Siheyuan: Sizhu starts blindly and takes a new path

In August 1961, in Beijing, at noon on an ordinary day, the sun was wantonly lavishing its energy in the sky. The cicadas, which had been chirping all summer, seemed to be tired or thirsty because they could not get the sap from the dry trees and could not chirp anymore.

People who were not working in the Red Star Courtyard were resting in their homes. A flurry of footsteps came from outside the courtyard and arrived at the door of the west wing in the front yard. Someone knocked on the door hastily, "Is anyone there?"

"Come here, who is it?" A middle-aged woman with short gray hair walked out of the house to the door.

The person outside the door wiped his sweat and asked anxiously: "Is this Jia Dongxu's house? Which room does the Jia family live in?"

"Jia Dongxu, oh, the Jia family is in the middle courtyard, also in the west wing, what's going on?"

"Jia Dongxu had an accident in the factory and has been sent to the First People's Hospital. I'm here to notify his family." The man said as he walked in.

The middle-aged and elderly woman also followed the visitor to the middle courtyard, "What happened? Is it serious?"

The middle-aged woman's voice was a bit loud. Several families in the front yard heard the noise and came out. "What's going on?"

"I seemed to hear something happened to Dongxu, but I didn't listen carefully." "Let's go to the central courtyard." Everyone whispered and entered the central courtyard.

"Dongxu's mother, come out quickly, something happened to Dongxu, hurry up!" The middle-aged woman with a loud voice shouted as soon as she entered the courtyard.

The doors of the two rooms in the west wing that were added on and protruded under the original eaves were pushed open with a slam. "Why are you howling like that? You are the one who is in trouble. Your husband is in trouble, your children are in trouble, and your whole family is in trouble." A fat middle-aged woman came out cursing, "Old Yan's family, you can't stand to see our family doing well, right? You curse my Dongxu, and I will never let you go." As she said that, she grabbed the hair of the woman opposite.

Seeing the serious situation, the old lady of Yan's family stepped back and said, "Ms. Jia Zhang, I'm here to tell your family something. Why are you scolding people? I should reply according to what they say. If you don't believe me, ask this young man." As he spoke, he pushed the person in front of him.

"Yes, Auntie, Jia Dongxu had an accident in the factory and has been sent to the hospital. Our workshop director asked me to come and inform the family. Who are you?"

"If you say something bad will happen, it will happen. Who are you? Can I trust you?" The fat woman yelled, and a beautiful young woman came out from behind the door.

"Isn't this Xiao Liu from the third workshop of the steel mill? My husband, Mr. Li, knows her. She works in the same workshop as your son." A family member of a steel mill in the front yard verified the identity of the visitor. "Xiao Liu, this is Jia Dongxu's mother. If you have anything to say, please tell me."

"Didn't I just tell you that Jia Dongxu was in an accident and was sent to the hospital? I asked my family to send someone there. If it's too late, we might not be able to see him for the last time." The first part of the sentence was fine, but the last part shocked everyone. He went to work in the morning, but he died in the afternoon?

The fat woman was stunned for a moment, then she started crying, "Dongxu, my son! You can't die. How can I live if you die?"

The beautiful woman next to her also wiped her tears. The fat woman saw this and slapped her in the face, "You unlucky star, you slut, it's all because of you who brought bad luck to my son and sucked his yang energy. That's why he got into trouble. And you still have the nerve to cry!" She scolded him while tearing the beautiful woman's hair with her hands.

Everyone nearby held onto the fat woman and urged her, "Dongxu's mother, stop making a fuss. Let's go to the hospital quickly. Maybe it's not a serious matter."

"Yes, yes, yes, there is a chance that everything will be fine. My Dongxu is blessed with a good life. He will be a leader in the future, not a short life." The fat woman let go of her hand, turned around and trotted out of the yard.

The beautiful woman was helped up by an old lady, "Huai Ru, you should go too. Don't be too late or your mother-in-law will find fault with you again."

"Well, thank you, Auntie. Xiaodang is still at home. Please help me take care of him."

"Don't worry, I'll be there soon."

The woman named Huairu said to the confused Xiao Liu: "Brother, please lead the way. Let's catch up with my mother-in-law as soon as possible."

Xiao Liu looked at the tearful woman and felt sympathy for her. "Poor thing, she is so young and beautiful but has to be a widow. What a sin!" He thought randomly in his mind and nodded as he walked beside the woman.

It was too late when they arrived at the hospital. Jia Dongxu's head and face were already covered by a white sheet. Seeing this, the fat woman and the beautiful woman ignored their coworkers and leaders, and cried bitterly while holding the body on both sides.

The fat woman cried and slapped Jia Dongxu's body, "My son, my flesh, it hurts me so much, your father died for the steel mill, and you also died for the steel mill. You left us orphans and widows, how can we live!"

The beautiful woman opposite was just sobbing softly, but her tears were like a river bursting its banks, and soon the white cloth in front of her and the front of her shirt were wet.

Everyone couldn't bear to see the two people sad. After waiting for a long time, a middle-aged man with a crew cut and a square face walked up to the fat woman and said, "Sister-in-law, please accept my condolences. The dead cannot be brought back to life. You must take care of yourself. We still have Banggeng and Xiaodang at home. Don't worry, everything is decided by the leaders of the workshop and the factory. Deputy Director Wang is here too."

Deputy Director Wang came over quickly and said, "Yes, don't worry, Auntie. Dongxu had an accident at work and the factory will definitely be responsible." The workshop director next to him also nodded.

It is really a good era. Although it is poor, the workers are the real leading class and the masters. When something happens, no one dares to shirk responsibility or fool around. There are prescribed procedures and compensation standards. There are some differences in the compensation, but not too big.

What Fat Lady Jia was shouting about was that she wanted more compensation. She had experienced the death of a man and had been a widow. She knew how difficult it was for a woman to live with a young child. Now the son she had raised with great difficulty was dead, and her daughter-in-law was young and beautiful. She wondered if she could keep her. But even if she could keep her, what would happen to the many suitors out there...

After seeing Jia Dongxu's body, Jia was crying for her son, crying for her own misfortune, and thinking about the future. When she heard the workshop director's words, she immediately hugged the director's legs and said, "Leader, you must make a decision for us orphans and widows. Two generations of men in our family died for our steel mill. How can I, an old woman, live with my little grandson?" (This is like being abandoned by your daughter-in-law) She cried and wiped her tears on the director's pants.

Deputy Director Wang's eyes were filled with disgust, but he comforted Mrs. Jia in a warm voice, "Don't worry, Auntie. The factory's arrangements will satisfy your family members and will not hurt the hearts of our workers and their families. The factory is now studying the specific plan and will probably give a result tomorrow."

Mrs. Jia pleaded with the deputy director by the sleeve, repeating over and over again: "Leaders must consider my family's difficulties. We are an orphan and a widow, and we are pitiful."

Deputy Director Wang promised several times that he would do his best and with the help of the workshop director, he finally escaped from the clutches of the evildoer. "Auntie, I will leave Director Chen here to help you with Comrade Jia Dongxu's funeral. I will go back to the factory to help you." He left in a hurry without waiting for Mrs. Jia to answer.