Chapter 20 Chapter 20 Ironer than Gold (Revised)
Go back to Qiuzhi Lane for lunch first, and then go to the fertilizer factory in the afternoon.
"Oh, I was wondering if Weizhou had been feeling well lately." Aunt Liu beamed upon hearing the doctor's diagnosis. "Doctor Bai is very accurate in taking pulses. Once the tests are done, I'll ask him to prescribe some medicine. Maybe he'll get better over time."
There were always only three of them eating at noon, so they usually kept things simple. But Aunt Liu was in a good mood today, so she made noodles with rich toppings and fried a large plate of pork liver.
The fried pork liver is fragrant and tender, very delicious.
Liu Mianmian thought of the suspicious old lady and asked Aunt Liu, "It's hard to buy pig liver without a ticket, right?"
"You have to line up early in the morning, otherwise you'd never get any! Some people are secretly selling it outside, but it's 70 or 80 cents more expensive than at the butcher's shop, and some good meat is a dollar more." Aunt Liu sighed, "I wonder when we'll be able to buy it freely."
In the past, I had no money and the butcher shop had no meat. Now I have money, but the butcher shop still has no meat.
"Rural areas are now open to raising pigs and chickens. Once production increases, it should be quick."
It's just happened in the past few years.
After comforting Aunt Liu, Liu Mianmian turned to look at Shen Weizhuo and raised her eyebrows at him: See, I told you that meat would never be so cheap.
Shen Weizhou glanced at her indifferently, with no expression on his face.
Liu Mianmian: Tsk, this person is so boring.
Liu Mianmian actually suspected that the old lady was a human trafficker. After all, the routine was too similar.
But without evidence, I can't just go to the police station and report someone for selling eggs and pork too cheaply, right? What if they really have a source of goods and are selling them cheaply, engaging in some black market trade? I really don't need to report them.
However, if you can't report it, you can actually find a way to warn them.
Liu Mianmian remembers that human trafficking was rampant in the 1980s and 1990s. Many women were lured and trafficked to the southeast coast. Some were sold to bachelors from poor families who could not get married, and some were even sold to places where they were forced into prostitution.
Liu Mianmian took note of this and planned to think about it carefully when she had time.
After dinner, Liu Mianmian prepared to go to the fertilizer factory. She wanted to go alone, but Shen Weizhuo insisted on going with her.
After all the hard work this morning, even she, a healthy person, felt a little tired. Liu Mianmian was really worried that Shen Weizhou wouldn't be able to handle it. But Shen Weizhou was obviously not someone who would listen to others' refusal.
Although he looks sickly, sometimes his aura seems to be even greater than that of his battle-hardened grandfather.
"You're quite curious."
Liu Mianmian couldn't think of any reason why Shen Weizhou had to go along. After thinking about it, she could only think that he was bored and wanted to go and see what was going on. After all, whether his adoptive parents had ever written letters or sent anything to him would be known after he met Yu Guoliang.
Shen Weizhuo looked at her, thinking that it was better for her not to know some things so as not to worry in vain, so he kept silent and agreed.
Liu Mianmian thought to herself that the iceberg turned out to be a reserved and gossipy iceberg.
But not only was Shen Weizhuo curious, she herself was also quite curious.
The original owner's memories were numerous and confusing. She tried hard to sort them out again and again, and then she found some suspicious points.
The Yu family had three children, two older brothers, and the original owner was the youngest. In rural areas these days, there was a tendency to favor boys over girls, but because the Yu family had two sons, they loved their youngest daughter very much.
This can be seen from the fact that the original owner was able to study until she graduated from high school. Her adoptive parents even said that if she could get into college, they would be willing to continue supporting her studies.
So no matter how you look at it, it doesn't seem like the Yu family would take the initiative to sever ties with the original owner.
As for the marriage exchange, the second brother Yu Guodong did have a girlfriend named Lin Shanmei, and Lin Shanmei did have an unmarried brother, but the Yu family had never explicitly mentioned the marriage exchange to the original owner.
Second Aunt Yang Qiaoqiao told the original owner about this in private.
Yang Qiaoqiao is a dull and honest person by nature, and she is usually nice to the original owner. Besides, whether the original owner is a replacement bride or not has nothing to do with their family. The original owner thinks that Yang Qiaoqiao cannot and has no need to lie to her, so she believes it.
