Five years of marriage, always separated [1970s]

Ye Fan thought that he did not steal or rob, and that he made money by relying on his own brain and physical efforts, and there was nothing shameful about it.

Seeing a few old men and women coming over, Ye Fan opened his scarf and asked, "Buying pork?"

An auntie asked: "Did you sell it in Dongcheng this morning?"

Ye Fan nodded and said, "We're only selling them today. If your neighbors want to buy some, please come over. All the other pigs in the village were taken away by the meat processing factory. We searched two villages before we found these."

The aunt heard from her daughter that Ye Fan originally didn't plan to sell it, "Do you have any pig fat?"

Ye Fan nodded: "Yes. But it's expensive."

Without saying anything, the old lady took out her handkerchief, opened it to reveal the money, and handed over the small bamboo basket of steamed buns. "Give them all to me."

The aunt who came with her was not happy: "We agreed to split it in half."

Ye Fan: "Let my wife weigh it first, and you guys go home and divide it slowly?"

The lady shook her head: "No! There's no way she'll give it to me if I take it to her house."

Geng Zhiye asked the old man if he wanted to buy meat and then cut some meat for him.

The old man asked how much spare ribs cost, and Geng Zhiye said the price was the same as pork. The old man asked for pork belly. But when he thought of his granddaughter's love for spare ribs, he asked for two more ribs.

Seeing that the old man bought a lot, Ye Fan gave him a big pork bone and half a head of sour cabbage. The two aunties who were fighting for the pork fat saw the red and white pork belly and realized that the good meat was going to be bought, so they took a step back and each took half.

In the first half hour, two or three people came, and sometimes four or five people came. It was not as crowded as in the previous times. Two villagers from Yujia Village were worried: "Will they not be able to sell out?"

Ye Fan: "If it's hard to sell here, go to the gate of a state-owned enterprise and sell it to workers getting off work."

Geng Zhiye reminded: "It's the weekend today. Except for a few units, most people are at home."

Ye Fan: "Then go to the entrance of the vegetable market and sell it."

Geng Zhiye's eyes widened and asked, "Why didn't you say you wanted to sell it in the vegetable market?"

The four villagers couldn't help laughing, but suddenly their smiles froze - three people walked towards this side, without baskets in their hands, with their hands in their pockets and stern faces, and they didn't look like they were here to buy meat.

Ye Fan followed the direction of their gaze and saw that three people had already arrived, two men and one woman. The two men were around 40 years old, and the woman was in her 50s or 60s, about the same age as Yu Wentao.

The female comrade came up and pointed at the transport truck and asked directly: "Who told you to sell it here? Move it away immediately!"

The four villagers were so frightened that they dared not say a word.

Can't you talk properly? Ye Fan asked: "Who are you?"

"I am the street director here!" the female comrade said loudly.

So he was just the director of the subdistrict? Ye Fan immediately smiled in relief and said unhappily, "If you hadn't told me, I would have thought you were the head of the Industry and Commerce Bureau."

The female comrade's face changed slightly: "How can you say that? The street director can't do anything about it?"

I didn't expect to meet someone who used chicken feathers as a token of authority. Ye Fanxin said, this is an eye-opener.

A male comrade who was traveling with us said, "Didn't you hear me? Move away quickly, or don't blame us for deliberately making things difficult for you."

Ye Fan was too lazy to talk nonsense with them and asked directly: "Which law or regulation did I violate?"

The female comrade asked back: "Didn't you know that pork is restricted from being sold privately?"

"There's no rule that prohibits raising pigs at home. Find one and I'll leave immediately!"

The gay man who had been silent frowned and said, "You are being unreasonable, aren't you?"

"If you say so, then I have something to say." Ye Fan took off the scarf that was covering his face and talked to him in a serious manner. "The higher-ups just proposed reform and opening up at the end of the previous year, and you are here to stop internal reforms. What's the matter? Do you have a problem with the higher-ups?"

The three people's faces suddenly changed, and they said in unison: "Don't accuse me of anything!"

Ye Fan sneered: "You can wave the flag, but you can't let me put the blame on you? It's true that no matter how high your position, your authority is still great!"

The female comrade had never encountered such a tough person in her years of work, and she was angry: "Don't waste your time talking to her! If you don't move, we will help you clean up!" As she spoke, she started to work. The four villagers stepped forward subconsciously, and Geng Zhiye pulled them over.

Ye Fan stepped aside: "Please! If you touch a piece of my flesh, I will make you pay for it!"

"Who are you trying to scare? You weren't even born when I was working." The female comrade grabbed the meat and tried to throw it on the ground, but Ye Fan slapped her hand before she could grab it. The female comrade was stunned. Two male comrades stepped forward, and Geng Zhiye came to Ye Fan. The two men were half a head shorter than Geng Zhiye, so they couldn't help but stop.

