Five years of marriage, always separated [1970s]

Ye Fan said "not a party member" just to warn Su Duofu so that he would not become arrogant after taking office. He did not expect that he was so conscious: "With such a high level of consciousness, there is no reason for the higher-ups to disagree. But there is no need to do this. If you are worried that the members will gossip about you because you joined the party, just lend your boat to the food factory."

Su Duofu asked: "Are you pulling goods?"

Ye Fan shook his head slightly: "More than that. Find a temporary worker to drive the boat, go to the other side at 9 am and return at 11 pm, go to the other side at 3 pm and return at 4 pm. Work five days a week, rest on Monday and Thursday, and the monthly salary is 15 yuan."

The captain couldn't help but ask: "Isn't there no money in the food factory's account?"

Ye Fan: "No rush, we'll start next month. We'll probably receive dozens of kilograms of honey by the middle of this month. The food factory will buy it at the price of loose honey, bottle it and package it, and the money earned will be enough to pay the temporary workers. But this profit will not be given to the production team."

The team leader could understand this. In the past, the money from selling chicken, duck, goose eggs, as well as duck and goose feathers belonged to individuals, and the commission went to the food factory.

The captain said: "The members should be very supportive. It is very troublesome to travel without a boat. But how much will it cost?"

Ye Fan: "It's a non-profit merchant ship, so the charges should be the same as those for buses."

The captain nodded, it made sense. "Duofu is from our production team. Can we choose the temporary workers to drive the boat?"

Ye Fan hesitated for a moment and said, "Okay. But if he becomes the factory director, he will have to recruit two people to follow the car. One has already been found, a member of the Five-Star Brigade, and the other must be found from other production teams. Otherwise, the members will feel that it is unfair."

The captain had no objection: "But what about Yuncheng?"

Ye Fan was speechless, and wanted to praise him for always thinking about his own people: "With the passenger ship that goes out at a fixed time and fixed point, people from outside can come in, and it will definitely be busier than it is now. As for what to do, I haven't decided yet. Let's wait until Su Yuncheng finishes the college entrance examination. By the way, Duofu, you will still lead the people and follow the car for the first few shipments."

Su Duofu said without hesitation: "It should be. Let them take turns to help me with the goods. After August 15th, let them run away on their own."

Ye Fan: "When you go out of the island to rent a transport truck, ask someone about the number of technical secondary schools in the city and what they teach. If you can't get into university, you can go to a technical secondary school. Technical secondary schools also guarantee job placement."

The team leader asked hurriedly: "Can we take the technical secondary school entrance exam after graduating from junior high school on the island?"

Ye Fan nodded.

The captain immediately told Su Duofu not to forget it.

Ye Fan: "Write an application to join the party when you get back. But don't write it yourself. Your wording is not good. Ask Su Yuanhang's father to help you write it."

The captain's eyes lit up and he couldn't help but say, "Yes. The old secretary is the best at writing materials."

"Then I'll go find the old secretary?" Su Duofu said as he was about to leave.

Ye Fan hurriedly stopped him, "Don't mention me. Say you want to join the party. If he says your family background is not good and you used to be a fish tyrant and a team leader, just say it's a different era. Let Su Yuanhang's father write it, don't blame him if the higher-ups don't agree."

The captain said without hesitation: "I say! Actually, Duofu's family is not a fish tyrant. It was his grandfather who ordered people to build the village primary school."

Ye Fan smiled and comforted the two: "Things before the founding of the People's Republic of China are not important. Besides, the higher-ups will send people to investigate. Come here after you finish writing your application to join the party. I will write you a letter of recommendation. Take your application and the letter to the Organization Department."

Su Duofu: "Myself?"

Ye Fan: "If you don't want Su Yuanhang's father to accompany you, then send a telegram to Su Yuanhang and ask him to take a leave on Friday and accompany you on Saturday. Su Yuanhang is a party member and a student of a key university, so his words carry more weight than his father's."

The captain couldn't believe it: "How can a student from Yuanhang speak so well?"

Ye Fan: "If Su Yuanhang wants to go into politics, his first job after graduation can be in the Municipal Organization Department. If he's lucky, he can stay in a provincial unit."

The two were shocked and exclaimed in unison: "Oh my God!" Then they said in unison: "Does the old secretary know?"

Ye Fan said unhappily, "Does he know that Hengshan Island can still accommodate him?"

The two wanted to laugh. They also felt that Su Yuanhang's father didn't know, otherwise he would dare to go to the food factory every day to give orders.

