Chapter 53
"No, I don't want you to be too tired. Besides, we have food to eat when we work overtime at night, so we will definitely have enough to eat." Xie Jinxuan looked at Xia Qingtang's rosy face without blinking, and resisted the urge to hug her tightly. She just reached out and held her little hand, and then said: "I won't tell you anything, you go home first and go to bed early tonight."
"Okay, I understand. Then you work hard." After saying that, Xia Qingtang smiled at him, turned around and left.
When she returned home, her neighbors had all returned from get off work. When they saw her, they all greeted her and asked her to visit their home when she was free. Xia Qingtang agreed to all of them and also invited others to visit their home when they were free.
This row of small courtyards are basically inhabited by a large family. There are absolutely no couples living here like them, so many people look at her with envy.
After chatting with each other all the way as they walked into the house, Xia Qingtang hung up her backpack, changed her clothes, and went to make dinner for herself.
The spinach delivered yesterday must be eaten, and this vegetable cannot be left out, so she ate cold spinach in the evening and made herself a noodle dumpling soup. It was simple and quick, and she could have dinner in a short while.
Although he was eating alone, there was still a sense of ceremony. Xia Qingtang first turned on the radio to play the news, then put the cold spinach and noodle dumpling soup in bowls and plates and brought them to the dining table. Then he sat down and ate slowly facing the window.
Sitting here, you can see everything in the yard at a glance, and you can also see pedestrians passing by outside the iron gate.
Xia Qingtang thought about it in his mind and decided to plant trees where they could be seen. It would be better if they were bigger trees. That way, even if the curtains were not drawn, the neighbors would not be able to see what was going on in the living room when they passed by the iron gate.
While thinking about how to decorate the yard, Xia Qingtang slowly finished his dinner.
Although she hardly cooked during this period, her cooking skills had not deteriorated at all. She felt that the noodle dumpling soup she made was comparable to that of Aunt Liu. It was a pity that Xie Jinxuan didn't get to eat it today.
After dinner, she washed the dishes and boiled water for washing. When she finished showering and walked out of the bathroom, the light bulb in the living room flickered and the whole room became dark.
Xia Qingtang was unfamiliar with the layout of the new house, so she could only grope her way to the low cabinet in the living room in the dark. At this moment, she heard the child next door shouting, "Mom, there's a power outage! Other people's houses don't have electricity either! Where are the candles?"
She smiled, took out a candle and a matchbox from the low cabinet, lit them and placed them on the low cabinet.
With the warm light of the candle, Xia Qingtang looked at the time. It was only half past seven. Xie Jinxuan would definitely not come back so early. She found the kerosene lamp, lit it, blew out the candle, placed the kerosene lamp on the dining table, and then took out the novel she had read a few pages of last night and continued reading.
I read for an hour in the light of the kerosene lamp. It was already half past eight and Xie Jinxuan had not returned yet.
She didn't have to worry about his safety. After all, the family compound was close by, so there wouldn't be any problem even if he got off work at twelve o'clock. She just felt a little lonely.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help laughing again. If this happened in the later days when people could watch TV, even if Xie Jinxuan got off work at ten o'clock, she would have just finished watching the TV series.
She cheered herself up and read for a while. When it was almost nine o'clock, she finally heard the sound of the yard door being pushed open from outside.
Xia Qingtang hurried over with a kerosene lamp in hand: "Are you off work? Are you tired?"
Xie Jinxuan said softly: "I'm not tired, why haven't you slept yet?"
"If you don't come back, I'll go to sleep alone." Xia Qingtang said, "Are you hungry? Do you want to eat?"
"I'm a little hungry, but there's no need to cook anything special. I'll just make a cup of milk powder and eat two pieces of egg cake." Xie Jinxuan walked into the house, took off her cotton coat and hung it on the hanger, then went to the kitchen to wash her hands.
Xia Qingtang made him some milk powder, then took out the snacks and placed them on the coffee table: "Is there a power outage over there?"
