Siheyuan: Starting with one acre and three fen of land

He Yuzhu rode his bike through the alleys, looking at the familiar alley walls. The past came to his mind, and the corners of his mouth rose unconsciously, and his mood became cheerful.

He spent three years here, from coming to this era in 1949 to leaving the city for the north in 1952.

This time he was away for three years. Only when he returned to this alley full of memories did his heart finally settle down and he reintegrated into the old city.

As the setting sun shone, the bicycle stopped steadily in front of the bright gate of the courtyard.

Seeing that the car had stopped, Chen Xueru loosened her arms around him and jumped lightly from the back seat.

She raised her hand to cover her brows, looked at the slightly shabby door in front of her, turned and looked at He Yuzhu: "Brother Zhuzi, this door is much more broken than the last time I came here."

After hearing this, He Yuzhu couldn't help but shook his head, with a wry smile on his face: "Xue Ru, not everyone is willing to spend money on this, it's fine as long as it can be used."

Chen Xueru shook her hair, turned around and walked into the yard.

Seeing this, He Yuzhu had no choice but to follow behind with his bicycle. Once he passed the gate, the familiar screen wall came into view.

"Hey, young lady, who are you looking for in our yard?"

Suddenly a voice of questioning came into his ears. He Yuzhu put down his bicycle and pushed it quickly towards the screen door.

The familiar figure of Yan Bugui came into view. At this moment, he was standing in front of Chen Xueru.

"Teacher Yan, long time no see!" He Yuzhu walked towards Yan Bugui without stopping.

Yan Bugui heard the voice and turned to look at the person who came. Seeing that it was He Yuzhu, a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes, and then he greeted him enthusiastically: "Hey, Zhuzi, it's you!"

He Yuzhu leaned his bicycle against the wall and took out two cigarettes and handed them to him: "Teacher Yan, you smoke first."

Yan Bugui happily reached out to take the cigarette, and thinking of Chen Xueru standing beside him, he understood.

He turned sideways to look at Chen Xueru, and said apologetically: "Miss, I'm so sorry, I'm the third uncle in this courtyard. I didn't expect you to be from Zhuzi's family."

After saying that, he turned around and bowed to He Yuzhu, "Zhuzi, you came back this time just to get married, right?"

Listening to his words, He Yuzhu felt something was wrong, but he didn't care too much and just smiled.

"Teacher Yan, this is my wife Chen Xueru. She has been to the yard before, have you never seen her?"

After hearing his introduction, Chen Xueru handed Yan Bugui a handful of candy: "Hello, Teacher Yan, you have a sweet mouth."

Yan Bugui quickly put the cigarette in his hand behind his ear and took the candy with both hands. As soon as he saw the packaging, he knew it was a high-end product and a big smile appeared on his face.

"Thank you very much! I want to share in your happiness too. I wish you a happy marriage and a long life together!"

After he put all the candies into his pocket, he replied, "I've never seen it before. I guess I was just not there, otherwise why would I have stopped him."

"Okay, it's not too late to meet you today." He Yuzhu said with a smile, looking at the house on the inside of the front yard. It seemed that someone had moved in there too.

Yan Bugui noticed his gaze and looked over there, and said quickly: "Zhu Zi, a lot of people have moved in over the past two years, and the yard is full."

Li Changsheng's family used to live in the front yard. After the teachers' dormitory building was built in the city's No. 1 Middle School, the family moved there. It was affordable and convenient.

He Yuzhu nodded gently, bowed and said goodbye: "Okay, Teacher Yan, I'll go in and take a look first. We'll talk later."

Yan Bugui smiled and stepped aside to make way: "You have been away for so long, you should go check the house first. Go ahead!"

After passing through the hanging flower gate, the two came to the central courtyard. He Yuzhu looked up and his own house came into his sight.

He looked carefully and found that the door of the house was open. He immediately understood that it must be Aunt Yi helping with ventilation.

He Yuzhu quickened his pace, becoming more and more excited, and headed straight for the north room.

After parking the bicycle by the steps, He Yuzhu took Chen Xueru into his living room and saw a familiar figure busy sweeping the dust.

