Five years of marriage, always separated [1970s]

Ye Fan was stunned for a moment, then he reacted and ran over.

When he arrived at the door, he saw Uncle Zhang and Aunt Zhang holding the Zhang family's old and young. The young boy was young and naive, with a red face. He was holding a big kitchen knife and pointing it at the man with his back to Ye Fan. It was undoubtedly Zhang Xiaojun.

Ye Fanxin said, this kid is really fierce.

If it grows crooked, it is possible that one will indulge in drinking, whoring and gambling.

Thinking that the youngest brother would make trouble, Ye Fan was not afraid of him hurting anyone, so he planned to go in and smooth things over, but he saw the second brother stiffening his neck and saying, "Chop here if you can."

The youngest seemed to lose his mind in anger and really chopped at his neck. The neighbor hurriedly pulled the second oldest back and advised him not to provoke him. The second oldest was scared and quickly backed away, then started shouting again outside the door.

Ye Fan couldn't stand it anymore, so he kicked him in the back, and the second brother fell to his knees. The second brother was stunned, and then he came to his senses and looked back. Ye Fan said coldly, "I kicked him. You are 27, and your brother is 16. You have been eating shit for the past 11 years? He is ignorant, and neither are you!"

The second brother regained his senses, patted his knees and stood up: "But he can't be so arrogant!"

Ye Fan: "Guess why the law stipulates that people become adults at the age of 18?"

Of course, people under 18 years old are immature. Zhang Xiaojun couldn't refute it, "I won't bother with it today." He pointed at his brother and said, "I'll deal with you later!" Then he walked towards the intersection.

Aunt Zhang ran out: "Xiaojun, where are you going?"

Ye Fan: "He's already 27, how can he not take care of himself?"

The neighbors also felt that such a grown-up person didn’t need to be watched every day: “First, persuade the old and the young to put down the knife. Look, Xiaofen and Xiaozhi are both crying out of fear.”

Zhang Xiaofen and Zhang Xiaozhi are Zhang Xiaoming's elder and younger sisters, and they are back today. Aunt Zhang quickly goes into the yard to coax her daughter and her younger son, behaving like a typical loving mother.

Yu Wentao came over at this time and whispered, "You're late."

Ye Fan was helpless: "Say less."

At least she is not Yu Wentao. She immediately asked her neighbor what happened.

The neighbors lived just across the wall from the Zhang family and heard a lot.

At first, it seemed that Zhang Xiaoming should come back. Xiaozhi asked her brother if he was making a lot of money since he was more active than working. Zhang Xiaojun said he was making money, and then asked when to buy the three-turn and one-ring. There were only more than 70 days left before the eleventh, so he could prepare.

Aunt Zhang spoke softly, so the neighbors didn't hear it. Later, Zhang Xiaojun said something again, and the neighbors only heard the gold ring, and then someone said something else, and suddenly Zhang Xiaodi and his second brother started arguing.

The conversation got so urgent that Zhang Xiaodi wanted to kill Zhang Xiaojun.

Yu Wentao immediately realized that Zhang Xiaodi did it on purpose, but she had to say something harsh - if she wants a gold ring now, then he will satisfy her. She may ask for a gold necklace before the wedding, and she may ask for money for getting on the car on the wedding day, and she may even ask for money for getting off the car when she arrives at the door.

It is also possible that he only wants a gold ring. But the Zhang family cannot take the risk.

If it were the Geng family, Geng Zhiye would have bought the gold necklace, gold bracelet, and gold ring without Ye Fan asking, because the Geng family's conditions allowed it.

Yu Wentao and other neighbors expressed their opinions after they finished speaking: "Xiaojun has a stable job, Xiaoming can also make money, and my younger brother will study hard. The Zhang family will get better and better in the future, so why worry about not being able to find a wife?" He shouted to the yard, "Old Zhang, if your second son doesn't buy a wife or marry, cancel the engagement and find a good one for Xiaojun in the future."

Ye Fan held her forehead with her hand, her mother-in-law was really causing trouble.

However, the neighbors on both sides of the Zhang family agreed and said that the mother and daughter-in-law should not be married, as they would bring trouble to the family.

Seeing that Zhang Xiaojun's wife was about to leave, Aunt Zhang hurriedly ran out to explain that the betrothal gift had been paid. The implication was that the Zhang family suddenly regretted the marriage, and the woman would not return the betrothal gift.

