Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 940 Yu Qiu is back

After exchanging a few words with Hao Dawei, Xiaowei drove back.

After thinking about it, I called Chen Hui, and Chen Hui answered the call.

Back in Wanliu, I parked the car and went to the old man's convenience store. He wasn't there, but his stepmother was guarding behind the checkout counter. They had hired two women to organize the stock and prevent theft, mainly to keep an eye on blind spots in the security cameras. The store mainly serves factory workers and local residents, so they generally don't steal. If they were caught, they'd be too ashamed to stay in this area.

"How's business, Auntie?" Xiao Wei asked.

The old lady stood up from behind the checkout counter, smiling, and said, "It's alright, it's better than farming. Are you free today?"

Xiao Wei said, "I just got back and stopped by to check. If there's anything that's not selling well, just let me know and I'll have someone come and exchange it for you. If anyone wants to buy something that's not available, just let me know too."

After the old lady agreed, Xiao Wei came out to go upstairs. He glanced casually at the factory from the courtyard and saw a travel bag outside Shan Hongmei's office. It was one of those nylon tote bags that ordinary people commonly used in those days, army green in color. It was a large one; if filled with things, most people wouldn't be able to lift it.

Nylon fabric is what we now call Oxford cloth, and it's now considered a luxury fabric, with finished products selling for quite a high price.

Nylon fabric is divided into polyester and polyvinyl chloride. Polyester was invented by the British and became very popular in my country, known as Dacron. Back then, giving a girl a Dacron dress was definitely more impressive than giving her a Louis Vuitton bag now.

Nylon is a product we produce ourselves. It was named nylon because it was first produced in Jinxi (Huludao) City in 58. Like polyester, it's just a Chinese name for nylon, nothing special.

Xiao Wei thought for a moment, then strolled over.

Shan Hongmei, the head of the training school and pregnant, still wanted to see the place before she felt at ease. She was thinking about setting up a guard post at the main gate tomorrow when she suddenly remembered Wang's suggestion to set up a police station there. She'd been so busy that she'd forgotten about it, as the annex building hadn't been finished yet.

Xiao Wei knocked on the door, opened it, and looked inside. He saw Shan Hongmei sitting on the sofa talking to someone. She seemed to be in a bad mood. The person had their back to the door, but Xiao Wei recognized her immediately – it was Yu Qiu.

Shan Hongmei looked up and looked over, and Yu Qiu also turned her head.

Yu Qiu was a little embarrassed, scratched his head and stood up: "President Zhang."

Shan Hongmei also stood up, and Xiao Wei asked, "Hongmei, when are your parents coming?"

Shan Hongmei said, "Next week, I'll take care of things back home. I'll have them sell the house since we're not going back here anyway."

Xiao Wei nodded and looked at Yu Qiu: "Are you back to marry Hongmei and get back to work, or do you have some other plans?"

Yu Qiu blushed and said, "I came here to get the marriage certificate with Hongmei. I can't let her get pregnant without a certificate; that would be too irresponsible. After that, I have to go back home; there are things to do there."

Xiao Wei tossed a cigarette to Yu Qiu and said, "Your mom still doesn't agree, right? Didn't you tell her about your situation here? What would Hongmei do if she married into your family? Farm? Why should she, who earns only a few thousand a month here, go so far away to suffer with you? It's suffering she shouldn't have to endure."

Yu Qiu glanced at Shan Hongmei and said, "It's not that, it's just that my mother's health isn't very good, and she's a very particular person. I've been trying to persuade her to stay, but what can I do? I can't just come over there and ignore her, what kind of situation would that be?"

Xiao Wei said, "Normally, it's not appropriate for me, an outsider, to interfere in this matter. However, Hongmei is my employee, and you pursued her back in school, so I bear half the responsibility. Let me tell you, we can't get the marriage certificate until this is cleared up. If we do get it and you go back, what kind of marriage is that? Why should we? Yu Qiu, this is entirely your responsibility, understand?"

Don't you know your family situation? And then you went and pursued Hongmei, and even got her pregnant. Is this what a man should do? Are you planning to use the child to justify your actions? Since she's already with you and pregnant, she has no choice but to go back with you, right?

Yu Qiu said, "No, how could I? I can't force Hongmei to go back with me. I'm not incapable of distinguishing right from wrong; it's obvious. Besides, I don't want to go back either. That small place has no future."

But this old lady is really insistent on this, what am I supposed to do? In her eyes, marrying a wife means bringing her home, and if I come here, I'll be considered a live-in son-in-law. I'm getting really upset too, look at my lips, they're still swollen. I'm thinking, I'll settle Hongmei down first, and then I'll go back and try to persuade her properly.”

Xiaowei said, "No, we can't get a marriage certificate. If you come over, I'll help you register your household, I'll contact the best hospital for your mother who's sick, and I'll lend you money if you don't have enough. That's all I can do, but I can't let you get a marriage certificate like this. Even Hongmei's agreement won't help."

Yu Qiu was a little dumbfounded: "Why?"

Xiaowei said, "If your mother keeps disagreeing, can you come over? If you don't come, what will happen to Hongmei? Will she just live with the marriage certificate? She'll have to wait for you to come even for a divorce. Is she going to be stuck like this for the rest of her life? You're a grown man. If you can convince your mother to agree, then come and marry her openly and honestly. Otherwise, forget it. I can't just watch Hongmei fall into this trap."

Yu Qiu glanced at Shan Hongmei: "What about the child?"

Xiao Wei said, "We can do whatever we want with the child. If Hongmei doesn't want it, she can have an abortion; if she does, she can have the baby. Her parents know about it, so it's not a big deal."

Yu Qiu said, "But, but, if we're not married, what will happen to the child's household registration in the future?"

Xiao Wei glanced at Yu Qiu: "Do you think I'm just for show? Is registering a household registration really that difficult?"

Yu Qiu asked, "What's the child's last name?"

Shan Hongmei said, "If you come, I'll take the surname Yu; if you don't, I'll take the surname Shan. I'll wait until the baby is born. If you still haven't come by then, that's fine. I admit I like you, but feelings aren't a reason to torment me. I can't go to Jiaohe just for the sake of the child."

I can be filial to your mother, and I can treat your sister and younger sister as my own. But I can't leave Fengtian, give up my job, and give up a monthly income of several thousand yuan to go to the countryside and suffer with you just because of this. It's not that I can't endure hardship.

Yu Qiu smiled bitterly and said, "I know you're not afraid of hardship, and I don't want to go back either. Even if I work here, I don't earn less than you. If I go back and get a job, I'll only make a few hundred yuan. What's the point of farming? We've already run out of land."

My older sister works in a factory, earning a little over two or three hundred yuan a month. My mother has no income; she just takes care of some chickens and ducks. My younger sister stays at home; what would she do if she went back? But I can't just say I don't want Mom anymore.

Xiao Wei asked, "So how does your mother live? Does your sister support her?"

Yu Qiu said, "My sister and I, my sister gives me 100 a month, and I give her 200, sometimes 300. Everyone else in the army saves money, but I can't save any." He paused for a moment and then said, "I also have to give some to my sister."

Xiao Wei asked, "How old is your sister?"

(End of this chapter)