A warm current surged in He Yuzhu's heart, and with full gratitude, he blurted out: "Auntie Wang, you have worked hard!"

Wang Yayan's hand holding the broom trembled slightly and she turned around quickly.

When she saw that He Yuzhu was really standing in front of her and it was not an illusion, her expression suddenly became very excited: "Zhuzi, you are really back!"

He Yuzhu walked quickly forward, took the broom from her hand, and helped her sit down on the chair.

He nodded and said, "I'm back. Thank you for taking care of the house over the years."

Wang Yayan patted his arm happily, smiling: "I'm glad you're back!"

She still hasn't given birth to a child. She thought the prescription the old man prescribed a few years ago would cure her illness, but it's still the same over the past few years.

Wang Yayan watched He Yuzhu grow up and had always considered him her own nephew. Now that the man who had been away for several years suddenly came back, she was extremely happy.

After she finished speaking, she turned around and saw Chen Xueru, whom she had met before. She knew that she was He Yuzhu's fiancée. She smiled and nodded: "Xiao Chen, you are here too!"

Chen Xueru smiled and responded: "Auntie Wang, we came here in a hurry today and didn't bring any gifts. We will definitely come to visit you another day."

As she spoke, she took out some candy from her bag and handed it over, "Try these candies. I hope you like them."

He Yuzhu also grabbed a handful of candy and stuffed it into her pocket: "Xueru is right, we will definitely come to visit you some other day."

Wang Yayan looked at her bulging pockets and felt sweet inside before she even ate the candy.

"No need for any gifts. I will be satisfied if you remember my kindness."

She glanced at the table and saw that there was no tea in the room, so she stood up and enthusiastically pulled the two of them.

"Zhu Zi, Xiao Chen, there is no tea in this room. Come with me to the east wing and sit for a while."

Feeling her enthusiasm, He Yuzhu couldn't refuse. He looked at Chen Xueru and nodded in agreement: "Okay, let's go."

The three of them had just stepped out of the door and were about to go to the east wing when they heard a shout from behind.

"Zhu Zi, it's really you who's back!" Tong Juan, holding Duo'er's hand, walked along the corridor from the west, her face filled with joy of reunion.

He Yuzhu stopped and turned around. When he saw Tong Juan and Duo'er, a smile appeared on his face and he waited quietly for them to come over.

In this yard, the only people who still have some affection are probably the two people in front of me.

Tong eagerly picked up Duo'er and walked quickly to the north room: "Zhu Zi, I saw a bicycle parked here, and wondered if you were back. I didn't expect it to be true."

He Yuzhu's gaze fell on Duo'er, and the little girl looked at him timidly.

He smiled and nodded to Duo'er, then responded to Tong Juan: "Aunt Tong, long time no see. Duo'er has grown up so much, she is so adorable."

Tong Juan put Duo'er down and guided her softly, "Call Zhuzi brother quickly."

Duoer hugged her legs tightly and hid behind her, revealing only a pair of curious eyes, and whispered, "Brother Zhuzi!"

"Duo'er doesn't look like Xiaowu!" He Yuzhu laughed out loud at the call.

He pulled Chen Xueru aside and introduced her to Tong Juan: "Aunt Tong, this is my wife Chen Xueru."

As he spoke, he took out a handful of candies from his pocket, bent down and handed them to Duo'er.

Chen Xueru glanced at He Yuzhu and greeted Tong Juan with a smile: "Aunt Tong, hello."

"Okay, auntie blesses you." Tong Juan held Chen Xueru's hand and said enthusiastically.

After the greetings, the group walked towards the east wing, chatting and laughing.

Just then, Jia Zhang suddenly walked out from the aisle and bumped into them.

When her eyes fell on He Yuzhu, her face suddenly changed and she hurriedly turned around and fled back to the backyard through the aisle.

He Yuzhu was holding Duo'er and keenly caught this scene. He frowned slightly, and an inexplicable doubt surged in his heart.

The Jia family clearly lived in the west wing, so why did Jia Zhang run to the backyard?

He did not think too much about the current situation and planned to wait and see what the situation was.

He Yuzhu put aside his doubts and followed everyone into the Yi family's living room in the east wing.