Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 536 535 Accident
Zhang Ye was ultimately defeated by Gao Dashan, but he did not "save" Gao Dashan either. He forced him to stay up until after eleven o'clock, during which time he boiled hot water for Gao Dashan to wash his feet.

Gao Dashan thought that it was the best that Zhang Ye had done for him by preparing some water for washing his feet, but he didn't expect that as soon as he put his feet in the basin, Zhang Ye started to rub his feet.

"Ye Zi, you take a rest, I'll do it myself." Gao Dashan was confused. In his entire life, except for his mother washing his feet when he was a child, no one had ever done this to him.

"It's okay, I'm not tired." Zhang Ye raised his head and glanced at Gao Dashan shyly, then shook his head to throw his braids behind his head, held Gao Dashan's feet and continued to push hard.

"No, my feet smell." Gao Dashan was moved but embarrassed. His toes curled up and he wished he could dig out a three-bedroom, one-living-room apartment from the foot basin.

"It's okay. I don't mind." Zhang Ye didn't look up this time. After saying this in a muffled voice, he carefully helped Gao Dashan with foot hygiene care.

Faced with Zhang Ye's enthusiasm, Gao Dashan felt so uneasy that it was even more uncomfortable than being tortured. He couldn't sit still at all. Every time he wanted to escape, he was pushed back by Zhang Ye.

He was clearly a man as strong as an ox, a man who was not afraid of even the Japanese invaders, but at this moment he had lost his strength and courage.

For a moment, the message room was silent, with only the sound of Zhang Ye stirring the water.

After washing his feet, Zhang Ye wiped Gao Dashan's feet again.

Gao Dashan had been through life and death for nearly ten years, but he had never enjoyed such treatment. He didn't know how to face Zhang Ye for a moment, so he put on his shoes and was about to walk out.

"Where are you going? Come back." Zhang Ye called Gao Dashan.

"I...I'm going to sleep." Gao Dashan stammered.

"It's still early, stay warm in the house for a while." Zhang Ye wanted to laugh when he saw Gao Dashan's expression.

"It's too late..." Gao Dashan looked outside and it was already dark.

"The lights are still on upstairs. Brother Dashan, I won't stop you from going to the tool room, but you have to take a nap here for a while before leaving. If you feel uncomfortable, I'll go out for a while." Zhang Ye turned around and made the bed for Gao Dashan.

Gao Dashan hesitated, wanting to say something, but had nothing to say for the moment. He was afraid that he would say something inappropriate, so Zhang Yezhen went out and froze for half the night.

"Hey, just take a nap. I'm not a tiger, how can I eat you?" Zhang Ye made the bed, went over and pulled Gao Dashan to the bed, pressed him to sit on the bed, then squatted down and took off Gao Dashan's shoes.

Gao Dashan was so well-behaved. After Zhang Ye took off his shoes, he hurriedly got into bed and said, "I'll just take a nap. You can call me later. You can't go out to sleep by yourself."

"Yes." Zhang Ye stood up and tucked the corner of the quilt for Gao Dashan, then turned on the silent mode and quietly took out a small quilt from his bag.

The quilt is new. It was specially prepared by Zhang Ye’s sister-in-law a while ago for Zhang Ye and Gao Dashan’s child.

Gao Dashan only had one quilt, and Zhang Ye planned to let Gao Dashan take it with him, either laying it on the wooden board or wrapping it around his body, so it could at least serve a purpose.

There is heating in the room, so you can spend the night just by wearing your own clothes and covering yourself with a small quilt.

After tidying up the small quilt, Zhang Ye tiptoed to sit down beside the stove.

After living for more than 20 years, Zhang Ye experienced the life of city dwellers for the first time. City dwellers are really good. Not only do they have a fixed amount of food every month, but they also have something called heating in winter. It is not like in the countryside, where the whole family squeezes into one big kang in winter, and even the chickens in the house have a place.

Zhang Ye didn't want to go back, not only because the conditions were bad, but also because there was no home there anymore...

