Five years of marriage, always separated [1970s]

When Geng Zhiye got home, he was greeted by a quiet and empty living room. Geng Zhiye subconsciously went to the kitchen, and saw from the corner of his eye that his children's doors were closed. He turned around and stopped in front of his children's bedroom doors: "Geng Dabao, Geng Erbao, come out!"

The sound of footsteps floated out through the crack of the door, and Erbao exclaimed: "Brother! Hide, let's hide." Then there were two thumps, and the sound of a heavy object hitting the bed. Geng Zhiye could imagine that his two children quickly climbed onto the bed and huddled in the corner, covering their heads with towels and blankets. As for whether there was a tail, Geng Zhiye guessed that there was no tail.

Geng Zhiye quietly walked around to the eaves outside and saw two small bulges on the bed from the corner of the window. The feet were exposed and the head was wrapped tightly. He suddenly wanted to be angry and laugh at the same time: "Dabao, Erbao, I'm coming in."

The two little kids suddenly pulled back the towel blanket, looked towards the door, then turned to look at each other and asked, "Where is Daddy?"

Geng Zhiye pushed open the half-closed window and waved: "Dad is here."

The two children were so scared that they hugged each other and cried.

Ye Fan had to come out of the kitchen: "What's wrong?"

Dabao immediately complained: "Dad deliberately scared me and my sister."

Ye Fan: "Open the door, I'll beat dad."

Dabao jumped out of bed and opened the door without thinking. Geng Zhiye couldn't bear to look at it from the window, so he covered his eyes and sighed, "Dabao, Dad is not in the room, why are you opening the door?"

Dabao turned his head and saw his father outside the window. He reacted and wanted to close the door again, but it was too late. His mother came in. Geng Zhiye raised an eyebrow at his son and disappeared out of the window. Dabao was immediately panicked and at a loss. He looked around and saw nowhere to hide. He wanted to go to bed, but there was no way out. He hugged his mother's waist: "Mom, Dad hit me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Geng Zhiye appeared behind Ye Fan. Erbao pouted and was about to cry. Geng Zhiye said first: "Don't cry, don't fight!"

Erbao tried hard to hold back the tears in his eyes.

Dabao hugged his mother and didn't dare to let go: "Mom, Dad lied!"

Ye Fan: "What did you two do?"

The brother and sister suddenly wilted like eggplants hit by frost.

Geng Zhiye confessed for them: "We were lying on the well mouth with a group of kids around 10 or 7 or 8 years old, looking down." He glared at Dabao and Erbao, "What are you looking at? Are there treasures in the well? Aren't you afraid of falling in and not being able to get out?"

Dabao and Erbao are not afraid of the sea, so how could they be afraid of a well? Unfortunately, it was not the right time to talk back, so the brother and sister were flexible and shook their heads vigorously.

Ye Fan asked: "How many times has this happened?"

The brother and sister both raised a finger. Ye Fan nodded: "Since it's your first offense, I'll make a note of it. I'll pay you the same amount next time." He said to Geng Zhiye, "Including the interest."

Dabao was shocked: "Interest?!"

Ye Fan nodded: "There is interest for depositing money in the bank. You two make a mistake and there is no interest? How can it be so good? Let go, mom will go to cook."

Dabao subconsciously grabbed his mother's arm: "Mom, I - I'm only five and a half years old, and my sister is only three years old." As he said this, he turned around and winked at Erbao, who got out of bed, hugged his father's legs, and looked at him with tears in his eyes.

Geng Zhiye was often not at home, and was worried that the two children would become estranged from him, so he was usually very tolerant of them. Dabao and Erbao looked very much like Ye Fan when he was a child, so Geng Zhiye couldn't help but soften his heart: "Fan——"

Ye Fan interrupted: "It's settled. Captain Geng, light the fire!" He pulled Dabao's arm away and turned to leave. Geng Zhiye gave his children a look that said "May the best of luck to you". Dabao and Erbao stamped their feet in anger, wondering if Dad could be more capable.

Ye Fan scolded Geng Zhiye as soon as he arrived in the kitchen: "Can we have some principles?"

