Five years of marriage, always separated [1970s]

Ye Fan rolled his eyes at her and said, "Do you think I'm going to pay attention to you?"

Dabao answered her: "My mother believes in herself."

Erbao nodded seriously: "Mom can pass the exam."

Chen Xiaohui was so angry that she was speechless. She wanted to return the incense to the two little ghosts, but she heard Geng Zhiye say, "There is a god above your head!"

As soon as these words came out, Chen Xiaohui suddenly thought of her own rebirth, and immediately pulled Geng Zhiqin up: "It is better to believe it than not to believe it."

Dabao felt that his aunt was perfunctory: "Be sincere. Sincerity will work!"

Geng Zhiye was amused: "You know so much?"

Dabao could sense his father's sarcasm and was about to fight back, but when he saw his aunt and uncle starting, he put his index finger to his mouth and made a "hush" sound, signaling his father to be quiet.

Geng Zhiqin knelt down with a speechless look on his face. After bowing three times, he asked where the Dabao incense was placed.

Erbao placed the incense burner that Tao Chunlan used to burn incense during the Spring Festival in the middle of the table: "Aunt, you need to speak. If you don't speak, the gods won't know what you are doing."

Geng Zhiqin was worshipping a god for the first time and was not very familiar with the job: "What are you talking about?"

Erbao thought about it and said, "The heavens and the earth are benevolent, the Jade Emperor has come to show his power."

Chen Xiaohui almost couldn't hold back her laughter.

Dabao frowned: "Serious! Auntie, you have to speak too."

"I said, what I said in my heart won't work if I say it out loud." Chen Xiaohui said.

Dabao snorted, "I didn't say that at all. Just keep praying like this, you won't be able to pass the exam even if you are supposed to."

Chen Xiaohui suddenly became anxious: "Don't talk nonsense! And, shut up, I'll tell you right away!" She was so scared that she immediately closed her eyes and prayed.

Ye Fan wanted to laugh but couldn't interrupt them, so her face turned red. Geng Zhiye couldn't help laughing when he saw her like this.

Dabao glared at his parents, seriously!

Geng Zhiye suppressed his laughter and nodded, serious, he was very serious.

Dabao sighed helplessly. There was really nothing he could do about these adults.

Chen Xiaohui opened her eyes: "Are you done?"

Dabao nodded, Chen Xiaohui lit the incense and stood up. She found that the popsicle on the table was about to melt, so she reached out to pick it up. Bang! She got slapped on the hand and the popsicle fell on the table. Chen Xiaohui was very unhappy: "Geng Dabao, what are you doing again?"

"The gods haven't eaten yet!" Dabao glared at her, do you know what's going on?

Chen Xiaohui opened her mouth to say something, but found herself speechless, so she simply sat down next to Tao Chunlan.

Dabao glanced at her helplessly and sat back down next to his mother.

Ye Fan asked seriously, "Dabao, when are we going to eat it? We can't just leave it here forever."

Dabao clasped his hands together and said, "Gods passing by, visitors from all directions, my aunt Chen Xiaohui is immature, please bear with her because she is young. Can I wait for three minutes?"

Chen Xiaohui stared and asked, "Geng Dabao, who is younger? Explain it to me clearly. Don't think that I won't beat you just because your parents are here."

Dabao asked curiously, "Auntie, do you dare?"

Chen Xiaohui suddenly felt like she was going to die, and she was pissed off to death by that naughty kid.

Ye Fan grabbed Dabao's little ear and said, "That's enough. Erbao, why are you standing there like the boy sitting under Guanyin?"

Geng Zhiye: "Count the time, and get the Coke once three minutes are up. Geng Erbao, come here, and drink it in the afternoon."

Erbao ran over and covered his father's mouth: "Don't say that!"

Geng Zhiye held her on his lap and said, "When you drink too much, your teeth become black, like black sesame paste from the south. Does that look good?"

Erbao shook her head, but she still stared at the table, and saw the fragrance turn a corner: "Dad, it's okay."

Geng Zhiye was surprised: "So fast?"

"The gods told me they left." Erbao pointed at the smoke that went straight up to the roof, "The smoke just nodded." He got off Geng Zhiye's lap and took the Coke, handing it to his father, "Dad, you drink it, leave a sip for me, one sip is enough for me."

