Chapter 12
A surprise physical inspection by the Provincial Department of Education caused chaos in the Zhou family.
After receiving the news, Zhou Zhenye dropped his work and ran back to the family compound.
"What's going on? Xiaomu has always been in great shape, how could he fail the physical examination?"
After his son was born, his career flourished, the family's living conditions became better and better, and his son never suffered from grievances in terms of food and clothing.
When asked about his health problems, Zhou Zhenye was the first one who didn't believe it.
Liu Yun touched her son's forehead. "He had a low-grade fever the day before the physical exam and was listless. He didn't eat dinner or breakfast. The Education Department announced the physical exam so suddenly, I think he was probably too nervous..."
Zhou Muyang lay on the bed, closed his eyes and said nothing.
He didn't tell the truth to his mother. In fact, he didn't eat three proper meals before the physical examination.
At noon the next day after he went to Ye Manzhi to reconcile, he and his friends were having lunch at a nearby state-owned restaurant, and happened to see Ye Manzhi walking with two men.
One was a baby-faced guy with permed hair and wearing a cadre uniform, and the other was a young police officer wearing a white uniform.
Each person was holding a large stack of things similar to grain purchase books in his arms, which were half a meter thick.
Ye Manzhi was wearing a pink shirt that was tacky yet inexplicably pretty. Her skin was dazzlingly white. She was carrying only three lunch boxes in her hands and was walking in the middle of the group in a frivolous and flamboyant manner.
The three of them were talking and laughing as they passed by the restaurant. One of the diners almost bumped into Ye Manyi when he was leaving the restaurant, and was blocked by the police officer with his shoulder.
After taking a glance at this scene, he immediately lost his appetite.
Then he thought of what Ye Manzhi said about her going on a blind date and finding the right person. He only ate two of the wontons in the bowl that had just been served and gave them to someone else.
When he came back from the preparatory class in the afternoon, it was raining heavily. He had a low fever after being caught in the rain, and he slept through dinner and breakfast the next day.
With his physique, it wouldn't be a big deal if he skipped a few meals; he could recover with a good meal later. But things turned out to be so unfortunate. It just so happened that he caught up with the Education Department's surprise physical examination!
Liu Yun said anxiously, "Old Zhou, hypoglycemia isn't a serious problem. Can you find someone to help?"
"If it can be cleared, then what does it matter if those people were rejected in the physical examination before?" Zhou Zhenye asked with a gloomy face, staring at his son, "Tell me the truth, what exactly happened before the physical examination? Can a fever make you not eat?"
He intuitively felt that this matter was related to the girl from the Ye family.
A few days ago, Uncle Ye came to our house to give us gifts. This kid was so happy that he even said he would consider getting back together with him.
Just two days after he said this, he stopped talking about it.
Zhou Mu was sorely touched by the question that he turned his back and shouted angrily, "Is it okay to have a fever and no appetite? What are you asking? Are you two annoying?"
Liu Yun was furious: "How can you talk to your dad like that?"
"Forget it," Zhou Zhenye's face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot. "I should first use my connections to ask if the medical examination can be reviewed. I really owed this evildoer a lot in my past life!"
The Zhou family was in a gloomy mood, but the Ye family was in a completely different mood when they heard the news.
"His family dared to tamper with your medical examination form, and now his son has been rejected because he failed the medical examination! Hahaha..." Chang Yue'e laughed heartily and bought two pounds of pork ribs as extra dishes.
Ye Shouxin also swept away the gloom of the past few days and a smile appeared on his face.
Although Ye Manzhi had doubts in her heart that the fool Zhou Mu might have gone on a hunger strike.
But Zhou Mu was a man who cared about his reputation. If he really lost his qualification to study abroad because of the hunger strike, he would definitely feel ashamed. He would rather admit to hypoglycemia than admit to the hunger strike.
In any case, the Zhou family's misfortune is a great joy for the Ye family.
Taking advantage of her family's good mood, Ye Manzhi invited Chang Yue'e, her third sister-in-law and her fourth sister-in-law to go to the Children's Primary School to listen to her preach the Marriage Law.
The mother-in-law, daughter-in-law and their two children had no entertainment activities in the evening, so they happily agreed to go and support Cadre Xiao Ye.
