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

Zhou Zhigang sat at the dining table in Shancheng, wondering whether he would go home for the New Year. He had been teaching in Shancheng for nearly eight years, and he had only visited his family twice. This year, his workload was lighter, so he was eager to take this opportunity to go back and visit his grandson Zhou Cong.

Suddenly, a familiar photo came into my pocket, and the scene of Zhang Yu and his wife holding Zhou Cong was vivid in my mind. The moment I touched the photo, my longing was like an arrow. That was the third generation of the old Zhou family, and perhaps the only remaining hope.

The last time Zhou Zhigang returned home for the holidays, he had heard vaguely about the plight of his son's family. Out of concern for the dignity of his eldest son Zhou Bingyi, he deliberately concealed the truth. The youngest son Zhou Rong and his wife worked hard to give birth to a grandson, but the chance of having a second child was actually very slim.

Every time after get off work, Zhou Zhigang's heart is always filled with the image of his little grandson, and he can only gaze at the scene in the photo to comfort himself. Sometimes, he is full of envy for his happy wife Li Suhua, who has children and grandchildren around her. Such a life in her later years is really enviable.

Just as he was immersed in memories and expectations, a co-worker found him.

"Master Zhou, someone is waiting for your call in the office." said the worker.

"My phone?" Zhou Zhigang asked doubtfully, "Who could it be?"

"A man claiming to be your son left a message asking you to come over and take a look," the worker answered.

Zhou Zhigang was afraid that something might happen at home, so he hurriedly put away the photos and didn't even have the heart to continue enjoying his meal. He walked quickly towards the office area.

When I opened the door, I saw Director Sun, the person in charge of the office, holding a note in his hand: "Master Zhou, this is a message from your son."

There were only two simple sentences of information about the eldest son Zhou Bingyi recorded on the piece of paper. Although the content was not much, it brought an unexpected shock of news.

"Dad, I have arrived in Shancheng, in room 403 of the guesthouse."

When Zhou Zhigang saw the note, he was surprised, but then he became confused.

"Why is Bingyi here?" Zhou Zhigang packed up the note, thanked Director Sun and immediately went to Room 403 of the guesthouse.

The door was not locked, so he opened it and walked in.

Zhou Bingyi was lying on the bed. He sat up immediately when he heard the noise.

"Dad!" Seeing Zhou Zhigang, Zhou Bingyi excitedly stepped forward and hugged his father tightly.

After hugging, Zhou Zhigang asked: "Why are you here? What happened?"

Zhou Bingyi let go of his father, took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to him.

"Is this an admission letter?" Zhou Zhigang took a look and found that it was actually a letter from the Department of Philosophy of Peking University.

“Passed the exam!” Zhou Zhigang said in surprise.

"Not only did I get into Peking University, but Dongmei as well. She was admitted to Jiangliao Medical College." Zhou Bingyi told his father excitedly.

"Great." Zhou Zhigang's eyes welled up with tears, his lips trembling slightly: "We finally have a college student in the Zhou family!"

Zhou Bingyi said mischievously: "Not only that, my elder brother Bingkun also entered the Chinese Department of Peking University, and Zheng Juan entered the Normal University."

"Oh my!" Zhou Zhigang was surprised by a series of good news and was completely confused.

"Bingkun and the others also passed the exam!" Zhou Zhigang asked, "What about Rong'er? Did she pass?"

Zhou Bingyi's smile suddenly stopped, and he hesitated and said: "Sister Rong's grades are slightly insufficient, so she can only go to a slightly worse school, so she plans to try again next year."

Hearing this, Zhou Zhigang was silent for a moment and frowned: "It's good enough to go to college, why are you still picky?"

Zhou Bingyi said awkwardly: "Dad, you know that Rong'er has a strong personality. She must be disappointed if she didn't do well in the exam, so she wants to try to take the exam again."

Zhou Zhigang's frown was still there: "It's good even if it's not Tsinghua or Peking University."

