Siheyuan, Shazhu: I have both parents in this life

Chapter 163 The Feeling of Home (Part Two)

He Yushui and Wang Siyu, the two girls who came home from school, also ran home by smelling the aroma, their noses sniffing like puppies all the way into the courtyard.

The reason they came back together was probably because Chen Lanxiang was worried. Wang Siyu was picked up by He Yushui, so she was a little slower than the other children.

"Sister Rainwater, what smells so good?"

"Braised pork, our own, charge!"

"Sister Rain, wait for me."

"Mom, what day is it today? Why are you making meat?" He Yushui shouted before even entering the door.

"Sister, sister, big brother is back." He Yuyao blurted out a little too quickly.

"what?"

"Sister, Big Brother is back. He's making braised pork." He Yuxin said at this moment.

He Yushui rushed to the kitchen and stared at the tall figure in disbelief. She wiped her eyes and then cried out, her voice trembling with tears, "Brother, you're finally back."

Then he rushed in and hugged He Yuzhu's lower back.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying? Let me go, I can't work like this."

He Yuzhu felt a small head rub against his back. It was early summer, and he was wearing thin clothes. He felt his back was a little damp and immediately felt annoyed. It turned out that this girl had used his clothes as a handkerchief.

"Brother, where have you been these past few years? Your sister has become so thin from hunger."

He Yuzhu turned around and glanced at him. He had indeed grown taller, quite a lot. His baby fat was gone, and he looked like a little stick.

"Are you hungry? You've just grown taller," He Yuzhu said irritably.

"I was just hungry."

"Do you dare say that to our mother?"

"I wouldn't dare." He Yushui was quite straightforward. She made a face at He Yuzhu and then tried to lift the lid of the stew pot.

"Snapped"

"Ouch, that hurts."

"Aren't you afraid of burning your hands?"

"But it smells so good!"

"Go, go, go set the table and set the table. It'll be ready soon."

He Yuzhu pushed He Yushui out of the kitchen and saw a little girl drooling as she stood with two boys.

"Big brother, when will the food be ready?" the little girl asked him.

"Siyu is hungry, it'll be ready soon," He Yuzhu said with a smile.

"Why are you treating me so badly?" He Yushui protested, since He Yuzhu hadn't even smiled at her earlier.

"Just look at you wiping your tears on my clothes, and maybe even your snot."

"Ugh, you're so annoying." He Yushui rushed over, but He Yuzhu grabbed her head and pressed it down, her arms flailing in the air but she couldn't reach him.

"He Yushui, do you have any manners at all?" Chen Lanxiang's voice came from the direction of the inner room. He Yushui's movements obviously stiffened, and He Yuzhu also removed his hand from pressing down on her head.

"Mom, I was just joking with my brother."

"Hmph, hurry up and set the table with your bowls and chopsticks."

"understood."

"We'll help too." The three younger ones, clearly afraid of Chen Lanxiang's anger, all ran over to help arrange the chairs.

Seeing this, He Yuzhu smiled knowingly, then turned and went back to the kitchen.

Soon the food was served. When the lid of the casserole was lifted, Chen Lanxiang could clearly tell that this was not a pound of meat. After working with the same cook for so many years, if she couldn't tell the difference, she would have lived in vain.

"Pillar, this meat..."

"Eat, eat." He Yuzhu changed the subject directly, first putting a piece of meat on the old lady's plate. The meat trembled on the chopsticks, and the children's eyes followed the chopsticks.

When the meat was placed in the old lady's bowl, the children looked at He Yuzhu to see who he would give his next bite to. Of course, it was Chen Lanxiang.

Then He Yuzhu stopped eating, and the others looked at He Yuzhu longingly before looking at the old lady, who was just smiling.

Then the younger children looked at Chen Lanxiang with a bit of grievance. Chen Lanxiang said irritably, "Look how hungry you are. Do you think we're missing you or something?"

"Alright, that's enough. Zhu Zi's meat is really delicious. Let's eat." The old lady's words were like a starting gun.

