Siheyuan: From Being Called Shazhu

Although the capital city is located south of Shanhaiguan, it is not yet the hottest time of the year in July. In addition, it has just rained, so the weather is still cool in the mornings and evenings.

He Yuzhu is on vacation now, and has followed others to move a reclining chair to a shady place in the yard. Wearing a cross-bar vest and big shorts, and wearing old cloth shoes, he lies on the reclining chair with a palm-leaf fan, fanning himself intermittently while watching He Wushuang playing in circles around him.

From time to time, he would answer He Wushuang's childish questions.

For a time, the years were quiet.

"Lao He, wake up, the meal is ready, it's time to eat."

He Yuzhu didn't know when he fell asleep, so naturally he didn't know how long he slept.

After being called by Shi Xiaona, He Yuzhu looked up at the sky and found that the sun had set.

"Why didn't you call me when you came back so that I could get up and cook? You've been tired all day and you still have to cook when you come back."

He Yuzhu stood up holding the palm-leaf fan covering his stomach.

Shi Xiaona just rolled her eyes.

"One day, you're the only one who can say it."

After saying that, he patted He Yuzhu not satisfied enough.

"Hahaha, walk, walk, eat, eat."

He Yuzhu didn't care, just laughed it off and followed Shi Xiaona into the house.

"By the way, Lao He, my uncle called me today and asked you to drive over early tomorrow morning. He said that he, Uncle Wang, and Uncle Chu wanted to eat the stew you made."

While eating, Shi Xiaona suddenly remembered the phone call that Master Sun made to her unit during the day, and told He Yuzhu about it.

He Yuzhu, who was picking up food for He Wushuang with his chopsticks, was stunned for a moment.

He Yuzhu felt that the three old guys might be unable to sit still and wanted to go out.

However, He Yuzhu didn't say anything, and then he picked up her favorite dishes for He Wushuang as usual.

"Well, okay, I see."

"That's enough. I'll take Xiaoshuang with me tomorrow and I won't go with you."

Shi Xiaona also felt that Master Sun might have something to do with He Yuzhu.

Otherwise, Master Sun would not have taken the initiative to ask He Yuzhu to cook for him.

After all these years, Shi Xiaona still knows the three old men of Master Sun.

Don’t think that He Yuzhu was the one who always cooked.

However, at that time, it was because of homesickness, not for their own appetite.

Now, since you said you wanted to eat vegetables, you must have something to ask He Yuzhu.

Is someone going to fail?

The more Shi Xiaona thought about it, the more possible it seemed.

After all, the eldest of the three old men, Master Sun, was born in the 1900th year of the Guangxu period, which is 74, and is years old this year.

And the other two are not much smaller.

One was born in 02, and the other was born in 05.

I'm already this age, I don't know what will happen, I might just pass away.

The more Shi Xiaona thought about it, the sadder she became.

He put down his chopsticks and sighed.

"Oh~~~~Forget it, Lao He, I'll take Xiao Shuang with you tomorrow."

After saying this, Shi Xiaona was afraid that her sudden change of heart would make He Yuzhu suspicious, so she added:

"Well, I haven't seen the boss for a long time. I miss him a little bit. It's a good opportunity for me to stop by and see him."

"Great, I can see my brother tomorrow, and I can also see Grandpa Sun, Grandpa Chu, and Grandpa Wang. That's great."

Here, He Yuzhu hadn't said anything yet, but He Wushuang next to him started the conversation first.

He Yuzhu touched He Wushuang's little head lovingly.

"Well, Dad will take you there tomorrow."

As he spoke, He Yuzhu looked at Shi Xiaona, who was trying hard to pretend that nothing was wrong. He thought that she had guessed that Master Sun and the others would be restless, so he smiled and comforted her:

"It's okay. My master and his friends have lived for so many years. They have experienced everything. They can handle this little thing by themselves. You will know after tomorrow."

If Shi Xiaona hadn't said this, she would have been better off.

But after He Yuzhu finished speaking, Shi Xiaona, who misunderstood his meaning, cried out "wow" and burst into tears.

This was completely puzzling to He Yuzhu.

Even He Wushuang, who was eating, looked at Shi Xiaona with a confused look on his face.

"Why is mom crying? Is it because you can see your brother tomorrow?"

"Hmm~~~Hmm~~~Mom is fine."

After crying for a while and releasing her emotions, Shi Xiaona sniffed and touched He Wushuang's head with great effort to restrain herself.

