Restarting life in Siheyuan

Watching her daughter and son-in-law riding out of the family quarters, Xia's mother sighed, "Old man, I don't know what you are holding on to. Do you really think you can have peace in a year?"

Old Xia also left the window, sat down on a chair, reached out to take a cigarette from the ones left by his son-in-law, and lit it silently.

"I'm not a child, how can I not see clearly? It's hard to say whether it will take ten or eight years, but it's possible that it will happen again. I'm different from you. My life was given by the Party, and I can't leave. Even if the steel mill is in chaos, I won't leave."

Mother Xia fanned away the smoke and opened the window a little. "Then why did you promise to see the situation after a year? Why are you fooling the child?"

Old Xia shook his head. "They are still too young and think in a simple way. Think about it, we are not like these young people. We are all cadres, and every move we make will have an impact."

Mother Xia smiled. In fact, she was inclined to follow her daughter. Of course, this was on the premise that Old Xia agreed. Even though she always bullied Old Xia, Old Xia was actually the backbone of the family. Otherwise, she would not have left the Northeast and followed Old Xia to the old city.

"You've been fired as deputy factory director. Now you're just a worker. You have a lot to think about. Tell me what to do next. Now that you have an idea, you have to make it clear."

"What they want to do is to benefit the country and the people. We must support them and not hold them back. Besides, our abilities are limited, so it's hard for us to help them even if we go. But if we can do something to relieve them of their worries, we can still do it, I think..."

Old Xia took a long breath and exhaled slowly before continuing, "I'm a worker now, so it's easy. How about this? You make some sacrifices and retire this year due to health reasons. Then you can apply for medical retirement at the end of the year. Then no one will pay attention to you anymore."

After Old Xia finished speaking, he thought he would have to spend some time talking, but unexpectedly, Mother Xia nodded directly, "Okay, I'll let you do it as the head of the family. This is good, so we don't have to report it."

Seeing that Xia's mother nodded in agreement, Old Xia continued, "I will work at the vehicle factory for another two years, and then I will retire early. This is good. We won't have to worry about anything in the future. We can live a peaceful and comfortable life behind closed doors and not go anywhere. When the children come back in the future, they will have a home."

Mother Xia glanced at her husband silently, her eyes moistened, knowing that the old man had given up his most important career in order to build a windbreak for the children. If anything happened in the future, it would all be handled by her husband.

Zhu Xuefeng and Xia Yuhong were also in a bad mood when they returned home. They put down their bags, took off their coats, and Xia Yuhong sat down on the bed.

"I finally know why I'm so stubborn. I always thought I took after my mom, but it turns out I took after my dad."

Zhu Xuefeng looked at Xia Yuhong and knew that she was feeling very upset. She said this just to ease her mood. Xia Yuhong would stay in Hong Kong after the Spring Festival. Her parents and herself, and even Lin Na would not be around.

He also took off his cotton coat, walked forward and hugged her gently. Xia Yuhong's head was held in the man's arms, and she muttered softly.

"You bad guy, you're holding me back, let go."

Zhu Xuefeng hugged her tighter, "I'll go over after I finish dealing with things here. It won't take too long."

"You're a liar. You always fool us like this. It's strange that you can leave. I don't expect you to accompany me. I will live with Qianqian and divorce you."

Xia Yuhong's voice had a hint of crying. Zhu Xuefeng lowered his head, just in time to see Xia Yuhong looking up with tears in her eyes. Her beautiful eyes were crystal clear, and she reached out to wipe away her tears.

"You know my plan. I'll go over there after most of these people have left. Don't worry, it won't take too long. I can't stay here and waste time."

"Will you keep your word this time?" Xia Yuhong asked uncertainly with a look of surprise on her face.

"Come on, let's make a promise..."

After finally coaxing Xia Yuhong, Zhu Xuefeng slipped out of bed as he looked at the beautiful woman sleeping soundly. He chased away Xiao Hei who was lying on his clothes, put on his cotton coat and left the compound.

"Your Highness, these are the latest news. This one is marked as urgent, so I am informing you of it."

The little girl stood aside and explained in a low voice that it was winter and His Highness had to make a trip late at night, but the message was marked as urgent and he had to notify them without permission.

"It's okay, you're doing great, make me a cup of tea, I'll watch from here."

It was almost half past four when Zhu Xuefeng finished processing the documents. He left the office and returned to the compound. Just as he got into bed, a hot body came up to him, hugged him tightly, and used his body temperature to warm his almost frozen body.

"Are you done? Is everything okay with Sister Na?"

"Well, it's done. Lin Na is very capable. According to what we agreed on, it has been successfully obtained."

"What about Golden Island? Have you finished fighting there too?"

