Restarting life in Siheyuan

"You mean, Jia Zhang has been released!"

"Well, Qin Huairu took her back in early June. Hehe, brother, that Jia Zhang has changed a lot. If you see her outside, you may not recognize her."

Jia Zhang was imprisoned in 61, and has been there for three years now. Time flies so fast. Seeing the younger sister's excited face, Zhu Xuefeng was happy to play the supporting role and asked with pretended curiosity.

"What could she look like? How could I not recognize her? That's impossible. Her body shape is too special, and she is the only one of her kind on the entire street. I can tell it's her from miles away just by looking at her back."

The younger sister was even more delighted, "Brother, you are really wrong. Go to the Central Courtyard now and take a look. I guarantee you will be surprised."

"Forget it little sister, just tell big brother, I don't have the heart to go see her."

"Hehe, you don't know that the big door-like Jia Zhang is gone. I was also shocked when I saw her the first day. She looked so shabby and tanned, darker than my second uncle and the others."

Zhu Xuefeng knew that this was the result of forced labor. It seemed that his health should have improved and he was no longer as bloated as before.

"I hope he has been reformed and is not causing trouble now that he is back."

"She's making trouble?" The younger sister laughed. "The neighborhood office sent her back with them and asked her to report to the neighborhood office once a week and do half a day of voluntary labor. Now she's cursing every time she comes back. How dare she make trouble? She did quarrel with Qin Huairu twice, but it seems she didn't get the upper hand."

Zhu Xuefeng had no interest in Jia Zhang. He had a lot of things to do now, so he had no time to take care of her. He looked around.

"Where's Xiao Hei? Why isn't he here?"

The younger sister was a little frustrated. "Brother, it seems that Xiao Hei really ran away. After you left, it rarely came back. This time it hasn't come back for almost a month. I guess it ran away."

Zhu Xuefeng was a little surprised. This possibility was not there at all. What mistake must have gone wrong? He hurriedly contacted Xiao Hei, but he heard Xiao Hei's strong grievance and excitement of being summoned by his master. Zhu Xuefeng was stunned. Oh my god, this unlucky Xiao Hei was caught and locked in a small iron cage, lying there with a sense of despair.

Zhu Xuefeng was surprised that Xiao Hei could be caught. After feeling the location, Zhu Xuefeng had an idea. It seemed that Xiao Hei was caught by the female priest accidentally. But no matter how clever Xiao Hei was, he couldn't beat a human brain. He had to find a chance to get Xiao Hei back. Although he didn't want to deal with the mysterious female priest, he couldn't ignore Xiao Hei.

"Don't worry, little sister. I'll go to the places it often goes in a few days and I'll definitely be able to find it for you. I'll give it a good scolding and tell it not to run around anymore. How about that?"

The little sister jumped up with joy, "Brother, you finally found it. If it comes back, I will never bully it again, hehe."

Zhu Xuefeng smiled and gave his younger sister a slap on the face. "You must have bullied it a lot. No wonder it ran away."

Xiao Hei's location is just west and slightly south. Combined with the distance, Zhu Xuefeng has estimated the location. It should be the Baiyun Temple in Xicheng. The straight-line distance should be about seven or eight kilometers. It seems that the female nun last time should be a Quanzhen disciple.

This place is considered one of the holy places of Taoism and one of the three ancestral temples of Quanzhen Taoism. The predecessor of Baiyun Temple was Tianchang Temple in the Tang Dynasty and it was named Baiyun Temple in the early Ming Dynasty.

It's quite interesting. Zhu Xuefeng had a smile on his face. People in later generations have come to Baiyun Temple many times. There is a blessing project that is popular among the people here, which is "touching the monkey". Countless old Beijingers will come to the temple to "touch the monkey" during the Spring Festival temple fair.

After entering the temple, there are three relatively easy-to-find stone monkey reliefs at the main gate, mountain gate and east courtyard gate. They have been rubbed to a shiny black, as if they were covered with starch by the people of Beijing. It is usually believed that this can bring good luck and health, so during the Spring Festival temple fair every year, there are always long queues here.

In fact, Baiyun Temple is a large building with many stone monkey reliefs inside, but the old Beijingers only recognize these three.

Decades later, the temple is still very popular. There is not only a white marble statue of Laozi sitting here, which is a relic from the Tang Dynasty and is regarded as the treasure of the temple.

In the last hall there are statues of the "Seven Sons of Quanzhen" for worship. In addition, there is also a large collection of Taoist classics and magical instruments.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, this place has been the Taoist Association, Taoist College and Taoist Cultural Research Institute. Now and in the past few decades, there has always been Taoists in the temple. I didn't expect that this female priest came from here. It's quite interesting.

