Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 7 Publicity Event
The front yard of the Siheyuan in October 1951
Three young men came in from the gate, all in military uniforms, one with a camera hanging around his neck.

Yan Bugui, who was watering the flowers in the front yard, saw the person coming, put down the kettle, and greeted him enthusiastically, "Hello, comrade, who are you looking for?"

"Who are you?" a female comrade asked instead of answering.

Yan Bugui pushed his glasses and said, "I am the manager of the Siheyuan, mainly responsible for the front yard. Who are you looking for?"

The man came over immediately and said, "Excuse me, sir, we are from the Kyoto Daily News and we want to do an interview with a person. So we found you. There was a fried noodle hero a while ago, and the Military Control Commission was promoting it."

"Okay, you can call me Uncle Three. I wrote that article. My name is Yan Bugui." Yan Bugui replied disdainfully.

This time the three people were shocked. They had found the real culprit, and their enthusiasm doubled. The two male comrades took the initiative to shake hands, and the female comrade also greeted them with a smile.

Yan Bugui did not act politely and regained his enthusiasm, inviting them to go home for tea and discuss the details later.

The three people followed Yan Bugui back to the west wing. Yang Ruiping saw that there were guests. He realized that they were reporters and quickly made tea and brought them over.

Several people started chatting. When it comes to the fried noodle hero, the superiors want to focus on publicity. But among the four people, Widow Wang is the martyr's surviving relative. There are many enemy agents lurking outside now, so it is not easy to publicize. The same is true for Uncle Li. The superiors are thinking about how to protect them. The rest are Sha Zhu and Pang Shi.

Yan Bugui said: "It depends on their wishes. I will take you to find them. It would be best if we can get someone from the Military Control Commission to come. This way they will feel more at ease."

The three of them thought it was Teacher Yan who had thought so carefully. They admired Yan Bugui a little bit, after all, he was the "chow noodle hero" who made a sensation in Beijing and moved countless people.

After a while, a group of people went to the backyard in a mighty manner. They first found Pang Shi, who was very straightforward and didn't want to be publicized. Because of the fried noodle hero in front, people from the district came and were really shocked when they saw the embarrassing situation of the family.

Pang Shi is also a family of five. Her husband died of a work-related injury. The eldest child took over the job and became an apprentice in a steel mill, earning 185,000 yuan. Pang Shi stayed at home to take care of the children. The second child, a girl, was in junior high school, the third child, a boy, was in elementary school, and the fourth child, a girl, stayed at home to accompany her. The whole family depended on the eldest child's salary.

We thought, no, we have to take care of such a good comrade. In the end, Pangzi was sent to work in a nursery, earning 300,000 yuan a month. The children also went to the nursery, free of charge, and the family's difficulties were solved at once.

Ponzi got the benefit, so he refused to advertise. Several people looked at each other and thought, you must be a fool.

Several people returned to Yan Bugui's home in the front yard. Yan Bugui had already asked someone to go to the steel rolling mill to look for Sha Zhu. Yan Jiekuang was watching them from the side. When they looked at the cute little boy, the only thing they could say was "like" and they wanted to hug him.

Yan Jiekuang ran into his mother's arms and escaped the entanglement of several people. Only the female comrade chased him relentlessly. While teasing Yan Jiekuang, she chatted with Yang Ruiping and asked Yang Ruiping about his opinion of Sha Zhu. Yang Ruiping said only good things about him.

“Fool”, “Fool Zhu”, “Fool Zhu”, “Fool”, Yan Jiekuang shouted as he ran.

Yang Ruiping scolded Yan Jiekuang, "You can't call me that. Shazhu is not stupid." Yan Jiekuang shut up.

The female comrade's eyes lit up, "Sister, that's not right, Shazhu is not stupid, but he is willing to be a revolutionary fool."

Yan Jiekuang let out a long sigh and said to himself, "Silly Zhu, this is all I can do to help you."

Shazhu is definitely a passionate young man with positive values, so there will be no problem interviewing him.

At noon, Sha Zhu came back, followed by a nervous He Daqing. They warmly invited the reporter to their home in the Central Court, and Sha Zhu said his father's cooking was delicious.

I don’t know whether the interview went smoothly or not. I only know that in the afternoon, Sha Zhu happily sent several reporters out, followed by He Daqing who looked a little unhappy.

Within a few days, Sha Zhu became famous, a very famous person. The inscription "Sha Zhu" written by the leader is now hung in the main hall of his house.

