Five years of marriage, always separated [1970s]

Erbao didn't go to the school because it wasn't a serious cram school, so she didn't go at the end of July when the capital was hottest. The fashionable old man knew that Erbao's family was rich and could afford a phone, so he reminded Erbao to call him if she encountered something she couldn't read - there was a phone at the old man's house.

Erbao studies with his brother in the morning, plays with friends after 11 o'clock, wakes up from a nap and plays with his brother after 5 o'clock, eats and takes a bath at around 7 o'clock, watches one or two episodes of TV series and goes to bed.

Dabao, Geng Leilei and Geng Sensen are almost the same.

Their lives were simple. Ye Fan was very busy. Her Han card business was good. When she delivered Han cards, she also delivered computers to people in need in the same city, and delivered them to their homes for free. This made the customers very satisfied. The customers were happy to help the salesperson introduce other customers. As a result, the Hongcheng company in which she invested did good business in the mainland, and Ye Fan needed to go to the bank once or twice a day to deposit money.

The sales staff all knew that the business did not belong to Ye Fan alone, so no one was envious or jealous when they saw the huge amounts of money.

Yu Wentao's nephew even made a random analysis with his colleagues, saying that although she looked rich, she gave all the money to the school, Chang Guangrong, those top students, and the company in Gangcheng, and that the money she had for herself might not be as much as his family's savings.

Everyone knows that the last sentence is an exaggeration. Ye Fan can't be that poor.

Ye Fan is not like some people who have big business and say they make money but cannot see where the money is. They can see money coming in almost every day, so they think it is safe to work with Ye Fan.

The two veterans introduced by Chang Guangrong originally looked down on Ye Fan's "small business". When they heard that the people in Gangcheng wanted to cooperate with Ye Fan, and that Ye Fan had not been eager to ask for cooperation, they thought that they could learn something from Ye Fan.

The two of them settled down and their temperaments changed. One time, Chang Guangrong went to the sales office to understand the situation so that he could help Ye Fan share the burden in the future. When he saw them, he asked if they wanted to open a clothing factory with him.

They believed in Ye Fan because he was a good talker. No matter if he had money that month, he never delayed his salary and provided him with every penny of food and lodging allowance. The most important thing was that Ye Fan studied computer science at school and was knowledgeable. Even if he didn't make a lot of money, he could still live a stable life for a few years.

Chang Guangrong used to be a lazy little gangster.

The two of them considered that Chang Guangrong would definitely ask Ye Fan for advice, and what if he succeeded with Ye Fan's help? So they pushed their close relatives to Chang Guangrong. Chang Guangrong was not serious when talking to the military children. He was very sincere when talking about the future with the one whose parents were both in government agencies, and he almost said that he would see samples in one year, take over the northern market in three years, take over the national market in five years, and sell overseas in eight years.

In the end, he was rejected by two people. One suspected that he was not cut out for business - he was able to make money thanks to Ye Fan at the helm; the other suspected that he was just boasting.

Chang Guangrong thought about it for a long time but still couldn't figure out where the problem lay.

It's Monday, August 10th in the Gregorian calendar. The store is not busy and there is no need to go south for the time being. It rained yesterday and it is comfortable today, suitable for meeting friends. Chang Guangrong bought some fruit and went to Ye Fan to ask for advice.

Ye Fan asked him to narrate it again.

Chang Guangrong explained first: "I admit that I was vague and not sincere enough when I talked to the guy in the army. The main reason was that I was not familiar with him and he could not help me. But he was introduced by my childhood friend's younger brother. I didn't want to cooperate with him but was embarrassed to refuse, so I just let him think I was unreliable. But I was very serious with the latter one. I told him almost everything we talked about on the train that day. Why didn't he think it was okay?"

"Tell me what you said first."

Chang Guangrong gave a brief account of the story.

Ye Fan listened to him patiently and remained silent for a long time.

"Hey, sister, don't be silent." Chang Guangrong was anxious.

Ye Fan had a headache: "Who told you to go abroad and become international in the future? I said the northern market can feed you."

