1979: Reopening Wenhao Road from the Village

Originally, the courtyard houses were mostly inhabited by single households, but now they have become "large tenements" where multiple households live together.

The simple Ruyi Gate, its vermilion lacquer long since faded, reveals the original color of the wood. Faded remnants of Spring Festival couplets also remain on the gate.

The narrow doorway was dimly lit, and mailboxes for each household were nailed to the walls; they were actually just simple wooden boxes or cloth bags. Homemade curtains hung in the windowpanes of the gatehouse.

An elderly woman with silver hair was sitting in the doorway.

"Grandma Yu."

Chen Weidong called out to the old man, who turned out to be a resident of the gatehouse.

"Who are you?"

Grandma Yu looked up when she heard the voice, but her eyesight was poor. She stared at Chen Weidong for a while before slowly saying, "You're from the Guangde family, aren't you?"

"Grandma Yu, you have a good memory. I'm Weidong from Guangde. Grandma Yu, please have a seat. I'll go home now."

Chen Weidong nodded and turned to walk into the courtyard.

"Wei Dong is back!?"

Just then, Liu Juan, a resident of the back house who heard the noise, opened the door and peeked out. When she saw Chen Weidong, she said with some surprise.

"Yes, I just got back. Where's Brother Wang Wu?"

Wang Wu is Liu Juan's husband, about ten years older than Chen Weidong. They have two children and live in the back house.

The house was low and poorly lit, making it stuffy in summer and cold in winter. It was the last house to move into the courtyard.

"He just left a little while ago; he went to work."

"Well then, sister-in-law, you go ahead with your work. I'll head home now."

The front yard space was almost entirely devoured by "small sheds." These simple buildings, constructed from old bricks, planks, and tarpaulin, served various functions.

There are coal sheds for storing honeycomb briquettes and firewood, kitchens, and storage rooms. Many families do not have separate kitchens; they build a small shed in front of their doors as a kitchen, just big enough for one person to turn around, with an iron pot and a steamer on the stove.

Only a narrow, winding "passage" remains for people to walk through.

As Chen Weidong walked along the narrow passage, he thought of his childhood. Back then, there weren't so many people in the courtyard, only three or four households. He used to run around in the courtyard and alley every day.

Liu Juan watched Chen Weidong's retreating figure, and without even putting on her coat, she ran to a neighbor's house.

"Did you know? Wei Dong is back."

"Wei Dong!? You mean that scoundrel, Old Chen?"

Liu Juan nodded. "Yes, it's him. I saw him come in just now. He's gotten much darker. I almost didn't recognize him."

"Just him? I heard from Aunt Chen that he's already married in the countryside."

"I only saw him all by himself."

"Did they send them back?"

"Not necessarily. It's not like it's the turn of the educated youth to return to their hometowns recently."

"I need to go back and settle my son down, make sure he stays away from that guy."

"Yes, yes, we mustn't get close to him, or he'll go astray in a couple of days."

……

Chen Weidong arrived at the main room, pushed open the door, and went inside. Inside lay an elderly woman in her sixties, his grandmother, Li Guizhi.

"grandmother."

Hearing the voice, Grandma Chen looked back and immediately said excitedly, "Weidong, when did you get back? Come here quickly and let Grandma see you."

Chen Weidong put down his package and sat down next to his grandmother.

"You've gotten darker and thinner. Have you eaten? Grandma will make you some noodles."

As she spoke, Old Mrs. Chen was about to get off the kang (a heated brick bed).

"No need, Grandma. I just had lunch and I'm not very hungry. Where's Grandpa?"

"Have you eaten? Where did you eat? Your grandpa went out for a walk."

As she spoke, Old Mrs. Chen got off the kang (a heated brick bed), went to the wardrobe, took out a small bag from it, and handed it to Chen Weidong.

"I specially hid this for the New Year. Keep it for yourself, but remember to hide it well so your mother and the others don't find it."

When Chen Weidong opened it, he found melon seeds, peanuts, hard candy, and even a few pieces of peach shortbread. A warm feeling welled up in his heart.

Grandma Chen was always closest to him since he was a child, probably because he was the youngest grandson in the family, so she was especially fond of him. From childhood to adulthood, whenever there was something delicious or fun, Grandma Chen would always let him eat first, and only then would his older brother and younger sister get their turn.

This made the younger sister jealous several times, but it still didn't work, since it was something that Old Lady Chen had personally prayed for at the Guanyin Temple outside Guang'anmen.

After giving birth to her eldest son, Chen's mother couldn't conceive again, which worried her greatly. After all, having many children is considered a blessing, and she herself had panicked whenever she had a minor ailment after giving birth to a son. Having only one grandson felt too lonely, so she went to the Guanyin Temple to pray.

Unexpectedly, not long after, Chen's mother became pregnant with Chen Weidong. This made Old Mrs. Chen feel that Chen Weidong was someone she had sincerely prayed for, so she showed him a lot of favoritism.

It was precisely because of the doting of Old Man Chen and Old Woman Chen that Chen Weidong developed his idle and carefree personality in his previous life, never having any perseverance in anything he did, and just getting by.

"tasty!"

Chen Weidong picked up a peach shortbread, took a bite, and said with a smile.

Grandma Chen immediately broke into a smile, and even the wrinkles on her face smoothed out considerably.

Chen Weidong has been good at sweet-talking and charming since he was a child, which is why Old Man Chen and Old Lady Chen favor him.

Unfortunately, he was ignorant in his previous life, causing them a lot of worry. Just after he turned seventy, the two of them passed away one after the other.

Chen Weidong admired Old Man Chen and Old Woman Chen from the bottom of his heart. The two of them had come to Yanjing from famine years ago. At that time, it was commendable that they were able to come all the way from Northeast China to Yanjing.

Afterwards, thanks to his hardworking and persevering character, Old Man Chen followed a master barber and became a barber himself, gradually accumulating this family business.

Although they live in the same courtyard as Liu Juan and Wang Wu, the main house, east and west wing rooms, backyard, and rear building that the Chen family currently lives in were all bought by Old Man Chen. He is the actual landlord.

At first, Old Man Chen was also a tenant. Later, he saved up some spare money and bought the east wing from the landlord at the time. Then he bought the west wing, and finally bought the main house when his parents got married.

Later, due to special circumstances, Old Man Chen dared not continue buying, which is why he didn't buy the front yard. Otherwise, the Chen family would have had a detached house.

In the hearts of Old Man Chen and Old Woman Chen, there has always been a wish: to buy the entire courtyard house so that the whole family can live together.

However, this wish was never fulfilled before his death, and it also caused him to squander his fortune by losing a lot of money in business. In the end, his parents had no choice but to sell the half-finished courtyard house to pay off his debts.

Unfortunately, less than two years later, the new millennium arrived, and housing prices in Beijing soared. Courtyard houses also saw a surge in value, with even a single-courtyard house fetching millions or tens of millions of yuan.

This incident greatly angered Mr. and Mrs. Chen, and their later deaths from depression were also related to this matter.

This made his relationship with Brother Chen and Sister Chen even more strained, and even Chen Xiaosui and Chen Xiaoan became increasingly distant from him.

Looking at the robust Old Mrs. Chen in front of me, she was about the same age as the gatekeeper, Old Mrs. Yu, but she was much stronger, with good hearing and clear eyes.

In this life, he must ensure they live longer so they won't have to worry about him anymore. He will buy this courtyard house and fulfill their wishes.