Five years of marriage, always separated [1970s]

It was early in the morning, barely six o'clock, and most of Ye Fan's friends and employees were still taking a nap, so they naturally had no time to look for her. Erbao and Geng Sensen hadn't woken up yet, and Yu Wentao was probably exercising in the park. It was the morning exercise time for the troops, so no one should have called. But it was when Geng Zhiye thought of this that he panicked, worried that there might be some emergency in the troops.

Picking up the phone and hearing a familiar voice, Geng Zhiye couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief: "Xiao Ming?"

"Brother Geng?" The person on the other end of the phone stopped, obviously not expecting him to be at home.

Geng Zhiye: "What's up so early in the morning?"

"Me, it's like this, my dad is in the hospital, I might have to trouble Sister Ye to keep an eye on Xiushui Store for a few days."

Zhang Xiaoming's tone was casual, as if his father was just a little uncomfortable. But Zhang Xiaoming has many brothers and sisters. Even if the youngest is not at home, the second oldest will not take care of the old man. Zhang Xiaoming also has two younger sisters, and the younger sister's family lives with their old father. His brother-in-law has a job and is busy. His younger sister has free time to open the store. If his older sister can help, Zhang Xiaoming doesn't need to worry about it at all, let alone need a few days.

Geng Zhiye thought of this for a moment and asked tentatively, "Is Uncle Zhang not well?"

Zhang Xiaoming sighed first, and after a while he said in a rather helpless tone: "I didn't sleep in the middle of the night, and when I got up, I didn't touch the light cord, and I got out of bed before the light came on. I don't know how I fell. The doctor said it happened in the past few days, so we should be mentally prepared."

"No, why would he get up so late at night?"

Speaking of this, Zhang Xiaoming wanted to catch his father and scold him: "You went to bed early and woke up unable to fall asleep, so you decided to go out for some fresh air. My brother-in-law said he often gets up at three or four o'clock." He paused for a moment, suppressed his anger, "Luckily my nephew ate too much watermelon last night and woke up in the middle of the night. He heard some noise and thought there was a thief, so he asked my brother-in-law to go and check, and he was sent to the hospital in time."

In Geng Zhiye's impression, Grandpa Zhang has always been in poor health. A few years before he moved, Grandpa Zhang had to use a cane. With such a poor health, he would get up in the middle of the night to take a walk. Geng Zhiye was speechless, "Do you want Ye Fan to help?"

"No, no, I just ran into Lai Fu, and he told me to go to him if I don't understand anything."

Geng Zhiye hung up the phone and said to Ye Fan, "I'm afraid Uncle Zhang is talking about today's matter."

"He had heat stroke like me, but he was too old and weak to make it?"

Geng Zhiye was both angry and amused: "Don't talk nonsense! You must have fallen headfirst in the middle of the night. Xiao Ming doesn't have time to go to the store, you can go check it out later."

Ye Fan nodded: "Then I'll go cook. Let's eat earlier and go over earlier."

Geng Zhiye followed her to the kitchen: "You don't seem surprised?"

"Xiao Ming was mentally prepared for Uncle Zhang's body ten years ago. By the way, have you informed me?"

Geng Zhiye wanted to call Zhang Xiaoming back, but suddenly remembered that the voices on the other end of the line were very noisy, and he probably called from a public phone outside. "You can check the details later and tell me."

Ye Fan took out the side dishes from the cupboard and washed a few eggs. Xiao Wang hurried over: "Auntie, let me do it."

"Wash the eggs, heat up the steamed buns and dumplings, and make two more dishes." Ye Fan said, "Just vegetarian dishes will do."

Xiao Wang subconsciously looked at Geng Zhiye and asked tentatively: "Is there still half a pound of braised beef in the refrigerator?"

Geng Zhiye: "Then don't cook any vegetables. Just smash some cucumbers, chop up some beef and put them together, and then make some cold tomatoes."

Ye Fan boiled the eggs, put the buns and steamed buns on the grate, turned on the gas stove, and went to the yard with Geng Zhiye to enjoy the cool air.

Xiao Wang had just washed the tomatoes when Yu Wentao came back with fried dough sticks and said to Xiao Wang, "The smashed cucumbers and beef are enough for us to eat."

Xiao Wang whispered, "Uncle said to make a cucumber and a tomato."