"They have all stopped. We also work by kerosene lamps." Xie Jinxuan said: "Old Wei's eyesight is not good. He can't see clearly under the kerosene lamp. He is still in the office. I am considered fast, but I can't stay in this position for a long time. I must either take the college entrance examination to get promoted, or find a way to move around."
Xia Qingtang didn't understand this, she just said: "No matter what you do, I support you."
Xie Jinxuan smiled and took a sip of milk: "Aren't you afraid that I won't succeed? Will it be like this for the rest of my life?"
"Don't worry, if your life is like this, I'm still here. I can do the same when I have the ability in the future." Xia Qingtang patted his chest, "We are one family, so it doesn't matter if either of us succeeds. Even if neither of us succeeds, as long as we can live a safe and healthy life, that's also a victory."
Xie Jinxuan burst out laughing: "You have a lot of great principles. Tell me, how can you come up with so many great principles?"
"It's natural." Xia Qingtang changed the subject, "Are you all so busy recently?"
"Almost. I have to accompany my boss on a business trip this month. If you feel anxious being alone at home, you can go play with grandma, or just move back home." Xie Jinxuan said while eating egg cake.
"You don't have to worry about me. I know what I'm doing." Seeing that he had almost finished eating, Xia Qingtang took the kettle to the bathroom.
When Xie Jinxuan finished washing up and returned to the bedroom, she found a kerosene lamp on the desk, but Xia Qingtang had already curled up and fallen asleep.
In the next few days, he would come back around nine o'clock. Xia Qingtang would usually wait for him to come in and then give him some snacks. While he was washing up, she would go to the bedroom first, but by the time he entered the bedroom, Xia Qingtang had already fallen asleep.
Seeing that it was already Saturday, in the morning, Xia Qingtang ate the porridge and coarse flour buns that Xie Jinxuan brought back from the cafeteria, and slowly said: "Are you sure you can rest on Sunday?"
"Sure, what's wrong? Do you want to go out and play? Tell me where you want to go." Xie Jinxuan said immediately.
"I don't want to go out and play, I want to stay with you. This week, you came back too late at night, and we could only talk a few words in the morning." Xia Qingtang said: "I just... miss you a little bit."
Xie Jinxuan's heart softened, and she quickly held her hand: "Then we won't go anywhere on Sunday, just stay at home all day, and I will stay with you every step of the way."
"Okay, it's decided." Xia Qingtang smiled sweetly and continued to eat the coarse flour buns with pickles.
In fact, the two of them were just newlyweds, and they were forced to be vegetarians for so many days after just starting to eat meat. No one knew how Xie Jinxuan managed to hold back, but Xia Qingtang felt that this person had an extraordinary willpower.
After breakfast, Xie Jinxuan took the dishes to wash, and Xia Qingtang turned on the radio to listen to the news.
Recently everyone's attention has been on the war, because Xie Jinxuan's childhood friend Leng Feng will definitely go to the battlefield, so Xia Qingtang has also started to listen to the news every day.
As she listened, Xia Qingtang ran into the kitchen holding the radio: "Xie Jinxuan, it's starting..."
"I heard it." Xie Jinxuan put the washed dishes in the cupboard and wiped her hands on her apron. "Don't worry, Leng Feng will come back safely."
"Yes, it will definitely happen." Xia Qingtang said in a more confident tone than Xie Jinxuan.
She didn't even know Leng Feng, so she wasn't worried about that guy. She was just worried about Xie Jinxuan.
When he got to work at the factory, his colleagues were all talking about this incident. Li Yue didn't listen to the radio in the morning, so she grabbed Wu Feng and asked him to repeat the news he heard.
Xia Qingtang was called by Chairman Qin to the small office and assigned individual tasks to her.
Afterwards, Feng Xinhui accompanied Chairman Qin to the city to handle work. Seeing that the people in charge had gone out, Li Yue took out a cloth bag, took out a pair of half-made cloth shoes and continued working on them.
Zhang Ning said, "Xiao Li, even though Chairman Qin is out for a meeting, you can't stay in the office making shoes in the early morning. Don't we have work to do these two days? Have you finished it?"