But then again, Su Duofu did not send a telegram to Su Yuanhang - what's the point of asking someone for help and asking them to come here by car?

Su Duofu's family had saved several hundred yuan in the past few years. After Su Duofu received Ye Fan's recommendation letter and Su Yuanhang's father's letter of introduction for joining the party, he asked his wife to give him fifty yuan, packed a bag of ready-to-eat dried fish, and then went out to sea on his own fishing boat.

Su Duofu arrived in Hangzhou in the evening. With a letter of introduction from the food factory, he was able to stay in a guesthouse in the university town. The next morning, Su Duofu went to the university to visit Su Yuanhang. Su Yuanhang was very annoyed with Yan Yang, because Yan Yang was as much of a tyrant as his father. So when Su Yuanhang heard that Yan Yang was leaving and Ye Fan wanted Su Duofu to be the factory director, he immediately asked for leave from his teacher and took the bus to the train station.

In the car, Su Yuanhang wrote a letter of introduction to Su Duofu for joining the party as a college student. He was worried that his father's letter was not important enough.

In the evening, they arrived in the city of Yongcheng and stayed in a guesthouse. The next morning, Su Yuanhang took Su Duofu to the Organization Department. When Su Yuanhang saw the receptionist, he said that he used to be the director of Hengshan Food Factory and is now a student at Jiangda University.

The word "Jiangda" startled the receptionist. Without waiting for Su Yuanhang to introduce Su Duofu, he stretched out his hand and said, "Welcome, Comrade Su, please come in. Is there anything I can help you with?" As he spoke, he led the way and took them to the office to have tea and wait.

Su Duofu was born before the founding of the People's Republic of China. When he was young, his family was rich and he did not receive such hospitality when he went to relevant units with his father to do business. Su Duofu had to believe that Su Yuanhang was more effective than his father, Secretary Su.

However, what he didn't expect was yet to come. The deputy minister came out to receive them.

The deputy minister first asked about the recent situation of Director Su, and then talked about the only state-owned factory in Hengshan Island, praising him and Ye Fan for their good work and hoping that they would continue to work hard. When the pleasantries were almost over, the deputy minister asked if Su Duofu was the new director.

Su Yuanhang handed over the recommendation letter, the party application, and Su Duofu's personal materials: "Not yet. He is not a party member yet. Please approve it."

When the deputy minister saw Su Duofu's family background - he used to have his own ship and was a sailor and businessman, he couldn't help but frown slightly. But when he saw that he was the one who had transported goods to the capital in recent years, he probably understood why Ye Fan recommended him to be the factory director - professional matters should be left to professionals.

Years ago, Su Yuanhang was admitted to university, but Ye Fan and Su Yuanhang did not recommend this person, which shows that the timing was not ripe at that time.

Ye Fan's caution reassured the deputy minister, who smiled and nodded slightly, and then called someone in from outside, and helped them get it done in more than half an hour. During this period, the deputy minister was not idle either, chatting with Su Yuanhang about Jiangda, and even said that he was stupid and had worked very hard to get into Hangzhou Teachers College.

Su Yuanhang said that everyone has something they are better at, and he is just good at studying. It is not okay to let him do anything else.

The deputy minister was very pleased. Su Yuanhang was a talented person with a proud character but not arrogance. He came from a rural background and had work experience. If he could stick to his original intention, his future would definitely be bright.

The deputy minister sent the two men to the outside of his office and then asked someone to escort them out.

Su Duofu was still dreaming when he got to the gate: "Is it done?"

Su Yuanhang: "It's not a big deal. With our makeshift team, only Yan Yang took it seriously. The higher-ups definitely didn't send Yan Yang there expecting him to develop the food factory."

Su Duofu didn't understand: "Then why ask him to come over?"

"Gold plating. The food factory has a stable customer base, and there aren't too many trivial matters on the island. If he stays there for three to five years, he can be a street director in the city, or a deputy director of a large state-owned unit if he doesn't join the Organization Department." Su Yuanhang said, "The higher-ups really care about us. When I went to the city to apply for a food factory, the city would send a factory director or an accountant to help us. But you saw the result. Even if I said I could sell the products to the capital, the higher-ups told us to do it ourselves."

Su Duofu: "Then Yan Yang doesn't know?"

