122 No!
After observing for a few days, Sister-in-law Ding noticed that neither of the Guan sisters had attended the university banquet in the alley. When she saw Ding Laowu again, Sister-in-law Ding told him about it.
"They're not targeting our family specifically. If they don't want to come, they don't have to come."
Ding Laowu still had a gloomy face, but he didn't say anything more about it.
At first, Sister-in-law Ding thought that Ding Laowu was unhappy that others were not giving him face, but after thinking about it, she felt that something was wrong.
"Could it be that Fifth Brother needs Yuehua and Yuehe's help?"
Ding Laoda was woken up by being nudged. He impatiently turned over and lay back. "What could he possibly need to see the Ministry of Foreign Trade and an ungraduated college student for?"
"That's true." Sister-in-law Ding couldn't figure it out either. Besides, everyone only knew that Yuehe had entered the foreign trade department, but in reality, the neighbors didn't know what position Yuehe held or what kind of work she did.
The Guan and Lin families didn't make a fuss, and they didn't even bother the elderly folks in the alley. They didn't even know what kind of work these people were responsible for, so how could they ask for their help?
Sister-in-law Ding couldn't figure it out, so she stopped thinking about it and turned over to go to sleep.
Guan Yuehua and Guan Yuehe were unaware of what outsiders thought.
Working six days and resting one day, and not being particularly close neighbors, they would rather go boating in the park with friends than have a meal with a neighbor they're not close to.
Summer vacation is over, and everyone, regardless of age, has to go back to school.
Three-year-old Gu Yu was so energetic that Gu Mannian enrolled her in the child development class at the Zhuoyue Garment Factory. Gu Mannian would drop her off in the morning, and Jiang Guiying would pick her up at noon to eat and rest in Ginkgo Hutong. She would then be dropped off again in the afternoon until Gu Mannian picked her up after work.
Jiang Guiying wanted to keep her at home, but the children's play class at Zhuoyue Garment Factory was so interesting that Gu Yu cried when she went in for the first time. Within ten minutes, she found her familiar friends who lived in the same residential compound and ran around wildly in the play class.
The next day, she rushed to the Yuhong Class with her little schoolbag on her back, and Jiang Guiying couldn't stop her even if she wanted to.
Guan Yuehe laughed at Jiang Guiying and said, "Guyu was fine when she was younger, I could keep her under control, but now you're chasing after her? Your old legs are about to break."
"I can't explain it to you," Jiang Guiying sighed.
“What don’t I understand? It’s just that there are too few people at home and it’s too quiet. Why don’t you ask Aunt Fang to go to the park to practice tai chi with Aunt Bai and Aunt Er?”
Jiang Guiying, however, was thinking about something else. "What do you think about me setting up a stall to sell things too? Would that work?"
"Sure, what do you want to sell?"
This stumped Jiang Guiying, as she genuinely hadn't considered selling anything. "I'm not talking to you anymore, I'm going home to think about it."
No sooner had Jiang Guiying left than Lin Yiku called them inside to prepare dinner.
Where's Mom?
"She went home to think about things. She made dinner at home, and we'll eat by ourselves." Guan Yuehe got up to turn on the tap to wash her hands. While shaking off the water droplets, she asked Jin Junwei, who was sitting at the door across the street, "Brother-in-law, the neighborhood committee said they wanted to solicit everyone's opinions on renovating the water pipes in each courtyard to connect water to each house. Why hasn't anything been done about it?"
"Most people disagree. They say that renovating the pipes would require each household to chip in, and that it would be a waste of money, since each courtyard already has two taps, which is enough."
Jin Junwei said, "Some people have also suggested renovating the public toilets, putting one in each courtyard, but there's even more opposition."
Guan Yuehe let out a sigh; she too would oppose the proposal.
Unless all the neighbors in the courtyard are reasonable and hygienic, just wait and see, the public toilet in the courtyard will eventually become just as dirty as the public toilets outside.
Car factories and neighborhood offices regularly conduct health and hygiene campaigns. While they don't carry out pest control campaigns as aggressively anymore, they still promote personal and public hygiene, and the public toilets aren't particularly clean.
