Courtyard Houses: Longevity Since the War of Resistance

TRAIN STATION.

Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu arrived early, looking around anxiously at the station entrance. It was their first time traveling so far in their lives, and to Shanghai no less, so they were very excited.

"Brother, is Section Chief Li not coming?" Liu Guangfu asked in a low voice, clutching the train ticket tightly in his hand, the ticket soaked with sweat.

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Liu Guangtian scolded, but his eyes kept glancing into the crowd.

As they were talking, they saw Li Feng walking towards them from a distance; he wasn't carrying much luggage.

"Section Chief Li!" The two brothers rushed forward as if they had seen a savior.

Li Feng nodded and glanced at the crumpled ticket in Liu Guangfu's hand: "Keep the ticket safe, there's no replacement if you lose it."

Just as I was about to go to the ticket check, a hesitant voice called out from the side, "Section Chief Li?"

The three turned around and saw Xu Damao standing not far away, carrying a net bag containing two boxes of pastries. His expression was complex, with three parts surprise, three parts curiosity, and the remaining four parts habitual flattery.

Xu Damao was also here to see someone off. It was a distant cousin who was returning to Baoding City today. Unexpectedly, she ran into Li Feng here, who was also with the two boys from the Liu family.

His gaze swept over Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu's faces, noticing the injuries on their faces and the bundles on their backs. He roughly understood seven or eight parts of the situation, and several thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.

Did those two kids run away?

Should we follow Li Feng?

Where to go?

"Brother Da Mao," Liu Guangtian called out in a muffled voice.

Xu Damao tugged at the corners of his mouth, trying to force a smile, but it didn't come out, and instead turned into a tearful expression. He now felt a chill whenever he saw Li Feng. "Is Section Chief Li going on a long trip?"

"I'm going to Shanghai to take care of some business. How's your daily good deed routine going?"

Xu Damao's face tightened, and he quickly said, "I'm holding on! I even helped Aunt Wang in the backyard move coal briquettes yesterday," as he spoke, holding up the net bag in his hand.

"My aunt is leaving, so I bought some snacks to see her off. Is that considered a good deed? Yes, it is."

The last question was asked cautiously, with eyes full of expectation, like a primary school student waiting for praise from the teacher.

Li Feng grunted in agreement. "Wait for me to come back, Phase Two," he said, and then led the two Lius into the station.

Xu Damao stood there, his nose tingling, and he almost burst into tears again. Finally, the second phase had begun; these past few days had been truly unbearable.

The train sounded its whistle and slowly pulled out of Sijiucheng Station.

Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu leaned against the train window, watching the platform recede into the distance, and the familiar city scenery gradually transform into unfamiliar fields. A mix of excitement and trepidation filled their hearts.

"Brother, are we really going to Shanghai?" Liu Guangfu was still a little incredulous.

"The tickets are all in my hands, how could they be fake?" Liu Guangtian clenched his fist, then relaxed it, his palms were sweaty.

Do I have kidney deficiency?

Li Feng leaned back in his soft seat, closing his eyes to rest. Opposite him sat a middle-aged man wearing glasses, reading a copy of the magazine "Red Flag".

After a while, Liu Guangfu suddenly asked in a low voice, "Section Chief Li, our tickets are for soft seats, are there any hard seats available?"

Li Feng didn't even open his eyes: "Yes."

"Are those hard seats hard?"

"……Um."

"Is it because the seat is hard?"

Li Feng opened his eyes, looked at Liu Guangfu's eager face, remained silent for two seconds, and said, "You'll know once you sit down."

Liu Guangfu sat for half an hour, looking miserable: "Section Chief Li, the seat is really hard."

Liu Guangtian kicked him under the table; it seems these two brothers' brains were damaged from being beaten by their father.

Meanwhile, in the courtyard at the time of closing time, Liu Haizhong was actually in a good mood at the factory today. While working in the morning, he had been bragging to his apprentices in the workshop about how strict his family education was and how obedient his sons were.

