Chapter 71 Chapter 71 Internal and External Cooperation
"That fish is huge!" There's a small gate on the north side of Qingmei Harbor, which used to be a fishing platform. During winter break, when Uncle Guo was bored, he'd come over with his old friends and find Ah Wei to go fishing from the shore.
There was a bigger black fish in the bucket at Awei's feet. He lifted it up to show Grandpa Guo, but Grandpa Guo turned away and muttered to his old friend, "Can you ask your good friend to make us a fish stew in an iron pot later?"
The old man, munching on carrots, ignored him. He had a pocket hanging from his chest, sewn for him by Qingmei. He'd brought him a bag of carrots when he went out. There were also four bean cakes underneath.
This is much better than hanging out with an old man.
A few days ago, Uncle Guo brought his old friend here. Who knew it could remember the way? It would come here every few days. Later, Qingmei simply built a shed for it in the courtyard.
Uncle Guo scolded his old friend for being a traitor while following him here to eat and drink for free.
He walked slowly toward the small courtyard, carrying a bucket of water, muttering, "If you raise a donkey, you still have to carry things yourself."
The old fellow turned a deaf ear and walked ahead with a clattering footsteps.
The north wind was strong at the seaside. When Qingmei opened the door, she saw that their noses were red from the cold.
Uncle Guo boasted, "Snakehead fish, squid, octopus, and two small sea cucumbers—all wild and delicious."
Ah Wei also held up the bucket to show Qingmei: "Teeth, snakehead fish, yellow croaker, and two large barracudas."
Qingmei loves eating fish. Seeing the good harvest today, her eyes curved with joy: "You've worked hard. You all come inside and warm up."
Grandpa Guo asked, "Where's the eldest grandson?"
A Wei said in a muffled voice: "You are not allowed to hug me until you wash your hands."
Qingmei chuckled: "Yes."
Uncle Guo turned around and washed his hands.
Ah Wei whispered to Qingmei, "Is he really the dean of Beiyan?"
Qingmei said: "Not very good?"
Awei said: "He's an old show-off."
Qingmei said, "I've known for a long time that he's a bit of a show-off. My relationship with him isn't as good as my relationship with Old Donkey."
The old donkey brayed loudly, seeming very proud.
Uncle Guo said angrily: "Don't you dare to make any louder cricket noises!"
Qingmei cleared her throat and said, "Let's stew the black fish and eat it. We'll eat the Spanish mackerel with pancakes for the next meal. Let's roast the pike until it's dry and stir-fry it into fish floss later!"
Ah Wei said innocently, "Anything is fine."
Gu Qingzhou dropped the firewood at the foot of the wall, waved, and Awei ran over. After a while, Awei went out and opened the large iron gate outside the courtyard.
"I should be back soon."
He was talking about Xiaoyan from Beihe and Zhao Xiaoxing from Shanghai.
Xiaoyan had an early break. She first went to Shanghai to attend a business conference organized by a non-governmental organization. Then she came here with Zhao Xiaoxing to celebrate the New Year.
On the streets of Zayuan, children couldn't help but set off firecrackers in advance, making no sound for a long time. Although the weather on the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month was cold, everyone's hearts were warm.
Qingmei knew that they were coming back by boat, so she stood on a stool and looked at the harbor through the iron gate.
The passenger ship entering the port looks like a black dot on the sea level, corresponding to the milky white lighthouse, gradually moving towards the shore.
Qingmei went home and waited for a while, then impatiently went to the ticket office to chat with Sister Ale.
Gu Qingzhou ignored her, chopped the firewood, threw it into the stove, and carried it into the dining room.
"How are you doing it?" Gu Qingzhou saw Fan Shuling making black fish, rolled up his sleeves and said, "Let me help."
"I'm fine anyway, so I can help." Fan Shuling said with a smile, "Go and look after Zhao Zhao. Crawling around everywhere, don't tire the old man out."
Upon hearing this, Gu Qingzhou meekly came to the living room.
There was a thick carpet in front of the sofa in the living room, and Gu Zhaozhao was indeed crawling around on it. Grandma and Grandpa Guo were talking, and Zhao Wuhe was peeling an apple.
