Five years of marriage, always separated [1970s]

Ye Fan reminded his son not to point out his aunt's faults directly.

Dabao nodded: "I know. My little aunt is a late rebel. If you tell her to go east, she will go there even if she knows there is a pit to the west."

Ye Fan touched his son's head and asked, "Will you be like this in the future?"

Dabao shook his head: "I won't endure hardship and make my simple life more difficult."

"Don't you think it's a pity not to give it a try?"

Dabao: "Drinking rat poison is also a challenge. Do you want to try it?"

"You're just arguing."

Dabao said: "Although my aunt didn't say it, she wanted to do it this way."

Yu Wentao agreed: "Dabao is right, Fanfan, stop scolding Dabao. Doing something knowing it's wrong is not a challenge, it's stupid!"

Dabao thought to himself, grandma is really annoyed with his aunt lately.

Geng Huihui asked: "Grandma, when does my aunt plan to have a baby? She will be thirty-four after the New Year."

Yu Wentao said she didn't care, and she didn't want to care, but she couldn't help but give Geng Zhiqin some advice when she saw him. At noon today, when the mother and daughter were cooking in the kitchen, Yu Wentao reminded Geng Zhiqin that she was old and wanted to take good care of her health if she wanted to have a child. She also reminded her to go to the hospital for a check-up and asked Sun Laifu to ask colleagues for precautions, etc.

Maybe Ye Fan’s previous comment “one corpse, two lives” frightened Geng Zhiqin, so this time he didn’t mind Yu Wentao’s nagging nor did he argue with her.

Yu Wentao was very pleased to see that her sensible granddaughter still cared about her immature daughter: "We are going to have one. Maybe you will be a big sister again next summer vacation."

Geng Huihui: "Let's have a boy. I heard people say that nephews look like their uncles. It's good whether he looks like my dad, my grandfather, or my uncle. It's also good if he looks like my cousin from the Yu family."

Geng Zhiye also has aunts and uncles. When Geng's father was alive, he often helped the old family. There are also people who have set up their own households in his hometown. They came once when Geng's father passed away. Due to their busy work, they stayed for two days and then hurried back. They are not familiar with Geng Zhiye, and they don't recognize Yu Wentao. They have been following Geng Lao Da for these years.

Yu Wentao heard from Yang Mengxia that there were also annoying relatives in her hometown, but most of them were nice. Yu Wentao was worried that the annoying relative was a close relative of Geng's father, so she said, "Let's just be like your father."

Geng Huihui smiled: "My dad is indeed an honest man. My uncle, my aunt and Lai Fu can't control him, and my third uncle would be mad at him. I heard from my grandfather that my third uncle has been a troublemaker since he was young."

Yu Wentao: "Your third uncle is also sensible."

Ye Fanxin said, that's because the boss has disciplined you and you are obedient, so there is no need for a troublemaker to step in, which makes him appear sensible and well-behaved.

Ye Fan said, "Lai Fu will come over for dinner later. Remind him to go to his brother-in-law's house next time he's on vacation. He's not a son-in-law, so how can he come over every time he's on vacation?"

Yu Wentao: "I reminded him to buy some meat and vegetables and bring them over. It's not easy for him to raise his son to this age."

Ye Fan: "The old couple are kind, Xiaoqin is good to them, and when Xiaoqin gives birth, they will definitely go to help out often. If the baby is born next year, and Chang Guangrong's child is not yet able to go to kindergarten, the old couple can bring the child over to help Xiaoqin take care of him."

Yu Wentao nodded: "Chang Guangrong's wife is kind, maybe she can take care of the child herself and ask her parents to help me."

"Yes, heart for heart." Ye Fan said.

Geng Huihui: "If my aunt marries into the Liu family, with grandma's help, Liu Ning's sister will definitely think that my aunt is a few years older than Liu Ning. Grandma is afraid that Liu Ning will not want my aunt, so she will rush to curry favor with her family."

Yu Wentao shook her head: "It's in the past, let's not talk about it."

Ye Fan took the hat and scarf and went to the company to take a look.

