Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 1027 The Way is One Foot Higher

For the entire afternoon, Wang Zhan had little interest in doing anything else. Apart from bringing Jinbao a bowl of meat bones and a bowl of water to the front yard, he spent the rest of the time in the backyard, first sitting in the main room and then going to the recliner under the grapevines in the yard.

I kept wondering who Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old lady really were. Just by looking at those two guns, I knew that neither of them were easy to deal with, especially the deaf old lady. The way she kept the guns made it clear that she was ready to fight to the death.

Wang Zhan suddenly realized that even after searching both houses thoroughly, there was nothing that could prove the identities of the two people. Could it be that he had overlooked something? Wang Zhan couldn't figure it out. The more he thought about it, the more confused he became. Before he knew it, the afternoon had passed. Wang Zhan checked the time and decided to stop thinking about it. Picking up his sister was more important, so he got up and went out.

The Yi Zhonghai couple were not so lucky. They woke up one after the other around noon the next day. Yi Zhonghai woke up first. When the police told him about his experience the day before and that his house had been emptied overnight, Yi Zhonghai insisted on being discharged from the hospital to go home and see his family, even ignoring Li Cuilan who was still unconscious.

The hospital and police had no choice but to let him go. Yi Zhonghai recovered quickly. When he reached the gate of No. 95 Courtyard, Yan Bugui, who was guarding the gate, saw him at a glance, ran to the gate, and asked, "Old Yi, you're awake. How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright. I was just thinking about home, so I rushed back to check on things," Yi Zhonghai said.

Yan Bugui sighed and said, "Your family has nothing left. That's why Qin Huairu took the day off today to guard your door and watch over it, in case anyone tries to cause any more damage."

"Alright, Lao Yan, that's enough. I'm going home to check on things." After saying that, Yi Zhonghai quickly walked towards his home.

Upon reaching the central courtyard, he saw Qin Huairu sitting at the entrance of the west wing and said, "Huairu, you've worked hard. Go ahead and do your work. I'm back. Come to my house later to get some food."

Qin Huairu stood up, waved her hand and said, "Master Yi, please don't. Your family has it tough too. I'll go back inside first." Qin Huairu supported her large pregnant belly and turned to go inside. She had no choice but to go back. Inside the house, Jia Zhangshi's cursing grew louder and louder.

Yi Zhonghai pushed open his front door, first glancing at the stove in the main room. Seeing nothing amiss, he breathed a sigh of relief. Then, looking at the empty house, he felt a pang of pain in his heart, swayed, and almost lost his balance.

Yi Zhonghai looked around and realized there was nothing to see. Damn thief, he didn't even leave him a single match. That's too cruel. What deep-seated hatred could drive someone to do that?

Yi Zhonghai smoked a cigarette, then walked to the stove, squatted down, rummaged into the stove pit, pulled out a square iron box, took out a bankbook from it, put the iron box back, and then turned and went out the door. He closed the door from the outside, but couldn't lock it because he had lost the lock.

Yi Zhonghai first went directly to the subdistrict office, found Deputy Director Zhao, and tearfully explained his family's situation. He then requested that the household registration book, grain ration book, and other documents be reissued. Deputy Director Zhao did not hesitate and immediately found someone to process them, and also reissued the monthly ration coupons. He also processed all of the deaf old lady's documents and handed them over to Yi Zhonghai.

Yi Zhonghai thanked Deputy Director Zhao before leaving the subdistrict office. Standing at the intersection, he thought for a moment, then went to the bank, withdrew some money, and headed straight for Chongwenmen.

In the hospital, Li Cuilan also woke up. As soon as she woke up, she asked the nurse how her husband was. The nurse was afraid that she would worry, so she quickly told her that Yi Zhonghai had been discharged from the hospital after waking up for a few minutes.

Li Cuilan thought for a moment and said, "Look, I'm awake now, and everything's alright. I'd like to go to the deaf old lady's ward to see her. I've been taking care of her all along." The nurse admired the woman in the hospital bed for thinking of others as soon as she woke up, and said, "Have some water first, calm down. I'll do a check-up for you in a bit, and you can go if everything's alright. Don't worry, she's on this floor, just in the ward at the far east end of the corridor. The old lady has also woken up and even had a bowl of porridge this morning."

Li Cuilan nodded after hearing what the nurse said and agreed to the nurse's arrangement.

On the other side, Yi Zhonghai went to the southeast of the old city, to Dapaifang Hutong, which is close to the east city wall. Dapaifang Hutong is located in the southeast corner, right next to the city wall. The hutong runs north-south and is inhabited on both sides. Most of the houses are three-sided courtyards and small four-sided courtyards. These courtyards are not very fancy and are obviously places where ordinary people live. The courtyards on both sides of the hutong are mostly opposite each other, but they are staggered.

Only one small courtyard house has its gate facing south. It's the southernmost courtyard in the alley. The gate is a double door with thick panels, making it look very sturdy. There are brass rings on the door.

This was the house Yi Zhonghai had come to. He stood at the door, looked around, and found that there was really no one there. He walked up and knocked on the door knocker three times. Yi Zhonghai didn't say anything, and there was no sound in the yard. About a minute later, he knocked on the door knocker twice more.

Not long after, the door opened, and Yi Zhonghai slipped into the courtyard. The gate was then quickly closed.

In the east room, a man in his forties led Yi Zhonghai into the room. The man was about 1.6 meters tall, not very tall, but very strong. Looking at his face, he looked fierce because he had a deep scar on his face.

The man's voice was a little hoarse as he said, "Brother, what brings you here? What happened? By the way, would you like some wine or tea?"

Yi Zhonghai entered the room as if it were his own home. He took off his coat, threw it on the kang (a heated brick bed), then took off his shoes, climbed onto the kang, sat cross-legged by the kang table, and said, "Let's drink. Third brother, your eldest brother had a bad day yesterday. Go and prepare some food. Two dishes will be enough. We can talk while we eat."

The third brother agreed, turned around and left the east room. Yi Zhonghai took out his cigarettes and matches, and sat there smoking while thinking about something.

Meanwhile, Li Cuilan had arrived at the deaf old lady's ward and told her that Yi Zhonghai had been discharged from the hospital.

In the afternoon, the deaf old lady was discharged from the hospital with Li Cuilan's help. With the money she had, the old lady hired a cart and took the two of them back to courtyard number 95. When the neighbors in the courtyard saw the deaf old lady's gloomy face, none of them dared to go up and talk to her.

Li Cuilan helped the deaf old lady to the backyard. Before they even reached the door, the old lady stopped, looked at the stone slabs and threshold of her door, smiled, and said, "The devil may be one foot tall, but the righteous are ten feet tall!"

Li Cuilan heard it clearly, but didn't understand what it meant. The deaf old lady said, "No need to go inside. Let's wait for Zhonghai. He went to buy things and should be back before sunset. Come on, Cuilan, take me somewhere."

The deaf old lady didn't even go inside. She pulled Li Cuilan out of courtyard number 95, and this time they hired a rickshaw and headed straight for Xizhimen.

(End of this chapter)