Chang Guangrong nodded: "I know. After we take over the northern market, the next step is to go to the whole country. We have connections in Guangzhou, right? If we take over from north to south, won't the next step be to go abroad? It's not nonsense that my clothes can be exported through your trading company."

Ye Fan rubbed his forehead and asked, "Where is the trading company?"

"We will do it once Zhang Xiaoming and Wei Jianshe have been trained."

Ye Fan: "You also know that it takes time? Do people know whether Zhang Xiaoming and Wei Jianshe are black or white? Why don't you say occupy the world?"

"Isn't that nonsense?" Chang Guangrong blurted out.

Ye Fan was speechless but wanted to laugh: "People who don't understand would think it's nonsense to hear you say that you want to take over the market north of the Huai River!"

"Really? Our Hanka cards have all been sold to Yangcheng."

Ye Fan: "I graduated from the computer department. I work in computer-related industries. Even kindergarten kids have confidence in me. If you graduated from a fashion college and you said you were attending a fashion week abroad, people wouldn't think you were bragging even if they didn't believe you. They would just think you have great ambitions!"

"So all I need is a diploma?" Chang Guangrong nodded in understanding.

Dabao couldn't stand it any longer on the bed: "Boss Chang, you lack more than just a diploma, you also need four years of professional knowledge."

Chang Guangrong glared at him and said, "Read your book! I want to talk to your mother about serious matters."

Ye Fan: "Find one of your relatives to get a student ID, and donate a few thousand yuan to the school, or buy a few basketball hoops and ping-pong tables, saying that there will be the Olympics next year, and support the Olympic cause, and then send them to the school, and you can go and audit the class."

Chang Guangrong: "How about business?"

Ye Fan: "You don't have to take exams, and you don't need to design clothes, fabrics, or dyes. You don't need to learn too much. You can only take three or four classes a week to learn professional knowledge. One semester is enough to get started."

"Can it be done?"

Ye Fan thought it was possible: "You don't have to start by learning how to identify fabrics, right? You know sewing machines and overlock machines by going to the workshop often. You can also say a few words about styles. You are much better than a freshman."

"Then others will believe me?"

Ye Fan: "When people see that you are going to college for your career, they will definitely think that you are determined to do well. Even if you just go there every day to mess around, you can still fool people who don't know the inside story."

Dabao agrees: "Half a year of study is more useful than a fake certificate."

"You two mother both said so, go for it!" Chang Guangrong didn't dare to say anything. The more he understood recently, the more he felt like a frog in a well. When he talked to the man from the government agency, he felt a little guilty and couldn't help but say more. As a result, his cleverness backfired.

Ye Fan: "Have lunch at my house?"

Chang Guangrong nodded when he saw the glaring sun outside, and opened Ye Fan's refrigerator to take out a popsicle. "Xiao Ming, are you still selling popsicles this summer?"

Ye Fan said: "He drove to deliver for others."

“How much do you make a day?”

Ye Fan: "One dollar a box, twenty or thirty dollars."

"Not bad." Chang Guangrong worked harder than Zhang Xiaoming in the beginning, but he didn't make as much money. "What about the people selling food on the roadside at the entrance of the alley?"

Ye Fan asked him to guess.

Chang Guangrong shook his head: "It's hard to guess."

Ye Fan: "I paid off the money I paid for the store last year, and I think I'll be able to buy another house next fall."

"So profitable?" Chang Guangrong was shocked.

Ye Fan: "Don't underestimate the small amount. Citizens from a kilometer radius come here to eat breakfast. By the way, there are cold dishes in the afternoon. Almost all citizens who pass by here after get off work buy some cold dishes. I feel that the turnover is higher than that of your clothing store."

"impossible?"

Ye Fan nodded: "Exaggerated! But he makes half the gross profit from selling breakfast and cold dishes, so the net profit is almost half."

"Why?" Chang Guangrong didn't understand.

