Five years of marriage, always separated [1970s]

Yu Wentao dodged subconsciously.

Ye Fan stared at her helplessly with his hands on his hips. What on earth was she trying to do?
Yu Wentao didn't think about doing anything.

Yu Wentao kept her distance from her eldest brother Geng Zhiye. In her eyes, her second brother was dull and incompetent. His family lived with her and Geng's father. Yu Wentao believed that she could rely on the second brother to support her in her old age, so she took care of the second brother's children as her own grandchildren.

Geng Zhiye had a promising future, and married the capable Ye Fan, which greatly satisfied Yu Wentao's vanity. Ye Fan took her daughter Geng Zhiqin under his watch and protected her, and Yu Wentao treated Geng Zhiye and Ye Fan with more sincerity.

Because she loves everyone in the house, Yu Wentao likes Dabao and Erbao.

Dabao and Erbao have not made any trouble in Geng's family these days. Yu Wentao has boasted to the neighbors more than once that her grandchildren are the most sensible and well-behaved. The neighbors praised her for being so lucky and said that with Ye Fan as her sister-in-law, no matter who Geng Zhiqin marries in the future, her in-laws will not dare to bully her. Yu Wentao likes Dabao and Erbao more and more.

Yu Wentao really wanted to take Erbao back to stay overnight. Seeing that Ye Fan misunderstood her, she couldn't help but cry out for injustice. But the anger in Ye Fan's eyes was almost solidified. Yu Wentao didn't dare to challenge her bottom line. After a moment of hesitation, she handed Erbao over and turned to Tao Chunlan awkwardly: "Well, Sister Tao, you are busy. It's getting late. I should go back."

The first time Tao Chunlan saw Ye Fan dislike Yu Wentao was on the day Dabao was born. Geng's father was in poor health, so Tao Chunlan didn't dare to disturb him. She called Yu Wentao's workplace and asked her to go home after get off work to tell her in-laws that Ye Fan was about to give birth.

Yu Wentao asked for leave from work, went home to tell her husband, and went to the supply and marketing cooperative to find Geng Zhiqin. The mother and daughter rode their bikes to the hospital. When they saw Tao Chunlan, they asked if she had given birth. They were as anxious as ants on a hot pot, circling the door of the delivery room. Geng Zhiqin almost hit the pregnant woman, and Yu Wentao bumped into the doctor, who yelled angrily: "Whose family member is this?"

Ye Fan came out and told her to go home first. Yu Wentao finally realized that she needed to eat after giving birth. It might be too late to cook at home, so she went home to get her lunch box, went to the state-owned restaurant to get a bowl of chicken soup, and bought fish and noodles.

Ye Fan asked for leave from work only when the due date came. Maybe because she moved around a lot, her birth went very smoothly and she suffered almost nothing. Otherwise, Ye Fan would not have dared to have a second child.

When Tao Chunlan saw that Yu Wentao also bought her share, she thought this relative was not bad.

That year, Geng Zhiqin had just turned sixteen, and Ye Fan sent her to the supply and marketing cooperative. The salary was the same as that of a temporary worker, but the benefits were the same as those of a regular employee. She often took home leftover vegetables or cakes that were broken by naughty children. Yu Wentao did not allow her to take advantage of the public - if she ate in an ugly way, people would look down on her. Geng Zhiqin said that everyone had it. Every evening, there was a special sale, and many people went to buy it. If it was not sold out by the end of the shift, the employees would be asked to share it equally.

Ye Fan had everything she needed and she lived with her mother. Yu Wentao didn't know how to thank her, so she fed Ye Fan soup and noodles.

Yu Wentao was not good at serving people like this. She had only taken care of the child for a few days. Geng Zhiqin was taken care of by her grandmother before she was five years old. After she was five years old, she lived with her eldest sister-in-law. After she was ten years old, she lived with her second sister-in-law. But Yu Wentao thought it was not difficult to serve people. Ye Fan drank half of the first mouthful of chicken soup, and the other half flowed down the corner of her mouth onto her clothes. Yu Wentao hurriedly took a handkerchief to help her wipe it, but in her haste, she accidentally spilled the noodles. The nurse didn't see it and stepped on it and almost slipped.

If Ye Fan didn't know that she had no bad intentions, he would have slapped her in the face. Geng Zhiqin was almost crying. For the sake of his sister-in-law, Ye Fan only complained a few words. Tao Chunlan felt that Ye Fan's tone was like scolding a child, so she told him not to say that in the future. Even if Yu Wentao was not her mother-in-law, she was still an elder who was more than 20 years older than her.

