Siheyuan: Xu Damao's New Life

As the saying goes, "Cousins ​​are close by generations, and even if their bones are broken, they are still connected by tendons." The two cousins ​​were about the same age and could be said to have grown up together. They met again after not seeing each other for many years, and it took them nearly ten minutes for them to gradually stop crying.

Yan Bugui then took his cousin into the house, took out the fine tea leaves that he usually didn't want to drink, and brewed a pot of tea. He took out money from a small box and told the third child, "Take your sister to the Pigeon Market to find your mother, and ask her to buy more good things and two bottles of good wine. Then tell her that your cousin is here. Don't save money today."

Yan Jiekuang responded, took the money and ticket, and ran away with Yan Jiedi. The two brothers then talked to each other about their separation over the years.

It turned out that Yan Bugui's father was killed by the rebels, and his mother died of grief soon after. Yan Bugui, his wife Yang Ruihua and his eldest son Yan Jiecheng managed the small printing workshop at home and lived a hard life.

But who would print books in such a chaotic time? Soon, he was heavily in debt. It was at this time that Yan Bugui developed the habit of being stingy. If he was not stingy, he would not be able to survive. Yan Bugui had no choice but to sell his property at a low price and ran away without even paying off his debts. If he had paid off his debts, he would have starved to death. Later, he hid from place to place and rented a house from somewhere else to make a living by doing some small business. He moved to this compound after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Relying on his knowledge from attending a private school, he found a job as a teacher.

Yan Bugui felt that it was his poor management that led to the sale of the ancestral property. He felt ashamed and afraid of bringing trouble to his relatives, so he gradually cut off contact with his aunt's family. Later, when the situation improved, he went to the original address to look for his relatives, but found nothing and was told that his aunt's family had moved away long ago and had not left any news.

After listening to this, Pian Ye couldn't help but sigh and began to talk about his family's situation. Pian Ye's family used to be in the medicinal materials business, and the family was doing well. When the war broke out, the prices of various medicinal materials soared, especially those for treating external injuries. His father was entrusted by the then ruler of the city to lead a team to buy a batch of medicinal materials. On the way back, he was killed by the invaders. Naturally, he failed to complete the task assigned by the invaders because his things were robbed. The mother and son had to sell their property and make arrangements to survive.

Later, fearing that there would be more trouble in the future, the mother and son no longer dared to live in the same place, so they sold their house and property and rented a house. During this period, Pian Ye went to the original address to look for Yan Bugui but came up empty-handed, and was almost forced to pay off the debt. He was able to get away only when he lied that he was also a debt collector.

From then on, Pian Ye also made a living by doing odd jobs. Later, when his mother died, he married and had children and lived a normal life. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Pian Ye was also classified as a small business owner, but he learned to play shadow puppetry and occasionally did odd jobs to make a living. It was not until I met Xu Damao on the street a few days ago and drank and chatted with him that I learned about Yan Bugui. A few days ago, I managed to make some money and bought two servings of Beijing Eight Pieces snacks before coming to look for my relatives. This is what the old Beijing men want.

Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, wars of all sizes never stopped in the city. Countless families were torn apart and their loved ones had no news. The experiences of Yan Bugui and Pian'erye were not isolated cases, but the product of that special era.

The two recalled the past while shedding tears until the third aunt came back with her three children. When Yang Ruihua married Yan Bugui, neither family had any problems, so she was more familiar with Pian Ye. Now when she heard Yan Jiekuang say "his father called that guy Xiaodingzi, and he looks very much like his father", she knew that the person who came was Yan Bugui's cousin Ding Yuanshan.

This is really a relative that I haven't seen for many years. I thought he was in trouble back then, but I didn't expect him to come to me now. So when Yang Ruihua heard what Old Yan said, she decisively returned to the pigeon market and bought a chicken and a pound of meat. Fortunately, it was not too late, and there were still some good things to sell in the pigeon market, but the price was a little higher. It was rare for her old man to be so happy, so she didn't save money.

On the way back from buying meat and vegetables, he sent Yan Jiefang to take his younger brothers and sisters to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some wine and some snacks such as candy and melon seeds. After all, the future daughter-in-law would be here soon, and with the recognition of relatives and the purchase of a car, there were really a lot of happy events coming at the same time.

Soon after, the mother and her two children returned home together. As soon as Yang Ruihua entered the house, he said, "Xiao Dingzi, is that you?"

"Sister-in-law, are you okay?" Pian Ye stood up.

"Hey, okay, okay, you too, why don't you guys come over here and call for help!"

"Hello, uncle."

"Hello, uncle."

"Cousin." This was Yan Jie Di calling out. The little girl was in the process of changing her teeth. Her two front teeth had fallen out and she had a lisp when she spoke.

"Hey, hey, all right, all right, uncle brought you a gift." Pian Ye took out two boxes of Beijing Eight Pieces of Dim Sum from the cloth bag he brought. Two of them were "Small Eight Pieces", consisting of fruit pie, small roll cake, small peach cake, small chicken pancake, small screw cake, salted cinnamon, jujube flower, and kangmianzi. The last four were especially popular with the children. Sixteen pieces of dim sum were packed in a paper box.

The eight kinds of cakes are made up of pancakes, big pastry rolls, big oil cakes, butterfly rolls, pastry rolls, chicken oil cakes, champion cakes and seven-star cakes. In the old days of Beijing, it was a very prestigious thing to carry the eight kinds of cakes when visiting relatives and friends.

Yang Ruihua took the snacks and placed them on the table. He then gave each of the three children a small piece of snack and sent the two younger ones to wait for their eldest brother at the door, muttering something like he had made his cousin spend money.

Yan Bugui said, "Old lady, go and cook first. Jie Cheng will be back with his girlfriend soon. Cousin, today is the day your nephew Jie Cheng will bring his girlfriend over. It will probably be here soon. With you coming, it will be a triple celebration at home. We have to make it a lively occasion."

Pianerye sighed and said, "Time flies so fast. In the blink of an eye, Jie Chengdu has grown up and is about to get married. We are getting old too."

The two chatted about a lot of things in the past, and then they heard the voice of the third brother Yan Jiekuang coming from outside, "Dad, my brother is back with his sister-in-law."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yan Jiecheng walked in with a girl, lifting the door curtain. "Dad, did you buy a new bicycle? Is it Fei Ge?"

After saying that, he saw another person in the room who looked very similar to his father. He felt that he looked familiar but couldn't remember who he was. "Dad, who is this?"

Yan Bugui stood up and walked to Yan Jiecheng. He raised his hand and slapped Yan Jiecheng on the head. "Why are you still standing there? Have you forgotten about your uncle? Hurry up and call someone!"

Yan Jiecheng was still young at the time, and his memory was already fuzzy. It was only after hearing what his father said that he finally remembered, "Uncle, I remember now. When we were little, you hugged me and I peed all over you."

Yan Bugui slapped Yan Jiecheng on the head again, this time with some force, and felt some inexplicable pleasure. At this moment, Yan Bugui understood why the second uncle got hit by his bangs. This son is really stupid. His girlfriend is right next to him. How can he say this is appropriate? "What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and introduce him to everyone."

At this time, the three aunts in the kitchen heard the noise and came out with a plate of candies and snacks. The younger brothers and sisters also gathered around and looked at Yu Li curiously. Is this their future sister-in-law? She is very beautiful.