She was also glad that the public toilet at the entrance of the alley had been razed and moved to a new location; otherwise, she would never have bought the house she has now.
“Yeah, we can only control ourselves, not others,” Jin Junwei joked. “If each household had its own toilet, I would support it.”
Most people don't cherish public property, but it's different when it comes to their own things.
The idea is good, but it's too difficult to implement. If it were to actually be done, someone would definitely try to take advantage of the public areas in the courtyard and illegally build a whole toilet there.
Just as I finished speaking, I heard Yuanbao shouting outside, "I'm back!" He rushed back home like a gust of wind, "Dad, what are we having for dinner tonight?"
Zhou Hongqi lagged a few steps behind, pushed his bicycle back, and handed a net bag of bananas hanging on the handlebars to Jin Junwei.
"I went to help out at the machinery factory today; it was given to me by their manager."
Jin Junwei wiped his hands before taking it, broke off two pieces, and had Yuanbao deliver them to Guan Yuehe.
"Hey, Yuehe, you're off work so early today?" Zhou Hongqi had just noticed her and smelled the aroma of her home-cooked meals when he smiled and said, "No need to say anything, Yiku is off today, right?"
"There's not much work to do today." Guan Yuehe took the two bananas, pinched Yuanbao's cheek, thanked Zhou Hongqi, and turned to go back into the house to give Lin Yiku a hard look.
"The day before yesterday, the supply and marketing cooperative had bananas for sale, but I couldn't even get in line! I still managed to eat some today! Aren't they delicious?"
"fragrant."
Guan Yuehe snorted and went to smell her head. How could she possibly smell banana?
"Hey, do you think we could build our own toilet?" Guan Yuehe thought about what Jin Junwei had just said. "We could remove the storage room and turn it into a toilet, then we wouldn't have to go all the way outside anymore."
Lin Yiku was waiting for the last dish to reduce the sauce, and after thinking about it carefully, she shook her head in the end, "It's a bit difficult, the pipes are hard to connect. I'll ask the neighborhood office another day."
"Okay, if we can change it, we will; if we can't, it's fine too." Guan Yuehe smiled. "Anyway, we can run fast."
If this toilet is actually built, I'll probably have to lock the door. Otherwise, how can I let other neighbors use it? That would definitely cause a lot of trouble.
Lin Yiku acted quickly, bringing back news two days later: the neighborhood committee said it wouldn't work unless they built a public toilet in their No. 1 compound and then connected the pipes to it. If they connected to the existing public toilet, they wouldn't approve it.
Guan Yuehe thought about her neighbors in the courtyard and decided it was best not to build a public toilet in the courtyard.
However, there are also some courtyards that are more united and get along well, and the residents unanimously passed the decision to "build a public toilet in the courtyard".
For example, Courtyard No. 9, Courtyard No. 8, and the neighboring Courtyard No. 2.
When Grandpa Chang organized an evening meeting for the residents of Courtyard No. 2, Guan Yuehe went over to listen in.
Grandpa Chang devised a plan based on the suggestions from the neighborhood committee. The toilet would be located in the open space between the front house and the west wing, freeing up about one and a half square meters to create a spacious public toilet. However, due to space constraints, separate men's and women's toilets couldn't be provided. The two families living in the front house and the west wing would not contribute financially, while the other families would share the cost equally...
Aunt Bai was initially a little unhappy, since the toilet was right outside her house. The land was empty, and although it didn't belong to her, she could still store some things there. Now that she had no empty space and was next to the toilet, who would be happy?
But Grandpa Chang suggested that there was a vacant lot of about one and a half square meters next to the toilet, which belonged to her family, and she could build a house there.
After discussing it with her son and daughter-in-law, Aunt Bai felt that it was worthwhile to fence off the small space under the eaves of her house to make room for a small room, so she had no objections.
The compensation given to Aunt Er's family was that the other side of her house was allocated to them.