Geng Zhiye turned to Ye Fan and asked, "What do you think?"
Ye Fan pinched his daughter's face, stood up and took a glass. Geng Zhiye opened the Coke and poured about 30% into the glass. Ye Fan handed the glass to Erbao, "Give brother a sip."

Erbao nodded: "I'll drink a sip, and the rest is for brother."

Dabao rolled her eyes. Ye Fan sat down and saw this. He wanted to ask him what he was doing. But when he looked up, there was only a little bit of cola left in the half cup. Erbao's face was bulging. Dabao poked her in the face. Erbao was caught off guard and sprayed cola all over the floor. Erbao was stunned for a moment, put the cup of water on the table, clenched his fists and fought with his brother.

Ye Fan pulled his daughter into his arms: "You are the first and you don't allow your brother to be the fifteenth? Are you the only smart one in the family? There is still a mouthful left in the cup, drink it."

"No!" Erbao pointed at the popsicle, "I want that one."

Geng Zhiye took it and bit off half of it, and gave the rest to her: "Is it too little?"

Erbao shook his head. He couldn't complain if he had enough to eat.

Geng Zhiqin wanted to laugh when he saw this: "Sister-in-law, they will be a real headache for you when they grow up."

Ye Fan turned to Dabao: "You went to military school--" and then looked at Erbao, "You too."

The brother and sister said in unison: "No!"

Ye Fan asked Geng Zhiqin when he would go back. Geng Zhiqin was so busy watching the fun that he was stunned when he heard this and asked, "Me?"

"It's almost noon. Let's go back in the evening?" Ye Fan asked.

Tao Chunlan was annoyed with Yu Wentao, but had no problem with Geng Zhiqin: "It's easy to get heatstroke in such a hot day, so go back in the afternoon. We are all not strangers, so there's no need to be so formal."

Dabao couldn't help asking, "Mom, when will my aunt come back? I miss my little sister."

Ye Fan's sister-in-law Li Mingyue gave birth to a daughter who was very well behaved, even better than Dabao and Erbao when they were young. If all children were like her, DINK families might also want to have a child. However, Li Mingyue was worried that if she behaved well for a month or two, Chen Xiaohui would cry the night before the college entrance examination, so she took her daughter back to her parents' home a week before the exam.

The temperature in the capital has been high these days and the children are suffering outside, so Li Mingyue called and said she would come back after Ye Fan was about to leave.

Ye Fan: "My sister's skin is delicate and will be hurt if exposed to the sun. She needs to stay at her grandmother's house until the weather cools down."

Erbao also likes the little sister who never cries no matter how much she is poked or teased, just like a rag doll, "Mom, I want to give my sister a gift."

Ye Fan was not surprised that Erbao knew about the gift. Ye Fan gave his niece a hundred yuan as a gift in front of her. Because Li Mingyue and Ye Jin didn't want to have children before, they thought that they could not spend all the money they saved - many things were restricted and there was no place to spend it, so every Spring Festival they gave Dabao and Erbao ten yuan each as New Year's money. Last year, Ye Fan didn't come back for the Spring Festival. This year, when they met, Ye Jin handed four red envelopes to the two children, each with five yuan, and Ye Fan felt that it was too little to show off.

Ye Fan was only concerned with telling his niece to hold on to the money, and didn't notice that Chen Xiaohui looked shocked, as if she was crazy for giving so much money to a baby.

Ye Fan nodded: "Okay. But Mommy has a question for you guys -" pointing to something on the table, "Who did you learn this from?"

Geng Zhiqin snorted, "Who else could they ask? Aunt Tao and my mom. How else would they know to put the incense in the incense burner?"

The brother and sister shook their heads together.

Several adults turned to them at the same time and said in unison: "No?"

Dabao shook his head: "I learned it from the grandma next door. She said that if you are polite, the gods won't be surprised. I think it makes sense, because my mother also said that if you are polite, the gods won't be surprised. Aren't gods just transformed people?"

Geng Zhiye: "How can you be the same as a human after becoming a god?"

Dabao nodded: "Mom said that it is difficult to change a person's nature. Like Sister Miaomiao's mother, she has always been so annoying."

Geng Zhiye was speechless.

Ye Fan was happy: "Dabao, her worship is different from ours."

Erbao: “Same.”

