Chapter 4: You’re Back.

Chen Kuanren was so angry he almost jumped up.

Geng Zhiyé instinctively hid Ye Fan behind him. Ye Fan’s older brother grabbed Chen Kuanren’s arm. “Uncle, calm down. No matter how much Ye Fan is at fault, she’s still your own daughter.”

“I wouldn’t dare to have such a fierce daughter!” Geng Zhiyé, half a head taller than Chen Kuanren and a soldier to boot, could easily take on five of him. Chen Kuanren didn’t dare to clash head-on, so he let out a harsh remark and sat down.

Ye Fan leaned around Geng Zhiyé’s shoulder, half her head showing as she grinned mischievously, “So you threw me away.”

“You—” Chen Kuanren was instantly so furious that his face turned red, his neck thickened, and he struggled to catch his breath.

Ye Fan’s parents didn’t pick a fight with the Chen family, but that didn’t mean they weren’t angry. Seeing that Chen Kuanren was about to faint from the pressure, Ye Fan’s father felt as refreshed as if he’d just had an ice-cold soda on a scorching summer day.

Geng Zhiyé pressed Ye Fan’s head back down. “So what now?”

Ye Fan’s sister-in-law said she would accompany their mother to Shen City tomorrow to help Xiaohui with her household registration.

Geng Zhiyé frowned. “You and mom? You two?” Then he turned to Ye Fan, “Aren’t you going?”

“I won’t be of any help. I’m pure and good-natured, and I don’t look like them. There’s no scientific basis for blood recognition. The things they did, no one else saw but them. If I say my last name is Chen, would the police believe me?”

Zhao Ruping angrily retorted, “Don’t start with the sarcasm right away.”

Ye Fan shot back with a mocking tone, “You threw me away, and now I’m not allowed to be upset?”

“If it weren’t for us, would you have made it this far?” Zhao Ruping shot back.

Ye Fan let out a light laugh. “Finally telling the truth.”

Zhao Ruping wanted to ask what she meant but paused, her face suddenly changing as she stammered, “I—I’m just upset because of you!”

“Alright. Just keep lying to yourself,” Ye Fan said, then turned to Geng Zhiyé. “How many days of leave do you have left?”

Soldiers who are separated from their spouses get more leave than those who are unmarried or have their families with them. But Geng Zhiyé’s situation was special—he was now the top leader on the island and couldn’t be away for too long. “Half a month.”

“That’s enough.” Ye Fan patted his shoulder, looking serious. “Don’t let the organization down.”

Geng Zhiyé was amused by her, standing at attention and saluting with a grin. “Don’t worry, Madam, I’ll make sure to complete the task!”

Tao Chunlan’s face relaxed, and even Ye Fan’s father, usually serious, showed a smile as he scolded, “Nonsense!” Before Geng Zhiyé could reply, he asked, “Have you eaten?”

Ye Fan’s sister-in-law responded, “What food is there on the train? I’ll go cook some noodles.” She was about to ask Ye Fan if she was hungry but quickly changed direction, “Xiaohui must be hungry by now, right? Uncle and Aunt haven’t eaten either, right? I’ll make more.”

Chen Xiaohui felt like an outsider, as if she didn’t belong in this family, just like in her past life. When she suddenly heard her name, she froze for a moment before snapping back to reality. “I—I’ll help you.”

“Cooking instant noodles doesn’t need that many people.” Ye Fan’s sister-in-law called her husband to gather the vegetables.

The Ye family used to plant a lot of flowers in the yard, but later, due to the country’s difficulties, everyone, from top to bottom, had to live frugally. Tao Chunlan uprooted the flowers and started planting vegetables instead. During the toughest years, she even grew a patch of sweet potatoes. They produced two harvests, spring and autumn, with high yields, and the vines and leaves were edible, helping many relatives and neighbors.

Tao Chunlan told Geng Zhiyé to go back to the room, change clothes, and wait for the noodles.

Geng Zhiyé lifted his leg, closed the door, threw his luggage on the chair, and hugged his wife. “Don’t be afraid, I’m here.”

Ye Fan wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’m not afraid. Those two want me to go back to Shen City to see relatives and friends? How shameless. They were afraid they couldn’t raise me, so they threw me away. Fortunately, I had my parents. If they were any poorer, I’d have turned into a handful of dirt by now.”

“We’re not going back.”

Ye Fan nodded. “I told you, I’m a Geng family daughter-in-law.”

“Changing your last name to Geng?”

Ye Fan pinched his cheek playfully. “Are you tired from the ride? I don’t know what Chen Xiaohui is thinking. It’s like she wants to keep ties with both sides. She hasn’t mentioned changing surnames, so I don’t think it’s necessary.”

“Parents like that, and you still want to keep in touch with them?” Geng Zhiyé frowned.

