Back then, only those who had been to school talked about free love, and arranged marriages were the majority… If I had known a few more words when I was young, I wouldn’t have lived with your father.”
Guan Yuehe got excited and acted as a messenger for her mother, knocking on the door of the inner room, "Dad, did you hear that? My mom said that if she knew even a few more words, she wouldn't live with you. Speaking of you, Uncle Lin gave Aunt Fang a new cotton-padded coat, what did you give her?"
There wasn't a sound coming from inside the house.
Jiang Guiying said angrily, "They sent a bottle of wine!"
No wonder she didn't drink a drop of alcohol on New Year's Eve this year; it turns out it was all because of her father.
"What about the wine?"
"It's been given to Wu Erni; her family is having a wedding."
Before they knew it, it was the third day of the Lunar New Year. Wu Erni and Jin Hongchang successfully obtained their marriage certificate. In the evening, after everyone had gone home from work, they went door to door to deliver wedding candies.
Both of them were remarried, and they had no other relatives. They only planned to invite the matchmaker and neighbors over to their home in the evening for a bit of fun, without holding a banquet.
But when neighbors come to offer their congratulations, gifts are also indispensable.
The towel that Guan Yuehe gave her was one she received when she moved into her new house and hosted a party. The towel had been folded in the closet for nearly three years, but it still looked brand new when she took it out.
Wu Erni's room was packed with people. The women sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) eating roasted melon seeds and peanuts, while the men sat at the table sipping wine and chatting. A bunch of children were also coming and going, grabbing candy and rushing out.
As soon as Guan Yuehe sat down next to Lin Sitian, the two of them received candy from Lin Yiku.
They took it without hesitation and immediately pocketed it.
"Why haven't any of Xu Chengcai's family members come over?" asked Aunt Xie, who had come to join the fun.
Jin Hongchang and Xu Laoda are both workers in the assembly workshop. They work in the same workshop and usually have no conflicts. Now that they live so close, they should logically come over and join in the fun.
The second aunt glanced at Lin Yiku, who was sitting with her back to them, and said, "She's too embarrassed to come over."
Soon, Guan Yuehe found out why.
She and Lin Sitian went to the restroom hand in hand. Lin Sitian answered her question: "Didn't Xu Xiaomei break up with another boyfriend?"
"Huh? Wait, the deal we made during the National Day holiday fell through?"
"You spend more time at home than I do, how come you're even more out of touch?" Lin Sitian said, "That guy from National Day broke up with me a long time ago. The one I just broke up with was someone I met at a social gathering before the New Year. That guy was incredibly stingy. He said he'd treat Xu Xiaomei to a movie, and after the movie, he wanted to split the cost of the tickets with her. The movie tickets were provided by the factory; he didn't spend a penny. If he wanted to split that, I'd break up with him too..."
Guan Yuehe couldn't help but feel sorry for Xu Xiaomei; over the years, all she had talked about were unreliable things.
The only somewhat reliable person was the man who brought her meat during the Chinese New Year. But because of that meat, everyone in the Xu family except Xu Chengcai ended up in the hospital. The man's family thought the Xu family had too many problems and refused to accept Xu Xiaomei, so they broke up.
But that's not the point. "She broke up with someone else, and then what?"
"And then?" Lin Sitian rolled her eyes. "Aunt Xu came to my mom and said that she wanted Xu Xiaomei to talk to my brother, maybe the two of them could get together."
"My mom didn't agree." They've been neighbors for so many years, and she knows the Xu family's temperaments very well. If this marriage goes through, the Xu family will definitely have a lot of trouble coming their way.
Besides, given Xu Xiaomei's temperament, it's no wonder she'd be willing to go with her husband to the military. Serving in the army is honorable, but being a military wife who leaves home to accompany her husband is not easy. Her mother thought it best for her brother to find a partner while he was in the army.
"It's no big deal if they don't agree." Who can decide on a marriage proposal so easily after just one discussion?
Having an idea is one thing, but whether it can be successfully negotiated is another. Surely not stopping contact with the neighbors just because it didn't work out?
Lin Sitian sighed, "Originally, things should have ended here. But!"
Guan Yuehe pricked up her ears.
"Xu Xiaomei went to my brother and asked him why he didn't like her. My brother said that she had been mentally ill since she was a child. She was so angry that she cried all the way back, and Aunt Xu even came to my brother's house to scold him."
Guan Yuehe: "......"