"Mom is fine. She's just so happy."

After saying that, she wiped her tears and looked at He Yuzhu calmly.

"Lao He, it's okay. Birth, aging, sickness and death are all normal. There is nothing that you can't overcome."

"..."

At this moment, the silence was deafening.

After a while, He Yuzhu, who had figured it out, burst out laughing.

He even laughed like a pig.

"What are you thinking about? There are not so many things. My master and his friends can't sit still anymore and are preparing to go out."

Seeing Shi Xiaona's face full of "Don't comfort me", He Yuzhu shook his head and began to explain to Shi Xiaona.

"Some time ago, last month or so, the people at the General Logistics Department changed. My master's former superior was the head teacher who used to live upstairs from my master. You've met him."

Seeing Shi Xiaona nodded, He Yuzhu continued speaking.

"Now, the teacher's former superior has been transferred back to serve as a deputy in the General Logistics Department. He has to start over again. My master's former superior has retired and returned to his hometown, so my master and his team have taken over."

"Really, you didn't lie to me?"

Shi Xiaona still looked unconvinced.

He Yuzhu smiled and shook his head.

"Really? I'm not lying to you. Because the head of the General Logistics Department was replaced in June. He was replaced by... Never mind. You just need to know that the replacement was from the same unit as my master's former superior's former superior, and the two of them were close friends who had known each other for a lifetime."

"So this is ah."

After listening to He Yuzhu's explanation, Shi Xiaona suddenly realized.

"I thought my uncle and his family were old and wanted to..."

Then, I started to feel embarrassed again.

"Hahaha, you, you just think about nonsense all day long."

He Yuzhu smiled helplessly.

The next morning, He Yuzhu, along with Shi Xiaona and He Wushuang, who had come with them, drove to the farm early without even having breakfast at home.

When he arrived at the place, He Yuzhu was dumbfounded.

Yes, what He Yuzhu thought yesterday was correct. Master Sun, Old Wang and Old Chu were preparing to come back, so they called He Yuzhu over.

However, no one told He Yuzhu that he drove over to help these three old men move.

In later life, when He Yuzhu was still running a snack bar, he heard diners say that no matter how good the car was, as long as the elderly at home called, they would have to ride back to help transport "junk", "autumn vegetables", or other things that didn't seem to cost much in terms of fuel.

That's He Yuzhu who's still laughing at others.

But now, He Yuzhu has experienced it himself.

Yes, He Yuzhu’s current car is not a good car, it’s just a discarded N-hand 212.

Moreover, the fuel expenses were reimbursed, so He Yuzhu didn't have to worry about it.

However, the things belonging to Master Sun and the other three old guys are really not worth such a fuss.

It's nothing more than some quilts, mattresses, worn-out clothes and so on.

However, according to Master Sun and his colleagues, this is called "losing one's family home to gain a fortune."

Well, what else did He Yuzhu say?

After the eldest brother He Wen was detained by Master Sun and his men with the excuse that "you are still young, let your father do it", He Yuzhu, a former lieutenant colonel of the 14th grade and current deputy director of the 12th grade and a half, worked hard for the whole morning.

Finally, all the things for these three old guys were moved back to the logistics compound.

Fortunately, Shi Xiaona was able to lend a hand, and there was also a nanny in the logistics compound, so He Yuzhu was not too tired after finishing his work.

He Yuzhu sat on the sofa, sighing as he looked at the house he hadn't visited for eight years now restored to its original state.

“I miss it so much.”

"Go, little bastard, hurry up and cook. I haven't eaten the food you cooked for a long time. Hurry up."

Well, He Yuzhu was kicked into the kitchen by Master Sun again.

At noon, after receiving a letter from Master Sun, Wang Fengting, who had specially run to Mentougou to pick up Wang Xiangdong and He Yushui, came with his wife, grandson and granddaughter.

Even Wang Fengmin and the second son He Wu were picked up by Master Sun.

The whole family got together again after eight years.

After the children finished eating, they started playing in the room, and the adults began to talk about business.

"Zhu Zi, this time Old Sun and his men are back, what are you going to do?"

"I?"

He Yuzhu didn't expect that the first topic would be about his arrangements. He was stunned for a moment and thought for a while before speaking.

"Let's wait until my master's situation is stable. Right now, I'm doing well in school."

"Well, I also mean that you should stay at school."

Master Sun nodded and continued.

