Five years of marriage, always separated [1970s]

Nowadays, the days are long and the nights are short, and it is light at five in the morning, so Zhang Xiaoming and Yu Xiaojiu set out from home at around five o'clock and arrived in the city around six o'clock. At this time, citizens have just walked out of their homes, and when they see their cars, they simply come to them to buy them, so they can close the stall around nine o'clock.

It was a bit early to go to the popsicle factory at this time, so Uncle Yu and his cousin drove home, and his youngest son drove the three cousins ​​into the city.

Uncle Yu's youngest son is the 18-year-old boy who Ye Fan gave the money to last year and asked him to give it to the village chief. His name is Yu Hongwei. He left his three cousins ​​at Ye Fan's house and went to the popsicle factory with Ye Fan, pulling eight boxes of popsicles each.

While the two were at the popsicle factory, Geng Zhiqin and Huihui took the three of them to the park. Ye Fan and Yu Hongwei first went to the park to unload four boxes of popsicles, and then Ye Fan took Yu Hongwei to walk around the streets.

The two of them moved towards the Children's Palace while selling. By the time they got to the Children's Palace, it was already 11:30. The parents who had left their children there were almost off work, and the children were thirsty. The children who could come to the Children's Palace all had good families and some pocket money, so when Ye Fan and Yu Hongwei's car stopped, the children squeezed in.

Dabao, who was wearing old clothes, was pushed to the back by the older and younger children. He couldn't help but blink his eyes and asked in disbelief: "Brother, didn't you ask us to sell it?"

Geng Benben: "It seems that we are not needed."

Dabao was anxious: "What should I do? I just bought a piggy bank and there is not a penny in it."

Yu Wentao was holding Erbao behind them. She was speechless and wanted to laugh when she heard what was said. Who could believe that Miss Ye's son was only thinking about making money every day, as if he had been a beggar all his life in his previous life.

Yu Wentao asked: "Dabao, did the people at the Children's Palace ask you to sell popsicles inside?"

Dabao forgot to ask, "I'll go ask."

Dabao often comes to the Children's Palace and knows a few of the employees. He is not afraid of people and just goes up to them and asks if he can sell popsicles on both sides of the gate.

In an era when setting up stalls was looked down upon, a teenager in old clothes suddenly asked this question. The employee subconsciously thought that his family was in financial difficulty, and after a moment of hesitation, he nodded, "Are you selling alone?"

Dabao: "My brother and I. My mom helps us deliver it. My mom sells popsicles somewhere else." To the female lesbian's ears, this means his mom has no job and is a social idler. Dabao then said, "Let my grandma watch over it in the morning, and we will sell it at noon and in the afternoon, is that ok? Sister, I'll treat you to a popsicle."

The female comrade smiled and said, "Thank you. Little boy, you should call me auntie."

"But you are younger than my mother." Dabao was not afraid that his mother would come in and scold him.

The male comrade who was with the female comrade thought that the mother of a 10-year-old child should be at most 35 years old. He was almost 40 years old but looked younger than the mother of the teenager. The mother of the teenager must be very busy and old. "Little friend, you can sell popsicles, but you are not allowed to make loud noises. Even if you are asked to sell them here, you are not allowed to say that we agreed."

Dabao nodded: "I said no one said that we can't sell it here."

The female comrade smiled and said, "How clever. What grade are you in?"

Dabao: "I will be in the second grade of junior high school when school starts again."

The lesbian was surprised: "You are not that old?"

Dabao: "Mom said I'm eleven and a half."

The female comrade also thought that he was only in his teens, and couldn't be fourteen or fifteen. "You are very smart, you are already in the second grade at such a young age."

The gay man reminded: "It's time to eat."

Dabao was hungry, and asked immediately: "Can we go to the cafeteria to eat?"

The female comrade nodded: "Sure. But it costs money. We can use meal tickets which is cheaper."

Dabao thought, fortunately, otherwise it would be so embarrassing. It seems that I can't talk too much in the future, it's easy to say something wrong. Dabao said thank you first, and then explained: "We take the bus home at noon and come back later. It's better to buy food in the cafeteria."

The female comrade thought about the weather, how she wasted time and money, and said sincerely, "You are really smart. You shouldn't just think about making money."

Dabao: "I want to go to college."

The female comrade was very pleased and patted his thin shoulders: "I believe you can become a pillar of the country."

Dabao nodded, he believed he could.