Gao Dashan lay on the bed, dozing with his eyes closed, his heart pounding and his palms wet with sweat. He had never been so nervous when the Japanese approached him on the battlefield.

Hearing that there was no movement nearby, Gao Dashan secretly opened his eyes a little and saw Zhang Ye holding his chin, staring out the window in a daze.

Looking at Zhang Ye's big red coat and thick braids, and smelling the scent on the quilt that didn't belong to him, Gao Dashan's heart surged and his blood boiled. He didn't dare to think about it anymore, so he closed his eyes and went to sleep!
Gao Dashan took a nap in a daze and dreamed that he turned into Monkey King. He had the golden cudgel but could not escape the Five Finger Mountain no matter what.

Gao Dashan woke up with a start, just in time to hear the train station bell ringing eleven times.

Zhang Ye had fallen asleep next to the stove with his hands on his cheeks.

Gao Dashan got up, put on his shoes, went over and gently pushed Zhang Ye: "Ye Zi, go to bed."

"Brother Dashan, are you awake? Why don't you sleep a little longer?" Zhang Ye rubbed his eyes, stood up and said with a smile.

"It's already eleven o'clock, you go to sleep, I'll go out. Lock the door." Gao Dashan wiped the mist off the glass, but the door was not closed yet.

"Then put on your socks, put on your coat, and take the quilt. I'll cover you with the smaller bed." Zhang Ye glanced at Gao Dashan's feet. He hadn't even pulled up his shoes yet, so his heels were exposed.

"I won't take the quilt." Gao Dashan looked down at his feet and shook his head.

"No, if you don't take it, I'll take the quilt and sleep over there." Zhang Ye seemed to have grasped Gao Dashan's weak spot and refused to give in.

"Isn't this unreasonable?" Gao Dashan muttered, but did not insist.

After putting on socks, Gao Dashan locked the door first. Zhang Yecao followed Gao Dashan with a quilt in his arms, and tidied up his temporary residence before going back to the room to sleep.

Maybe because he had just taken a nap, Gao Dashan couldn’t fall asleep in the tool room and was thinking a lot.

Although he was unwilling to admit it, Gao Dashan knew that he had fallen, because not only did he not reject Zhang Ye's kindness to him, he even liked her a little and was nostalgic for her.

But when he thought of Zhang Shu, Gao Dashan hesitated again. Zhang Shu treated him as his brother, so how could he care about his sister?
The heart is the hardest to overcome. Things happened so suddenly that Gao Dashan was unable to come to terms with it until the next morning.

But Zhang Ye didn't have so many thoughts. She had been preparing herself mentally for many years and had already decided on Gao Dashan.

After a good sleep, Zhang Ye went to call Gao Dashan back to the house early in the morning to catch up on his sleep.

Today is Sunday. After Gao Dashan was woken up by Zhang Ye, he wrapped himself in a quilt, opened the door first, and then returned to the house.

After entering the house, Gao Dashan was treated like a master by Zhang Ye, who let him lie on the bed and cook for himself.

One day last night and one day this morning, so two days have passed.

After breakfast, seeing that Gao Dashan had no intention of expressing his opinion, Zhang Ye decided to add fuel to the fire and told him about selling his house.

"Just sell it. This will be your home from now on." Gao Dashan was stunned. As a child from the countryside, he knew too well the importance of a house to rural people. The thing people care about most throughout their lives is a house. Only with a house can a family have a place to live and children can marry and have children.

Although he understood the significance of the house to rural people, Gao Dashan was still unwilling to blame Zhang Ye.

"You agree? Then let's go get the certificate today!" Zhang Ye asked with sparkling eyes and full of anticipation.

"Today is Sunday, there is no one in the unit, and we cannot issue a letter of certification. Let's wait a little longer." Gao Dashan felt that he was backed into a corner. Was he really going to let Zhang Shu down?
"Yes!" Zhang Ye's eyes were so wide with smile that they became slits. His wish was finally coming true. He felt so happy. The more he looked at Gao Dashan, the more he liked him. What's wrong with being old? He gets more distressed when he's old!
Gao Dashan felt confused. He didn't want to betray Zhang Shu's brotherhood, nor could he bear to offend Zhang Ye's affection.