The female comrade had never been so embarrassed in her life. She came to her senses and wanted to fight with Ye Fan. Geng Zhiye winked at Ye Fan and said, "Go ahead and teach them a lesson. I'll watch them."

Ye Fan didn't dare to get close, fearing that the female comrade would grab his hair, so he kicked her to the ground. At this moment, a group of middle-aged men came running over and asked what was going on.

The female comrade immediately accused Ye Fan of hitting people.

Ye Fan: "Why don't you tell me why she hit you? She didn't allow me to sell meat here, and when I asked her which law or regulation I violated, she grabbed my meat and threw it to the ground when I couldn't tell her. Look how capable she is!"

The female comrade got up and said, "The higher-ups forbid private transactions. What was wrong with me asking you to go? You hit someone without saying a word. Let's see what you can do!" She grabbed Ye Fan's arm and said, "Come with me to the Public Security Bureau!"

The group of people who just arrived subconsciously advised: "Let's talk it over nicely!"

"There's no way to talk about this nicely!" the female comrade said loudly.

The gay man who came with her asked, "Are you here to buy meat? Go to the market! They are not allowed to do this legally!"

Ye Fan couldn't help but frown. There was really no explicit rule that farmers couldn't sell their own things. Even in the past ten years, there was no clear rule. What country's laws did he read? Ye Fan wanted to learn the law at this moment: "You are bullying others by taking advantage of your power, right? Unfortunately, I am not an ordinary citizen who can be scolded by you!" He looked at Geng Zhiye, "Go to the public telephone booth on the roadside and call, and ask the director of the Public Security Bureau to come to see me!"

The lesbian couldn't help but let go.

Ye Fan pushed her away and said, "I've been selling my meat for a few days now. The northern streets of West City don't care, while the northern and southern streets of East City turn a blind eye. How did you get here? Wait here. I'll drive you to the police station after I finish selling the meat!"

The three of them looked at each other, and the female comrade said, "Go ahead, who's afraid of you!"

Ye Fan nodded to show that he heard it: "Then you move aside first." He asked the group of middle-aged people who just came over, "How many kilograms do you want?"

The group of people looked at each other. Weren't they forbidden to sell? What was going on? One of the men was not afraid of trouble and immediately said, "Weigh me ten kilograms of pork belly."

Ye Fan: "Ten dollars."

The gay man took out a big unity card without saying a word.

Ye Fan took it and pointed at the pork shank bones. "Do you want this or pickled cabbage?"

“Sauerkraut!”

Ye Fan took two pickled cabbages and asked, "How are you going to take them back?"

The man pulled out two net bags from his pocket like a magic trick, one filled with pickled cabbage and the other with pork, muttering to himself, "Finally I can eat a lot of meat!"

The people who came with him were not polite either. You wanted three pounds of pork belly, I wanted five pounds of pork ribs, and someone else asked for a leg of meat. After paying, they said that the bones in the pig's trotter were big and he had made a loss, so Ye Fan had to give him two pickled cabbages.

Ye Fanxin said, "From your attitude, I thought you wanted me to give you half a pound of meat." Ye Fan not only gave him two pickled cabbages, but also a handful of green onions.

The comrade handed the meat to the female comrade next to him, asked her to take it home, and then asked: "No fish?"

Ye Fan recognized that it was the colleague of the comrade who sold fish in the morning, otherwise he would not know that he sold fish. Ye Fan shook his head apologetically: "Only the village near the river has fish. The pigs in the morning and the afternoon are not from the same village. At first we only wanted to sell them to our family and relatives, but we didn't know that no one sold meat, and many pigs were sold to the meat processing factory."

The comrade immediately said, "Don't sell it to them in the future." He glanced at the three people who were watching eagerly and said, "The government is turning a blind eye to this kind of thing now. If you still sell it here, I'll see who dares to stop you from selling it!"

The three of them couldn't help but look at each other. Who were these people? They took a few steps back without making a sound.

Ye Fan caught a glimpse of this scene from the corner of his eye and sneered, "Let's talk about it later."

"Are you scared?" The man looked at the three people. "What are your names? The district leader will come to my house to pay New Year's greetings in a few days. I'll talk to him. Such a serious and responsible comrade must be rewarded."

The three people suspected that he was bragging, but were afraid that it was true, so the female comrade said, "I have something else to do. I don't have time to talk nonsense with you!" Then she left.

Ye Fan said loudly: "You're leaving now? You're not going to the Public Security Bureau? If you do that, I'll set up a stall here every day!"

The three turned a deaf ear to them and left as quickly as they came. However, they came in high spirits and left in disgrace.

Ye Fan sneered and said to everyone, "Isn't that scary?"

Several female comrades whispered, "It's a bit scary."

The first man who bought meat said with a smile, "What are you afraid of? I'm here even if the sky falls." He said to Ye Fan, "I have a relative in the Industry and Commerce Bureau who said that speculation is not allowed openly. For meat raised at home, no matter how much you sell it for, as long as the buyer has no objection, no one will bother to ask. Only those few people are nosy. I don't know if they are too bored or if they are used to showing off during the ten years of revolution and it's hard to change."