"I don't think Xu Xiaomei necessarily likes my brother either; she's just holding a grudge." After all, when Xu Xiaomei saw her brother again, she frowned and said, "Lin Yiku, what happened to you?"
The disdain in his eyes and words was very obvious.
Xu Xiaomei likes men who are refined-looking and compliant. Her brother used to look quite refined when he was pale. Now he's completely changed; he's certainly imposing, but he doesn't seem easy to talk to. Naturally, Xu Xiaomei doesn't find him appealing.
Lin Sitian sighed, "Being Lin Yiku's sister is really unlucky. I've been given the eye-roll by Xu Xiaomei countless times before."
Guan Yuehe laughed and said, "Being Guan Yuehua's sister is the same!"
They were both innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire.
"You're lucky, your brother-in-law is a friend, an acquaintance, someone you know well. I'm really afraid my future sister-in-law will be like Xu Xiaomei. I hope Lin Yiku keeps his eyes open when choosing a wife." Lin Sitian clasped her hands together and bowed in the night.
"If you pray towards the toilet, you're doomed. Your brother is going to find you a fierce and tough sister-in-law to teach you a lesson, hahaha..."
"Ugh, ptooey! That doesn't count!" Lin Sitian jumped up and down in a panic.
Lin Yiku, who was following behind them, was so angry that he laughed. They were making up stories about him behind his back.
After the excitement subsided, everyone went home.
Lin Sitian went back to her room, still thinking about what her brother had said to her at her bedroom door.
"How about you say some good things about your brother outside?"
She didn't say anything bad about him outside! Lin Sitian thought to herself, at most she would scold him a few times with Yuehe.
After Xu Cheng got married and started a family, she stopped gossiping with him and never spoke ill of her brother.
Lin Sitian lay down in bed, turned off the flashlight, and knocked on the wall. "It's inexplicable that I can't find a partner."
The next day, Guan Yuehe didn't go to the car factory. She got up early, tidied up the house, borrowed stools from the neighbors, and went to wait at the entrance of the alley.
"Yuehe, aren't you going to work today?"
"I don't need to go once I've finished my work. My roommates are coming over later."
She has to go back to school the day after tomorrow, so she can't go back to work at the factory.
Upon hearing that Guan Yuehe's college roommates were coming to visit, the elderly folks stopped rushing off. They either went to the No. 2 courtyard to chat with Aunt Bai or Aunt Er, or waited with Guan Yuehe at the entrance of the alley.
They weren't curious about what college students look like these days; they were just bored.
She also wanted to see if any male classmates would come over. If so, wouldn't they be Yuehe's boyfriend?
To the disappointment of the elderly, a group of women in green military uniforms marched in neat rows, without a single man in sight.
"Yuehe's roommate is really good-looking," the elderly folks praised.
Just like Yuehe.
Ten roommates came to Guan Yuehe's house, and the noise inside was louder than if twenty people were talking.
Wow! Yuehe! You were actually in the newspaper?!
"Where? I want to see too! Wow! Comrade Guan Yuehe from Zhuoyue Garment Factory subdued an armed fugitive with her bare hands! You didn't even tell us about this?!" This was completely unlike Guan Yuehe's usual personality.
"There's even a certificate here! That's amazing, Yuehe!"
"Outstanding Worker of Zhuoyue Garment Factory, 1970." Chunmei picked up the enamel mug, read the words aloud, carefully put it back, and turned to give her a thumbs up: "Excellent!"
"Yuehe, is this your own house? We thought we'd only be allocated a tiny room!"
“Yes, Shenghua said there definitely wouldn’t be enough room inside, so we’re going to the Qunzhong Restaurant for lunch…and the kitchen is in the back!”
"Wow, Yuehe, you have a kang (heated brick bed) at home too? Such a big space and you're all lying there by yourself? No wonder you can roll onto the floor when you sleep in the dormitory!"
"Yuehe..."
Guan Yuehe's ears were ringing; one person called her name, another followed, and she couldn't find a chance to answer. But her roommates didn't seem to need her to speak either; they exclaimed in amazement, then gathered in twos and threes and could answer their own questions.
After they had finally finished enjoying their meal, she said, "I've prepared the food; we'll eat at home today."
"Then let's go outside and buy some steamed buns." The ten people who came had collected quite a few coupons. The meat coupons were placed on the five-drawer chest in the living room, and the remaining grain coupons were kept to buy steamed buns as their staple food.
Guan Yuehe didn't refuse; her roommates were also big eaters, and she really couldn't afford to treat them to a hearty meal.