Yu Wentao is worthy of being a member of the art troupe. She is good at singing, reciting, acting and fighting. "What should I do?" She sighed. If you don't know her, you would think Zhang Xiaojun is her biological son.

Geng Huihui was not interested in other people's family affairs. She came out because of her grandmother's loud voice. Seeing her aunt moving to the wall with a speechless face and quietly watching her grandmother's performance, she whispered, "What is this old lady doing?"

Ye Fan whispered, "I hate Zhang Xiaojun and his fiancée too. I wish I could break them up."

"I'm free!" Geng Huihui rolled her eyes and went back to her room to read.

The alley was full of people, so Ye Fan went back to his room to read without worrying about his oil bottle being stolen.

Ten minutes later, Zhang Xiaoming came back and filled up the oil barrel when he saw it.

Zhang Xiaoming just got home and no one told him what happened. He was a little slow in thinking and only realized his two sisters had been crying after he drank some water and ate some melon to rest.

Zhang Xiaoming thought that the two of them were crying because they were worried about their marriage, so he said that he could make money now and give more dowry in the future, and the in-laws would definitely not dare to look down on them.

It would have been better if he hadn't said it, but when he said this, his two sisters were so moved that they cried.

Zhang Xiaodi rolled his eyes and went back to his room.

Zhang Xiaoming thought his brother was unhappy that he was biased, so he quickly said, "Little brother, there are also yours."

"Shut up!" Little brother Zhang yelled in anger, and his two sisters were so scared that they didn't say a word.

Ye Fan didn't expect there would be a follow-up to this matter.

Zhang Damei went on a date with her boyfriend in the park. She couldn't help but say that her younger brother was usually quiet and she thought he was honest, but she didn't expect him to dare to chop her younger brother with a knife.

Zhang Xiaodi didn't like his future brother-in-law. He thought his nose was not a nose and his face was not a face. He went home at night and dreamed of being chopped. He was so scared that he wanted to break off the engagement with Zhang Damei the next day.

But after a few years of dating, even if they didn't have sex, Zhang Damei would be suspected and picky if she found a partner. Her fiancé thought of this and didn't dare to cancel the engagement. After hesitating for a few days, he told his parents that the Zhang family had married into the Geng family and good days were ahead.

On August 2nd, Zhang Damei's fiancé and his family came to discuss the wedding date.

The Zhang family's house was too small to accommodate so many people, so they set up a table in the restaurant. Before leaving, Zhang's eldest brother-in-law's family asked if they wanted to invite Geng Zhiye and Ye Fan.

It was Ye Fan who suggested setting up a table a few days ago. Zhang Xiaoming asked Ye Fan if he would go because he had money to go to the restaurant thanks to Ye Fan. Ye Fan said she would not go. When he got home, he thought that Zhang Damei's fiancé's family despised the poor and loved the rich, so they might ask Geng Zhiye to go. To avoid trouble, he asked Geng Zhiye to take Dabao, Erbao and Benben to the Children's Palace early this morning.

Zhang Xiaoming said naturally, "Brother Geng has gone to the Children's Palace with his children for classes." He was a sincere person, and he put himself in their shoes and said, "Sister Ye and Brother Geng are nice people, they won't mind. Let's go."

Zhang Damei's fiancé's family thinks that Zhang Laoda is a bad person. Shouldn't they have invited him earlier for such a thing?

Zhang Xiaoming knew nothing about all this.

It was my younger brother who suggested Zhang Xiaoming invite Ye Fan. His original words were "Whether they come or not is their business, and whether you invite them or not is your business."

Little Brother Zhang saw that his brother-in-law's family's faces changed again and again, and they kept looking in the direction of Ye Fan's house. He thought that Sister Ye and Brother Geng were at home today and you didn't have the ability to invite them out.

People like that will go whenever anyone invites them, and who knows how many bad people they might have offended, and they have long become the laughing stock of their circle.

During the meal, the parents of Zhang Damei's fiancée asked Zhang Xiaoming how much money he earned in a day. He felt that no matter how much Ye Fan gave him, he was taking advantage of him. He had never carefully looked at the account book or counted the money, so he just said it was quite a lot.

Zhang Xiaoming was hesitant and couldn't give a specific number, so the man's family felt that Zhang Damei was exaggerating when she said her brother made money and wanted to cancel the engagement.

Brother Zhang rolled his eyes when he saw this scene, and his future brother-in-law who was sitting opposite him was so scared that he pulled his father's sleeve and said, "Stop talking, or he will chop our whole family into pieces and feed them to the dogs."

