Chapter 53
"Yaoyao, are you okay? Are you feeling unwell?" Zhu Xia saw Jiang Yao suddenly sit down with a pale face and asked worriedly.
"I'm fine." Jiang Yao came back to her senses and forced herself to stand up. "I'll go back first."
Lawyer Jiang had seen a lot of things, but the fact that this matter might involve Lu Che made her panic for a moment. The more tense the moment, the more she needed to cheer up. If Lu Che was really arrested, she would have to support the family.
Being caught for illegal transactions is a serious matter these days. At the very least, you will be sent to labor camp, and at the worst, you will have to go to jail. If Lu Che is caught red-handed, even if Lawyer Jiang is a good talker, she will not be able to get him out of this.
She put the brother and sister on the stroller and said goodbye to Zhu Xia. Zhu Xia was a little worried about her and wanted to send her back, but she refused. "I'm really fine. Maybe I didn't eat much at noon. Now I'm a little dizzy because of hunger. I'll be fine if I eat a full meal tonight."
"Why didn't you eat enough at noon?" Zhu Xia felt distressed and angry. She handed her a candy and said, "Eat it quickly, or you will faint on the way and no one will know."
"Okay." Jiang Yao opened the wrapping paper and put the candy into her mouth. Only then did Zhu Xia feel at ease and let her go back.
People these days love to eat candy, and candy is made especially sweet. After a while, the rich sweetness filled her mouth, but she tasted a bitter taste.
Now it is uncertain whether Lu Che has been arrested. Jiang Yao wants to confirm it, so she must go to the police station first. If he is really arrested, she must find a way to reduce his sentence as much as possible.
She was thinking while pushing the brother and sister towards home until she heard the clear voice of the deer: "Dad, Dad..."
Jiang Yao raised her head suddenly and saw Lu Che riding a bicycle towards them from not far away.
"Xiaolu, Cheche, wife, it's time to go home for dinner." Lu Che waved at them as he rode. He stopped in front of them and noticed that Jiang Yao looked unhappy.
"Wife, are you sick?" Lu Che asked anxiously with a frown on his face.
"No..." Jiang Yao reacted, grabbed Lu Che's arm and asked, "Are you okay? Where have you been today?"
"What can I do?" Lu Che looked puzzled. "I went back to Qingyuan to find my master. I had a problem that had been bothering me for a long time and I couldn't solve it, so I went to ask him for advice. I told you about it when I left this morning. Did you forget?"
"So... you were in Qingyuan all day today and didn't go anywhere?"
"Yes." Lu Che was getting more and more confused by her. "Wife, please tell me what happened to you. I'm worried."
"It's okay." Jiang Yao finally smiled and said, "Let's go home. I have something to tell you after dinner."
There are residential houses all around, so in order to prevent anyone from hearing anything, any private transactions cannot be told outside.
Lu Che was full of curiosity, but Jiang Yao must have her reasons for not saying anything, so he didn't force it.
At night, when the two children fell asleep, Lu Che asked, "What happened?"
"A relative of Zhang Dongyi who does private business was arrested today when he was contacting the source. It was probably a large-scale operation, and I heard that many people were arrested." Jiang Yao felt a little embarrassed when she said this. "I was too sleepy this morning and didn't hear you say you were going back to Qingyuan. When you left, your grandmother went to buy groceries, so I didn't know where you went. I thought you went to the provincial capital to pick up the goods today."
"Silly boy, I've been taking a bus to the provincial capital recently. When you saw that my bicycle was not at home, you knew I was not going to pick up the goods." Lu Che said helplessly and dotingly.
"I'm just too concerned, aren't I?" Jiang Yao said shyly. "Anyway, you're lucky to have escaped this time, but don't rely on luck. Let's not do this anymore, okay? Otherwise, I'll be worried every day. How can I live like this?"
"Okay, I promise you, I won't touch this anymore." Lu Che said with emotion, "Wife, I was able to escape this disaster thanks to you. If you hadn't reminded me in advance, I might have really gone to the provincial capital today."
