The next morning, the air was fresh. The gravel road in front of Ye Fan's house was washed away by the heavy rain and the roses beside the fence were staggered by the wind and rain.
Ye Fan sent his first and second treasures to school, and when he got home, he picked up a shovel, scissors, and hemp rope to tidy up the fence yard. The fence is made of bamboo and wood and was put away by the former officers who guarded the island eight years ago. Ye Fan removed the rotten bamboo pieces, planed away the rotten wood, tied the roses to the intact bamboo pieces, and cut off the branches that were too long. The cut branches were not thrown away. Ye Fan went to the opposite side of the road to dig a hole and bury the branches in it.
There didn't seem to be many branches, but after planting the leaves, I realized that the two ends were facing the alleys on both sides.
Liu Guihua came out of the alley with her sewing basket and planned to go to Liao's house to work with Zhuang Qiuyue. Seeing the shovel in Ye Fan's hand, she asked curiously: "Accountant Ye, why are you planting flowers here?" pointing to the roadside.
"There is no space in the courtyard. If we plant the plants on both sides of the fence, we will easily encounter them when we go back to carry water and walk through the alley." Ye Fan shook his head, "It's too inconvenient."
Liu Guihua: "But as soon as it blooms, the naughty boy will pick it for you. And Miaomiao and my girl, they will use the petals to dye their nails if they have nothing to do."
Ye Fan smiled and said: "It's not like uprooting."
Liu Guihua didn't understand: "Why do you still fall for it if you know it?"
Ye Fan didn't know how to explain: "When my natal relatives heard that we were on the island, they thought it was a sparsely populated desert island. There are not many people. The family area is also very desolate. But the island is alive and dead. You can make the front and back of your house come alive with just a few touches. When you open the door in the hot weather, you will feel better when you smell the flowers. Besides, Miaomiao and your girl don’t have time to pick them every day. I’ll leave a little.”
Liu Guihua still couldn't understand: "You are also free."
Ye Fan smiled and asked: "Are you busy?"
Liu Guihua wanted to say that she was busy, but when she looked at her sewing box, she saw that a pair of shoe soles was half a month old. She was too busy and just chatted with people.
Ye Fan picked up the bamboo pieces and wooden sticks on the ground and threw them into the yard to keep for the fire: "You will know when the flowers on both sides of the road in front of my house bloom. I will go to the Shanxi brigade to see if there are any bamboo pieces and take the removed bamboo pieces. ”
Liu Guihua waited for her to leave and then went to Liao's house next door.
Zhuang Qiuyue was wiping the table and sweeping the floor in the room. She couldn't hear clearly what the two of them were saying, so she asked Liu Guihua and Ye Fan what they were talking about.
Liu Guihua slapped her lips together: "The eldest lady is just different from us."
Zhuang Qiuyue stopped: "Why did Accountant Ye offend you? I killed him early in the morning."
Liu Guihua shook her head: "No, it's not Mi Tai. Tian Xiaofeng said they were selling counterfeit goods, but even if she changes her surname to Chen, the things she has learned and learned in the Ye family over the years are still hers."
Zhuang Qiuyue was surprised, didn't she like Ye Fan very much?
"What do you want to say?" Zhuang Qiuyue couldn't help but ask.
Liu Guihua didn't know much about literacy and didn't know how to describe it: "You see, when Commander Geng is not at home, she has to do all the things we do, such as washing pots, washing dishes and cooking, right? She has to go to work. That's all. I'm in a bad mood." He paused and said, "What can I say? It's just different from us."
Zhuang Qiuyue: "What are you talking about? If you ask me, she is still not busy. Those roses can't be eaten or drunk, and they have to be watered if it doesn't rain for half a month. If I weren't afraid that she would think too much, I would have planted the seedlings outside the wall. The flowers were pulled out. A few days ago, she got a bunch of chrysanthemums. Are roses different? I think they are the difference between white chrysanthemums and yellow chrysanthemums. "
Liu Guihua: "She didn't say I didn't understand, but she sounded like it. But having said that, we really don't understand either, so the eldest lady is different from us. Think about those young ladies in the past, who just read books and played chess. . I heard that the ancestors of the Ye family are all scholars, and it is normal for scholars to love flowers. ”
Zhuang Qiuyue couldn't help but said: "I also went to school."
