Siheyuan: Sizhu starts blindly and takes a new path

In the morning, Sha Zhu kissed Liuyi on the cheek as usual, and made a face to his son before going out to work with Yu Li.

Sha Zhu sent Yu Li to the door of the street office and asked Uncle Guan what he wanted to eat these days, so he didn't go to the Red Star Steel Rolling Plant with Sha Zhu. Last year, Uncle Guan didn't spend the New Year with Sha Zhu and the others. First, he was not very familiar with Sha Zhu, and second, it was even more unreasonable to go to Sha Zhu's master's house. This year, although Sha Zhu was getting busier and busier, they rarely drank together, but every time Sha Zhu sent Yu Li to work, he would always chat with Uncle Guan and ask him what he wanted to eat. He would definitely bring it to the old man the next day, bringing a touch of family warmth to Uncle Guan's lonely life. Especially after Liuyi was born, Uncle Guan would find someone to replace him during the day and run to the courtyard to tease little Liuyi for a while. When he met Lou Xiao'e, the two would compete for who could hold Liuyi longer. So this year, Sha Zhu invited Uncle Guan to his house to spend the New Year's Eve at home, and the old man readily agreed, but only agreed to eat. After dinner, he had to go back to the message room to continue his duty and keep watch. Uncle Guan is dedicated to his job and patriotic, so Sha Zhu naturally cannot stop him and he admires him even more.

According to the custom of the Spring Festival, people in the courtyard began to sweep the house, buy meat, make dough, steam buns, and post the Spring Festival couplets written by the third uncle. This year, the third uncle received a lot more things than in previous years, especially the Jia family. In previous years, writing couplets for his family could be exchanged for a handful of melon seeds. This year, the Jia family was unprecedentedly generous and gave two handfuls of peanuts. This was mainly because Mrs. Jia didn't see it. If Mrs. Jia saw it, it would probably be a handful of melon seeds. The third uncle is stingy, stingy to himself and his family, and likes to take advantage, but he will use words to make the other party take the initiative to let him take advantage, and sometimes he will repay in other ways. Mrs. Jia also likes to take advantage, but she takes it by force and never returns. The third uncle looked at the pile of peanuts in his wife's winnowing basket and thought: I won't write to your family next year. In previous years, your family didn't have a good life and gave a handful of melon seeds, and I didn't say anything. This year, your family doesn't often eat chicken and meat, and you give me two handfuls of peanuts during the Spring Festival. You really think that intellectuals are easy to bully. The third uncle looked at the Spring Festival couplets on the door and really wanted to add a few strokes to them. He stomped his feet and turned to go to Sha Zhu's house.

Yu Shui, who was at home with Liu Yi, gave the third uncle 50 cents as his brother instructed and got two Spring Festival couplets. Yu Shui asked his brother why he gave 50 cents this year when he gave 30 cents in previous years. It's not like there's an extra room or door in the house that needs to write an extra couplet. Sha Zhu said, "I'm a cadre now, and your sister-in-law seems to be getting promoted. You'll also be a state cadre when you graduate next year. Our family is getting more and more prosperous. Giving him more money is first to stop him from gossiping, and second to indicate that our family is getting better and better, for a good omen."

The third uncle happily took the fruits of his labor home and boasted to his son and daughter-in-law that he had only exchanged a piece of red paper and a few drops of ink for the basket of things, as well as more than one yuan in his hand. He said to his youngest son Jie Kuang and daughter Jie Di, "Do you know why I can exchange something worthless for food and money?"

Yan Jiekuang knew his father wanted to show off again and didn't want to be a supporting actor, so he didn't say anything. Yan Jiedi was still young and didn't quite understand, so he didn't answer. The third uncle had to ask himself and answer: "This is the power of knowledge. I have culture and I can write well. Those people in the yard are uneducated and can't write as well as I can, so I can get money and food. Do you understand?"

