Restarting life in Siheyuan

"Uncle, look, is that guy who just sneaked into the grocery store Bang Geng?"

Several people from the compound were walking home together after get off work. As they were walking, Sha Zhu suddenly pointed at the grocery store and asked.

The old man can see far away much more clearly than Sha Zhu, so how could he not see it? He nodded slightly.

"It's him, Xiao Qin. Your Bang Geng just went to the grocery store. Go take a look. Don't spend money recklessly at such a young age."

Qin Huairu, who was a few steps behind, knew that she had seen her boy quickly enter the grocery store. She was too embarrassed to say anything, but now Sha Zhu had pointed it out, so she had no choice but to respond.

"Well, I'll go check it out."

After saying this, he left his co-workers who he was chatting with and hurried over.

"Don't do it, just criticize and educate."

An old man behind her reminded that these days, how many families have the spare money to give children pocket money to satisfy their cravings? Especially in an environment like Qin Huairu's, it is a taboo to develop the habit of spending lavishly from a young age.

"Come on, go home."

Seeing that Shazhu was still staring in the direction of the grocery store, an old man reminded him.

Not many people were working overtime today, so the steel mill got off work on time. Sha Zhu was happy to have some free time, so he didn't have to worry about dinner and went home with everyone.

"Uncle, what do you think this little jerk is thinking? He is so bold as to fight us."

"This is a national event. We don't understand it. We should go home and rest as soon as possible."

"I say, uncle, many people from your workshop went to the stadium, why didn't you go?"

Sha Zhu was trying to make small talk. Today, many people went to the Workers' Stadium after get off work to hold a rally, saying that they were denouncing XX. It caused a lot of commotion. The steel mill was nearby, so many people went there after get off work and did not go home.

"They are all young men, why should an old man like me go? It will be so crowded that I won't be able to put my feet on the ground. I went to join in the fun before, but now that I am old, I should not cause trouble. Why didn't you go?"

Sha Zhu chuckled, "I do want to go, but I'm not worried about the crowds. People don't like my smell of cooking fumes. Well, don't cause trouble for others and go home peacefully. I still have to prepare dinner for the two little guys from the Zhu family. That troublesome guy is on a business trip again and hasn't come back for more than ten days."

"Then hurry up. Looking at the situation today, Gongti will probably be packed. There are thousands of people from our factory alone. Gongti is not that big, and there are so many companies nearby."

The old man was calm and composed. He knew very well that the scene tonight would be quite big.

"You are still the wise one. I saw Liu Haizhong brought quite a few people with him. His physique is far worse than yours. I think it's good that he didn't get squeezed to piss himself when he came back."

Thinking about how Liu Haizhong was the convener in the afternoon and had made a big fuss about ensuring the safety of the gathering, the uncle became a little distracted. He was obviously only in charge of production safety, but how come he was also in charge of the safety of the gathering and even got involved with Ma, the section chief of the security department, making it seem like a big deal.

"Everyone has their own ideas. Liu Haizhong wants to make progress, so we don't have to laugh at him. Let's go. Your aunt seems to be suffering from a relapse these days. I have to go back early to take care of her."

Qin Huairu rushed into the grocery store and bumped into a little guy as soon as she entered the door. When she looked closely, it was Banggeng. Banggeng didn't expect to be caught red-handed by his own mother here. He was a little at a loss for a moment and forgot to run away.

Qin Huairu grabbed him, and Banggeng put his hands tightly in front of his stomach. Qin Huairu pulled Banggeng out of the store and said unhappily.

"What did you buy? Let me see. Open your hands."

Banggeng helplessly spread out his two little hands, in his palms was a handful of candies, mixed with three White Rabbit candies.

"Where did the money come from? Tell me clearly."

"I saved the money by selling scrap." Banggeng didn't dare to look up and responded in a low voice.

"Bullshit, do you think your mother is blind or something? Last time I found some money in your schoolbag, you said you were selling junk. How can you have the time to pick up junk? And you are so proud that you would pick up this. You are embarrassed to pick up a vegetable stick. Besides, you can pick up several pieces in a few days. You are so capable. If you don't tell the truth, I will beat you up."

"I found it, I found it. You didn't give me money, and you didn't let me go to pick it up. My sister wanted to eat candy, and you weren't at home. Who should I ask for money? Believe it or not."

Banggeng got a little angry after being scolded by Qin Huairu. The rebellious nature of the ten-year-old boy had already sprouted. He shook off Qin Huairu's hand, wiped his tears, and ran away.