Ye Fan: "I used to rent a house, but now I live in a store. I cook on the first floor and live on the second floor. I save on rent, and I don't need a store to sell things at the intersection."

There is no rent, and the rickshaw doesn't burn oil, so the gross profit and net profit are almost the same. Chang Guangrong asked: "Where does he plan to buy a house?"

Ye Fan: "I haven't decided yet. He asked me about the price of a building a few days ago, and I told him to buy a courtyard house if he listened to me. It would be more cost-effective to tear down a dilapidated house and rebuild it than to buy a building. I don't know if he listened to me."

Chang Guangrong was surprised: "You discovered it too?"

Ye Fan raised his eyebrows: "You think so too? Then wait until the end of the year when you get your dividends and buy a bigger house, let your mother-in-law and sister-in-law live in the front yard, and you and your family live in the back yard."

Chang Guangrong had a picture in his mind that he had seen on TV: "You mean three courtyards? There is a small courtyard at the entrance, with side rooms on the east and west sides, which can be used as a kitchen or a laundry room? Going in further is the main courtyard, and behind the main courtyard is the back room, which was used by the women in the past to live in, and some were used as a warehouse?"

Ye Fan nodded: "That's about right. But after renovating it inside and out, the back room can also be used as the main room."

Chang Guangrong: "This kind of house is not expensive, but repairing it may cost more than buying an 80-square-meter apartment."

Ye Fan nodded.

Dabao couldn't help asking, "Mom, do you have so much money?"

Ye Fan: "Not yet. Mom can afford to buy and repair it with the company's dividends at the end of the year."

Dabao asked, "How about you buy one? I can just have one wing room like I have now. You can turn the back room into a study, and install air conditioning and heating."

Chang Guangrong exclaimed: "You really know how to enjoy yourself!"

"I wasn't talking to you!" Dabao glared at him.

Chang Guangrong waved his hands at him, as if to say, come here, uncle won’t hit you.

Dabao rolled his eyes at him.

Ye Fan laughed: "Dabao, this old house is full of leaks and the roof is high. Even if you install air conditioning or heating, it won't keep you warm or cold. If you want to install it, I'll have to do a major renovation and even have a suspended ceiling. If the three-story house cost 70,000 or 80,000 yuan to buy, it will cost 200,000 or 300,000 yuan to renovate it."

Dabao thought: "It has to be repaired anyway, and you bought a broken one for 20,000 or 30,000 yuan?"

"It's a pity that there is no one this broken." Ye Fan said, "If you can find your mother, buy it. After you buy it, ask a worker to repair it, and then ask Chen Xiaohui to be the supervisor."

Dabao frowned: "Why her?"

Chang Guangrong: "She studied history and knew how to put things back together after taking them apart."

Ye Fan nodded: "Otherwise, it's neither Chinese nor Western, neither native nor foreign, wouldn't it look awkward to you?"

Dabao was surprised to hear this: "She is still useful?"

"Don't say that outside. Your grandma will be very sad." Ye Fan warned.

Dabao's heart is not made of stone either: "At grandma's house, if she doesn't bother me, I won't bother her. Otherwise, I won't spoil her."

Chang Guangrong couldn't help but ask Chen Xiaohui if she was still married.

Ye Fan first explained that Chen Xiaohui didn't want to have children or be a stepmother, and then asked: "Do you know anyone who is pursuing the trendy DINK lifestyle?" There was no such avant-garde person around Chang Guangrong.

"You can ask someone." Chang Guangrong said, "I can't guarantee his character."

Ye Fan nodded.

Chang Guangrong was puzzled: "Since she doesn't want to get married and she's so old, what is she looking for?"

Ye Fan: "She tends to focus on the present and not the future. There must be a calm and rational person watching her. I am not afraid of meeting scumbags when I am young, but I am afraid of meeting liars when I am old."

"Isn't she well educated?" Chang Guangrong had heard his parents mention Ye Fan's family situation, so naturally he couldn't avoid talking about Chen Xiaohui.

