Chapter 82
In order to welcome the arrival of the new daughter-in-law Ye Manzhi, Wu Zhengrong's brother and cousin brought their wives and children home to have a reunion dinner.
It was only then that Ye Manzhi discovered that her parents-in-law actually lived alone! Both their biological son and nephew moved out and lived on their own after getting married.
Compared with his two cousins, Ye Manzhi pays more attention to Wu Zhengrong's elder brother.
Wu Junling was in his thirties, also wearing a military uniform, but his temperament was much gentler than his brother's.
Wu Zhengrong's affability was just a superficial social outward appearance. He was actually extremely arrogant inside. Ye Manzhi saw through him when they first started dating.
But Brother Wu has a rare kind of friendliness. He is not overly enthusiastic towards others, but his kindness is subtle and gentle.
There was a dish of sea cucumber soup for dinner today. Ye Manzhi observed silently and found that Wu Zhengrong drank three bowls of soup in one meal. Except for the first bowl which he served himself, the next two bowls seemed to be served by his eldest brother.
"You and Big Brother have a good relationship, right?"
After returning to the couple's room, Ye Manzhi lay on the bed and chatted with him.
Wu Zhengrong washed off the alcohol and lay down next to her. "Well, although we haven't seen each other in a few years, we've always exchanged letters. And when I was little, he always carried me on his back to go out and play."
"How old were you then? How can you still remember something from such a long time ago?"
"I only have a few images in my mind. Maybe going out to play was so appealing to children. I still remember the stall selling windmills and the monkey showman."
Ye Manzhi turned sideways, stared at him and sighed, "You have a good memory. It would be great if our children could follow you in the future."
"It's fine as you please, you're sweet."
The leaf-covered cricket pupa came over, pursed her lips and kissed him, asking, "Is it sweet?"
"It smells like liquor."
"Tsk, this is Maotai flavor, very precious!" Ye Manzhi pressed her whole body on him, "You smell it carefully."
Wu Zhengrong raised his hand and rubbed her buttocks, and asked in a low voice: "Don't you want to go out and play tomorrow?"
"Think about it, I'll stick with you for a while."
Ye Manzhi stripped him naked and lay on his chest with her face pressed against his chest.
She now recognizes all the members of the Wu family. After looking around for a long time, she still thinks her Wu Zhengrong is the best looking, with facial features that are a combination of the best from his parents.
"But if we run away, won't we leave our mother alone at home?"
It would be great if his brother and sister-in-law also lived here, so that her mother-in-law wouldn’t be left alone!
Wu Zhengrong's palms rose and fell along the curve of the hill. Thinking that it would take several days before the vacation ended and he could go home, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
He patted the soft spot under his hand and said, "Follow me tomorrow and we'll see what happens."
Ye Manzhi was still thinking about how to act according to the situation. The next day, while having breakfast, she heard Wu Zhengrong taking the initiative to care about his mother's health.
"My brother told me that you were sick a while ago? What happened?"
Sun Ruzhen shook her head. "Two big lumps suddenly appeared on my neck. The doctor said it was swollen lymph nodes. They've healed after taking some medicine."
"Those two big bumps on her gave us a scare. We thought she needed surgery," Wu Huainian said fearfully. "Luckily, she recovered after two months of taking Chinese medicine."
Wu Zhengrong asked, "This lymph node became swollen after my mother retired, right?"
"She must have had some difficulty adjusting to being suddenly retired from her job. I told her she was upset because she suddenly lost her job, but she denied it."
"Many people older than my mother haven't retired yet, so why should my mother retire?"
Sun Ruzhen sighed and said, "I took the initiative to retire. Nowadays, many young teachers are graduates of teachers' colleges and are more progressive in their thinking. The country advocates boldly appointing young cadres and encourages schools to actively cultivate young talents. Anyway, I'm old enough, so I'll retire and make room for young people."