"It's early, but for now, no one can do anything to anyone else. They are still in a standoff. Now they are clamoring for self-government, and the commotion is quite big."

The woman asked a few questions in a daze and fell asleep peacefully again.

Zhu Xuefeng, who was drowsily preparing to take a nap, opened his eyes again and heard a noise outside the yard. Soon, Old Xie opened the door. Zhu Xuefeng sensed it, got up again, put on his clothes and got out of bed. Sure enough, he heard a soft call from the door.

"Brother, brother, please get up."

Zhu Xuefeng opened the door, walked out of the bedroom, and then pushed open the door to the main house. He saw Lin Yilan circling anxiously on the eaves of the house.

"What's the matter? You came back before daybreak. What happened?"

"Brother, let's talk inside."

Lin Yilan pulled her senior brother into the study, turned on the light, sat down, and began to tell him everything.

It turned out that she, who was in charge of the night shift, received a report from the security officer on duty. While they were on duty, they heard the joint defense team members complaining that they were asked to set up the venue so late at night. Then they listened again and found out that a meeting was to be held today, and Lao Yang was naturally on the list.

"I went to the venue to confirm, and it is indeed all set up. It should have been set up in the evening."

"What time does it start?" Zhu Xuefeng frowned. This was not going to be easy.

Lin Yilan shook her head. "I didn't hear it, but according to convention it should be around half past nine."

Zhu Xuefeng nodded. It made sense. The workers had to arrive at work at 8 o'clock. If someone from the vehicle factory came, they would arrive at the scene around 8:30 to 9 o'clock. By the time the venue was tidied up and the late leaders came in, it would be around 9:30.

"Such a big thing, the factory didn't notify you in advance?"

Seeing Lin Yilan shaking her head again, Zhu Xuefeng also confirmed that 9:30 was more reliable. He had to give a temporary notice after work, which was interesting. It seemed that they were just doing a surprise attack to avoid accidents, or maybe to avoid this accident for himself. He had clearly stated last time that he wanted to protect Lao Yang, but he didn't expect that his deterrent power was so great. Zhu Xuefeng found it a little funny.

"Brother, why are you laughing? Do you have an idea?"

Zhu Xuefeng casually tapped Lin Yilan's forehead and said, "Do you really think your senior brother is Zhuge Liang? I have an idea after you finish speaking. By the way, why didn't you inform the joint defense team when they moved? You are not welcomed by Li Huaide."

Lin Yilan rubbed her forehead, "Old Ma only listens to orders and not announcements from Li Huaide. He neither gives him excuses to go against him nor obeys his arrangements. He claims to go to the Municipal Bureau when he has nothing to do and hides away. Naturally, Li Huaide doesn't need our Security Department when he has something to do." As required, Director Ma also took up a part-time position as deputy director in the Municipal Bureau. In fact, there was nothing to do there. He just had a small separate office and was sometimes called there for a meeting. Now it has become the best excuse for Old Ma to avoid Li Huaide. He goes to the Municipal Bureau as soon as he is found. The leaders of the Security Department below said in unison that it would be difficult to move without the director's arrangement. It seems that after a few times, Li Huaide gave up the Security Department.

"You don't even participate in this kind of conference?"

"No, we will have to send people to cooperate and provide security once the notice comes. We have to do this even if Director Ma is not here."

Zhu Xuefeng nodded. This was more or less acceptable. However, it seemed inappropriate to let the Security Department snatch people away in front of all the employees in the factory. It was also impossible for him to take Lao Yang away in front of all the employees in the factory. This was not justifiable.

Xie Minghui and his wife in the back room would be very good helpers, but they have just reported to the criminal police team and have no foundation at all. They are not useful for the time being, and it feels like there is no one available.

If he had agreed to Lao Hao at that time, he would have at least dozens of people under his command. With this thought, Zhu Xuefeng had an idea. It was not appropriate for him to show up, but he could try to use the power of others to intimidate others. He had to find some help. He would start with Lao Hao, since he was his man.

"You still have to go back?"

"Well, my shift change is still over two hours away, but if there's a meeting I'll definitely have to make arrangements, so I probably won't be back."

"Junior sister, you have worked hard. You can ride my small pedal. From now on, this small pedal will be exclusively for you. I will go get the key for you right away."

"What about you, senior brother?"

"I ride your sister-in-law's big pedal."

Lin Yilan smiled cunningly and said, "It must be sister-in-law Nana's big pedal."

"Xiaolan, you're asking for a beating." Zhu Xuefeng sent the giggling Lin Yilan away with a fierce look on his face and returned to the bedroom.

"Who's here? It's not even daybreak yet." The woman rolled over and leaned forward. "What's the hurry?"

"It's Lin Yilan. She's here to deliver a letter in a hurry..."