"The people who transferred him here must have told him. Yan Yang probably thinks I'm in my thirties and I'm in my prime. Why would you let me retire in the food factory? What a joke. I will definitely do something great to make you look at me differently." Su Yuanhang made himself laugh when he said this. "It's not that easy to run a factory. Which large factory in the city wasn't supported by the government? Take your family's big fishing boat, for example. It took two generations to build it. He wanted to reform when he first arrived on the island, but now he wants to get rid of himself."

Su Duofu couldn't help laughing, "Yes. If he brings money or clients with him, we don't mind if he has three ideas a day. Just like Accountant Ye, when she was selling goods, it was a mess. She yelled, "Line up!" The villagers immediately lined up, more obedient than elementary school students. Is it because Accountant Ye has a loud voice?"

Su Yuanhang nodded: "Are you going to the station or where else?"

"Let's eat." Su Duofu said, "Let's go to the state-owned restaurant."

Su Yuanhang shook his head: "I will miss the last bus if I go back after dinner. I want to walk to school. I can eat at any time. You should go back soon too. I will go to the other side to take the bus, you wait here, but you have to change buses."

Su Duofu decided to wait until he was on holiday before inviting him to his home for dinner: "Then be careful on the road."

Su Yuanhang waved his hand, looked around to see if there were any cars on the road, and then went the other way.

Su Duofu told his family that he would be able to go back this afternoon if nothing went wrong. His old father waited for him on the shore in a boat after breakfast. Su Duofu saw a boat from a distance on the beach and ran over. When he got closer, he saw that it was his own boat and guessed that his father had been waiting for a long time.

Su Duofu knew what his father was waiting for, so he handed over his identity change documents as soon as he got on board. When his father saw the appointment letter, he burst into tears - the Su family, which was still a member of the black/five categories two years ago, actually had a party member.

Su Duofu also felt a lot in his heart: "Dad, let's go back."

Lao Su carefully put away the materials and said, "Ah Fu, we have to thank Accountant Ye very much."

Su Duofu: "Thank you, of course. But Accountant Ye doesn't want verbal or material thanks. I can lead the villagers to make a lot of money, which is the best way to thank her."

Old Su nodded: "Then you should pay more attention to it. Don't learn from Yan."

"I'm not stupid." Su Duofu laughed, "Dad, you don't know, when I went to the ministry today--" he told the whole process of meeting the deputy minister, and finally said, "They didn't mention Secretary Su at all. It's like they didn't know him. How is this possible? The top leader on our island must be appointed by the city. But in the eyes of the minister, he is not as good as Yuanhang, a college student."

Lao Su couldn't help but ask: "Is the status of a Yuanhang University student so useful?"

Su Duofu: "Yuanhang School is good. I decided to let our eldest son go back to junior high school."

"But she will be twenty in three years." Old Su shook his head, "She is still a girl, and she can find a husband in two years." Su Duofu shook his head: "It is different now. Junior high school and high school are two years old now. You graduate from junior high school at the age of nineteen and take the college entrance examination at the age of twenty-one. You will only be twenty-five when you graduate from college. If you study for three years at a junior college, you will only be twenty-four. Accountant Ye was twenty-five when he came to our island and had two children, but he did not delay the establishment of the food factory."

Lao Su: "If you've made up your mind, go ahead. There's a middle school on the island, and it won't cost much to eat and live at home. If you go to high school in the city, your salary will be able to afford it. It would be great if you could get into college, and the government will support you."

"The university policies are so good now, it would be a shame not to go to university." Su Duofu said this, but he was unsure in his heart. He stayed at home for a night and borrowed Su Yuanhang's bicycle to go to Ye Fan's house the next day.

The captain met him at the intersection and asked Su Duofu to return the car and he would drive the hand tractor over there later.

There were other members at the intersection, and Su Duofu was embarrassed, fearing that they would gossip. The team leader noticed this and asked the members, "Do you have any objections?"

Everyone said they had no objection - the factory director was in the Lotus Production Team, so even if they couldn't get any help from Su Duofu, other teams wouldn't dare to bully them.

The team leader took Su Duofu back to the production team, then changed to a tractor and drove straight to Ye Fan's house.

Ye Fan was washing clothes at home. When he heard the sound, he looked up and saw the two of them turning off the engine and coming in. Seeing them, Ye Fan smiled and asked as if they were hit by a pie in the sky, "Did you do it?"

Su Duofu nodded: "It's done!"

Ye Fan: "Is it going well?"

"It went very smoothly." Su Duofu said, and suddenly remembered that he forgot to tell the captain about his visit to the Organization Department yesterday, so he recounted what happened at that time, and then said: "No one asked how Secretary Su is doing recently. Accountant Ye, I decided to let my eldest daughter go to junior high school."

