Wang Gang took his younger sisters Zhuang Xiaoting and Xiang Pengfei to the Jiekou Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
Xiang Pengfei's eyes widened as soon as he entered the supply and marketing cooperative, and he was dazzled by the dazzling array of products around him.
In fact, there is a shortage of materials in this era, and the supplies at suppliers and sellers are not abundant, but they are all things Xiang Pengfei has never seen before.
He was like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden, seeing novel objects at every glance.
Wang Gang took the money and tickets to buy some maltose and toffee, and distributed them to Xiang Pengfei and Zhuang Xiaoting.
Zhuang Xiaoting took it in her hand with peace of mind, but Xiang Pengfei didn't dare to take the candy.
"You eat candy! It's so sweet." Zhuang Xiaoting said to her cousin Xiang Pengfei.
"I won't eat it." Xiang Pengfei shook his head like a rattle, but refused to accept the candy.
"You don't like sweets?" Wang Gang asked.
"I, I don't like to eat." Xiang Pengfei looked at the candy and swallowed, his eyes full of desire, but his words were full of duplicity.
Wang Gang smiled and said: "Is it because you don't like sweets, or is it because your aunt won't let you eat them?"
Xiang Pengfei raised his head in surprise and said, "Brother Tunan, how do you know?"
Wang Gang took Xiang Pengfei's hand, stuffed the maltose into his hand, and said, "This is what my cousin invited you to eat. My aunt won't tell you anything."
Zhuang Xiaoting also said: "Cousin Pengfei, it's okay if you don't tell aunt."
Xiang Pengfei hesitated and said: "Then I will eat one piece and give the rest to my mother."
Wang Gang raised the corner of his mouth and asked, "Can't you get sweets in Guizhou?"
Xiang Pengfei nodded and said, "I only get a piece of candy during the Chinese New Year."
Zhuang Xiaoting was stunned for a moment and asked in confusion: "Is there no candy seller in Guizhou?"
Xiang Pengfei shook his head and said, "Our candy is too expensive, and my mother is reluctant to buy it."
Wang Gang chatted with Xiang Pengfei and found that his family's life in Guizhou was indeed difficult.
Zhuang Hualin works as a nurse in a health center, and her monthly income is not much, but it is very hard. Xiang Pengfei's father works on the railway to make a living, his income is even less, and his work is all manual labor.
If their family had money, they would also buy food, but they would not buy candies at all. Xiang Pengfei was very happy during the Chinese New Year and was able to eat a piece of candy.
Wang Gang found that Xiang Pengfei was very sensible. When he got something good, he would first think of his parents. If it were Lin Dongzhe, the candy would have ended up in his stomach long ago.
After a while, Zhuang Chaoying came with Huang Ling and Zhuang Hualin.
"Let's go home! Auntie and Pengfei will stay at our house tonight." Huang Ling took Zhuang Xiaoting's hand and said to Wang Gang.
Wang Gang glanced at Zhuang Hualin and did not ask his aunt why she didn't live with her father and mother-in-law.
After returning home, Huang Ling went to the vegetable market to buy more vegetables and entertained Zhuang Hualin in the evening.
At the dinner table, Zhuang Hualin was so moved that he almost cried.
"Hualin, eat more meat." Huang Ling picked up a piece of braised pork and put it in Zhuang Hualin's bowl.
"Thank you, sister-in-law." Zhuang Hualin directly transferred the meat to his son's bowl.
"Hualin, you have endured hardship in Guizhou these years. I will definitely find a way to transfer your family back to Suzhou." Zhuang Chaoying promised, patting her chest.
Wang Gang curled his lips, rather disapproving of it.
Wang Gang knew very well what Zhuang Chaoying was capable of. He was just a poor teacher. Although he was great at teaching and educating people, his interpersonal relationships were so sparse that he had no ability to bring Zhuang Hualin's family back to Suzhou.
"Brother, I have seen the end of my life. I have no extravagant hopes. I just don't want Pengfei to be trapped in the mountains." Zhuang Hualin looked at his son tenderly and said:
"Pengfei is still young, and I really can't bear to have him suffer hardships with me in Guizhou."