The female comrade had never met such a sensible boy before. When she and her colleague arrived at the cafeteria, she couldn't help but sigh - children from poor families have to grow up early.

Dabao jumped out the door, but there were many people around his mother and his cousin: "Grandma, let's go to the cafeteria to eat."

Yu Wentao couldn't help but ask: "Isn't the Children's Palace cafeteria a staff cafeteria?"

"Outsiders can go too, just like going to a state-owned restaurant." Dabao said.

When parents came to pick up their children, there were a lot of people at the door. Yu Wentao was worried that others would see that Erbao was smart and cute and reach out to take her away, so she asked Benben to hold Erbao while she went to ask Ye Fan how to solve the lunch problem.

Ye Fan: "Xiao Qin, steam the rice, heat the buns, and make two dishes. We'll go home and eat." He looked at Yu Hongwei and said, "They'll eat at our house at noon. Give Xiao Qin two yuan."

Yu Wentao couldn't help but ask, "Are they willing too?"

"Xiao Ming is alone at his uncle's house, and it costs one dollar each time. Why wouldn't they be willing to pay two dollars for the four of them? We also provide watermelon and tea." Seeing that there were so many people, Ye Fan asked everyone to line up.

Seeing that she was so busy, Yu Wentao took her three grandchildren to the cafeteria first.

The cafeteria at the Children's Palace is spacious and has several fans. Yu Wentao was very surprised and couldn't help but say to Erbao, "It's more comfortable than at home. Ask your mom later and we'll eat here for lunch from now on."

Erbao doesn't want to go home because it's too hot outside: "Okay. But, grandma, my brother is selling popsicles and I'm drawing beside him, what are you going to do?"

Yu Wentao: "I have my own place to go."

There were quite a few elderly people in the Children's Palace, most of them were intellectuals. Yu Wentao found it interesting just to hear them chatting. "Erbao, how about grandma sign you up for another class? It's in the afternoon."

Erbao shook his head: "No!"

Yu Wentao was speechless, as she thought the little girl loved studying.

After they had dinner, Ye Fan and Yu Hongwei were still selling popsicles. Yu Wentao saw people by their cars at the door and wondered, "Have you never had popsicles?"

Selling popsicles requires a vehicle, at least a bicycle, otherwise you will get a heat stroke carrying the popsicle box to the bus stop. But in this era, people who can afford to buy a bicycle look down on the business of selling things on the streets.

In the early 1980s, there were very few shops equipped with refrigerators on the street, and people could only rely on water to quench their thirst. Those who could afford it would buy a big watermelon or cook green bean soup. But none of these were as comfortable as a mouthful of ice.

After work, she is feeling hot and uncomfortable and has to pick up her naughty child. Whoever gives her a piece of ice at this time will be her relative.

Ye Fan dared to bring eight boxes at a time, each box containing hundreds of popsicles, because he relied on the market gap. Not to mention five years, even in three years, Ye Fan would not dare to bring four boxes at a time.

It was not until half past twelve that there were few people outside the Children's Palace. Yu Wentao asked Ye Fan to bring a box and put it inside the door, and told her and Yu Hongwei to go home quickly, and told her to drink Huoxiang Zhengqi water when she got home.

Ye Fan asked: "Have you eaten?"

Yu Wentao nodded: "We ate in the cafeteria. Erbao didn't have much appetite."

Ye Fan: "Don't let her eat the popsicle yet."

"I know that the alternation of cold and heat can easily cause diarrhea."

After hearing this, Ye Fan went home with peace of mind.

When they got to the door, Zhang Xiaoming came out of Zhang's house and handed the key to Ye Fan: "Xiaoqin has gone to deliver food to Huihui. You two should go eat too. I'll watch the car."

Ye Fan put eight boxes of fans in the park - hers and Yu Hongwei's. This was also because not many families had fans in that era. After going home and eating a quick meal, she would take a palm-leaf fan and wear a hat to go to the park to cool off.

A popsicle costs three cents and can relieve heat and quench thirst. It is more comfortable than drinking Huoxiang Zhengqi water after heatstroke, so uncles and aunts are willing to have one.

While Ye Fan was eating, an old lady came to Geng Huihui with her grandson and asked, "Two for five cents?"

Geng Huihui shook her head: "Excluding the gas and food expenses, we only make 5 cents per popsicle. 5 cents for two popsicles, aren't we working for nothing?"

"You sell me two and sell it to others for six cents."

Huihui signaled her to turn around with her eyes. The old lady frowned, thinking that Huihui asked her to go somewhere cooler. Then she looked back and saw several neighbors just three steps away.

