Siheyuan, Shazhu: I have both parents in this life

Chapter 162 The Feeling of Home (Part 1)

“Come on, let me help you home.” He Yuzhu stepped forward to support the old lady.

When He Yuzhu arrived at the Intermediate People's Court, he saw Li Guihua leading a three- or four-year-old child around the courtyard, her face full of smiles.

Upon seeing the old lady, Li Guihua greeted her timidly, "Hello, ma'am!"

"Okay." The old lady's response was lukewarm.

When Li Guihua saw He Yuzhu, she actually greeted him: "Zhuzi, you're back?"

He Yuzhu was slightly taken aback. Had this person changed so much?
However, she still replied, "Hello, Aunt Li."

"Alright, alright, Tiger Cub, why aren't you calling for help?"

"Hello, ma'am, uncle."

"That's your older brother. Say hello to him."

"Brother, hello brother!" The child called Tiger Cub was clearly confused; this was obviously his uncle.

"Okay, Tiger Cub, be good." The old lady didn't sternly address the child.

"Hello, Tiger Cub."

It's not the child's fault; He Yuzhu has a scruffy beard now and looks quite old.

"Zhu Zi just got back, right? Go home quickly, I won't keep you any longer."

"Okay." This time it was He Yuzhu who replied.

"Strange, isn't it? What, do you feel like you don't recognize me? Hehe, this person is like a different person after having a child. Before, she hid at home all day, but now she takes the child out for walks every day." The old lady said in a low voice.

"It's a little hard to get used to," He Yu said with a smile.

You'll get used to it eventually!

Just then, He Yuzhu heard the sound of a baby crying coming from his own house, and he stopped in his tracks.

"Hurry up, hurry up, this is your little brother Yu Yan. This time it's not that your father wanted to have another child, it's that your mother insisted on having that one of the five elements, saying that there was one missing before, so you always run into trouble."

"Okay." He Yuzhu's throat was a little dry. What did this have to do with the child? He could stay home if he wanted, but he was unwilling to accept it.

Possessing a great treasure, yet living the life of a wealthy old man at home, spending his days in petty squabbles and trivialities, is a bit too stifling.

Upon entering the house, one could see Chen Lanxiang feeding her baby with a bottle; this set of things was truly a family heirloom.

"Zhu Zi, why have you been gone for so long?"

"It has nothing to do with Zhu Zi. I'm disciplining him in my room, so of course he has to listen, right?"

"Yes, yes, this child deserves to be taught a lesson."

“Zhu Zi, this is your little brother. He was born last June and is almost a year old. His name is Yu Yan.”

"Don't look at your mother like that. I won't be having any more children. I can't have any more." Chen Lanxiang said when she saw He Yuzhu staring blankly.

"Oh, oh!"

"Why is this child acting like he's gone mad? Did something happen to you on this business trip?"

"No, I just went to school, and then came back to help someone with some writing, and that's how I got back."

"What kind of degree did you study? Are you even more impressive than college students?"

"Mom, you need to be a graduate student to take the exam."

"I never expected that after generations of cooks in the He family, you would turn out to be a scholar. Your father always brags about you to everyone he meets."

"what?"

“You know your father’s temperament. By the way, he’s an official now,” the old lady said.

"What official position?"

"The cafeteria manager oversees one or two hundred people."

"When did this happen? Why didn't you tell me in your letter?"

"We need an address to write it down for you, right? It was from the latter half of the year before last!"

"Oh, oh." He Yuzhu was at the research institute at the time, so he couldn't receive the letter.

"And Xiaoman is also in college now."

"which university?"

"The University of Beijing, what economics? That name is too long for an old lady like me to remember."

“The old lady is a political economist,” Chen Lanxiang added.

"She chose this major herself?" He Yuzhu asked in surprise.

"No, that's not it. When I was choosing my major, your Uncle Zhao helped me with the advice. By the way, Uncle Zhao is no longer in Dongcheng District. He went to work as the director of the Municipal Administration for Industry and Commerce."

"No wonder," He Yuzhu muttered.

"What?" the old lady and Chen Lanxiang exclaimed in unison.

"No wonder, Xiaoman chose this major because she didn't know any better."

"Why do you say that, child? How can you not understand how others can become officials?"