Ye Fan couldn’t make sense of it either. “It seems like they’re really scared of them, like those two have some leverage over them.”

“Did you ask?”

Ye Fan rolled her eyes in exasperation. “How could I ask about this awkward situation? It feels like she’s not really clear-headed. Saying anything more might make her think I dislike her and don’t want to give her back to my parents. But how could that be? I’d love to have more sisters. When my parents are sick and in the hospital, at least there’d be someone to help.”

“My Fan Fan is so smart and insightful, with a long-term vision. You’re all just mere mortals compared to her,” Geng Zhiyé said, lowering his head to kiss her on the cheek.

Ye Fan pinched his cheek and pulled her head away. “Stop it. Change your clothes! You smell like rotten food!”

“Even the rotten smell is yours,” Geng Zhiyé pecked her at the corner of her mouth before quickly dodging away.

Ye Fan opened the wardrobe to find clothes. “What’s in the bag? Didn’t you say there were clothes and shoes at home, no need to bring anything?”

“A toiletry bag and some food for the two little ones, plus a bit of seafood…” Geng Zhiyé caught the clothes she tossed his way. “Where are Dabao and Erbao?”

Ye Fan replied, “Finally remembering them, huh? They’re at your dad’s.”

Geng Zhiyé slowed down his movements while changing clothes. “If you were too busy, why didn’t you ask Xiao Qin to take care of them for a few days?”

Xiao Qin, whose full name was Geng Zhiqin, was Ye Fan’s sister-in-law, 20 years old, and Geng Zhiyé’s younger half-sister.

Ye Fan rolled her eyes in exasperation. “How could I ask about this awkward situation? It feels like she’s not really clear-headed. Saying anything more might make her think I dislike her and don’t want to give her back to my parents. But how could that be? I’d love to have more sisters. When my parents are sick and in the hospital, at least there’d be someone to help.”

“My Fan Fan is so smart and insightful, with a long-term vision. You’re all just mere mortals compared to her,” Geng Zhiyé said, lowering his head to kiss her on the cheek.

Ye Fan pinched his cheek and pulled her head away. “Stop it. Change your clothes! You smell like rotten food!”

“Even the rotten smell is yours,” Geng Zhiyé pecked her at the corner of her mouth before quickly dodging away.

Ye Fan opened the wardrobe to find clothes. “What’s in the bag? Didn’t you say there were clothes and shoes at home, no need to bring anything?”

“A toiletry bag and some food for the two little ones, plus a bit of seafood…” Geng Zhiyé caught the clothes she tossed his way. “Where are Dabao and Erbao?”

Ye Fan replied, “Finally remembering them, huh? They’re at your dad’s.”

Geng Zhiyé slowed down his movements while changing clothes. “If you were too busy, why didn’t you ask Xiao Qin to take care of them for a few days?”

Xiao Qin, whose full name was Geng Zhiqin, was Ye Fan’s sister-in-law, 20 years old, and Geng Zhiyé’s younger half-sister.

This was true.

At least, for now, she was focused on living a good life. At the time, Geng Zhiyé was eleven years old, still a bit childish. He said that his eldest brother’s approach was “first a villain, then a gentleman.”

Geng Zhiyé had a fair, delicate face and looked well-behaved. Yu Wentao thought to herself that this child wouldn’t lie, and the knot in her heart instantly disappeared.

Two years later, Geng Zhiqin was born. The family’s brown sugar eggs were saved for the mother, and Geng Zhiyé’s grandmother and aunt also came to visit her. During her time in the Geng family, Yu Wentao was content. She had a gentle temper and took good care of her husband and children. Unfortunately, this situation only lasted for six or seven years.

That year, Geng’s father’s health declined, and he had to retire. Although it wasn’t the point where “when a person leaves, the tea cools,” Yu Wentao clearly felt less welcome than before.

That year, Geng Zhiqin was thirteen, and the college entrance exams kept getting postponed. By the time Geng Zhiqin was sixteen or seventeen, he was likely to be sent to the countryside. Yu Wentao was reluctant and thought every day about marrying Geng Zhiyé off.

It was possible that the heavens were rewarding her persistence, or perhaps it was that Geng Zhiyé was fated to be with Ye Fan, but Yu Wentao ended up crossing paths with Tao Chunlan. The Ye family’s four members all had jobs and worked at different institutions, so Yu Wentao thought it wouldn’t be hard to marry Geng Zhiqin into their family.

As the saying goes, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Yu Wentao feared that someone more powerful than the Ye family might snatch away her daughter’s job, and since Geng Zhiqin had just turned sixteen, she was scrambling everywhere to arrange a marriage for her daughter.

