Siheyuan: I can always stay out of it

Anyway, it’s not like Chen Xu’s house has no room for him. If Lin’s mother didn’t want to stay in the old city, it would be nice to live with her mother-in-law.

This year's Chinese New Year is much more lively than last year, mainly because conditions have improved. Compared with the boring celebrations in previous years, families with the means now will buy snacks and firecrackers for their children.

Compared to last year when the holiday was longer due to heavy snow, this year there are only three days. Chen Xu was a little surprised. Is the annual leave so short now?

In fact, the Spring Festival and National Day in the 1960s were both three-day holidays, but Chen Xu himself didn't understand this. He didn't take it seriously, after all, to him, it didn't make much difference whether he had a holiday or not.

Two days before the Chinese New Year, Liu Guangqi, who had disappeared for more than a year, came back and brought a woman with him. Chen Xu inexplicably felt that she looked familiar.

After thinking carefully for a while, Chen Xu managed to find the information of this woman from his vague memories of film and television in his previous life. This was Liu Guangqi's wife.

It only appeared once in film and television, and that time Liu Guangqi not only brought back his wife but also a daughter. Now it should be a few years earlier, and it is estimated that the daughter has not been born yet.

Chen Xu was not surprised that Liu Guangqi would come back or find a wife. After all, he was a technical secondary school student with a formal position, so it would not be difficult for him to find a wife.

He has a great advantage over other people in Siheyuan. Just like Yan Jiecheng, who has just become Xu Damao's apprentice, he is actually a projection apprentice. It is very difficult for him to become a regular employee. It is impossible without enduring for a few years.

After all, projectionists are part of the system, which means they are paid by the government. It is more difficult to become a regular employee of a job within the system than for workers, and this has been the case from now until the 21st century.

When Liu Guangqi came back, Liu Haizhong tried hard to maintain the expression of a stern father, but he couldn't suppress the smile on his face, especially after he knew that his eldest son's wife also worked in the same unit. The little resentment in his heart that he had lost everything because of Liu Guangqi's betrayal was gone.

Chen Xu knew that Liu Guangqi had been sending money back home for more than a year. Liu Haizhong would mention this every time they drank.

Every time when Old Liu started drinking, he would curse Liu Guangqi as a rebellious son and a good-for-nothing, which really ruined Old Liu's life.

But when he got drunk, he turned around 180 degrees, saying that everyone makes mistakes, and that his eldest son was just cheated, and that he was a good person, and that he even sent money back to honor his parents...

Although Liu Guangqi only sent a few hundred yuan back in the past year, which was far less than the money the Liu family lost, it was already a lot during that period. Liu Haizhong probably cared more about his eldest son's attitude than the money.

The most obvious thing is that the house prepared for Liu Guangqi's wedding has been empty all the time. It is fully furnished and it looks the same as when Liu Guangqi left and when he comes back.

Compared with the eldest son, the two younger sons were just squeezed together in a small room, and the difference in treatment was very obvious.

It’s just that the two younger sons have difficulty finding a permanent job now, so they come home very seldom.

Lin's mother was actually quite bored in the courtyard, mainly because she was not familiar with the people around her. Every day she just accompanied Lin Chan. No wonder she was unwilling to come to Sijiu City to live with her daughter and son-in-law.

Humans are social animals. Compared to the place where they have lived all their lives, few people are willing to live in an unfamiliar place unless they have no other choice.

Compared with Linjia Village, the Siheyuan here lacks a bit of human touch, and this phenomenon will become more obvious in another half century.

By the 21st century, we hardly even knew the names of the neighbors who had lived next to us for several years, and at most we just knew them by sight.

High-rise buildings made of reinforced concrete seem to have locked up people's hearts, while the countryside still maintains the earliest neighborly relationships, but they have gradually changed.

Even in later generations, there are still many so-called success gurus who say, "If you want to be successful, you can't have useless social interactions..."

