Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 924: Guangtian Desire
No. 95 Courtyard Backyard, Liu Family
At this time, the Liu family was having dinner. The table was divided into two. One was a square table with three dishes and one staple food on it, a plate of peanuts, a plate of scrambled eggs, a plate of fried cabbage with oil residue and a plate of steamed buns made of two grains of flour. In front of Liu Haizhong was a wine glass and a bottle of loose white wine. Next to Liu Haizhong sat his second aunt Liu Yue'e, and opposite Liu Haizhong sat his eldest son Liu Guangqi.

Next to this table there is a low square table, where the second son Liu Guangtian and the third son Liu Guangfu are sitting opposite each other.

There were two dishes on the low square table, one plate of salted radish and the other plate of fried cabbage. It was either fried cabbage or plain cabbage. It seemed that Second Aunt cooked them separately. The staple food was four steamed buns. Of course, there was a bowl of cornmeal porridge in front of each of the two people.

Liu Guangtian frowned. Ever since he went to school and received the first beating from his father Liu Haizhong, his life has been different from that of other people. Of course, the beating was not in vain, as he got eight points in the first exam, which was in two subjects combined.

His elder brother always ranked among the top in every exam, which made Liu Haizhong very angry. He just yelled at Liu Guangtian a few words, and Liu Guangtian was trembling with fear. He was only seven years old at the time. But when Liu Haizhong went out for a walk and came back, his father was different. He pressed Liu Guangtian on the bed and beat him up. Liu Guangtian slept on his stomach that day.

Since that time, he was only beaten for being naughty and not studying hard. When he entered senior primary school, whether he was beaten depended on Liu Haizhong's mood. If he was in a good mood, he would be beaten just because he didn't like him. If he was in a bad mood, he would be beaten even more.

Later, when Liu Guangfu grew up a little, Liu Guangtian initially simply thought that his father just looked down on him. But after Liu Guangfu was slapped in the face before he even went to school, he finally understood that Liu Haizhong looked down on everyone except his eldest son and took it out on the two brothers for no reason.

When he was in middle school, his classmates gave him some advice, saying that if his father beat him again, he should run away. Liu Guangtian felt that this trick was feasible, but after trying it for a few times, he found that he was wrong. If he couldn't beat himself, he would beat the third brother. But when he returned home, he would be beaten and could not get out of bed for three to five days. This painful lesson made him realize that he could not run away no matter what, and the more he ran, the more serious the consequences would be.

Almost everyone in the compound knew about the various problems in Old Liu's family, even the four-year-old Yan Jiekuang knew about them, but no one stood up to say a word for the two brothers, especially the deaf old lady next door. Whenever there was chaos here, the old lady would close her doors and windows in the middle of summer and hide inside and would not come out.

Liu Guangtian will graduate from junior high school this summer. He knows very well that he cannot go to high school or get into technical secondary school. He is eager to go out to work, preferably to earn his own money so that he can leave this family as soon as possible.

Looking at the cornmeal porridge and smelling the scrambled eggs on the other table, the Liu Guangtian brothers said nothing. They had once asked to eat the same food as their eldest brother. Liu Haizhong rolled his eyes and said, "You two are still eating the same food as your eldest brother. Do you have such a big mouth? Your eldest brother should do better. Look at you two. What else can you do besides eating?"

If they said anything more, they would be beaten up. Liu Haizhong beat them regardless of the location or occasion.

Today, Liu Haizhong had a sullen face when he came home from get off work. Liu Guangtian saw it when he came home from school. He went straight back to his little room and didn't come out. He knew that the old man might be in a bad mood today.

A few days ago, I heard that their workshop was going to elect a team leader, and it seemed that he was not selected. During the meal, Liu Haizhong just kept drinking and didn't say a word, and even ignored his beloved eldest son.

Liu Guangtian finished his two steamed buns and a bowl of porridge as quickly as possible, without even taking a few bites of the vegetables. He gave his younger brother who was in the third grade of primary school a look, then stood up and ran out. Liu Guangfu looked at his second brother's back as he ran away, feeling puzzled.

Liu Haizhong was already in a bad mood at the factory today. When he saw Liu Guangtian running away, he shouted from behind: "You little bastard, you ran away after eating and didn't study for a whole day. I'll wait for you to come back and see how I'll deal with you."

Liu Guangfu, who was originally confused, immediately understood what his second brother meant. He lowered his head and ate quickly. Liu Haizhong stood up and slapped him in the face: "If you don't learn good things, you will learn bad things. Why do you eat so fast? Clean up the dishes after dinner, and don't count on your mother for everything."

Liu Guangfu touched his left cheek where he was hit, and tears immediately fell. He didn't dare to eat quickly, but just lowered his head to eat silently without saying a word. Liu Guangqi had his back to the table of the two brothers from the beginning to the end. From the time Liu Haizhong started to scold until Liu Guangfu was hit, he didn't even turn his head, but continued to eat his meal slowly, and the second aunt was also silent.

After running out of his house and arriving at the central courtyard, Liu Guangtian saw that his old man did not chase him out, so he slowed down his pace, put his hands in his pockets, and walked slowly out of the yard with a confused look on his face. He didn't know where he was going, but he knew that if he didn't come out, he would definitely not be able to escape the beating today.

As soon as he left the courtyard, he saw Yan Jiecheng walking back from outside with an excited look on his face. The two of them bumped into each other, so Liu Guangtian casually greeted him and said with a smile, "Brother Jiecheng, are you back?"

"Guangtian, where are you going? Have you eaten?" Yan Jiecheng asked. He also noticed that Liu Guangtian seemed to be in trouble. The two were only three years apart in age and had been friends since childhood. They knew each other very well. However, after Yan Jiecheng graduated, he almost became a street urchin and almost led Liu Guangtian astray. Ever since the last fight with Wang Zhan and his brothers, the two have not been in contact much.

"I just finished eating and went out for a walk." Liu Guangtian said.

Yan Jiecheng is now forced to become motivated, although it is also due to family reasons, but he still feels a little guilty towards Liu Guangtian.

Yan Jiecheng looked at Liu Guangtian, who was worried, and said, "Come on, Guangtian, we haven't talked for a long time. Come with me for a walk."

Liu Guangtian did not comment. Yan Jiecheng simply put his arm around Liu Guangtian's shoulders and ran towards the abandoned west wing where they often went.

The two men arrived at the west wing and sat on the stone slabs under an abandoned corridor. Yan Jiecheng took out a box of Pegasus cigarettes and handed one to Liu Guangtian. Liu Guangtian took it but looked at Yan Jiecheng in surprise.

This was the first time Yan Jiecheng offered him a cigarette since he was a child. He usually just rubbed his cigarettes. Liu Guangtian looked Yan Jiecheng up and down and said, "Brother Jiecheng, I find you have changed a lot. Oh, by the way, how long has it been since we last met?"

"I swept the streets for a whole year, working from dawn to dusk." Yan Jiecheng said with deep emotion.

"Oh, I heard that the street office forced you to do this job." Liu Guangtian said.

"I have to thank the street office for this decision. It helped me figure out a lot of things this year," said Yan Jiecheng.

Liu Guangtian was very curious. He looked at Yan Jiecheng, took a puff of his cigarette, and said, "Tell me about it. I want to listen and learn. You know, I will graduate this year, and I will probably have to work odd jobs. I can't rely on my family."

Yan Jiecheng took a puff of his cigarette, sighed, and talked about his experiences over the past year and Yan Laokou's calculations.

(End of this chapter)