Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 11 Four-way Changes
Siheyuan during the Spring Festival in 1952
Today Xu Damao came back with his parents to pay New Year's greetings and visit old neighbors. He has been living in a courtyard house recently. He and Sha Zhu talked things out, and their relationship returned to what it was like in their childhood. So he likes the courtyard house more and begged his parents to move back, and his parents agreed.

When Xu Damao walked into the front yard, he first met the third uncle. He went up to him and wished him a happy new year and said some auspicious words.

This year, Yan Bugui laid out his writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone to write Spring Festival couplets for everyone for free. Yan Jiekuang praised his father in his heart for being generous.

Yan Bugui gave Damao a pair of Spring Festival couplets, and Xu Wude hurriedly thanked him. The family of three greeted everyone in the front yard and wished each other a happy new year.

When the Xu family's three members walked to the middle courtyard, the people from the front courtyard also followed them to the back courtyard and began to greet each household during the New Year.

When Xu Damao knocked on the He family's door, He Daqing's haggard appearance scared everyone.

"Uncle He, what's wrong with you? Where's Shazhu?" Xu Damao said as he looked inside. The smell of alcohol almost made him fall.

He Daqing looked at Xu Damao deeply, returned to the house, took out a letter and handed it to Xu Damao.

"Shazhu is gone. This is the letter I wrote to you before I left. Don't read it here. Go home and read it."

Xu Damao was puzzled, "Go? Where to?" No one answered him. Xu Damao felt something was wrong, so he picked up the letter and ran back to his home.

After a while, there was a sound of wailing coming from the backyard, which made some people in the middle yard shed tears.

Everyone in the front yard was stunned and quickly grabbed the old man to ask what happened.
An old man lowered his head, crying as he said, "Shazhu has gone to the front line."

Everyone was shocked, and some people burst into tears when they thought of the news from the front line.

Mr. and Mrs. Xu Wood were also startled and shouted something was wrong. They quickly ran to the backyard. As expected, Xu Damao was packing up his things after crying loudly.

Xu Wude asked him what he was doing. Xu Damao said he was going to the front line, and Xu Wude went up and became a big neck.

"You can go to the front line whenever you want. That idiot Zhu has been training for half a year and finally made it to this support. What's wrong with you? Are you going to North Korea on your own?" Xu Wude scolded angrily.

Xu Damao instantly wilted and calmed down.

Xu Wood said, "What does the letter say?"

Xu Damao suddenly remembered something, pushed open the door and ran to the middle yard. The Xu Wood couple chased him, and the neighbors in the backyard also heard the noise and followed him.

Xu Damao ran up to He Daqing, knelt down, and kowtowed to He Daqing three times. He Daqing was frightened and tried to avoid him quickly.

"Uncle He, from now on you are my father, and Yu Shui is my biological sister. Brother Zhuzi asked me to take good care of you." Xu Damao said with tears in his eyes.

Everyone understood that this was Sha Zhu entrusting his son to Xu Damao. But everyone was puzzled. Didn't these two people not get along well? How could Sha Zhu entrust his son to Xu Damao?

He Daqing helped Xu Damao up, "Good boy." He Daqing knew that Sha Zhu left a letter for Xu Damao, so he knew that there were changes between the two of them. When the Xu Wood couple saw it, they didn't say anything.

Gradually, people in the backyard also knew that Sha Zhu had gone to the front line, and there was another burst of sighs.

After a while everyone dispersed and the festive atmosphere seemed to be much less. However, Sha Zhu's going to the front line also affected many people, especially young people.

Xu Damao sat at the door of his house and lit a cigarette. Xu Wude ignored him because Xu Damao was only sixteen years old and was not allowed to smoke.

Xu Damao now recalls that night when the two brothers were smoking in the pavilion and Sha Zhu suddenly asked him, "Do you have an ideal, Damao?"

Xu Damao knew that he couldn't just muddle through anymore, he had to live a decent life, take good care of Yu Shui and He Daqing, and grow up.

Xu Wood looked at his son, feeling uncertain.

The front yard of the Siheyuan (report from the dividing line)

Yan Jiecheng was eager to try. Yan Bugui ignored him and said, "You think this is the old society? You are not an adult yet, so you are useless as a soldier."