Realizing that her words might have been heard by the neighbors, the old lady's face changed slightly: "How come your legs are so fast?" She muttered and gave Geng Huihui six cents.

There were not many people in the Children's Palace at this time, and Yu Wentao was almost asleep sitting next to the popsicle box.

A few workers came out to use the restroom and get some fresh air. They saw an old lady with three children who were so sleepy that they couldn't open their eyes. They felt that Yu Wentao had a hard time: "Auntie, how much are the popsicles?"

Dabao woke up and found a lesbian who looked familiar: "Sister, I'll treat you."

"Need not."

Dabao said in a condescending manner: "I can still afford one popsicle." Then he took out four of the cheapest ones and stuffed them at the other person.

Several comrades were embarrassed to accept it, saying that it was very hard for their mothers to pull popsicles.

Dabao's heart skipped a beat, worried that people would find out his mother had a three-wheeled motorcycle and feel cheated, and then get angry and not allow him to sell it here. "It's not that hard. My mother and a neighbor bought a three-wheeled motorcycle together. The neighbor used it for half a day in the morning, and my mother used it for half a day in the afternoon."

Yu Wentao nodded subconsciously: "I have a car."

The three-wheeled motorcycle is very expensive, even if you pay half of the price, it is still a huge sum of money. A few people looked at Dabao's clothes, which were washed and old and didn't fit him, and suddenly felt that the money for buying the car was saved by the whole family with great difficulty.

Even so, it means that we are not yet in need of help from others.

Being able to humble himself and sell things instead of begging directly made several comrades look up to him.

A female comrade who knew Dabao before said, "These four are your treat. I'll buy five more for my colleagues."

Ye Fan expected that some people would buy a lot, so he bought a bunch of small plastic bags and put a bunch of them in Dabao's box. Dabao took a bag and counted five for her, and Geng Benben collected the money.

Several comrades simply stuffed all nine popsicles into their bags. When they returned to the office, each of them ate one, praising the little boy selling popsicles at the door for being sensible.

Ye Fan did not deliberately cultivate or guide her two children. She felt that it was better to accumulate more family property for herself than to expect her children to become successful. By then, when she was old, her children would not have to struggle for a living and would have time to take care of her and Geng Zhiye.

Erbao has a talent for languages, so Ye Fan bought her a Russian book only after she agreed. Dabao has a quick reaction and good balance, so Yu Wentao wanted to buy him ice skates, and Dabao was willing to play, so Ye Fan let her buy them.

Perhaps what Dabao heard the most during those years on the island was how much honey was sold for, how much duck and goose feathers were sold for, how much a pound of oranges was, etc. Ye Fan often taught the islanders who knew nothing about anything how to deal with outsiders, and he also said some of it at home, so Dabao learned it all by himself.

The most incredible thing for Ye Fan was that Dabao didn't think it was shameful to make money.

Around 2 p.m., the kid's parents went to work and dumped the unattended kid into the Children's Palace. Some of them had taken skating lessons with Dabao and asked him when they saw him, "Geng Dabao, are you selling popsicles?"

Geng Dabao nodded.

"Does your family have no money?"

Geng Dabao: "My parents don't have jobs."

The little classmate felt sorry for him: "Then I'll buy one. How much is it?"

"Popsicles are three cents, mung bean flavor is five cents, and ice cream is ten cents." Dabao said.

The little student took out a dime and was reluctant to give it to him.

Dabao said, "Buy the three-cent piece. You can eat it three times and still have one cent left."

"Geng Dabao, you're so good." The little classmate was embarrassed to buy three ice creams because he was afraid that Dabao would laugh at him for not being able to afford ice cream because his classmates had laughed at him before.

Dabao didn't understand what he had done.

Geng Benben also didn't understand how Dabao became a good person.

He asked Benben for seven cents, put the change in his pocket and went to play table tennis.

Dabao asked: "Erbao, do you want to eat popsicles?"

Erbao: "Grandma said you can only eat one. If I have diarrhea, mom won't let you sell popsicles."

Dabao opened the kettle, poured half a cup of water and handed it to her. Erbao finished drinking and leaned on her brother. Dabao saw that she was still sleepy: "Why don't you go home with grandma?"

Erbao looked at the sun outside and shook his head decisively.

Dabao had suggested that his mother send him lunch because he didn't want to take the bus home in the hot sun. Seeing this, he understood his sister very well, so he sat cross-legged and let Erbao sleep with his legs as a pillow.

