050 Unexpected Surprise
When Guan Yuehe arrived at No. 3 Courtyard, Lin Yiku was leading Aunt Fang around the front and back yards. One of them was calmly dodging in front, while the other was chasing after them with a fire poker.
The neighbors just stood by their own doors watching the commotion, hands tucked in their sleeves. Only Zhou Hongqi couldn't resist offering to help, and kept asking, "Aunt Fang, do you need my help?"
But Jin Junwei kept interrupting her, saying, "Sister Hongqi, look at our daughter, she's hungry again."
"Hongqi, don't worry about it, I can handle him! Yuehe will be here soon."
Zhou Hongqi gave birth to a chubby baby girl in July. The baby was breech, making the delivery difficult and leaving her very weak. She spent a full month and a half in postpartum confinement. During this time, there were fights among the elderly people in the alley, and no one dared to ask Zhou Hongqi to help.
Having been idle for nearly half a year, Zhou Hongqi was itching to get back to work. Seeing how hard Aunt Fang was trying to win over Lin Yi, she wanted to try it herself.
But Aunt Fang said she didn't need her help. Jin Junwei, holding his chubby daughter, stared at her from the side and sighed in disappointment.
Lin Yiku stopped after circling around once, ran home to be beaten, and helplessly raised her hands in surrender, "Mom, can you be reasonable? Didn't you say you had to consider my opinion?"
"I'll see what you think. If you don't like anyone, I won't force you to marry someone. But you have to go and see some people first, just in case you find someone you like, right? The application has already been submitted, so you have to go to the matchmaking event today."
As she spoke, Aunt Fang pushed him back into the house to change into new clothes. "If your dad and Sitian hadn't gone to the factory early to work overtime, I wouldn't have had to go through all the trouble of looking for Yuehe."
As soon as Yuehe was mentioned, she poked her head out from behind the door and asked, "Aunt Fang, I don't have any rope at home. How do you plan to tie it up?"
Aunt Fang had just been annoyed by Lin Yi's bitterness, but now she was amused by her.
"No need to tie him up. You're going to the car factory anyway, so you can keep an eye on him as he walks into the factory's auditorium."
"Okay, sure. I'll go back and pack my things first, then I'll head out in a bit."
"Have you had breakfast yet? Tsk! This child is always like a whirlwind, gone in the blink of an eye." Aunt Fang withdrew her hand from inviting Guan Yuehe into the house for breakfast, then turned her head and changed her tone, "Lin Yiku, hurry up, don't waste Yuehe's time."
Lin Yiku came out while putting on a new sweater and asked, "Is Yuehe going to the social gathering too? Isn't she still a student?"
"Don't talk nonsense. Yuehe went to the factory's design department to help translate documents. How old is Yuehe? She's half a year younger than Sitian. She's not in a hurry to find a partner, unlike you."
"What did I do wrong? My circumstances are pretty good too."
"You... never mind, I'm too lazy to talk to you." Aunt Fang sighed, found a lunchbox, packed some dumplings she had made at home, and instructed, "Give these to Yuehe later, she hasn't had breakfast."
Lin Yiku watched as his mother packed the lunchbox tightly. To celebrate his return home and the dumplings she made, he had only eaten two meals, and now there wasn't a single one left.
Guan Yuehe received the dumplings from Aunt Fang, ate them one after another until she had filled her stomach, and then asked, "Have you eaten?"
What if I say I haven't eaten?
"...Then just pretend I didn't ask." Guan Yuehe laughed smugly twice and then let out a long burp. Oh no, she shouldn't have been laughing and joking while eating.
She drank two mouthfuls of water to stop the hiccups, ate a few more, and handed over the remaining half box, saying, "Here you go."
Lin Yiku was a little surprised to get some food from her. He reached out and took two dumplings, only to see her turn her head away, as if she wouldn't feel bad if she couldn't see them. He smiled and pushed them back, saying, "Just kidding, I've already eaten."
Guan Yuehe didn't continue to be generous; she quickly finished the remaining dumplings and put the lunchbox into her bag.
It wouldn't look good for Lin Yiku to bring a lunchbox to the social gathering, so she decided to be a good Samaritan and help him out.
Last night after get off work, Lin Sitian went to her house to talk about the latest gossip from the car factory. She mentioned her brother, Lin Yiku: "My brother is a respectable man now, and there should be women who would be interested in him."
While waiting for the car, Guan Yuehe was bored, so she turned her head to look at Lin Yiku several times. He was indeed quite handsome.