Geng’s father and elder brother’s mother were from the same hometown, and over the years, the father and son had often helped their relatives back home. A few years ago, Geng’s father returned to his hometown for an ancestral ceremony, and the villagers were so moved to see him that they cried. Both Geng’s father and elder brother expressed that they could arrange for Geng Zhiqin to go back to her hometown, and marrying at seventeen or eighteen was a trivial matter. Yu Wentao strongly disagreed and blurted out, ‘You don’t care, but I do. I don’t need you to worry about my daughter.’

Perhaps the state of the world had made her feel insecure, and in recent years, she had grown more and more inclined to favor wealth over poverty.

The only consolation was that Yu Wentao had just retired this year and was too busy to manage her daughter, who had spent her childhood with her elder sister-in-law. When the sister-in-law and her husband were reassigned elsewhere, Geng Zhiqin followed her second brother and his wife. Ye Fan, with money to spare, was generous with food and supplies, buying a big bag every time she returned. Yu Wentao was happy to see her daughter getting along well with Ye Fan. Under the subtle influence of her several sisters-in-law, Geng Zhiqin had not inherited her mother’s flaws.”

A few days before Ye Fan married Geng Zhiyé, a distant cousin of Ye Da Sao (Ye Fan’s eldest sister-in-law) mentioned that the Ye family’s supply and marketing cooperative in the West Sea was looking for an accountant. A few days earlier, after a heavy rain, the old accountant slipped and fell. If the injury was minor, he’d need six months of rest, but if it was serious, he might have to retire.

Ye Fan had studied Russian in school and was good at using an abacus. Over the past two years, she had even taught Ye Da Sao a few English phrases, and she knew quite a bit. However, Ye Fan was only twenty and had never worked as an accountant. Ye Da Sao seriously doubted if she could handle it.

Ye Da Sao’s cousin suggested that, in case they were in a hurry, maybe a blind cat would accidentally catch a dead mouse, and perhaps Ye Fan might get lucky.

The work at the cooperative was simple. Ye Fan had been capable of handling it back when she was in college, not to mention the years she had spent gaining experience in society. The cooperative’s director initially thought that the Ye family was using their power to bully others. He tried to make things difficult for Ye Fan, but after failing to do so, he was impressed by her and agreed to keep her on the spot, though there would be a three-month probation period.

A month later, the cooperative director submitted a report, and Ye Fan became a permanent employee. After becoming a permanent employee, Ye Fan took advantage of a loophole in the regulations and began driving a tricycle to the farm and sideline product collection station to buy chickens, ducks, geese, fruits, and vegetables.

The local villagers didn’t worry about selling their crops, as they planted vegetables all around their homes. Even the lazy ones weren’t lazy anymore and went up the mountain to pick chestnuts, walnuts, and hawthorns. When there were too many hawthorns to sell, they cut them up and dried them to keep for selling as dried hawthorn.

When peaches, plows, and apples are in season, the supply and marketing cooperative never runs out of them. In the winter, there are also sweet potatoes, dried mushrooms, and wood ear mushrooms, among others. Since Ye Fan took office for six months, except on rainy or snowy days, the front of the cooperative is crowded with people every day. At the end of the year, when the books were closed, the cooperative where she worked made twice as much money as other cooperatives.

Someone had reported Ye Fan to the authorities, but the goods she bought were what the collection station had rejected. When the collection station raised the flag, Ye Fan asked, as a successor of socialism, whether they wanted the crops their fellow villagers had worked so hard to grow to go to waste.

Ye Fan neither speculated nor embezzled a single cent from the government. The person who reported her was already a bit afraid because of Ye’s high family background and couldn’t find any evidence, so they could only watch as she continued to ride her three-wheeled cart back and forth in front of them every day.

The cooperative cleared out a room specifically to sell agricultural and sideline products, but there weren’t enough people. Naturally, Ye Fan got her sister-in-law to help. To avoid gossip, she told her that she would be a temporary worker, hoping the girl would someday go to university and find a more relaxed and respectable job.

With family support, temporary worker Yu Wentao was satisfied. Not in a hurry to marry off her daughter, she began to pick and choose. It wasn’t that the family of this suitor was hard to get along with, it was just that the older sister-in-law in that family was too domineering.”

“Geng Zhiyé’s second sister-in-law asked if Ye Fan was tough with her mother-in-law, Old Lady Yu.

Of course, Ye Fan was tough; even the supply and marketing cooperative director, who was twenty or thirty years older than her, listened to her. But Yu Wentao had something to say—Miss Ye was reasonable and never took advantage of others.

Let’s not mention Old Geng; his pension was even less than hers. As for parents with no pensions, there was no need to mention it at all.

In this era, it wasn’t just Yu Wentao who was reluctant to send her daughter to the countryside; other families also first considered jobs or joining the army. Only if there was no other way would they marry off their daughters. Not every family had a talented young man waiting for Yu Wentao to pick and choose.

When Yu Wentao found someone with a stable job and family, she still complained that the man was unattractive.