"What work can I do when the leader is not here? If the leader can't see me, wouldn't it be a waste of time? I will work hard after Chairman Qin and others come back in the afternoon. It's not an urgent matter anyway, so it doesn't matter when I do it." Li Yue didn't care and continued to make cloth shoes.
Xia Qingtang looked over there and found that Li Yue was very skilled in making shoes and her movements in putting on the shoe uppers were very professional.
Seeing her looking at her, Li Yue asked, "Xiao Xia, why are you looking at me?"
"I don't know how to make these, so I took a look out of curiosity." Although Xia Qingtang suffered a lot of other hardships after marrying into the Kong family in her previous life, she had always bought her shoes in department stores and had no chance to learn how to make cloth shoes.
Li Yue said: "It's very simple. If you want to make cloth shoes, I can teach you. The tuition fee is not expensive. You just need to help me clean my desk for a year."
Before Xia Qingtang could say anything, Zhang Ning said, "Xiao Li, you are really good at calculating, aren't you? I want someone to clean your desk for a year just to learn how to make shoes from you? Aren't you bullying your junior colleagues?"
"How is it bullying? I teach her something, don't I need to charge her tuition? What do you men know? Making shoes is a skill, it's a craft, I charge her such a small tuition, it's already a bargain for her."
Wu Feng said, "Xiao Xia, Secretary Feng can also make shoes. If you want to learn, just ask Secretary Feng to teach you. She will definitely not charge you tuition."
"Hey! What's wrong with you? Are you trying to sabotage me on purpose?" Li Yue was unhappy.
Xia Qingtang quickly said, "Oh, I just watched Secretary Li make shoes. I'm lazy and don't plan to learn this. Thank you for your enthusiasm, Secretary Li. It's a pity that I'm too lazy."
Li Yue rolled her eyes and said, "You don't plan to learn? When you have a baby, are you going to keep buying shoes for it? Cloth shoes are best for children's feet."
"Let's talk about it after we have the baby. I'm still young, so I'll have some fun for a few years first." Xia Qingtang smiled.
Li Yue sneered, "Young people nowadays are more open-minded than we were back then. For example, I couldn't get pregnant after I got married, and my in-laws almost scolded me to death. Later, I finally got pregnant, and I was relieved. You have only been married for less than a year, and you still think it's okay. Just wait, if you still don't get pregnant after more than a year of marriage, then everything you do will be wrong, and you will have to depend on your in-laws' faces to eat at your meal."
As he was talking, a young worker of medium build walked down the corridor. He walked to the door of the big office, knocked on it, and asked timidly, "Is this... the trade union?"
"It's the trade union." Zhang Ning put the newspaper in his hand on the table, and then asked kindly: "Young comrade, what do you want to talk to our trade union about?"
"Yes, I have something I want to report to my leader..." The young worker walked in. Perhaps because he was nervous, he clutched the hem of his clothes tightly with both hands, as if he was going to tear his clothes apart.
Xia Qingtang remembered this worker. He was one of the new porters recruited into the factory this year. He was also a sent-down youth. His father was an accountant in the cotton mill. Although this position was a rough job, it was very good to be able to come back from the countryside, so the whole family was still very happy.
When Xia Qingtang met Accountant Liu yesterday, she thought he looked very happy. She didn't expect her son to report the situation today.
Zhang Ning said, "You are Accountant Liu's son, right?"
"Yes, I'm Liu Jun, I just came back from the countryside."
"Sit down there and tell me what you want to report." Zhang Ning looked at Wu Feng, "Take a note on a piece of paper."
"Yes." Wu Feng took out a pen and paper and began to record what Liu Jun said.
Liu Jun carefully sat down on the chair, then looked outside the corridor like a thief, and then whispered: "I want to report a situation, that is... does our factory have a rule that new employees are not allowed to work night shifts?"
Zhang Ning didn't understand, so he said, "I don't know about that. I think every department should have its own rules. Hey, Xiao Xia, didn't you work in the warehouse for a month or two? What did they say? Newcomers are not allowed to work night shifts?"
Xia Qingtang said: "I have only been in the warehouse for a short time. Besides, I am a female lesbian and I couldn't keep up with the work before, so I don't know what the rules of the warehouse are."