"Ye Zi, I'm going to go fishing again, you keep an eye on the gate." If you can't figure it out, just put it aside for the time being. Gao Dashan packed up his things and planned to continue ice fishing.

"Okay, Brother Dashan, I'll wait for you to come back for dinner." Zhang Ye looked shy as she straightened Gao Dashan's collar, looking like a young wife.

Gao Dashan went to Donghuamen Tongzi River again in a daze. Since today was Sunday, there were more people coming here for ice fishing.

A few years ago, there was an open-air Dongheyan to the east of Donghuamen, and many people fished there.

The lower reaches of Dongheyan connect to Nanheyan and Jinshui River and flow into Haizi.

The upper reaches are the water diverted from Shichahai, through Yuhe River, Xiheyan, Beiheyan to Dongheyan. Later, due to urban planning, only Yuhe River, Jinshui River and Haizi River remained, and the others became underground rivers, so the fishing was diverted.

It seemed that the protection period for novice fish had expired. After most of the morning, Gao Dashan didn't catch a single fish.

Speaking of Wang Jingmin, he has been doing his homework actively since last night because he made an appointment with his friends to go out and play together today.

While Gao Dashan was fishing, the little commander led his "soldiers" to play a game of fighting bandits for a while.

The children also knew what was right and wrong, and no one wanted to be a bandit. After a few rounds, the "bandits" wanted to be soldiers, but the soldiers didn't want to be bandits, so there was no fun all of a sudden.

At this time, some children ran to see the bride, but they were still polite and called her "Auntie Gao": "Auntie Gao, where is the groom?"

"Your Uncle Gao went fishing." Zhang Ye likes to be called "Auntie Gao". In her hometown, this means being recognized as a family with the man.

"Auntie Gao, where did Grandpa Gao go fishing?" Wang Jingmin became excited when he heard about fishing. He had never used a fishing rod since his brother-in-law made it for him.

"He said he was going to the Tongzi River in some gate." Zhang Ye had asked the same question yesterday because she was curious. The rivers in her hometown were all dry. Even if they were not dry, there were no fish in them. No river could withstand the use of a net to catch fish every day. As for the Tongzi River or the Virgin River, she didn't care.

"Thank you, Aunt Gao." Wang Jingmin thanked her politely and turned to his friends and suggested, "Shall we go fishing too?"

"I don't have a fishing rod or line."

"I do not have either."

……

"If you don't have any, then just go for a slide. My sled can also be used for playing on the ice." Wang Jingmin wanted to go very much. He imagined himself holding a cool fishing rod, pulling up a big fish, and receiving envious, amazed looks and praise from his friends.

"That's fine."

"What are you waiting for? Let's go, please give the order, Commander!"

After getting the recognition from his friends, Wang Jingmin was so excited that he ran home and got his fishing rod. He didn't even answer when his second sister asked him where he was going.

When Wang Jingmin came down, the other friends were already waiting for him downstairs with a sled.

The sled has been placed in the corridor on the first floor, and this is the easiest to get.

"Wow! This fishing rod is so beautiful!"

After hearing the praise from his friends, the little commander's vanity exploded to an unprecedented level. He raised his fishing rod and waved his hand: "Let's go!"

A group of little kids came to the Tongzi River at Donghuamen. Except for Wang Jingmin, they all rushed down cheering, sledding and sliding. Which little boy doesn’t like it?

Only Wang Jingmin was planning to come over and cast a rod, but when he saw other people ice fishing, he was dumbfounded. It seemed that his fishing rod was useless?
Children's enthusiasm comes and goes quickly.

Within five minutes, Wang Jingmin gave up fishing and decided to play on the ice with his friends.

The one holding the sled had already pulled it far away.

Although the owner of the sled was Wang Jingmin, and although Wang Jingmin was just a small commander, the morale of the team was low and it was difficult to lead it.

