Chapter 54 (Combined) (Revised)
Every household in the machine tool factory's residential compound was brightly lit, filled with laughter and cheerful conversation.
Even Grandpa Li, who usually guards the phone booth year-round, went home for the Spring Festival, leaving the phone booth dark and gloomy.
When Yan Ruyi came out, she was wearing Song Yiping's military overcoat. The overcoat was thick and large, and even when wrapped up tightly, she didn't feel cold.
She walked out of the residential compound and took a few steps west before seeing the jeep parked on the side of the road.
She ran toward the jeep.
Song Yiping got out of the car and came to greet her, saying, "Slow down, don't fall."
There was no one on the road, and Yan Ruyi boldly threw herself into his arms.
Song Yiping quickly pecked her lips, "Are you cold?"
Yan Ruyi chuckled, "Not cold? How did you come up with an excuse to come out?"
Unlike Song Yiping's family, there were many people at Song Yiping's house, and everyone was watching TV, their attention drawn to the Spring Festival Gala. She slipped out unnoticed.
The Song family is different; there are only four people in total, so losing one person would be very noticeable. Song Yiping said, "My mother is on duty at the hospital, so it's just me, my grandfather, and my father at home. My grandfather is getting old and can't stay up late, so he went to sleep after watching the news. My father went to the hospital to be with my mother right after my grandfather went to sleep, and he probably won't be back tonight, so I came out."
This is a long-standing tradition in their family: whenever his mother is on duty, his father will definitely go to the hospital to accompany her.
His dad went to visit his mom, so he came to visit his girlfriend.
He and his father couldn't get along.
Yan Ruyi, "..."
No wonder Song Yiping always said his house was deserted.
Fortunately, the two of them had arranged to meet beforehand; otherwise, Song Yiping would have spent the New Year's Eve alone again, feeling cold and lonely.
When Yan Ruyi came out, she forgot to bring her woolen hat. Song Yiping took a Lei Feng hat from the car, put it on Yan Ruyi, and put the ear flaps down to cover her face.
Yan Ruyi felt that her Commander Song was like someone who carried a magic box with him, and he could take out whatever she needed at any time.
Everyone was at home with their families, and there wasn't a soul to be seen on the streets. Yan Ruyi boldly took Song Yiping's arm.
On New Year's Eve, while everyone else stayed home to celebrate, the two of them strolled around the streets.
During the Chinese New Year, the prospective son-in-law is supposed to visit his mother-in-law's family to pay his respects. Song Yiping and Yan Ruyi decided on the date for the visit.
Yan Ruyi: "This year, my grandma is spending the Lunar New Year at my uncle's house. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, we'll go to my uncle's house to pay our respects to my grandma. On the second day, my mom will go back to her parents' house to pay our respects to my maternal uncle. Also, my eldest and second eldest brothers will be going to their mothers-in-law's house. On the third day, my eldest and second eldest cousins, as well as my aunt's family, will all be coming. So you can't come on the third day. My eldest cousin is too mean. If you come, he'll force you to drink again, and if you get drunk, he'll..."
Now, her older cousins still make fun of her when they see her.
Her cousin's family had finally begun to forget about it, and in the new year, she couldn't afford to give them any new material for laughter.
Song Yiping said in a low voice, "I will never get drunk again, unless it's just the two of us. Even if I get drunk and say something incoherent, I will only say it to you."
Yan Ruyi stamped her foot, "Even if it's just the two of us, we can't just say things like that."
Song Yiping smiled and said, "Okay."
Yan Ruyi felt that Song Yiping's use of the word "good" was somewhat hypocritical.
But now is not the time to discuss this; she still needs to confirm with him which day would be suitable for him to come.
"Otherwise, you can come on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year. My parents, my older brothers, and other relatives will all be home on that day, and no other relatives will be visiting."
As long as his older cousin and the others aren't around, Song Yiping isn't at risk of getting drunk.
If her eldest and second eldest brothers dared to force Song Yiping to drink, they would definitely be scolded by her mother.
They had reached an open space.
In the distance, the occasional sound of firecrackers could be heard.
Song Yiping, "Would you like to set off fireworks?"
