Five years of marriage, always separated [1970s]

Ye Fan and Chang Guangrong returned to their room. It was getting late, so Ye Fan asked, "What are we having for lunch?"

Chang Guangrong said quickly: "You are the chef? How about some seafood?"

Ye Fan said unhappily: "I think you are quite fresh!"

"Just kidding, just kidding." Chang Guangrong thought of Ningbo seafood when he saw the fish in the yard, and Guangzhou delicacies also flashed through his mind. Chang Guangrong loves to go south, and Ningbo seafood and Guangzhou delicacies have contributed greatly.

Chang Guangrong is not someone who has never eaten good food, but he spent the first half of his life in the north, including the years he spent in the countryside. When he first arrived in Ningbo, he found a roadside stall and sat down to eat all kinds of fish, turtles, shrimps and crabs. Chang Guangrong once wanted to move here.

But he also thought about it.

Ye Fan simply asked Dabao what he wanted to eat for lunch.

Dabao asked the person next to him: "Chu Guangming, what about you?"

Chu Guangming was stunned for a moment, thinking to himself, will it still be my turn to order food?

Geng Zhihui: "What's at home?"

Winter is cold, and the outdoors is a natural refrigerator. I hang the food on a rope for fear that it will be eaten by wild cats. Ye Fan walked to the door and took a look at the rope: "There are chickens, fish, and meat."

Geng Zhihui: "Chicken stewed with mushrooms, sweet and sour fish and sweet and sour pork, and three vegetarian dishes. Xiao Chang, do you think it's okay?"

Chang Guangming said in his heart, thank you, but don’t call me “Xiao Chang” anymore.

Ye Fan looked at his family. Because of the heavy snow, Geng Leilei and Geng Sensen did not go to their grandmother's house. Including Chu Guangming and Geng Erge, two tables had to be prepared.

Ye Fan nodded: "That's all. Erbao, Huihui, come over and give me a hand."

The two girls followed her to the kitchen.

Ye Fan knew that there would be guests coming in the next few days, so he went to the market in the morning to buy some bean curd and a pound of green peppers. Ye Fan first blanched the bean curd, asked Geng Huihui to wash the green peppers, and asked Erbao to peel the onions and garlic.

Geng Huihui asked: "Green peppers are expensive, right?"

Ye Fan: "A few dollars a pound, more expensive than meat."

"Do people in Yujia Village grow off-season vegetables?" Geng Huihui washed the green peppers and soaked the hazel mushrooms. Ye Fan bought the hazel mushrooms at the department store, but the supply and marketing cooperative had no stock.

Ye Fan fished out the bean curd skin and washed the hard fish with warm water: "The villagers who are not related to your uncle built two sheds. The vegetables your uncle sold before the New Year were all picked from their sheds."

Erbao asked: "Why don't my relatives plant it?"

"There are relatives too. Your grandmother went back to the village to help your mother find a nanny. They thought your uncles from the Yu family looked down on them, and they were very sarcastic when they saw the two families. The two families didn't want to suffer this humiliation, so they asked outsiders to buy vegetables in the winter." Ye Fan could understand people who were noble, but he couldn't force her to use the money when she needed it. Because this was not about kneeling down to beg or steal.

Geng Huihui: "Don't you regret it?"

"The one who regrets is your grandmother's cousin. Your grandmother's relationship with her is like your relationship with Erbao. Her cousins ​​don't have time to grow vegetables, so they ask relatives in the village to buy vegetables."

Before New Year's Eve, Uncle Yu sold vegetables for the last time and specifically asked Ye Fan if he wanted any. Ye Fan had a large family and chose more than ten kilograms. He chatted with him and heard from Uncle Yu that his cousins ​​didn't want to buy vegetables from relatives of the same clan.

When Yu Xiaojiu went to buy vegetables from outsiders, he could bargain. If some dishes were not good, outsiders would give him some, and Yu Xiaojiu would give some to citizens who bought more. It was not so easy to buy vegetables from relatives. If they were one cent less, they would complain to Yu Xiaojiu about being poor.

Uncle Yu's car was used in turns by him and his eldest brother. At the end of the year, the two families settled accounts and divided the money. Uncle Yu was glad that he had a falling out with his relatives because his sister came to the village to find a nanny.

Geng Huihui said: "It's so complicated to have so many relatives."

Ye Fan: "People in the city live in scattered places and have to go to work. They are too embarrassed to have conflicts when they see each other occasionally. In the village, relatives live together and see each other every day. They can have conflicts even when they have a meal together."