The man who said "district leaders" said, "My father is actually just a small leader in the district, but the district leaders said at a meeting that the policies from above are unclear, so they will turn a blind eye to these things below. After the effect is good, they will definitely relax the policy and it will be difficult to tighten it again. Now is the trial stage, and even if you really go to the public security bureau, they will not lock you up."

Ye Fan smiled and said, "Thank you. But the Public Security Bureau doesn't dare to detain me directly."

The man who bought the meat first was knowledgeable and could tell at a glance that Geng Zhiye was extraordinary. He couldn't help but look at Geng Zhiye, curious about his background.

Geng Zhiye laughed: "She married me for a lower position."

The man was startled and asked what Ye Fan's parents did. Before Ye Fan could answer, he asked again, "Then why are you selling pork here?"

When the villagers saw so many people helping them, and the three of them coming and going in a hurry as if they were playing around, they suddenly became bolder and said, "The pork is ours, Fanfan will help us sell it, she has to go to school."

Ye Fan smiled and said, "Yes."

When the villager saw that Ye Fan did not stop him, he immediately asked himself and answered: "Do you know where our Fanfan goes to school? Peking University!" Then he gave a thumbs up.

The comrade subconsciously asked, "Are you from the third batch? Me too. Unfortunately, I was not good at studying before. I tried hard for two years but still failed to pass the exam."

Ye Fan: "It's also good to start working earlier and get pension earlier."

This comrade dared to buy a leg of meat because he was a regular employee. He was praised by Ye Fan, a student from Beijing University, and he felt very happy. He smiled and said, "Then you won't come here anymore?"

Ye Fan: "If it doesn't rain on the weekend and there's something to eat in the village, come over."

A female comrade asked, "Are there any eggs?"

Several villagers shook their heads together.

Ye Fan: "Sold it to the purchasing station."

The female comrade asked: "Is it still early for you to go to school? Can you come before the Lantern Festival? We want to buy some eggs. We have two children at home and they need nutrition, but every time we go to the supply and marketing cooperative, they say they are sold out."

Ye Fan looked at the villagers of Yujia Village. Two villagers nodded. Ye Fan said, "Come over if the weather is good. Chickens don't like to lay eggs in winter, and the supply and marketing cooperative may not have any. Don't be angry, it's New Year's Day, there will be meat, right?"

The female comrade couldn't help laughing: "Then cut me a few pounds of pork belly."

The villagers immediately cut the meat.

Maybe these people knew each other and were embarrassed to fight over the meat, so they bought the meat slowly. Ye Fan was not so busy that he felt like he was being chased by a wolf.

The last comrade who bought the meat saw that there was still a lot of meat in the car, so he said to Ye Fan, "I'll help you find someone."

Ye Fan immediately gave her a handful of green onion leaves.

The group of people who were about to leave couldn't help but praise Ye Fan for her business skills and said that she would be suitable for working in the Ministry of Commerce in the future.

This group of people are also very honest. After delivering the goods home, they come out to shout that there are pork for sale at the intersection and there is no purchase limit!

After about ten minutes, one or two people came over, and then a group of people came over.

When you buy meat, you get free bones, dried beans, eggplants, etc. This is a pleasant surprise for the citizens who buy meat. On the way back, they show off to people they know, saying that this is the first time in their lives that they have bought meat and received free vegetables. They tried to get meat tickets through connections a few days ago but failed. They think that country people are really generous.

Many law-abiding people disdain to deal with Ye Fan, but when they hear that the pork and vegetables are grown and raised by the villagers themselves, and that the car was rented with the help of the farmers' relatives in the city, they don't mind so much.

One of the well-behaved people discussed with her family about buying some meat, and she walked towards the transport truck.

When she ran into her neighbor at the intersection, she felt embarrassed and subconsciously wanted to hide, but the neighbor spoke first: "Teacher Sun, are you buying meat too?"

Teacher Sun nodded uncomfortably.

The neighbor was so happy that he didn't notice that her face looked strange: "Go quickly. There's not much meat left."

Teacher Sun hurried to the transport vehicle, but was too embarrassed to squeeze in. Fortunately, someone recognized her and pushed the people around her aside, "Get out of the way after you've bought your goods!"

Ye Fan subconsciously said: "Don't push, there's more."

"Ye Fan?"

Ye Fan looked in the direction of the voice. The woman wearing a cotton hat and glasses was in her forties and looked like she had seen him somewhere before. Geng Zhiye was beside Ye Fan, handing out gifts to everyone. Seeing this, he thought to himself that he might have really met Ye Fan's teacher.

Geng Zhiye saw that Ye Fan didn't recognize him: "Is he your teacher?"

