Chapter 158
"Attention, passengers! The next stop is Shanghai, the largest city in our country."
After hearing the female flight attendant's announcement, Ye Manzhi patted her daughter on the butt.
"Stop looking! We haven't seen enough! Put away your map and letter of introduction. We're getting ready to get off the bus!"
She took Wu Yuzhuo from Binjiang to Beijing, and then took another bus from Beijing to Shanghai. In three or four days, she was already tired of the scenery outside the car, but her little cub could stare out the window for a long time.
I don’t know what to see.
Wu Yuzhuo sat back down next to his mother and said cheerfully, "I'm going to write down everything I see on the road and tell it to my great-grandparents, my grandparents, my brother Cheche, my brother Qiuqiu, and Yiyi when I get home."
"Then you should write down what you saw and heard on the road in your diary and let them read it."
"My brother Qiuqiu can only recognize so few words. I'd better memorize them and tell them to him when I get home!" Wu Yuzhuo sighed a little distressedly. "I don't know if Grandpa will still be home by then. I'd better keep a diary. If he goes to the Third Front, I'll put it in an envelope and have Uncle Li mail it to him. Why would Grandpa go so far away?"
"It's not confirmed yet, why are you sighing?"
Ye Manzhi took out a comb and re-combed her own and her daughter's hair, intending to meet the people of Shanghai in high spirits.
However, she was also a little worried about Old Ye's matter, and she kept thinking about it on the way south.
Bringing her children to Shanghai was a big deal, so of course she had to tell her parents where she was going before leaving, and she also had to hand over the family's passbooks and valuables to Chang Yue'e for safekeeping.
But when they returned to the military industrial compound, they heard that Factory 656 responded to the central government's call and would mobilize personnel and equipment to move inland to assist in the construction of the Third Front.
Supporting the Third Front is the biggest political task at this moment, and many front-line units unconditionally select the best and send personnel to the Third Front.
Old Ye came from a poor peasant family and was a member of the working class. The national liberation allowed him to live a good life.
Therefore, he has always regarded the Chairman's words as his guiding principle.
As soon as the Chairman talked about preparing for war and famine, he became excited and raised his hand to sign up.
If the factory accepts his application, he will immediately follow the large force to the southwest to provide assistance in construction.
This news was like an atomic bomb dropped on the house.
Except for Chang Yue'e who supported his dedication to his ideals and career, no one else agreed.
Especially the fourth brother, who opposed it extremely strongly.
Ye Shouxin is the pillar and backbone of the family. If he goes to the third front, the Ye family will be broken up.
Given Old Ye's physical condition, it is still unknown whether he can come back after going to the third front.
You will be able to retire and enjoy your retirement in a few years, so why are you still struggling?
Ye Manzhi also felt that Old Ye shouldn't be struggling at this age, but there were many workers who volunteered to sign up to go to the third line for support. She heard that all the workers in her building had signed up enthusiastically.
If Ye Shouxin could retreat at the critical moment, he would not be Ye Shouxin.
As a caring mother and a loving mother to her parents, all she could do was respect Old Ye's choice.
Ye Manzhi braided her daughter's hair into two pigtails, helped her change her shorts into a blouse with yellow floral patterns, and put on the yellow sun hat given by the kindergarten. Then she took the beautifully dressed little girl off the train.
"Wow!" Wu Yuzhuo looked at the huge crowd on the platform and exclaimed again.
"What are you always saying?" Ye Manzhi said to the little bumpkin with a smile. "We've already seen it in Binjiang and Beijing."
"There are so many people in Shanghai, I want to wow!"
Wu Yuzhuo still remembered her grandfather's advice in her heart, so as to avoid being taken away by the beggars. She held her mother's hand tightly, and followed the crowd out of the station, looking around with her eyes wide open.
"Where's my dad? When can I see him?"
"We can only see each other at night."
Nowadays, trains are not on time for departure and arrival. Wu Zhengrong still has work to do, so Ye Manzhi certainly can't let him wait at the train station.