Now the name Shazhu is synonymous with glory, and he is willing to be a fool for the revolution.

It’s unclear whether this change is good or bad, Yan Jiekuang is just watching the fun.

Backyard room of the Siheyuan
The deaf old lady dozed off on the recliner.

An old man came, knocked on the door and came in. He sat down at the square table, poured himself a glass of water, and said nothing.

"What's the matter? Is there something wrong?" said the deaf old lady.

The old man thought for a moment and said, "He Daqing can't leave, and he doesn't dare to leave."

"It's not his decision whether to leave or not." The deaf old lady didn't even open her eyes.

The old man was puzzled, "Then who has the final say?"

"I haven't eaten the meal cooked by my beloved grandson for a long time. I'll talk to him about it when I have time." The old lady stood up and went to the inner room.

The old man sat there, thinking for a long time, his eyes gradually brightened, and he said to himself, "It's really not up to He Daqing to decide." The old man returned to the central courtyard.

The main house in the central courtyard of the quadrangle

He Daqing looked at his son Shazhu reading the manuscript in front of the mirror and felt worried.

"Can't you stop for a moment?"

"Young man, seize the day," Sha Zhutou said without even replying.

Ever since Sha Zhu became famous, He Daqing knew that this wild horse had run away.

Did Sha Zhu get carried away? Really not. Sha Zhu has changed. He has a goal in life, and it is ambitious.

"The family craft cannot be lost." He Daqing said helplessly.

"Don't worry, Dad. We revolutionary comrades are not afraid of hardship or fatigue! We are practicing diligently." Sha Zhu said confidently.

He Daqing had no choice but to rummage through the drawers and found a bottle of wine. He took it and went out to Yi Zhonghai's house. He was upset to see Sha Zhu at home.

Sha Zhu has been very close to the troops recently, doing logistical support for the soldiers, and is very busy. He Daqing is most worried that he will rush to the front line, as he heard that the situation there has already gotten heated.

West Wing of the Front Courtyard of Siheyuan
Yang Ruiping sat on the kang sewing a quilt, while Yan Jiekuang sat at his father's desk, reading his father's book. Yang Ruiping asked, "Do you understand it?"

"Drawing," Yan Jiekuang said. Yang Ruiping didn't take it seriously, and seeing that the child was well-behaved, he let him do what he wanted.

In the evening, Yan Bugui came back and heard his mother mumbling that his father had been promoted to the head of the Chinese teaching group. Yan Jiekuang sighed that Yan Bugui was getting nervous.

When Yang Ruiping heard his wife's voice, he pulled Yan Jiekuang to the front room to prepare dinner.

It didn't take long. "Okay, clean up and go wash your hands," Yang Ruiping shouted.

Everyone started to move and soon the meal was served.

Yan Bugui poured himself a glass of wine as usual and said inexplicably, "Shazhu has changed."

He turned to Yan Jiecheng and said, "You have to learn from Sha Zhu in the future."

Yan Jiecheng knew something about it and nodded in agreement.

My wife asked, "How did you know that?"

"Shazhu came to our school with the troops this afternoon to do propaganda, and he gave a speech." Yan Bugui paused and took a sip of wine.

"You can tell at first glance that he is a man with ideals and ambitions. He is no longer the muddleheaded fool he used to be. Oh, and he has a work badge from the Logistics Support Bureau hanging on his chest."

Yan Jiecheng and Yan Jiefang were still young, so they just listened and passed by. Yan Jiekuang and Yang Ruiping were shocked. This silly Zhu had really changed a lot. This was a big change.

"Then He Daqing must be so happy that his ancestors' graves must be filled with joy." Yang Ruiping joked.

Yan Bugui smiled sarcastically and said, "Happy? Haha, I don't think so."

Yang Ruiping's curiosity suddenly arose, "Why?"

"The White Widow was scared and ran away. She didn't even pack her luggage. After hearing everyone talking about Sha Zhu, she ran away that same day." Yan Bugui said with a smile.

Yang Ruiping was amazed and sighed at the change in Sha Zhu. He also felt sympathy for He Daqing. It was so hard to find someone, but now there is no follow-up.

Yan Bugui said: "Thank goodness there was no follow-up, otherwise Shazhu would have been in a worse situation."

"You mean He Daqing will abandon Sha Zhu?"

"It's possible, and very likely." Yan Bugui said confidently.

Yan Jiekuang finished his portion and ran into the inner room. The couple also stopped gossiping and focused on eating.

(End of this chapter)