Although the process was tortuous, it finally came to fruition and the wedding date was set for the New Year of the Gregorian calendar.

People feel refreshed when good things happen. In the evening, Zhang Xiaoming went to Ye Fan's house and drove to the village. When he saw Ye Fan, he happily said, "It's settled."

Ye Fan: "You didn't drink?"

Zhang Xiaoming shook his head: "No. I have to make money to prepare a dowry for my eldest sister." After saying that, he drove out.

Yu Wentao couldn't help but come out of the kitchen and said deliberately: "Why are you so stupid?"

Ye Fan wanted to laugh: "I have a little brother."

Yu Wentao thought of that timid boy: "One kind of rice feeds a hundred kinds of people."

Ye Fan: "Is the meal ready?"

Yu Wentao: “Not so fast.”

"I'll help you. Let's rest early today."

Yu Wentao suddenly thought of the house inspection tomorrow morning: "You take a rest. Xiaoqin, come and help. We can't wait until nine o'clock to eat today."

A few days ago, Yu Wentao was chatting with a group of old men and women in the morning. She waited for Dabao, Erbao and Benben to finish class and asked if anyone was selling a house near the Children's Palace.

The stylish old man who could speak French said that his colleague was going out. A staff member passing by heard that Yu Wentao was asking for someone else and thought that the old lady didn't have much money but was very kind-hearted, so she said that she also had one over there and could help ask.

Coincidentally, the house of the stylish old man was not far from the house that Geng Huihui bought, and the house that the employee mentioned was southwest of Ye Fan's home, and not far from Dabao and Benben's school.

The one in the southwest was looked after by Yu Wentao and Geng Huihui. Geng Zhiqin, the fashionable old man, urged Ye Fan to go there and take a look at Comrade Yu's "second spring".

Ye Fan was worried that she would cause trouble or instigate Hui Hui to cause trouble, so she had to accompany her mother-in-law to check it out.

Recently, Ye Fan received a letter from Yang Mengxia, saying that Geng Sensen had applied for the University of Science and Technology. Ye Fan was quite surprised. Yang Mengxia said in the letter that he would leave for the capital as soon as he received the admission letter.

Yang Mengxia's tone sounded as if Geng Sensen was very confident. Ye Fan calculated that the notice should be sent out and would be received soon, so he decided to wait for his sister-in-law to come and transfer the ownership directly.

The courtyard had three main rooms like Ye Fan's, but three east and west wing rooms, one less than Ye Fan's. The courtyard was very well maintained, with birds singing and flowers blooming as soon as you entered, and you could tell at a glance that it was a family of scholars.

Ye Fan felt that he couldn't get it without 15,000 yuan, plus the 10,000 yuan there, so if it was 25,000 yuan, his sister-in-law would have to borrow 5,000 yuan, which was too stressful for her and she definitely wouldn't buy it. But the house was so good that Ye Fan wanted to ask about the price: "Your house is not cheap, right?"

The colleague of the fashionable old man said: "Let me ask you a question first, who will live in the house?"

Hearing this tone, he was worried that the house would be ruined. Ye Fan didn't dare to make empty promises: "My nephew. If nothing goes wrong, he will go to the University of Science and Technology, one of the 'Seven Sons of National Defense'. His father is now doing good things in a place in the southwest."

The uncle’s colleague didn’t want to stay in the country, but he admired those who could stay, and said, “You name a price.”

Could it be that the old man was selling the house like entrusting an orphan to someone else, not caring about the money but the future owner of the house? Ye Fan's confidence increased greatly, so as to avoid being beaten out and saying "You will definitely scold me if I tell you that", and then he said: "I won't be polite to you."

"You said."

Ye Fan: "Eight thousand?"

It was lower than the price the western-style uncle’s colleague wanted, but barely acceptable. “You give an estimate of the value of the things in the room. There are some things we can’t take away.”

Ye Fan was actually surprised that the ancient room was still well preserved after those ten years. Maybe he met a group of people who really wanted to destroy the four olds and didn't smash and rob randomly. "If the country can be peaceful for 20 to 30 years, and the people can live and work in peace and prosperity, your things will definitely be priceless. But now I will give you one thousand, no matter how much you keep, just leave the furniture and let my nephew move in directly."

The old man's colleague asked: "When will the transfer take place?"

Ye Fan: “Before the end of the month.”

The uncle's colleague nodded: "Okay!"