Yan Ruyi: "Xiang, you brought fireworks?"
Song Yiping patted his coat pocket, then took out the fireworks one by one: swan eggs, ground squirrels, butterfly firecrackers, spinning tops, sparklers, parachutes...
When did you buy so many fireworks?
"When I go back today."
Song Yiping placed the fireworks on the ground, then took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, struck a match against the wind, lit the cigarettes, and took a puff.
My eldest uncle and cousin both love to smoke. They always hold their cigarettes between their index and middle fingers to exhale smoke.
Song Yiping, however, held the cigarette holder between his thumb and forefinger, his movements a bit clumsy, clearly indicating that he didn't smoke often.
However, Yan Ruyi still felt that even the way her Commander Song smoked was better than her uncle and cousin.
No wonder they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Song Yiping took a couple of puffs of his cigarette, then turned around and saw Yan Ruyi staring at him. He thought she was disgusted by his smoking, so he explained, "If I don't take a couple of puffs, the wind might blow it out."
He waved the cigarette in his hand again and asked her, "Want to light it yourself?"
It's always been my second brother and Sihe who set off firecrackers and fireworks at home; Yan Ruyi has never set them off herself.
She wanted to set it herself, but the fuse was too short, so she hesitated.
Song Yiping told her to hold the cigarette, then took her hand and slowly approached the firework fuse, lit it, and then quickly led her back a few steps.
The fireworks were lit and spun rapidly like tops, resembling a blooming flower.
After the first time, I wasn't afraid anymore, and the fireworks started going off one by one.
Her favorite thing is the parachute; after it's set off, a parachute will pop out.
Song Yiping held her in his arms and watched the parachute slowly descend from the sky.
Song Yiping kissed her and whispered in her ear, "Happy New Year."
More and more people set off firecrackers, and amidst the crackling sounds, rockets would occasionally shoot into the sky with a squeak.
The two watched the fireworks for a while. Song Yiping checked his watch and saw that it was already 11:30.
If we don't send Yan Ruyi back soon, she might never be able to enter her mother's house again.
They then sent Yan Ruyi back.
When Yan Ruyi dropped him off at the entrance of the residential compound, she told him to go back, fearing that the people in the compound would see him.
As soon as she entered the courtyard, Ye Hongzhen came out to use the restroom and saw Yan Ruyi returning from outside wearing a military overcoat. She asked suspiciously, "Where did you go?"
Yan Ruyi said, "I felt it was too stuffy inside, so I went out for a walk."
Feeling guilty, she quickly ran back into the house after saying that.
Ye Hongzhen immediately realized: she must have gone to see Song Yiping; no wonder she hadn't seen her all night.
They've only been apart for a short time, and they're already inseparable again.
Grandma Yan usually lives alone, but she still visits her two sons' homes in turn during holidays.
Basically, each company takes turns once.
Last year, we spent the Spring Festival at Yan Guoqiang's house; this year, it's Yan Guolin's turn.
Yan Minghai and his family of three arrived early in the morning. Yan Ruyi gave Miaomiao a red envelope and then pestered Yan Minghai, asking her older brother for New Year's money.
Yan Minghai gave each person 2 yuan.
Yan Mingtao also gave 2 yuan to each person.
This is the last time Yan Ruyi will receive New Year's money. Once she and Song Yiping get married, she will be a proper adult, and no one will give her New Year's money anymore.
She carefully pressed the New Year's money given to her by her older brothers and parents into her notebook.
After breakfast, the family went to Uncle's house to wish Grandma Yan a Happy New Year.
Shen Qiaoxiu was busy in the kitchen when she saw Ye Hongzhen and complained to her, "Why did you take so long to come? I'm almost dead from being busy. Come over and give me a hand."
When Shen Qiaoxiu visited her home, she always treated herself as a guest and didn't do any chores.
Ye Hongzhen followed suit, grabbed a handful of melon seeds, leaned against the door frame and cracked them open, saying, "I cooked too many dishes yesterday and hurt my hand. I can't work now."
Shen Qiaoxiu said, "...It won't stop you from eating sunflower seeds."
"I hurt my hand, not my teeth. I'll have to eat more when we eat later to make sure I get some nutrition."