"Dad," Zhou Bingyi smiled and comforted, "Sister Rong knows it herself, just let her try. After all, she is a mother, she knows her limits."

With a serious face, Zhou Zhigang said: "Once my daughter gets married, it's like spilled water. I will no longer interfere with her choice."

Zhou Bingyi put the notice back into his pocket and continued, "Dad, I have completed the process of retiring from the army. In addition to telling you this good news, there is one more thing I want to tell you."

"What's the matter?" Zhou Zhigang asked in confusion.

"Dongmei's parents have been reinstated," Zhou Bingyi reported.

Zhou Zhigang nodded and said with emotion: "They have suffered a lot in the past ten years. When you go back, ask Dongmei to visit them more often."

Then, Zhou Bingyi suggested: "Dad, why don't you come with me to Jilinchun!"

Zhou Zhigang responded: "I haven't completed the task at hand yet, I'll talk about the return trip later."

Zhou Bingyi hesitated for a moment, and finally mustered up the courage to say, "Dad, there is something I have always wanted to tell you."

Zhou Zhigang observed his son's expression and knew that his words were crucial.

Zhou Zhigang took the initiative to guide: "We are father and son, is there anything we can't talk about? Sit down first."

After hesitating for a long time, Zhou Bingyi stammered, not knowing how to start.

"Are you going to talk about Dongmei's infertility?" Zhou Zhigang took the initiative to bring up this topic, not wanting his son to suffer.

“Dad, how did you know!?” Zhou Bingyi looked at his father in shock.

"I knew it from listening to your conversation before." Zhou Zhigang sighed helplessly.

"Dad, I didn't mean to hide it from you, I just..." Zhou Bingyi defended himself apologetically.

Zhou Zhigang gently patted his son's shoulder and said tolerantly: "I know you are filial and I am not stubborn. There is nothing we can do if Dongmei cannot have children. The key is that you and your wife should live a good life."

Zhou Bingyi didn't expect his father to be so understanding, and he felt even more guilty.

"Dad, I've always been afraid that telling you this would make you sad and disappointed," he said more directly, "Actually what my brother said is right. Dongmei's inability to have children is not a big deal. What hurts me the most is hiding this from you."

Zhou Bingyi knelt down deeply in front of Zhou Zhigang and said in regret: "I'm sorry, Dad, I shouldn't have lied to you."

Zhou Zhigang reached out his hand to help his son up and said, "Hurry up, the ground is cold." Then he turned to Zhou Bingyi and asked, "Has Dad forgiven you?"

Zhou Bingyi stood up and asked his father, "Dad, do you agree with me?"

Zhou Zhigang patted him on the shoulder and said, "Between father and son, how can we talk about forgiveness or not?"

Zhou Bingyi breathed a sigh of relief when he learned that what he really cared about was not the question he had just asked. He said to Zhou Zhigang, "Dad, Dongmei and her parents actually want us to live there after we return to Jichun. They have been separated from Dongmei for more than ten years and can't even communicate with her. She really misses them."

Hearing his son's description, Zhou Zhigang understood that this was the purpose of his son's trip, but he was conflicted about the idea of ​​living with his husband's family after marriage. Although he was an open-minded parent who understood the needs of his children, he also adhered to ancient traditions.

Zhou Zhigang neither explicitly agreed nor immediately rejected the idea. Instead, he asked Zhou Bingyi what he thought: "What have you thought through?" This actually meant that he was asking for advice rather than giving an order.

Zhou Bingyi replied: "I just hope to live in Guangzi Pian. Dongmei has not been able to visit her parents for many years, and I have only visited you once in these years. For me, that place is my home."

Zhou Zhigang's expression eased a little after hearing this. "As the eldest son in the family, according to the old rules, the eldest son should take on the family business and be responsible for honoring his parents. I hope that after I graduate from university, I can live with you." He made this request carefully.

Zhou Zhigang questioned: "So you plan to stay at Dongmei's parents' house for four years before moving back? Besides, you didn't have many days to visit her home when you were studying."