She actually understood the rules of the warehouse, but deliberately didn't want to say it. If Zhang Ning really wanted to know what the rules of the warehouse were, he could just go and ask the people in the warehouse. Why would he ask her?
Li Yue said, "Isn't it better not to work the night shift? Not arranging night shifts for you new comrades is a bargain for you! Xiao Xia came from the workshop, ask her, which girl wants to work the night shift? If you stay up all night until dawn, you can't even open your eyes, and you will easily become ugly."
Xia Qingtang didn't say anything. She knew it was like this in an ordinary workshop. It would definitely be better if she didn't have to work the night shift. However, it was just the opposite in the warehouse. The early and mid-day shifts during the day were the most tiring shifts, and they were all heavy physical work. The night shift, on the other hand, basically meant staying there and even lying down to sleep late at night.
Xia Daming has grown older and suffered more injuries in recent years, so the warehouse will arrange more night shifts for him to reduce the burden on his body.
The warehouse was originally short of labor, and now with the arrival of several new young male workers, the warehouse manager must have breathed a sigh of relief. He deliberately let the new young people work more during the day and left the night shift to old colleagues like Xia Daming, so that they don't have to retire early.
Internal retirement is definitely a good thing for some families, but the Xia family has already had Zhao Meizhen retire internally, and there are no other children in the family who need jobs, so Xia Daming definitely cannot retire internally. If he retires internally, this position will be wasted.
What's more, the salary for internal retirement is different from that for normal retirement. Xia Daming is only in his forties, and he will not be willing to retire until he is in his fifties.
There must be many old employees in the warehouse who think like him, and the director understands this, so it is normal that the new porter cannot be assigned to the night shift.
After listening to Li Yue's words, Liu Jun whispered, "Officer, you don't know... The night shift in our warehouse is easier. I've heard others mention that you don't have to move any big things at night, and you have time to sleep in the corner... So the night shift is a good shift in the warehouse, and everyone wants to work the night shift."
Zhang Ning then said, "So that's how it is. This is the first day I found out about this, too."
Liu Jun said: "That's exactly what happened."
"So what do you want to react to?"
"For the newcomers, we have not had a single night shift in this month's shifts. We have been assigned the morning and afternoon shifts, which are the heaviest shifts. I asked the director, and he said that this is the tradition of the warehouse. Newcomers cannot work the night shifts in their first year. I want to ask, is this true? Although we are newcomers, we are also human beings. If we are only assigned the most tiring shifts, even if we are young, we cannot bear it."
Zhang Ning listened and nodded seriously: "We already know your reaction, and we have recorded it here. Next, we will hold a meeting first, and then we will find the leader of your warehouse to verify whether this rule is in line with the situation."
"Well... then thank you, boss. I don't really have any other ideas. Just arrange three or four night shifts for me at least a month so I can take a break and catch my breath..."
"Okay, Secretary Wu, write down his needs as well."
"Yes, I have noted them all down." Wu Feng said as he wrote quickly.
Liu Jun then stood up happily: "Thank you, boss. My break is not long. I will go back to work now."
After saying that, he strode out.
After waiting for him to leave for a while, Zhang Ning said, "Young people nowadays really can't stand any hardship. They are young, so what's wrong with working a few more day shifts? The middle-aged and elderly people in the warehouse have been working for decades, and their backs have been broken for a long time. Otherwise, why did they recruit a few young people to be porters this time? Giving them jobs was supposed to help the warehouse do more work, but now they are so picky. Besides, they have only worked for a week, and they can't stick to it. They might as well go back to the countryside to continue farming."
Li Yue said: "That's right. He looks pretty good physically. He does some physical work and still reports the situation. What's there to report? It's normal for young people to work harder."
Wu Feng didn't say anything, but just held his notebook and said, "Vice Chairman, how should we deal with this matter?"
"When Chairman Qin comes back, go report to her and listen to Chairman Qin," said Zhang Ning.
"Okay, I understand."
Xia Qingtang did not express any opinion from beginning to end. She waited until the office quieted down and then continued to do her work.