She deftly and skillfully used a spatula to scrape the bottom of the pot.
Before long, Yan Ruping and Li Chenghai arrived.
Married daughters usually return to their parents' home on the second day of the Lunar New Year, but Yan Ruping came on the first day of the Lunar New Year.
Li Yan: "Ru Ping, what brings you here today?"
As Li Yan spoke, she specifically looked at Yan Ruping's wrist. She wasn't wearing the jade bracelet that Li Chenghai had given her, so she probably already knew it was fake and was too embarrassed to wear it.
Yan Ruping: "My eldest and second eldest sisters are going back tomorrow, and we wanted to get together with them, so we came over today."
The eldest and second eldest sisters she mentioned were Li Chenghai's eldest and second eldest sisters.
She said she wanted to get together with the two of them, but in reality, she had no say in the matter; it was all Li Chenghai's mother who made the decisions.
Li Chenghai's mother told her to go back to her parents' home today, so she has to go back to her parents' home today.
She had no say in the Li family.
Li Chenghai's mother is domineering and has the final say at home.
Li Chenghai listens to his mother.
She had unspeakable suffering, but in front of outsiders, she still had to appear happy.
This was the second time Yan Ruyi had met Li Chenghai; the first time was at his wedding with Yan Ruping.
Li Chenghai wasn't ugly, but he was short, not even as tall as Yan Ruping.
Compared to when we got married last time, he seems to have gained a lot of weight, and he's showing signs of widening.
He's already short; if he keeps getting this fat, he'll probably end up looking like a ball.
Luo Huihui said that men tend to gain weight after marriage. Yan Ruyi felt that she needed to keep an eye on Song Yiping in the future. Such a handsome man would be unsightly if he grew into a greasy winter melon.
Grandma Yan beckoned Yan Ruyi over and, when no one was looking, slipped a dollar into her hand.
Yan Ruyi thought her grandmother had forgotten, so she reminded her, "Grandma, you've already given me New Year's money."
Grandma Yan whispered, "This is for Xiao Song. Give him the money when you see him later."
Every grandchild receives a New Year's gift, even if Song Yiping isn't there.
Grandma Yan said, "If he comes to see me again, he shouldn't bring anything valuable. I don't like milk powder or malted milk powder, and they'll go bad if left out too long."
Actually, it wasn't that it went bad; it's just that Shen Qiaoxiu always managed to collect it.
Song Yiping took mostly tonics, but Shen Qiaoxiu claimed that Yan Guolin was unwell and took all the gifts under the guise of helping him improve his health.
She had to keep this a secret from Ye Hongzhen, otherwise, the two sisters-in-law would have another big argument.
Yan Ruyi said, "Grandma, just tell me what you want to eat, and I'll ask Yiping to buy it next time he comes."
Grandma Yan smiled and said, "Okay, I'll tell you in advance what I want."
Li Chenghai, the new son-in-law, was visiting for the first time and, unsurprisingly, drank too much.
He wasn't usually very talkative, and when he wasn't drinking, he seemed honest and kind. But when he drank too much, he was like a completely different person. He was the only one talking at the banquet. One moment he was making a promise to Yan Mingjun, "Brother, after the New Year, if there's an opportunity, I'll transfer you to work in the municipal government. I've had drinks with Secretary Yang, the head of the municipal government office. Transferring you there is just a matter of him saying a word."
Then he complained about Li Yan's job, saying, "Second sister-in-law, what future can you have working in the street office factory? I'll talk to the director of the city textile factory and get you transferred to work there."
Li Yan exclaimed with delight, "I've always wanted to work in a textile factory, but I don't have any connections. However, I'm afraid it won't work in the first half of the year. I'm pregnant, will they reject me?"
Li Chenghai said, "It's okay if you're pregnant. Second sister-in-law, just wait at home. I'll make arrangements for you after the New Year."
Li Yan: "I'll take that seriously. Once I'm transferred, I'll have Er Tao treat you to a meal."
...
Li Chenghai boasts without batting an eye; in the time it takes to eat a meal, he has arranged a nice place for everyone at the table.