Ye Fan was very surprised: "She is also going to college?"

Tao Chunlan laughed: "She's not taking the exam. If Erbao hadn't told me, I would have forgotten that her youngest son is taking the college entrance exam this year. You probably don't have any impression of him. He's seven or eight years younger than you."

"I think I've seen him a few times. Has he rarely come out?"

Tao Chunlan: "Shy. I can't imagine what he is suitable to study."

Ye Fan: "Scientists, concentrate on research."

Dabao's eyes lit up: "Mom, I don't want to be a soldier, I want to be a scientist."

Geng Zhiye: "Can you keep your mouth shut?"

Dabao nodded: "I never talk in class."

Geng Zhiye was speechless again. Ye Fan couldn't help but sympathize with him, "Go wash the vegetables."

Tao Chunlan said subconsciously: "There is meat in the refrigerator."

Ye Fan opened the upper freezer and saw a large piece of meat: "This is lamb? And frozen shrimp? Looks like river shrimp?"

Tao Chunlan nodded: "Xiaohui bought it in the village."

Geng Zhiqin: "My grandma's side."

Ye Fan was shocked and quickly asked when this happened and who knew about this.

Geng Zhiqin suddenly remembered that day when Ye Fan and Geng Zhiye reminded Chen Xiaohui not to run around before taking Dabao and Erbao out. Then as soon as they left, Chen Xiaohui went to Geng's house to find Geng Zhiqin. When she saw Geng Zhiqin, she complained about Ye Fan's nagging.

Seeing that her sister-in-law looked guilty and dared not speak, Ye Fan immediately understood: "The day we went to Uncle Dabao's house? You dared to run around the day before the college entrance examination. You two are really - Mom, you -"

"Don't blame me. I didn't know." Tao Chunlan said, "Xiaohui said she wanted to go out for some fresh air, and I thought it would be good to change her mind, but I didn't expect her to run to the countryside."

Chen Xiaohui couldn't help but feel scared when she thought about it now. What if she got hit by a bicycle and broke her hand? She would lose heart and not want to go to college. Then she would have to live the same life as in her previous life. "I-I was upset during those days, and I was even more upset when I saw you guys."

Ye Fan said unhappily: "Because my name is Ye Fan?"

Tao Chunlan couldn't help but look at Chen Xiaohui. When did Fanfan ever bully you?
Chen Xiaohui hesitated for a moment when she realized she was about to be misunderstood. She said, "Wait a minute." She went to the bedroom, took out a letter and handed it to Ye Fan. "Just read it."

Ye Fan put the shrimp and meat on the table and opened the letter. Geng Zhiye turned his head to read the contents of the letter. Chen Xiaohui wanted to scold him, but he had already read it - even if he didn't read it, he and Ye Fan were a couple, and if he asked Ye Fan, Ye Fan might tell him, "Just read it."

The eldest child clung to his mother's arm, and the second child climbed onto his father's legs. Chen Xiaohui was speechless when she saw this.

Geng Zhiqin laughed: "You are so rude."

Erbao didn’t know how to read and couldn’t understand: “Mom, what’s written?” Ye Fan: “One of your Aunt Xiaohui’s relatives told her to do well in the exam and told her not to forget them after she got into college, because they raised her. How shameless!”

Erbao didn't understand why his mother cursed, but his mother was sure she was right: "How shameless!"

Dabao nodded: "A relative is also very nice - no, mom, isn't aunt grandma's daughter?"

Ye Fan: "They only had two sons, and they wanted a daughter so they stole your aunt Xiaohui away. Later, when your aunt grew up and heard that she looked like your grandmother, she suspected that she was not their biological daughter and confronted them. They didn't dare to hide it and sent your aunt here."

Dabao understood: "Like when a classmate stole my pen and I found out, he returned it to me and said to the pen, 'You've been at my house, I need you in the future, do you still have to help me write?'"

Ye Fan nodded subconsciously, but when he saw Dabao's childish face, he couldn't help but turn to Geng Zhiye. Does he really understand?

Geng Zhiqin, Chen Xiaohui and Tao Chunlan were sitting on the long sofa opposite each other. When they heard Dabao's words, they looked at each other in surprise. Kids nowadays are so smart.

Geng Zhiye praised his son and then asked, "Dabao, do you think we need to care about what your classmates think?"