In the afternoon, Chairman Qin and Feng Xinhui returned, and Wu Feng reported Liu Jun's opinions.
Chairman Qin said, "If the employees have complaints, we must help solve them. How about this? You and Xiao Xia go to the warehouse together and talk to the warehouse director and the old employees alone to see what the situation is over there."
"I'm with Xiao Xia?" Wu Feng asked, "Why are you looking for Xiao Xia?"
"She has worked in the warehouse and has written articles for them. The warehouse is able to add more staff now, all thanks to Xiao Xia. If you bring her over, the people in the warehouse will be more friendly to you."
Wu Feng laughed: "So that's how it is. I see. I'll go call her now."
Wu Feng returned to the big office and told Chairman Qin what he had said. Xia Qingtang then put away the paper, pen and notebook on the table and followed Wu Feng to the warehouse.
At this moment, the warehouse was working in full swing. Wu Feng and his friends waited for a while before the warehouse manager came out.
"Director Wu, what's the matter? We have just started work and we are very busy."
"It's like this. Our union wants to understand the situation. We want to ask how you arrange the shifts here? How many times a month can each person take the night shift?"
When the warehouse manager heard this, he immediately understood what was going on. He asked, "Did someone go to the union and say something?"
"ah……"
"We have hired several young people this year, and they are all in good shape. I have made a new rule that new employees will not be assigned night shifts in their first year at the factory, so that they can do more work while they are young and healthy. Director Wu, do you think my arrangement is wrong? Others may not know the situation in our warehouse, but don't you know about it? There are a lot of middle-aged people, and they are all injured, just like Director Xia's father, whose waist has been in bad shape recently. If I don't assign him a few more night shifts, will he think that there is something wrong with me as a leader and that I am not considerate enough to my subordinates?"
Wu Feng quickly said, "That makes sense. What you said makes a lot of sense."
"Besides, he has only been on the job for a week, why does he have to work the night shift to take a break? How can he not do heavy work? If he can't do it, then get out of our warehouse! Even if he doesn't want to do it, there are many people who want to do it outside! My nephew is still in the countryside and can't come back. If he has the opportunity to come and work as a porter, he would be happy to not work the night shift for ten years!"
What the warehouse director said was quite true. Even though he was just a porter, many educated youth who were sent down to the countryside wanted to do this job but couldn't. If some people were given the opportunity, girls would all come here to work as porters at all costs.
At least, working as a porter here means going home and staying with my parents and family.
Wu Feng said: "What you said makes sense. I also understand the situation..."
"So what exactly do you want us to do?"
"We need to go back and discuss this..."
"Go ahead then, and don't disturb our work. We've been really busy lately." After saying that, the warehouse manager ran in.
Wu Feng led Xia Qingtang back slowly. As they walked, he said, "Xiao Xia, who do you think has the bigger problem here? It makes sense for Liu Jun to want to work the night shift, and it also makes sense for the warehouse not to assign night shifts to newcomers... This is really a difficult situation."
Xia Qingtang said: "The warehouse has assigned more night shifts to middle-aged people, and this is not a new practice. In the past, older workers with poor health and many injuries would be assigned more night shifts to extend their working years. I think this old tradition of the warehouse is not a bad thing."
"Yes, this is respecting the old and loving the young, and it should be carried forward. It's what Liu Jun said, and it seems to make sense. Young people nowadays are different from us. They really can't endure hardships and develop their own style. What do you think we should do about this? Chairman Qin asked the two of us to come to the warehouse, and this matter must be left to the two of us to solve. We must come up with a solution that satisfies both sides."
Xia Qingtang said: "It is indeed too long to let new employees not work night shifts for a year. It is better to shorten the time, such as not working night shifts for half a year, and then return to normal. We can also start from next month and give new employees one night shift per month. After half a year, each new employee will work two night shifts. Both sides can make concessions. How about this?"
Wu Feng nodded quickly: "Then I will talk to them separately next week. If they can accept it, the matter will be resolved."
Xia Qingtang didn't ask him why he didn't go to solve the matter this afternoon. Anyway, she was just a follower and all she had to do was listen quietly.
