Siheyuan: All the incense in the family is counting on you

Yu Li has rarely left her hometown since she was a child.

During the days in the village, Li Bowen took her around everywhere every day. But it was winter now, and there were not many sights to see.

Even so, Yu Li was still in high spirits.

Time flies, and soon it is New Year's Eve. More than a dozen people in the family sit together eating the New Year's Eve dinner and listening to the sound of firecrackers outside. The only shortcoming is that there is no TV and no party, which feels a bit boring.

In the past, I always complained that galas were becoming more and more boring and uninteresting, but at least they were a sound. Now, there is no sound at all and we can only sit together and chat.

After lunch on the second day of the Chinese New Year, Li Bowen and his friends were ready to return to Beijing. After spending the past few days together, Chen Qiao and Yu Li had become very good sisters. Chen Qiao held Yu Li's hand and said, "When you are free, come back and play with me!"

"Yeah, I'll come see you when I'm resting. You should also take care of yourself at home and take good care of the baby in your belly!"

Seeing the two sisters getting along harmoniously, not only Li Bowen, but also grandparents, uncle and aunt showed satisfied smiles: "Okay, okay, let Bowen bring Yu Li back often in the future. We have to leave quickly, otherwise we will miss the bus!"

It was still Uncle San Li Dahe who drove the mule cart to take them to the county town to catch the bus. Only when he saw the car slowly driving out of the station did Li Dahe wave the whip.

The days are shorter in winter. Just after five o'clock in the afternoon, the sky gradually darkened.

Li Dahe drove a mule cart slowly on his way home. There were no pedestrians on the road. This road connecting the county town and the village, which was about ten miles long, seemed particularly long and quiet at this moment.

Suddenly, he noticed a figure lying on the roadside not far ahead. After getting closer and seeing it clearly, he quickly grabbed the reins, jumped off the mule cart and walked over.

When I got closer, I found that it was a middle-aged man in his forties wearing tattered clothes. He reeked strongly of alcohol and was holding a small bundle tightly in his arms.

"Oh my, how much alcohol did he drink?" Li Dahe couldn't help but sigh.

He carefully helped the drunk man up and asked with concern: "Brother, it's not good for you to lie on the road like this! Where do you live?"

The drunk opened his eyes vaguely, as if he heard Li Dahe's question, but it seemed that he was just talking to himself. "Over there...Shenjiazhuang!"

Li Dahe knew Shenjiazhuang, which was not far from where they were, about seven or eight miles away. But to reach Shenjiazhuang, they had to turn west at the fork in the road ahead, while Li Dahe's village was a few miles to the east, in the exact opposite direction.

If I send him back and go home myself, it might be midnight. But if I don't send him back, he will freeze to death in this cold winter if no one takes care of him all night, not to mention that there were some gangsters in this area a few days ago.

"Where did you go to drink? Why didn't anyone come to pick you up?" Li Dahe asked the man again, but there was no response and he even started snoring.

There was nothing we could do. We couldn't just watch him die outside, so we could only move the man onto the mule cart, put a quilt on the cart to cover him, and drove the mule cart east.

By the time we arrived at Shenjiazhuang, it was already dark. We found a nearby house and knocked on the door: "Excuse me, can you come and see who this person in the car is from in your village? I saw him halfway while driving. He was drunk and lying on the side of the road!"

The man from that family came out, holding up a lamp and went to the cart to observe carefully: "Isn't this Lao Nian'er? How come he is so drunk!"

Seeing that he knew this person, Li Dahe also breathed a sigh of relief: "It's good that I know him. He only said the name of a village, but didn't say where he lives. Can you show him the way?"

"Okay, wait a moment, I'll get some clothes!"

The man in that house quickly put on his coat and came out: "Come with me!"

On the way, Li Dahe started chatting with this person. This person's name was Shen Shugen and he and Shen Laonian were brothers who had just become five generations old. Shen Laonian was quite popular in the village and lived with his three daughters and one son. It was just that his family conditions were a bit poor. The man was wondering why Shen Laonian, who usually didn't like to drink, drank too much and fell on the side of the road.

The village was not big. After walking for about ten minutes, we arrived in front of a low, dilapidated adobe house. The entrance to the yard was still a wooden fence. The man knocked on the door and shouted inside: "Zhao Di, are you at home? Come out soon!"

I heard a response from inside the house, and soon the wooden door opened, and a girl came out: "Uncle Gen, what's up?"

"Your father was drunk and someone saw him on the way and sent him back!"

The girl ran out quickly, first glanced at Shen Laonian in the car, then turned to Li Dahe and bowed: "Thank you, uncle!"

"Don't be polite, don't be polite. I also saw him lying on the side of the road. He will be frozen if he sleeps there all night! Hurry up and help your father into the house!" Li Dahe waved his hand to indicate that he didn't need to worry.

It was impossible for a girl to drag the child alone, so Li Dahe and Shen Shugen had to lend a hand and carry Shen Laonian into the house to lie down.

Shen Zhaodi followed him to the main hall and said awkwardly, "Uncle, I don't know how to thank you. Why don't you sit down and take a rest? I'll boil you a bowl of water! Uncle Gen, stay with me for a while. I'll go boil some water!"

Li Dahe didn't want to stay here at first, but was stopped by Shen Shugen, who handed him a cigarette and asked him to sit down: "Brother Li, please sit down. Logically, you should give you a thank-you gift for sending Lao Nian back, but look at the situation of his family, just drink a bowl of water as a token of your appreciation!"

Li Dahe smiled and shook his head: "Why thank you or not? It was just a matter of convenience. I was able to see a grown man lying on the side of the road!"

Then he looked at the bare adobe house and couldn't help asking, "Doesn't the production team distribute food every year? Why is his family living such a hard life?"

"Hey, don't mention it. Lao Nian's wife got sick after giving birth. She has been in poor health ever since. She has to take medicine and see a doctor frequently. She spent a lot of money, but she still passed away, leaving a lot of people starving. Lao Nian is left with four children. How can life be good?"

Li Dahe nodded. It was really true. No matter what the disease was, if there was a sick person at home, I would spend all the gold on you even if I had a mountain of gold.

Soon the water boiled, and Shen Zhaodi came in with a kettle and placed a large bowl in front of each of them, with a few leaves of tea in it: "There is still a little bit of tea at home, the taste is not very good, please don't mind!"

"Don't be so polite, I'm really thirsty too, a bowl of water is just right!" Li Dahe didn't want to embarrass the other person, so he just went along with it.

Shen Zhaodi smiled, but before she could say anything, she heard the sound of Shen Laonian vomiting in the room, and hurried into the room: "I'll go see my dad first!"

After vomiting a few times in the room, Shen Laonian may have sobered up a little. The two heard Shen Laonian crying in the room: "My daughter, Daddy is sorry for you! Daddy is sorry for you!"

The two looked at each other. What was going on?