Yan Jiecheng turned around and went out, apparently to find his master. Yan Bugui was happy, because it seemed that he could not escape a beating from Yan Jiecheng.

Yan Jiekuang was massaging his mother's back while his mother was sitting on the kang sewing a quilt.

Yan Jiekuang had never been to the middle and back yards, but when he heard about Sha Zhu's story, he gave him a thumbs up in his heart and also silently wished him well, hoping that Sha Zhu would be safe and sound and turn danger into safety.

Yan Bugui walked into the inner room holding a teacup, glanced at his wife, and seemed to want to say something but stopped himself.

"What's the matter?" Yang Ruiping asked
"Nothing, you see He Daqing is alone, can you help wash his dirty clothes?"

"Okay, I'm on call whenever you need me. I don't go to the Intermediate Court often, but I don't think I can get a number," said Yang Ruiping.

Yan Bugui thought about it and agreed. There is also Auntie, and the Jia family. Old Zhang also has a very good relationship with He Daqing.

Yan Bugui turned and left. Yan Jiefang ran in without thinking and shouted loudly, "Uncle Li is beating my brother, and he is beating him very hard."

The couple heard what they were doing and ignored the second child. The naughty child deserved a beating. The second child looked around and didn't know whether to leave or not. After thinking for a while, he walked to the outer room, opened the drawer, took out the safflower oil, and left.

Yan Bugui chuckled. This second brother was planning to watch from the side and then clean up the mess.

Yan Jiekuang is now inseparable from his mother. Wherever they go, she stays within two meters of his mother. Yan Jiekuang knows what his parents mean, so he just behaves like a good boy.

I have finished all the food I bought at the market, and I don’t know when I can go again.

Suddenly, he remembered that his grandparents died during the war. What about his grandparents? He had never heard his mother mention it. If his mother didn't tell him, he didn't dare to ask, so he was always confused.

On Yan Jiekuang's birthday, his mother secretly gave him a jade pendant, saying it was given to him by his grandmother. Yan Jiekuang then asked, "What about my grandparents?"

"In the countryside, they don't like your father and won't let him visit. This is my younger brother. Your uncle secretly sent him here. Your older brothers also have him." Mom replied.

Only then did Yan Jiekuang realize that his grandparents and his two uncles lived in the countryside. His mother was the oldest and youngest in the family and was very much loved by her family. Suddenly one day she was abducted by Yan Bugui, and her family members were looking for her frantically.

When he saw his daughter again, he already had a grandson. The two uncles beat Yan Bugui up, and his grandparents also told him not to visit them anymore. Yang Ruiping was a person who followed her husband wherever he went, and she still liked Yan Bugui, so she followed him back to the old city.

From then on, the two families stopped communicating, except that the two uncles would secretly visit my sister from time to time.

Only Yan Jiekuang's mother remembered his birthday. Yan Bugui really didn't remember it, and the two brothers didn't know it either. Yan Jiekuang didn't blame them. In the evening, when Yang Ruiping brought a bowl of noodles to Yan Jiekuang, Yan Bugui remembered that it was his third brother's birthday. Yes, every time the three brothers had their birthdays, Yang Ruiping would make them a bowl of noodles.

The two brothers wished Yan Jiekuang happy birthday. Yan Bugui was embarrassed and finally said, "Okay, Dad wishes you a happy birthday too. Do you have any requests?"

Yan Jiekuang thought for a moment and said in a baby voice, "Big Market."

Yan Bugui instantly lost his composure. Two days ago, he heard Liu Guangfu in the backyard shouting "New Year is coming, New Year is coming, the big red dates are here first". This jingle has spread from Tongzhou to Beijing, and he was also afraid.

Yan Jiekuang looked at his father with expectant eyes. His father didn't dare to agree, so he asked his wife for help.

Yang Ruiping burst out laughing. It was the first time he saw his wife embarrass herself in front of their own children.

"Okay, I'll take them back to my mother's house in a couple of days and let their uncle take them to the Yangjia Town Market." Yang Ruiping said calmly.

Yan Bugui felt relieved, and the three little ones cheered, knowing that they were going to grandma's house.

(End of this chapter)