Life in siheyuan era

Zhou Zhiyuan was awarded a collective first-class military merit for his battlefield performance and was promoted to deputy company-level cadre. The whole family was overjoyed to hear this news.

Zhou Dehou held the medal, unable to put it down, turning it over and over with shining eyes.

Lin Shurong, however, took the medal and put it in a small wooden box, carefully tucking it into the innermost part of the kang cabinet.

This wooden box contained savings books, as well as the gold earrings and gold ring that her mother had given her when she got married. It was Lin Shurong's storage box for all her treasures.

Zhou Dehou reluctantly watched Lin Shurong hide the medal, then turned to look at Zhou Zhiyuan, shifting the topic to his job assignment.

Zhou Zhiyuan's collective first-class merit should give him priority in job assignment.

Lin Shurong said decisively, "Come to the steel mill's security section as a clerk."

She had thought it through carefully. Zhou Zhiyuan's right hand was disabled, and working in the steel mill's security section would allow her to take care of him at any time.

But Zhou Zhiyuan didn't think so. He felt uncomfortable under his parents' noses, but he wouldn't contradict Lin Shurong, so he nodded to settle the matter.

Seeing him nod, Zhou Dehou and Lin Shurong were happy. Their stubborn son had finally been cultivated by the army.

Zhou Zhining also nodded. His stubborn younger brother often implicated him. When Lin Shurong reprimanded Zhou Zhiyuan, she would definitely include him. The older brother's failure to manage the younger brother was a dereliction of duty.

The Zhou family's tradition was not that of a scholarly family. Zhou Dehou and Lin Shurong had attended private school for three years and had some literacy skills.

The Zhou family should be considered landlords, while the Lin family could be considered rich peasants. Zhou Zhiyuan's maternal grandfather had even served as the village chief.

But the Zhou family had declined during Zhou Zhiyuan's grandfather's generation. Zhou Dehou's mother died when he was one year old, and his father remarried when he was two years old.

Zhou Dehou's father also died when he was five years old. His stepmother's opium addiction completely impoverished the family. At the age of eleven, Zhou Dehou had no choice but to go to SY with his maternal uncle to make a living, becoming a child laborer in the SY Machine Tool Factory. After the founding of the country, he was classified as a poor peasant.

The Lin family was different from the Zhou family. Zhou Zhiyuan's maternal grandfather resolutely refused to be a village chief for the foreign invaders, and took Zhou Zhiyuan's maternal grandmother, uncle, and mother to SY overnight to make a living.

His maternal grandfather was洒脱 enough, abandoning the family's dozen acres of land, five large tile-roofed houses, and a cow and a donkey, taking his wife and children and running away. Hearing that SY was a good place to make a living, he took his family to SY.

His maternal grandfather's灑脱劲 made the Lin family successful. After the founding of the country, they were classified as hired peasants, and it also made Zhou Dehou and Lin Shurong, two destined people, come together. Otherwise, a CQ person and a SD person would not have met.

These two destined people, one from a poor peasant background and the other from a hired peasant background, were deeply influenced by the remnants of feudal ideology. The Zhou family's tradition was to emphasize rules.

Under this kind of family tradition, Zhou Zhiyuan suffered deeply. He was only two years younger than Zhou Zhining, but he had to obey Zhou Zhining's control, as the eldest brother was like a father.

Zhou Zhining was also often implicated by Zhou Zhiyuan. Even though he was innocent, he would be reprimanded by Lin Shurong for Zhou Zhiyuan's mistakes. He had to endure the injustice. Being born two years earlier was his original sin.

Fortunately, besides rules, Lin Shurong was a mother who spoiled her children.

Zhou Dehou spoiled his children even more. He hadn't hit them even once in more than twenty years.

Under this kind of family atmosphere, the Zhou family's atmosphere was very harmonious. Zhou Zhiyuan ate, while Zhou Dehou and his wife and Zhou Zhining watched from the side.

After Zhou Zhiyuan finished eating, Lin Shurong didn't rush to clean up the kang table. The whole family gathered around the kang table and chatted lively for more than an hour before preparing to go to bed.

