Chapter 80 p2
Ye Qingsong pulled Ye Qinglan aside, looked around for a while, and after confirming that no one could hear, he lowered his voice and told her what had happened.
Ye Qinglan excitedly grabbed Ye Qingsong’s hand. “Brother, are you saying that Fourth Sister wants me to go to the base and find a partner for me there?”
Ye Qingsong nodded. “Yes, Fourth Sister wants to know your thoughts. If you’re not willing, Fourth Sister will not force you.”
“I’m going, why wouldn’t I? Only a fool wouldn’t go,” she said. Ye Qinglan had dreamed of escaping from this family. Now that a great opportunity was in front of her, how could she miss it?
“Are you sure? The Zhang family is willing to give the four major items and a bride price of six hundred and sixty yuan, and they also said they would arrange a job for you after the wedding,” Ye Qingsong teased.
Ye Qinglan rolled her eyes. “I’m not a fool. To come and propose to a country girl like me with such good conditions, it’s either a trap or a scam. In any case, it’s not a good thing. My standards are not high. I just want to find someone I can get along with. It’s fine even if he doesn’t have a house. As long as he’s hardworking and willing to work, we can work hard together. I’m strong and healthy. Am I afraid of starving to death?”
Ye Qingsong smiled and rubbed Ye Qinglan’s head. “When you get to Fourth Sister’s place, you must listen to her. Fourth Sister… has changed a lot, as if she’s a different person. In any case, she’s still our fourth sister. Look, this time, as soon as I wrote to her, she found a way to have you go over.”
Ye Qinglan nodded repeatedly. She was not worried about herself now, but about Ye Qingsong.
“What will you do after I’m gone?” Ye Qinglan’s eyes reddened.
“I’m a man, and I’m a militiaman now. Do you need to worry about me?” Ye Qingsong said, feigning relaxation.
The two of them were the youngest and had the best relationship. Now that Ye Qinglan was going to a faraway place, and who knew when they would see each other again, it was a lie to say he was not sad.
But Ye Qinglan could not stay at home. Her mother and her older brother were weighing her like a commodity, wanting to sell her for a good price. Without the Zhang family, there was still the Li family.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. When you get to Fourth Sister’s place, don’t send letters home. You can send them to Auntie Ye’s house. I’ll go and get them when I have time,” Ye Qingsong said, patting Ye Qinglan’s head and telling her to go back and pack her things. She had to go to the city to catch a train early tomorrow morning.
The next morning, Ye Qinglan saw her granduncle at the village entrance. She took the identification certificate from his hand, thanked him solemnly, and turned to run off.
In all her life, the farthest place she had been to was the town. This was her first time in the city, and she was actually very scared. But thinking that her fifth brother had said that her fourth brother-in-law had already asked someone to wait for her at the station, her uneasy heart calmed down a little.
“Excuse me… are you Comrade Ye Qinglan?” Li Gang asked, seeing a young girl timidly looking around. Her features resembled Ye Qingzhi’s a little. He went forward and asked, and sure enough, it was her. “I’m your brother-in-law He Qiming’s friend. This is my work ID.”
Li Gang handed his work ID to Ye Qinglan and then continued with a smile, “Where’s your identification certificate? I’ll help you buy a train ticket.”
Hearing his self-introduction, Ye Qinglan knew it was not fake. It was not that she trusted this stranger in front of her, but that she trusted her regiment commander brother-in-law.
She followed behind Li Gang step by step. The two of them arrived at the train station. Li Gang took Ye Qinglan’s identification certificate and found an acquaintance to buy a ticket, then gave her a one-catty bag of biscuits and twenty yuan in cash.
“No… I can’t take it,” Ye Qinglan quickly waved her hand.
“Take it. Your fourth sister and fourth brother-in-law told me to give it to you. The train takes three days and three nights. You have to eat. Although you don’t need tickets, you have to spend money. After you get off the train, you have to take a bus to Wushi, and then transfer to the town. You have to buy a ticket,” Li Gang said, stuffing the things into her hand and carefully teaching her how to take the bus after she got off the train.
Ye Qinglan listened very carefully, afraid of missing a single detail.
Looking at the pretty Ye Qinglan, Li Gang was a little worried. “Don’t trust anyone on the road. If an old person, a child, or a woman asks for your help, don’t help. When you’re out, don’t be nosy. There are railway police and public security. If not, there are so many big men. What kind of help would require a little girl like you? This is Old He’s army’s phone number. Keep it close to you. If anything happens, just call this number.”
Ye Qinglan held the bag tightly, her face becoming more and more grim, as if she were not getting on a train, but into a dragon’s den or a tiger’s lair.
