Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 1143 Voluntary Labor
Inside the gatehouse, the captain from this morning was gone; only two guards were sitting on benches inside, smoking and chatting, while two more guards stood watch outside.

Wang Zhan was sitting next to Grandpa Sun's desk, filling out registration records. Grandpa Sun was rambling on about things at the factory, asking him if his onboarding went smoothly, who handled his paperwork, and so on.

Wang Zhan didn't want to talk too much about the details of his joining the company, so he chatted with Grandpa Sun for a while. Grandpa Sun understood that Wang Zhan didn't want to talk about joining the company, so he stopped asking.

After leaving the gatehouse, Wang Zhan rode his bike straight home. On the way, he pondered how he should perform after starting work. However, he knew that no matter how he performed, people would still view him with prejudice. After all, he was an exception. What kind of exception was he? Either he got in through connections or he had special abilities. What special abilities could he, a vocational school student who hadn't even graduated yet and was waiting for his internship, possibly have? Therefore, most people in the factory who knew about this matter categorized Wang Zhan as the former.

Wang Zhan thought that no matter what, he had already completed the formalities and was now an intern in the technical department of the steel rolling mill. Let others think what they want; as long as he kept a low profile, they would probably forget about it over time.

Having made up his mind, Wang Zhan stopped thinking about it. He went home, lit the fireplace and stove, cooked himself a bowl of noodles in the kitchen, and ate it there. In the afternoon, Wang Zhan tidied up the things he had taken and then went to his bedroom to rest. He was quite exhausted from all this.

Courtyard No. 95, West Wing of the Middle Courtyard

Qin Huairu returned at noon. The main reason was that Huaihua was still young. Jia Zhangshi, who lived at home, usually took care of the two children. When there was something to do, she would send them to Aunt Li Cuilan's place to play. The main problem was that Jia Zhangshi really didn't want to take care of the children. Except for eating and sleeping, the two little ones spent almost all their time with Aunt Li Cuilan. Aunt Li Cuilan didn't mind, and she was happy to take care of the two children. However, the deaf old lady in the backyard had a lot of complaints.

Qin Huairu knew the family's situation. Although her mother-in-law helped her to some extent, the family's food situation was indeed worrying. Jia Zhangshi had once wanted to go to the pigeon market to buy some grain, but the first time she went, she encountered a surprise inspection. Luckily, Jia Zhangshi hadn't gone in yet, so she hurriedly ran back. It was a joke; it was the first time Jia Zhangshi had ever seen so many policemen with guns rushing in. She was terrified. From then on, Jia Zhangshi never went there again.

Qin Huairu had a job as a worker, so she dared not go. Therefore, the family usually relied on the little things that Sha Zhu brought home. Unfortunately, the situation at the factory was not optimistic. Not to mention bringing back lunch boxes, the people in the factory were not getting enough to eat. Sha Zhu dared to bring things home, so Sha Zhu's lunch boxes were almost gone.

To ensure her children had enough to eat, Qin Huairu could only prepare her lunch at home and eat with her children and mother-in-law. She would cook less at home and provide lunch from the factory, which was enough for the family of four.

Today was no exception. Qin Huairu packed two lunchboxes, one of which contained two jin of food, one of which was contributed by Sha Zhu. She hurriedly carried the lunchboxes home. As soon as she arrived at the door, she saw Yu Li, the new daughter-in-law of the Third Uncle, tidying up the flower bed with Yang Ruihua.

Qin Huairu greeted her as always, smiling broadly as she said, "Third Aunt, you're so busy! You're really diligent. Oh, this must be Yu Li. I forgot to congratulate you on your marriage. Let's have a good chat sometime."

Yu Li was completely bewildered. She was a party to the situation on her wedding day, and she knew very well that her family and the people in this courtyard didn't get along very well. She didn't see Qin Huairu or her child at the wedding, and her mother-in-law had also caused such a disgusting scene. Now she wondered how Qin Huairu had the nerve to greet her and her mother-in-law.

