Siheyuan: If you ruin the reputation of the whole courtyard, I will move out

Zhang Yu now has a good job as a chef in the factory cafeteria. He combines work and rest, earns a good income, and has additional benefits. However, this reputation is a bit unsatisfactory! In short, he is a good cook.

"Yes, the president has made a special application to his superiors, and Comrade Zhou Bingkun has been accepted into our team." Shao Jingwen handed Zhang Yu a certificate of employment.

Zhang Yu took the materials and did not seem too surprised or happy.

After years of planning and layout, Zhang Yu has only achieved such results now. However, he is not happy about it. Instead, he is dissatisfied with his performance.

"Mr. Editor-in-Chief, does Zhou Bingkun have a formal position?" Li Suhua asked.

"Of course there is an organization. Of course there is an organization." Shao Jingwen said with a smile.

In fact, Golden Land magazine is extremely optimistic about Zhang Yu, and can even be said to value his talent. In the past three years, Golden Land magazine has been the leader in Jiangliao Publishing House, and its sales have been steadily increasing. The reason for this is all thanks to the vivid stories written by Zhang Yu.

Since the chaos, many literary talents have lost their jobs due to the turbulent situation, and the quality of "Golden Land" magazine has plummeted. The content published was subsequently restricted in various ways, and many topics were shelved. "Golden Land" once faced the crisis of suspension of publication.

As the editor-in-chief, Shao Jingwen was distressed when he read the articles written by Zhang Yu. These works praised the heroic deeds on the battlefield and were completely in line with current events. In particular, Zhang Yu's delicate brushwork and smooth storytelling made people feel as if they were in the story. It was hard to tell that they were written by a young man who had not completed his junior high school studies.

When Shao Jingwen first received Zhang Yu's manuscript, he thought it was written by a retired veteran who had been in the midst of war for decades. After patiently communicating with him, he found that Zhang Yu's speech and behavior were clear and logical, and it was obvious that he was a person with unlimited potential.

So, in the next three years, Zhang Yu successfully published his articles in "Golden Land", and the editor-in-chief Shao Jingwen never changed too many words.

After a long time of getting along, Shao Jingwen was deeply impressed by Zhang Yu's talent, so he took the initiative to propose that he join "Golden Land" as an editor.

Zhang Yu knew that in addition to his good writing skills, he was also able to join the company thanks to Shao Jingwen's active promotion: "Bingkun, you must cherish this opportunity to join the company. Jiangliao Publishing House will recommend one person for admission to university every year."

Li Suhua asked doubtfully: "Hasn't it stopped?"

Shao Jingwen quickly explained: "It's not that it's completely impossible, but it can only be recommended through specific channels. All college student quotas are allocated by companies and institutions. For example, our publishing house can recommend one person to Jiangliao University every year. The competition is very fierce."

Hearing this, Li Suhua was so excited that her face flushed, and she said eagerly: "Son, you have a chance to go to college!"

Holding his mother's hand tightly, Zhang Yu comforted her: "Mom, this has not happened yet, pay attention to your blood pressure."

Li Suhua took a deep breath, chanted Buddhist mantras silently, slowly calmed down, and the abnormal redness on her cheeks gradually faded away.

Looking at her only child, she was so happy that she felt like she would wake up laughing tonight, "Son, it's great that you have this opportunity."

"Mom, there are so few opportunities. There are many people in Golden Land magazine. Don't have too high expectations." Zhang Yu continued to comfort her.

Li Suhua smiled and said, "At least there is hope! I originally thought that my brother and sister were more likely to succeed, but I never thought that you would have the upper hand."

Zhang Yu was helpless about this. This matter was really hard to understand, and he couldn't understand why the old man was so happy.

Before leaving, Shao Jingwen stopped for a while in front of the Zhou family's door and chatted for a few words about literature. Then he said goodbye and left Guangzi Pian at around eight o'clock.

Zhang Yu did not stay idle after returning home. He brought some gifts to the old man Zhang's house next door. The house was next to Zhou's house, separated by a narrow path. Although the house had no garden or courtyard, it was just two loess houses, very simple.

