Five years of marriage, always separated [1970s]

Dabao and his sister walked home hand in hand. Seeing that the gate was closed, they decided to go to the food factory to find their mother.

Ye Fan wanted to pick them up and drop them off. Dabao thought his mother treated him like a child and didn't allow her to go to school. He and his sister went to school with Liao's older brother and younger sister. But Erbao was too young, so Ye Fan was worried. She thought of a compromise: she picked them up four days a week, and they went to school by themselves two days a week. Today was one of those two days.

Dabao and Erbao were chatting while kicking stones. When they staggered to the intersection, Dabao suddenly stopped and grabbed his sister who was about to turn.

"Brother, why aren't you leaving?" Erbao was confused. "Aren't you going to look for mom? Mom said we can't look for her after school. She picks us up every day."

Dabao looked at the person who was getting closer and closer: "Erbao, is my brother dazzled?"

Chen Xiaohui came up to him and asked, "Dabao, do you still remember me?"

Dabao opened his mouth in surprise: "Auntie? Why are you here?"

The fisherman who came after Chen Xiaohui asked, "Is she really your aunt? She said she was a sister of your mother. I saw that they didn't look alike, so I thought she said that on purpose to get close to Accountant Ye."

Dabao nodded: "Aunt Xiaohui."

Three words suddenly popped up in the fisherman's mind - Chen Xiaohui. The fisherman who kindly gave Chen Xiaohui a ride suddenly wanted to slap himself, "You are so kind! You really deserve Accountant Ye!"
The fisherman wanted to cry: "Chen Xiaohui?"

Chen Xiaohui nodded: "Do you know me?"

The fisherman didn't want to know her: "I, I have something to do, Dabao - you, you guys are busy." He walked and ran to the team.

Chen Xiaohui was puzzled: "Didn't he just say he wasn't busy and would accompany me to Ye Fan's house? You haven't seen him before, right? Dabao, how did he know my name is Chen Xiaohui?"

Dabao is still a child, how would he know?

Erbao: "Brother, is this what grandma and grandma said?"

Dabao wasn't sure: "Maybe."

Chen Xiaohui snorted, "It must be your grandma who said that. Her mouth is as stained as if it had been smacked by a broken shoe sole. Who knows what she would say in front of someone who doesn't even know me."

Yu Wentao is a chatterbox, and Dabao is sometimes annoyed. But although grandma is annoying, she also loves him: "Auntie, don't talk about my grandma like that. Grandma never said anything about you."

Chen Xiaohui: "Can you hear it? You are still young, you will know it later. Where is your home?"

Dabao rolled his eyes at her. You are older but you are not very sensible. You didn't even write us a letter before you came. Dabao didn't want to make random assumptions about others, so he asked, "Does my mother know you are coming?"

Chen Xiaohui felt guilty: "I'm not a child, nor an old person, your mother doesn't need to pick me up at the station."

So you don't know? Dabao was even more speechless: "My mom is not at home, she is at the food factory. Do you want to go home or to the food factory?"

Chen Xiaohui: "When does your mother get off work?"

Dabao: "Soon. Maybe we can go to the factory—"

"Brother, Mom!" Erbao pointed to the north.

Chen Xiaohui turned her head and saw Ye Fan waving to someone, then walking towards her with his bag. After about seven or eight steps, he saw her clearly, paused, and then quickened his pace. He arrived in front of her in a minute or two.

Ye Fan rubbed his eyes, frowned in disbelief and asked, "Why are you here?"

"I can't come?" Chen Xiaohui was uncomfortable, turning her head to look around. "Is the road still a gravel road? Both sides are quite clean? I thought it was like the countryside, with dirt roads and chicken and duck feces everywhere."

Ye Fan saw someone coming over: "Go home first!"

Chen Xiaohui nodded: "I can stay in the guesthouse."

Ye Fan asked unhappily, "You're quite considerate?" He picked up Erbao and said, "What if I'm not at home?"

Chen Xiaohui: "Just wait. Dabao and Erbao need to go to school. Are you willing to leave them alone and go back to the capital?"

"Should I praise you for being smart?"

This was the first time in Chen Xiaohui's life that she was so reckless. She felt guilty and didn't dare to retort. Besides, she couldn't beat Ye Fan's brain and mouth. It was okay for her to say a few words to vent her anger since she came uninvited. Chen Xiaohui: "I thought I would be there at noon."

