Almost everyone in the village had heard Yuanyuan sing, and they knew she had recorded an ending song for a movie.
But she had actually starred in a film?
Looking at the postcard again, it was released by Xiping Film Production Studio?
In this era, making a movie was considered an incredibly sacred thing. Many big stars active on the silver screen, like Gong Li and Liu Xiaoqing, had all come from our Xiping Film Production Studio. Who hadn't heard of "Red Sorghum," "Yellow Earth," and "Black Chess" that had gained international recognition?
The Xiping Film Production Studio was the pride of Xiping people.
Looking at the large characters of "Xiping Film Production Studio" on the postcard, people's hands trembled as they held it. Our Yuanyuan was about to become famous! Several people even tried to snatch the cassette tapes that Little Wang had recorded.
Now that Yuanyuan was on the verge of fame, wouldn't the tapes Little Wang had been peddling everywhere become collectibles?
"Meilan, give me one!" Sister-in-law Mao rushed to say.
Second Sister Liu grabbed one and didn't give it back: "I'm going to paste this on our wall at home."
Word spread quickly, and many people who were already watching the commotion now joined in to grab the postcards, creating chaos at the scene.
One postcard, in particular, caught everyone's attention. It showed Yuanyuan lying on the lead actress's back, her eyes gazing at the camera. The six-year-old girl looked thin, with her hair brushing against her face, evoking a sense of sadness in those who saw it. Just for that look in her eyes, many people wanted to rush to the cinema to watch the movie.
"The girl looks a bit skinny! She seems dirty, definitely not as pretty as our Yuanyuan," some dissenting voices could be heard.
Someone quickly explained: "It's called a film still. Haven't you seen that 'Yellow River Ballad' is set in the old society?"
Sister-in-law Huang, seven months pregnant, had gotten an ultrasound showing that the umbilical cord was wrapped twice around the baby's neck. She should have been resting at home, but she had snuck out without Teacher Huang knowing. She was bouncing with every step, not worried about harming the baby, just to see Yuanyuan's photos.
Little Wang was feeling particularly proud at this moment, his voice loud and full of energy: "Lu Dabao, my sister has postcards, does yours?"
As Lu Dabao tried to grab a postcard, Little Wang caught his hand. Just as Dabao was about to throw a punch, he felt something bite him. Looking down, he saw a chubby little boy biting his hand.
"Meilan, why is your child biting people?" It was fine when his own kid misbehaved, but when someone else's bit him, Lu Dabao immediately became upset and tried to pry Little Lang off.
Chen Meilan pulled her child back and retorted: "Didn't you say it's okay for kids to be a bit naughty, what's important is that they become successful when they grow up?"
Lu Jingyu was very protective of his own, and immediately questioned Chen Meilan: "This child? Do you think he'll amount to anything in the future? Do you think he'll listen to you when he grows up?"
Zhou Xueqin was always complaining that her older son was useless and the younger one was an ungrateful wretch.
Lu Jingyu actually felt quite sorry for Meilan. Abandoned by Yan Xishan, she had married a poor policeman and was raising two ungrateful brats. Even when she managed to get some engineering projects, she couldn't keep much of the earnings. Now that he was making big money, she must be regretting not staying with him.
By all accounts, her tone should have been softer.
But Chen Meilan's tone was even more forceful than his: "Not only do I think both my sons will be very successful in the future, even my daughter is a thousand times better than your son. She got 100 in math and 96 in language for her final exams. Can your son match that?"
How could a village primary school compare to a key primary school?
Moreover, Yuanyuan seemed even less impressive in Lu Jingyu's eyes than in Yan Xishan's. She was just a timid and scared little thing in his view. How could her grades be so good?
Of course, Lu Jingyu was very calm about this. Dabao had scored 97 in math but only 86 in language, and this was after he had paid the principal a lot of money to tutor Dabao every day.
His expression changed as he grabbed Lu Dabao and said, "Did you hear that? Even a little girl has better grades than you. You'd better work harder next year."
"Dad, next year I'll go to Dongfang School too. I'll definitely score higher than Yan Zhaodi," Dabao said emphatically.
Yuanyuan and Little Lang were almost furious hearing Dabao's words.
But Little Wang immediately jumped up: "If I wanted to study seriously, you, Lu Dabao, probably couldn't even beat me, let alone my sister. Just wait to be embarrassed!"
Lu Dabao clenched his fists as he looked at Little Wang, who stood on tiptoes glaring back at him.
