Chapter 82 Time Flies
Seeing her son's rosy cheeks as he slept, Chen Yun finally felt better.
She bent down and kissed the top of her child's head, then put all of her daughter's certificates and trophies into the drawer. Exhaustion instantly washed over her like a tidal wave.
With twelve women giving birth in two consecutive days and the neonatal ward overflowing, Chen Yun felt like a spinning top, constantly rotating in the hospital during this period.
Having finally returned to her home, a place that brought her peace of mind, all her worries seemed less important.
What was said outside gradually became indistinct.
He slept until dusk, when the voices of Gao Ming and the two children drifted into his ears.
"Grandma says it's time to eat!" Gao Nian'an said in a low voice.
Gao Ming shushed her, lowering his voice even further: "Let Mom sleep, she can eat when she wakes up."
"Dad, can I wait for Mom to get up so we can eat together?" Gao Nianping asked in a babyish voice.
Before she was fully awake, the corners of her lips involuntarily curled up: "Tell Grandma that Mom is awake and will be eating soon."
"Mom." The son's chubby body pounced on Chen Yun, humming and mumbling something unintelligible.
Chen Yun sat up with a yawn, her muddled mind finally clearing up after a short rest: "Our Nianping is wearing new clothes again."
"Dad bought me new clothes."
"Go eat with your sister and dad first, Mom will be here in a little while."
"I want to go with my mom."
Since the Gao family separated, the living room and dining table have been set up in the parents-in-law's room.
When Chen Yun entered, the television was showing the women's volleyball match, which had been the subject of much discussion across the country.
As the first color television set in Guanming Hutong, Gao Tiejun would carry the television set into the courtyard on the day of the competition broadcast so that everyone could watch it together.
Today's broadcast was a rerun, and even though the outcome was already known, the high-speed rail crew still watched it with great interest.
"Get up! Come and eat."
The dishes had been on the table for a while when Dong Qiaoying saw Chen Yun and hurriedly took the dishes back to the kitchen to heat them up. Gao Tiejun also consciously turned down the volume of the TV.
The room, which is about 20 square meters, is crammed full. There's not enough room for an eight-immortal table, so the family usually eats at the coffee table.
Gao Tiejun took out a few low stools from under the sofa: "Nian'an, go call Brother Liangliang for dinner."
"I know!" Gao Nian'an, who had already sat down, immediately jumped up again.
"You've watched it three times already!" Gao Ming quickly noticed the scene on the TV, stared at it for a few seconds and knew which day's match it was, obviously having watched it more than once.
"That's inspiring!" Gao Tiejun laughed, his voice brimming with pride: "The women's volleyball team has truly brought honor to the whole country."
Chen Yun wasn't very interested in sports, but seeing the father and son talking about volleyball, she naturally went to the kitchen to help.
"Mom, about what happened with Granny Jia this morning..."
Dong Qiaoying sighed: "I and Lao Luo managed to argue back. I was thinking that Aunt Jia wasn't like this when she was young... How come she's getting more and more confused as she gets older!"
“She stopped being the aunt you knew after she helped Yan Jun frame us…” Chen Yun said.
“Your dad also said that we won’t have anything to do with his family anymore.” Dong Qiaoying waved her hand.
Wu Zhaodi was kicked out by Granny Jia just a few days after being discharged from the hospital, and no one in the courtyard knows where she went after that.
Even if Wu Zhaodi was willing to live a good life with Yan Jun, the mother and son still looked down on her status as a country girl who had been married before.
Chen Yun guessed that Granny Jia also wanted Yan Jun to marry a city girl...
"Yan Jun is petty; we should try our best not to offend him," Chen Yun gently reminded him.
Speaking of Yan Jun, Dong Qiaoying immediately thought of what Grandma Jia had inadvertently let slip that afternoon: "I think Aunt Jia has already asked someone to find her a daughter-in-law, and she promised to raise a child if she wanted one."
"Isn't this harming people!" Chen Yun frowned.
"It's hard to say whether it will harm anyone. The woman must have known about Yan Jun's situation before she asked to have a baby."
"She knew all along but still willingly married into this family, Mom, you mustn't meddle, lest you suffer the consequences!"
Since both parties were willing to give and take, Chen Yun felt even more strongly that this family was not worth associating with.
"Mom knows," Dong Qiaoying waved her hand.
After their brief conversation, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law returned the food to the table one after another.
"Nian'an, when you grow up, bring back a world gold medal for Grandpa too."
