Siheyuan: Rebirth of a comfortable life starts with Shazhu

He Yuzhu nodded, remained silent for a long time, and then solemnly said, "The spring of reform and opening up is in the south."

"Nonsense, spring is beautiful in Beijing too." Liu Ting didn't understand what He Yuzhu meant, but she still stubbornly argued with him.

It wasn't until two years later, when the song "Drawing Circles in the South" was released, that Liu Ting truly understood what He Yuzhu meant by "springtime."

The He family has a sense of ease this year that is hard to describe.

This is definitely closely related to He Yuzhu's 'sick leave' at home.

This also allows He Yuzhu to observe current social events from an objective perspective.

You could say he's strayed from the center.

In reality, he has always been in the center circle.

But this period of inactivity did allow him to observe the subtle changes taking place in society more clearly.

This year, the Yan family in the old courtyard set off two more strings of small firecrackers than other families.

This has caused a rift to appear in the relationship between the Yan and Liu families, which was originally quite good.

That's normal. Around the time of the Chinese New Year, Yan Jiekuang did a few wholesale deals and made a small profit.

Several hundred, I guess!
This was the amount he had secured after sharing profits with Yan Bugui.

This is definitely something to be happy about; in just one or two months, you can earn more than others earn in a year.

According to Yan Bugui, a college student is still a college student after all.

Even if they don't work for a company, but just run a small business, they are still better off than most people.

This statement made Comrade Liu feel a little sour.

So he asked in public when the Yan family would go to pick up their daughter-in-law.

Has the second son gotten divorced yet?
These two sentences instantly turned Yan Bugui's old face, which had been smiling like an orange peel, into ice.

He stared at Liu Haizhong with a sinister look, wishing he could turn against him on the spot.

The key is that he can't turn against them.

After all, the two things that happened in his family really did exist.

Furthermore, he complained and begged in front of Lao Liu more than once.

What are you begging for?
He begged Liu Haizhong, who was capable, to help him think of a way to solve the problem of his second child.

Even if it's just in a small factory, they might arrange a temporary job for the second son.

He even dared to let his second son take his eldest grandson back to Beijing.

As for the second daughter-in-law, Yan Bugui had never met her, but he was furious with her.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year in 1979, the old men's group in courtyard number 95 has since expanded.

Butcher Song and Ma San both joined in.

A row of old men sat leaning against the wall, watching other people's relatives come to pay their respects during the New Year.

Unfortunately, most of the children born to these families were boys.

Even if Yan Bugui's family has a daughter, she won't be coming today.

Yan Jiedi and her husband had more important relatives to visit.

This is definitely illogical.

However, after Yan Jiedi got married, she always kept the initiative in her relationship with her family in her own hands.

She's willing to go back to her parents' home on the second day of the Lunar New Year.

If she doesn't want to anymore, she can find other reasons.

For example, she goes to her boyfriend's uncle's house; her boyfriend has an uncle in Tianjin...

To put it bluntly, Yan Jiedi simply didn't want to get involved in her family's mess.

Today should also be the day for Yan Jiekuang to visit Zhang Chunhua's brother's family.

But now Yan Jiekuang is riding high and unwilling to bow down to Zhang Chunhua.

Yan Jiedi felt quite uncomfortable looking at the atmosphere in her parents' home.

I simply gave them a heads-up before the Lunar New Year that I wouldn't be coming today.

Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui used to sit next to each other, but ever since Liu Haizhong made a few sarcastic remarks last time, they are now sitting at opposite ends of each other, with several people in between. "Have the Jiefangs gone out?" Liu Haizhong said to Song the butcher next to him.

"Yes, it's a trip back to her parents' home. It's freezing cold, and her eldest daughter-in-law is pregnant again."

"Leave early, drive slowly, safety first." Butcher Song was also beaming.

He has been living a very comfortable life these past few years.

This was a life he had never imagined when he was living in the countryside.

"Are the apprentices coming today?" Liu Haizhong asked again.

This was something he couldn't wait to do.

After all, many of his apprentices will be visiting him today.

Others came out to watch the spectacle.

He came out to wait for his apprentice.

"I can't compare to you. The apprentices I took on were all assigned to me by my superiors after I joined the company."

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, they had relatives to visit.

"How can they be like your apprentices, who all treat you like their own father?" Butcher Song said these words without a trace of jealousy.

That's simply the truth.

He did indeed take on several apprentices at the meat processing plant.

He didn't teach seriously either, mainly because the meat processing plant couldn't showcase his abilities.

Treatments for pigs and castration of piglets are all methods that pig farms use.

There's definitely no use for him at the meat processing plant.

He taught a few apprentices how to butcher and divide the meat...

It's normal that people aren't very close to him.

If you just greet each other when you meet normally, and come over for a visit when the New Year is almost over, it shows that you still respect Master Song as your mentor, which is already quite good.

The disciples Liu Haizhong taught were definitely different from him.

"Those are all illusions. You're lucky, Lao Song."

"Jiefang is a filial son." Liu Haizhong said this deliberately loudly, trying to provoke Yan Bugui.

Song Jiefang shares the same name as Yan's second son. Everyone knows who Song Jiefang is, but he is meticulous in his actions and treats Song the butcher like his own father.

For example, the new cotton-padded jacket that Comrade Lao Song is wearing is the same style as Xu Damao's.

The two old men each had one, and the Xu Fugui couple also got one.

And what about the second son of the Yan family?
It is said that he didn't even send a telegram home for the New Year.

"Master, Happy New Year!"

"I wish you a happy new year and a harmonious family..." Unexpectedly, the one who won first prize was not Liu Haizhong, but Song the butcher, who had just been modest that no one had come to see him today.

"Eeeeeeeee..."
"When did you return to the city, kid?" Butcher Song was surprised, after all, he hadn't seen this young man in the jacket for two years.

“Master, I was transferred back to Beijing at the end of last year and I’m now teaching at an agricultural university in Malianwa.”

I've wanted to visit you for a long time, but I've been too busy to come.

"How have you been these past few years, sir?" The young man bowed respectfully to Butcher Song.

Butcher Song quickly got up, took the young man's hand, and walked into the courtyard.

"Huh?..."

The waiting old men all voiced their questions.

After all, they really didn't remember this relative from the Song family.

Once inside the courtyard, Butcher Song asked in a low voice, "Little Dong, is your transfer to the school a good thing or a bad thing? Was it arranged by your old boss?"

This young man was none other than Xiao Dong, who had learned to crack eggs from Butcher Song back then. The old leader that Butcher Song mentioned was naturally He Yuzhu.

Butcher Song and He Yuzhu had always had a good personal relationship, but he never mentioned it in the courtyard.

He understood the character of the people in the compound well; some relationships, if broken, would only cause trouble for He Yuzhu. (End of Chapter)