Ye Manzhi: “…”
She was promoted through "nurturing seedlings".
There were only four of them at the dinner table, and the fat photographer had not yet gotten up.
Wu Zhengrong seemed quite talkative today. After hearing what his mother said, he disagreed, saying, "The purpose of cultivating seedlings is to cultivate talent, not to force veterans to step down. Xiaoye is also a reserve cadre. When her superiors promoted her, they also paired her with veterans. Mom, the veterans' revolutionary spirit and work ethic are unmatched by today's young people. It would be a shame for you to retire and go home like this."
"Look, even Zhengrong thinks you shouldn't retire!" Wu Huainian had told his wife a long time ago that if he had the physical strength and energy to keep up, he could work for a few more years.
But Old Sun has been sensitive and thoughtful since she was young. When her superiors talked to her and asked her to actively train young cadres and young teachers, she felt that they were subtly reminding her that she should retire when she reached the age limit.
After going home and thinking about it for half a month, I officially completed the retirement procedures.
"My dad hasn't retired yet, so why would you retire?" Wu Zhengrong put down her spoon and said, "Didn't Director Liu come to you yesterday to ask you to run a kindergarten? I think you should agree to it. You're not an ordinary housewife, and my dad and the kids don't need you to take care of them. If you sit around at home doing nothing every day, you'll probably get bored and sick."
Ye Manzhi knew she had to "act according to circumstances," so she asked curiously, "Mom, isn't there a kindergarten in the army?"
"There is an August 1st Kindergarten, but it only accepts children of military officers. Director Liu mentioned yesterday that we're assisting the local government in opening a private kindergarten. The main goal is to liberate women from the home and allow more women to participate in the workforce."
Ye Manzhi smiled and said, "Running a kindergarten really requires finding a good leader, and someone who's educated and knowledgeable. Our neighborhood office opened a childcare center last year, and many working women sent their children there. At the time, our director thought, since the children were all quite young, we needed someone with experience in childbirth and childrearing to be the director. So, we found our sister-in-law, who had given birth to seven children. Mom, what do you think of our selection?"
"You sound quite experienced." Sun Ruzhen nodded.
After all, she had given birth to seven children.
Ye Manzhi sighed, "Yes, we all thought this person would be able to take good care of the children. But one day, our director suddenly decided to go to the daycare center to check on the situation. Before he even entered, he heard two children crying. Then the older sister-in-law scared the children, saying, 'Don't cry! If you cry again, the monkeys will take you away!'"
"Puff - cough cough cough -" Wu Huainian was choked by the soup and started coughing repeatedly.
Sun Ruzhen patted Old Wu on the back and asked, "Did she really scare the child like that?"
"Yes, our director fired her as station manager that very day and borrowed a teacher from the 656 Factory Kindergarten to teach the children nursery rhymes, arithmetic, and morning exercises," Ye Manzhi said with a smile. "So, the preparation period for the kindergarten is still very critical. We have to find someone knowledgeable and insightful to be in charge, otherwise it will easily delay the children's development."
Seeing her hesitation, Wu Zhengrong glanced at his watch and said, "Mom, please think about it again. Xiaoye and I are here to visit relatives. We are considered outsiders and we have to go to the police station to register our household registration. Liangyu can just come with us. We are going to the beach this afternoon."
"Oh, go ahead then."
Sun Ruzhen declined the job of setting up a kindergarten, mainly because she wanted to free up time to spend more time with her son and daughter-in-law.
However, it seems that the young couple has their own plans, so there is really no need for her to stay at home. It would be better for her to go to the kindergarten and make use of her remaining energy.
*
As Ye Manzhi rode her bicycle out of the military compound, she couldn't help but ask, "Do you think our mom can become a kindergarten principal?"
She actually wanted her mother-in-law to be the headmaster of the kindergarten.
Although Comrade Sun is retired, he is in good health and full of energy. If he can have a second spring in his career, he will have no time to care about young people.