Reluctantly turning off the TV, Gao Tiejun still encouraged his granddaughter, his mind filled with the image of the women's volleyball players striving to win the championship.
His father's words reminded Gao Ming.
Just as Chen Yun picked up some food with his chopsticks and put it in his bowl, Gao Ming couldn't wait to bring up the matter of Teacher Liang hoping that Gao Nian'an would join the basketball team.
"Basketball team?"
Chen Yun's daughter is only seven years old and is slightly taller than her peers, but in her opinion, she definitely does not meet the selection criteria for a promising female basketball player.
"Teacher Liang insisted on persuading us to send Nian'an to play basketball, and she put on such nice things..."
Gao Nian'an blinked first, her eyelashes fluttering rapidly like butterflies flying through a flowerbed, and the corners of her mouth turned up uncontrollably, her little expression revealing a sense of pride.
Gao Nianping let out a soft "Wow!" in her childish voice, looking at her older sister with great admiration.
"Sister is amazing!"
"Of course!" Gao Nian'an imitated his parents patting their heads and patted Gao Nianping's cheek as well: "Sister is strong. If anyone in the alley dares to bully you in the future, just tell me!" He pointed to himself with his thumb.
"Some bad guys are bullying Li Shuaishuai!" Gao Nianping quickly complained, pouting, "Zhong Youcai called Li Shuaishuai an idiot and even pushed him!"
"The fourth son of the Zhong family who looks just like [illegible]?" Gao Nian'an pressed.
"It's him! He also said that Dad has another wife outside and will divorce Mom sooner or later..."
The adults immediately stopped eating, and Gao Ming coldly pressed, "Did Zhong Youcai tell you this himself?"
“It’s him.” Gao Nianping nodded affirmatively: “Zhong Youcai said that everyone in the alley is saying the same thing, and that Dad is rich, and many people are eager to become Grandma’s new daughter-in-law.”
In the hutongs, there are many people and a lot of gossip. Often, even things that have no basis in fact can be spread in a seemingly plausible way, and by the time they reach other people's mouths, they have become the truth.
A female employee of the company once delivered some documents to Gao Ming's home. As a result, the rumors spread among the people in the alley and it became known that she was Gao Ming's mistress who came to his door asking for a formal title.
Gao Ming quickly glanced to his side and was relieved to see that his wife wasn't angry.
"I'll ask Zhong Youcai's parents tomorrow to find out the truth. From now on, don't believe anyone who says anything."
"Watch how I deal with Zhong Youcai." Gao Nian'an gritted her teeth in hatred, forcefully stabbing her chopsticks into the rice: "I'll definitely teach him a lesson."
"Let's eat."
For Gao Tiejun and his older generation, unfounded rumors in the alleys were nothing new. The best approach was to simply ignore them and continue living their lives as usual.
The better they do, the less likely anyone will bring up those sarcastic remarks from before.
The two children were whispering and plotting something, while the adults were more concerned about the basketball training mentioned earlier.
Chen Yun had some concerns: "Nian'an is only seven years old. I'm worried that excessive exercise will put a strain on her bones. She's at the age when she's growing..."
She is a doctor and a mother, so her child's health is her top priority.
“Teacher Liang mentioned this issue.” Gao Ming put down his chopsticks and carefully relayed what Teacher Liang had said to Chen Yun: “Before the age of thirteen, the focus is on building a foundation. There will be no strenuous exercise or competitions, and those who fail to meet the requirements during this period will be eliminated at any time.”
Despite Mr. Liang's earnest advice, the process of getting into professional basketball training is actually very long, and you can be eliminated at any time if you are not a good fit.
Chen Yun nodded: "As long as Nian'an wants to learn, she should give it a try."
The child is still young, and can only persevere by constantly trying and exploring. Chen Yun has no intention of making the child work in a certain industry when they grow up.
Looking at Gao Nian'an, he and his younger brother were chatting excitedly, completely oblivious to what the adults were saying.
"Nian'an... Gao Nian'an?"
"Gao Nian'an!" Chen Yun reached out and turned her daughter's head to the side, asking, "Do you want to join the PE teacher's basketball training class?"
I'm torn between wanting to and not wanting to.
"..."
"I didn't want to this morning, but..." Her gaze slowly drifted to the television, and a rare blush appeared on her face: "I want to be on TV too, so that Mom and Dad can see me on TV!"
"It's extremely difficult to get on TV by playing basketball, so you'd better be mentally prepared!" Chen Yun said.
“Then I won’t play basketball, but I can still sing model operas… I’ll sing them for my grandma in the future.”