Erbao brought in the chicken and meat: "Mom, what should we do first?"

Ye Fan: "Steam the rice, and heat up a basket of steamed buns in a steel pot. When the buns are heated through, Mom stews mushrooms with the chicken. After the chicken is taken out and covered with a basin, Mom fries the fish and meat. You cut the vegetables, and Mom mixes the sweet and sour sauce and stir-fries the vegetables."

Geng Huihui: "Sounds fast?"

Ye Fan: "Prepare the side dishes in advance, and turn on the fire. It takes two or three minutes to make a vegetarian dish. By the way, Erbao, besides stir-fried bean curd with green peppers, what else do you want to eat?"

Erbao: "Lotus slices and scrambled eggs with tomatoes?"

Ye Fan nodded: "Find the dishes."

When stewing chicken with mushrooms, add more side dishes, and fill two pots. Ye Fan's fish is big, so she cuts it in half and puts it on two plates, which looks like two fish at first glance. There are also two portions of sweet and sour pork and a few vegetarian dishes.

Ye Fan didn't prepare any soup, but took out some fruit drinks and wine.

It didn't look like much, but the six dishes on the table were very sumptuous. Chu Guangming couldn't help swallowing his saliva. Dabao saw it and wanted to tease him but was afraid of making him cry, so he gave him a piece of sweet and sour pork: "It's rare for your Aunt Ye to cook, come and try it."

Ye Fan was lazy and easy-going, the fish and the sweet and sour sauce on the pot-fried pork were the same. Chang Guangrong teased her that she could cook. Geng Zhihui praised it for being delicious, saying that he missed this taste at work.

Ye Fan almost wanted to ask about his specific job, but luckily he held back. Geng Huihui couldn't help but say, "I don't know if my mother has eaten yet."

Dabao shut up subconsciously.

The room was quiet for a moment, and Chang Guangrong smiled and tried to smooth things over: "Your mother is not stupid, she can still let herself starve."

Yu Wentao asked Geng Zhihui: "Which hospital is Huihui's mother in?"

Chang Guangrong: "Is it Beijing University Hospital? Lai Fu is at work today. I have his office phone number. Can you ask him to come over and take a look?"

"No need. Erbao, cook some dumplings after dinner and take them over to your sister. If your second mother has eaten them, send them to Lai Fu and save them for him to eat in the evening." Ye Fan said the last sentence and looked at Lai Fu's sister.

Chang Guangrong's wife smiled and said, "Laifu doesn't mind, as long as there's food to eat."

Yu Wentao couldn't help but ask, "He's at work and Xiaoqin is home alone?"

Chang Guangrong: "Maybe at my house. They went there two days earlier, and my mother-in-law wanted her and Lai Fu to stay with them for a few days."

Yu Wentao thought to herself that she was quite sensible.

Geng Huihui blinked at her aunt and said, "You're scaring me."

Ye Fan felt that it was related to her bluntly pointing out that "Chang Guangrong looked down on her." "Go back home and ask her to come and stay for a few days. Her room in the back is still available. This place is close to Lai Fu's workplace, so it's convenient for Lai Fu to commute to and from get off work."

Chang Guangrong's wife also didn't want her brother to ride his bike home after the night shift, so she told Xiaoqin to pack up his things and come over when he got home.

During the meal, Chang Guangrong did not deliberately ask Geng Zhihui which institution he worked in. After the meal, he and his wife took the bus to his parents' home. Chang Guangrong could not help but sigh: The second child is not like Geng Zhihui, the eldest child, nor is he like Geng Zhihui, the scientific researcher he imagined is embodied in him.

These words did not cause his parents to gossip, but Chang Guangrong was scolded by his father, who complained that his mouth was looser than the waist of his cotton trousers.

From then on, Chang Guangrong never dared to mention the three words "Geng Zhihui".

Then again, Dabao was worried about his sisters, so he dragged Chu Guangming to go with him. Geng Leilei and Geng Sensen wanted to accompany him, but Dabao waved his hand: "Don't cause trouble for my uncle."

Geng Leilei asked: "Aren't you afraid of causing trouble for your uncle?"

"My dad is a tough soldier. If the news of my causing trouble gets out, people will say that a good father will have a good son." Dabao actually didn't dare to go near the hospital, so he stopped at the hospital entrance, saying that the hospital was filled with the smell of disinfectant and he was not used to it.