"I said enough is enough." Yu Wentao put down the fried dough sticks, "Is the porridge ready?"

Xiao Wang nodded: "You added alkali, didn't you? The grains are all cooked."

Yu Wentao opened the lid of the pot and took a look before putting the pot on the gas stove to boil over high heat. Xiao Wang put the kettle on the stove and asked, "Then should I wake up Erbao?"

"Erbao is up." Erbao got up at the same time as her parents, but instead of washing her face or brushing her teeth, she was memorizing foreign language words in front of the window.

Erbao memorizes foreign language vocabulary every day in case she is suddenly needed to take over. She even speaks her most proficient English and French haltingly.

Xiao Wang was startled: "Why are you walking without making any sound?"

"You are busy sealing the furnace." Erbao said, "I will go and call Brother Sen Sen."

After waking up Geng Sensen in the back, she went to wash her face and brush her teeth. Seeing the facial mask in the trash can, Erbao ran to the living room again: "Mom, can I use your facial mask?"

Ye Fan: "You're going to be late for work. Let's talk about it when you come back in the evening!"

"Okay!" As long as it's useful, Erbao doesn't care whether it's evening or morning.

Yu Wentao brought the porridge to the main room, and Uncle Yu's voice came in. Little Wang Chao looked at Yu Wentao, as if to ask, "Do you want to buy some vegetables?"

Ye Fan saw that the tomatoes were missing, and combined with Xiao Wang's expression, she knew what her mother-in-law had said. She smiled and said, "I'll go check it out."

Xiao Wang was holding the porridge and the fried dough sticks, saying, "I'll go get something for Auntie."

When Ye Fan arrived at the front yard, he asked, "Did Aunt Yu scold you?"

"I told her uncle I wanted to eat some tomatoes, and she said that was enough. I was afraid that she would get angry and quarrel with her."

Ye Fan said: "They don't quarrel. She is old and sometimes very stubborn. If you think there is enough food, just listen to her."

"But uncle rarely comes back." Xiao Wang doesn't go home often, and every time she goes back, her parents always ask her what she wants to eat. Even if they complain about the trouble, they will eventually cook for her. Xiao Wang puts herself in her shoes, and since it's not troublesome to make tomatoes with sugar, she thinks she should do it.

Ye Fan: "Coming back once or twice a week is not rare. When Dabao comes back someday, you see, even if he doesn't want to eat, Aunt Yu will prepare a big table."

After he finished speaking, the two went out the door. Ye Fan looked at the things in the car, picked out a few cantaloupes, and bought twenty duck eggs.

Half of the residents in this alley came out to buy things, mainly melons grown by farmers and chicken, duck and goose eggs. Some people also bought a young pumpkin and fried it to eat enough for the whole family for two meals. But when everyone left, Uncle Yu's vegetables were not sold out. He knew what was going on, and smiled and told Ye Fan that he was going to have dinner at his daughter's house.

When he arrived at Yu Yinxing's house, he gave all the green amaranth to his daughter, because his two grandchildren liked to eat it. He gave her some of the beans, eggplants and peppers, and the rest to his son. If he happened to meet his nephew, he would give him a handful.

Whether or not you make money is secondary. What’s important is that my daughter and son don’t have to buy vegetables, and there’s no need to worry about their children getting sick after eating vegetables that contain excessive amounts of pesticides.

After dinner, Ye Fan sent Erbao to work before turning to the store, and told the two employees to keep an eye on the store these days. Ye Fan also gave them commissions, so the two were very attentive. Ye Fan went to the hospital right after leaving the store, but she didn't go in. She looked at the door of the ward for a few seconds. Zhang Xiaoming said a few words, "Go and get busy." Ye Fan reminded him to tell his younger brother and go back to the company.

In the evening, Ye Fan took out a facial mask and asked Erbao to soak his feet and apply the mask at the same time. She felt that it was a waste of time to wash her feet and that applying the mask was troublesome, so she just applied some skin care products and went to her grandmother's room to watch TV.

Geng Zhiye was also at home tonight. Seeing that Erbao was running as fast as the cat in the morning, he couldn't help but ask, "Who does this child look like?"

Ye Fan: "You don't mind the mask being troublesome, and I'm the one using it, so it definitely doesn't look like us."