"Grandma's sweetie." Dong Qiaoying was so moved that she almost burst into tears. She hugged her granddaughter and kissed her several times. "Grandma is just waiting for An'an to sing for us!"
"So, do you want to play basketball or not?" Chen Yun felt she couldn't keep up with her daughter's jumping thoughts.
"No way!" Gao Nian'an refused quite decisively, her little braid swaying back and forth: "I want to go on TV and sing model operas in the future."
The couple looked at each other in bewilderment.
“She just wants to be on TV.” Gao Ming picked up his chopsticks and put some vegetables on Chen Yun's plate. “Let her be! She’ll change her mind in a couple of days…”
It was just a casual joke at the dinner table, but who could have imagined that it would become a self-fulfilling prophecy?
For many years afterward, Gao Nian'an would announce to his family every few days that his dream had changed, at one point he went from being a model opera actor to making popcorn on the roadside...
At present, Gao Ming and Chen Yun have not yet heard of many industries they have never even heard of.
Chen Yun turned her gaze to her youngest son: "Shouldn't you be registering him for kindergarten by now?"
"Registration is next Monday. Dad will take us then... Why isn't Gao Liang picking up any food?"
Gao Liang was actually at the dinner table, but he kept his head down and was so quiet that he didn't even make a sound while chewing, making him completely invisible.
“The seam on the clothes is ripped.” Chen Yun noticed that the zipper on the child’s clothes had a long tear, and even the blue undershirt underneath was showing. “Take it off after you finish eating and let Grandma sew it up with the sewing machine.”
Gao Liang shoveled a mouthful of rice into his mouth and nodded sullenly.
Dong Qiaoying reached up and pulled up the zipper, and with a ripping sound, a tear the length of an arm appeared in her clothes.
"Why bother sewing anymore? The clothes are already rotten!"
Several strips of fabric were sewn along the bottom of the zipper. Dong Qiaoying tore the strips into pieces with just a little force, clearly indicating that the zipper was already brittle.
"Tomorrow you go to the mall with your second uncle and aunt to buy some clothes," Gao Ming said.
Gao Liang waved his hands in a panic, saying, "There are still clothes in the house, no need to buy new ones."
“You have it, your second uncle wants to buy it for you.”
It was nearly 7 p.m., and dusk was gradually enveloping the courtyard. Everyone was having dinner.
Dong Qiaoying looked up at the courtyard gate, a little worried: "Liangliang, why hasn't your dad come back yet?"
“Dad helps out at the movie theater.” Gao Liang replied tremblingly, afraid of saying something wrong and incurring his parents’ wrath: “The soda business is good, so Dad goes to help out every day after work.”
"snort!"
Despite his cautious reply, Gao Tiejun still let out a disgruntled snort.
Qiu Zhifang's business is so good because Gao Ming bought a large freezer and found someone to help rent the newsstand in front of the cinema.
As a result, the eldest son's wife did the opposite. She often complained to the children that Gao Ming was stingy with his own brother, which made Gao Liang's relationship with the rest of the family members more and more distant.
Gao Yi, on the other hand, often spent his time at the Gaoming factory and never paid any attention to his mother's provocations.
Over time, the two brothers' attitudes toward their second uncle and aunt completely reversed, and Gao Liang hadn't heard the term "second aunt" from her mouth for a long time.
Chen Yun didn't care. After all, the child wasn't her own, and whether she was close to her aunt or not was entirely up to her own choice.
"Let's eat, let's eat," Dong Qiaoying said with a smile, trying to smooth things over.
"The team leader told each household to send one person to a meeting tomorrow, saying it's to fix the heating pipes..."
“Then Dad, you go on behalf of our family. I have to go to Guangzhou in a few days,” Gao Ming said.
Chen Yun then added, "We'll all listen to Dad. I reckon I'll have to work overtime for several days next week."
"Alright! Then I'll go and listen on your behalf..."
The cicadas in the alley gradually fell silent, leaving only the cicadas chirping intermittently on the old banyan tree at the alley entrance.
The night breeze, carrying the lingering heat of the day, quietly blew in through the open courtyard gate, gently lifting the faded Spring Festival couplets on the door.
The chatter inside never stopped...
***
It was the 30th of the twelfth lunar month, in the afternoon.
The leaden-gray clouds pressed down on the northern part of the city, but they couldn't suppress the festive atmosphere in Guanming Lane, which grew more vibrant each day.
Last night, a heavy snow fell, covering the entire alley in white. Gao Tiejun got up early this morning and pushed all the snow in the yard to the open space in the middle before picking up a shovel to sweep the snow away.
