Chapter 73
Tong Yufei slept until ten o'clock in the morning before waking up. Mo Daoyan was no longer in the room, but there were many more things out of thin air. On the kitchen stove was piled half a bag of vegetables, winter bamboo shoots, fresh mushrooms, turnips, kale and lentils, etc., and next to it was half a basin of beef and mutton. On the dining table was some still warm soy milk and buns, and on the fruit plate were bright red strawberries and crystal longans, as well as a bag of winter dates. Underneath was a familiar envelope, which was the one she had paid back. Not only did she return it in full, but she also got an extra two hundred yuan, and even gave her more than ten yuan in change.
There were several rows of coal briquettes neatly stacked on the porch, and her room number was marked on the cardboard boxes next to them. He had to purchase so many things and make hundreds of coal briquettes. She didn't know whether he slept or not. She couldn't imagine how he dragged his injured body, swinging a shovel to mix the coal dust, and then using the coal briquette machine to press them into shape one by one. The light gray sweatshirt and white sweatpants must have been covered with coal dust.
In fact, he was too enthusiastic. It was not that she couldn't afford to eat. She didn't stock up on food because she didn't have a refrigerator at home. There were two vegetable markets nearby and a supply and marketing cooperative a hundred meters away. She could buy food as she ate and avoid waste. Now there were so many ingredients that she had to share some with her neighbors.
While dressing in front of the mirror, she saw the kiss mark on her neck, and the scene of their entanglement last night came to her mind. She felt a little dejected. She told him that she would not bother him anymore, but he acted as if he didn't hear her. She used to think simply, working hard to earn money to support the family. If she could earn more, she would buy a house of her own. But now, Mo Daoyan used both kindness and force, dragging on the divorce and throwing stones into her heart. Those clear goals became blurred again after being stirred by the waves.
But she didn't like the feeling of being in a fog at all, and she had to get a divorce no matter what.
After quickly eating the buns, she went out to work.
Sister Jiang from Room 3 smiled at her from afar through the open window, "Yufei, who is this man who's been chugging away in the yard making coal briquettes for you at five in the morning?"
Sister Jiang was a warmhearted person. She had given her Sichuan soup dumplings on the first day she moved in. She thought she was living with her silly brother, so she wanted to introduce her to her cousin, an electrician. She said he was honest, widowed, childless, and strong, and was willing to help her raise her brother. Naturally, she declined, but she was mentally calculating. If Ye Yimo hadn't been in urgent need of medical expenses, finding a rich, honest cousin would have been the most suitable choice. Seeing that she was a college student, he might have been more tolerant of her.
Unlike Mo Daoyan, who looks down on everyone else and wants her to obey him in everything.
She said to Sister Jiang: "I love you."
Sister Jiang's interest immediately piqued. Since they were neighbors, they would have to look after each other in the future. Knowing each other well was key to their interactions. She then pressed, "Where is your lover working? Why is he so rare? If I had seen him earlier, I wouldn't have been so hasty in trying to match us up. Judging by the way your lover is dressed and the way he looks, he doesn't seem like someone who needs a lot of money. Why would you let you and your brother squeeze in here?"
Although the staff dormitories of the oil and cotton mill are not bad, they are still more simple than ordinary houses. The workers live there normally. The people who rent the houses are either old employees who have been laid off and have not found a way out, or retailers from other places or the countryside. Three or five people share a room just to save some rent money.
Tong Yufei told the truth: "We are getting a divorce."
There is no need to say more about the fact that a woman who is about to get a divorce may become her ex-husband's lover at any time.
Sister Jiang was shocked. They were about to get divorced, and yet the man still came to make coal briquettes for her. It seemed that he didn't want to get divorced. With Tong Yufei's situation, he would never take the initiative to divorce unless it was absolutely necessary. The problem was most likely with the man. I'm afraid he made a big mistake. Thinking of this, she felt hopeful about her cousin's matchmaking again: "People are all about fate. If you are destined to meet, you will meet again. If not, you can't see each other again. Don't take it too seriously. Life must move on. There are plenty of good men. If this one doesn't work out, just find another one."
"I don't think about that."
She said goodbye to Sister Jiang, took the bus for two stops, and arrived at the newspaper office.
He Yanjun was wandering at the entrance of the press department. When he saw her coming forward, he handed over two boxes of Mi Sandao, saying that it was a token of his gratitude on behalf of his cousin. Because of her article, her cousin's beastly husband was arrested. However, her cousin was too soft-hearted and was taken to the police station by her in-laws to plead for her husband. There was nothing she could do about it because someone had to raise the child.
A few days ago, she wrote an article titled "A Woman's Self-Redemption" as the opening chapter of the "Urban Household Registration Transactions" series. The main content focused on Tan Li's tragic experience, and only pointed out the root cause of the problem at the end. At the micro level, it was the cruel husband who did not treat his wife as a human being, and at the macro level, it was the constraints that the household registration put on people's lives.