Ye Fan dug out the name of his homeroom teacher from the depths of his memory: "Are you Mr. Sun? I haven't seen you for many years and I don't recognize you." He said to the uncles and aunts around him, "Everyone, make way and let my middle school teacher come in."

The uncles and aunts knew that Ye Fan was a top student at Peking University, so they were very respectful. One uncle also knew Teacher Sun, and said as he stepped aside, "Teacher Sun, your students are amazing."

Teacher Sun was so surprised to see Ye Fan that he didn't care about the neighbors saying "amazing" and hurriedly took two steps closer: "Is it really you?" Looking at Ye Fan's clothes, the cotton shoes on her feet were dirty and she was wearing sleeves, like a peasant woman who was walking around the stove, "How did you become like this?"

The old men and women were stunned, and Ye Fan was also stunned. What had happened?

Geng Zhiye couldn't help but frown, but he couldn't ask her why in public, so he said, "Teacher Sun, are you buying meat too? Fanfan and I will treat you."

"Do you know me? Who are you?" Teacher Sun looked at Geng Zhiye, very confused as to why she had no impression of him at all.

Geng Zhiye said: "I am her husband, and Fanfan's teacher is my teacher."

Teacher Sun was shocked. Isn’t Ye Fan’s target that person?

Geng Zhiye couldn't help but raise his eyebrows when he saw this. The teacher seemed very surprised.

Ye Fan was thirty-two years old, so it was normal for her to have a husband. Geng Zhiye suddenly remembered that his childhood friend had said that Ye Fan had a girlfriend and they were going to the countryside together. Could this teacher be an insider?

Geng Zhiye didn't dare to ask Ye Fan, fearing that he would annoy her. Geng Zhiye tried to ask his mother-in-law about it, but in her eyes, his wife was perfect and it was impossible for her to fall in love prematurely.

Geng Zhiye was afraid of being scolded by his mother-in-law, and he didn't dare to ask directly. As this was a rare opportunity, Geng Zhiye immediately asked, "I don't look like one?"

Teacher Sun subconsciously shook his head and thought to himself that it really didn't look like it.

Geng Zhiye was wearing a dirty military coat at the moment, and his wheat-colored face looked a little pale after working in the farm all summer. In Teacher Sun's eyes, he was just a farmer. Teacher Sun knew a little about Ye Fan's family situation. Both of her parents were very powerful, so how could they let Ye Fan marry a farmer?

Teacher Sun couldn't complain in public that Geng Zhiye was not worthy of Ye Fan: "No, I didn't expect Ye Fan to get married so early."

Ye Fan didn't have the ability to read minds, so he didn't doubt the teacher's words. He thought she had forgotten, "Teacher, I'm already 32 years old this year." Then he reminded the villagers to cut the meat.

The villagers chopped once. Teacher Sun subconsciously said, "No, not so much."

Ye Fan: "The extra is mine."

"That won't work. If you continue like this, I don't want it anymore." Teacher Sun said and left.

Ye Fan quickly told the villagers to cut it in half: "Teacher Sun, wait, I will charge you the same amount as others."

Teacher Sun stopped and the villager who was weighing the weight said, "Three catties and four ounces, let's count it as three catties."

Is this guy really nice? Teacher Sun thought to herself that Ye Fan didn't mind marrying down, probably because she was attracted by the simplicity of the villagers. Thinking of this, Teacher Sun felt much better and gave Ye Fan three dollars and fifty cents.

Ye Fan accepted the money but didn't give him the change. He winked at Geng Zhiye. Geng Zhiye felt a little sorry. It was a pity that Ye Fan was beside him and he couldn't ask directly. It was even more unfortunate that he met such a particular person who didn't even say a word.

Geng Zhiye took three pieces of pickled cabbage.

Teacher Sun waved her hand and refused. A neighbor who knew her said, "Buy meat and get pickled cabbage for free. Teacher Sun, please accept it." Then he asked her to look at her vegetable basket, which contained half a vegetable, "Give it to me too."

Teacher Sun was embarrassed: "But there are so many."

Ye Fan: "The cabbage is grown at home, it's not worth much."

The neighbor nodded: "Yes, it's just a token of my appreciation. If you don't want to eat pickled cabbage, go back and get a bowl and ask your students to dig a bowl of carrots and Laba garlic."

Teacher Sun pickled some garlic himself, but he didn’t think of using Chinese cabbage to make sauerkraut: “Sauerkraut is pretty good too.” He took it and said, “Ye Fan, you, don’t leave later, come to my house for dinner.”

Ye Fan: "No. The car belongs to the factory, and we have to send it back before the end of the get off work day."

"What if the meat is not sold out?" I heard that rural people have a hard time and they would not want to eat it all. Teacher Sun was reluctant to buy it all, "Don't worry, I will find someone for you right now." After saying that, he left. Ye Fan hurriedly called him, "Teacher Sun, no need, it will be sold out soon. If you find someone later and the meat is gone, they will blame you."