Ye Manzhi is quite satisfied with her current life. She is not afraid of being ignored by her elders, but she is afraid of their sudden concern.
"Well, when we go back tonight, your mother-in-law will be Director Sun." Wu Zhengrong rode beside her on his bike, glanced at her bike and asked, "How does this 26-style bike feel to you? How about I buy you one like this when I get back?"
"I don't ride a bike often, so I'd better not buy one."
Even with their employers reimbursing their round-trip travel expenses, they still spent quite a bit of money on this trip. They enjoyed themselves while eating, drinking, and having fun, but when they quietly tallied the bill in the middle of the night, Ye Manzhi still felt bad about the money.
The couple planned to stay on the island for a week. After registering their household registration at the police station, they rode their bicycles to the beach.
Ye Manzhi's biggest wish on this trip is to see the vast ocean with his own eyes and then go swimming in it.
"Wow--"
When they saw the blue sea under the sun, Ye Manzhi and Pangzi exclaimed almost at the same time.
Ye Manzhi tilted her head and asked with a smile, "Liangyu, don't you often come to the beach to swim? What are you talking about?"
Liangyu, shirtless and wearing a black swimming ring, said matter-of-factly, "I can't help it!"
As he said this, he rushed into the sea with a roar.
"Oh," Ye Manzhi pushed the man beside her, "Hurry up and look after him. Don't let him flop around in the sea!"
Wu Zhengrong undressed while muttering, "I should have known not to bring this brat along!"
He hung the clothes on the handlebars of the bicycle and followed his nephew into the sea.
There were no other tourists on the beach on a weekday except the three of them.
A few hundred meters away from them, women were drying kelp and fish.
Ye Manzhi couldn't see their faces clearly, so she thought that they couldn't see her clearly either.
So she stood on the beach and took off her shirt and pants, revealing the seersucker swimsuit underneath.
As soon as she put the clothes on the handlebars, she heard laughter in the distance.
Ye Manzhi: “…”
What are you laughing at!
This is what everyone wears when swimming in the river!
Wu Zhengrong heard the noise, pulled his nephew over and asked, "What happened?"
"They're laughing at me! I don't know what's so funny."
"Women in fishing villages all wear outer clothes when they go to sea. For them, your behavior is considered a foreign sight!"
Upon hearing this, Comrade Xiyang Jingye Manzhi waved at the group of laughing women, as a greeting to the villagers of the fishing village.
Seeing her waving, the laughter on the other side stopped abruptly, and two brave women also raised their hands and waved at her.
Wu Zhengrong withdrew his gaze from his wife, opened a coconut and handed it to Fatty, saying, "You stay here and look after the camera and the bicycle. I'll go swimming in the sea with your aunt."
"Uncle, are you taking pictures at the beach?" Fatty asked enthusiastically, and then without waiting for the other party to answer, he took out a camera from his bag and took two pictures of the young couple in swimsuits and holding hands.
As Ye Manzhi walked into the sea, she glanced back at the fat boy who was drinking coconut water obediently and asked, "How did you calm him down?"
Although the fat photographer loves to tinker with the camera, he is just a child after all, and the novelty soon wears off.
The child is now obviously more obsessed with the sea.
"I told him that as long as he could take care of the bike and the camera, I would teach him how to ride a bike when we got home."
Ye Manzhi: “…”
My uncle's tricks are endless.
Since there are child laborers helping to watch the pile, she doesn't have to worry about it.
He plunged into the blue sea.
Wu Zhengrong didn't know how good she was at swimming, so he just stood there and watched her movements.
Seeing her wearing a red swimsuit and swimming lightly in the water like a nimble little fish, she waved to her nephew on the shore, signaling him to hand over the camera.
Ye Manzhi splashed around happily in the water. When she swam back, she dove in front of Wu Zhengrong, put her arms around his waist, and surfaced. "How is it? I'm a good swimmer, right? You can rest assured!"