Tan Li's story is over, and the real investigation has just begun.
Yesterday, she interviewed Secretary Liu of the Public Security Department's Household Registration Section and Section Chief Lu of the Household Administration Section. Knowing she couldn't handle their bureaucratic rhetoric, she turned to Cheng Yuan for help. Cheng Yuan was depressed after her miscarriage. While others might have retreated into seclusion to heal her wounds, she did the opposite, squeezing time out of her busy schedule. She listened to Tong Yufei's report and carefully analyzed it. Tong Yufei's article spoke extensively on Tan Li's behalf, and law enforcement officials had severely punished her killer. They were doing a favor, hoping to silence them. They were playing Tai Chi with Tong Yufei because the crux of the matter lay in the "chaotic nature of household registration trading," and digging deeper revealed the household registration system itself. Accepting the interview would have exposed its shortcomings.
This is no longer a problem that the Ministry of Public Security can solve alone, but a chronic disease that the entire government must face. A higher-ranking official can crush a person to death. Cheng Yuan decided to take her to see the president. Only by negotiating with the relevant departments through the president will they not shirk their responsibilities.
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The director's office of Honglian Machinery Factory.
At noon, Mo Changlin came back from a meeting and saw Mo Daoyan sitting inside. Thinking he was hallucinating, he turned to ask Secretary Zhang, "Xiao Zhang, can you help me check if there's anyone sitting over there?"
Secretary Zhang pursed his lips and suppressed a smile: "Not only is he sitting, he also looks a bit like you."
"It can't be the famous Dr. Mo, right?"
"His surname is indeed Mo, and he's a doctor."
Director Mo then slowly sat down, picked up the large porcelain pot and drank a mouthful of strong tea. He said, "The sun rises in the west," and then, "The general trend of the world is that long-term division will inevitably lead to unification, and long-term unification will inevitably lead to division. The Slovenian people have voted to secede from Yugoslavia. The world's relations are unpredictable." Finally, he glanced at Mo Daoyan and said, "What brings you here?"
Mo Daoyan was accustomed to his father's sarcastic remarks. Aside from the five years he spent studying abroad, this was the only way they'd interact. If his father suddenly warmed up, it was a sure sign of trouble. He'd chosen his lunch break to come over so he could get to the point quickly. "Do you know Liu Tongxi from the Household Registration Section of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, and Lu Huijun from the Household Administration Section? They're all officials in charge of urban household registration. Even if you don't know them directly, you can probably establish a connection, right?"
Not to mention their marital relationship, there were also his father's old subordinates and his brother's life-and-death comrades in front of him. It wouldn't be difficult to ask someone to do something for him, but Mo Changlin felt uncomfortable watching Mo Daoyan come up to discuss official matters. Outside, he was a young and vigorous factory director whose word was law, but in front of his son, he was an old father who worked overtime until dawn and night and longed for some attention. His eldest son, on the other hand, didn't say a single considerate word, with an attitude of "using people first, not using them later." Although he didn't ask him for help much on weekdays, since he came to him, he should let this kid know that even if it was his father's connection, he couldn't ignore the etiquette.
Mo Changlin pushed the teacup onto the table. “The threads are not in vain, and I’m not omnipotent.”
Mo Daoyan had long understood his father's temper and would tease him about anything, but he would never stand idly by when it came to Tong Yufei's affairs. He simply continued, "Tong Yufei is reporting on the sale of urban household registration. I don't think there's anything wrong with this. It's not like Xicheng is the only city in the country that's doing this. After all, it's all about 'poverty leads to change, change leads to prosperity, and prosperity leads to longevity.' Not only did those two leaders refuse to cooperate out of concern for their own interests, but they also got her drunk. If a female comrade wanders the streets drunk, who's going to be held responsible if something goes wrong?"
Hearing his son's concern for his wife, Mo Changlin's expression brightened slightly: "Do you know how to love your wife?"
"It wouldn't be appropriate to treat any female reporter like this, right?"
Thinking about all these years of neglecting his education, he'd actually raised a son with such a complicated heart. He clearly cared deeply about her, yet he used his righteousness as a pretext. No wonder his daughter-in-law wanted a divorce. With a character like that, who could possibly live with him? The more Mo Changlin pondered, the angrier he became. "Are you this attentive to other female reporters? Are you the Tathagata Buddha who saves all living things? And you're still pretending in front of me? You're so obsessed with face that you're suffering in vain. It's all the opposite. You play the victim when you need to. Women are the most susceptible to this. Once she takes pity on you, her protective maternal instincts will be aroused, and she'll be inseparable from you for the rest of her life."
He wanted her to come back, but he absolutely disdained such a rotten idea. Besides, they had only been together for a year, so pretending to be devoted to each other would be a bit fake. "Is this the trick you used back then?"
"Your mother is cold on the outside but warm on the inside. If I keep being weak, I won't be able to break through her hard shell."