Geng Zhiye smiled and said, "I didn't do anything, did I?"

Ye Fan: "What else do you want to do? I'm scolding you here and coaxing you there. How can I control whether they like you or hate me in the future? No matter what I say, they will think I'm deliberately making things difficult for them. By the way, did you find them and fight them?"

Geng Zhiye shook his head.

Seeing that he didn't seem to want to punish the child, Ye Fan couldn't help but ask, "You didn't scold him at all, did you?"

Geng Zhiye scratched his nose a few times, picked up matches and leaves to light a fire.

Ye Fan put his hands on his hips and said, "You--how could you be locked out by them with this?"

Geng Zhiye wanted to chase the two children, but the gravel road was uneven and he was worried that they would run too fast and fall. Winter on Hengshan Island comes very late, and the eldest and second children were still wearing thin clothes, so their knees would definitely be scratched.

Geng Zhiye: "I didn't expect that they hid in the house and knew to bolt it from the inside."

Ye Fan rolled his eyes at him and said, "Don't you know how smart your children are?"

The clever eldest and second children were in the bedroom, leaning on the door frame to look towards the kitchen. When they heard their mother scolding their father, they sighed helplessly and sat on the floor, looking at each other in silence. After a while, the brother and sister got bored and climbed up and moved out along the wall, and ran out when they reached the door.

Geng Zhiye looked up when he heard the noise and saw the backs of the brother and sister disappearing quickly. He couldn't help laughing. Ye Fan asked curiously, "What are they doing now?"

"How do you know it's them?" Geng Zhiye asked.

Ye Fan: "We are a family of four. Who else is here besides the two of them? Or are you thinking of something happy? Wait, where's my letter?"

He had forgotten that it was in Geng Zhiye's pocket. When Geng Zhiye took it out, Ye Fan hurriedly said, "Don't burn it!"

Geng Zhiye laughed angrily: "Am I that ignorant?"

"You are sensible. You looked before I did." Ye Fan took out the blanched vegetables. "What does she want from me?"

Geng Zhiye: "Shen Cheng asked her for money. The letter said she was going to do this and that. I felt like she was asking for your opinion. When did you two become so close?"

Ye Fan didn't want to be with her, he was tired! "You haven't given it to me yet?" Ye Fan asked. Geng Zhiye: "Wait for your reply. I burned it?"

Ye Fan nodded.

Geng Zhiye was quite surprised: "Don't you want to take a look? Do you trust me so much?"

Ye Fan: "When she sees my reply, she will ask Xiaoqin what I mean. I will tell your father-in-law that you are making trouble between me and Chen Xiaohui!"

Geng Zhiye pretended to be angry: "Whose family are you from?"

Ye Fan: "I can't be confused about right and wrong with your family. I'll just cook the dishes. Go call Dabao and Erbao to eat."

Geng Zhiye burned the letter and went out to look for the child.

When Dabao and Erbao heard the word "dinner", they instinctively ran home. When they reached the gate of the yard, they suddenly stopped and looked at Geng Zhiye with wide eyes.

Geng Zhiye laughed: "I won't beat you. Your mother said to write it down first, so I'll write it down first."

The brother and sister came jumping in, holding their father's hands on the left and right.

After dinner, Geng Zhiye went out to watch the children play. Ye Fan wrote back to Chen Xiaohui, saying that she didn't have the money she asked for, and if she asked for more, she should go back to Shanghai. As she was writing, she thought of the agricultural and sideline products on the island, and wrote again, saying that if she wanted to go back to Shanghai to take a look, she should wear clothes that were washed white or pilled, and not take the express train, because she would spend two days on the train and go there covered in dust. She should not stay in a guesthouse when she arrived in Shanghai. She could buy delicious food. Chen Kuanren asked where the money went, and she happened to say that she had used the money to buy food. If Chen Kuanren and Zhao Ruping asked for money when they saw her, she could give it to them, but before they left, she should ask them to buy tickets and food for the journey, and then ask them for some money just in case. It would be best to give them ten yuan and get eight yuan back. If she really didn't know what to do, she would think of the poor relatives who were begging for money.