Jiang Yao did not dare to take credit for it, and said: "It must be God's blessing on us, we should cherish it. I think the trend of sports will pick up again after the New Year, so we should keep a low profile if possible."
"I think this trend will pass sooner or later, but before that, we can't be caught with any whip, otherwise we will be doomed. Life is a long-distance race. Don't worry about the gains and losses of the moment. Keeping a low profile is also for the sake of accumulating strength for the future."
"Okay." Lu Che nodded in agreement. "Master also said something to me today, the gist of it is similar to yours. I also have good news to tell you, he has been rehabilitated."
"Really?" Jiang Yao's eyes were full of surprise. "When did it happen? Is he going back?"
Lu Che: "Really? He told me today that he received a notice last week to return to his original unit in the capital after the New Year. But he didn't make it public. Now, except for Lu Dazhou, no one else in the production team knows about it."
"That's great." Jiang Yao was really happy for Mr. Yue. After so many years, he finally made it. However, she still didn't understand, "Why didn't Mr. Yue tell others about his rehabilitation? At least he wouldn't be bullied by others."
"Master said that the current situation is still very serious. Although he has a hard time in Qingyuan, it is also a shelter for him. It is hard to say whether it will be good or bad when he returns." Lu Che said: "He said that we should try to keep a low profile after returning. If it really doesn't work, we should pretend to be sick and stay at home first. We can talk about the future later."
"Master Yue is really insightful." Jiang Yao said, "After he goes back this time, I don't know when we will meet again in the future. Let's go back to Qingyuan for the New Year, and you and your disciple can have a good reunion."
"I know. I'll invite him to the New Year's Eve dinner as usual."
Because of the surprise private sale, this year is destined to be an uneasy one.
After that day, Jiang Yao could hear people discussing this matter whenever she went out, and Lu Che could also hear people talking about it all the time while he was working at the electromechanical factory.
As for Zhang Dong's relative, even if he spent money and used connections, he will definitely not be able to escape being sentenced to labor reform. It just depends on whether his sentence can be reduced.
Jiang Yao and Lu Che remained silent about the matter and did not make any comments. He secretly asked his former partners and was told that the people he worked with rarely cooperated with the source who was arrested, so they all escaped.
"We have been doing this business for so many years. Even though we are sneaky, we are all loyal and trustworthy. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to do it for so long." The partner said, "We have been working with you for several years and you have never treated us unfairly. To be unlucky, if one of us is imprisoned one day, we will not betray the others."
"Thank you." Lu Che thanked sincerely.
"What's there to thank for?" The partner was about 40 years old, and was considered a junior of Lu Che. He patted him on the shoulder and said, "You have a stable job, so don't do it anymore. It's hard to say what the future will be like, but as long as you have a green mountain, you can survive even if there is no firewood. I've talked to a few other people, and they all said to stop for the time being. We've made a lot of money over the years, so it won't be a problem to maintain our lives for two or three years."
"I understand." Lu Che said, "I don't have much ability, but if you need me in the future, just let me know."
"Okay, tomorrow is New Year's Eve, go back early and prepare for the New Year with your wife and children."
As Jiang Yao's mood was still affected by this incident, Lu Che did not set an example this year and chose to take New Year's Eve and the first and second days of the New Year off, and went back to Qingyuan with them to celebrate the New Year.
Although the Lu family doesn't have many relatives who want to leave, they are finally happy to be able to stay together during the New Year.
On the morning of New Year's Eve, everyone got up early and began to tie bags to the back seat of Jiang Yao's bicycle. When they returned later, she would be responsible for pulling the luggage, while Lu Che would be responsible for taking care of the old lady and the two children.
"Are you ready to go back?" Zhu Xia ran over early in the morning, and seeing the door was open, she walked straight in.
"Oh, yeah." Jiang Yao smiled slightly when she saw her. "Why are you so free? Aren't you going back to your mother-in-law's house today?"