Ye Fan raised an eyebrow, meeting a straightforward old man, "Then I'll come back to bother you in a few days?"

The old man escorted her out.

The fashionable old man asked Ye Fan if he wanted to go to his house for tea, glancing at Yu Wentao.

Ye Fan suppressed his laughter and said, "Let's do it another day. My wife and children are waiting at home."

"Does Erbao still go to the Children's Palace?"

Ye Fan nodded: "Yes. She can't stay at home, so instead of sending her to the park, let's go to the Children's Palace."

The grandfather also met Yu Wentao when he accompanied his granddaughter and grandson to the Children's Palace. His grandson and grandson didn't like to learn foreign languages ​​from him, so he was very happy to meet a talented little kid, so he didn't have any ulterior motives in teaching his second child.

The old man said happily: "Then I'll pack up and go over there too."

As soon as Yu Wentao got on the bus, she muttered, "I'm addicted to being a teacher."

Ye Fan immediately understood why his mother-in-law was so slow. It turned out that she was simply too lazy to pay attention to others.

When they got home, Geng Zhiqin dragged her sister-in-law into Erbao's room and asked, "How's it going?"

"No hope! Your mother thinks I'm a know-it-all." Ye Fan pried her hands apart, "Look for another lover."

Geng Zhiqin sighed: "Comrade Old Yu is unlucky!"

Ye Fan: "You mean I treat her badly?"

"No, no, no, sister-in-law, it's getting late. Let me see if Brother Xiao Ming is here for you." Geng Zhiqin said and ran out.

Ye Fan chuckled and came out of Erbao's room.

Geng Zhiye was standing at the door of the main room. When he saw her, he asked, "When Zhang Xiaoming comes back, Hongwei and I will go to the popsicle factory, shall we?"

"If you meet someone you know and they ask you what you are doing, how will you explain it?" Ye Fan asked.

Geng Zhiye said nonchalantly: "Say whatever you want to say. They don't feel ashamed of reselling state assets, so why should I be afraid of losing face when I earn my own living?"

Ye Fan said nervously: "Don't open your mouth if you don't have evidence."

Geng Zhiye really had no evidence. He heard it from others. Since he was not a law enforcement officer and did not work for the Commission for Discipline Inspection, he could not investigate. Therefore, he did not mention it to others. "I only said this in front of you. Is it settled?"

Ye Fan breathed a sigh of relief: "You can go if you want. But, do you think it is more cost-effective for Hongwei and the others to go home every day or live here?"

Geng Zhiye said, "Except Hongwei, everyone else is married and definitely wants to go home every day. If the village is not busy, the four of them can come with my uncle and Xiaoming in the morning. My uncle will go back with them in the afternoon."

Ye Fan thought for a moment and said, "The crops have grown too tall to weed, so the fields should not be busy. Let me tell my uncle to come along later, and he can help them in the park. Others won't dare to do anything bad when they see several people in a car."

Yu Wentao came out from the main room: "Don't worry about it, I'll tell you."

Ye Fan asked the little ones who were making noise in the yard: "Dabao, Erbao, Benben, is it time to go to the Children's Palace?"

Dabao asked his father: "Who will take us to the Children's Palace if you go to get popsicles?"

Yu Wentao put on the sun hat Ye Fan bought for her and carried two water bottles. "I'll take you there. Where's your schoolbag?"

The three children immediately went back to their bedroom to get their school bags.

Geng Zhiqin's cousins ​​already knew how to get to the park, but Geng Zhiqin and Huihui didn't wait for them at home because it was too hot. As soon as Yu Wentao took the three children out, the two of them wore sun hats and took professional books to the park to read.

At this time, every household was doing laundry and cleaning, so there were not many people in the park. When the park became crowded, it was so hot that you sweated even when you took a breath. Geng Zhiye and Yu Hongwei each pulled six boxes of popsicles to the park entrance.

It was the hottest time of the year and the capital was hot and dry. Many people carried water bottles to the park but still couldn't quench their thirst, so they spent three cents to buy a salt water popsicle.

Geng Zhiqin and her cousins ​​were not in the same park, and there was only one popsicle store in each park. The park was far from the store, so people living nearby had to buy popsicles from both stores, so only a few popsicles were sold as soon as they arrived at the park.

The old men and women watched Geng Zhiye drive away and asked Geng Huihui, "You can make a lot in a day, right?"

Geng Huihui: "The four families don't get much money."

The aunt was surprised: "Four families?"