Seeing Yu Wentao looking so pitiful, Tao Chunlan sighed slightly and glared at her daughter: "Fanfan, your mother-in-law just can't bear to part with Erbao, why are you so fierce?!"

Erbao couldn't help but grab his mother's clothes. Yu Wentao was distressed when she saw this: "Mother-in-law, keep your voice down. You're scaring our Erbao."

Tao Chunlan felt dizzy before her eyes. She shouldn't have said that.

Ye Fan wanted to laugh: "Erbao, come down and play with your brother. I'll take grandma home."

Yu Wentao shook her head: "No, I can see it."

"I'll take you back!" Ye Fan said again.

Yu Wentao didn't dare to argue with her and muttered softly: "What's the point of sending someone a few miles away? Dabao and Erbao are not here, why go back so early?" She walked out while talking, without any intention of waiting for Ye Fan.

Ye Fan quickly put her daughter on the ground and said, "Mom, check on Dabao and Erbao." She went into the house, found a flashlight, and asked Geng Zhiye to push the stroller.

Tao Chunlan held a child in each hand and said, "Xiaohui, don't take it to heart. She just forgot what she said. It's not worth it for you to get mad at her."

"No." Chen Xiaohui smiled indifferently, and her eyes couldn't help but follow Yu Wentao.

Chen Xiaohui had never met Yu Wentao in her previous life, but she had heard of her name. She was hot-tempered and picky, and a fussy person. It is said that when Geng Zhiye was in his early twenties, she began to look for a wife for him, but she couldn't find a satisfactory one after searching half of the capital. When Geng Zhiqin was in his teens, she was anxious to marry him off, and she searched half of the capital and found an educated youth. The educated youth was also from the capital, good-looking and good-tempered, and was one of the first batch of college students after the resumption of the college entrance examination.

Unfortunately, less than three months after marrying Geng Zhiqin, the educated youth's wife and children in the countryside came to visit. Geng Zhiqin was pregnant at the time, and Yu Wentao forced her to abort the child despite her daughter's objection. Chen Xiaohui didn't know whether the operation failed or Geng Zhiqin didn't take good care of herself after the miscarriage, but she knew that she couldn't have another child. The last time Chen Xiaohui heard from her was that she was married to a widower with children.

It is unclear why, but on the day of Geng Zhiqin's wedding, Yu Wentao had a fight with the man's mother.

If this matter had not become known to everyone, it would not have reached Chen Xiaohui's ears.

Chen Xiaohui thought that maybe they had the same name. Otherwise, there was no explanation - how could someone who had the guts to search the capital, force his daughter to have an abortion, and fight with his in-laws dare not speak out.

Ye Fan is a powerful daughter-in-law. Although Yu Wentao is a stepmother, she was married to Geng family in a formal way, and Ye Fan is a proper mother-in-law.

"Xiaohui, what are you looking at?" Tao Chunlan asked.

Dabao asked curiously, "Auntie, do you want to see my grandma?"

Chen Xiaohui shook her head subconsciously: "No, I just didn't expect Ye Fan's mother-in-law, I can't say it."

Tao Chunlan: "He is ignorant and a chatterbox. If you ask me how bad he is, I have never done anything bad."

Chen Xiaohui thought to herself that it’s not time yet, you will know when the time comes, it’s a life.

"Ye Fan will come back for dinner, right?" Tao Chunlan: "He will be back soon."

It was already dark when Ye Fan caught up with her mother-in-law. Ye Fan shone the flashlight forward, and Yu Wentao saw that it was just as bright as when she came, and her heart was also brightened, and she instantly forgot that Ye Fan had just yelled at her in front of Chen Xiaohui. She slowed down, and when Geng Zhiye came to her side, she turned her head and said, "I don't like that Chen Xiaohui."

Ye Fan was speechless: "Who told you to like it?"

"She is now considered your sister, so you must keep in touch in the future."

Ye Fan: "Just ride your bike well."

"I'm familiar with this road. I can get home with my eyes closed." Yu Wentao looked ahead and saw that there was no one going the other way. She turned around and spoke to Ye Fan, "But——"

Ye Fan interrupted: "How many times have I been to your sister's house?"

Yu Wentao wanted to ask why, "Oh, I see, you mean just treat her as your cousin. When she gets married, if Tao Chunlan sends me an invitation, I will go. If she doesn't, I will pretend I didn't know."