This was not the first time that Erbao and Geng Huihui came here. When they met a familiar-looking nurse, Geng Huihui told the nurse her grandmother's name and asked her to help her find out which ward she was in.

When they were almost at the ward door, Erbao put the lunch box behind him and called out "Second Mom".

The Chu family hates Ye Fan and therefore dislikes Erbao. When they see her and Huihui, they look away. Erbao asks, "Has Second Mom eaten?"

Chu Fenghe's lips were pale, obviously he didn't even drink the saliva.

Geng Huihui handed the cup of water over, Chu Fenghe took a sip and looked at her daughter. Geng Huihui explained: "Dumpling soup." Erbao opened the food box: "Second Mom, I cooked it for you."

The moment Chu Fenghe saw the dumplings, she thought of the Chu family. Erbao's words made her feel embarrassed to give up the dumplings. She ate seven or eight dumplings before she slowed down.

Ye Fan cooked sixteen of them and was worried that Chu Fenghe wouldn't be able to finish them, but she even drank the soup.

Erbao wanted to go back, but seeing that her second mother didn't say anything like "it's getting late", she could only endure the stares from the Chu family and chat with her second mother.

Dabao and Chu Guangming were also stared at at the hospital entrance. Dabao suspected that the beggar mistook him for a hooligan, and he didn't dare to approach him because he was dressed well.

Dabao couldn't stand it and whispered, "I'll try him."

During the Spring Festival, most self-employed people want to take a break, and some want to make more money during this time. After the 15th day of the first lunar month, when more stalls are set up, they will take a break. So on the sixth day of the first lunar month, there are still people roasting sweet potatoes in front of the hospital.

Dabao packed the sweet potatoes that were on the stove and almost baked, and walked towards the old man with patches all over his body five meters away with a few pounds of sweet potatoes: "How about sweet potatoes?"

The old man obviously didn't expect that Dabao was not a little hooligan but a good boy. He hesitated for a moment before nodding. Dabao looked around and saw that there were not many people. He stuffed the remaining change of more than one yuan from buying sweet potatoes into the sweet potato bag and said, "It's so cold, let's go home early." After that, he ran towards Chu Guangming.

Chu Guangming: "That old man bowed to you before leaving."

Dabao turned around and said, "Aren't we going to the suburbs?"

Chu Guangming looked carefully at the three-way intersection the old man was going to. No matter which road he took, he would go to the city. "Are the people in the city so poor?"

"It must be another case of an unfilial son. The state will try to arrange for a citizen of his age, and if it can't, there will be minimum relief food." Dabao said, "I hope his whole family can flee to the capital. If they encounter a natural disaster, they can just move to another place to survive, but if they encounter a man-made disaster, they will despair."

Chu Guangming didn't expect Dabao to say this: "You are fine."

"I know."

Chu Guangming almost bit his tongue. How rude of him.

Dabao patted his shoulder and said, "I'm not being nice. If I meet someone, I'll help him if I can. But you have to do it within your ability."

"I know better than you."

Dabao thought: You clearly gave all the money your grandfather saved to your aunt! Dabao didn't want to make him sad, so he changed the subject: "Go in and see why Erbao hasn't come out yet."

Chu Guangming was afraid of running into the Chu family: "I won't go!"

"Then keep waiting." Dabao stamped his feet in the cold, and greeted all the Chu family members except Chu Guangming and Chu Fenghe in his heart. After greeting them for the second time, Erbao came out. Dabao ran over and said, "Sister Huihui, is your grandma dead?"

Chu Guangming was almost shocked by his words. Is it possible to speak like that?

Geng Huihui said calmly, "Soon."

Chu Guangming suddenly wanted to ask his grandfather what he thought.

Dabao was unhappy: "So Second Mom can't go home today and has to stay in the hospital all night?"

Chu Guangming opened his mouth and whispered, "Dabao, let's go home and tell everyone. It won't be good if someone hears us."

Dabao was not afraid of the Chu family hearing him, but he also didn't want Second Mom to be embarrassed: "Go home first. By the way, Second Mom, have you eaten?"

Erbao nodded: "Second Mom wolfed down the food. The Chu family's men really don't know how to behave. They didn't even know to ask Second Mom to eat."

Chu Guangming whispered to comfort him: "Your second mother is not stupid."

Erbao: "If they don't take the initiative to say it, if Second Mom says I should go eat something, they will say, Mom is dying, and you still want to eat?"

