Life in siheyuan era

Zhou Zhiyuan didn't want to interact too much with his neighbors. A self-deprecating "good-for-nothing" should have been enough to leave and go home to wash his undershirt and underwear.

That was his plan, but he realized he had miscalculated.

Hearing him call himself a "good-for-nothing," the deaf old lady smiled and asked in a low voice, "How much of a good-for-nothing are you?"

At her age, she had no more concerns about what she said.

But Zhou Zhiyuan was caught off guard by this question. He looked at the deaf old lady in surprise, then turned to look at Lou Xiao'e. Both of them were looking at him with curiosity.

He had overlooked one thing: people at this time valued humility, talking about problems but not achievements, but no one would say they were a good-for-nothing.

It wasn't easy to encounter someone who called himself a good-for-nothing, so the deaf old lady had to ask clearly what the problem with this bag of straw was.

They were very curious, and you could see the question in their expressions, "How much of a good-for-nothing is Zhou Zhiyuan?"

Seeing their expressions, Zhou Zhiyuan knew he had made a mistake. Excessive humility was also not acceptable.

But he was the one who planted this idea, and he was also responsible for explaining it, so he could only reply helplessly, "A bag woven from straw, it breaks with a single poke."

He used the noun explanation of 'good-for-nothing' to answer the question, which was easy to understand.

Lou Xiao'e, of course, understood, covering her mouth and shrugging her shoulders.

The deaf old lady also understood, letting out a chuckle.

Zhou Zhiyuan looked at the deaf old lady, her face full of wrinkles unfolding. This was a playful old lady.

Turning to look at Lou Xiao'e, he couldn't understand her reaction, "What's the funny part of this sentence?"

He still overlooked one thing: people's thinking can be based on a certain thing or a certain sentence to carry out self-portrayal.

That is to say, the deaf old lady and Lou Xiao'e imagined a scene where Zhou Zhiyuan became a bag of straw.

Realizing this scene required a premise: the contrast between Zhou Zhiyuan's image and temperament and becoming a bag of straw was too great, which was the funny part.

But he didn't know this knowledge, so he made a judgment, "The deaf old lady and Lou Xiao'e's sense of humor is a bit low."

Then he thought that their sense of humor had nothing to do with him. He should say goodbye. Just as he was about to say goodbye, he heard the deaf old lady ask, "Your brother is good at painting, and his calligraphy is excellent. What are you good at?"

Since the deaf old lady asked, he couldn't leave, but this question hit his weak spot. He couldn't say he was "good at fighting."

Fighting was not a shameful thing, but he couldn't say it with confidence, so he replied euphemistically, "I'm okay at sports, I run a little faster."

He had to say that. There were many sports, and specifying "running fast" prevented them from thinking of him doing the long jump, high jump, or throwing the discus.

But even though he had made it so clear, the deaf old lady said, "You brothers are both accomplished in both literary and martial arts."

This was praising him, and Zhou Zhiyuan could only continue to humbly say, "You're too kind, old lady. My brother's literary talent is indeed extremely high, but I don't have much martial strength."

His humility led to Lou Xiao'e's question, "Is running fast innate?"

Lou Xiao'e was no longer reserved, perhaps her low sense of humor relaxed her, and she actually took the initiative to ask.

Looking at Lou Xiao'e, seeing her crescent-shaped eyes full of curiosity, Zhou Zhiyuan denied, "No, I practice regularly."

This answer made Lou Xiao'e even more curious, and she asked doubtfully, "What do you practice running for?"

She was actually the kind of person who would get to the bottom of things. The deaf old lady also looked curious.

In their understanding, only athletes practiced running specifically. Ordinary people would not specifically practice this sport. Who couldn't run? You could train your speed by chasing the bus.

But Zhou Zhiyuan actually practiced running specifically? They were puzzled.

Zhou Zhiyuan could only reply, "Practicing running is to make myself run faster. Running fast is so that I can escape when facing danger, and others can't catch up even if they want to."

He couldn't say that running could make his legs strong and his feet solid, let alone that running could allow him to move quickly and improve his attack power.

"Haha..." This was Lou Xiao'e's laughter.

"Hehe..." This was the deaf old lady's laughter.

Seeing them laugh, Zhou Zhiyuan could only wait for the laughter to subside before saying goodbye.

But the deaf old lady actually asked after laughing for a while, "I heard you were a soldier in the plateau. Did you participate in the self-defense counterattack?"

The deaf old lady asked the key question, and Lou Xiao'e stopped laughing and listened to his reply attentively.

"I participated," Zhou Zhiyuan's answer was simple.

Lou Xiao'e immediately asked, "Did you run in the counterattack too?"

She was naive, and this question had a sarcastic meaning, suspecting Zhou Zhiyuan of being a deserter.

The deaf old lady glanced at her and gave her a look.

Seeing this look, Lou Xiao'e realized she had misspoke and quickly looked at Zhou Zhiyuan.

Zhou Zhiyuan's face was still calm, and he replied faintly, "Do you know why we were so anxious when the enemy invaded?"