The original owner was afraid of being detained by the Yu family, so she did not verify with them. Just then, her biological parents found her, so she hurriedly followed them to Nancheng.
After that, the Yu family did not contact her, and the original owner thought it was normal, and even believed that the Yu family was guilty.
But what if that’s not the case?
They say there's a long queue at the fertilizer factory gate, but when we got there, we realized it was really long! At first glance, it was packed with heads.
It is really not easy to find Yu Guoliang among so many people, not to mention that Liu Mianmian has only seen Yu Guoliang in the original owner's memory.
There is no way, I can only slowly identify the past.
These people must have been waiting in line for more than a day or two. They all look haggard, especially those at the front of the line, whose lips are pale and their faces are sallow.
Normally, people from Qianjin Township hadn't been here long, so they shouldn't be at the front of the line. However, Liu Mianmian searched for a long time and didn't see anyone she knew. She was almost at the factory gate when she saw someone she knew, but it wasn't Yu Guoliang, it was Shen Weihong.
Shen Weihong was walking with a middle-aged man in a suit. They were talking and laughing as they entered the fertilizer factory through the side door. The people crowded at the door rushed forward and wanted to rush in. Some people even reached out to grab the man in the suit, but they were stopped by the security guards standing by.
With a bang, the door closed back.
A sigh of disappointment was heard from the crowd.
"Mianmian?"
Liu Mianmian was wondering what Shen Weihong was doing at the fertilizer factory when suddenly a man with disheveled hair and dirty clothes squeezed out from the crowd. When the man came closer, Liu Mianmian took a long time to identify him before she was sure that this man was her eldest brother Yu Guoliang.
Fortunately, Yu Guoliang came here himself, otherwise she wouldn’t be able to recognize him even if she saw him!
"What? You don't recognize me, big brother?" Yu Guoliang, a man with a square face and thick eyebrows and big eyes, smiled innocently, wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, and said, "I've been queuing here for the past few days. I'm so tired of standing all the time, so I just sit on the ground. I don't have time to wash myself. You look pretty dirty, don't you?"
Liu Mianmian nodded honestly: "Yes, it's quite dirty."
Yu Guoliang was not annoyed. His family had spoiled him since he was a child. The youngest son had always had a bad temper, and he had long been accustomed to it.
He said: "Did you receive the letters and things sent from home before? You didn't reply, and your parents have been thinking about you. A while ago, Lao Guan's cousin came back to his hometown and said that you were getting married soon, which made your parents very anxious. They waited and waited, but there was no letter from you." Lao Guan's cousin worked in the Nancheng Military Factory, and his hometown was Qianjin Township.
Yu Guoliang sighed, "Originally, we wanted to come find you ourselves, but Dad fell while climbing the mountain and is temporarily unable to move. Mom has to take care of him day and night. The township just happened to be coming over to buy fertilizer, so I quickly seized the opportunity to come and see how you were doing."
The two of them walked and talked, and retreated to the outside of the crowd.
Liu Mianmian asked: "Dad, where did you fall? Is he okay?"
Yu Guoliang was a little surprised. Not only did the youngest daughter have a bad temper, she was also a bit self-centered. That was why she returned to the city without saying a word and never contacted her family again. Although her family was sad, they didn't find it strange.
But today, her first question was to ask the old man where he fell, and Yu Guoliang felt strange.
After taking a closer look, Yu Guoliang discovered that his youngest sister was indeed different from before. She looked much more stylish, pretty, and amiable.
Yu Guoliang felt that his youngest sister had really grown up: "Dad is fine, his left leg is broken, the doctor said he needs more rest, it takes a hundred days for a broken bone to heal."
Glancing at Shen Weizhuo who was standing not far away, Yu Guoliang lowered his voice and asked, "Who is that? Could he be your childhood sweetheart?" After meeting Jiang Hongmei, he knew that the youngest sister was already married to the one arranged by the elders of the family as a child.
Liu Mianmian looked back at Shen Weizhou and nodded: "Ah."
Yu Guoliang frowned and continued in a low voice, "He looks like he has a bad temper. You two won't fight, will you? But he looks skinny, so I'm afraid he might not be able to beat you if we fight."