Liu Guihua was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, "No, no, you went to village school for two years and you call it school? Sister Wan went to a girls' school for several years and she was embarrassed to say that she went to school."
"How do you know that I have attended village school for two years?" Zhuang Qiuyue asked hurriedly.
Liu Guihua felt guilty, but when she thought about what she was guilty of: "You don't know how many women here don't do their business every day, either staring at you or Accountant Ye? Sister Wan doesn't like to come out because she doesn't want to see them. Accountant Ye If they buy a large yellow croaker, they can chat for three days. They are worthy of being a eldest lady. They don't care about eating hairtail and sea bass. If Accountant Ye buys crabs, they are worthy of being a parallel import. They have never even eaten crabs. They buy so many for dinner. .”
Zhuang Qiuyue frowned: "Did you say that in front of you?" Do you have any brains?
Speaking of this, Liu Guihua was also surprised: "They didn't want to avoid me. Did I tell them when I didn't know that no matter what they said, I wouldn't tell you and Accountant Ye?"
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Zhuang Qiuyue shook her head: "If I want to know what they think, I don't need to ask you."
Liu Guihua: "So we are not Accountant Ye. I don't know what Accountant Ye thinks. It's normal to plant it on the roadside anyway." She didn't say that Accountant Ye told her to wait for the flowers to bloom, but she thought it was unnecessary.
The hot summer is coming, and the roses planted by Ye Fan are blooming one after another. Every time Liu Osmanthus goes to Ye's house to press the water, she can smell the faint fragrance of flowers. When the wind blows in her face, the fragrance is rich but not pungent. Liu Osmanthus smells it subconsciously and vaguely understands. Why does Ye Fan say to wait for the flowers to bloom?
Liu Guihuasheng lives in a rural area, her parents are poor farmers, and they have lived in poverty for half her life. Food is the most precious thing to her. She still thinks that growing flowers is not as good as growing vegetables, but she is not as disgusted as Zhuang Qiuyue.
Wan Siqin, who also came to Ye Fan's house to fetch water, was very envious when she saw the blooming flowers, thinking that she could still live.
Ye Fan was picking cucumbers and tomatoes in the yard when he saw Wan Siqin staring outside: "Sister-in-law, what are you looking at?"
Wan Siqin put away her envy and complimented with a smile: "Look at the flowers you planted. They are all alive and blooming, so good!"
Ye Fan: "This thing is easy to grow. Sister-in-law, do you want it? I heard that some varieties can be planted in autumn. When the flowers fall, I will cut some branches for you and try it? If it doesn't work, you can plant it again next spring."
Liao Miaomiao came in with a bucket: "Aunt Wan also wants to plant flowers? Come to me, I have all kinds of flowers. Aunt Wan, don't the flowers on the roadside look good?"
Wan Siqin nodded.
Ye Fan thought of the food factory: "Miaomiao, if you have too many chrysanthemums next year, don't throw them away. Keep them for me."
Liao Miaomiao asked while pressing the water: "Plant it in your yard?"
Ye Fan shook his head: "You have to grow vegetables in the yard. Vegetables are important, flowers are second. I plant in front of the food factory. I always felt that there was something missing in the food factory. When you said it just now, I thought that there were just a few empty houses when the door was closed. I didn't look at it. The brand didn’t even know it was an office.”
Liao Miaomiao picked up half a bucket of water: "I have no problem. But I'm usually not at home, so you have to watch my mother and don't pull it out for me."
Ye Fan nodded and asked Wan Siqin if he wanted it.
Wan Siqin was afraid of being crowded out, so she still planted flowers even if she didn't have enough vegetables to eat. But Ye Fan's words just now told her how to deal with it. When I got home, I told the chief of staff about the flowers at the entrance of Ye Fanyuan. The chief of staff said it would be great to grow vegetables.
Wan Siqin said that Accountant Ye knew vegetables were important and there was not a single flower in the yard. She then said that Ye Fan's family couldn't finish the vegetables, and she never thought about planting flowers in the yard.
The chief of staff originally wanted to say not to follow Accountant Ye's example. She had never lived a hard life before she had the heart to plant flowers. The words "can't finish" made the chief of staff speechless.