The pile of snow in the middle of the yard was reserved for the children to build snowmen. Before the snow fell, Gao Nian'an kept asking his grandfather to leave the snow.
"Old Gao, shoveling snow!"
Old Jiang got up very early and saw that the snow in the yard had been swept clean, so he hurriedly grabbed a shovel and went outside.
"Up so early?" Gao Tiejun peeked through the gap in his hat and scarf and saw it was Old Jiang. He quickly made room for him. "When is He Yun coming back?"
Old Jiang was dressed so warmly that he was panting heavily just from wearing gloves, and it took him a while to finally pick up a shovel and start shoveling snow.
There were already quite a few men shoveling snow on the alleyway. After clearing the snow in front of their own doors, they started shoveling to make a way out of the alley.
After exchanging pleasantries, everyone started pushing snow.
Old Jiang let out a sigh of relief: "My eldest daughter-in-law said the train is this morning, it should arrive in a little while!"
"He Yun must have made a lot of money these past two years, right?"
"If only we could make money!" Old Jiang pushed his hat up with the handle of his shovel. "Jiang Yong's mother said that it's hard to find work outside, and the eldest son is weak and gets sick every few days... What's the point of working!"
"When the kids come back, don't keep bringing up making money. It's not easy for them out there," Gao Tiejun advised.
"If my two sons were even half as capable as Erming, what would I have to worry about!" Old Jiang was so angry that hot breath came out of his nostrils. "That's why they say dragons mate with dragons and phoenixes mate with phoenixes... Little Chen is back!"
A bulky figure slowly walked out from the silver-white coat. Chen Yun raised his face from under the collar of his coat, his smile full of exhaustion.
"Uncle Jiang."
"Dad, are Nian'an and Nianping awake yet?"
"They're not up yet! They stayed up late watching TV with Xiaojuan last night, so they're probably going to get up late today," Gao Tiejun said with a smile.
Chen Yun's outfit today was rather comical; she wore a gray wool coat over a military green cotton-padded jacket, making her look as round as a ball.
"Then I'll go inside and check on the children."
"Go on!" Gao Tiejun waved, then added to Chen Yun's retreating figure, "Er Ming's uncle is coming over for lunch. Should we invite you to lunch?"
"Uncle Erming?" Chen Yun turned around in surprise.
After being married for over a decade, Chen Yun had never heard of Gao Ming having an uncle, and her mind immediately cleared.
“Your maternal uncle is your mother’s cousin.”
Speaking of her cousin Gao Tiejun, it was strange that a relative who hadn't been in contact for several years suddenly called to wish to pay a New Year's visit. After receiving the call, Dong Qiaoying said four words: "He has no good intentions."
"Then have Gao Ming call me when it's time to eat."
"become!"
Chen Yun walked unsteadily towards the backyard. As she approached the room, she felt the warmth emanating from it, and her nerves, which had been tense for several days, finally relaxed.
Even though this is her sixth year in Beicheng, she still hasn't quite gotten used to the cold of the northern winter.
The excitement of arriving in Beicheng was still fresh in Chen Yun's mind, but in the blink of an eye, she was once again immersed in the kind of busy work she had in her previous life... even more so.
Seeing Chen Yun open the door, Gao Tiejun withdrew his gaze.
"Nian'an's mother hasn't been back for several days. She must be exhausted!" Old Jiang exclaimed in amazement.
“That’s right.” Gao Tiejun said, but in his heart he was already thinking about going to the market to buy a chicken after he finished shoveling the snow: “Erming said that there are too many people giving birth recently, and even the corridors are crowded with people.”
"Xiao Chen has only been working at the hospital for five years, right?"
"It's the sixth year! Nian'an will graduate from elementary school next year, and Nianping is already in the third grade!" Gao Tiejun exclaimed with emotion.
Time seems to have passed in the blink of an eye, several years have gone by, the children have grown up as they watch, and they have grown old without realizing it.
"Six years..." Old Jiang murmured softly, his gaze slowly turning to the distance: "In six years, Xiao Chen has made the Workers' Hospital a well-known 'hospital for children' in our northern city. Everyone knows that if you need a baby, you go to the Workers' Hospital."
Chen Yun's name was even more renowned than Gao Ming's in Guan Ming Hu. Everyone knew that if you wanted to have a baby, you should ask Gao's second daughter-in-law. There were many people who wanted to use connections and back channels to get a baby.
Even people living in the same compound asked them to help Chen Yun find a bed at the Workers' Hospital to give birth.
