Siheyuan (courtyard house): My name is Shazhu!

He called He Yushui over to hold the ladder for him, grabbed an extra-long broom, and began sweeping the snow off the roof.

Fortunately, He Yuzhu was strong enough to easily sweep the snow with one hand. In fact, he didn't sweep the snow, but rather shoveled it down to reduce the amount of snow on the roof.

The snow had just fallen, so shoveling it was relatively easy; all you needed was strength. After shoveling the front, I moved to the back of the house to continue shoveling another area.

Sweep the snow under the houses on both sides of the front and back of the house, and clean the snow in the yard tomorrow.

After sweeping the snow off both sides, I also swept the snow off He Yushui's roof. The room was small, so it was easy to clean.

"Brother, let's clean Aunt Tan's roof too. She's all alone and can't clean the snow off the roof," He Yushui said.

"Sure, we'll help Tan Guilan clear the snow from her roof," He Yuzhu said without refusing. He moved the ladder to the floor under her roof.

"Zhu Zi, thank you. Please be careful. It's okay if the roof collapses, but you absolutely cannot get hurt," Tan Guilan repeatedly urged.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Hold the ladder steady in the rain."

He Yuzhu had just climbed halfway up the ladder when, rumble—two sounds of the roof collapsing came from the front and back, one from the backyard and the other from—Jia Zhangshi's house.

It's unclear whose roof collapsed in the backyard, but the fact that Jia Zhangshi's roof collapsed is a relief, though it's unclear whether it's the front or the back. The snow is affecting He Yuzhu's visibility.

He Yuzhu first cleaned Tan Guilan's roof to prevent it from collapsing, and then cleaned the area in front of the roof.

The brother and sister left the courtyard house to sweep the rooftops behind the houses in the alley, which was a little more troublesome than going inside the courtyard house.

The snowfall was quite heavy. A few families went out to shovel snow off their roofs, but most others, lacking ladders and long brooms, used long sticks to scrape the snow off their roofs.

It had some effect, but not much; it was more of a consolation than anything else. Better than nothing.

While cleaning the roof, I heard someone in the backyard whose roof had collapsed. Liu Haizhong was cursing in the backyard, cursing God, and he was quite loud.

Why did the roof in Liu Haizhong's house also collapse? He Yuzhu didn't understand. He hadn't damaged their house. He stopped thinking about it and continued sweeping the roof.

Including part of Yi Zhonghai's roof, if his roof collapses again, it will affect Tan Guilan's roof.

Back at the courtyard house, Wu Laogen borrowed the ladder and broom to sweep his roof, fearing it would collapse and leave people freezing to death in the dead of winter.

In the front yard, I heard Jia Zhangshi cursing God again. She should have used that time to figure out where to stay for the night.

Make sure Wu Laogen returns the ladder and broom to you after he's finished using them. Don't lend them out randomly. What if something happens? Some people talk too much and end up blaming Wu Laogen or themselves.

The two siblings, upon returning to the central court, did not go home. Instead, they stood at their own doorway watching the commotion, wondering what curses Jia Zhangshi might utter and whether she might be slapped.

"Zhu Zi, thank you for cleaning the roof for me. Otherwise, it wouldn't have collapsed for long. I'm glad you're alright. The roof of Jia Zhangshi's house also collapsed."

In the backyard, Liu Haizhong's roof collapsed. Yi Zhonghai went to the deaf old lady's place and will probably stay there for the night.

"Why are all the side rooms collapsing? The houses in the front yard aren't as good as ours," Tan Guilan said.

"Cleaning the roof is a minor matter. Jia Zhangshi has been cursing for ten minutes already. Jia Dongxu isn't dead, and he doesn't even come out to stop his mother. Think about where you're going to stay tonight," He Yuzhu said with a smile.

As for the roofs of Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhangshi, the reason why they collapsed is probably because they smashed the roof tiles of their main houses.

He Yuzhu wouldn't care why Liu Haizhong's roof collapsed, much less reveal that he had damaged the roofs of the Yi and Jia families.

"Besides cursing, what else can Jia Zhangshi do? Jia Dongxu is also a good-for-nothing. After such a thing happened, he didn't even clean the roof. If there's more snow, the roof will continue to collapse."

"The collapsed area of ​​the roof is not large, so they can stay at home. But they are still at home now, which is very dangerous." Tan Guilan is older and experienced.

"Actually, our old houses are fine. The roofs don't have very heavy bricks and tiles, and there are pillars supporting them. Even if the roof collapses, a few tiles won't kill anyone."

The roof of the side room collapsed. I wonder if it's related to the room's large size and the lack of supporting pillars. "He Yuzhu just made up a reason."

At this moment, Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu came out of the room. Jia Dongxu was holding a ladder, and Qin Huairu was holding a broom.

He Yuzhu saw the broom and laughed. A two-meter-long broom was too short to sweep all the snow. The roof of the courtyard house was triangular, and the roof of the covered walkway was connected to the roof.

A two-meter-long broom can only sweep up a small portion of the snow; more than half of the snow on the roof remains unswept.

However—Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu were lucky; they had just left the room.

Two more sounds of roof collapse were heard, one from her house and the other from Yi Zhonghai's house.

Congratulations to both of them!

"Brother, their roof has collapsed again. This time it'll be a big one, but unfortunately no one's home." He Yushui, your idea is excellent.

"I don't know. Yi Zhonghai has already gone to the deaf old lady's house. He doesn't care whether the roof collapses or not, as long as he has a place to stay tonight."

Aunt Tan, go check on your room. I cleaned about a third of Yi Zhonghai's roof; it shouldn't affect your house. But that's not necessarily true; I don't know much about room layouts.

I'll go take a look.

"Let's go back inside. It's getting a bit cold outside."

In less than fifteen minutes, Wu Laogen returned the ladder and broom. "Zhu Zi, Yan Bugui wanted to borrow them, but I didn't lend them to him. That man is too stingy and calculating. Thank you, I'll go back now."

"Zhu Zi, Zhu Zi, open the door. Do you have a long broom at home? Can I borrow it?" It was Xu Damao.

"Come in, the door's unlocked."

"Zhu Zi, your roof is clean, do you have a long broom? Can I borrow it? Liu Haizhong and Yi Zhonghai, is it possible that the roof of Jia Zhangshi's house has collapsed?"

"The ladder and long broom are behind the door. When sweeping the roof, be careful to clear away the snow near the ladder first, and make sure the ladder is firmly held."

"I told my dad to be careful. I'm going to shovel the snow first, and I'll come back to talk to you later." Xu Damao grabbed a ladder and broom and hurried home.

In the middle court, Jia Zhangshi went from cursing to crying and cursing again, no longer worried that God would make her house collapse twice more.

The roof collapsed, letting in drafts. The three of them will be freezing and sick if they sleep at home tonight. How wonderful!

"Rain, when you encounter problems in the future, don't cry. Crying won't solve anything. Stay calm and think about how to solve the problem."

"Brother, I don't understand."

"You'll understand when you grow up." She was still young, so He Yuzhu didn't say much more.

"Brother, the roof of Jia Zhangshi's house has collapsed. Is it very cold inside the house?"

"Of course it's cold. The roof is drafty, and no matter how big the fire is, it won't keep you warm. It's better if there's a fire; you shouldn't freeze to death."

"Their family members must have all frozen to death; not a single one of them was a good person."

Comrade He Yushui, you've gone too far. I agree with your idea, but it's not good to say it out loud. You should feel in your heart that this is the right thing to do.

"Go out without saying a word, quietly wish them well, may the roof collapse and freeze them to death."

"Uh-huh."