During the winter vacation, one of Ding Mingjin's comrades came to Yan City in person and arranged treatment for Ding Sijin's grandmother.
The old lady's liver is not in good condition, and she also has some chronic diseases caused by her age and overwork. She needs to take care of herself and go to the hospital on time every week for follow-up visits and medication.
The pension that was taken away by Ding Sijin's uncle Ding Mingsheng is difficult to get back because of the old lady.
But his comrades had obviously made arrangements. Ding Mingsheng had already received a transfer order from the company, and would be transferred out of Yan City and stationed in a more distant province.
This job of Ding Mingsheng was originally arranged by Ding Mingjin for him. It was in a very efficient state-owned enterprise. So although he was reluctant to leave Yan City, he did not have the courage to quit this iron rice bowl. He would take his family away after the Spring Festival.
Knowing that they were leaving, his wife's family became concerned about the building they had just moved into, and said they would pay some rent to allow their newly married brother-in-law to live there.
Ding Mingsheng was naturally unwilling to do so. It was easier to invite a god than to send him away. He knew his brother-in-law's character very well, and once he moved in, he couldn't drive him away.
Then someone "reminded" him that his status as a "martyr's relative" might allow him to be promoted and transferred back sooner. He immediately and grandly invited Ding Sijin and the old lady to live at his home, and was especially nice to Ding Sijin.
He said that after they left, they could continue to live there. This would not only dissuade his brother-in-law from having any thoughts, but also remind the leaders of the head office to remember him at all times, killing two birds with one stone.
These were all inferred by Xia Mian from Ding Mingjin's comrades.
Yes, before Ding Mingjin's comrades left, they brought Ding Sijin to personally thank Xia Mian.
Of course, the main thing is to ask her to help look after Ding Sijin when she has time, and to contact them in time if anything happens.
Of course this was no problem. Without him saying anything, Xiao Feng had already started taking care of the little girl. She would bring an extra candy to school every day, and would bring two portions of rare and delicious food.
The comrade's time was obviously very tight, and he left in a hurry after the visit, but his appearance eased Ding Sijin's state of vigilance, which had forced her to be on high alert at all times because she had no one to rely on.
Although he is still like a wolf cub sometimes, he starts to become docile towards some people.
For example, in front of Xiaofeng and the others.
Even on the first weekend after her comrades left, she pushed her children's bicycle to play with the three children. The reason she pushed it was because she didn't know how to ride it yet.
After Ding Mingjin's comrade bought her this children's bicycle, he helped her ride it for a while before having to leave.
Seeing that her uncle and cousin were eyeing her new bicycle covetously, Ding Sijin simply pushed the bicycle for nearly twenty minutes to find Xiaofeng and the others.
The little girl was very generous to the three of them and gave up her car for them to play with. The children were very happy to get their new toys.
For this kind of toy that only has one, they already have a set rule:
Xiao Feng, Chen Chen, and Mao Huizhu each ride one circle, and Ding Sijin, the owner of the car, rides two circles, and the cycle continues.
Xia Mian was bored at home, so he helped each of them ride around for a while at first. He was so tired that he let them play by themselves.
Then, when you go out, you can see four kids learning to ride bicycles in the alley, one of them sitting on the bike, and the other three on the left, right, or front and back. They are frantically trying to help each other, and in the end, most of them fall flat on their backs.
Everyone laughed at what they saw.
The next day, Zhou Xuewen brought back three brand new children's bicycles. Now each of the three children had one. The door was bustling with activity every day. The adults would help when they were free, and let the children play by themselves if they were not free.
Mao Huizhu was the first one to learn it. This tiger girl was brave and not afraid of falling. After falling more than ten times, she could then stagger on the road again. However, the price she paid was that her cotton coat and trousers were worn out.
Chenchen followed closely behind her. He was a thinker and had not ridden many times, but he made obvious progress each time. After a slight fall, he was able to ride again. As long as he didn't run into Mao Huizhu, there would be no accidents.