So, the two agreed to meet at the Wuhelou Restaurant opposite the train station at six o'clock in the evening.
There are still three hours before the agreed time, and Ye Manzhi plans to find a guesthouse to stay in first.
Wu Zhengrong lived in the guesthouse of a confidential unit, and even though they were family members, they could not stay there and had to find another place to stay.
There was still time, so the mother and daughter took photos outside Shanghai Station before going to a guesthouse near the train station.
Ye Manzhi took the letter of introduction and work ID and handed them to the front desk clerk. Wu Yuzhuo also hurriedly took out the letter of introduction from the small bag in front of her and stood on tiptoe to hand over her ID.
She was able to come to Shanghai with her mother thanks to this letter of introduction, so she treasured it very much.
I specially carried a small faux leather bag!
However, the waiter at the guesthouse pushed the two letters of introduction back and asked in a slightly accented Mandarin: "Comrade, where is the letter of introduction from the company?"
Ye Manzhi asked in confusion, "What company? I'm from Binjiang No. 1 Food Factory, and the letter of introduction was issued by my company and the Municipal Party Committee."
"If you're visiting Shanghai on business, you must first register with the Shanghai Hotel Service Company and wait for the company to assign you a place to stay," the waiter explained. "The hotel service company will then issue you a letter of introduction. Then, you can take it to the assigned hotel or guesthouse to check in."
Ye Manzhi: “…”
Is it so troublesome?
She has stayed in a guesthouse only a few times. The most recent time was six or seven years ago. On the day after her college entrance examination, she and Wu Zhengrong stayed in a nearby guesthouse for one night.
The last time I went to Beijing on a business trip with Xia Zhuyun, we stayed at the Provincial People's Committee's Beijing Office, and there were no such complicated procedures.
She asked the waiter for the address of the hotel service company and found out the bus route. Then she picked up her luggage and walked out the door with her daughter.
Wu Yuzhuo kept staring at his letter of introduction, and before leaving, he did not forget to put it into his small bag.
Standing on the street again, she looked up and asked, "Mom, do you want a soda? I can buy you a soda."
Ye Manzhi said with a smile: "You have money, so you dare to buy me a soda."
"Yes," Wu Yuzhuo opened the small bag and dug out a dollar with his fingers. "My great-grandmother gave me ten dollars, and my grandmother gave me five dollars. They told me to call the police or make a phone call if I got lost."
“…”
I didn’t expect that this kid secretly hid his own money!
Ye Manzhi said without any psychological burden: "You have to pay a deposit to drink soda, and you have to return the bottle. Honey, please treat me to a cream popsicle. Let's try what Shanghai popsicles taste like."
The adult and the child had not yet found a place to stay for the night, so they ran to the door of the cold drink shop to line up, spent money to exchange a few popsicle tickets with the locals, and then each bought a Guangming Purple popsicle that everyone was rushing to buy.
I sat on a chair outside and ate ice cream to cool off, then finally took a bus to the hotel service company with satisfaction.
The hotel service company is full of people from other places waiting for accommodation.
And most of them are purchasing agents in supply and marketing.
When Ye Manzhi and her daughter squeezed through to line up, there were more than twenty people in front of them.
A middle-aged man was discussing with the staff handling the formalities, "Comrade, how can I sleep in the hotel? Can you arrange a hotel or guesthouse for me?"
"Why can't I sleep in a restaurant? I can just put two tables together and sleep there!"
"How am I supposed to sleep then? Give me a different one!"
"There really aren't any left!" the staff member said. "All the guesthouses and hotels in the city are full. If you don't want to go to a hotel, you have to go to the bathroom."
"Comrade, please help me take another look!"
The young man behind me in the queue advised, "Don't be picky if you have a place to stay. It's better than being out in the open, right? If you don't want it, just give it to me. I'm not picky."
Listening to the quarrel in front, Ye Manzhi felt something was wrong.