Even Yan Ruyi was "arranged" a new job by him: "After the New Year, I'll talk to Director Li of the Cultural Bureau and transfer you to the Cultural Bureau. From now on, the Cultural Relics Bureau will be under your management."
The more Li Chenghai drank, the more he talked, and he became confused. He turned to Shen Qiaoxiu and said, "Mom, didn't you say last time that Grandma had an old thing here, what was it called again?"
Shen Qiaoxiu heard from the neighbors that the old lady had an old thing in her hand, which looked like an incense burner.
She also asked the old lady, but the old lady denied it, saying that it was not true.
The last time Li Chenghai went back to his parents' home with Yan Ruping, she casually mentioned it during dinner. Little did she know that Li Chenghai, drunk, would bring it up in front of everyone.
Shen Qiaoxiu would never admit that she coveted the old lady's things. "You're mistaken. I never said that."
Li Chenghai: "You must have said that last time when Ruping and I came here, you said that when Grandma wasn't home, you would come and look for where she was hiding."
Everyone, "..."
Li Chenghai's behavior was so embarrassing that Yan Ruping blushed with shame and pulled Li Chenghai up, saying, "We have things to do at home, so Mom wants us to go back early."
Li Chenghai was completely drunk at the moment and didn't know if his mother had said those words.
However, he was very obedient to his mother. When his mother told him to go back early, he went with Yan Ruping.
Ye Hongzhen felt a pang of emotion, realizing that her own daughter and son-in-law were the best.
Although Song Yiping might mess things up when he's drunk, at most he'll say a few sweet nothings to his daughter, but he wouldn't brag like this and speak so recklessly.
After finishing their meal, the old lady felt a bit tired and wanted to go inside to rest for a while, so Yan Ruyi helped her inside.
Seeing that no one else was around, the old lady whispered to Yan Ruyi, "Ruyi, I do have an incense burner in my hand. I've had it since I was a child. I don't know which era it's from. When I go back to the old house on the sixth day of the new year, you can go and see if it's worth anything."
Yan Ruyi was surprised that her grandmother actually had some. "Okay, I'll go over on the morning of the sixth day of the Lunar New Year."
On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, Song Yiping drove with Yan Ruyi to take Grandma Yan back to her old house.
There was a maroon wooden box by Grandma Yan's bedside; it had been there since Yan Ruyi was old enough to remember things.
Ye Hongzhen said the box was part of Grandma Yan's dowry.
Grandma Yan opened the wooden box and said to Yan Ruyi, "At the very bottom of the box, wrap it in a small blanket."
The wooden box was full of Grandma Yan's clothes. Yan Ruyi had to search all the way to the bottom to find it, and it was quite heavy.
She took it out and placed it on the table. Grandma Yan opened the small bag, inside which was a three-legged bronze incense burner, about the size of an adult's fist. The workmanship wasn't particularly good, but judging from the date, it was from the Shunzhi era.
Incense burners are generally made of ceramic, iron, bronze, gold, silver, wood, or stone.
Among them, those made of purple copper are the best, especially those purple copper incense burners that have been around for a long time and have naturally oxidized. Their appearance changes from the initial rose gold color to a purple patina after oxidation, giving them a simple and elegant color and making them more valuable for collection.
Although the old lady's incense burner is not very exquisite in its workmanship, it has a good appearance after oxidation, and the overall color is a light purplish-red.
Grandma Yan said, "I don't know which era this incense burner came from. I heard that if you burn sandalwood incense in it for a long time, the incense burner will glow and can be seen from two miles away. I have never tried it. Ruyi, you can take the incense burner away."
It's a bit of an exaggeration to say that it can be seen from two miles away. However, when burning sandalwood incense, the copper incense burner will show a faint red glow under light because copper conducts heat quickly and burns completely.
The story got so exaggerated that it became known that the incense burner could emit light on its own, a light that could be seen from two miles away.
Yan Ruyi: "Grandma, didn't you put it away perfectly well?"
“If you leave it here, your aunt will take it away sooner or later. You should take it.”
Yan Ruyi: "Grandma, aren't you afraid I'll steal your things?"
The old lady said, "It was originally meant for you. You're in this line of work, and this thing will only be of some use if you have it. I originally planned to give it to you as part of your dowry when you got married, but given the current situation, you should take it sooner rather than later. Anyway, you and Yiping are getting married soon."
