Restarting life in Siheyuan

Different from the excited young people around him, Zhu Xuefeng walked out of the auditorium with a calm face. He thought he could avoid this since he was far away overseas, but he didn't expect that all government-sponsored overseas students would have to respond to the call, interrupt their studies and return home.

Just now there was a collective meeting for all the returning international students. The host gave a passionate ideological mobilization to the students...

Although his face was calm, Zhu Xuefeng's mind was in a mess. He didn't know how to plan his journey for a moment. He had thought about many things on the way back, but had not made up his mind.

...

As expected, his organizational relationship fell into the Department of Physics of Peking University again. His alma mater seemed to have become unfamiliar. The president and the secretary had been dismissed. The campus was covered with wall art everywhere. The wall art was like snowflakes, covering every wall and every pillar. Looking at the wall art full of fighting spirit, Zhu Xuefeng knew that the moment had come.

Director Jiang's words still echoed in my ears, "What a pity that you haven't even finished your studies. Well, if you have nothing to do, just study at home. You can also do research if you want. Don't delay your studies. Anyone in this world may leave you, but only knowledge will accompany you forever."

Director Jiang's words were full of powerlessness. From him, I learned that there were basically no classes on campus in May. Director Jiang's words were full of loss and confusion.

The campus has been closed for the holidays, but a large number of students are still on campus. Zhu Xuefeng has registered and received arrangements, but he does not have any actual teaching tasks. Although the current notice is that the admission of new students will be postponed for half a year, he knows that starting from the next class, there will be no new students for many years. Naturally, there will be no students in his first-year basic physics class. Not only that, there will be further notice in August to suspend all classes.

A group of students passed by with heated discussions, and didn't seem to care about this young man who was only a few years older than them. Their faces were full of fighting spirit. They tore off the old art on the wall, painted the wall with rice soup with a large brush, and covered it with the new work they had just prepared. Then they clapped their hands, looked at their works, and laughed with their hands on their hips.

The students are full of passion, their laughter is full of pride, as if it can arouse the wave of revolution, their eyes are flashing with sparks of battle, as if they can ignite the whole world, their hearts are full of persistent pursuit of their ideals, no matter what difficulties and challenges they face, they move forward unswervingly.

Zhu Xuefeng carefully read their new manifesto, which was full of resistance and declaration of war against the old world. Every word was full of fighting power, and every sentence revealed their desire and pursuit for a new world.
It can be seen from the text that they firmly believe that as long as they work hard and strive unremittingly, they can realize their ideals and make the world a better place.

Seeing several more teams coming with buckets and new works, Zhu Xuefeng left without saying a word. Apart from going to the laboratory for research, he would not come to school anymore. He had plenty of time to complete his research and unfinished studies.

"Brother, you are back."

The sound of a car parking at the door let the younger sister know that her elder brother had returned after finishing his work.

"Yeah." Seeing that his younger sister's determined eyes were full of confusion, Zhu Xuefeng felt a little distressed. His younger sister's dream of going to college was shattered, but she was still unclear and didn't understand that it was impossible for her to receive education in the classroom again.

"Brother, are you really going to be a teacher this time? You won't be like last time, where you didn't teach a single class and went abroad to study again."

Zhu Xuefeng smiled bitterly. He felt that he had no affinity with the profession of teacher. He had tried to become a teacher twice, but was destined to never have the chance to teach a single class.

"Big brother won't go abroad to study. You're on vacation now, and the second brother hasn't come home yet. He probably won't come back during the vacation. How about we go back to our hometown for a while?"

The younger sister hesitated for a while before speaking, "Brother, I know you want to spend time with me, but it's not necessary. We can just stay at home. You do your thing. I'll go to the library to look up some information when I'm free, and ask you if I don't understand."

Zhu Xuefeng sighed. He didn’t need to go to the library because he had already met Professor Xu. Professor Xu had been forced to go home and the library was now closed.

"Just study at home. Don't go to the library. It's closed."

The younger sister was obviously stunned for a moment, and seemed a little confused for a moment, and finally nodded, "It's good that big brother is here, I can learn acupuncture."

In the compound, the man's unexpected early return made the two very happy. No matter how hard the wind and waves came, the family of three was finally together. The man was no longer studying abroad, so it was nice to be able to stay together.

"Your father's case has been investigated, so you are okay now."

Xia Yuhong shook her head. "Grandpa Lu is fine, and my dad is fine too. I am even finer now, but Grandpa Lu has many comrades-in-arms."

