Siheyuan: The rise and fall of the He family is our responsibility

In addition to his busy work, He Yuzhu still takes time to help his neighbors. Once, the electric fan in Aunt Wang's house broke down, and He Yuzhu went over to help fix it without saying a word. After the electric fan was repaired, Aunt Wang said gratefully: "Xiao He, you are really the Lei Feng of our yard!"

He Yuzhu smiled, waved his hand and said, "We are all neighbors, and it is only natural for us to help each other."

As time went by, the relationship between He Yuzhu and Zhang Xiaomei gradually warmed up. One autumn evening, He Yuzhu plucked up the courage to confess his love to Zhang Xiaomei. They stood under the locust tree in the courtyard, and the setting sun shone on them, as if coating their love with a layer of golden glory.

Zhang Xiaomei blushed and whispered, "I like you, too, for a long time."

At this moment, He Yuzhu felt that his world had become incomparably beautiful. They walked hand in hand on the streets of Beijing, their hearts full of longing for the future.

However, life is always full of surprises. In 1966, the Cultural Revolution broke out, and the lives of He Yuzhu and Zhang Xiaomei were completely changed. The blacksmith shop was forced to close, and Zhang Xiaomei was forced to leave the podium she loved. Their courtyard became a stage for political struggles, and the relationship between neighbors became tense.

He Yuzhu was unwilling to give up. He believed that no matter how difficult the time was, he could get through it. He and Zhang Xiaomei supported each other and faced the challenges of life together. They cultivated a small vegetable garden in the yard, planted vegetables, and maintained the basic needs of life with their hard-working hands.

During those difficult years, He Yuzhu learned more skills, not only the blacksmith's craft, but also carpentry, electrical appliance repair, etc. He became a generalist in the courtyard, and everyone would ask him for help when they had difficulties. He always faced everything with optimism, and used practical actions to tell everyone not to lose hope at any time.

The love between He Yuzhu and Zhang Xiaomei also became stronger in the midst of suffering. They relied on each other, supported each other, and went through that turbulent period together. Despite the hardships of life, they never gave up their beautiful vision for the future.

As time passed, life in the courtyard gradually returned to normal. He Yuzhu reopened the blacksmith shop, and Zhang Xiaomei returned to the podium. The neighbors in the courtyard united again and welcomed a new life together. Although they had experienced wind and rain, their hearts were still full of sunshine.

He Yuzhu gets up at 5:30 every morning, before the sun rises. He rubs his eyes habitually, shakes his heavy head, washes up quickly, then pushes open the wooden door and walks out of the house. The courtyard is quiet and peaceful in the early morning, with occasional bird calls. He takes a deep breath of fresh air, feeling the coolness of the early morning.

He went to the well in the yard, drew a bucket of water, and poured it into his large iron basin skillfully, then rubbed his face vigorously until it was rosy. After that, he quickly finished the simple breakfast prepared by his mother - a bowl of hot porridge, a steamed bun, and some pickles.

"Mom, I'm going out!" He Yuzhu shouted to his mother in the house.

"Be careful on the road and come back early." Zhang Cuihua responded from the kitchen.

He Yuzhu carried his tool bag and set off for the blacksmith shop. The number of pedestrians on the street gradually increased, and everyone was rushing to work. He Yuzhu walked on the familiar street, feeling the busy atmosphere around him. Every street and every blue brick was filled with memories of his life.

When he walked to the door of the blacksmith shop, he saw several old friends were already busy. They greeted each other and quickly got down to work for the day. The work in the blacksmith shop was hard, but He Yuzhu liked the down-to-earth feeling. The charcoal fire in the furnace was burning, and the iron blocks made crisp knocking sounds under the hammers, hammering out the hope of life one hammer at a time.

"Yuzhui, there is an old customer here whose stove is broken and needs to be repaired." Old Zhang said to He Yuzhui.

"Okay, I'll go right away." He Yuzhu put down the work in his hands, picked up his tool kit, and walked out of the blacksmith shop.

He Yuzhu arrived at the customer's home and found that the furnace blower was broken. He carefully checked it and then started to repair it. His movements were skillful and precise, and he quickly fixed the blower. The customer nodded with satisfaction and praised repeatedly: "Master He, you have great craftsmanship, thank you so much!"

"It's okay, this is what I should do." He Yuzhu replied with a smile.

After repairing the furnace, He Yuzhu returned to the blacksmith shop and continued to work with his colleagues. They not only had to repair various iron tools, but also make some new tools. He Yuzhu always took every job seriously, no matter whether it was a big job or a small job, he was meticulous.

During the lunch break, the guys in the blacksmith shop sat together and simply ate the dry food they brought with them. Old Zhang lit a cigarette, took a deep puff, and then began to tell stories about his youth.

"When I was young, I was also a young man full of vigor and vitality. Our industry was really prosperous at that time." Old Zhang squinted his eyes, as if recalling the glory of the past.

"Yes, Master Zhang, you were the backbone of our industry at that time." Xiao Li said with a smile.

He Yuzhu listened silently. He liked listening to the stories of these old friends. It seemed that through their stories, he could also feel the passion and vitality of that era.

In the afternoon, He Yuzhu continued to be busy. Everyone in the blacksmith shop worked in an orderly manner, and the sound of hammers hitting each other came one after another. He Yuzhu occasionally looked up and saw his colleagues sweating profusely, and felt a warm feeling in his heart. They are all ordinary people on this land, but everyone is working hard for life.

In the evening, He Yuzhu finally finished his day's work. He took off his work clothes stained with sweat and iron filings, washed them briefly, said goodbye to his colleagues, and set off on his way home.

When he returned to the courtyard, the yard was already bustling. Neighbors gathered in groups of three or four, some chatting about family matters, and some playing chess. He Yuzhu smiled and greeted everyone, then walked to the door of Zhang Xiaomei's house.

"Xiaomei, I'm back." He Yuzhu knocked on the door.

The door opened quickly, and Zhang Xiaomei's gentle face appeared behind the door. She smiled and said, "You've worked hard. Come in and have a rest."

He Yuzhu walked into the room and saw that dinner was already on the table. Zhang Xiaomei knew that he worked hard, so she always prepared delicious meals in advance. The two sat down and talked about what happened today while eating.

"I repaired another blower today, and the customer was quite satisfied." He Yuzhu took a bite of steamed bun and said with satisfaction.