Restarting life in Siheyuan

Li Huaide seemed a little dissatisfied. "If you feel uncomfortable, go home and rest. I will tell her which room to stay in. Your health is the capital of revolution."

Li Huaide refused the waiter's offer to lead the way, asked for the room and left in a hurry. From time to time, he greeted the college students who had just finished their meal and even called out their names. This ability is not something that ordinary people have.

Zhu Xuefeng then remembered that Qin Huairu also worked here. It seemed that there was no way around it if he went home late every day. He had to provide good service, and the service would only start after get off work.

"Chen Zhihe, why aren't you with us today? Who is this person? Why don't you introduce him to us?"

The girls at the back had finished eating and came over chattering and laughing. The girl in the lead was more cheerful and asked questions with a smile.

Chen Zhihe was even more embarrassed now. His face turned as red as a monkey's butt and he quickly stood up.

"This is my classmate, come and see me."

Zhu Xuefeng smiled and added, "Not only a classmate, but also a roommate."

The girl asked with a smile, "You are also assigned to Beijing? Did Chen Zhihe bring you in?"

The girl was very curious. The guesthouse was inside the steel rolling mill. Logically, even if Chen Zhihe went to pick him up, the security department would not allow outsiders to enter the factory. After all, it was time to get off work. So how did this person get in?

"Well, actually I am a steel mill kid."

A child of a steel mill worker? Several people were curious, "Chen Zhihe, when did you have a classmate who was a child of a steel mill worker? Why haven't you ever mentioned it?"

Several girls sat down without hesitation and began to question Chen Zhihe, especially the cheerful girl, who seemed to have found a suitable excuse. She sat directly in the empty seat next to Chen Zhihe and asked with a smile.

"Comrade Chen Zhihe, why don't you introduce us to your classmates?"

Chen Zhihe then blushed and introduced Zhu Xuefeng, "This is Comrade Xiao Lin..."

"Forget it, forget it, I'll do it myself!" Seeing Chen Zhihe's shy look, the girl stood up and extended her hand gracefully. Zhu Xuefeng also stood up a little embarrassedly, and the two of them shook hands lightly.

"This is Li Bingfeng, from Changbai Mountain, and this is..."

After introducing several female companions, he said, "My name is Xiao Lin, and I'm from Changchun in Northeast China."

Looking at the blushing Chen Zhihe, he blinked again and said, "We are all Comrade Chen Zhihe's neighbors, hahahaha." Everyone lived in the guesthouse, and their rooms were next to each other. It was not an exaggeration to say that we were neighbors. Looking at Chen Zhihe who was a little at a loss, Zhu Xuefeng also smiled.

The girl's frankness and Chen Zhihe's shyness complement each other, which is quite interesting. It can be seen that this frank girl must be interested in Chen Zhihe. Unlike them, Chen Zhihe has been here for several years and has some reputation spread around. It seems that he has attracted attention.

The girls made a fuss for a while, but considering that there were classmates present, they finally let the blushing Chen Zhihe go and walked away laughing.

"Old Chen, it should be spring."

"Go, go, stop being so unruly. Let's eat quickly and come sit in my dormitory later."

There were still quite a few people in the restaurant. Chen Zhihe could no longer sit still and just wanted to leave. Zhu Xuefeng smiled but said nothing. The two of them finished their meal in two or three bites.

"Let's not go to the dormitory. After we finish washing the dishes, let's go for a walk by the lake in the back."

There was no air conditioning in the guesthouse at that time, and even desktop fans were rare. As far as Zhu Xuefeng could remember, there seemed to be only ones on the fourth floor. On a hot day, he would sweat after sitting in the dormitory for a while after dinner.

"Okay, there are a lot of trees by the lake, and there are a few rows of chairs under the trees. Let's go sit there."

As soon as I came out of the restaurant, I saw Qin Huairu hurrying over in uniform. Although she was already a mother of three children, the guesthouse uniform made her look tall and straight. Her big watery eyes seemed a little misty, adding a bit of haziness. The whiteness under her neck made people imagine things. I didn't expect that after staying in the guesthouse for more than a year, she had changed so much. She was like a ripe peach, with a different charm among the young and beautiful waiters.

"Brother Zhu, how come you have time to come here?" Qin Huairu, who was in a hurry, saw Zhu Xuefeng at first sight and greeted him proactively.

"Sister Qin, I'm here to see my classmates."

Qin Huairu seemed a little embarrassed and pointed to the private room in front. "Sister-in-law is busy with work right now. Come over when you are free. Sister-in-law will cook two dishes for you in the cafeteria. I haven't had the chance to thank you."