Liu Yuhua was helping her mother-in-law and third aunt, who had just returned home, prepare the meals for New Year's Eve, and she listened with disdain to her third uncle showing off for a long time just for a few dollars.

After getting married, she lived in Yan's family for more than half a year. Her weight dropped from 160 catties to 130 catties. People in the courtyard said that Liu Yuhua was getting more and more beautiful. At first, Liu Yuhua was very happy to hear that, but when she was panting after swinging a hammer a few times in the factory, she realized that her beauty had a price. Although there was not meat every meal in her mother's family, there were steamed buns and vegetables. Now she only has one steamed bun for dinner at night, and she can only eat the vegetables in front of her. It's not impossible to eat more, but the main reason is that the third aunt is used to making so little every time. If she eats, her younger brothers and sisters will have nothing to eat. As a sister-in-law, she is really embarrassed. Fortunately, she can eat as much as she wants in the factory at noon, otherwise, let alone 130, I guess I'd be thankful if I could maintain 110.

She discussed several times with Yan Jiecheng, who was already working at the steel mill, about renting a house for the two of them to live separately. Yan Jiecheng, who inherited the tradition of being stingy, did the math for her: a bad house costs about 7 yuan per room, a good one costs more than 10 yuan, and we only sleep for a dozen hours after get off work; from what I know about my father, even if we don’t eat at home, we still have to pay pension money for the old man, and he will probably ask us for 10 yuan when he sees that I’m working. This doesn’t include the miscellaneous expenses for living separately, these two items alone are 20 yuan, just like what we pay to our family, is it worth it for us to move out?

Liu Yuhua didn't think so. She said, "But look at how thin I am now. Before we got married, I boasted that I would make you fat, but not only did you not gain weight, I became so thin that I wake up hungry every night. We both earn a lot now, enough for us to go out and live alone."

"Wife, if you're hungry, let's buy something secretly and eat inside at night. When I get a permanent job, we can get a house in the factory, and then we can go out and live alone."

Without her husband's support, Liu Yuhua could not move out no matter how strong she was or how much she earned. She could only bear it and wait. Fortunately, in November, Yan Jiecheng passed the first-class worker exam and was given a permanent job by the factory. They also submitted their application for housing and waited for news from the factory.

At night, Liu Yuhua, who was once again hungry and secretly eating, discussed the bill with Yan Jiecheng and said, "How big a house do you think the factory will give us?"

"How would I know? Seeing that Song Ming, Chao Tiangang and the others all shared one room, I guess it's about the same for us. Housing is in short supply now, and many families have seven or eight people squeezed into two rooms."

"Yes, the Yang family across the street also has six people living in two rooms. But they are all single-income earners, and we are different. We have two working people. I think you are right. Wait until you become a regular employee before applying for a house. Two-income people still have advantages, but I don't know if it will work. I really envy Shazhu. They have four houses for a family of four. When my sister gets married in the future, she will have four rooms for a family of three."

"Their houses were bought before liberation, unlike ours, which were divided. We can live in three rooms because there were many people in our family at that time, and the street arranged three rooms for us. The houses of the Xiang family opposite, the Yi family, Jia family, Ma family and He family in the middle courtyard, the Xu family, Liu family and the old lady in the backyard are all private houses of their own, and they have the "Land and Property Ownership Certificate". But they can't be bought or sold, which means they don't have to pay rent every month. Besides, Shazhu didn't just have one child, and if he had more children in the future, it would still be crowded, so there's no need to envy them."

"As if we don't want to have children?"

"You must have children, and you must have more children?" Looking at his wife who has become slimmer, Yan Jiecheng felt particularly comfortable. He put his arms around Liu Yuhua's waist and thought to himself, it is better to be thinner. Before, I couldn't even touch her with both hands, and I couldn't hold her in my arms. Now it's so good, I can hold my wife in my arms!

Liu Yuhua said in a nonchalant manner: "Don't make trouble, I'm not full yet!"