“He studied mechanical engineering,” He Yuzhu said.

"What's the difference? They're both cultured people."

"I can't explain this in just a few words," He Yuzhu said, shaking his head.

"Then I won't say. By the way, Yu Shui has changed a lot. You probably wouldn't even recognize her."

"What kind of Dafa?"

"She's lost weight. She can eat whatever she wants but doesn't gain weight. I haven't seen her eat less in a single day. I just don't know where all the food goes. The more she eats, the thinner she gets," the old lady said.

"You've grown taller?" He Yuzhu asked.

"Yeah, you're almost as old as your mother."

How's your studying?

"It's alright, above average, but a bit wild."

"wild?"

"I never see anyone once the holidays start. They say they're going out with classmates, but I don't know what they're doing."

"Oh, that's normal for this age. I was the same back then."

"She's a girl, how can you treat her the same way? When she comes back, you can talk to her. She's very argumentative and stubborn now. If you hit her, she'll run away and you won't be able to catch her!"

"Okay." He Yuzhu thought to himself, "This girl looks quite different with and without a mother!"

"And Da Mao."

"What happened to Da Mao?"

"Back to work, at the steel rolling mill."

"Projectionist?"

"Initially, he was a propaganda officer. It seems that people from the Russian side came to train the factory's engineers and workers on new equipment, and he helped as a translator. Then the factory director took a liking to him and he was promoted to a position in lieu of a managerial post."

"He got promoted, but he's only been working for a short time."

"It's been almost three years, which isn't a short time."

"Didn't you take the college entrance exam?"

"I took the exam, but I didn't pass."

"Oh."

"By the way, your Uncle Xu moved out of the backyard, and now Da Mao lives there by himself."

"Where did you go?"

"Still in Dongcheng. Your Uncle Xu went to the movie theater; he got the room there."

"Did Da Mao transfer the house in the back?"

"Yes, otherwise they wouldn't be able to allocate him a house over there!"

"This kid has everything now."

"You're talking as if you haven't done anything. Tell me, what have you been doing these past few years? Don't tell us what you can't say. You've made mistakes, so at least you have some awareness of that. After all, I'm a coordinator from the neighborhood committee."

"It's about studying, then doing internships at other companies, and then writing reports when you come back."

"Gone?"

"Gone."

"So, what are your work arrangements after you come back?"

"I don't know yet. I'll take a couple of days off and go to my workplace to ask."

"What rest? Keep working hard so you don't lose it all."

"mother"

"Lanxiang, Zhuzi finally came back, why don't you rest at home for a couple of days? Zhuzi, don't listen to your mother. By the way, Madam asked you, why are you wearing your military uniform again? Did you go back to the army?"

"No, the place I went to before was rather special, so I wore a military uniform."

"Oh, I see. I thought you went back to the army."

"Madam, the fighting on the peninsula is over, and the troops have all withdrawn." "I know, but the military is still not as safe as the local area, is it?"

"Well, I didn't go back to the unit." He Yuzhu told a small lie. The unit in the desert was also a military unit, just a little different.

"That's good, that's good. You've gotten so thin. What do you want to eat for lunch? I'll have your mom make it for you."

"Let me do it. I haven't used my skills in a long time."

"By the way, speaking of your cooking skills, Da Mao mentioned it before. He said that there was a guy named Mi Qi from the Russian side who came to our area and even looked for you. When we were eating in the canteen, he said that your dad's cooking skills were not as good as yours. Your dad was really angry at the time. Later, when this Mi Qi found out that it was your dad, his attitude completely changed. He would always drag your dad to drink. Your dad was really drunk for a while. When he came back, he said that the Russians could drink, they could drink so much."

"Then one time, that Qi let it slip, and your father found out that you were the one who caused all this trouble. You got them all drunk by the Russians, and they're going to take it out on your father. Just wait for him to come back and scold you," the old lady said to He Yuzhu with a smile.

"Mihajlovic, that old bastard's come to China?"

“He went back early, and he even asked his dad to get him a lot of cured meat and other things to take back with him, as well as seasonings for braising meat.”

"Oh, and they also asked you to write to them or make a phone call after you come back."