Geng Sensen was sitting on a sofa nearby, holding a water cup and saying leisurely, "My niece looks like my aunt. My aunt is several years younger than my aunt, and she looks almost the same as my aunt. I was worried that my aunt and Uncle Lai Fu would get divorced in a few years."

Geng Zhiye didn't understand: "What do you mean?"

Ye Fan: "Both husband and wife don't care about their appearance, so they can live together for a lifetime."

"Yes!" Geng Sen Sen nodded, "When Er Bao finds a date, find her someone like Uncle Lai Fu, who relies on his barely presentable face and dresses up rough every day. Da Bao's date should be someone like Xiao Shu."

Ye Fan wanted to laugh: "You are so good at arranging things, what kind of person are you planning to find?"

"As for me, I just go with the flow."

Ye Fan: "After work, instead of going home, go to the night market to eat. I think you have a connection with the God of Food!"

"The God of Cookery is not bad either." Geng Sensen poured water, "Uncle, do you want some?"

Geng Zhiye was puzzled: "I have water in my cup, why do you want yours?"

Ye Fan wanted to laugh when he heard this: "He is soaking wolfberries in his thermos cup!"

Geng Zhiye was puzzled: "When did you become interested in this?"

Ye Fan: "My body can't handle eating too much smoked, fried or fried food."

Geng Sensen shook his head and said calmly, "It's not good to not take care of yourself when you reach middle age."

Geng Zhiye wanted to kick him out for talking about middle-aged maintenance in front of a 53-year-old man. Ye Fan held his knees and said, "He's not as healthy as you."

Geng Sensen couldn't deny this. His uncle could run five kilometers without panting, but he had a hard time running three kilometers.

As for strength, he couldn't even pry his uncle's hand apart with just his two hands.

Geng Sensen put down the cup and looked outside, puzzled: "You are a senior officer now, do you still need to supervise the training?"

Geng Zhiye: “Just say what you want to say!”

"You don't need to supervise the training. You sit in the office every day. Even if you are not drinking tea or reading newspapers, but analyzing intelligence, you still use your brain." Geng Sensen was very confused. "You are older than me, your metabolism is not as good as mine, and you eat more than me. How come you are as thin as me? It's not scientific!"

Geng Zhiye: "Is being fatter than you scientific?"

"Yes. Look at those athletes. If they don't diet and train hard, they will gain weight in a few years. You have been in the army for more than a year, but you don't even have a belly fat." Geng Sen Sen sighed, "Are you born to be a soldier?"

Ye Fan: "Sesen, besides eating, your uncle only eats candy when he's hungry, eats some fruit when he comes back, and drinks a bottle of soda."

"Then what?" Ye Fan: "You bought him his first barbecue this year. What about you? You have hotpot every three days, barbecue every two days, and you can go to a hamburger restaurant to eat when you go out to buy a toothbrush on the weekend. If you're not fat, who else would be fat?"

"How much is a hamburger and a cup of Coke for me? Uncle, two bowls of rice, a steamed bun, and lots of vegetables and meat."

Ye Fan: "The oil in the vegetables and meat is not as much as the meat in your hamburger. Secondly, there is not much oil in the buns. The rice is about the same as your hamburger. The soup your uncle drinks only has a little salt and sesame oil, and your Coke has sugar in it. In terms of food, your meal is heavy in oil and sugar. Besides, that was just your afternoon tea, you eat normally at night."

"But I'm young."

Ye Fan: "You are not in good health. Your uncle has a slow metabolism compared to a soldier in his thirties. In fact, it is about the same as yours."

"You mean my body functions are similar to my uncle's?" Geng Sensen's face was filled with horror. "Oh my God, I am——"

Ye Fan interrupted: "Your uncle is just like an ordinary person in his thirties."

"No, no, I'm only twenty-seven, but my body looks like I'm over thirty?" Geng Sen Sen also felt heartbroken. His aunt might as well not say anything. "I'm going to exercise!" After saying that, he jumped up and ran out.

Geng Zhiye cursed: "You're mentally ill!"

Then the sound of basketball could be heard in the front yard. At this time, many neighbors were walking outside, and no one thought Geng Sensen was disturbing them. Erbao couldn't stand it, and couldn't hear what was said on TV. He was so angry that he yelled, "Geng Sensen, are you bored?"

Ye Fan was happy and whispered, "It's not because you are full and have nothing to do."

Geng Sensen came back, turned on the lights in the yard and asked Erbao to play badminton with him.