Ye Fan thought the apartment was too expensive, so the two houses he bought this year were both quadrangular courtyards. It costs money to renovate a quadrangular courtyard, but simple renovations are simple. The people in Yujia Village have experience in repairing tiled houses, and they can be done in half a month.

On the National Day, those who are willing to live on the ground floor can move there. Those who don’t want to empty the spittoon every day can stay in the dormitory downstairs of the company. The dormitory downstairs of the company has a toilet.

Geng Zhiqin's small house is more expensive than a courtyard house because it has a toilet, a shower room and a gas stove.

When Ye Fan arrived at the company, he said that the weather was cold, and then asked them if they were cold at night.

The old employee asked, "I heard that down quilts are warm?"

Ye Fan: "One hundred and twenty one."

Everyone turned to Ye Fan in shock, their eyes clearly reading "Robbery!"

Ye Fan couldn't help but think of Geng Zhiye, and said with a smile: "It's just that expensive. When the duck feathers were at their highest, the feathers of a duck were five yuan."

The two female employees asked at the same time: "The capital?"

Ye Fan shook his head. "Yangcheng. Ningbo is cheaper but still expensive. It hasn't gotten much cheaper in the past two years than in previous years. A family I know raises a lot of ducks, but they only sell duck feathers for two or three hundred yuan a year."

"It's worthy of being called the land of fish and rice in the south of the Yangtze River." One of Ye Fan's junior brothers sighed.

Ye Fan: "If you want to buy a quilt, I can recommend one to you. It's a quilt made by making your own cotton and sewing it yourself. It's as warm as the ones you guys have back home."

"Another relative of yours, right?"

Ye Fan smiled and shook his head: "Relatives of relatives." He looked at several employees from the Central Plains area and said, "There are some in your hometown too, right?"

"Yes." One of them said, "My family also wants to make some money. Senior sister knows a lot of people. What do you think we can do?"

Ye Fan: "Do you want to play it safe or take risks?"

"I don't dare to venture into this without any knowledge."

Ye Fan said, "The capital is not suitable. How about going to Yongcheng? It was also the base camp of your senior sister and I. Female comrades go to garment factories, and male comrades go to shoe factories? You can also go to mold factories. The salary is not high at the beginning, but it is definitely better than living in my hometown with food and accommodation provided."

"Can't come to the capital?"

Ye Fan: "There are no private enterprises in the capital, which means that people who seek stability can only go to state-owned enterprises. There is a lot of competition for temporary jobs in state-owned enterprises with good performance. In state-owned enterprises with poor performance, 20 to 30 yuan a month is not enough for rent and food. Ningbo is a special economic zone, and a new factory is established every week on average. It is not easy for this boss to go to another one. The most important point is that if the boss owes money and the workers complain, the government will generally not protect them because there are too many factories to protect and it is better to treat them all equally. If you go to a place with only a few private enterprises, the whole county depends on these few companies, and if someone dies, the government can help suppress it for the sake of economic taxation."

Ye Fan's classmate asked: "Local protectionism?"

Ye Fan nodded: "So I suggest that if you want to work outside, you should go to the special economic zone."

Junior sister asked: "Isn't Yangcheng better than Ningbo?"

Ye Fan: "Too far. If you are not from the south, I suggest you go to Yongcheng. Secondly, I am familiar with Yongcheng. If someone gets lost there, I can call the province to ask for him."

The junior who asked Ye Fan to introduce a job exclaimed: "Why didn't you tell me earlier!"

Ye Fan smiled and said, "You should use this relationship with caution. I am not familiar with the local leaders in Ningbo, but I am familiar with the leaders of private enterprises and state-owned units. Your relative is down-to-earth, he doesn't need to be very diligent, he goes to get off work on time, and he doesn't cheat, so he will be cultivated by the boss as his own. Now the state guarantees job placement, and you can enter a state-owned unit after graduating from a technical secondary school, so every private enterprise is short of talent."

The junior fellow asked: "Senior sister, can you help me find out how old the candidates are and what they need to do?"

Ye Fan: "First write a letter to your hometown to ask who is willing to go out, what they can do, and if they can't do it, are they willing to start as an apprentice. Find out clearly and I will go there to purchase goods at the end of the year to help you ask. Then you can send the people over and come back."

