Chapter 121
After hearing about Ye Fenghua's family situation, everyone was quite curious about why the Ye family wanted her to go back.
I don't know why she was called back. Could it be that Ye Fenghua's sister-in-law really didn't want to give the job to her daughter-in-law, and now she wanted Ye Fenghua to give up her job?
They can't be that stupid, right?
Ye Fenghua is no longer foolish and will no longer let her family control her like before. Moreover, her lover is the regimental commander. Since she clearly refused last time, and Commander Miao has unequivocally stood by Ye Fenghua, the Ye family certainly wouldn't dare to pressure her again or fall out with a regimental commander.
They were all very curious about whether Ye Fenghua's sister-in-law would ultimately choose her job or her son.
Seeing their interest in this matter, Ye Fenghua said, "Alright, I'll go check on things next week when I have time off, and see if anything's going on at my parents' house. I'll tell you when I get back."
Seeing how readily she agreed, Qiao Hui felt a little embarrassed, wondering if she had been too nosy.
Gu Xi said with a smile, "Okay, okay, thank you for your trouble, Sister Ye! Actually, these are all writing materials. We're just waiting for you to come back and tell us about them."
Hearing her say that, Ye Fenghua was very happy, feeling that she could help her.
As for the mess her family has made, plenty of people in the brigade already know about it, so it doesn't matter if a few more people find out. Since they're capable of such disgraceful acts, they probably aren't afraid of what people say.
She's just providing Gu Xi with material and inspiration for her stories; there's nothing wrong with saying it.
Ye Fenghua keeps her word.
When she had time off the following weekend, she made a special trip back to her parents' home.
Since starting work in the county town, Ye Fenghua can only go home on weekends. Usually, she takes a bus from the county town back to the town on Saturday night and then walks home to her family compound.
Then, early Monday morning, I would rush to work in the county town.
Although the time was a bit tight, I was able to spend two nights at home with my family.
Ye Fenghua went back to her parents' home on Saturday night. Because it was too late to walk at night, she stayed overnight at the brigade's residence. She returned to the military family compound early on the weekend morning.
Commander Miao and the others knew that she was going to visit her parents' home this Saturday night, so they weren't worried when they didn't see her return.
Setting off early in the morning before the sun was too strong, Ye Fenghua walked for more than three hours before finally returning to the family compound, carrying large and small bags on a shoulder pole.
Commander Miao helped carry it inside and asked, "Why did you bring so much stuff back? Did your family give it to you?"
It was quite a surprise to see her bring so many things on her first visit to her parents' home.
"How could that be?" Ye Fenghua rolled her eyes at him. "You know what kind of people they are. Over the years, I've been the only one sending things to my parents' home. They've never given me anything to bring back. Even if they did, it would only be some vegetables, sweet potatoes, and things from the mountains."
These things are either grown on our own or found in the mountains, so they don't cost a penny.
Miao Cuini brought over a bowl of water and said, "Mom, you've worked so hard. Why didn't you ask Dad to help you carry all this stuff?"
Seeing her face flushed from the heat, I couldn't help but feel sorry for her.
Although we set off early in the morning, the weather got hot quickly, and the sun was already very strong.
Ye Fenghua was really thirsty, so she picked up the water and gulped down a big bowl of it.
After filling the container with water, she finally recovered.
Seeing how exhausted she was, Commander Miao couldn't help but feel sorry for her and said, "I have a bicycle ticket here. Why don't we buy a bicycle for our family? It will make it easier for you to commute to and from get off work, so you don't have to go to town to catch the bus before dawn."
There are very few buses from the town to the county seat, only two trips a day, one in the morning and one in the evening. The morning trip is very rushed, and since she lives in the family compound, she has to get up very early to go to town to catch the bus.
Ye Fenghua asked in surprise, "Where did you get a bicycle ticket?"
"I had someone replace it."
She immediately smiled, knowing that he had specially arranged for someone to replace it. She did not refuse and said, "Okay, then let's buy one."
She had worked for more than half a year and had saved up her salary without spending much of it, so she didn't hesitate to buy a bicycle.
