Chapter 246 Two in One
After Ding Guo finished his last class in the afternoon, he hung his backpack on his body, said goodbye to his two roommates Gao Yuping and Song Yan, and rode away on his bike.
Although there was another roommate named Wang Xinmai in the same class, she didn't know how she had offended this roommate, and his attitude towards her had been a little cold in the past two days. Ding Guo was not the kind of person who liked to fall in love with someone who was cold to her, so even though he was cold to her, she still took the initiative to get closer to him.
So naturally he responded with the same attitude and no longer paid any attention to Wang Xinmai.
After she left, Song Yan asked Wang Xinmai in confusion, "What happened between you and Ding Guo?"
I didn't see any conflict between them, but their relationship suddenly became cold.
Wang Xinmai sorted his bag and said calmly, "Nothing!"
Based on her own ideas, she judged that Ding Guo was not a trustworthy person. Since he was not trustworthy, there was no need to put in any superficial efforts.
Gao Yuping and Song Yan looked at each other. Seeing that Wang Xinmai didn't want to say more, they didn't want to continue asking and decided to find a chance to ask Ding Guo again.
Ding Guo, a roommate in the same dormitory, is a good student with a cheerful personality. The two of them don't want to see any conflicts among their roommates.
Ding Guo was unaware of Gao Yuping and the others' concerns. She rode her bike out of the school gate, but did not go home directly. Instead, she went to several black market places that she was familiar with.
As the policy was being implemented, the number of people at the black market trading points increased significantly, and the types of items traded also gradually increased. Ding Guo successfully bought two live chickens. After leaving with them, he found a place to throw them into the space and handed them to Haozi.
I went to Tiananmen Square again and found that there were several more stalls here than during the summer vacation. I saw some selling braised food, so Ding Guo went over to ask the price and bought some braised pork head and a pig's trotter.
An old man next to him was pushing a cart with two baskets filled with red hawthorns on them.
When Ding Guo saw the hawthorn trees, she suddenly realized that there were no hawthorn trees planted on the land in her space. She could ask Haozi to plant two later.
I went over to ask the price and tried one. The hawthorn was sour and sweet, and the taste was surprisingly good.
Ding Guo asked for twenty kilograms at once. She can make hawthorn cake and jam for bread.
The old man was so happy that he gave him a slightly old fertilizer bag and half a pound more.
Ding Guo continued to walk around with his things in his hand. After a turn, he saw Han Laowu and Cui Guang.
After she finished her business with Mosquito, Han Laowu and Cui Guang sold their goods and came back to set up their stalls. Looking at the items on the two stalls, they each sold back their previous items.
As soon as the two saw her, they stood behind their stalls and waved to Ding Guo at the same time.
I guess if there weren't so many people surrounding their stalls, they would have come over to stop her for fear of losing things.
Ding Guo first went to Han Laowu's stall, which was closest to her, and nodded to Cui Guang, indicating that she would go over there in a while. Then she went to talk to Han Laowu: "Brother Han, is your business going well?"
Han Laowu complained bitterly: "What's the good thing, sister? The goods are not as good as before. I have been looking forward to you and Chang sister coming over these two days. I want to ask why you two don't set up the stall and whether you have any rare goods."
Ding Guo and Mosquito did not tell their subordinates that they were college students.
If they only came to look for these two people, it would not be so easy for them to find her and Mosquito.
Ding Guo smiled and said, "Wait a few days. We are busy with other things and haven't been here much during this period. I will come again when there is something new."
While they were talking, a customer came to buy something. Han Laowu was busy greeting them, collecting money and giving change quickly. Then, while staring at the stall, he motioned Ding Guo to take two steps to the side and said in a low voice, "Sister, can you get the goods earlier? I won't talk about the bell-bottom pants and watches. Until now, your and Chang's old customers have come here to ask about them. Mainly steel stockings, which are also good goods that are easy to sell. Seeing that the weather is getting cold, take advantage of this period to make some money."
Ding Guo smiled and said, "We will arrange it as soon as possible. Not only bell-bottom pants, but also some other autumn clothes."
She also wanted to make some money before bell-bottom pants appeared everywhere on the streets.
"Okay, then I'll wait for good news from my sister."
After talking to Han Laowu, he went over and said hello to Cui Guang.
Like Han Laowu, Cui Guang also wanted to get some good stuff from Ding Guo and make more money.
