Siheyuan: I am different He Yuzhu

After delivering the quilt to the cotton fluffing shop, He Yuzhu took out his pocket watch to check the time. It was almost 5 o'clock and He Yushui was about to finish school. It was time to pick up He Yushui. He Yuzhu rode his bicycle to Hongxing Primary School. It was only 5:05 when he arrived at the school gate. He Yuzhu propped up the bicycle and sat on the back seat.

Less than 5 minutes later, students started walking out after school. When He Yuzhu saw this, he got up from the back seat of the car and soon after, He Yushui appeared at the school gate. Before He Yuzhu could say hello to He Yushui, He Yushui ran towards him with a small schoolbag on his back.

"Brother, why are you here so early? I always waited for dad at school when he picked me up."

He Yuzhu patted the bicycle behind him and said, "Brother bought a bicycle. Riding a bicycle is faster than walking, so he can come to pick you up earlier."

"Brother, you bought a bicycle. Is this bike bought by you? Then can I take the bike to school instead of walking in the future?" He Yushui looked at He Yuzhu's newly bought bicycle with excitement.

"Yes, from now on, big brother can take Yu Shui to school by bike. Then Yu Shui can ride a bike to school instead of walking. Yu Shui has never ridden a bike before, come on, big brother will take you home. Yu Shui, do you want to sit in the front or the back?"

"I want to sit in the front. I want to sit in the front."

He Yuzhu kicked the stand away, held the bicycle with one hand, and carried He Yushui to the crossbar with the other hand. He Yushui sat on the crossbar and grabbed the middle of the handlebars. He Yuzhu saw that He Yushui was already sitting firmly, so he directly stepped over the bicycle. "Sit tight, Yushui, we are going home."

He Yuzhu put one foot on the footstool and exerted a little force, and the bicycle started moving immediately.

"Brother, when did you learn to ride a bicycle? Why do you ride a bicycle differently from others? I saw others had to wait for a few seconds before getting on the bike."

"I bought the bike today, and I learned how to ride it after just two tries. It's very easy to learn how to ride a bike. When it rains hard, I'll teach you how to ride a bike. As for what you said about other people riding astride the bike, it's because they are short and their legs are not long enough. When they sit on the seat, their feet can't reach the ground, so they ride like that. I'm tall and have long legs, so I don't need to ride like that."

He Yuzhu rode his bike and soon arrived at the gate of No. 95 courtyard house. He Yuzhu parked the bike, got off first, then picked up He Yushui and put her on the ground. He Yushui's little face was flushed with excitement.

"Brother, when you don't have to go to work anymore, take me out to play on your bike." He Yushui said, holding He Yuzhu's hand.

"Okay, I'll take you out to play on my bike then. Now I have to go home and cook. You go in first, and I'll move the bike in."

He Yuzhu carried the car up the steps of the front gate, and when he entered the courtyard, the residents in the courtyard looked at him with envy, but because they were not familiar with him, they did not dare to surround him and ask questions. He Yuzhu pushed the car into the middle courtyard, parked it on the steps under his eaves, and locked it.

Sitting at her door, Jia Zhang saw He Yuzhu riding a new bicycle and immediately felt unbalanced, but she didn't dare to say it out loud. She could only mutter to herself, "It seems like a prodigal son who doesn't know how to live. His father just ran off with a widow, and he immediately bought a bicycle to show off. When he can't make ends meet, I wonder what you'll do."

He Yuzhu took out the key, unlocked the door, pushed the door open and walked into the room, took out the alarm clock from the cloth bag and placed it on the table.

"Yushui, hurry up and finish the homework that the teacher assigned you today. I'll go to the kitchen to cook. You can eat when the meal is ready."

"Okay, brother, why did you buy another watch? Don't we have one at home? Why is this watch so small? It's pretty nice."

"This is called an alarm clock. When you set the time, it will ring to wake you up."

He Yuzhu opened the gate of the small courtyard and entered the kitchen. In the evening, he still had simple rice porridge with fried shredded potatoes. The country had just been founded and the era of bills had not yet arrived. As long as one had money to buy food, one could eat whatever he wanted. He Yuzhu now had a formal job and a not low salary. There was no need to deliberately make things difficult for himself in terms of food in order to keep a low profile. As long as he was not too high-profile and ate a lot of meat and fish every day, it was fine.