She was answered by the click of the camera above.
"Oh, we're so close, what kind of weird look are you going to make of me?"
Nowadays, people either take full-body or half-body photos, and never take close-up photos of the face.
Ye Manzhi pinched his waist angrily.
Wu Zhengrong raised the camera and said with a smile, "I think the results should be good. I'll go home and develop the photos and see the finished product."
Later facts proved that the military representative's casual shot was of some quality. As the only close-up photo taken during the trip, Ye Manzhi placed it on the bedside, giving it the same treatment as their first photo together.
She felt that she was like a lotus emerging from clear water, naturally without any embellishment.
Naturally beautiful, fresh and refined.
To sum it up in one word – stunning!
Ye Manzhi originally planned to visit other attractions in the city, but the clear blue sea captured her entire attention, making her intoxicated and mesmerized.
I dreamt of swimming in the sea at night.
So, for the next few days, they didn't go anywhere. They reported to the beach on time every morning, had lunch at a state-owned restaurant or a nearby fisherman's house, then found a shady coconut tree to take a nap, and continued swimming in the sea in the afternoon.
Ye Manzhi knew to wear a straw hat and a scarf to protect herself from the sun, but Wu Zhengrong and Pangzi went shirtless, and their shoulders were sunburned and peeling.
Because the fat boy was sunburned too severely, he was ordered by his grandfather to rest at home after only two days and not to go anywhere.
Although there were no child laborers to watch over the pile, Ye Manzhi and Wu Zhengrong had a rare two days of their own world.
"Shall we go to Sister Sun's house for lunch today?" Ye Manzhi said, wiping the water off her body. "She told me yesterday that the fishing boat from their fishery club will be back this morning, and her husband should be able to catch a lot of good things."
Compared to state-owned restaurants, Ye Manzhi prefers to eat at local fishermen's homes.
They can make a lot of authentic seafood that she has never eaten before.
The meal she had the day before yesterday included fish, shrimp, crabs, sea cucumbers and scallops. She didn't even dare to ask the price while she was eating.
She might only be able to enjoy all-you-can-eat seafood this once in her life, so she has to have it no matter how much it costs.
However, when they paid the bill after the meal, Sister Sun only charged them fifty cents and nervously told her that if anyone asked, she should say that it was a distant relative of hers who came to visit.
Ye Manzhi felt that they had eaten a lot of seafood, which would probably cost more than ten yuan in Binjiang, and there were very few opportunities to buy them. He was really taking advantage of them by only giving them fifty cents.
But Sister Sun has her own considerations. When living by the sea, the least valuable thing is seafood. There is plenty of it in the sea and you can catch it at will.
She wanted to take things slow and steady, so she could have these two comrades from other places come to her house for dinner every day so that she could earn some extra money.
Both sides felt that they had gained the upper hand, so except for the first day when they had lunch at a state-owned restaurant.
For the next three days, the couple ate at Sister Sun's house.
When I went to Sister Sun's house again at noon today, she said, "Comrade Ye, don't come tomorrow."
"What's wrong?"
"Looking at the weather, it might rain, and the rain will be quite heavy. It's not safe for you outsiders to swim in the rain."
Looking out the window, the branches are covered with leaves. The sun is shining brightly and the sky is clear. How can you tell that it is going to rain?
"I want to eat a few more meals before going home!"
Sister Sun exchanged a secret glance with her husband and asked sheepishly, "Comrade Ye, do you like dried seafood? In fact, it's very delicious to bring some dried seafood back and cook it into soup."
Most of the fishermen's income from each trip to sea is handed over to the fishery cooperative to calculate their work points, and a small amount of seafood will be distributed to the members who went out to sea that day.
They eat seafood all year round and it is no longer a rarity for them. The seafood they cannot eat is dried and they wait for the supply and marketing cooperative to come and collect it.