Seeing this, Li Gang was worried that he had scared the little girl. His tone softened a little. “You don’t have to be afraid. Just don’t talk to others. If you have any trouble, just find the railway police and the public security. If you can’t find either of them, just shout for help, and say loudly that you’re a military dependent, visiting relatives at the base, and then call this number.”
Li Gang would say a sentence, and Ye Qinglan would nod. “I know. Thank you, Brother Li. I will be careful.”
Watching the train slowly move away, Li Gang went to the post and telecommunications office to call He Qiming and tell him the train’s time and number. It was the little girl’s first time out. If he had an acquaintance in Anshi, it would be better to have someone pick her up.
“Arriving at one in the afternoon. Alright, alright. I’ll ask someone to pick her up,” He Qiming said, hanging up the phone. He thought for a moment, then called a friend in Anshi. “Hello, it’s me, He Qiming. I have something to trouble you with.”
When he got off work in the afternoon and returned home, Ye Qingzhi had just finished cooking and was bringing out the food.
“You’re back. Jingyan, Anmin, Anjie, time to eat! Yangyang, stop playing, time to eat,” Ye Qingzhi said, seeing Yangyang still squatting there and playing with water. She had He Qiming take the water and pour it out. She touched Yangyang’s sleeve. Sure enough, it was already wet. “Look, it’s wet again. Mama will take you to change your clothes.”
Yangyang grinned at Ye Qingzhi and then obediently followed her into the house to change his clothes.
After changing his clothes and putting Yangyang on a chair, Ye Qingzhi saw that there was already food in front of the two of them.
“Your younger sister has already gotten on the train. She’ll arrive in Anshi at one in the afternoon the day after tomorrow. I’ve asked someone to pick her up. I couldn’t find an acquaintance in Wushi for a while. I’ll ask Old Xu and Old Shen later,” He Qiming said, picking up a chopstickful of food. He found a piece of meat in it and put it in Ye Qingzhi’s bowl.
“That’s good. It’s her first time out. I’m really worried something will happen,” Ye Qingzhi said, suddenly remembering that Ye Qinglan only spoke simple Mandarin, and she was even more worried.
“What’s wrong?” He Qiming asked, seeing Ye Qingzhi’s brow furrowed.
“Qinglan only speaks simple Mandarin. It’s best to find someone to help in Wushi too,” Ye Qingzhi said with a headache.
He Qiming nodded, suddenly remembered something, and looked at Ye Qingzhi curiously. “Did you also learn your Mandarin in the literacy class?”
Although she couldn’t distinguish between the flat and retroflex sounds, the ‘l’ and ‘r’ sounds, and the front and back nasal sounds, for the people in their hometown, especially those who had not been to school, Ye Qingzhi’s Mandarin was already very standard.
“No, I learned it from Wei Jiancheng. He likes to speak Mandarin. He thinks it’s more modern,” Ye Qingzhi replied very naturally.
She was not lying this time. Wei Jiancheng really liked to speak a half-baked Mandarin, especially in the village and at home, to show off his ability.
The original host had learned it from him, but of course, she was not as good as Ye Qingzhi.
It was a good thing she had been from that area in her past life. Before university, she had spoken Zhejiang Mandarin. It was only after university that she had corrected her pronunciation. After transmigrating to this world, she had spoken Zhejiang Mandarin from the beginning, so as not to arouse He Qiming’s suspicion. After arriving at the family compound, she had been slowly recovering her proper level.
After dinner, Gu Yao and his wife came to find He Qiming for Li Yang’s work.
“A male comrade at the cotton factory confessed to Yangyang. After being seen, it has already spread throughout the entire cotton factory. Yangyang is a martyr’s widow and also has two children. It’s already easy for people to gossip about her. Now it’s good. Wherever she goes, she’s pointed at. That girl is afraid we’ll worry and has been hiding it from us,” Gu Yao said, so angry she wanted to hit someone.
“What are your plans?” He Qiming asked directly.
Li Jiang and Gu Yao exchanged a look. Li Jiang spoke up, “We want to find another job for Yangyang. A teacher or a guesthouse attendant, or even a logistics worker at the hospital.”
He Qiming frowned. The jobs he mentioned were all the most sought-after, and the positions had long since been taken. It would not be easy for Li Yang to get such a job.
“Forget about the guesthouse attendant and the hospital logistics worker. But we can ask someone about being a teacher. What’s Li Yang’s education level?” He Qiming had not thought of having Ye Qingzhi go to work, so he had not asked anyone about jobs.
“I’ve already asked around. The school is hiring two teachers, and they require a junior high school education or above. Yangyang graduated from junior high school. I haven’t been here for long and don’t know who to ask, so I’ve come to trouble you,” Li Jiang said with an embarrassed look.