My junior brother wrote the letter at noon and then went to the post office to send it by express mail.

Before Ye Fan set off, his junior brother received a letter. Ye Fan went to the south and exchanged with Chang Guangrong. Chang Guangrong took Wei Chenxian to the Small Commodity City, and Ye Fan took Geng Zhiye's former guard to Yongcheng. Zhang Xiaoming and Yu Wentao's nephew stayed in Hangzhou to count the goods.

The situation in Yongcheng is the same as what Ye Fan said, the talents are in state-owned enterprises, fishermen don't like to work in factories, and private enterprises dare not cut corners to compete with state-owned units for orders, so the garment factory is short of people, and the shoe factory is also short of people. On the contrary, Ye Fan casually mentioned that there is no private enterprise for the mold factory.

Maybe the state-owned mold factories pay well, so mold masters haven't thought about going out on their own.

Ye Fan assigned the male workers to the shoe factory and the female workers to the garment factory. The factory owner made three rules with Ye Fan: if he was hardworking and down-to-earth, he would not be stingy, but if he tried to take advantage of the situation, he would not give Ye Fan face.

Ye Fan thought the same thing. When she returned to the capital, she told her junior brother about the matter and gave him the addresses of the two factories.

It was already the coldest time of the year. Han Dawei had been busy for half a year and his body could not bear it any longer. He asked Zhang Xiaoming to borrow 1,000 yuan and added the money he had saved over the years to buy a store diagonally opposite Zhang Xiaozhi's audio and video store.

He sells breakfast in the morning, and then opens the stall again after cleaning up the house. He doesn’t care how much money he makes, because every dollar he makes is net profit.

Han Dawei's store had been open for three days when an article appeared in the newspaper stating that the government had ordered relevant departments to crack down on "speculation and profiteering" and "official profiteering."

Before New Year's Eve, Ye Fan's people came to Ye Fan's house for the last time to pick up goods. When they saw her, they sighed that fortunately there was a store with a business license, so they could retreat to the store since they could not set up a stall in the park.

Yu Wentao's nephew-in-law, Yu Yinxing's husband, usually sets up a stall in the park. He dares not go out because of the crackdown. The man is used to making money, and now he has been so anxious at home for three days that he has blisters on his mouth.

When Uncle Yu learned about this, he felt very sad, so he borrowed money from his sons and nephews and planned to open a store in Dongcheng.

Yu Wentao talked to Ye Fan about this, and Ye Fan said, "My wife is in the west of the imperial city, and he is in the east. If this goes on for a long time, there will definitely be problems."

"The stores here are expensive, I can't afford it."

Ye Fan: "Let's go to the area near the school. It might be cheaper if it's not in the commercial street."

Yu Wentao: "Buy and sell for meals? The kids around us all go home to eat, even breakfast is at the doorstep. Middle school students don't have money to buy clothes, and if they sell candied haws, they won't make much money."

"I sell stationery, toys and handicrafts. I go to the south to stock up during the winter and summer holidays. During the normal days, I ask my uncle or his parents to help look after the kids for a few days. In a few years, I can bring the two kids here to attend middle school. The education in the city is definitely better than in the countryside."

Yu Wentao said, "The village brigade has a phone number. Can I call him and tell him?"

Ye Fan nodded, and Yu Wentao immediately called the village.

The next day, my uncle took his son-in-law to the store. The owner asked my uncle why he bought it, and he said he was selling breakfast. The owner said business was not good. My uncle said he would give it a try.

One of the shop owner's nephews tried it and thought it would be better to set up a stall to make money. The shop owner wanted to sell the house and use the extra money to buy two more stalls in a better location. He was eager to sell but didn't ask for an exorbitant price.

However, the house price has increased a bit in the past two years, and my uncle didn't have enough money, so he took his son-in-law to Ye Fan's house to borrow two thousand.

Fortunately, Ye Fan's Hanka business was good this year. When she settled the accounts at the end of the year, she made back the money she put in to buy employee dormitories and stores for the company.

Ye Fan saved the bulk of the money, leaving a few thousand yuan at home, so Yu Xiaojiu got the money when he went to Ye Fan's house. Worried that the money would be stolen, Yu Xiaojiu drove the three-wheeled vehicle to take the owner to transfer the property.

