Chapter 51 It Snowed in Lingcheng
When we returned to Lingcheng, it was snowing.
Xiao Chen went back first. She went back home.
As soon as she got home, Ye Jiao told her the news: Old Mrs. Ye had died on the first day of 1980.
"The temperature dropped across the province at the end of last month. The weather was so cold, and the woodshed where she lived was damp. It froze overnight. When Ye Lin went to see her the next morning, she saw that she was frozen stiff. Her body was almost frozen. She was dead as hell."
Ye Qinglan asked Ye Jiao: "How did you know? Did she come to see you?"
"Yes, when someone dies, they need to have a funeral. Her husband's family refused to do it, saying that they had let the Ye family eat and drink at home for so long, which was already very good, and it would be inappropriate to hold the funeral there. Ye Lin came to ask us how to contact Ye Song, and wanted Ye Song and his family to come back to do it, but how could we know? It's weird."
She really didn't know where Ye Song and his parents were.
Before Ye Qinglan could ask more questions, Ye Jiao continued:
"She failed to contact Ye Song, so she went to find Ye Shujuan. Ye Shujuan said she was pregnant and couldn't handle the funeral, so Ye Lin did it herself. It wasn't a big one, because the coffin was too expensive, and Ye Lin didn't have the money to buy one, so she just bought a few rolls of mats and a few wreaths, and set off a few firecrackers and that was it.
On the day of the funeral, only one nephew from her mother's family came to see her off. Seeing that Ye Lin did not invite guests and no one gave money, the villagers burned some paper on the roadside. I went to see her off for the last time. I didn't want to go at first, but Ye Lin asked, "Don't you want to see her miserable state in the end?" I thought, it doesn't cost money to see, so I went."
Speaking of this, Ye Jiao looked down on Ye Shujuan again.
Ye Lin was a person who had been cheated by the old lady all her life, and she wished she would die. But Ye Shujuan was the one she loved and pampered. In order to save money for her dowry, the old lady didn't even want to give money to her son to go to the hospital when his teeth fell out.
As a result, she didn't even take a last look at the old lady.
It is said that since Ye Shujuan became pregnant, she lived well in her husband's family. Her husband's family had money and a proper job, and she had everything she wanted to eat. They also gave her pocket money every month. But when they heard the news of her mother's death, they cried a few times, not only did they not go to see her mother, they didn't even give a penny for the funeral expenses.
In the end, all the money for buying wreaths, white cloth, and hiring someone to dig the grave was paid by Ye Lin.
Ye Qinglan nodded: "It's better if she dies, so I don't have to be on guard against her mischief every day."
He glanced at Ye Jiao's buzz cut again: "Why did you cut your hair so short again?"
She cut her hair short to make it easier to style it in various ways. What is this girl doing?
Ye Jiao touched her head and asked her, "Do you look like a man?"
Ye Qinglan raised his eyebrows: "You want to be a man?"
"Yes, it's so good to be a man. Being a man is safe and no one will bully you. If we had a man before you came back, would we be bullied by the Ye family? Sister, let me tell you, I want to change my name. Why is it called Ye Jiao? This name sounds coquettish and annoying. I want to be called Ye Ba."
Ye Qinglan: “…”
Yang Wenying, who had just come back from washing vegetables, heard this and said as soon as she entered the door: "I think you still want to call Ye Shangtian!"
"Eh? You know what, Ye Shangtian is a better name than Ye Ba!" Ye Jiao said happily, "Why don't I change my name to this one?"
Yang Wenying was too lazy to pay attention to her.
Ye Qinglan raised his hand and gave her a chestnut:
"Who said that men won't be bullied? If someone wants to bully you, it doesn't matter whether you are a man or a woman. Similarly, no matter whether you are a man or a woman, as long as you are strong enough, you can kill those who bully you. You don't need to change your name. During your summer vacation, I will find someone to teach you and you can study hard then."
Ye Jiao's eyes lit up when she heard this. Was it what she thought it meant, or was it what she thought it meant? !
"Sister~~You are still my real sister~~" Ye Jiao hugged her arm and rubbed it.
Ye Qinglan looked at her with disdain: "Get out of the way, you're so cheesy."
Ye Jiao walked away smiling.
The frying pan outside was sizzling, and soon the aroma of meat was wafting out. Yang Wenying was like many ordinary parents, and she was happy to see her child return home by serving him delicious food and drinks.
The lunch was quite sumptuous, with braised pork, steamed fish, diced chicken...but there were too many meat dishes and they took a very long time to cook.
By the time they had lunch, it was already one o'clock.
When she was about to return to the military area after dinner, Yang Wenying called her and said with a happy expression:
"Last time, our factory gave out yarn tickets to outstanding employees. I used my money to buy two more tickets from someone and bought three or four pounds of yarn. I knitted a sweater for you and Jiaojiao. Go inside and try them on. I'll see if there's anything wrong and make some changes."
The sweater is bright red, very colorful.
Except for the long sleeves, everything else is ok.
Yang Wenying said, "I'll revise it for you this afternoon, and you can come back to get it when it's done. Oh, there's one more thing. Aunt Wang next door asked if you have a date. Aren't the eldest and the youngest in her family still unmarried?"
"You promised?"
"How is that possible? Shouldn't you ask your own opinion? Actually, I think that guy is not a good match for you in any way."
Even though it didn't make sense, she still asked. In fact, she wanted to find out if the girl had a boyfriend.
A girl of eighteen or nineteen is at the right age to date.
Ye Qinglan thought of Gu Huaizhi at this time.
I haven't seen Gu Huaizhi for a while.
Ye Qinglan: "No need to introduce me, I don't need to in the future, I have a partner."
Although Gu Huaizhi has not yet reached the standard, he can still be dragged out to block it.
As for marriage, if she were to marry, it would be with Gu Huaizhi or someone else in the army, and she would not look for someone from outside.
People of the same kind have more common language and make people feel more at ease.
Yang Wenying exclaimed, and then asked her where her boyfriend was from, what his family was like, etc.
Ye Qinglan didn't elaborate, only saying that the man was from the capital, that he was good in other aspects and that he was good-looking, and that he would bring him back to show her when the time was right.
After hearing this, Yang Wenying gave her a few instructions, such as not to sleep or live with anyone before marriage, etc., and the matter was over.
When Ye Qinglan was carrying her things out, she met Xiao Ding's wife next door, who was pregnant.
When I went downstairs, I met Aunt Wang and her son again and we greeted each other.
After she passed by, Wang's son asked his mother, "What's wrong with you? Look at her temperament, does it match mine? She's even taller than me."
He couldn't really describe what that temperament was, but it looked like he was not the same kind of person.
Aunt Wang turned around and said, "No, you are not worthy of her. Isn't there a saying that goes, 'The one who is close to the water gets the moon first?' Our family is a neighbor, we know each other well, and we have an advantage over others."
The daughter of Yang Wenying's family is really good, and she is well behaved. She knows that after hearing that this girl has a good job, several families in the building want to marry into Yang Wenying's family.
Her son: “…”