Chu Guangming was stunned: "——You have to eat something."

Dabao patted his shoulder and said, "You are a normal person and cannot understand those people. Say less."

When they got home, Dabao reported the situation in the hospital on behalf of his older sisters.

Ye Fan hesitated for a moment and said to Dabao, "I will go south with Chang Guangrong in a few days. You are not allowed to go to grandma's house. You must stay at home and watch over her."

Dabao put away his nonchalant look and said, "I promise I won't let our family get bullied!"

On the afternoon of the 13th day of the first lunar month, Ye Fan returned.

On the morning of the 14th, Ye Fan took Erbao to Chang Guangrong's house to pick up things.

Chang Guangrong thought that school was about to start, and he had all his stationery and trinkets, so Erbao picked some for himself. Erbao gave him fifty yuan, and Chang Guangrong was surprised: "Are you setting up a stall?"

Erbao: “Sell it to classmates.”

Chang Guangrong was speechless for a while, then said with emotion: "You are worthy of being your mother's daughter. What kind do you want? I'll help you!"

"I want to choose for myself. You don't know what we like."

Chang Guangrong wanted to say, you have a lot of things to do. Suddenly, he thought, if he saw Erbao pick it, wouldn't he know what the ten-year-old girl likes?

After Erbao made his selections, Chang Guangrong said, "Let me see the prices." In fact, he also ticked the boxes behind the prices of the items to remind himself to buy more of them next time.

In the afternoon, Erbao had nothing to do, so he went to the clothing store and asked Chu Guangming if he wanted to share half of the things she picked.

Chu Guangming's clothes and shoes were very old before, but after the start of school this year, his clothes and shoes were brand new, and his classmates could see it. They asked Chu Guangming if his family had become rich.

Chu Guangming was too embarrassed to tell the truth about his parents, even though many of his classmates knew his family situation. His childhood friend said that Geng Dabao gave him his clothes and shoes, but he was too fat to wear them.

Other students naturally asked him what his relationship was with Geng Dabao. Chu Guangming didn't want to say that his biological father and Dabao's second mother were cousins ​​within five generations, so he just said that Dabao was a good person.

Chu Guangming's childhood friend said that his grandfather was no longer around, and Dabao's mother often asked him to come over for dinner.

Since then, his classmates have been very nice to him. Chu Guangming has been working at the clothing store these days and has earned a salary. He feels embarrassed to earn pocket money from his classmates: "No."

"Then I'll sell it myself." Erbao believed it and went home.

Ye Fan was resting at home. Seeing her coming back so soon, he said, "Am I right? Although Guangming needs money, he has a sense of justice."

"Do you mean I have no bottom line?" Erbao asked.

Ye Fan rolled his eyes at her and said, "I don't want to argue with you!"

"I just want to argue with you." Erbao climbed onto the bed and knelt down opposite his mother. "I guessed that Chu Guangming might not want to tell his classmates all the time that he is poor and needs money, but it's just my guess after all. If I don't ask him and run into him when I go back to sell things, I'll feel like I'm eating alone."

Ye Fan: "My second child has really grown up, now he knows how to think about others."

"I—Mom, what year was I born?"

Ye Fan didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "In 1972."

"This year is 1987. In half a year I will be fifteen years old." Erbao said, "The ancients counted the age based on nominal age. I have already reached the age of marriage, which means I have grown up."

Ye Fan: "Why don't you say that the average age of ancient people is thirty? Nowadays, thirty is considered a young person, your father is middle-aged when he is over forty, and your grandmother is an elderly person."

"I'm grown up anyway." Erbao couldn't argue and just lay on her and acted like a spoiled brat. Dabao came in and pulled her sister away: "Mom must have been out for a few days and it must be hard!"

Erbao fell on the bed. Ye Fan pulled the quilt from the corner and covered her with it. Dabao frowned: "She's not cold, leave her alone!"

"You are so angry, drink some tea to cool down." On the second day of the Chinese New Year, Ye Fan went back to her parents' home and saw a brand new teapot with the characteristics of Ru kiln. She looked at it for a few more times, and Chen Xiaohui asked her what she thought of it with a look of wanting to show off but trying hard to hold back. Ye Fan replied, "If it's mine, it's good. If it's not mine, it's just a teapot." Chen Xiaohui was very upset.

