Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 616 Call Me Brother

In summer, the days are long and the nights are short; after dinner, there is still more than an hour before it gets dark.

Zhang Xuansong was also an impatient person, so he went directly to the two girls, wanting to settle things today.

Those two houses aren't far from here; it's only a ten-minute walk.

A short while later, Zhang Xuansong arrived at the edge of the field.

This place is clearly not a proper courtyard house; it's just a small, enclosed courtyard on three sides. The side facing the street has only one wall with two doors in the middle. The other three sides each have four rooms, each about 3 or 4 meters wide and 7 or 8 meters deep, with an area of ​​more than 20 square meters.

But this one courtyard houses seven families, and each family is cooking in a makeshift kitchen at the entrance, while children run around and play in the courtyard.

The sounds of spatulas, laughter, and adults scolding blend together, which can be quite a headache for those who aren't used to it.

Zhang Xuansong had lived in this kind of place for several years. When he was in the army, the training was even noisier than here, so he didn't care at all.

It wasn't dark yet, and the courtyard gate was naturally open. He walked in, leaning on his cane, and immediately, greetings rose and fell in the courtyard.

"Grandpa Zhang is here."

"Uncle Zhang, have you eaten yet? If not, come to my house for a bite. I just happened to buy some pig's head meat today."

"Old Zhang, it's been a while since you've been here. Come over to my place for a couple of drinks."

Zhang Xuansong waved his hand, "You all eat, you all eat, I just put down my chopsticks."

He stopped in his tracks and laughed, "My apprentice is here. His cooking skills are no worse than those of a state banquet chef. I just had a real feast."

An old man walked over with a cigarette, took one out and handed it to him, asking curiously, "Is he your famous writer's apprentice? He can cook too?"

Zhang Xuansong didn't mind the low-grade quality of the cigarettes. He took them, lit them on the pipe the old man offered, and grinned from ear to ear. "He knows a lot of things, but cooking is the least impressive thing about him."

He sighed as he spoke, his face showing a hint of disappointment. "Oh dear, it's just that he wasn't focused on learning his craft. He tried to do a little bit of everything, otherwise, his achievements would definitely be much greater than they are now."

Seemingly afraid that people wouldn't believe him, he raised his head and glanced at the crowd that had gathered around him. "Hey, hey, hey, this isn't what I said, it's what Mr. Mao Dun said."

No one doubted his words. Several old men had visited his home and found it filled with calligraphy and paintings given to him by scholars, including works by Mr. Mao Dun.

But looking at Old Zhang, he seems a bit cheeky.

The old man offering the cigarette said, "Look, look, if you hadn't insisted on taking him on as an apprentice and teaching him kung fu, that young man would have become a great writer long ago."

Zhang Xuansong's face darkened. How did this stone end up hitting his own foot?

Just as he was about to make a few excuses, two young women ran out of two different rooms on either side, greeting him at the same time, "Uncle Zhang, you've arrived."

Upon seeing the two men emerge, Zhang Xuansong could only swallow his anger and wait until another time to discuss the matter with the old man.

He then waved to the two of them, "I've found you a dormitory. Go, pack your things, and move in today."

He paused for a moment, then added, "They have bedding and sheets there, just bring a few changes of clothes."

Before he finished speaking, two more couples came out of the two rooms and greeted Zhang Xuansong from a distance.

Several children followed behind them, some as old as seventeen or eighteen, others only ten. Including everyone, one family had six members: two adults and four children. The other family had seven members, plus one more child.

Zhang Xuansong said that it's not an exaggeration to say that 7 or 8 people are crammed into one room.

Before they even got close, it was clear that both men were disabled; one was lame and the other was missing a hand.

Zhang Xuansong glanced at the two men in charge and smiled slightly. "How are you both?"

The lame man grinned, revealing his back teeth, "Good, good, thanks to you for helping my Juanzi find a job. Things are much easier at home now, and we can even save a few dollars at the end of the month."

The one with the broken palm nodded and smiled, "Now many young people are coming back, but they can't even find temporary jobs. Ma Lan is able to support herself and still give her family a few dollars for household expenses, which is already very good."

He paused for a moment, then asked, "Uncle... Uncle Zhang, you just said you found dormitories for them? Temporary workers can be assigned dormitories?"

Zhang Xuansong took a drag of his cigarette, turned to look at the two girls who were staring at him nervously, and then looked around. Everyone else had already left.

Then he turned around and said with a soft laugh, "I didn't tell you before, but that house belongs to my apprentice."

As he spoke, he subtly observed the expressions on the faces of the others.

Apart from the two girls who couldn't help but show surprised expressions, everyone else just gave a knowing "oh".