Ye Fan: "A high degree proves that she is good at studying, but it does not mean that she is well versed in the ways of the world. Do you have anyone around you who is very good at studying but does not even know how to greet the elders when they see them?"

It’s no wonder that there is such a person around Chang Guangrong.

This person's situation is similar to Chu Guangming's. The difference is that Chu Guangming's grandparents are gone, but his parents are still alive. His parents died, and he lives with his grandparents and uncles. Chu Guangming needs to make money on his own. His grandparents are farmers, and the money they earn from the land is only enough for their own food and no money for him to study.

Everyone likes good students. Zhang Xiaoming and Chu Guangming are not related, but he cares about him because he is sensible and good at studying. Ye Fan often asks Erbao to invite Chu Guangming to her house for dinner, mainly because Ye Fan can't bear to see the pillar of the country go astray and go to jail.

His relatives and friends couldn't bear to see him drop out of school, so they gave him some money to go to middle school. He originally planned to take the technical secondary school entrance exam after graduating from junior high school. Chang's father returned to his hometown to repair the graves, and the grandfather of the man and Chang Guangrong's father were relatives within the fifth degree of mourning. His grandfather accompanied Chang's father to the ancestral graves. On the way, they chatted for a while. Chang's father politely asked if his family had any difficulties. The people who were traveling with him asked Chang's father if he could take the man out.

Chang's father funded his high school entrance exam to the capital. He was also smart and successfully passed the exam. He graduated from university last year and Chang's father did not interfere and he successfully stayed in the capital. And then there was nothing else. He did not come to visit Chang's father during the Spring Festival this year.

Chang's father thought he had climbed up the social ladder, so he asked Chang Guangrong to find out. Chang Guangrong was so angry that he laughed. He was a lone ranger, and a stingy lone ranger. He refused to go to his colleague's wedding invitation.

Chang Guangrong couldn't help but complain when he thought of this weird thing.

Ye Fan waited for him to finish speaking and poured him a glass of water: "Are you thirsty? Moisten your throat."

"You're so polite." Chang Guangrong took it speechlessly.

Ye Fan: "I think the guy you're talking about is pretty good. He doesn't cause trouble, and he hasn't gotten involved with your family. Although he's a little immature, your father didn't help him with the original intention of expecting him to repay you."

Chang Guangrong: "That being said, if the leaders of his unit knew that he was my relative, they wouldn't dare to ask someone else to take his place when it's his turn to be promoted."

"Maybe he doesn't want to rise to prominence, he just wants to eat and wait for death?"

Chang Guangrong shook his head: "Although my hometown is not far from the capital, it is really poor. The teaching quality of high schools is not as good as that of the towns around the capital. He was able to pass the exam not only because he was smart but also because he worked hard. It's useless to work hard. People without ambition can't persist. But he was determined to be admitted to the School of Finance and Economics and graduated successfully. Why don't you cherish it?"

Geng Sensen asked hurriedly: "Which school?"

Chang Guangrong was startled and looked over: "Are you there?"

Geng Sensen was still there, just lying on the kang. Dabao and Erbao were sitting on both sides of the kang. There was also an antique shelf full of ornaments between the living room and the east room, which completely covered Geng Sensen.

Geng Sensen crawled to the bedside and asked, "You mean the School of Finance and Economics? Could it be Chang Shimin, the weird senior from our school?"

Chang Guangrong looked frightened.

Geng Sensen: "He is really smart. My mother helped me with my studies and I even repeated a grade to become his schoolmate."

Ye Fan was curious: "Why is it so weird?"

Geng Sen Sen didn't know where to start, it was really too bad.

Dabao asked: "Lift up the skirt of a female classmate and peek at her bathing?"

"What are you talking about?" Geng Sen Sen glared at him, "There are no such morally corrupt people in our school. Even if our students commit crimes, it is because-"

Dabao: "Falsifying the accounts!"

Geng Sensen choked: "——Do you want to listen?"

Dabao shut up.

