Mixed in 1980

Chapter 42 Telegram from Hong Kong

Li Xiuzhen looked at her daughter with a complicated expression and sighed secretly, not knowing whether to say that her daughter had found a treasure or how could she have found such a partner.

"Mom, what's the matter? Are you dissatisfied with Chen Fan?" Xu Jinqiu felt a little uneasy. The look in her mother's eyes looked quite strange.

"No, it's just that this young man is too mature. I don't know if this is a good thing."

"Do you have any misunderstanding about maturity? Chen Fan is a very noisy person. He is often unpredictable and always stirs up some weird things."

Recalling every little detail from the time she met Chen Fan to the time they fell in love, Xu Jinqiu couldn't help but smile. This guy is not the steady type, he always makes a fuss about everything.

"So, you are still young."

Li Xiuzhen rolled her eyes at her daughter and pulled her to sit down. "Whether a man is mature or not is not determined by whether he makes a fuss or not, but by how he handles things when they happen to him."

"Look at Chen Fan. Whether he's pursuing you, forcing the farm machinery factory to apologize, or coming to deal with his father-in-law and mother-in-law today, he always does things in a planned way."

"Being able to get things done is the sign of a man's maturity. Even though he is only eighteen years old, this is too precocious."

Hearing this, Xu Jinqiu thought about it carefully and realized that it was indeed like this.

Chen Fan has many ways of doing things, but he always gets things done. The only difference is that he is not serious, which makes it difficult for people to associate him with maturity.

“Is maturity bad?”

"Maturity is good, but girl, you are still young. If you are not careful, you may be led by Chen Fan in the future, and you may not be satisfied."

These are exactly what Li Xiuzhen is worried about.

But my daughter is still young and can be trained. I have to learn the skills of "training my husband" first. Good men are all taught by women.

Xu Changqing was also very lively back then, but he was trained by me.

Li Xiuzhen did not waste any time and took her daughter to teach her how to control her husband. Zeng's mother and Zhao's mother supplemented her knowledge and called Zeng Ali and Zhao Yuanyuan to come and study together.

"I can't afford to get involved!"

After listening to a few words, Xu Changqing silently prayed for his future son-in-law, then picked up his fishing gear, tied it to the back seat of his bicycle, and couldn't wait to experience the new fishing gear.

Zeng Hongwen and Zhao Dali said they didn't want to go, but they couldn't resist their curiosity and followed them pushing their bicycles. They didn't bring any fishing gear with them, so they just planned to use it.

When Chen Fan woke up, it was already four o'clock in the afternoon.

After drinking the hot porridge brought by his wife, Chen Fan said goodbye. This place was not far from home and it would only take him about ten minutes to walk back.

"Brother Bingzi, I'm busy."

When he reached the entrance of the alley, Chen Fan stopped and looked around for a while. Li Hongbing's pickle stall was doing pretty good business, and those who came to buy were all neighbors.

What’s interesting is that Li Hongbing does not provide bottles or jars. Those who come to buy pickles all bring their own bowls, buy them, and leave with the bowls.

"What are you busy with? I have nothing to do all day. I am only busy for a while before dinner."

After preparing the pickles for the customer, Li Hongbing handed over a cigarette and said, "The sales here have probably reached their limit. We only sell one jar a day, which is about right. I'm thinking of asking your sister-in-law to set up a stall in the alley next door."

There are eight alleys on each side of Nanluoguxiang, like a centipede with sixteen legs.

Li Hongbing's stall is located at the entrance of the alley, covering only two or three alleys around it, as well as two or three alleys opposite.

"It can be moved over, but has my sister-in-law adapted to life here?"

Wang Chunyu is indeed virtuous. Not long after getting married, she has already managed the household in perfect order. Those shrewd aunties in the yard cannot say a bad word about her.

There were many people who said sourly that Li Hongbing, this old bachelor, was really lucky as he was able to marry a young, beautiful and virtuous woman in his thirties.

Some young men in the yard have started to think about going to the countryside to find a beautiful wife.
Those who have such ideas are basically suppressed by their families. Rural wives who move to the city cannot transfer their household registration, so there is no ration and they can only buy "negotiated grain" at a high price.