After the New Year, Ye Fan didn't need to go south, so she asked Chang Guangrong, Zhang Xiaoming and Wei Jianshe to take Yu Yinxing's husband with them.

Before leaving, Yu Yinxing gave all the money she had borrowed from her brothers to Ye Fan, and also reminded her husband to see and listen more when he got to the south, because Ye Fan was going there specifically for him.

Ye Fan did not take much goods this time, but Chang Guangrong, Zhang Xiaoming and Wei Jianshe each took a batch of small commodities. Considering that it would be cheaper to buy them wholesale together, they also gave the money to Ye Fan.

When they got in the car, Ye Fan did the math and found the actual wholesale price by adding the round-trip expenses to the goods.

When Ye Fan got home, Erbao looked for her and said, "Mom, here's my New Year's money for you."

"What do you want to do?" Ye Fan asked.

Erbao: "Let me pick out the goods you bought first.

"Money-grubber!" Ye Fan poked her on the forehead. "I only buy clothing. Go to Chang Guangrong for stationery, he buys a lot."

Erbao couldn't help but ask: "How does he sell the clothes?"

"Maybe one of his friends also opened a store in front of the school."

Ye Fan guessed right——

Chang Guangrong's brother-in-law is honest, and Chang Guangrong is worried about him going out to work on his own. But except for the day when relatives and friends come to buy goods, Chang Guangrong's wife can handle the store alone. The brother-in-law's family is embarrassed to eat and drink for free, so they always go out to do odd jobs.

Yu Yinxing went to his cousin to borrow money. Yu Wentao's nephew talked about this with Chang Guangrong's brother-in-law while chatting about family matters. Chang Guangrong immediately remembered that there was a primary school near his home, and a middle school opposite the primary school. If he opened a stationery store at the intersection, even if he sold at a low profit and high volume, he could still make a hundred yuan a month.

Chang Guangrong used the dividends from Ye Fan's company to buy two stores and gave them to his brother-in-law and his wife. The first floor was used for business, and the second floor had a bathroom and kitchen for living. Their children were in elementary school, so the family could live in the store without having to live with Chang Guangrong.

During the Spring Festival, Chang Guangrong discussed this matter with his father and brother. His eldest brother was very supportive and believed that this was the right way.

Chang Guangrong became more and more stable after hooking up with Ye Fan. On the sixth day of the New Year, Chang's mother urged Chang Guangrong to pay New Year's greetings to Yu Wentao, but in fact, she was trying to stay in touch with Ye Fan.

When Yu Wentao saw Chang Guangrong's daughter-in-law, she said that if Geng Zhiqin was disobedient, she could scold him and she didn't need to care about her.

Chang Guangrong understood something after listening for a while and winked at Ye Fan.

Ye Fan went out, and Dabao followed him out. Chang Guangrong waved his hand: "It's none of your business."

Dabao: "One person's plan is short, but two people's plan is long."

Chang Guangrong couldn't argue with the kid: "You can listen, but you can't tell anyone."

Dabao covered his mouth and raised his hand to promise not to tell.

Chang Guangrong asked Ye Fan: "Why do I feel something is wrong when I hear Aunt Yu's words?"

Ye Fan certainly didn't dare to tell the truth: "Xiao Qin complained to her several times that your brother-in-law was busy and fell asleep as soon as he touched the pillow when he got home. She thought Xiao Qin was immature. I didn't complain that Geng Zhiye didn't spend New Year's Eve with me during the years I was married to him."

Dabao nodded: "Grandma also said that if Uncle Laifu was good at speaking, she would dislike him for being slick. Grandma said she was a troublemaker."

Chang Guangrong nodded: "My younger brother-in-law is a little bit. My older brother-in-law is even more silent than him. Fortunately, my older sister-in-law knows how to get along with people. She was able to coax my wife to come back to the capital with me. She is also a family that is easy to deceive."

Ye Fan: "Isn't this something worth showing off?"

Chang Guangrong smiled and said it was worth it.

Dabao saw that it was not a big deal: "I'm going to go play with Chu Guangming."

Ye Fan: "If you have nothing to do at home, call him over."

