Upon entering the courtyard, one sees the dim yellow light inside the house, a layer of fog on the windows, and the kitchen door open, filled with the aroma of food and swirling steam.
Upon entering the house, Gu Lanyan's pot of steaming hot meat buns had just come out of the pot. Hua Kai swallowed hard and said, "Mom, they smell so good! I'm going to eat five tonight."
Gu Lanyan laughed and said, "If you're not afraid of being too full, then eat. Hurry up and go inside and warm up on the kang (heated brick bed). You're not as resistant to the cold as the young man."
Hua Kai agreed, placed the study on the cabinet, then washed her hands and went up to the kang (heated brick bed). The kang was very hot, and after basking for a while, she felt warm all over.
A moment later, Hua Wanjiang came in from outside: "Look what I brought back for you guys?"
Hua Kai climbed to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and looked out the doorway: "Dad, what good stuff is it?"
Hua Wanjiang walked in carrying three strings of candied hawthorns and five or six ice creams: "Your uncle from Guangdong sells candied hawthorns and ice cream. He just came back and had these left over, so I'll buy them all."
At this moment, Gu Lanyan came in, looking at Hua Wanjiang with a mixture of amusement and exasperation: "Is it time to eat? Are you asking them to eat now or after the meal? It hasn't snowed yet, so the ice cream won't freeze!"
Hua Wanjiang laughed at himself: "When I saw it, I thought the child would like to eat it. You see, I didn't think of that. We have to eat first. If we leave these outside, they probably won't dissolve properly after the meal. We can drink them as a beverage."
Hua Kai smiled as she looked at her adorable father, put on her shoes, and got off the kang (heated brick bed), saying, "Dad, put them in separate bowls so the flavors don't mix."
With that, he and Hua Qingyang went to find a bowl.
After setting out the ice cream and candied hawthorns, it was time to eat. In addition to steamed buns, there was also rice noodle soup.
After finishing her meal, Hua Kai walked around the yard twice before getting onto the kang (a heated brick bed) to test Hua Qingyang's studies for the week.
Hua Qingyi was also busy, looking at the architecture books he had bought at the library a few days ago.
Seeing how diligently the three children were learning, Hua Wanjiang and Gu Lanyan were pleased and, without disturbing them, sat and talked in the kitchen.
Lying on the kang (heated brick bed) that night, Gu Lanyan told Hua Kai about Jiang Lanfeng and her husband going to the market. She said that the two of them were now selling pickled vegetables. Gu Lanyan's aunt had married a Korean man and learned a lot about pickling from her mother-in-law. She gave the pickling recipe to Jiang Lanfeng when she came. Although they didn't earn much, the cost was low, the produce could be stored, and there was no risk.
Hua Kai also knows that everyone's thoughts and pursuits are different, and if they think it's good, then it's really good.
The mother and daughter didn't know what time they finally went to sleep.
The next morning, Gu Lanyan and Lin Wenji went to the market, while Huakai and her brothers stayed home to study.
A little while later, Li Jing arrived and said that Hua Lin and Wang Shengli were fighting, and the fight had spread to the main road. She had come to find Hua Kai to watch the commotion.
Hua Kai was interested in this, so she put on her coat and followed Li Jing in the direction of Wang Shengli's house.
However, it was a bit late when they arrived. The couple had already finished fighting. Hua Lin's hair looked like a bird's nest, her eyes were bloodshot, and the buttons on her cotton-padded jacket were torn. She looked quite disheveled.
Wang Shengli's face looked like it had been scratched by Hua Lin; there were two red marks that had bled.
There were quite a few onlookers around. Winter had arrived, and with no work to do, people were naturally idle and would come out to watch any excitement.
Wang Shengli's mother stood beside her son, feeling heartbroken for him. Then she scolded Hua Lin, "You spendthrift wife, you actually hit your own husband! You have no shame!"
Hua Lin trembled with anger: "Your son went gambling again and lost all my earrings. Can't I even say anything?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Shengli's mother frowned and said to Wang Shengli in a nonchalant tone, "What's wrong with you? Didn't you say you'd quit?"
Wang Shengli, not daring to look up, said, "I have to quit slowly, right? How can you quit all at once?"
Wang Shengli's mother said to Hua Lin, "That's right, we have to take it slowly. Now that you've married into our Wang family, you're a member of the Wang family. Don't run back to your parents' home for every little thing. Aren't you ashamed to have so many people watching?"
Hua Lin looked at the people around her, feeling somewhat numb. She knew that living with Wang Shengli made her lose all face.
But when she saw the flowers bloom, her eyes widened suddenly, and she turned and ran into the house.
At this moment, the last thing Hua Lin wanted to see was Hua Kai, because she used to suppress her in everything, and now that she was living such an unhappy life, wasn't this just giving Hua Kai something to laugh at?
Seeing Hua Lin enter the house, Wang Shengli and his mother also entered.
Li Jing looked disappointed: "We're late, is that all?"
Hua Kai smiled and said, "We've seen a little bit, that's enough. Let's go back."
As they walked back, Li Jing took out a handful of roasted hazelnuts from her pocket and gave them to Hua Kai: "I even brought food for watching the fun, but I didn't need it."
The two ate hazelnuts as they walked.
After walking a few steps, I saw Huo Yanping rushing over.
Hua Kai politely stopped and called out to her second aunt.
Huo Yanping stopped, wanting to ask what the flower was, but she moved her lips without making a sound, and then ran forward.
Hua Kai understood what she was thinking. Anyway, those who used to bully her family were now going through hardships, and she was happy about that.
In the afternoon, Hua Kai and Hua Qingyi also returned to the city.
On Monday at noon, Ye Yifan came to pick up Hua Kai to go to the factory, saying that everything was ready and they were just waiting to start work.
When they arrived at the factory and got out of the car, they saw that even the iron gate had been newly painted, but the signboard hadn't been hung up yet. It would only be hung up when the factory opened. The two of them had already decided on the name: 1992 Sofa Factory. This way, they could clearly see the age of their factory, and it would become their signboard decades later.
Of course, there's another reason: Hua Kai is from 1992, and she wants to remember this era.
Once inside the courtyard, the office walls had been repainted and some furniture replaced. Hua Kai and Ye Yifan would share an office, since neither of them could stay there all day, so there was no need to waste space.
All the machines in the factory have been repaired, all the necessary parts have been replaced, and all the workers have been hired. The factory will open on the 18th day of the lunar calendar this month.
Hua Kai had no objections whatsoever, saying that they would first produce a batch of sofas and beds, then take photos and make a catalog, and strive to have the city store renovated this month and open at the beginning of next month.
When they parted, Hua Kai asked Ye Yifan to come over on Wednesday evening so they could have dinner together and she would give him something.
Ye Yifan had been filled with anticipation these past two days after hearing that Hua Kai had something for him, and it was so mysterious.
Wednesday evening finally arrived, and Ye Yifan changed his clothes and went to the entrance of the No. 1 High School.
Hua Kai brought the finished clothes back at noon. She tried them on and they fit perfectly. She bought some more fabric and cotton, planning to take them back on the weekend and have Gu Lanyan make cotton-padded coats for everyone in the family, following the same pattern.
After school, Hua Kai ran out of the school carrying the clothes she had given to Ye Yifan.
Ye Yifan saw the flowers bloom and took a few steps forward: "What is that? It's so big?" Because he really hadn't guessed it would be clothes.
Hua Kai handed over the clothes in her hand: "The cotton-padded jacket I designed is quite in line with your taste. Take a look."
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