At lunchtime, I remembered how satisfying it was to slap those two boys last night, and I felt that my authority had been reinforced once again, so I ate an extra cornbread.

As soon as the afternoon bell rang, he strolled back home with his hands behind his back, taking his time. If he bumped into acquaintances on the way, he would nod and greet them, putting on a boss-like air.

After entering the courtyard, I glanced at Li Feng's room as I passed through the front yard. The door was locked, and he wasn't there.

Liu Hai snorted inwardly, "It's best if he's not here; out of sight, out of mind." He returned to his home in the central courtyard, and when he pushed open the door, the house was quiet.

"Guangtian? Guangfu?" He called out, but no one answered. He frowned, tossing his toolbox onto the table. "Where have those two kids run off to again?"

The second aunt was busy at the stove. "I haven't seen anyone this morning. I thought you sent them out on errands."

"What did I ask them to do?" Liu Haizhong glared. "I went to work this morning."

He suddenly felt something was wrong, so he quickly went to the inner room, pulled open the broken cabinet in the corner, and found it was mostly empty, with all the clothes gone.

"They ran away..." Liu Haizhong muttered, his face gradually turning red, like a pig's liver. "They really ran away..."

"His dad, what did you say?"

"I said those two bastards ran away! They ran away from home!" He grabbed his belt, rushed out of the house, circled the yard twice, and his eyes were bloodshot.

Liu Haizhong rushed to the front yard, raised his belt to pull the door open at Li Feng's house, but froze halfway through his hand.

He dare not.

"Li Shan! It must be you! You must have instigated it!" Liu Haizhong roared at the door, spitting all over the door panel. "Where did you put my son?! Huh?!"

Of course, no one inside responded.

Yan Bugui was carrying a teacup back from school when he saw the commotion. He adjusted his glasses and slowly walked over: "Old Liu, what's going on? Why are you arguing with the door?"

"My two good-for-nothing sons have run away!" Liu Haizhong turned his head, his eyes wide like saucers. "It must be Li Shan! Yesterday, he took the two boys to a restaurant and drugged them! And today they're gone!"

"Ran away?" Yan Bugui took a sip of tea, smacked his lips, and asked, "Where did they go?"

"How should I know!" Liu Haizhong flicked his sleeve, his belt snapping in the air. "When I find them, I'll break their legs!"

Yan Bugui shook his head, took another sip of tea, but he knew perfectly well that the Liu family boy had definitely been abducted by Li Feng.

However, he didn't say this. He just carried his teacup and strolled back into the house, leaving behind the comment: "Old Liu, the kids are all grown up now and have their own ideas. That's normal."

"Normal my ass!" Liu Haizhong yelled at Yan Bugui's back.

At this moment, Jia Zhangshi poked half her body out of her room, holding half a cornbread in her hand, chewing as she watched the commotion, her old face beaming with joy.

"Hey, Uncle, what's going on here?"

Jia Zhangshi deliberately raised her voice, so shrill it could scratch glass, "What are you yelling about in the yard? Anyone who didn't know better would think bandits had broken into our yard!"

Liu Haizhong was already seething with anger, and seeing Jia Zhangshi's gloating expression only fueled his rage: "Jia Zhangshi! Did you say something to my son?! You were the one who bastard yesterday!"

"Am I being nosy?" Jia Zhangshi stuffed the half-eaten cornbread into her mouth, her cheeks puffed out like a hamster's, spitting out crumbs as she chewed. "Liu Haizhong, stop spouting nonsense! I was just trying to be helpful by telling you that your two boys went out to eat with Li Shan for your own good! Who knew you'd come home and beat them to a pulp? What, now that the kids have run away, you're blaming me?"

She took two steps forward, hands on her hips, spitting as she spoke: "If you ask me, Liu Haizhong, you deserve it! Always acting like some kind of arrogant old man, trying to lecture everyone you meet, then taking it out on the kids when you get home! You'd swing the belt around so loudly, people would think you were wielding a sword! Now look what's happened, you've chased your son away, are you happy now?"