"Could it be that the child was really wronged?" Qin Huairu was a little dazed watching her son running away sadly. She had found candy wrappers in Xiaodang's pocket several times when she was washing clothes. It must have been given by Banggeng.

Qin Huairu felt a hint of sweetness when she imagined Banggeng feeding candy to his sister. Although Banggeng was stubborn, he was still very caring towards his sister. Maybe it was really for his sister that he swallowed his pride and went to pick up waste. In fact, money was not as tight as before at home, so it was not a bad idea to spend two cents every month to buy the child some candy to satisfy his craving.

Picking up waste is fine, Qin Huairu had heard about it at the feed factory, where someone picked up waste and crossed the line, and a fight broke out. In the end, someone was injured and was detained for many days before being released. It's really dangerous to do this without knowing your own limits. It's better to pay a few cents yourself in the future.

After figuring out the whole thing, Qin Huairu felt a little touched. She thought her son had become sensible and she would have to worry less about him in the future. She wiped her moist eyes and hurried home.

In the compound, an old lady was quietly complaining to an old man who had just returned home.

"Boss, this time I am sure that Banggeng took the money in the drawer."

The uncle just took off his coat and sat down, while the aunt prepared meals for herself and the child next door. Unexpectedly, the old man came back, and the staple food was not enough, so she took a few more steamed buns, prepared to heat them up and cut some pickles.

"How can you be sure?" Combining what he saw on his way home from get off work, the old man vaguely understood something. His wife was always muttering about there being less money in the drawer, but he had never taken it seriously. It seemed that Bangge was really stealing.

"I went to the hospital to get some medicine this afternoon, and when I came back I put the money back in the drawer. I remember this money clearly. Just now, when I was cooking in the back, I seemed to hear some noise in the house. When I came out, I saw Banggeng sneaking out of the room and running away in a hurry. I opened the drawer and counted, and there was one dollar missing. Isn't this clear?"

"It looks like this little fellow really is the one who took it. Well, let's not make it public for now. Banggeng treats our house as his own. This is taking, not stealing. If it was stealing, he would have taken it all away from you. This is just taking some change to satisfy your craving."

An old lady seemed a little worried and couldn't help but remind him.

"Boss, I'm not heartbroken about these few dollars. As the old saying goes, if a child steals needles, he will steal gold when he grows up. If you don't straighten the young tree, it will grow crooked when it grows up."

The old man was a little upset. This was his apprentice's son, and he had always taken good care of him. It was always a thought.

"Stop talking. I know what's going on. I'll take some time to talk to Qin Huairu and ask her to be careful. This matter ends here. If it gets out, it will ruin the child's reputation. Maybe Bang Geng will just give up and that will ruin his life."

After hearing her husband say this, the aunt stopped talking, but her expression was still a little unhappy, so the uncle quickly asked.

"I went to the hospital this afternoon. It's nothing serious."

"The indicators have changed a bit. I want you to pay attention to eating lighter food with less salt and oil. It's hard for you. Without oil and salt, you won't have the energy to work. Tomorrow, I will cook two kinds of dishes. You cook the normal ones, and I will cook mine with less oil and salt."

The old man had no objection, as he consumed a lot every day and could not survive without oil and salt.

"Go and call them over for dinner, and don't mention this matter."

The aunt also knew that Qin Huairu's family definitely didn't cook. Usually, when the two of them worked overtime, the three children would come to their house for dinner. Today, neither of them worked overtime, and the family next door just came back, so they definitely didn't have time to cook.

"Got it. I'll go get someone right away."

Qin Huairu brought her three children over and always felt that the meal was a little awkward. The uncle seemed to be worried and seldom spoke. The aunt seemed to always look at Banggeng involuntarily and occasionally shook her head unconsciously, which was very strange. Looking at Banggeng again, she saw that the aunt was always looking at her, so she lowered her head to eat without saying a word. She finished eating quickly and ran out.

The three adults chatted briefly about their own thoughts and quickly ended their dinner.

"Mom, Grandma Yi's cooking is getting worse and worse. Can we not go to their house for dinner?"

"Then where are we going to eat? Mom has to go to work to earn money and often can't come back to cook at night. My aunt is also at work and can't come back to take care of you."

"Can't we let Uncle Silly cook for us? Why can we only cook for their family?"

