Siheyuan: I am a big capitalist after the founding of the People's Republic of China

On Friday afternoon, after coming back from school, the old man called Li Zihang directly to the study.

The old man said: "Grandson, pack up and follow me to the countryside to live for two days."

Li Zihang asked in confusion: "Grandpa, I haven't had anything to do recently, why did you suddenly go to the countryside?"

Old man: "Remember what I told you about the secret guards some time ago. This time when I go to the countryside, I will take you to meet them."

Li Zihang: "Grandpa, how many secret guards do I have in total? How old are they?"

After taking a sip of tea, the old man said, "There are 28 secret guards in total, named after the 7 constellations. They are divided into four groups, people in each group. Each group has different tasks."

"The Seven Eastern Azure Dragons are mainly staff, military advisors, and counselors."

"The Southern Suzaku Seven Stars focus on intelligence"

"The Seven Stars of the Western White Tiger are mainly engaged in assassination"

"The seven northern Xuanwu constellations are mainly for defense"

"They all have their own professions and do different things. After training them for so long, it's time to let them meet you. Otherwise, after a long time, they won't know who their masters are."

"Seventeen boys and eleven girls. The youngest is eight years old and the oldest is thirteen."

"All of them use Li as their surname, east, south, west and north as their generation, and the first character of their constellation as their name."

"Like the seven stars in the east, Li Dongjiao, Li Dongkang, Li Dongdi, Li Dongfang, Li Dongxin, Li Dongwei, and Li Dongji."

"The code names are also the names of the stars: Wood Dragon, Gold Dragon, Earth Raccoon, Sun Rabbit, Moon Fox, Fire Tiger, and Water Leopard."

"The same goes for the other three groups. I asked you to memorize the names of the twenty-eight constellations before, so you won't have forgotten them, will you?"

Li Zihang was still thinking about the old man's words. He nodded mechanically to show that he had not forgotten.

The old man said, "Your grandmother, I have packed your things for you. After dinner, come with me. Come back on Sunday night. From now on, you have to go to the countryside and stay with them for two days during the two days off each week.

Li Zihang: "Grandpa, is your secret guard also like this?"

The old man knew what his grandson meant and nodded.

Li Zihang: "Have I seen your secret guards?"

The old man thought for a while, as if he remembered something, and then he said: "You have met two of them. Of the remaining eight, four were sent to Hong Kong. The other four are all over the country, guarding my business for me."

Li Zihang was a little confused and asked tentatively: "Aren't there 28 people? Why are there only ten people?" After he finished speaking, he suddenly remembered something and looked at the old man with a determined look. Is it what he thought?

The old man looked at his grandson and said sadly, "Just as you thought, the other 18 people are dead." Then he sighed again.

The old man said, "Grandson, don't blame me for being cruel to you and making you bear all this at an age when you should have been carefree."

"If either your father or your second uncle were still alive, Grandpa wouldn't let you suffer so much."

"Our family has been rich for hundreds of years. Even if we count from your great-grandfather's generation, it has been rich for hundreds of years. Without some ruthless means, no one will die. We can't keep it, and we can't support this family."

"So, please don't blame me. Sometimes I also want to quit, stay with your grandma, and live a peaceful life with you. But reality doesn't allow it."

"Don't think that I, your grandfather, seem to be in a very glorious position. That's because I have been placed on a high platform and cannot come down even if I want to. Let's not talk about other things. For those people who follow our family for food, some of them have even followed our family for five generations. Do you think I can ignore them?

The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility. This is not an empty statement. If you don't care about the lives of those people, you will be brought down in the end, and your whole family may be implicated."

"Our family was able to survive that era of national destruction, foreign invasion, and warlord chaos because of the bloodshed and sacrifices of generations of them and us."

"So grandson, you have a heavy burden on your shoulders. For our family, and for them. You must endure these hardships. You must also study. Otherwise, you will affect the lives of thousands of people."

"Okay, that's all I have to tell you today. Go digest it first. After dinner, follow me."

Li Zihang's mind was full of what the old man had just said. He walked back to his room in a trance.

On the other side, the grandmother saw her grandson's appearance and went to find the old man with some concern.

Grandma: "Old man, isn't it too early to let your grandson get in touch with these things? Don't overwhelm him."

The old man looked a little worried, to cheer himself up and to confirm his belief. He believed that his grandson could persevere. Then he said firmly: "He can do it. We must believe in our grandson. Don't underestimate him."

After Aunt Qi prepared the meal, the whole family sat at the dining table to eat. The atmosphere was a bit depressing.

Uncle Seven and Aunt Seven, who knew the inside story, didn't know how to speak. Decai, Dewang, and Xiao Yushui saw that the adults all looked worried. The depressing atmosphere made them lose their usual cheerfulness.