Zhang Xuansong couldn't help but nod in satisfaction. These two girls were indeed tight-lipped; they hadn't told their family about the house, otherwise they wouldn't have had such expressions.

He paused for a moment, then said softly, "I noticed that there were too many people in your family, so I mentioned it to my apprentice. I suggested that the two girls move over there. It would be more convenient for them to work in the future, and they could also take care of the house. He agreed without hesitation."

"Well, since it's still early, I came over to tell them to take their luggage and move over. They can live there from now on, so they can come back and visit whenever they want and help out at home."

The two men in charge immediately became excited, and the lame one grabbed Zhang Xuansong's hand, "Old Chief, no, Uncle Zhang, I, I..."

Zhang Xuansong shook off his hand and said irritably, "If I had known you were going to cry and whine, I wouldn't have wanted you to be my messenger."

After catching his breath, he pointed at the two men and began to curse in a low voice, "You two have the same temper as Lao Xiao. I arranged jobs for you, but you refused. One of you became a shoe repairman, and the other became a scrap collector. You live a hard life, and you make your wives and children suffer with you. Do you want to show off your abilities?"

Neither of them got angry after being scolded; they just chuckled and laughed along.

The one with the broken palm laughed and said, "Uncle Zhang, we are different from you. You know how to lead troops into battle. Even if you can't go to the battlefield, you can still be a staff officer or an instructor. We are useless, so be it. It's good enough if the country can arrange jobs for us and give us food. We can't do anything else."

Zhang Xuansong glared at him, "Then you wouldn't agree to arrange jobs for Juanzi and Ma Lan either."

This time, neither of them spoke, only chuckled foolishly.

Zhang Xuansong shook his head and glanced at the others.

Juanzi's mother took her hand and squeezed it hard, her face showing only a smile, without a trace of resentment.

Ma Lan, holding her mother's arm, looked at Zhang Xuansong and said with a smile, "Uncle Zhang, my father is the head of our family. Whatever he says goes. Besides, you asked us to do temporary work, and we did."

Zhang Xuansong sighed, "You guys are even more stubborn than Lao Xiao."

He had barely finished speaking when he suddenly looked up, his expression turning complicated. "Wait a minute, Lao Xiao is rich now."

He looked at the two men and said, "Old Xiao said he got more than 10,000 in dividends last year. Why don't you go and feast on him?" The two men looked at each other and burst into laughter. The lame man laughed even harder and said, "That's a good idea. We'll find some time to go there this year and feast on him for three days and three nights."

Zhang Xuansong rolled his eyes. "If you were saying you'd write a letter to ask Lao Xiao to come over, I might believe you. You guys going over there? Hmph, I'd be a fool to believe you!"

He then waved to the two girls, "Hurry up and pack your things and come with me."

Actually, there wasn't much to pack. In less than five minutes, Liu Juan and Ma Lan each came out carrying a bundle.

Zhang Xuansong stood up, leaning on his cane, and waved to the two people who had been by his side, "No need to see me off, let's go."

Liu Juan and Ma Lan quickly followed behind, while their mother hurried after them, repeating the same words she had given countless times before: "When you get there, you must be diligent, keep your mouth shut, and know your limits. He's a great writer, so don't offend him."

Neither of them spoke, but simply nodded repeatedly.

As they watched Zhang Xuansong's retreating figure, they secretly chuckled to themselves. "We haven't even told you how big the great writer's house is, how much more do you want us to keep quiet?"
When Zhang Xuansong returned with the two of them, they had just entered the courtyard when they heard Chen Fan speaking, "Grandpa Liu's diet doesn't need to be changed. It's just a conditioning recipe; it can't cure diseases, it can only slightly improve the body."

He took it for a few months and his health improved significantly, which meant it was the right treatment, so he continued taking it.

As the old saying goes, "Watch what you eat and exercise regularly, and your health will improve." Grandpa Liu will continue following that diet. After a year or two, once he's fully recovered, I'll change his diet, and then he can start taking some supplements and eating better food.

Lin Yuanxiang clicked his tongue twice. "I was originally planning to take you to see the old marshal tomorrow, but since you put it that way, let's wait a year or two."

Chen Fan's expression immediately changed, and he said with a serious face, "What I mean is that medical skills emphasize observation, listening, questioning, and palpation. Just in case, it's better to have a face-to-face diagnosis."

Li Shangde calmly sipped his tea, then spat out a mouthful of tea dust. "Let's forget about it. It's a rare occasion for your cousin to come all this way; we should make sure she's well taken care of."