After knocking on the gate, it was opened soon to welcome him. "Bingkun is here to visit Grandpa, come in and talk." Seeing Zhang Yu, the old man's enthusiasm was like sunshine.

Zhang's family's house was extremely simple, with nothing in it, even worse than the Zheng family in the past.

Zhang Yu picked up a small stool and sat down, asking, "Is Xiaolu's condition better?"

Uncle Zhang showed a slightly bitter expression, but still poured a cup of hot water for Zhang Yu.

"Xiaolu is still in the hospital, with his mother by his side. He is doing much better now." When he mentioned his grandson, a trace of relief appeared on his face.

Xiaolu is Uncle Zhang's grandson. He is only nine years old and recently suffered from meningitis. Although he was sent to the hospital in time, all the family savings were used up for his treatment.

"Is the money you have enough? If not, I can give you more." Zhang Yu expressed his concern.

"That's enough, that's enough. The hospital has already reimbursed part of the cost. After the New Year, I will go with you to the street office to transfer the property to you as a reward." Uncle Zhang responded with gratitude.

"There's no rush for the house. If you're having financial difficulties, you can pay it back later."

In order to treat his grandson, Uncle Zhang had to borrow money from everywhere. However, how many people living in this area have spare money?

Finally, Uncle Zhang asked Zhang Yu for help and without further ado, he took out 200 yuan for his grandson's medical expenses. Then Uncle Zhang gave him an IOU.

Soon after, Xiaolu's illness relapsed, and Uncle Zhang again approached Zhang Yu for help. Zhang Yu did not hesitate to give Uncle Zhang all the 500 yuan in royalties he had accumulated over three years of hard work, helping his father-in-law to get through the difficult period temporarily.

After Xiaolu recovered, Uncle Zhang felt helpless in the face of the accumulated debt of 500 yuan and decided to use his house as collateral to pay off the debt to Zhang Yu.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Yu refused to accept it. "You don't have to rush to pay back the house. Just take your time."

But this underestimated Uncle Zhang's tenacity. He said he would transfer the house to Zhang Yu no matter what.

"How are you going to live in the future without a house?" Zhang Yu asked with concern.

Uncle Zhang sighed: "I have an old house in my hometown in the countryside. Although it is shabby, it is still habitable."

In today's society, city dwellers will not choose to return to rural life unless they have no other choice. The elderly Uncle Zhang has no proper job and can only rely on odd jobs to make a living.

He originally came from an unfortunate family. He had a son who died unexpectedly at a young age, leaving behind a lonely mother and wife and two orphans and widows to depend on each other.

His wife did not remarry, but because they had no job, the family's livelihood depended almost entirely on Uncle Zhang.

The grandson's serious illness caused the family to fall into poverty. Uncle Zhang finally couldn't make ends meet and had to sell the house to repay the debt and return to his hometown to barely make ends meet. In this predicament, his wife finally broke down and found a new partner before the New Year to leave. Fortunately, this man was willing to accept them, the only condition being that the children were healthy.

"Take this money, a total of 200 yuan, and take it back to your hometown." Zhang Yu took out a stack of RMB and handed it to Uncle Zhang.

"I can't accept your help anymore." Uncle Zhang quickly shook his head and refused.

"This money is the final payment." As he said that, Zhang Yu stuffed the money into Uncle Zhang's pocket.

"I know the price of my mud house. I didn't dare to accept 500 yuan last time, let alone these." Uncle Zhang frankly expressed his true feelings.

In response to Zhang Yu's kindness, Zhang Yu stuffed the money into Uncle Zhang's pocket and said gently, "The child has just recovered from an illness. Use this to buy some meat to nourish him."

Uncle Zhang was so moved by this deep affection that his eyes filled with tears. Zhang Yu simply said a few words of comfort and then left.

Outside the door, Uncle Zhang watched the departing figure with a sad look in his eyes, and whispered, "Mingkun, thank you."

To Zhang Yu, the two hundred yuan was insignificant. There were thousands of gold in his space, and any one of them was worth much more than two hundred yuan. But to Uncle Zhang, it was his lifeline to survive.