"Ah, my dad wouldn't be there." After hearing this, Xia Yuhong sat up.

Zhu Xuefeng was stunned. "It's possible, but I don't know. The auditorium of the steel mill can only accommodate less than 3,000 people. It can't even accommodate the employees of our factory. Maybe the vehicle factory can open a separate one."

"No, I have to go and take a look." Xia Yuhong was a little worried.

Zhu Xuefeng pulled up the quilt and helped wrap it up. "Don't worry, you're still worried about me going there. Besides, there's a joint defense team at the gate now, so you can't get in at all."

"Do you have an idea?" Although she knew that the man would definitely come forward, Xia Yuhong was still a little worried. No matter how powerful the man was, he was just one person. When faced with a group of angry workers, he was just a fallen leaf in the ocean. How could he succeed?

"Don't worry about it. You can sleep for a while. I have to make some arrangements."

It was destined that he would not have a good sleep tonight, so Zhu Xuefeng simply got up. Since he couldn't contact anyone even if he went out, he simply started to practice with his spear in the central courtyard.

As the sky gradually brightened, I looked at the time and it was only six o'clock, which was still too early.

"Brother, you got up so early to practice."

Xie Minghui and Zhou Xiaoyu, dressed neatly in their police uniforms, looked heroic.

"Good morning, wow, you are indeed a perfect match. You've got the certificate, when are you two going to do it?"

"No, let's pick a good day in a few days and ask my senior brother, Mr. Zhang, for help. We'll set up a table and invite everyone to have a meal, and that'll be the end of the ceremony." Zhou Xiaoyu said with a smile.

"You are the only one who has so many ideas. The territory and the cook are all mine, so do I have to prepare the ingredients as well? Minghui, it seems that you have married a wife who knows how to manage a life. Tsk tsk."

Xie Minghui blushed and just smiled foolishly. Zhou Xiaoyu hid behind Xie Minghui, "Brother, don't rush me. I haven't drunk your wedding wine yet. I have to make up for it. Xiaolan said that you didn't even set up the wedding in the courtyard, and she didn't even get to drink. Tsk tsk, brother, you are so stingy."

Zhu Xuefeng was hit back by Zhou Xiaoyu and he lost his temper at all. He could only drive the two people away in a bad mood.

"Get out of here and go to work."

Watching Zhou Xiaoyu laughing and pulling Xie Minghui out of the compound, Zhu Xuefeng shook his head, put away his gun, and washed up.

"Come and have some porridge. The millet porridge you requested is ready."

Xia Yuhong poked her head out from the main room. She had heard everything Zhou Xiaoyu had said just now, but she was too embarrassed to come out.

The breakfast was simple, with some pickles, some millet porridge, and the leftover steamed corn bread from yesterday. Xia Yuhong also specially cooked three eggs. The man would eat two eggs for breakfast every day.

"You really don't want me to go." Xia Yuhong took a bite of the steamed bun and asked.

Zhu Xuefeng cracked the eggs and peeled one for Xia Yuhong. "No need. I'll go find reinforcements later. Don't worry. With them here, there will be no problem."

"Yes, you are a level 14 cadre and you are very capable. Well, I won't worry about you." Xia Yuhong knew that Zhu Xuefeng would not say anything and did not ask.

"Leader Hao, do you think this will work?"

In Leader Hao's office, Zhu Xuefeng was asking for help from his leader, "Boy, for such a trivial matter, you can just ask Lao Kong and the others. Why do you need to ask me? I asked you to form a team by yourself, but you refused. Now you know that there is no one to bother you when there is something wrong, right? How about we talk about it?"

Zhu Xuefeng shook his head. "Leader, let's talk about this later. I'll deal with the current situation first."

"Okay, I won't ask you why you need people and cars. You should know your limits. But one thing is, don't get into disputes with the public. I heard that you beat someone up at the steel mill a while ago."

Zhu Xuefeng was stunned. "You know all about this?"

Leader Hao waved his hand and said, "Don't ask me how I know this. You are an old man too. You have been here for many years. You know exactly what to do and what not to do. Go now."

Zhu Xuefeng knew that his leader was reminding him not to get involved in such matters, but there was no other way today. Old Yang had to be taken away. He was old and couldn't stand the hassle. Besides, as long as no conflict occurred, it wouldn't be considered as interference, Zhu Xuefeng comforted himself.

Soon, an open jeep with a truck bed drove out of the yard. In the truck bed behind the jeep were four helpers, four young men with serious faces but passionate hearts. They felt extremely honored to be led on a mission by the legendary figure in the bureau, but they did not know that Zhu Xuefeng was taking them into muddy water.

"People are gone, come out, really, you should handle this kind of thing yourself in the future, don't push everything onto me." (End of this chapter)