Five years of marriage, always separated [1970s]

On the morning of the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, the fishermen on the island were busy making rice cakes. Ye Fan was also busy. Northerners don't know how to make rice cakes, but they can steam steamed buns. Ye Fan kneaded the buns and was about to call Dabao to light the fire. Dabao jumped in, and Erbao ran after him.

Ye Fan reached out and grabbed his son: "Why are you in such a hurry? Wait for your sister!"

Dabao looked back and Erbao came to the kitchen door, holding the door and breathing. Dabao asked hurriedly: "Is my sister okay? Mom, I told my sister that I would go home first. I didn't miss my sister. If you don't believe me, ask my sister."

Erbao nodded and leaned on his mother's lap: "Mom, don't scold my brother. Mom, I believe it."

Dabao handed the letter over with his eyes wide open: "Here! You scold me without knowing anything."

Ye Fan: "I was wrong. But I was also afraid that you two would fall. Do you two want to spend the New Year in the hospital tomorrow?"

Dabao was surprised: "Isn't today the 28th?" He pointed to the calendar on the living room wall and said, "I saw it."

Ye Fan: "There is no New Year's Eve this year. Tomorrow night is New Year's Eve."

Dabao suddenly realized: "No wonder Dad didn't come home last night. Did Dad have to be on duty in the army since yesterday?"

Ye Fan nodded, and when he saw the sender clearly, he was surprised: "Your aunt? Didn't she pass the exam? That shouldn't be the case."

Dabao immediately went to his mother's side and said, "Mom, you'll know after you take a look."

Ye Fan opened the letter immediately. The handwriting was not Geng Zhiqin's, but Dabao's grandfather's. Ye Fan's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Yu Wentao and Geng Zhiqin had both met with an accident? Ye Fan read three lines at a time. When he saw the middle, he suddenly felt suffocated. It was a pity that she had written a letter specifically to remind him to apply for a lower degree or an unpopular major, and to try to change his major at the school.

Dabao's little hand grabbed his mother's arm: "Mom, what's wrong?"

"Your aunt failed to get in." Ye Fan said this, realizing that Dabao might not understand. "For example, the minimum score for admission to a school is 80, and your aunt scored 85, so she should have been able to get in. However, there were too many applicants, and they couldn't recruit enough. The last person scored more than her."

Dabao was shocked: "My aunt didn't pass the exam?"

Ye Fan nodded: "Your grandfather said that your aunt plans to try again next year. Because she didn't listen to me, she was embarrassed to write to me, so she asked your grandfather to write for her." He put away the letter and sighed helplessly, "How can I be angry with her?"

Dabao shook his head: "Mom is not angry. Mom, where is Auntie?"

Ye Fan: "Your grandfather didn't say in the letter. Either the notice hasn't arrived yet, or the situation is similar to your aunt's."

Dabao asked: "Mom, do you want to write back to my aunt? I'll go get some writing paper."

Ye Fan: "The postman also needs to rest. Let's talk about it on the second day of the New Year." After hesitating for a moment, "Write another letter to your grandma."

"Ask auntie if she passed the exam?" Dabao asked.

Ye Fan nodded: "Light up the fire. Once the water boils, we can steam the buns."

Dabao sat in front of the stove, and Erbao sat next to his brother. Seeing this, Ye Fan shook his head and smiled, "What are you two going to eat? Except pork. The pork is for making dumplings tomorrow."

Tomorrow we can eat dumplings with thin skin and big fillings. Dabao thinks that he can eat anything today: "Mom, I'll make you whatever you want to eat."

Ye Fan: "Mom, fry a hairtail fish on the stove? Then boil a few eggs, smash them with garlic, and drizzle sesame oil on them? I remember your grandma did it, and you said it was delicious."

Dabao nodded: "Mom, let me make it. Erbao likes it too."

Erbao nodded: "Mom, put a few more egg yolks in."

Ye Fan wanted to say that it was impossible to boil only the yolk of an egg, so when the words came to his lips, he decided to turn on the stove, pour half a bucket of water into the small soup pot, put the five washed eggs in, and sat at the chopping board to peel garlic.

Dabao added two more pieces of firewood, and the fire at the bottom of the pot was very strong. He didn't need to watch it for the time being, so he chatted with his mother: "Is Sister Miaomiao unhappy because she didn't pass the exam?"

Ye Fan asked: "Miao Miao next door?"

"Yes. I only know one named Miaomiao." Dabao was very surprised: "Could it be because she had a quarrel with her mother? Why do they quarrel so often?"

Ye Fan frowned slightly: "Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, why are you arguing today? We can't wait until after the New Year to discuss this matter."