"Just do what you need to do. Don't worry about trivial matters. We are all neighbors. Just do your work first. It would be inappropriate to delay your work."

After seeing Qin Huairu off, the two washed the dishes and came to the lake. Chen Zhihe asked in confusion.

"You also know this Team Leader Qin?"

"We live in the same compound, so we are considered old neighbors."

"This sister Qin comes to our dormitory every day to register for the next day's dinner. I see she is always very busy and works very hard."

Zhu Xuefeng smiled and joked, "Why, you like her? Do you want me to introduce her to you? She's a mother of three children. The eldest is thirteen, and the youngest is just over four."

"What nonsense are you talking about? Is Team Leader Qin really that old? I can't tell. He looks no older than 26 or 27."

"She was already twenty-seven five years ago. You really have no idea? Her man has been gone for five years."

"Lao Liu, you are asking for trouble. By the way, didn't you study materials research as a graduate student? I have some new research ideas and I have encountered some problems. Can you give me some direction..."

Finally, I found someone with whom I could discuss professional development, and the two of us quickly got together.

"Sixth Brother, didn't you specialize in metal materials during your graduate studies? I have some questions about the molecular structure, lattice arrangement and alloying process of metal materials that I would like to ask you." Although they were friends, Chen Zhihe was still very sincere.

"Molecular research on metallic materials is indeed very interesting, especially the relationship between their microstructure and macroscopic properties. What exactly do you want to know? Is it the high-temperature oxidation behavior of metals or the strengthening mechanism of alloys?"

"I'm always a little unclear about the molecular arrangement of metal materials, grain boundary effects, and their phase change behavior under high temperature and high pressure, especially the creep phenomenon of alloys at high temperature. Can you tell me about it?" Chen Zhihe was full of expectations. There was very little information on these in China, and even the information brought back from abroad was only a concept.

Zhu Xuefeng did not hide his thoughts, and the two of them soon began a heated discussion. Before they knew it, it was completely dark, with only a few street lights in the distance casting dim reflections on the lake.

The two chatted excitedly. Zhu Xuefeng took out a cigarette and they lit it in a relaxed manner. "Sixth Brother, you are a great graduate student. If I have the chance, I will definitely take the exam to go back."

Chen Zhihe has made up his mind to dig deeper into this field. Several years of research in the institute have greatly broadened his horizons, and now he is deeply in love with this major. "If you are really determined, maybe I can help you and go study there too."

Chen Zhihe seemed to be thinking about something, and finally shook his head. "The conditions for doing research outside may be better, but I still prefer to stay in China. I can study while working without leaving my job. I don't expect to have such a good opportunity as you. There are very few places for studying abroad now, and there are not enough places for fresh graduates, so how can I get one?"

Zhu Xuefeng did not respond. If Chen Zhihe wanted to pursue further studies, it should be no problem for him to help find a suitable university outside. They could talk about this matter later. No one would believe him if he told him that there was no opportunity for further studies in the country within ten years.

In a small building not far away, the girl named Li Bingfeng was looking out the window and laughing and joking.

"Your close comrade and his classmates have been waiting by the lake for more than two hours. It's getting dark now. I think you should stop waiting."

"What can two grown men talk about in the dark?" Xiao Lin looked out the window depressedly. Everything was planned, but the unexpected arrival of this classmate made today's two movie tickets wasted. They only cost one cent, one cent.

"Next time, choose a Sunday and ask him out during the day."

Xiao Lin looked out the window depressedly. "With his shyness, how dare he accompany me to the movies in broad daylight? I really don't believe it. We'll talk about it later."

No one knew that in the window on the fourth floor, two figures were also facing the lake, rising and falling. The man was breathing heavily, leaning over and hugging the woman tightly, shivering. The woman gritted her teeth and suppressed a groan, and it took a while for her to calm down.

"Well, have you thought about it? This is an opportunity, good for both of us."

Looking at the resting man, the woman packed up silently, "I told you I'm not feeling well today, but you're still so unkind. Let's talk about this later. It's too late now. I'll have to argue with my mother-in-law again when I go back."

"Don't worry, I'll leave in a bit and wait for you outside and take you back in the car. This way it will be pretty much the same as usual."

The woman was tidying the room silently in the dark. Looking at the woman bending over to tidy up the bedding and her plump buttocks swaying in front of him, the man couldn't help but stand up and hug her from behind. The woman's body paused and she teased with a little dissatisfaction.

"Don't waste your energy. Just take a rest and leave when it's quiet outside."