Ye Fan finally wrote that if Chen Xiaohui wanted to thank him for helping him, she could go to the supply and marketing cooperative when she got to Shanghai to ask if she wanted any seafood from the island. If she still had time, she could go to the garment factory.

In mid-October, Chen Xiaohui received Ye Fan's letter. After reading half of it, she felt that Ye Fan's method was shameless and couldn't help but doubt whether she was really helping her. Seeing that Ye Fan was counting on her for help at the end, Chen Xiaohui thought that Ye Fan would not dare to lie to her. It was not a festival, and the supply and marketing cooperative didn't have much to do. Chen Xiaohui took six days off, including the two Sundays before and after, a total of eight days, enough for her to visit Chen Kuanren's family in Shanghai.

Chen Kuanren received Chen Xiaohui's letter and went to the train station to wait for her early in the morning. Chen Xiaohui was carrying two bags of things, one bag of food and one bag of old clothes - some were patched and some were a little worn, but there was not a single new piece.

The two daughters-in-law of the Chen family were dissatisfied, but Chen Xiaohui said that the clothes were very good and were given to her by a colleague. They were better than the clothes she wore in the countryside. Many people in the countryside only had one pair of pants all year round, which were new for three years, old for three years, and patched for another three years.

Zhao Ruping asked Chen Xiaohui where the money was. Chen Xiaohui said she had used it - Ye's father and Ye Jin and his wife were not at home, Tao Chunlan went to the island to help Ye Fan take care of the children, and she had to pay for her own food, clothing and daily necessities. She also added that for some reason, Tao Chunlan never asked her if she had any money.

Tao Chunlan really didn't give her the money. Chen Xiaohui didn't dare to ask for it either. Firstly, her self-esteem couldn't stand it - she felt ashamed to ask for money from her elders at the age of 26. Secondly, Tao Chunlan still didn't know that she was almost cheated, and she felt guilty and didn't dare to ask for money.

Zhao Ruping scolded Tao Chunlan for being biased and regretted asking Chen Xiaohui to return to the capital. Chen Xiaohui followed her words and said that she couldn't get used to life in the capital. The winter there was very cold, the wind was like a knife, and her hands were all frostbitten.

Zhao Ruping held her hand distressedly, and her two sisters-in-law changed their faces. After Chen Xiaohui left, her room was given to her two nieces. When she came back, her nieces would have to share a room with their brothers again.

When Chen Xiaohui said this, she was afraid that Zhao Ruping would blurt out: "If you don't want to stay in the capital, come back." She panicked when she saw her sister-in-law, thinking that Ye Fan was a ghost, how could she be so smart that she could predict this.

Seeing that Ye Fan's idea was feasible, she became more confident and threw dirty water on the Ye family without thinking.

Chen Kuanren was so angry that he called Ye's father a ruthless person. Chen Xiaohui lowered her head in guilt. Chen Kuanren thought she was sad and wanted to accompany Chen Xiaohui to the capital to find Ye's father. Chen Xiaohui was very panicked, but her sister-in-law stopped Chen Kuanren before she did, saying that since ancient times, people have never fought against officials.

Chen Xiaohui immediately said that Ye's father also had comrades in arms in Shencheng. It would be bad to offend him. She only learned about this recently. In fact, Ye's father rarely talked about the army. Recently, the Air Force was reorganized, and Ye's father had not been home for half a month.

Lying is embarrassing and shameful at first, but it becomes easier as time goes by.

Chen Xiaohui didn't like to lie before, and the whole family of Chen, young and old, never doubted her. The next day, Chen Xiaohui said she wanted to see if Shencheng had changed, and asked her mother to accompany her. Zhao Ruping searched Chen Xiaohui's bag at night, and found less than five yuan in scattered money, and there was still two yuan left after deducting the return fare. Two yuan was not enough to buy a set of clothes. If Chen Xiaohui wanted clothes, she had to pay for it.

Zhao Ruping said that she was tired of cooking and taking care of the children every day, and asked Chen Xiaohui to go out by herself. Chen Xiaohui took this opportunity to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to discuss business, and naturally used the name of an employee of Hengshan Food Factory.