Geng Huihui pointed at herself and her aunt, then looked at the car going away, "That car was bought by my aunt and her neighbors together. It's just enough for four families."

The aunt was too lazy to envy: "I always thought they belonged to your aunt."

Geng Huihui shook her head: "My aunt is still a student, how can she afford to buy a car?" "Your grandma has no money?"

Geng Huihui: "They don't want money from the elderly. She doesn't even want her mother's money. Her mother can only ask her to go there more often. Every time she brings my cousins ​​there, Grandma Ye gives them pocket money, at least one dollar, and up to five dollars."

Ye Fan satisfied all the fantasies of several uncles and aunts about their daughter-in-law - well-behaved, well-educated, and able to be taken out, etc., so they all began to envy Yu Wentao.

As for Geng Zhiye, he did not go home, but went to the Children's Palace while selling things.

Xicheng District is home to many government agencies. Geng Zhiye stopped at an intersection between a government agency and a large compound to sell popsicles. A man in his 40s, of medium build, who was out on business, walked toward him and asked, "What's going on?"

Geng Zhiye was busy making change when he suddenly heard a familiar voice and was startled. He looked up at the acquaintance and lowered his head to continue making change. The visitor was confused and looked Geng Zhiye up and down. Yes, it was his stubborn childhood friend.

Geng Zhiye gave the kid a popsicle and gave him two cents to send him away. Only then did he have time to talk to him: "Isn't it working hours now? Why are you here?"

"So I didn't admit my mistake." The man couldn't help but curse, "Fuck you!" and asked, "No matter what happens to me, it's not as serious as yours, right?"

Geng Zhiye gave him a popsicle, but he said in disgust: "I've never eaten it before?"

"You don't know what's good for you!" Geng Zhiye opened the candy and ate it himself, "I can earn some pocket money."

The visitor frowned and said, "If you want to make money, which unit can't you go to? Selling this stuff on the street?"

Geng Zhiye took a bite of the popsicle and said calmly, "Brother, I am studying at the National Defense University. What can I dare to do at this critical moment? I will be a deputy division commander after graduation!" He pointed at himself with the popsicle and said, "I will be a deputy division commander next year when I am 41 years old. In an era without major battles, how many people are like me? Even if you don't care about me, I do."

"Who are you, father? Aren't you afraid that your tongue will be blown away by the wind?" The man punched him in the chest.

Geng Zhiye dodged very skillfully and said seriously: "Fanfan took the car bought by the poor neighbor and found something for Xiaoqin and Huihui to do. But you know what the situation is on the street now. You can get robbed even if you walk quietly, let alone sell things. Fanfan dare not ask them to walk around the streets. I'm afraid she will get sick from exhaustion. I'll take her place for a day."

The visitor snorted, "I knew it was Miss Ye's idea. She is really capable and never forgets to make money wherever she goes. I used to think she didn't look like General Ye's biological daughter." The man knew that Ye Fan was thrown to the Ye family by the Chen family, "I didn't expect she was not his biological daughter. I thought she looked like the couple in the Chen family. But it turns out she doesn't look like anyone."

Geng Zhiye: "Who can you see clearly with your eyes? You said before that Fanfan wouldn't live with me for long."

"I—I don't know—"

Geng Zhiye interrupted, "Don't argue. Forget about it. I won't bother with you. Did you make up something that made Qin Shuyi think that Fanfan and I were married by our parents and matchmakers, and that we actually had no feelings for each other?"

"The name sounds familiar. What happened?"

Geng Zhiye: "Years ago, she saw me helping Fanfan sell things and acted like I was suffering. No one said anything to her. Is she mentally ill and always so self-righteous?"

The visitor thought carefully, "Is she your uncle's neighbor? The one you met at your uncle's house on weekends?" Oh no, she seemed to have said something mean to you when you ran into her a few years ago. "I—I haven't even talked to her."

Geng Zhiye rolled his eyes at him, and when he saw the two kids coming over, he asked, "3 points for the popsicle, 5 points for the red bean paste flavor. Do you want the popsicle or the red bean paste flavor?"

The two children saw that the tall Geng Zhiye was not scary, so they came up to him with money and whispered that they wanted popsicles. However, there was only five cents. Geng Zhiye gave them popsicles directly.

One for each of them, exactly the same, the two children happily ran into the alley.

His childhood friend couldn't help but say, "Being a father is different."

Geng Zhiye: "My son is already in junior high school!"

“My son is in high school.”