A new teapot, not made by a famous master, Chen Xiaohui wanted to buy a few because she liked the color. However, the shopkeeper did not sell them individually, so Chen Xiaohui gritted her teeth and bought a few sets of tea sets. One set was put away, one was used as a decoration in her room, and one was kept in the main room. But no one at home made tea, so it was fine if it was idle and no one used it, but she also had to be careful that Jingjing would break it.

There were no ignorant kids in Ye Fan's family, so Chen Xiaohui gave her this set of tea sets.

Before leaving on the fourth day of the New Year, Ye Fan asked Chen Xiaohui to take her off. Although Chen Xiaohui complained that she was troublesome, she, Ye Fan and Dabao took turns carrying the tea set on the bus.

Ye Fan had never given her parents tea, because the Ye family had good tea, but the whole family only liked tea. When Chen Xiaohui went to Ye Fan's house, Ye Fan gave her two bags of black tea. He was worried that she would not know how to make tea eggs, so he told her that the tea cost 100 yuan per pound in the department store.

Chen Xiaohui said that she could waste the money, then put it in her bag and went home.

Ye Fan brewed tea that costs dozens of yuan a pound in stores today, because she doesn't care about tea brewing, she just rinses it with boiling water and then brews it. There are no such things as double-brewed and triple-brewed teas in her tea shop.

Ye Fan picked up the azure cup and poured it for his son. Dabao took a sip and said impatiently, "I saw Second Uncle and Second Mom went to the hospital again. Isn't Second Uncle tired?"

Ye Fan: "He felt sorry for your second mother who was scolded and left alone at the Chu family."

"The old lady is dying, and you, as her son, are still trying to find fault with her." Dabao mocked, "If it were me, I would go to Dajue Temple and ask for a peace amulet to hang on the old lady's bedside. Maybe she would cheer up when she sees how filial her son is. It's good for a person to have a mental illness."

Ye Fan found it funny. A superstitious child was superstitious at the age of seven. How could he still be superstitious when he is almost an adult?

"Mom, I'm serious. If you are sincere, your wish will come true!" Dabao said seriously.

Ye Fan nodded perfunctorily, "Mom knows that Dabao is really filial, and they only pay lip service to filial piety. They all look very nervous. The old lady of the Chu family calls the doctor at the slightest sign of trouble. They may be afraid that if she dies, they will lose a large sum of pension and the Chu family's network will also be reduced."

Dabao's face was full of astonishment, obviously he had not expected this.

It’s not Dabao’s fault. He usually talks a lot. In fact, he only turned 18 in December this year. Even if he knows more than his peers, he couldn’t imagine that human hearts are so complicated.

"Is money more important than life?" Dabao asked in confusion.

Ye Fan: "People have to live their lives."

"Their family is not poor. Because my second mother is too talkative, the Chu family bought two courtyard houses in addition to the houses allocated by the company." Dabao snorted, "They are not satisfied!"

Ye Fan said: "This is reality!"

"No way! We are both children. If Second Mom can hold back from arguing with them, why can't they hold back a little?"

Ye Fan held his son's shoulders and said, "You are too jealous. Son, if you are too stubborn, you will break easily! You can say that they have no filial piety, but they usually take good care of the old lady. It is your second mother who cannot help her wash clothes and serve tea and water."

Erbao: "Isn't it true that as long as she has milk, she is my mother?"

Ye Fan was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing: "Mom surrenders, you two win!"

Dabao said, "Mom, I'm not saying that because I hate the Chu family. I've seen filial people. Aunt Li's son is a mid-level leader in a state-owned enterprise and is usually very busy. A few years ago, Aunt Li caught a cold, and her son took two days off to get medicine for his mother and to give her an IV drip, without even telling his brothers and sisters."

The reason why Dabao knew so much was because Aunt Li's son asked Dabao where Zhang Xiaoming's store was. He didn't have a special car and didn't dare to drive on a snowy day, so he rode Zhang Xiaoming's three-wheeled motorcycle to take his mother to the hospital. On the second day of the Chinese New Year, Aunt Li's daughter came to pay her New Year's greetings and shouted in the yard, "Are you sick? Are you feeling better? Have you been to the hospital for a checkup?"

Ye Fan nodded: "Auntie Li also has a pension. She is in bed and cannot move. Her eldest son will not worry about losing his pension once the old lady passes away."

Erbao: "Maybe because Aunt Li's pension is small, her son doesn't like it, so it can't be proved that he is more filial than the Chu family."

Dabao glared at his sister angrily: "Who are you on the same side with?"

