Courtyard Houses: Longevity Since the War of Resistance

Sha Zhu went back to his room with his head down, slammed the door shut, and plopped down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), his heart feeling like it was stuck in a tangled mess.

Li Feng's words, along with the old man's echo, kept swirling in his mind. The more he thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt, and the more uneasy he became. He reached under the cabinet, pulled out a half-empty bottle of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor), bit off the cap with his teeth, and tilted his head back to chug it down.

"Knock knock knock," came the knocking on the door.

"Who is it?!" Sha Zhu shouted irritably.

The door was pushed open, and Li Feng walked in carrying two bottles of liquor. At a glance, one could see the half-empty bottle of Erguotou in his hand.

"Why drink that?" Li Feng slammed the Moutai bottle on the table. "Drink this."

Before Sha Zhu could react, an old man named Yi Zhonghai also came in, carrying a bag of peanuts and a bag of pig's head meat.

"Zhu Zi, what kind of talk is it to drink alone like this?"

The three sat down around the table. Li Feng poured a glass of Moutai for the other two. Sha Zhu kept his head down and didn't say a word. He downed the glass in one gulp. After a few drinks, he started talking.

An older man spoke first, "Zhu Zi, Section Chief Li's words were a bit harsh, but they made sense. With your skills, are you really content to spend your whole life stuck in the cafeteria, behaving like a slave, earning that meager salary?"

Li Feng picked up the thread, "Zhu Zi, the policy has been relaxed now, allowing individuals to run small businesses. With your skills, you could open a small restaurant. Ma Hua and his apprentices are ready-made helpers, and you wouldn't have to worry about the kitchen staff."

Sha Zhu looked up. "Open a restaurant? Then what about the job at the steel rolling mill?"

"You think working at the steel rolling mill is a guaranteed job?" Li Feng chuckled. "In the future, you might earn much more working for yourself than at the factory. If you're worried about capital," he pointed to himself, "I'll invest and take a share, consider it a partnership. Once you've built up the restaurant and made it big and successful, you'll know that this move was the right one."

An old man chimed in, "Zhu Zi, I think this is a good idea. Section Chief Li has good judgment, and you have strength and skills—this is a good thing. If you're willing, I have some savings to invest in as a way of supporting you."

Looking at Li Feng and the old man in front of him, and then thinking about the admiring look in Qin Jingru's eyes when she looked at Xu Damao, Sha Zhu's competitive spirit rose again.

He slapped his thigh and, fueled by alcohol, roared, "Damn it! Cheers! So what if I run a restaurant? Do you think they'll look down on me, He Yuzhu?!"

"Great!" Li Feng smiled and refilled his glass. "Then it's settled. I've already thought of a name: He Family Restaurant. It'll sound catchy!"

An old man smiled and nodded, "He Family Restaurant, good, good name!" As he spoke, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small package wrapped tightly in a handkerchief. Carefully opening the handkerchief, he found a wad of banknotes inside, probably about 1500 yuan, a huge sum of money in those days.

"Zhu Zi," Yi Zhonghai pushed the money in front of Sha Zhu, "this money is what your father, He Daqing, has been sending back over the years."

Sha Zhu froze, his eyes fixed on the stack of money, half-sobering up: "My dad? He sent money back?"

"Yes," Yi Zhonghai nodded and explained, "I started sending it to you and Yushui when you were little, ten yuan every month without fail. You were too young then, and I was worried that the money wouldn't be safe in your hands, so I thought I'd save it for you first. Later, you grew up and could earn money, but you had that habit of spending money extravagantly. So I thought, it's better to keep the money for now, and give it to you when you really need it, or when you get married and are more sensible."

He looked at Sha Zhu with guilt in his eyes, "Now that you're opening a restaurant, it's the perfect time to spend money. This money will be returned in full, not a penny less. I haven't calculated the exact amount, but it's all here from all these years."

Sha Zhu stared at the large bag of money, his fingers trembling slightly.

Thinking of the hard times when she and her sister depended on each other for survival when she was a child, thinking of her father who abandoned them and ran away with the White Widow, and thinking of how she had indeed been eating and drinking without thinking of saving money, just as the old man said, her nose tingled and tears streamed down her face.

Li Feng watched from the side, a knowing smile on his face. He knew perfectly well that Yi Zhonghai had been withholding the money before because he wanted Sha Zhu to hate his father, so that Sha Zhu would obediently support him in his old age.

If he hadn't had a child late in life and changed his mindset, this special deposit for He Daqing would probably have become part of the Yi family's fortune.

However, things are fine as they are now. Li Feng won't expose him; admitting mistakes and correcting them makes him a good comrade.

The three drank for a while longer, discussing their plans to open a restaurant, and didn't part ways until late at night.

The next day, after sobering up, Sha Zhu went to the steel rolling mill to resign and went directly to Deputy Director Li's office.

"Oh, He Yuzhu? What a rare guest! What brings you here?" Deputy Factory Director Li raised his eyelids slightly.

"Director Li, I'm quitting. I'm here to complete the formalities." Sha Zhu sat down there. Who is the most arrogant? --- the person who is about to resign.

Deputy Factory Director Li was stunned for a moment, almost unable to suppress a laugh. "Have you thought it through? You don't want this secure job in the canteen?"

