Siheyuan: Breaking up with Shazhu at the beginning

63

There was a knock on the door, and a middle-aged man in a gray Mao suit and glasses came in. When he saw Yang Jun looking at Lao Wu again, he said with dissatisfaction:

"You guys are not done yet, are you? It's just the cost of the material.

"

Lao Wu's face darkened, but he still responded with a smile, "Comrade Li, you misunderstood. I'm not here for money."

Then, he turned around and pointed to Yang Jun behind him and explained: "Aren't you going to sell this place? My friend is interested and wants to take a look."

Comrade Li looked at Yang Jun in surprise and asked, "Buying a house?"

Yang Jun nodded in agreement.

Seeing this, Comrade Li opened the door slightly and let them in.

As you step into the foyer, the first thing that catches your eye is a screen wall painted with gorgeous peonies.

Walk around the screen wall and enter the inner courtyard directly. The vermilion wooden corridors and intricately carved doors and windows all exude a sense of wealth.

This is truly a completely different world inside and outside.

With the screen wall blocking the way, the outside scenery is all outside the door, while the inner courtyard is a different world.

Dry old trees are entangled with vines, the paths are winding, the center of the courtyard is paved with smooth stone slabs, and there are exquisite flower pavilions, waterside pavilions and fish ponds around it.

As soon as he entered, Yang Jun was deeply attracted by this small courtyard.

There are three courtyards in total - three main rooms, two wing rooms on each side and three back rooms, plus supporting facilities, a total of ten rooms, which is quite large.

There is also a pond of several square meters in the courtyard, which is connected to the main house through a grape trellis. However, it is deep winter now, and the vines have withered, leaving only dead branches and leaves hanging on the trellis.

This small courtyard was in line with his imagination and was large enough to accommodate a family.

Siheyuan can be divided into three types according to their size: small siheyuan, like the shape of a Chinese character "口", which is of suitable size and has many rooms;

The most common medium-sized courtyard house is in the shape of a Chinese character "日", with two courtyards. The main house is usually on the north side (usually the second entrance) with five rooms, and the east and west wings are each equipped with three side rooms. In addition, the courtyard is divided into two parts, front and back, by a courtyard wall, which are connected by a moon-shaped door.

As for the large courtyard house, also known as the "big house", it adopts the shape of a Chinese character "目", with five main rooms in the north and south. It is often designed as a duplex courtyard house and can be divided into two main courtyards in the east and west. It is equipped with functional areas such as stables and servants' rooms.

The house in Nanluoguxiang where Yang Jun lived was a large courtyard house.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, most medium-sized and large courtyard houses were converted into public facilities, and some, such as the courtyard houses of royal palaces, were converted into places for large families to live in, where many ordinary people lived.

A stone table was placed in a corner under the grape trellis, with tea sets on it.

After Comrade Li sat down, he took two teacups with upside-down lids from the tea tray, filled one cup, and gently pushed with his right hand to indicate that the two of them should share.

---

(Yang Jun did not stop to taste the tea, he began to carefully visit each room.

In fact, the house itself was fine. Apart from being a little old due to its age, the entire structure was solid and practical, especially the layout of the rooms, which was exactly the style he appreciated.

He bought this courtyard house purely out of his love for it, not because he expected the asset to appreciate in value a hundred years later. That kind of pleasure was too shallow, and money was worthless in his eyes.

The Siheyuan itself has a high social prestige, and owning it means respectability, but it was not until the moment when the property certificate was in his pocket that he truly felt the unprecedented abundance and wealth.

Li Lin also rushed to the port city in a hurry, otherwise five dollars would not be enough to buy a courtyard house.

But he didn't care and was still a generous person. He took Yang Jun's carriage back to the courtyard, packed a few clothes, and went out again with a big box.

Before leaving, he seemed to remember something, rolled his eyes, looked at Yang Jun and said:

"If you'll give me another dollar, I'll tell you a secret about this house."

Hearing this, Yang Jun was stunned.

Secret?

He immediately thought of death, ghosts, or murder.

But when Li Lin saw Yang Jun's gloomy face, he hurriedly explained: "Brother Yang, don't misunderstand, it's not what you think, I'm talking about - the secret room!"