The amount was half a square meter less than what Aunt Bai's family received, but Aunt Er felt that she and her husband, as the second uncle and second aunt, had to set an example, so she accepted the compensation plan.
The other companies had no objections and unanimously signed and fingerprinted the application form.
Guan Yuehe thought to herself: It's still the neighbors in No. 2 courtyard who are easy to talk to.
Besides her, people from other courtyards also came to join in the fun. Seeing that the No. 2 courtyard had reached an agreement so quickly, they felt a little uneasy: why is it so difficult for people in their own courtyard to reach a consensus?
When Guan Yuehe returned to Courtyard No. 1, she saw that all the neighbors had gathered in the front yard, discussing whether they should also build a public toilet like Courtyard No. 2.
As soon as the issue was raised, Aunt Hu, who lives in the back house, was the first to protest.
“The neighboring yard has vacant land where they can build a toilet, but we don’t have any in our yard! If you’re going to build one, build it next to your house. The plot of land in front of my house was written in the contract when the houses were allocated that it was allocated to my family!”
Upon hearing this, the other neighbors realized that unlike No. 2, No. 1 Courtyard had no available space to build toilets due to the problem of illegal construction in the past.
For a time, no one in Courtyard No. 1 mentioned building a public toilet in the courtyard anymore.
However, the plan to build public toilets in Courtyard No. 2 is also difficult to advance.
The neighborhood committee replied that renovating only two or three courtyards would be too costly, and therefore they did not recommend it for the time being. The plan was thus shelved.
Guan Yuehe was so angry that she ate half a bowl more rice that night. "I was thinking that if the plan for Courtyard No. 2 is approved, we can ask if we can connect a pipeline there and we can pay for it ourselves."
Lin Yiku placed a piece of pork rib into her bowl, saying, "Maybe things will turn around."
"Forget it, I'll just wait for the public toilets to be renovated."
The public toilet near Xie Dongxue's home has been replaced with a flush toilet, which is a significant upgrade.
In late September, the Mid-Autumn Festival gifts were only distributed the day before the festival.
Gao Zhiyuan had asked her for leave in advance, as he was going back to his hometown during the National Day holiday to bring his wife and children to Beijing, where the family would settle down.
Guan Yuehe signed her name briskly, then asked with concern, "Is the house you were allocated all cleaned up? And what about the children's schooling...?"
"Everything's taken care of." Gao Zhiyuan felt relieved. He was grateful that Guan Yuehe was so helpful. She had only been there for two days when she asked about his accommodation arrangements. When she learned that he was staying in a dormitory and hadn't brought his wife and children over yet, she went directly to the supervisor to resolve the issue.
"That's fine then."
Guan Yuehe breathed a sigh of relief. With things stabilized behind her, she could focus on her work. She'd seen him with a furrowed brow for the first two days after he arrived; how could he possibly work properly in that state?
After finishing her work, Guan Yuehe carried two large bags of holiday gifts downstairs.
Seeing that she was carrying a heavy bag in each hand and walking briskly, Gao Zhiyuan swallowed back the words "Let me help you carry them down" that were on the tip of his tongue.
His new boss is truly extraordinary.
—
As National Day approaches, the music in Ginkgo Hutong grows louder, and more people practice dancing at home.
Guan Yuehe and Lin Sitian, who had both signed up for the social dance, were sharing the leftover mooncakes from the Mid-Autumn Festival a few days earlier. Their discussion revolved around which company's mooncakes tasted better.
"The mooncakes from Zhuoyue Garment Factory are sweeter. Which factory makes them?" Lin Sitian reached for the packaging paper and read it aloud as she looked at it: "Cantonese-style mooncakes? Made by a food factory in the south? That's impressive, they're even selling them in the north."
Guan Yuehe knew some inside information. It was said that when Director Zheng went to the Autumn Trade Fair this year, he was stopped by a salesperson from this food factory at the entrance of the exhibition hall and asked to sample the food. The salesperson even took him into the venue and gave a sample to everyone at each booth, which resulted in a lot of orders.
