Siheyuan: How the Little People Live

Red Star Courtyard.

Ye Wenwu and his cousin Zhang Xingbang got up and went to the middle courtyard to wash up.

"Cousin, what do you think?"

Cousin Zhang Xingbang pulled Ye Wenwu's arm, as if he had seen something extraordinary.

Ye Wenwu looked up and saw that it was Qin Huairu from the Jia family who came out.

"Cousin, what's the big deal? I'm not surprised that you can come out, but I would be surprised if you can't come out."

It turned out that his cousin Zhang Xingbang was very surprised to see that the Jia family's Qinhuai Road actually appeared in the compound.

And Ye Wenwu knew that the old ancestor in the backyard had very strong connections.

I could have clearly sent them in several times, but it was always ruined by this ancestor's connections.

If we take a closer look at these three major events, it seems that our ancestors did have a stronger background.

However, no matter how strong the background is, it cannot withstand such consumption.

Cousin Zhang Xingbang had a depressed look on his face. Last night he saw all the members of the Jia family being taken back for attacking police officers. He thought that the compound would at least be peaceful for a while.

But this morning, he actually saw Qin Huairu. You know, how could someone who committed such a serious crime as assaulting a police officer be released so easily?

It was not strange at all to see his cousin Ye Wenwu, and it even made him a little curious.

After quickly finishing their breakfast, the two men rode their bicycles together to the Red Star Steel Mill.

On the way, my cousin Zhang Xuexi couldn't help but be curious and asked:

"Cousin, why aren't you curious at all? Qin Huairu can come back so soon!"

A slight smile appeared on Ye Wenwu's lips. He knew how gossipy his cousin was, but he never expected that his cousin could endure it for so long. He even thought that his cousin had changed his sex.

"Cousin, I thought you weren't interested."

Hearing Ye Wenwu's joke, his cousin Zhang Xingbang's face stiffened for a moment, and he said angrily:

"Why, can't you tell your cousin about this?"

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you this so you don't have to ask me again and bother me later."

Ye Wenwu didn't care and immediately started talking to his cousin Zhang Xingbang about the most amazing character in the scroll, the deaf old lady in the Red Star Courtyard.

“Cousin, you should know that there is an old lady in the backyard of our compound who is a deaf old lady.”

Cousin Zhang Xingbang nodded. Since he had lived in this compound for such a long time, he naturally knew who lived in the compound.

But I know that this deaf old lady stays in the backyard all year round and rarely cares about things in the yard.

"This deaf old lady is no ordinary person. She did some things for our organization during the protests, so you know that she has a deep background. That's why they were able to escape danger in the previous times. As for last night, it must be that Shazhu ran to his grandmother and asked for help again."

Ye Wenwu's explanation made his cousin Zhang Xingbang understand why he saw the Jia family members coming back this morning.

"That's not right, cousin. Why is Sha Zhu the grandson of Old Lady Long? Didn't they say that Sha Zhu's father ran off with a widow?"

Ye Wenwu rolled his eyes at his cousin.

"Can't I just adopt a grandson?"

Hearing Ye Wenwu's contempt, Zhang Xingbang smacked his lips, then thought about it and decided not to say anything. He knew how powerful his cousin's lips were, and he didn't want to confront him head-on.

. . . . . .

At the entrance of Hongxing Siheyuan,

A middle-aged man wearing patched clothes, smelling of sweat, with beads of sweat as big as soybeans on his forehead, and an anxious look on his face.

Seeing people coming and going at the entrance of Hongxing Courtyard, he hurried forward and stopped a middle-aged man.

"Comrade, may I ask if Zhang Xingbang lives here?"

The middle-aged man who was stopped was a little annoyed. After all, it was working hours and he was already a little late.

When he saw a man in front of him who was obviously dressed as a farmer and smelled the sweat emanating from his body, he frowned in disgust.

"Go, go, go, I still have to go to work, don't stop me."

The middle-aged man in the compound simply pushed away the key Chinese character who was asking the question.

The middle-aged man, whose clothes were all patched, showed deep disappointment on his face.

He set out from the village early in the morning before dawn and walked for about two or three hours, asking everyone he met before he finally found the Red Star Courtyard.

I didn't expect that as soon as I asked someone a question, the other person would be disgusted by the smell of sweat on my body and didn't even give me a chance to speak.

At this time, the third uncle Yan Buguigui also walked out of the yard carrying his bicycle.

A middle-aged man with patched clothes quickly stopped him.

The third uncle Yan Bugui was an educated man after all, and he was not in a hurry to go to work. After all, he had a bicycle. When he saw the stranger in front of him, who was dressed like a farmer, he was a little confused.

"Comrade, what are you doing?"

Finally, he saw someone talking to him, and the middle-aged man in patched clothes cried for joy.

"Comrade, comrade, I want to ask if Zhang Xingbang is in this yard?"

The third uncle Yan Bugui frowned. He knew everyone in the compound, and it seemed that there was really no one with the surname Zhang. He shook his head at the middle-aged man.

"There's no one named Zhang in our compound. Did you come to the wrong place?"

The middle-aged man was a little anxious. He didn't expect that he couldn't find out any news about Zhang Xingbang. When he heard the other party's question, he immediately shook his head and said:

"I remember correctly. Is this the courtyard at No. 95 Nanluoguxiang, also known as the Red Star Courtyard?"

He pointed to the house number at the door and said.

The third uncle Yan Bugui did not expect that the other party actually knew that there was a courtyard called the Red Star Courtyard. You know, only the people in their inner courtyard call it that.

He thought he might have missed someone, and went over it again in his mind, but still couldn't think of someone with the surname Zhang.

Suddenly, he remembered that Ye Wenwu’s mother also seemed to have the surname Zhang. Could it be that Zhang Xingbang was the name of his cousin?

To be honest, when Ye Wenwu introduced them, Third Uncle Yan Bugui did not really remember his cousin's name. After all, Ye Wenwu also said that his cousin did not live here permanently.

Seeing the lost and anxious look on the man in front of him, Third Uncle Yan Bugui couldn't bear it and asked again, probably because there was something urgent.

"There was a man named Zhang in our compound, but he died a month ago. However, their son is called Ye Wenwu. Do you know him?"