Erbao: "I only tell the truth!"

"I just want you to shut up!" Dabao said unhappily.

Ye Fan poured his son another glass of water: "Is it time to go to the station?"

Dabao's school is about to start, and he is going to the station to pick up his childhood friend from the island: "The train is on time at 2pm, and it will be late at 3pm or 4pm. It's not even 11pm yet."

Ye Fan: "Then cook at 11 o'clock? It snowed a few days ago, and the road is icy. The bus dare not drive fast. It will take you one or two hours to get to the station."

Erbao sat up: "I'm going too!"

"Why are you going there?" Dabao asked, "He's not your friend."

Erbao: "The train is late. I will stay with my brother at the train station."

Dabao was originally full of anger, but he couldn't help laughing: "Who wants you to accompany me?"

Erbao crawled over to him and sat next to him. Ye Fan poured her a glass of water: "Where's your sister?"

Dabao was speechless: "She went shopping with Brother Sen Sen and Aunt Xiao Hui." Speaking of Geng Huihui, he thought of Geng Leilei. They were both postgraduate students. Geng Leilei was called away by his supervisor on the tenth day of the first lunar month. "Why is Sister Huihui so idle? What can she research?"

Ye Fan laughed: "She doesn't need to stay in the lab. She can take the books she found in the library home to read. Didn't you see her notes? They are thicker than mom's account book."

"That's better. Otherwise, I would really be sorry for the country's training." Dabao said.

Ye Fan touched his son's head: "Where's your grandma?"

Dabao glanced to the west.

Ye Fan: "Isn't she best friends with Aunt Li?"

"With Aunt Li, Uncle Zhang, and Uncle West, the four of us are playing dominoes. We put a pile of money in front of each of us. If we look closely, we can see that they are all one or two cents. What's the point of having the whole family take all the money?"

Ye Fan: "If you don't let her play, what are you going to let her do in such a cold weather?"

Dabao didn’t understand. People in their sixties or seventies were just playing house like children.

Ye Fan added: "In another six months, she won't be so free anymore."

Erbao: "Is my aunt going to have a baby? Can't grandma just not take care of it?"

Ye Fan nodded: "Sure. But your grandma can't be cruel. Your second mother goes to the hospital every day, and your second uncle goes with her because they are both soft-hearted."

Erbao stood up and made a resolution: "I want to be a heartless person!"

Ye Fan suddenly felt that she was sick, a chuunibyou!
Dabao felt embarrassed for her and said, "Sit down!"

Erbao sat down obediently: "Mom, I mean to the people other than you and Dad."

"Grandma doesn't want it anymore?"

Erbao: "Grandma has an aunt. Grandma and grandpa have an uncle. You and dad only have me and my brother."

Ye Fan didn't know whether he should praise her for being filial or not: "Stop feeding me such nonsense!"

"From the bottom of my heart!" Erbao exclaimed.

Ye Fan picked up the teacup and said, "If you are as busy as your second uncle in the future, you will be powerless even if you are willing."

Erbao had forgotten that there was such a situation and was stunned.

Ye Fan pulled her ponytail to wake her up: "Go wash the vegetables with your brother. There is hot water on the stove, add some cold water and wash with warm water. Wash whatever you want to eat, mom will do it."

Erbao stood up and asked, "Mom, what you mean by this is that it has always been difficult to be both loyal and filial?"

Ye Fan: "Don't worry. Mom is rich, so she doesn't need you to be filial to her. Besides, I still have your dad. I will give birth to children for him and stabilize the rear. When I am old, I will ask him to serve tea and water."

Dabao subconsciously looked out the window, but outside the window was the wall of the compartment and he could not see anything.

Ye Fan said, "Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival. Your father needs to arrange everything today and go to the company tomorrow."

"I'm really afraid that he will suddenly show up." Dabao was scared by his father.

No one in the family knew where Geng Zhiye's unit was, but one thing was certain: it was closer from here than from the military family compound, so Geng Zhiye would appear out of nowhere a few times after dinner. One weekend evening, Dabao was talking to his sister about his dad in the yard, and his dad popped out from behind, so that Dabao now habitually looks outside when his dad is mentioned.

Ye Fan: "Erbao, go to the store tomorrow morning and ask your cousin to put up a sign outside, saying that it will be closed at 4 o'clock during the Lantern Festival, and then ask Chu Guangming to come and eat the glutinous rice dumplings."