Erbao washed himself clean and fragrant, and only a sick brain would accompany him to sweat: "Beat yourself!"

Geng Zhiye stood up, Ye Fan turned off the TV, and went out to watch the two people compete. The result is predictable. Geng Sensen was sweating from picking up the ball, and gave the ball to his aunt. He wanted to drink some water to replenish his energy.

Ye Fan and Geng Zhiye were talking back and forth. Geng Sensen was holding a water cup and asked, "Auntie is so good at badminton?"

The badminton was making quite a noise. Erbao couldn't stand staying in the house and leaned against the door frame to watch: "Stupid. When my dad played with you, he hit the ball fast and with great force, just like walking a dog."

Geng Sensen glared at her: "Can you speak?"

Erbao: "Look for yourself, isn't it too slow? The ball my dad gave me is straight."

Geng Sensen stared at the slow ball, isn't it. "Uncle, don't bully people like this." Geng Sensen shouted.

Erbao said with a smile: "My dad doesn't bully people!"

Geng Sensen wanted to say something, but when he realized something, he pointed at Erbao and said, "Take the bus to work by yourself tomorrow."

"Your car is mine." Erbao reminded.

Geng Sen Sen couldn't refute it, so he asked his aunt to seek justice.

Ye Fan: "If you say that you are young and your uncle is old a few more times, he will stop taking you for a walk."

Geng Sensen was in the wrong, scratched his nose, put the cup on the windowsill, and replaced his aunt. Geng Zhiye stopped walking him, and played for ten minutes, sweating profusely, so he asked his nephew to put the ball away.

The next morning, just after Ye Fan's family had finished their meal, the phone rang. Geng Zhiye was nearby and picked it up.

Seeing that he looked serious but not anxious, Ye Fan knew it was definitely not something from the army. After he hung up the phone, Ye Fan asked, "Xiao Ming?"

Geng Zhiye nodded: "Uncle Zhang passed away in the middle of the night, and Xiao Ming called to report the death. Aunt Yu, are you going or Fanfan?"

"I'll go take a look first." Yu Wentao said.

Ye Fan: "Let's go together. Let's buy some paper money and firecrackers."

Having seen off several relatives and elders in the past few years, Ye Fan is now very familiar with this kind of thing. After dinner, Ye Fan first took her mother-in-law to make a wreath, and then took her to buy paper money. During the process, she did not take any detours, which showed how many times she had been there.

Ye Fan hated Zhang Xiaojun and his wife, and the couple also hated Ye Fan, so Ye Fan went to the Zhang family's old house to take a look, comforted Zhang Xiaoming with a few words, and then drove away.

On the day of the burial, Ye Fan went with Chang Guangrong, Wei Jianshe and others, each bringing wreaths they had bought.

They didn't have lunch at Zhang's house either.

After Uncle Zhang's business was done, Zhang Xiaoming took a weekend off and invited his friends to a table at the Capital Hotel.

Wei Jianshe's aunt, Aunt Li, is a neighbor of the Zhang family. She can hear any movement in the Zhang family. Wei Jianshe asked Zhang Xiaoming: "I heard from my aunt that you take care of all the uncle's affairs?"

Zhang Xiaoming explained that his sister was married and the Zhang family had a son, so it didn't make sense to ask the son-in-law to pay for the funeral. He then added, "This happened too suddenly. I can't come back, and I can't let my unmarried brother see my father off to the grave. Xiaojun also said that he would take care of my mother when she gets old, so shouldn't I pay for everything?"

Wei Jianshe sneered: "Why did I hear that the condolence money given by the unit was taken away by Zhang Xiaojun?"

Zhang Xiaoming was silent for a moment, probably knowing that he could not hide it anymore, he sighed and said, "The company gave it to my mother, and my mother gave it to Xiaojun, and she also said that I am better than Xiaojun, so I can't take it back in public."

"You just have too good a temper!" Wei Jianshe was so angry that he picked up the wine glass and drank it in one gulp.

Zhang Xiaoming smiled and said, "I lost one brother, but now I have you. It's not a loss!"

"Can it be the same?" Wei Jianshe glared at him.

Chang Guangrong was startled and dropped his chopsticks on the table: "Keep your voice down!"

Ye Fan: "Don't talk about Xiao Ming, your family will be similar in the future!"

