The door of the courtyard house has been welded dead

New Year’s Day in 1967.

The capital city was covered tightly with white snow, as if wrapped in a huge white quilt.

The snow has not stopped since December, and the whole city is immersed in a blanket of white.

The courtyards in Nanluoguxiang have gradually regained their former tranquility after a long snowy season, but this tranquility has been tinged with a bit of winter's bleakness and loneliness.

The severe cold in winter makes people lazy.

After finally waiting for a day off, there were few people walking around in the courtyard of the quadrangle. Every household had their doors closed, as if isolating themselves from the ice and snow outside.

Under the eaves, dozens of icicles were neatly arranged, flashing coldly in the dim light, like sharp swords, ready to be unsheathed at any time.

The cold wind was howling outside the house, like thousands of troops galloping, carrying snow particles and mercilessly hitting the doors and windows.

Inside the house, the coal stove was burning happily, the flames licking the stove wall, making the whole house warm, forming a sharp contrast with the ice and snow outside.

Opposite the Li family, at the old Yan family, Yan Bugui huddled in his bed, listening to the whistling wind outside, and was worried.

But no matter how much they didn't want to get up, they still had to empty the urine bucket. After an old couple took care of several children all night, the urine bucket was almost overflowing.

It must be said that at this time, the employees living in the large courtyards of the quadrangle will regret it. The family buildings built by the community are such good houses. They have toilets in the houses, so there is no need to empty the urine bucket.

Unfortunately, this is about money, a few hundred dollars, and neither Old Yan nor Yan Jiecheng is willing to spend it, so they just continue to make do with their lives.

Cautiously, he poked his head out from the side of the thick quilt curtain, looking sneaky, like a mouse stealing for food.

The cold wind scraped across the wrinkles on his face like a knife, and every wrinkle seemed to hide the vicissitudes of life.

The hot air exhaled by Old Yan instantly condensed into a long mist outside the door, and then quickly dissipated in the cold wind.

He put on thick work gloves, then a layer of cotton gloves, stuck his butt against the quilt curtain, carried the urine bucket, and walked out of the house staggeringly.

The sharp temperature difference from the warm house to the freezing cold outside instantly made the lenses of his glasses foggy and his vision blurry.

Old Yan took off his glasses reluctantly and wiped them carefully with a handkerchief.

This pair of glasses was originally bought by the family because the whole family ate cottonseed oil, which caused the eldest son Yan Jiecheng to be infected and suffer from fertility problems.

For this, he even had a big fight with his second aunt, and the legs of his glasses were broken in the melee. But even so, he was still reluctant to replace them. He wrapped them with medical tape again and again, and he endured this year after year.

"This weather, hiss~!"

Putting on his glasses again, Yan Bugui shrank his neck and complained.

He carried the urine bucket and walked towards the back room step by step.

Arriving at the back house, he unbolted the door and opened the gate. Before he could even pick up the urine bucket, a dark, rumbling figure suddenly swooped in from under his armpit, so fast that he had no time to react.

When he came to his senses, the figure had already rushed into the back room and rushed into the yard.

"Hey, whose child is this?"

Yan Bugui stood there in a daze, his mind went blank, and it took him a while to react.

He blinked his eyes and tried hard to recall the scene just now. He just felt that he seemed to have put in a half-grown child, but he couldn't even see the child's appearance clearly.

He didn't take it too seriously, thinking that it was probably because the kids were on holiday and someone came to play with someone's kid in the yard, so he went to empty the toilet.

When he came back after emptying the toilet, the yard was in a mess.

The door curtains of every house were lifted, and neighbors poked their heads out one after another, their faces full of confusion and anxiety.

"I'm back, open the door, grandma~!"

There was a rapid knock on the door in the middle courtyard, the sound was so loud that it was particularly harsh in the quiet courtyard.

"Whose child is this?"

The neighbors looked at each other and started talking.

"Grandma, I'm Banggeng, open the door, knock knock knock~!"

Hearing the shouts coming from the hall, Yan Bugui's face turned pale instantly, he slapped his thigh, and his eyes widened.

"Oh no, why is this little plague god back~?"

His voice was filled with fear and anxiety.

Qin Huairu was identified as a spy in the factory last year and has been made a target. I heard that her mother-in-law, Jia Zhang, was also sentenced and sent to a reformatory. So there was no one in the old house who could open the door for her.

Not to mention opening the door, when the employees were choosing a house, they all thought it was unlucky and no one wanted it. After half a year, it was completely empty. Not to mention people, I guess only rats would be willing to go in and build their nests.

"No, this guy is in the orphanage. Why did he sneak back?"

The main breadwinner of the neighboring Zhao family put on a thick cotton-padded jacket and asked Yan Bugui with a frown, his eyes full of confusion.

"I don't know. He rushed in as soon as I opened the door. I thought he came here to play during the holiday, but this..." Yan Bugui explained helplessly, but he was secretly complaining in his heart.