Ye Fan was surprised: "Your family was well off before. Why didn't you go to junior high school?"

The team leader knew something about this matter: "His family was in a special situation before. His daughter was often bullied when she was in primary school. I thought it would be better if she went to junior high school, but there are not only naughty boys from our production team, but also from other production teams. Seeing that she is honest, they also like to tease her. Junior high school seems to be only in the first half of the semester?"

Su Duofu: "Last month. No one should dare to bully her now."

Ye Fan: "Then let her study. She's been out of school for a few years, right? Why not arrange for her to go in recently, let her adapt to the learning atmosphere first, and then ask her to go to the first grade in the fall?"

There are many cases on the island where students go to school halfway through a semester or suddenly decide to go. There are also students who go to class happily today, but don’t want to go after a night of sleep. Parents think that if their children only have half the academic performance, they will not be able to get into university. They forget that if they pass the exam, they can get into a technical secondary school.

For example, who would have thought that Niu Xiaoshan, the son of Deputy Head of the Regiment, could pass the exam? Even Liu Guihua, who supported him the most, was prepared for her son to try again three times.

There is also the one from Shanxi Brigade, who was the last one to enter the Agricultural University. He wrote home a few days ago saying that he was Sun Shan from their department.

Su Duofu said: "I think so too."

Ye Fan looked at the captain and said, "Your grandson is not a child anymore, right?"

The captain sighed, "He's really not cut out for study. I plan to have him learn carpentry, and if he doesn't learn well, I'll have him go fishing and farm with me." Seeing the clothes by the water pump, "Accountant Ye, you go get busy."

Ye Fan: "Wait a minute, I learned two days ago that after a period of beekeeping, a queen bee will appear. There is only one queen bee in a beehive. When a new queen bee appears, the hive must be divided. But if there are too many divisions, there are not enough flowers here. So ask your grandson if he wants to raise bees. Your place is far from here, and the bees cannot fly to this place to get nectar sources. The beekeepers of the Shanxi Brigade should be willing to take him."

"I'll go back and ask." When the captain of the Lotus Brigade got home, he asked his grandson if he wanted to raise bees.

Beekeeping sounds interesting, so the team leader's grandson wants to go to the Shanxi team to take a look.

The rapeseed flowers planted by the river have recently bloomed, and the beekeepers are very busy because they lay eggs in the spring and the honey is good, so they have to check every few days whether to divide the boxes. The beekeepers were worrying about what to do after the bees were divided, when the leader of the Lotus Brigade arrived with his grandson.

When the team leader asked to learn beekeeping, the beekeeping members agreed to give him the divided bees without even thinking about it.

If the beekeeper has a car, he can go out with the flowering season. Unfortunately, without a car, he can only wander around the fields and rivers. Fortunately, there are flowers everywhere on the island this year, with spring flowers in spring, lotus in summer, chrysanthemums in autumn and plum blossoms in winter, so there is no need to use sugar to keep the honey alive in the cold winter - you can also go out to collect honey in winter when the weather is warm, because it is common for the island to have temperatures of more than 20 degrees at noon in winter.

Beekeeping is easy to learn, provided you are not afraid of being stung.

The grandson of the captain of the Lotus Brigade is as young as a newborn calf and is not afraid of a tiger, let alone a tiny bee.

In late April, the team leader and his grandson moved the separated bees to the Lotus Production Team. In the first half month, the bees were not used to it and did not produce much honey. When the bees became familiar with the surrounding environment, a new queen bee appeared in the beehive.

Fortunately, they used this time to make a few boxes. The captain accompanied his grandson to divide the boxes smoothly, and he felt a sense of accomplishment when he saw two boxes become four boxes. At this time, someone shouted: "Captain, collect duck feathers and goose feathers!"

The beehives did not require special personnel to look after them, so the team leader asked his grandson to go home and get the wool while he went to the production team to drive the car.

The first time they sold duck and goose feathers, the members were suspicious, so everyone went to watch the people from the garment factory weighing them. After the second time, it felt like selling seafood, so the busy members marked their bags and asked their neighbors to bring them over.

Not many people went there, and the team leader went back and forth four times to send the duck feathers, goose feathers and people to the vegetable market.

Su Duofu and a garment factory worker were outside weighing and checking the wool, while Ye Fan bargained with the cashier. Ye Fan recently asked Su Duofu to inquire about the price of down jackets. Ye Fan also asked Liu Guihua how much a duck weighed, and then calculated carefully. It turned out that the garment factory made too much money. Ye Fan felt that he was being cheated if he didn't raise the price, so he asked the cashier to raise it by one yuan.