The man didn't give up and asked, "I said, can't you consider it? Then we can really be a family."

The woman felt sad, "Ghost is your family. If you really want to be a family, I'd be happy to do so. Are you willing to divorce?"

The man let go of her hand angrily, "You know I can't get a divorce."

"If you can't divorce, let her have the baby. She's only a few years older than me, and it's not like she can't have a baby. Director Wang from the Street Office can have a baby at such an old age. You're a straightforward person, right? It can't be that you can't have one."

The man chuckled, "You don't know whether I can do it or not. I am just straightforward when I see you, but when I see her, my straightforwardness becomes soft. It won't work.

The woman was delighted, this was good news. "Then you can get a divorce, I don't even have to give birth, our eldest son will be your son, how perfect, it's a bargain for you, and I'll give you two daughters, you'll have both a son and a daughter at once."

The man chuckled, "It won't work if it's not my own. I told you to think about it again. I'll promote you to section chief before the end of the year. When I'm done with my big things, I'll transfer you over there. After a year or two, I'll promote you to section chief. Then you can follow me comfortably and I'll make sure your family has everything they want."

"You men are all the same. Don't you think about it? I'm a widow, and I got pregnant again for no apparent reason. How can I live my life as a human being?"

The man sat back on the sofa, his arms outstretched and his legs crossed.

"You're also worrying about this kind of thing?! We will have many subordinate units in the country by then, and we can send you to any place for a while. When you come back, I will arrange for the child to be adopted. Tell me, with the child here, how can I let you down?"

The woman seemed to be moved. She felt that there would be a connection, and the relationship would be closer. She could be considered to have real support. After all, he was the child's father, and it would be a loss for her. It was much better than the current unclear situation and the possibility of being abandoned at any time. Her tone seemed to relax a little.

"Let me think about it. I can't just ignore the three kids at home. If I'm away for a year, the family will probably fall apart."

"Don't worry, take your time to think about it. Besides, the conditions are not ripe right now. If that day comes, I will find someone to help you take care of the child."

The woman was touched by the man's promise. She had never met anyone who treated her as well as he did in her life. Although he had someone else at home, he still had a conscience to treat her like this.

"It's getting late, let's go, there's no noise outside." The woman urged in a low voice. The man stood up and hugged the woman again.

There was a rustling noise in the room, and soon the man left. A moment later, the woman also tidied up again in the dark and left.

"Hey, it's getting late. I have to go back too. We can talk later."

Chen Zhihe put out his cigarette, stood up, and stretched. "We still have to work hard. We all have to go to school together. Lao Liu, you have already sneaked ahead. I won't compete with you, a beast, but I can't let Lao Ba and the others outdo me. Let's go."

When Chen Zhihe stood up, he saw that the lights in a room of the guesthouse not far away had been turned on. Suddenly, his face became very unnatural, but Zhu Xuefeng in front of him didn't see it.

"Sixth Brother, I won't see you off. I'm feeling a bit suffocated right now. I'll go first."

"Okay, go ahead and do what you want. Everyone has three urgent things to do." Zhu Xuefeng laughed as he watched Chen Zhihe hurried away. Is this still the Chen Zhihe who was very particular about his appearance? Even if the two brothers have a good relationship, these few steps won't make a difference.

I left on a scooter and walked on the street. It was now past nine o'clock and the buses had stopped. Apart from the occasional patrol team, it was difficult to see people on the road. At a glance, there was only a jeep in the distance.

After being stopped twice by the patrol team, which delayed him a bit, Zhu Xuefeng accelerated again and soon caught up with the jeep in front. The car looked familiar. Zhu Xuefeng looked at the license plate in confusion. It should belong to a factory leader. The factory leaders now live in the family quarters. Logically, the car should be heading northeast, but now it is heading west, going the same way as himself.

After thinking about it, he didn't go into details and accelerated again, quickly overtaking the jeep.

A figure in the back seat of the jeep straightened up and patted his chest, "He almost saw it."

"Are you so afraid of him?" The middle-aged man driving the car asked without turning his head, looking at the small pedal going away.

"It's not that I'm afraid. If he knew what's going on between us now, everyone in this courtyard would know about it. How can I face people in the future?"

The man drove the car and said with a smile, "You are worrying about nothing. As a leader, I care about the masses and personally send comrades who get off work late home. This is a good thing for leaders to get along with the masses. There is nothing to worry about. Besides, don't worry about him. I still have his little secrets."

"What secret?" the woman asked curiously.

"I can't tell you. If I tell you, it won't be a secret anymore."

'(End of this chapter)