Geng Zhiye: "Didn't Xiaoqin say that he considered her a distant relative?"

"No. You told her? That damn kid! Just reminded me to buy you some food and send it over, and I can also check whether Chen Xiaohui is black or white."

Ye Fanxin said, "I finally found out who pushed you here." But why did Geng Zhiqin do this? She was always annoyed by her mother jumping around every day and being everywhere.

On the way back, Ye Fan expressed her doubts and asked Geng Zhiye to help her analyze them.

Geng Zhiye saw his stepmother staring at Chen Xiaohui as soon as she came in, and guessed that it was related to his sister. Under normal circumstances, even if she wanted to mock Chen Xiaohui, she would first look at Dabao and hug Erbao: "I don't know who Chen Xiaohui heard that Xiaoqin was eager to get married. I suspect it was the educated youth she met on the train. She used a tone that she was doing it for Xiaoqin's own good to persuade Xiaoqin not to rush into marriage."

Ye Fan was speechless and asked incomprehensibly: "Did you know Xiao Qin before?"

"She has never been to the capital before. Xiaoqin has never left the capital since she was a child. How could she know her?"

Ye Fan: "Then she doesn't know how to be sincere when you are in a relationship?"

"You asked Xiaoqin to take her there. She thought Xiaoqin was pretty nice. So you kindly reminded her as a thank you?" Geng Zhiqin didn't say that Chen Xiaohui was deliberately bullying her. It sounded like she really cared about her. Geng Zhiye could only guess this.

Ye Fan shook his head: "Who knows what she is thinking. If she doesn't take this opportunity to break off ties with the Chen family, we won't understand. This time won't make a difference."

The next morning, Tao Chunlan got up before dawn and cooked egg pancakes to prepare food for Ye Fan on the journey.

The Ye family finished their meal at around six o'clock.

Chen Xiaohui carried a big bag on the bike, Geng Zhiye carried the big bag in one hand and food in the other, and their bags were filled with small things and various documents. Ye Fan held the listless Dabao, and Tao Chunlan held the Erbao, and they went to the roadside to wait for the bus.

Ye Fan got tired of holding Dabao and asked him to come down. Dabao became more energetic when he came down and stretched out his hand to his father: "Dad, I can take it."

Ye Fan found the small schoolbag that Yu Wentao had sewn for Dabao, stuffed the egg pancakes into it, and slung it over his son's shoulders. Dabao patted the bulging schoolbag and showed it off to his grandmother: "Grandma, my grandma made this for me."

Tao Chunlan: "That's all your grandma can do."

Dabao nodded: "Grandma also made one for my sister. She also made a shuttlecock and a sandbag for my sister, saying that mom doesn't know how to make them, so when we get to the island we can only watch others play."

Chen Xiaohui couldn't help but look at Ye Fan. Ye Fan rolled his eyes speechlessly. He saw Chen Xiaohui from the corner of his eye and thought she was still concerned about what Yu Wentao said last night: "Grandma Dabao likes to make trouble. Xiaoqin is the opposite of her mother. Don't worry about Xiaoqin deliberately making things difficult for you."

Although Chen Xiaohui gave Geng Zhiqin a "lesson", based on Ye Fan's understanding of his sister-in-law, Geng Zhiqin would not cause trouble for Chen Xiaohui for her sake.

Chen Xiaohui wanted to say that this is not what I meant.

Tao Chunlan couldn't help but look towards the station: "Why haven't you come yet?"

Ye Fan looked at his watch: "I just got out of the station, it will take another ten minutes."

Only ten minutes left? Chen Xiaohui opened her mouth and hesitated for a moment, "Ye Fan, can you come over here?" She parked the car and walked to the side.

Geng Zhiye frowned: "What can't be said here?"

Ye Fan whispered, "Maybe it's about work. I'm sorry to tell you that she doesn't understand." Then he went over and said, "Are you having any difficulties at work? You can ask the cashier. She knows everything I know. You can also ask Xiaoqin. Xiaoqin is not as talkative as my mother-in-law, but she is as helpful as her."

Geng Zhiqin didn't mention that Ye Fan was afraid that she would get lost. In Chen Xiaohui's opinion, Geng Zhiqin took the initiative to help her. Chen Xiaohui nodded: "I know, she is very good. But that's not what I want to say."

What else is there? Besides work, there is family. But there is no need to be secretive about family matters. Ye Fan was confused: "Then tell me."

(End of this chapter)