Life in siheyuan era

Zhou Zhiyua walked into this courtyard, like a small pebble thrown into a pool, creating a brief ripple before disappearing without a trace.

Second Uncle returned home and simply said, "The second son of the Zhou family is back."

Second Aunt casually replied, "He's back."

Second Uncle grunted, walked to the radio, twisted the knob to change the channel, sat in his chair, and listened attentively to the news report.

He wanted to climb the social ladder, so he needed to pay attention to politics, carefully studying the essence of it and understanding the spirit of his superiors.

As the head of the family, he didn't care about his two sons' attitudes.

The second son, Liu Guangtian, and the third son, Liu Guangfu, were glaring at him resentfully. They were enjoying listening to storytelling when Second Uncle came back and changed the channel.

Third Uncle also entered the courtyard and said, "The second son of the Zhou family is back..." then his eyes widened.

The eldest son, Yan Jiecheng, his daughter-in-law, Yu Li, and the second son, Yan Jiekang, were sitting around the dining table, cracking peanuts and melon seeds, while the daughter, Yan Jiedi, and the youngest son, Yan Jiefang, were lying on the kang, doing their homework.

These peanuts and melon seeds were the result of savings during the Spring Festival. Third Uncle cherished them very much. The sight of three piles of peanut and melon seed shells pained him. He rushed over, grabbed the two bamboo woven containers, and hugged them in his arms. He looked up and saw Yan Jiekang's figure flash past the door.

Yan Jiekang was a beat slower; his escape speed wasn't as fast as Yan Jiecheng and Yu Li's.

With the three culprits gone, Third Uncle lost an opportunity to settle the economic score. He turned to complain to Third Aunt, "Why didn't you keep an eye on them?"

Third Aunt replied aggrievedly, "Could I have kept an eye on them?"

"You must keep an eye on them," Third Uncle said firmly, placing the two containers carefully on the table. He carefully counted the specific number of peanut and melon seed shells in the three piles, so he could settle the economic score with the three culprits.

The Liu and Yan families didn't react much to Zhou Zhiyuan's arrival. Second Uncle was busy listening to the radio, and Third Uncle was busy counting peanut and melon seed shells. The news of Zhou Zhiyuan's return flashed by in these two families.

But First Aunt paid attention to Zhou Zhiyuan. Seeing First Uncle enter the house, First Aunt eagerly asked, "I saw that Zhou Zhiyuan looked very delicate. What does he actually look like?"

When the mother and son reunited, First Aunt stood at her own door, watching. The light from a few windows spilled into the courtyard, and in the hazy light, she thought Zhou Zhiyuan looked delicate.

First Uncle sat down on the stool by the dining table and replied in a muffled voice, "Zhou Zhiyuan's appearance is indeed very delicate. He has a pair of long, pure eyes. The two brothers look five or six parts alike. Unlike Zhou Zhining's refinement, Zhou Zhiyuan's face has a heroic air."

First Uncle replied in a muffled voice, thinking that the two brothers' appearances had picked out the best features of their parents.

But he didn't want to say too much, and listened as First Aunt continued to ask, "How old is Zhou Zhiyuan?"

"Didn't ask."

First Uncle still replied in a muffled voice, looked up at First Aunt, sighed, and said, "Second Uncle said he's a bit simple-minded, and Third Uncle also nodded."

"Sha Zhu is different. His mother is gone, and his father ran away with another woman. Once He Yushui gets married, he'll be all alone. Being good to him is the right path."

Speaking of this, First Uncle paused, thought for a moment, and continued, "Sha Zhu has a bad temper. He's straightforward and says whatever he thinks, but he's affectionate and will be successful in the future."

From the old couple's words, one could hear that they were each paying attention to Sha Zhu and Zhou Zhining. First Uncle was paying attention to Sha Zhu, while First Aunt liked Zhou Zhining and shifted her gaze to Zhou Zhiyuan.

This was a last resort. The old couple didn't have children, and First Aunt didn't have a job. Nearing fifty, they had to consider the issue of retirement and wanted to cultivate a close relationship with a young person in the neighborhood.

But the old couple had different opinions. First Uncle preferred Sha Zhu, while First Aunt liked Zhou Zhining and often showed concern for him, but Zhou Zhining's reaction was indifferent.

Tonight, Zhou Zhiyuan came home, and First Aunt was deeply impressed by him. The scene of the mother and son weeping in each other's arms touched her fragile heart.

She had an extremely good first impression of Zhou Zhiyuan. A child who cries in his mother's arms must be a good child.

With this good impression, First Aunt was eager to know Zhou Zhiyuan's situation. Hearing that his appearance was delicate, she immediately made up her mind.

"I still like Zhou Zhiyuan," First Aunt solemnly announced. First Uncle looked at her in surprise.

He knew that his wife didn't like Sha Zhu and preferred Zhou Zhining, and now she had shifted her target to Zhou Zhiyuan. But the problem was, was it enough that she liked him?

First Uncle felt that his wife's choice of direction was wrong. At their age, they shouldn't be choosing based on appearance. They should focus on cultivating Sha Zhu.

As for Zhou Zhiyuan, with his mother being kind and his son being filial, they didn't even have a chance to cultivate him. First Aunt had been rebuffed by Zhou Zhining and had actually turned to Zhou Zhiyuan. She was determined to keep going until she hit a wall.