Chen Meilan thought to herself, this is just right, let the enemy be angry, not me.
She couldn't think of a better way to make Little Wang focus on studying, but Dabao had unexpectedly become the perfect medicine. He could do it.
Adults are catalysts for children, and once comparisons start, there's no end to it.
Dabao suddenly lifted his father's shirt, pointing at Lu Jingyu's waist: "My dad even has a pager. Does your mom have one?"
A pager?
This gadget was indeed novel outside. Whoever had one on their waist would immediately be seen as superior by others.
But it wasn't new in Chen Meilan's house. They had two, though Chen Meilan always kept hers in her bag, and Yan Zhao just casually tossed his in his pants pocket.
Little Wang immediately dug out Chen Meilan's from her bag and showed it to Lu Dabao: "We have two at home, both my dad and mom have one."
The three siblings' confidence swelled to the point of bursting.
They never thought that a little beeping pager could help them win a round.
Lu Dabao was so angry he stomped his feet: "Dad, tell mom to buy me a pager too, I want one."
"Don't argue with them. When your mom comes back from the south, I'll ask her to buy you that machine you like, what cat was it?" Lu Jingyu quickly consoled his son.
This reminded Yuanyuan of Little Lang's small alarm clock, the one with the robot cat.
The little girl brought out Little Lang's beloved alarm clock and put it in his hands. Then she put her hands on her hips and snorted at Lu Dabao.
"My mom will buy me an even bigger one," Lu Dabao said loudly.
This statement had an effect. As soon as Little Wang heard that Zhou Xueqin was so good to Lu Dabao, buying him whatever he wanted, he started to wilt.
Yuanyuan, considering Little Wang's feelings, didn't want to continue arguing with Dabao.
Lu Jingyu watched all this with a smile, feeling extremely comfortable inside.
Zhou Xueqin had gone south, and although she had a pager with her, it couldn't be called across provinces. She hadn't called back recently either.
Yan Zhao had suddenly come to reclaim the house, insisting that he must take it back, showing no room for negotiation.
Lu Jingyu definitely didn't want to give it up, because Yan Zhao's house was the ideal old residence in every man's dream. Just standing at the door, one could feel its dignity.
However, when he inquired about the issue of Zhou's mother's house, he learned that at the time, Zhou Xueqin and Yan Zhao only had a verbal agreement. Zhou Xueqin had indeed promised to take good care of the house, which was why Yan Zhao had given it to her.
In other words, there was no written contract, it was all just words.
The transfer procedures for the homestead were done, but Yan Zhao had been holding onto them, not giving them to Zhou Xueqin.
The word "take care of" is easy to say but hard to do. They were both busy making money and really didn't have time to clean. Besides, the house had become theirs, and they were living in it themselves. Could the state of cleanliness really be a reason to take back the house?
Lu Jingyu now had money and had bought a house in the city, but he believed that the leaders of Yanguan Village, who had allowed Yan Zhao to occupy Yan Xishan's house, wouldn't side with Yan Zhao.
But in the unlikely event that the people of Yanguan Village sided with Yan Zhao and tried to force him out with some underhanded tactics...
Lu Jingyu's psychological expectation was twenty thousand yuan.
He estimated that Yan Zhao had no money and wouldn't pay.
But Meilan might. She had earned some money from her small project and might dare to accept this price.
Let the two of them argue, he thought. He wouldn't give up the house. If they really wanted it, they'd have to pay twenty thousand yuan!
Since Meilan showed no intention of inviting him in, Lu Jingyu retreated outside with Dabao, waiting at the entrance of the coal yard.
It was now after New Year's Day, and the weather was still quite cold. Little Wang closed the courtyard gate, turned on the tap, found a very clean white towel, wet it with cold water, and repeatedly wrung it out until it was half-dry. Then he carefully wiped clean all of Yuanyuan's cassette tapes.
Chen Meilan thought to herself, this boy's desire to make money hasn't died. Could it be that after being compared so unfavorably to Dabao, he still doesn't want to study and only wants to make small money?
But after he carefully wound the tapes back into their cases and neatly arranged all the cassettes on the table, he looked up and noticed Little Lang's certificate of merit on the wall. After a moment's thought, he pasted one of Yuanyuan's postcards next to it.
Then he took out his homework notebook, took a deep breath, and actually started seriously correcting his mistakes.
His younger brother and sister were both on the wall now. As the eldest brother, if he didn't work hard, he'd really be laughed at.