He Qiming had known Li Jiang for many years. It was rare for him to ask for help. He Qiming agreed without a second thought.
“Have you inquired about the man who confessed to Yangyang? Was it intentional?” Ye Qingzhi asked Gu Yao.
“Old Li has asked someone to inquire. The family is not as difficult as it is rumored to be, but life is not likely to be good either. In any case, I don’t like him,” Gu Yao said, firmly opposed.
A paralyzed father, a sickly mother, and younger brothers and sisters who were still in school, plus Li Yang’s two children. Tsk, tsk, you could tell with your toes that life would not be good if she married him.
“This person is not good,” Li Jiang also objected.
As a man, if you truly liked someone, you would consider them.
Li Yang’s situation was special. She was a young widow. It was said that there was a lot of gossip at a widow’s door. Yet he was so indiscreet, to have let people see him confess to Li Yang, which had now caused such a stir and had brought so much gossip to Li Yang.
“The main thing is that Yangyang herself doesn’t want to get married. She feels that her current life is more relaxed and free,” Gu Yao sighed helplessly.
Ye Qingzhi very much agreed with Li Yang’s idea. Without a very good partner, it was better not to get married. Her current life was very good. In any case, it was a hundred thousand times better than marrying Yin Linfeng.
After sending the Gu Yao couple away, it was already past eight at night. He Qiming pondered for a moment, had Ye Qingzhi go to sleep first, and went to find Xu Kaisheng.
“For Li Yang’s work? Tomorrow is also fine,” Ye Qingzhi said, pulling him.
“I have something else to find him for,” He Qiming said, kissing her forehead. “I’ll be back soon.”
Ye Qingzhi was now used to sleeping early and waking up early, so when He Qiming came back, she was already asleep and slept until dawn.
The next day, she heard He Qiming get up. She turned on her side and looked at him. “Well, is there any news about the job?”
“There’s an exam. You have to pass to become a teacher,” He Qiming said. He felt there was nothing wrong with that. After all, it was teaching and educating people. You couldn’t just be a teacher without knowing anything. That would be misleading the students.
“I’ll go and tell Gu Yao, and also go and find Sister Jinfeng,” Ye Qingzhi said, unable to lie down any longer. She got up with him.
After breakfast, the few older ones went to school. Ye Qingzhi was just about to take Yangyang to Gu Yao’s house when she saw Li Jinfeng come in with her child.
“Sister Jinfeng, have you had breakfast? I still have some porridge here,” Ye Qingzhi quickly asked.
“I’ve already eaten,” Li Jinfeng said, waving her hand. “Qingzhi, I saw Company Commander Zhou and Tao Lingyi walking together, very close. Do you think they’ve made up?”
Company Commander Zhou? Tao Lingyi?
Ye Qingzhi didn’t know who these two were for a moment and looked at Li Jinfeng in a daze.
“Company Commander Zhou, the one who went on a blind date with Regiment Commander Xu’s cousin. Tao Lingyi is his ex-girlfriend, from the art troupe. She was taken for investigation because of her family’s overseas connections. She’s already back at the art troupe. I heard her family is fine now,” Li Jinfeng helped Ye Qingzhi recall.
She remembered now. She hadn’t heard their gossip for so long, so she hadn’t remembered for a moment.
“Is Company Commander Zhou not married yet?” Ye Qingzhi remembered that he was already twenty-nine when he had gone on a blind date with Su Mengwan. Now he was over thirty and was still single.
“You should have seen Tao Lingyi. She and Zeng Huijun are the two golden flowers of our army. With such a beautiful and talented girlfriend, it’s not easy to find someone you like again,” Li Jinfeng said. She had seen through this group of men. They said that personality was the most important, but it was all bullshit.
“Have they made up or not? You can ask someone to inquire later. I have something to trouble you with,” Ye Qingzhi said, taking the child and telling her about her younger sister coming to the base. “My younger sister is twenty-two this year. I want to ask you to be a matchmaker and find her a suitable partner.”
“Your biological sister?” Li Jinfeng asked, looking at Ye Qingzhi’s beautiful face. If they were biological sisters, they would have some resemblance. Even if she was only five-tenths as beautiful as Ye Qingzhi, the level of her potential partners could be raised.
“Yes, my biological sister from the same parents,” Ye Qingzhi said. Seeing Li Jinfeng staring at her face, and thinking of the Ye Qinglan she had seen when she went back to her hometown last time, she might be disappointed.
Ye Qinglan did not have a golden finger, so her skin was not that fair. Her features were not bad, but she was still a little thin. If she was well-nourished, she would also be a pretty girl.
Worried that Li Jinfeng would exaggerate, Ye Qingzhi quickly said, “My younger sister will be here in a few days. You can help after you’ve met her and gotten to know her personality.”