Factory Director Zheng bought several boxes out of his own pocket and brought them back. He gave one box to the purchasing department so they could compare them. In the end, the purchasing department chose to buy the Cantonese mooncakes from the south.
"The garment factory is more adaptable. The car factory buys mooncakes from the Beijing Food Factory every year, and they taste the same for years. It would be great if they could learn from the garment factory and change things up once in a while!"
Guan Yuehe nodded; that was what she thought too.
But when Gu Mannian delivered the mooncakes, he also mentioned that Director Zheng used this incident to say at the staff meeting that they should learn from the food factory in the south, adjust their sales methods, and take the initiative. Waiting for orders to come to them would only lead to losses sooner or later.
For example, the Beijing Food Factory lost several orders from state-owned factories this year.
"My mom and your mom said they wanted to set up a small stall to pass the time. What do you think they should do?"
Guan Yuehe told her not to interfere, "Let them figure it out themselves. Neither of our families is cut out for business, but they at least go out to buy things often. They probably know more about what's suitable to sell than we do."
"Alright."
Lin Sitian smiled, covered her mouth, and whispered, "I was thinking of asking them to sell eggs near the hospital."
Outside the hospital, there are many vendors selling eggs, brown sugar, crucian carp, and old hens. Some even pretend to be visiting relatives, but in reality, they go into each ward to sell their wares.
"By the way, we've finished the dance party, how about we go to the newly opened Yuebin Restaurant in Cuihua Hutong for dinner?" Lin Sitian suggested.
The Yuebin Restaurant in Cuihua Hutong has recently sparked a wave of discussion. This restaurant is not state-owned, but privately owned, and it has even obtained an individual catering business license, making it a legally operating establishment.
The newspaper said it would open on the last day of this month; I wonder how many people will go.
"Go ahead!" Lin Sitian certainly couldn't miss out on such a novel and exciting event, and made the decision for Guan Yuehe before she could even speak.
Only Guan Yuehe lamented, "Why isn't there a single restaurant in Ginkgo Alley? Let Grandpa Hu retire early and open one!"
Lin Sitian laughed heartily, "I knew you wanted Grandpa Hu to open one. I heard Grandpa Guan ask Grandpa Hu when he's going to open one too."
If Grandpa Hu doesn't want to open one, Uncle Quan can open one too.
Guan Yuehe wholeheartedly hopes that Ginkgo Alley can be transformed into a gourmet alley.
"Oh dear! Yuehe! Yuehe, come out quickly!"
Guan Yuehe got up and walked out, just as her second aunt ran in, looking excited.
"Yuehe, the subdistrict office has approved our application to build a public toilet."
Guan Yuehe said enviously, "Congratulations! From now on, the neighbors in the courtyard won't have to travel all the way to the public toilet."
"Congratulations!" Auntie Er said with a smile, "The neighborhood committee brought people over to take measurements. They asked about your house's location and said you want to build a toilet in your own home and need to connect pipes. They'll come over to take measurements later."
"Huh? Ah!" This surprise came completely out of the blue.
The second aunt came to inform her that she should quickly tidy up the area where the toilet was to be built. In the second courtyard, the debris that Aunt Bai's family had piled up in the open space outside was cleared away.
"I'll move right now!"
Guan Yuehe hurriedly went inside to change into some old clothes, and also told Lin Sitian to go back and change her clothes so she could come over and help move things later.
Seeing that the two women were wearing old clothes and moving things out of the storage room, Zhou Hongqi, who was opposite them, rolled up his sleeves and came to help without saying a word.
"Sister Hongqi, do you want to build a toilet at your house? It's a rare opportunity now, and we might want to do it again in the future, but the pipes might be difficult to install."
Her house was about the same size as Zhou Hongqi's, and building a toilet wouldn't require much space. Guan Yuehe even thought about moving the bathroom a little closer to the storage room, so that showering and using the toilet would be done together in the future.
Jin Junwei, who had come to check on the situation, was intrigued and quickly said, "Let's ask the surveyor later. If it's feasible, we'll modify the outer kitchen."