Wan Siqin didn't talk nonsense either.
There are several members of the Shanxi brigade who often bring small seafood to Ye Fan. Ye Fan didn't want it at first because they said there was a lot of seafood in Dachao. Ye Fan calculated that it was indeed the day of high tide in the lunar calendar and stopped refusing.
After dinner, Ye Fan asked Dabao Erbao to play at home. She went to the food factory to have a look, and when she went to the door, she met members of the Shanxi brigade returning from the sea. Ye Fan asked him to go into the hospital first and wait for her to go to the kitchen to get a basin and pour the seafood down.
The members have no doubt that he is there.
Ye Fan handed the other party a basket of tomatoes, cucumbers and amaranth.
The members of the club avoided it, saying Liu Ye would be the one who would eat it.
Dabao was playing sandbags with his sister under the eaves of the verandah. He stopped when he heard these words: "I have many people at home."
Ye Fan nodded: "Maybe I haven't planted anything in the yard before, and there are so many fruits." He motioned to look at the cucumber patch, "It will grow up tomorrow morning."
The commune member walked over and looked at it again and again. There were many red tomatoes and cucumbers that could grow overnight. He no longer refused.
The members came out of Ye Fan's house carrying small seafood in one hand and a basket in the other, and happened to meet the chief of staff going to the army. The chief of staff took a look at Ye Fan's courtyard. The fruits and vegetables were lush and lush, and it looked very pleasant. He thought that Accountant Ye would make a good living. No wonder Commander Geng would never stay in the army for a moment longer if he came back.
When the members got home, they couldn't help but praise their wives for their great accounting skills. They usually go to work and take care of their children, and there are too many dishes to eat, and the flowers outside the door are also blooming. When his wife saw that the tomatoes, cucumbers and amaranth were enough for the whole family to eat for lunch and dinner, she naturally felt grateful and said, "A strong person is good at anything." She poured down the tomatoes, cucumbers and amaranth and gave the basket to Ye Fan Send it.
When the wife of a commune member went outside her house, she remembered that her neighbor's little daughter loved to play with flowers and plants. She looked next door and saw small orchids, jasmine, cockscombs, and several other things she couldn't name under the wall.
The wife of a commune member remembered that her neighbor had complained that there was not enough land in the yard to grow vegetables, so she had to plant flowers, and then she plucked all the flowers while her daughter was tending sheep for the production team. The neighbor's little girl came back crying. In the neighbor's own words, it was like her parents had died.
At that time, the club member's wife wanted to be beaten and stop crying. She didn't think so at the moment. The reason why there wasn't enough food in the yard was because the neighbors didn't know how to grow it. Accountant Ye's yard is not as big as theirs, and he can't finish all the vegetables he grows.
The wife of a commune member went to the door of her neighbor's house and saw the two neighbors at home - every household was not busy at this time of the year. The neighbor also saw her and asked her to come in and talk. The club member’s wife agreed to give Accountant Ye a bamboo basket for washing vegetables. The neighbor casually asked why Accountant Ye's basket was at her house. The wife of a commune member said that her husband had caught a lot of small seafood today and gave Accountant Ye two or three kilograms. Accountant Ye was polite and gave her six or seven kilograms of vegetables.
Neighbors rarely go to the family area. After hearing this, they went to the door and asked: "Can Accountant Ye grow vegetables?"
The wife of a member said: "Accountant Ye knows everything. He grows good vegetables and flowers." Then he pointed to the flowers under the wall and said, "Leave some seeds for me and I will give them to Accountant Ye later."
The neighbor couple didn't dare to tell Ye Fan that he was full, and they couldn't ask why he didn't grow vegetables. They just said that Accountant Ye had free time.
The wife of a member nodded without refuting. When she went to Ye Fan's house, she saw that there were not only vegetables in the courtyard, but also onions, ginger, garlic and peppers. She didn't have to buy vegetables until October in the Gregorian calendar. She realized that Ye Fan was so powerful. He could still take care of the children while working. The outside of the hospital is so well taken care of.
In fact, Tao Chunlan and Yu Wentao took care of most of the vegetable plots in the yard. Ye Fan also got a lot of rapeseed from home. Tao Chunlan was worried that she would forget in her busy schedule, so every packet of rapeseed was written with the time to plant it. Geng Zhiye was at home, tidying up the vegetable patch and watering vegetables. Ye Fan didn't have much to do.
