Five years of marriage, always separated [1970s]

Ye Fan was amused by his son. He was really too funny.

Dabao looked around and saw that his classmates were not there. He looked up and asked his mother, "Where are the classmates?" His mother's eyes were full of smiles, and Dabao was about to cry again: "Don't laugh!"

Ye Fan suppressed his laughter and asked, "Don't you want your mother to hold you?"

Dabao pretended to be deaf and walked out silently.

Ye Fan followed him: "You don't want mom to carry you either? When people see your red eyes, they will ask why you are crying. What will mom answer?"

"Can't you not answer?" Dabao stopped and asked.

Ye Fan nodded: "Sure. But it's very rude to ignore others."

Dabao imagines that when someone talks to him, he doesn't say a word - it seems very impolite, "You, you squat a little bit."

Ye Fan turned around and squatted with her back to him. Dabao lay on his mother's back, buried his little face in her shoulder, and whispered: "If someone asks me what's wrong, just say I fell asleep."

"I know. Don't cry." Ye Fan took the opportunity to discuss with his son.

Dabao muttered quietly: "I'm not a crybaby."

But he is a little devil who loves face.

On the way, they met Zhuang Qiuyue who was taking Liao Xiaomei, who was one year older than Dabao, to get a vaccination. Zhuang Qiuyue casually asked Dabao what was wrong. Dabao was very nervous and dared not move. Ye Fan could feel his son's body tense through several layers of clothes. Ye Fan suggested carrying his son because he was worried that others would see Dabao crying. He couldn't help but tease him a few times, which made him cry again.

Ye Fan smiled and said, "I twisted my ankle because I was naughty."

Dabao was so angry that he wanted to run downstairs and go home. How could his mother say such nonsense?

Zhuang Qiuyue: "Why are you so careless? Have you been to the hospital?"

Ye Fan smiled and said, "I didn't sprain any bones, I just felt a little uncomfortable for a while. Sorry."

Zhuang Qiuyue smiled knowingly: "Then go home quickly."

Ye Fan carried Dabao to the gate of his own yard. Dabao was about to get off and complained: "How could you lie to me?"

"Who would believe me if I told you that you fell asleep while getting your vaccination?" Ye Fan poked his son on the forehead. "You are lying without any brains, you little fool Geng Dabao."

Dabao was so angry that he almost died: "Who told you to raise me to be so stupid? And you blame me? It's unreasonable!"

Ye Fan raised his eyebrows, his son was really hard to fool.

"You blame me?"

Dabao asked back: "I'm still a child and I don't know anything. Is it my fault?"

Ye Fan couldn't help but laugh.

Dabao doesn't understand. Is mom stupid? No wonder he is called a little fool.

Like mother, like son.

Dabao snorted: "Nothing to say, right?"

Ye Fan shook his head: "That's good. In the future, when people ask Geng Dabao, are you stupid? You don't even understand such a simple question. Just say, if you understand, why didn't you get full marks? There are so many questions and you encounter one that you understand. Look at your ability."

Dabao was getting more confused: "Mom, don't you blame me?"

Ye Fan: "We are just chatting, there is no need to make a big deal out of it."

Dabao nodded, not quite understanding: "What if a classmate gets full marks and knows all the questions?"

Ye Fan thought for a moment: "Geniuses also have weaknesses. If he says you are stupid, you can tell him what he is not good at. When you meet a genius, don't refute him. Let him teach you. Ask for advice with an open mind. When you become a genius, you can compete with him. Isn't there a saying that goes, "It is never too late for a gentleman to fight back even after ten years!"

Dabao looked very impressed: "Mom, you are so awesome."

"You didn't expect it? Because you are a child, and you don't know as much as your mother. If your mother teaches you, and you listen carefully, then you will understand, right?"

Dabao held his mother's hand and said, "Don't laugh at me in the future. Teach me more."

Ye Fan: "Does your arm still hurt?"

Dabao was so angry that he shook off his mother's hand: "Can't you be a good mother for a while longer? Don't talk to me!" After saying that, he ran into the house.

Ye Fan smiled and went to the kitchen to turn on the stove, then took the vegetable basin and went to the yard to pick a handful of vegetables. After washing the vegetables, before the fire was lit, Ye Fan asked Dabao to light the fire while she fried a few eggs in the earthen pot.