There was no shade here, so Geng Zhiye wanted to move to another place. He was in no mood to talk nonsense with him: "Do you want to eat, buy something, or get out?"

"What kind of bad temper? You're definitely not like this in front of Ye Fan."

Geng Zhiye got in the car. His childhood friend quickly asked, "Do you have ice cream?"

"How many?" Geng Zhiye asked.

Counting the people in the office: "Twenty, help me send them in."

Geng Zhiye sneered and took out a plastic bag. His childhood friend was stunned, "You, you're so well prepared?"

"Fanfan prepared them." He counted out twenty to him and handed him another one.

Geng Zhiye's childhood friend handed over two yuan before accepting the ice cream: "I should have thought that she was the most thoughtful when it comes to making money."

"30% of this money will be distributed to others," said Geng Zhiye.

The childhood friend waved his hand: "If you don't feel bad, just give it all to them. But your neighbor is very lucky. He actually caught the eye of Miss Ye. It's not long before he becomes rich."

Geng Zhiye closed the box tightly: "Fools are blessed with foolishness."

"More foolish than you?"

Geng Zhiye didn't want to argue with him. He was over 40 years old, but he still acted like a teenager and lacked stability.

She lost her composure when she saw him. But when his childhood friend saw Geng Zhiye's expression of "I don't want to bother with you", he realized that he was not talking nonsense, "The young lady can meet such a person? She is so lucky!"

His tone made Geng Zhiye frown: "Fanfan has never offended you, right?"

"Ye Fan, just call her Ye Fan. Tell me what's going on?"

Geng Zhiye didn't want to talk for a long time under the sun, but seeing that he was reluctant to let him go as he hadn't seen him for eight hundred years, he patiently said a few words, "The eldest in the family, he thinks he has an obligation to take care of his younger siblings. After ten years in the countryside, he finally came back. When his father retired, he asked him to take over. In the end, his job was taken away by his younger brother, but he had no complaints. The whole family lives in a small courtyard, and under such circumstances, he bought a house for his younger brother to get married. As soon as his eldest sister's marriage was settled, he had to make money to prepare a dowry for her, and he also had to support his younger brother to go to college." The more he talked, the more speechless he became, "Anyway, he is an honest man with a simple mind."

Geng Zhiye's childhood friend asked that question just now out of concern. After listening to him, he suddenly thought of someone: "Does his girlfriend have any objections?"

“No one yet.”

My childhood friend immediately asked, "Have you ever met my brother-in-law's sister?"

Geng Zhiye couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you going to be a matchmaker?"

His childhood friend sighed, after so many years on the island, semi-isolated from the world, he was still so alert, he should say it or not, he was worthy of being watched by him growing up, "Yes. Let me tell you the situation first. The woman is average looking, average height, average education, and she found someone like you during the Cultural Revolution. We were not optimistic at the time, the man married her to avoid being bullied, because her father was powerful. I warned her that once the revolution was over and her father retired, he would divorce her immediately, but she didn't believe it. They divorced last year, and he went abroad quietly a few days ago, even taking the child with him."

"Then what?" Geng Zhiye asked.

Geng Zhiye's childhood friend: "Her father, with his powerful hands and eyes, couldn't reach the other side of the ocean. She could only accept her fate."

"You are so ruthless, as if you have a grudge against her. Are you sure that he is attracted to her, and she didn't use her power to hint to him to marry her?"

Geng Zhiye's childhood friend: "Who knows what's going on here. Anyway, she has accepted her fate now. She can look for a man who is of the same social status as her family, someone who is smart, considerate, good-looking and well-educated. She can't get ahead of her, and she doesn't want to be controlled, nor does she want to be a stepmother. What do you think?"

Geng Zhiye: "What good will it do for you if you help her father marry her off?"

"Helping her is like helping my brother-in-law."

Geng Zhiye nodded: "I'll ask for you later. Dabao and Erbao are still waiting for me at the Children's Palace."

"What are they doing at the Children's Palace?"

Geng Zhiye: "The second child is learning to paint, the eldest is learning to skate, and occasionally they play table tennis with others and learn foreign languages. It's a happy time for a group of children to learn while playing."

When Geng Zhiye's childhood friends' two children were the same age as Dabao and Erbao, the revolution had not yet ended and there were not many people in the Children's Palace, so his two children had never been to the Children's Palace for a single day.

"How are you studying?"

Geng Zhiye said: "Erbao can serve as an interpreter for others in English and Russian, and can speak a few words of French."