Erbao regarded Chu Guangming as a relative of her second mother, and subconsciously hoped that her second mother had a family, so she asked Geng Huihui to accompany her the next morning.

The two sisters chatted as they walked. Erbao asked, "Did you find the treasure yesterday?"

Geng Huihui: "I'm not sure. But it's cheap, just a few dollars. It would cost the same to buy a nice ornament in the store. Oh, Erbao, smash your piggy bank."

"What?" Erbao looked alert.

Geng Huihui was speechless. Erbao was indeed the one who grew up with Dabao. He was truly a little Pixiu.

"The jade that Chen Xiaohui bought last year has increased by ten yuan this year. Xiaohui asked us to use all our New Year's money to buy jadeite and Hetian jade."

Erbao: "My mom definitely doesn't know. Otherwise, she would definitely scold her. I'm afraid the thief doesn't know she has money."

"She knows the salesperson at the state-owned store, but they won't tell anyone else."

There is no such thing as a wall that is impenetrable. Erbao said, "You should go to Taobao."

However, she was young and easily influenced, and Geng Huihui persuaded her all the way, and when they reached the door of the clothing store, Erbao couldn't help but give in.

Erbao and Dabao had a row of piggy banks. Erbao only smashed two and warned her sister: "This is only once!"

Ye Fan once said, "Greed is insatiable, and the snake swallows the elephant." Geng Huihui was actually afraid that if she overindulged her appetite, she would suffer a big loss in a few years. So she didn't dare to take out all the money, leaving 30% for emergencies.

However, she urged her grandmother to prepare a few things for her aunt's future children.

Although Yu Wentao hoped that her grandson would look like Geng Zhihui, she also had the possibility of having a daughter. Yu Wentao gave her three months' salary and asked Geng Huihui to help her choose.

On a Sunday in the last ten days of the first lunar month, Geng Huihui called Dabao and Sen Sen and went to the store with Chen Xiaohui.

Salaries were low these days, and many people were reluctant to exchange their hard-earned money for stones, so prices didn't rise much after the New Year. Unfortunately, I met Yu Ginkgo that day. Yu Ginkgo's child was small, and Ye Fan's store didn't have clothes that small, so she went to the store to buy two sets, planning to go back to see her child next weekend.

Yu Yinxing didn't believe Chen Xiaohui, because Yu Wentao said she had poor taste. But she believed that Geng Huihui's jade trading could not be hidden from Ye Fan, and the fact that Ye Fan didn't stop her meant that it was worth collecting.

Yu Yinxing discussed with her husband and took out two hundred yuan. She would buy this much regardless of whether the price went up or down, and she would not follow the trend in the future.

The two children were attending primary school in Yujia Village this semester. When Yu Yinxing returned to her mother's house, she said that she might have to pay her brother back later. Her mother asked her if she had any difficulties, and she blurted it out.

Yu Yinxing was scolded but didn't say a word until her mother asked her to return it. Then she said Huihui also bought it. As a result, her sister-in-law heard it and asked Ye Fan if he knew about it.

Yu Yinxing said that she probably knew about this, and her sister-in-law immediately calculated the family savings. Yu Yinxing quickly reminded: "Don't blame me if you lose money."

"We only bought a few hundred yuan. We will use them as betrothal gifts and dowries for your nephews and nieces when they get married. I feel uneasy when I think about how poor our family was before and how we didn't even have a copper coin. If we run out of money someday, we can still exchange these things for some money."

Yu Yinxing thought it made sense, so she asked her sister-in-law to tell her cousin's sister-in-law. It was impossible to keep it a secret that several people went to the city to buy things one after another.

Before long, everyone who went to Ye Fan's house to get goods would ask, "Dabao Ma, I heard that jade is as valuable as gold now."

Ye Fan knew without a second thought that the root of the problem was Chen Xiaohui, and then the news spread from one person to ten, and then dozens of people. Ye Fan said directly: "I support you in buying gold, no matter how much you buy. But for jade pendants, do it within your means. This business is complicated and it's easy to get addicted, just like gambling."

"So you bought a gold bracelet for Erbao, but never bought a jade bracelet for her?"

Ye Fan could hold back, but those who did business with her might not be able to: "Yes! Also, if you have old things at home, keep them, tables, chairs, benches, vases, porcelain, calligraphy and paintings are all fine. Go to antique markets less often. If you can't help but spend no more than five dollars on anything."

Ye Fan has always been very cautious, and everyone trusts her and passes on her words as if they were imperial decrees.

