Siheyuan: Starting from 1958

When Guo Lin returned home, his family was having dinner around the table.

There were ten dishes on the table, but only one was meat; the rest were all vegetarian.

For Guo Lin, who held the position of deputy factory director, such a standard of living could definitely be described as austere.

They looked at their son and daughter as if they had never eaten meat before, their eyes fixed on the only meat dish on the table.

In order to ensure that their grandson and granddaughter could eat better, the parents almost never touched meat dishes, and their bowls were filled with only green vegetables and radishes.

My wife rarely puts her chopsticks into the meat dishes. Even if she puts meat in her own bowl, she will pick out the pork and give it to her son and daughter.

Although my wife wasn't a college student, she had attended high school and was one of the few educated women in our neighborhood. When she married me, she was definitely a lady from a respectable family.

I thought that as a technician at a state-owned breeding farm, I would definitely be able to provide a good life for my wife in the future.

Unexpectedly, the farm's profits kept declining, and because he refused to collude with the factory manager and his cronies, his family's life not only failed to improve but actually got worse.

Upon closer inspection, it became apparent that due to long hours of housework and caring for two children, the once refined lady's face now bore faint wrinkles.

His hands also became rough.

The clothes he was wearing were all bought a few years ago. If I remember correctly, he hasn't bought his wife a new dress or a tube of face cream in two years.

Thinking of this, Guo Lin couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. He secretly vowed that he would work hard with Wang Dong in the future, help him manage the farm, and ensure that his wife could live a comfortable life without worrying about food and clothing.

"Honey...have you eaten yet? If not, I'll get you a bowl and chopsticks, and you can eat some more with the food on the table..." The wife looked at her husband who was rushing home and didn't show any resentment or dissatisfaction. Instead, she asked him with concern.

As for what her husband had just done, although she was very concerned, she did not show it.

Ah, I believe that if Guo Lin were to tell me about this, he would tell me even if I didn't ask. That's the trust between a couple.

Guo Lin quickly replied, "I've already eaten..."

"After saying that, he took out the two large lunch boxes he was carrying and put them on the table. He opened the net bag and greeted his wife, son and daughter."

"Boss Wang just treated me to dinner at Dongjun Restaurant. He remembered that you hadn't eaten at home yet, so he specially asked me to pack two meat dishes to bring back..."

"A plate of braised pork belly, a plate of braised chicken pieces... glistening with oil, so delicious..."

"Let's have an extra meal tonight and finish off both of these meat dishes."

The two lunchboxes were filled to the brim with pork belly and large chunks of meat; they looked incredibly delicious.

Upon hearing her husband say he was going to eat them all tonight, a look of heartache flashed across the wife's face, and she quickly reminded him, "Honey..."

"This is too much, and it's very lucrative..."

"How about we split it into two meals..."

"It would taste even better if we cooked a pot of radishes and potatoes together."

"No need..." Guo Lin was unusually generous, waving his hand in refusal, "No need to divide it into two meals, I'll eat it all tonight..."

"I have some good news to tell everyone in a little while..."

"If my son and daughter still want pork and chicken tomorrow, we'll go to the market to buy them again..."

Even the most naive wife would realize at this point that her husband had gotten what he wanted, and given her trust in him, she immediately stopped trying to persuade him.

Immediately, he placed two full lunchboxes of meat and vegetables in the middle of the table. Afraid that his parents wouldn't reach for the two meat dishes, he took a spoon from the small kitchen and scooped a spoonful of the braised pork that had been stewed until tender for each of them.

Seeing that his wife hadn't served him any braised pork, Guo Lin, feeling sorry for her, quickly picked up a spoon and scooped a spoonful of braised pork into her bowl, then said, "Wife..."

"You eat too..."

“You’ve been doing all the housework and taking care of the two kids at home for the past few years, and you’ve lost a lot of weight. You need to eat more meat to make up for it.”

After finishing, he seemed to feel it wasn't enough, so he put another spoonful of chicken pieces into his wife's bowl.

The Guo family's dinner tonight lasted a full half hour before they finished.

Seeing his son and daughter both looking like they hadn't had enough, seemingly still savoring the braised pork and chicken they had just eaten, Guo Lin spoke again: "Wife..."

"Since my son and daughter like braised pork and chicken so much..."

"Tomorrow night, Dad will treat you to a nice meal at Dongjun Restaurant..."

"I guarantee you'll eat your fill..."

"Honey, are you crazy..." The wife got anxious after hearing this and retorted with a frown, "You know our family's situation."

"A meal at Dongjun Restaurant costs five or six yuan, and a decent one costs seven or eight yuan... If we save that for groceries, it'll be enough for our family to eat for four or five days..."

"I disagree with going to Dongjun Restaurant for dinner..."

Guo Lin did not explain immediately, but instead took out the thousand yuan that Wang Dong had given him in advance.

Because at that time, China did not have 100-yuan bills. The largest denomination of RMB was 10 yuan. The visual impact of 1,000 yuan was no less than that of 10,000 yuan in later years. A whole hundred 10,000 yuan bills were piled up together, and the wife's eyes widened in amazement.

Although the family has some savings, they were all saved up several years ago, and the total amount is less than two thousand yuan.

It seems like a lot, but in Beijing where prices are soaring, this amount of money isn't even enough to buy a decent-sized house.

When the wife saw that her husband had brought back a thousand yuan after just one trip, which was more than half of their savings, her first reaction was to worry. She was afraid that her husband might be doing something illegal or disorderly at the farm in order to improve the family's life.

She quickly reminded him, "Honey..."

“Where did this money come from? We can’t do anything illegal…”

"Although we're living a somewhat frugal life right now, it's not like we can't make it..."

“When my son and daughter start school this year, my parents can pick them up and drop them off, and I can go out to work. Life at home will definitely be much better then.”

Old Man Guo, fearing his son might go astray for money, chimed in, "Guo Lin..."

“Your wife is right…”

"No matter how hard our lives are, we can't do anything illegal or disorderly..."

You should return the thousand yuan in the same way you obtained it.

"You absolutely mustn't let money ruin your future... Hurry up..."

"If someone gives you a thousand yuan so readily, the task they're asking you to do must be quite significant... Whatever we do, we must always act in accordance with our conscience, and we must never do anything illegal or disorderly." (End of Chapter)