While the two were racing, Xiao Feng was paddling slowly with his legs, which made Mao Huizhu and Chenchen scratch their heads anxiously.
In the end, they simply put the car down, and each of them stood on each side, supporting him and passing on their respective experiences to him.
Xiao Feng's handlebars were pulled all over the place by the two of them, and before he could even start riding, the two of them started arguing.
Then Xiao Feng took two crooked steps forward, and the two of them no longer cared about arguing and hurried over to cheer Xiao Feng on.
It was not until Ding Sijin, who had accompanied her grandmother back from the hospital, learned to ride a bicycle that Xiao Feng also learned to ride one.
Mao Huilan, who came out to watch the fun, said, "Xiao Feng rides so steadily, I suspect he already knew how to ride."
"Are you waiting for Ding Sijin on purpose? After all, that girl seems quite strong-willed."
Ning Shaobai said, "Xiao Feng's balance and patience are the best."
In other words, it is very likely that he is the one who learns the fastest, but his friends are all competitive people.
Xia Mian held Ning Shaobai's arm and sighed, "Xiao Feng is simply an angel descended to earth."
Ning Shaobai pulled her ahoge and said with a smile, "You too, a fairy who has come down to earth."
Mao Huilan looked at him in surprise, obviously not expecting that Dr. Ning would lie with his eyes open.
However, Xia Mian was already pleased by these words, and she leaned on the other's shoulder and nuzzled him affectionately, "So, Doctor Ning, you made a fortune."
Ning Shaobai touched her head and smiled, "Yes, they are all mine."
Mao Huilan always felt overwhelmed, so she turned around and left decisively, deciding to study hard.
It seems that good things are happening at the end of this year. Ding Sijin's problem has been solved, and Rong Xin and Tang Miaomiao are finally engaged.
Xia Mian and Ning Shaobai went to attend his engagement party. Although Rong Xin still had a look of despair in front of them, when Tang Miaomiao was around, he looked serious and happy.
Apparently, after failing in his fight for free marriage, he decided to take responsibility for the woman with whom he was going to spend his life.
"Oh, I don't know if Sister Miaomiao will be happy." Xia Mian was a little worried. Rong Xin seemed a little unreliable.
Ning Shaobai smiled and said, "Don't worry, Rong Xin is a reliable person, just a little silly. If he is not tied down by responsibilities, he will chase idols for his whole life."
Xia Mian recalled the indignant state Rong Xin had when he learned in the middle of the year that the goddess he had been pursuing for a long time had already secretly married. It really didn't seem like a broken heart, but rather like he was losing fans. She couldn't help but laugh.
When they got home, Ning Shaobai held her hand and walked straight to his house. Xia Mian smiled knowingly.
The end of the year is approaching, Xia Wenyue's factory has stopped working, Mao Zhishan has returned home, and the three children are on vacation. The Mao family is bustling all day long, and the two have not had some quiet time alone for a long time.
However, their plan was soon interrupted. Before they even entered the door, someone called her, "Xia Mian, Mian Mian!" The tone of the voice was extremely excited.
Xia Mian turned around and saw Mao Huimei getting out of a taxi. She didn't even bother with the suitcase and rushed towards Xia Mian, "Mian Mian, we did it!"
"Sister Huimei!" Xia Mian was also very happy. "Didn't you say you would be back tomorrow?"
After the concentrated juice of Sanmei Beverage Factory passed all tests, Mao Huimei personally took samples to Country D to promote it a month ago.
"I just happened to have a plane ticket, so I came back early," Mao Huimei said excitedly. "Do you know how many orders we got this time?"
Xia Mian looked into her shining eyes and made a bold guess, "Three million?"
"Five million?"
Mao Huimei kept shaking her head, and finally said impatiently, "Two million US dollars!"
"How much?" Xia Mian reacted for a moment, then hugged Mao Huimei and screamed excitedly, "Ahhh, sister, you are so great!!!"
"I'm rich, I'm rich!"
Mao Zhishan had heard the noise and came out. He picked up Mao Huimei's suitcase and said with a smile, "Huimei, take a nap. Let's talk about it when we get home."