"I've thought it through. The world is wide open up outside, and I, He Yuzhu, have a skill; I won't starve!"

"Great! Young man, you've got guts! I support you!" Deputy Factory Director Li couldn't wait for him to leave. He signed the document quickly, the process was surprisingly fast.

Sha Zhu went to see Factory Director Yang again, who sighed and said, "Zhu Zi, are you really leaving? The factory has treated you very well."

"Factory manager, I know you've been looking out for me. But I've made up my mind. I want to go out and make my own way in the world."

"Sigh, since you've made up your mind, I won't force you to stay. Take care of yourself while you're away."

Li Feng also used some connections to help Sha Zhu with the paperwork. The Commerce Bureau staff were initially a bit arrogant, but Li Feng simply made a phone call, said a few words, and handed the receiver to the person.

After finishing the call, the staff member's attitude immediately did a complete 180-degree turn, smiling obsequiously: "Oh, Section Chief Li, you should have said so earlier! No problem, the license, right? It'll be ready right away, right away!"

Holding the still-warm license, Sha Zhu's hands trembled with excitement. Li Feng patted him on the shoulder, "Find the place yourself, oversee the renovations yourself. This is to train you. Come to me if you encounter any difficulties."

Sha Zhu nodded. "I really get this guy surnamed Li to help me with everything. I feel like he's my dad." He ran all over Beijing and finally settled on a small restaurant that was about to close down.

"Your shop is in such a state, and you're still charging this price?"

"What a great location! Mr. He, if it weren't for the urgent need for money at home, I really wouldn't be willing to part with it."

"Alright! You seem honest, so this is the price! But you have to leave me the tables and chairs!"

"Good, good, Master He, you're so agreeable!"

After taking over the shop, Sha Zhu immediately started the renovations with great enthusiasm, personally overseeing the process.

The second phase of Sha Zhu's renovation is underway, so we need to keep an eye on Bang Geng. Li Feng is here to see Uncle San.

"Uncle, busy? How are the children doing lately?"

Upon seeing Li Feng, Yan Bugui immediately put down his pen, his face beaming with smiles. "Section Chief Li! Thanks to you, everything's going well, especially Banggeng." He pulled out Banggeng's notebook. "Look at this handwriting, so much neater! As for math problems, you used to get eight out of ten wrong, but now you can get six or seven right! Such rapid progress!"

"It seems you've done a good job as a teacher; even Candy hasn't gone gray," Li Feng said with a smile.

"That's right, that's right. With the right methods, the children will naturally be motivated." Yan Bugui was proud of this.

When Qin Huairu learned that her son's grades had improved, she happily patted Banggeng's head at home and said, "My son is so promising! Study hard, and you'll definitely be successful in the future!" Banggeng hummed in agreement and continued doing his homework.

Jia Zhangshi pursed her lips, wanting to say something but not daring to.

Having learned her lesson from last time, she secretly pulled Banggeng aside: "My dear grandson, go and get all the candy from the tutoring class. What good is it for those good-for-nothings to eat all this candy? Give it to Grandma to nourish her."

When Qin Huairu found out, she immediately told Li Feng.

Li Feng went directly to Jia Zhangshi, who was sunbathing in the courtyard: "Jia Zhangshi, it seems you really can't stay idle. Starting tomorrow, you'll be responsible for cleaning the courtyard, the area outside, and even the toilet at the alley entrance, until this time next year."

Jia Zhangshi immediately exploded: "Why?! I won't do it!"

"You don't want to? Fine, then let's handle this officially and talk about instigating children to embezzle collective property?"

Jia Zhangshi immediately cowered and went to Yi Zhonghai crying and wailing. Yi Zhonghai, who now practically kowtowed to Li Feng, was unlikely to help her.

"Sister-in-law, I'm not trying to criticize you, but what you did was wrong! Section Chief Li handled it fairly! You should clean up the mess and reform your thinking!"

Jia Zhangshi was completely speechless. Of the three uncles, Yan Bugui had benefited, and Yi Zhonghai had received favors, so they all sided with Li Feng.

Other residents in the courtyard, like Old Mrs. Song in the backyard, would say to Li Feng, "Section Chief Li, you've spent money again. We haven't even finished the meat from last time."

The daughter-in-law of the Ma family in the front yard also expressed her gratitude: "Section Chief Li, thanks to your thoughtfulness, the children haven't eaten such delicious meat in a long time."

Li Feng has been living in this courtyard house for less than half a year, and his reputation has already surpassed that of the three old men who have been running the business for many years.

Now only Uncle Liu Haizhong is left, and on the surface, his relationship with Li Feng seems to be okay.

That day, I ran into Li Feng again at the gate of the compound: "Section Chief Li, are you off work? You must be quite busy lately. If you see the factory leaders, please give them my regards."

He rubbed his hands together and tentatively said, "If there are any positions in the factory that require a strong grassroots presence, you'd have to put in a good word for me."

Li Feng knew perfectly well that the old man was blinded by ambition. "Second Uncle, you are a man of high moral character and prestige. I will definitely speak up for you if I have the chance."

But secretly, he was laughing to himself.

"Just you wait, I don't even want to be an official, why should I care about you?"