"By the way, big brother, when are you going to pick up the fourth brother? I'll go with you then."

"Wait a few days. I still have to go to the factory to ask. If it's possible, I'll go pick him up." The fourth child graduated from junior high school last year and should have just finished his first year of high school. He wrote a letter to his second uncle's house last time. His second uncle was a little undecided, but his second aunt firmly supported her son to go to the city to work as a worker. The fourth child was also willing, so the matter was settled. Zhu Xuefeng thought about asking Director Yang. If there was no problem, he would take him over and let him live at home.

But if my younger sister wants to go with us, we will have to take a long-distance bus. The small scooter cannot carry three people, and the fourth child should have a lot of luggage.

"It's settled, brother. You should have time to stay in the mountains for a few days this time."

Seeing his younger sister's hopeful eyes, Zhu Xuefeng felt a little reluctant. Forget it, just stay for a few days. It would take more than a year for him to accompany her for these few days. His younger sister is a girl, and it would be lonely for her to stay in the capital city alone.

"No problem. We'll come back when the fourth brother reports in. We'll stay as long as we can this time."

The little sister was excited again. She hugged her big brother's neck and happily lay on his back.

"I know that big brother is the best, hehe."

"How are your two sisters now?"

"The sisters are all very nice. They come to accompany me every night. Sister Xia is doing an internship, Sister Na is at work, and by the way, Sister Yushui is also at work."

"A textile factory?"

"Well, Sister Yushui works as a technician in a textile factory. The factory has allocated a bed for her, but she comes back every week."

Unexpectedly, after going around in circles, He Yushui returned to the original track. The inertia is really strong.

"By the way, Central Court, didn't a couple of kids come to the uncle's house? Are you familiar with them now?"

The little sister shook her head. "Neither of them comes out to play. Cherry goes home after school and doesn't come out. The same goes for that little brat. He just stays with his aunt and doesn't go anywhere. I heard that Banggeng always bullies him, so he never goes out even if there's nothing to do."

Zhu Xuefeng took out four candies again and said, "Go and give them to these two siblings. They are so pitiful."

These two children were moved to high ground by Zhu Xuefeng and his team. Zhu Xuefeng felt an indescribable pity for them. They lost their parents at a very young age and finally found a family to take them in, but they were bullied by Bang Geng. He basically never stayed in the yard and had never met the two children.

The younger sister smiled and put her hands behind her back, trying to avoid her elder brother's task. "Brother, go by yourself. I'm not familiar with either of them and I haven't said a word to them." "You, you can't do it. Well, I'll run, and you go to the cellar to see what vegetables are there. I'll make dinner for you later."

Zhu Xuefeng touched his little sister's head, found a piece of straw paper to wrap the candy, went out and headed straight for the central courtyard.

As soon as I went out, I saw the three aunts coming out of the door and thanked me from afar.

"Xiao Feng, you just came back. You came all the way here and asked Lao Si to bring you some candy. Thank you."

"Third Aunt, you are too polite. Please go ahead and do your work."

The central courtyard was also very quiet. Under the scorching sun, there was no one in the yard except for Shazhu's house. Every household had their doors open for fresh air. Walking along the corridor to the door of an old man, an old woman and a little boy were sitting on a small bench washing something, and a little girl was staring at her homework on the table with her pen in her mouth.

Seeing Zhu Xuefeng coming over, the first aunt was startled, and quickly stood up and said with a smile, "I just heard your third aunt's movement, I didn't expect you to come over, what's the matter?"

In the aunt's mind, it seemed like this was the first time Zhu Xuefeng had visited her in recent years, and she had no idea why he came.

"Big Ma, it's nothing. I just came back to bring some candy. You have two children at home, so let them have a few pieces of candy." As he said that, he handed it over. The candy was wrapped in a small piece of straw paper and was very inconspicuous.

The aunt wiped her hands on her apron and took it with a smile. "Xiao Feng, you are so thoughtful. I will not be polite. Thank you."

Zhu Xuefeng looked at the two children. The little boy looked a little timid and the little girl seemed a little confused.

"Auntie, what are you talking about? It's not something rare, just a few pieces of candy. Please go ahead and do your work. I'm going back now."

The aunt didn't know what to say for a moment. She came to the door, gave a few candies and turned around to leave. She didn't know what to say to keep them, so she had to remind the two children.

"Thank you, Brother Xiaofeng. Xiaofeng, how many days can you stay this time? Come visit more often when you are free. Your uncle always talks about you. You are the one who made the whole courtyard successful. It has only been a few years, and you have gone abroad to become a foreign student. Yingtao, learn from your brother Xiaofeng."