The little ones used their chopsticks incredibly fast, grabbing whatever they could and putting it in their mouths. The meat was fresh out of the pot and scalding hot, and the little ones snorted and groaned, but they couldn't bear to spit it out. Once it cooled down a bit, they immediately started chewing it heartily.

It was making sounds from its mouth.

"Delicious."

"It smells so good!"

"I want more!"

"Slow down, slow down, there's enough meat, enough meat," He Yuzhu said hurriedly, seeing how busy they were.

"Did you hear that? Your eldest brother said to slow down."

Chen Lanxiang had just cooled down the meat and given a small piece to He Yuyan, who kept smacking his lips.

Seeing how these people were eating, she spoke up again.

These words only worked for a short while. The children ate until they were almost out of their noses. The old lady ate two pieces, but when He Yuzhu tried to give her more, she refused, saying that it was hard for the elderly to digest too much meat. He Yuzhu knew that she wanted to leave more for the children.

He ate one piece himself, then went to eat other dishes.
As a result, the three pounds of meat were completely devoured by the four kids, leaving not even a drop of soup. He Yuzhu was genuinely surprised by their appetite.

The oldest of them is only 13, the others are all under 10, and there are two girls among them.

"Mom, how long has it been since we've had meat?"

"I ate it just two days ago."

"Brother, that's the lunchbox Dad brought back. There are only a few slices of meat in it, enough for one person to have about two slices, burp." He Yushui said, letting out a burp.

"You talk too much." Chen Lanxiang glared at her.

"Is there no other way to buy meat besides using ration coupons?"

“Yes, I’ll tell you later. If anyone’s going to buy it, it’s your dad who should buy it. You can’t go,” Chen Lanxiang said.

"Oh."

"You guys get up and digest your food. He Yushui, wash the dishes. Siyu, take your two younger brothers and clear the table."

"Okay." The children struggled to get off their chairs and started working; they were really too full.

"Zhu Zi, come in with me," Chen Lanxiang said again.

Once inside, Chen Lanxiang asked, "You didn't buy this meat with ration coupons, did you?"

"It was bought with a ticket."

"You even lied to your own mother. I'll only give you a meat ration coupon. How can you buy three pounds of meat?"

"Mom, don't ask anymore. Anyway, it wasn't stolen or robbed."

"They're cracking down really hard now. The neighborhood committee is constantly pulling us aside for a talk, telling us not to get caught and risk affecting our work."

"I know, nothing will happen."

"Just keep it to yourself. By the way, everyone in the front yard saw you carrying three pounds of meat when you came in."

"How could we? If they all saw it, it would cause trouble again. It's only one pound."

"That's good. There's hardly any meat these days. If you prepare so much meat, our family will finish it in one meal. If people start spreading rumors, I'll have to explain to the younger ones that each of them ate two pieces of meat." Chen Lanxiang said hurriedly as she left the inner room.

Then He Yuzhu heard Chen Lanxiang scolding him in the main room, while the old lady was hugging He Yuyan in the inner room and said with a smile, "Zhuzi, are you a little unaccustomed to it? There have been too many changes in the past few years. You'll get used to it."

"I'm fine. Actually, I know that our family is considered lucky. Other families have it much harder."

"Yes, we can occasionally have some meat at home, but many families have trouble even getting enough to eat. Never mind, let's just live our own lives."

"Ah."

After He Yuzhu returned to his room, He Yushui brought several children with her.

What are you doing here? Every time her brother comes back, he brings back nice things. Is she here to freeload?

When He Yuzhu showed her his luggage, He Yushui was disappointed; he had nothing.

He Yuzhu said, "Alright, seeing how you are, I'll make it up to you later."

"Brother, you said you'd keep your word. I want candy, canned food, chocolate..."

He Yushui rattled off a whole bunch of things.

"Alright, alright, why don't you just tell me to bring the supply and marketing cooperative back to you?" He Yuzhu interrupted directly.

"Hehe, it's not impossible."

"You really think highly of your brother."

"That's right, my brother is so amazing."

"Come on, I don't need your praise. What time do you guys start class? Shouldn't you be leaving?"

"Oh, I forgot, Siyu, let's go." With that, He Yushui grabbed Wang Siyu and left in a hurry.

