175 Conventions
Guan Yuehe did not use the name of the Municipal Public Security Bureau on this trip.
Luo Guifang heard that Guan Yuehe's workplace had allocated hard sleeper tickets, so she used a letter of introduction from her workplace to buy two hard sleeper tickets as well. As soon as they boarded the train, Guan Yuehe walked around the carriage and successfully moved all three of them to the same compartment.
The other three women in the same cubicle were all traveling alone, and they were all extremely cautious. No one bothered them with any questions; people probably thought they were a gang of bad guys.
Upon arriving in Haishi, Guan Yuehe took a long detour to deliver them to Baoning School.
She was extremely familiar with the process of registering for the start of the school year.
Although they arrived a few days earlier than the scheduled reporting time, rules aren't set in stone. Guan Yuehe asked students for directions, took Bao Ning to find the counselor, and checked into the dormitory ahead of schedule.
"Is that all?" Luo Guifang felt that everything had gone incredibly smoothly since she left home, and none of the things she had worried about had happened.
Except when someone tried to sell their house for rent as soon as they got off the train and tried to grab Bao Ning's hand, Guan Yuehe slapped the man's hand, leaving a red mark, and after that, no one else came up to him.
Guan Yuehe thought carefully for a moment, making sure she hadn't forgotten anything important, and then said she had to go and get back to work.
"How about we grab a bite to eat before we go? I saw it on our way here; there's a state-run restaurant outside the school gate..."
We can't expect people to go through all that trouble and then receive no thanks at all.
Guan Yuehe glanced at the time, waved her hand in refusal, and without giving them a chance to stop her, slung her bag over her shoulder and hurried downstairs. By the time Luo Guifang caught up with her at the dormitory building, Guan Yuehe was already far away.
"Yuehe is such a kind-hearted person," Luo Guifang said while busy cleaning the entire dormitory.
Bao Ning nodded, saying enviously, "Sister Yuehe is really amazing; she can do everything."
The children, both big and small, in the alley were most afraid of doing bad things and getting caught and beaten by her, but they also respected her the most.
The kind-hearted and capable Comrade Guan Yuehe finally arrived at the guesthouse of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Machinery and Electrical Engineering.
Her trip to Haishi was still about the automotive joint venture project.
Not to mention the long term, at least for the next three to five years, she will have to keep focusing on the automotive joint venture project.
This time, I met some old comrades who had participated in the negotiations before, as well as several new faces.
But seeing Zhao Youtong here was the most unexpected thing for her.
Zhao Youtong was sent abroad to study a few years ago on a government scholarship. When she last visited the Five Star Automobile Factory, she didn't hear Zhang Xinbi and Guo Xusheng mention him, so she thought he hadn't returned to China yet.
"I returned to China six months ago and came to work in Haishi as assigned."
No wonder there's been no news about him from the Five Star Automobile Factory. If he were to return to the factory, the factory leaders would definitely try to resolve his personal issues, and the elderly folks in Ginkgo Alley would surely get involved as well.
Technician Zhao has had a tough time. He was transferred from Northeast China to Beijing, and now he's been transferred to Shanghai.
"It doesn't matter where I work, I'm just a brick."
Zhao Youtong wasn't surprised to see her here. He had previously reviewed the joint venture project materials and knew that she had also participated in the negotiations for the Shanghai Automobile joint venture.
Zhao Youtong felt a pang of emotion and laughed, "It's been years since I last saw Comrade Guan, and he's still the same as ever."
They are full of energy in everything they do.
This was, in fact, their first time working together.
Zhao Youtong smiled and suddenly remembered a sentence that Guan Yuehe had once said: People with the same ideals and goals will become friends sooner or later.
"We can be considered like-minded, right?"
"More than that! We're comrades in the same trench now!"
"Comrade Guan, do you two know each other?"
Guan Yuehe replied, "Yes, Comrade Zhao used to work at the Five Star Automobile Factory."
"Your Five Star Automobile Factory has so many technical talents."
