Siheyuan: Happy Life of Jia Zhang Family

Zhang Dabiao thought that this was in the village, and most of the villagers called each other by their childhood nicknames. When asked about their scientific names, more than 80% of them didn't know. Because no matter how old a person is, everyone calls him by his childhood nickname. For example, when this person is called Suozi, everyone called him Suozi, Little Suozi. When he grows up, those younger than him call him Brother Suozi, and those one generation younger than him call him Uncle Suozi or Uncle Suozi. When he is old, those two generations younger than him call him Grandpa Suozi. As for what Suozi's scientific name is, there may not be many people who know it until he dies, unlike now when only a few relatives know his childhood nickname.

Sometimes during the Chinese New Year, when I have dinner with my brothers and sisters, my younger brother would say that what he hopes most now is that someone would call him by his nickname, because fewer and fewer people know this name. Yes, I only go back to the village a few times a year, and every time I go back, I sigh.

"Who among you knows where the brigade headquarters is? Take me there and I'll reward you with two candies." Zhang Dabao thought of the brigade headquarters. The people there must know who Yan Jingda is.

"I know"

“I know that too.”

"I know it better, my home is next to the village office," the three children said.

"You all know the best. I'll reward each of you with a piece of candy first. When we get to the village office, I'll give each of you another piece, okay?" Zhang Dabao took out some fruit candy.

The three children nodded, and Zhang Dabao gave each of them a piece of candy. The three children put the candy in their mouths and happily led the way, taking Zhang Dabao to a house. Zhang Dabao saw the sign on the door, which read Yanjia Village Branch Committee.

He gave each of the three children a piece of candy, and the three children skipped away happily, while Zhang Dabao entered the village office.

"Young man, who are you looking for?" A middle-aged man in his forties from the brigade headquarters stood up after seeing Zhang Dabao.

"Uncle, I'm looking for Yan Jingda and Yan Jingkuan," Zhang Dabao said the names of Yan Jingkai's two younger brothers.

"Young man, what's your name? Where are you from? Are you their relative?" the middle-aged man asked Zhang Dabao again.

"Uncle, my name is Yan Ming. I'm from Beijing and I'm their relative," Zhang Dabao said with a smile.

"Your surname is also Yan. Do you know Yan Jingkai?" the middle-aged man stood up and asked carefully.

"Of course I know him. He was the one who asked me to come," Zhang Dabao explained.

"Are you his son or grandson?" The middle-aged man was a little excited.

“I am his grandson…” Before Zhang Dabao could finish his words, the middle-aged man ran over and grabbed his hand.

"Yan Ming, you are my eldest brother's grandson. I am Yan Jingfeng, the fifth child, from your third great-grandfather's family. Has he ever mentioned me? I thought my eldest brother had passed away long ago, but I didn't expect he is still alive. Why haven't you sent me a letter in all these years?" The middle-aged man said as he hugged Zhang Dabao and burst into tears.

Zhang Dabao originally wanted to ask for directions, but unexpectedly he met Yan Jingkai's cousin, a young grandfather. What could he say at this time? He could only listen to Yan Jingkai talking about how much he missed his elder brother over the years.

"Fifth Grandpa, my grandpa is engaged in confidentiality work and cannot contact his family. He couldn't do it before and he can't do it now. Now that he is old, he misses home very much, so he wants me to come back to see him," Zhang Dabao explained to Yan Jingkuan.

"Xiao Ming, how old are you this year?" Yan Jingfeng discovered the problem. The age of his eldest brother's adopted grandson was not right. His eldest brother Yan Jingkai left home in 1937. The child looked to be at least twenty years old. He was almost a son, but if he was a grandson, he was a bit too young.

"Fifth Grandpa, I was adopted by my grandfather. He is still alone now. The main purpose of my coming back this time is to pay homage to the ancestral grave and take a few photos of him and take them back. I will also take photos of all of you so that he can see the current situation of his family," Zhang Dabao explained.

"I was wondering, is that so? Your age is wrong. Eldest brother passed away in 1937, and Xiaoyong had died long ago. If Xiaoyong were still alive, the child he had would have been about your age." Yan Jingkuan burst into tears again when he talked about his nephew who passed away young.

"Third uncle, don't be sad, I brought some food with me, and it's still in my car, which is parked on the road at the foot of the mountain. Who else is there at Second uncle and Third uncle's house? Let's get the food up together." Zhang Dabia has been a soldier for many years and is accustomed to the separation of life and death, but every time a comrade-in-arms died, he could not let it go for a long time.

"Is there food? I'll go call someone. Xiao Ming, you go and watch over the car. The harvest this year is not good, and everyone is trying hard to find food. If you leave it in the car and others see it, it will be easily lost." Yan Jingfeng instructed Zhang Dabao and quickly left the team headquarters.

Zhang Dabao and Yan Jingfeng left the village office together. Yan Jingfeng went to the village to call people, while Zhang Dabao came to the car. He had prepared two gifts, but he met Yan Jingkai's cousins. He should prepare more. Didn't the ancients have a saying? It's better to have one less than one less. Let's remember all the favors to Yan Jingkai.

Yan Jingfeng was the fifth child, and there might be the sixth, seventh, and so on. Zhang Dabiao took out some supplies from the space and divided them into ten portions. Each portion contained ten kilograms of flour, five kilograms of noodles, and two kilograms of brown sugar. This gift was definitely a heavy gift for visiting relatives. In 1960, each gift could be exchanged for two wives.

After waiting for about ten minutes, about ten people from the village came. Some were in their fifties, while others were in their twenties. The leader was Yan Jingfeng.

"Xiao Ming, I am my second brother Yan Jingda, this is my third brother Yan Jingkuan, this is your fourth uncle Yan Fangbin..." Yan Jingfeng introduced them to Zhang Dabiao, the youngest one is also an uncle. Zhang Dabiao greeted them one by one, thinking that he was an uncle and grandfather in Zhangjia Village, and now he has become a nephew and grandson in Yanjia Village.

In fact, there is nothing wrong with being young. There is a saying from the ancients that the poor have older generations. The family with the highest seniority in the village often has not had a good life for several generations.

Besides, he couldn't be asked to do anything less than himself. He opened the carriage and said that each family would have a gift. It was Yan Jingkai who arranged it. In the end, seven portions were distributed. Seeing the two portions left, Zhang Dabiao asked, "Fifth Grandpa, are there eight brothers and sisters in total?"

"Xiao Ming, there are eight brothers in our family, but your grandfather is not at home, so there are only seven of us at home. But I also have two older sisters and a younger sister. It seems that your grandfather asked you to prepare ten gifts, and he also counted his three younger sisters. The youngest sister was only five years old when the eldest brother passed away, and he still remembers his sisters." Yan Jingfeng's eyes were red again.

"Xiao Ming, let's go home first. Later, Fang Wen and Fang Wu will take you to visit the three aunts' homes. Your brother is really thoughtful," said Yan Jingkuan.

Surrounded by the crowd, Zhang Dabao came to Yan Jingda's home in Yanjia Village.