His childhood friend was dumbfounded: "——How old is Erbao?"

"Nine years old!"

The childhood friend cursed excitedly, threw away the popsicle stick in his hand, and hugged Geng Zhiye's neck: "Are we brothers?"

"No talk of child marriage!" Geng Zhiye got in the car, "Get out of here! The ice cream has melted."

The boy was speechless. Could it be that his grandson had become a spirit? How could he know what he wanted to say when he didn't say anything?

As soon as he saw the things in his hand, he ran back to the office and handed them to a colleague, and went out to do business again. Passing by a telephone booth, he thought that he could let the two children make friends first, and then they could have a relationship when they grow up. Geng Zhiye's childhood friend thought he was very smart, so he immediately called his father and sent the two boys to the Children's Palace, saying that he would not cause trouble at home and make them angry.

However, the summer classes at the Children's Palace were about to end, and they had already stopped recruiting students. Even if they joined halfway, they would not be able to keep up with the curriculum, so Geng Zhiye's childhood wish was dashed.

By the way, due to the interruption of his childhood friend, Geng Zhiye arrived at the Children's Palace at nearly eleven o'clock and decided not to go anywhere else.

Not long after, the three children came out from under a tree on the roadside of the Children's Palace. Geng Zhiye gave them three milk-flavored ice creams and asked them if they were tired.

Dabao shook his head: "Dad, have you been waiting for a long time?"

"Just arrived." Geng Zhiye saw other children coming and took the initiative to ask what flavor they wanted.

Dabao felt that his father was not considerate of others: "Popsicles can quench thirst, I want popsicles."

The child was curious: "Then how do you eat ice cream?"

"I'm hungry." Dabao was indeed hungry. The child was easy to coax and believed it, "Dad Geng Dabao, give me a popsicle."

The children who had only five cents of pocket money suddenly no longer felt inferior. After asking for a popsicle, they still had two cents left to buy candy. They happily ate the popsicle and went back to the Children's Palace to wait for their parents to pick them up from get off work.

The rich kid held an ice cream cone in one hand and a popsicle in the other. His father, Geng Zhiye, was worried that he would have diarrhea: "Eat slowly, don't get upset."

The little boy wrinkled his nose: "Why are you nagging like my mom?"

Dabao was unhappy: "My dad cares about you!"

"I know." The little boy likes to play with Geng Dabao because he knows a lot and doesn't want Dabao to hate him. "I'm sorry, uncle. I'm rude."

Geng Zhiye smiled and said, "It's okay. Dabao, go eat with grandma."

"The cafeteria isn't ready yet." Dabao moved to the car, and Erbao couldn't help but get in. Several children who bought ice cream popsicles called Dabao down and asked them to go up and experience it.

Geng Zhiye quickly took the key out and put it in his pocket.

When Dabao saw that his classmates couldn’t drive away, he got off the car with confidence and let them sit for a while.

Geng Benben and his uncle were selling popsicles on the left and right.

At first there were only children, but around twelve o'clock, adults started buying popsicles.

The residents around here couldn't stand the heat at home, so they came out with their palm-leaf fans and bought a few popsicles for their families to cool down when they saw someone selling them.

At half past twelve, when Yu Wentao was taking her three grandchildren to eat, Geng Zhiye left the Children's Palace and went home while selling things like Ye Fan.

Zhang Xiaoming had already finished his meal at this time. When he saw Geng Zhiye, he asked him to go home, and he hurried to the factory gate.

Geng Zhiye gave him the wallet.

Zhang Xiaoming also knew where to wholesale popsicles. He left the factory gate and found that there were not many popsicles, so he went to buy two boxes. While selling them, he went to the park to check on Geng Zhiqin and Geng Huihui.

The group of people buying popsicles in the park was relatively fixed. Zhang Xiaoming found that there was no need to increase the number, so he went into the alleys and shouted where there were more children.

Geng Zhiye and Ye Fan rested at home until four o'clock and then took the bus to the Children's Palace, letting Yu Wentao go home while they watched the kids play for a while.

No boxes were put in the Children's Palace today, so people who wanted to buy popsicles couldn't get them. At around five o'clock, Zhang Xiaoming came over, and the adults and children who had been anxious for a long time swarmed over.

At around 6 o'clock, there were only a few left in the box, so Zhang Xiaoming gave them to the children who were sitting at the door waiting for their parents to get off work. Ye Fan reminded the children that there were many bicycles on the road after get off work, so they should wait at the door and not play on the roadside. They were not allowed to accept food from people they didn't know.

