With the elders present, the meal was just about eating and reminiscing, and no one drank alcohol.
So after dinner, He Tingjun was dragged to another place by his cousins to chat and drink.
The brothers had known each other for many years, so he couldn't refuse and came to ask Yun Qiao's opinion. Yun Qiao would not stop him and reminded him, "You can go, but don't go too late. Come back early in the evening."
"Don't worry, it won't be too late." He Tingjun took Yun Qiao's hand and said, "It's not easy to come back once. If you are not impatient to deal with the elders, you can go anywhere you want."
Yun Qiao nodded: "I want to go to my old home and see a friend."
"Okay. Wait for me, I'll get you something." He Tingjun said, and walked towards his cousins.
Yun Qiao didn't understand what was going on. He saw from a distance that He Tingjun was talking to his cousins. Then his cousins took something out of their pockets and handed it to him.
He Tingjun took the things his cousin gave him and walked up to Yun Qiao and gave them to Yun Qiao.
Yun Qiao looked down and found that they were food coupons and meat coupons from Shanghai. Although the face value was not large, there were still several kilograms of them scattered here and there.
He Tingjun said: "With these food coupons and meat coupons, I can treat good friends to a meal if I meet them."
He was so thoughtful that even Yun Qiao himself didn't think of exchanging for local food coupons.
Yun Qiao felt warm in his heart. He took the food coupons and meat coupons and carefully put them away. "Thank you."
He Tingjun smiled and ruffled her hair. "Come with me, why are you being so polite?"
"Do you need me to take you there?"
"No." Yun Qiao smiled and said, "Don't forget, I also grew up in Shanghai. I know the roads around here very well."
"Okay." He Tingjun nodded: "Take Yanyan and be careful, don't go to remote places."
"Know."
He Tingjun couldn't help but give instructions again and again, and was finally pulled away by his cousins who couldn't wait any longer.
The elders had already left, and after He Tingjun left, Yun Qiao took He Yan on a scooter and headed to the neighborhood where he grew up.
After getting off the bus, Yun Qiao first went to the grocery store to buy some cakes, and then went to the alley where the Ye family lived.
I haven't been back for five years, but the alley is still the same. Even the osmanthus trees on the roadside are exactly the same as I remember.
Entering the alley, the first house is Chen Anna's villa, but now the villa has completely changed its appearance. The house has been rented to dozens of families, and there are messy shacks in the yard. The windows of every room upstairs are full of clothes drying. From a distance, it looks like a large gray and black flags, full of ominousness.
Further in is the Ye family's house. The second and third floors are also in a mess, with clothes hanging on the windows. Only the yard on the first floor is relatively tidy.
Gao Xiaoping and his wife have rented the house for five years since Yunqiao went to the countryside. During these five years, she remitted the rent to her on time every year. After receiving the remittance, Yunqiao kept none of it and asked He Tingjun to transfer it all to Uncle Ye for spending.
In mid-1971, Gao Xiaoping sent her a letter to the Northeast, saying that a female comrade named "Ye Lin" had come to her house to ask for rent, and after she refused, she was ordered to move out in the name of the landlord.
After being rejected by Gao Xiaoping, he still refused to give in and asked people from the street office to come to her house to put pressure on her.
Fortunately, Gao Xiaoping and his wife were not pushovers, and the landlord's name was indeed not Ye Lin's, so Ye Lin returned empty-handed.
But because of this incident, Gao Xiaoping also wanted to back out and tactfully stated that she would not renew the rent after it expired.
At that time, Yun Qiao was still pregnant with He Yan and could not travel far, so she could only call Uncle Ye who was far away at the Cannery in Xishe and ask for their opinions over the phone.
Uncle Ye was at work at the time, and it was Aunt Li Baiqiu who called back.
Li Baiqiu begged her on the phone to keep Gao Xiaoping as a tenant, even if it meant reducing the rent, but she must not let Gao Xiaoping move out.
Ye Lin had her eyes on the house, and Li Baiqiu was afraid that as soon as Gao Xiaoping moved out, Ye Lin would move in with her family.
It is easy to invite a god but difficult to send him away. If Ye Lin really moves in, things will be troublesome.
The couple had wasted half a day, and if even these houses were taken away by Ye Lin, they would really have no desire to return to Shanghai.
Faced with his aunt's tearful request, Yun Qiao could only try his best to help her persuade Gao Xiaoping.
Fortunately, Gao Xiaoping was a person who cherished the old times. After listening to Yun Qiao's explanation, she did not mention the matter of canceling the lease and paid the rent according to the originally agreed price.
Even after the house was demolished and they moved out, new tenants were found for them seamlessly. The new tenants moved in within a day, leaving Ye Lin no chance to do anything bad.
However, this incident happened two years later, so let’s not talk about it for now.
Gao Xiaoping was still at work in the afternoon, and the gate of the yard was locked, so Yun Qiao didn't go over. He took a look and continued walking towards Qin Lili's house.
Qin Lili's mother was at home. When she heard the knock on the door, she was very surprised to see Yun Qiao. "Yun Qiao, when did you come back?"
"Just got back yesterday." Yun Qiao placed the cakes in her hand on the table at her home and asked with a smile, "Auntie, where's Lili? Is she home?"
"Lili got married years ago and she is now in her own home." As soon as Qin Lili's mother told Yun Qiao the address of Qin Lili's in-laws' home, Yun Qiao knew that Qin Lili was marrying the same man from her previous life.
Qin Lili's mother said, "Lili has a good relationship with you and wanted to tell you about her marriage, so she wrote you a letter before the New Year and sent it to you. I wonder if you received it?"
Yun Qiao shook her head. "No. I went with my husband to visit my in-laws in the southwest before the Lunar New Year. I might have missed Lili's letter."
"That's probably it." Qin Lili's mother said with some regret: "Unfortunately, I just missed it."
Yun Qiao smiled and said, "It's okay. I'll go find Lili later and congratulate her in person."
After saying goodbye to Qin Lili's mother, Yun Qiao found Qin Lili's new home according to the address.
Qin Lili happened not to be at work. When she opened the door and saw Yun Qiao, she was stunned and remained in a daze for a long time without reacting.
Yun Qiao laughed dumbly and waved his hand in front of Qin Lili's eyes. "What? Are you so excited to see me? Are you so happy that you can't even speak?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