"You two go back to the main room. Your older brother is tired and needs to rest," He Yuzhu said to He Yuxin and He Yuyao.

"Okay, then you rest, brother. We're going back now."

"Go."

Looking at his two younger brothers, He Yuzhu thought to himself, "These two boys are much better than He Yushui. They must have been raised by their mother to be strict. He Yushui has gone a bit astray."

When He Daqing returned in the evening, upon hearing that his son had come back, he put down what he was holding and ran to the east wing.

"How old are you? Still so impulsive," Chen Lanxiang said from behind.

“I haven’t seen my son for years. I don’t believe you’re any better than me now that you’ve just met him.” He Daqing said without turning his head.

"Zhu Zi, Zhu Zi!" He Daqing called out as he pushed open the door to the east wing.

"Dad, you're off work?" He Yuzhu rubbed his eyes. He had slept very soundly, the most restful sleep he'd had since starting school.

"I came over as soon as I heard you were back after work. Why don't you shave?" He Daqing said as he entered the inner room, turned on the light, and saw his son's unshaven face.

"I don't have time." He Yuzhu couldn't tell his father that they were short of water and had no tools.

Of course he has it himself, but can he use it?
"You didn't go to study, why do you look like you went off to suffer?"

"I didn't suffer much, just a bit busy." He was indeed busy; for the first two years, he was busy learning and memorizing things, and then he started pouring them out when he came back.

"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back. There's no place like home." He Daqing patted He Yuzhu's shoulder, his eyes a little red.

"Yes, nowhere is as good as home."

Are you still leaving?

"I guess he won't leave." He Yuzhu wasn't sure either; it was hard for someone like him to stay at home for long.

"As for work, are you going back to your old company?"

"I don't know, I'll ask in a couple of days."

"If all else fails, you can go work in a steel rolling mill. With your skills, you can do it anywhere."

"I can't make that estimate."

"Well, being too capable is a problem," He Daqing sighed.

"With great power comes great responsibility."

"Alright, now that you're back, take a few days to rest. Don't rush things with work; the family will take care of you." "Okay."

"Get up, it's time to get ready for dinner."

"Okay, Dad, you go back to the main room first, I'll wash up."

"No rush, I'll go cook first."

"understood."

During dinner, He Daqing asked He Yuzhu to call Xu Damao over.

When He Yuzhu arrived, the kid was cooking for himself. There was no meat, just some fried eggs, some stir-fried vegetables, and some steamed buns made from mixed flour.

When He Yuzhu saw that this kid was about the same height as him, as thin as a bamboo pole, and with that mustache, he didn't look like a good person at all.

While cooking, Xu Damao felt someone watching him from behind. When he turned around, he almost dropped the spatula into the pan.

"Zhu, Brother Zhu, you're back! When did you get back?"

"morning."

"Sit down, sit down, let me order another dish, and we'll have a couple of drinks together."

"No, your master told me to invite you to my house for drinks tonight."

"Then I'll bring the dishes over. Wait a minute, I have a ham here too, take that with you."

"No need, you can keep it for yourself. We'll just have something simple to eat and drink tonight."

“Then I’ll take a bottle of good wine, Xifeng, which I got from my father.”

"Okay, taking a bottle of wine is no problem."

As a result, Xu Damao still brought the ham with him when he went out, and He Yuzhu didn't say anything more.

When they arrived at Lao He's house, He Yuzhu was punched as soon as he entered the door. It was Wang Cuiping who did it. No one else in the house had ever punched He Yuzhu.

"So you actually know how to come back, kid?"

"Aunt Ping."

"You've lost weight; it seems you've suffered a lot these past few years."

"well enough."

Are you still leaving?

"I don't know, it depends on the arrangements from above."

"Have a good talk with Xiaoman when she gets back."

"Row."

When Xu Damao saw that the mother and daughter had started chatting, he put the wine and dishes on the table, took the ham and went to the kitchen to cut it himself.

At the dinner table, the children were focused on eating the ham, while He Yuzhu was asked the same questions that the old lady and Chen Lanxiang had asked him that morning.

