Siheyuan, Shazhu: I have both parents in this life

Chapter 310 Returning to the old place
The next morning, He Yuzhu took He Yuyan to visit the Forbidden City. To be honest, this was the first time he had visited it since he transmigrated.

The two brothers arrived at Donghuamen early in the morning, where a long, winding queue had already formed at the ticket booth.

On the small blackboard at the ticket window, it was written neatly in chalk: Adult ticket: 10 cents; Treasure Gallery ticket: 30 cents extra.

When it was time to start work, the queue began to surge forward. After buying both types of tickets, the two brothers entered the Forbidden City. He Yuzhu even hired a tour guide at the entrance, otherwise the two brothers would have just come in and seen the sights.

As the tour guide began, "Good morning, everyone! Welcome to the Forbidden City in Beijing—the imperial palace that witnessed the rise and fall of 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties. I am your guide, Zhang Jianguo, and today I will take you on a journey through 600 years of history to experience the charm of this largest wooden architectural complex in the world."

The two brothers followed the tour guide from Donghua Gate to Meridian Gate, and then to the three main halls on the central axis: Hall of Supreme Harmony, Hall of Central Harmony, and Hall of Preserving Harmony.

Next are the Treasure Gallery, the Clock Gallery, the East Six Palaces, and the West Six Palaces.

By the time they finished their tour, it was noon. The tour guide asked if they wanted to visit the Imperial Garden, but He Yuzhu declined.

The tour guide led them out, this time through the Meridian Gate. After leaving the Forbidden City, He Yuzhu and He Yuyan had someone take a picture of them.

After receiving the receipt, He Yuzhu led He Yuyan towards the front gate. Once there, he treated his younger brother to a large bowl of tea for two cents. Because he was extremely thirsty, He Yuyan gulped down the whole bowl without tasting anything.

"Another bowl, please!" He Yuyan said, still feeling thirsty after finishing her drink.

"Alright, dinner's almost ready," He Yuzhu said with a smile.

“Okay!” He Yuyan said.

Then the two brothers went to eat at Baoduwang (a famous local restaurant), and then strolled around Qianmen. He Yuyan said, "Brother, there are so many people!"

“There are a lot of people from other places, and you can hear accents from all over the country!” He Yuzhu said.

Where shall we go this afternoon?

"Let's go, I'll take you back to your childhood," He Yuzhu said with a smile.
After leaving Qianmen Street, He Yuzhu hailed a rickshaw, and the two brothers went to Beihai. Upon arrival, He Yuyan said, "I remember this place."

After walking around for a while, He Yuzhu asked someone to take pictures again. He Yuyan said, "Brother, we should have brought our own camera."

"I brought it, but I didn't bring it out today. Didn't you see that photography is not allowed inside the Forbidden City?"

“How can those foreigners take pictures?” He Yuyan asked.

"Well, what can we do when the country is poor? We just want to attract more foreign investment." That's what he said, but he knew in his heart that the consequences would be serious. This is probably when the 'nephew' was being cultivated.

"Then next time we'll go using our Hong Kong identity."

"Is it necessary?" He Yuzhu asked with a smile.

I returned to the guesthouse before dinner, only to find Lao Fan already waiting there.

"Let's go, Zhu Zi, Lao Fang is already waiting in the courtyard."

"I've become a full-time chef."

"You should take the trouble; he can still eat now." Old Fan hesitated before continuing.

"Okay, let's walk."

"Don't rush, go check out of the room. Old Fang told you two to stay there. You'll be going home once you get to Beijing, staying in a guesthouse is nothing!"

"Alright!" He Yuzhu didn't refuse.

The two brothers checked out of their hotel and went to Lao Fang's courtyard. They hadn't prepared much for dinner, so it was simple, but they still drank some wine. Lao Fang asked He Yuzhu where he wanted to go tomorrow, and He Yuzhu said the Great Wall. Lao Fang immediately said, "You take us back tonight, and you can drive this car tomorrow."

"Are you sure I can drive this car with that license plate?" He Yuzhu asked.

"No way I can't drive it, my license plate is just a regular one."

"Okay then. By the way, is it legal for private individuals to own cars now?"

“Sure, what’s up? You even brought a car over. How about you replace mine with one too? This is one of the Jeeps you produced when you were the factory manager,” Old Fang said.

Why didn't you get one of the batches I left in Tianjin?

"You little brat, isn't that obvious? Why would I bother with that? You know the situation over there better than I do."