"Although I have been promoted a level compared to previous years and have a real job managing logistics, I am already 74 years old this year. Let alone how many years I can work, just how many years can I live?"

Speaking of this, Master Sun smiled self-deprecatingly.

"Even if God doesn't want me and lets me live a few more years, for people like me who have more experience but less qualifications, to put it bluntly, I am just a transition. Once things stabilize, and the higher-ups are generous and give me a promotion of one or half a level, or transfer me to a sinecure, then I will retire."

"Yes, Zhuzi, your master is right."

Here, Old Wang also interrupted.

"People like us can only be considered as senior people who can stabilize the situation. After a few years, when things are stable, it will be time to hand over. If you come with us at that time, you will be in a difficult situation and you will not be able to move up or down. It would be better for you to stay in school and teach well."

"Yes, Zhuzi, even though you are only the deputy director now, don't forget that you still have to teach. Moreover, you are the only teacher for the course you teach."

Old Chu, who had been smoking, naturally took over the conversation.

"Now, maybe even in the next five years, we won't see anything. But wait five years and see. You never know who will become your reliance among the people you teach now. In fact, as long as you don't cancel this course, you will teach one after another. Think about it 10 years later, 20 years later, right?"

He Yuzhu understood what the three old men meant and nodded.

"Okay, then I'll teach well in school."

After saying that, He Yuzhu looked at Wang Fengting.

"Uncle, now that my master and his friends have left the mountain, when do you plan to let Xiaodong and Yushui come out?"

"That's what I was going to say."

Wang Fengting lit a cigarette and looked at Master Sun.

"Old Sun, I'm a little unsure right now, can you take a look?"

As he spoke, Wang Fengting began to talk about the arrangements he had prepared.

"I plan to arrange for Xiaodong and Yushui to go to school for further studies while there is still some time. Then, after they graduate, I will transfer them out and get promoted. However, now that you have just returned, the timing is a bit wrong. Moreover, even though my eldest brother-in-law has been back for half a year, he has not yet resumed his job. I am not sure."

Speaking of her son and daughter-in-law, Su Min also became concerned and looked worried.

"Yes, Brother Sun, my eldest brother was transferred back before the New Year, but he is still unemployed at home and has not resumed his job. I asked him, but he was not sure about anything. Now, Feng Ting and I are worried that it will happen again."

"Dad, how about I go to school and let Yu Shui stay there first?"

Before Master Sun could say anything, Wang Xiangdong made his resolute statement.

Oh my god, He Yuzhu almost spit out a mouthful of wine.

You know, this is Wang Xiangdong taking the lead in experimenting.

If you don’t know, you might think something happened to Wang Xiangdong.

"Go, what are you talking about? Children should not interrupt when adults are talking."

Wang Fengting patted Wang Xiangdong impatiently, then looked at Master Sun, waiting for Master Sun to make a decision.

Master Sun nodded.

"It's almost time now. Let Xiao Yushui and Xiaodong come out of Mentougou."

As he spoke, Master Sun looked at He Yushui with a kind face, and then glanced at Wang Xiangdong.

"It's good to go to school. Go ahead. Four years is enough time for us old guys to pave the way."

Seeing Master Sun nod, Wang Fengting understood.

"Okay, I'll start working on this when I get back, and make some money so they can go to the North to travel, so they can keep Xiaona company."

Now, the younger ones have finished talking and they start talking about the older ones.

"By the way, sister, what are you going to do here? You can't just stay at home and recuperate like this, right?"

Wang Fengmin doesn't care about this issue.

"It's good to rest, and I can teach Xiao Wu."

"Mom, are you planning to quit?"

He Yuzhu asked in surprise.

After all, Wang Fengmin was born in 23 and is only 50 years old this year.

This is a bit early for a major who was originally in a technical position.

Although, according to the regulations, Wang Fengmin can retire now.

However, the term "retirement" has not yet been introduced, and He Yuzhu always feels that it would be a bit unfair for his mother-in-law to retire now.

Just as she was about to say something, Wang Fengmin shook her head.

"No, I'm not planning to quit now. I'll wait until Xiaowu goes to middle school. In a few years, I might do the same as you, Zhuzi, and find a school in the railway system to start teaching, paving the way for Xiaowu's future. I can't let him rely on his useless mother who only went to college in her 30s."

As she spoke, Wang Fengmin snorted at Shi Xiaona.

"mom....."

For a moment, Shi Xiaona felt confused.