Seeing how skinny her nephew was, Zhuang Chaoying couldn't help but give Xiang Pengfei two more pieces of meat.
Huang Ling ate her meal silently and did not talk to her.
After dinner, Zhuang Xiaoting took Xiang Pengfei to Lin Dongzhe's house next door to watch TV. The two brothers, Zhuang Chaoying and Zhuang Hualin, were sitting in the living room chatting about daily life.
Zhuang Hualin expressed the hope that Zhuang Chaoying could take Xiang Pengfei under his wing.
Huang Ling and Wang Gang stood in the yard, looked at the two brothers and sisters in the living room, shook their heads and said:
"It seems your aunt is determined to bring the child to our house."
Wang Gang sighed and said, "I asked Pengfei that his family was really having a hard time in Guizhou. It's understandable that my aunt wants to find a good way out for her son."
Huang Ling said in surprise: "Tunan, you want to help them? Don't you dislike my father and my mother's family?"
Wang Gang smiled and said, "I hate it when my father and mother-in-law plot against us and take advantage of us, but blood ties cannot be changed."
Huang Ling sighed and said, "I also know that your aunt's family is pitiful, but I'm afraid that Pengfei coming here will affect you and Xiaoting, so I have to think more about you."
Wang Gang explained: "Mom, I know your concerns, but I don't really want Pengfei to move in."
Huang Ling glanced at Zhuang Hualin from afar and said, "Just now at my father's and mother-in-law's house, I saw that your aunt is not popular with them at all. It means that your father likes this sister, and everyone else is very indifferent to her.
"
Wang Gang nodded and said: "In the face of interests, family affection is nothing. When my aunt's family returns to Suzhou, they will definitely encroach on the interests of my third uncle's family. Of course they won't welcome it.
As for my father and mother-in-law, who have always favored sons over daughters, they may have long regarded their married daughters as outsiders."
Huang Ling sighed and said, "I'll go back to the work unit and ask if I can get your aunt's working relationship back, but it's probably going to be difficult. There are a lot of educated youth who want to go back to Suzhou, so it's hard to arrange work. I used to delay the move."
Wang Gang said speechlessly: "Looking at my dad's attitude, if my aunt's family cannot come back, he will definitely take Pengfei home to raise him."
Huang Ling said firmly: "Tunan, don't worry, even if I fight for a divorce, I won't let your father affect your college entrance examination."
Wang Gang smiled and said: "Mom, it's not that serious. It's not difficult for me to get into college. I can get into any test."
Huang Ling insisted: "That's not okay, I must provide you and Xiaoting with a good learning environment."
Wang Gang said: "Don't worry about my aunt. We will try to find a way to ask. If it doesn't work, I will write a letter to the magazine to see if we can solve my aunt's work problem."
"Ah, are you really going to help your aunt?" Huang Ling said in surprise.
Wang Gang nodded and said: "After all, if a relative encounters difficulties, I can't just sit back and do nothing within my power, and it's just a matter of writing a letter."
In fact, Wang Gang felt great luck in Xiang Pengfei, and knew that he was one of the children of luck in this world. If he brought people back to Suzhou, he might be able to absorb more luck.
Zhuang Hualin stayed with Zhuang Chaoying for two days, and then returned to Guizhou with his son Xiang Pengfei.
Before leaving, Zhuang Chaoying and Huang Ling bought a lot of things for Zhuang Hualin and took them away, but the rest of the dealer never showed up.
Zhuang Chaoying asked her sister to go back and wait for news first, and then send a telegram to inform her once the work was completed.
Unfortunately, as Wang Gang expected, Zhuang Chaoying had no ability to help his sister get her work done. He asked around with acquaintances and former students, but the feedback he received was not very good.
Huang Ling asked the leaders of the cotton spinning mill for the same reason. There are too many people looking for jobs now, and there are too many people and too few jobs. There are no job vacancies.
In the end, the magazine gave Wang Gang some face and introduced a job to Zhuang Hualin in a small hospital. However, Zhuang Hualin needed to take an assessment and pass before he could join the job.
But now there is another problem facing Zhuang Hualin. If she accepts the job at Suzhou Hospital, she will have to live separately from her husband.