When Yu Wentao came back from chatting with someone, she saw her three children sleeping together.

Since there were only three kinds, Yu Wentao remembered them and knew how to sell them. When someone came, she would help sell them. When the children woke up by themselves, Yu Wentao would let the three of them go play.

In the past, Ye Fan would not care about Dabao and Erbao when they played on the island all day, so when they had enough of the games that children love to play, they would come back and watch over the refrigerator. On the contrary, Geng Benben started playing table tennis with others.

He came back from playing all sweaty and let Dabao and Erbao play while he watched the stall.

Dabao saw that all the available seats were occupied: "Grandma, let's get two folding stools tomorrow."

Yu Wentao thought of Geng Zhiqin's plan to bring some folding stools to the park: "It's worth buying a few folding stools for our family."

Dabao nodded: "Brother Benben, don't open it and look. Mom said that the ice cream will melt if it gets hot."

Geng Benben quickly covered it.

The afternoon was much hotter than the morning. As soon as Dabao finished speaking, a group of teenagers holding table tennis rackets ran over and asked for popsicles.

Whenever Dabao sees someone with a lot of money, he tells them that there is milk-flavored ice cream.

It was unrealistic to sell hundreds of popsicles and ice creams to students, so Dabao asked his cousin to go out and promote them.

Geng Benben felt embarrassed, so Dabao said, "I'll split the money we earned today into 50% and you 10%?"

"No!" Geng Benben immediately ran to the shade of the tree and asked, "Grandpas and aunts, uncles and aunts, do you want to buy popsicles? They're three cents each, at the entrance of the Children's Palace. We also have milk-flavored ice cream."

No one paid attention to him at first, and Geng Benben was quite embarrassed. Then he comforted himself, saying that it was not shameful to make money, and that it was not shameful to make money. He went to the roadside and shouted, "Popsicles, three cents each, in front of the Children's Palace."

There is a bus stop next to the Children's Palace. People waiting for the bus look left and right and see that there are no buses, so they run inside to buy a popsicle.

Not every child can spend a whole day in the Children's Palace. Some children who are taken care of by their grandparents do not want to go to the Children's Palace in the afternoon and play with others nearby. When they hear Geng Benben's voice, they go home to ask their grandparents to buy popsicles.

Even adults can't help but compare, let alone children. When other children see their friends eating popsicles, they can't help but clamor for some too.

Around five in the afternoon, Ye Fan came to pick up his son. Dabao said with a bitter face, "Mom, we've only sold half of it."

Ye Fan asked: "Has it melted?"

Dabao shook his head: "The ice you put in the corner of the box has melted."

Ye Fan: "It's okay if the ice melts. It's crushed ice from the popsicle factory. Put it in mom's car first, and wait for the workers to get off work. Mom will sell it on the way home, and it will be almost done by the time we get home. You and grandma can go home. I'll discuss a 60% to 40% split with Xiao Ming later. You, Ben Ben, your aunt, and Hui Hui, 10% each?"

Dabao's eyes lit up: "Does Xiaoming agree?"

Ye Fan: "30% of the popsicles that mom makes are sold by your aunt and Huihui. There is no reason for him to disagree. It's fine as long as your aunt has no objection."

Yu Wentao said: "She doesn't dare to have any opinions! If it wasn't for your mother pulling the popsicle, she wouldn't have scored even 10%."

That makes sense. Dabao was relieved. Ye Fan parked the car under a tree and put up a sign next to the car - Popsicles, popsicles, three cents each.

Not long after Dabao left, the workers who lived nearby came back. Feeling dizzy from the heat, I bought a popsicle. But thinking of the children, I bought a few more.

There were not many people in the Children's Palace, so Ye Fan went into the alleys to avoid the supply and marketing cooperatives and shops, and sure enough, business was good.

Ye Fan went to the park when there were still a few left, and on the way to the park, the few popsicles were also bought by workers who were leaving get off work. Geng Zhiqin and Geng Huihui still had 10 or 20 left in their boxes. After dinner, Ye Fan and Yu Hongwei went to the park to take a box and sell it on the streets, otherwise there would be more left. Ye Fan said, "Let's go home."

Several young people in the Yu family felt distressed and asked, "What should we do with so many? They are almost melting."

Ye Fan: "I have a refrigerator at home to put them in. Bring six boxes tomorrow, and bring more after they are sold. Gather at my house, and I will teach you how to count."