Zhou Hongqi had no objections. Family matters were to be handled by Jin Junwei. If he thought it was good, then so be it.
The other neighbors in Courtyard No. 1 kept their eyes darting around. Some were thinking about asking too, while others were already planning to borrow a toilet from someone else's house.
But the next second, Guan Yuehe spoke up: "Everyone should think about it. If you're going to build it, take this opportunity to build it together. I've already made it clear beforehand that my toilet is not for rent. Don't think about waiting until my toilet is built to come and borrow it."
Zhou Hongqi chimed in, "I won't lend mine either. Either we get one for our own family, or we have to go to the public toilet every day."
The shrewd neighbors: "......"
Thinking of this, Guan Yuehe stopped Lin Sitian from helping, "Go back and ask your family if they want to do one too?"
The thought of not having to go outside to use the toilet anymore made Lin Sitian run home immediately.
Guan Yuehe didn't actually have much heavy stuff to move. The sauerkraut jars were almost empty, and they hadn't started pickling this year's sauerkraut yet. She and Lin Yiku didn't have much clutter left either, so they cleared out the storage room in no time and cleaned it up as well.
When the neighbors in Yinxing Hutong heard that Guan Yuehe was going to build a toilet in her own home, some of them also got the idea to build one in their own homes as well.
Some people don't want to spend money to build a toilet, but they are envious that others can build one in their homes, and they are also afraid that the toilet they build will smell bad and affect their own homes.
"What a waste of money! It would be so much better to walk a few more steps to a public toilet! I've already heard that the public toilets around here are also going to be converted to flush toilets. They're only thinking about building toilets when they're burning money. They must be out of their minds, having to stay home and smell the stench every day..."
Those who wanted to build a toilet couldn't stand hearing negative comments and immediately refuted them.
"You old codger, your mouth stinks more than a toilet! Nobody forced you to build a toilet, what are you yelling about?"
Some have already made up their minds: "Anyway, my family is going to build a toilet so that my grandpa and grandma can use it."
It's not easy for elderly people with mobility issues. Going to the toilet is troublesome, and even at home, the chamber pot has a strong odor. Over the years, the smell in the house becomes quite unpleasant.
But after careful consideration, very few people actually want to build their own toilet.
The workers who came to take measurements were very professional. After measuring with their tools, they also tapped and hammered around. They measured the inside of the house and then went to check the outside of the walls.
Moreover, the workers didn't just measure the storage room; they measured all the open spaces in the house with an instrument, saying it was to be done all at once to avoid problems when installing pipes later.
Guan Yuehe herself wasn't a technician and didn't understand what building a toilet in a storage room had to do with whether it was inside the room or outside the wall, but since the technician had said so, there must be a reason behind it.
Perhaps because they gained experience from measuring at her house, they were much faster when they went to measure at Zhou Hongqi's house across the street.
The comrades from the subdistrict office accompanied the surveying staff all day long in Ginkgo Hutong, and Song Gong'an, who was resting at home, also helped out.
"This is Chief Song from our alley." The elderly folks chatting at the alley entrance gave him a thumbs up, praising Officer Song to the skies and saying they wanted to send a letter of commendation to the Changhu Street Police Station.
"Lu Chang, Lu Yan, public toilets are going to be built in your courtyard."
Since the news spread that Lu Chang and Lu Yan had inherited some good things from their ancestors, they became "celebrities" in Ginkgo Hutong, and their home became a "celebrity residence".
In the past, when they came back, the elderly would just glance at them and then move on, but now they will greet them and say a few words.
"It's a good thing to have public toilets," Lu Chang replied with a smile, and chatted for a while at the entrance of the alley before going home.
As soon as he entered the house, his face darkened. "Guan Yuehe wants to build a toilet in the house."
Lu Yan's heart skipped a beat. "Did the neighborhood committee approve it?"
"They didn't say. Someone came to take measurements today, but the results aren't out yet."
The room was dark, and neither of the couple thought of lighting the kerosene lamp; only their increasingly heavy breathing echoed in the room.
