Siheyuan: Starting with one acre and three fen of land

Zhang Baishu saw the changes in He Yuzhu's facial expression and naturally guessed his inner thoughts.

He sighed softly and patted He Yuzhu on the shoulder: "Zhuzi, don't force it. I'm already so old, and I've become indifferent to many things."

After listening to Zhang Baishu's words, He Yuzhu nodded slightly to show his understanding.

Chen Xueru, who was standing by, also heard the conversation between the two. She was smart and quickly understood what they were talking about.

She rolled her eyes, and an idea came to her mind. She took the initiative to suggest to Zhang Baishu: "Master, I plan to go back to my hometown to celebrate the New Year this year. How about this, you write a letter, and I can help you find out the situation."

Zhang Baishu couldn't help but be moved when he heard Chen Xueru's proposal. He subconsciously touched the beard on his chin, hesitating.

Seeing that Zhang Baishu was wavering, He Yuzhu immediately took advantage of the situation and persuaded him: "Old man, why are you still hesitating? It's just writing a letter, it doesn't take much effort."

Zhang Baishu finally made up his mind, took a deep breath, stood up, and walked to the desk to prepare to write a letter.

As he walked, he said to He Yuzhu and Chen Xueru: "Well, since fate has arrived, I will go write the letter now."

Chen Xueru quickly followed and pushed He Yuzhu: "Brother Zhuzi, go and cook!"

He Yuzhu stopped, looked at her, and nodded in response: "Grandpa, I'll go cook first. Come over later."

Zhang Baishu smiled and waved, then turned his gaze to Chen Xueru, who walked up to the table and ground ink for him. A hint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes.

He Yuzhu walked out of the room and returned to the middle courtyard. He opened the kitchen door, checked the dishes he brought back in the morning, and began to prepare for today's lunch.

It was noon and the aroma from the kitchen wafted into the air.

He Yuzhu leaned over the kitchen door and shouted, "Yushui, it's time to eat! Go to the backyard and call for help."

"I know!" After hearing his words, Yu Shui said goodbye to his friends and ran towards the backyard.

In the main living room, He Yuzhu had just set the table when he heard hurried footsteps outside the door. He turned around and saw Yu Shui running in.

"Brother, the old man and sister are behind us and will be here soon." Yu Shui said as he walked to the washstand, quickly added some water into the basin, and washed his hands.

Not long after, Chen Xueru supported Zhang Baishu and slowly walked into the living room. Both of them had smiles on their faces and seemed to be having a good conversation.

"Hey, what are you two talking about?" He Yuzhu couldn't help but joked when he saw this.

Chen Xueru helped Zhang Baishu sit down on the chair, turned to look at He Yuzhu, and said coquettishly: "Why do you care so much? Hurry up and sit down!"

"Okay, you're in charge now!" He Yuzhu teased with a smile, then pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Sister-in-law is so awesome!" Yu Shui shouted loudly and ran to Chen Xueru with a smile.

Chen Xueru looked at Yu Shui gently, reached out to help her pull out the chair and let her sit down.

Zhang Baishu looked at everything in front of him and couldn't help but smile with satisfaction. He raised his hand and said, "Today is such a good day! Let's eat!"

Everyone picked up their chopsticks and happily enjoyed this sumptuous dinner.

The whole room was filled with laughter and a happy atmosphere.

After the meal, He Yuzhu cleaned the table, took away the food residue, and quickly wiped the table clean.

He took out a pot of brewed tea from the kitchen and poured a cup for everyone.

Zhang Baishu picked up the hot tea, blew on it gently, and took a sip of the tea.

He raised his head and looked at He Yuzhu who was sitting opposite him: "Zhuzi, when are you going to go to Xiao Chen's house?"

He Yuzhu pondered for a moment and replied, "Next year! I have an idea. When the time comes, there will be no obstacles for us."

After saying that, he glanced at Chen Xueru beside him, and they smiled at each other.

Judging from their reactions, Zhang Baishu seemed to have a plan, and a look of satisfaction flashed in his eyes.

He smiled and looked at the two of them: "Xiao Chen, we are also destined to be together. When you go back this time, I'll ask you to help me make a trip."

"Grandpa, don't worry. The weather will be warmer tomorrow. Please arrange your itinerary and come back to Suzhou with us!" Chen Xueru smiled back.

"Haha! There's no rush. Let's talk about it when the time comes." As he spoke, he stroked his beard with his hand, a satisfied smile on his face.

He Yuzhu saw a trace of fatigue on Zhang Baishu's face and said with concern: "Old man, I see that you are a little tired. How about I help you go back and rest?"

Zhang Baishu put down his teacup and nodded: "Alright! At my age, my energy is declining day by day. Xiao Chen, I'm going to rest first."

"Grandpa, please don't say that. You are in good health." Chen Xueru said, walking forward and holding his other hand.

"Great! Both of you are fine!" Zhang Baishu patted the back of her hand gently.

After sending Zhang Baishu back to the backyard to rest, not long after he sat down, several familiar aunts and uncles in the yard came to visit.

He Yuzhu looked at the lively conversation in the living room, and hurriedly took out some melon seeds and peanuts, poured some tea and left the room.

Walk out of the living room, sit on the porch lintel, and feel the cool breeze to wake yourself up.

He Yuzhu heard footsteps coming from the corridor, turned around and saw a deaf old lady coming out from the backyard.

He quickly stood up and greeted her with a smile, "Hey, old lady. Where are you going?"

The deaf old lady walked up to He Yuzhu and said, "Zhuzi! I'm going out for a walk."

He Yuzhu nodded and said with a smile: "Okay! Watch your step!"

The deaf old lady took a look towards the living room and naturally understood what was going on. She smiled and said nothing, then turned around and slowly walked towards the front yard.

He Yuzhu looked at the deaf old lady's receding figure and couldn't help but think of the last time she spread rumors.

Although he had no conclusive evidence, after thinking it over, he felt that the deaf old lady was the most suspicious.

He secretly thought that he hoped Tang Mingping could catch him.

The next afternoon, the wind was cold and windy. Tang Mingping, wearing a thick cotton jacket and hunching his head, came to the tea stall near Xianger Hutong.

He ordered a bowl of hot tea, sat on a worn wooden stool, held the large bowl in both hands, blew away the hot steam gently, and sipped it slowly.

However, his eyes never left the gate of Lai Wu's house diagonally opposite.

In the past few days, Lai Wu plays until late at night every day, then sleeps for most of the day and gets up in the afternoon.

These days, he, like Lai Wu, has been living a life of day and night. If he were not young and strong, he would not be able to persist.

He had not yet finished the tea in the bowl when he suddenly heard a creaking sound coming from Lai Wu's house.

He immediately put down the bowl, wiped the corner of his mouth with his hand, and saw the gate of Lai Wu's house slowly open.

Lai Wu was seen staggering out of the yard, yawning and stretching.

He seemed to have just woken up, his hair was messy and his face had a sleepy look.

Lai Wu subconsciously cast his gaze towards a certain place, narrowed his eyes slightly, and instantly came to his senses.

He rubbed his eyes, looked carefully, and found an obvious knife pattern on the brick.

Lai Wu was stunned, and muttered to himself: "What kind of work is this?"

He quickly looked around to make sure no one was noticing him, then he tightened his coat and walked quickly to the other end of the alley.