The five fingers aren't all the same length. The old lady just favors this granddaughter and wants to save the best things for Yan Ruyi.
Yan Ruyi hugged the old lady, "Thank you, Grandma."
On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, all workplaces except schools reopened.
However, even after returning to work, people couldn't concentrate on their jobs until after the Lantern Festival, when everyone's minds finally returned to work.
The roof of Jialide's office building has been completed; the next step is interior decoration.
Office furniture should also be made at the same time.
There is only one furniture factory in Beijing, which is Yan Mingtao's workplace.
Therefore, most of them are outsourced to furniture factories.
When Li Yan heard about this, she asked Yan Ruyi when she got home, "Your company needs office furniture, why didn't you ask your second brother to make it?"
Yan Ruyi said, "We need to make 22 desks for the first batch, and they need to be finished by the end of next month. My second brother isn't a superhuman, and he has to go to work. Can one person handle it all?"
“I heard that Ning Yucheng also took on work from your company.”
Yan Ruyi said, "Ning Yucheng is now working independently. He has his own company and four or five people under him. You can ask my second brother to apply for a leave of absence without pay and let him gather a few people to work independently. I will give him the warehouse shelving job."
Ning Yucheng used to be a furniture factory worker. In the middle of last year, he took a leave of absence without pay and then gathered a few people to start a company.
Yan Ruyi had met him and, from what he said, he believed that working independently would earn him much more money than working in a factory.
Her second brother's carpentry skills are better than Ning Yucheng's.
He said to Yan Mingtao, "Second brother, think about it. Do you want to do what Ning Yucheng did and take a leave of absence without pay, gather a few people and work independently? You may not be able to keep up with the work at our unit, but I think once the first batch of commercial housing is completed, we will definitely be able to get a lot of carpentry work."
Those who can afford to buy commercial housing are not short of money.
When someone moves into a new house, they need to buy some furniture.
Her second brother's carpentry skills are now well-known, but he has to work during the week, so he can only do the freelance work after get off work.
He doesn't have that much time to do it, so he works slowly. If something is urgent, he might not want his second brother to do it.
He is not as good as Ning Yucheng in this respect, so he doesn't earn as much as Ning Yucheng.
Yan Mingtao's philosophy is that he is content with a modest life.
If he were to take unpaid leave, he would have to find ways to do work. If he didn't get any work, he wouldn't have any income, which would be exhausting. He felt that things were better now, as he could still get a salary and earn money by taking on freelance work.
Yan Ruyi only asked her second brother to consider it. If her second brother was unwilling to do it, she didn't say anything more.
Li Yan muttered that Yan Mingtao was stubborn, and Yan Mingtao retorted, "You're so shrewd, yet you still believed Li Chenghai so easily. Didn't Li Chenghai say he was going to be transferred to the textile factory during the New Year? What happened?" Right after the New Year, Li Yan called Li Chenghai several times to ask about the job transfer, but Li Chenghai made all sorts of excuses to avoid it.
Even if Li Yan was slow to realize it, she would eventually understand that Li Chenghai was just making empty promises, and she had actually taken them seriously.
When the topic came up, Li Yan said angrily, "None of them can be trusted."
As the weather gradually warms up, Yan Ruyi is considering planting some fruits and vegetables in the yard of her new house.
She originally wanted to raise a few chickens.
Ye Hongzhen immediately poured cold water on her enthusiasm, saying, "You don't even live there anymore. Who are you raising chickens for? Before you even raise them to adulthood, they'll probably all be taken and eaten by you."
Yan Ruyi said, "Then I'll grow flowers and vegetables."
We have to plant something, otherwise it would be such a waste to leave such a big yard empty.
She took some time to visit the new house and planned out the yard.
The open space under the windows of the main room is planted with flowers. When you get up in the morning and open the window, you are greeted by flowers in full bloom.
You might even smell the fragrance of flowers while you're sleeping at night.
The eastern half of the yard, where pomegranates were planted, is now empty; it will be used for drying clothes and quilts in the future.