Then Ye Fan pulled the box and left first.

Before reaching the entrance of the alley, a few people coming back from get off work were chatting under a tree. When they saw the brand on the car, they called Ye Fan. After paying, they recognized Ye Fan and couldn't help asking, "Why are you still selling popsicles?"

Ye Fan: "Half of the boxes on the car belong to relatives in the countryside. The little brat is eating me out of money, so I have to think of other ways, otherwise my mother-in-law will have to pay for it."

A whole year had passed since Ye Fan's family moved in. The inquisitive uncles and aunts finally found out that Yu Wentao was willing to marry Geng's father, who was more than ten years older than her, because her family was poor.

Several neighbors who were buying popsicles knew about this and said, "It's not easy for you either."

One of the neighbors suddenly remembered that the car was bought by her and the Zhang family together: "Should we give half of the money from the sale to Xiao Ming?" Before Ye Fan could say anything, he said, "You can share the money you make with Xiao Ming."

When Ye Fan heard that something was going on, he gave him an ice cream.

The other party was embarrassed, waved his hand and took a step back: "Xiao Ming is a good person, he is a grade younger than me, we often go to school together. His brother is not as good, I heard that his girlfriend not only wants three turns and one ring, but also a gold ring. You are kind-hearted and don't mind splitting it with Xiao Ming, but no matter how much you give him, it will be wasted by Zhang Xiaojun."

Several neighbors often run into Grandpa Zhang and Aunt Zhang. Ye Fan didn't want to follow his words and scold Zhang Xiaojun, fearing that they would let the cat out of the bag and make the Zhangs angry: "But Xiaoming thinks he is the big brother--" Suddenly he had an idea, "I have a way. But please tell me, are you and Zhang Xiaojun in the same unit?"

“Not in the same workshop.”

Ye Fan asked again: "Is Zhang Xiaojun particularly concerned about his reputation?"

Several neighbors nodded in unison.

Ye Fan: "Everyone actually sympathizes with Zhang Xiaoming?"

Several people sighed: "What's the use of sympathy? It's not like we haven't told Zhang Xiaoming that he has a stupid head and there's no hope for him."

"Yes." Ye Fan whispered, "Will you come out at noon?"

Several people shook their heads: "It's too hot, we don't want to come out."

Ye Fan: "I will ask Zhang Xiaoming to sell popsicles at the gate of your factory tomorrow at noon. Go over after lunch and take a look. If Xiaoming arrives, please notify the people in the factory to buy popsicles and say that he is Zhang Xiaojun's brother."

Several people thought that Zhang Xiaojun would be furious. Thinking of this, several people vaguely understood what Ye Fan was going to do, but they felt it was useless.
The next morning, before Ye Fan set out, Zhang Xiaoming said he would wait for Ye Fan to bring back popsicles and then sell them. In the afternoon, Ye Fan would go to the streets. Ye Fan gave him an idea: sell them at the factory gate at 11:30, without shouting or walking around.

Zhang Xiaoming felt embarrassed when he heard that it was his father's company. Ye Fan said, "It's not shameful to make money in an honest way." Even college students don't feel ashamed, so what's the big deal about Zhang Xiaoming? Thinking of this, Zhang Xiaoming went.

Hundreds of workers bought half a box of popsicles from Zhang Xiaoming. Zhang Xiaoming was very happy, with a smile on his face. Zhang Xiaojun angrily went over and asked, "Who told you to sell here?"

Zhang Xiaoming's smile froze. He was honest and not as smart as Zhang Xiaojun, so he didn't react for a while. But when Zhang Xiaojun saw that he didn't say anything, he got angrier and kicked the car.

Zhang Xiaoming cherishes this car very much, and he pushed his brother away angrily: "This car is not ours!"

Zhang Xiaojun calmed down immediately - he couldn't afford to offend Geng Zhiye, "Don't sell popsicles here anymore. You have no shame, but I still have some!"

Zhang Xiaoming's face turned pale. Several neighbors who had hidden in secret places thought that this time the incident had become a big deal. When they came over and saw that Zhang Xiaoming was about to cry, they wanted to say that Xiaojun didn't mean it. Suddenly, he remembered what Ye Fan said yesterday and immediately said, "Xiaojun, what are you doing? Who are you embarrassing if you don't steal or rob?"

Another echoed: "If it weren't for you working so hard, how could he have the money to buy a gold ring for his girlfriend? How ignorant!"

Zhang Xiaoming didn't have time to cry: "Gold ring?"