"You!" Liu Haizhong trembled with rage, his grip on the belt tightening so hard it cracked. "What business is it of yours to interfere in our family affairs?!"

"Why should I care? I don't care at all!" Jia Zhangshi slapped her thigh, her voice rising eight octaves. "I just can't stand it! You, you're no big shot at the factory, but you act like a king at home! Go ahead and hit me, keep hitting me, now go hit the air!"

These words, laced with barbs, revealed all of Liu Haizhong's hidden thoughts.

Liu Haizhong's face turned as red as a pig's liver. He pointed at Jia Zhangshi, his finger trembling, and said, "You're talking nonsense! I was just disciplining my child! A strict father produces a filial son!"

"Strict father? I think he's the King of Hell!" Madam Jia spat. "Filial son, my foot! You've driven all the filial sons away! Let me tell you, Liu Haizhong, with your character, forget about Guangtian Guangfu, even if you had ten more sons, they'd all run away. Oh dear, maybe not even ten. Your old body isn't as strong as Old Yi's. Big belly, give birth to sons, give birth to poop!"

Liu Haizhong was so angry he was practically fuming.

He swung his belt sharply: "Fine! Fine! You all want to see my family make a fool of themselves, huh?! Fine! I'll go to the neighborhood committee! I'll report it to the police! I refuse to believe I can't find those two brats!"

After saying that, he stormed out, not going to the police station, but to the neighborhood committee.

Director Wang of the neighborhood office was just about to leave work when he saw Liu Haizhong storm in. He paused for a moment, then asked, "Old Liu? What's the matter that's so urgent?"

"Director Wang! I need to report a crime!" Liu Haizhong gasped for breath. "My two sons have been kidnapped!"

Director Wang frowned: "Abducted? What happened? Tell me slowly."

Liu Haizhong embellished the story, emphasizing how Li Feng lured his son away and destroyed family harmony. In his excitement, he spat all over Director Wang's table.

After listening, Director Wang remained silent for a moment, then adjusted his glasses: "Old Liu, do you have any evidence that Xiaoshanzi abducted your son?"

Liu Haizhong really didn't understand the connection. He called him Lao Liu and Xiao Shanzi, but Liu Haizhong's red-hot brain completely rejected the close relationship.

"What other evidence do you need?!" Liu Haizhong slammed his hand on the table. "He took them out to eat yesterday, and today he's gone! Who else could it be but him?!"

"Going to a restaurant doesn't prove anything," Director Wang shook his head. "Section Chief Li is a factory cadre. If he really wants to help your child, that's a good thing. Besides, how old are Guang Tian and Guang Fu? One is twenty, the other seventeen. At that age, they have legs and feet, they can run and jump on their own, how can you call it crippling?"

"But the fact remains that they ran away!" Liu Haizhong said anxiously.

"You can look for him if he runs away," Director Wang said. "But to report it to the police, it doesn't meet the criteria for filing a case. Go home and wait, maybe the child will come back on his own in a couple of days. If he doesn't come back in a week, come back and we'll put up a missing person notice for you."

"that's all?"

"Otherwise what?" Director Wang began tidying up the documents on the table. "Old Liu, it's not that I'm criticizing you, but the kids are all grown up and have their own ideas. As their father, you sometimes need to change your approach. Alright, I'm about to leave work here, you can go home now."

Liu Haizhong walked out of the street office in a daze, stood at the entrance of the alley, and looked at the people coming and going. Suddenly, he felt a sense of bewilderment.

The son ran away, the neighborhood committee didn't care, the neighbors in the courtyard laughed at him, and Jia Zhangshi even scolded him.

He gripped the belt tightly, gritting his teeth: "Li Shan...you just wait!"

Meanwhile, on the train, Liu Guangfu nudged his brother again.

"Brother, do you think Dad's furious right now?"

Liu Guangtian looked at the night sky rushing past the window without saying a word.

Across from him, Li Feng had his eyes closed, as if he were asleep.

Or perhaps it's a memory.

Shanghai