Chapter 81
Ye Manzhi was pleasantly surprised to find that Pangdundun could not only be a photographer, but also a part-time translator and guide.
Although he is young, he can speak fluent Cantonese.
Under Liangyu's leadership, Ye Manzhi and Wu Zhengrong walked through the streets and tasted all the delicacies personally certified by Pangdun.
The most important thing is that Ye Manzhi bought 100 kilograms of dry rice noodles!
This time when she went on a long trip, she brought all the cash in the family with her and borrowed an extra hundred yuan from her fifth brother for cash flow.
In addition to satisfying my appetite, I also want to use the excuse of "giving gifts to family and friends" to stock up on more supplies.
According to her plan, she would buy more dried seafood when she arrived in the south, as they were cheap and easy to preserve, and they were also meat dishes.
But after discovering that the state-owned restaurants in Guangzhou did not charge tickets, she had other ideas.
When the state-owned restaurants in Binjiang did not require tickets, corresponding grain products such as noodles and fresh-cut noodles also did not require tickets.
She asked Liangyu to help ask the salesperson at the supply and marketing cooperative. After hearing that the dry rice noodles displayed at the counter did not require a ticket, she decisively bought 100 kilograms.
Liangyu also considerately helped her explain to the salesperson that her uncle and aunt were from other places and wanted to bring some rice noodles home for their relatives to try.
"Director Xiao Ye," Wu Zhengrong said, stunned by his wife's generosity. "Why are you buying so much rice noodles? Rice noodles are made from rice, and my parents might not be used to them. Just buy a dozen pounds for everyone to try."
People in the north are used to eating noodles, and the supply and marketing cooperatives have never sold rice noodles.
"If I think something is delicious, my parents will definitely think it's delicious too. The fried rice noodles and soup rice noodles we just had were both good. They're all made from grains, so what's there to be irritated about?" Ye Manzhi patted his shoulder. "I'm sorry to trouble you, Comrade Military Representative. We'll be counting on you to bring this bag of rice noodles back to Binjiang."
Wu Zhengrong couldn't persuade his wife, and he didn't plan to carry the rice noodles back to Binjiang.
After leaving the supply and marketing cooperative, he went straight to the post office opposite and handled the mailing.
"You still have a way!"
While praising the military representative, Ye Manzhi filled in her home address on the form.
The mail delivery was extremely slow, and by the time they finished their trip and returned to Binjiang, the package might still be on the way.
However, Ye Manzhi did not mind that it was expensive and slow. After sending out the 100 kilograms of rice noodles, when she passed by another supply and marketing cooperative, she bought another 100 kilograms of dry rice noodles.
Wu Zhengrong: “…”
Is Pho really that delicious?
His wife only ate a plate of fried rice noodles, but she bought 200 kilograms of dried rice noodles to take home...
Ye Manzhi pretended not to see his strange look and went to the post office again to mail the package.
This time she was more careful to prevent so much food from being intercepted on the way. She divided the 100 kilograms of rice noodles into three packages and filled in the addresses of No. 16 Courtyard, Old Ye's family and Fifth Brother's family respectively.
At first glance, it looks like it was mailed to a relative.
When she passed the third supply and marketing cooperative and was about to repeat her old trick, Wu Zhengrong finally couldn't stand it anymore and tried to dissuade her, "Aren't you tired of eating rice noodles all the time?"
"I'm not tired of it. I eat rice and steamed buns every day, so how could I get tired of it?"
Ye Manzhi complained in his heart, this is real food, the only requirement for it is that it can fill the stomach.
In fact, she didn't want to go through so much trouble to purchase hundreds of kilograms of rice noodles to bring back to Binjiang. Adding the shipping costs and losses on the road, it was not cheaper than buying noodles locally in Binjiang.
However, this is the only opportunity she can find to purchase food in bulk!
The food she had stored before could only be temporarily placed in the cellar, but now that these dried rice noodles had a clear path forward for Wu Zhengrong, they could be stored openly at home.
Wu Zhengrong didn't know what she was thinking. After a moment's hesitation, he suggested, "Two hundred kilograms of rice noodles will last for a long time. Why don't you buy some rice noodles?"