"When my father passed away, my mother didn't dare to sit at the door and wait to collect money, and then let me pay for a meal with relatives and friends." Wei Jianshe said.

Chang Guangrong: "It's not that your mother doesn't dare, but although she is partial, she also knows right from wrong. Besides, your mother is ignorant, and your aunt won't forgive her. Unlike Xiao Ming's mother, she is completely confused. His aunt actually thinks his mother is right."

Ye Fan: "Is it because his cousins ​​wanted to do business with Xiao Ming, but Xiao Ming didn't bring them?"

Wei Jianshe shook his head: "Yes. One time when we went south to get something, we asked his cousins ​​to go with us. But when we got there, they said they didn't have enough money and they didn't know how to choose the goods. Xiao Ming said that we should just take this trip to broaden our horizons. Those brothers were almost mad to death."

Ye Fan suddenly wanted to laugh.

Chang Guangrong laughed out loud, then said seriously: "Zhang Xiaoming, I'm not cursing your mother, but if she needs someone to serve her when she eats, drinks, defecates or urinates, Zhang Xiaojun will definitely throw her to you."

The smile on Zhang Xiaoming's face froze.

Wei Jianshe panicked: "What should I do?"

Ye Fan: "You are all so smart. If you can't help it, you can go to Zhang Xiaojun's leader and tell him that he doesn't want his old mother anymore, and then ask the leader to make an arrangement. The worst case scenario is that Xiao Ming will serve her for half a year. Then let Zhang Xiaojun serve first. Your mother won't last half a year under them."

Zhang Xiaoming felt very sad.

Seeing this, Ye Fan said, "Don't think that ignoring your mother is unfilial. You think you only have this one mother, but you are not her closest child. Also, Xiao Ming, the store is busy, who will take care of your mother if you take her home? Dong Ying will have to serve her. Do you think the Dong family will agree?"

When Dong Ying gave birth in the hospital, her mother would visit her once. During Dong Ying's confinement period, it was the Dong family who ran around. Zhang Xiaoming's younger sister also visited her several times. On several occasions, she would go on Sundays and buy chicken and fish to prepare meals. Sometimes, she would even help Zhang Xiaoming pick up and drop off the eldest son.

Thinking of this, Zhang Xiaoming said, "She thinks Xiaoying didn't give birth to a son."

Ye Fan: "Then let her eldest grandson take care of her."

Chang Guangrong nodded: "Eat the food. The food is almost finished by that old guy Dazhi."

Jin Dazhi and his other friend were also there, as well as two people who were close to Zhang Xiaoming and Wei Jianshe, so the table was full.

These parents were okay, but their relatives had a lot of troubles, and they felt sorry for Zhang Xiaoming, so no one said anything sarcastic. But then again, it was not appropriate for them to interrupt given their status.

Ye Fan didn't drink, but she was stinking from the liquor. She went home right after she came out of the store. When she got home, she found that her mother-in-law looked strange. Ye Fan winked at Xiao Wang, and the babysitter went to the bathroom with Ye Fan. While removing her makeup, Ye Fan asked, "What's wrong with grandma?"

"An old neighbor passed away." Xiao Wang didn't know Uncle Zhang. "Do you have no friends now?"

Ye Fan: "She and Uncle Zhang are not really friends. I guess she thinks of her age."

"What should I do?"

Of course, leave the current environment.

Ye Fan thought that Geng Huihui was on vacation, so he called her after taking a bath and asked her if she wanted to go play nearby. When Geng Huihui heard this, she knew that her aunt would pay for the trip, and she immediately said that she could leave at any time.

Geng Huihui is in good health and the doctor recommends that she move around more, so she expressed her desire to accompany her grandmother for a few days, with the nanny following. Her mother-in-law hesitated for a moment before agreeing, but also arranged for a nanny to accompany her.

Ye Fan gave Geng Huihui several thousand yuan and planned to spend a week, but Yu Wentao had to go home on the fifth day.

There is no place like home, with air conditioning, delicious food, popsicles and soda in the refrigerator, hair dryers and water heaters, which are better than the hostel. Geng Huihui gave the remaining money to Ye Fan and muttered, "You are not destined to enjoy happiness."

Yu Wentao had sharp ears. After a few days of adjustment, she retorted with full energy: "You didn't complain about the mosquitoes? Didn't you say that it's not as comfortable outside as at home?"

(End of this chapter)