Dabao didn't understand: "Why should I care?"

"He is your classmate." Geng Zhiye reminded.

Dabao: "But he is a thief. I should ask the uncle in the wide-brimmed hat to catch him. But a pen is not needed. Hey, auntie, you didn't ask anyone to catch them?"

Chen Xiaohui secretly glanced at Tao Chunlan and saw that she was smiling and looking at Dabao with satisfaction, "After all, you raised me up."

Dabao was speechless and wanted to ask if he was stupid. But he couldn't be rude to his elders. Dabao thought for a moment and said, "My classmate stole my pen and when he gave it back to me, he said, 'Look, I protected it very well. Should I thank him?'"

Geng Zhiye was delighted and said meaningfully, "My son is very smart!"

Chen Xiaohui wanted to curse again: "Are you going to cook or not? The shrimps are all melted."

Ye Fan picked up the shrimp and meat and kicked Geng Zhiye's foot. Geng Zhiye put his daughter on the ground. Dabao couldn't help asking, "You're leaving before you've finished talking?"

"Your aunt is not stupid. She knows what to do." Ye Fan asked Geng Zhiye to pick some cucumbers and tomatoes to make tomato and egg noodles and smashed cucumbers.

When Dabao heard that he really had to cook, he immediately forgot about the letter and said, "Mom, let's stir-fry the mutton and braise the shrimp."

Ye Fan: "Stir-fried lamb is fine, but boiled shrimp and braised shrimp take time. The kitchen is too hot and I can't stand it."

Erbao rummaged through the drawers and boxes.

Tao Chunlan asked: "What is Erbao looking for?"

When Chen Xiaohui saw that she was attracted by Erbao, she picked up the letter that Ye Fan had left on the table and ran back to the bedroom. Tao Chunlan heard the noise and turned around, just in time to see her back, and sighed helplessly.

Geng Zhiqin had heard her sister-in-law complain, and she didn't know why Chen Xiaohui was so afraid of Chen Kuanren and Zhao Ruping: "Aunt Tao, not everyone is a sister-in-law. When I encountered the same situation as Xiaohui, I didn't have the courage to break up with the Chen family. Parents are different from others. For example, my dad, Erbao could push him down, but when he scolded me loudly, I wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into. Also, when I was in school, the teacher was obviously very polite to me, but I was still afraid of the teacher."

Tao Chunlan had been involved in the revolution for many years. She had the courage to resist her old-fashioned parents and debate with her pedantic teachers. She could not understand the fear Geng Zhiqin mentioned: "I didn't ask her to break off contact with that side, but sometimes -"

"You feel unhappy and want to talk about it?" Geng Zhiqin smiled, "I can understand. My sister-in-law's neighbor is very stubborn and won't listen to advice. Last year, she forced her daughter to want to die, but she refused to listen to my advice. So my third brother can't help but complain about her when he mentions her."

Tao Chunlan asked hurriedly: "Who committed suicide?"

Dabao said he knew, and then he told grandma in his little mouth.

Tao Chunlan was like listening to a book from heaven, unable to imagine that Zhuang Qiuyue had such a side: "Isn't she a nice person? When your mother and I were together, she would greet me every time she saw me. She was more polite than your mother in speaking."

Erbao finally found what she was looking for: "Grandma, can this prevent heat stroke?"

Tao Chunlan looked over and was very pleased: "Second baby is really smart. Give it to mommy?"

Erbao nodded, "Grandma, give me a bottle of Fengyoujing and put it in my pocket. My mother gave me one on the island, and I would apply it when there were mosquitoes."

Tao Chunlan had several bottles of Fengyoujing at home. She found two bottles and put them in Dabao and Erbao's pockets. Erbao took Huoxiang Zhengqi water and ran to the kitchen: "Mom, drink some if you feel uncomfortable."

Ye Fan didn't react, Geng Zhiye wiped his hands and took it: "Thank you, Baoer."

Erbao happily skipped back to the living room.

Ye Fan asked: "What is it?"

"Huoxiang Zhengqi Water." Geng Zhiye put it on the windowsill. "Cooking noodles is not as good as steaming rice."

Ye Fan: "There is hot water in the thermos, so it will be quick to cook noodles and shrimp. Besides, mutton and tomatoes are quick dishes. It's really hot right now, the mutton will melt in a short while."

