Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 977 Entrance Examination
After two days of shopping, Wang Zhan and Wang Li were at a loss for what to buy. That afternoon, the brother and sister began to decorate the small house, putting the utensils in the room on the left side of the main house back in their place, and laying out the bedding. Wang Zhan also bought some seasonings and kitchen utensils.

The bookshelves in the library were empty. Wang Zhan planned to put his books there when he got back. Wang Li also asked for a small bookshelf and a small desk, which she placed directly in the bedroom on the right side of the main house. Wang Zhan gave them to her there. After clearing out that room on the right, Wang Zhan bought new furniture and furnished it as a bedroom. This was his room.

Early on the third day, Wang Zhan, carrying a bag and a water bottle, boarded the train with Wang Li. This time, Master Wang had pulled some strings to buy them sleeper berths, and he also bought them for the connecting trains. This made Wang Zhan feel that the old Taoist was trying to urge him to return to Beijing as soon as possible.

After a four-day, three-night journey, Wang Zhan and his sister finally stood in the square of Qianmen Railway Station. Wang Li complained, "Let's hurry home, you can smell it, I'm all spoiled."

Wang Zhan rolled his eyes and said, "I'm the same way. Okay, let's go."

The two went straight back to Yu'er Hutong and first went to Aunt Sun's house to get the key. Wang Zhan noticed that Aunt Sun looked a little thinner, and seemed to have something on her mind. He didn't rush to ask, thinking he would talk about it at dinner that night.

When Er Ya and Xiao Pang saw that Wang Zhan and his sister had returned, they jumped up with joy and insisted on going to Wang Zhan's house. Wang Zhan said, "No, your brother and I need to take a shower. How about this, Grandma will take you over tonight and we can have dinner together."

Under Grandma Sun's suppression, the two younger children finally did not follow. Wang Zhan and his sister Wang Li returned to No. 47. The main gate of the hanging flower gate opened, and several families in the front yard came out to greet them. Wang Zhan responded to each of them.

Wang Zhan originally had a bathroom in the backyard, in the last room of the west wing. Although Qi Dasheng had rented out the house, he had told several families that the structure and layout could not be changed, so the room had been empty. Wang Zhan put down his bag and went to the kitchen to boil water. He boiled two large pots and then called Wang Li to take a bath.

After a flurry of activity, night slowly fell. Wang Zhan asked Wang Li to go find Aunt Sun while he cooked a few dishes in the kitchen. This time, he no longer worried about supplies; he prepared four dishes and a soup, and steamed some white flour buns.

The dishes included cured pork with bamboo shoots, steamed sea bass, braised chicken pieces, stir-fried eggs with chili peppers, and water shield soup. This water shield soup is a unique dish from Sichuan and Chongqing. Wang Zhan and his sister fell in love with it after trying it once, and Wang Zhan specially planted some by the river.

Before long, Grandma Sun brought her three children into the house. Wang Zhan greeted them and told them to sit in the main room, where he had specially prepared some fruit that he had brought back.

After everyone had started eating, Aunt Sun praised the food highly, but she also looked at Wang Zhan with a strange expression. Wang Zhan asked, "What's wrong?"

Pointing to the dishes, Aunt Sun said, "These things are impossible to buy at the supply and marketing cooperative now. I heard that you can only find them by luck at the pigeon market. You're quite extravagant."

"Ah, uh, haha, I brought this back from Sichuan and Chongqing too. Let me tell you, Aunt Sun, the supplies there are plentiful. They really don't lack food." Wang Zhan quickly changed the subject and started talking about his experiences in Sichuan and Chongqing. Wang Li chimed in from time to time.

As they were finishing their meal, Wang Zhan suddenly asked, "Aunt Sun, are you troubled by something? You look pale and thin."

Grandma Sun looked at Wang Zhan, hesitated, and finally said, "Don't mention it. Your auntie was persuaded to quit, and now I'm at home taking care of the children."

"Oh, what... what happened?" Wang Zhan was a little surprised. In his understanding, there were many people older than Granny Sun who worked at the neighborhood office, and Granny Sun was a martyr's family member with two young children. It wouldn't be her place to be dismissed. But Granny Sun kept her head down and drank, refusing to say anything. The more she didn't say anything, the more Wang Zhan wanted to know. Even after Granny Sun left with her two children, she didn't reveal a single word. Wang Zhan felt that this matter must be related to him. Granny Sun didn't tell him because she didn't want to cause him trouble. Wang Zhan decided to go see Brother Wang in the next couple of days.

Within a few days, Wang Zhan learned the whole story and was so angry he could have teeth in it.

It turned out that Director Wang had made things difficult for Granny Sun by assigning her a lot of work, especially the door-to-door visits. In the end, Granny Sun was so exhausted that she fell ill. Director Wang and his deputy director came to visit her home in a hypocritical manner, but their words implied that Granny Sun should resign. Granny Sun knew very well that this was due to the influence of Wang Zhan's move, so she gritted her teeth and resigned from her job to go home.

After hearing this, Wang Zhan felt very guilty towards Aunt Sun and thought about asking Brother Wang to arrange an easier job for her. However, he asked Aunt Sun for her opinion before doing so. Aunt Sun refused, saying, "Forget it, I'd rather just focus on taking care of the children. I don't need the money, so I won't bother with anything else."

Wang Zhan thought for a moment and didn't say anything more. After that, he had a gathering with his friends. They were all very excited. This was the first time they hadn't seen Wang Zhan and his sister for two months. Usually, even Fei Qing would come back to get together once a month. This time it was long enough.

On September 1, 1957, Wang Zhan started his final year of junior high school, and his and his sister's lives settled down.

He went to and from school in an orderly fashion, and during breaks he would go fishing and hunting with a few friends. Usually, apart from Wang Li frequently visiting Aunt Sun's house, Wang Zhan would chat and play chess with the families in the front yard.

Days passed peacefully, and before they knew it, it was 1958. This year was a turning point for Wang Zhan.

During a gathering, Wang Zhan shared his plans: he wanted to take the entrance exam for a vocational school, specifically the Wudaokou Mechanical Engineering College.

Xiao Si, Xiao Wu, Da Lao Tie, and Fei Qing were all stunned when they heard this. Xiao Wu even went over and touched Wang Zhan's head, saying, "He doesn't have a fever, so why is he confused?"

Xiao Si was a little anxious and asked, "Brother Zhan, what are you thinking? You're the best student here!"

Wang Zhan smiled and said, "Actually, I've thought it over carefully. I don't want to leave my sister, so I can't stand living in a dormitory for four years. Also, I yearn for the life of a worker."

Fei Qing scoffed and said, "That's all nonsense. You must have some other reason." Under the interrogation of his brothers, Wang Zhan kept repeating the same few words, and the brothers really couldn't do anything about him.

After this experience, the brothers accepted the unacceptable reality. Wang Zhan's decision was something most people couldn't change.

On June 27th, Wang Zhan faced his last exam in junior high school.

(End of this chapter)