However, when they arrived at school on time, the large classroom on the east side of the playground was full of people.
There were many female comrades at the door moving chairs to find seats.
Looking at the huge crowd in the classroom, Sister-in-law Shen Liangmei murmured, "Oh my god, didn't my younger sister say that no one came to their event promoting the marriage law? Why are there so many people here?"
And most of them are familiar faces in the courtyard.
Huang Li pointed to the blackboard and asked her to look at it herself.
However, Shen Liangmei had never been to school. She learned a few words in a literacy class right after the liberation, but after not using them for a few years, she gave them all back.
She only recognized two or three of the words written in colored chalk on the blackboard.
Huang Li had no choice but to read it to her: "Special event for the Marriage Law Promotion Month - introducing several cutting patterns that are particularly good at saving fabric to residents."
Most of the older generation of female comrades have some tailoring skills and can make things themselves instead of buying them.
In addition, this year the country began to implement unified purchase and sale of textiles, and each person was allocated a fixed amount of cloth coupons per month, so everyone always felt that the cloth on hand was not enough.
This event, organized by Ye Manzhi on a whim, accurately captured the urgent needs of housewives.
As soon as the news of the course was announced, female comrades immediately flocked to it.
At this time, Ye Manzhi and Chen Caixia had no time to greet their families. Looking at the classroom full of middle-aged and elderly women and children running around, they were both a little nervous.
Chen Caixia swallowed and whispered, "If I tell everyone that we have to listen to a marriage law promotion video first, we'll probably be drowned in spit, right?"
"It's okay. Considering our respective positions, I can bear the scolding. Sister Caixia, let's divide the work. You'll be responsible for explaining the content of the Marriage Law, and I'll be responsible for taking the scolding!"
Chen Caixia was amused by her: "It's already this hour, and you're still joking!"
This event was jointly organized by the two of them. Ye Manzhi would demonstrate the cutting method to everyone, and the part of explaining the marriage law would fall on her shoulders.
In the past, it was Director Mu who gave the lecture, but today was her first time on stage.
Chen Caixia walked up to the podium nervously and knocked on the blackboard.
The residents who heard the noise thought that they were going to start introducing ways to save fabric, and gradually quieted down.
Unexpectedly, Chen Caixia started talking about the Marriage Law, and the audience immediately became unhappy.
At first, out of consideration for the young cadre's face, the residents only complained to the people around them, but once the person on the stage started talking endlessly, someone interrupted him directly.
"Hey, Officer Chen, it clearly says on the notice board: 'We're teaching tailoring,' so why is it different here?"
"that is!"
"If you don't keep your word, who will dare to participate in street activities in the future?"
Seeing that the scene was becoming chaotic, Ye Manzhi and Chen Caixia looked at each other, and hurriedly walked up to the podium with chalk and cloth according to their agreement and replaced the person.
She shook her head and smiled bitterly, "Everyone's really being disrespectful. They don't want to hear us promote the Marriage Law at all! Okay, since you're asking to learn tailoring, let me first introduce a pattern for a blouse with a square collar, long sleeves, and patch pockets that we women wear most often."
In order to make the last row visible, she used the entire blackboard as a piece of cloth and drew a huge cutting pattern on it.
Seeing that she got to the point, the classroom gradually returned to silence.
"That's more like it. You should talk about something useful. What's the point of you talking about all the clauses of the Marriage Law?"
Ye Manzhi stopped marking the numbers and turned to say, "Grandma Wang, you should have come to our marriage law lecture. If you had come earlier, your daughter's problem would have been solved a long time ago."
Others didn't understand what was going on and asked curiously, "What happened to Grandma Wang's daughter?"
Someone who lived in the same building as Grandma Wang helped reply, "Her son-in-law went out to do business before liberation and hasn't been back for seven or eight years. Recently, her daughter couldn't wait any longer and wanted to remarry, but her in-laws wouldn't let her. They even hid the child."
Grandma Wang's daughter-in-law kept asking, "Comrade Xiaoye, do you have any good ideas for my sister-in-law's situation?"
Ye Manzhi shook her head. "Everyone wants to learn tailoring. Let's talk about your family's affairs later."
"No, if you have an idea, just tell us and we'll help you think it over."