At least it's a change of pace.
"..." Thinking that another round of arguments would be wasted, Ye Manzhi asked in surprise, "Why didn't you stop me?"
"If you like it, buy it. Besides, it's better to store more food at home to be prepared."
Wu Zhengrong has his own considerations on the issue of food.
The unified purchase and sale of grain and limited supply have only been happening in the past two years.
Previously, it was only piloted in a few provinces and cities, but now all cities and towns across the country have begun to use food stamps, and there is a very detailed distinction between the quotas for manual and mental laborers.
It is clear that food supply shortage is a national problem.
Most of their food coupons were used in the company cafeteria, and they had almost no food left at home.
Although the transportation of these rice noodles is troublesome for Ye Lai Ya, the grain products that do not require tickets are still worth purchasing.
Following his suggestion, Ye Manzhi bought 100 kilograms of rice noodles and sent them back to Binjiang.
When she walked out of the post office again, she couldn't help but sigh in her heart that it was so easy to talk to smart people. Before she could think of any words to say, they had already found one for her!
Ye Manzhi was very excited. She reached out and turned the fat head to the other side. Then, in the alley next to the post office, she secretly kissed the military representative.
Wu Zhengrong: “…”
Are you so happy just to buy some pho?
She actually dared to kiss him in broad daylight!
Liangyu held up the soda bottle and asked, "Aunt, why are you twisting my head?"
"Oh, there's a dessert shop over there. Do you want some sesame paste?"
*
After successfully buying 300 kilograms of rice noodles and rice noodles, Ye Manzhi felt more relaxed. She followed her nephew around for the entire afternoon and only handed him over to her eldest brother-in-law after dinner.
After a busy day, Ye Manzhi was tired and sleepy and just wanted to go back to the guesthouse to sleep. However, as soon as she came out of the public bathroom, her elder sister came to the door.
"Xiao Ye, do you really have a source of bicycles over in Binjiang?"
When Wu Dailan got home from get off work and saw the note his son brought back, he rushed over without stopping.
"Yes, but it's just a medium-sized factory. They just started trial-producing bicycles this year, so it's not very well-known yet."
While wiping her hair, Ye Manzhi introduced the situation of the 3rd Hardware Society to her.
"Besides, the province is very strict about the supply of bicycles. If you don't exchange other supplies with us, I'm afraid it won't work. Sister, did you read the note? Can you find the relevant source?"
"Changzhou combs and Fuzhou ox-horn combs have low production but great reputations, and have always been in short supply. It is also difficult for our department store to purchase them. However, we can think of a way to get litsea cubeba oil."
Litsea cubeba oil is the raw material for making soap and cosmetic fragrances.
Nowadays, there are daily chemical factories in almost every province and city, and Litsea cubeba oil is also a scarce commodity, and it is really difficult for ordinary people to find sources.
But Wu Dailan was the head of the supply and marketing department of a department store. When purchasing bicycles, watches, and sewing machines, she had to beg the major factories for help.
When it comes to purchasing ordinary daily necessities, especially unplanned daily necessities, others come to her for help.
Wu Dailan does not have the source of Litsea cubeba oil, but the major daily chemical factories must have reserves.
She could find a local daily chemical factory to allocate some Litsea cubeba oil and resell it to Binjiang. This might be possible.
Anyway, she only needs two or three hundred bicycles. Since both sides are exchanging supplies, there is no need to give too much litsea cubeba oil.
Wu Dailan introduced the situation on his side and said, "Xiao Ye, introduce me to the person in charge over in Binjiang, and I will contact them myself. You have finally come to Guangdong, so you should cherish your time and travel around. Don't bother with my affairs."
Her younger brother and sister-in-law were really kind-hearted. They were willing to help her solve her problems the first time they met. No matter whether the matter succeeded or not, she had to prepare something for her younger brother and his wife to take back to Binjiang when they returned.
Ye Manzhi said truthfully, "I'm looking for the director of the Materials Department of the Binjiang Commercial Bureau, but we met on the train and didn't have much of a relationship before. You might have to put in some effort when you talk to her, big sister."