The western half of the yard was divided into plots, half planted with melons and the other half with vegetables.
Aunt Hua enthusiastically gave her advice, "If you plant balsam flowers, you can enjoy the blooms and even use them to dye your nails. You don't have to plant them every year; once the seeds fall to the ground, you don't need to worry about them, and they'll grow on their own next year. Also, plant a few cockscomb flowers and crape myrtle. If you want to smell fragrance, plant tuberose. Tuberose blooms at night, and when it blooms, the whole yard smells wonderful. My family has some. If you want to plant them, I'll dig up a few bulbs for you from my family later."
Yan Ruyi said, "Aunt Hua, I want one that's easy to raise. I'm afraid it won't survive if it's difficult to raise."
That's how her mother is; she's an expert at growing vegetables, and no matter what she grows, it all thrives.
But it's not suitable for growing flowers. Hardy ones are okay, but slightly more delicate ones won't survive.
She was afraid that she would inherit her mother's good genes and kill all the perfectly good flowers.
Aunt Hua said, "The ones I told you about are all easy to raise. We don't have the time to take care of the ones that are not easy to raise."
Aunt Hua was a woman of action; she went back to her parents' home that very day and dug up several tuberose bulbs for Yan Ruyi.
She had seeds of balsam, cockscomb, and landmine flowers at home, so she brought them all over to Yan Ruyi.
When Song Yiping arrived, Aunt Hua was helping Yan Ruyi plant flowers under the window.
The iron shovel was brought from Aunt Hua's own home.
Upon seeing Song Yiping arrive, Yan Ruyi greeted him with delight, saying, "Aunt Hua said it could bloom as early as April."
Seeing that Song Yiping was holding a tree root, he touched it and asked, "What's this?"
Song Yiping: "The grapevine was given to me by my grandfather."
Yan Ruyi's eyes lit up immediately; there were even grapevines!
She looked around the yard and decided to plant the grapevines in the southwest corner, so that they would be on the left and right sides of the pomegranate tree in the southeast corner.
Aunt Hua had already planted all the flowers, so Song Yiping borrowed an iron hoe from her, dug a hole in the southwest corner, and planted a grapevine.
Following Yan Ruyi's instructions, the western half of the courtyard was turned into vegetable plots.
Yan Ruyi followed behind him, picking out the large clods of debris that had been turned over.
An old lady passed by the door and saw the two of them turning over the soil. She leaned against the door and said to Yan Ruyi, "I have some loofah seedlings, cucumber seedlings, and pepper seedlings at home. Ruyi, do you want them? If you do, I'll bring them to you."
Yan Ruyi said, "Yes, Grandma Li, I'll go with you to get it."
I stood up and followed Grandma Li to get the seedlings.
Song Yiping felt that Comrade Xiao Yan had some social skills.
They only came over occasionally, but as a result, Xiao Yan became known to all the neighbors.
Aunt Hua helped her plant flowers, and Grandma Li gave her seedlings.
When he arrived, a woman was talking to him. She didn't know his name, only that he was Yan Ruyi's boyfriend. When she spoke to him, she called him "Ruyi's boyfriend".
Commander Song felt that once he and Yan Ruyi got married, there was a high probability that he would become "Ruyi's wife".
Before long, Yan Ruyi came over carrying a bunch of seedlings.
"Grandma Li lives to the west of us. Like Grandpa, she loves growing vegetables. She has a whole yard full of vegetables. Grandma Li is very kind-hearted. Aunt Hua said that half the people on the street have eaten Grandma Li's vegetables. Her son and daughter-in-law are no longer alive. She lives with her granddaughter, Du Miao, who is in high school at No. 4 Middle School and will be taking the college entrance exam next year."
Du Miao said she wants to apply to our university. I've seen her grades; she's a good student, except for math. I told Du Miao that I'll come over after work from Monday to Saturday, and sometimes on Sundays too, so she can ask me if she has any questions.
Du Miao had only turned over half of the vegetable patch when she came with her homework book.
Grandma Li raised her very well. Although she lost her parents when she was young, she was still a lively girl with a sweet tongue. She greeted Yan Ruyi and Song Yiping with a smile, "Sister Ruyi, brother-in-law."
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