But when she said that Lin Yiku was prettier than Huang Wenlin, the former factory manager of their garment factory, Lin Sitian said that she had ruined her eyes from reading too much and that she would bring her a bottle of eye drops another day.
As she turned her head again, Lin Yiku also turned her head to look at her, staring intently at her.
She wasn't embarrassed at all, and looked back at him openly, taking the opportunity to carefully examine his features.
Just as Lin Yiku couldn't help but blink, Guan Yuehe finally spoke up, "With your looks, you should still be able to attract women. The movie theater at the car factory is showing a new movie. Do you want a ticket? I can trade with you. Do you have any food coupons? ... The car is here, hurry, hurry, hurry."
Guan Yuehe had already squeezed onto the bus and successfully secured a seat, relying on her experience. Looking to her side, she noticed that Lin Yiku hadn't followed. She wondered, "Could he have taken the opportunity to run away? I don't know how to explain this to Aunt Fang!"
Looking out again, he had already taken on the role of commander, directing the people waiting for the bus to line up and board in an orderly manner.
Once the car started moving, he squeezed his way from the front to the back and stood next to her seat.
Guan Yuehe didn't want to look up at him to talk, so she didn't continue with the previous question. But the middle-aged woman sitting next to her was very enthusiastic, asking Lin Yiku which unit he worked for the whole time.
The residents of Changhu Street are mostly workers from various state-owned factories. It's always good to ask around; you might just bump into someone who's single.
Guan Yuehe turned her back and chuckled to herself. After a while, the older woman, annoyed by Lin Yiku's stern face and unapproachable manner, turned to Guan Yuehe and asked, "Which company do you work for? Do you have a boyfriend? I know people in the family compounds of various factories in Changhu Street. How about I introduce you to someone? Which company are you interested in?"
Guan Yuehe could no longer smile.
Fortunately, when the car arrived near the daily chemical factory, a pregnant woman got on. Guan Yuehe quickly gave up her seat and ran to the front to stand, avoiding the older woman who wanted to introduce her to a potential partner.
A moment later, Lin Yiku also came over and stood next to her. Looking up her arm, he saw her exposed wrist, which was bare.
Sitian wrote to them saying that Yuehe had bought a watch and had been showing it off for a week.
"It smells strongly of soap." Guan Yuehe sniffed towards Lin Yiku. "Did you use soap as regular soap to wash your clothes?"
Lin Yiku, who was holding her breath as her head leaned closer, was speechless.
He pushed her head away expressionlessly, "You said you've never been to the beach, that's not right."
"Are you stupid? Where is the sea in Beijing?" There are rivers and lakes, though.
Lin Yi tried hard to say that she had never been to the beach but her head was full of seawater, but she swallowed the words back and nodded, "Yes, I'm silly."
Guan Yuehe was worried for him, as it was the first time she had ever seen someone so honest in admitting that he was stupid: How can someone like that find a partner?
Finally arriving at the car factory, Guan Yuehe took a deep breath of fresh air as she got out of the car. An old man, reeking of cigarette smoke, pulled up halfway there, and someone else had taken off their shoes; their feet stank horribly… The car was tightly shut, and she regretted not having ridden her bicycle.
She watched as Lin Yiku entered the auditorium and even went to sign in with the staff before turning to find Comrade Zhang Xinbi in the design department.
Upon seeing Guan Yuehe, Zhang Xinbi and Guo Xusheng suddenly felt a weight lifted off their shoulders. They patted the two large stacks of documents on the table and said, "Yuehe, you've worked hard."
"It's not hard work."
She spent a month studying with Zhang Xinbi and Guo Xusheng during the summer vacation, and her professional skills improved rapidly. When she returned to school, she received a lot of praise from her teachers. Since she had nothing to do during the winter break, she came to help out so she could learn even more.
Moreover, this favor wasn't done for nothing.
Zhang Xinbi reminded her, "I've already submitted the application. Go to the personnel department later to pick up your meal tickets and train tickets."
"Thank you, Comrade Zhang!"
The car factory was generous, providing meal tickets equivalent to three meals a day. During her one-month summer internship, she saved up thirty meal tickets but didn't use them all, so she asked her older brother to help her exchange them for meat tickets.
This time, they even subsidized her commuting tickets!
"By the way, Xiao Guan, the factory is having a social gathering today. Aren't you going to join in the fun?" Guo Xusheng joked. "This social gathering is something else. All the young backbone of our factory are going to participate."