Anyway, a small cadre like her has no face in front of the leaders, and this needs to be explained clearly to her elder sister-in-law.
…
Ye Manzhi and Wu Zhengrong spent four days eating, drinking and having fun in Guangzhou. When Old Wu made a long-distance call to his daughter and asked about his youngest son's situation in a tactful way, they leisurely packed their luggage and boarded a boat to the island with their personal photographer.
The young couple enjoyed their own world and was willing to help her take care of the children. Wu Dailan really didn't know what to say.
This sister-in-law is really impeccable. She has to call her mother to complain about her.
Yes, she felt that it must be Ye Manzhi's credit that the young couple was willing to take Liangyu with them on the trip.
She knew very well what kind of temper her brother had. He looked very kind from the front, but behind the scenes he was so arrogant that he seemed to be sticking up to the sky.
It's okay to let him stay with the child for a while, but it's absolutely impossible to ask him to take care of the child for a long time.
Wu Zhengrong was indeed impatient to play with children, but the chubby Liangyu had his own value, so he was quite willing to take his nephew with him.
"Aunt, your hair is messed up. Switch places with my uncle and let him block the wind for you!"
Ye Manzhi suppressed her laughter, moved to Wu Zhengrong's other side, adjusted her hair, and asked, "Is this okay?"
"It's okay, uncle, why don't you smile?"
The fat photographer was much more knowledgeable than the old master in the photo studio, and he often asked the two of them to smile, laugh, and grin.
Especially when he heard his mother say that film was very expensive and that one roll of film could almost buy two ox tongue pastries, he would remind his uncle to smile before taking each photo.
Ye Manzhi couldn't wait to see the finished film. She believed that the results taken by the fat photographer would be very good.
Among the photographers she met, only the child Liangyu asked them to get closer and smile more.
Fatty is so cute!
Ye Manzhi took out three pieces of crispy candy on the deck and gave one to Wu Zhengrong and Fatty. "Liangyu, do you visit your grandparents often? How's the environment over there?"
"I used to go there often, but then my grandma lost her job and I stopped going. The environment is okay, and it's not far from the beach. I like swimming in the sea, but my grandpa always won't let me."
Ye Manzhi was stunned for a moment and asked, "Why is your grandma unemployed?"
She remembered that her mother-in-law seemed to be the principal of an elementary school. Who would dare to remove her as the principal?
Liangyu sat on a bench, swinging his feet leisurely. "Anyway, I don't have a job, so I won't go to work."
Wu Zhengrong translated for his nephew: "His grandmother has retired."
"When did it happen?"
"It seems like it was a few months ago. I didn't know before, but I heard about it from my brother-in-law yesterday."
Fatty continued, "My grandma is not doing well after she stopped working. She won't allow me to do anything! My mom says she's going through menopause."
Ye Manzhi thought, in the past, people worked every day and had no time to take care of the children at home. Now that they are retired and have energy, shouldn’t they take care of the children?
The news made her a little nervous.
According to their original plan, everyone had to go to work during the day, and they could stay at home or go out freely.
However, after her mother-in-law retires, she will definitely stay at home most of the time.
Wouldn't that mean I would have to stare at her at home every day?
If the mother-in-law had a personality like that of her elder sister-in-law, she would be quite happy to get along with her.
However, from the only meeting they had, her mother-in-law was not a talkative person, nor did she seem to like to joke.
It does fit her stereotypical image of an elementary school principal.
Ye Manzhi leaned over to Wu Zhengrong and whispered, "Now that Mom has retired, can we still go out and play?"
"What does her retirement have to do with us hanging out?"
"We're on family leave, so it's fine if she's working, but since we're retired and at home, we should take this opportunity to spend some quality time together, right?"
Wu Zhengrong looked at the surging waves and said casually, "We are the younger generation, and it is not our turn to worry about such things. You just follow me when the time comes and we will just act according to circumstances."
Ye Manzhi thought to herself, yes, Wu Zhengrong is his biological son, and she is just his daughter-in-law. She just needs to follow Wu Zhengrong in everything.
*
On the other side, at Political Commissar Wu’s house.
Wu Huainian was also talking about his two children with his wife.
