Chapter 91 91 (Catching Bugs) The street lights were dim, but when I left the compound,…
The guesthouse has accommodation upstairs and a restaurant downstairs. Several nearby units arrange receptions here. It is lunchtime now, and although it is not full, there are still several waves of people coming in and out. In addition, there are soldiers in military uniforms, carrying woven bags or net bags, taking the visiting family members to the registration area to go through the check-in procedures.
Ding Zhigang's voice was bright and loud, and he attracted attention in the slightly noisy environment. Many people looked over here.
In fact, most of the guests who came to dine were not aware of Pan Yuanzheng's identity, but the looks from a few soldiers made Pan Yuanzheng blush. Although those soldiers looked strange to him and they might not know him, he was still extremely embarrassed.
Another thing is that this title is like rubbing salt into his wounds.
Anyone who falls from a high place, even if they don't hit the bottom, will experience a certain psychological gap. At this moment, Pan Yuanzheng was still in this gap and it was difficult for him to adjust for a while.
Pan Dingfeng's expression also changed. He looked at Ding Zhigang in surprise, as if he was puzzled.
In this kind of relationship, when the parents of both sides meet, don't they call each other in-laws? What titles are they calling each other by?
The elders of both sexes in the compound call each other like this when they meet!
Or is there no such custom in Fengning?
He hadn't told the Ding family about his father's demotion yet, so as to make the situation a little awkward, he rushed to Ding Zhigang and whispered, "Dad, don't call me that, my father is no longer a division commander..."
Yue Hongmei, who was trying to please the cold butt next to her, was shocked when she heard this. Her eyes were filled with surprise and she said in a lost voice, "Not the division commander anymore? Division Commander Pan, Comrade Pan, was promoted? That means..." She turned to look at Ding Nianjun on the side. Ding Nianjun's heart was also beating violently, and his sallow face was slightly flushed with excitement. Before she could explain, Pan's mother, who looked a little ugly, said in a cold and sarcastic voice, "Thanks to your eldest daughter, our old Pan has been demoted. He is no longer a division commander. He is not worthy of this title."
After saying that, he shook off Yue Hongmei's hand. Resentment surged in his heart, and it was difficult to force a smile, not even a fake one.
These words were like a bolt from the blue exploding over Yue Hongmei and Ding Nianjun's heads.
Yue Hongmei was hit by a huge shock, and Ding Nianjun next to her was a little shaky, with a buzzing sound in his ears.
She had been looking forward to marrying into a wealthy family and expecting a transformation in her life. She had worked hard, endured, and compromised to get here. Now she is told that Pan's father has been demoted?
Ding Nianjun looked at Pan Dingfeng hesitantly. Pan Dingfeng was whispering something to Ding Zhigang. Even though Ding Zhigang tried his best to control himself, Pan Yuanzheng, who was standing opposite him, still saw three changes of emotions on his face.
Shocked and lost, he put away the slightly fawning expression he had a few seconds ago, straightened his previously slightly bent waist, and his eyes became calm.
Ding Jianshe and other younger people nearby were also stunned by this huge change and didn't know what to say for a while.
There was a brief, eerie silence in the atmosphere.
It was the eldest son of the Pan family, who had been standing behind Pan's father and mother, who broke the awkward silence with drooling laughter.
Yue Hongmei's attention was drawn to him and she looked at him with disgust.
All the conflicts were caused by the fool from the Pan family, but this was the first time she had seen the fool from the Pan family.
I didn't think much of it before, and I didn't feel much when I planned to let Ding Guo marry this fool. But now, realizing that Nianjun will live under the same roof with such an uncle in the future, I suddenly felt uncomfortable.
Even though he despised her, he couldn't say much at this moment. After all, even if Pan Yuanzheng was demoted, his family background was still much higher than that of the Ding family, so Nianjun still married into a wealthy family.
Thinking of this, Yue Hongmei put a smile on her face again and spoke to Pan's mother in a flattering manner, but Pan's mother kept a cold face.
The group sat down in a private room. The topic of marriage, which was supposed to be a festive and harmonious one, turned into endless complaints and accusations from Pan's mother, all of which were accusing Yue Hongmei of not knowing how to teach her daughter.
"I was just making things difficult for the two children at that time. Did we force you to marry our daughter with us? Is this responsibility ours? As a result, your eldest daughter has messed up our family. Don't we owe her in our previous life?" Pan's mother said angrily through gritting her teeth.
Yue Hongmei is usually quite sharp-tongued in front of Ding Guo, but when faced with the accusations from Pan's mother, she was so stupid that she thought the Pan family had suffered such a big loss, and she felt that she was in the wrong and should listen to other people's complaints.
He completely forgot that the reason for angering Ding Guo and ultimately leading to the downfall of the Pan family was Pan Dingfeng. If he hadn't instigated Qi Guangming to frame Ding Guo, how could all these things have happened later?