After working together for three days, Guan Yuehe and others went to listen to Zhao Youtong's sharing about studying abroad during their free time in the evening.
For the next two days, Guan Yuehe attended a meeting at the Shanghai Foreign Trade Bureau, and only managed to spare two hours to go to the department store to buy gifts on the day she returned to Beijing.
Zhao Youtong said with some regret, "It seems I'll have to treat you to a meal another time."
"Okay, I'll remember this meal."
Guan Yuehe waved a box of children's toys in her hand, saying, "Thank you."
—
Business trips were nothing new for Guan Yuehe. When she got home, Jiang Guiying asked her what was new about the trip. Guan Yuehe thought for a moment and the only new thing she could think of was meeting Zhao Youtong in Haishi.
"Technician Zhao was transferred to Haishi?" Aunt Fang said regretfully, "At the beginning of the year, everyone was talking about him and even thinking about introducing him to potential partners."
"Then you should talk to your neighbors and tell them not to worry. Technician Zhao said he's going to attend a social gathering during the National Day holiday and plans to resolve his personal issues as soon as possible, so he won't trouble the leaders and the enthusiastic people."
Guan Yuehe suspected that he was afraid of being introduced to people at the Five Star Automobile Factory, and that it would be more reliable for him to attend the social gathering.
"Won't our factory suffer a huge loss? All the talented people we've trained are just leaving like that?" Guan Canghai was indignant, feeling that his factory had lost out big time.
Jiang Guiying rolled her eyes at him. "Look at your awareness. The country has trained such talented people, so of course they should go wherever they are needed."
Guan Yuehe immediately said, "Comrade Guan, look at yourself, and then look at Comrade Jiang Guiying. You should learn from the role model!"
Old Guan snorted indignantly and turned to tease Lin Ting, who was sitting with her back to Guan Yuehe, "We won't listen to her. Anyway, it's our car factory that's losing money."
With a pout, Lin Ting treated everyone the same, ignoring everyone and just playing with her fingers, looking like a total wronged person.
Guan Yuehe poked her chubby cheek and waved a toy in front of her. Lin Ting looked up, then shifted her body, sitting with her back to her. Her entire being, down to the last strand of hair, conveyed one message: I'm angry!
When Guan Yuehe returned, she saw Lin Ting before she even reached the alley entrance. She reached out to hug her, but Lin Ting immediately pouted and buried her head in her grandmother's arms. A group of elderly people laughed at her for having such a big temper despite her small size.
Lin Ting was still angry half an hour after she came back and went inside.
"Still being stubborn? Just coax her a bit more and she'll be fine." This kid can seem stubborn at times, but she's easy to coax; she responds better to gentle persuasion than harsh treatment.
Guan Yuehe didn't try to coax her much. She opened a bag of pastries she had brought back from Shanghai and deliberately asked loudly, "Who wants some?"
Everyone at home had a piece of pastry. Lin Ting finally got anxious and turned around, reaching out her hand and opening her mouth towards Guan Yuehe.
Guan Yuehe was amused. Lin Ting followed her lead in this regard, believing that food was the most important thing in the world, and only when you are full can you have the energy to be energetic.
Once Lin Ting had finished eating, she forgot about her anger. When Guan Yuehe brought out some toys for her, she immediately hugged them tightly.
"You bought this?" Lin Yiku came back and saw Lin Ting chewing on a small car model. Fortunately, the model material was sturdy enough that it didn't leave any teeth marks.
"Zhao Youtong gave it to Lin Ting." Guan Yuehe casually mentioned that Zhao Youtong was currently working in Haishi, and then hugged Lin Yiku along with Lin Ting.
She doesn't show favoritism; even when she's away on business for a few days, she worries about everyone, big and small.
Guan Yuehe brought gifts for everyone else in the family, so naturally she wouldn't forget his.
What she brought him was a Shanghai brand mechanical watch. The salesperson said that this model was the most popular among men, so she gritted her teeth and bought it.