It's okay if they give out too many meat coupons; she'll make some meat sauce to take back to school and distribute to them.
Lin Yiku came over to borrow a car, and unexpectedly his eyes met those of a room full of women in military uniforms. He almost thought he had returned to his unit.
"Yuehe! Someone is looking for you!"
"Who is it?" Guan Yuehe came out from behind the kitchen, saw Lin Yiku, took the car keys hanging on the wall and handed them to him, and said again, "I don't need the car until I go back to school the day after tomorrow, Brother Yiku, you can take the car home and leave it there."
He runs to borrow and return the car every day; he's not tired, but she finds it troublesome.
Lin Yiku agreed as usual, then glanced behind her and asked, "Are they all your roommates?"
"right."
"Okay, I won't bother you anymore. I'll return the car to you later."
Lin Yiku, who was watching from the window, pushed the car out of the backyard. "Yuehe, is this also a People's Liberation Army soldier? Who is he?"
Su Ping suddenly had a flash of inspiration, "Is it the boy next door you mentioned? The one who's serving in the army in the south?"
"Yes, we came back to visit relatives this year." After Guan Yuehe finished answering, she assigned them tasks to do, "Although you are here as guests, you still have to be self-reliant."
Jiang Guiying wanted to come and help, but her roommates refused.
So Jiang Guiying watched them work while asking Guan Yuehe about her situation at school.
"Yuehe is doing very well at school; the teachers often praise her. By the way, Yuehe is now in our dormitory, and she's fifth in arm wrestling, which is five places higher than when she first entered the school."
Five of her roommates ended their studies early and returned to the military, so her ranking naturally rose as well.
Jiang Guiying looked on with surprise, "You have to arm wrestle to go to school? Is this part of military training?"
"Yes, Yuehe is good at running too." Everyone tacitly avoided mentioning that she was best at running in the cafeteria.
They were roommates for two years, going in and out of school together every day. Even now that they've reunited, they still have so much to talk about.
Jiang Guiying tactfully made room for them and then went to borrow a sewing machine from Aunt Fang to make clothes.
"Yuehe gets along really well with her roommates," Aunt Fang said enviously. "Your Yuehe is straightforward and efficient. Once she graduates and goes back to the factory, she'll definitely do well."
"Sitian is not bad either. I heard that the training course they attended will give them the opportunity to become doctors in the future. Sitian can get along with anyone and has a sweet tongue, so she will definitely be even better in the future."
The two had been neighbors and best friends for twenty years, and they knew that it was enough to only praise each other's daughters; mentioning their sons would ruin the atmosphere.
But when you're home every day, there are only so many things to do, and in the end, you can't escape the worries about home.
Aunt Fang tossed the cloth in her hand aside. "I'm too lazy to think about it now. Who cares if he finds a partner or not? You can't force a cow to drink water. If he can stay single for the rest of his life, then he'll be something else."
"Fate is a fickle thing. Maybe when you stop worrying, the other person will find it." Jiang Guiying joked, "We even said we wanted to be in-laws, thankfully it didn't work out."
Yuehua has a terrible temper, and Yiku is even harder to manage. If these two were to be forced together, they would probably turn the entire No. 3 courtyard upside down.
Aunt Fang laughed and said, "I really did think about it, but they don't like each other, so I didn't dare to bring it up."
Actually, it was precisely because the two families had such a good relationship that she found it difficult to speak up, especially after Yi Ku joined the army.
Putting herself in her shoes, she could agree to Yi Ku joining the army, but she couldn't agree to Si Tian going with him. Having a job in the city, close to home, would be perfect for finding a partner and settling down locally. Going with him to the army would mean being in an unfamiliar place, unable to be taken care of by family, and not necessarily having a reliable man.
The old lady definitely didn't want her daughter to go south to join the army.
Thinking about the hardships of accompanying a soldier, she pondered for half a month and finally came to terms with it, deciding to let Lin Yiku go back to the army and find his own way.
As for Lin Yiku saying he would try to get transferred back, she never took it seriously. Is it that easy to get transferred back? He's just lying to her.
Guan Yuehe's house was bustling with activity for most of the day. After her roommates had eaten and drunk their fill, they reluctantly got up to say goodbye before it got dark and they had to catch the bus back to school.
"We'll see each other again when we go back to school in a couple of days." It's like we're about to graduate and go our separate ways.
But after seeing her roommates off on the bus and watching it drive away, Guan Yuehe still felt a sense of emptiness in her heart.