Yu Li's face was gloomy, while Yang Ruihua's expression was calm. She said, "Huai Ru, you're running home in the middle of the day. You must be exhausted. Go back now. I just heard Huaihua crying."

Upon hearing this, Qin Huairu didn't even reply and ran straight to the Intermediate People's Court.

Yu Li stared blankly at Qin Huairu's retreating figure. Yang Ruihua, sensing Yu Li's thoughts, said, "What? Do you think this woman is different?"

"Hmm, Mom, don't they all ignore our family? Isn't Qin Huairu afraid of what others will say?" Yu Li asked, voicing her doubts.

"This young wife is different from the others. This woman is not simple either. Take the old man in the middle courtyard and Sha Zhu, for example, they are both on her side. And this woman is very cunning. Anyway, I can't understand her. You have to stay away from her, or she'll sell you out and you'll still be counting the money for her." Yang Ruihua reminded Yu Li. She knew very well that, let alone Yu Li, even her own old man was no match for Qin Huairu. "Mom, I'm back. Where's my sister?" Yan Jiekuang's voice came from the door. Yang Ruihua and Yu Li turned around and saw their third brother standing at the door with his schoolbag on his back, his hair messy, and his clothes dirty.

Yang Ruihua went up and slapped Yan Jiekuang, saying, "Did you go to school or go to work in the fields? Even if you were working in the fields, you wouldn't be as dirty as me."

"Mom, what do you know? I went to do a good deed, and the teacher specially gave me a day off so I could come back," Yan Jiekuang said.

"What happened? Explain yourself," Yang Ruihua asked.

Yan Jiekuang said urgently, "Mom, it's so cold. Can't you let me change my clothes and drink some hot water first before asking me anything? Aren't you afraid I'll catch a cold?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Ruihua hurriedly pulled Yan Jiekuang back into the house, and Yu Li put down her work and followed them into the west wing.

Before long, Yan Jiekuang washed up and changed his clothes. Fortunately, Yang Ruihua had made him an extra set of cotton-padded clothes during the New Year, otherwise he would have had to wear only a single layer of clothing today.

Yan Jiekuang walked into the main room and saw his mother and sister-in-law picking vegetables at the square table. There was also a bowl of ginger soup on the table, which Yu Li had just made for him.

Yan Jiekuang sat down next to Yang Ruihua, picked up the bowl, opened his mouth wide, and gulped down half of it in one go. Then, without the two of them asking, he recounted what had happened that morning.

The first lesson of the new school year in elementary school is voluntary labor. This is an unwritten rule every year, and Hongxing Elementary School is no exception. Yan Jiekuang is now in the first grade of elementary school and is in Class 3. His homeroom teacher is a new graduate from a vocational school. She is a female teacher whose surname is Yan, which is the same as his family's surname but written in different characters.

Today, the school arranged for first and second grade students to go to the countryside to help farmers weed and tidy up the land, which means clearing away garbage, stones, and other debris from the fields in preparation for spring planting.

After the students gathered, they headed towards Andingmen Gate and then went straight towards Xiaoqing River.

They were all first and second graders. At first, they were somewhat disciplined, but after walking for an hour, the group broke up and walked in twos and threes. Fortunately, the group as a whole was still intact. The headmaster and the teacher in charge saw this and thought, "That's fine. This isn't just a dozen or twenty children. There are nearly three hundred children. Why make so many demands on them? Besides, they are all just kids."

The children's journey took an hour, from initial excitement to curiosity about everything after leaving the city, and then to a listless and arduous trek. Each homeroom teacher kept a close eye on their class, afraid that any would fall behind. As long as no one was left behind, the teachers turned a blind eye to the children's actions.

At that moment, three horse-drawn carriages, fully loaded with goods, came from the opposite direction of the road and headed towards the city. The sudden change occurred when the two groups passed each other.

(End of this chapter)