"That means you didn't pass the exam." Dabao said.

Ye Fan was amused by his confident tone: "No. She has better grades than Xiaoshan. Xiaoshan's admission letter has arrived, and hers may have been delayed on the way."

Niu Xiaoshan’s admission letter arrived yesterday morning.

Liu Guihua was so happy when she saw the notice that she went to the market to buy meat and vegetables, and also bought a large yellow croaker. She saw eight hairy pig's trotters being despised, so she bought them all home, prepared them for half a day, and braised them in the evening. She picked four and sent them to Ye Fan, saying that they were for Dabao and Erbao to chew on for fun. She also gave Ye Fan a large yellow croaker.

Ye Fan suspected that she was so happy that she went crazy.

Perhaps Ye Fan's confusion was too obvious. Liu Guihua didn't wait for her to ask before she said that she was at the intersection of the production team on the day when the Shanxi Brigade members came to Ye Fan to fill out the application form. Liu Guihua also thought Ye Fan was crazy when she heard from the members that Ye Fan asked his child to choose Agricultural University. She heard from the members that after graduation, they would also be farmers with wages and would have a stable income regardless of drought or flood. The key point is that there must be few educated youth who chose Agricultural University. Agricultural University wants to recruit enough students this year, and the scores may be very low. For students with low scores, this may be their only chance. By the time everyone comes to their senses next year, they will have nothing to do.

Liu Guihua knew her son well. He was a bad boy in school. He had a total score of 400. He was very lucky to get 150. If he failed to pass the exam this year, he would miss the next one. So she asked her son to choose agriculture. But Captain Niu was unwilling because his parents were farmers. It was not easy for a scholar to be a farmer.

Liu Guihua was very persistent. But it was useless even though she almost got into a fight with Captain Niu. Liu Guihua had no choice but to say what Ye Fan said. Captain Niu therefore took a step back - Niu Xiaoshan High School! Liu Guihua had to thank Ye Fan.

Even though Ye Fan was completely unaware of this.

Dabao doesn't think so: "My aunt did well in the exam but didn't pass."

Ye Fan: "Miao Miao scored 40 points more than Xiao Shan, and more than 10 points more than the student who asked his mother to fill out the application form. Since both of them were able to pass, Miao Miao will definitely have no problem."

"But Sister Miaomiao is very strange." Dabao said with a frown.

Ye Fan flattened the washed garlic, put it in a bowl and crushed it with a rolling pin: "What's weird about that?"

"Miao Miao's words are very strange." Dabao pulled his sister who was leaning against him in a daze, "Erbao, go ahead."

Erbao nodded: "Miaomiao sister is about to cry. Miaomiao sister also touched my face and said, Erbao, you have to be obedient. She also said, brother, Dabao, your parents are so good, don't always say bad things about your parents." Erbao thought about it again, "There are many more, I can't remember."

Why is it like leaving a will? Ye Fan shook his head. What are you thinking about? It's New Year's Day. Can't you think of something good? Er Bao frowned: "Mom, you don't believe me? Do you suspect I'm lying?"

Ye Fan put away his smile and said seriously: "Mom doesn't disbelieve you. Sister Miaomiao may be angry because Xiaoshan received the notice and hers hasn't come yet, so--" How can this reason be more far-fetched than Erbao learning to lie?

Ye Fan suddenly felt anxious: "Dabao, Erbao, Mommy put the buns in the pot." The buns were placed on the grate, and Ye Fan looked at the fire at the bottom of the pot again, "Dabao, keep the fire this high. When you smell the fragrance of the buns, take out the firewood and put it in the swill bucket. Mommy will go to Sister Miaomiao's house to check." After that, she closed the stove and put the kettle on it: "Wait for me to come back and cook the fish."

Erbao got up: "Mom, I'll go with you."

"Mom believes you. Mom asked Miaomiao if you lied. You two said that Sister Miaomiao was weird, and I suspect she was under a lot of pressure and couldn't get over it." Ye Fan couldn't help but think of the countless nights when she and Geng Zhiye came back from a walk and there was only one light on in the Liao's house. It was lonely and desolate.

Dabao asked: "Are you going to jump into the sea because you can't bear it?"

Ye Fan hurriedly asked: "How did you know to jump into the sea?"

"That's what my dad said. I went into the sea and he said, 'Don't you want to live?'" Dabao rolled his eyes, "I'm not stupid."

Ye Fan: "You are stupid. Do you think that everything will be safe with Dad behind you? There are not only big waves in the sea, but also big fish. They can swallow a kitchen in one bite."

Dabao and Erbao pouted at the same time and lied again.