Moreover, buying a bicycle makes it more convenient for her to travel back and forth, and it also makes it easier for her to go to the countryside to help buy poultry such as chickens and ducks to bring to Gu Xi.
Seeing that Ye Fenghua did not refuse, Commander Miao smiled as well.
Seeing her open the two burlap sacks she had brought back, he couldn't help but say, "Please sit down, I'll take care of unpacking."
"I don't need you," Ye Fenghua said without looking up. "These are for Gu Xi and Qiao Hui, and I have to deliver them to them."
Commander Miao stood there for a while, then couldn't help but feel speechless.
It really was for Gu Xi and the others. There were three chickens in a snakeskin bag. The weather was hot, and the three chickens were a little listless in the snakeskin bag, but they were still in good spirits and didn't get sick.
Throughout the journey, Ye Fenghua allowed them to breathe, and only when they were almost at the army base did she stuff their necks, which were sticking out of the snakeskin bag, back in, so they weren't suffocated for too long.
Ye Fenghua packed her things and rushed out the door to take them to Gu Xi's place.
She walks with a brisk pace, full of energy, and doesn't look tired at all.
Commander Miao turned to his eldest daughter and said, "Look at your mother. Every time she comes back, the first thing she does is go to sit next door. If you didn't know better, you'd think the next door was her home."
This statement carries a hint of sourness, as if wives have all become someone else's.
Miao Cuini couldn't help but laugh. "Dad, you know Mom and Aunt Gu are on good terms. Whenever Mom comes back to the family compound, she likes to talk to Aunt Gu."
"And what about your Aunt Gu?" Commander Miao asked curiously, feeling that Commander Shen's wife and his wife were not the same kind of people, so how could they chat so happily?
What do they have to talk about?
Miao Cuini: "Aunt Gu is very welcoming to our mom, of course. She loves to hear about what's going on outside, whether it's about her work at the paper mill, her life, or other people's stories. She likes it all, saying it helps her gather material and find inspiration."
Commander Miao finally realized.
Is Commander Shen using his wife as a source of material for his writing?
However, his wife has a good temper, works hard, and isn't the type to hold grudges, so many people usually talk to her, and she always gets a lot of information. It's definitely the right thing to do to talk to her.
**
Seeing Ye Fenghua carrying large and small bags, Gu Xi couldn't help but ask, "Sister-in-law Ye, why are you carrying so much stuff?"
She rushed forward to help carry it over, so as not to tire her out.
"They were all collected from the village and aren't worth much," Ye Fenghua said. "I brought you three chickens this time, two for you and one for Qiao Hui, to help you get some nourishment."
Qiao Hui is still breastfeeding, so she needs to take extra care of her health.
The rest were some dried goods, which the villagers had obtained from the mountains and dried themselves. They were all very honest and inexpensive, so she simply brought them over, keeping some for her own family and letting Gu Xi and the others try the rest.
Qiao Hui heard Ye Fenghua's voice from next door and came over with her daughter in her arms.
Upon learning that Ye Fenghua had specially brought her a chicken from the countryside to nourish her body, she thanked her profusely, went home to get the money, and gave it to her as payment for the chicken.
It was agreed that if Ye Fenghua had time, she could go back to her parents' home and help get some chickens, ducks, and other livestock. Gu Xi would buy them at market price, which didn't require meat coupons and was quite cheap.
Since Gu Xi and Qiao Hui are good friends, and Qiao Hui is breastfeeding, if there are any extras, we can also get one for her.
Gu Xi asked Ye Fenghua to sit down and enjoy the fan, and served her a bowl of cooled mung bean soup to help her cool down.
Since the start of the hottest days of summer, their family has always kept mung bean soup or herbal tea on hand. They cook it early in the morning, cool it down in cold water, and then keep it cool. They especially like to add some sugar to the mung bean soup, making it sweet and delicious.
As Ye Fenghua drank the sweet mung bean soup, she felt refreshed all over. She told them, "I went back to my parents' house last night. It turns out they wanted me to go back so that my husband, Lao Miao, could intervene and try to get my nephew's girlfriend to quit her job."