Lu Yan gritted her teeth and said, word by word, "Can't she just shut up for once?"
—
"cannot!"
Guan Yuehe pushed the things back with a stern face, "These things you mentioned are not my responsibility, and even if they were, I couldn't help you."
Across the table, Sister-in-law Ding was so embarrassed she didn't know what to say. If her brother-in-law hadn't insisted she make this trip, she would never have brought such a big bag of gifts to Guan Yuehe.
Moreover, Guan Yuehe's expression at this moment was also terrifying, as if she was doing something heinous that would get her shot.
The next second, Guan Yuehe said seriously, "Bribing public officials will get you arrested and interrogated. Sister-in-law Ding, no matter who asked you to deliver the gift, I advise you to return it."
Guan Yuehe smiled meaningfully, "What kind of serious business can require bribes to get things done? Be careful you don't ruin Brother Ding's job. And Dingxiang, she just got into university this year. What if you get into big trouble and the school expels her?"
The rule of "selecting people based on their family background" hasn't completely disappeared. Some people are still applying for exoneration and to return to their hometowns, while others have missed many good opportunities because of their family background...
Suddenly, Sister-in-law Ding's face turned pale, a chill ran down her spine, and she hurriedly grabbed the two large gift boxes from the table and ran away.
Aunt Hu was almost knocked down, and she was so angry that she stood at the door cursing: "Can't you see where you're going? You knocked me down, you have to pay for it!"
Guan Yuehe closed the door, blocking out most of the shouting.
Lin Yiku also came out of the bedroom. He had heard Ding Dasao's words clearly inside.
"Old Ding is quite busy with business, acting as a go-between for antiques and helping people find connections to get import and export quotas," Lin Yi said with a bitter smile.
Although Sister-in-law Ding didn't say who she was asking about the import and export quotas for, considering that Ding Laowu was hosting a dinner at a state-run restaurant and Sister-in-law Ding had actually come to her house twice to invite him, she guessed that it was inseparable from Ding Laowu.
"Who knows what he's up to? I'm going to No. 3 Courtyard later to remind my parents that we should stay away from their house in the future."
Guan Yuehe rolled her eyes. "You want me to help you with import and export quotas? If I had that ability, I... never mind, I'd better not make any promises yet. What if one day I'm really assigned to the office next door to do this? I'll have to start all over again."
"All you do is laugh!" Guan Yuehe glared at him. "You do the laundry, I'll go to courtyard number three."
I never expected to have so many neighbors in my house.
They all came to discuss whether or not to build their own private toilets. Even Grandpa Li and Grandma Hua came over.
With so many people around, it wasn't easy to discuss anything, so Guan Yuehe just came to join in the fun.
This is quite interesting. The three families living in the backyard all want to build a toilet. The Lin family and the Guan family plan to demolish the shed in the corner of the wall and build a separate shower room and toilet together.
The Xie family across the street wanted to go into business together, but neither Guan Yuehe's parents nor Lin Yiku's parents agreed. Furious, Aunt Xie ran back inside, and no one knows what she was cursing about.
After everyone else had left, Jiang Guiying said, "She's a troublemaker. She'll definitely cause a scene over the toilet later. It's the right thing to do not partner with her."
Guan Yuehe quickly told Ding Dasao about the gift she had given.
"It looks like an ordinary gift box, but what if it contains a 'big unity' (a large sum of money)? Then my job is done."
Regardless of whether it is true or not, it's safe to say it's serious.
Jiang Guiying immediately wanted to get up and fight with Sister-in-law Ding, cursing, "This family is a den of bastards!"
Aunt Fang: "Let's just keep our distance from them in the future. Who knows what they're up to? That Ding Laowu... sigh, I thought that now that he's making money, he'd reformed half of his ways, but he's still wicked and always thinking of crooked ways!"
Gu Mannian had just seen Xu Qianjin and the gift box he brought out with a smile.
As soon as the door closed, Gu Mannian rolled his eyes, thinking to himself: Ask my wife to help me find connections in court? She's out of her mind!
Guan Yuehua returned home the day before National Day.
