Siheyuan: Bringing Warehouses to 1959

Shi Yan got up from the cowshed before dawn, braved the cold to fetch some cold water, started a fire, and then hung a pitch-black iron kettle on the fire to boil water. She then put a black pot on the fire and prepared to cook a small pot of porridge as usual and roast two potatoes for her husband as breakfast.

Because of Zhao Yihua, Huang Hai and his wife were basically isolated from the masses. They could only obtain a small amount of supplies and had to suffer in the cowshed. They had to be self-sufficient in food and drink every day.

Moreover, the couple is also responsible for looking after the commune's cattle.

Other places have seen more or less changes due to the cessation of wind and rain, but the situation of Huang Hai and his wife has been getting worse and worse, not getting better at all.

"Teacher Shi, don't roast the potatoes anymore. Look what I brought you." A tall young girl with pigtails and simple patched clothes walked into the cowshed.

"Tian Ye, why are you here again?" Shi Yan was anxious when she saw the girl. "Hurry up and leave. If Zhao Yihua's people see you, they will make things difficult for you again."

"What are you afraid of? I'm not afraid of him, why are you worried?" Tian Ye walked in without stopping, squatted by the fire, and dug out two potatoes. "He, Zhao Yihua, has absolute power in Niuzhuang Commune. I, Tian Ye, am not afraid of him."

"You have to go back to the city eventually. If you offend him, you can't go back to the city. Are you willing to stay in the countryside for the rest of your life?" Shi Yan sighed.

"Didn't you say that you would resume the college entrance examination? When the time comes, can he stop me from taking the exam? I'm not afraid of him. Look, I brought you some white flour steamed buns, which are Teacher Huang's favorite." While speaking, Tian Ye took out a lunch box from her canvas schoolbag. There were two white flour steamed buns in the lunch box.

"Don't take food away from your mouth. It's okay for us two old guys not to eat fine grains... Look at you, you are malnourished and your face is yellow."

"I didn't wash my face this morning, so I look pale." Tian Ye stuffed the steamed bun into Shi Yan's hand without caring, "You taught me cultural knowledge, and it's my duty to show my filial piety to you."

"Oh, if you weren't here these years, I don't know if your uncle and I could have survived..." Shi Yan sighed with her head down.

Mr. and Mrs. Huang Hai came a few years earlier than Tian Ye. There is no need to explain the reason why they came, but Miss Tian Ye has an explanation.

Tian Ye, in his twenties, belongs to the new fifth class. After graduating from junior high school, he went to Niuzhuang to receive further education.

She was from Northeast China and had a generous personality. Not long after she arrived, both of her parents passed away.

Tian Ye almost couldn't hold on during that period. If she hadn't met the Huang Hai couple and accepted their comfort, Tian Ye might have really lost her mind.

Later, Tian Ye and the Huang Hai couple supported each other like a family for a while. After Zhao Yihua came, Shi Yan began to distance herself from Tian Ye, but Tian Ye refused and had been silently helping the Huang Hai couple in the past few years.

"Eat quickly and stop talking about this." Tian Ye said as he stirred the porridge in the pot. "I can't go back anymore. After my eldest brother married my sister-in-law, there was no place for me at home. I wouldn't even have a bed to sleep in. So I followed you and waited for you to return to the city. I will take the college entrance examination, but I don't know when the college entrance examination will be resumed."

"What nonsense are you talking about, kid?" Shi Yan scolded. "Although the resumption of the college entrance examination has not been confirmed, it won't be long. As soon as it is resumed, you should immediately take the college entrance examination, go to school, build the motherland, and live a good life. Your uncle and I are buried up to our necks in the dirt, and we don't have many years left to live..."

"You are talking nonsense. Don't forget that you still have a senior brother..." Tian Ye saw that the teacher was depressed, and he used a magic weapon and said, "I haven't met Senior Brother Huang Liang yet. Maybe he has returned to China and is looking for you and uncle everywhere."

Shi Yan perked up when she heard her son being mentioned, while Huang Hai, who was eating a steamed bun beside her, kept calling "Liangzi".

Shi Yan went to comfort her husband, and then proudly said: "Liangzi is a good student. He started doing research when he was in Peking University. If it weren't for that incident, Liangzi would definitely be a scientist now. It's a pity that he has a problem with his legs and can't find a girlfriend, otherwise he wouldn't be targeted by Zhou Mei..."

She had something to say but didn't dare to say it. It would be great if Tian Ye could be her daughter-in-law. She was too satisfied with this kind-hearted girl. However, she felt that her family background was not good and her son had problems with his legs and feet, so she never dared to mention it.

"A capable person will be capable wherever he is. Everything will be fine. Don't worry!" Tian Ye picked up a broken black enamel pot and filled half of it with porridge. "Drink porridge. Your porridge is too clear. It's all water. Put more rice..."

"You also said that if the commune knew you were stealing rice, you would be finished."

"What are you afraid of? Who dares to catch me? Who can catch me?"

Tian Ye has a fierce temper and is a big person from Northeast China. In the commune, few people dare to mess with her.

But this is the reason why Zhao Yihua did not take action against her, otherwise Tian Ye’s life would not be easy.

After breakfast, Tian Ye said that she had nothing to do today, so she helped Shi Yan lead the cows out of the cowshed and asked Shi Yan to take care of the confused Huang Hai.

With Tian Ye's help, Shi Yan's work for the day will be much easier.

Several cows were eating hay, and their tails were sticking out, and cow dung fell to the ground in lumps. There was a pile of half-dried cow dung not far away. Tian Ye went to get a bamboo basket and prepared to collect the cow dung. The cow dung could be used as firewood after drying.

Just when the three were enjoying warmth in their suffering, several people came towards the rising sun from the direction of the commune. The two leading them were Zhao Yihua and Zhou Mei.

In the past, when Zhao Yihua came, he would either come alone or be accompanied by Zhou Mei, because many of the things he did were shameful and Zhao Yihua didn't want the people in the commune to know.

But this time, for some reason, Zhao Yihua brought two men with guns, and it seemed that these two men were militiamen from the commune.

"Tian Ye, hurry up and leave!" Seeing Zhao Yihua's scene, Shi Yan immediately shouted to Tian Ye.

"I won't leave!" Having already met, Tian Ye took the risk and stood in front of Huang Hai and his wife with a fork for forking cow dung. "Zhao Yihua, why are you here again? Isn't this endless?"

Huang Hai, who was unconscious, was so frightened when he saw Zhao Yihua that he trembled all over. He shrank into Shi Yan's arms, and a "hehe" sound came from his throat.

"Tian Ye, this is none of your business, get out of the way!" Zhao Yihua stood in front of Tian Ye and shouted, "Before you secretly collaborated with the enemy, I turned a blind eye, but if you continue to protect them, I will not be polite."

"What enemy? Do you have the final say?" Tian Ye did not retreat. "It is not your turn to speak about the teacher's problems. If the teacher really had problems, the relevant departments would have taken action long ago. You are just taking revenge."

Tian Ye knew the story of Zhou Mei and the other two.

Zhao Yihua hated it most when outsiders mentioned this. Hearing this, he angrily said, "You really think I dare not deal with you, right? Arrest her for me..."

The two militiamen immediately pounced on Tian Ye like wolves and tigers.