Ding Nianjun sat next to Pan Dingfeng, listening woodenly to Pan's mother's chattering, watching Yue Hongmei constantly apologizing, while her husband, who had already obtained a marriage certificate... remained silent beside her, not saying a word to defend her.
Ding Nianjun felt a pang of bitterness in his heart and quickly lowered his head to cover his eyes which were a little sore due to feeling wronged.
After a long while, Father Pan wiped the drool from his eldest son and interrupted him, "Okay, tomorrow is the big day for the two children. This is the first time we will meet our in-laws, so let's talk about the two children's marriage."
Pan's mother also felt that she had let out a sigh of relief, but looking at Ding Nianjun who was sitting there with a petty air, she was still full of dissatisfaction and talked about tomorrow's procedures in a bland manner.
The wedding process was simple, and the Pan family was in a turbulent time right now, so they didn't dare to be too high-profile. They even cancelled the three rotating bead and one ring that they had agreed to buy, except for the watch that they had already bought.
Originally, these were to be taken to the Ding family when the marriage proposal was made, and then brought back from Ding Nianjun's parents' home when she got married. However, considering the long journey, it was agreed with the Ding family long ago to skip this process and only take the watch over. The other major items were purchased and left directly in the capital.
But because the Pan family had a lot of things to do recently, the surplus food was getting less and less, so apart from the watch, they did not buy any other big items.
As for the betrothal gift, Pan's father had not yet been demoted and the family was still well-off at that time, so he gave five hundred.
The betrothal gift of five hundred yuan was not low, and it was the first in the entire steel plant's family compound. If it hadn't been for the joke that happened on the day of the proposal, Yue Hongmei would have gone out to show off.
But now these bonuses are not as big as the blow of Pan's father's demotion.
After an extremely uncomfortable meal and seeing the Pan family off, the Ding family went upstairs with drooping shoulders and gathered in a room, all in silence.
The first to break the silence was Yue Hongmei, who muttered quietly, "You're not even a division commander, yet you're putting on airs with us."
At that time, she did not dare to argue with Pan's mother, but now Yue Hongmei was angry thinking about those words. She muttered and belittled the Pan family, and began to complain about Ding Guo: "She came back just to bring bad luck to us!"
Ding Zhigang remained silent. It was too late to say anything more at this point. His attention was focused elsewhere.
It is not difficult to judge from the attitude of the Pan family tonight that they hate their own side very much.
It was supposed to be a marriage, but it turned into an enmity. The family probably won't get much help from it.
His plan to get a promotion through luck, his plan to help his son transfer jobs, all the beautiful things he imagined would bring prosperity to the whole family, were probably shattered.
He took out a cigarette and a match, lit it, and took a long puff!
Ding Jianshe still couldn't believe that the Pan family's current predicament was caused by that eldest sister.
How could an educated youth who had just returned from the countryside have so much power?
The two youngest ones also had their disappointments: the food was too ordinary, without any big dishes. It was not as good as the sumptuous meals their mother cooked every time Sister Nianjun came home in the early days!
Ding Nianjun leaned on Yue Hongmei's shoulder and sobbed softly. The gap was too big. Why did Pan's father get demoted?
Pan Dingfeng too, why didn’t he tell them in advance?
Why has she persisted for so long?
When this thought came to her mind, Ding Nianjun herself didn't realize that her obsession with marrying Pan Dingfeng had already changed unconsciously.
On the other side, when the Ding family was still being scolded as grandsons, Ding Guo was sitting in the Pei family's living room with a little embarrassment. There were four dishes and a soup on the dining table in front of him, including braised lamb, old chef's cabbage, Beijing-style shredded pork, Kung Pao chicken and lotus root and pork ribs soup.
Sitting next to him was Mr. Pei, who had a kind smile on his face. He said in a gentle and cautious manner, "Xiao Ding, eat quickly. Don't be polite. Just treat it like your own home."
Before Ding Guolin left, Xiao Haifeng came to her and asked her to help bring two letters here, one of which was to Mr. Pei.
In the afternoon, I went to the guesthouse to put down my luggage, declined the invitation of several colleagues to go shopping, and came to the military compound according to the address.
She originally wanted to give it to the soldier on guard at the gate and ask him to pass it on, but as luck would have it, Mr. Pei happened to come back and brought her in with him.
In addition to Mr. Pei, there is also Aunt Zhang who is responsible for cooking. She prepared a sumptuous meal to entertain Ding Guo.
Ding Guo felt quite embarrassed. Firstly, her relationship with Pei Che... She had never visited the family before, so how could she have imagined such a coincidence? Secondly, apart from the letter for the old man, she came empty-handed.
Because she had no plan to come in. Not only did she not plan to come in, she also planned to return to her own yard as soon as she delivered the letter. She was also thinking about the dates in the yard, which should be ripe.