"Yes, Officer Xiaoye, let's all help!"
"Okay," Ye Manzhi stopped picking up the chalk and threw it down, saying, "Grandma Wang, the key to this matter isn't her in-laws."
"So what's the key?"
"The key is to first confirm whether your son-in-law is alive or dead! If he's dead, your daughter is free to marry and no one else can interfere. If he's alive, the couple must go through the divorce procedures together. Marriage and divorce are matters between two people, and have nothing to do with her in-laws. What they say won't matter."
"That's the problem! Liu Zhiguo's been gone for seven or eight years, and there's no news. Who knows if he's dead or alive?" Grandma Wang asked hurriedly. "He hasn't shown up, and the government won't issue a divorce certificate. Cadre Xiaoye, what can you do?"
"That depends on your daughter's determination. If she's determined to leave her in-laws, she can file for a divorce. The court will then place an ad in the newspaper to search for the missing man. If he doesn't respond within a specified period of time, the court will grant the divorce."
Grandma Wang shook her head repeatedly. "One lawsuit is a three-generation revenge. Which kind of family would go to court?"
"That's why I asked if your daughter is determined to remarry."
The street office holds study sessions every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. While giving lectures to residents, these young cadres must also persist in learning.
Grandma Wang’s daughter’s situation was similar to a case they had learned, and in the end they had no choice but to seek help from the court.
Ye Manzhi clapped her hands, interrupting the buzz of discussion in the classroom. She smiled and said, "Our neighborhood office has encountered many similar situations, including the issue of raising children born out of wedlock and whether child brides can find partners after their husbands join the army... But today we're here to introduce tailoring patterns, so I won't take up any of your time."
The women listened with great interest and wanted her to tell them about child brides, but the story came to an abrupt end and she stopped talking!
"Okay, okay, let me talk about this women's shirt! Let's take floral seersucker as an example. A standard figure would need at most 3'7" of cloth. You can make a one- or two-inch slit at the upper shoulder of the cuff," Ye Manzhi stretched out her arms. "After making this slit, when we raise our arms, the shirt won't lift up..."
"Well, Comrade Xiaoye's idea is good. Short shirts do have this problem." The speaker was a female master from the street clothing production cooperative.
The cutting method was recognized by professionals, making the women who were originally skeptical start to take Ye Manzhi's teaching content seriously again.
Someone in the audience soon raised their hand to ask a question.
"Officer Xiaoye, if I were to make a shirt like this out of cotton, how many feet would I need? Would 3 feet 7 inches be enough?"
"I use floral seersucker as an example because it has the narrowest fabric, only 1 foot 92. If I use cotton or silk, the material used will be even less, and a standard figure wouldn't need 3 feet 7."
"Officer Xiaoye, why does the collar on this pattern only have one layer? Can a single-layer collar look good?"
"A single-layer collar saves more than three inches of fabric compared to a double-layer collar. If you think it's not beautiful, you can do what I did," Ye Manzhi tugged at the collar of his shirt, "and add lace to the collar. After all, lace doesn't require a ticket, but fabric does, so it's best to save as much as possible."
Ye Manzhi was very patient and answered everyone's questions one by one.
If there are questions she cannot answer, she will ask Chang Yue'e, who taught her tailoring skills, and the female master of the cooperative to help answer them.
Everyone shared skills and communicated with each other, resulting in Ye Manzhi only introducing the pattern of a women's shirt throughout the entire class.
Even so, there were still some illiterate women who could not keep up with the progress and complained that Cadre Xiaoye spoke too fast!
Ye Manzhi discussed it with Chen Caixia, then turned to the crowd and said, "Next we'll introduce how to cut drawers, male and female cadre uniforms, children's clothing, bras, and men's and women's Western-style underwear. Anyone interested, please raise your hands!"
Suddenly, almost everyone raised their hands.
"Then we will hold classes in this classroom every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. We will introduce a tailoring pattern every day, but we will also explain the content of the marriage law before or during class. Anyone who is interested can come and listen."
An older woman in the audience asked loudly, "Comrade Xiaoye, can that child bride find a partner after her husband joins the army?"
Ye Manzhi laughed along with everyone else, waved her hand and said, "It's too late today. We'll talk about child brides at the next seminar."