Dabao waved his hands.

Chang Guangrong sighed: "You are kind-hearted."

Ye Fan: "His father is my second sister-in-law's cousin within the fifth degree of mourning."

"No way?" Chang Guangrong was surprised.

Ye Fan said: "I didn't say that?"

"I knew there was such a guy, but I didn't know there was such a relationship." Chang Guangrong really didn't know, "Does Xiao Ming also know?"

Ye Fan didn't seem to have said it specifically: "Maybe. Wait, don't spread this to anyone. I'm worried that his biological father will find out and come after me."

Chang Guangrong didn't want to get involved with such a jerk: "He didn't even tell my wife. Does that guy know?"

Ye Fan nodded.

"I know I'm embarrassed to come to your house, this kid has good character."

Ye Fan also thought he was good: "He is half a head shorter than Dabao. I told Dabao that he was embarrassed to pick any clothes he wanted last year or the year before last. It's a pity that he has such a scumbag father."

"Is this the retribution for the sins of the parents?"

Ye Fan thought about it and it was true.

Chang Guangrong was glad that he had many flaws, but he was not lacking in virtue: "Does your commander Geng have to wait until the 15th to come back?"

Ye Fan: "It's close. He can come back at noon and evening in two days. You may be able to see him if you come on the eighth day of the first lunar month next year."

"By the way, your boss, will he come back for the meeting this year?"

Ye Fan nodded: "He doesn't live at home during the two sessions. If you want to know whether he is black or white, you have to go to the guesthouse and meet him by chance. Or you can come here at noon the next day after the meeting and maybe you can run into him."

"They are all busy people." Chang Guangrong was not curious about Geng Zhiye and Geng Zhihua, because he often heard friends and relatives mention them. "Your second son said he was a fitter, why don't I believe it?"

Ye Fan laughed: "You can ask yourself."

"Where can I ask?" Chang Guangrong felt that Ye Fan was deliberately making things difficult for him.

Ye Fan told him to turn around. Chang Guangrong turned around instinctively. A car stopped at the intersection, and the people in the car got out and turned around. Ye Fan laughed: "Second brother, what are you hiding from?"

Geng Zhihui scratched his head awkwardly, took out the luggage and walked over: "Get the luggage."

Chang Guangrong couldn't believe it. He looked at Ye Fan and then at Geng Zhihui: "Are you the second brother Geng?"

Geng Zhi waved his hand and said, "Hello. Who are you?"

Ye Fan: "Lai Fu's brother-in-law, my business partner Chang Guangrong."

"Hello, Xiao Chang."

Chang Guangrong's smile froze. The last time he was called "Xiao Chang" was when he was an educated youth working in the countryside. It must be said that the name "Xiao Chang" really fits Geng Zhihui's profession.

Ye Fan: "Where's my sister-in-law?"

"Her mother is sick. No one answered the phone call at home. Her eldest brother went to the family compound and told the guard that if he didn't go, he would have to wait for her mother's body to be collected." Geng Zhihui was upset. "I wanted to go too. She told me to come back and rest."

Chang Guangrong asked him to go inside and rest, and when he was far away, he asked, "What's the Chu family's temper? Do you want me to go and take a look?"

Ye Fan shook his head: "My nephew didn't take a vacation last year. A few days ago, his grandmother called and said that he would be back in February. Then ask my nephew to come over. The young man made people angry to death, and we said that the child was ignorant, and the Chu family didn't dare to care. If we said a few harsh words, we would get into trouble."

Chang Guangrong felt that he had learned a trick, and in the future, if he was embarrassed to be involved in something, he would just let his little devil go.

Ye Fan heard footsteps and looked back. Dabao came over alone. When he got to him, he sighed, "Guangming is just like the old lady of the Kong Mansion who doesn't dare to come down from the attic."

Ye Fan laughed: "What a lame analogy. Just say that his uncle is back."

"Second Uncle?" Dabao tilted his head to look inside the house. Second Uncle was holding a basin and preparing to wash up. "Last year before the New Year, this year after the New Year. What kind of job did he have? He took a vacation and deliberately missed New Year's Eve." After mumbling, he ran into the alley again.

(End of this chapter)