He asked a rhetorical question, but Lou Xiao'e didn't know, and neither did the deaf old lady.

Zhou Zhiyuan gave the correct answer, "Our chief knows people well and assigned me the task of luring the enemy in deep. When the enemy invaded, we fought and retreated. When the enemy saw that I ran fast, they were unconvinced and chased into the encirclement all the way."

After he said the answer, Lou Xiao'e laughed so hard that she bent over, and the deaf old lady also laughed non-stop. Zhou Zhiyuan could only continue to wait for their laughter to stop.

This time he was prepared. As soon as the deaf old lady and Lou Xiao'e's laughter subsided, he immediately said, "Grandma Deaf, Comrade Lou Xiao'e, I still have a lot of dirty clothes to wash. This is the time to wash clothes, goodbye."

This reason for saying goodbye was very powerful. Two o'clock in the afternoon was the time of bright sunshine and the highest temperature of the day, which was definitely a good time to wash clothes.

Zhou Zhiyuan got up to say goodbye, but Lou Xiao'e got up and asked, "Did you run in the subsequent pursuit battle too?"

Looking at this curious round face, Zhou Zhiyuan asked seriously, "Do you know why we rushed out of the border?"

"You led the way," Lou Xiao'e actually answered first.

"Yes..." Zhou Zhiyuan affirmed her answer, "We couldn't stop when we rushed to the border."

"Haha..." Lou Xiao'e was really a woman who loved to laugh.

But Zhou Zhiyuan didn't wait this time. He bowed to the chuckling deaf old lady, turned and walked out. He could still hear their laughter as he walked out of the door.

Zhou Zhiyuan said goodbye and left. The deaf old lady and Lou Xiao'e laughed for a while and gradually stopped laughing. Lou Xiao'e smiled and said, "Zhou Zhiyuan is quite interesting."

Then she added, "Quite honest."

The deaf old lady smiled and said, "It's the first time I've heard someone call himself a good-for-nothing. He's indeed quite honest."

The deaf old lady affirmed Lou Xiao'e's evaluation and expressed her own opinion, "Someone who calls himself a good-for-nothing is definitely not a good-for-nothing. He just doesn't want to say his strengths..."

Speaking of this, she paused for a moment, thought for a while, and continued, "At his age, he participated in the self-defense counterattack on the plateau, but he didn't take the opportunity to boast about himself. This temperament is very rare. Silly Zhu can't do it."

The deaf old lady thought highly of Zhou Zhiyuan, but Lou Xiao'e didn't agree with her opinion and smiled, "His special skill is running fast. What other bragging rights does he have besides that?"

The deaf old lady shook her head and replied, "Xiao'e, you didn't pay attention to what he said. He first said that he lured the enemy deep and fought and retreated, and finally said that he couldn't stop when he rushed to the border. I don't understand fighting, but I also know that he was in the rear during the enemy's attack and in the front during the pursuit of the enemy. On the stage, this kind of person is an elite soldier."

"Elite soldier?" Lou Xiao'e asked doubtfully, unable to include Zhou Zhiyuan in the ranks of elite soldiers.

Zhou Zhiyuan's appearance didn't look like an elite soldier. The delicate him should be a cultural soldier.

In Lou Xiao'e's imagination, elite soldiers all had tall and burly figures, a broad face, fierce eyes, and two big hands like cattail leaf fans, creating gusts of wind when they waved them.

She didn't agree with this statement and expressed her own opinion.

The deaf old lady smiled and said, "You can't judge a book by its cover. The two Zhou family boys are quite interesting."

She paid attention to the Zhou family. Auntie Yi often told her about Zhou Zhining, and she knew her little thoughts.

But she agreed with Uncle Yi's idea. Zhou Zhining was talented, but his temperament was a bit aloof, immersed in the world of calligraphy and painting and unwilling to contact people. When he saw her, he just greeted her politely.

And Silly Zhu was different. He had a carefree personality and liked to punch and kick. He had a bad temper, but he was a kind-hearted person. He helped her a lot with cooking, buying food, transporting coal, and carrying water. These tasks were done by him and Uncle Yi.

The deaf old lady favored Silly Zhu and also knew Auntie Yi's thoughts. Zhou Zhining had a handsome appearance and was talented, known as the "Phoenix" of the Steel Rolling Factory. With such a godson, Auntie Yi's face would be bright.

Auntie Yi's vanity was quite strong. She didn't accept the deaf old lady's opinion and was bent on getting close to Zhou Zhining, but after more than a year, there was no progress.

Last night, Zhou Zhiyuan returned home, and Auntie Yi focused her attention on him again. She came to report to the deaf old lady early in the morning, "This child is so filial..."

Auntie Yi was stuck on the two Zhou brothers. The deaf old lady didn't convince her, but she became interested in Zhou Zhiyuan.

When she saw Zhou Zhiyuan just now, the deaf old lady had a very good impression of him and also felt that the second Zhou family boy was not simple.

But Lou Xiao'e didn't think so, but she had a very good impression of Zhou Zhiyuan, affirming that he was a knowledgeable and reasonable person.