Liu Mianmian: “…”
As expected of someone who had watched the original owner grow up, this elder brother was quite familiar with the original owner’s bad temper.
Not far away, Shen Weizhuo, who heard every word because of his excellent hearing, couldn't help but twitch his lips.
Yu Guoliang was obviously a simple-minded person. Liu Mianmian chatted with him for a while and got him to tell her how many times his family had sent letters and things, when they were sent, and what they were.
Liu Mianmian discovered that the things Yu Guoliang talked about were actually seen by the original owner.
For example, the Yu family sent dried mushrooms, and wild mushrooms often appeared on the Liu family's table. For example, the Yu family sent bacon, and the Liu family had bacon stewed with bamboo shoots several times. For example, the Yu family sent coarse cloth they wove, and the Liu family replaced it with coarse cloth rags...
Okay.
The truth is clear.
As for the exchange of marriages.
"You've gotten ahead of your second brother. He and Lin Shanmei plan to wait until the autumn harvest is over in the second half of the year to get married. They originally wanted to get married in the first half of the year, but the Lin family wouldn't allow it, saying Lin Shanmei couldn't get married before her brother. It doesn't really matter, but they're a family with a lot of rules, so we have to respect them," Yu Guoliang said. "Lin Shanmei's brother is getting married next month, and by then the wheat harvest and rice planting will be done, so the farm work won't be so busy."
He glanced at Liu Mianmian and said, "Your second brother is getting married, so you should go back, right?"
Liu Mianmian nodded, without mentioning the marriage exchange: "Go back."
It’s enough to know what happened. As for the rest, whether it’s the Liu family or Yang Qiaoqiao, she will talk to them about it later.
As the brother and sister were talking, a fat man with a round face and a protruding belly came over. He was smiling and looked very friendly. He first called out "Brother" and "Sister" in a familiar manner. Then he lowered his voice and asked, "Are you two here to buy fertilizer?"
This is nonsense. Who doesn't come here to buy fertilizer at the entrance of the fertilizer factory? If they don't want to buy fertilizer, who would have the leisure to come here and watch the crowds?
The fat man knew that this was nonsense, so without waiting for Yu Guoliang to answer, he said, "Brother, I have a way to help you get fertilizer."
Yu Guoliang's eyes widened: "Really?"
The fat man patted his chest loudly. "Of course it's true. Why would I lie to you? Of the two people who came into the factory before, you know one of them in a suit. He's Section Chief Hu from the fertilizer factory's sales department. He holds all the fertilizer sales targets in his hands. He gives to whoever he wants, and he gives whoever he wants the amount."
Yu Guoliang had been squatting at the gate of the fertilizer factory for several days, so he naturally knew the famous Section Chief Hu.
Hearing the fat man say this, his eyes lit up: "Brother, do you know Section Chief Hu?"
The fat man waved his hand, indicating that this was nothing worth mentioning. "I know him more than just a friend. We've been friends since we were little, peeing and playing together. Our relationship is stronger than gold!"
He leaned over to Yu Guoliang and said mysteriously, "Did you see that young man who went in with him before? He's my second aunt's nephew. I helped set him up. Otherwise, how could Section Chief Hu pay attention to a young man with no experience? It's all because of me! Mine!"
Liu Mianmian: “…”
Yu Guoliang was excited: "Brother, you are so proud!"
Liu Mianmian: “……………………”
One dares to speak, the other dares to believe.
The fat man patted Yu Guoliang's shoulder and said proudly, "That's right. Lao Hu and I have been friends for many years. I'm not bragging, but in his eyes, the words of their factory director are not as effective as mine. I'm a person of temperament, and I like to do things as I please. I just came here for a stroll today because I was bored. As soon as I saw you, brother, I felt that I got along very well. I'm not a nosy person. I just wanted to help you because we get along well."
"Brother, I see you look like you must have been waiting in line for a long time. Look at your disheveled appearance, it makes me feel sorry for you. Brother, I really can't bear to see you like that. I have to help you. Just tell me how much fertilizer you need and I promise to get it for you."
Yu Guoliang was almost confused by this round of deception.
But Yu Guoliang wasn't completely clueless. He asked, "What about the price?"
During the days of queuing, Yu Guoliang also heard that someone had contacted Section Chief Hu and invited him to eat some Western food. He also seemed to have given him some other benefits and got some fertilizer.