After leaving the square, Ding Guo went to the post office to send a telegram to Lu Wenming.
She didn't try to save money, but wrote a few more words to let Lu Wenming take a look at the autumn clothes over there, and agreed to call her at ten o'clock on Saturday morning.
When I got home, I smelled the aroma of roasting food coming from the west yard. Aunt Qiao smiled and said, "Dabao and Xiaobao's grandparents are roasting food with them."
As he said this, he went to take the things Ding Guo brought back.
Ding Guo said: "Let's add another dish to this braised food tonight..."
Before reaching the alley, Ding Guo put half of the hawthorns into the space to keep them fresh, leaving only half outside, and also took out some grapes, apples, pears and eggs.
There is still pork at home, but we didn’t buy any more meat.
Aunt Qiao had gotten used to Ding Guo bringing things back from time to time, and she would take them and arrange them.
Bu Bai came over and circled around Ding Guo, sniffing around Ding Guo's feet with his big head. Ding Guo reached out and stroked the dog's head, parked the car, went into the house to get a basin to wash some fruit, left some for Aunt Qiao and Sister Chunhua, and took the fruits to the west yard.
When Dabao and Xiaobao saw their mother coming, they ran over crying and hugged Ding Guo's thighs on both sides.
Ding Guo said with a smile: "Mom can't walk if you do this. Go sit over there and eat some grapes later."
The two little ones hurried over to their own little stools, sat down obediently and waited.
Ding Guo greeted her parents-in-law: "Mom, what are you baking? It smells so good."
Shao Xunping smiled and said, "We have tried the roast chicken you made before. Today we bought one and want to try roasting it ourselves."
Ding Guo looked at the enthusiastic expressions of his parents-in-law and knew that what they were really interested in was not the roast chicken, but the process of using the bread oven to make it.
So I didn't help and let the old couple deal with it on their own.
She washed the hands of Dabao and Xiaobao, fed them grapes, and asked the two younger ones to take them to feed their grandparents.
In the evening, Pei Yu's family, whom I hadn't seen for a long time, came over carrying large and small bags of things.
The couple has been very busy this year, often going out for performances. Pei Yu's mother-in-law even came from her hometown to help take care of Zhou Tong and Zhou Dong.
Ding Guo had never met Pei Yu's mother-in-law. Her elder sister-in-law was not at home, so it was not convenient for her to visit her. But she would ask Aunt Zhang to help deliver some of the things she brought back to the compound.
Shao Xunping looked at her daughter and said, "Can you stay at home for a few more days this time?"
Pei Yu was teasing Dabao and Xiaobao to call her aunt. Hearing this, she nodded and said, "I can stay for half a month. The army has given me a mission to rehearse a new program. I have to stay in the army to rehearse."
Shao Xunping nodded. She couldn't do anything about work, but she would spend more time with the children when she got home. She also said, "You should ask your mother-in-law to come over for dinner."
Pei Yu: "My mother has returned to her hometown. She hasn't been back for such a long time. We should go back and visit her while we are in the capital."
Shao Xunping nodded: "Next time, invite her to come over for dinner."
Pei Yu agreed.
After teasing Dabao and Xiaobao for a while, he winked at Ding Guo.
Ding Guo came over with a smile and whispered, "Sister, what's wrong?"
"Zhang Shuhua, our former leader, Pan Dingfeng's mother, has been contacting friends these days and wants to return to the city."
Pan's mother was previously a cadre in the art troupe.
Influenced by Pan Yuanzheng, she quit her job in the regiment and was transferred down. However, she was different from Pan Yuanzheng. If she wanted to return to the city, she could still be transferred back.
If Pei Yu hadn't mentioned it, Ding Guo would have almost forgotten about this character.
"Is it because of her daughter-in-law?" Ding Guo asked and then felt that it was unlikely. The last time Ding Nianjun was sent to labor reform, Pan's mother didn't come back... Or did Pan Dingfeng not mention Ding Nianjun's labor reform to his parents last time, but did this time?
Yue Hongmei and Ding Nianjun haven't come out yet, and there's no one to help Pan Dingfeng take care of the children, so I contacted Pan's mother, wanting his mother to come back to help?
Pei Yu didn't know what had happened in her sister-in-law's home in the past few days, and asked in surprise: "What happened to her daughter-in-law?"
"I was caught for using someone else's name to get a university place, and I'm still in the police station."