"You can wear this one, don't change! We didn't attend our two children's weddings, but this is the first time our son has brought his wife home, and we have to go to the dock to greet them." Wu Huainian glanced at his watch and said, "Comrade Sun, please be more efficient. There's a traffic jam outside today, so we have to leave two hours early."
"You know there's a traffic jam outside before you even leave the house?"
"Xiao Liu reported in advance that there's a parade in the city, and it's difficult to drive."
Sun Ruzhen turned around in surprise and asked, "Why is there another parade? What happened again?"
"Britain and the United States have invaded the Middle East." Wu Huainian checked his watch again and urged, "Hurry up! Don't be late today!"
Sun Ruzhen slid sideways onto the chair next to him and discussed with him, "Old Wu, how about you go on my behalf? I'm not going."
"Didn't we agree on this? Let's go pick up our daughter-in-law together!"
The air was quiet for more than ten seconds. Wu Huainian sighed and said, "Although Zhengrong didn't grow up with us, he is your biological child after all. When we meet our child, we should act like parents. Even if we're not affectionate, we can't be too distant, right?"
Old Wu feels that although he and his son do not see each other often, they often exchange letters and phone calls, and their relationship is still quite close.
But Comrade Lao Sun's performance in this regard is far inferior to his.
Her son brought his wife home, it was such a big deal, but she backed out at the last minute!
"Don't always hold a grudge against the past. Our family's situation was caused by the times. How many families fell apart back then? We're lucky to be alive and well. It's just fate."
When the news of the eldest brother's sacrifice came, he and the third brother quickly realized the difficulties of the world. They made plans for their own affairs after death and sent the youngest son Zhengrong back to his hometown to leave a descendant for the old Wu family.
As a result, less than a year after he sent his own son back to his hometown, his eldest brother's two sons were sent to him.
After my eldest brother's death, my sister-in-law fell ill and passed away after more than half a year.
In those days, the three brothers were scattered across the country for work, making communication extremely inconvenient.
If he had known that this would be the result of his sister-in-law taking the child back to her parents' home, he should have sent the three of them back to Binjiang.
It is no longer safe to find an opportunity to send my nephew back now.
At that time, the Japanese army had fully occupied the Northeast, and the roads were in chaos. The eldest brother only left these two sons. If something went wrong on the road, how would he explain to his eldest brother and sister-in-law?
So he had to temporarily keep his nephew by his side and leave his youngest son with his parents.
Maybe the children have all been wronged, but after so many years, Old Wu feels that he has a clear conscience and is worthy of everyone.
He also gets along well with his four children and two nephews.
The only regret is Comrade Lao Sun. I don’t know what’s wrong with her, but she is always cold and indifferent when facing my youngest son.
"It was my decision to send the child back home. You don't have to blame yourself. The child has never blamed you and is filial to us parents. What else are you dissatisfied with?" Wu Huainian urged again, "Hurry up and change your clothes. Let's go pick up our daughter-in-law together!"
Sun Ruzhen sat in the chair without moving.
It was indeed Old Wu's decision to send the child back to his hometown.
But the person he originally wanted to send back was actually his eldest son Junling. Old Wu wanted to send his eldest son, who had grown up, back to his hometown.
However, her eldest two children accompanied her through the most difficult times, and her feelings for her eldest son and daughter were the deepest.
When Sun Ruzhen heard that Old Wu wanted to send his son away, her first reaction was to strongly oppose it and try every means to keep her eldest son by her side.
Old Wu was determined to send one of the children away, so in a panic, she suggested sending her two-year-old son back.
Children over two years old are the most worrying to their parents. Wu Zhengrong has never had a moment of leisure since he could talk and walk, and he is more naughty than his older brothers and sisters.
Such a young child would open the door and run into the alley at any time.
Sun Ruzhen spent most of her energy on her youngest son at that time, and the child's vigorous energy often made her exhausted.
Therefore, being able to send her youngest son back to her hometown to be raised by her grandparents was another kind of relief for Sun Ruzhen.
She still remembered that when the child was taken away, he didn't cry at all, nor did he keep calling "Mommy" like usual. He just lay quietly on the adult's shoulder and looked at her with his black eyes.
