Five years of marriage, always separated [1970s]

Ye Fan couldn't help but get anxious: "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"Xiao Ming is so kind-hearted. He can get away with it this time but there will be another time. It's better to teach him a lesson sooner rather than later."

Ye Fan poked his daughter on the forehead and said, "Your father is right. You really are the one who will make a big splash if you don't make any noise." He glared at her and walked towards the entrance of the alley.

Erbao jumped up and followed: "It's too late. With Xiaoming's speed, he would have disappeared long ago."

"Shut up." Ye Fan didn't want to hear her voice for the time being.

Erbao didn't shut up: "Mom, don't worry. As far as I know, Chu Guangming is a good person. When it's our grade's turn to do the general cleaning, Chu Guangming is very active. If something really happens, his dad will take the opportunity to find Xiaoming to compensate him, but he will stop his dad."

Ye Fan stopped, turned around and stared at his daughter with burning eyes.

Erbao covered his mouth: "Don't say it, don't say it."

"Did you eat too many poisonous mushrooms to talk so much? Or did you swap souls with your brother?"

Erbao shook his head to indicate that he had none of them.

When Ye Fan arrived at the entrance of the alley and saw that her classmate's fried dough sticks were sold out and few people were eating there, she coughed lightly to attract her classmate's attention, then winked at him.

The classmate was busy all morning and was hungry. He came over with a bun and ate it. When he saw Erbao, he asked, "Is your daughter?"

Erbao covered his mouth and nodded.

The classmate was surprised: "What's wrong?"

Ye Fan: "She talks too much. I told her to shut up!"

My classmate laughed, "You've changed a lot from before. If your facial features hadn't changed a lot I wouldn't have recognized you."

Speaking of changes, Ye Fan felt guilty and didn't want to continue the conversation, so he asked him directly if he knew Chu Guangming.

The house that Ye Fan's classmates and some fellow villagers rented was actually part of the slum, but the arched door leading to the slum was blocked in the early years, so one house became two. After the revolution, the whole house had to be returned to the original owner. The people in the slum were unwilling to move, so the original owner asked the comrades in the real estate department to set up another household for him. He only wanted the current side yard, and the slum was handed over to the state.

Ye Fan's classmate rented a side courtyard. The original owner went south to Hong Kong City, and the rent was collected by a distant nephew of his, because during the Cultural Revolution, the nephew often secretly helped his family in the middle of the night.

Anyway, with only a wall between them, Ye Fan's classmates could hear everything that happened in the compound clearly: "I know him. He's a very good student. He's a potential college student."

Ye Fan: "I see that the clothes he wears are all patched, is his family very poor?"

"His family is not poor, but he and his grandfather are poor. The clothes you mentioned should belong to Grandpa Chu." Ye Fan's classmate usually chats with others in the afternoon and knows the situation of the Chu family very well. "His parents are rich, but they treat this child as if he doesn't exist. His grandfather is sick in the hospital recently. The morning before yesterday, it seemed that his aunt asked him to take out the money to treat his grandfather. The child still has three years of high school, and I don't know what to do in the future. His grandfather's illness was not a coincidence. If it was two months earlier, he could have taken the examination for a technical secondary school if he didn't have the money to go to high school."

Ye Fan: "Xiao Ming said he always wears dirty clothes, like a gangster."

"I used to think so too. Later I realized that the more you wash clothes, the thinner they become. He couldn't bear to wash them every few days."

Ye Fan was speechless. This was the first time in his life that he heard someone was afraid of ruining clothes by washing them, so he continued to wear them even though they were dirty.

"What is Chu Guangming's character like?"

Classmate: "He is filial. He does all the laundry and cooking by himself. He is more sensible than the others in my family. I have never heard anyone say that he is cheating. I really can't believe that his parents are like that. Oh, by the way, why are you asking these questions?"

Ye Fan turned to Erbao and said, "You like to talk, so go ahead."

Erbao put down his hands and explained that Chu Guangming asked her mother to get clothes and set up a stall with Zhang Xiaoming.

The classmate exclaimed: "He's not going to school anymore?"