When he heard the word "secret room", Yang Jun's heart beat faster and he took out a dollar from his pocket and handed it over without hesitation.

After taking the gold bar, Li Linhan took a light bite of it to confirm that it was normal. Then he put down his gift and took Yang Jun back to the courtyard.

They arrived at the stone table. Li Lin bent his knees and lowered himself, holding the stone table top tightly with both hands. He bent his legs and tried his best to rotate to the left.

All I heard was a click.

The heavy stone table slowly moved.

Yang Jun shouted excitedly: "It's moving! It's moving!"

Although the stone table top is extremely heavy, it is difficult for one person to operate it.

But Yang Jun rushed to help, and the two of them worked together to push the table to rotate.

However, when the table was turned to the predetermined angle, it did not reveal the secret room as expected.

Seeing Yang Jun's puzzled look, Li Lin smiled and shook his head. Without saying much, he just asked him to follow.

The two men crossed the yard and came to the ear room in front and opened the small room on the far left for storing sundries.

At this moment, a dark hole appeared in front of my eyes. When I looked closely,

"Hey, you didn't expect it, brother," Li Lin said proudly, "Even you didn't expect that the key to open the secret room is outside, and the secret room is hidden in the house."

Li Lin tells all this with great pride about Yang Jun, who is full of exploratory spirit.

"Tsk tsk, I never thought..."

With curiosity and wonder of treasure hunting, Yang Jun followed Li Lin down the stairs to explore.

The underground space was dimly lit, and Yang Jun could only grope forward by relying on his arm on Li Lin's shoulder.

At the beginning, the entrance was very narrow and could barely accommodate one person, but as one went deeper, the space gradually expanded and it became as comfortable as going downstairs normally.

(...)

(Li Lin pulls a clue on the wall, and the basement becomes bright immediately.

Yang Jun was startled at first, then he looked up at the dazzling light. The light was like a ghost fire in the dark night, which was frightening.

This basement is very large, spanning the entire back house and leading to the backyard. The walls are made of hard bluestone, and you can feel its incredible coldness even with just a touch.

"Brother, this dollar is really worth it!" Li Lin said with satisfaction.

This secret room indeed surprised Yang Jun, and as a person who had lived two lives, this experience had a subtle effect on his character, adding a bit of excitement to his steadiness.

"It's a great deal. This business is very profitable."

If Li Lin hadn't told him, he probably wouldn't even have noticed the existence of the basement.

The investment is definitely worth it.

After a moment of pride, Li Lin couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.

Thinking of the passing of the family legacy, the desire to show off faded.

Here, most residents live in separate courtyards, each of them spends their days behind closed doors, and neighbors do not ask about each other's affairs. In today's current situation, it has become difficult to preserve oneself, so how can one have the leisure to care about other people's trivial matters?

Everyone only cares about the snow in front of his own doorstep and doesn't care about the frost on other people's roofs.

Those who live here are all people of considerable status. They have generous salaries, good benefits, and no worries about food and clothing. Few of them would harbor a petty mentality.

Moreover, there is a story behind every person, and it is not so pure.

Yang Jun looked at the courtyard and became more and more satisfied.

After discussing the decoration details with his fifth brother, he immediately drove to the credit union with his fifth brother to withdraw two thousand yuan as a down payment.

This decoration is better than the last one, so it naturally costs more. Although these two thousand yuan does not seem to be a small amount, it is at best just enough to buy basic floor tiles, just a starting point.

Yang Jun urged his fifth brother to speed up the renovation and not to worry about the expenses. He should arrange more workers and strive to get all matters done within half a month.

It's not that he was in a hurry to move in, but the situation forced him to do so.

He had to vacate the yard for Yang Mei as soon as possible, and Yang Anguo would also return. How could he let his brother who had found a job be left alone? At least he had to leave him a place to stay.

They will move there at that time, and the old house will be temporarily lent to Yang Anguo.

This way, even if no one lives there, the house will not be left vacant.

He gave the key to the courtyard house to his fifth brother, and then drove back to the steel mill alone.

Today is the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, and it is also the day when Yi Qiushui meets her parents-in-law. They both had agreed to return early.