Zhang Xinbi rolled her eyes at him. "Xiao Guan is in school, he can't date. Xiao Guan, don't listen to him, focus on your job first, you can date anytime."
“I didn’t tell Xiao Guan to find a partner right now. We can get to know each other first, and make friends with good people. Working and dating don’t conflict.”
"It's not a problem for men, but for women, once they're in a relationship, it's all about marriage and having kids, and that's where the conflicts are huge. Xiao Guan, listen to your sister, there's no rush to find a partner."
Comrade Xiao Guan nodded repeatedly, not wanting to be dragged into judging who was right, so he quickly made an excuse to go to the personnel department to complete the formalities first.
Comrade Zhang and Comrade Guo can work together to solve problems at work, but when it comes to non-work-related issues, the two are at loggerheads and never agree on anything.
Actually, she felt that what Comrade Zhang said made a lot of sense.
On the other side, Lin Yi waited for Guan Yuehe to leave for a short while before preparing to slip away quietly as well.
But he was unlucky; the sharp-eyed deputy director of the union spotted him and grabbed him, trying to pull him into the middle of the crowd.
The vice-chairman of the trade union and Grandpa Lin used to be partners in the same workshop. A few days ago, Grandpa Lin learned that Lin Yiku had come back to visit relatives. Moreover, Grandpa Lin had asked her to sign up for the social event so that Lin Yiku could come and meet her.
With her around, how could Lin Yiku possibly be unable to find a partner? Impossible.
"Aunt Wen, to be honest with you, I'm not planning on getting married yet. I don't like anyone today, so please don't waste your time."
"Take a look first. There are so many outstanding female colleagues in our factory. What if there's someone you like?" Director Wen insisted on introducing him to someone.
"impossible."
"Yiku, tell Aunt Wen the truth, do you have a female comrade you like?" Lin Yiku hesitated, and Director Wen's eyes widened. "Really? You're such a brat, you have a female comrade you like and you didn't say anything, you're delaying my business. Alright, get out of here!"
Lin Yiku walked halfway around the auditorium before being kicked out by Director Wen, who said he couldn't be allowed to interfere with other men finding partners.
After thinking for a moment, Lin Yiku turned and went to the factory's newly built workers' hospital.
After waiting for half the morning at the Workers' Hospital, Lin Sitian finally got to rest and have lunch.
"Hey bro, how did your blind date go?"
Lin Yiku pinched her cheek. When he saw her being pressured by his parents to go on blind dates at home, she not only didn't help, but also laughed and egged him on. Had she forgotten who found the watch ticket for her and sent it back? Had she forgotten who sent her food?
Now that she's out in the world without her parents to rely on, he finally has a chance to teach her a lesson.
Lin Sitian slapped his hand away, rubbed her face, and said irritably, "You can't take your anger out on me just because nobody wants you."
I just praised him for finally being a reliable older brother, but today he showed his true colors and is not reliable at all.
"Is that kid who came out with you just now chasing after you?" Before knowing he was Lin Sitian's brother, he looked at him with suspicion. But after knowing he was Lin Sitian's brother, he shamelessly called him "Brother Lin," which made me uncomfortable.
Lin Sitian glanced at him sideways, "Don't try to change the subject with me, that's a new doctor at our hospital."
Lin Sitian snorted. She didn't expect to get any information out of her brother that he didn't want to talk about. Anyway, her parents would ask when she got home.
On their way to the cafeteria, Lin Yiku suddenly asked, "Didn't you use the watch voucher I sent back?"
“Yes, I used it.” Lin Sitian took out her watch from her pocket. “We all bought Shanghai brand watches. I wrote to you about it. Xu Cheng’s new house is all set up. He said he wants to treat us to dinner alone. You should come too, brother. He said he wants to thank you for the watch ticket.”
Lin Yiku stopped in his tracks, and Xu Chengcai thanked him for the watch ticket.
Upon asking, it turned out that the two watch coupons sent back had been used by Si Tian and Xu Cheng, while Guan Yuehe had used the coupons given to her by her sister. No wonder the letter when sending him the items specifically stated that the three of them had pooled their money to buy them.
"Hey! Brother, wait for me!" Lin Sitian jogged to catch up with her brother who was striding ahead, muttering under her breath as she chased after him, "That's strange, no wonder no one wants her."
—
Guan Yuehe ate dinner at the factory before going home, just in time to catch the factory's last shuttle bus.
As soon as I got back, I heard Lin Sitian talking to me about Lin Yiku, saying, "My brother lied to Aunt Wen, saying he has a girlfriend he likes, and he's getting scolded by her at home."