The scent of eggs drifted into the guest room, and the two people who were concentrating on doing their homework suddenly returned to the real world. Liao Miaomiao closed the exercise book and said, "Xiao Qin, I should go home."

Geng Zhiqin: "Don't watch too late at night. There are still four months before the college entrance examination. If you don't get enough sleep every day, you might fall asleep in the examination room."

Liao Miaomiao nodded, put the notebook of wrong answers and the book into her schoolbag, then opened the door and went out.

Dabao and Erbao were doing their homework in the living room. They heard footsteps and looked up to see Liao Miaomiao. Dabao asked, "Sister Miaomiao, do you want to have dinner with us?"

Liao Miaomiao smiled and shook her head. When she got home and looked into the kitchen, her brother was lighting the fire, her mother was cooking, and her younger sister was playing next to her brother. Liao Miaomiao went back to her room to continue doing her homework.

Liao Miaomiao never went to high school and didn't know high school math. Her junior high school teacher didn't know much about high school math, and there were no high school teachers on the island. So she used to listen to Ye Fan and put high school math aside.

It's different now.

Chen Xiaohui taught high school math problems to Geng Zhiqin. Geng Zhiqin's second brother and sister-in-law and her second brother's mother-in-law also taught high school math to Geng Zhiqin. Although Geng Zhiqin could not compare with geniuses, he was more than enough to teach Liao Miaomiao.

They studied Chinese, history and politics in the morning, memorized geography knowledge after taking a nap, and studied mathematics from 4:00 to the evening. If they got tired of reading, they would read the newspaper, because Geng Zhiye and Ye Fan both said that the policy was the same every two years, and reading books blindly could not keep up with the changes in political exam questions.

Probably with Geng Zhiye and Ye Fan's guidance, and Geng Zhiqin's generous teaching, Liao Miaomiao is very confident about the college entrance examination in July, and her condition is much better than before. Seeing her mother, she is no longer irritated, and can calm down to read books and do exercises at home. But she still doesn't want to talk to her mother.

Liao Miaomiao used to be very obedient, but now she can't help but reflect on whether she is too much when she ignores her mother for a long time. Liao Miaomiao told Geng Zhiqin about her concerns, and Geng Zhiqin told her firmly that if she is soft-hearted, her mother will think she is compromising and she is afraid of her, and she dares to secretly change her wishes.

Liao Miaomiao was no longer troubled.

But the more open she was, the more unhappy Zhuang Qiuyue became. She felt that she had raised an ungrateful person and that cooking and washing clothes for him every day was a thankless job.

When Political Commissar Liao came back in the evening, Zhuang Qiuyue complained to him that Miaomiao was becoming more and more ignorant as she grew older.

Before closing the door, Political Commissar Liao took a special look and saw that the light in his daughter's room was on. He didn't want her to hear anything distracting, so he couldn't argue with Zhuang Qiuyue. So he told Zhuang Qiuyue that it would be over if she just endured it, and there were only four months left.

Zhuang Qiuyue felt much better when she thought that the dead girl would be gone in half a year at most.

Ye Fan probably never dreamed that the Liao family would be in this situation now.

Although Ye Fan didn't know what Zhuang Qiuyue was thinking, she knew that Zhuang Qiuyue had been strong at home for so many years, and it was impossible for her to bow to her daughter.

It is difficult to change a bad habit, let alone change one's nature. Otherwise, there is no such saying: It is easy to change the country, but difficult to change one's nature.

Geng Zhiye also came back today.

Before going to bed, Ye Fan teased Geng Dabao that he was fearless and dared to talk back to her and Geng Zhiye, yet he was afraid of injections.

Geng Zhiye: "Did he ever get hurt by an unprofessional nurse before?"

Everyone feels pain differently. Even if she had encountered an unprofessional nurse, Ye Fan didn't know how much it hurt because he didn't prick her body. "Maybe."

"How long will you cry?"

Ye Fan shook his head: "In a while. I carried him outside and he was too embarrassed to cry. He was so little, but he kept saying he had grown up. When he was getting an injection, he said he was a child and shouldn't have to endure that kind of pain."

Geng Zhiye laughed: "It's always reasonable. By the way, has Yan been giving you any trouble recently?"