When He Yuzhu was cooking, he heard a commotion in the yard. He Yuzhu took a look at the firewood in the furnace, left the kitchen and prepared to go to the yard to see what was going on. As soon as he walked out of the small gate of his kitchen, he saw a group of children in the yard watching his bicycle at his door. Perhaps they were afraid of damaging it, so they only dared to watch from a distance and did not dare to touch it.

After taking a look, He Yuzhu returned to the kitchen to continue cooking his dinner. After eating, He Yuzhu planned to ride his bike to find Carpenter Song to order a set of dining tables for the kitchen. Since he had decided to live in the courtyard for a long time, he would buy some furniture to make himself more comfortable. Next year, He Yuzhu planned to ask Yangshi Lei to renovate the house. Then he would see if he could build a toilet in the house. Anyway, a septic tank could be dug in the small courtyard in front of the kitchen.

He Yuzhu hadn't finished cooking yet, but He Yushui had already finished her homework. He Yushui came to the kitchen and looked at He Yuzhu who was cooking.

"What are you having for dinner, bro?"

"Would you like to eat rice porridge, shredded potatoes, steamed buns made of two-grain flour, and salted duck eggs?"

"Okay, I want to eat a salted duck egg."

After He Yuzhu and He Yushui finished their meal and washed the dishes, they prepared to ride their bikes to take He Yushui to Carpenter Song's house. As soon as they got on the bike, they saw three old men coming out of Yi Zhonghai's house. He Yuzhu greeted the three old men enthusiastically.

"What are you three doing? Why did you come out of an old man's house? Have you eaten?"

"Zhuzi, we are fine. We came back from get off work and heard from the people in the yard that you rode a new bicycle. An old man told you not to feel bad because your father went to Baoding and you grew up under our care. The three of us were worried that you would go astray, so we came to ask you how you got the bicycle. We happened to see you going out and it was getting dark. Where were you going?"

"The three uncles are doing this for my own good and they care about me. I can understand that. This bicycle was bought with the money my master gave me. A few years ago, I became a disciple of a chef from Fengze Garden. After my father left with the White Widow, I went to find my master and his wife. Because the restaurant closes late at night, I have to take care of my sister, so I can't continue to work with my master at Fengze Garden. My master and his wife felt sorry for me and were worried that the money my father left me was not enough, so they gave me the wages I earned as an apprentice with him for so many years. This morning, I followed the eldest uncle to the steel mill to find Boss Lou to see if I could find a job in the cafeteria. Unexpectedly, Boss Lou was impressed by my cooking skills and not only kept me in the cafeteria, but also asked me to take over my father's shift and be responsible for the reception in the small cafeteria. Boss Lou is really a good person."

"At noon, I finished cooking and cleaning the kitchen. I left work when there was nothing else to do. On the way home, I thought that since I would be working in a steel mill in the future, I would buy a bicycle at a department store with the money my master gave me, in order to make it easier to commute to get off work and pick up my sister Yu Shui. However, I didn't expect the bicycle to be so expensive. I spent almost all the 200 million yuan my master gave me in one go."

"When the three uncles came out, I was just about to ride my bike out to find Carpenter Song from Labaying Hutong to make a set of tables."

"Zhuzi, how much does Boss Lou pay you a month? How much did you pay for this bicycle?" Yan Bugui immediately took the opportunity to inquire about He Yuzhu's salary.

"Boss Lou pays me 65 yuan a month, and it cost me nearly 190 million yuan to get the license for the bike."

"Boss Lou is really generous. With your monthly salary, you can't even spend it all on meat every day. Bicycles are so expensive." Yan Bugui looked envious after hearing He Yuzhu talk about his salary.

While He Yuzhu was talking to the three uncles, the other residents of the courtyard gathered around to listen to them. When they heard He Yuzhu say that Boss Lou paid him 65 yuan a month, they all made surprised noises. When they heard He Yuzhu say that he spent 190 million yuan on the bicycle, they all took a deep breath and made a small contribution to global warming. Everyone thought that He Yuzhu could buy a bicycle with his salary in three months, and they all looked at He Yuzhu with envy. When they saw He Yuzhu's handsome face and tall figure, their eyes instantly changed from envy to jealousy, and they couldn't help but wail in their hearts: "God is so unfair, He Yuzhu is not only handsome, but also has such a good job."