But those people in the supply and marketing cooperative always like to lower prices, and they are obviously not as generous as these two outsiders.
Ye Manzhi originally planned to buy some dried seafood in the local market and bring it back. It would be great if she could buy first-hand dried seafood from fishermen, but dried seafood is also bought and sold at a unified price. This kind of thing requires both parties to be willing, and one must be willing to buy and the other to sell.
So, when she came to Sister Sun's house for dinner these days, she also had the intention of testing each other.
After getting to know each other for a few days, Sister Sun finally took the initiative to speak.
Ye Manzhi asked the man opposite, "Shall we exchange some dry goods from Sister Sun?"
"OK."
In order to prepare for her purchasing plan, Wu Zhengrong carries fifty yuan in her pocket every day.
"Sister, we're going back to give some dried seafood to our relatives and friends. Take as much as you can." Wu Zhengrong added with a smile, "It has to be completely sun-dried!"
"Oh, that's too much. Please wait a moment!" Sister Sun ran into the house excitedly and asked the man to help her pack the bags.
Seeing that the small sack was filled up in a short while, Ye Manyzhi leaned close to him and whispered to him.
"Is the money we brought enough?"
"If it's not enough, I'll leave you here and I'll go home to get the money."
Ye Manyi glared at him and silently calculated in his mind.
A bag of dried shrimp, a bag of dried snail meat, two bags of air-dried salted fish, half a bag of dried squid, a bag of dried scallops, and a bag of kelp.
There are probably more than fifty of these things.
The dried shrimps didn't look very good, but the live shrimps at the local supply and marketing cooperative were more than 60 cents per pound, and the dried shrimps were at least two yuan per pound. That bag of dried shrimps probably weighed five or six pounds, and this bag of dried shrimps alone cost more than ten yuan.
Dried scallops are more expensive than dried shrimps.
Are you really going to hold her here?
Sister Sun and her husband worked for a long time and finally found all the stock at home.
"Comrade Ye, do you think these are enough?"
"That's enough! I was worried we didn't have enough money! Sister Sun, how much are these in total?"
"Just pay according to the supply and marketing cooperative's purchase price. I asked my husband to weigh it, and it's 32.5 yuan in total. I'll charge you 32 yuan." Sister Sun was afraid they wouldn't believe her, so she said, "The scale is over there. You can weigh it yourself."
"..." Ye Manzhi waved her hands quickly and said, "No need to weigh it. We've been friends for so long, why wouldn't we trust each other? Big sister, can you help me ask other people if they have any dried fish and shrimp? Can you help me get 50 yuan for them?"
It was a rare opportunity to stock up on things right under Wu Zhengrong's nose, so of course she had to spend all 50 yuan!
Sister Sun was so surprised that she was dizzy.
I didn't expect to meet such a big customer today. Her family only saves about 100 yuan throughout the year.
Can I make a net profit of fifty yuan by selling this dry goods today?
These seafoods have no cost, so in her eyes they are pure profit.
"Okay, you wait." She hurried to her eldest brother's house to borrow stored food.
…
When Ye Manzhi and Wu Zhengrong rode their bicycles and brought back three large sacks of dried seafood, they scared Old Wu who had just walked in.
"Why did you buy so much stuff? This is fishy!"
"Haha, they're all dried seafood." Ye Manzhi asked with a smile, "Dad, why are you getting off work so early today?"
"I'm back to tell you guys that a typhoon is about to land. Don't run around these few days. When Old Sun comes back, tell her to suspend kindergarten operations until the typhoon leaves..."
Wu Huainian had to go back to deploy the work, so he gave a few brief instructions and hurried away with his bag.
Ye Manzhi looked out the window and murmured, "Sister Sun is right! How long will this typhoon last? Will we still be able to go swimming at the beach?"
"I'm afraid not."