Ye Fan: "He's just an idiot who likes to talk nonsense. He can't affect me."

Geng Zhiye laughed out loud.

Ye Fan patted his arm: "Keep your voice down. Xiao Qin is doing his homework on the other side."

Geng Zhiye picked up the watch on the bedside table. It was nine o'clock. "What time did she finish writing?"

Ye Fan was not sure: "I told her to sleep when she is tired. Forcing herself to stay awake every day will not be good and will only result in half the effort and twice the result."

Geng Zhiye: "Is there anything to eat in the room?"

Ye Fan: "When I sealed the stove, I put a vegetable bun and an egg in the steel pot.

The steamed buns and eggs were cooked. When Ye Fan was sealing the stove, he planned to put in a kettle, but later decided to put in a steel pot, put a grate in the pot, and put the steamed buns and eggs on the grate. When Geng Zhiqin was hungry, the water in the pot should be hot, and the heat would be just right to heat the steamed buns and eggs.

Geng Zhiye couldn't help but say, "When I was pouring out the water to wash my feet and closing the gate, I looked next door and saw that Lao Liao and Zhuang Qiuyue were both asleep. Did Lao Liao also take my words as bullshit?"

Ye Fan held his hand and said, "Don't think too much. One is my daughter, and the other is my wife. It's hard for Political Commissar Liao to deal with this. Before, he didn't know Miaomiao could pass the exam, so Political Commissar Liao listened to Zhuang Qiuyue. Now that Miaomiao has proved that she can do it, Political Commissar Liao will definitely not let her give up the exam. But Zhuang Qiuyue doesn't think she's wrong, and Political Commissar Liao can't force her to change. This is the best way now."

Geng Zhiye really couldn't understand: "Isn't it good for the child to have a promising future?"

Ye Fan couldn't understand it either.

Ye Fan's parents in her previous life had many bad points, such as letting her work hard to buy a house and giving the family savings to her younger brother. But her parents paid great attention to education. When Ye Fan was a student, she got a prize for doing well in the exams, while her younger brother was punished for not doing well. In this regard, her parents treated her equally. Sometimes her younger brother got punished more severely than her. In her parents' words, you are a boy with no future. How will you support your wife and children after we die?

When filling out college entrance examination applications, he also respected Ye Fan. Even if he was not optimistic about the major Ye Fan chose, he would not secretly change her application or force her to change it, but said that it was okay as long as she did not regret it.

Sometimes they would say that girls don't need to work too hard, just choose a major and be able to support themselves after graduation. This is a bit unpleasant to the ear, but at least it is for Ye Fan's consideration, instead of saying that you don't need to work hard and expect men to support you.

Ye Fan: "Maybe there's the older brother and younger sister to compare. They're both very obedient."

"That's because Miaomiao was charging ahead. They didn't need to make a fuss to get what Miaomiao had fought for. For example, when filling out the application form last year, after Miaomiao's suicide, Zhuang Qiuyue would definitely not dare to change the application forms of her older brother and younger sister." Geng Zhiye got angry when he talked about this. He couldn't stand such a stupid woman. "Go to sleep! Why should we worry about other people's business?"

Ye Fan found it funny, you said it as if it wasn't you who brought it up.

Geng Zhiye took the initiative to talk about this because the solitary lamp next door was too eye-catching, and he couldn't help but pay attention to it. But when he saw the lamp, he couldn't help but think of Liao Miaomiao lying on the hospital bed with a pale face.

Geng Zhiye also has a daughter, so naturally he couldn't help but feel compassion for her. "By the way, don't be too cautious with Xiaoqin. Second brother asked her to stay until Dabao and Erbao go on summer vacation. There are still four months." Geng Zhiye hugged Ye Fan, "If you don't have time, ask her to cook. If you don't want to wash the pots and dishes, ask her to clean up. She can also take the opportunity to rest her brain."

Ye Fan said, "You only see me doing laundry and cooking? Didn't you see that I don't need to keep an eye on Dabao and Erbao? Dabao and Erbao used to come to my office after school. Now they go straight home. They never come to me when they're thirsty or hungry. And they know Xiaoqin is going to take the college entrance exam, so they're very quiet at home. They don't go out much."