"I'll just tell you one thing, clothes. The first time I met him was the winter of the year before last. He wore a ragged cotton-padded jacket to eat in the cafeteria. Our school provides a lot of subsidies, so we can still have some left over for normal meals. It doesn't cost much to buy some cloth and cotton and ask his family to make it. At that time, I was wondering, how poor can he be to wear an old man's cotton-padded jacket and trousers every day. He looked inferior, but I didn't understand. Shouldn't people with inferiority put away their ragged clothes? Why did he dress like that on purpose to make people look down on him?" Geng Sensen had never told his family because he felt that his senior brother was already in such a difficult situation, and he shouldn't talk behind his back. When Chang Guangrong said that his father helped him, it meant that he was not poor, so Geng Sensen couldn't help asking, "What does he think? Who is he wearing it for?"

Chang Guangrong: "You ask me? Who should I ask? Because I wholesale clothes with your aunt, our family has no shortage of clothes. I sent him a few sets of clothes every year when he was in school. If you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known what kind of person he is."

Ye Fan: "Didn't you see what he was wearing when you delivered the clothes?"

Chang Guangrong nodded: "I have seen it, the patched clothes. I told him to change them later. He nodded. I am not familiar with him, I can't just watch him take them off. To be honest, I am not as close as your second sister-in-law to Chu Guangming. My father and his grandfather are brothers within the fifth degree of mourning. His father, Huihui and Chu Guangming are in the same situation."

Ye Fan: "Is he one level further away than my second sister-in-law and Chu Guangming? Should he call you uncle?"

"Yes!" Chang Guangrong frowned, "He is just asking for trouble."

Dabao: "Is it that when you give him clothes, he thinks he is pitiful and needs charity?"

"No..." Chang Guangrong said anxiously, "What do you mean by charity? Those are new clothes. Do I have a lot of money to burn, or am I just too compassionate to give new clothes to others?"

Dabao couldn't help but say, "Don't be so impatient with me. If you want to give me new clothes, I'll take as many as you give me. If I can't wear them all myself, I can give them to Chu Guangming and my childhood friend."

Chang Guangming glared at him: "Just daydreaming!"

Ye Fan couldn't help but laugh at his beautiful idea: "Just now I was thinking that his emotional intelligence is not enough to make it in government agencies. When you run a clothing factory in the future, you can ask him to be your accountant. Now it seems that if you ask him to be an accountant, he may think that you pity him."

"I dare not provoke him." The social man Chang Guangrong looked scared.

Ye Fan nodded: "Don't provoke him. He doesn't socialize with people, and doesn't go out to spend money. He has nowhere to vent his frustration, and sooner or later he will get into trouble."

Chang Guangrong seemed to have found a confidant, and couldn't help but exclaimed: "Yes! I didn't dare to tell my father. I didn't know what Sen Sen said before. I don't think his face is as pleasing as Chu Guangming's."

Ye Fan: "Chu Guangming never suffered before he was eight years old. After that, he lived with his grandfather. His grandfather only had one grandson and he loved him very much. The real change in his life was when his grandfather passed away."

Chang Guangrong: "It just so happened that your second brother and his wife were there that time."

Ye Fan explained that Zhang Xiaoming and Han Dawei often visited him. Chu Guangming was not particularly distressed during that time, so his temperament did not change drastically.

Geng Sensen was surprised: "Doesn't he have uncles, grandparents, and a whole family? He is much better than Chu Guangming, right?"

Ye Fan thought of a possibility: "What if his uncle is Zhang Xiaojun and his aunt is Wang Aihe?"

Geng Sensen took a breath.

Chang Guangrong had heard Zhang Xiaoming talk about his family affairs, so he naturally knew that Zhang Xiaojun and Wang Aihe were a pair of a tortoise and a turtle: "It's not impossible. I've seen this before when I was sent to work in the countryside. If they didn't beat or scold them, or say something in a sarcastic way, it would pierce people's hearts more than a knife." He paused, "So it's not his fault that he has a weird personality?"

Ye Fan: "No one is born that complicated."

