Rebirth of Siheyuan: Starting from escaping famine in 42

Three days later, the steel mill's convoy was finally returning to Beijing.

The trip was not in vain. Whether it was the accompanying security personnel and purchasing staff, or the taxi drivers, they all bought what they or the steel mill needed.

Looking at the smiling expressions on their faces, you can tell that everyone has gained a lot.

After driving for several days, the convoy returned to Sijiu City and slowly drove into the steel rolling mill.

Li Qingshan's escort mission had been completed, and the section chief gave them two days off. They had no time to chat, so they all hurriedly took the things they had bought in the Northeast and went home to rest.

Li Qingshan was no exception. He returned all the firearms and ammunition used for escort to the armory. Then he slowly returned home carrying two large bags.

In the evening, after everyone got off work, Li Qingshan took the things he bought with the money his brother gave him, locked the door, and walked towards his eldest brother's house.

Li Qingfeng's family, Qin Huairu, and Li Chengman were all very happy that Li Qingshan had returned safely.

After dinner, Li Qingshan also told the whole family about the journey to the Northeast.

After dinner, Li Qingshan took his wife and children home.

Half a year passed quickly, and it was early August 1959.

During the first year of the difficult period, although Li Qingfeng had a lot of food in his space, he still brought a bag of food home every day when he got off work.

Sometimes it's 20 to 30 kilograms, and at most about 50 kilograms, all stored in the basement at home.

The family's living standard did not drop much. Li Qingfeng would remind his children every day not to tell others about the meals they ate.

"Weiguo, Weijun, Weihong, Weimin, if someone asks you four what you eat at home, what will you say?"

Li Weimin answered honestly: "Just say what you eat!"

Li Weihong retorted, "No, we eat steamed bread and pickled vegetables at home, and we eat steamed bread made of two kinds of flour when things are good."

After hearing what Wei Hong said, Li Weiguo and Li Weimin nodded and said, "Yes, Wei Hong is right."

"My sister and I have the same idea. You can't say that the food at home is good when you are outside."

Li Qingfeng lit a cigarette and said to the children, "Wei Min, remember what your brothers and sisters said. You don't have to be so exaggerated."

"Just follow the crowd in school. Just say whatever others say."

"Got it, Dad."

Li Weiguo and his two siblings nodded.

During the night break, Wu Lirong asked, "Brother Qingfeng, is it really that exaggerated? Is the grain harvest so bad now?"

"This is just the beginning, you will know later."

"what?"

"It's nothing. I'm here! Go to sleep!"

Li Qingfeng hugged the somewhat uneasy Wu Lirong and slowly coaxed her to sleep. Then he thought for a while before closing his eyes and going to sleep.

As time went by, the rations in the city were reduced again and again, and those who were in greater difficulty made an appointment to go outside the city and form groups to pick wild vegetables. However, they did not think about the fact that if people in the city could not get enough food, what would happen to the countryside? Would the wild vegetables be left for those who picked them in the city?

There are more than one smart people. As long as there is one person growing vegetables in front of each house, other residents will follow suit and grow vegetables.

The food in the steel mill is not very oily now, so the leaders started to use all their skills to find ways to get some meat.

The factory's purchasing agents also go to faraway places to purchase. The Northeast, the grasslands, and the seaside are their primary purchasing targets.

During this difficult period, a major event happened in the Liu family's Siheyuan. That was when Liu Guangqi took the high school entrance examination.

It is no exaggeration to say that the high school entrance examination is related to his future.

Compared with Liu Guangqi, Liu Haizhong and his wife are more nervous. Although their eldest son usually has good and stable grades, it would be disastrous if he performs poorly in the high school entrance examination.

As for Liu Guangqi himself, his mentality is still very good.

On the day of the exam, Liu Guangqi finished eating the stir-fried egg noodles his mother prepared for him, got on the bicycle that Liu Haizhong had borrowed from Li Qingshan in advance, and the father and son drove to the examination room.

After the Liu family father and son left, many neighbors in the courtyard were discussing at home whether Liu Guangqi could be admitted to a technical secondary school. This was not only a major event for the Liu family, but also important to the entire courtyard.

If a technical secondary school student emerges from the courtyard, it will also add glory to the courtyard.

While riding his bike, Liu Haizhong said to his eldest son, "Guangqi! Don't be stressed about the exam. If you can't do well, just repeat the year."

Hearing this, Liu Guangqi rolled his eyes and advised: "Dad, don't worry, I have confidence in myself."

"Don't be nervous, Dad. When you're nervous, it makes me nervous too."

After hearing what his eldest son said, Liu Haizhong swallowed back what he was about to say. He didn't say anything else and just rode his bicycle.

When he arrived at the school gate, Liu Guangqi jumped off the bicycle swiftly without waiting for it to stop.

"Dad, you should go back first! I still have a long time to go after my exam this morning!"

"Got it, Guangqi, you go in first!"

Liu Haizhong watched his eldest son enter the school before he went home, looking back every few steps.

The high school entrance examination was very strict and almost no one dared to cheat. Many people in the examination room were still flipping through their textbooks, trying to make the most of their time to memorize more.

I have two exams this morning and one in the afternoon, and will continue taking exams the next day.

The two days passed quickly, and many students began estimating their scores immediately after the exam.

Some people felt relieved, some had sad faces, and some looked indifferent. Their families had found jobs for them, so it didn't matter if they failed the exam.

When the high school entrance examination was over, Liu Guangqi breathed a sigh of relief, but the results would not be available for a few more days.

When Liu Zhonghai brought Liu Guangqi home, he couldn't wait to ask him how he did in the exam.

Liu Guangqi just said one sentence, just wait and go to technical secondary school.

Upon hearing this, Liu Haizhong and his wife were overjoyed. They fried some more meat at noon, and the second and third sons also got some.

Liu Haizhong and his wife are also impatient people. They were already spreading the results everywhere in the yard before they came out.

Now the residents in the courtyard began to discuss privately, saying that if Liu Guangqi failed to get into secondary technical school, Liu Haizhong and his wife would be too ashamed to face anyone.

Among them, Jia Zhang from the Jia family spoke the loudest, saying things like the results haven't come out yet and they aren't afraid of the wind blowing their tongues off.

Liu Haizhong and his wife were very angry about this, but they couldn't go to Liu Guangqi's house to reason. After all, it was a fact that Liu Guangqi's results had not come out yet, so they all went home. Liu Haizhong didn't go out except to go to and from get off work.

A few days passed quickly and the results of the high school entrance examination came out.

Liu Guangqi went to school early in the morning to get his grades, and the result was the same as he expected, he was admitted to a technical secondary school, but he had to wait a few days for the technical secondary school admission notice.

After returning home, without waiting for Liu Haizhong and his wife to ask questions, Liu Guangqi said that he had passed the technical secondary school admission line, but he would have to wait a few days for the notification letter.

Upon hearing this, everyone in the Liu family was very happy and burst into laughter. Then Liu Haizhong and his wife went out to show off.