Several people really didn't know that he didn't know. Seeing this, they looked at each other and one of them asked tentatively: "You don't know? Xiaojun said he had money to buy a gold ring. Almost everyone in his workshop knew it. It's not like we don't know what your family situation is. It's your money that you earned."

The honest man's face turned red with anger.

Several people thought that he finally had a temper like a human being.

Zhang Xiaoming's schoolmate took the opportunity to say, "I'm not saying anything bad about you, Xiaojun. Your younger sister doesn't have a boyfriend. Your older sister's in-laws have been dragging their feet and won't marry you because of your family's situation. Your younger brother will go to high school next year. He'll have to spend money everywhere, so how can he afford a gold ring? And you, you're the same age as me. My oldest is about to go to high school. When are you going to get married?"

For the first time, Zhang Xiaoming felt that his brother was ignorant and not as sensible as the neighbors. "Did he want to buy it or did his girlfriend want to buy it?"

Zhang Xiaoming's schoolmate was immediately furious and said angrily: "You are still trying to make up for your brother! If he didn't brag, who would know how much money you make?"

Another neighbor said, "Don't always think that your brother is being led astray by the girl. If you want to find a partner, will you marry him even if he wants a three-turn ring and a gold ring?"

Zhang Xiaoming, a schoolmate, thought that he might marry her because of his stubborn character: "Even if you marry her, will you be willing to spend your brother's money? You can't even ask your brother to pay for it when you go to pick up junk!"

Zhang Xiaoming nodded: "Xiaojun is still young——"

"A 27-year-old kid?" The schoolmate wanted to curse, but couldn't do it in front of him, so he could only roll his eyes to express his dissatisfaction, "How old is Geng Dabao? Last year, it was so cold, and he dared to write Spring Festival couplets in the park. His kid is the general's grandson, how can he not feel ashamed?"

Zhang Xiaoming thought about how Dabao had sold a box of popsicles at the Children's Palace yesterday. There must be classmates at the Children's Palace who were learning talents with Dabao. "Xiaojun has changed."

The alumnus said, "You spoiled him!" Not wanting to waste time, he grabbed one in each hand and went back to the workshop to rest.

Zhang Xiaoming stood outside the factory gate in silence for a long time. When the sun turned and shone on him, he couldn't stand the heat anymore and realized he should drive back.

Seeing that his expression was not right, Ye Fan pretended not to notice, took the car and drove towards the Children's Palace while shouting. When he got there, Ye Fan saw that his son was smiling, so he asked, "Is business good?"

"My mother didn't come at noon, so everyone had nothing to spend so they came to me to buy popsicles. I thought they would be sold out by 4pm."

Ye Fan: "Then mom is gone?"

Dabao waved his hand: "Drive carefully."

Ye Fan was speechless and didn't know who his mother was.

Then Ye Fan moved towards her mother's house little by little. When she saw Jing Jing at the intersection, she called out, "Jing Jing, come here."

The little girl didn't know shame, she was just happy to see her aunt, because this aunt liked to buy her delicious food. Ye Fan gave her a milky ice cream, "Ask grandma to have a bite." She nodded obediently, and then ran towards her grandma happily.

Chen Xiaohui came over and asked, "How many days have you been selling it?"

Ye Fan: "Before, two boxes a day, today six boxes a day, maybe seven boxes a day."

"How much does it cost per day?"

Ye Fan stretched out his finger and said, "This is the net profit for one box."

Popsicles are cheap and easy to sell, and a box of them can't sell for 40 yuan. Chen Xiaohui guessed: "Four yuan? Not much."

Ye Fan was speechless. One day was equivalent to a month's work. She was really greedy and conceited. "I haven't graduated yet. Isn't it enough for my family to spend a year if I earn two months' worth?"

Chen Xiaohui forgot that she could sell it for a whole summer vacation: "You said before--"

"Take care of things in Shencheng before you talk to me about this." Seeing the neighbor lady coming over, Ye Fan told Chen Xiaohui to go away and not to delay her business.

The neighbor lady was amused by Ye Fan's disgusted look, "What did Xiaohui say?"

Chen Xiaohui didn't dare to mention the Chen family. "I asked her to help me make money, but she didn't want to. She thought I was not good at talking."

The neighbor lady thought to herself, you are not as sweet as Fanfan, "Help your mother take care of Liangliang. Fanfan, get me one like the one Liangliang has. It smells nice."