Of course she was reluctant to give up her children, but she had no choice but to choose the former over the eldest son.
When her youngest son was sent away, she cried inconsolably. When she woke up in the middle of the night, she could always think of the child's black and bright eyes.
She didn't think much of it at the time, and later, when she had the chance, she would go back to her hometown to visit her youngest son. But when she heard her mother-in-law boasting, "Zhengrong is as smart as his uncle when he was a child. He could still remember the Tang poems he memorized twice when he was two or three years old when he was seven or eight."
Sun Ruzhen couldn't explain what she felt at that time.
She was not happy about her son's intelligence, she just suddenly felt her hands and feet cold.
Zhengrong is very smart. He can remember the Tang poems he learned when he was two or three years old.
Did he also remember her suggestion to Old Wu that the younger son should replace the older son and return to his hometown?
Zhengrong lived with the couple until he was two years old. The adults thought that children were ignorant and never avoided him when talking.
He may have some impression of the adults' conversation.
Over the years, Old Wu has looked for many opportunities to help her mend her relationship with her son.
Sun Ruzhen also tried to explain something to her son.
But every time she wanted to speak, the pair of eyes in front of her that seemed to see through everything would always overlap with the child's eyes in her dream, blocking all her words in her throat.
The barrier between them was never the two nephews who were raised by her and Old Wu.
But she chose Wu Junling and gave up Wu Zhengrong.
This may be an unspoken secret between mother and son. If she explains too much, it will make her seem hypocritical.
Wu Huainian was unaware of his wife's feelings. After helping her pick out a dignified dress, he urged her again, "Let's go! Today is the first time we're meeting our daughter-in-law, and we absolutely can't be late! Your son is already that old, and it doesn't matter if you don't have much to say to him. Now you have a daughter-in-law, right? As long as you can get along well with her, you'll slowly become closer to your son."
*
Ye Manzhi thought it would be good enough if her father-in-law could send a car to pick them up and take them home. After all, today was a weekday and everyone had to go to work.
Unexpectedly, the level of reception was far more than that. The old couple actually came to the dock to greet them in person!
After Wu Zhengrong introduced the two parties, Ye Manzhi called them "Mom and Dad" generously and enthusiastically.
Old Wu laughed happily and said yes repeatedly. While still at the dock, he gave his daughter-in-law a big red envelope for changing her name.
Ye Manzhi felt the thickness of the red envelope and estimated that it should be no less than the original gift.
Her mother-in-law seemed to be more friendly this time. Although she still didn't say much, she asked them seriously about their journey.
Because the city was organizing a march against British and American invasion of the Middle East, most of the topics along the way revolved around current affairs.
With the presence of the fat grandson, the atmosphere became lively, and the conversation between the two sides during their first meeting was quite harmonious.
The rain in coastal cities came suddenly, and the raindrops fell on the car window, so Ye Manzhi couldn't see the environment near the station clearly. When she got out of the car and ran into her parents-in-law's residence in the rain, she didn't even know the appearance of the house, and she walked in in a daze.
Wu Zhengrong was just about to take her back to the room to change her wet clothes when the door that had just closed outside was pushed open again, and a middle-aged woman walked in holding an umbrella.
"Is Principal Sun home?"
Sun Ruzhen greeted, "We just got back too. Director Liu, please come in!"
There were guests suddenly coming to the house. Ye Manzhi was the daughter-in-law, so it would be impolite to leave now.
So he smiled and sat aside to entertain the guests.
The other party is the lover of the deputy commander of the military region. This time she came to the Wu family to ask Sun Ruzhen, who had just retired, to come out of retirement and set up a kindergarten with other family members.
Sun Ruzhen had just brought her son and daughter-in-law back home, and they would be spending several days together, so she had no time to think about kindergarten.
After hearing the other party's request, I wanted to politely decline it on the grounds that I was entertaining the young couple.
Seeing the hesitation on her face, Ye Manzhi felt a little anxious. She really wanted to say, "Don't worry about us. Just put the overall situation first and go out and pursue your career."
In this way, she could go out with Wu Zhengrong to eat and drink and have fun everywhere with peace of mind.
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