Then came the drinking. He Daqing and Xu Damao's two bottles of liquor weren't enough, so He Daqing went to get another bottle of Fenjiu. During this time, He Yuzhu also picked up two cold dishes. The children had already finished eating and left the table, so He Yushui took them to play.

The old lady and Chen Lanxiang sat at the table, listening to the conversation. Little He Yuyan had already fallen asleep in Chen Lanxiang's arms.

Xu Damao thanked He Yuzhu countless times, saying that if He Yuzhu hadn't told him to learn the Russian language properly, he wouldn't have been promoted.

Xu Damao also flipped through many of the books He Yuzhu left at home. He had no choice but to flip through them; professional knowledge had to be found in professional books.

He Yuzhu said, "That's what you deserve. If you don't work hard, no one can help you."

“Brother Zhu, if you hadn’t scared me like that, I might have gone to the movies with my dad, and maybe that would have been for the rest of my life, am I right?”

"How old are you? You've only lived once." He Daqing gave Xu Damao a sharp rebuke.

“Master, Master, just look at my dad. He shows movies elsewhere, and he even made room for me to get this promotion. Am I right?”

"You've had too much to drink, Zhu Zi, take him home to sleep."

"I, I didn't drink much. I can still drink. I'll drink another bottle."

"Let's go, we'll drink another day."

"It's settled then, another day we'll have a drink just the two of us."

"OK, no problem."

After Xu Damao was brought back, the crowd dispersed, and Wang Cuiping had already gone home.

He Daqing was also helped into the inner room by Chen Lanxiang, and the old lady was sitting there and was a little sleepy.

"Madam, let me take you home."

"Okay, Madam is a little sleepy."

"Let me carry you."

"Row."

After taking the old lady back, He Yuzhu went into the main room and tidied up the dishes and chopsticks before Chen Lanxiang urged him to go back to his room to sleep.

After returning home, He Yuzhu lay on the kang (a heated brick bed) unable to sleep, having slept too much in the afternoon.

Bored, he summoned the long-unused panel to check it out, and he actually found a change.

[Host: He Yuzhu]

Age: 23 (Birthday: February 28, 1935)

[Height 188CM]

【Weight 80KG】

Physical Fitness: 30 (Maximum 30)

Skills: Bajiquan (Max Level), Liuheqiang (Max Level), Pistol Shooting (Advanced), Artillery (Advanced), Culinary Arts (Advanced - Sichuan Cuisine, Shandong Cuisine, Halal Cuisine), Monkey Tongbeiquan (Advanced), Cherry Blossom Language (Advanced), English (Advanced), Korean (Advanced), Russian Language (Advanced), Latin (Advanced), Cantonese (Advanced), Lockpicking (Advanced), Sniping (Advanced), Car Driving (Advanced), Motorcycle Driving (Advanced), Small Ship Driving (Advanced), Aircraft Driving (Advanced), Tank Driving (Advanced), Tracking and Counter-tracking (Advanced), Motor Vehicle Repair (Beginner), Photography (Advanced), Mechanical Manufacturing (Beginner), Civil Engineering (Beginner), *Physics (Intermediate), Computational Mathematics and Programming (Beginner)

[System Space: 8,000 cubic meters + 7,000 cubic meters of "Bear Data Acquisition Reward" (constant, space is indestructible and matter is immortal, cannot contain living beings), 5,000 square meters of ecological space, 1 acre of fishpond, 0.5 acre of livestock pen (annual contract reward), 0.5 acre of poultry pen (annual contract reward)]

[Items: Several]

[Check-in progress: Changed to annual check-in.]

Task: [None]

The reward from the Russian side was quite substantial, proving that only by doing great things can one reap good rewards. He Yuzhu smiled silently: "This can be considered making a fortune quietly."

He Yuzhu didn't find the use of Cantonese and Latin too strange, which suggests that his work will likely involve dealing with foreign countries in the future.

I tidied up the space and took some cornmeal, wheat flour, and rice from the grain storage area and put them aside separately.

He had inspected the cellar at home, and it was mostly empty. He figured the secret room wouldn't be much better. He didn't know what the situation would be like at his job, so he needed to leave some security for his family.