Geng Zhiye: "You marinate the mutton, and I'll wash the vegetables."

The weather was hot and the coals burned quickly. Ye Fan sliced ​​and marinated the mutton and lit the stove. He first boiled the shrimp with onion and ginger, then boiled the noodles with boiling water. After the noodles were cooked, he took them out and rinsed them with cold water. Geng Zhiye made fried eggs with tomatoes and stir-fried mutton.

After more than half an hour, four dishes and a bowl of noodles were served. Dabao and Erbao both wanted noodles with tomato and egg. Ye Fan served them half a bowl of noodles, covered them with egg, but without tomatoes, because they liked the taste of tomatoes but didn't like fried tomatoes.

Around five o'clock in the afternoon, Ye Fan packed her luggage and went back to her husband's house with Geng Zhiqin - more than half of Geng Zhiye's vacation had passed, and she had not been back yet.

In front of Geng Zhiqin, Tao Chunlan was too embarrassed to say that she would go back in a few days. She asked Ye Fan when he would leave.

Ye Fan: "In another five or six days. Tell Geng Zhiye to go to the train station tomorrow and buy the tickets and then call you. But don't go to see us off in such a hot day."

Tao Chunlan agreed superficially, but on the day Ye Fan went back, she still got up early in the morning to prepare food, then took the bus from her home to the bus station to meet Ye Fan.

That day, Geng Zhiqin and Yu Wentao went to the station to see off Ye Fan's family of four. Seeing Geng Zhiqin's reluctant expression, Ye Fan said, "Aunt Yu, Huihui is old enough now and can take care of Dad. When Xiaoqin gets the admission letter, will we go to the island to play for a few days?"

Yu Wentao was very happy that Ye Fan welcomed her so much: "We'll talk about it after Xiaoqin passes the exam."

When Geng Zhiqin thought about having to wait for the notice, he suddenly stopped envying his brother and sister-in-law who could return to Hengshan Island, where it was hot during the day and cool at night, and where they could eat as much fruit and seafood as they wanted.

Although Hengshan Island is nice, the journey to it is uncomfortable. Dabao complained when he arrived at the island: "Mom, I don't want to go back during the summer vacation. It's useless for anyone to take the exam!"

Ye Fan: "Mom will boil some water for you to take a bath."

"Can't we use cold water? Mom, I don't mind the cold. Brother Benben takes a bath with cold water."

Geng Zhiye pressed some water to wet a towel and wiped his daughter's face and neck: "Your brother Benben used hot water, water heated by the sun."

Dabao: "Tomorrow I will put a basin of water in the yard to dry."

Ye Fan nodded: "Okay. Let dad wipe his face."

When Dabao came to his father, he leaned on his arms, so Geng Zhiye could only wipe his face with one hand. After wiping him, Erbao wanted to be held, and Dabao grabbed Geng Zhiye's arm. Geng Zhiye could only hold one and drag the other back to the living room.

Probably because they felt better, they fell asleep in the living room within a few minutes. Geng Zhiye took out a bamboo mat and spread it in the living room, and put the two children on the floor to sleep, because there was a fan in the living room.

Ye Fan saw him come in. No one in the living room spoke. "Fall asleep?"

Geng Zhiye nodded: "Boil some more water so I can take a shower. I feel uncomfortable."

Ye Fan: "There's a pot of water. There's no water in the vat."

Geng Zhiye glanced at the water tank, went out with the bucket, fetched two buckets of water, cleaned the tank which had not been used for more than half a month, and then filled it up again.

Seeing that he looked tired, Ye Fan asked him to go to the living room to rest. When Ye Fan finished boiling water, Geng Zhiye fell asleep on the bench. Seeing this, Ye Fan sat down on the other side of the bench and took a nap.

When Liao Miaomiao arrived at Ye Fan's house, she saw Dabao and Erbao sleeping on the floor, while Geng Zhiye and Ye Fan were sitting on a bench, one on the south and one on the north. Liao Miaomiao wanted to go back, but Geng Zhiye woke her up with a start: "Miaomiao? Looking for Ye Fan?" He patted Ye Fan and said, "Fanfan, wake up, Miaomiao is looking for you."

