Siheyuan: Bringing Warehouses to 1959

During the school summer vacation, Huang Liang did not stay in Beijing, but went to visit his parents who were not in Beijing with great difficulty, and he went to visit them in two places because his parents did not work in the same place.

This situation is very normal, especially now, when many people are building the country and are scattered across the motherland. They cannot go home once a year, and their families cannot be reunited.

(Refer to "The World", my grandfather was also away from home in his early years, and he did not return to his hometown until he retired. I did not see him many times in total. By the time I could remember things, the old man had passed away.)

Huang Liang traveled back and forth, spending a lot of time on the road. He lived next to his parents for a while and when he came back, he brought back the things his parents had saved for him.

As soon as Huang Liang returned to Sijiu City, he rushed to get the things.

"Liangzi, when did you come back?" Lin Huyang was very happy to see his brother. He didn't care about the water on his hands. He went up to hug the sweaty Huang Liang and took the bag from his hand. He joked, "You got quite a lot. You said you came here, so why bring any food? You're welcome."

Nowadays, the most suitable gift is food, followed by clothing.

Lin Haitao threw away his cigarette butt with a smile, helped his son move the basin to the side, went into the house and brought out a stool, placing it under the shade of the tree.

"Uncle, let's not sit down. Let's go to Wangcai's house right away." Huang Liang said politely, "After I deliver the gifts, I will go out and play with Yangzi."

He placed the net bag on a stool, opened it, and took out some brown paper bags, introducing them: "It's nothing special, just some cakes and canned food that my parents saved, as well as work gloves, liberation shoes, etc...."

"Do you have Liberation shoes?" Lin Huyang's eyes lit up. "What size? Let me see!"

Jiefang shoes will be a god for some time to come, and they are even more god-like now. Ordinary people cannot own them yet, and it will take some time for them to be available on the market.

At this time, if anyone could wear a pair of Liberation shoes, it would be a honor.

Lin Huyang's parents worked in a poor mountain village. All their food, clothing and daily expenses were taken care of by the government, so they were able to save a lot of things, including labor protection supplies such as Liberation shoes and gloves.

"There are only two pairs. I don't know if you can wear them. You can try them. One pair for you and one pair for Wangcai." Huang Liang said with a smile.

He never thought of wearing a pair himself.

Lin Huyang took a pair of shoes and tried them on his feet, then threw them to his father: "You wear them, they are too small for me."

Lin Haitao, who was sitting at the door, almost burst into tears on the spot. After so many years, he finally enjoyed the filial piety of this bastard.

He didn't refuse. He put the shoes on his feet to try them out. The result was - they were too big!

Huang Liang brought a lot of miscellaneous things with him. Except for food, the rest were daily necessities needed at home. Huang Liang didn't keep any of them and divided them into two.

After sorting out the household items, Huang Liang brought the cloth bag over. "Life is not easy in the countryside this year, even harder than in the city. My parents seem to have the same idea and have been looking for fellow villagers to exchange for sweet potato chips. We have saved quite a lot during this period, about 20 kilograms, or half for you and Wangcai's family."

"Dried sweet potatoes? I like them!" Lin Huyang reached into his pocket and took out a "stick". He opened his mouth and took a bite, and his teeth almost broke. "Fuck, this is an iron stick, right? Can I eat it?"

"You know shit!" Lin Haitao came over and taught his heartless son a lesson, "This is a good thing that can save lives. After drying it in the sun, you can eat it as food, not a snack. After soaking it, you can cook it and eat it. These more than 20 kilograms of dried sweet potatoes are much more valuable than more than 20 kilograms of food..."

Lin Huyang's family is small, and his father Lin Haitao works at a food station, so he always has some convenience at work and is not short of oil and water, so Lin Huyang did not starve much and thought the sweet potato chips were a snack.

Hearing that it could be used as food, Lin Huyang knew the importance of this thing: "Liangzi, have you brought all the things? You didn't leave any behind, right?"

Huang Liang smiled and agreed.

He didn't answer the question about when he would be back just now, just to avoid talking about this, because he came here as soon as he got off the train.

"Then let my family ask for less dried sweet potatoes, so I can send some to my sister, and take the rest to Wangcai's house." Lin Huyang suggested, "Wangcai's family has a large population, and the two underage children can eat more than the adults. The fish meat they have stored is probably eaten up, and Wangcai won't be here for a while..."

"Shut up!" Lin Haitao scolded with a smile, "Why are you telling me all this? Are you worried that your father won't agree? Get out of here, and remember to bring the bones with you."