There are no rooms left in the hotel or guesthouse. Will the mother and daughter have to share a table in a hotel?
The woman in front of them was a deputy factory manager from Suzhou, who seemed to travel frequently between Suzhou and Shanghai. Ye Manzhi approached her and asked, "Comrade, besides queuing here, is there no other place to stay?"
"No, Shanghai is a big city. Businesses from all over the country send people there on business trips. The city's hotels have limited capacity, so all arrangements have to be made by the hotel service company. You stay wherever you're assigned, so there's not much choice."
The woman glanced at the little kid in front of her and suggested, "If you're here to visit relatives, it's best to stay at their house. Don't wait for the service company to arrange it. There are no rooms available at this time. It's inconvenient for you, a woman, to stay in a hotel with a child and use the bathroom."
Ye Manzhi: “…”
Big cities are really different, even accommodation is so tight!
She was hoping for a lucky break, hoping that when it was her turn, she would get a proper room.
However, after looking at her letter of introduction and work ID, the staff said, "The hotel has no more rooms, so we can only arrange for a bathroom!"
Well, this time there are no shared tables in the restaurant.
Wu Yuzhuo had not yet understood the situation he was facing and was only concerned with the all-purpose letter of introduction.
After all, letters of introduction did play a huge role along the way.
When she was on the train, the ticket inspector checked her letter of introduction.
So she opened her small bag again, took out the letter of introduction, and placed it on the table above her head.
The table at the service desk was very high and had completely blocked Wu Yuzhuo's view, so the staff did not notice that there was a child next to Ye Manzhi.
At this moment, a letter of introduction suddenly appeared, causing the other party to stand up from his chair and look outside the table.
"Is this your daughter?"
Ye Manzhi nodded quickly: "Comrade, I have a child with me. Can you help me arrange a room in the guesthouse? A single bed is also fine."
A glimmer of hope rose in her heart, thinking that there would be some benefits to taking the cub on a business trip.
Maybe someone can take care of me.
"It's really inconvenient to bring a child with you. Here's how," the staff member wrote a few words on the letter of introduction. "I'll arrange for you to stay at the barber shop for one night. Come early tomorrow morning to line up. If you can't get a room the day before, we'll make special arrangements for you the next day. If you come early, you can almost always get a room."
Generally speaking, they do not consult with the business travelers and just go wherever they are arranged to go.
If everyone could choose where to live, what would their job be?
He took extra care of her because the woman had a child with her.
Compared to the bathroom, the barber shop is indeed much better.
Public baths are open until 11pm, so those who are arranged to stay in the bathhouse have to wait until the bathhouse closes and can only stay after 11pm.
Moreover, the large bunk bed made of chairs did not distinguish between men and women, so everyone slept together in a squeezed-together manner.
But it’s different in the barber shop. It closes at 9pm and each person gets a barber chair that folds down to become a single bed. Isn’t this condition better than the bathroom?
The mother and daughter had two letters of introduction, so they each got a barber chair and didn't have to sleep in the same room with others.
Ye Manzhi: “…”
Although the conditions in the barber shop are not very good, they have already taken care of them to the best of their ability.
She was still grateful in her heart, so she thanked the other party and left the service company with two letters of introduction.
"Baby, I'm glad I brought you along on this business trip! Otherwise, I'd have to stay in the bathroom!" Ye Manzhi praised. "They sent us to the barber shop out of your kindness! Can you stay at the barber shop tonight?"
Wu Yuzhuo was quite satisfied with the role he played. He squinted his eyes and asked his mother to confirm: "Are we living together?"
"Of course," Ye Manzhi said with a smile, "Then we can choose two chairs to sleep next to each other."
"Okay, I've never stayed in a barbershop!"
Ye Manzhi thought to himself, no wonder the city has such strict control over people coming to Shanghai on business trips, the accommodation conditions are too tight.
"Let's go, let's go back the way we came and meet up with Dad at the train station."
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