"Thank you, Brother Xiaofeng." The two children were obedient and stood up to thank him. Zhu Xuefeng said goodbye with a smile. The two children looked much better than last year. It seemed that the uncle and his wife had put in a lot of effort. It was good that the two children finally had someone to rely on.

In less than a year, the two children's skin became much whiter and their faces became visibly rounder, except that their eyes were still timid. Their clothes and complexion were those of city children, probably because the uncle's family was well-off.

He was strolling back along the corridor, not noticing that the Jia family across the street poked their heads out, watched Zhu Xuefeng disappear at the gate of the central courtyard, and then sneaked out.

"Mom, I think Xiaofeng looks a bit like the brother who rescued us last year."

Little Cherry spoke hesitantly. The aunt was about to continue washing when she heard it. "It's really possible. I heard from your father that Xiaofeng went to your place to help with the disaster relief last year. Why didn't he say anything? The same thing happened to Haitang. How could she not say a word at the time of such a big incident?"

After hearing this, the aunt thought about it for a while and felt secretly happy. If these two children had this kind of relationship with Xiaofeng in the front yard, maybe he could help these two children in the future. This was also fate. Now everyone in the compound knew that Xiao Zhu's family was extraordinary. They were sent abroad for training at a young age. They were definitely going to be successful.

There are two beautiful girls coming to his house every day to coax his sister. This shows that he is trying to marry into a rich family. Several families are jealous and wish their daughters could grow up to be teenagers so they can try it too. What if it works? This family will have two college students, which will be a big deal.

"Cherry, you two should eat the candy. Didn't your brother Xiaofeng say that it's too hot to keep it? It would be a pity to waste it."

Seeing the candy wrapper still on the table, the auntie reminded him, "Guodong, go wash your hands and eat with your sister."

Little Guodong ran away happily to wash his hands. He had been staring at the food greedily for a long time, but his sister had been trying to stop him with her eyes. Now that his mother had spoken, he naturally had nothing to worry about. He could finally eat it, and his little mouth couldn't help moving a few times.

"Mom, there are four pieces here, they are not small, just right for you and dad to have one each." Yingtao opened the paper package and saw that there were four pieces inside. She took two pieces directly, stood up and put them to the aunt's mouth.

"This piece is for you, and this piece is for my brother."

Seeing her daughter so sensible, the aunt was very pleased. She couldn't bear to eat it. She smiled and said, "Mom can't eat it now. You two can eat it first. You don't have to save any for your dad. He is an adult and doesn't eat candy."

As they were talking, a figure sneaked in, picked up the paper bag and turned around and ran away. He was seen by an old lady who turned back to tell Cherry about it. The old lady immediately got angry.

"Banggeng, stop right there." Auntie stood up suddenly, but felt dizzy and sat down all of a sudden. Little Cherry, who was confused by a series of unexpected events, was frightened. Daddy repeatedly told her not to make her mother worry, as she couldn't take it. She was so scared that she quickly supported Auntie and cried and screamed.

"Mom, mom, what's wrong with you?"

After a while, the old lady opened her eyes and spoke weakly.

"Mom is fine. It's just her old illness. Let me take it easy. It will be fine in a while."

Cherry thought of Brother Xiaofeng who had just given her candy, and suddenly she felt blessed and called out to him quickly.

“Little brother, little brother, go to the Zhu family in the front yard and ask Brother Xiaofeng to come over and help.”

I was happily washing my hands just now, but I didn't expect that my mother would fall down in the blink of an eye. But after hearing what my sister said, I still hesitated.

"Sister, I haven't spoken to him..."

"Brother, it was Brother Xiaofeng who saved us last year. He is a good man and will definitely come to help. Go quickly!"

Seeing his mother's face start to turn dark, little Guodong was frightened and hurried to the front yard with small steps. Banggeng, who was hiding behind a locust tree not far away, did not see the aunt chasing out, but saw the little kid running happily. He was relieved immediately, stepped in front of little Guodong and threatened him viciously.

"Go back here, wild kid from the mountains. To be honest with you, I've already eaten the candy. It's useless for you to ask anyone for help. Go away now."

Little Guodong was frightened by the unexpected appearance of the stick and took two steps back unconsciously, "My mother is sick, my mother is sick..."

When Banggeng heard that it was the aunt who was sick and not looking for trouble with him, he happily took a step back and watched little Guodong step over the threshold of the middle courtyard. After thinking about it, it seemed a little inappropriate, so he chased after him for two steps, but when he saw the little guy running towards the Zhu family, he stopped in fear. He was not a child anymore, and from Qin Huairu's teachings and the deeds of his grandmother who had just returned, he knew that he could not afford to offend this family. This family was not like Yingtao and her brother and sister who could be bullied at will.

(End of this chapter)