When talking about the past, Mo Changlin's eyes sparkled. At that time, he had just been elected as the factory director and was in the limelight. Many girls tried to show their affection to him, but he remained unmoved. Instead, he fell in love with a new propagandist from the External Propaganda Section of the Propaganda Department. The girl had long flowing hair, red lips and white teeth, and a pair of eyes like stars falling from the sky. She was intelligent and could sing "Ode to the Red Plum" and "Katyusha" more beautifully than a lark, but she didn't like to laugh and always had an icy face to everyone in private.
He didn't believe it, so he wrote more than a dozen letters and delivered them to her personally. However, she handed them over to her superiors and accused him of being immoral. He thought the matter was over. When he was sent to a farm to herd cattle because he refused to stop working and participate in the movement, and decided to use hunger strike to stop missing her, she took the trouble to travel back and forth between the two places to accompany him. Later, when he was reinstated and wanted to marry her, she refused to give in because of his mother's obstruction. She forced him to jump into Jiang Mingzhi before she was willing to reveal her feelings. At that time, she was already pregnant with his child.
In the decades that followed, although they were each busy with their own affairs, they remained as loving as ever. They occasionally argued, but his biggest complaint about his wife was the same: "You didn't even tell me you were pregnant. If I hadn't been so determined to find you, how would you, a single woman, survive with a big belly?"
When Meng Ruqing was happy, she coaxed him, "How could I let him be fatherless? I knew you would find him." When she was unhappy, she rolled her eyes at him, "I don't know how to do an abortion? If you don't find me, you're being unscrupulous. I won't raise a child without a conscience."
Mo Changlin was conflicted for a moment, but if they really couldn't succeed, he also agreed that she should abort the child and find another good husband. So among the two sons, he preferred Mo Daoyan more. He always felt that Mo Daoyan had survived by chance. He also intervened in Mo Daoyan's family affairs more than Meng Ruqing. The crying child gets candy, but Mo Daoyan was too good at crying, so he was the one who got scolded the most. When he was a child, his grandmother took care of him to keep his teeth, and he rarely ate candies in his life.
"Yufei is just the opposite. She's soft on the outside but strong on the inside. What she needs is gentle care, like the gentle spring breeze that moistens everything silently." He told Mo Daoyan from his experience, "But no matter what kind of person she is, the worst thing about relationships is making them too complicated."
Mo Daoyan seemed to be half-listening and returned to the main topic. "Please tell the relevant leaders that it's not just the journalists who have questions about this system. Before anything else, those who deserve a refund should get their money back, and those who should be dealt with should be dealt with first. The economic base determines the superstructure. Times are changing, and policies must change with it. If we can unite to call for household registration system reform, within a year at the earliest, and three to five years at the slowest, once a turning point comes, it will be a great achievement. But don't let the female reporter drink the wine. This concerns the government's image as a public servant." He stood up to leave. "Don't think I'm asking you to abuse your power for personal gain. This is the power of unity. Do things that benefit the country and the people. When you succeed, I'll give you two bottles of Moutai."
"I need a couple of sips of your wine?" Mo Changlin waved his son over. "Your mother said she asked you about your thoughts on state-owned enterprise reform. Besides the usual talk about separating government from business, she also mentioned finding the right market position."
"Just to give you an example, all the agricultural textile machinery and metal processing equipment your factory produces can be produced by many township enterprises, and at a lower price. Your auto parts business is currently profitable, but the core technology is entirely outsourced. Ultimately, any company is about the product; it's all about product strength."
"You're just talking about it, but what about the concrete plan?"
Mo Daoyan took two steps back, keeping a safe distance. "I told you not to get angry." Mo Changlin nodded impatiently. Mo Daoyan blurted out, "Merge and reorganize, and reopen the track."
"Annex whom?"
"Xinli's products are in short supply, and the production lines are overloaded. We'll also be pushing forward with our diversification strategy after the new year, but the several small factories we acquired aren't doing well, and there's an imbalance between supply and demand." He stared at his father's expression, "Are you interested in talking to Mr. Chen? After the reorganization, we can retain the machinery factory's brand, and you can even run the branch..."
Before he could finish his words, the porcelain jar thrown by Mo Changlin flew past Mo Daoyan's ear and hit the door frame: "You traitorous bastard! You're plotting against me, and you're not afraid of choking to death!"
Mo Daoyan brushed the tea leaves off his shoulders. "A lean camel is bigger than a horse. It'll definitely last a few years, but the workers need to live a good life. Just providing them with food and clothing isn't enough." He retreated to the doorway and added, "Xinli is still a child. Now is a good time to use the emperor as a coercion to control the other vassal states. Director Mo, you have a lot of bargaining chips." Before Mo Changlin could get up and follow, he hurried away, his voice echoing in the corridor. "Director Mo, you're always welcome to come for an on-site inspection."
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