"Yes, she deserves to be scolded." Guan Yuehe echoed a few words, then laid out the materials she had brought back and asked Lin Sitian to bring her books over to study together.
She's busy, so she can't stand seeing her childhood friend being too idle.
Lin Sitian immediately made an excuse and slipped away.
The next day, Lin Yiku came to borrow the bicycle again. Guan Yuehe was in a hurry to go to the factory and thought that she didn't need the bicycle right now, so she gave him the key and asked him to take the bicycle back to his house for the next few days.
He leaves early and returns late every day, with no rest even when he gets back. He only went to Xu Cheng's new home for dinner on another Sunday.
Xu Cheng got his marriage certificate in July and held a wedding banquet at the factory during the National Day holiday. It wasn't until the end of the year that he and Qin Zilan moved into the house they were allocated.
This young couple's life has just begun.
Guan Yuehe has been in school for two years, but every worker in the Zhuoyue Garment Factory's residential area still recognizes her.
From the moment she entered the residential compound until she arrived at Xu Chengcai's home, people kept greeting her.
"Comrade Guan, why aren't you coming back to the factory for a holiday?"
"There are still six months left. I guarantee you'll see me at work every day."
When they arrived at Building No. 8, where Xu Chengcai and Qin Zilan lived, they discovered that Xu Chengcai's neighbor was actually the electrician Dong Dachui!
When the factory released the first batch of housing allocation lists, Dong Dachui caused a scene at the housing management department several times, slamming his fist on the table and looking very fierce.
Now that we've finally been assigned a room, he looks completely different. He greets us with a hearty laugh: "Hey, Comrade Xiao Guan, have you eaten yet?"
"Get ready to eat. Congratulations, Engineer Dong, your house is in a great location, at the far end, with an open space outside."
Dong Dachui laughed even harder, "My wife drew the lot, she's lucky."
Hearing the noise, Xu Cheng came out wearing an apron. "Yuehe Sitian, Yiku Ge! Come in quickly!"
"I've been too busy lately. If Bai Xianghong hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have known that Brother Yiku was back." As soon as Xu Cheng led the people into the house, he introduced them to Qin Zilan: "Sitian's brother, Brother Yiku."
As soon as he finished speaking, he told them to put their things on the table and then handed the spatula to Guan Yuehe, saying, "I bought pork belly, just waiting for you to cook."
Guan Yuehe took the shovel and said as she walked towards the balcony, "If I had known I would have to do it myself, I wouldn't have bought you a gift."
"That won't do. If I cook it later, you'll say I'm wasting meat." Xu Chengcai busied himself finding a bowl and pouring water. "Brother Yiku, have some water. Lin Sitian, do it yourself."
Lin Sitian rolled her eyes at him and got up to get a bowl.
Qin Zilan ran to the balcony, stood next to Guan Yuehe, and whispered, "Sitian and her brother don't look alike at all."
Guan Yuehe laughed and said, "When they were little, adults always said they looked alike, but as they grew up, they stopped looking alike."
When she was little, her relatives back home said that she looked exactly like her second brother when they were young. But as she got older, no one said that anymore.
"Did Grandpa Xu and Grandma Xu say they were coming over for dinner at their new house?"
Qin Zilan couldn't help but purse her lips and said, "My older brother and sister-in-law want us to set up the partitioned room as soon as possible, saying that since we don't have children now, they want our two children to come and stay with us. They think they're so smart, that everyone else is stupid. Who can't see through their little scheme? Anyway, we don't agree. Not only will our two children come and stay with us, but our parents-in-law won't be able to rely on us for their old age. We won't have any share in the house, and we'll only contribute to their retirement expenses."
"As long as you and Xu Cheng are on the same side, they can't do anything about it," Guan Yuehe advised. "Don't forget to send gifts to your family during the holidays. Lin Sitian and I will spread the word for you, and we'll make sure the whole neighborhood knows how filial you are."
Qin Zilan smiled and bumped shoulders with her, "Thanks to you and Sitian for your help."
"Sure, I'll need your help making clothes again in the future."
With Lin Yiku around, Xu Chengcai became quieter. Finally, when Guan Yuehe finished making the braised pork, he quickly went in and took the spatula.
Guan Yuehe chuckled inwardly. Xu Cheng had been tricked by Lin Yiku many times since he was a child, and he probably still had psychological trauma. It was normal that he couldn't talk to Lin Yiku.