Upon hearing him mention this, I asked, "And who is Xu Qianjin?"
"He works at the garment factory. He started in the publicity department and then moved to the logistics department. This guy used to be obsessed with getting promoted to section chief, but now he's only interested in doing side jobs. He even had a fight with his wife at the leftmost shop on the first floor of Building 4."
With this reminder, Guan Yuehua remembered.
That brat thought Gu Yu's skirt was pretty and tried to lift it up, but she pinched his hand, and then the two of them started arguing with Xu Qianjin's wife.
The little brat now avoids her whenever he sees her in the family compound.
Gu Mannian continued, "I heard that Xu Qianjin's friend set up a small workshop outside, making clothes from fabrics he finds himself, and business is pretty good. He tried to get Xu Chengcai to join him before, but Xu Chengcai ignored him, and I don't know who he found later."
Guan Yuehua raised an eyebrow. "This Deputy Section Chief Xu is quite capable. Being a cadre in the garment factory wasn't enough for him; he also found partners to open a small workshop and even got involved in the antique trade. Tsk tsk, no wonder his family can afford a color TV."
In the entire residential compound, only two families bought color TVs. One was Mo Zhinan's family, and the other was Xu Qianjin's family.
Both of them came from well-off families, but only Xu Qianjin's family was more high-profile and appeared particularly wealthy.
Gu Yu raised her hand to indicate that she wanted to speak, "I want a color TV too!"
"You wish." Guan Yuehua got up to find her some clothes, intending to take her to the bathhouse to scrub her dirty skin.
Gu Yu didn't object and ran to find her bath toys. As long as her grandma wasn't giving her a bath, she wouldn't resist.
Grandma rubbed her until her whole body felt hot and spicy.
When Guan Yuehua heard her complaint, she couldn't help but laugh. "It's a good thing you didn't ask your aunt to scrub your back; she would have scrubbed your skin off."
"Ah! I want to play with my aunt."
"I think you're asking for a beating. Get up and get out of here!"
—
Just as Guan Yuehe and Lin Sitian were about to start scrubbing each other in the bath, Gu Yu's head suddenly popped up.
"You're asking for it!" Guan Yuehe pinched her cheek. "Did your dad just throw you in here like that?"
I had just finished speaking when I saw my older sister.
It's really strange that there's a bathhouse in the residential compound of the Zhuoyue Garment Factory, and people have to walk a distance to the bathhouse on this side of the factory area.
Guan Yuehua was also angry when she thought about what had just happened.
The family of three entered the bathhouse separately. As soon as she entered, she saw someone taking a bath with their son in the women's bathhouse. How rude of them to say that a three-year-old child doesn't know gender. If she were strong enough, she would definitely throw those two out.
After arguing for more than ten minutes, the family of three finally rode their bicycles to the bathhouse.
The bathhouse attendant said, "When you encounter someone like that, just slap her across the face. Next time, she'll know that men should go to the men's bathhouse."
Guan Yuehe laughed and said, "Don't worry, she won't suffer any losses."
Lin Sitian pursed her lips to suppress a laugh.
"You talk the most! Guyu, come here."
Gu Yufei insisted on having her aunt scrub her back, but after being scrubbed a couple of times, she ran back to her mother screaming and never dared to make a sound looking for her aunt again.
Upon learning that Guan Yuehe and Lin Sitian had come to the bathhouse for a social dance party the next day, Guan Yuehua was at a loss for words.
She genuinely didn't understand what the point was for the two of them to join in the fun.
Guan Yuehe hummed a song, swaying her head, thinking to herself: How can attending a dance party be boring? Before you got married, you went to the movies, went on spring and autumn outings, and went ice skating every now and then. Were those things interesting?
The next day, Guan Yuehe and Lin Sitian both changed into their best dresses, looked at themselves in the mirror again and again, and even put on lipstick.
What a spirit!
"Oh, Yuehe, are you going on a date with Yiku?"
Guan Yuehe laughed, "I'm going on a date with Lin Yiku's sister." Then, she called out to people in courtyard number three, "Lin Sitian, are you ready yet?"