Dabao and his sister were tired from playing. The brother and sister were sitting under the eaves holding teacups and drinking water. When they saw a stranger coming, they asked her who she was looking for.
The member’s wife handed over the bamboo basket: “Where is your mother?”
Dabao put the cup on the ground, stood up and took the bamboo basket: "Mom went to the food factory. Are you and that uncle's family? What are you looking at? Do you want to eat melon?"
The member's wife shook her head: "No, no, I won't eat."
Dabao still remembers his mother saying that members of the Shanxi brigade were not paid and they did not want to be poor. Dabaoxin said that he is not as rich as my family, but he still doesn’t care about my family’s things, so he is a good person. Dabao put the bamboo basket on the ground and said, "Just wait." He ran to the fence, opened up the messy melon vines, and held a long yellowed patterned melon and a large golden round melon: "Here you go!"
Seeing that he was about to come over, the club member's wife subconsciously reached out to catch him: "No, I have it at home."
Dabao shook his head: "I have many at home." Pointing to the three fences, "These two melons are on the east side, the white ones are on the west side, and the watermelons are on the south side. You can eat them."
The wife of a commune member couldn't help but smile bitterly. What's this? Giving someone something and then taking two melons from them: "I'll wash and cut it, and you two can eat it?"
Erbao said loudly: "We have eaten enough!"
Dabao hurriedly went over and covered her mouth, telling the truth. Dabao hurriedly explained: "Auntie, my sister is ignorant, don't listen to her."
The wives of commune members had seen the landlords throw all the fruits and vegetables into the cesspool before and refused to give them to poor people like them. Even if what Erbao said was true - he would only give it to her if he couldn't finish it, the club member's wife was very happy: "I know, thank you -"
"My name is Geng Dabao, and this is my sister, the ignorant Geng Erbao." Dabao lowered his head and glared at his sister, not allowed to speak.
Erbao opened his hand and slapped his brother: "I can't breathe, I'm going to die!"
Dabao: "You asked for it. You're ignorant!" The member's wife quickly smoothed things over: "I want you two to stop arguing."
Dabao shook his head: "My sister and I don't quarrel."
The wife of a club member wants to ask if we can do it directly. He was afraid that if she talked too much, the two children would start fighting, so he thanked her and left.
Dabao and others walked away and glared at his sister: "Don't say that in the future. You said you can't finish eating!"
The elder brother is too serious, and the second child is afraid of being beaten. A good man will not suffer the consequences: "I know. You are more fierce than mother!"
Dabao: "If mom doesn't hurt you, mom will beat you directly. Do you want me to tell mom?"
Erbao was so frightened that he shook his head repeatedly and changed the subject: "Brother, when will we go back to grandma and grandma's house?"
Dabao shook his head: "Let's go to the food factory to find mom."
Erbao: "No!"
Dabao looked at the sun and didn't want to go to the food factory under the scorching sun: "Then let's go back to the house and wait for mother."
Ye Fan was afraid that he would suffer from heat stroke. It was estimated that no one would come to sell seafood when the weather got hot, so he locked the door and went home after ten o'clock.
At about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, she went to the food factory to take a look. The market employees said that no one was looking for her, so Ye Fan went home at 5:30.
The days are long and the nights are short, and there are still two hours until dark. It is too early to cook, so Ye Fan pinches a handful of green onions and scrambles two eggs for the two children.
Ye Fan didn't make dinner until around seven o'clock.
Geng Zhiye was not at home, so there was no need to cook much, so Ye Fan cooked noodles with small seafood and put a handful of green amaranth before serving.
As soon as the noodles were served and ready to be eaten, Liao Miaomiao came in. Ye Fan saw her anxious look: "Did your mother beat you?"
Liao Miaomiao shook her head: "I - my mother wanted to save face. She only beat me when it was dark and the door was locked and I couldn't run out."
Ye Fanxin asked, can I listen to this?
"Eat something?"
Liao Miaomiao: "My house is almost ready. Doesn't Aunt Ye want flowers? My friend's parents don't let her grow them. When they see her flowers, they scold her and say she doesn't know how to live. What else? It's ugly anyway. You want If so, I’ll be digging back tomorrow morning.”