"Yeah." Zhu Xia was obviously not very interested in going back to her husband's house, but she was very excited when she thought about going back to her parents' home in the provincial capital on the second day of the first lunar month. She pulled Jiang Yao and asked, "Zhang Dong and I will take Tongtong back to the provincial capital on the second day of the first lunar month. He said that Lu Che will also have a day off that day. Do you want to go back with us?"
"Well..." Jiang Yao looked at Lu Che out of habit. He also heard what Zhu Xia said, so he said, "It depends on you. If you are willing to go back, we can go back. It won't be tiring to take a car anyway." He saw that she was nervous recently, and if she was willing, it would be nice to go to the provincial capital for a walk.
"Okay, then we'll come back early on the second day of the Chinese New Year, meet up with you, and set off together," Jiang Yao said.
"It's settled then." Zhu Xia said happily, "I'm leaving first. Happy New Year, everyone!"
"Everyone is happy!" Jiang Yao said with a smile.
Shortly after Zhu Xia left, they packed up their things and rode their bicycles back to Qingyuan.
When they returned to the old house, it was still early, so Jiang Yao handed the brother and sister to the old lady, and she and Lu Che cleaned the house.
The house was empty and there was no place for the two children to play, so the old lady simply pushed them to Aunt Zhang's house. She had taken care of the two little guys for a few months and could be considered their nanny.
When Jiang Yao heard that the old lady was going to Aunt Zhang's house, she immediately took out some snacks and candies from her luggage and asked her to take them over.
After the old lady took it, she took the brother and sister out.
Jiang Yao and Lu Che were busy all morning to clean the house, while the old lady and the kids played until dinner time before returning.
"You two had so much fun that you didn't want to come back, right?" Jiang Yao had just finished cooking and said with a smile when she saw them come back.
"No." The old lady said nervously, "I was asking Aunt Zhang for information, so I came back so late."
"What news did you find out?" Lu Che, who was cutting meat, raised his head and asked.
The old lady lowered her voice and said, "I heard that several families with bad backgrounds in the production team next door have been bullied recently. If you two hadn't become workers, we would have moved to the county town. It's so far away, and I think our family would have ended up like us."
When Lu Che and Jiang Yao heard this, they also felt a little depressed, but they still comforted the old lady, "Grandma, don't be afraid, we are different now. Anyway, we have to go to the provincial capital on the second day of the Chinese New Year and go back early in the morning. If you are really worried, we can leave tomorrow afternoon."
"Then let's go tomorrow afternoon." In order to avoid any more trouble, the old lady made a prompt decision.
"Okay." Lu Che said, "Don't think too much. Just celebrate the New Year. No matter what others do, they won't make trouble during the Spring Festival. They don't mind making trouble for other families, but they are always worried about making trouble for their own family."
"That's the truth." The old lady nodded and said, "Why don't we not invite Mr. Yue to come over tonight, so as to avoid any trouble for him."
The old lady was worried that she would affect Mr. Yue, but Mr. Yue was not afraid. He came uninvited at around 4:00 p.m. and said he wanted to have the New Year's Eve dinner with them.
When he heard the reason why the old lady didn't want him to come, he quickly said, "I'm not afraid. I'm going back to the capital on the second day of the Chinese New Year. What else do I have to be afraid of?"
When Lu Che heard this, he asked, "Master, are you going to the county town to take a bus to the provincial capital railway station on the morning of the second day of the Chinese New Year? If so, let's go together and go to the provincial capital on that day."
"Yes." Yue Lao said, "Then we will go together then."
The old lady said: "We will go back to the provincial capital tomorrow afternoon. You can come with us and stay in the county town for one night. There is a room there."
Upon hearing this, Yue Lao did not shirk his responsibilities and said, "Then I will respectfully obey your orders."
Probably because he was rehabilitated, Old Yue was in high spirits that night. In addition to playing with his brother and sister, he also drank non-stop with Lu Che.
Lu Che couldn't bear to leave his mentor and drank too much without realizing it.