He suspected that the fat man was a pimp for Section Chief Hu.
The fat man waved his hand: "Brother, what is our relationship? You still don't trust me? Don't worry, the price will definitely not be more expensive than others, and it can even be slightly cheaper than theirs. After all, Lao Hu, the head of the sales department, still has some authority in his hands." He gave Yu Guoliang a look that said "you know".
Liu Mianmian exclaimed in her heart, why does this rhetoric sound familiar?
Yu Guoliang frowned. He was a simple-minded man, a bit stubborn. But precisely because of his stubbornness, he didn't believe in taking advantage of others for no reason.
Yu Guoliang calmed down a little: "Oh, so why don't I discuss it with the township cadres first." He was just an accountant in the village, and he was asked to help this time.
The fat man narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Well, it's hard to say about the discount. I have to ask Lao Hu first. In this situation, he might be in a difficult situation too."
He quickly adjusted his statement. Seeing Yu Guoliang's expression relax slightly, he struck while the iron was hot: "Besides you and me, oh, and this girl, no one else can say anything about this matter. Look at this door, there are so many people queuing up. If they knew you had a way to jump the queue to buy fertilizer, wouldn't you be eaten alive? So, we should keep a low profile and keep quiet. We should do great things and make a fortune quietly. Don't you agree?"
Yu Guoliang nodded.
The fat man then said, "There are too many people here, it's not the right place to do business. You and this girl, let's go to a quiet place with few people and have a good discussion."
Yu Guoliang hesitated again. No matter what, they didn't actually know this person. Who knew where he was going to take them?
A hint of impatience flashed in the fat man's eyes, but he still patiently persuaded him: "Brother, you still don't believe me. You are hurting my heart. I really treat you as a brother, so I am so open with you. Besides, there are two of you and I am alone. I can't do anything to you, right? You are too cautious. But I like you, brother. I can see from the first glance that you are capable of great things!"
It was the first time in Yu Guoliang's life that he was praised like this, and a blush appeared on his dark face.
"How about, how about us?" He looked at Liu Mianmian.
Liu Mianmian glanced behind them, smiled slightly, and said, "Why don't we go to the police station together?"
The fat man's face changed and he ran away without even turning his head. However, before he could run a few steps, he was knocked down from behind by someone.
Long before he said that Shen Weihong was his second aunt's nephew, Shen Weizhuo had already gone to the security department of the fertilizer factory to call for help.
At that time, the security department of the state-owned factory also had some functions of public security. Most of the comrades in the security department were veterans with excellent physical fitness and excellent equipment. It was easy for them to catch a fat man.
"I was just bragging to others when I was free. Is this illegal?! I'm not going to the police station. I haven't done anything wrong. Why should I go to the police station? Just let me go. Isn't it okay if I stop bragging?" The fat man argued righteously.
"You haven't done anything wrong, why did you run when you heard the police station?" The comrades from the security department were no pushovers. This man ran when he heard the police station, which was obviously a problem.
The fat man gritted his teeth secretly, it was all that bitch's fault. She suddenly mentioned the police station. He panicked and ran away before his brain could react.
The comrades from the security department escorted the fat man to the police station, and Liu Mianmian and the others followed.
The fat man kept making excuses for himself along the way, and also tried to play the emotional card with Yu Guoliang. This time, Yu Guoliang learned his lesson and didn't respond to him at all.
This person ran away as soon as he heard the police station. Anyone could see that something was wrong.
They arrived at the nearest Chengxi branch office. As soon as they entered, they saw the office in disarray. Two women with disheveled hair were sitting there crying. The older woman's voice was hoarse from crying as she pleaded miserably, "Comrade, you must save my daughter. You must save my daughter. She is so young, so beautiful, so capable, so sensible. She is such a good person. Why did those people harm her?"
Liu Mianmian looked at the man's back and felt that he looked familiar, but her voice was hoarse from crying, so she couldn't tell who he was for a moment.
Until the man turned his head slightly.
It turned out to be Ding Mingxia.
The person next to her is Ying Xiaofen.
Why are the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law here?
The daughter that Ding Mingxia mentioned, who is young, beautiful, capable, sensible and a good person...can only be Liu Jinshi.
Something happened to Liu Jinshi?
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