"Doctor Ning, come and have dinner together."
When Xia Wenyue heard that two million US dollars was equivalent to 16 million RMB, she was also stunned. She gave Mao Huimei a thumbs up and said, "You are worthy of being my daughter. I have never seen foreigners' money before, and you have earned it directly."
However, as the year draws to a close, Xia Wenyue is more concerned about Mao Huimei's lifelong affairs than making money.
"Now that your factory won't have to worry about next year, why don't you hurry up and find a partner? The Chinese New Year is just a few days away. Can you still bring someone back this year?"
Mao Huimei covered her face and said, "Mom~"
Xia Wenyue said, "I know you're impatient, but you have to hurry up. If you don't get married, Mianmian will get married soon. Don't delay Mianmian."
Xia Mian felt that Ning Shaobai, who was eating next to him, suddenly paused.
There is indeed such an unwritten rule in this era. Under normal circumstances, marriages in a family are arranged in the order of eldest to youngest.
Otherwise, in this situation where all the gossips have been gathered together all their lives, public opinion can really crush people.
Just like the Wang family across the street, everyone in this area has heard of them. Their family is famous because they have an older daughter, and a big reason why this daughter can't get married is that the little girl got married first.
Many people would speculate whether there is something wrong with the elder sister and she cannot get married; or whether something scandalous happened to the younger sister and she is so anxious to get married.
This kind of speculation directly led to the eldest daughter's blind date partners having flaws. As a result, the eldest daughter, who originally had high standards, was looked down upon by everyone and directly became an old maid, and was subject to all kinds of speculations by people around her.
Looking at Ning Shaobai's thoughtful expression, Xia Mian suspected that Xia Wenyue had said this on purpose for him to hear.
Anyway, He Wei came to the door with gifts the next day. Under normal circumstances, Mao Huimei would have been stimulated and would have quickly decided on her lifelong event.
However, in front of the experienced Xia Wenyue, this matter was a bit unnecessary. Fortunately, it indirectly got rid of Mao Huimei's bad love affair and was not in vain.
On this day, the family got up early and started preparing New Year's goods. In recent years, they have maintained the tradition of the three families preparing New Year's food together.
Xia Wenyue had already bought chicken, duck, fish, meat and other items. Now that she is in the food business, she can directly find wholesalers to purchase these items in bulk. While distributing benefits to her employees, she also prepares them for her own family.
Because there were so many people, all the tools were set up in the main room. Xia Mian and Mao Huilan were making steamed buns with patterns on the coffee table. Ning Shaobai was sitting next to Xia Mian on a small stool with a large basin in front of him, using his scalpel to process chicken, duck, beef and mutton.
Xia Wenyue and Mao Huimei were standing beside the eight-immortals table chopping stuffing.
Mao Zhishan was outside chopping wood to make a fire. Food cooked on a wood stove tastes better. Aunt Wei was preparing to fry the food.
"Mom, a guest is coming!" Mao Huizhu shouted as she led a clean, elegant and well-mannered young man into the gate.
Mao Huimei saw someone from the window and immediately put down her kitchen knife and went out to greet him, "Yongpeng, why are you here?"
Fang Yongpeng saw her eyes shining, "Well, I heard you were back today, so I came to see you. Did everything go well for you this time?"
"Why do I look so much thinner? Is it because the food abroad tastes so bad?"
"By the way, didn't you say before that you wanted to eat pickles? I brought some. My mom's pickles are the best in our place."
Mao Huimei burst out laughing, "Don't you care about our factory's orders?"
Fang Yongpeng smiled and said, "Seeing you are so happy, it must be good."
Xia Wenyue came out upon hearing the noise and quickly called out, "It's Xiaofang, come in quickly. Huimei, what are you doing? Why aren't you letting the guests in?"
Fang Yongpeng was stunned when he saw the situation inside. He said awkwardly, "I should have called first."