Gu Xi, Qiao Hui, and Xu Yuansheng, who had come over specifically to listen to the gossip, were all greatly surprised.
"That's how it is?"
"Could it be that you're trying to use Commander Miao's influence to suppress your nephew's girlfriend's family?"
"I thought they would ask Commander Miao to help me find another job."
These last words were spoken by Xu Yuansheng, who realized that she had been thinking too simply.
The Ye family didn't want to lose a job; they wanted the woman to marry into the family without asking for anything in return.
Ye Fenghua laughed and said, "That won't do! If Lao Miao can really help find a job, why doesn't he arrange one for me first? Why should we give it to them?" Then she snorted, "In a few years, when my daughter graduates from high school, we'll arrange one for her first too."
They don't care about their own daughter, so why would they care about their nephew's job? She's not that noble.
"That makes sense."
Gu Xi and Qiao Hui both agreed with this point.
When it comes to finding jobs, arranging them would inevitably involve owing favors. No matter how close Ye Fenghua's nephews are, can they be as close as her own children? If Commander Miao were to actually arrange jobs for others, he would only do so for his own children first.
Ye Fenghua continued, "Of course I refused. It's impossible for me to let Lao Miao get involved in this kind of thing."
To be honest, she was quite angry when she heard her parents and brother and sister-in-law say that. She wondered what her family thought of Lao Miao. They didn't care at all whether this matter would have any impact on Lao Miao.
"Aren't they very angry?" Xu Yuansheng asked.
"So what?" Ye Fenghua sneered. "I'm angry too. I can't joke around with my husband Lao Miao's future! Besides, my nephew got someone's daughter pregnant, so he has to obediently marry her and give her a job, that's only fair..."
In the end, I suddenly remembered that Xu Yuansheng didn't have a girlfriend yet, so I quickly shut up.
Xu Yuansheng didn't think anything of it. When she lived in the village before, she heard a lot of dirty and vulgar language, and even more explicit words. What was this?
However, she was sensible enough to pick up Qiao Hui's daughter and take her aside to play, so as not to disturb their conversation.
Ye Fenghua continued to talk to Gu Xi and Qiao Hui about this matter. Her family was indeed very angry about her refusal, but she didn't care at all and remained firm in her stance, refusing to budge.
In the end, she didn't stay at home anymore, but went to stay at a relative's house.
“Next time they ask me to go back, I definitely won’t go back.” She complained to the two of them, “Every time I go back, nothing good comes of it. I’m really worried that if I go back one day, either my husband or me or my children will be asked this or that by them, and I might end up being implicated by them. I’d better just forget about it.”
Her patience with her family was gradually wearing thin.
After Ye Fenghua finished talking to Gu Xi and Qiao Hui, she went back and told Commander Miao about it.
When Commander Miao learned that she had rejected the Ye family's proposal, he said with surprise, "Comrade Ye is quite remarkable. You are becoming more and more like the 'Comrade Ye' in the story written by Commander Chen's wife. Perhaps one day, you will become that remarkable Comrade Ye."
Ye Fenghua blushed slightly upon hearing this, but she was quite pleased inside.
She wasn't very literate, so after Gu Xi's second story was published, she asked someone to buy two copies: one for her children and one for herself.
In order to understand the story, she even got a dictionary. When she was alone in her dormitory at night, she would read the story while looking at the dictionary. Over the past few months, she has learned quite a few words.
Unbeknownst to her, she was also influenced by "Comrade Ye" in the story.
-
After some time, Ye Fenghua finally received the news that her nephew's marriage had been settled. In the end, her sister-in-law gave up her job to her future daughter-in-law. It is said that the two families signed a contract for the transfer of the job in the presence of the brigade leader, the secretary, and others.
Ye Fenghua couldn't describe the feeling in her heart.
Twenty years ago, she was forced by her family to give up her job to her sister-in-law who was about to marry into the family.
Years later, her sister-in-law, who had taken the job, was also pressured by the whole family to give it to her daughter-in-law who was about to marry into the family. It's true that fortunes change.
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