Chen Meilan noticed this, smiling with her eyes, and took a moment to call Yan Zhao, asking where he was and how he planned to reclaim the house.
She also guessed that Lu Jingyu would ask for at least 20,000 yuan, so she had 20,000 prepared, but needed to ask Yan Zhao if it was enough.
This was an unpleasant situation, but there was no choice but to swallow their pride and get the house back.
"Lu Jingyu has already gone to our place?" Yan Zhao paused on the phone, then asked Chen Meilan, "A comrade's sister is selling Montagut, do you want any?"
At a time like this, he was still talking about Montagut?
"No," Chen Meilan said.
Yan Zhao took a deep breath, about to say something, when on the other end of the line, a man with a thick Shaanxi accent and booming voice said: "They say it's some lacy lingerie..." The words "lacy lingerie" spoken in a Shaanxi accent were absolutely hilarious.
Chen Meilan had been speaking normally and wasn't in the mood to laugh.
But that sentence nearly made her burst out laughing.
Yan Zhao couldn't continue either. He hung up abruptly and looked up at the fair-skinned, handsome man across from him who was grinning widely.
This was Yan Zhao's army comrade Xiong Dapao, who had gone into business after retiring from the military and was now a contractor, one of the more successful among his former comrades.
He had just come to chat with Yan Zhao and wanted to give a set of clothes to his "sister-in-law," though he didn't even know who Yan Zhao's wife was. He was about to leave.
After seeing Xiong Dapao off, Yan Zhao went to find Ma Bo: "Did you develop the photos I asked for?"
Ma Bo pulled out a stack of photos from a drawer and tossed them on the table: "Captain Yan, where did this house come from? It's filthy."
Yan Zhao didn't answer.
He took the photos and cycled to Yan Xishan's coal yard.
This morning, he had called Yan Xishan and asked him to invite Yan Sanye and a few other elderly villagers who had difficulty walking.
He said he would also come to the coal yard, so they could all meet and discuss some matters.
Yan Xishan didn't understand why, but happily agreed. After all, having Captain Yan visit his coal yard was a great honor for a coal boss.
When Yan Zhao arrived, Yan Xishan was entertaining everyone with tea and cigarettes.
"Come, brother, sit down and have some tea," Yan Xishan said with a smile.
Yan Zhao distributed the stack of photos one by one to the group of elderly men, specifically giving Yan Sanye a photo of the main room. In the photo, the Eight Immortals table was covered with toppled Bingfeng sodas, spilled Coca-Cola, and biscuits that looked like excrement. When the old men saw the photo, their hands all began to shake.
After looking for a while, the roguish Yan Sanye's eyes turned red. He smacked Yan Zhao with the photo: "Su Wen only lived in that house for half a month, you bastard Yan Zhao, how could you let someone trash it like this?"
Yan Zhao bent over, allowing Yan Sanye to hit him on the head. All the old men started hitting him with the photos.
Closing his eyes, Yan Zhao didn't make a sound.
His mother had only moved into the house when she was on her deathbed, and at that time Yan Zhao couldn't return from his military post.
Although her husband and two older sons had come to see her briefly, they had to quickly return to the capital due to work commitments. The old lady passed away without seeing her grandchildren one last time.
But the old woman, who had suffered all her life, finally had a large house with blue bricks and tiles. She was extremely happy at the time and passed away with a smile on her face while sleeping on the large kang bed in the main room.
Now the village elders were beating Yan Zhao, and he felt he deserved it. Since his transfer from the military, he had been busy with work. The security in Jindong District was good, but he had let his own mother's house fall into such disrepair. He deserved to be beaten.
"What's the name of Yan Zhao's ex-wife? We must drive her out. I'll go personally to evict her," said Yan Sanye.
Yan Zhao said, "I also plan to reclaim the house, but I'm afraid the village leaders won't support it."
Another old man immediately said, "That's bullshit. I'm the ancestor of the leaders. We must take back this house and evict them now!"
Several septuagenarians and octogenarians who could barely walk stood up with their canes, all saying: "This is different from Xishan's house. Dividing property in a divorce is one thing, but how can they trash the house like this?"
"If it was their own home, would they dare to mistreat it like this?"
"Today I'll negotiate about the house with Lu Jingyu. Uncle Yan, you all go to my place first, and I'll be there shortly," Yan Zhao patted Yan Xishan on the back. "You drive the elders back, and I'll follow on my bicycle."