The neighbor smiled and said, "Yes, yes, Mr. Sun, no need to find anyone."

"But there is still so much left." Teacher Sun looked back at the meat in the car. There was probably still a piece of pork, and many ribs and bones.

Ye Fan said: "Everyone please give me some face and buy three to five kilograms each. If ten more people come, that will be enough."

The uncles and aunts nodded.

Teacher Sun was surprised when he saw this: "Why don't you buy it?"

"We have bought it." said an old lady.

Teacher Sun was getting more and more confused: "You bought it and it's still here?"

Auntie: "Look at this girl selling pork."

Teacher Sun didn't understand what was so good about selling pork, so he asked worriedly, "Ye Fan, do you really not need me to find someone?"

Ye Fan shook his head.

Teacher Sun said, "She should go home first." When she got home, she told her husband that the person selling pork was her former student, whose family was quite well-off. She didn't know why she married in the countryside and sold pork in such a cold weather. Her husband said, "Why don't you buy some more?"

The family had already bought three pounds of meat, a chicken and a fish. Teacher Sun was reluctant to buy more, so she asked her husband to go out and ask the neighbors if they wanted to buy meat.

Teacher Sun's husband thought that the neighbors had already bought it, because it was the neighbors who reminded Teacher Sun to buy meat. There were also a few teachers around who were as disciplined as Teacher Sun, who had never been to the black market or secretly traded with others. Teacher Sun's husband estimated that those families only had one or two pounds of meat bought with meat coupons, so he went over to ask if they wanted pork and said that he had bought it too.

The male and female teachers and Teacher Sun’s husband arrived at the intersection and saw Ye Fan and exclaimed, “Ye Fan!?”

Ye Fan was shocked and looked up. Everyone looked familiar. After searching her memory, Ye Fan's face changed slightly. They were all her middle school teachers.

Did you cause trouble to the teacher today?

Teacher Sun’s husband couldn’t help but say, “I forgot that they were Teacher Sun’s colleagues. They must have taught you.”

Ye Fan smiled and said, "You found it? Well, I just told Teacher Sun not to bother. Look, there are only a dozen pounds left."

Maybe there is nothing to do in winter, and the retired uncles and aunts at home are too bored, so they are reluctant to go home early when they finally encounter something new.

The old man who had helped Teacher Sun get others to move out of the way earlier did not go home either. He said, "Why bother Teacher Sun when we are here? I have already called my relatives to come and buy it."

Teacher Sun’s husband asked the person he brought with him, “Do you still want to buy it?”

Several teachers looked at each other and said, "Buy it."

Ye Fan asked the villagers to cut more than ten kilograms of meat into equal pieces and let the teachers choose. The teachers were about to go forward when an old lady squeezed in and said, "You are late, you are late, girl, do you have any more lard?"

Ye Fan: "It was sold out as soon as we got here."

"Then give me a few pounds of pork belly." The old lady casually pointed at a piece of meat and took out the money. She was afraid that if she was slow, she would be squeezed out by others. "I heard that if you buy meat, you will get vegetables for free?"

Ye Fanxin said that this was another person who was introduced by a relative or neighbor. "It was given as a gift. There are dried radishes, dried eggplants and beans, and pickled cabbage. You can choose one."

Geng Zhiye moved the vegetables from the front of the car to the back.

The old lady grabbed half a head of pickled cabbage and said, "I want this. By the way, how much are the spareribs?"

Ye Fan: "The ribs are the same price as the meat."

The aunt hesitated for a moment, gritted her teeth and ordered three ribs, muttering, "My grandchildren are very greedy."

Geng Zhiye gave her a pork shank bone and asked, "Can I help you cut it?"

Auntie nodded.

The villagers picked up their axes and cut the big bone sticks into four halves. The aunt put all the ribs and meat in a basket. It was heavy when she lifted it up. She couldn't help but ask with a smile: "Girl, will you come again after the New Year?"

Ye Fan looked at the villagers of Yujia Village, two of whom were hesitant. Seeing this, Ye Fan said to the aunt: "We can still find pigs. If it doesn't rain on the 14th day of the first lunar month, come over in the morning."

Auntie: "Is it still impossible to buy pigs in the countryside?"

Ye Fan said, "We only dare to sell for relatives. If we find someone we don't know, if he does something bad, we will be arrested."

The aunt thought about the current unclear policy and said, "It's better to be careful. If you come back, leave me a few pounds of fat meat."

Ye Fan nodded: "Take care."

The old lady waved and crossed the road.

Ye Fan turned to his teachers, who immediately stepped forward to ask him to weigh the meat, fearing that if he was too slow he would be pushed away by an old man who suddenly ran out.

When Mr. Sun's husband saw that there were still two ribs left, he asked the villagers to weigh them. The villagers cut the two remaining large bones and gave them to Mr. Sun's husband. Mr. Sun's husband said that he couldn't take all of them, so the neighbor immediately handed him the basket and said, "Put it here."