"Uncle, you are joking. How can I eat meat every day? Besides, I have a big appetite. I can eat as much as five people. I have a younger sister to support. I have to save money. I have to get married in a few years. I don't know if my father will come back in the future. If he doesn't come back, I have to save money to get married. Uncles, do you have anything else to say? If not, I won't chat with you three. I have to go to Carpenter Song's house quickly. It won't be too late because everyone is resting."

"It's okay, you can go, but be careful when riding on the road." Yi Zhonghai said to He Yuzhu.

He Yuzhu pushed the bike out, and He Yushui ran in front. Yi Zhonghai looked at He Yuzhu's back and said to the two old men, "Lao Liu, Lao Yan, now we know how Zhuzi's bike got here. You can rest assured now."

"Old Yi, what do you think, will Zhuzi lend us his bicycles if the three of us go to borrow them in the future?" Actuary master Yan Bugui had an idea and expressed his thoughts.

"We are the boss, and we use his bicycle to show respect to him." Liu Haizhong said.

"Old Yan, don't think too much. Even if he lends you a bicycle, can you ride it? Even if Zhuzi is willing to lend you a bicycle, you won't ride it and bump into someone else's bicycle. If they ask you for compensation, can you afford it? Well, if there's nothing else to do, let's go home."

After He Yuzhu left the gate of No. 95 Courtyard, he put He Yushui on the bike and rode to Song Carpenter's house in Labaying Hutong. When he arrived at Song Carpenter's house, He Yuzhu stood at the gate and shouted to the yard, "Is Master Song home?"

Soon, Old Song, Carpenter Song, came out. "I knew it was you as soon as I heard your voice. Xiao He, why did you come to see me so late at night? Why did you bring this girl with you?"

"Master Song, this is my sister. I came to see you for no other reason than to ask you to make a dining table and a few chairs."

"Okay, go into the house and talk slowly, don't stand at the door." Old Song was ready to welcome He Yuzhu into the yard.

"I won't go into the house. I'll just stand here and talk. Master Song, the table I want this time is simple. Just remember it. It's going to be dark soon and I have to go home quickly. I want you to make me a small square table three feet wide and eight square stools. You can use the most common wood. It doesn't matter what you use for eating."

"Okay, I've taken note of what you said. Your table is simple and can be made in three days including painting. Do you want me to send it to your home after I finish it?"

"After you finish, please send it to me again. However, this time, I will send it to No. 95, Nanluoguxiang. Usually, no one is home. When you finish the table, I will come to find you and take you to my house."

"No problem, it's all small stuff. I found some nice furniture recently. What do you think of me?"

"The furniture is the same as before. If you find something good, just go to Zhang Hu and have it delivered to the yard in Qudeng Hutong. I'll pay you then. By the way, Master Song, can you make a seat for children on my beam? Just put something similar to a chair on the bicycle beam, and the legs under the chair will fit on the diagonal beam below. Then make a place for children to step on the legs."

After listening to He Yuzhu's gestures, Old Song immediately understood. "This thing you are talking about is easy to make. Wait for me for a moment. I will get something to measure the size of your bicycle's crossbar."

Old Song went back to the yard to get his tools, and then he measured He Yuzhu's bicycle with the tools. After determining the size, he wrote it down in his notebook. "Okay, next time you come to my house, I'll send you your table along with it, and I'll find some cloth to wrap around your legs, otherwise it will wear out the paint on your bicycle over time."

"Master Song is so professional. He can think of this. I'll go back now and won't disturb your rest." After saying that, He Yuzhu got on his bike and took He Yushui to his home in Courtyard 95. On the way, He Yuzhu couldn't help but sigh: Master Song knew how to make what he wanted with just a gesture. Although the craftsmen of this era lack innovative ideas, their vision and knowledge are not bad at all. In this case, can I invent some small inventions for future generations? Then, will I be the great inventor Edison? He Yuzhu, thinking of this, He Yuzhu couldn't help humming, "Ride my beloved bicycle, it will never get stuck in traffic."