Siheyuan: The Era of Struggle

Chapter 354 Let’s go find our son-in-law!

"Say something, old man! What are we going to do about Xiao Min's brother? You can't just ignore it, right?"

"I care, how do I care?"

Zhang Lide couldn't help but frown after hearing what Ma Xiufang said. He suppressed his anger and said, "We are in the south and north, and it's a military matter. How can I take care of it?"

I know what Zhang Lide said is true, but no matter how difficult it is, my family can't just sit there and watch! After all, it's their own flesh and blood.

Ma Xiufang glanced at Zhang Lide who was pinching his nose, and softened her tone to negotiate: "Old Zhang, if it doesn't work, you can contact your old comrades and see who can speak up over there..."

"Who can I tell? Not to mention that I have been demobilized and returned to the local area for so many years, people have forgotten me. Just based on what that little bastard did, I don't have the face to ask for help."

Without waiting for Ma Xiufang to finish her words, Zhang Lide put down his hand that was rubbing his forehead and said indignantly: "It would be better to let that little bastard learn a lesson, or even better, kick him back to his hometown."

It sounded like these were said in anger, but Ma Xiufang was anxious and angry at the moment, so she didn't care about so many things.

"You're just a little bastard. What? It's not yours?"

Seeing Zhang Lide gazing at him as if to speak, Ma Xiufang did not give him a chance and continued:
"You said it was easy to learn a lesson and go back to your hometown, but how can you find a good job after receiving such a severe punishment? What will Xiao Zhao do in the future?"

"Come back? Where? Even if he is punished, let him ask his father-in-law to arrange a job for him."

Zhang Lide slammed the teacup he had just picked up onto the tea table.

"His last name is Zhang, not Lu. If he really wants to go back to his hometown instead of returning to Kyoto, do you want him to stay there forever?"

Seeing Ma Xiufang getting angry with him, and thinking about what his son had done over the years, Zhang Lide's anger suddenly bubbled up.

"He likes staying there! Then let him stay there forever..."

"Is this human language?"

"Ma Xiufang, please explain to me clearly, why am I not speaking human language..."

……

The old couple were both very angry, and the more they talked, the angrier they became. If the phone in the study hadn't suddenly rang, Ma Xiufang would have been so angry that she almost reached out and grabbed Zhang Lide's face.

Looking at Zhang Lide's back as he went to the study to answer the phone, Ma Xiufang snorted twice before sitting down on the sofa angrily.

"Ah! You troublesome thing, where can I find someone to plead for you?"

Ma Xiufang muttered to herself while quickly thinking of someone who could have a say in Zhang Zhao's unit.

Before Ma Xiufang could figure out what was going on, Zhang Lide, who answered the phone, had a dark face and hurried out of the study.

Seeing this situation, Ma Xiufang thought that something serious had happened in Zhang Lide's unit and no longer cared about being angry.

"Mr. Zhang, why are you so flustered? Did something happen at work?"

"It would be fine if something happened at work. Lv Wenli called and said that Zhang Zhao was detained by the army. I thought I should pack up and go over there to take a look."

As he spoke, Zhang Lide raised his foot and stepped onto the stairs to go upstairs.

When she heard that it was her son's problem, Ma Xiufang could no longer sit still. She stood up and said, "Wait a minute, Lao Zhang. Do you have any ideas for going there?"

"That's better than being anxious at home!" After saying that, Zhang Lide sighed, turned around and looked at Ma Xiufang who came to him and said, "If Xiao Zhao goes to jail, I can take care of him there."

"Can things really come to that?"

Ma Xiufang looked at Zhang Lide, who seemed to have suddenly aged several years, and asked in disbelief:
"Isn't it just that some supplies were misappropriated? Why don't we find a way to make up for it? As for sending people in? How can the leaders of their unit be so ruthless?"

As she spoke, Ma Xiufang's eyes turned red and tears flowed uncontrollably down her cheeks.

"Alas! Who made Zhang Zhao encounter this special period? The higher-ups have repeatedly emphasized the importance of supplies, but he still dared to go against the wind and ask for help. If we don't punish him, who should we punish?"

As a married couple for many years, Zhang Lide understood Ma Xiufang's character very well. He knew that it was useless to comfort her at this moment, so it would be better to make things clear in advance so that she could be mentally prepared.

Just as Zhang Lide thought, Ma Xiufang choked up for a while, raised her hand to wipe away her tears and said, "Lao Zhang, please call the car team. I need a car."

After saying this, without waiting for Zhang Lide's response, he turned around and strode towards the place where clothes were hung at the door.

Zhang Lide was stunned for a moment, then he came to his senses and looked at Ma Xiufang who was changing clothes at the door and asked puzzledly: "Where are you going so late?"

"If you can't bring yourself to do that, go find me, your uncle. I can't just watch Xiao Zhao's future ruined like this."

Ma Xiufang replied without raising her head while buttoning her coat.

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

In fact, when the old couple learned that Zhang Zhao had an accident in the army, the first person they thought of who could solve the problem was He Yuanchao, or to be more precise, Liu Lihua. However, Zhang Lidra was too embarrassed to tell his brother-in-law about this.

Even though Zhang Lide usually looked down on Zhang Zhao, now that things had come to this point, he was more anxious than anyone else. Otherwise, he wouldn't have put down his work and rushed over as soon as he heard that his son had been arrested.

Seeing that Ma Xiufang took the initiative to ask He Yuanchao to go, he also hurriedly took advantage of the situation and said, "Wait for me. I'll go with you after I finish the call."

Having said that, Zhang Lide immediately turned around and went back to the study.

By the time the couple had packed up and got in the car to He Yuanchao's house, it was almost 8:30 in the evening.

Along the way, the two of them turned their heads and looked out the window quietly, and no one spoke. Seeing this, the driver felt that the atmosphere in the car was a bit depressing, and he couldn't help but step on the accelerator to increase the speed.

The Coal Ministry’s staff quarters on Chang’an Street is both far and near from Chongwenmen Chuanban Hutong, depending on the means of transportation.

Zhang Lide and Ma Xiufang took a Shanghai-brand car from the Ministry of Coal's car team and drove along Chang'an Avenue for less than 20 minutes before arriving at the courtyard where He Yuanchao lived.

As soon as the car stopped at the gate of the courtyard, Ma Xiufang couldn't wait to open the door and get out.

It was already past nine o'clock in the evening, and the door to the courtyard where He Yuanchao lived had been closed. Ma Xiufang pushed it, but the door didn't open, so she raised her hand and started knocking on it.

The knock on the door lasted for about two or three minutes before a response came from the yard.

"Come on, come on, stop knocking."

As the voice was spoken, not long afterwards, the courtyard door creaked open with a palm-wide gap as someone tore it open from the inside.

The person who opened the door was Zhao Wenhui. She had met Ma Xiufang before and knew that she was He Yuanchao's mother-in-law. She was about to ask something but swallowed it back instantly.

"Aunt Ma is here."

Ma Xiufang was in a hurry at the moment and had no time to chat with Zhao Wenhui. After saying a few polite words, she hurried into the yard and walked towards He Yuanchao's house.

(End of this chapter)