Ye Fan handed her one and said, "I saw that they made it with milk, so you can eat it without worry."

The aunt only came to buy food because she saw that she dared to give it to Liangliang.

Ye Fan gave Chen Xiaohui a three-cent popsicle. Chen Xiaohui couldn't believe it: "You are so generous!"

"It's good to have something to eat." Ye Fan waved his hand, "Go take care of Liangliang."

Chen Xiaohui was speechless. She went to Tao Chunlan and complained: "She was reluctant to give me a nickel."

Tao Chunlan: "Then why don't you switch with Liangliang?"

Chen Xiaohui was too embarrassed to admit it, so she just shut up.

Ye Fan stayed at the intersection for a while and said to her mother, "I'll go look somewhere else."

"If you're tired, take a break for two days." Tao Chunlan said.

Ye Fan: "It was Zhang Xiaoming at noon, and I just took over this car."

Tao Chunlan felt relieved, and waited until Ye Fan walked away before saying, "It's good to be in partnership with someone."

A neighbor sitting next to Tao Chunlan said, "It's not hard, just treat it as having fun."

When Chen Xiaohui thought about how easy it was to make money, she couldn't help but pray. Come on, Chen Kuanren will make trouble. Then she will call the police and send him to jail. Then she will have peace from now on.

By the way, because she sold one and a half extra boxes at noon, the six boxes of popsicles that Ye Fan brought in the morning were not enough, so she went to the popsicle factory to get two more boxes, one to put in the park and one to sell on the streets.

At 6:30, several groups of people arrived home, and Ye Fan realized that Yu Hongwei and his brothers also sold eight boxes. Because when Ye Fan asked Zhang Xiaoming to go to the factory gate, Yu Hongwei heard it, and the young man was not afraid of trouble and ran to the gates of other factories. He sold two and a half boxes of the four boxes at the gates of two factories, and sold one and a half boxes at the gate of another Children's Palace. Not long after Ye Fan left the popsicle factory, he went to the popsicle factory to get two boxes.

After selling for ten days, the weather was so hot and humid that both adults and children could not stand it. It rained heavily in the middle of the night and it was drizzling the next morning so we couldn't go out and had a good rest.

Zhang Xiaoming hadn't paid the money home during this period, saying that Ye Fan hadn't settled the accounts yet. In fact, they had divided the money, and the money was kept at Ye Fan's house.

After breakfast, Zhang Xiaoming went to Ye's house and put his share of the money in his pocket, then went to his parents' room to complain.

Zhang Xiaoming first said that he went to sell popsicles in front of his father's workplace a few days ago, but his car was kicked by Xiaojun. He didn't go the next day, and several neighbors asked why he didn't go. When he went again, everyone was happy, except Xiaojun.

Aunt Zhang said that he was still young and didn't understand anything.

Zhang Xiaoming was too embarrassed to bring up Dabao for comparison, so he said that Zhang Xiaojun wanted to buy a gold ring for his girlfriend, and then asked his father what he thought about it.

Zhang Xiaoming has ignored Zhang Xiaojun in recent days. Uncle Zhang noticed it and was about to ask what happened, but he didn't expect there was more than one thing.

Uncle Zhang is an old-fashioned person. He believes that the second son should not marry before the eldest son. The eldest son should be relied on for support in old age, and the house and property should be left to the eldest son. If the second son and the youngest son get married, he will not owe the children anything.

But the actual situation in the Zhang family is the opposite. The second son is always ahead of the eldest son in everything, which causes Uncle Zhang to always feel sorry for his son.

The second son has a stable job, while the eldest son works from dawn to dusk. Uncle Zhang can no longer stand this contrast.

Uncle Zhang said, "Whatever you earn after you make money from the car is yours. Dajun pays 15 yuan to his family every month, and you do the same."

Zhang Xiaoming said subconsciously: "I earn a lot——"

"Your money is for you to marry a wife." Zhang Xiaoming is half a head shorter than his brother and has to live in a house without any sunlight. It would cost a lot of money to marry a decent wife under such conditions. "I don't know how long I can work, so save more money for raising children."

Aunt Zhang wanted to say that Xiaojun’s salary was low and Xiao Ming only earned a few dozen yuan a day. But when she heard that “I don’t know how many days he can work,” she felt embarrassed to ask her son to pay more.

Zhang Xiaoming didn't think his mother was partial before, but when he saw that his mother had objections to his father's decision, he felt very uncomfortable. He didn't understand why his mother always favored the second child when he was obviously very filial.