Geng’s father, who was sixty-eight this year, had several shrapnel pieces in his body, and his health wasn’t good, so he had no energy to manage Yu Wentao. Yu Wentao, however, felt that the old man supported her. Whenever Geng’s father scolded her a few words, she would cry, saying she had only one daughter and was left without anyone to depend on in her old age.

Yu Wentao caused too many problems, and Geng’s father worried that if he passed away first, his son and daughter-in-law might kick her out, so he just let her continue to act high and mighty.

Tao Chunlan was concerned that her daughter wouldn’t be used to living at her in-laws’ place, also because before and after Ye Fan’s marriage, she had interacted with Yu Wentao a few times and found that she had many faults.

Geng Zhiyé got off the car and headed straight for his father-in-law’s house, mainly because he didn’t want to see his father, who pretended to be deaf and dumb and just muddled through with his stepmother, who was becoming more confused with age.

Ye Fan: ‘Xiao Qin has to work. Aunt Yu doesn’t know about this matter and doesn’t dare to say anything in front of Dabao and Erbao.’

‘Isn’t the excuse for taking leave from your father-in-law and mother-in-law because you and Chen Xiaohui mixed up the babies? Within a week, it’ll be all over the place. When I return from Shengcheng, I’ll take care of her household registration. Even second-rate newspapers will come to interview you.'”

“By the time it reaches the newspaper, I’ll have already taken you to the island,” Ye Fan said.

Geng Zhiyé paused while fastening his belt. “To the island? For what?”

“Join the military,” Ye Fan shot him a glance. “Is it really that shocking?”

Geng Zhiyé quickly finished fastening his belt and pulled her into his arms. “Did my father-in-law agree to this?”

Ye Fan replied, “Dad didn’t oppose it, but Mom thinks Erbao is too young. She’s worried he won’t adjust well on the island, and if he gets sick, it’ll be hard to get him to a big hospital in time. My older brother and sister-in-law aren’t worried about me suffering there. If I go, there won’t be anyone left at home to take care of Mom, and once she has free time, she’ll keep urging my sister-in-law to have more kids. My sister-in-law is already thirty.”

“Your sister-in-law should be having children soon.”

Ye Fan shook her head. “She said that when she gets old, she’ll live with us so we can take care of each other. If she’s sick and needs to be hospitalized, she’ll hire a caregiver. She’ll go ahead of us, and we’ll help with the cremation. If she passes after us, the arrangements will be up to Dabao and Erbao. If worse comes to worst, she has nieces and nephews.”

“Your mom doesn’t think that way.”

Ye Fan smiled. “That’s why Chen Xiaohui came over.”

Geng Zhiyé nodded, clearly agreeing. “Indeed, this woman is a real worry for my mother-in-law.”

“Stop making sarcastic remarks. Get up!” Ye Fan pushed his hand away. “You seem to have a smell on you.”

Geng Zhiyé said, “First, take a fishing boat to the shore, then ride a fellow villager’s tractor to the bus stop, take a bus to the train station, and the train will stop and go for two days. After that, I’ll take the bus back. It’s no surprise I smell.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Commander Geng,” Ye Fan said, stroking his face. “You’ve gotten rough.”

Geng Zhiyé grabbed her hand. “I’ve been thinking about you.”

Ye Fan shrugged and shivered. “You really should have your little stepmom take a look at you to see what kind of person you are. So she won’t mention you when she’s looking for a match for Xiao Qin.”

“Didn’t she used to say that just having good features was enough?”

“Her idea of good features is basically having thick eyebrows, big eyes, and an imposing presence. The weekend after I got your letter, I took Dabao and Erbao back, told her and your dad that you were taking a break in a few days, and just happened to run into her bringing Xiao Qin back from a blind date. Xiao Qin thought it was fine, but guess what she said?”

“Stingy, not clean? If she agreed to let Xiao Qin meet them, their family and personal conditions must be acceptable.”

Ye Fan nodded. “As soon as she entered, she started criticizing Xiao Qin. Not as tall as your third brother, has a bigger temper, and it’s bad enough that talking to him feels like begging him. She doesn’t even look at herself in the mirror to see what kind of person she is. No face, no knowledge, and still wants to find someone like your third sister-in-law. Dream on!”

Geng Zhiyé could imagine his stepmother saying these words while pointing at his sister’s nose, curling her lips with a look of disdain. “Don’t mind her. Xiao Qin is only twenty, still young.”

“Tell me the truth. When we were set up, you were already twenty-six, wasn’t it because she was too much trouble?”

Geng Zhiyé replied, “It wasn’t entirely that. At that time, I was in Yangcheng, and it took ten days for a round trip. I didn’t want to come back. At twenty-two or twenty-three, I wasn’t in a hurry. I didn’t feel anything, and then suddenly, I was twenty-six.”

“So, you hadn’t met before that?”