Geng Zhiye was very surprised: "So sensible?"

Ye Fan: "I asked them to take care of Xiao Qin. When Dabao is thirsty, he asks Xiao Qin if he is thirsty. When Erbao is hungry, he asks Xiao Qin if he is hungry. How can they take care of Xiao Qin if they run out to play?"

Geng Zhiye: "No wonder every time I come back they are either doing their homework, lying on the bench chatting, or reading comic books. I thought they thought it was too windy outside."

"It's cooler at night than during the day. Are they really fed up with the cold? Why do they run outside after dinner every night?" Ye Fan said.

Geng Zhiye: "As long as you are not tired."

Ye Fan had never taken care of students preparing for exams, so she didn’t know what to do. She was indeed nervous during the first few days after Geng Zhiqin arrived. She was a little tired because of the nervousness, and when she was tired and didn’t get enough rest, she would get irritable.

Yan Yang kept talking nonsense in her ear, and Ye Fan felt that a man in his thirties was not as sensible as a girl in her early twenties. When Ye Fan returned home, she felt very close to her sister-in-law.

As he got used to Geng Qin's presence, Ye Fan felt that having more people was just a small matter of having more bowls and chopsticks. Ye Fan: "It won't tire your wife."

Geng Zhiye wanted to laugh: "Go to sleep. Don't you have to go to the workshop tomorrow?"

In the past, Su Yuanhang was in charge of receiving the goods, so Ye Fan didn't have to go. Now the factory manager has become Yan Yang, and Ye Fan is not worried that he will get the wrong goods. But Yan Yang's words were not pleasant to hear, which angered the fishermen, and the fishermen dared to throw him into the sea.

Because in the eyes of fishermen, a food factory can do without a factory director.

At nine o'clock the next morning, Ye Fan arrived at the factory and did not see Yan Yang. He asked the captain of the Five-Star Team, "Why are you keeping the accounts here?"

The captain was speechless.

Ye Fan laughed: "What did he do again?"

Su Duofu, who was busy weighing himself, couldn't help but say, "I drank too much at the old secretary's house."

Ye Fan was stunned for a moment, unbelievable: "Drunk?"

Su Duofu was also speechless. "It's not a long story. Let's start from the beginning. As soon as you left yesterday afternoon, the old secretary came over to ask if you needed help and how the collection was going." Thinking of what happened yesterday, Su Duofu wanted to slap himself. "I was a bad mouth. I asked if we could go to the office to talk. Because there are so many people, goods, and carrying poles in the courtyard, it's a mess. It's really not a place to talk about work. As a result, the two of them were really rude and talked until after five o'clock. I don't know why they talked so much."

Ye Fan: "Don't complain yet. Let's get to the point."

"The point is that I'm a bad mouth. I asked him how to solve the problem of dinner." Actually, it's not Su Duofu's fault. He used to be a businessman, and now he is a car escort dealing with supply and marketing cooperatives. He is used to being considerate. "The old secretary asked him to go to his home. The old secretary's home has white wine, which is a welfare given by the higher-ups. Usually no one accompanies him to drink. Yuanhang and he don't get along well. It's rare to meet someone who can talk to him. I heard from Yuanhang's wife that the two of them finished a bottle of old wine and then a bottle of white wine. She said that she drank the old wine at first, but she thought it was not strong enough, so she switched to white wine after drinking it."

Ye Fan couldn't help but say, "Did you drink them together? No wonder he didn't get up today. No, how did he get back at night?"

Su Duofu sighed, "He lives in Yuanhang's son's room. Yuanhang's son slept with his grandparents last night. The child is too old to sleep with the elderly. When he met me at the intersection this morning, he asked me when Director Yan would leave."

Ye Fan was very curious: "Did you say get lost?"

Su Duofu was also surprised, because the child was taught to be very polite by Su Yuanhang's wife. Especially in the past six months, perhaps because he was afraid of embarrassing the college students, the child was too embarrassed to call the elders "uncle, aunt, and aunt" and would just smile and wave his hand.

Su Duofu: "Nagging people during meals, asking them to study hard, be obedient, and go to college. It's fine to say this when children are naughty. But nagging during meals, let alone children, would be annoying even for me at my age."

Ye Fanxin said, I'm not surprised at all. "Captain, give me the account book."