Ye Fan took off his apron and said, "There is a fish in the sea called a whale. A whale is so big that it can't fit in a room. Haven't you learned it?"

Dabao shook his head.

Ye Fan: "You'll learn it in a few years. Mom learned it when she was in school."

When Dabao heard his mother even bring out the textbooks, he couldn't help but believe it: "You didn't lie to me?"

Ye Fan rolled her eyes at him, threw down her apron and walked out.

Erbao couldn't help but hold her brother's hand. Dabao comforted her, "Don't be afraid, we won't go to the sea anymore. We'll go with Dad. Dad is very strong and will definitely catch big fish." However, the more he spoke, the weaker he became, "Sister, let's light a fire."

Erbao took a wooden stick and handed it to his brother.

As for Ye Fan, she was very good at coming up with words to fool children, and when she arrived at the Liao family’s door, she hesitated to move forward.

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, the New Year. Zhuang Qiuyue needs such good self-control to not scold her for saying that the child is depressed.

But it's better to be safe than sorry.

Ye Fan put himself in his past life. He only had one chance and might get stuck in a dead end. Besides, Miao Miao at this time was a few years younger than her in her past life and didn't know as much as she did. In her past life, universities expanded their enrollment, and now it was like a huge army rushing to cross a single-plank bridge. In her past life, there were many universities and majors. This year, the college entrance examination was just resumed, and many universities only had a few majors.

Ye Fan rubbed his face to make himself look relaxed, then shouted into the house: "Sister-in-law, are you home?"

Zhuang Qiuyue came out of the room: "Accountant Ye, what's the matter?"

Ye Fan: "My noodles didn't rise very well, do you have any noodles left?"

"Yes." Zhuang Qiuyue said, turning around, "I'll give it to you."

Ye Fan went in: "A little is enough. Geng Zhiye is not at home, and three or four steamed buns a day are enough for our family of three. If we steam too much and cannot finish it, it will easily go moldy." He looked at the house calmly, "If I wasn't used to steaming buns during the Chinese New Year, I wouldn't bother to do it." Not seeing Liao Miaomiao, Ye Fan and Zhuang Qiuyue went to the kitchen and asked quietly, "Where's Miaomiao?"

Zhuang Qiuyue snorted: "If you are angry with me, you are in the bedroom."

Ye Fan continued in a low voice: "I'll go take a look."

"Hey--" Zhuang Qiuyue called Ye Fan, Ye Fan turned around, "Wait a minute." He pushed open the door of the room next to him, and Liao Miaomiao, sitting on the bed, suddenly panicked. He wanted to get up but wanted to grab the quilt to cover his head.

Ye Fan joked, "Don't you recognize me? Or have you done something bad?"

Liao Miaomiao shook her head.

Ye Fan looked around Miao Miao's room again. The books were very neat, as if no one had touched them for a few days. There seemed to be nothing unusual in other places. "Why aren't you talking?"

"I--" Liao Miaomiao opened her mouth subconsciously, but then she remembered that there was something in her mouth and swallowed it hurriedly.

Ye Fan asked casually: "What did you eat?"

Liao Miaomiao's face turned pale.

Zhuang Qiuyue came in, and Liao Miaomiao covered her head. Zhuang Qiuyue's face changed, and she couldn't help but point at her daughter and scold her: "She is becoming more and more ignorant. She won't eat unless I say a few words to her, and she gets angry with me. If you can, don't eat tomorrow."

Ye Fan held her arm and said, "Sister-in-law, do you have sweet potatoes at home?" Miao Miao likes to eat sweet potatoes. Once she washed sweet potatoes, Dabao and Erbao wanted to try them, so Ye Fan cut two pieces for them. They chewed the sweet potatoes into pieces just like what Miao Miao had in her mouth.

Zhuang Qiuyue: "I didn't buy sweet potatoes. I had enough of them before."

"Not even one?" Ye Fan asked, "Think about it carefully."

Zhuang Qiuyue shook her head: "Really not." Very surprised, "Accountant Ye, what's wrong?"

"Did anyone give it to you? Have you forgotten?" Ye Fan didn't dare to say that your daughter eats carelessly, and was also afraid that her suspicion would irritate Liao Miaomiao, who was already in a bad mood.

Zhuang Qiuyue: "Who - there are two pieces, I almost forgot, Guihua gave them to me. They are for poisoning rats, they are over there." Pointing to the large square table in the living room.

Ye Fan turned around and looked towards the living room: "On the table?"

Zhuang Qiuyue wanted to say, isn't it on the table? When she got outside, there was nothing on the table. Zhuang Qiuyue was surprised: "Did the mouse eat it? Where is the mouse? The mouse didn't die in the closet, did it?"

(End of this chapter)