Gu Qingzhou picked up Gu Zhaozhao and weighed him, and the good boy was sinking again.
Turning around, Qingmei's excited voice came from outside the yard: "You're back, you're back!"
Zhao Wuhe put down the apple and walked out. The two graceful girls standing in the yard were Xiaoyan and Zhao Xiaoxing.
Zhao Wuhe said with a smile: "As expected, people change drastically after going to Shanghai. They perm their hair and put on red lipstick. They also dress differently."
Qingmei tried to hold back her laughter the whole way. Zhao Xiaoxing had her hair permed and her lips painted red, looking like a red-billed gull.
Xiaoyan was more low-key than Zhao Xiaoxing. She wore a modified gray cadre uniform she had made herself, with a wide collar and the Dacron collar inside turned up, which made her look more calm and dignified despite her young age.
In fact, she could tolerate these childhood sweethearts, but the fact that each of them carried a donkey bag on her hand really made her feel like she was in another world.
International brands haven’t entered the country so early yet, right?
Qingmei suppressed her doubts and pulled them both into the house.
After some tidying up, Xiaoyan hugged Gu Zhaozhao and was so adorable that she couldn't hold him anymore, while Zhao Xiaoxing looked at him eagerly while waiting in line to hold him.
"How are you doing in the student business?" Qingmei casually asked Xiaoyan. "She should be called Xiaoyan. She's already changed her last name to her own, not someone else's. Her household registration has also been transferred to Beihe."
Xiaoyan said, "That's great. We conducted a survey on the local footwear industry and found a lot of business opportunities."
"You guys are quite independent, then," Zhao Xiaoxing said. "We're currently studying textile weaving. The seniors are all dressed up and looking their best every day, while we're stuck in the workshop, covered in dust and dirt."
Qingmei smiled and said, "A whole workshop of red-billed gulls?"
Zhao Xiaoxing thought for a moment and said, "That's about right." Then she laughed.
Uncle Guo walked in slowly from outside, looked at Zhao Xiaoxing and said, "Are your teachers' blood pressures still normal?"
Zhao Xiaoxing curled her lips and said, "Very healthy!"
Xiaoyan stood up and bowed deeply to Grandpa Guo: "I couldn't find you before going to school. It's great to see you now."
Uncle Guo said rudely, "Don't be so awkward. You must trust me. Qingmei and I are in the same school now. I'll need Comrade Qingmei to look after me."
After learning about Qingmei's outstanding deeds, Qingmei became a celebrity at the Beiyan branch. Basically, teachers and students were polite and respectful to her. It seemed that she was even more glorious than when he was the dean.
When they had dinner together, Zhao Xiaoxing enthusiastically took out some delicious food from Qingmei.
There are satin fabrics, Western wide-brimmed hats, and high-heeled leather shoes.
What surprised Qingmei the most was that she took out a Donkey brand leather bag and handed it to her: "Here, this small bag is very popular in Shanghai. If I hadn't kept it for you, I would have sold them all."
Qingmei said, "Sell it? LV? You're selling LV now?"
Zhao Xiaoxing slapped her thigh and said, "I knew you were a connoisseur! They said this trick is all the rage overseas, so a few classmates and I tried it out, and guess what? We made four thousand yuan in half a semester! Four thousand yuan!"
Qingmei's hand holding the "LV" began to tremble: "You, you started making counterfeit products?"
Zhao Xiaoxing sighed. "What's so shoddy about this? Look at the quality of this, it's all genuine cowhide! We also have lambskin. We'll go get some Kuchi and Xiangnai, the leather that foreigners love. We'll make our small workshop bigger and stronger, and strive to capture the mainland market as soon as possible!"
"Just wait, we will crack down on you and you will be the first one to go in." Qingmei came to the dressing mirror with a small bag and twisted it. Not to mention the craftsmanship of Zhao Xiaoxing and the others, it was really hard to tell that they were imitations!
When Xiaoyan learned that Zhao Xiaoxing had done such a big thing, she explained to her that this was an infringement of intellectual property rights. Later, Qingmei and others took turns to explain, and even Gu Qingzhou came to explain the happy life of female prisoners in labor camps, finally making this future clothing tycoon give up this type of brand and awaken his own brand awareness.