Xia Wenyue smiled and said, "It's nothing, don't be polite. Thanks to you for taking care of our Huimei for the past six months, Auntie won't treat you as an outsider anymore."
"Come, sit wherever you want. Huimei, hurry up and greet them."
"No need, Auntie, let me help!" Fang Yongpeng quickly stood up and washed his hands in the basin at the door, then walked to the half-chopped meat and started working.
Seeing this, Xia Wenyue rushed to grab it, "How can we let guests do the work?"
Fang Yongpeng naturally refused to give in. In the end, Xia Wenyue, who was always victorious in this area, was defeated. Looking at Fang Yongpeng, she sighed, "What a good young man."
"Hey, Auntie, there's something I want to ask you for help with."
Fang Yongpeng immediately pricked up his ears, "Auntie, please tell me."
"Huimei said that the factory received an order worth two million US dollars this time. Your factory will be smooth sailing next year."
Xia Wenyue said, "Could you please help keep an eye on the factory so Huimei can focus on her lifelong affairs?"
Mao Huimei came over with a fruit plate and was speechless when she heard this. "Mom, what are you talking about?"
"How can you say that?" Xia Wenyue said, "You will be 26 after the New Year, and you will be an old maid."
"Oh right," Xia Wenyue said. "Mom knows a boss, Uncle He, whom you've met. He said his son is about your age and very ambitious. He wants me to ask around for him. How about I introduce you to him?"
Before Mao Huimei could say anything, Fang Yongpeng's temper visibly stiffened. He kept glancing at Mao Huimei, and his movements slowed down.
Xia Wenyue seemed not to notice, and looked at him with a smile and said, "Xiao Fang, isn't that right? It's a pity that you are married, otherwise Auntie would have considered you first."
Fang Yongpeng immediately said, "No, Auntie, I'm not married!"
Xia Wenyue looked extremely surprised. "Oh, sorry, I said the wrong thing. You're not married? You don't have a partner?"
"No." Fang Yongpeng was afraid that if he spoke too slowly, Xia Wenyue would misunderstand him. "I started school late. I graduated from university less than two years ago. I never found a suitable job, so I quit and started working with Huimei."
Xia Wenyue sighed and said regretfully, "Oh, you looked so calm, I thought you were married."
She looked at Mao Huimei and said, "I've already made an appointment with your Uncle He. Why don't you go meet him first, Huimei..."
"Auntie," Fang Yongpeng interrupted her embarrassedly, "I have to leave soon. I have to report to Huimei about the factory situation first... You see..."
"Oh, you said business is more important," Xia Wenyue said, "Huimei, you go first."
Watching the two of them leave, Xia Wenyue picked up a knife and chopped the stuffing while saying disdainfully, "This Xiao Fang is good in every way, except that he's too slow."
Mao Huilan, who was laughing secretly, looked up and said, "Mom, you know? Did you do it on purpose?"
Xia Wenyue smiled smugly and said, "What? You think you don't know anything when I'm not at home? You are all my children. I can tell what you are thinking at a glance."
Seeing Mao Huizhu running out with her eyes rolling, Xia Wenyue said with a smile, "Just wait and see, she'll be back to teach us in a while."
Mao Huilan smiled and said, "I know this too."
Sure enough, more than ten minutes later, Mao Huizhu came back stealthily with her mouth covered.
Mao Huilan smiled and asked, "What did you hear?"
Mao Huizhu stood in the open space in the middle of the room and adjusted her posture.
"Hui, Huimei." She said in a hoarse voice, scratching her head helplessly, imitating Fang Yongpeng's demeanor perfectly, "Don't go on a blind date."
Amidst the laughter of the crowd, Mao Huizhu remained unmoved. She changed her demeanor and became Mao Huimei, pinching her throat and speaking in a proud tone, "Why? I have to get married next year."
Then it switched to Fang Yongpeng, who said shyly in a hoarse voice, "Auntie seems to like me very much. What do you think?"
Then the scene switches to Mao Huimei, who lowers her head, pinches the corner of her clothes, and makes a shy and funny expression. "What do I think?"