Before entering university, two and a half years seemed like a long time, and she hoped to graduate early and return to the factory. But in the blink of an eye, the two years were gone, and she felt that two and a half years was too short.
I haven't fully grasped the knowledge yet, and I haven't gotten to know my roommates enough...
He bent down, kicked away a pebble at his feet, sighed deeply, and exhaled a puff of white breath.
I glanced up at the road ahead and saw Lin Yiku, wearing a black coat, holding a bicycle, standing quietly under a ginkgo tree, looking at me.
She suddenly laughed.
When I saw my roommates off to catch their ride, they were still remarking, "Our neighbor's brother is really handsome."
This should really be said to Lin Sitian's face, so that Lin Sitian won't keep saying that she thinks Lin Yiku is handsome because she's ruined her eyesight by reading too much.
Looking at it from this distance now, hey, it really does look pretty cool.
If only Lin Yiku were mute.
What are you laughing at all day long?
Guan Yuehe scoffed in disgust, "You're so annoying!"
"Mmm, delicious!" Guan Yuehe nodded with satisfaction. "I'll buy another pack before I go back to school."
Lin Yiku suddenly noticed that she had two cowlicks on her head, which she didn't seem to have when she was little.
He doesn't quite remember.
"Ha! Are you two standing here getting soaked in the snow?" Aunt Er ran out with her hands in her pockets, rushing to the toilet, looking at the two of them as if they were idiots.
"Huh? It's snowing?!" Guan Yuehe looked up and was indeed hit in the face by snowflakes. She blinked and her eyes met Lin Yiku's.
The two of them froze at the same time, but Guan Yuehe quickly came to her senses, wiped her face, and said, "It's snowing, let's go home!"
She jogged back to Courtyard No. 2, and a little while later she came running back out, took the bicycle from Lin Yiku, and said, "Thank you for the pastries, Brother Yiku. I'll push the bike back now."
Look how sensible she is; she took the food and then helped with the work.
After a while, Aunt Er came out of the toilet, also walking hurriedly. She stopped to observe the dazed Lin Yiku. "Yiku? Aren't you going home?"
Lin Yi nodded, "Go back."
When I got home, I touched my chest and felt my heart pounding rapidly.
"You're back? Come and try on your new clothes. It's warm up south, so you can wear this back when your vacation is over."
Lin Yiku quickly calmed down. "Mom, I have to go back to the army early. I'll leave the day after tomorrow."
"Ah..." Aunt Fang was about to say that he was acting like a block of wood and ignoring people, but when she turned around and heard this news, her maternal heart welled up again. She suppressed her disappointment and said, "Oh, then I'll pack your things. See if you want to take anything with you?"
"I lack nothing."
"There's no such thing as not having enough... Never mind, I won't ask you anymore, I'll figure out how to prepare it."
—
"Have you packed everything?" Jiang Guiying helped tie the quilt to the back seat of the bicycle.
Guan Yuehe checked it again. "Yes, it's all packed." There were more than a dozen eggs in the bag, which were leftovers from the Chinese New Year. She boiled them all and took them to school.
Pushing his bicycle out of the alley before getting on the bus, he saw Lin Yiku waiting for the bus before he even reached the bus stop.
"Goodbye, Lin Yiku!" She waved, and the car sped away.
She knew yesterday that Lin Yiku was going back to the army early, so she gave him a bottle of homemade meat sauce to thank him for treating her to many delicious meals during his leave.
The people waiting for the bus behind her only looked away when she became a tiny black dot. "Sure enough, Lin Yiku is no longer needed."
As soon as he finished speaking, the little black dot rushed back and stopped next to him.
Guan Yuehe yanked open his coat pocket, took out six eggs from her bag and gave them to him. Her eyes, which were exposed, were bright and sparkling, like the shimmering surface of the sea.
"Have a safe journey and good luck with your work. See you next time, Brother Yiku."
After delivering the eggs, he hurriedly rode off on his bicycle.
Lin Yiku patted the heavy pocket and muttered to himself, "See you next time."
—
Guan Yuehe, who had decided to deliver the eggs on a whim, realized something was wrong halfway there. She stopped her bike to count the eggs in the bag, and only after counting twice did she realize that she had given Lin Yiku too many.
In the dormitory, apart from her, her ten roommates stared at the nine eggs on the table, looking at each other with wide eyes.
How to divide it?
Guan Yuehe curled up on her bed and whispered, "How about an arm wrestling match?"
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