Teacher Sun's husband smiled bitterly. He had no problem taking everything. He would put the free stuff in his pockets. He just felt embarrassed to take the students' things.

Geng Zhiye put the bones in a basket and asked the old man and woman, "Do you want some pig lungs and liver? If not, we can go back."

Uncle: "I want to buy pig intestines."

Geng Zhiye: "The large intestine is difficult to clean. When we used to pull the pigs, the large intestine was not cleaned thoroughly. Let's do it after the New Year."

The old man was reluctant to buy the ones made in state-owned restaurants - they were expensive, but because he was greedy, he told him, "Come here again next time."

Ye Fan nodded and told the old men and women that it was time to go back. The old men and women immediately made way.

Teacher Sun's husband watched the car go away and sighed, "It's not easy!"

Teacher Sun's colleague nodded: "Her family is so well-off, but she actually sells pork. Are her parents gone?"

The neighbors who were about to leave stopped and said, "Are you talking about Ye Fan? No, she was selling it for her poor relatives in the countryside. The two villagers who were cutting and weighing the meat said that Ye Fan and her husband were the nephew's wife and nephew from their village."

Ye Fan's math teacher was shocked: "That's her husband? He's from the countryside too?"

The uncle who loves to eat large intestines said, "What are you looking at me with?" and said, "Her husband looks like a soldier."

"soldier?!"

Uncle: "Yes. Didn't you see that he was the one driving when we left? Farmers never use transport vehicles. Besides, that girl was able to get into Beijing University. She is so capable. Even if she marries a farmer, her husband will be able to get into university with her help."

Teacher Sun's husband's face changed again and again, and after a long while he managed to say, "Peking University?"

An old lady said, "My neighbor's son said it, it can't be wrong."

Several teachers wanted to be happy but also regretted not talking to Ye Fan more because they were afraid of saying something wrong and hurting her self-esteem.

At the same time, Geng Zhiye asked, "Were you scared by those people coming over just now?"

Ye Fan rolled his eyes and said, "A good father will have a good daughter!" He opened the car window and asked, "Were you scared by those people coming over just now?"

The villagers of Yujia Village smiled and said, "It's quite scary. But seeing that you are not afraid and dare to take action, we are not afraid anymore. Can we go there in the future?"

Ye Fan nodded: "Be honest and trustworthy, no one will dare to cause trouble to you. Even if you encounter someone who is deliberately looking for trouble, just go to the police station with them and ask your family to pick you up, and then call my mother-in-law. There is a store near my house with a public phone. I will write down the number for you later."

Several people thanked her repeatedly and told her to go to the car to avoid catching a cold.

Seeing that Ye Fan didn't take it seriously, Geng Zhiye dared to tease, "How do you feel about meeting a group of teachers?"

"It turns out that the teacher is craving for meat just like us."

Geng Zhiye couldn't help but roll his eyes: "You know that's not what I meant."

Ye Fan: "Drive carefully. I don't know if my sister-in-law is here."

Geng Zhiye's sister-in-law arrived at noon. Because she was not familiar with the route, she took the bus too far and only found out when the bus arrived at the Normal University. Fortunately, there was no need to change buses from the Normal University to the bus stop near Ye Fan's home, so she never took the bus again.

After getting off the car and walking to the entrance of the alley, Geng Zhiye's sister-in-law Yang Mengxia saw Dabao and Erbao. Yang Mengxia came up to them and called "Dabao". Dabao was stunned for a moment and shouted to the yard: "Grandma, Auntie is here."

Because Yu Wentao was afraid of her elder brother Geng Zhiye, she was particularly polite to Yang Mengxia. She asked Geng Zhiqin to take out two pounds of shrimp to defrost, and she took a sea bass to the kitchen.

A few days ago, Ye Fan gave 20 yuan to a temporary worker from Hengshan Food Factory who was delivering goods to the capital. The temporary worker helped Ye Fan bring two buckets of fish and shrimp. The shrimp was placed in the refrigerator, and the fish was hung on a rope outside - the capital did not have heavy snow, and the highest temperature was minus three or four degrees Celsius, so the outdoors was a natural refrigerator.

Yu Wentao braised half a pig's head that Geng Zhiye brought. She cut a pig's ear and some pork head meat, and two pounds of pork belly. She used part of it to fry sea bass and the rest to stew cabbage.

Geng Zhiye's two nephews were greedy and tried to restrain themselves at first, but Yu Wentao and Geng Zhiqin always asked them to eat more, and they ate too much without realizing it.

Yu Wentao was very happy to see the dishes clean, and felt that the two older grandsons were giving her face, so she asked, "What do you want to eat tonight?"

Yang Mengxia: "It's still early in the evening. Aunt Yu, where are Fanfan and Lao San?"

