Siheyuan, my new life

With the help of the flashlight, Qu Xiuqin carefully counted the valuables hidden in Yi Zhonghai's small treasury. The number she got in the end made her dumbfounded. There were 23 large yellow croakers, 35 small yellow croakers, and 1,480 yuan in cash.

Looking at the valuable properties piled on the eight-immortals table, Qu Xiuqin shed tears of grievance. It turned out that Yi Zhonghai had started to deceive her since he first arrived in Sijiu City. Qu Xiuqin felt that her hard work over the years was not worth it. Even if it was a piece of cold stone, it should have been warmed up after so many years. Unfortunately, she met a cold-blooded poisonous snake.

Yi Zhonghai lied to his wife at that time, saying that the mules, horses, carriages and gold hidden outside the city were all missing. Although Qu Xiuqin was very distressed after hearing about it, she still comforted her husband by saying that money is gone but life is peaceful. But today, after seeing the two small yellow croakers found from Yi Zhonghai's small treasury, Qu Xiuqin completely exploded, because these two small yellow croakers were the dowry given by her parents. Her father even asked the craftsmen in the gold shop to engrave five small words "Presented to my beloved daughter Xiuqin" on them.

When Qu Xiuqin heard from Yi Zhonghai that even her dowry was lost, she cried secretly for several times. That was the only gift her father gave her.

Today, the dowry gold bars that were said to have disappeared many years ago appeared before her eyes again. How could Qu Xiuqin not hate Yi Zhonghai, such a heartless person?

Qu Xiuqin sat silently at the round table until she heard the voices of the early-rising residents in the courtyard, and then she woke up from her dream.

Struggling to stand up, Qu Xiuqin stretched her limbs which were a little sore from sitting all night. She walked into the inner room, found a cloth bag she had sewn by herself, put all the yellow croakers and cash on the eight-immortals table into the bag, then took out all the cash from the place where the family hid money in the bedroom, and then took out her own private money from behind the rice jar in the kitchen. Qu Xiuqin gathered all the belongings together, carefully placed them behind the rice jar, and then began to busy herself in the kitchen.

Qu Xiuqin mixed all the white flour in her home with a little corn flour and mixed it all together. While waiting for the dough to rise, she took out a few pieces of pickled mustard greens from the pickle jar and began to quickly cut the pickled greens on the chopping board. She didn't stop until she had cut a whole small basin of pickled greens. She lit a fire and boiled some millet porridge, and had a simple breakfast with the pickled greens. She glanced at the clock and it was not yet seven o'clock. The street office officially started at eight in the morning, so Qu Xiuqin began to knead the dough and make steamed buns with two-grain flour.

She was preparing dry food for her journey. Qu Xiuqin had already decided to leave the sad place of Sijiu City and return to her hometown where she was born and raised.

Although she didn't know whether any relatives were still alive in her hometown after so many years of war, Qu Xiuqin made up her mind that she would die in her hometown even if she died.

In fact, a few years ago, Qu Xiuqin had asked a letter writer to write two letters to her hometown, but unfortunately she never received a reply. Now thinking carefully, Qu Xiuqin suspected that Yi Zhonghai did not forward the letter to her after receiving it from her hometown, because the contact address she left was Lou's Steel Rolling Mill, and the contact person was Yi Zhonghai.

Qu Xiuqin had never doubted it before, but as more and more scandals of Yi Zhonghai were exposed, Qu Xiuqin couldn't help but wonder if Yi Zhonghai deliberately withheld the reply from his hometown in order to cut off her connection with her mother's family?

Qu Xiuqin's mind was full of random thoughts, but her hands did not delay at all. Soon, fist-sized, slightly yellowish steamed buns made of two-grain flour were ready. However, they could not be steamed yet and had to continue to ferment for a while.

Qu Xiuqin made more than sixty steamed buns with 20 grams of flour. In fact, even if all of this flour was used to make white flour steamed buns, it would be enough for her to eat on the road. However, Qu Xiuqin was worried that eating white flour steamed buns on the train would attract attention, so she deliberately added a little corn flour, just to change the color of the steamed buns.

While the steamed buns were fermenting, Qu Xiuqin took her household registration book and walked out of the house, locking herself with a big lock when she left.

After arriving at the street office, Qu Xiuqin found a female clerk she had known before and explained her purpose. Qu Xiuqin said that her nephew was getting married in her hometown, and she had not been back to see her elderly parents since she came to the old city. She was not able to go back even when the elderly parents passed away. This time, she planned to take advantage of her nephew's wedding to go back to her hometown and visit the graves of her deceased parents.

Qu Xiuqin took the female clerk to a secluded corner and told her husband about the ridiculous things he had done recently. Last night, he was taken back by the security department of the steel rolling mill for interrogation. Qu Xiuqin said that she had inquired about it and estimated that Yi Zhonghai would be locked up in the security department for ten days or half a month this time. She could not stand all the rumors staying alone in the courtyard, so she planned to take the opportunity to go back to her hometown for a few days. Firstly, to relax, as her heart had always been in bad condition, and she was worried that if she continued to listen to all the gossip in the courtyard, she would have to go to the hospital sooner or later; secondly, to avoid the shrew Jia Zhang next door. This time, Jia's daughter-in-law Qin Huairu was locked up in the security department because she had committed a crime with Yi Zhonghai. She was worried that Jia Zhang, the shrew, would take the opportunity to come to her house and make trouble, and her body could not withstand Jia Zhang's disturbance.

When the female clerk saw Qu Xiuqin's sallow face and red eyes, she couldn't help but feel a little pity for her. However, what she didn't know was that Qu Xiuqin's haggard appearance was mainly due to the fact that she didn't sleep the night before.

The news of Yi Zhonghai's affair spread throughout the street office as soon as the office started today, so the female clerk felt very sympathetic towards the haggard woman in front of her. From what she had learned so far, the things Yi Zhonghai had done had nothing to do with Qu Xiuqin at all. Moreover, if Yi Zhonghai's hypocritical mask had not been exposed, Qu Xiuqin, this middle-aged woman, would have had a very good reputation in the neighborhood.

So the female clerk took Qu Xiuqin to find Director Wang and told him the purpose of her visit. Director Wang looked at the exhausted-looking woman in front of him and couldn't help but shook his head. Yi Zhonghai had done something wrong, but he let this woman in front of him bear the consequences.

So after asking Qu Xiuqin to show her household registration booklet, Director Wang gave her a letter of introduction and repeatedly reminded her to take care of her health.

Qu Xiuqin put away her household registration booklet and letter of introduction, found a tricycle on the street, and went directly to the train station. After showing the letter of introduction at the ticket window, she bought a train ticket to the Northeast at 4:30 p.m.

Qu Xiuqin still took a tricycle back to the No. 95 courtyard house. If it were in the past, she would not be willing to spend such money.

Qu Xiuqin ignored Jia Zhang who was glaring at her fiercely. After returning home, she locked the door and started busying herself with steaming buns.