The captain handed over the account book and said, "My handwriting is not good, please bear with me."

Ye Fan smiled and shook his head: "It's fine as long as you can read it clearly." He turned a few pages. Seeing this, the team leader couldn't help but say: "Director Yan's handwriting is very good. People say that handwriting reflects the person, but it's not always true."

Ye Fan: "The handwriting is bigger than mine, so crazy. But it's a pity that the handwriting is too floating and lacks style. Just like him."

The captain didn't understand, so he asked Su Duofu to take a look.

Su Duofu took the scale and looked at it, then shook his head. "I don't understand. I just think it's pretty good. But it's not as neat and clean as Accountant Ye's. I'm not praising Accountant Ye, but your handwriting feels like a knife, sharp."

Ye Fan didn't think this was a compliment to her: "Go weigh yourself."

Su Duofu smiled and walked over to the side, "By the way, Yuncheng wants to take a leave, but he's afraid that he'll fail the exam and both ends will be delayed. Accountant Ye, Yuncheng asked you to help him decide."

"Where are his parents?" Ye Fan asked.

Su Duofu: "His parents never went to school, rarely left the island, and knew nothing. They asked Yuncheng to go to school, or they saw the old secretary asking Yuanhang to go to school."

Ye Fan: "Then tell him to review well. I'll leave the work here for him."

"Will I follow the car myself from now on?"

Ye Fan asked the team leader whether there were any smart, sensible and well-behaved young people in the Five-Star Production Team.

The captain said he would go back and ask around. Because this job was a big responsibility, not only did he have to keep an eye on the goods, he also had to deal with the people at the supply and marketing cooperative after getting off the truck, and he had to bring back the money. Being careless and unfocused would not work, and being honest and dull would also be a problem. So he didn't dare to agree directly.

Ye Fan asked again: "He didn't go to high school either, who helped him with his studies?"

Su Duofu: "Put together all the questions and write to Yuanhang. Yuanhang also found him some review materials. He gave him all of Yuanhang's notes. If he studies hard, he might be able to pass the exam—"

Ye Fan wanted to ask why he suddenly stopped talking, but she saw Su Duofu winking behind her. Ye Fan turned around and saw Yan Yang pushing the cart over. Yan Yang met Ye Fan's gaze and smiled awkwardly: "I accidentally overslept."

Ye Fan: "Maybe you were too tired the past few days. Take a good rest. I'll keep an eye on it today."

Su Duofu and the five-star captain looked at each other. No wonder the two could get along peacefully. It turned out that this was how Accountant Ye acted when facing him.

Yan Yang said, "I've slept enough." He parked the car at the corner and came over.

Ye Fan couldn't help but frown: "Director Yan, do you want to change clothes?"

Yan Yang was stunned.

The captain wanted to slap him to sober him up: "Director Yan, how much did you drink last night? You smell so drunk."

Yan Yang raised his hand to smell his clothes, then hurriedly turned back to the house, secretly deciding to quit drinking in the future.

The captain gave a thumbs up and said, "Accountant Ye, you really can bear it."

Ye Fan asked seriously, "Are there any brainless people in your village?"

The captain thought about it carefully and said, "There is one."

"He acted stupidly with you, do you have the nerve to really care about it?" Ye Fan asked again.

The captain was stunned for a moment, then laughed out loud when he realized what was happening.

Accountant Ye is still Accountant Ye, and his mouth is still as unforgiving as ever.

Perhaps Yan Yang was very ashamed, and at around 11 o'clock she told Ye Fan that she was busy at home and shouldn't come over in the afternoon.

Ye Fancai didn't bother to be polite with her and didn't go there in the afternoon.

With nothing to do at home, Ye Fan watched the time to pick up his eldest and second child from school.

Ye Fan hadn't picked up the two children for a while, and as a result, Dabao forgot and felt embarrassed. He jumped up to Ye Fan, took her hand and asked, "Are you not busy today?"

Ye Fan shook his head: "Not busy. Where's my sister?"

"My sister is behind." Dabao pointed to the school gate. Erbao walked out while chatting with her classmates. Dabao was annoyed by her delay and shouted: "Geng Erbao!"

Geng Erbao's classmate asked: "Geng Jingjing, is your nickname really Erbao?"