The cashier shook his head: "The price we offered is not low. Besides, we rented the wagons and transport vehicles ourselves."

Ye Fan chuckled: "Did you forget that I'm an accountant?"

The cashier wondered why she asked that.

Ye Fan: "I've calculated for you, there's still money to be made from a duck's feathers." He wrote a "4" on the paper, "I meant one, not a pound of duck feathers."

The cashier's face changed slightly. "You-you have been to our factory?"

Ye Fan shook his head, "I've been to a department store in Hangzhou. There are duvets from your factory in the store. I've deducted the workers' wages, fabrics, travel expenses, and all the costs of drying, washing and ironing the duck feathers. You can still make a profit at this price. It's hard and dangerous for fishermen to go out to sea. It's not easy to save some duck and goose feathers. You can raise the price a little more."

"No way!"

Ye Fan continued to discuss: "Why don't we go back and ask the factory director? We are a socialist country. Your factory has to hand in the money it makes, right? What do the higher-ups use this money for? In addition to raising troops and conducting scientific research, isn't it used for the benefit of the people? For example, clearing rivers, paving roads and building bridges, setting up schools, and building hospitals? If the people are richer, there will be fewer conflicts between people, and public resources can be saved, right?"

The cashier was both angry and amused: "We are from Shanghai. Even if it benefits the people, the people are the people of Shanghai."

Ye Fan put away his smile and said, "Are you sure it won't increase?"

"You still want to put an advertisement in the newspaper to tell everyone that a duck feather can be sold for four dollars?"

Ye Fan shook his head: "This is too mean. I can remind the Yongcheng government and ask them to set up a garment factory. The Yongcheng leadership team leader went to the provincial government to cry about poverty, and the provincial leaders went north. Do you think the higher-ups will send people to your garment factory to learn?
"I can also help introduce Yongcheng Garment Factory to the capital. No one wants your down jackets and duvets further south. Your down jackets are useless after you pass Shanhaiguan. People in the southwest or on the grasslands have their own ethnic costumes and don't like to wear outer clothes. The main sources of customers are in the provinces around the capital."

The cashier was speechless: "You, you are simply threatening!"

"Two yuan more per pound?" Ye Fan looked at her with a smile.

The cashier opened his mouth and said: "You - we are all women, why should women embarrass women?"

Ye Fan laughed: "You said it as if the people who pick up duck and goose feathers are not women. Do you want to go out and see how many female comrades are waiting for you to pick them? I dare say that the duck and goose feathers here are the cleanest. Besides, I only said that the price will increase by two yuan per catty, and I didn't say that goose feathers are better than duck feathers--"

"Wait, isn't it one dollar per pound?"

Ye Fan: "Three pieces?"

The cashier said hurriedly, "No—two dollars, two dollars, but I don't have that much money."

"You can write me an IOU." Ye Fan said, "Tell your factory manager what I just said. He will definitely praise you for your quick mind and your ability to calmly deal with the rising prices."

The cashier was annoyed, thinking to himself that it was hard for you to raise the price: "Our factory manager won't fall for your tricks."

Ye Fan wanted to laugh: "Don't you want to know how a small accountant like me dares to give advice to the leadership team of Ningbo City?"

The cashier thought about it for a moment, and then asked, "Where are you from?"

"From the capital. My husband is a soldier on this island. Our two families are well matched."

The cashier paused for a moment. No wonder she dared to say that she was helping Yongcheng Garment Factory introduce business. "Two yuan per pound, no more. But I really can't explain it to the factory director."

Ye Fan: "My hometown is in the capital's West City, and my father's last name is Ye. The factory director won't blame you for saying this."

"You - this is the first time I've seen someone using his or her identity to seek benefits for others." The cashier was speechless. "If you're not here in a few years, they won't remember who you are."

Ye Fan: "If I expect others to be grateful for everything I do, what's the point of living? Besides, I may not come back after I leave here. If I never see you again in this life, does it matter whether you thank me or not? It's enough for them to be polite to me in the few years I've been here."

The cashier was convinced: "Well, I'll write you an IOU. But I can't guarantee that the factory manager will really agree to this price."

Ye Fan: "If your factory manager dares to default on his debt, I will make sure that your factory's down jackets and duvets cannot leave Shanghai!"

(End of this chapter)