Geng Zhiqin was afraid that her eldest sister-in-law would have objections, so she said that the villagers wanted to sell the pigs for a few more dollars and asked her third sister-in-law to think of a solution. The third sister-in-law went to the factory to rent a car, and the villagers killed the pigs, and she and her third brother took them over to sell.

Yang Mengxia: "Isn't it your uncle's?"

Yu Wentao's heart skipped a beat. Geng Zhiqin didn't panic: "My uncle only had two, and they were sold the day before yesterday. The ones sold in the past two days were from other villagers."

Yang Mengxia nodded: "It's good to make some money for myself and help my neighbors make some money! When will you come back?"

Yu Wentao was a little surprised, thinking that this daughter-in-law was just like the second daughter-in-law and her family, who thought it was embarrassing to set up a stall outside. "About four or five o'clock. Fanfan said there was a big shortage of pork, so it's especially easy to sell."

Yang Mengxia asked: "Has anyone caused trouble for her? I have a relative who works in the industrial and commercial department—"

Geng Zhiqin interrupted: "Don't bother the relatives! It's no big deal if the third sister-in-law is targeted. Besides, once people see that the third sister-in-law can get a transport truck, they know that she has a wide network of contacts and dare not easily trouble her. Sister-in-law, are you tired? Do you want to take a shower or rest?"

Yu Wentao didn't dare to cause trouble for her eldest daughter-in-law, so she immediately agreed with her daughter and said, "The bed is ready. If you're sleepy, take a nap first."

Yang Mengxia asked: "Should I go back to the old house?"

Geng Zhiqin first said no, then said there was another house behind, which her third sister-in-law supported to buy. It was priced at 10,000 yuan at that time, and now there are people scrambling to buy it at 12,000 yuan. Finally, she said that her mother was still not happy.

Yang Mengxia was surprised and asked, "So cheap?"

Geng Zhiqin nodded: "Nowadays, people who want to sell their houses want to go out, thinking that there is gold everywhere outside, and they can make a lot of money if they go out one day earlier. Third sister-in-law said that she can't make it in her own territory, and she wants to make money in other people's territory. It's simply unrealistic."

Geng Huihui couldn't help but say, "That's right. If you have the ability, you can make money anywhere. My third aunt makes 60 or 70 yuan a day after deducting all the expenses. What she earns in these few days is equivalent to what others save in a year."

Geng Zhiqin smiled and said, "It's better if they go out, otherwise we won't get any benefits."

Yang Mengxia knew that Ye Fan was ambitious, but she didn't expect her to be so capable and have such strong execution ability, and she would do things as soon as she said they would.

"You're right to listen to Fanfan." When Geng Zhiye reported to his elder brother, he couldn't help but show off that Ye Fan had helped the islanders get rich. When Geng's elder brother talked to his wife about Ye Fan, he praised him highly. Yang Mengxia asked again, "Are you going tomorrow?"

Geng Zhiqin: "No, I'm not going. My sister-in-law is going to Ye's house tomorrow to bring meat to her mother. We'll go to Dad's grave in the afternoon." Then he said that Ye Fan would drive them there.

Yang Mengxia said, "If you rent someone's car, you will definitely have to take care of the favors. Let's go by ourselves. Dabao and Erbao are too young to go. It's unlucky to go to the cemetery."

Dabao shook his head: "Auntie, I'm not afraid. I used to go to the grave every Qingming Festival when I was on the island."

Erbao said she had also been to the Martyrs' Forest Park and it was not scary.

Yang Mengxia praised them for being good kids. Dabao was very happy to be praised and couldn't help showing off: "Auntie, I'm going to the park at 2 o'clock to write Spring Festival couplets for you, are you coming?"

Geng Zhiqin took the initiative to explain that he had nothing to do at home, and asked his third sister-in-law to help him find a way to make some money, and then he thought of writing Spring Festival couplets. He originally planned to sell them for ten days, but he didn't expect that someone would follow suit in the past few days. Dabao was unhappy, but the red paper at home was used up, so he simply went to the park to write for others.

Dabao held out his hand: "Auntie, I made five dollars this morning."

Geng Huihui and Geng Benben immediately said that they also made a lot of money.

Yang Mengxia couldn't bring herself to do something like writing Spring Festival couplets for others, but seeing the younger generations so happy, Yang Mengxia praised them one by one.

Yu Wentao thought Yang Mengxia was very supportive, and she finally felt relieved: "Xiaoqin, don't drag your sister-in-law to chat. Mengxia, if you don't want to go to the back, just sleep in Erbao's room for a while. Sensen, Leilei, go to Dabao's room. Dabao, and Erbao, go to your parents' bed and take a nap."

Geng Huihui said: "I can sleep in grandma's room, and Benben can sleep on the Luohan bed."

Yang Mengxia felt itchy all over, so she asked her two sons to go to the bathhouse.