"That's true. By the way, can I still use my old driver's license or not?"

"You still have that thing with you?"

"Yes, it's better to be prepared."

“It works. I even gave you two letters of introduction from Beijing to save you trouble.”

"Thank you so much."

"Why are you being so polite with me?"

"Is there enough gas in the car?" He Yuzhu asked again.

"That's enough. I filled it up before I got back today. Otherwise, would I be asking you?"

"That's good."

"Alright, take us back now."

"okay."

The next day, He Yuzhu drove to Badaling. Of course, he took photos there and also gave them a mailing address, since the local photo studios didn't have time to come and pick them up.

When they got back, Lao Fang was already waiting, just like an old man waiting for his child to come home. The two brothers were busy again, and this time Lao Fan went to buy groceries.

For the next few days, the car was used by He Yuzhu. Lao Fang even gave He Yuzhu some gas coupons. He Yuzhu first went to Tianjin to pay respects at Xiaoman's mother's grave. He Yuzhu brought his tools with him and even repaired the grave.

Then they took He Yuyan back to their hometown. No car had ever been to the village before, and the car was surrounded as soon as it entered the village. Adults and children alike came to see what was going on.

The battalion commander, thinking some high-ranking official had arrived, insisted on taking the two brothers to the battalion headquarters. When He Yuzhu explained his purpose, the battalion commander exclaimed in surprise, "Ji Kai is still alive?"

“Yes, in the south,” He Yuzhu said.

"Where's my sister?" the captain asked.

He Yuzhu was a little confused. What sister? He didn't know.

"I'm your third maternal uncle!" the brigade leader exclaimed urgently.

"My grandmother died when we were fleeing famine."

"Oh, my poor sister!" The brigade leader wiped away a couple of tears.

Where are my maternal grandfather's ancestral graves?

“Come on, I’ll take you to see it. But it’s been neglected for so many years and it’s in a terrible state,” the captain said.

Afterwards, He Yuzhu and He Yuyan went to pay their respects at a grave. Then He Yuzhu took out some money and asked the brigade leader to hire people to repair the graves. Money makes things easier, and the whole brigade was mobilized. The graves were repaired in just one day.

When He Yuzhu and his group returned, many people came to inquire whether they could bring people into the city; the captain's door was almost trampled down.

He Yuzhu explained that the car belonged to the government, and he was just a driver who was passing through on a business trip and came back to check on things, which is why there were fewer people.

However, some were still unwilling to give up, but they were all scolded back by the brigade leader. But there were still some who couldn't be scolded away, and those were the brigade leader's children.

He Yuzhu didn't agree to anything. This wasn't Hong Kong. Here, he was just like the rest of the villagers, or even worse.

So once the grave was repaired, the two brothers drove off. They were just too "enthusiastic" to handle.

Before leaving, the brigade leader asked when Grandpa Chen would come back to visit, but He Yuzhu couldn't give an answer and just brushed it off.

On the way back, He Yuyan asked, "Brother, are all our relatives like this?"

"So what do you think?"

"Does Grandpa still want to come back?"

"People get old and become nostalgic. Besides, my grandparents were farmers too, just like everyone else in the village."

"Okay." He Yuyan still couldn't quite accept it.

We didn't stop much along the way and returned to Beijing. It turned out that Lao Fang was still in the courtyard, so it seems he comes to check on us every day.

"Where have you been these past few days?" Old Fang asked.

He Yuzhu gave a brief explanation, and Lao Fang said, "We should go and take a look."

"Yes, I'll do my part to help my family!" He Yuzhu said.

"By the way, have you sorted out your work relationship?"

"So fast."

"That's because they can't be found at the car factory anymore, otherwise it would have been over long ago."

"So many documents were lost?" He Yuzhu asked.

"It's more serious than you think. Some of the technical data is also missing. I don't know which bastard did it," Old Fang said angrily. He Yuzhu was speechless. He had taken the technical data, afraid that it would be lost, but he couldn't just take it out directly. He had to think of some other way to make up for it.

"It's good that it's been resolved, otherwise it would have caused a lot of trouble later," He Yuzhu said.

"By the way, Hongxia asked where you went. If you have time tomorrow, go to her house. It should be news about the matter you asked her to handle."

"it is good."

The next day, He Yuzhu took two roast ducks to the Wang family's house, where he was scolded by Wang Hongxia for wasting money. However, he couldn't help it because thrift was ingrained in his bones.