Chang Guangrong sighed: "I sympathize with him, but I don't want to get too close to him."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yu Wentao came in from outside, greeted Chang Guangrong and said, "Don't leave at noon."

Chang Guangrong smiled and said, "I won't leave."

Yu Wentao asked, "Let's make dumplings?"

Chang Guangrong quickly said, "Don't bother with that. Just steam some rice and stir-fry some vegetables."

Ye Fan: "It's faster to make dumplings when there are more people at home." Then he asked Dabao to chop the dumpling stuffing, Geng Sensen to pick the vegetables, and Erbao to knead the dough.

Yu Wentao said, "I'll knead the dough. She doesn't have strong hands. Erbao, will you help grandma roll out the dough later?"

Erbao nodded: "Mom likes to ask me to work."

Ye Fan: "I earn money to support you and you still want me to work?"

Ye Fan bought Erbao's brand-name clothes. Geng Zhiye couldn't afford them with his salary. Erbao didn't dare to talk back to her mother: "Mom, you've worked hard."

Ye Fan was barely satisfied: "That's pretty good."

The meat I bought in the morning was in the refrigerator. I had planned to cook it at noon and in the evening, so I put it in the cold and fresh layer. Yu Wentao took it out, washed it, and started to cut it. Yu Wentao cut it for Dabao, and she came to the main room to cool off under the fan.

With so many people at home, things can be done quickly. Chang Guangrong had steamed and boiled dumplings at about 12 o'clock. Ye Fan also made two cold dishes, one was smashed cucumber and the other was sugared tomatoes.

Cucumbers and tomatoes are all grown in Ye Fan's yard. Chang Guangrong said while eating a cucumber, "It's still convenient to have a small yard." Then he said, "But sometimes it's not convenient."

Ye Fan: "If we lay down pipes in the bathroom that go straight to the sewer, wouldn't it be as convenient as living in a building?"

Chang Guangrong instinctively wanted to ask, is it okay? Suddenly he thought, if the house was renovated and a toilet was installed, why not?

When Chang Guangrong returned home, he told his wife that he would buy a big house and redecorate it inside and out after he got the dividends from the computer company.

Chang Guangrong's wife was also very good at talking. It was rare that she didn't say to save the money.

The next day at noon, Chang Guangrong returned to his parents' home and told them that he probably knew why Chang Shimin was so heartless.

There are cousins ​​of Chang's father in his hometown, and their relationship is as close as Dabao and Sen Sen. Chang's father wrote a letter to his younger brother, asking about the temperaments of Chang Shimin's aunts and sisters. He specifically emphasized that he wanted to know both the good and the bad.

In terms of relationship, Chang Guangrong's uncle is closer to his family, so he wrote down everything about Chang Shimin's family, including their nicknames.

Chang's father read through the five long and eloquent pictures patiently and confirmed that Ye Fan was right. The outside world had little influence on Chang Shimin. Although Chang Shimin's grandparents loved him and placed the hopes of the whole family on him, he was breathless and wanted to give up, but his intelligence and talent, as well as the praise from the outside world, made him unwilling to degenerate. His family also reminded him all the time that the family was poor and could not waste money. Over time, he became so twisted.

Chang's father asked his son, "Do you think I should talk to his grandfather?"

"Don't do that!" Chang Guangrong stopped him. "You said Chang Shimin has a job now and doesn't need to be so frugal. People will think that you have a high salary and don't know how hard it is for ordinary people. If you say that Chang Shimin has a very capable personality, the leader will not dare to promote him to be a leader. He will ask you to arrange Chang Shimin to be by your side. Such an unsociable person, whether subordinates or leaders, it is difficult to talk to him, how can you use him?"

Chang's father felt quite sorry for it. The year Chang Shimin was admitted to university, Chang's father boasted to his comrades that the child he sponsored had a promising future.

Chang Guangrong changed the subject and asked his father to help Chen Xiaohui find a partner. Chang's father thought of Ye Fan's father who had been in the Air Force for many years and said, "Are pilots not better than us who carry guns and cannons?"

(End of this chapter)