Ye Fan: "Let's do it tomorrow afternoon. If you plant it in the morning, the sun will come out at noon and it will die."
"Okay. I'll go to the food factory to find you. What time is it?"
Ye Fan: "Six o'clock. Your Uncle Geng should be back tomorrow."
Although Ye Fan didn't have a duty schedule, she could figure out that Geng Zhiye, the political commissar and the chief of staff were on duty in turns, and each of them would be on duty for either five days or a week.
As expected, Geng Zhiye arrived home at six o'clock in the afternoon the next day. Dabao and Erbao were hungry. Geng Zhiye asked them to wait while he went to cook. Dabao said that his mother fried eggs for him and his sister yesterday.
Speaking of this, Captain Geng must fry eggs for the two children.
Geng Zhiye cleaned the dishes and chopsticks used by the two of them, but Ye Fan hadn't come back yet: "What is your mother busy with? It's not that we won't ship the goods throughout July. We should take advantage of the hot weather to save more and send them over before the Mid-Autumn Festival."
Dabao: "Mom is obsessed with growing flowers recently. Dad, when will we return to the capital?"
Geng Zhiye: "In mid-August, I will come back in ten days. Dad can't be away for too long."
I didn’t go back last year. Dabao was worried: "You won't change temporarily, right?"
Geng Zhiye said subconsciously: "Things have changed a lot in the capital in the past six months. I have to go and take a look, otherwise I won't worry." When he said it, he realized that Dabao might not understand, "Your grandma recently asked your aunt to get engaged, but your aunt was unwilling. People are making noise every day, so I go over and try to persuade them.”
Dabao shook his head: "Dad, you can't do it. Grandma is not afraid of you. Grandma is afraid of mother."
Geng Zhiye smiled: "I'm afraid of mom. I'm going to see if your mom is done with her work. You two can go out and play, but outside the door."
Dabao didn't want to go out, so he asked his father to go quickly and stop nagging endlessly.
Geng Zhiye slapped him on the forehead before going to the food factory.
Ye Fan is busy planting flowers, and the vegetable market employees help her water them.
Geng Zhiye walked over and asked: "Will it be in the way during shipment?"
Ye Fan shook his head: "It's still one meter away from the road, and the walking tractor can't reach it even if it turns around. It looks better with a little green, right?"
Geng Zhiye looked at the various flowers on both sides of the road: "It's really not that desolate."
The comrades at the vegetable market appeared to be helping, but they were muttering to themselves that Accountant Ye would be looking for trouble. The word "desolate" came to their ears, and they suddenly remembered that every time they went to the city, they would be treated as savages by the people in the city whenever they talked about their Hengshan Island. Several times they asked if there were any apes on the island and if they had ever seen electric lights. This is nothing. Those who don’t know think they lived in the Qing Dynasty.
The director of the market, who had already got off work, was watching the excitement at the entrance of the food factory and heard the word "desolate". "Captain Geng didn't notice it even if he didn't say it. Both sides of the road were bare. No wonder I felt hot as soon as I got here and it was cooler when I got home." . I thought the tires would melt if I left the car outside for a long time, but I never thought of planting a few trees.”
Geng Zhiye: "Let's plant it again next spring. It's not easy for the tree to survive. Annoying, are you okay?"
Ye Fan nodded, thanked everyone and went to lock the door.
Geng Zhiye took her bag and held her hand out of habit: "You didn't like planting flowers before."
Ye Fan: "We have to grow vegetables in the yard. There is a brick road at the door. How can we grow flowers? But I don't like flowers very much."
Geng Zhiye stopped: "Don't like it?"
Ye Fan pulled him and continued walking: "If you ask everyone to plant flowers with me, they will definitely think that I am mentally ill. Half of the members on the island are hungry and don't have enough food to eat. But this island really has no characteristics. The only thing worth it is The place to stay is the Martyrs' Tomb.