Pei Yu was stunned: "Is there such a thing?" After saying this, he shook his head with a sigh, "The Pan family is really... I knew that it was unlikely for their family to rise, but I didn't expect that their descendants would be so degenerate."
If you can’t get into university, just take someone else’s place. Isn’t it uncomfortable to use someone else’s name?
"What about Pan Dingfeng? Is he still in the village?"
Pei Yu only heard about Zhang Shuhua's situation and didn't know about Pan Dingfeng's recent situation.
"He got into university," Ding Guo said, adding, "He got in on his own."
Pei Yu sighed for a moment, and combined with the news he just learned, he analyzed, "Then I think Zhang Shuhua's return is probably not because of her daughter-in-law. She probably thinks that Pan Dingfeng has been admitted to university and has become the hope of the Pan family. She wants to come back to make preparations. When Pan Dingfeng graduates and is assigned a job, she can build up her connections again and rescue Pan Yuanzheng."
College students have a bright future ahead of them, and it is estimated that the Pan family will have to re-evaluate their old relationships that became estranged due to the incident.
Pei Yu agreed with his own analysis: "I guess that's why."
I see hope and it’s time to re-plan.
Ding Guo also smiled and said, "That's possible."
That would be quite exciting to watch.
If Pan's mother didn't know about Ding Nianjun and really came back for her son's admission to university, then this time she would most likely instigate Pan Dingfeng and Ding Nianjun to divorce.
Now Pan Dingfeng has become the hope of the Pan family. With the strong character of Pan's mother, she will never allow any factors that are unfavorable to Pan Dingfeng to run around her beloved son.
After dinner, Pei Yu was very interested when he heard that Ding Guo was going to make hawthorn cake. He helped Ding Guo and learned a little at the same time. When he left in the evening, he took some prepared hawthorn cake and a few pounds of hawthorn, intending to try it himself when he returned.
Ding Guo also began to organize the things that her elder sister-in-law brought, including food and drinks, clothes and toys bought for Dabao and Xiaobao.
Among the food and drinks, the Ding Guo that the parents-in-law could take to work was separated out for them to take with them, but Shao Xunping refused to take it. She said, "It's the same if I leave it at home. I come back often, and I'll bring whatever your dad wants to eat."
Ding Guo said, "Okay, bring some hawthorn cakes tomorrow morning as a snack."
Shao Xunping did not refuse. Her daughter-in-law was generous with the sugar in making the hawthorn cake. It was sweet and sour, but not too sweet, and very appetizing.
But eating too much at night will hurt the stomach and the teeth will not be able to bear it, so I didn’t eat much just now. I will bring some to work tomorrow to satisfy my craving.
On Friday, Ding Guo finished his morning class and just came out of the classroom when he saw Pei Che waiting there.
Ding Guo ran over happily: "When did you come back?"
Pei Che looked at her, his eyes full of heartache, and said softly, "An hour and a half ago."
I got home, took a shower, changed clothes, and came here.
Ding Guo saw that there was something wrong with his eyes, as if he was looking at some poor little thing, so he raised his hand and waved it in front of him, saying, "What's the matter? Didn't you get the signature on the certificate?"
Her husband felt sorry for her. After traveling to two places so far apart in just a few days, Ding Guo also felt sorry for Pei Che's running around, and said, "It doesn't matter if you don't get it. Don't worry too much about it. It's still early for the future. Who knows what the policy will be at that time."
Pei Che raised his hand to help her brush away her bangs, and said, "I got it. When I returned to my hometown, my uncle and aunt took me to find the village cadres, and they all helped to sign and stamp. Fengning was also going smoothly..."
Pei Che ignored the looks of others, took Ding Guo's hand and walked out, saying, "By the way, when I went back to my hometown, my second uncle and second aunt went to Fengning."
He should have gone to see Ding Zhigang. Ding Guo didn't care about this and asked, "How are Third Uncle and Third Aunt feeling?"
Pei Che nodded: "It's okay, you don't have to worry."
The two walked to a place with few people. Pei Che opened his bag and pulled out three or four pages of paper covered with red seals and signatures.
It was these few pieces of paper that recorded the fact that Ding Zhigang and Yue Hongmei had not fulfilled their obligation to support the original owner, as well as the tenuous relationship between Ding Guo and his brothers and sisters. Apart from the name and blood relationship, there was almost no other connection.