Leaving his parents' room, Zhou Zhining took Zhou Zhiyuan back to his own room. The interior furnishings were exactly the same as in the SY room. The kang cabinet, wardrobe, and desk shared by the two of them were still in their original positions.

Zhou Zhiyuan walked to the table, looked at the brush and inkstone on the table, and said lightly, "It's time to buy a desk lamp."

Zhou Zhining liked to write and draw, and the light at night affected his sleep. Seeing the brush and inkstone immediately reminded him of this matter.

But this proposal was still rejected by Zhou Zhining, "You're paying for it?"

Five years ago, Zhou Zhining said this and left him speechless. He had no money.

But now it was different, he could speak with confidence. He uttered the word "I" but was interrupted by the sound of the door opening.

Lin Shurong came into the room carrying a basin of water, and Zhou Dehou followed behind carrying a thermos. It was time for Zhou Zhiyuan to wash up.

In front of his parents, no matter how old he was, he was still a child. Lin Shurong personally washed his face for him, and then took a towel to wipe his face, making him think he had returned to his childhood.

Zhou Dehou added hot water to the basin again, and let Zhou Zhiyuan sit on the chair and put his feet into the hot water.

Lin Shurong then squatted down and gently rubbed his feet, and the fatigue from the journey disappeared instantly.

The couple cooperated tacitly. Lin Shurong washed Zhou Zhiyuan's feet, and Zhou Dehou stood aside with the thermos, occasionally adding hot water to let his feet soak for a longer time.

Watching this scene, a warm expression appeared on Zhou Zhining's face.

After Zhou Zhiyuan finished washing his feet, Lin Shurong dried his feet, put on cotton slippers for him, got up and touched his hair, and walked out of the room with the basin of water and Zhou Dehou.

The marriage law of this era was that men could marry at the age of twenty and women at the age of eighteen. Zhou Zhining, who was twenty-three years old, was not young.

He wanted to know one thing, "Brother, are you seeing anyone?"

Zhou Zhining frowned, thought for a while, and replied, "No."

Seeing his expression, Zhou Zhiyuan knew. Zhou Zhining had a woman he liked in his heart, but he had not yet made up his mind.

He understood Zhou Zhining; pressing him now would only result in denial. So, he changed the subject, "Brother, you really should get married soon and have a child. You can teach him literature, and I'll teach him martial arts. That way, my dear nephew will be both scholarly and skilled in combat, ready to make a name for himself in society in the future!"

His words surprised Zhou Zhining, who questioned, "What nonsense are you spouting?"

"Heh..." Zhou Zhiyuan chuckled and replied, "Seriously, hurry up and find someone to marry and have kids with."

He couldn't explain the future developments he'd seen in his dream, but the idea of raising a child had taken root.

Today was March 19, 1963. If Zhou Zhining found a partner within a year and got married, and then had a child a year after that, it would be 1965. The resumption of the Gaokao (National Higher Education Entrance Examination) was in 1978, meaning his nephew would be only thirteen, too young to take the exam.

After some calculations, Zhou Zhiyuan felt it was a pity. The value of university students who entered in the year the Gaokao was reinstated was the highest, but his future nephew would be too young, even if he were both scholarly and skilled in martial arts.

Three years later, in 1981, some people would have figured things out, and in a few more years, even more would understand. His future nephew would face significant competitive pressure; time was tight, and the task was heavy.

Zhou Zhiyuan's rambling left Zhou Zhining feeling dizzy, only grasping one main point: nurturing the next generation was important.

Once he finished speaking, Zhou Zhining thought about it seriously, then dropped the subject. He pulled out two quilts from the cabinet beside the bed and spread them out.

It was still the floral quilt Zhou Zhiyuan had used before joining the army. The quilt cover was washed clean, and the vibrant plum blossoms remained as bright as ever.

Seeing this floral quilt, Zhou Zhiyuan felt a sense of familiarity. He climbed onto the kang (heated brick bed), took off his military-issue cotton-padded jacket and trousers, and, bare-chested, removed his underwear and handed it to Zhou Zhining; he was wearing two pairs.

Seeing Zhou Zhiyuan hand over his underwear, Zhou Zhining immediately sensed something was up. He glanced warily at the door, turned back, took the underwear, frowned, and asked, "How long has it been since you last showered?"