Ye Fan: "His grandfather doesn't need his money. He can earn enough for this semester's tuition by working for a few days. He can earn enough for living expenses by working for a day on weekends. He's just afraid that his aunt will find out and ask him to pay for it."

When Ye Fan's classmate first arrived here, he was completely in the dark. Chu Guangming's grandfather told him where to buy a human-powered tricycle and where to buy a stove and coal to make his own coal briquettes.

In the morning, the couple discussed going to the hospital to see Uncle Chu. Hearing this, he felt that if Chu Guangming's aunt knew that her nephew was making money by setting up a stall, she would definitely take the opportunity to ask for money.

The day before yesterday, Chu Guangming gave him the money out of pity, maybe he will return it this time.

The classmate said, "His aunt is a troublemaker. I heard that his grandfather was also a cunning person when he was young. It's strange that good bamboo shoots can grow out of a nest of bad bamboos."

Erbao couldn't help but say, "Mom, think of a way. Xiaoming will be entangled by Chu Guangming's aunt and will be skinned alive."

Ye Fan: "It is inconvenient for outsiders to come forward, so the best way is to divert the trouble to others and let the dogs bite each other."

Ye Fan's classmate has poor academic performance but is smart, but he doesn't like to study. Hearing this, he knew what to do. After returning home and washing up, the classmate took his wife to buy some fruit and went to the hospital. He took the opportunity to chat with Chu Guangming's aunt outside the ward. He implied that Chu Guangming's father was rich, and then he wondered where Grandpa Chu and his grandson should have saved a lot of money by cutting back on their expenses, and he didn't know where the money went.

The next morning, Ye Fan and Zhang Xiaoming took the children to Jinshi. On the train, Ye Fan told Zhang Xiaoming about the situation of the Chu family.

Zhang Xiaoming scratched his head and said uncomfortably: "I heard from Xiaoying."

"What did Dong Ying say?"

Zhang Xiaoming: "Let Chu Guangming help her run the store for two days. He will also run the stall with me in the next few days. Ask him to go to school when the term starts. He will not make mistakes if he has a future. In the future, he will be admitted to university and be with someone who is both good in character and academics, and he will not become like his father."

Ye Fan sighed: "Who's asking about Chu Guangming? I mean those people in the Chu family."

Zhang Xiaoming: "Chu Guangming's stepmother's father is an old subordinate of my father-in-law. His father doesn't dare to cause trouble for us."

Ye Fan was very surprised: "Why haven't I heard you say that?"

"I don't know." Zhang Xiaoming only cared about making money, not about food, clothing, or socializing. But when Dong Ying asked him to give a gift, he went there honestly. In fact, it was because he knew that he was not smart enough and did not dare to make close friends with others.

Dabao couldn't help but ask: "Xiaoming, his stepmother doesn't know that you and the Chu family are separated by a family, right?"

Geng Sensen: "I definitely don't know. Otherwise, considering Aunt Dong lives there, she wouldn't have never been to the compound after being married for several years."

Ye Fan looked at his nephew: "How do you know how many years they have been married?"

Dabao: "Yesterday at noon, I heard you and Dad talking about Chu Guangming. This afternoon, we split up and found out. Mom, should I praise me?"

Ye Fan: "I'll give you a task. If you complete it successfully, I'll give you fifty yuan a month."

"Don't do it!"

Ye Fan: "I'll give you two hundred each time?"

"Is two hundred a semester a lot?"

Ye Fan reminded his son that the school subsidy was enough for him. Dabao couldn't help but mutter, "How come you remember everything?"

"You don't want it?" Ye Fan turned to Erbao, "Erbao——"

Erbao shook his head: "Mom, my ability is limited, you should ask my brother."

Ye Fan poked her on the forehead.

Dabao: "Let's talk about it first."

Ye Fan said, "Your aunt has been hesitant to talk these past two days. She always wants to talk to me and your father about Sun Laifu. I feel like she can't hold it back any longer. Go back to the capital and find a chance to ask your aunt."

Dabao was surprised: "Why are you being so roundabout?"