Just as Zhou Yali was about to speak, she saw her younger brother glance at her and say coldly, "She's such a grown woman, how can she possibly keep you company? Let her play by herself, we can't let this interfere with our work!"

Just then, Zhang Xuansong entered the living room with two girls. Chen Fan immediately looked at them and asked, "Are you from old Beijing?"

Liu Juan and Ma Lan exchanged a glance and nodded with a hint of trepidation, "We both grew up in Beijing."

Chen Fan snapped his fingers and then pointed at Zhou Yali, "She wants to stroll through the hutongs tomorrow, so you guys take her."

Zhou Yali's eyes were unfocused. Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to do?
Liu Juan and Ma Lan were at a loss and turned to look at Zhang Xuansong.

Old Zhang coughed lightly, pointed at Chen Fan, and reluctantly introduced him, "This is Chen Fan."

He wouldn't even utter the word "apprentice," which he used to say every day.

Liu Juan and Ma Lan looked at Chen Fan curiously.

Is this the most renowned writer of our time?
You're definitely in high spirits!

Lin Yuanxiang looked at Chen Fan, whose face was full of determination, then at Zhou Yali, who was in a daze, and Jiang Lili and Jiang Tiantian, who looked confused and curious. In the end, he could only sigh and say, "Alright, alright, go buy more vegetables tomorrow morning, and these three girls can come with you."

Chen Fan immediately beamed with joy, "Great!"

After giving a brief explanation and packing their things, Chen Fan and the others, along with Liu Juan and Ma Lan, headed towards their own courtyard.

As soon as they stepped out of the courtyard, Zhou Yali hopped over to Chen Fan, grabbed his arm, and whispered, "Who is that Grandpa Liu?"

He actually abandoned his older sister to go see a complete stranger, Grandpa Liu? Is he out of his mind?

Chen Fan coughed lightly, glanced back, and noticed that Liu Juan and Ma Lan were standing quite close together before whispering a name.

Zhou Yali first frowned slightly, but less than two seconds later, a thunderclap went through her mind, and she immediately blurted out, "Liu...uh uh uh."

Chen Fan had anticipated this. He slapped her on the mouth, cautiously glanced around, and only released her when he found nothing amiss. "Shut up."

Zhou Yali quickly covered her mouth with both hands and nodded repeatedly, her eyes filled with excitement.

Because their voices were too soft, Jiang Lili and Jiang Tiantian, who were following behind, couldn't hear them clearly. The two sisters immediately looked at each other and leaned over at the same time, asking, "What are you saying?"

Chen Fan turned around and muttered something, and the two sisters' eyes widened instantly, while they covered their mouths with their hands.

They also learned who Grandpa Liu was.

Only Liu Juan and Ma Lan were left behind, feeling a little lost.

But that's not important. Neither of them had any gossip in mind. At that moment, all they could think about was whether this famous writer was easy to get along with.

People these days are quick on their feet, and in less than half an hour, the group arrived at the entrance of the courtyard by Houhai Lake.

After opening the door and entering, Chen Fan looked at the two of them and smiled, "The building behind is originally for guest rooms. You can each choose a room there. There are bedding, sheets, and mats in the storage room. You can make your own arrangements."

Upon hearing this, the two looked at each other again, and then Liu Juan whispered, "Chen..."

For a moment, she didn't know how to address Chen Fan.

Calling him "boss" is out of the question; nobody uses that title these days. Calling him "comrade" seems disrespectful. Calling him "sir"? That doesn't seem appropriate either.

Chen Fan immediately understood what she meant and smiled, "You can call me Brother Chen, or just call me by my name, Chen Fan, it's all fine."

He paused for a moment, then asked, "By the way, how old are you this year?"

Liu Juan: "I'm 21. I graduated from high school at 18, spent three years in the countryside, and came back this year."

Ma Lan: "I'm 22. I turned 19 when I graduated from high school. I also spent 3 years in the countryside and came back with Juanzi."

Chen Fan's face darkened upon hearing this. How come they're all older than me?
No, it's older than the age I registered with.

Within just a few hours, he regretted registering his age as too young for the second time.

But the question of "tenderness" remains unresolved.

Therefore, he could only sigh and say, "Well, you can just call me Brother Fan or Brother Chen, either is fine. You should be familiar with this place by now, so go find a place to stay on your own. I won't take you there."

Beside her, Jiang Lili smiled coquettishly, giving Chen Fan a playful glare. This brat of a brother, he'd lied to her like that before.

Liu Juan quickly said, "Brother Chen, we can share a room. Uh, you just arrived, so the beds probably haven't been made yet. Let me make the beds for you first."

Ma Lan: "Yes, she's right."

(End of this chapter)