He had been wearing the same watch for over ten years. He bought it three years after joining the army, and it had never broken, so he couldn't bear to replace it.
Until about two weeks ago, during training, he wasn't paying attention and his watch was accidentally bumped and broke down completely. So he just used her old watch as a makeshift solution.
Lin Yiku stared intently at the new watch on her wrist, feeling quite pleased.
"I knew you'd bring me back a new watch from your business trip."
"You're really a genius." Guan Yuehe rolled her eyes at him. It's not like the family is short of money. Buying a new watch wouldn't make them starve. Knowing that his watch was broken, she found someone to exchange the watch voucher so he could pick out a new one himself.
As a result, he still hadn't gone to buy it before she was about to go on a business trip.
Lin Yiku smiled smugly, "I wouldn't call it a brilliant strategy."
All I knew was that she went to withdraw money before her business trip, and took more than 500 yuan with her.
"Is it very expensive?" Lin Yiku asked knowingly.
"No matter how expensive the watch is, Comrade Lin Yiku deserves it."
Lin Yiku was bombarded with sweet talk, her lips constantly curving upwards, and she pressed on, demanding that Lin Yiku tell the truth.
Guan Yuehe looked at him seriously and immediately said honestly, "Including the cost of exchanging the tickets, it cost more than four hundred. I regretted it as soon as I bought it. The remaining money was almost not enough to buy toys for Lin Ting."
Lin Yiku's lips twitched, and she immediately changed the subject, asking what toys she had bought for Lin Ting.
Guan Yuehe snorted. He wasn't happy if she told him the truth. Why not just accept the bombardment of sweet words?
However, you get what you pay for.
Lin Yiku looked great in that watch; it suited him perfectly. During their late-night snack, Guan Yuehe's gaze was drawn to his wrist several times.
She's an honest person; if she thought something was beautiful, she just said it directly, praising it so much that Lin Yiku couldn't help but smile.
Lin Yiku was especially enthusiastic that evening after receiving her new watch.
Guan Yuehe's mind was filled with thoughts of: Great, I don't need to ask Sitian for folk remedies anymore.
We won't have to worry about receiving family planning supplies anymore.
The next day, the whole family learned that Guan Yuehe had gone on a business trip and had actually brought back a watch worth more than four hundred yuan for Lin Yiku.
Lin Sitian heard about this as soon as she returned.
Looking at the gifts she had received, she said to Lin Yi with a sour expression, "Let me see what a watch that costs over four hundred yuan looks like."
"Can I borrow it for a couple of seconds?" Lin Yi teased her.
Enraged, Lin Sitian put Lin Ting on his neck and ordered Lin Ting to grab his ears.
Lin Yiku, who received a new watch, also received a ginkgo leaf this year that Guan Yuehe considered to be the most beautiful.
The act of giving away ginkgo leaves has unknowingly become a tacit custom for them year after year.
Lin Yiku carefully placed them one by one into a special notebook, and locked them in a cabinet along with her other letters.
—
Guan Aiguo chose to get married and register his marriage on the first day of National Day, and held a wedding banquet in the canteen of the automobile factory. He also sent a copy of the family invitation to Ding Xuewen. Guan Yuehe specially called him to remind him: "Remember to ask Zhi Qiu if he is coming."
Seeing that Ding Xuewen hadn't replied for a while, Guan Yuehe raised an eyebrow, "You two didn't break up, did you?"
The call was abruptly cut off, but Ding Xuewen called back later, which relieved Guan Yuehe.
Ding Xuewen found it amusing; her tone made it sound like she was afraid her pork would be stuck in her hands and she wouldn't be able to sell it.
“It’s not that bad. Pork is scarce, so it’s impossible for it not to sell.” Guan Yuehe laughed. “But you really might not be able to find a wife.”
He hung up the phone immediately after laughing, not giving Ding Xuewen a chance to refute.
Hearing this, Lin Sitian, who was standing to the side, laughed heartily.
Author's note: My vacation starts tomorrow! [cheering emojis]
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