Chen Xiaohui was probably at home at noon on the weekend, so Ye Fan called her and scolded her. Chen Xiaohui didn't expect that many people would learn to buy jade from her and Geng Huihui. She was worried that the news that she had a lot of jade pendants in her room would spread, so she didn't dare to go near the jade cabinet in the store for a year.

This naturally reached Chang Guangrong's ears. Chang Guangrong was rich. Others paid two or three hundred, but he paid two or three thousand. Jade is still not as expensive as gold nowadays. He bought several jade bracelets and jade pendants with his two or three thousand.

The news that Mr. Chang liked jade spread, and within a few days someone asked him if he wanted raw jade. Chang Guangrong had previously wondered why buying jade was like gambling. When someone explained what raw jade was and the benefits of buying raw jade, Chang Guangrong finally realized that buying raw jade was actually "gambling."

Chang Guangrong quickly explained that his wife and he had suffered for many years, and he had no money to buy jewelry for his wife before, but now he had the money to make up for it all at once. In addition to jade jewelry, there are also gold jewelry. He prefers golden gold to stones.

People who approached him to gamble on stones thought that he was a money-grubber, a vulgar man, and not one of their kind.

Zhang Xiaoming always felt that he was not worthy of Dong Ying and wanted to compensate her in other ways. When he heard about jade ornaments, he bought a few pieces for Dong Ying and his two daughters, and then stopped.

When he saw Chu Guangming, Zhang Xiaoming took Chu Guangming into the store and picked out a medium-to-high quality Guanyin pendant for him.

Chu Guangming was reluctant to let him go, so Zhang Xiaoming took out the red rope he had prepared and said, "May you be successfully admitted to university." In fact, in case Chu Guangming had no money, he had a small thing on him as an emergency measure.

The helpless people who wanted something to rely on took out their winter vacation salary to buy this thing.

Maybe it was a psychological effect, but Chu Guangming didn't feel lonely when he returned to his empty home.

In the middle of the third month of the lunar calendar, Geng Zhiye's first day off, Ye Fan did not go to the company. After dinner, the couple cleaned up and prepared to go out for a walk. The neighbor's daughter-in-law was going to the store. She took off her cotton clothes because it was hot. Ye Fan saw a red string around her neck. At the intersection, Han Dawei's wife lowered her head to clean up the dishes. Ye Fan saw that she also had a red string around her neck, and he was speechless.

Geng Zhiye asked when he got to the bus stop: "What happened just now?"

"It's all Chen Xiaohui's fault." Ye Fan started talking about how she bought jade like crazy last year, and she still didn't give up this year: "I warned her that if she went there often, people would know about it, but she still didn't believe it. Now many people suspect that she has so many jade pendants and she has been honest." He shook his head helplessly, "She's so old, doesn't she know that the first bird to stick its head out gets shot? If I hadn't said that all the money would be invested in the company, there would be thieves visiting our house every night."

Geng Zhiye thought that the two of them had turned into ungrateful people, and Ye Fan was angry. Hearing this, he felt relieved and couldn't help but want to laugh: "It's not like I just found out that she is stupid. It's not worth getting angry with her."

Ye Fan: "I think we should find her a partner. When my parents are gone, she will be separated from her brother and sister-in-law. With her crazy mind, even though her room is full of treasures now, she can be coaxed into being homeless in the future."

Geng Zhiye: "Chen Xiaohui is 38 years old this year, and you said she is not suitable for childbearing. This alone screens out many people. She doesn't want to be a stepmother, which screens out many more people. Finding a suitable match from a small group of people is more difficult for her than not letting her touch antiques and jade."

Ye Fan had a headache: "What do you think we should do?"

"Don't worry about her! If you hit a wall, you'll just have to be honest."

Ye Fan looked at him in disbelief: "Don't your mother-in-law feel bad that she has a bloody head? Do I feel good seeing your mother-in-law in pain?" He kicked him on the leg, "You have a grudge against me, right?" He got in the car when he saw it coming.

Geng Zhiye limped after him. Ye Fan pointed ahead and said coldly, "Stay away from me!"

Geng Zhiye sat down next to her and said, "If you don't know, you might think we are an engaged couple."

Ye Fan nodded.

"If someone sees me holding your hand, I'll be considered a hooligan." Geng Zhiye held her hand, "Hooliganism should be punished by death. You have a grudge against me."

(End of this chapter)