Yan Xishan felt something was off. After all, Yan Zhao occupying his house was also a case of the cuckoo kicking the magpie out of its nest. But at the time, Yan Zhao had crossed his arms behind his back and spoken so reasonably that all the village elders nodded in agreement.
Now Yan Zhao wanted to evict the cuckoo occupying his family's home, and somehow it also sounded very reasonable.
One mouth, two skins - how could he flip things around and always be in the right?
But Yan Zhao had already ridden off on his bicycle.
The old men couldn't walk far, and they were all urging Xishan to hurry back to the village. But they couldn't walk, and if one fell, Yan Xishan would have to help them up. If one got seriously hurt, Yan Xishan would have to pay for medical expenses.
There was a large truck at the factory. Yan Xishan helped the seven or eight old men onto the truck.
The distance wasn't far, but by the time Yan Xishan arrived, Yan Zhao was still at the village entrance. He stepped on the gas to pass Yan Zhao and parked in front of the coal yard.
After showing off a bit, Yan Xishan realized he had made a mistake. Yan Zhao hadn't arrived yet, and the old men wanted to get off the truck. He had to carry them down one by one.
Lu Jingyu had always done well in respecting the elderly and caring for the young. He happened to be in front of the coal yard and rushed over to help the old men.
Chen Meilan heard the sound of the large truck and opened the door, standing in the doorway with several children.
Because Lu Jingyu was very enthusiastic, calling the old men "grandpa" and not minding their smell, carrying and supporting them. Yan Sanye even asked Yan Xishan, "This man is not bad, is he from our village?"
Yan Xishan only dealt with coal, not construction, so he didn't know Lu Jingyu.
But he felt like he looked familiar and must have been going to Dongfang Group quite often recently.
Just then, Lu Jingyu said with a smile, "I'm in the construction business. Dongfang Group has a big project recently that I'm planning to take on."
Contractors always need to brag, especially about having money. They introduce themselves to everyone to get business.
So in this regard, Lu Jingyu was even better at it than Yan Xishan.
"A contractor, eh? That's a bit better than a coal boss. Isn't our Meilan also doing some small projects? You two should look out for each other in the future," said one old man.
Seeing an opportunity to make connections, Lu Jingyu quickly said, "Chen Meilan and I are from the same hometown. We grew up together. She's a woman after all and doesn't know much. I'll take care of her in terms of construction projects."
The old men immediately thought, oh, Lu Jingyu seems like a good person.
But Yan Xishan's brow furrowed. Doing projects for Dongfang Group meant he was connected to Fan Xiang.
The friend of my enemy is my enemy. Yan Xishan made a mental note about Lu Jingyu.
Yan Zhao ushered everyone into his courtyard, while telling Little Wang and Little Lang to go invite the village party secretary and other village leaders. He brought out chairs from the house and also pulled out a large electric stove, plugging it in to boil water, roast jujubes, steep wolfberries, and make tea for the old men to drink.
Chen Meilan still had the Shaanxi-accented "lacy lingerie" on her mind. While Yan Zhao was rummaging in the cabinet for jujubes, she quietly asked, "Did you really buy me lingerie?"
"Mm," said Yan Zhao.
Chen Meilan thought to herself, what a waste of money. How could a man buy suitable lingerie for a woman?
She was also busy bringing out melon seeds and peanuts, finding some snacks for the visiting elders. She urgently sent Little Wang to buy cigarettes, which she opened and lit one for each of the old men.
She also had the money ready, a full 20,000 yuan, prepared to give to Lu Jingyu at any time.
For the sake of Yan Zhao, Chen Meilan was willing to pay 20,000 yuan for the old house of the First Brigade, as long as Lu Jingyu was willing to give it up.
Lu Jingyu was elbowed into the center by Yan Zhao, who formally introduced him to the elders: "This is my ex-wife Zhou Xueqin's husband, Lu Jingyu. He's the one living in the First Brigade house."
Upon hearing this, the old men's gazes and expressions towards Lu Jingyu immediately changed.
Yan Zhao cleared his throat and began to speak again: "The First Brigade house isn't mine, it's my mother's. When Zhou Xueqin and I discussed it before, I said she could have it, but it must be kept clean. She also promised to take good care of the house. Today, everyone has seen what condition the house is in. Lu Jingyu, I want the house back. Hand it over."
He wasn't asking for his opinion, just informing him.
"That's not right, Captain Yan. Why should you take back the house?"