"I think, I think..." She said in a hoarse voice, suddenly closed her eyes, and then roared with overwhelming momentum, "What do you think of me? I like you. Can you marry me next year?"
Everyone was so amused by her that they fell backwards. Xia Wenyue laughed so hard that tears came out of her eyes. "That's definitely not what they said in the end."
Mao Huizhu laughed and said, "This is how TV dramas always end, and it looks good this way."
Xia Wenyue smiled and said, "Looks like I have to keep you under control. From now on, you can only watch TV for two hours a day."
Mao Huizhu was stunned for a moment. She had never expected that just a little bit of mischief would lead to such a thunderbolt. She immediately wailed, "No, Mom, I haven't fallen behind in my studies!"
Mao Zhishan, who had been standing nearby but hadn't smiled much, asked, "What else did he say?"
Mao Huizhu immediately got into the role, rubbing her hands together to look nervous, and said in a gruff voice, "I have an older brother and an older sister at home, both of whom are married, and my parents are also very open-minded."
"I've already prepared the money to buy a house. If I save a little more next year, I can buy an apartment. You, where do you like?"
Then he pinched his throat and imitated Mao Huimei, "Then you probably won't be able to buy a house. If you become my partner, I won't pay you next year."
Then she opened her eyes wide in disbelief, and after a while she seemed to react, stroking her head and smiling with her big white teeth, "Okay, I, I will work for you for the rest of my life."
Xia Wenyue smiled and nodded, "Not bad."
Mao Zhishan looked melancholy as he silently took the bowl of meat to the kitchen to fry meatballs.
As the aroma wafted out, Chenchen and Xiaofeng, who were playing at Ning Shaoyun's house, ran in as if they had installed a delicious radar. The three children all rushed into the kitchen, and soon each of them ran out with a meatball in their hand.
After a while, Mao Huizhu's voice rang out again, "Mom, there are guests coming!"
Then he shouted, "Hey, hey, hey, be careful, it's going to fall!"
Chenchen said anxiously, "Don't pull it over there, it will fall off!"
"Oh you idiot."
Chenchen retorted, "You are the idiot."
Seeing that the two were about to quarrel again, Xiao Feng shouted, "Uncle Ning, help!"
Ning Shaobai immediately put down the knife and walked out. Xia Mian hurried to follow him. When they got out of the door, they saw Ding Sijin pushing her children's bicycle.
There was a sack on the front bar of the bicycle. I didn't know what was in it, but it looked quite heavy. It was shaking and looked like it was about to fall.
Mao Huizhu tried to press on the left side, but her force was too great and the sack was about to fall. Chenchen then tried to press on the right side with all his might and almost knocked Ding Sijin's bicycle over. Xiaofeng quickly grabbed the handlebars to maintain the precarious balance.
Xia Mian couldn't help laughing when he saw their appearance. Ning Shaobai quickly stepped forward and picked up the sack.
The four children breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. Ding Sijin parked the bicycle and said, "These are local specialties sent by Uncle Zhang. I'm giving you some."
Xia Mian leaned over to take a look. It was half a bag of bacon and ham. No wonder it looked so heavy.
"You pushed this over here?" Xia Mian asked, "Why did you bring so much? This is very spacious, you can eat it slowly."
Ding Sijin was on high alert, "Grandma is going to be taken away by Uncle."
Xia Mian touched the little girl's head. She was also a very stubborn person and would not let her uncle take advantage of anything, even if the other party was about to leave.
"Okay, leave it here first and come back to get it after you finish eating."
Ding Sijin said like a little adult, "No need, there is still plenty at home, I'll give it to you."
A light cough was heard beside him. Xia Mian looked up and saw that it was He Wei. He was holding fruits, cigarettes and alcohol in his hands, and he didn't know how long he had been standing there.
Mao Huizhu just remembered and called out, "Aunt Mian, there are guests."
Xia Mian was speechless, "I thought you were talking about Si Jin."
Mao Huizhu said, "Sijin is a friend, not a guest."