He returned to Beijing to reconnect with old friends and exchanged two radio tickets. He used one ticket to buy a radio for his family and gave the other ticket to Xu Chengcai.
"A gift for your wedding and moving into your new home."
Xu Chengcai suddenly felt that Brother Yiku was a good-tempered neighbor.
Lin Yiku finished her meal and left, saying she had an appointment with a friend. The rest of them instantly relaxed.
Xu Chengcai: "My brother has been in the army for a long time, so he looks very dignified."
"Xu Chengcai, you're such a sycophant!" Before Lin Yiku came back, he was Lin Sitian's brother; after meeting him, he was Brother Yiku; now he's our brother.
Guan Yuehe laughed heartily, "I've discovered that I'm quite the sycophant too."
At this point, Lin Sitian got angry, "Does Lin Yiku even know who his real sister is? He left me three meat buns, so I'll treat you to eight! Eight!"
That day, when Guan Yuehe talked about her brother, she also fawned over him, saying, "Our brother is such a good person."
As Qin Zilan watched them laugh, she couldn't help but laugh along with them.
Xu Chengcai's family wasn't very good, but his childhood friends were exceptionally close.
Guan Yuehe and Lin Sitian tacitly avoided mentioning the dinner at Xu Chengcai's house. When they heard his family members lamenting his good fortune in the alley, they chimed in, "That's right! If it weren't for the good benefits at the factory, he might still be sleeping at home after getting married."
Grandpa Xu and Grandma Xu were in the wrong, so they could only laugh and agree with what they said each time.
The Spring Festival is here again in the blink of an eye.
Guan Yuehe thought she wasn't entitled to the car factory's benefits, so she packed up her documents and rushed to catch a bus home.
Zhang Xinbi rushed over and called out to her in time, "Yuehe, your benefits are in the design department, don't go to the wrong place."
Five Star Automobile Factory is a large factory, so when distributing benefits, it's not like Zhuoyue Garment Factory where all the workers in the factory line up to receive them together. Instead, the benefits are first distributed to each workshop and department, and then the workers go to collect them.
Guan Yuehe turned around in surprise, "I got a share too?"
"Of course there must be one. We can't let you work for free all the time." Zhang Xinbi reminded her to go early. "Our design department has achieved great results this year, so there will be extra rewards."
And so, when Guan Yuehe finished get off work, she carried a large net in each hand, leaving a trail of crooked footprints in the snow.
Zhang Xinbi received her benefits and looked ahead. She chuckled and saw that Comrade Yuehe was walking with a wobbly gait, taking two steps and then hopping.
Seeing this, the corners of her mouth turned up. Young people are great; they're full of energy and vitality every day.
With this unexpected benefit, Guan Yuehe felt that the smell on the bus wasn't so bad after all.
Back in Ginkgo Alley, everyone was all smiles, saying that this year's rice, flour, and cooking oil were good, the fruits were sweeter, and the meat was fatter.
Actually, it's the same as last year, but things in the new year are always better than last year.
"Yuehe, you've received the factory benefits too?"
Guan Yuehe grinned, deliberately holding the net bag in her right hand high, "Our design department has achieved great results this year, so we got an extra bag of White Rabbit milk candy and a box of cookies."
"You deserve credit for the design department's great achievements, don't you?"
Guan Yuehe sniffed carefully and seemed to detect a sour smell. Her voice grew louder, "Of course! I did the translation work!"
The documents were so thick, like a small mountain, and she translated most of them. How can you say that she didn't deserve credit?
Her contribution was enormous!
She wanted to take back her earlier thought; the rice, flour, cooking oil, fruit, and meat she received this year were indeed better than last year's!
Having not received any company benefits for two years, Guan Yuehe felt that this year's benefits were especially appealing.
Just as I finished putting my things away, I heard Auntie Er shout, "There are fish available outside, limited to two per household, no tickets required!"
Guan Yuehe hadn't even sat down to rest when she rushed out again.
She had just joined the queue when she turned around and found Lin Yiku standing behind her.
"You run so fast!"
Lin Yiku was silent for a while, then said, "You're still the fastest runner."
As soon as he stepped out of the gate of No. 3 Courtyard, he saw her rush out. He stood there stunned for a few seconds before he came to his senses and chased after her, hurrying to catch up with her in the queue.
Guan Yuehe proudly raised her chin, "We also learn from the People's Liberation Army comrades at school. We don't miss running, archery, boxing, or arm wrestling."
"Yes, that's really impressive!" Lin Yiku praised sincerely.
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