"Okay, I understand." He Yuzhu thought to himself, "Whether we'll ever see each other again is another matter. If I really call him, that old guy will probably be in trouble. I'd better not."

"Go visit your Aunt Xia tomorrow or the day after. She's been incredibly kind to our family these past few years."

"I understand, Mother. I'll go back and wash up and change my clothes."

"Go."

When He Yuzhu returned to his east wing with his luggage, the old lady in the main room said, "Lanxiang, Zhuzi is less talkative now."

"Yes, the child is growing up now, and has probably encountered a lot of things in the past two years."

"You'd better hurry up and push him and Xiaoman to get married."

"You told him?"

"I mentioned it briefly; he talked about free love."

"Let him do what he wants. If he tries anything funny, I'll teach him a lesson."

Do you think Zhu Zi might be outside?

"No way, look at the way he made it. At first glance, you'd think he was thirty. Who would want him?"

"That's true, but you shouldn't say that in front of the children."

"I know."

After washing up and changing his clothes, He Yuzhu went to the kitchen and cellar to check. Finding nothing there, he told Chen Lanxiang that he was going out to buy some meat.

Chen Lanxiang asked, "Do you have a ticket?"

He Yuzhu was taken aback. He had just returned and gone to the desert, and hadn't used that thing along the way, so he had forgotten about it.

"What ticket?"

"Meat coupons, you don't know, now you need coupons to buy everything, cigarette coupons, alcohol coupons, sugar coupons, cloth coupons, oil coupons, meat coupons."

"Huh?" He Yuzhu asked, feigning surprise.

"It's a good thing you got a bicycle and a watch for the family a few years ago. Now you need tickets for them, and they're hard to come by. You can't buy them even if you have the money."

"That's because my eldest grandson was farsighted. We have two bicycles, which makes countless people envious. Not to mention watches, when Zhuzi left, he left one for each of us. Not to mention others, Damao was using both a bicycle and a watch as soon as he started working. We also have a house. Now all we're missing is a sewing machine and a radio."

Upon hearing this, He Yuzhu realized that this wasn't a compliment at all; it was a direct challenge. What's the point of having all three (turns, turns, and a radio)? Get married!

“He wouldn’t know how to use the sewing machine even if I gave it to him,” He Yuzhu said, quickly striking a cymbal.

"That's for him, isn't it? You marry a wife and bring her home for his wife to use."

"Oh."

"Oh what? Are you really that clueless, or are you just pretending?"

"I understand, I understand," He Yuzhu replied hastily.

"Here are your meat coupons. You probably won't be able to buy any fatty meat now, so buy whatever you think is best." Chen Lanxiang rummaged through the box and took out a few coupons for He Yuzhu.

He Yuzhu took a look and saw that each piece weighed two liang (a unit of weight), and there were five pieces. All of this added up to only one jin (a unit of weight) of meat. He wondered how long this meat had been saved up.

"Only one pound?"

"Don't think it's too little. This isn't like the first few years when we could buy whatever we wanted with our money. The big fat pig you brought back for the New Year that year, if the whole yard combined our savings, we could buy a pig's head and hind legs in a year."

"So exaggerated?"

"Now everything is rationed, everyone gets a limited amount of grain. By the way, you also need to go to the neighborhood office to get your grain ration book, otherwise you won't get any grain."

"It probably can't be done now. We don't even know where my organizational affiliation is. Let's wait a few days. Will my family even run out of food rations?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? Even if I eat less, I can't let my grandson go hungry." The old lady gently tapped him with her cane.

"Is it just the few of us eating lunch?"

“Yushui and Siyu are coming back too, Xiaoman will only be back on the weekend.”

"Okay, I'll go see if I can buy meat. We can't possibly need ration coupons for vegetables, can we?"

"No need for that, but there probably won't be any fresh ones left by now."

"Oh right, where's my bicycle?"

"Let Xiaoman ride it; that girl's school is far away."

"Oh, I'll walk there then. Let's go."

He Yuzhu said this and walked towards the door.

"Wait, did you bring any money?"

He Yuzhu turned around and took the money out of his pocket. Chen Lanxiang waved to him only after confirming that it was the new version.

Before He Yuzhu went abroad, he gave all his money to his family. He vaguely remembered that the bank was about to replace the old bills with new ones.