Soon, the afternoon passed, Xia Qingtang locked the office door, and left work happily.
When she walked out of the office building, she happened to run into Secretary Wang and Wu Jinfeng. They didn't come out at the same time, but one after the other. Secretary Wang greeted her warmly: "Hello, Secretary Xia. It's a day off tomorrow. Will you go out to play?"
"I'm not going out. I'm staying at home." Xia Qingtang said, "What about you, Director Wang?"
"I'm going to buy something." As they were talking, they saw Wu Jinfeng running from behind them to the front at a very fast pace.
She looked better today, her face was radiant, the corners of her mouth were slightly raised, and she seemed to be in a good mood.
When she walked a little further away, Secretary Wang whispered, "It seems like something's wrong with Xiao Wu."
"Oh? What's going on?"
"She cried a few days ago and was in a bad mood, but she has been happy these past two days and even hummed a song in the office. We are all experienced people, and it can be seen from her that she is dating someone. She cries today and smiles tomorrow, and it is obvious that she is quarreling with her partner."
"She seems so happy today, so she must have reconciled with her boyfriend."
Secretary Wang said, "Tomorrow is Sunday, so we should make peace. Otherwise, how are we going to go out and play tomorrow?"
Xia Qingtang smiled without saying anything. She just felt that Xia Qinghai was indeed a capable person. Just by looking at Wu Jinfeng's state, she knew that her every move was led by Xia Qinghai. He made her cry and laugh and guided her emotions. After they got married, she should listen to Xia Qinghai.
At the same time, she also felt a little sad. She had changed the trajectory of her life, but unexpectedly, it also provided Xia Qinghai with an opportunity to move up.
From this perspective, Zhao Meizhen is really a blessed person. In her previous life, she had a daughter who married into a wealthy family to give her money to spend, and in this life, she has a son who married into a wealthy family. Isn't she just waiting to enjoy the good life?
After getting off the bus, Xia Qingtang saw Xie Jinxuan standing on the side of the road pushing a cart. His eyes immediately lit up and he smiled brilliantly.
"You don't have to work overtime today!" Xia Qingtang grabbed his big hand and jumped a few times.
People passing by looked over here, but she didn't care at all. She just knew that she was very happy.
"No more overtime." Xie Jinxuan said with a smile, "From now on until Monday morning, I will be with you all the time."
"Then shall we go home and cook first? Or do you want to eat out?" Xia Qingtang asked.
The two of them haven't eaten out for a long time, so it would be a good time to go out now.
Xie Jinxuan said: "Let's go and have dinner with grandpa and grandma, so that we don't have to go out tomorrow and can stay at home all day."
Originally, Xia Qingtang planned to invite the whole family to have lunch in the small courtyard on the first Sunday after moving into the new home.
But because Xie's mother and Xie Jinyun would not be back until Monday morning, the dinner plan had to be postponed to next week.
"Grandpa will be home on time today?"
"Yes, Grandpa doesn't have to work overtime today, so that's why I suggested this."
"Then let's go have dinner with grandpa and grandma." Xia Qingtang took Xie Jinxuan's arm, and the two of them slowly walked back.
Just when she walked about a hundred meters away, someone on the side of the road suddenly called her: "Qingtang? Isn't this Qingtang?"
Xia Qingtang was stunned for a moment, then looked to the side of the road. It was his aunt and cousin, carrying cloth bags, who had just walked out of the grocery store in front.
"It's really Qingtang!" The aunt immediately pulled her daughter over and ran over, "Oh, Qingtang, we haven't seen each other for half a year. The last time I saw you was last summer!"
Xia Qingtang said calmly: "Yes, it's been a long time since we last met. Hello, auntie."
My cousin Ma Chuntao also hurriedly called out, "Hello, cousin."
"Hello, cousin. Why are you here buying things today?" Xia Qingtang asked.
My aunt and uncle's factory is far away from the city center and in a different direction from the cotton mill. Everyone is very busy at work, so even though they are in the same city, they only see each other two or three times a year.