After taking a shower and returning home, Geng Huihui was tidying up the folding table. Yang Mengxia asked curiously, "Are we going to the park now?" Geng Zhiqin asked her first if she wanted to go, and then said that they should throw the clothes in the washing machine first and go to the park together. There were people skating in the lake in the park, which was quite fun.

Seeing that his two sons wanted to go, Yang Mengxia gritted her teeth and followed them.

When they got to the park, Dabao spread out the table and put out the writing brush and ink. Then someone came over with some red paper that he had cut himself and said, "I was planning to ask a neighbor to write for me. Dabao, write nicely for me."

Dabao took off his gloves, practiced writing with the draft paper he brought from home, and then started working. Because he practiced calligraphy frequently these days, he wrote a couplet very smoothly, and the writer was very satisfied. Before Dabao wrote the horizontal scroll and the word "Fu", he took out the money.

Yang Mengxia carefully observed the expressions of the crowd and saw that no one looked down on him. He couldn't help but feel that he was being too cautious.

When Yang Mengxia saw that Dabao's hands were red from the cold, she said, "Dabao, can I help you write?"

Dabao was afraid of getting frostbite, so he didn't dare to show off, so he let his aunt do it. Yang Mengxia used draft paper to practice calligraphy, and the aunt who knew a little about calligraphy couldn't help asking: "Have you practiced?"

Yang Mengxia said modestly: "I practiced for a few years when I was young."

The calligraphy is older than Dabao. After she finished writing one couplet, the aunt said to the person who asked her to write the couplet: "You made a profit."

Dabao's handwriting is beautiful, but due to his young age and lack of wrist strength, it is soft compared to Yang Mengxia's handwriting. Citizens who don't know calligraphy can also see that Yang Mengxia's handwriting is more charming, free and easy, and seems to be gentle.

Spring Festival couplets are not posted until New Year's Eve, and many families plan to write them on the 28th or 29th. Some people heard the old men and women praising Yang Mengxia's calligraphy, so they went home to cut red paper and asked Yang Mengxia to write for them.

After about half an hour, no one came to patronize the trend. The couplet sellers were too embarrassed to lower the price temporarily, fearing that they would be humiliated by the old men and women, so they changed the place to sell the couplets.

Almost every household bought red paper at this time of year. Those who were not so particular planned to write on it themselves. Very few people bought it, so they went to several places before they sold it all out.

Yang Mengxia wrote for nearly an hour, but her wrist couldn't hold on any longer, so she gave the pen to Geng Huihui. Someone who came a little later asked her if she would continue writing tomorrow. Dabao replied, "I will write tomorrow morning. I will go to the grave in the afternoon. I will write another day the day after tomorrow."

The people who wanted to ask Yang Mengxia to write couplets put away the red paper. Seeing this, Geng Huihui couldn't help but say, "My aunt may not have time."

The citizen who put away the red paper said, "She doesn't have time to ask you to write it the day after tomorrow."

The first person who approached Ye Fan to sell couplets remembered that Dabao's father could also write calligraphy, so he asked, "Dabao, where is your father?"

Dabao: "Do you want my dad to write it? He's busy helping his relatives sell pork."

An old man couldn't help but ask: "Isn't it gone?"

Dabao nodded. "My uncle's pig was gone, but my relatives' pigs were still there. But they were gone today. My mom said they were bought by the meat processing factory. My uncle's pigs were originally kept for the New Year."

The old man asked: "Will you sell the piglets after they grow up?"

Dabao didn't know about this, so he went to find his grandmother. Yu Wentao was not far away, and heard what she said, "Let's wait until August 15th." Then she secretly decided to meet her brothers tomorrow and ask them to catch a few more piglets.

Because the days are long and the nights are short, the sun sets at around four o'clock. Yu Wentao was worried that Erbao would catch a cold after the sun went down, so she reminded Geng Benben at four o'clock to stop writing after he finished the few pieces in front of him.

Dabao said he would come again the next day or the day after tomorrow, and those who were not mentioned in the list would not be angry, and could just treat it as a stroll in the park.

As soon as they got home, Ye Fan and Geng Zhiye came back. Geng Zhiye sent Ye Fan home, and he was going to return the car alone. After hearing Geng Zhiqin's explanation that he would take the bus to the cemetery, Ye Fan got a pot of hot water, rinsed the car, and returned it directly to the factory today.

After Geng Zhiye left, Ye Fan returned to the room. Dabao took out the money from his pocket and said it was what he earned that day.

Ye Fan touched his little hand: "You don't have frostbite, do you?"

"Mom, look at my money!" Dabao shouted, "I missed the point."

Ye Fan nodded: "I see. I'll ask dad to take you to buy fireworks later."

"I don't want to buy fireworks, I want to save them." Dabao said.

Geng Zhiqin said: "You are reluctant to spend the money you earn, right?"

Dabao glared at his aunt, then stuffed the money into his mother's hand and asked her to count how much there was.

(End of this chapter)