He used Russian money while he was abroad, and the money he received after returning was arranged by the organization. This money was given to him by the desert before he came back, as a kind of subsidy, and it also covered his travel expenses; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to return.

When He Yuzhu went out the gate, he didn't run into Yan Laokou, probably because he was still angry.

Jia Zhangshi also took the child home. Qin Huairu was washing clothes at the door. Perhaps because the middle courtyard and the front courtyard were not so harmonious now, He Yuzhu noticed that a water tap had also been installed in the front courtyard.

Qin Huairu was clearly taken aback when she saw He Yuzhu, but then continued washing the clothes as if nothing had happened, only glancing at He Yuzhu again as he left through the hanging flower gate.

She and He Yuzhu hadn't really spoken much to begin with, and now it was even less likely they'd strike up a conversation, since Jia Zhangshi was watching from the window.

When He Yuzhu went to the market, he found that there was no lean meat, let alone fatty meat; all that was left were bones, and the vegetables were all wilted.

"Why bother buying this?" He Yuzhu turned around and headed home. On the way, in a deserted spot, he took out a pound of meat, a good quality streaky pork with skin, with alternating layers of fat and lean meat, and tied it with a rope.

Then I took out two more bundles of seasonal vegetables and carried them home.

As expected, Yan Bugui was on guard duty again when they arrived at the door. Yan Bugui's eyes were glued to the meat in his hand.

"Zhu Zi, where did you buy this meat? It must weigh at least a pound. This meat is really good."

“Teacher Yan, don’t be so fixated on this. If you want meat, just buy it yourself. You’re not short of money.”

After speaking, He Yuzhu bypassed Yan Bugui and walked directly inside.

I, Yan Bugui, almost choked to death. This isn't about money; it's about tickets.

He was the only one in his family who worked, and his family's food rations were significantly reduced. He also had two young boys who were not yet grown up, so there wasn't enough food for them. They had coupons, but he exchanged them all for food.

His family only buys meat during holidays and festivals, and they only buy two ounces at a time. They've never bought such a large piece before.

He Yuzhu's words were so hurtful that he clutched his heart for a long time before finally leaving without looking at the door and going home.

Qin Huairu, who was doing the laundry, was the same. Her eyes followed the piece of meat in He Yuzhu's hand, and she swallowed hard. She didn't know how long it had been since she had eaten meat. When the family bought meat, it was usually divided among Jia Zhangshi, Jia Dongxu, and Jia Geng. She and Xiao Dang were lucky to get a little bit of soup.

He Yuzhu called out as he arrived at his doorstep, "I'm home!"

"You bought it?"

"I bought it. Braised pork for lunch."

"You actually managed to buy it! You're so lucky!" Chen Lanxiang exclaimed.

"Okay, then your wife and I are looking forward to your braised pork for lunch. We haven't had it in a long time."

"it is good."

He Yuzhu didn't go into the inner room, but went straight to the kitchen to start preparing.

"Big brother, big brother, is your braised pork as good as Dad's?" He Yuxin's little head peeked into the kitchen from the kitchen door.

"Dad's cooking is so delicious, I haven't had it in ages." He Yuyao peeked into the kitchen from the other side.

"You'll see when I've finished. Go have fun."

“We want to watch from here,” the two children said in unison.

"Okay, let's watch it then."

He Yuzhu was relieved that he had taken out an extra piece of meat, so now there was more than three pounds of meat. Otherwise, the whole family would have had to eat one pound of meat per person.

As soon as He Yuzhu started cooking, the two boys at the door began drooling incessantly. It smelled so good.

He Yuzhu made it right on time; the meat was almost cooked by noon.

The aroma wafted out of the yard. These days, people are so sensitive to meat that kids coming home from school run straight home at the first sign of it, hoping it's their family cooking meat.

When they got back and realized they hadn't cooked any meat, they were bound to throw a tantrum. In every family, the kids throw tantrums, and the adults give them a beating.

The Jia family was even worse. The stick made Xiao Dang cry and howl. Qin Huairu wanted to beat him, but Jia Zhangshi only protected her grandson, and Qin Huairu couldn't bear to hit Xiao Dang.

(End of this chapter)