"Let's call it Sisters Clothing Company. When it grows bigger and stronger, we'll call it Sisters Group!"
On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, the three sisters first went to the commercial building, fought their way through the huge crowd, and carried the large and small bags back to the car.
When we got home, we didn't feel tired and started cleaning with clear division of labor.
Zhao Wuhe was diligent in cleaning the house. She only had to sweep the fallen snow in the yard, wipe the windows, wash the curtains, and change the bed sheets and quilt covers.
Qingmei particularly likes the golden nanmu wood carving given by her father-in-law.
After taking it down, I swept it gently with a feather duster, and then wiped off the dust bit by bit with a dry towel.
While wiping, she wondered when she could see her father-in-law again. Her and Gu Qingzhou's children were already so grown up, it would be too embarrassing if she didn't see them once.
The dry towel in his hand touched some bulge, and the tightly sealed wood suddenly opened. Qingmei was startled and let out a low cry, attracting Gu Qingzhou, who was butchering a chicken outside, to come in with a kitchen knife.
"There's a wax ball." Qingmei took out a white wax ball and handed it to Gu Qingzhou. Gu Qingzhou pinched it gently, and the wax ball broke in two, revealing a paper ball inside.
Qingmei thought her father-in-law was playing a riddle with her, so she held Gu Qingzhou's arm and leaned over to read the note.
Gu Qingzhou frowned and unfolded the note to look at it carefully.
"Why can't I understand? Is this a riddle?"
Qingmei thought it looked like the language of Xiao Rizu, but not quite, as there were numbers written in reverse in the middle.
"It's a coded letter." Gu Qingzhou whispered, "We have found the person who is harming us behind the scenes."
Qingmei felt something was wrong. Seeing Gu Qingzhou's dark face, he stood up and said hurriedly, "I have to rush to Beijing right away!"
He walked quickly to the door, then hurried back, cupping Qingmei's face and kissing her on both sides, ignoring the presence of her younger sister. He said happily, "My wife is amazing! Otherwise, your father-in-law's letter wouldn't have been discovered so quickly."
Qingmei pulled him aside and said, "Tomorrow is the 30th, are you going to Jing City?"
"Drive there, the faster the better. The letter said to go before the third day of the new year. If you don't find it, we will have missed the opportunity in vain." Gu Qingzhou said: "My brother was almost killed, I was ambushed, and my father was under long-term surveillance... It's all because of this person! We should close the net."
Qingmei swallowed, her nervousness betraying itself. She had just wiped the wood carving on a whim, and hadn't expected to find the wax pellets.
Zhao Wuhe heard the noise and quickly walked over and asked, "What's wrong? Did your dad get any clues?"
Qingmei then realized that Zhao Wuhe had also noticed something was wrong with her father-in-law, and it turned out that they had been hiding it from him.
Gu Qingzhou stroked Qingmei's hair and said, "The mice in the field have finally come out. My father already has enough clues. Please wait for me at home. Please forgive me for not being able to spend the New Year with you. I will definitely make it up to you when I come back."
Qingmei said, "So you're going back to the army now?"
Gu Qingzhou said, "We also need to call my eldest brother. Tomorrow, you, your sister-in-law, and everyone else should stay at home to celebrate the New Year. Don't go out. I'll have someone notify you when the matter is resolved. During this period, don't run around or get close to strangers."
Zhao Wuhe pulled Qingmei and complained, "What if you scare her by telling her this? Go quickly, rescue your dad first."
Gu Qingzhou put on his military coat and walked to the door. Fan Shuling was standing there holding Gu Zhaozhao.
He kissed Gu Zhaozhao's little face and said to Fan Shuling: "Mom..."
Fan Shuling said solemnly, "Last time you didn't let me see your dad, I felt something was wrong. You all insist on not letting people do that. Okay, kid, don't waste time. Go quickly. Be sure to be safe."
Qingmei ran out and said with concern: "Be sure to come back safely."
Gu Qingzhou waved his hand back, said a few words to Awei and others who were shoveling snow outside, and then strode out of the small courtyard.
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