Xia Yuhong didn't want to say anything more. This time the public security system was hit again, and the intensity was much greater than in previous years.

"I'm glad you're okay. I'll stay at home during this period and won't go anywhere. You guys should be careful too."

The two women also understood Zhu Xuefeng's concerns. They had been reminded of them long ago, but they did not expect that such a day would really come, and it would arrive so soon. The momentum was far beyond their imagination.

The school is on vacation now, and Zhu Xuefeng is happy to stay at home and do his own things. Occasionally, he will visit the two liaison offices to learn about the situation outside. However, after a few days of staying at home, Zhu Xuefeng has to go back to the compound because a general meeting of the compound is going to be held.

When we arrived at the compound, it was almost seven o'clock. The setting sun cast a red glow on the western sky. The summer days in August are very long. In winter, it would be dark after five o'clock.

"Xiao Feng, come back for the meeting."

"Well, sister-in-law of the Xue family, aren't you going?" The young wife of the Xue family was squatting to wash the children's hands, and she was carrying another on her back. Their family responded to the call, and in more than three years, two more people were added to the family. Now there is one old man, two adults, and five children.

"His grandfather has gone. I'm busy taking care of the child. I'll go and see him when I'm done."

After saying goodbye to sister-in-law Xue, he called his younger brothers and sisters into the middle courtyard. The venue was set up in the middle courtyard as usual. The eight-immortal table in front of the door of the eldest uncle's house had already been set up. The second uncle, Liu Haizhong, was busy making arrangements, calling on every household to send representatives to appear.

"Hey, gentlemen, it's rare that we're all here today, so hurry up and finish your talk sooner rather than later."

The third uncle was also urging the people in the outer courtyard, but the first uncle didn't move. The electric wires on the locust tree had been tied. Zhu Xuefeng hadn't attended the general meeting of the whole courtyard for many years. This time, the younger sister said that every household had to send someone to attend, so he had no choice but to come back for the meeting. "Second uncle, what's the order today? You are busy in the front and middle courtyards. Are you going to marry your son off? It's so hot, please take it easy."

Old Liu from the outer courtyard saw the second uncle's chubby face covered with sweat and teased him with concern.

"Old Liu, you are wrong. Your uncle has no hope of getting married, but today is a happy event, which is more important than getting married, right, uncle?"

"Liu Haizhong, tell me, what the spirit of today's meeting is. You're not really going to get married, are you? Hahahaha."

Several bosses, probably taking advantage of the weekend to have a few drinks today, all of them made fun of the second uncle without any prior agreement. It was a rare opportunity. Liu Haizhong was now following Deputy Director Li in the factory, and he seemed to be in a lot more high-handed. Normally, there was no chance to make fun of him like this.

Liu Haizhong wiped his sweat and cursed with a smile, "You old guys, quickly find a place to sit down. There are important instructions to be delivered today, and there are some other things to do. We will start in a moment."

In the open space in the central courtyard, all the households gathered together in a short while. A few naughty children deliberately shuttled through the crowd. The children's playfulness and the careful apologies of their parents behind them made the courtyard seem unusually harmonious.

"Brother, shall we sit inside?" the fourth brother asked in a low voice. Seeing that the eldest brother shook his head and sat down on the veranda, the fourth brother also sat down. The younger sister was not very interested. She took a look and said hello to the eldest brother and went back. Everything seemed to be the same as in the meetings in previous years. Those who came in later greeted Zhu Xuefeng from time to time. Little Zhu rarely appears in the compound now. I heard that he has been assigned a unit.

"Xiao Feng, you've been back for a few days. It's rare to see you. Has your company allocated housing?"

"No, Uncle Xue, it's not that good of a thing. I can get a room right after I start working. I have something else to do, so I live outside."

"Oh, you came here specifically for the meeting today." Uncle Xue from the outer courtyard was a bit talkative and kept asking questions. Zhu Xuefeng had to be patient.

"Isn't it? They say they will get everything. Do you know what it is?"

Uncle Xue smiled mysteriously and pointed at his bangs in front of the eight-immortals table, "Hehe, it's hard to say, but it should be related to him." As he spoke, he found a place to sit under a tree. Qin Huairu and Jia Zhang were also sitting next to the tree, and the three children were also squatting under the locust tree and playing.

I haven't paid attention to Qin Huairu for a long time. I didn't expect that after not paying attention to her for a few years, she seems to have become more beautiful, her skin has become whiter and more delicate, her body has become rounder, and her peach blossom eyes have become more watery. She doesn't look like a widow who has been widowed for several years. She has an anti-aging physique. Zhu Xuefeng was amazed.