Before going to bed at night, Jiang Yao wanted to push him to take a shower, but she pushed for a long time without success. Finally, she even used her beauty to seduce him, but he remained indifferent. She finally believed that someone was really drunk.
When he was drunk, he would fall into a deep sleep. The last time he pestered her, it was clearly because of alcohol. It was all because she was too young at the time and was deceived by him.
The next day, Lu Che slept in for once, and Jiang Yao followed him.
It was not until noon that he and Yue Lao woke up and had their first lunch of the New Year together.
After lunch, everyone took a nap and then set off back to the county town.
When they entered the house in the county town, the old lady breathed a sigh of relief and asked Lu Che, "Are the doors and windows of the old house closed tightly?"
"Everything is locked tightly, what's wrong?" Lu Che asked.
"Just close it tightly." The old lady said, "From now on, let's not go back if we can."
Everyone understood why she said this. Jiang Yao asked, "Grandma, you've lived in the old house for decades. It's a long way to go, but you're not going back when it's so close. Can you bear it?"
"Why would I be reluctant to give it up?" The old lady said, "Just as Old Yue said, these days, any land that can serve as a safe haven is good land. I don't care about that."
"Lu Che's grandma, I'm glad you think this way." Old Yue praised: "We old people should be open-minded so that we can live comfortably."
"That's right." The old lady smiled and said, "I will go to the provincial capital with you tomorrow to see it together."
"Grandma, are you willing to go with us?" Jiang Yao asked in surprise.
"I'm willing. Bring your crutches with you. I walk slowly so you just wait for me."
The next day, everyone got up early, and then went to the provincial capital with Zhu Xia in three rounds.
As Yue Lao had to catch a train, he went straight to the train station when he arrived at the provincial capital. Lu Che wanted to see him off, but he refused. "It's inconvenient for you to bring your family with you. We have to say goodbye after sending you thousands of miles away. Just send you here."
"Then be careful on your way. When you arrive, send me a telegram to let me know you're safe. We'll keep in touch by letter." Lu Che said.
"Okay." Old Yue patted Lu Che on the shoulder and said, "I have been teaching for so many years, and you are the one with the highest understanding I have ever seen. If the master can return to his previous level in the future, you are welcome to come to the capital to find me. I will do my best to help you develop better."
"Master, I will." Lu Che smiled and said, "Then I would like to thank you in advance."
Everyone said a few more words of farewell before Mr. Yue turned and left.
Lu Che looked at his slightly weathered back and felt deeply moved.
Zhu Xia and her two other friends went back to the Zhu family to pay New Year's greetings, while Jiang Yao and Lu Che took the old lady and the two children to play in the downtown area and the park.
The festive atmosphere in the provincial capital was even stronger than that in the county town. Changchang, Xiaolu and the old lady were like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden, full of curiosity and excitement.
They had lunch at a state-owned restaurant. The decoration of the state-owned restaurant was considered luxurious in that era. The old lady sat inside and said with emotion: "Lu Che's grandfather once said that he would bring me to the provincial capital to see it. Who knew that the family would become like this? I thought I would never have the chance to come here to see it in my lifetime."
"Grandma, don't worry, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future." Jiang Yao comforted her, "In the future, we will take you to the capital to see Old Yue, how about that?"
"Of course." The old lady's eyes narrowed into a line as she smiled. She said, "Then I will work hard and try to live until that day. As for how to get to the capital, it all depends on your efforts and your ability to find a solution."
"Grandma, no problem. Leave it to us. We've already figured out a solution." Jiang Yao said.
"real?"
"Of course it's true."
The method Jiang Yao mentioned was actually very simple, which was to keep a low profile and not make any splash until the end of next year. They just had to spend the next two years in peace, and then their era and good days would arrive as promised.
When they got home that night, Jiang Yao helped the two little ones take a bath, and after coaxing them to sleep, she pulled Lu Che and said, "You will be going to work tomorrow. Let's make a deal. From now on, you should be as low-key as possible. If others can take the credit and limelight, let them take it. Just do your job well and don't make mistakes."
