Li Funian, who was working in the school's logistics department, said arrogantly, "Ye Huili only achieved success because of his wealthy family background. His family is so rich, yet he only gives me such small favors. Does he expect me to be grateful? Dream on! I'm not convinced, so what!"
Ye Huixian relayed these words to his elder brother, who didn't say anything but built a basement in the house and made sure Li Funian knew about it.
Ye Huixian was completely baffled. Wasn't the purpose of building a basement to hide things? Why would he hide things there and make sure Li Funian knew about it? Had his older brother lost his mind?
Fu Qingping laughed: "Your older brother is very smart and takes precautions. As long as you keep the basement thing a secret and don't tell anyone, not even your best sister, you'll know why later."
Now that Li Funian has been classified as a bad element, could it be related to the basement? Ye Huixian understood somewhat. Sure enough, you can't catch a wolf without risking your cub. It's just that his older brother's patience was too good.
The two women whispered amongst themselves, while Ye Chenming and Ye Chen'er were furious. This family was disgusting; how dare they report their own family! Fortunately, their father had taken precautions long ago, hiding the real treasures in the countryside near Shanghai. What remained were things that could be discarded.
Although Ye Huixian was whispering to his mother, he was also looking at Ye Chenming. He knew his nephew well; he didn't get angry easily, but when he did, it was hard to control the situation. Seeing that Ye Chenming's face was getting uglier and uglier, he quickly stood up to comfort him.
Ye Chenming and the others knew that now was not the time to cause trouble, so they took out some grass from their baskets and said, "Auntie, this is the grass that the locals use to weave hemp rope. I'll show you how."
Before long, a straw rope appeared in Ye Chenming's hand. Unfortunately, it was too rough, with many parts of the straw sticking up and not being woven in at all. Ye Huixian smiled, took the straw, and began to weave.
The weaving of this straw rope is similar to the making of Chinese knot buttons. After several trials, Ye Huixian began to weave it formally. The straw has different shades, and Ye Huixian skillfully interweaves these straw materials.
Ye Chenming was surprised to find that the hemp rope in his aunt's hand had been transformed into a patterned work of art. Not only was the color beautiful, but it was also smooth to the touch. When placed next to the hemp rope he had woven himself, Ye Chenming blushed.
Ye Chen'er was excited and quickly ran out to find straw for the hemp rope. She told Ye Huixian that Nannan liked such delicate things the most, and asked her aunt to weave more so that she could give them to Yan Xiaonan.
Ye Huixian was also happy. It was sweeter than honey to have someone appreciate what he had created. It was the joy of having one's work recognized.
Three days later, Yan Xiaonan looked at the large bundle of exquisite hemp rope in her hand and smiled, revealing two deep dimples. In her mind, she thought of the exquisite item under her tattered cotton-padded coat.
"Sister Ye, how about giving your aunt a business opportunity to make money?" Yan Xiaonan spoke very softly, almost right next to Ye Chen'er's ear. Ye Chen'er's eyes lit up, and she nodded repeatedly. She had a pretty good idea of what Yan Xiaonan was up to.
Sure enough, Yan Xiaonan led Ye Chen'er into her room, took out a piece of dark blue fabric, and asked Aunt Ye to make a pair of trousers for her grandmother, since her grandmother's coat couldn't really be paired with woolen trousers.
She also took a pair of pants that her grandmother usually wore, which were patched all over, as a template and put them in the basket. She even remembered to put the needle and thread in them.
Ye Chen'er was incredibly impressed. Nan Nan was indeed a thoughtful person. No wonder she was able to contact her uncle immediately and rescue her. A girl like this would definitely be in high demand when she grew up. She would have to go back and sound out her older brother's opinion.
Yan Xiaonan stopped Ye Chen'er, who was about to go back, and took out a plate of rice cakes: "My mom just made these. Take them back for your aunt and grandma to try. Don't bring the plate over."
Ye Chen'er's mouth watered at the sight of rice cakes. How had she become like this? Her family used to have a constant supply of snacks, and she never craved them. Now that she's grown up, she's become greedy. It's outrageous!
Unable to resist glancing at the rice cake again, he thought, "I'm so tempted, Aunt Cuihua's rice cake is just too delicious." He quickly and carefully put the plate into his basket, stuffed the filling into his cotton-padded coat, and ran off to the cowshed.
Ye Huixian was anxiously waiting at home. She needed to know whether Nannan liked these hemp ropes. If she did, she would weave more in the future, even if they were just for binding firewood. Making them look nice was an attitude of yearning for a better life.
Seeing that Chen'er had closed the door upon returning, Ye Huixian felt relieved. This clever little girl must have something good to say. Sure enough, Ye Chen'er took out a piece of fabric from her cotton-padded jacket and a pair of trousers from her basket.
"Auntie, Nannan asked you to make a pair of pants for her grandma, saying she wants to wear them with her coat. Here's the needle and thread, and here's the pattern."
"Grandma, that's rice cake made by Aunt Cuihua, oh, that's Nan Nan's mother. She asked me to bring it for you to try." Ye Chen'er carefully took out a plate of rice cakes from her basket.
Smelling the aroma, Fu Qingping reached out, grabbed a piece, and took a bite. The warm, crispy, fragrant, and sweet taste reminded him of the feeling of holding a sachima in one hand and a book in the other.
The past cannot be recalled, otherwise I would not be able to live in the present. Fu Qingping pulled himself out of his thoughts and focused on tasting the rice cake. The rice cake had the taste of honey, a little bit of lard, and the aroma of rice. If the lard were replaced with butter, it would definitely taste even better.
Ye Huixian quickly put the cloth down and picked up a piece of rice cake to eat. Mmm, delicious! Much better than mung bean cake. Sweet but not greasy, with a pure, natural aroma. It's really delicious.
He quickly counted the number; there were eight pieces. He could still eat one. Ye Huixian picked up another piece and savored it slowly this time. "Chen'er, Nan Nan's mother is so skillful. It's a pity we can't just visit her, otherwise we could learn from her."
“That’s made from rice flour. Going to the West won’t help. We don’t have much rice left,” Fu Qingping said, pouring cold water on her daughter’s enthusiasm.
Ye Chen'er opened her mouth but didn't say anything. Ever since Bei Nan left, Aunt Cuihua had told them to bring the wild game they hunted to her house to exchange for rice or flour. Of course, they could also exchange it for money, but her older brother had never exchanged it for money. He always exchanged it for rice at the black market price.
Aunt Cuihua was a little embarrassed, how could she pay the black market price? But Ye Chenming insisted that if they didn't pay the black market price, they would rather risk going to the state-run canteen to exchange money and then go to the black market to buy rice.
Hearing about the black market, Aunt Cuihua's eyes reddened. Ye Chenming knew she missed Bei Nan: "Auntie, don't worry, Bei Nan is capable. He's probably hiding for now. Don't worry, Bei Nan will definitely come back, maybe even in triumph."
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