Siheyuan: How the Little People Live

"Then let's give it a try! If it doesn't work, forget it."

Uncle Zhang Liguo responded dryly. He really didn't have the confidence to deal with these parents who had oppressed him for decades.

Ye Wenwu felt a little annoyed when he heard his uncle Zhang Liguo's dry words.

"Uncle, this matter concerns your future. You must be firm and not have no confidence at all. If you don't even have confidence in yourselves, then who will help you? And even if you bear this stigma, as long as your children live well. To be honest, if it were me, I would be willing to do it."

"Brother, Wenwu is right. I have always respected you the most in our family because you are the fairest and have always protected me. But Wenwu's words today made me realize that if I continue to tolerate it, it will be my family that suffers. I will bear the blame. I also want my family to live a good life, instead of working the hardest and getting the least good things."

"I thought about the last time my youngest son wanted to take a piece of candy, and his mother scolded him for a long time and made him kneel on the ground for a long time. But my younger brother's son took one and spit it on the ground and threw it away, and no one punished him. At that time, I felt that I was a failure as a father."

Second uncle Zhang Lijun started to cry as he spoke, thinking that he, a man, had ended up living like this, where he would be blamed for a long time even for having a piece of candy at home, and the key point was that he hadn't even had it yet.

Moreover, my family has never been lazy or slack, and has done all the work that should be done. Why are they bullying me like this? Is it because they are my parents?

Seeing his second brother crying and Ye Wenwu's determined eyes, Zhang Liguo also strengthened his belief.

"Don't cry, second brother. You've suffered a lot. I've thought about this matter and decided that it's better for our family to live separately. Don't mention this matter. If you do, parents will definitely be furious. Let me, the eldest son, bring it up."

Seeing that he had convinced both of his uncles, Ye Wenwu felt a sense of pride and was happy for them.

"Uncle, it's settled then. You can't go back on your word."

Ye Wenwu had some little thoughts in his mind. He had already guessed that even if his uncle came home to raise this issue and did not want to divide the property, his grandparents and uncle would not agree, and the matter would definitely be brought to the village team.

He could also take this opportunity to let everyone know what kind of grandparents he is, thus severing the ties between the two families. Although there was an element of taking advantage of his uncles, Ye Wenwu really wanted them to live a good life.

At least if they didn't get a house, Ye Wenwu was prepared to give them 300 yuan each. It is relatively simple to build a house in the countryside.

It’s not that Ye Wenwu doesn’t intend to give more, but sometimes too much becomes alms, which can easily hurt one’s self-esteem.

"You're underestimating your uncles. You, Ossigma, have said this, and it's a real deal. A real man will never go back on his word."

My eldest uncle Zhang Liguo and my second uncle Zhang Lijun both had determined looks in their eyes and were looking forward to their future.

"Then let's go straight away, uncle and second uncle. I have rented this car for five days. I also want to go back and visit my parents' hometown. My dad was raised by family visits, so I must repay him."

Ye Wenwu did not say that he wanted to go back and sever ties with his grandparents, but gave a legitimate reason.

Ye Wenwu did not buy anything. If he gave these things to his eldest uncle and second uncle's family in time, they would definitely be taken away by his grandparents and youngest uncle's family in less than half a minute. It would be better for him to wait until they divided the family property and then buy more things for himself.

Zhangjiazhuang of Hongxing Commune is quite far away, located between two valleys. It is home to 87 households, most of whom are surnamed Zhang.

After Ye Wenwu rode his 10-inch bicycle for kilometers, he felt his buttocks were numb. The roads in this era were not cement roads or asphalt roads like those in later generations, but real dirt roads. They were very bumpy, and Ye Wenwu's hands were almost numb.

"Wenwu, you're not in good shape. Okay, let's just rest here for a while. We're not in a hurry to go home anyway."

Ye Wenwu finally breathed a sigh of relief. You know, this was because he had added a confidence point last night. If he didn't have this confidence point, he would have been in great trouble for the 5 kilometers.

However, some roads are indeed difficult to ride even on bicycles, and it took the three of them nearly three hours to reach the entrance of Zhangjiazhuang village.

Looking at the poor and shabby little village in front of me, and the houses with chimneys, the mountains on both sides are not green at all. After all, there is a shortage of water everywhere now.

Fortunately, due to its proximity to the mountains, the impact of water shortage in Zhangjiazhuang is relatively small.

"Uncle, is this Zhangjiazhuang?"

"Yes, our Zhangjiazhuang was very beautiful two years ago, but the natural disasters in the past two years have made it less prosperous. There are also fewer trees on both sides. I can take you to the mountains to have a look. If you are lucky, you may even come across some wild game."

"Okay, then I'll trouble my eldest and second uncles."

Ye Wenwu had never gone hunting in the mountains before, so he would not let go of this opportunity. However, he did not care whether he could hunt game or not. After all, everyone was having a hard time, and all the prey in the mountains must have been hunted, unless they went deep into the mountains.

"Liguo Lijun, you're back. Where are you going? I didn't see you leave the mountain this morning."

An elderly man saw two bicycles coming from outside the village. He realized that they were young people from his village, so he also went to greet them with his crutches.

Then it was as if he had discovered something.

"Why does this child look so familiar? What's his name?"

Uncle Zhang Liguo also stopped his bicycle and said respectfully:

"Grandpa, my two brothers went out last night. Don't you remember that you let a man from another village in last night? We followed that man out, did some things, and came back just now."

"As for this child here, old lady, you may still remember that this is the child of Ye Fugui and Zhang Kexin from our village."

After hearing what his uncle said and looking at the old man's gray hair, he realized that this old man was of a very high generation.

"Wealthy?"

The old man looked at Ye Wenwu with his cloudy eyes.

"Liguo, isn't Zhang Kexin your sister who ran away from home?"

Uncle Zhang Liguo nodded quickly. Only then did the old man remember Fugui, who grew up eating at many people's homes more than ten years ago. Was this name given to him by everyone? The old man also named him Fuqiang at that time, but unfortunately everyone disagreed, so he was finally called Fugui.