So many things have happened recently, and Lu Che certainly understood Jiang Yao's intention. He nodded, hugged her tightly, and said, "I understand, but it's hard for you to follow me and be scared."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Jiang Yao nuzzled into his arms and raised her hand to draw circles on his chest. "We are husband and wife. If we can't even face this little difficulty together, how can we talk about growing old together? Believe me, it won't stay like this forever. It will get better soon."
"I know." Lu Che's voice suddenly became hoarse. Jiang Yao looked up and saw him staring at her deeply. "Wife, you keep drawing circles like this. It's hard for me not to misunderstand that you are seducing me."
"…You think too much. I didn't mean that."
"I've thought too much, so let's just go with it." As he said this, his lips fell.
A few days after Lu Che started working, Jiang Yao also started working.
The couple was busy with research while the other was busy setting up a kindergarten. They were like spinning tops every day, but they never complained.
Director Wu and Director Li saw this and both praised their work. While they thanked their senior leader for his recognition, they also consciously pushed the credit to the team members. Anyway, they just didn't want to take the credit.
Not only did Lu Che and Jiang Yao not want to take credit for themselves, they also refused even when Director Wu and Director Li wanted to push them to the podium.
No matter whether they were outstanding employees within the electromechanical plant or outstanding workers recognized by the county every year, when faced with one honor after another, they calmly gave them to others.
Not only were Director Wu and Director Li confused by the couple's indifference to reputation, but the employees of the electromechanical factory and the kindergarten were also unable to figure it out.
Occasionally someone would come and ask them why they didn't want a promotion or an award, and they would just talk about something else to evade the question, and if others wanted to probe further, they would just smile and say nothing.
Even when Zhu Xia and Zhang Donglai asked them, they refused to tell the truth.
Just over a year passed like this, Changchang and Xiaolu were already three years old, and in September 1977 they officially entered kindergarten.
Not long after they became students in the small class, the historical turning point that Jiang Yao had been waiting for finally came.
During this period, the whole society was in a complex state of extreme grief and excitement. Jiang Yao and Lu Che remained Buddhist and did not discuss any political topics in public.
However, the old lady has been very happy recently because now that there is no more exercise culture, she no longer has to worry about being bullied one day.
On the winter solstice, she got up early to buy groceries and was busy at home all day. When Lu Che came back a few nights later, there was a sumptuous dinner waiting for them.
"Wow, grandma, so many times today." The little deer said in a clear voice.
"Of course, today is the winter solstice." Changchang explained to his sister promptly that his speaking ability has improved by leaps and bounds since he spoke his first sentence, and coupled with his quick mind, he now understands much more than other children of the same age.
"Brother, what is the Winter Solstice?" asked the little deer, tilting his head.
"Winter Solstice is..." Chang Chang was about to explain, but the old lady said, "Okay, the weather is cold, you two brothers and sisters, stop talking and eat first. Let's talk while eating. Grandma has left a big chicken drumstick for each of you."
"Great! We can eat big chicken legs!" The little ones jumped up and down with excitement.
After they had their chicken legs, the adults also sat down to eat. The old lady pointed to a plate of bacon on the table and said, "This is what Mr. Yue sent us last time. You should try it quickly." As she spoke, she muttered, "I wonder how Mr. Yue is doing recently? The situation is very good now, and he is a university professor. He should be entrusted with important tasks again."
"Grandma, if you want to know how Old Yue is doing, just let Lu Che see what's written in his letter." Jiang Yao said, taking out a letter from her messenger bag and handing it to Lu Che. "I went out with my coworkers at noon and happened to pass by the post office to get it back."
When Lu Che saw that it was a letter from Old Yue, he took it and opened it.
"What did Mr. Yue say?" Lu Che looked at him for a long time without saying anything, and Jiang Yao couldn't help but ask.
Lu Che looked up at Jiang Yao. Although his face was calm, his eyes could not hide his excitement. He said, "Wife, Mr. Yue asked me to work in the capital."
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