When Ye Fan opened her eyes, she saw Liao Miaomiao was about to speak but hesitated. She immediately woke up and sat up straight: "Your mother changed your choice again?"

Dabao turned over and sat up: "Change again?"

Ye Fan was startled: "When did you wake up?"

Dabao was so tired and wanted to take a nap, but his brain was not tired, so he closed his eyes and rested: "I woke up as soon as Sister Miaomiao came. Sister Miaomiao, don't be afraid, I will help you!"

Geng Zhiye raised his hand at him and said, "Go and play somewhere else, don't make trouble!"

"Miao Miao, speak up, I'll make the decision for you!"

Liao Miaomiao wanted to cry but was embarrassed. However, when she sat down opposite Ye Fan and Geng Zhiye, she saw Dabao squeezed between his parents with a serious look on his face, like a little adult. She couldn't help but burst into tears. Her own mother didn't care about her as much as the neighbor's child.

Ye Fan sighed softly, and when he saw Erbao standing up with a confused look on his face, he pushed Dabao and winked at Erbao.

Dabao went to his sister and whispered something in her ear. Erbao lay down and continued to sleep, and Dabao returned to his parents again.

After a long time, Liao Miaomiao vented her anger and Ye Fan asked what happened.

Liao Miaomiao: "My mother helped me apply to Hangzhou Teachers College last year."

Ye Fan was not surprised: "Although it is a junior college, you can stay in Hangzhou and be a teacher after graduation, so there will definitely be a lot of people applying."

Liao Miaomiao nodded: "She said it's easier to get into a college."

Geng Zhiye couldn't help but ask, "Doesn't she know that many normal schools are three-year colleges?"

Liao Miaomiao shook her head: "Maybe I don't know. I applied to that school this year."

Geng Zhiye and Ye Fan were shocked and turned to look at each other. Could it be that she wanted to commit suicide on the day she received the admission notice? Thinking of this possibility, both of them panicked. Fortunately, they had seen a lot of things and calmed down instantly. Ye Fan pretended to be very confused: "Can I ask why?"

Liao Miaomiao: "I want to make money and move out as soon as possible. The teacher must have a dormitory, and my older brother and younger sister can live with me in the future."

It seems that the elder brother and younger sister have told her that they will rely on her in the future. Ye Fan felt relieved. Liao Miaomiao would not commit suicide if she had concerns in her heart. "Putting aside what your mother did, being a teacher in Hangzhou is not bad."

Liao Miaomiao nodded: "But my mom knew that I applied to the same school she changed last year. She scolded me every time she thought of it, saying that now you know she did it for my own good. She also said that she was foresighted. When my dad heard what my mom said, he also scolded me for eating rat poison and told me to change my temper in the future, otherwise I would have no friends. Aunt Ye, I can't stand it anymore." After saying that, she couldn't hold back her tears again.

Ye Fan had a headache, Geng Zhiye couldn't help but sigh, Dabao jumped up: "I'll go find them!"

The couple hurriedly grabbed the little firecracker and asked, "Who are you looking for?"

Dabao looked next door: "Liao Sanyang and Zhuang Qiuyue!"

Geng Zhiye hugged his son and said, "Don't be rude. You should call them uncle and aunt. Also, they scolded your sister Miaomiao just like your mother scolded you a few days ago when you secretly bought soda with Benben with your lucky money and your mother found out."

"It's different!" Dabao glared, "Mom was worried that I would have diarrhea, so she didn't allow me to eat secretly. It was for my own good. What did Sister Miaomiao do? Last year, Grandpa also asked my aunt to take the normal school exam. This year, my aunt took the exam, and Grandpa didn't scold her."

Geng Zhiye's father didn't dare to do so, fearing that his daughter would fail again because she cared about his words, so he secretly asked Geng Zhiye more than once if his daughter could pass the exam this year. He also asked what would happen if she failed. If he had known this, he would not have bothered her last year.

Yu Wentao also complained to Ye Fan, asking why he didn't persuade Geng Zhiqin to apply to Forestry University or Agricultural University instead of insisting on Capital Normal University.

Ye Fan: "Dabao, people have different perceptions. For example, you think the person who stole your pen is a thief, but your Aunt Xiaohui doesn't think so."

Dabao understood, but he was still very angry: "I don't care!" He stomped his feet in anger and lay down next to his sister.

(End of this chapter)