If their own parents kept saying this, the children would find it annoying and just ignore it. But if their classmates’ parents said this, they would still be annoyed, but they would give their classmates face and wait at the door obediently.

Halfway through the journey, Ye Fan and Geng Zhiye came down and asked Zhang Xiaoming to go to the park to pull the boxes.

At seven o'clock, before the sun went down, Geng Zhiqin and Geng Huihui arrived home. Yu Wentao said, "You came just in time. Let's wash our hands and have some cold noodles."

Ye Fan asked: "Is it dried noodles?"

"Do you want to eat hand-rolled food?" Yu Wentao asked.

Geng Zhiqin thought to himself, my mother is such a good mother-in-law, "Sister-in-law is worried that you will get heatstroke from rolling noodles."

When Yu Wentao heard that Ye Fan was so concerned about her, she smiled and said, "I'm not stupid. Do you want to eat in the yard or outside the gate?"

There was wind in the alley and the sun was not shining, so Dabao had to carry a folding stool and go outside to eat noodles.

Zhang Xiaoming's family was making noodles with soybean paste today, so he was eating noodles outside the door with a bowl in his hand. Seeing Dabao and Erbao coming out, Zhang Xiaoming came over with a stool, "Dabao, do you want some garlic?"

Dabao shook his head: "It's so spicy."

Zhang Xiaoming teased him: "If you don't add garlic to noodles, the flavor will be half gone!"

Dabao still shook his head and refused to show off his strength.

Geng Zhiye and Ye Fan were in the main room with the fan on. While eating, Geng Zhiye said that his childhood friend Cheng Shitou wanted to introduce a girl to Zhang Xiaoming.

Cheng Shitou's real name is Cheng Zhenhua. Because he was born in a poor era with war smoke everywhere, his parents were worried that they would not be able to raise a child, so they gave him a cheap name, meaning that a cheap name would make it easier to raise a child. His parents called him Cheng Shitou, and Geng Zhiye and others also called him Shitou.

Ye Fan put down his chopsticks and said, "Cheng Shitou's friend? Is he sure? Even if I lend Zhang Xiaoming a ladder, he wouldn't dare to climb higher."

Geng Zhiye first talked about the woman's situation, and finally couldn't help but say, "Let alone her family background, she is not worthy of Zhang Xiaoming."

"A good family background is enough." Ye Fan said.

Geng Zhiye realized that he hadn't made himself clear: "I mean she doesn't want to find someone who only values ​​her family background."

"Looking for an honest man?" Ye Fan understood. "But Qi Da is not an ordinary man. Zhang Xiaoming has had few good days in the past thirty years. I can't bear to ask him to marry such a woman."

Geng Zhiye: "If you think about it carefully, maybe Zhang Xiaoming is willing. You see, Uncle Zhang is the boss at home, Younger Zhang is fierce, and Older Zhang is cunning. Zhang Xiaoming is used to being submissive in this environment. If he marries a strong wife, maybe he can get along with her harmoniously without any adjustment."

Ye Fan thought of something and couldn't help saying, "You can't marry an honest man, or else his second brother and sister-in-law will be pissed off to death."

"If Zhang Xiaoming lost his wife in middle age, wouldn't he be even more pitiful?" Geng Zhiye asked, "So let them meet her?"

Ye Fan: "Let's see what the woman says. There are so many honest people, there must be someone with much better conditions than the Zhang family."

Geng Zhiye thought to himself that people with much better conditions than the Zhang family would not have to worry about finding a partner, and they would definitely not want to marry a woman in her early thirties who was married twice. If they were willing, they would definitely be attracted by the woman's family background, and the woman would never marry.

Geng Zhiye felt that Zhang Xiaoming was more and more suitable. If he married the woman, he would be out of the sea of ​​suffering. Even if the relationship between the couple was not good, she could provide him with food and clothing, which would make his life easier than it is now.

Ye Fan asked: "Why do you want to get married if you're already married? You have a good family background and a job, so you don't have to worry about food and clothing. Wouldn't it be uncomfortable to be alone? If you feel lonely, just find a boyfriend."

You are so cool! Geng Zhiye was glad that he and Ye Fan met during the revolution. If it was at this time, Ye Fan would definitely not want to live apart from him and kick him away. Geng Zhiye swallowed his noodles and said, "Ye Fanfan, not everyone is as fearless as you are about rumors."

(End of this chapter)