This may sound reasonable, but it is very sad if you think about it carefully.

This sentence has taken interests to the extreme. There is no family affection, no friendship, no love, only naked exchange of interests.

The ancients often said that the friendship between gentlemen is as pure as water. The once precious friendship seems not worth mentioning in front of these people.

The story of Boya and Ziqi meeting their soulmates while exploring the mountains and streams will never appear again.

The New Year celebrations in Siheyuan were more lively than those in Linjia Village. At least every family started to put up spring couplets. The couplets were written by Yan Bugui, who charged him two cents.

Chen Xu was quite satisfied. The Third Uncle's handwriting was quite good. In fact, if he wanted to write now, he could write as well as Yan Bugui, but there was no need for that.

Yan Bugui wrote a lot, but they were all common couplets, so Chen Xu picked one at random.

First couplet: Spend the festival with joy.

Second line: Hang up lights and decorate to welcome the New Year.

Banner: Family happiness

Another thing is to stick the word "Fu" at home. This is a matter of habit and is optional.

Chen Xu was not satisfied with the word "Fu", so he borrowed Yan Bugui's pen to write the word "He" and pasted it on. In order to show the difference, he wrote the first stroke of the word "He" as if a dove was standing on the vertical stroke.

Lin Chan stared at the big word "和" for a long time.

“Very nicely written...”

Obviously, his wife didn't understand why Chen Xu wrote the word "和".

Chen Xu explained with a smile.

"Don't underestimate the word 'harmony'. When the sky is harmonious, the wind and rain will be smooth; when the earth is harmonious, the crops will be plentiful; when people are harmonious, all businesses will prosper; when the family is harmonious, all things will be prosperous..."

Compared to the character "和", Chen Xu actually wanted to write the character "稳".

But this word is even more difficult to explain. As long as Chen Xu himself knows his core idea of ​​seeking stability, there is no need to say it out loud.

Yan Bugui's eyes lit up, he learned something...

As expected of a leader, he speaks with great skill, and there are so many ways to say the word "和"...

When Xu Damao came over and asked if he wanted to celebrate the New Year together, Chen Xu refused.

Xu Damao and Lou Xiao'e both have parents, so there is no need for him to celebrate the New Year with them. It would be nice for the four members of the Chen family to celebrate the New Year together, too. Well, the baby in Lin Chan's belly also counts as one.

Without the three troublemakers, the Siheyuan has become much more harmonious. At least there are fewer disputes. Chen Xu is quite satisfied with the Siheyuan now. No one likes a chaotic environment all the time.

The Chen family's reunion dinner was prepared by Chen Xu himself, and Lin Chan helped beside him with a depressed look on her face. She suddenly realized that her man's cooking skills were not worse than hers, and he was proficient in almost all cuisines.

Chen Xu smiled without saying anything. Even those with extraordinary talents cannot beat those who cheat. This is the law.

A big pot of pork elbow, Chen Xu used the Dongpo pork elbow recipe, and the other dishes on the table were fish, meat and eggs. It sounds like four dishes, but in fact there are two, fish, meat and eggs...

Add a hot pot and various side dishes to it, and it's complete.

It was the first time for Lin's mother to see this way of eating. In fact, the main essence lies in the hot pot. Looking at the plates full of thinly sliced ​​mutton, beef, vegetables, etc. next to it, she was a little confused.

Lin's mother was somewhat relieved and felt that Lin Chan was extremely lucky to marry Chen Xu.

Who would have thought that the skinny and weak child would become so successful in just two years? She has been in the courtyard for a few days, and there has never been a lack of meat on the Chen family's table.

Lin's mother originally thought that Chen Xu had prepared it specially for her, but after asking her daughter, she found out that it was the same for every meal. Only she could compare with such conditions.

Lin's mother is not in bad condition now. Chen Xu supplies her with food and meat, and Xiao Hei brings some back for her from time to time...