Ma Chuntao is seventeen years old now and is studying in high school. She is the eldest child in the family and has a younger sister and a younger brother. Later, her husband became rich and brought up his younger siblings so that they could live a good life.
Ma Chuntao has an above-average appearance, neither tall nor short, and because she has fair skin, she looks good when she dresses up.
In her previous life, Xia Qingtang lost her beauty early due to the hardships of life. Later, the fashionable and stylish Ma Chuntao was much more beautiful than her. When the two of them went out, people would often compare them together, saying that she was getting uglier and praising Ma Chuntao for getting more beautiful.
But Xia Qingtang did not dislike Ma Chuntao, nor did she have any hatred towards her, because the tragedy in her previous life was caused by her family and herself, and had nothing to do with Ma Chuntao. If she had to say it, if this cousin had not taken her in as a nanny, she would not know how to support herself.
She just didn't like seeing Ma Chuntao very much, because this cousin was a very picky person and would always find faults in the housework she did and ask her to correct it.
Now seeing Ma Chuntao again, Xia Qingtang seemed to hear his cousin's critical voice more than ten years later again.
"Cousin, you can't throw children's clothes into the washing machine to wash them, and you can't separate them from adults' clothes. You must rub them slowly by hand. Cousin, don't you know how to wash clothes by hand? Otherwise, let me wash them."
"Cousin, today's meal is a little too oily. I haven't been feeling well lately and can't eat so many oily and meaty dishes."
"Cousin, we have to clean under the sofa every day. Why do you only clean it every other day? How can the house be clean like this?"
…
"Cousin? Cousin?"
Xia Qingtang was distracted when Ma Chuntao called him "cousin" several times and suddenly brought him back to his senses.
"Ah? What?" Xia Qingtang still forced a smile.
Ma Chuntao said: "I just said that I wanted to come to Xinhua Bookstore to buy a book recommended by a classmate, so my mother came with me and we bought something here."
"Oh, so that's how it is." Xia Qingtang nodded.
The aunt looked at Xia Qingtang, then at Xie Jinxuan who was arm in arm with her, and said, "Qingtang, why don't you introduce us? When we went to your house during the Chinese New Year, we were shocked to hear your father tell us that you were married. Why didn't you tell us before?"
"Oh, I was in a hurry when I got married, so I didn't tell anyone." Xia Qingtang said: "This is my wife, Xie Jinxuan. Xie Jinxuan, this is my dear aunt, and this is my aunt's eldest daughter Ma Chuntao."
Xie Jinxuan greeted them with a smile on her face: "Hello, auntie, hello, cousin."
"Hello, hello, you are really good-looking." My aunt said with a smile: "Why are you two here?"
Xia Qingtang said: "We live nearby."
"Oh, yes, yes, yes. I heard from your father that Xiao Xie works in the provincial government, right? So he lives in the compound in front of the provincial party committee?"
"Yes, we live in the front."
Ma Chuntao said, "It's great to live in the city. We live far away and it's inconvenient to come here. Cousin, can we go to your house to take a look?"
Xia Qingtang smiled and said, "It's not very convenient today. We met at the last minute and the house is not cleaned up, so it's not convenient to entertain guests. Let's wait until later. There will always be a chance in the future."
Let's wait until the Xie family's affairs are completely exposed. At that time, if there are relatives who don't want to take advantage, Xia Qingtang will not completely ignore them.
My aunt said, "Qingtang, I see you have changed a lot. We want to go to your house and have a visit. Is that not possible?"
"Yes, it's not very convenient today." Xia Qingtang said, "My dad has never been to my current home."
As soon as these words came out, my aunt's expression froze for a moment.
Xia Qingtang remained calm and continued, "Aunt, are you planning to go home? Otherwise, shall I take you to the station?"
At this moment, she has no conflicts with her aunt's family. After all, they live far away from each other and rarely interact with each other, so there is no question of grudges or hatred.
My aunt said, "We're also going to the state-owned restaurant in front to buy some meat buns to take back. We came here once last year, and Chuntao said the meat buns here are delicious. This year, we'll bring some back."
Xia Qingtang said, "Then I'll go buy it with you."