"Since your aunt graduated from college, she may think that she has grown up and doesn't need her brothers, sisters-in-law and elders to worry about her. She doesn't speak well and is a little ungrateful." Ye Fan said, "She gets annoyed when I talk too much." Dabao nodded, "My aunt is immature! Especially when it comes to dating! Don't worry about it, leave it to me, I'll marry her off at the end of the year so you don't have to worry."

Zhang Xiaoming was amused by Dabao's words: "That's your aunt, not your uncle's family's vegetables that can be sold just like that."

"If she continues to be so smart, I will give her away for free." Dabao said seriously.

Zhang Xiaoming shook his head and laughed.

When they arrived in Jinshi, Ye Fan and Zhang Xiaoming took the kids to a restaurant and agreed to meet at the restaurant in the afternoon. Then they took a bus to the industrial and commercial department.

Ye Fan brought the goods to the capital to generate income for Jinshi, so the industrial and commercial department naturally welcomed it, and then they checked for her which daily necessities companies there were in Jinshi.

The deal was done near noon, and Ye Fan and Zhang Xiaoming went to rent a train car. In the afternoon, after paying the money, Ye Fan and his party returned to the capital.

Before leaving, Ye Fan called Aunt Li's home - Aunt Li's son needed a phone for work. Geng Zhiye helped Ye Fan rent a car in the capital, and then one truck of goods was sent to Chang Guangrong's home, one truck to Zhang Xiaoming's home, and two trucks to Ye Fan's home.

The next morning, when others came to pick up the goods, Ye Fan was still sleeping. Geng Zhiye told everyone to bring an extra hundred or fifty yuan to buy daily necessities tomorrow and sell them at the university gate.

Yu Wentao waited at home for someone to pick up the goods, while Ye Fan and Geng Zhiye sent Geng Sensen to the school to register. The next day, the couple sent Dabao to register.

Dabao mumbled, "How old am I? I still need my parents to send me off. Dad, you're going back to the army soon, don't you want to be alone with mom?"

If Geng Zhiye and Ye Fanzhen didn't send him off, he would be able to wipe his tears alone. Geng Zhiye told the truth, but Geng Dabao, who wanted to save face, dared to turn the tables - his father slandered him.

Geng Zhiye: "It's not the point to send you off, it's the point to see the dormitory environment."

Dabao: "Definitely four people in one room."

Geng Zhiye: "Let's wait and see."

Geng Dabao had no choice but to take them to sign up.

The classmate who received Geng Dabao asked curiously: "Are they your parents?"

Dabao nodded and said helplessly, "My home is nearby. I don't even need to take the bus after leaving the school gate. You said you were worried about me. It's as if I was thousands of miles away from home."

His senior brother nodded in understanding and whispered, "We are still our parents' children even when we grow old. Just bear with it and it will pass."

Geng Zhiye saw that Dabao lived in the same dormitory with his senior brothers, the youngest of whom was three years older than him. He heard from them that they would treat Dabao as a younger brother from now on, and the couple felt relieved.

As he was about to go home, Dabao caught up with him and Ye Fan asked, "Anything else?"

"I'll see you off." Dabao said.

Ye Fan rolled his eyes helplessly: "Who said our house is nearby? Why do you need to send it when it's so close?"

"My school is so big, and many of the classrooms are the same. This is your first time here—"

Geng Zhiye: "Isn't this your first time? Geng Dabao, stop right there."

"If you want to date mom, just tell me." Dabao looked like he saw through him, "Go ahead, go ahead."

Ye Fan: "If you want to go home and have a better meal, call Aunt Li and I'll pick you up."

"I know." Dabao waved his hand, then suddenly remembered something and hurriedly chased after him, "You two are not allowed to call me Dabao from now on."

The students passing by him subconsciously stopped, turned their heads to look, and couldn't help but exclaimed: "Geng Dabao? Aren't you going to the Northeast?"

The classmates all looked over. Geng Dabao wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into, but his arm was grabbed by his senior. "Is it really you? Which department? Don't be my junior again."

Dabao was so angry that he pushed him away: "I don't know you."