Banggeng was very dissatisfied. Uncle Sha had been very nice to him in the past, but he had rarely taken care of him in the past two years. The root of the problem was the Zhu family. It happened this afternoon too. The children in the backyard all had dates to eat, but his own family had none. In order to prevent Xiaodang from crying, he went to a grandmother's cupboard to get some money and bought some candy to give Xiaodang away. But he was caught in the act by his mother.

Banggeng didn't take taking money from an old lady's cabinet seriously at all, he just thought it was no big deal if he went to his silly uncle's house to get food. But after all, he was already ten years old and knew a lot more. So when his mother asked him about it, he made up a lie.

The root of all this is the Zhu family. Why does everyone have it but only their family doesn't? Just as he was looking at the front yard with resentment, he saw Zhu Xuemei happily walking into the middle yard with a small paper bag.

Banggeng's heart was burning with excitement. There were dates inside. He heard the children in the backyard shouting, "It's so sweet." It was this that made his sister cry.

He acted on impulse and didn't care that Zhu Xuemei was much older than him. He rushed forward and stopped Zhu Xuemei.

"Give me the dates." Zhu Xuemei was stunned. This boy kept forcing her to give him things. It was really a first-of-its-kind move to carry the dates on his back.

"Why should I give it to you? I owe you. A good dog doesn't block the road. Get out of the way." As he said that, he squeezed forward. How could Banggeng's small body stop him and he was squeezed out of the way.

"Bang Geng is back, what are you doing?"

Qin Huairu was very confused as to why Banggeng went to stop Zhu Xuemei for no reason. Banggeng always avoided the three siblings of the Zhu family before.

"My sister wants to eat, give it to me."

Bang Geng was not giving up and grabbed Zhu Xuemei's shirt. The shirt was tucked into her sweatpants and it was pulled out all of a sudden, revealing her belly and waist. Zhu Xuemei was so angry that she kicked her leg and Bang Geng sat down on the ground.

Qin Huairu was startled when she saw the fight. She quickly walked over with Huaihua in her arms, yelling as she walked, "No, no, talk it over, don't do it."

The shouting startled the old man and the old Zhu family next door, "What's going on?"

Seeing his sister's shirt being pulled out and a little messy, Bang Geng sat down on the ground, still holding Zhu Xuemei's left leg, staring at Zhu Xuemei.

"I was sending something to an old lady, but he stopped me and told me to give it to him. He threatened to tear my clothes if I didn't. I hooked his foot, and he sat on the ground and pulled me to cheat. His mother saw it. Ask me if I'm lying."

"No, no, what Miss Xuemei said is true. I don't know what the devil is doing to Banggeng that he has to stop Miss Xuemei from asking for things. It's our fault. Get up quickly."

Qin Huairu spoke in a panic. She saw everything clearly and didn't dare to lie.

"Little man, show some promise. Get up."

The old man also had a unhappy face. Banggeng was three years younger than Zhu Xuemei, but there was a height difference of 30 centimeters between them. The little girl developed early, and it looked like the older girl was bullying the younger kid, but in fact, it was Banggeng who was being unreasonable.

Banggeng looked at the increasing number of people gathering around him, even the children from the backyard came, and he felt a little embarrassed, so he let go of his hand and got up.

"Can anyone tell me what's going on? Why did Banggeng have to stop Miss Xuemei?"

Sha Zhu and Zhu Xuesong were at the back. Sha Zhu thought this was too new and couldn't help but ask. Qin Huairu glared at him fiercely and he could only smile foolishly. Qin Huairu was also very surprised. Bang Geng was too abnormal today.

"I know, I know. He was asking for dates in the backyard, but Niu Xiaoben didn't give him any. Xiaodang was so greedy that he started crying..."

The little brat in the backyard took the initiative to reveal that the relationship was caused by Coconut Date. At that time, Banggeng bought some candy but failed to coax his sister. So when he saw Coconut Date again, he got anxious.

"It's not a big deal, little sister. Give him this bag first, and then get another bag for the aunt to try."

Zhu Xuemei handed it to Qin Huairu reluctantly. Qin Huairu blushed and took it awkwardly.

"Thank you, brother. Thank you."

Then he turned around and scolded Bang Geng, "You are already an adult, and you are so capable. You dare to snatch things in the yard? Go back."

Banggeng slipped back home with a shamefaced look on his face, closed the door and never showed up again.

"This isn't the first time that Bang Geng has done this. He used to fight with Niu Xiao Ben for things."

The kid in the backyard ran away happily after making the accusation, leaving Qin Huairu with a face that turned red and white, looking extremely embarrassed.