Therefore, even as a commander, Wang Jingmin had to do the same as the other friends who didn't get a sled, either pulling others or working alone.

After running back and forth a few times, some children from the Women's Federation discovered Gao Dashan and started to make a fuss at him from a distance.

The leader shouted: "Uncle Gao!"

Several others shouted, "Groom!"

so repeatedly.

Gao Dashan was so helpless. As an elder, he couldn't hit them and had to think about their safety: "Little bastards, be careful of the ice holes under your feet. You might freeze to death if you fall in!"

Gao Dashan was not shooting in the dark. Today he came here again and chose the same ice eye as yesterday. Although it was frozen, the thickness of the ice was thinner than the surrounding ones.

But the children did not take Gao Dashan's words to heart. They just listened to the wind in one ear and let it go out the other. They continued to laugh and chase each other on the ice in the cold wind.

The whole morning passed in a flash. Listening to the time chimes coming from the train station and the telegraph building in the distance, Gao Dashan glanced at his watch. It was three minutes to twelve.

Ever since the telegraph building began to strike the time on the hour, ordinary people in Beijing have bid farewell to a life of ringing morning bells and evening drums.

Whether it is the telegraph building or the train station, the time is always very accurate, which brings a new benefit to comrades who have watches. They can have the opportunity to calibrate their watches many times a day, because most watches these days are not very accurate and the errors are relatively large.

Gao Dashan didn't adjust the meter, so he just went slow. His hands were so cold, so he decided to wait until he got back to decide.

Since someone was waiting for him at home, Gao Dashan did not continue to wait foolishly. He packed up his things and considerately used a few stones to surround the ice hole he had drilled.

The holes in the ice are not big enough to cause people to fall into the water, but it is still possible to trip if you are not careful.

There are always some people who have no sense of public morality and have no shady eyes.

There are always some people who are not careful, and Wang Jingmin is one of them.

Gao Dashan was not the only one who heard the time announcement. The children in the Women's Federation dormitory also heard it. After playing for a whole morning, their stomachs were rumbling. Playing was important, but eating was more important, so they started to walk back in groups of three or two.

In the morning, someone drilled a slightly larger hole in the ice on the Tongzi River and cast a net. After a few casts without any catch, he went to Shichahai cursing.

Wang Jingmin calmed down and walked forward while tidying up his precious fishing rod. Before he knew it, he stepped into the hole in the ice.

Fortunately, Wang Jingmin was holding the fishing rod, which was placed across the eye of the ice, so it did not fall down for the time being.

In an instant, the cold river water had soaked Wang Jingmin's cotton coat. Wang Jingmin held the fishing rod tightly with both hands and shouted, "Help!"

Some of the children heard Wang Jingmin's movements and saw him fall into the water, so they ran over to help him. However, the surface of the river was smooth and there was nothing to catch. A child who noticed the fishing rod said, "Let's stand on both sides and lift the fishing rod to lift the commander up!"

"What the hell, go find a stone over there! What wicked thing that gave birth to a child without an anus wouldn't block the hole after digging it?" Gao Dashan also heard Wang Jingmin's movement and saw him fall into the water. He simply threw away the old bucket, traveled lightly, limped on one leg, and hurried to his side before a bunch of daredevil kids could make a move.

The child didn’t understand, but Gao Dashan did. When people fall into the water, they have some buoyancy.

The bamboo pole was able to support Wang Jingmin not because it was strong, but because due to the buoyancy, it only supported a part of Wang Jingmin's weight.

If you dare to lift both ends of the bamboo pole at this time, it will definitely break, and if you fall into the hole, it will be difficult to rescue you.

The hole in the ice was sixty centimeters square. Gao Dashan wanted to spread his legs, stand on it and pull Wang Jingmin up, but there was overflowing water all around and the ice surface was very slippery.

To be on the safe side, Gao Dashan didn't care about the water anymore. He sat down on the ground, spread his legs, put his feet on the edge of the ice eye for leverage, grabbed Wang Jingmin with both hands, and dragged him into his arms little by little.

(End of this chapter)