“What we see is only the surface,” Gao Tiejun disagreed. “Don’t you see how much Xiao Chen has sacrificed over the years? I’ve lost count of the number of times she’s been called to the hospital in the middle of the night!”
Old Jiang nodded emphatically.
The Gao family was the first in the compound to install a landline phone; I heard the hospital even paid for the installation.
It would be a lie to say I wasn't envious... but later, Old Jiang really couldn't feel envious at all.
Whenever the phone rang in the middle of the night, the other companies knew that the hospital needed Chen Yun to come to the rescue.
Later, worried about disturbing her family's rest, Chen Yun simply moved to the hospital and only came back to stay for two days each week.
Outsiders only see Chen Yun's fame, but those who know him well know what he has paid for behind the scenes.
Of course... the salary is really high!
"Anyway, you and Lao Dong are both retired now, so you can help out the family more in the future and let the children focus on their careers," Lao Jiang concluded.
Six years ago, the families in this compound were all living similar lives, and none of them were much better off than the others!
However, as the younger generation grows up, the gap becomes increasingly apparent.
Old Jiang is an easygoing person. He can't compare to the Gao family, but he's still better off than Aunt Jia.
Not the best... but better than the worst!
“When I was working, I always thought that after I retired I would go around finding people to play chess with and then walk my bird like Old Li next door. But you know what…” Gao Tiejun pulled off his scarf, his breath rising slowly: “It’s busier than when I was working.”
The eldest granddaughter's interests changed faster than the day in Beicheng. After only a few days of learning traditional Chinese painting with her grandmother, she refused to go anymore because she found it boring.
So, when Chen Shu heard that his granddaughter wanted to learn to dance again, he quickly took her to visit his old friend at the dance academy.
Every day, Gao Tiejun braves wind and rain to pick up and drop off his granddaughter at school, and he also has to pick her up after her dance practice in the evening.
"The only child in your family who is the least troublesome is Nianping, right?"
“Nianping is just like his mother; he doesn’t need us old folks to worry about anything he does.”
Gao Nianping said that the kindergarten was close to the school, and she and Li Shuaishuai had been walking to school since she was four years old.
I attended the Eighth Primary School, which was a ten-minute walk from my home, and I usually walked to school by myself.
Worry-free... Gao Tiejun always thinks of these two words when he mentions his grandson.
"How were your grades?"
"His grades are just like his father's."
"How can you talk to your son like that, old man! A good grandson is like a mother, and a bad one is like a father!"
The two continued chatting and laughing, and their hands never stopped moving.
Seeing that the area in front of the courtyard had already been cleared, but the other households in the courtyard were still not doing anything, Old Jiang was a little dissatisfied.
"What's wrong with these young people in our yard? They know we're shoveling snow, but not a single one of them came out to help?"
"It is a bit strange."
In previous years, Zhang Quan and Jiang Heping would always come out to help their uncles when they saw them shoveling snow outside, unlike the kind of people who usually slack off.
"Zhang He!"
Several figures slowly walked out of the alley. Zhang He wasn't wearing a hat or scarf, and Old Jiang quickly recognized him.
Why would he come to Guanming Hutong?
Since Cui Niang moved away, Zhang He has hardly ever returned to the alley.
There are many rumors about him. Gao Tiejun only knows that he lost a lot of money in business, but not many people know what he has been doing recently.
Aunt Liu kept her mouth shut about Zhang He's matter and never mentioned it.
Zhang He was smiling broadly as he spoke to a middle-aged man next to him, who was looking around as if surveying the alley.
"The location is good, but there are too many people living in the alley, and the road is narrow... How can a car drive in?"
“The road may be narrow, but what we’re after is a sense of cultural atmosphere! Mr. Cui, tell me, what place has more cultural atmosphere than a hutong?”
"Let's look at the house first!"
The man referred to as Boss Cui looked displeased, while Zhang He had a big smile on his face.
Old Jiang clicked his tongue twice, then leaned close to Gao Tiejun's ear and whispered, "Is Zhang He going to sell his mother's house?"
In recent years, many Chinese or overseas Chinese have wanted to buy houses in Guanming Hutong.
As more people viewed the property, its price rose accordingly, and I heard that quite a few people were considering selling it.
The inconveniences of the hutongs can't compare to the comfortable living conditions of the newly built commercial housing in the city.
"It looks like it."
Zhang He respectfully invited the group into the courtyard, and Gao Tiejun hurriedly put away his shovel and followed him in.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
