Translator: SJade, Editor: Dj22031
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The old party secretary and the people in the village were all confused. Why couldn’t they hold a college entrance banquet?
“What? Is it your father who doesn’t want to come back? Otherwise, I’ll pay for the travel expenses. It’s such a big deal for his daughter to go to college. Why wouldn’t he want to come back?” The old party secretary thought that Ye Qingshan felt sorry for the travel expenses and didn’t want to come back. If he didn’t come back, this college entrance banquet was really difficult to host.
Ye Ning cried and shook her head, “My dad… can’t come back. He… will never come back.”
“What do you mean?” Everyone looked at Ye Ning in confusion. What did she mean by never coming back? Could it be that Ye Qingshan, like his wife, went to a big city and didn’t want to come back?
“At the beginning of March, the place where my dad worked called me. My dad… didn’t come up after entering the mine.” Ye Ning choked with sobs.
“I asked for leave to go to Anqing City and stayed there for a week. The mine experts came over, and the underground had collapsed, and couldn’t be dug out. My dad… they couldn’t even find his body, so I packed up his belongings and came home. My dad, he can’t come back. There’s no such thing as a college entrance banquet. Dad can’t eat it anymore.”
Ye Lan was already crying.
Everyone was shocked and speechless. How could someone who was fine during the Chinese New Year be gone just like that?
“According to what you said, your father died in March, why didn’t you tell anyone?” After all, the old party secretary had experienced great storms and was the first to come to his senses.
Yes, the people in the village were confused. He died in March, why did she only tell them now?
Ye Ning looked at her grandfather and his family who had hurriedly arrived, and twitched her lips, “Xiao Lan and I are daughters, and the only male left in the family is Xiao An. He is only eight years old. With my dad is gone, and the three of us alone, I was really afraid there won’t even be any bones left.”
Without mentioning names, everyone present understood what Ye Ning meant, and looked at Old Man Ye’s family overtly or covertly. Thinking about it, it was true. Knowing that Ye Qingshan was gone and the land would not be preserved in the first place, then everyone suddenly realized that no wonder they had sold all the land at home. The reason was because Ye Qingshan was gone and she was afraid that they would not be able to keep it, so she simply sold the land for money.
People who originally thought that Ye Ning was a prodigal suddenly thought that Ye Ning was smart and that the old house would have occupied it for nothing, so it was better to sell it for money. Ye Qingshan was gone. From now on, the three siblings would have no one to support them, and they would have to go to school, and everything would be a problem.
“Then you can hide it?” Old Ye’s eyes were red. No matter what he said, Ye Qingshan was his eldest son. How could he not have any feelings in his heart? How could he go out to work and be gone? “Why do you have such big ideas? Why did you hide it even after your father died? There are not even any bones left. I am your grandfather, how can I still harm you?”
“Grandpa?” Ye Ning sneered, staring straight at him. “Not only are you my grandfather, you are also the father of Ye Fangming and Ye Qinghe, and the grandfather of Ye Sen and the others. If you knew that my father was gone, wouldn’t that old witch of yours have encouraged you to rob my fields and house? Isn’t it even possible that you won’t let me and Xiao Lan go to school, right? If I didn’t know that you are unreliable, why would I have kept it secret until now? My dad wasn’t buried in peace, won’t I feel uncomfortable?”
Old man Ye remained silent, he knew that what Ye Ning said was the truth, but… Ye Ning shouldn’t have hidden it.
“What are you talking about? Am I not your grandma, and your grandpa is not your grandpa anymore? You are so powerful, how can we harm you? You kid…how could you keep your dad from being buried for so long? He’s missing again, what should I do if he can’t find a home?” Seeing that Old Man Ye was silent, step-grandma hurriedly spoke up.
“So I asked Master Wu to perform spiritual calligraphy and placed a memorial tablet at home. Xiao Lan and Xiao An burn incense to him each morning and evening. Dad knows our difficulties and only feels sorry for us, so he won’t blame us.”
Ye Ning didn’t want to talk to her step-grandma, so she talked to the old party secretary and said: “One more thing, I don’t plan to go to college. The reason why I took the college entrance examination was to give an explanation to my dad and myself. I have found a job. I am a regular worker at the Everbright Pharmaceutical Factory in the city. We are not afraid of not being able to support ourselves.”
Everbright Pharmaceuticals? Even though Anren Township was remote, they still knew the Everbright Pharmaceutical Factory in the county. It was a big factory which ranked among the best in the province. There was a relative of someone in Shanglin Village working there, but he was so awesome that he would bring me with him no matter what he says. Relatives of the person who worked in a pharmaceutical factory did not expect that someone in their village went directly to Everbright Pharmaceutical Factory to work as a formal employee.
“When did this happen?” the old party secretary asked tremblingly.
He had read Ye Ning’s university admission notice, a normal university, which meant she would become a teacher after graduation. How could it be as good as a pharmaceutical factory?
“I had a classmate who helped me register. After the college entrance examination, I went to the pharmaceutical factory to take the recruitment exam. I was lucky and got into the top ten. I received the admission notice a few days after passing the interview. The last time I came back, I was given a placement by the factory. It’s been half a month since I started working. Our director is kind enough to know about me and gave me two days off.” Ye Ning said half-truthfully.
When she said she had a classmate helping, she told them that she had connections in the county. When she said the director was a nice person, she told them that she was appreciated by the leaders in the factory. Sure enough, after hearing her words, people around her began to whisper about the benefits of having connections. Some people said that Ye Ning was appreciated by the leaders as soon as she entered the factory and that she would have a bright future.
“Did you really go to work in a pharmaceutical factory?” Old man Ye looked at Ye Ning excitedly. He really didn’t expect that his old Ye family could also produce a factory worker. Ye Ning glanced at him and felt deeply sorry for Ye Qingshan.
“I came back this time mainly to ask Master Wu to help me visit the cemetery. The date has been chosen. On the sixteenth day of next month, Grandpa Party Secretary, I will trouble you again later.” Ye Ning wiped away her tears and looked haggard.
“Don’t worry, you go to work and if you need my help, just ask.” The old party secretary looked at her and Ye Lan, Ye Qingshan was unlucky.
As soon as the old party secretary left, the onlookers left in twos and threes, mainly wanting to talk to relatives and friends about today’s news. They had all left, but Old man Ye and his family had not yet left. Old man Ye looked at Ye Ning, feeling both reproachful and proud. He blamed her for having such big ideas. Ye Qingshan’s death was something so big that she kept it secret. But he was proud that she became a factory worker.
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