"I'm getting used to it. He's been working with me at the stall these past two days. He just went back to cook. I'm thinking that after a few more days of practice, I'll be able to work alone."

While no one was around, Li Hongbing lit a cigarette.

Jingle Bell……

A 28-ton truck with a postal mark stopped. On the back seat hung two army green canvas bags with five red characters "Serve the People" embroidered on them.

"Li Quaner, do you want to buy some pickles?" Li Quan, who lived in the same courtyard as them, lived in the front yard and was a postman at the post office.

"I only eat Liubiju's pickles, they are the authentic ones."

As soon as Li Quan opened his mouth, Li Hongbing's face turned black. He was cursing at me. Why are the pickles in my house not authentic?

"I'm looking for Xiaofan."

Ignoring Li Hongbing's dark face, Li Quan quickly put the bicycle on the ground and took out a stack of envelopes from his canvas bag: "Xiao Fan, these are all yours. I don't have to send them to your home again."

"Thank you, Brother Quan!"

Chen Fan took the envelopes and roughly counted them. There were more than a dozen of them. This made him very curious. Who would write a letter to him?
The only people who knew the address here were a few good educated youth and forestry workers.

I looked at the addresses on the envelopes and found that they were all from different places. The suffix of each address was very interesting, either from newspapers or magazines.

Chen Fan remembered what Wang Wei had said before, that after the two editorials were published, many colleagues were asking for his information and would probably ask him to write articles.

These letters are probably commissioned articles.

"Don't be polite, we live in the same yard."

Li Quan smiled, turned around and was about to leave, but suddenly stopped and took out another letter from his canvas bag: "Master Baner, I almost forgot about your telegram."

He threw the letter on the stall, got on his bike, and rode away in a flash.

"Bah, you are just a piece of junk, you are just a postman, if you don't know me, you would think you are the director of the post office."

Li Hongbing frowned and spat.

"Brother Bingzi, don't be angry. He is just like that. Before I wrote novels, he didn't have a good face when he met me. He is used to flattering the powerful and looking down on the weak." Chen Fan sneered.

There are many people who flatter the weak and step down on the strong in the slum, but Li Quan is really a weird one. He flatters the weak and steps down on the strong openly, which is really offending people to death.

Such people are destined not to go far.

However, in the current social system, Li Quan does have the capital to show off. Postmen are all regular employees with high salaries and good benefits, and they have a golden rice bowl.

If you are a postman in a remote area, you are also responsible for reading and writing letters. You have a very high social status and you will be warmly welcomed wherever you go.

"I just can't stand him being like that."

Li Hongbing had a gloomy face and started to criticize Banerye and the pickles as soon as he opened his mouth. If they were not from the same courtyard, he would have wanted to beat the person up.

"It's not worth getting angry with this kind of person. Let's just read the telegram first."

"This is weird. Who would send me a telegram?" Li Hongbing picked up the envelope curiously.

If he hadn't just gotten married, he would be a lonely man without any relatives, and the only friends he knew outside were those who rode tricycles.

"Brother Bingzi, could it be your family?"

Chen Fan suddenly remembered that it was around this time in his previous life that Li Hongbing’s family came back and took him to Hong Kong not long after.

"No way? There has been no news for more than ten years."

Li Hongbing's hand suddenly trembled. He took a deep breath, slowly tore a hole in the paper, took out the telegram inside and started reading.

In an instant, my eyes turned red!

After reading a few more lines, tears began to stream down her face. Then she squatted on the ground, holding her head and crying like a child.

After a while, Li Hongbing stood up and wiped his tears vigorously: "Xiao Fan, help me watch the stall, I will go back and talk to your sister-in-law."

"Go quickly!"

Watching Li Hongbing running back home, Chen Fan raised the corner of his mouth slightly. The opportunity had finally come.

Zhang Jianjun, you have no hope in this life!
PS: Thanks to "李嫑近近啊" for the reward! Thanks to all the friends for your votes and support, the new book list of the category has moved up a lot, thank you!

(End of this chapter)