Only then did my aunt smile and say, "Let's go."
As they walked and continued chatting, my aunt enthusiastically asked about Xie Jinxuan's work. There was no need to lie about this, so Xie Jinxuan told her about her work.
My aunt said, "Your workplace is really good. When Chuntao reaches a certain age, can you introduce a date to her in your workplace?"
"If there is a suitable one, of course you can." Xie Jinxuan said with a smile.
My aunt was very happy: "Let's just say that for now."
Ma Chuntao said, "Mom, I'm only a few years old, why should I be in such a hurry? I still have to take the college entrance examination. If I pass the college entrance examination, I will definitely find a partner in college. How can anyone else be worthy of me?"
"Don't talk nonsense! With your grades, you still want to go to college? Don't make fun of me. When you graduate, I'm afraid it will be difficult to find a job." The aunt couldn't help but slap her daughter.
This is true. Ma Chuntao also wanted to go to college in her previous life, but unfortunately her grades were too poor, and she failed in the end. Moreover, it was very difficult to find a job at that time. Many sent-down youth returned to the city on their own, and the Personnel Bureau was unable to arrange for them.
In the end, my aunt and uncle ran to the Kong family with cigarettes and drinks, asking Kong Liangchao's father for help in solving the problem.
However, Ma Chuntao did not work in that job for too long. She was among the first batch of layoffs and became unemployed. Fortunately, her husband was very hardworking and learned to sell goods on the street from others at an early age. Later, he expanded his business and opened a shop. When Ma Chuntao lost her job, the couple opened a shop together. In the end, the business became better and better and became a dazzling presence among relatives.
Xia Qingtang recalled these and did not speak.
Ma Chuntao muttered quietly: "My grades are not bad. When I get into college, let's see what you say!"
As they were talking, they walked to the state-owned restaurant. Xie Jinxuan asked, "Aunt, how many buns do you want to buy?"
"Buy ten." My aunt said, "There are five people in our family, and each person can eat two."
As she spoke, she started to reach into her pocket to buy buns.
However, Xie Jinxuan was quicker. He parked his bicycle and strode in. He told the clerk that he wanted to buy ten meat buns. Then he paid for the meat coupons, grain coupons and money, and walked out, handing the ten buns wrapped in oil paper to his aunt.
My aunt smiled so hard that her eyes narrowed into slits: "Oh, you're really quick. How many tickets are there in total and how much are they? I'll give them to you."
Xie Jinxuan glanced at Xia Qingtang, and when she nodded, he said, "Aunt, this is Qingtang's way of honoring you. During the Chinese New Year, there were many people in our family and we had a lot to do, so we didn't go to pay you New Year's greetings. Now that we've met, Qingtang should treat you to some meat buns."
These words sounded very nice, and my aunt was immediately delighted: "Oh, Xiao Xie, you are such a nice person. No wonder Qingtang's father always praises you, saying that you are a good person, have a good heart, and are good at talking."
Xia Qingtang said: "The ticket and money he used to buy the meat buns just now are all mine."
The aunt glanced at her, smiled and patted her: "Child, are you blaming me for not praising you? Okay, okay, I'll praise you too. Thank you two for treating us to meat buns. They are very expensive. I know."
"You're welcome. I didn't visit you during the Chinese New Year. This is what I should do." Xia Qingtang also said a polite word.
"Are you still pretending to me? You didn't even go to your grandmother's house. I asked your father, and you didn't go to your uncle's house either. It seems like you don't associate with any of your relatives anymore." The aunt said, "If they have offended you, then I know, but has your aunt ever offended you?"
"No." Xia Qingtang was telling the truth. There really wasn't any.
But she just couldn't get close to these relatives. Even if they said she didn't recognize any relatives, there was nothing she could do about it.
My aunt said, "Then when you are free some other day, come to my house for dinner with Xiao Xie. Although my family is short of food, I can still treat you to a meal. Xiao Xie, what do you think?"
Xie Jinxuan just smiled: "I'll listen to Qingtang."
My aunt showed a surprised expression: "You have a good job, you are handsome, and you listen to your wife so much?"
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