1979: Reopening Wenhao Road from the Village

When Chen Weidong woke up again, it was already dark.

"Grandpa and Grandma, Uncle is awake. Is it time to eat?"

When Chen Xiaoting saw Chen Weidong open his eyes, she immediately ran out and shouted.

"Father, elder brother."

Chen Weidong called out to his father and elder brother, who were smoking on the kang (a heated brick bed). He had only intended to take a nap, but he ended up sleeping until now.

"Um."

Mr. Chen nodded. Fathers and sons often become taciturn and don't talk much when they get older.

"Wei Dong, I heard from your sister-in-law that your articles have been published in the newspapers in Yanjing. You're going to be a great writer from now on, and those people in the alley will definitely not dare to look down on you anymore."

Chen Jianguo said happily, feeling a sense of triumph, even more so than when he published his own article.

"Brother, it hasn't been published yet. Even if it were, I'd still just be a small-time writer."

Chen Weidong smiled modestly. Having lived two lives, he had experienced nothing but disdain, ridicule, and flattery in his previous life.

It's only when you're lying in a hospital bed that you realize that other people's opinions don't really matter. What matters most is providing a stable life for your family, ensuring your parents and elders are healthy and happy, having successful and filial children, and being surrounded by grandchildren.

As for fame and fortune, Chen Weidong believes it's more about improving his family's life and making them happier.

Mr. Chen paused in his smoking and looked at Chen Weidong with surprise. If it weren't for the striking resemblance to his son, he would have thought for a moment that this was still his son.

However, I am still gratified. It seems that going to the countryside to train over the past few years was the right thing to do.

Becoming a father really changes things.

However, Mr. Chen did not offer any praise. He simply smiled with satisfaction and said, "Alright, let's eat first."

Mother Chen placed a bowl of hand-pulled noodles on the kang (a heated brick bed), Sister-in-law Chen carried scallion soup and chopsticks, and Chen Xiaoteng and Chen Xiaoting each carried several large, rough porcelain bowls that were bigger than their faces.

"Pure white noodles!"

Chen Weidong looked at the snow-white dough. In Yangjiatun, even the dumpling wrappers had to be mixed with some dark flour.

"Eat quickly, the hand-pulled noodles your mother made today were made without any other flour or starch."

Grandma Chen took out her chopsticks and scooped out a large bowl for Chen Weidong, which made Chen Xiaoteng and Chen Xiaoting, who were standing nearby, extremely envious.

However, with Brother Chen and Father Chen present, they could only watch helplessly, not daring to say anything out of turn.

Chen Weidong smiled and glanced at the two of them, then used his chopsticks to move half of the contents of an empty bowl to the side before pushing it in front of Chen Xiaoteng and Chen Xiaoting.

"Eat quickly."

"Thank you, Second Uncle."

Chen Xiaoting happily picked up his chopsticks and started rummaging through the food, with Chen Xiaoteng following closely behind.

You should know that the two of them can only eat a bite of noodles made of pure white flour on their birthdays. Even the steamed buns they eat on ordinary days are mostly mixed with black flour or cornmeal, otherwise it would be too wasteful of white flour to make a meal of white steamed buns.

Chen's mother and sister-in-law looked at Chen Weidong in astonishment. They knew that in the past, when the family ate together, the latter would never offer anyone a bowl of rice, let alone invite them in. He would just pick up his chopsticks and start eating.

Brother Chen laughed heartily, feeling very gratified. It seemed that all his years of pampering Chen Weidong had not been in vain.

"Weidong, how many days can you stay home?"

"If things go quickly, we might be able to get back in three or four days."

"So fast!?"

Chen Jianguo was somewhat surprised.

"It's good to go back sooner. Su Man just gave birth and it's not easy for her to take care of the baby alone. When you go back, you should help her out more. Don't be so carefree and think about things that don't exist. You're a father now, so think more about the child."

Mr. Chen put down his chopsticks and lectured Chen Weidong.

"I understand, Father."