"Compared with seafood, the public transportation on the seaside outside the island is very convenient. No one goes to the island to buy seafood. The scenery and historical sites are not as good as those on the opposite island. There is a Guanyin Temple and so on. If people from the clothing factory come to the island to collect duck and goose feathers, right now There are flowers everywhere. If you go out and tell people, young people who have some spare money will definitely want to come here. Are you afraid that no one will buy the dried seafood and lotus seeds in the vegetable market? "
Geng Zhiye: "Can't you say it clearly?"
Ye Fan shook his head: "It will take at least three years for the flowers to grow up and spread their fame. The members do not go out often, so they have limited knowledge and cannot wait that long."
Geng Zhiye probably understands, "Use your accountant status to influence the people around you, and then spread the word?"
Ye Fan: "A single spark can start a prairie fire. I believe my little flame can do the same."
Geng Zhiye couldn't help but squeeze her hand tightly, and was once again glad that he didn't shy away from her just because he made small talk.
"I always thought you were too lazy to care about such things." Ye Fan usually was lazy at home, so much so that Geng Zhiye really thought she liked flowers.
Ye Fan: "A little effort is nothing. Besides, I feel comfortable when I look at the colorful flowers and green willows on the way to work every day. Just think of me as giving flowers to people whose hands have a lingering fragrance."
Geng Zhiye smiled and shook his head: "Compared to you, I am like a mallet. I move when I push."
Ye Fan: "Use the terrain or limited resources to build a training ground. Isn't there an army-wide competition? If you don't have it this year, it doesn't mean there won't be one next year."
Geng Zhiye agreed with this: "One day, I will ask a few battalion commanders, chiefs of staff, and Captain Niu to follow me up the mountain to have a look. Many things should be eliminated. It is a pity to pile them up in the warehouse. We can help the fellow villagers deal with the wild animals that harm the farmland."
Ye Fan: "If there are a lot of things, I'll blast a few carts of stones to widen the road. The main road on the island is still a bit narrow, and two wooden carts have to give way when they meet head-on."
Geng Zhiye nodded: "Little by little. This is only the third year, so we can't transfer him so quickly. By the way, tell Su Yuanhang another day. We will return to the capital in the middle of next month, and Dabao and Erbao will come back before school starts."
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Ye Fan counted the days and it was very close.
At the end of July, Su Yuanhang went to Ye Fan's house and asked her how many goods she had received recently. Ye Fan: "I told them we wouldn't ship the goods during the whole dog days of summer, and they said we would sell them in August."
Su Yuanhang was surprised: "Aren't you afraid that we have collected enough and won't give up anymore?"
Ye Fan: "We all know that if we can't sell it this time, we can sell it by the end of the year." Then she told him that she was going back to the capital on August 16th of the Gregorian calendar to check out the market there.
After Su Yuanhang left, Dabao asked Erbao to pack his luggage.
Ye Fan was speechless: "There are still more than ten days."
Dabao doesn’t care how many things he has, so he will take care of them first.
Let’s talk about Su Yuanhang. When he went to the food factory and saw the flowers on both sides of the road, he wondered who had eaten too much. When I asked my comrades at the vegetable market, Accountant Ye grew it. Su Yuanhang wondered when Accountant Ye was so leisurely and carefree.
Perhaps his expression was too obvious. The market employee smiled bitterly and said that Accountant Ye thought our island was desolate.
Su Yuanhang went out to take a look. The Shanxi brigade's crop fields were not here, and there were no mountains and forests. This used to be a market, and no one lived there. No one grew vegetables or fruit trees, so there was nothing but houses.
Su Yuanhang returned to the vegetable market and said: "It's desolate. I remember someone said that even crows passing by here don't poop."
Comrades in the vegetable market were unhappy: "Who knows how to fart?"
Su Yuanhang: "The words are rough, but the reasoning is rough. Later I will ask who still has some and plant some more."
Comrades in the vegetable market: "Can we plant in such a hot day?"
Su Yuanhang: "It's okay to dig out the mud."
Ye Fan didn't expect that her little flame would light up the people around her so quickly.
When she came back from the capital, she saw orchids, roses, and some unknown flowers planted on both sides of the road five meters east and west of the market entrance. She was surprised. When she got home, she told Geng Zhiye that a prairie fire was just around the corner.
Geng Zhiye didn't want to pour cold water: "Ye Fanfan, do you still remember what you promised your mother-in-law before coming here?"
(End of chapter)