The typhoon landed on time the next afternoon. Although Ye Manzhi regretted not being able to go swimming, she felt that she had broadened her horizons by traveling and seeing the legendary typhoon.
There was no need to go out to play during the day, and Wu Zhengrong didn't have to worry about Comrade Xiao Ye's physical strength. The famous Soviet novel "Day and Night" finally found its use.
When he squeezed in with the person in his arms, the couple sighed almost at the same time.
Wu Zhengrong sighed contentedly, "Can't we say that a brief absence is better than a new marriage?"
"Keep your voice down!" Ye Manzhi hissed, whispering, "Why not just forget it? Do you have the nerve to wash the sheets in front of your parents?"
"It's already like this, and you're telling me to just forget it?" Wu Zhengrong carried her out of bed and placed her on the windowsill. "Is it okay now? No need to wash the sheets, just wipe them."
Ye Manzhi shuddered at the cold surface of the table, and Wu Zhengrong was also squeezed by her and held his breath. It took him a long time to move again.
I have never been so embarrassed even on my wedding night.
"There seems to be someone outside the window." Ye Manzhi muttered while hugging his neck.
"The power went out in the compound. It was lightning."
Ye Manzhi listened to the sound of big raindrops hitting the glass. Her last and most profound memory of this trip was the swaying tree shadows outside the window, the rushing man, and the wet windowsill and ground.
*
Due to the impact of the typhoon, Ye Manzhi and Wu Zhengrong stayed on the island for two more days. By the time they returned home and reported their leave to their unit, it was three days later than planned.
However, what happened to them was force majeure, and no one in the company was harping on it.
What’s more, during the short month they were on vacation, a major case occurred on Guangming Street!
The police officers from the police station and the street cadres jointly captured an enemy spy who was lying in ambush!
Comrade Liu Jinbao from the Sub-district Office was stabbed while catching a spy and is now recuperating in the hospital's VIP ward.
Although the work of preventing and controlling enemy spies in Guangming Street has been ongoing, this is the first time that a big fish has been caught.
Ye Manzhi planned to go to the hospital to visit the injured Comrade Liu Jinbao.
However, as soon as she walked out of Courtyard 16 with the gift, she saw the uninvited guest, Zhou Mu, standing at the intersection.
The Zhou family’s gate was not in this row. He was standing here, obviously waiting for her.
"What do you want to talk to me about?" Ye Manzhi asked directly.
She is a married woman and doesn't want to have too much involvement with her ex-fiancé.
"Well, I heard you went to visit relatives in the south?" Zhou Mu pulled his right hand out of his trouser pocket, kept one hand in his pocket, and handed her a piece of wedding candy wrapped in red paper. "This is for you."
Ye Manzhi took the wedding candy and asked in surprise, "Zhou Mu, you're getting married? When did it happen?"
"..." Zhou Mu was speechless. "I'm not married, but I was admitted to university. A few days ago, my family held a banquet to celebrate for me. You were not at home at the time and could not share my joy. I specially left a bag of wedding candy for you so that you can share in the joy."
Ye Manzhi: “!!!”
Who wants to share in your joy?
You didn't leave wedding candy for me on purpose, you came here on purpose to piss me off, right?
She was already jealous that Qin Xiang was recommended to go to university, but she didn't expect that bastard Zhou Mu could also be admitted to university!
Ye Manzhi's mentality was instantly unbalanced.
How come one or two of them can go to college?
She didn't want to bother with this annoying guy, nor was she in the mood to visit Liu Jinbao in the VIP ward. She turned around and went home, clutching the bag of broken wedding candy.
She threw the wedding candy on the table, then hugged Wu Zhengrong to vent her dissatisfaction.
Wu Zhengrong hugged her and kissed her for a while, then patted her on the back and said, "Director Xiaoye, if you want to go to college, you should study hard. Knowledge is transmitted through the brain, not through saliva. Kissing me is useless. Just focus on your studies."
Ye Manzhi: “…”
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