Today was not the weekend, and besides Zhang Xiaoming and his parents, there was only Zhang Xiaoming left in the Zhang family. When the younger brother saw his elder brother going to his parents' room with a bulging pocket, he moved to the door and peeked at the main room. He saw that his elder brother had emptied his pockets by paying his parents, and he was as angry as Zhang Xiaoming's schoolmate.

Little brother Zhang leaned against the door frame with his arms folded across his chest as he watched his elder brother come out dejectedly. He couldn't help but call him "idiot" in his heart.

"Where are you going, big brother?" asked Zhang Xiaodi, "The room is here."

The Zhang family's house is as long as Ye Fan's. Because the main house is only two rooms wide and the yard is narrow, it is impossible to build side rooms on the east and west sides. So they built a row of four rooms on the east side, one for the kitchen, one for the younger brother, one for the two younger sisters, and one as Zhang Xiaojun's new house.

After Zhang Xiaoming gets married, he will live in the room facing north on the east side of the main gate.

The capital is dry and the room doesn't see sunlight all year round, so no one lives there for the time being. Brother Zhang now shares the same room with his younger brother.

Zhang Xiaodi said that he could move to that dark room.

But he is the smartest one in the Zhang family and has the potential to be admitted to university. Not to mention that his parents are reluctant to let him go, Zhang Xiaoming is also afraid that his younger brother will not be able to get into university due to housing problems.

Zhang Xiaoming stopped when he heard it, and when he realized he had passed by, he walked towards his younger brother.

In the room, Zhang Xiaoming was lying on the bed. Zhang Xiaodi rolled his eyes and went to Ye Fan's house to find Ye Fan and ask her how much his brother made a month.

Ye Fan was very surprised: "Did Uncle Zhang ask you to ask?"

"My father knows it very well. I want to know it myself."

Ye Fan: "Tell me what you want to do first."

"You tell me how much money you make, then I'll know what I can do."

Ye Fan: "If nothing goes wrong, I can earn back the money I spent on the car by August 15th."

Even though Zhang was mentally prepared, he couldn't help but gasp, "This, this - so many?" No wonder his second brother has been feeling rootless lately and wants to float up to the sky.

Ye Fan: "No matter how much it is, it is your brother's hard-earned money."

"I know." Little brother Zhang opened his mouth to say something, but felt that there was no need to bother others with his own troubles: "Thank you, Sister Ye. Don't tell my brother that I know." After saying that, he left.

When Zhang Xiaodi arrived, Geng Zhiqin and several nephews and nieces were reading in Dabao's room. Only Ye Fan and Yu Wentao were in the main room. Yu Wentao was making flowered shoes for Erbao while Ye Fan was reading and taking notes. So Yu Wentao heard everything clearly: "The second child hasn't thought about it yet, but he has thought about it first?"

Ye Fan stopped writing: "It's useless for him to worry about one student."

"As the old saying goes, the eldest son is stupid, the second son is cunning, and the third son is addicted to eating, drinking, whoring and gambling. I think this is the case with the Zhang family." Yu Wentao said.

Ye Fan laughed: "Just because the first two are accurate, you can't be sure that the third one will be no easier. You can think of the good side, like you can't stand the second one being the boss."

Yu Wentao: "The second child didn't just do this today. The youngest child would have been making trouble a long time ago."

Ye Fan: "The Zhang family had no other way out before, why did the youngest brother make a fuss? Forcing his father to sell blood? Besides, at that time, the second brother's salary was still needed to subsidize the family. The youngest brother didn't have the confidence to go to school with his second brother's money. Now the eldest brother's busy month is enough for the whole family to support for a year, so the youngest brother dares to make trouble."

Neither the mother-in-law nor the daughter-in-law had expected it to happen so quickly. The next day after the weather cleared up, the road surface was dried by the scorching sun, and they could go to the countryside to transport goods. It happened to be the weekend, and Zhang Xiaojun was at home, so a fight broke out in the Zhang family.

How it happened no one knows.

Ye Fan looked at his watch and it was almost nine o'clock. He thought that Zhang Xiaoming should be back after selling the agricultural and sideline products, so he picked up the oil barrel and prepared to refuel the car. As soon as he went out, he saw the neighbor from the east running towards Zhang's house.

Neighbors in the city loved to visit each other in this era, but Ye Fan didn't take it seriously. The oil drum was put down against the wall, and Ye Fan heard a voice, "I'll kill you!"

(End of this chapter)