Erbao didn't mind her brother calling her by her nickname at school, but he couldn't do that in public. Her classmates stared at her like she was a monkey. Erbao was so angry that she ran over and yelled at her brother: "Geng Dabao, don't call me Geng Erbao!"

Dabao: "Just shout, just shout, Geng Erbao, Geng Erbao——"

Erbao picked up his schoolbag and threw it at him.

Ye Fan was startled and was about to say something, but Dabao calmly dodged away. Ye Fan knew that Dabao often made trouble on the way home from school, so he simply stood aside and ignored him.

Erbao was so focused on teaching her brother a lesson that she forgot her mother was beside her. She chased her brother whenever he ran away. The siblings stopped at the door of their home and looked at each other, "Where's Mom?"

Damn! Forgot about mom! The brother and sister ran to the bedroom and closed the door.

Geng Zhiqin heard the deafening sound of the door closing and ran out in fright: "Dabao, Erbao, what happened?"

Dabao: "We forgot mom at school. She will definitely scold us when she comes back."

Geng Zhiqin breathed a sigh of relief: "You two won't go back to pick her up?"

Dabao opened the door and said, "Go read a book, little aunt." He then pulled Erbao back.

When Dabao got to Ye Fan, he shouted, "Mom, you're so slow! We got home and came back, and you're just here now."

Ye Fan: "I'm not as fast as a monkey."

Dabao smiled and held his mother's hand: "The little monkey is yours too. I won't bother with you!"

Ye Fan gave his other hand to his daughter. Erbao shook her head, went to the roadside to pick a flower, asked her mother to lower her head, and put it on her ear.

"Does it look good?" Ye Fan asked.

Erbao nodded: "Mom looks good in anything she wears."

Ye Fan raised his eyebrows: "Did you two get into trouble at home?"

Erbao immediately realized that he had done too much and hurried to find his brother.

Dabao: "Mom, I want to eat pancakes. The kind that grandma makes, layer by layer."

Ye Fan pretended to be angry and snorted: "No wonder you two are so sensible. Can we do it tomorrow? The shrimps that mom bought must be eaten today. If we leave them out tomorrow, they will not be fresh anymore."

Dabao asked, "Can I grill the prawns? Fry them in oil and then stir-fry them with vegetables? Mom did it once."

"Sure." Ye Fan's family has no shortage of oil.

At the end of the year, the production team slaughtered pigs and asked the vegetable market to sell them. The director of the vegetable market was also flexible and said that there was no purchase limit for New Year benefits. Ye Fan bought 20 kilograms of pork. After frying the pork belly, he soaked it in lard so that the meat could be eaten slowly and it would not interfere with the usual oil digging for cooking.

Dabao was talking about dry pot shrimp.

Although Ye Fan lacked a lot of seasoning when he made it, he could use lard to fry the shrimp to bring out its fragrance, as if it were deep-fried, and nothing that is deep-fried tastes bad. No wonder Dabao likes it.

When Ye Fan got home, he steamed rice and prepared the shrimp and vegetables. When Dabao saw his mother carrying the vegetables back to the kitchen, he followed her and waited for the fire to start.

Erbao was bored in the living room alone, so he helped his brother to make a fire.

When Geng Zhiye returned home, he was greeted by not only the fragrance of food but also two sensible children. Geng Zhiye went to the kitchen door and saw Ye Fan inside, "Is it almost done?"

Ye Fan poured the vegetables in, "Dabao, don't cook anymore. Wash your hands with dad and sister. Oh, and ask my aunt to come out."

Geng Zhiye pulled his son up and said, "You've been very well behaved today."

Dabao nodded: "I'm very good every day." He shook off his father and ran to the door of the guest room. The door opened by itself, and Dabao was startled. Geng Zhiqin laughed: "Coward!"

"Just eat white rice. Don't eat the food I cook!" Dabao made a face and ran out.

Geng Zhiqin: "Dabao, you came back from school quite early today?"

Dabao was so scared that he stopped, then he remembered something and nodded: "Tell mom. I'm not afraid."

Geng Zhiqin was surprised: "You said that?"

Dabao shook his head: "My mother is very generous and magnanimous. She is not a petty aunt. She won't argue with me."

(End of this chapter)