At this point, Lu Jingyu still didn't realize that they had angered Yan Zhao by making the house so dirty.
Before Yan Zhao could speak, Yan Sanye said, "That's a house for people to live in, not a pigsty for swine to wallow in. You fancy-dressed donkey turd, wearing a suit while turning the house into a pig pen, and you still dare to ask? Get out of here now."
Lu Jingyu certainly didn't want to leave, but seeing Yan Zhao's menacing demeanor, he didn't bother arguing further and said directly, "Then let's talk money." He immediately demanded 20,000 yuan, trying to extort them.
"Money?" Yan Sanye was a thug among thugs: "You dirty up Su Wen's house and still dare to ask for money? Get the hell out and move your ass right now."
Lu Jingyu thought to himself, how can this old man be such a thug, with a mouth full of profanity.
But at that moment, a group of cane-wielding old men who had been smiling at him earlier suddenly all turned their canes on him, jabbing and poking. Were they trying to beat him to death?
Logically, none of this should have had anything to do with Yan Xishan.
But while poking at Lu Jingyu, Yan Sanye pointed at Yan Xishan and said, "When couples divorce, a house is just a house, what does it have to do with money? Back then when Xishan wanted to take back this house, he didn't plan to give Meilan a penny. Now Yan Zhao shouldn't give you any money either. Don't believe me? Ask him yourself."
Yan Xishan nearly jumped up.
He felt like he had been set up by Yan Zhao.
But with all the old men glaring at him, he had to say, "A house is just a house, you can't ask for money."
Hearing him say this, the old men all looked pleased, their faces full of praise as if Xishan had finally grown up.
Yuanyuan quietly ran over, first giving Yan Zhao a postcard, then coming to give him one too.
Yan Xishan would always have the desire to remarry and have a son.
But he slowly realized that even if he had a son, he would never love him as much as he loved Zhaodi.
The little girl on the postcard was smiling, but her eyes were full of bitterness, just like the expression Zhaodi used to have when smiling at him while he constantly complained about her being a daughter.
She was hurt, but she didn't say anything. She was willing to bear all the frustration and bitterness he vented on her, not even asking for his love, simply because he was her father.
Yan Xishan patted his daughter's head.
This was his eternal glory!
Lu Jingyu had planned it all out, wanting 20,000 yuan.
But Yan Zhao didn't even need to open his mouth - a group of old men were already preparing to drive him out.
He thought to himself, could Yan Zhao really be mentally unsound as Fan Xiang had said? This was already the 1990s - a house was property. Did he think he could gather a bunch of old men to make a scene and drive him out of a house worth over 10,000 yuan without paying a cent?
But Yan Zhao didn't give him a chance to speak. He continued, "Back then, Zhou Xueqin and I only had a verbal agreement. It was only after she repeatedly promised to take good care of my mother's house that I let her have it. Whether she's here or not doesn't matter now. I must take the house back. I'll cancel the residential land paperwork at the police station. Lu Jingyu, move out today!"
Just like that, he was told to move out?
The village officials had just arrived and hadn't even spoken yet, but a group of old men were poking him with canes telling him to move out?
But Lu Jingyu couldn't leave just like that. He had one last trick up his sleeve.
Chen Meilan had earned some money from her construction work, but she couldn't make big money on that site because she was too kind to the workers, actually paying their wages monthly.
She didn't even know the trick of withholding workers' wages to lend out at high interest rates to make an extra profit.
Could she really make big money?
She had once wanted to marry him, and now seeing that he had made a lot of money, she must be both envious and admiring. This was an opportunity.
"Meilan, you do construction work, and I'm also going into construction. I'm about to take on a big project with Dongfang Group. We're practically family, so let's partner up in business. I'll help you make big money. The people of Yanguan Village are unreasonable, but you're different. You're the gentlest, kindest, most sensible, and most reasonable woman in Chen Village, even more understanding than my Xueqin. Please talk to Yan Zhao. I can't move out without getting any money." Listen to how beautifully he flattered her.
He had already made big money, but for the sake of a house, he was even willing to belittle Zhou Xueqin, who had gone south with knife wounds.
Never mind that Chen Meilan nearly burst out laughing.
The yard full of old men suddenly fell silent. After all, they too believed that women should be gentle, kind, and reasonable.
Lu Jingyu's words seemed to make sense.
But they were protective of their own, they weren't convinced, and they didn't want this scoundrel Lu Jingyu teaching Meilan how to do things.
Now they just wanted to hear what Meilan would say.