He had planned to use the house to repay Zhang Yu's help after his wife and grandson found another home, and then end his life. However, the two hundred yuan rekindled his will to live.

When Zhang Yu returned home, Li Suhua was surprised that he came back so late.

"I just visited Mr. Zhang next door and gave him some money."

Hearing this, Li Suhua nodded knowingly: "Indeed, Old Zhang's life is really rough. He worked hard for most of his life and just when he was about to have a good time, he encountered his son's accident. It's sad to see the old send off the young."

Faced with such a sad story, Zhang Yu sat quietly on the edge of the kang, took a book and began to read quietly.

In rural China, there are many areas with harsh conditions like Guangzipian, and Old Zhang is a typical figure there. This place has always been the poorest place in Jichun County.

Zhang Yu had two reasons for helping Old Zhang: first, they were long-standing neighbors, and decades of interaction made him willing to help; second, out of instinctive kindness, his actions seemed relaxed. The 700 yuan was all Zhang Yu's savings for the past three years, but he thought it was a matter of course and just wanted to feel at ease.

The next morning, Li Suhua woke up her son and asked him to go to the train station to pick up Zhou Zhigang. "Son, your father's train is not until the afternoon. It's useless to go early." However, Li Suhua said worriedly, "What if the train arrives earlier? Wouldn't it be a waste of time to find a bicycle?"

Zhang Yu had no choice but to tell Guoqing about this last night and wait for him to deliver the car. "By the way, where is Zheng Juan?" Li Suhua asked.

Zhang Yu replied, "She won't be here until about ten o'clock, so we're not in a hurry now." As he said that, he quickly put on his clothes and answered Li Suhua.

While they were talking, there was a knock on the door. When they opened the door, they found Zheng Juan standing there. "Why did you come so early?" Zhang Yu asked in surprise when he saw her.

"I couldn't sleep all night, so I came here early." Zheng Juan said anxiously. Zhang Yu was speechless, and hurriedly washed up and rode Guoqing's bicycle to his residence.

Zheng Juan rode a bicycle, while Zhang Yu went out with his old mother. They arrived at the train station before 10 a.m. The three of them waited for about four hours until they saw Zhou Zhigang's train arrive. Only then did Zhang Yu know that the plot had changed: Zhou Zhigang did not go to Guizhou to visit Zhou Rong as in the original novel.

When she saw her husband, Li Suhua's eyes were already filled with tears, and she couldn't wait to call out. "Husband..." When Zhou Zhigang dragged his heavy bag and tried to recognize her voice, tears welled up in his eyes.

The old couple finally embraced each other after not seeing each other for three years. Zhang Yu and Zheng Juan, who witnessed this scene, did not disturb them. Later, Li Suhua expressed concern about Zhou Zhigang's physical changes: "Look at you, you have become darker and thinner." Zhou Zhigang praised Zheng Juan for becoming healthier.

Zhang Yu interrupted at the right time to change the subject, joking: "If Dad sees Mom is thinner, will he beat me again?" Zhou Zhigang laughed and counterattacked, patting Zhang Yu on the shoulder. His eyes then fell on Zheng Juan, satisfied with the description in Bingkun's letter.

He smiled and greeted his future daughter-in-law: "Hello, little girl!" Zheng Juan also responded politely, but her tone was a little restrained. Seeing Zhou Zhigang so easy-going and humorous, Zheng Juan felt relieved.

"My first priority is to facilitate your wedding with Bingkun." Zhou Zhigang said and slapped Zhang Yu again. But Zhang Yu explained that everything was decided by his father, the head of the family. "How could I have the mind to get married when my father is not home?" He replied with a smile, trying to appease the angry Zhou Zhigang.

Finally, Zhou Zhigang suggested that everyone go home quickly, and after handing all the luggage to Zhang Yu, he left with his wife. Zhang Yu complained about his father's carelessness of throwing things away without saying hello. Along the way, Zhou Zhigang and Li Suhua rode bicycles, while Zhang Yu took Zheng Juan and the luggage back to their warm home.