Chapter 17

At the Nanzhou Machinery Factory’s switchboard, Uncle Li answered the ringing phone. Hearing a young woman’s voice, he asked, “Is this Ye Huan?”

“Yes, Uncle Li, it’s me.”

“Oh good, you finally called. Your mom has been waiting since yesterday—she’s come by several times today alone. She was just here a moment ago, probably went home to make lunch. Wait a bit, I’ll go fetch her. Call again in about ten minutes.”

Uncle Li hung up the phone and spotted a young man walking by. He called out to him, “Master Ye’s second daughter just called. Run to Laoba Alley and get Li Xiufen to come answer the phone.”

Li Xiufen had made it very clear to Uncle Li: if Ye Huan ever called, he must come get her personally. She didn’t trust Ye Yongguo to handle it properly—he was too careless. If he answered the phone, she feared father and daughter would only exchange a few words before hanging up.

She could already imagine the conversation:

Ye Yongguo: “You made it to the farm?”

Ye Huan: “I did.”

“Good. Work hard.”

“Okay.”

“Then I’ll hang up.”

And that would be the end of it.

But she wanted to know how her daughter was doing—if she was eating well, how her living conditions were, how many educated youths were there, what their personalities were like, and whether they were easy to get along with…

Ye Yongguo would never think to ask these things. Even if you reminded him, he’d forget it the next minute. That’s why Li Xiufen repeatedly stressed to Uncle Li that if Ye Huan called, he must come get her.

The young man immediately took off toward Laoba Alley to deliver the message.

Laoba Alley was just behind the factory. Halfway there, he ran into Li Xiufen and called from a distance, “Ye Huan just called! Uncle Li says to come answer the phone!”

Li Xiufen had come specifically to check if Ye Huan had called, and hearing that she had, she immediately broke into a run. Panting heavily, she burst into the gatehouse and reached for the phone.

Uncle Li quickly stopped her. “Can’t you see it’s been hung up? You weren’t here, so I told her to call back in ten minutes. Sit down and wait a bit.”

But how could Li Xiufen sit still? She stood there, staring anxiously at the phone. Not long after, it rang again. The moment it did, she grabbed the receiver and said, “Huanhuan?… Why didn’t you call yesterday? Was the trip smooth?… How many people are in your dorm?… Do they seem easy to get along with?… How’s the food?… Is the work tiring?…”

……

Uncle Li figured that since Ye Huan had called, he ought to inform Ye Yongguo—after all, she was his daughter. How could a father not be concerned?

So he went to the workshop to let Ye Yongguo know.

Though he often acted indifferent, this was his daughter’s first time leaving home. Of course he worried. As soon as he heard she had called, he put down his work and headed straight to the gatehouse.

Just as he arrived at the gate, he saw Li Xiufen coming out.

“The call’s over?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she replied.

Unhappy, Ye Yongguo grumbled, “You could’ve at least let me say a few words to our daughter.”

“Long-distance calls are expensive,” she said. “Let’s save her some money. Besides, what would you two even talk about?”

He had no choice but to drop it and asked instead, “How’s Huanhuan doing over there?”

“She’s fine.”

Li Xiufen was satisfied with Ye Huan’s current situation, and the worry she’d been carrying finally eased. She told him the general gist of what Huanhuan had said and then returned home with a smile.

Ye Yongguo also returned to the workshop.

……

Just after the two of them left, Ye Qing arrived.

Uncle Li assumed she was also there to answer Ye Huan’s call and said, “You just missed her. Huanhuan called earlier—your mom answered. If you’d come a bit sooner, you could’ve spoken to her. Your dad missed it too—he also came late.”

Ye Qing had seen Li Xiufen earlier but hadn’t called out to her, wondering what her stepmother was doing at her dad’s factory. Now she understood—it was to answer Ye Huan’s call.

But that wasn’t why she was here. She had business with Ye Yongguo. Still, she played along and asked, “What bad luck. So how’s Huanhuan doing over there?”

“Judging by your mom’s tone, pretty well,” Uncle Li replied.

Ye Qing felt a pang of resentment. After all the money Huanhuan swindled from me before leaving, how could she not be doing well?

She gave a vague reply and asked, “Is my dad back at work?”

“Yeah, just went back to the workshop. Go find him there.”

Ye Yongguo was in Workshop No. 1. Ye Qing waited at the entrance and asked a young man to fetch him.

When he came out and saw her, he was surprised. “What are you doing here?”

It wasn’t convenient to talk at the workshop door, so Ye Qing pulled him aside and said, “Dad, Chen Yongqing’s factory is hiring temporary workers. I happen to meet the qualifications, but competition is stiff and the odds aren’t good. Could you ask someone to put in a good word with the factory leaders?”