According to Beijing customs, she should have returned to her husband's home the day before yesterday (which was the fourth day of the Lunar New Year), but the steel rolling mill resumed work that day, and both of them were department managers and had many things to do, so they had to postpone it for a day.

However, for Yang Jun and Yi Qiu Shui, the etiquette of paying a visit to their parents-in-law is just a formality and does not prevent them from choosing any day.

It's just going home, it doesn't matter when I go back.

During the drive, Yang Jun stopped the car for a moment and took out four gifts from the space: Zhonghua cigarettes, Maotai liquor, various exquisite pastries and a full ten kilograms of pork.

When a new daughter-in-law meets her parents-in-law for the first time, she cannot come empty-handed, otherwise she will inevitably be laughed at.

There are also rules for choosing gifts. Usually even numbers are preferred, such as two, four, six, eight or ten units. If the budget is tight, a small amount will suffice; if the financial situation is ample, four or six amounts are more common.

Yang Jun didn't want to show off too much in front of such an important person, so he chose these four gifts to show his thoughtfulness.

---

The first thing Yang Jun did when he returned to the factory was to visit the Materials Department, and then drove straight to the hospital to meet Yi Qiu Shui.

As soon as they met, she began to complain about his absence.

“I haven’t seen you all day. Where did you go during this morning’s activities?” she asked.

"I just bought a house this morning, and then I bought some gifts, which delayed me a little.

"Yang Jun explained.

"Courtyard? What kind of courtyard?" Yi Qiu Shui's curious eyes shot over.

"I'll tell you more on the way home.

Don’t keep Uncle Guo and the others waiting too long, let’s set off quickly.

"

He put his arm around Yi Qiu Shui's shoulders and gently helped her get into the car.

On the way, she glanced at the carefully selected gifts on the back seat - four gifts, and couldn't help but praise Yang Jun for his thoughtfulness.

In the past, she would have been indifferent to these little things.

But after marriage, her mindset became more meticulous. She, who once seemed to be above the ordinary, now began to care about the trivialities of family life: What are the personalities of her family members? How much is the appropriate amount of daily expenses? And can the running water be turned off? These are the things that the wife of the big boss reminded her of before she got married.

Based on Yi Qiu Shui's current income, there is no need to be too frugal.

However, after marriage, she could no longer live lavishly. Even though Yang Jun didn't care, she began to consider other family members.

When we arrived at the gate of the military family area, the leader's wife invited us to come and wait for a long time.

As soon as she saw them returning, she hurried forward to greet them.

It was like a reunion after many years. As soon as the two met, the elder held Yi Qiu Shui's hand tightly and talked incessantly, completely ignoring whether Yang Jun was by her side, and asked Yi Qiu Shui directly if she had been wronged.

Yang Jun had no complaints about this situation. He just followed them with the gifts in his hand and kept smiling.

After entering the door, they saw their old boss Guo Caodi sitting leisurely with his legs crossed and reading a newspaper in his hand.

Yang Jun put the gift away, quickly took out a cigarette and offered it to him, even lighting it for him himself.

Now that they have become a real family, Yang Jun no longer greets each other with the standard military salute.

"Uncle Guo, you smoke."

The old boss came home from work early and looked a little tired at the moment. He didn't want to say much and just gestured to Yang Jun to sit down and talk.

"How's the work going?" the old boss asked casually.

"Everything is going well at work. We have just resumed production and there are still many things that need to be done slowly." Yang Jun lit a cigarette and reported truthfully.

Men's conversations are not as lively as women's. They will avoid talking about trivial matters of daily life at the beginning, such as "Have you eaten? How are you doing?"

Common topics among men are usually family and work. Talking about their mother-in-law is naturally not their ideal choice, so they turn to work topics.

The old boss was smoking and thinking with a frown on his face. Yang Junan was standing by and did not disturb him.

"In a few days, your position will be changed, and you must prepare in advance." The old boss looked at the cigarette butt in his hand firmly and twirled it, indicating that he had made up his mind.

Hearing this, Yang Jun was stunned for a moment, looked at his old boss, and lowered his head to ponder.

Seeing his old boss's determined expression, he knew that the so-called job transfer would not be a demotion, but the promotion he had been looking forward to.