Chen Xiaohui went to the garment factory again and asked Ye Fan if they needed duck and goose feathers. They were all clean and good feathers, and the address of the Hengshan Food Factory was also left.

After doing all this, Chen Xiaohui felt that she didn't owe Ye Fan anything, and she looked very happy when she returned to the Chen family. She was a completely different person from when she arrived yesterday.

Zhao Ruping slept little, and woke up at three or four o'clock to tell Chen Kuanren that Chen Xiaohui liked Shanghai. She also said that if it wasn't for work, she would definitely not stay in the capital. She saved some money in the capital to buy us clothes and come to visit us, which means she has worked for nothing for more than a year. She also has to look at Ye Fan's face and suffer the Ye family's anger. Chen Xiaohui must think it's better to come back.

At breakfast, Chen Xiaohui drank two bowls of porridge and ate two steamed buns. Zhao Ruping advised her not to overeat.

Chen Xiaohui didn't have such a big appetite before. Tao Chunlan didn't know what to talk about with her at the dinner table, so she advised her to eat more. She rode a bike to work every day, and if she didn't eat enough, she would be hungry at 10 o'clock. Chen Xiaohui didn't want to have a bad relationship with Tao Chunlan, so she was embarrassed to refuse. After a long time, she didn't even realize that her appetite had increased a lot.

Chen Xiaohui thought Zhao Ruping felt sorry for her, so she said the bowl was small and the steamed bread was small. Then she filled another half bowl of porridge and took a steamed bread.

Zhao Ruping increasingly believed that Chen Xiaohui's life in the Ye family was not easy, so she wanted to persuade her to come back. The two daughters-in-law of the Chen family saw that their mother-in-law was not happy, so they said that the neighbors praised the beautiful clothes that Chen Xiaohui bought for her parents. Then the two daughters-in-law winked at their parents-in-law, saying that they would not have new clothes for the New Year after she came back.

But Chen Xiaohui couldn't be allowed to eat like this, otherwise there would be famine this month. In the afternoon, Zhao Ruping persuaded Chen Xiaohui to return to the capital, and she seemed to be concerned about Chen Xiaohui, worried that her job would be taken over by someone else.

Chen Xiaohui was very sad, and this time she was not pretending. Even if she followed Ye Fan's instructions to fool and scare the Chen family, deep down she still didn't want to admit that Ye Fan knew the Chen family very well, and she didn't believe that the person who raised her was so cruel.

Seeing that she didn't want to go back, Zhao Ruping advised her to get married and move out.

Chen Xiaohui saw Zhao Ruping's heartache for her, and couldn't help but think of her past life. In her past life, she complained to Zhao Ruping that the Ye family favored Ye Fan, and Zhao Ruping was upset and cried. Chen Xiaohui really thought Zhao Ruping loved her at that time. But if you think about it carefully, Zhao Ruping has never given anything except words of love to her. Knowing that her salary was low, she gave Zhao Ruping money every time, and Zhao Ruping never refused. On the contrary, Ye's parents told her not to buy things more than once, and often said that there was too much food at home, and asked her to take it back to eat with her in-laws.

At that time, Chen Xiaohui thought that the Ye family had left over food so they gave it to her.

In this life, she has been in the Ye family for more than a year, and Tao Chunlan has not used a penny of her money. Li Mingyue came back on Sunday and took her to buy clothes. Chen Xiaohui was embarrassed to ask her to pay, so Li Mingyue said that it was the money given by her mother.

If Li Mingyue hadn't bought her clothes and shoes, she would have had too much salary to spend and she wouldn't have had the money to fill a house with Ming-style furniture.

Did Ye Fan know that she would be disappointed in Shanghai this time? Was he afraid that she would not come back, so he used the supply and marketing cooperative and the garment factory to seduce her? Was he so stupid in her eyes? Chen Xiaohui had stayed on the train for two nights before, but only one day of vacation had passed. She had been at Chen's house for three days, so she still had four days of vacation left. Chen Xiaohui decided to ask Ye Fan in person.

(End of this chapter)