Chapter 1633 The Iron Lady Gets an Awakening
On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, Li Ye, just like last year, went to pay New Year's visits with Wen Qingsheng and Wen Guohua. They had a simple lunch outside and didn't return home until the afternoon.
When I got home, I found the yard full of people who had come to wish me a Happy New Year.
In fact, Li Ye didn't really appreciate insincere formalities. For example, every year, Aunt Li from the neighborhood would bring a group of neighborhood boys to wish Li Ye a Happy New Year, because Li Ye had helped them find jobs.
However, when Li Ye saw how reserved and awkward they were in front of him, he felt that this kind of New Year's greeting could be skipped.
But the people who came to wish him a Happy New Year today truly made Li Ye happy.
Hu Man, Li Dayong, Fu Yingjie, Jiang Xiaoyan, Yan Jinbu, and Han Xia—the former eight-member group—have reunited after several years, a rare occurrence.
After the eight of them walked together from the backyard of the Second Grain Store to Beijing, they still often got together for meals. However, after starting work, Hu Man, Han Xia, and Li Dayong stayed in Beijing, while Han Xia, Yan Jinbu, and Fu Yingjie returned to Dongshan.
Although everyone still tries to catch up with Li Ye during the Lunar New Year, the eight of them are now separated by distance, making it much harder for them to get together.
Often, when Li Ye went back to his hometown to pay respects at his ancestors' graves, Han Xia and Yan Jinbu, along with Fu Yingjie, would go to visit him. And one day after the New Year, Hu Man and Han Xia would again come to Li Ye's house for a free meal.
This year, Li Ye did not return to his hometown to pay respects at his ancestors' graves, and he thought he would not be able to see Han Xia, Yan Jinbu, and Fu Yingjie again. Unexpectedly, they arrived in Beijing on the first day of the Lunar New Year.
Not only did they arrive in the capital, but their children and family also came along. A large group of people, laughing and joking, filled the courtyard of Old Li's house with the local dialect of Qingshui County, making Grandma Wu Juying extremely happy.
"You guys! Stay here tonight, and have a good time exploring the capital tomorrow and the day after. All the shopping malls and amusement parks in the capital will be open during the New Year."
Don't worry about not having a place to live. Just two streets south is my old woman's yard. Seven or eight rooms are empty year after year; it's so lifeless there."
Wu Juying has been in Beijing for several years, and she tries to speak Mandarin in a high-pitched voice every day, which makes her feel extremely awkward. Now that so many fellow villagers have come, she doesn't find it annoying at all after a few days of fun.
Li Ye quickly invited a few classmates to sit down. It had been several years since they had all been together like this, and they were all quite emotional.
Han Xia said with a smile, "Li Ye, you didn't go back to your hometown to pay respects at your ancestors' graves this year, so a few of us discussed it and decided to come to Beijing for a stroll instead."
Anyway, conditions are better now. We can come and go as we please, unlike back when we had to buy train tickets in advance and it would take two hours to get from home to the train station.”
"Two hours? That's because you can ride in Li Ye's Dongfeng bus. Otherwise, you'd have to go to the county bus station two hours in advance to queue up. You'd have to leave home before dawn, and if you're late, there won't be any tickets left."
Fu Yingjie remarked with emotion, "Back when we first came from Qingshui County, we were much like Granny Liu in 'Dream of the Red Chamber'—everything was new and exciting, and we didn't understand anything."
At the time, with Li Ye looking out for us in every way, we didn't think much of it. But after starting work and hearing about our colleagues' experiences, we realized how many detours we had avoided!
Li Ye quickly waved his hand and said, "Hey, hey, we've been brothers for years, don't be so formal! You're a division-level cadre, don't you know what's inappropriate?"
Fu Yingjie opened his mouth, then shook his head helplessly and said, "Hey, Li Ye, you're always like this. You help others without asking for anything in return, and you don't even let anyone talk about it. I feel luckier and luckier these past few years, lucky to have met you, Li Ye, when I was at the No. 2 Middle School in the county."
Sigh~
Jiang Xiaoyan suddenly sighed and murmured, "Actually, some things don't need to be said; everyone remembers them in their hearts."
Li Ye once told us that within ten years we would all be living good lives. When we asked him how good, he simply said very good. Who would have thought it would be this good?
Fu Yingjie immediately chimed in, "I never expected this, absolutely never expected this. Back then, all I wanted was to get out of Qingshui County, get a government job, and be able to buy a roast chicken whenever I wanted after receiving my salary, instead of just watching and drooling."
Han Xia burst into laughter: "Hahaha, Fu Yingjie, is that all you're capable of? Getting paid to eat roast chicken? And a whole one at that?"
Fu Yingjie immediately retorted, "Hey, hey, how dare you say that to me? Don't think I don't know what Yan Jinbu wants. He's been hoping for new shoes every day—a pair of Warrior shoes, a pair of Golden Monkey shoes. You can ask him if you don't believe me."
“.”
Han Xia smiled and didn't ask her husband, Fu Yingjie, if what he said was true, because she knew it definitely wasn't.
Back then, how many people in the entire No. 2 Middle School of the county could wear Warrior shoes like Li Ye? As for Golden Monkey leather shoes, many people could only own them when they got married. It was not surprising at all that a poor child wearing thousand-layer soles had such a dream.
But what about now?
When Han Xia and Yan Jinbu returned to Dongshan after graduation, their husband was assigned to Zicheng Chemical Plant. Later, Li Kaijian invited him to work at Qingshui County Fertilizer Plant after three visits to his home.
Now, seven or eight years have passed, and the couple are now the chief engineer and deputy general manager of production at Qingshui Chemical, respectively. Their various benefits and treatments have increased along with Qingshui Chemical. They were provided with a private car two years ago. Otherwise, they could come to Beijing whenever they want.
Fu Yingjie was assigned to the Provincial Department of Industry. After presiding over several major import projects, he was riding high and his career was going smoothly. He is now an important reserve cadre in the department. His salary may not be as high as Han Xia and her husband's, but the various hidden benefits are beyond the reach of ordinary people.
Thinking back to those days in the backyard of the Second Grain Store, when a meal of pickled fish made all those brothers and sisters eat until their noses were bubbling and they licked the bowls clean, it feels like a lifetime ago.
And they all understand now that this is just the beginning.
It has only been twelve years since we left Qingshui County. The oldest of us is only thirty-three or thirty-four. We still have plenty of time to develop. What will it be like in another ten years or so?
Perhaps Li Ye's "very good" was the most beautiful expectation! There is no best, only better.
Just then, Jiang Xiaoyan's mother, Chen Jinhua, suddenly startled everyone with her loud voice.
"Hey, Aunt Li, let's talk about college students! They're great in every way, except for one thing: they're too picky about finding a partner. They think this one is too short, and that one has too dark skin."
"My daughter Xiaoyan has been out of school for seven or eight years now, and Li Ye has introduced her to three blind dates, but she only managed to find one last year, and we're planning to get married this March."
“.”
Li Ye and the others all turned to look at Jiang Xiaoyan, their smiles playful.
"Oh, so the Iron Lady has finally figured it out?"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com