Looking at the contents on the paper and the signatures and seals of different sizes and fonts, Ding Guo felt a little moved and had an indescribable sense of relief.
Ding Guo carefully put it away, raised his head slightly to look at the man in front of him, and said softly: "Thank you, you have worked hard these days!"
Ding Guo's careful action made Pei Che feel distressed again. He blamed himself for doing this too late. He should have used this method earlier to separate Guo Guo from the irresponsible parents. He also felt sorry for such a good Guo Guo who didn't have a good pair of parents. He said, "Guo Guo, I will treat you well for the rest of my life."
Seeing his serious look and his serious expression since he saw her, Ding Guo chuckled and said, "I'm really fine. Do you care whether a passerby treats you well or not?"
Pei Che shook his head: "Why would I care about someone who has nothing to do with me?"
Ding Guo smiled and said, "That's it. I don't care about them, and I don't feel bad if they don't care. Without them, I can live more freely and easily. How great."
Pei Che smiled: "Okay, I don't care, they are all irrelevant people."
Ding Guo nodded and called him: "Let's go to the cafeteria to eat... Oh, if we line up at this time, we probably won't get anything. Let's go to the state-owned restaurant outside!"
Pei Che naturally had no objection.
The young couple rode their bikes out of the school gate and went to the nearest state-owned restaurant to have a meal. Ding Guo went back to school and Pei Che went home.
There was only one class this afternoon, so Ding Guo rode his bike home right after class. On the way, he found an opportunity to grab some pork belly, spare ribs, and some fruit for a dinner party at home in the evening.
Mosquito was the first to arrive. She brought two pounds of beef and a bundle of beans.
Ding Dayong went to pick up Song Yuling. The couple came back together, carrying a bag of fresh corn, which was quite rare in that era, and two jars of honey.
Song Yuling still had a bit of excitement in her eyes, and shared with Ding Guo and the others: "I bought it on the black market."
"Fresh corn is rare." Mosquito said, "I used to eat boiled corn and roasted corn in the countryside, but I haven't eaten it since I came back to the city."
Few people were willing to break fresh corn to eat, and those who did eat it mostly stole it from the team.
But Mosquito guessed that the corn Song Yuling brought was probably grown at home: "The village below must be busy with the autumn harvest at this time. It's impossible for them to have corn this fresh. It's very likely that they were grown by someone else."
It was planted relatively late.
The source was not important. Everyone was craving for boiled corn, so Aunt Qiao quickly prepared a large pot and put it in the kitchen in the west yard to cook.
The kitchen on the east side is full.
Pei Che hadn't returned to the army yet, and he was the head chef in the kitchen. Ding Dayong put down his food and went to the kitchen to help. He also learned a few tricks from his brother-in-law and cooked for his wife.
When Song Yuling knew that Ding Guo's day school schedule had been suspended, she didn't want to continue living on campus, so she also applied to be a day student.
Since his wife was not planning to live in the school dormitory, Dayong naturally became eager to do so.
Ding Guo and Song Yuling knew his academic situation and did not quite agree with it. They told him to wait until next semester to see his results in the final exam. If he did well, they would allow him to apply for day school. If he did not do well, he would stay in school and be educated.
Ding Dayong suddenly felt a darkness in front of him, so the new college student didn't dare to leave his mind during class and listened very attentively.
Ding Dayong complained to his brother-in-law in a low voice: "I have never been so serious in class from elementary school to junior high school."
Fortunately, the major he studied is what he is interested in, so he is not unable to listen and is feeling good about it at the moment.
Outside, Ding Guo also talked to Mosquito about the next wholesale project: "I sent a telegram to Lu Wenming. Let's call him together at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning to ask if they have autumn clothes and learn about the styles of the clothes. When we come back, we will discuss the quantity of purchase and the investment share this time..."
Mosquito was very excited and said, "Okay, will we get the electronic watch this time?"
Ding Guo: "Let's get a batch by the end of the year. This time, it will be mainly clothes and socks. Try not to choose ordinary styles, but ones that are a bit higher-end."
The mosquitoes didn't disagree.
The dinner was very sumptuous. In addition to rice and steamed buns, the staple foods also included boiled corn, and everyone ate it with relish.
Afterwards, Ding Guo took Dayong aside and talked about the wholesale business, and asked him if he wanted to join.