"You should go back too and persuade Bang Geng not to do such stupid things in the future. All the delicious food in your uncle's house belongs to him, and his grandmother loves him so much that she can't wait to see him."

The uncle reminded Qin Huairu earnestly,

Although she knew that the uncle meant that the dates should be sent to his home and that she could eat as much as she wanted, Qin Huairu always felt that the uncle's words sounded awkward, as if there was something else behind his words, and she couldn't figure it out, so she had to say hello and apologize to Zhu Xuemei.

"Sister Xuemei, don't take your nephew seriously. He just has a bad temper and did something stupid because he felt sorry for his sister. You should be more tolerant."

"I don't mind, but I'm afraid he'll do this in the future and meet someone who minds."

Zhu Xuemei went home after saying that, took some dates again and brought them over, insisting that the aunt taste them.

"It's so sweet, thank you Xuemei, no wonder the little thing is upset about this, it's really a good thing."

...

"It's really good stuff, sweet and doesn't stick to your teeth."

Seeing that Zhu Xuefeng's meal was quite complicated and that he couldn't eat it for a while, Sha Zhu took the time to take a bag and bring it to the old lady.

The old lady in the backyard was tasting dates. She had never seen this thing when she was young, and now that she is old, she rarely goes out and has never tasted it.

"Then give me another one." Sha Zhu took out another one from the brown paper bag and handed it over. The old lady took it.

"Just try two. This stuff is terribly sweet. This little Zhu is quite capable. He was sent abroad at such a young age and brought back some foreign stuff. The old lady is relying on him to try some foreign food today. You can take the rest back. I can't eat it because it's too sweet."

"There are some at home, please don't be reluctant to give them up."

"Why would I be reluctant to give this away? My grandson gave it to me. Why don't you keep it? I'll make some porridge in a few days and put some of this in it. It's too sweet if you eat it dry."

After eating two, the old lady leaned back and slowly closed her eyes.

"Something happened in the Intermediate Court just now. It was so noisy."

"It's still that kid Bang Geng..."

Sha Zhu briefly explained what happened, but the old lady still kept her eyes closed.

"The Jia family has a successor, but this little ungrateful boy is just like his grandmother..."

Shazhu was quite fond of Banggeng and smiled along, "Grandma, the little guy is still young and naive, he will be fine when he grows up."

"You're the only one who thinks so. I think this child is useless. With his grandmother as an example, he won't be able to get better. By the way, his grandmother will be released soon. She's been in prison for a while."

Sha Zhu counted on his fingers and said, "It's only sixteen months. It's still a long time. It will take more than a year. I just don't know if the sentence will be reduced. If you are concerned, I will ask Sister Qin later."

"I don't have the time to worry about her. You, don't mess with her. You're getting married soon, so be careful. By the way, what's the meaning of your relationship with Ezi? Why haven't you heard anything about it yet?"

The old lady opened her eyes at some point and stared at Sha Zhu.

"It's nothing. His father changed his mind a bit and some trouble happened. It's bad enough this year. Maybe next year."

Sha Zhu didn't dare to elaborate. At that time, the old lady pushed hard and Sha Zhu just gave in half-heartedly and it was done in a daze.

"Lou Bancheng is definitely a smart man, otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to save up this family fortune. Someone who can accomplish such a big thing shouldn't be an indecisive person. Oh no! Zhuzi, this old guy might want to run away."

The deaf old lady rolled over and sat up, holding Sha Zhu's hand.

"Silly boy, don't you notice anything wrong? Ezi hasn't changed towards you?"

Sha Zhu was stunned. They said that this old man was very clever. This old man was really very clever. He could even guess this. How could Sha Zhu dare to tell the truth? He pretended to be confused.

"Grandfather, please don't scare me. Ezi and I are doing well. Nothing has changed. She keeps complaining about her father looking for trouble. You know what she is like. Please don't scare me. Ezi and I have already discussed it. If it doesn't work out this year, we'll do it next year. It's a bit embarrassing that we can't decide on a date, but don't worry. Ezi will definitely be your granddaughter-in-law. There's no way around it."

The deaf old lady then lay down again. "It's just that I'm too suspicious. But Zhuzi, you should be more careful. Ezi is fine and she is sincere to you. Find a suitable time to test her attitude. Don't let the two of you be separated and suffer for the rest of your lives."

"Yes, I remember that. You take a rest. I have to go back to eat."

Sha Zhu found an excuse and left quickly. If he stayed any longer, he might have let it all slip.

(End of this chapter)