Okay, Xia Mian greeted He Wei with a smile, "Mr. He, please come in quickly."
He Wei was a little embarrassed, "Miss Xia, Young Master Ning."
Ning Shaobai nodded calmly, picked up the sack and walked back. Xia Mian said to Ding Sijin, "Go play with them for a while, and bring back some fried meatballs and fried pork ribs later."
He Wei followed Ning Shaobai into the house and found that the whole family was busy. Xia Wenyue was stunned when she saw him, "Hey, isn't this He Wei? Come and sit down."
"Look, I'm busy and can't entertain you properly."
He Wei quickly said, "It's okay, it's my fault for not saying hello in advance."
He asked with some surprise, "You make all the New Year's goods at home yourself?"
Xia Wenyue smiled and said, "Yes, we country people all make our own food. It tastes better when we make it ourselves. The purpose of Chinese New Year is to have a good time. It's a rare occasion for the family to get together, so it's fun to cook together."
As soon as she finished speaking, He Wei saw Ning Shaobai come back with the sack and sit down in front of a large iron basin full of raw meat. He picked up a knife and cut open the chickens and ducks.
Suddenly, a girl's voice was heard outside, "Ah, the ribs are fried!"
Then there were the cheers of several children. Xia Mian kneaded the dough and shouted, "Xiao Feng, I want to eat too!"
After a while, four children came in one after another. Mao Huizhu was chewing meat in one hand and holding a plate of ribs in the other. Xiao Feng and Chen Chen grabbed some with their hands and fed them to the workers one by one.
He Wei watched as Young Master Ning, who seemed cold and distant in the eyes of outsiders, opened his mouth and ate the ribs that his nephew Xia Mian stuffed into his mouth without any disgust, his cheeks puffing up as he ate.
At this moment, he no longer had the aura of "keep away from strangers" and looked like an ordinary family man. He Wei inexplicably felt that the ribs were delicious.
But the kids obviously wouldn't give it to him.
Xia Mian looked at Ning Shao's cute eating and couldn't help but wipe his face with flour, which caused Xia Wenyue to glare at him, "Don't waste food!"
"What if these guys see the trouble later?"
Ning Shaobai gave her a gloating look and moved his face closer. Xia Mian wrinkled her nose and reached out to wipe the flour off his face.
He Wei was a little dazed. He hadn't seen such an ordinary and warm scene for many years.
Ever since the family business grew bigger, all the chores in their daily life were taken care of by servants. He could only see his parents at the dinner table or in the study.
But……
He looked at Ning Shaobai's gentle smile and suddenly felt that this kind of life was more satisfying and happy.
He also wants to be one of them...
Xia Wenyue placed the fruit in front of him and said, "Are you here to see Huimei?"
"Yes," He Wei didn't dare to say that he wanted to pursue Mao Huimei again. He just said, "I heard that she came back from Country D. I want to ask her about her situation and see if there is a chance to work with her next year."
"Oh," Xia Wenyue said with a smile, "She's out with her boyfriend and will be back soon. Please wait a moment."
He Wei's expression changed. "She has a boyfriend?"
"Yeah, didn't she tell you?" Xia Wenyue said with a smile, "She was probably too busy to notice. We only found out about it not long ago."
As soon as she finished speaking, Fang Yongpeng's excited voice came from outside, "Uncle, let me do it."
He Wei subconsciously stood up and looked out the window, only to see Fang Yongpeng taking an axe and skillfully chopping wood.
Of course he knew him, a native of Jingyi Mountain. His family was just fruit farmers, not even wealthy. He just ran after Mao Huimei every day...
Why should he? He Wei unconsciously clenched his fists.
Xia Wenyue had stood beside him at some point, and said in the tone of a mother-in-law who was becoming increasingly satisfied with her son-in-law, "Not bad, isn't he? He has good eyesight and can work hard. Most importantly, he knows how to care for others and is especially good to Huimei."
"You can't go wrong marrying a man like this!"
He Wei was speechless...
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