1990s: Spring Water Family

Chapter 6 No. 9 Donghua Street Courtyard
Lin Xiyu's biological father was a soldier who participated in the Sino-Vietnamese War and sacrificed his life when she was 8 years old.

The mother remarried and had another son.

Remarried families often have many problems. The stepfather and his ex-wife have a daughter who is one year older than Lin Xiyu.

The ex-wife's daughter disliked the mother and son. Taking advantage of her father's affection, she often provoked and insulted them. The mother was worried that she would be bullied by the father and daughter, so she left her at her maternal grandmother's house.

Lin Xiyu grew up with her maternal grandmother.

My maternal grandmother had two daughters and one son.

After their eldest daughter got married, they were allocated a house in the railway dormitory, and the family moved out of the courtyard house.

The second daughter, who is Lin Xiyu's mother, lived in her husband's house after her remarriage. She would bring her youngest son home once a week to visit her daughter and elderly mother.

Now, living with the old lady in the courtyard house are Lin Xiyu, her son, and her daughter-in-law.

Lin Xiyu's uncle and aunt were both laid-off workers from the No. 14 Plastics Factory.

After my uncle was laid off, he worked at a privately owned hotel, delivering goods and vegetables on an electric tricycle.

My aunt rented a public phone booth and sold newspapers, magazines, and cigarettes on the side to earn a little extra money to supplement the family income.

The couple had a very good relationship and lived happily ever after. Their only concern was that they had no children after many years of marriage.

Because of this, my aunt drank a lot of traditional Chinese medicine, listened to a lot of gossip, and had many arguments with her neighbors.

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No. 9 Donghua Street is not home to just one family, but rather four families living together.

The landlord's family name is Huang. After Mrs. Huang passed away, Mr. Huang lived alone in the best location in the courtyard, in three rooms facing south.

Lin Xiyu's maternal grandmother's house was directly opposite Grandpa Huang's house. It was also a three-room house with the door and windows facing north. The south side was the courtyard wall and it was adjacent to a small alley.

The family living on the east side of the courtyard is surnamed Wang. Grandpa Wang knows how to make noodles, and with Grandpa Huang's permission, he converted his two rooms into a noodle workshop.

The elderly couple, their son and daughter-in-law, and their grandson—five people in total—were too cramped to fit in the remaining room, so they expanded the kitchen and converted it into a small bedroom.

Since his own kitchen was gone, he had to borrow Grandpa Huang's kitchen to cook.

We cooked three meals a day, and also prepared meals for Grandpa Huang.

Grandpa Huang is 82 years old and has difficulty walking. His son is not around, but he is well taken care of by Grandpa Wang and his family, so he lives a comfortable life.

The family living on the west side of the courtyard is surnamed Zhang. After the elderly couple passed away, their son and daughter still live here.

The room on the west side is the smallest.

Because Grandpa Huang planted two pomegranate trees and a grape trellis outside the window of his west room, which took up nearly two-thirds of the area.

Therefore, there are only two rooms on the west side, one of which has a window facing east and is slightly larger.

It was a small room in the northwest corner of the courtyard, connected to Lin Xiyu's maternal grandmother's house. The window faced north.

Zhang Dafeng's older brother, Zhang Dashan, was an honest and simple man, eight years older than her. Like her uncle and aunt, he was also a laid-off worker from the No. 8 Plastics Factory.

After being laid off, he did odd jobs everywhere. His wife was unemployed, and the couple had a daughter. They did not live a comfortable life.

Zhang Dafeng was different. She was a good student, beautiful, and got into a vocational school. After graduation, she was assigned to work at a bank with a permanent position.

Because of this, she became a bit arrogant and picky when looking for a partner. She finally found someone she liked at the age of 28. He was 6 years older than her and worked in the provincial party committee. He was said to be a section chief.

After getting married, she could live in the provincial government compound. Feeling that her status was different, she became even more arrogant, looking down on her neighbors in the alley.

(End of this chapter)