Lin Huyang chuckled, sorted the things, unlocked the bicycle, and asked Huang Liang to sit in the back.

When Lin Huyang was about to leave, Lin Haitao chased him out and asked him if he had enough money to go out for a good meal so that Huang Liang could make up for it.

Lin Huyang and Huang Liang were both well-off and they were playing jungle with Zeng Wangcai at the time. Zeng Wangcai later gave them some money.

On the way, the two discussed that they hadn't visited Zeng Wangcai's house for a long time, so they might as well not eat out and waste it. It would be better to go to Donglaishun to buy some mutton, and then go to the restaurant to cook two dishes to bring to the meal, since it was almost time for dinner anyway.

The two hit it off and went to Donglaishun, but they had sold out their mutton and were not delivering it to customers.

Helplessly, the two found a restaurant, fried three meat dishes and a plate of shredded potatoes, bought four bottles of Five Star beer and left.

Beer has been around for a long time, but in Beijing, only young people crave it; older people don't care about it.

One reason is that older people are addicted to alcohol, and beer has a low alcohol content, so they don’t feel satisfied after drinking it. Another reason is that beer is too expensive. A bottle of Five Star beer costs 31 cents, and there is no reaction after drinking it.

So except for young people with spare money, ordinary people would not choose beer.

The dishes were cooked in a state-owned restaurant at the entrance of Nanluoguxiang Hutong. After paying the deposit, the two of them took away the dishes together.

Huang Liang pushed the bicycle and Lin Huyang carried the tray, and they walked into the courtyard with the fragrance wafting all the way.

"Uncle, aunt, Sister Xiuzhi..." Lin Huyang opened his mouth and called out.

Because it was hot and the sun was about to set, the sun was not too strong, so almost everyone chose to stay outside, fanning themselves with a palm-leaf fan.

The same goes for Zeng's family, the door is very lively.

Zeng Youqian was fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan, Chen Yumei was cooking outside, and Zhang Xiuzhi was staring at Xiaoqiang and Lai Fu, who were doing their homework with sad faces.

Their old house has not been repaired yet, but they don’t have much time left.

No one knows what is happening inside, but the changes outside are something that everyone in the Siheyuan envy and is ready to imitate.

A shed was built outside the Zeng family's house with frames and two or three grape trees were planted. The grapes have not grown yet as the shed lacks shade, but there is hope for the future.

"Hey, why are you two here?" Chen Yumei looked up and smiled immediately when she saw the two people.

"I haven't eaten yet... What are you holding in your hand?" Zeng Youqian stood up and saw the things on the tray. He deliberately said with a sullen face, "If you spend money like this again, don't come to my house."

"Uncle, not really, not really!" Lin Huyang chuckled, "It's mainly because Liangzi just came back and is ravenous. It's a good opportunity for us to meet up, so let's have a meal and talk."

Zhan set out to prepare for dinner.

Xiaoqiang and Lai Fu looked at their sister-in-law pitifully, hoping to be relieved early.

"Eat first, and then write after dinner. Xiaoqiang, if you can't recite this Tang poem today, you'll be beaten..."

Lai Fu twisted his mouth and looked at his brother with a bit of gloating.

But the next second, he heard his sister-in-law yelling, "Laifu, if you can't recite the multiplication table to three today, I'll hang you on the wall and let you sleep."

Speaking of the multiplication table, Xiao Qiang could not help but chuckle. Ever since his eldest brother wrote to ask his sister-in-law to focus on studying, he has not been able to memorize the multiplication table beyond three. One plus one equals one plus one plus three equals three, and that's it.

"Wow..." Lai Fu pouted and cried, "Brother Yangzi, save me..."

"Don't, don't look for me!" Lin Huyang laughed, "Your eldest brother can't beat your eldest sister-in-law, what can I do? Be obedient and memorize the multiplication table honestly, or you will go to sleep on the wall..."

Tease the little brother for a while, then start eating.

Zeng Youqian didn't drink beer, so Lin Huyang bought four bottles, one for him and Huang Liang, and two for Zhang Xiuzhi.

But Zhang Xiuzhi had been tutoring her younger brother-in-law with his homework these days, and she was so angry that she couldn't drink.

The Zeng family hadn't started eating yet, but the dining table of the Yan family across the street was moved out because Yan Bugui, who had been out fishing, would be back around this time.

Sure enough, not long after the dining table was set, Yan Bugui came back with something and a newspaper tucked under his arm.

There happened to be a photo on one side of the newspaper, and in the photo was a crystal clear little tomato...