Of course Dayong wanted to join, but since this was a path paved by his sister and Comrade Mosquito, it might not be inappropriate for him to join directly.
It’s nothing with his sister, but he is worried that Mosquito will have some objections.
Ding Guo would not blindly favor his brother, and said with a smile: "Then when the goods arrive, you can do more work, contact those stall owners yourself, and negotiate a few more subordinates."
It's not a useless joining. You can contribute money, work, and develop downlines. Mosquito will certainly have no objection.
The mosquitoes didn't mind.
Dayong said hurriedly: "That's no problem, I'll go and discuss it when the goods arrive."
Ding Guo reminded him again: "Business is business, study is study, concentrate on class during class time, and do other things only during the weekends."
"Don't worry, sister. I can tell the difference."
Afterwards, Dayong asked about the purchase and shipment situation as well as the specific process of wholesale selling to others, and he had a clear idea of it.
At night, Dayong and his wife did not stay here and returned to their own home.
Ding Guo had some fun with her husband, took another shower, and the couple lay on the kang and talked.
Pei Che knew that his wife was going to do wholesale business, so he said, "Mail delivery is slow and the freight is expensive. My family has connections with the Railway Bureau, so I'll go talk to them later and give the conductor of that train some hard work money and ask him to help carry it."
At that time, there was no special shipping service on the railway, so you either had to mail it or carry it yourself.
Although Ding Guo knew that Pei Che's suggestion was more appropriate than going through the post office, she was afraid of bringing trouble to her family by asking for help from connections.
Pei Che smiled and scratched her nose, then said, "You are more cautious than when our family was in the most serious situation." Then he continued, "You don't have to be too polite to your family about interpersonal relationships. Sometimes relationships are meant to be used. Even if they don't need it, if they need help from Grandpa, as long as it doesn't harm the country and the people, can Grandpa not help? Until now, the people who have been able to maintain relationships with our family have good character, otherwise Grandpa can't have any contact with them. Helping to transport some goods is not a big deal."
After hearing what he said, Ding Guo stopped being pretentious, smiled and patted him on the face, saying, "Then I'll have to trouble Comrade Pei Che!"
Pei Che smiled and said, "No trouble, I'll wait for my wife to make some money and give me some pocket money."
After returning to the army, Pei Che resumed his days of handing in his salary and leaving only a few dollars for pocket money every month.
Ding Guo knew that this man only made money but didn't spend it, so he smiled and said, "Okay, I'll give you an extra ten yuan a month from now on."
The couple laughed and joked for a while, then fell asleep in each other's arms.
Pei Che returned to the army early the next morning.
Ding Guo waited for Mosquito to come over, and the two of them went together to call Lu Wenming.
The time was set at 10 o'clock, but it was not so punctual. There was either a queue here or a line was occupied over there.
Fortunately, everyone knew that it was not convenient to make a phone call at this time, and both sides were very patient. It was almost eleven o'clock when they finally got in touch.
Lu Wenming has indeed been busy during this period. He is eager to make money. Although Ding Guo did not mention the specific time of purchase, Lu Wenming would hang around several wholesale outlets whenever he was not in class to keep abreast of the market conditions and whether there were any new styles of clothes.
After receiving the telegram, I went to several wholesale points, so I can talk about it very clearly now.
Ding Guo needs to bring in the clothes, including the bell-bottom pants, steel stockings, cotton socks, sweaters and jackets.
Lu Wenming had accompanied Ding Guo in purchasing goods, and knowing that she had high requirements for clothing styles, he had also made detailed preparations. Basically, he could give a rough description of several of the better styles at the time, which was enough for Ding Guo to imagine what the clothes looked like.
After listening to this, Ding Guo said, "Okay, Comrade Lu, thank you for your hard work during this period. Let's discuss the specific details and call again at 4 o'clock tomorrow afternoon."
During the call, Lu Wenming was the one doing all the talking, and Ding Guo was mainly listening. Because there were people around, she couldn't talk much about the purchase, so she spoke only in a few vague words, and Lu Wenming was able to understand and give an accurate answer.
After they hung up the phone and came out of the post office, Mosquito asked about the situation over there, "How is it?"
"I think the styles Comrade Lu has inspected are all good, but the purchase price of autumn clothes is high. Let's discuss the purchase quantity when we get back."
Mosquito: “Okay!”
The two returned to Zizhu Bridge.
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