After thinking for a while, he asked again, "When will you return to Jichun?"

"We plan to go back as soon as we arrive tomorrow," Zhou Bingyi responded.

Zhou Zhigang asked Zhou Bingyi to go back first and discuss with his mother, "Tell her, it's better to be tactful. She is old and can't withstand the storms anymore." This seemed to be an agreement with his son's decision, but in fact he had some hidden concerns.

Seeing his father's attitude change, Zhou Bingyi was delighted, as he saw this as a kind of tacit approval.

Zhou Zhigang had been paying attention to his son's expression, and he couldn't help but feel unhappy. He continued, "Don't worry about your old problem. I'm also approaching retirement, and I'm still healthy and can take care of myself. At most, I can hire a helper in the future."

He mentioned that Zhang Yu had paid a lot for this, and he couldn't let his brother suffer any more, which was also something that Zhou Zhigang couldn't let go of. Although Zhang Yu had the opportunity to go to a better university, which he was unhappy about, he was now happy with his son's choice.

The two had a very pleasant conversation. Zhou Zhigang took half a day off to take his son to visit the city of mountains and rivers and had a hotpot meal together as a souvenir.

After Zhou Zhigang arranged Zhou Bingyi's affairs, he immediately called Ji Chun to inform his wife and submitted a leave application, hoping to get more rest time during the Spring Festival.

On the other hand, Zhou Bingyi and Hao Dongmei returned home quietly without saying hello to anyone in advance.

After getting off the train, the two planned to visit Hao Dongmei's parents first and then visit Li Suhua in the hospital. Unexpectedly, they saw Zhang Yu who had been waiting for a long time outside the station.

"Brother, sister-in-law," Zhang Yu pushed his bicycle towards the two of them, "Dad, send me a message and tell me when you will be back." His appearance stunned the young couple.

Hao Dongmei looked at Zhou Bingyi and explained, "I didn't want you to make such a special trip."

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "Did my aunt send a car?"

Then a black car drove from a distance and stopped on the side of the road. The license plate was unique to government agencies.

Hao Dongmei was speechless for a moment. Zhou Zhiyi comforted her: "Xiaokun, you go home first, and my sister-in-law and I will go to see mom later." He realized that this family gathering would not be so simple.

Zhang Yu took out a note and handed it to Zhou Bingyi: "I have moved, this is the new address."

"Have you bought another house?" Zhou Bingyi took the note.

"I bought a bigger house so that we can get together." Zhang Yu got on his bike and asked, "Do you want to go home for dinner or have dinner at my sister-in-law's?"

Zhou Bingyi answered almost reflexively: "Go home and eat."

Zhang Yu nodded, then got on his bike and left.

Looking at his brother's receding figure, Zhou Bingyi was slightly distracted.

He felt that in this reunion, the closeness between the brothers had become unfamiliar, and there was an inexplicable sense of distance.

"Bingyi, Dad's car has arrived, let's go home first!" Hao Dongmei pulled her husband's arm and urged him.

"Oh, okay!" Zhou Bingyi came to his senses and got into the car with Hao Dongmei.

Zhang Yu, who was riding a bicycle, noticed a black car passing by quickly. Through the window, he caught a glimpse of the warm scene of Zhou Bingyi and Hao Dongmei, laughing and chatting with each other.

While shaking his head, Zhang Yu pedaled the wheel even harder and soon returned home.

After entering the door, I saw Li Suhua standing in front of the door with a cane in one hand. When she saw Zhang Yu coming back alone, a trace of disappointment flashed across her face.

"Mom, my sister-in-law's parents sent a car to pick her and my brother up." Zhang Yu stopped the car and said, "They will be back late tonight."

Hearing this, Li Suhua said regretfully: "She hasn't seen your sister-in-law's parents for so many years, she should go over and say hello."

Zhang Yu helped his mother into the house. "Mom, do you want to go to the capital with us?" he asked.