"They're here! They're here!"
He answered, but the person didn't come out until five minutes later.
For convenience, the two of them chose to ride bicycles there. It's National Day today, so squeezing onto the bus might be difficult.
"These two sisters-in-law have such a good relationship," Hongmei, who moved to Zhou Hongqi's old house in courtyard number three, said enviously.
Zhang Ersao waved her hand, "These two sisters who grew up together are different from ordinary sisters-in-law."
"That's true. When looking for a partner, you should find someone you know well, someone from a good family background, so that you can live together harmoniously in the future." Aunt Ding interjected, "My fifth son is also of marriageable age, and I'm thinking of finding him someone in the alley."
No one agreed, especially Luo Guifang. She had three daughters, each one the apple of her eye. The thought of possibly marrying someone like Ding Laowu made her dizzy with fear.
He turned around and went straight home.
Other neighbors also made excuses to leave one after another, leaving only Aunt Ding and a few other women whose families consisted entirely of sons chatting.
Don't be fooled by how much money Ding Laowu makes now. He's unreliable and has a difficult mother. No matter how much money he makes, he probably won't get any of it from his girlfriend.
Meanwhile, Guan Yuehe and the other three were also talking about Ding Laowu.
Xu Chengcai said, "He's no good. On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, when I went back to the alley, he pulled me aside and asked if I wanted to make money together. I think he's lost his mind because he's so obsessed with making money."
Qin Zilan nodded, "And Xu Qianjin from the logistics department wanted my mom to make patterns for his friend's small workshop. My mom didn't go. When she went to the logistics department to pick up the materials, he was being sarcastic and I really wanted to punch him!"
"Next time, let's put a sack over his head!" Guan Yuehe felt like punching Xu Qianjin twice just hearing that.
This person is just like Ding Laowu, a menace. He actually tried to bribe her sister to find connections in the court.
Ding Laowu went to see Xu Chengcai perhaps because he knew she had a good relationship with Xu Chengcai and wanted to indirectly ask him for help.
Finding the two sisters is like finding a rock in the rough.
Everyone else laughed.
If they were ten years younger, they might have secretly gone and beaten the man up.
—
"Comrades, let's dance to the music now!"
Familiar melodies played from the loudspeakers in the auditorium. The comrades in the middle remained shyly in place until the host tried to liven things up again. Only then did the bolder comrades step forward, walk towards the person they liked, and extend an invitation to dance.
Xu Cheng and Qin Zilan were even more shy. They already had two children, but they were too embarrassed to go in and dance together.
In the end, Guan Yuehe and Lin Sitian pushed her inside, and she slowly began to move.
As for the two of them, they each held a bottle of Arctic Ocean soda and watched others dance with great interest.
"I think it looks pretty easy when I watch others dance, so why is it so difficult for me?" Guan Yuehe really couldn't understand it.
Lin Sitian reminded her, "Running and arm wrestling are not the same thing as dancing."
"Yeah, haha."
"Look, look! Xu Cheng has stepped on Zilan three times already! It seems we're not the only ones who can't learn it."
Guan Yuehe definitively came to another conclusion: "Ding Xuewen definitely won't jump either."
Lin Sitian thought it made perfect sense. She took a sip of her soda and laughed, "Otherwise, why would my mom and your mom say we're birds of a feather? Haha."
The music playing on the loudspeaker was changed. Lin Sitian had only heard a little bit of the melody when she exclaimed with delight, "It's 'The New Generation of the 1980s'!"
This song was launched at the "New Star Concert" held at the Beijing Gymnasium during the Mid-Autumn Festival this year. It was sung by the entire audience and swept through the entire city of Beijing in just a few days.
Immediately, a large group of people in the auditorium organized a sing-along. After the song was finished, everyone seemed to relax even more. Apart from Guan Yuehe, Lin Sitian, and the staff responsible for maintaining order, everyone else was dancing.
Guan Yuehe watched happily, saying, "It was worth signing up for this event."
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