Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 1119 Siblings' Sacrifice
After clearing the snow, Wang Zhan left the gate open and went straight back to the backyard. Today was the first day of the Lunar New Year, a day for ancestor worship. Wang Zhan had prepared everything before the New Year, including his parents' memorial tablets, which he placed in the south wing of the west wing.

That room had previously been used by Wang Zhan as a study, with just a row of bookshelves, a desk, and a few chairs. Except for the chairs, all the other furniture and books had been moved to the study, which was now completely full and there was no room left for anything else.

In the south wing, a long table holds the memorial tablets of his parents. More importantly, there was a wedding photo of his parents. Wang Zhan went to the largest Xiangyang Photo Studio in Dongjiaomin Lane and had it enlarged. Wang Zhan had it framed and fitted with glass, and now he hangs it on the west wall.

Below the long table was a square table, which was now filled with food. Pork, chicken, and fish were placed on plates at the front of the table, and the remaining space was filled with fruit, pastries, and some drinks.

In Wang Zhan's memory, as long as they could buy wine, his mother would always be able to prepare two side dishes, and then his parents would drink and chat happily. He always remembered this vividly because every time his parents drank together, they would urge him to eat quickly and go back to sleep.

After everything was arranged according to Wang Zhan's plan, Wang Zhan closed and locked the door to the south wing.

Wang Li returned in a flurry of activity not long after, bringing Zhang Erya with her. As soon as Zhang Erya saw Wang Zhan, she became a little shy and whispered, "Brother Zhan, Happy New Year! I'm here to wish you a Happy New Year."

"Haha, Happy New Year to you too! Here, this is your lucky money. Take it, don't refuse, or I won't come to your house for steamed buns anymore," Wang Zhan said.

Zhang Erya initially wanted to refuse, but upon hearing Wang Zhan's words, she reluctantly accepted it and even said thank you.

"Alright, you two go play for a while. The dumplings are already in the pot, they'll be ready in a few minutes. We'll eat together in a bit. Oh, Lili, don't forget to go to the cellar and get some soda. We're out of them, just empty bottles," Wang Zhan said.

"Okay!" Wang Li pulled Zhang Erya straight to the main room.

Old Zhang's family hasn't been doing well lately. Although he works at the neighborhood canteen, the benefits aren't great. He heard that during the Lunar New Year, everyone in the neighborhood office received two jin (1 kg) of vegetables. While vegetables are rare, they're not meat. Plus, only he and Zhang Erya in his family receive a ration; his mother-in-law's household registration hasn't been transferred yet, so things are a bit difficult for them. They're only lucky to have a free lunch at the neighborhood canteen, which Zhang Erya can also eat at.

Since the ration quota was reduced, Old Zhang's family has basically stopped eating breakfast. In the morning, his mother-in-law would make a pot of thin cornmeal porridge, one bowl for each of the three of them. Old Zhang relied entirely on the lunch provided by the neighborhood committee. However, his mother-in-law would only eat one cornbread after making it for lunch, leaving the rest for the father and daughter when they returned in the evening. This made Old Zhang feel very guilty. He had told his mother-in-law many times that she didn't need to skimp on lunch and should eat her fill, but she just wouldn't listen.

Wang Zhan knew today that Old Zhang's family was unlikely to make dumplings, probably because they had eaten all their meat last night. So when Zhang Erya came to their house, he insisted on having dumplings with her.

After finishing their meal, Zhang Erya was about to go back when Wang Zhan told her to wait. He then went back to the kitchen, took a large aluminum lunchbox from the steamer, put it in a cloth bag, and handed it to Zhang Erya to take to Old Man Zhang. Zhang Erya hesitated, but Wang Zhan simply shoved the bag into her hand and pushed her out the door.

Wang Li wanted to go too, but Wang Zhan stopped her. He said, "Lili, you're ten years old this year. Starting this year, we'll officially begin paying respects to our parents. You'll come with me for a while, and when you're free this afternoon, you can go play with Er Ya." Wang Li was a bit playful, but she was very sensible. She knew immediately that her brother was treating her like a big girl and starting to let her know about her family's past, so she nodded obediently.

Seeing that they had important business to attend to, Zhang Erya said goodbye to the brother and sister, picked up her cloth bag, and headed home.

After Wang Zhan and Wang Li finished tidying up the table in the main room, they went to wash up separately. Once they were clean, Wang Zhan took the key and led Wang Li into the south wing.

As soon as Wang Li entered, she curiously looked around the room. She didn't know when her brother had decorated it. When her gaze fell on the west wall, Wang Li was stunned. She could guess that these were her parents. Although she had never met them, she felt a sense of closeness to them.

As Wang Zhan lit the incense and candles, he said, “Those are our parents. The one on the left is our dad, you know his name. The one on the right is our mom. I’ve always carried this photo with me, always kept it on my person, but I’ve never shown it to you. Lili, you’re ten years old this year, it’s time for you to get to know our parents again. Both of them are heroes, and you will be proud of them.”

Wang Li also looked solemn, her eyes fixed on the photos on the wall. Wang Zhan lit incense, handed three sticks to his sister, and said, "Let's kowtow to Mom and Dad first, then offer incense. After we're done paying our respects, I'll tell you anything you want to ask."

Wang Li nodded heavily, and then followed her brother to kowtow, offer incense, and burn paper money. While burning the paper money, Wang Zhan muttered about the experiences of the two siblings over the past few years, telling both their parents and Wang Li.

As Wang Li listened, tears welled up in her eyes. Wang Zhan glanced at her but didn't try to comfort her. He knew his sister had to go through this; otherwise, how could she grow up? There were things one couldn't avoid. He had been wrong before, always trying to hide the hardships his sister had endured to avoid causing her pain. But now he understood that he had no right to conceal their parents' situation. He should let his sister know everything clearly; that was fair to Lili.

After the worship ceremony, the two returned to the main room. Wang Li remained silent. She knew she should have parents. When she was in kindergarten, she saw other children being picked up by their parents. Whenever the children blurted out "Mom and Dad," she wondered if she should also have parents, but where were they now?

Wang Li was very sensible from a young age. She knew very well that her older brother doted on her and wanted to give her the best of everything in the world. However, her brother never mentioned their parents, and Uncle Li never mentioned them to her either. Wang Li knew that her brother was intentionally hiding things from her. She knew that her brother had raised her since she was very young, and that Wang Zhan was her only relative in the world. Therefore, she did not want to cause her brother any trouble. Her brother had already worked very hard to raise her, so Wang Li never brought up any questions about their parents in front of her brother.

Between Wang Zhan and his sister, the brother dotes on his sister and spoils her unconditionally; the sister dotes on her brother and never makes any demands or asks him anything he doesn't want to talk about.

Today's memorial service was the first time Wang Zhan formally allowed his sister to bear the burden she should bear independently. He wanted to tell her the truth, because he didn't want him and his sister to live in self-deception. This was the reason why Wang Zhan made up his mind.

(End of this chapter)