As the person involved, Li Zihang himself did not know what he would face when he went to the countryside. He was sure of one thing, that his life was not in danger, but he did not know what else was waiting for him.

After all, judging from the old man’s serious and worried expression, life in the countryside will definitely not be easy.

After dinner, the old man took him into the old car, grabbed some clothes and set off.

It was 7: in the evening, and the summer sky was not yet completely dark. The sun had just set, and the sunset glow was scattered on the clouds in the west. Li Zihang, sitting in the car, looked through the window at the colorful sky, wondering what he was thinking.

On the city roads, pedestrians and workers on bicycles are also enjoying the tranquility of the breeze after get off work.

On the walls of blue bricks and red tiles, there are propaganda slogans in various red fonts. On the roadside, middle-aged women wearing red armbands patrol the streets.

As night fell, the car drove out of the city and the road became bumpy, and we drove in the bumpy night.

In the 50s, the area outside the city was covered with yellow earth and the mountains were bare. People cut down trees wantonly to make fires for cooking and keep warm in winter. At a glance, all the trees that could be cut down on the mountain had been cut down.

At about 10 o'clock at night, the car arrived at a village. Li Zihang thought he had reached his destination, but he did not expect that it was a transfer.

Li Zihang was riding a donkey, and asked the old man who was also riding a donkey next to him in disbelief: "Grandpa, where are we going? This is too exaggerated."

Under the illumination of the flashlight, the old man said slowly: "Don't worry, we will arrive in an hour at most."

Then the old man looked like he was worried and ignored him. Li Zihang turned his head and looked at the group of 7 people. Except for Uncle Gou, he didn't recognize any of the other 5 people.

However, judging from their facial features, the five of them were at least in their forties. They gave Li Zihang the impression that they were very tough and imposing.

When one of them looked at him, he felt like being stared at by a wild animal in the night.

For some reason, under the current environment, his family's situation should not be dangerous. According to his thinking, as long as he behaves himself, he will be able to survive safely for decades.

But the old man's appearance made him feel that his home was not safe. It was as if there was an illusion that the building was about to collapse. It seemed that his grandfather was anxious to train him and wanted him to be trained as soon as possible.

The eight men rode their donkeys forward silently. Apart from the donkey's panting and the chirping of insects and birds on the side of the path, there was no other sound.

After half an hour of wandering, the leader finally brought them to a few houses at the foot of a mountain and stopped.

After the leader got off the donkey, he came to the old man and said, "Master, the house is ready. You and the young master can rest here for one night. We will go up the mountain tomorrow to formally meet the group of kids."

After the old man and his men got off the donkey, he handed the donkey's reins to the person next to him. He nodded and led the men into the house.

After washing up, Li Zihang slept in the same bed with the old man.

At this time, he could no longer suppress the doubts in his heart and began to ask the old man: "Grandpa, why do I feel that you have been worried recently? Is our family not on the verge of danger?"

The old man lay on his side on the bed and looked at him and said, "Grandson, in recent years, as you know, policies have begun to be unfavorable to us capitalists. Our family may seem safe, but no one knows how dangerous the undercurrents are."

"I feel a great threat. Besides, I, your grandfather, am already 60 years old. I don't have many years left to live. You are still so young. What if, one day, your grandmother and I are gone suddenly? What will you do? So now, while I can still move, I will give you everything I should give you in advance, and I will slowly give it to you over the next few years."

"Grandson, you have to hold on. No matter how much suffering you have to endure, you have to hold on. A life of luxury is not easy."

Li Zihang asked thoughtfully: "What are we going to practice when we go into the mountains tomorrow?"

Old man: "You will know tomorrow. There is no point in saying more now."

Li Zihang: "Grandpa, can you tell me how you and my dad were raised by our family when we were young? Is it the same as mine?"

Old man: "If you want to wear the crown, you must bear the weight. My father arranged everything for me. When I was 12 years old, I followed the family's clerk to do business.

I went to Guandong and Jiangnan. I fought with people, beasts, the sky and the earth. I survived death several times. After returning to Beijing, my family arranged for me to carry the luggage, run the shop, study and practice martial arts. It was not until I was able to take charge of the family business that your great grandfather gave up power and handed it over to me.

"Your father started to study at the age of 3, and practiced martial arts at the age of 7. At the age of 13, he followed the hunters to hunt in the mountains. At the age of 5, he wore a dagger and went into the mountains to fight wild beasts. Each of them had a dagger, and after killing wild wolves, he was taken home.

At the age of 15, he was sent to the German Army Academy. In his 20s, he returned to join the army and fought in the bloodbath. But he still failed in the end.

"As an heir, you can be a wolf, a tiger, or an eagle. But you must not be a sheep. Otherwise, our family will be a big fat pig, waiting to be slaughtered."

After hearing the old man's words, the room fell into silence...