After the meal, Wang Hongxia had a private chat with He Yuzhu for a while.

The progress on Wang Hongxia's side is going more smoothly than expected.

Regarding the household registration issue, she consulted her former colleagues from the neighborhood committee and reviewed the old files.

The household registration records for He Yuzhu's family are indeed still valid; they were simply marked "missing" back then because they couldn't be found, which was quite common in those days. Wang
Hongxia, under the pretext of "implementing policies and restoring household registration," successfully restored the household registrations of He Yuzhu and He Yuyan, who were still registered in courtyard number 95. However, the head of household on the household registration booklet was changed to He Yuzhu, which was equivalent to making a new one.

However, both brothers listed themselves as unemployed in their occupation section.

He Yuzhu felt much more at ease when he received the new household registration booklet.

Without asking Wang Hongxia about the house, He Yuzhu said, "The houses are all occupied. The policies are still unclear, so there aren't many people buying or selling houses. We need to wait and see."

"Aunt Xia, wait a moment."

Where are you going?

"I'm going out to get something."

When He Yuzhu came back in, carrying the large backpack he had brought with him, he opened the backpack and started taking out money.

"Alright, alright, stop digging. What are you doing?" Wang Hongxia's eyelids twitched as she looked at the stacks of big black 10s.

"Aunt Xia, don't misunderstand, I'm not bribing you, this is money for buying a house."

"How can you use so much? A house only costs so much these days," Wang Hongxia said with a laugh, looking at the size of the bag.

“Aunt Xia, listen to me, this isn’t just the money to buy back No. 95 Courtyard. I also want to buy some houses. As for where to buy, you can decide later.”

"Why did you buy so many houses?" Wang Hongxia said irritably.

"I haven't decided yet, but if the policy loosens, you can buy a few more if you have the money. With so many children in the family, they'll need a place to live eventually," He Yuzhu subtly reminded them.

"Do you think houses will become like commodities in the future?" Wang Hongxia had worked in the street office for so many years, and her earliest job was in the military control committee, which was in charge of receiving and allocating houses. She understood immediately.

“Yes, this is the trend.” He Yuzhu nodded.

"How much money do you have here?" Wang Hongxia asked, pointing to the large backpack.

"Fifty thousand dollars."

"Oh my god!" Wang Hongxia covered her mouth. She and Lao Zhao had only saved a few thousand yuan in their entire lives, and that was even after their children had jobs.

“If it’s inconvenient to pay in cash, I’ll deposit it tomorrow and give you the principal then,” He Yuzhu said.

"You should deposit it quickly. You have so much money. What if you lose it? You're not going to carry it with you on the train, are you?"

"How could that be? I have a good relationship with the Bank of China in Hong Kong, and they also opened an account for us in mainland China. We withdrew these funds after we came to Beijing." He Yuzhu told a little lie. They were all corporate accounts, and it would be too troublesome for him to withdraw them. He had set them up when he left in 1966, and there was still plenty of room left.

Wang Hongxia opened the backpack and glanced inside: "This is the first time I've ever seen so much money. You're really bold to carry so much money on you."

"Then I'll go deposit it tomorrow, in several banks."

"That would be best. Since you trust your aunt, then your aunt will help you with it and will keep a clear record of every expense."

“If you don’t have enough money to buy your own house, feel free to use it,” He Yuzhu said.

“No need. Your Uncle Zhao and I still have some savings. Besides, children and grandchildren have their own lives to live. I can’t manage that far ahead,” Wang Hongxia said.

He Yuzhu gave a thumbs up: "You've thought this through perfectly!"

"Come on, I'm willing but unable to do anything about it. I should retire soon. Let them do what they want from now on," Wang Hongxia said with a smile.

"Once you and Uncle Zhao retire, apply to go to Hong Kong for a while. I'll treat you to a good time."

"We'll see when the time comes. It'll be difficult for Lao Zhao to get out."

He Yuzhu carried the large bag back exactly as it was, and the next day the two brothers opened separate banks and deposited a total of 100,000 yuan into ten savings accounts.

When I went to deposit money, the bank was overjoyed.

Then He Yuzhu took He Yuyan and hailed a tricycle to Nanluoguxiang. When they passed No. 95, He Yuzhu saw a skinny old man wearing glasses in the distance and muttered, "After all these years, he's still a door god!"

"Who is it?" He Yuyan asked.

"Do you still remember Teacher Yan from the front yard?"

"I vaguely remember, is that the one by the door?"