The He family isn't like the ones in TV dramas anymore. There are many more mouths to feed now. The old lady doesn't have any five-guarantee households anymore, and she has no income. Her ration coupons are only the minimum supply. She can save a little bit of the food rations from her food ration book, but it's not much.

He Yuzhu also plans to sell some soybeans, peanuts, and vegetables. His father should be able to handle it. As for the money and coupons, he can leave them at home.

As for the animal pens and poultry pens, they are no longer the two or three large and small animals they used to have. He Yuzhu has slaughtered countless batches of them. Raising them is as simple as it gets. Just plant whatever you want in the ground and you'll have enough to eat.

If it weren't for these guys, He Yuzhu would have stopped farming long ago, because he didn't have enough space to store the plants before, and he was afraid that he would run out of space if something unexpected happened.

It's really difficult to take out the canned goods and such from the space now. The war on the Korean Peninsula is over, and even if there were a lot of spoils, they would have been consumed long ago. Who can blame us when there are so many people in China?

Then there's a bunch of books. He Yuzhu plans to ask Principal Wang if they want them. He's not worried about that, because his family already has a lot of books about Mao Xiong. If he takes a few more, he can just say he didn't take them out before.

He Yuzhu categorized and organized the things in the space before going to sleep.

The next morning, He Yuzhu called his father to his east wing. The father and son whispered to each other for a while, and then He Daqing left humming an unknown tune.

He Yuzhu ate breakfast and went out. He was going to the subdistrict office to see Wang Hongxia. He was a little puzzled as to why Wang Hongxia was still working at the subdistrict office after all these years.

When he arrived at the neighborhood office, the old man guarding the gate stopped him immediately.

"Grandpa, I'm He Yuzhu!"

"He Yuzhu? Oh ho, it really is you, lad. You're back from Russia?" The old man looked him over carefully before realizing it was indeed him. The young man had grown a beard; he hadn't recognized him at first glance.

"You're back, sir."

"Is the Russian bear any good?"

"That's it."

"Home is still the best."

"That's right, Beijing is still the best."

What brings you here?

"I'm looking for Director Wang."

"Yes, yes, she'll be happy to see you. Go on your way."

"okay!"

People he met on the street would greet him, and some newcomers who didn't know him would ask his colleagues about him.

When they arrived at Wang Hongxia's office, He Yuzhu knocked on the door.

"Please come in!"

He Yuzhu pushed open the door, poked his head in, and didn't say a word.

Wang Hongxia was reading documents when she heard the door open but heard no footsteps. She looked up and saw He Yuzhu peeking out and making a funny face.

"Pillar, pillar?"

"Aunt Xia!"

"Come in quickly, what are you doing at the door? How old are you and you still can't behave properly? When did you get back?"

"I came back yesterday. I didn't want to bother you because you're so busy." He Yuzhu pushed open the door, went in, closed it behind him, walked to the table opposite Wang Hongxia, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

"You've gotten darker and thinner. You don't even bother to shave your beard. Is studying hard in the Russians?"

"well enough."

"Are you on vacation?"

"I've finished studying, I'm not going anymore."

"Not going? I heard a while ago that they all came back. Where were they assigned?"

"I do not know."

Wang Hongxia was a little confused. He wasn't some ignorant ordinary person, and He Yuzhu wasn't the only one from her jurisdiction who went out to study.

"You didn't do something wrong and get sent back, did you?"

"How could that be? Who am I? Aunt Xia, you can't wrong me," He Yuzhu said hurriedly.

"That's good, that's good. Are you here to restore the grain reserves?"

"No, I haven't been to my workplace yet, I just came to see you!"

"Your Grandpa Wang, Grandma Wang, and Uncle Zhao miss you very much. Come to my house."

"Okay, then I won't call and keep you from working any longer. I'm leaving now."

"Don't take anything from home. You've only just come back, so you probably don't even know that you need ration coupons to buy anything."

"Understood." He Yuzhu had already reached the door, waved, closed the door, and left.

　Thank you to readers Sangeng and Shu10096 for the generous donations! Thank you for your support!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)