Jia Zhang also seemed to have recovered a lot, although she didn't return to her past peak, but it was obvious that the Jia family was living a good life now, and they certainly had no worries about food and drink. The complexions of the two were better than most of the families in the backyard and the outer courtyard. Jia Zhang also saw Zhu Xuefeng, and she unconsciously retracted her gaze, shrank back, and whispered a few words in Qin Huairu's ear. Qin Huairu also glanced at her with a complicated expression and then looked away.

There were also many people sitting in the open space in front of Sha Zhu's door. A deaf old lady was leaning on a rattan chair and taking a nap. The old lady really slept wherever she went. It seemed that she was really old. She was slightly closing her eyes. The noise and playfulness in the yard did not seem to affect her. Next to the old lady were several families in the backyard. Lao Niu saw Zhu Xuefeng and waved from a distance as a greeting. It was strange that he did not see Sha Zhu and his wife.

Just as he was wondering, two people came in from the front yard. They were Sha Zhu and his wife. They seemed to be worried about something. Sha Zhu lowered his head with his worries written all over his face. Lou Xiao'e also followed behind with a bitter face. When they entered the middle courtyard, they saw Zhu Xuefeng sitting leisurely on the veranda. Sha Zhu was overjoyed and hurried forward. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Liu Haizhong speak.

"Silly Zhu, your family is the only one missing in the entire hospital, hurry up, the meeting will start soon."

Sha Zhu rolled his eyes and said, "My brother is back. Just saying hello won't delay your meeting or something. Just go ahead and do your thing. I'll just sit here."

When Shazhu's reckless attitude came up, Liu Haizhong also had a headache and forced a smile.

"If you have anything to say, why don't you two chat about it later? We have something important to do today, so hurry up." Sha Zhu wanted to talk back, but Zhu Xuefeng reminded him quietly, "Let's talk about it later. So many people are watching you."

Sha Zhu looked at Lou Xiao'e, who also shook her head. Sha Zhu then stood up and said, "Okay, wait for me after the meeting. I really need you for something."

Soon every household returned to their seats and the yard became inexplicably quiet. Only the cicadas were chirping tirelessly, adding a sense of irritation for no reason. Sha Zhu and his wife also sat next to the deaf old lady.

"Okay, everyone please be quiet. Everyone is here now and the meeting will start soon." Liu Haizhong stood up and looked loudly at the old man's house. He saw the first and third old men coming out together, with a young man behind them. It turned out to be Comrade Xiao Xu from the Street Office.

The yard was suddenly filled with discussions, with many people asking each other about the main content of today's meeting and why someone from the Street Office had come to attend.

Everyone's eyes were focused on the second uncle Liu Haizhong. He was wearing a half-sleeved shirt that had been washed out and a bright red badge on his chest, looking very energetic.

Seeing that everyone had taken their seats, several old men also sat down. Xiao Xu also sat down on the bench next to the eight-immortals table, and Liu Haizhong stood next to the eight-immortals table.

"Dear neighbors, young and old..." Liu Haizhong just started, but seemed to feel something was wrong, so he paused and started again.

"Dear comrades in the compound, today, in accordance with the great instructions, we gather together to hold another general meeting of the compound..."

There was a buzzing sound from the audience, as if they were a little surprised that Liu Haizhong changed his address, but with Comrade Xiao Xu from the Street Office there, no one made a fuss. Liu Haizhong was also a little embarrassed, but he had spoken in public many times in recent years and had indeed improved a lot, so he simply skipped the opening remarks.

"Today, we have two main things to do. The first is to convey the instructions and spirit of the superiors according to the requirements of the street office. This is very important, so we require that someone from every household be present. It should be best if all the people in the courtyard attend, but the conditions in the courtyard are like this, so we can only participate as much as possible."

After a pause, seeing that everyone had quieted down and no one was whispering, "We not only need to convey the latest spirit of our superiors, but also have an important matter concerning all the comrades in the courtyard. According to the requirements of the Street Office, we need to organize the re-election of the courtyard manager today."

The yard was no longer as quiet as before. This news was like a drop of water falling into a boiling oil pan. The quiet meeting place suddenly became noisy. Zhu Xuefeng was also a little surprised. He looked at the old man again. His red face was also full of complex expressions. He was reluctant and unwilling, but also seemed to be a little relaxed. (End of this chapter)