Dabao's senior from high school saw his face flushed and said with a smile, "It's enough that I know you." He said to Ye Fan, "Auntie, is this your uncle? This is the first time I see you. You are such a busy man."

Geng Zhiye didn't want his son to become Gao Yanei, but since his son was under 16, he was worried that classmates who were two or three years older would bully him. "I'm quite busy, and I only have a few dozen days off each year. Are you Dabao's high school classmate?"

"I'm one grade higher than him." The senior brother looked at Geng Zhiye, who had a short flat head, a sturdy build, and a sharp gaze that was not an ordinary person. He then put his arm around Dabao's shoulders and said, "Don't worry, uncle and aunt. No one dares to bully our big baby when I'm here."

Geng Dabao pushed him away and kicked him.

Geng Zhiye grabbed his son's arm and said, "Your senior is joking." He said to Dabao, "He doesn't know where the cafeteria is. Please take him there."

"No trouble!" The alumnus pulled Dabao's arm and waved to Geng Zhiye and Ye Fan.

Ye Fan: "This kid is a talent."

Geng Zhiye nodded: "He's got into a key university so he's got a pretty good IQ, is eloquent, and has good foresight. If nothing unexpected happens, he might be more successful than Dabao in the future."

"Yes." Ye Fan said, "Let's go too."

Geng Zhiye asked as he walked, "Has Dabao figured out Xiaoqin's matter?"

Ye Fan: "Sun Laifu was flattered when he saw Xiaoqin carrying a lunch box. But being touched doesn't mean he won't make trouble in the future. We'll see. I've also told Dabao to remind Xiaoqin to go out on a date once in a while. Sun Laifu is good-looking and has a good personality. If we spend more time together, we'll definitely develop feelings for each other."

When they got to the door, they saw that Zhang Xiaoming and Chu Guangming were facing a large number of daily necessities, and there were also many students who needed facial oil and soap. Geng Zhiye: "Business is good."

Ye Fan shook his head: "It's much worse than two years ago. In the past, we had more than a dozen people and we would buy a batch of goods at a time. Now that we have a store, more than 20 people are buying goods, and the flow is about the same as before."

Geng Zhiye asked: "What's the reason?"

"The goods are fine. There are more stalls." Ye Fan said, "If this business is not going from having too few monks and too much meat to having too many monks and too little meat, I wouldn't take the opportunity to get a batch of daily necessities."

Geng Zhi reminded her that when there are too many people, chaos would easily occur, and this line of work might also encounter severe crackdowns.

Ye Fan: "We have a store. But Zhang Xiaozhi and our neighbor to the west don't have a store. I'll remind them to borrow money to open one, and then apply for a business license. Once it's legal and compliant, no matter how strict the investigation is, they won't be able to find us."

Geng Zhiye was afraid that others would implicate Ye Fan, so he said something else when he saw that she knew what was going on: "I checked Chu Guangming's mother."

"Which young lady?"

Geng Zhiye: "The daughter of a district head during the Cultural Revolution."

"Just the district chief?" Ye Fan couldn't believe it. "From what Erbao said, I thought he was at least the head of a certain bureau."

Geng Zhiye said: "Given the Chu family's situation, it's not easy for his father to get in touch with the district chief's daughter."

"No wonder he married a soldier's daughter for the second time. I'm afraid that everyone in the capital's government agencies knows his character, so he can't cheat again."

Geng Zhiye: "His parents are a good match, but their current partners are in line with the saying, 'A good man has no good wife, while a lazy man marries a flowery woman.'"

"They are both so cruel that they don't want a son, so they are obviously a perfect match." Ye Fan said, "The couple should be tied to death!"

Geng Zhiye saw that the cars on the road were far away from them, so he pulled Ye Fan across the road and said, "Chu Guangming will not be sixteen until a few months later. If nothing happens and his parents find out, they can blame Zhang Xiaoming for corrupting minors and then use this as an excuse to get benefits."

Ye Fan: "I ran into my classmate this morning and he told me to wait and see. He must have a way."

(End of this chapter)