Chen Weidong nodded. In his memory, his communication with his father was mainly about education, criticism, and beatings. It was only after his father grew up that he stopped talking to him, probably because he felt it was useless and he was too lazy to talk to him anymore.

"We're eating, and even the food can't shut you up. The kids just got back, and you're already babbling on and on."

Grandma Chen was unhappy and retorted to her father.

Father Chen glanced at his two grandsons and dared not say anything more, otherwise he would be using a cane, which would damage his image as a grandfather.

"Grandson, Grandma will get you some more noodles, have some more."

"I'm full, I don't need any more milk."

"Then have some more noodle soup to soothe your stomach."

Grandma Chen ladled another full bowl of noodle soup for Chen Weidong.

After dinner, Mr. and Mrs. Chen and Mr. Chen's older brother's family went back to their rooms. They all had to go to work the next day and needed to get some sleep.

After a period of adjustment, Chen Weidong has also gotten used to going to bed early.

There's really no entertainment at all, and if you don't go to bed early, you're just staring blankly.

The next morning, Chen Weidong got up, carrying a chamber pot, and walked towards the public toilet at the entrance of the alley. There was already a long queue in front of him.

"Wei Dong is back?"

"right."

"When did you get back?"

"I just got home yesterday."

……

He ran into a few familiar people who greeted him. There were also some people who had just moved in and, looking at Chen Weidong, whispered to the familiar people about his identity.

"Who is this?"

"Wei Dong, the younger brother of Chen Jianguo, who runs an electric motor repair shop."

"Is it Chen Weidong, the one you guys were talking about before?"

"Yes, that's him."

……

Although Chen Weidong was emptying the chamber pot, he still felt several eyes staring at him.

It seems that even though he has been working in the countryside for several years, news about him is still circulating in the alley.

After waiting for about half an hour, it was finally his turn. When it comes to using the toilet, it's really not as good as in the village, where you can just find a secluded spot and go wherever you want.

A short while later, Chen Weidong came out satisfied.

It's good to be young; the bowel movement was so smooth.

Unlike in my previous life, in my later years, I suffered from hemorrhoids and constipation, and enemas became a staple in my diet, though sometimes they weren't even effective.

Carrying the chamber pot, he passed through the hanging flower gate and returned home.

Some of the courtyard houses nearby no longer have their hanging flower gates, but theirs was preserved because the Chen family lived in the back half of the house.

The hanging flower gate has become a symbol separating the inner and outer courtyards, but the exquisite carvings of the past have been covered with cement and are now just a passageway. Mr. Chen specially put up a wooden fence at the entrance, on which dried radishes are hung to dry.

The inner courtyard was the Chen family's private property. The ground was made of old square bricks, and Chen's father haphazardly patched up the broken parts with cement.

In the corner, there is a large fish tank. When Chen Weidong was a child, he used to keep some fish in it, but later he could no longer keep fish and it was abandoned.

Now it's filled with soil, and in the summer Chen's mother and sister-in-law will plant some scallions and garlic.

Near the west wing, there was also a jujube tree planted.

This tree was planted when Old Man Chen bought the east wing. It was just a sapling back then, but now it has grown into a towering tree.

Because jujube trees are drought-resistant, have few pests and diseases, and require little maintenance, their seasonal changes—spring leaves, summer flowers, and autumn fruits—are quite distinct.

When Chen Weidong was a child, he was a frequent visitor to this jujube tree. Every time his father found out, he would get a beating.

Later, as they grew older, they realized how precious the jujube tree was. Every year when the jujubes ripened in autumn, a time known in Yanjing as "picking jujubes on the fifteenth of August," Old Man Chen and his father could use the jujubes to exchange for some rare items for their family.

Chen Weidong put down the chamber pot, walked to the tap in the corner, and filled a basin halfway with cold water.

The water pipes were tightly wrapped with straw ropes to prevent freezing, and below them was a pool that Old Chen had built with cement.

The inner courtyard was much tidier than the front courtyard, but it still felt very crowded.