"Correct."

"Brother, shall we go in and take a look?"

"I'm not going to look at it anymore. It'll only cause me more trouble. I'll look at it when I can finally get it back and have some peace and quiet." He Yuzhu shook his head.

"Oh!"

As the tricycle passed the gate of Guangliang, Yan Bugui happened to look up and saw the two brothers on the vehicle. He couldn't believe it, took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and asked in confusion, "Am I seeing things? Who am I seeing?!"

Just then, a middle-aged woman came out of the door, looked at Yan Bugui with some disdain, and asked, "Dad, what did you see? What are you muttering to yourself about?"

"Ah, Yu Li, I think I saw a pillar?"

Which pillar?

"He Yuzhu lives in the Intermediate People's Court."

"Are you seeing things? Didn't that whole family disappear a long time ago?"

"I must be seeing things. A tricycle just passed by, and the person on it looked like him," Yan Bugui said, unsure of the situation.

"Alright, I'm going to get busy at the restaurant. You can continue guarding the gate." Yu Li walked away with a clatter.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Yu Li told Yan Jiecheng about it as a joke. Yan Jiecheng scoffed, "Whether that family is dead or alive is still up in the air!"

The next day, a rumor spread in courtyard number 95 that Yan Bugui had encountered a ghost, which almost made Yan Bugui so angry that he kicked his own leg.

What He Yuzhu and his brother didn't know was that they encountered someone on the road, because that person was sweeping the street, and it was none other than Banggeng from Old Jia's family.

The two brothers, who had been wandering around for almost ten days, had delivered their savings book to Wang Hongxia and even took He Yuyan to see the university her sister-in-law had attended.

His father's former workplace, as well as He Yuzhu and He Yushui's alma mater, etc.

That evening, He Yuzhu received a phone call from Zhao Zhenhua.

"Brother Zhu, did I disturb you?" Zhao Zhenhua's voice sounded somewhat excited.

"No, is something the matter?" He Yuzhu asked.

"Here's the thing, I've made a preliminary decision. We very much hope to cooperate with the Yellow River Group on the introduction of off-road vehicle technology. We've drafted a preliminary framework for cooperation; please take a look."

He Yuzhu smiled and said, "How about this, I'm free tomorrow morning, let's go to your mother's little courtyard, it's quiet there. Just you come alone, let's chat first."

"Okay, okay! No problem! I'll be there on time at nine o'clock tomorrow morning!" Zhao Zhenhua quickly agreed.

The next morning, Zhao Zhenhua arrived at the courtyard on time with a thick stack of documents.

Then the two went into the study. As for He Yuyan, they had become quite familiar with each other over the past few days. He had no interest in doing business, so he went out to play by himself, saying he wanted to go sightseeing.

"Brother Zhu, this is our preliminary letter of intent. Our factory attaches great importance to introducing your company's off-road vehicle technology. We believe this is an excellent opportunity to rapidly improve our product level and manufacturing capabilities."

He Yuzhu took the document but didn't immediately flip through it. Instead, he smiled and said, "Don't rush, Zhenhua. Cooperation is a two-way street. Tell me what you value most about us, and how you plan to cooperate?"

Zhao Zhenhua took a deep breath, clearly prepared: "Technology! Mainly advanced engine technology, chassis technology, and vehicle assembly processes. Initially, we hope to use imported parts for assembly, and then we will gradually digest the technology and achieve localization."

He Yuzhu nodded, then opened the letter of intent, his eyes quickly scanning the key clauses.

It covers various aspects such as the scope of technology transfer, the duration of cooperation, parts procurement, technical training, and foreign exchange balancing. The framework is well-structured, but many details are still rough, and the conditions are more favorable to their factory.

After quickly glancing through the document, He Yuzhu put it down and said calmly, "The idea is good, but there are a few things that need to be clarified. First, the payment method for the technology usage fee: simply taking a cut based on vehicle production volume isn't enough; there needs to be an initial entry fee. Second, the localization process must have a clear and rigid timetable, since my technical staff can't always be with you. Third, regarding joint research and development, let's leave that aside for now. We can discuss that again once you've digested the initial technology."

Zhao Zhenhua quickly grabbed a pen to take notes, but his brow remained furrowed.

He Yuzhu has essentially raised the bar for cooperation, but he really can't get a cooperation model like the one with Liuzhou Tractor Factory. He just hopes that He Yuzhu can be considerate of their past relationship and cut him a little easier.

(End of this chapter)