Chen Yongqing worked at the city’s No. 3 Radio Factory. Ye Qing had heard rumors about the hiring even before Ye Huan left for the countryside. But knowing Li Xiufen, if she got wind of this, she’d definitely try to get Ye Huan the job instead—then where would that leave her?

Now that Ye Huan had gone, Ye Qing finally made her move.

She didn’t go to their house because she didn’t want Li Xiufen to find out and meddle.

At first, Ye Yongguo was pleased to hear that his daughter met the hiring criteria. But when it came to calling in a favor, he hesitated. “I only know Chen Yongqing there. I don’t know anyone else at the radio factory.”

“What about your apprentice, Yang Shengbing?” Ye Qing suggested. “He works at the city government. He must have some influence.”

It was true that Chen Yongqing worked at the factory, but he didn’t have much influence.

She’d heard that Yang Shengbing had helped get Ye Huan placed in a good spot for her countryside assignment, so she came to ask her dad.

If Yang Shengbing could help Ye Huan, surely he could help her too.

Ye Yongguo frowned.

He didn’t like asking favors, especially from an apprentice he didn’t think much of. When Ye Huan was sent down, it was Li Xiufen who’d gone to Yang Shengbing, not him—he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Still, helping his daughter find work was no small matter.

After hesitating a moment, he said, “I’ll talk it over with your stepmother. Maybe she can ask Shengbing again when she has time.”

Ye Qing couldn’t let Li Xiufen get involved—she didn’t trust her. She feared she’d sabotage it out of jealousy over Ye Huan’s departure.

This matter had to be handled by her father. As his apprentice, Yang Shengbing would take him more seriously.

“Dad,” Ye Qing insisted, “I think you should go yourself. Shengbing is your former apprentice. Mother is just an outsider, her words won’t carry as much weight as yours.”

Ye Yongguo was a man who never asked for help, especially not from a disciple he looked down on. He couldn’t bring himself to respond to Ye Qing’s words.

Ye Qing pressed on, “Dad, I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t urgent. Yongqing’s family has had it really hard. His mom’s been bedridden for over a decade—medicine alone drained their savings. Now that she’s gone, he still has younger siblings to support. Weddings, dowries—it all takes money. He can’t carry it alone. He’s been so worried, he can’t even sleep at night. I thought if I could at least help a little, it’d take some of the pressure off.”

She paused, her voice choked. “I know you have concerns. After all, the one living with you now isn’t my mom. My mother had a tough life—followed you through years of poverty. Just when life started to get better, she passed away. I even dreamed of her the other night. She held my hand and cried…”

Tears welled up in her eyes, and she lowered her head.

Anyone thinking clearly would see through the lie. Ye Qing was only a year old when her birth mother died—she wouldn’t even remember her. If not for an old photo, she wouldn’t even know what she looked like. And now she claimed her mother came to her in a dream and cried while holding her hand?

It was nonsense.

But Ye Yongguo didn’t think that deeply. Mentioning his late wife always softened his heart.

They’d been childhood sweethearts. When she married him, he was just a lowly apprentice at the factory, earning less than ten yuan a month. She didn’t mind his poverty and still married him, giving him children.

Later, his income rose, life got better, but she suddenly fell ill and died before they could even treat her.

She never got to enjoy a single day of comfort.

Ye Yongguo had always felt deeply indebted to his late wife, and by extension, to his children, Ye Mingliang and Ye Qing. He pitied them for losing their mother at such a young age. Though Li Xiufen treated them well enough, a stepmother could never truly replace their own mother. Li Xiufen might have pretended to treat them equally, but Ye Yongguo knew better.

Because of all this, whenever Ye Qing mentioned her mother, his heart softened immediately. He resolved to set aside his pride for his daughter’s sake, even if it meant losing face.

“Go on home,” he told her. “I’ll call Shengbing later and see if he can help.”

Though he wasn’t fond of Yang Shengbing, the apprentice still respected him. Even after getting transferred to a city job, he brought gifts during holidays.

Ye Qing was confident: if her dad went in person, Shengbing would help.

However, Ye Qing had one request: “Dad, don’t tell Mom about this. Huanhuan just went to the countryside, and I’m only working temporary jobs here. I don’t want her to worry.”

Even without Ye Qing’s reminder, Ye Yongguo had no intention of telling Li Xiufen. Women tend to overthink things, and who knows what she might imagine if she found out?

“I won’t tell your mother,” Ye Yongguo assured her.

Ye Qing nodded in satisfaction. “Then I’ll leave now. I’ll come back this afternoon.”

This was a veiled way of urging Ye Yongguo to call Yang Shengbing immediately, preferably settling the matter today.

In truth, even without Ye Qing’s prompting, Ye Yongguo would have called Yang Shengbing right away.

Even someone as detached from current affairs as him knew that temporary jobs were highly sought after these days. Things changed daily, and if you didn’t act quickly, the opportunity would vanish.