Old Master Pei didn't care about these false formalities, fearing that they would scare the little girl. He didn't ask anything, nor did he invite his granddaughter and her husband's family to come and keep them company. He just had a simple meal, talked about the progress of Qi Guangming's case, asked Ding Guo if she had any difficulties at work, and praised her work ability... Although the old man didn't know Ding Guo's work very well, he just judged that Ding Guo must be a good hand in the factory because she was selected by the factory to participate in the exchange and study.
Slowly, Ding Guo also relaxed and ate while chatting with the old man.
Seeing how she enjoyed her meal, Old Master Pei also ate half a bowl of rice and said, "It's rare for you to come to the capital. If you are not busy at work these days, come to my house for dinner. If the Huang and Song families knew you were in the capital, they would be very happy. I will arrange for you to meet later."
The Song and Huang families were the ones who had just returned from the places where they were sent down. Although they were not reinstated to their original positions, with the Pei family's operation, they were arranged good jobs. The two families were naturally grateful to the Pei family, and were also grateful to Xiao Haifeng, whom they had never met, and Ding Guo, who indirectly influenced their fate.
Ding Guo didn't dare to accept this favor and wanted to refuse, but Mr. Pei's tone lowered, and he said: "Xiao Ding, there were cow sheds in the place where you went to the countryside before, right? You know more directly than me how they live and what their situation is. It's simply dark. If they really made a big mistake and hurt the country and the people, it's their own fault and they deserve it, but they were framed. In that desperate environment, because of you, they were vindicated. Although it was not a case you handled personally, you sent Qi Guangming to prison. And I heard from Xiao Haifeng that you asked these questions when you met Qi Guangming. Shouldn't the Song and Huang families thank you?"
The old man smiled kindly: "You should give them a chance to thank you!"
Ding Guo stopped struggling and said, "I'll listen to Grandpa Pei. Just make the arrangements!"
Mr. Pei nodded with a smile: "Good boy, eat quickly!"
After dinner, she talked to the old man for a while and was taken out of the military compound in a military jeep. In the back seat, besides her, there were two aluminum lunch boxes, two steamed buns wrapped in oil paper, and a bag of apples. In the lunch box were the dishes that Mr. Pei asked Aunt Zhang to pack for her, braised lamb and Kung Pao chicken. He made some extra when cooking and left them for her to eat tomorrow morning.
The street lights were dim, but when leaving the compound, Ding Guo still saw Pan Dingfeng walking into the compound through the car window.
Ding Guo raised an eyebrow.
There were three other people with Pan Dingfeng. Judging from their age and body language, it was not difficult to judge their relationship. They should be the four members of the Pan family.
Back at the guesthouse, the colleagues who went out shopping in the afternoon had already returned. They had taken a shower and were sitting on their beds, chatting with their wet hair hanging out. When Ding Guo came in, his temporary roommate smiled and greeted him, "You're back!"
The room where Ding Guo lives is a four-person room. The other three people are Zhang Yueju, Zheng Guihong and Meng Duodi.
Among them, Ding Guo and Zheng Guihong are from the same workshop but not in the same group, and the other two are from other workshops.
When Ding Guo went upstairs, he found a dead corner and put the lunch box and steamed buns into the space. He only kept a few apples and gave one to each of the other three people. He smiled and said, "You're back. Are you all done washing? I'll go take a shower first."
"Go take a shower quickly. There's no bathing pool, only a shower. It's a little cold at first, but it will warm up after a while." Meng Duodi said.
"I'll go and take a look."
Ding Guo took his things and went to the public bathroom. There were three shower heads and no one was inside at the moment. It was okay to keep his clothes on, but it would be cold if he took off his clothes.
It's much colder here in the capital than in Fengning.
Ding Guo came out again and went into the toilet next door. Fortunately, this toilet had a cubicle. After going in and closing the door, Ding Guo slipped into the space.
Taking advantage of the difference in the speed of time, he took a comfortable shower in the bathroom of the space, washed and dried the clothes he wore today, and emerged with wet hair. After making sure that no one was in the toilet and there were no other guests hanging around nearby, Ding Guo took his things back to the room and joined the chatting group.
I heard Zhang Yueju and a few others chattering about their afternoon shopping trip.
Apart from a few tourist attractions, the street scenes of the capital were all new to them. However, due to time constraints, they only visited Tiananmen Square and not other places. They also saw a shop selling roast duck, but they were reluctant to go in to try it. They just stood outside and smelled the fragrance.
"It smells so good, I think I can eat three steamed buns just standing at the door with the aroma of roast duck."
When Meng Duodi thought of the aroma of roast duck, he couldn't help swallowing.
Zheng Guihong said with a smile: "It smells really good, but it's also really expensive."
Ding Guo also felt greedy after hearing what he said.
She didn't get to eat roast duck the last time she came because she didn't have the meat ticket.
Now... there are no local meat coupons. If you have a chance, you can go to the black market here and see if you can exchange something for something.
When they were chatting enthusiastically, Zhang Cuifang came over and called them: "Come over for a meeting, and talk about the precautions for visiting Capital Food Factory No. 1 tomorrow..."
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