Year 1983: I was a carpenter in Northeast China

When Zhao Fengying and Xu Juan saw the two people who had come yesterday, their expressions turned somewhat unpleasant.

Only Song Guomei, unaware of the situation, craned her neck to look outside curiously.

After Xu Bei put down the stove hook and whispered a few words to his mother, the three men opened the shop door and came in.

Because it was very cold outside, it also brought a chill and fresh air.

"Xiao Xu, you're here too, that's great. It saves me the trouble of going out to talk to you separately."

Sister Qian, who was walking at the front, knew Xu Bei from the same workplace, but they weren't familiar with each other.

Furthermore, he had heard that Zhang Tiecheng, the workshop's junior supervisor, had recently argued with him and refused to come to work.

Although Xu Bei understood that they had to obey their superiors' orders in this job, he couldn't cooperate and spoke up decisively.

"There's nothing to talk about. I already said yesterday that I support their divorce, and my mother's mind is made up. Instead of wasting this time, you should try to find someone else to mediate."

Sister Qian had already heard in detail from her colleagues at the union about Xu Bei and the others' opinions, so she wasn't surprised at all.

She earnestly advised, "You rascal, is divorce a good thing? As the saying goes, it's better to tear down ten temples than to break up one marriage. It takes a hundred years to share a boat ride and a thousand years to share a pillow."

Besides, you children are all grown up now, you have to make do for the sake of the kids.

Your sister is married, but you're not. Your younger sister is still in high school. Oh, is this girl your girlfriend? Her parents know about the divorce…”

Xu Bei was utterly speechless.

I never expected that Sister Qian from this unit would be such a matchmaker.

"What nonsense are you talking about? This is my buddy's sister!"

Song Guomei only knew that Xu Bei's parents were getting a divorce.

However, they were unaware that the matter had escalated to the point where even people from their workplace had come to mediate, so they watched from the sidelines with some surprise.

As it turned out, the other person's casual pointing gesture said exactly what she wanted to hear.

While feeling overjoyed, her face instantly turned red, and she subconsciously reached out to cover her face.

After Zhao Fengying and Xu Juan realized what was happening, they both said in unison, "..."

"Yes, you've got it wrong, this isn't my son's girlfriend!"

"My brother doesn't have a girlfriend yet!"

This caused a funny situation, and Sister Qian was quite embarrassed. "I'm so sorry, look at me..."

She suddenly remembered something. "That's not right! Xiao Li, didn't you tell me when you got back to work yesterday that Xu Bei and his mother were saying they knew how good that other person was, and that his mother believed the divorce wouldn't affect them?"

Xiao Li and Lao Zhang exchanged bewildered glances. "Yes, that's exactly what they said. We're sure we didn't mishear." "Doesn't that mean he has a girlfriend? And who exactly is that 'so-and-so'?"

Song Guomei's face instantly turned from red to white, and she stared straight at Xu Bei and Zhao Fengying.

Xu Bei sighed in exasperation, realizing that one misunderstanding after another had arisen.

However, his feelings for Zhou Qingwan and his desire to pursue her can only be known among his family members for the time being. He certainly cannot let others know, lest it cause trouble for the young girl and damage her reputation.

"Who exactly is he? What's it to you? Don't you know what you're doing here?"

Faced with Xu Bei's somewhat aggressive questioning, the three of them were speechless for a moment.

Old Zhang coughed and said, "It's really alright. Sorry, we've gone off-topic. Let's continue mediating the divorce."

Xiao Li chimed in, trying to smooth things over, "Yeah, it was just a quick chatter, don't take it to heart. We've been here for a while now and haven't even had a seat yet."

Zhao Fengying didn't give them a chance to sit down. "I said yesterday, there's nothing to mediate. You've come for nothing. My shop is very busy with people coming and going. You'd better leave quickly, or you'll delay your business!"

Feeling utterly humiliated, Ms. Qian said angrily, "We were just trying to mediate with good intentions, and you still have this attitude? Don't regret it if you really get divorced! After all, Old Xu is a worker..."

Before Zhao Fengying could react, Xu Bei interrupted her coldly and rudely, "Don't worry, my mom will be overjoyed to get divorced and will never regret it!"

"you!"

Although Sister Qian was furious, she also witnessed Xu Bei's sharp eyes and quick wit, and knew that she wouldn't get anything good if she stayed any longer, so she had no choice but to leave with her people.

As for what the three of them said or complained about after they left, Xu Bei didn't care. He only cared about his family.

At least on the surface, Zhao Fengying and Xu Juan continued to chat with Song Guomei, seemingly unaffected.

Song Guomei sat for a while longer before getting up to say goodbye and leave.

No sooner had she left than Xu Li and Zhu Wenliang finally returned.

Judging from their joyful expressions and Xu Li's cautious way of walking, the answer is obvious.

Xu Bei also pretended to have just confirmed his sister's pregnancy and congratulated the two of them along with his mother and the others.

Unlike the constant laughter and chatter inside the store, Song Guomei quietly wiped away her tears as she left.

Although she knew before that Xu Bei didn't like her, she always held onto the illusion that as long as she persisted, she would get a good result.

After all, his brother has such a good relationship with Xu Bei, so he has more opportunities because of his proximity to him.

However, what just happened completely shattered her heart.

After much thought, Song Guomei's suspicions all pointed to one person.

Because in such a short period of time, the most likely woman to appear around Xu Bei was Zhou Qingwan, who was both prettier and taller than him.

The jade pendant left to Zhou Qingwan by her mother was found by Xu Bei's mother in the staff bathhouse, which also fits the situation that Xu Bei's family members knew about it.

Song Guomei forcefully wiped away her tears, turned around, and headed towards where Zhou Qingwan was currently living.

Zhou Qingwan, who was completely unaware of this, was examining skeins of newly bought yarn with Liang Huihui.

"Wanwan, how long will it take you to knit me a shawl just like the one in this book?"

"It should only take a few days."

"Thank you for your hard work, Wanwan. I knew you loved me the most."

"It's not hard work, sis. Knitting this is much simpler and saves more time than knitting a sweater."

"Really? Then I should be able to make this fluffy ball too. If we work together, it'll be faster."

As the two sisters were studying acupuncture techniques with their heads close together, Song Guomei came to their house.

Zhou Qingwan immediately put down what she was holding and went out of the house to greet him.

"Xiaomei, come inside quickly."

Song Guomei forced a smile, "Okay, Xiao Wan. Who's home at your house?"

"It's me and my sister." Zhou Qingwan could tell something was wrong from the other person's exposed eyes and nose, and quickly asked with concern, "What's wrong? You look like you've been crying..."

Song Guomei sniffed. "Don't even mention it. I came from Xiao Bei's shop, and he... he has someone he likes!"