The neighbors were talking about it in a flurry and rushing to the middle courtyard, all of them looking unhappy.

Although everyone knew that Banggeng's mother had made a mistake and shouldn't have involved her child, in that special era, no one wanted to let a spy's child return to the yard for fear of getting into trouble.

Banggeng stood in front of the gate to the central courtyard, his little face red from the cold, with a few snowflakes on his hair. Not to mention, he had lost a lot of weight. The calf that Qin Huairu had worked so hard to raise had his cheekbones exposed.

He looked extremely pitiful, and kept banging on the door and crying loudly. He must have overcome all difficulties to run back. He couldn't find the community, but found Nanluoguxiang.

"Grandma, I know you are in there, please let me in, I am freezing to death."

But there was still no response from inside the house. The door was locked, but Banggeng kept hitting it with his hands.

The neighbors put their hands in their sleeves, with complicated expressions on their faces. Even though he looked pitiful, no one dared to keep him privately. They even had to hold back their words of sympathy.

At this time, the door of He's house opened, and Sha Zhu, who was wearing a sweater, lifted the curtain and walked out of the room.

He smoothed his sweater and looked at Banggeng, feeling upset.

He wanted to raise one, but someone in the factory refused to agree. Last time, he was taken out of the factory director's office by the security department. People said that if he dared to raise one, Yu Shui would become a widow. He believed that someone could really do it.

On one side was Qin Huairu, who had let him down and made a fool of him, and on the other side was his own sister. Coupled with the subsequent situation, he gradually understood why Li Feng did not provide him with support.

As time passed, that thought faded even more. Who would have thought that the kid would sneak out today and find the old house.

"Great! Your grandma and your mom aren't here, so this isn't your home anymore. You should just go back to the orphanage!"

The weather outside was still very cold. Even Shazhu, who was only wearing wool, was shivering from the cold and his voice was trembling even when he spoke.

This time is different. No matter how good one's heart is, in the face of the rolling waves and the torrent of humanity, even if he is stupid, he will understand that he has to bow his head. This is the general trend and he can't do anything with just a good heart.

If the child was really adopted, the entire He family would be ruined. Add to that the previous problem of their background, not to mention He Yushui, even his entire family wouldn't be able to cope with it.

"No, I won't go back!"

Banggeng shook his head stubbornly, tears welling up in his eyes. He knew that his mother had died, but he didn't know that his grandmother had gone to work for the government. He thought that his grandmother was still waiting for him at home.

Yes, it is this home. To Bang Geng who already has memories, this place feels more like home.

"The food in the orphanage is not enough and it's cold to sleep at night. I want to go home."

"This child, how can he be so ignorant!"

The second aunt squeezed out from the crowd, squinting her eyes and pouting as she spoke.

"Your mother made such a big mistake, and the whole courtyard is embarrassed. Why did you come back?"

Banggeng's crying voice echoed in the cold wind, sharp and helpless, like a handful of ice chips piercing into everyone's heart.

Yan Bugui folded his hands across his chest, frowned and said nothing, his eyes full of confusion. After all, they had been neighbors for so many years, and Qin Huairu had done something unkind, so no one cared about the child or raised him.

"Hey, what's going on~!"

Looking at Banggeng's purple lips and red ears caused by the freezing cold, and thinking of his own children eating hot porridge in the house, he suddenly felt a little bit of pity in his heart, but the words were swallowed back when they came to his lips.

After hearing what the second aunt said, Banggeng couldn't hold back his tears anymore and burst into tears.

"My mom is my mom, I am me, I didn't do anything, why don't you let me go home?"

After hearing what Banggeng said, the neighbors were silent for a moment.

Just when everyone was in a stalemate, the shivering Shazhu walked to Banggeng and couldn't help but touch his head.

"Let's not talk about this for now. Let's go inside and warm up."

Having said that, he wanted to take Banggeng and go back to the main house of the He family first.

Sha Zhu's words were like a stone thrown into a calm lake, causing ripples in the yard.

"Silly, what are you doing?"

"This child has a special identity. What should we do if he gets implicated?"

Yan Bugui, who had shown some sympathy just now, was the first to jump out. He stretched out his hands and blocked Sha Zhu's way. After all, the neighbors still remembered vividly the scene of him adopting three children last year.

"That's right, Silly Zhu, don't be stupid. If you do this, I'll have to go to Xinzhong Street to find Li Feng. And Jia Haijie, be careful you get beaten again~!"

Other neighbors also echoed the words, talking at the same time, and they all meant the same thing: it is pitiful, but who can take the child home, the courtyard is a whole.

Sha Zhu ignored everyone's objection and pulled Bang Geng towards his room.

Banggeng seemed to have grabbed a life-saving straw and followed closely, very attached to her. Tears were still on his face, but he showed a smile. Yes, a smile, a smile of success, as if he was saying goodbye to the orphanage from now on.

"Okay, let's go. Let's give him a meal first to warm him up. I'll find the police station and send him back later~!" (End of this chapter)