First Uncle wanted to reason with his wife, but when he opened his mouth, he suddenly thought of a possibility. The old couple could have separate responsibilities, and multiple cultivation wasn't impossible.

With this thought in mind, First Uncle closed his mouth and carefully pondered it in his heart.

The old couple sat silently for a while. First Aunt took the lead in speaking, but the topic she spoke about was still about the Zhou family, "Qin Huairu is always running to the Zhou family. Could she have taken a fancy to Zhou Zhining?"

First Uncle chuckled and replied faintly, "They're impossible."

Speaking of this, he thought carefully and said in an uncertain tone, "Zhou Zhining seems to be getting very close to Yu Haitang."

First Uncle revealed a new situation, and First Aunt immediately became interested and hurriedly asked, "Who is Yu Haitang?"

"The announcer at my factory, Yu Li's younger sister."

Mentioning Yu Li, First Aunt asked doubtfully, "Yan family's eldest daughter-in-law, Yu Li?"

Upon receiving confirmation, First Aunt smiled and said, "Will Yan Jiecheng and Zhou Zhining become brothers-in-law?"

After asking herself, she answered herself, "With Yan Jiecheng's wimpishness, Zhou Zhining wouldn't even look at him."

First Aunt reached a conclusion, and First Uncle replied faintly, "They live their own lives behind closed doors. How much contact do brothers-in-law have?"

First Uncle and First Aunt were talking, while Qin Huairu came out of the Zhou family and walked into her own gate. Jia Zhangshi, who was sewing clothes, looked up at her and asked with concern, "Lin Shurong doesn't need you?"

Hearing her mother-in-law's question, Qin Huairu sat down on the stool by the dining table, picked up the teapot, poured herself a cup of water, took a sip, and then replied, "Don't think too much. My teacher's wife wants to personally cook a meal for her returning youngest son."

She was Zhou Dehou's apprentice and called Lin Shurong "Teacher's Wife."

Her husband died in an industrial accident last year, leaving behind an elderly mother and three young children. The heavy burden of life all fell on her shoulders.

Qin Huairu replaced her deceased husband at the rolling mill and became a lathe operator, learning the technique from Zhou Dehou and directly enjoying the treatment of a first-grade worker, with a monthly salary of 33 yuan.

This was already the highest treatment that the rolling mill could give. If she had started as an apprentice, her salary would have been 18 yuan per month in the first year.

The salary treatment during this period was not uniform across the country. To encourage talent to support remote and impoverished areas, the government divided the country into eleven categories of regions, with the most economically developed regions being in the first category.

As the region classification increased, the salary treatment gradually increased, with the highest salaries in the poorest eleventh category of regions.

And the capital city was listed as a sixth category region, neither high nor low, located in the middle.

Salaries in each region were also divided into several categories. The salaries of government officials in the capital city were the lowest at 23 yuan, 3 yuan higher than the first category of regions and 3 yuan lower than the eleventh category of regions.

Because her husband died in an industrial accident, Qin Huairu directly skipped the apprentice salary and enjoyed the treatment of a first-grade worker, but it was very difficult for one person's salary to support a family of five. Her mother-in-law, Jia Zhangshi, earned a little money by taking on sewing and mending work outside, but she also hid it from her.

The Jia family had a difficult life, and fortunately, the Zhou family, First Uncle's family, and Sha Zhu often helped them out.

And in this courtyard, the Zhou family's economic income was considered relatively high.

Zhou Dehou was promoted to a seventh-grade lathe operator at the rolling mill, with a monthly salary of 84.7 yuan. Lin Shurong's salary was equivalent to that of a fourth-grade technician, with 52.9 yuan per month. Zhou Zhining was a second-grade fitter, with a monthly salary of 38.6 yuan, bringing the family's total income to 176.2 yuan.

However, Zhou Dehou had to send 20 yuan to his stepmother in CQ every month, and Lin Shurong also had to send 20 yuan to her elderly father living in SY. These were the first of two rigid expenditures, and Zhou Zhining's monthly salary was not enough.

Qin Huairu knew about this rigid expenditure. She had accompanied Lin Shurong to the post office to mail these two sums of money.

And the other rigid expenditure was savings. Lin Shurong loved to save money and had to put 50 yuan into the bank every month.

After spending these two sums of money, the Zhou family's per capita monthly consumption was only over 20 yuan, but even so, the Zhou family's living conditions were still very good.

Qin Huairu envied the Zhou family's living conditions. She was close to the Zhou family, had learned tailoring from Lin Shurong, and had also learned lathe operating techniques from Zhou Dehou, so they had close daily interactions.

This was the previous situation, but there had been some changes a month ago.

Zhou Zhining was washing clothes, and Qin Huairu took the initiative to help. The scene of the two of them standing side by side by the sink, talking and laughing, was seen by Lin Shurong and also discovered by Jia Zhangshi.

Afterwards, Jia Zhangshi indirectly scolded Qin Huairu, and although Lin Shurong didn't say anything, she had become more distant from her since then.

Tonight, Zhou Zhiyuan came home, and Lin Shurong was more willing to hold his hand and talk to him than to cook.

She could have arranged for Qin Huairu to cook, but not arranging it reflected a distant attitude.

Although Qin Huairu comforted her mother-in-law not to think too much, she didn't feel good in her heart. She had her own little thoughts.