In fact, she didn't know whether a child bride could find a partner. According to Article 2 of the Marriage Law, child brides are prohibited. However, if the man is an active revolutionary soldier, he must take into account the provisions of Article 19 of the Marriage Law.
Therefore, in order to have something meaningful to say in class next time, she had to cram and go to the unit to ask her leader for advice.
*
After that day, Ye Manzhi and Chen Caixia organized several tailoring classes in succession, and the response was very good.
The tailoring patterns taught in the class are very popular among women.
Several of Ye Manzhi's fashion albums were also borrowed out one after another and circulated everywhere in the military industrial compound.
Soon someone asked Chang Yue'e about Ye Manzhi's situation.
But Comrade Chang Yue'e was extremely clear-headed. She looked friendly and greeted people, but she didn't reveal a word.
The second girl is a lesson for us. Because she has good tailoring skills, she couldn't rest even during her pregnancy.
She couldn't marry Lai Ya into such a family.
Director Mu of the street office also received positive feedback from some women and praised Ye Manzhi and Chen Caixia at the weekly meeting.
"Quyi performances are indeed lively, but the audience is mostly gay men and children. This time, the tailoring class attracted many lesbians, which just made up for the lack of quyi performances."
"However, both of your groups share a flaw: the content regarding the Marriage Law is insufficient. I hope everyone can make adjustments as soon as possible and learn more from the First and Second Neighborhood Committees."
The four newcomers nodded to show that they accepted the lesson.
Mulan paused for a moment, sighed deeply, and said, "Xiao Ye and Xiao Chen, since your activities are suitable for female comrades, why not pay attention to the female compatriots in our street's 'special population' and let them attend the lecture as well."
Ye and Chen asked at the same time: "Director, what is a special population?"
"Probationers, released prisoners, landlords living in the city, controlled individuals, and social vagrants are all considered special populations. The women in our street's 'special population' are mainly social vagrants, such as dancers, prostitutes, and thieves..."
"Due to their sensitive status, some people are reluctant to go out all year round. It's definitely not good for them to be so out of touch with society. Letting them listen to marriage law and learn tailoring patterns can be considered a bit of social activity."
Seeing them standing there without saying anything, Mulan sighed again: "They are all miserable people. If there is any other choice, no one would want to go astray. Although they are still being watched by the street and police stations, most of them have already turned over a new leaf. Don't judge them with tinted glasses."
Chen Caixia and Ye Manzhi nodded repeatedly and took a list from the director.
After get off work that day, Ye Manzhi took a ride with her third sister-in-law and went to the addresses on the list to notify every household.
"Sister-in-law, let's go to Xue Qiao'er's house on Guangming Erdao Street first. Her house is in the same alley as my fifth brother's. After notifying her family, I'll go to my fifth brother's yard to pick some cucumbers."
Huang Li frowned and asked, "Why did you go to Xue Qiaoer's house? Her family's situation is special, so you should go there less often."
Ye Manzhi sat on her royal beam and whispered the task assigned by Director Mu.
"My mother wouldn't let me go to my fifth brother's house alone. She lied to me and told me there was a murderer living in the alley. I guess she didn't want to tell me about Xue Qiao'er's situation and wanted to scare me with the murderer."
Huang Li said, "Then you should be obedient and don't go over there unless necessary."
Although Chang Yue'e's words were meant to deceive Ye Manyi, she was actually not wrong. There was indeed a murderer in Xue Qiaoer's family, but he was a future murderer.
According to the development of the book, Ye Manlin, the fifth brother who lives in the same alley, will soon be killed by the family's revenge and his body will be destroyed in a fire.
The houses in Guangzi Pian are all old brick and wood structure bungalows, one next to the other, one family after another. After they caught fire, the fire spread rapidly. Coupled with the failure to put out the fire in time at night, the entire street was engulfed in flames.
This major murder and arson case, rare in decades, resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries.
The main leaders of the district were all dismissed, and the Guangming Sub-district Office even had a complete staff replacement.
The most important thing is that Ye Laowu is her mother-in-law's biological son. He moved out on his own to make room for his two brothers who have started their own families.
Chang Yue'e was filled with resentment and turned completely evil after her own son's death...
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