Ye Fan turned his head and said, "Not from the capital—No, if you were coming from home, Mom would have asked me to pick you up even if you didn't send a telegram."

Dabao was very curious: "Isn't my aunt at my grandma's house in the capital?"

Ye Fan lied: "She was on a business trip to Shencheng and came here from Shencheng."

Dabao: "I know Shencheng. My mother and I took the train and arrived before dark."

Chen Xiaohui was about to say something when her stomach growled and her face suddenly turned red.

Ye Fan glanced at her and asked, trying not to laugh, "What's in the bag?"

Chen Xiaohui: "There's nothing to eat or drink in the bag."

Chen Xiaohui gets angry when she talks about this. Last night she said she would come to the island to pick up Tao Chunlan to take her back to the capital, and Chen Kuanren and Zhao Ruping fully supported her. This morning on the way to the station, she passed by the supply and marketing cooperative, and Chen Xiaohui wanted to buy some food and drinks because she had to take a boat and didn't know when it would arrive. She was afraid of being hungry and seasick, so Chen Kuanren told her to be patient and eat at Ye Fan's house.

Chen Xiaohui wanted to buy a soda, but Zhao Ruping scolded her for not knowing how to live. When they arrived at the station, Zhao Ruping sent her to the bus and felt sad and wanted to cry. When Tao Chunlan sent her to the bus, she said dryly to be careful on the road, but she prepared a bag of food for her and boiled eggs and made pancakes.

If it was before, Chen Xiaohui would definitely feel that Zhao Ruping cared more about her. Fortunately, it was not before. Chen Xiaohui couldn't say swear words in front of the child: "They didn't say they would prepare something to eat for me."

Ye Fan was afraid that she would feel that Chen Kuanren and Zhao Ruping cared about her again in a few days, so it was hard to say that you finally saw clearly: "You can't do it yourself?"

"I——" Chen Xiaohui forgot.

Ye Fan was speechless: "Open the cupboard and cook whatever you want to eat. You are like the Japanese invaders entering the village. If you tell them to pay, they won't dare to ask you to deliver it in person."

"But what will my neighbors think of me?"

Ye Fan wanted to roll his eyes: "Just because they sent you two new sets of clothes for the New Year, the neighbors can't say anything. Do the same thing next time you go there. If they ask, just say you don't dare to eat and drink at home. The relationship between the Chen family and the Ye family is such that even if the Ye family deals with the Chen family, others will say that the Chen family deserves it. The Chen family is ruining the reputation of the Ye family outside, and people who know the truth will only think that the Chen family is ungrateful!"

Chen Xiaohui completely forgot about the "wrong baby" incident: "I-I will do this next time."

Seeing that she was still hesitating, Ye Fan suddenly felt a headache: "Chen Xiaohui, among all the people in these two families, you are the only one who can make trouble with a clear conscience. Especially in the Chen family, you don't have to pay for your life if you accidentally stabbed Chen Kuanren to death. What are you afraid of?"

Chen Xiaohui didn't know: "You, are you home?" Seeing Dabao stop, "There is a small courtyard, and there are roses by the fence."

Ye Fan couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Erbao held his mother's face and giggled.

Ye Fan pushed open the half-closed fence door, put Erbao on the ground, and went to open the main room door: "Do you want to take a bath?"

Chen Xiaohui nodded.

Ye Fan went to the guest room to make the bed first, then brought the kettle to the guest room, brought half a bucket of cold water, put the bathtub in it, and finally put a thermos of hot water in it: "Take a bath and then wash your hair. I'll turn on the stove and boil water in the steel pot."

When they got to the private area, Chen Xiaohui felt a little restrained: "You, I can do it myself, you take a break."

Ye Fan: "Call me if you need anything. Dabao, do you want to do your homework now or after dinner?"

Dabao looked towards the guest room speechlessly and said, "I don't want to write!"

Ye Fanxin asked why he was so annoying: "Then why don't you play with Erbao for a while? Mommy washes the vegetables?"

Dabao: "Don't you want me to light the fire?"

Ye Fan shook his head: "Your father will be back soon." His face changed slightly after he said that. Geng Zhiye saw that Chen Xiaohui would not be so angry that he would send her to the shore to stay in a guesthouse overnight.

(End of this chapter)