"Secretary Yu, what a rare guest!" Lu Wanqing greeted him with a smile, though her smile seemed somewhat insincere.
The last time they met was on the first day of the Lunar New Year, when she and Lin Ye went to his house to offer New Year's greetings. As it was the secretary's house and he was an elder, many people came to offer their New Year's greetings to him. At that time, Lu Wanqing left after putting down the gifts, and Yu Guanghui was busy greeting guests and didn't even have time to talk to her.
Yu Guanghui grinned, his face crinkling with wrinkles, and pushed his daughter, Yu Meifeng, in front of her.
“Aye isn’t here! This is my daughter, you haven’t met her before, have you? She came back from out of town for the New Year.”
Yu Meifeng was wearing a woolen overcoat and leather shoes. Her bangs were curled and stuck to her forehead. She thought she was very fashionable. When she saw Lu Wanqing's simple attire, she was quite disapproving of the trip.
"Hello, you're the educated youth's wife that Lin Ye married!" Yu Meifeng rolled her eyes, her smile forced.
Lu Wanqing found it amusing. Why would someone so arrogant come looking for her?
Yu Guanghui quickly gave her an answer. It turned out that Yu Meifeng's husband was the factory manager of a clothing factory in Dongguan. Recently, singers in the port city have been wearing cheongsams, and he wanted to get a share of the market, but he couldn't find a source of goods. This time, he went back to his hometown with Yu Meifeng, which was a good opportunity to see the clothing styles here.
Knowing that Yu Meifeng wanted to find someone to make clothes, Yu Guanghui thought of Lu Wanqing and recommended her to her.
So you needed something from them, huh? And you still look down on people like that!
Lu Wanqing chuckled, "My temple is too small; I'm afraid there isn't a Bodhisattva you can worship here. You should find someone else!"
Yu Meifeng never expected that she would be treated this way after lowering herself to ask Yu Guanghui to design clothes. She immediately pulled a long face and said to Yu Guanghui, "Dad, I told you I wouldn't come! You're just wasting my time. Huang Ming went to several clothing factories in the county town but couldn't find anything satisfactory. What good styles can he find in the countryside? Let's go home."
Yu Guanghui smiled apologetically at Lu Wanqing and followed Yu Meifeng out, coaxing her as they walked: "Girl, don't be angry. I was just trying to help you. Who knew she would be so ungrateful?"
He deliberately lowered his voice, thinking that Lu Wanqing hadn't heard him. He was really shameless to flatter his daughter.
No wonder Yu Guanghui fawned over his daughter. When she came back this time, she brought a lot of good things for the family, such as clothes, food and drinks. Everyone received a gift, and she even gave the old couple two hundred yuan, which made them ecstatic.
However, the only thing she didn't bring back was her husband.
Yu Meifeng and Huang Ming returned before the New Year and insisted on staying at the best guesthouse in the county town instead of going back to the countryside.
During the Spring Festival, only Yu Meifeng came home for a New Year's Eve dinner before running back to the county town.
According to Huang Ming, he is a person of status, wearing a suit and a woolen overcoat. How could he live in the countryside? The toilets in the countryside stink and the beds are uncomfortable. Why should he suffer like that?
After Yu Meifeng married him, she didn't work and relied on her husband for everything, so naturally, she couldn't have any complaints. It was already quite good that he came back with her.
Lu Wanqing laughed it off, and Lin Ye, after selling vegetables, told her about it as a joke.
"I met Yu Meifeng twice when I was a child. She was quite disdainful of people back then. Now that she's married well, she naturally looks down on us country folk even more," Luo Hao commented.
Upon hearing this, Lin Ye chuckled and said, "Wife, if you hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have remembered that there was such a person in the team. It's been so many years since I've been back to my hometown, I don't even know what he looks like anymore."
"You're dressed so fashionably, do you want to go take a look?" Lu Wanqing teased.
Lin Ye's neck turned red with urgency. "Why would I go see her? What a show-off! What I mean is, if she's not important, let's not mention her."
Lu Wanqing then asked Lin how much the wild vegetables cost.
"The cabbage weighed 2,100 jin in total and sold for 105 yuan. The other vegetables weighed 500-600 jin and sold for 42 yuan," Lin Ye reported to her.
Luo Hao sighed again, saying that they could earn so much money just by growing some vegetables in a winter, thanks to the policies set by Wang Guangming; otherwise, they would have had to find their own way to sell the vegetables.
“Ah Ye, it’s a good opportunity for their family to reunite. Why don’t we invite them to dinner tonight?” Lu Wanqing suggested.
Lin Ye agreed: "Okay, I'll have Xiao Cui invite them. Same as always, Luo Hao, you should invite Chun Lei too. The more people, the more fun it will be. The kids will have more to talk about."
After saying that, Lin Ye saw that the sun was about to set and hurriedly started working.
Lu Xiuwu hadn't finished eating the wild rabbit he'd hunted, so he took out two more, preparing to stew one and braise the other.
He still had a lot of beef left from the last purchase, so he cut off another piece to make a radish stew with beef. Radishes are the most nourishing food to eat in winter.
Besides these two main dishes, the rest were just some home-style dishes like stir-fried pork with chili peppers and stir-fried cabbage.
While Lin Ye was cleaning the beef, Lin Xiaocui returned after completing her task. "Big brother, they'll be here soon. Sister Wang needs to feed Yao Yao first before bringing her over."
Lin Ye hummed twice in response, glancing out of the corner of his eye at Wang Xu standing outside the courtyard. He had come over to play with Lin Xiaocui first.
Lu Wanqing then gave them some leftover firecrackers from the New Year celebrations and told them to go play in the threshing ground first.
Lin Xiaocui ran out like a crazy girl, carrying a firecracker.
Soon after, Luo Chunlei arrived and followed the two figures.
Three older children, each holding a firecracker, attracted a group of little ones to surround them, and the threshing ground was filled with the children's joyful laughter.
Lu Wanqing looked at all this and couldn't help but smile. Childhood was so good, carefree, and she could be so happy just watching others play with firecrackers.
When the dishes were almost ready, Wang Guangming's family arrived, and Zhao Xiaolan naturally hugged and kissed Yao Yao affectionately again. She really adored this little baby and wouldn't let go of her.
Everyone enjoyed the meal together. Lin Ye's first toast was to thank Wang Guangming for coming up with such a good policy, which allowed them to sell the produce they grew at home.
“Actually, other communes have been doing this for a long time. Without the countryside providing vegetables and fruits, what would people in the city eat? This is called mutual benefit.” Wang Guangming had obviously done his research.
Lu Wanqing naturally understood the ins and outs of the matter. Agricultural product purchasing stations also cater to different customers. If Wang Guangming hadn't given prior notice, Lin Ye's vegetables wouldn't have sold so smoothly.
A group of people were chatting when someone mentioned that Yu Guanghui's daughter had returned, and the conversation immediately turned to that.
"That Yu Meifeng, I don't know what she's so smug about. Her own husband doesn't come back to pay New Year's respects to his father, and she's still foolishly running errands for him!" Luo Hao said with disdain after Lu Wanqing recounted Yu Meifeng's visit that afternoon.
Chen Xiangxiu had been eating quietly, but now she looked up and said calmly, "Is she looking for a cheongsam? I do have one."
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