Zhou Zhiyuan sighed, "I've been busy riding horses, walking, getting on and off trains the whole way. Do you think I had time to shower?"

Zhou Zhining didn't say anything. He turned the underwear inside out, revealing a bulging piece of white cloth sewn inside. He opened the cloth, revealing a stack of ten-yuan bills.

As he opened the cloth, Zhou Zhiyuan explained, "Four hundred and thirty-eight yuan. Ninety yuan is from years of accumulated allowances, one hundred and seventy-one yuan is three months' salary from my promotion, sixty-five yuan is food allowance during my hospital stay, one hundred yuan is disability compensation, and twelve yuan is the remaining travel expenses home. It's all to be turned over to the public. I only have six jiao (cents) left in my pocket."

Zhou Zhiyuan explained the source of the money. Zhou Zhining looked at the money in his hand and asked suspiciously, "Is the disability compensation only one hundred yuan?"

Zhou Zhiyuan replied, "After a job is arranged, there's a monthly subsidy of ten yuan. This money is for the gap between being in the army and having a job arranged. The army is reasonable."

Zhou Zhining looked at the money in his hand again and asked with concern, "The leaders in the army were quite concerned about you. Didn't you buy them anything when you left?"

Zhou Zhiyuan sighed, "I wanted to buy something, but there was nothing to buy!"

Hearing his reply, Zhou Zhining's face turned stern as he started calculating, "You get a monthly allowance of five yuan, and then there's three months' salary after being promoted to deputy company level. The army provides food, clothing, and lodging, and there's nothing to buy outside. You've only saved this much money in almost five years?"

Zhou Zhining was good at calculating finances. Zhou Zhiyuan gave him a thumbs up and replied, "You have to allow me to be both a good person and do good deeds, right? Shouldn't I help comrades whose families are in difficulty?"

Zhou Zhining accepted his reason and said solemnly, "Give it to Mom tomorrow morning."

Zhou Zhiyuan protested, "Can't I hand over the money myself?"

His attitude made Zhou Zhining's face darken, and he asked in a low voice, "You want to shift the blame?"

"Brother is just smart..." Zhou Zhiyuan praised and replied, "Two watches, one for you and one for me. Buy whatever Mom and Dad like, and give the rest of the money to Mom."

Zhou Zhiyuan's arrangement made Zhou Zhining frown.

The Zhou family's living conditions weren't bad; they were considered a high-income family among workers. But with the need to support both sets of parents, and with Lin Shurong's love for saving money, daily life was tight.

Zhou Zhining's hesitation lay here. He liked watches and had looked at them several times in the store, even settling on a style he liked. But every time he thought about asking Lin Shurong, he couldn't bring himself to say the words. The thought of the savings book decreasing by more than 100 yuan made him feel pained.

Lin Shurong meticulously calculated every day, making tireless efforts to add a little more to the numbers in the savings book. How could he bear to spend more than a hundred yuan to buy a watch?

Zhou Zhining was conflicted and remained silent. Zhou Zhiyuan smiled and said, "Brother, once you buy it, you buy it. Giving it to Mom will only turn it into a number in the savings book; she won't be able to wear a watch on her wrist."

Zhou Zhiyuan's words made Zhou Zhining make up his mind. He took out two bills and handed them to him, saying in a low voice, "You'll be busy with the household registration and job assignment these next few days. Here's 20 yuan for you, ask Mom for more if you need it."

Zhou Zhiyuan agreed, took the two bills, and stuffed them under his pillow.

Zhou Zhining also put the stack of money under his pillow. The brothers crawled into their respective quilts and talked for a while longer. Zhou Zhining fell into a deep sleep, but Zhou Zhiyuan stared at the ceiling with his eyes wide open.

He needed to think about a question: "Have I entered the script of 'Siheyuan'?"

After carefully recalling the him in the dream, other than his parents and older brother, everyone else was very blurry, including his wife and children, but everything after waking up was very real.

Thinking like this, he concluded that this was a real environment; he was in reality.

Reaching this conclusion, Zhou Zhiyuan chuckled softly and closed his eyes. An image of the starry sky instantly appeared, with the Tanlang Star at the tip of the Big Dipper emitting an orange glow.