Siheyuan, Shazhu: I have both parents in this life

Chapter 100: A Precautionary Notice (Please Subscribe)

After finishing tidying up the west wing, He Yuzhu went to tidy up his side room. When he went in, he found it spotless, indicating that his mother often came to clean it.

Touching the quilt and mattress again, they felt soft, indicating that they had been frequently aired out in the sun when the weather was nice. She felt a little touched, knowing how much her mother longed for his return and how worried she was that he wouldn't be comfortable staying there.

They lit a fire in the main house and set the path to the side room on fire. He Yuzhu then took Xiaoman and Xu Damao to the backyard, letting Xu Damao go home first. He led Xiaoman into the old lady's back room, and Wang Cuiping spoke first after seeing them.

"Zhu Zi, Xiao Man, are you done with your work? Are you tired?"

"Not tired at all, this is just the beginning."

"I'm not tired," Xiaoman said.

"Then I'll go back to my room, sister-in-law. I'm disturbing the old lady's sleep here," Wang Cuiping said, getting off the kang (a heated brick bed).

"What's the rush? Your room is still cold. Besides, this is the outer room, it won't disturb the old lady's sleep! Xiaoman, come sit on the kang too, you've been freezing outside all day." Chen Lanxiang grabbed her.

"Alright, I'll sit here a little longer." Wang Cuiping struggled but couldn't break free, and was somewhat surprised, as she knew how strong she was.

"That's right, what's the rush? Make yourself at home. Come on, Xiaoman, sit here with me."

"Okay!" Xiaoman obediently got onto the kang (heated brick bed).

Wang Cuiping smiled as she watched this scene.

Just now, Chen Lanxiang said that she didn't feel anything was wrong with treating it as her own home. She knew that the He family had an unusual relationship with the old lady, but since they didn't say what the relationship was, she didn't need to ask.

"By the way, Auntie, what's the deal with that west wing room of yours? Is it rented?" He Yuzhu asked, taking a sip of water from the bowl on the kang table before getting onto the kang.

"Otherwise, why would I stay here for free?" Wang Cuiping said irritably.

"That's not what I meant. What I meant was, don't you have some money? Ask the old lady if she'll sell it!"

"Zhu Zi, why did we suddenly start talking about buying a house?" Chen Lanxiang asked.

Wang Cuiping quickly realized what was going on; she had done the same thing—"fight the landlords and distribute the land"—before she even started.

So he asked, "Zhu Zi, have you heard something?"

"I heard some news when I was in Tianjin." He Yuzhu didn't go into details. There was no conclusion to this matter to begin with, and no policy had been issued yet. The more specific he was, the more suspicious people would become.

"What news?" The old lady's voice came from the inner room, followed by the sound of her cane hitting the ground. The group turned around and saw that the old lady had already walked to the door of the inner room.

"Madam, are you sober now?" He Yuzhu was about to step forward to help her up.

"I don't usually drink, but if I suddenly drink a little too much, I get a bit tipsy. But I can still hold my liquor!" the old lady said with a hint of pride.

"Yes, yes, you have a huge capacity for alcohol!"

"You rascal, even I'm teasing your wife. You said you heard some news, about the house, what news?"

"I don't have any specifics, but Madam, your house is quite big!"

"This, the new government even manages this?" The old lady was shocked, but her eyes were not on He Yuzhu but on Wang Cuiping. She knew that this girl came from the west, a place that had always been a red zone.

This house has been passed down from the Qing Dynasty to the present day, and only the main house was passed to the He family. She has never sold it to anyone else.

It's not that no one has tried to take advantage of him. For those in power, a little money can usually settle things, but as for those on the streets, He Daqing is not someone to be trifled with.

“I will manage!” Wang Cuiping nodded when she saw the old lady looking at her. Now that Beijing has been liberated, she doesn’t need to be so careful anymore.

"Wang family girl, let me ask you, will this new government last long?"

"Yes!" Wang Cuiping said firmly.

"Zhu Zi, your wife also wants to ask you, what do you think?"

"Yes!" He Yuzhu's answer was equally brief and firm.

"Hey, then continue. What's the plan? I'd like to hear it. If it's reasonable, we'll proceed." The old lady was decisive. She sat cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed) and waited for He Yuzhu to continue.

He Yuzhu moved a chair and sat down opposite the kang (a heated brick bed) before speaking.

"Madam, I don't know the specifics. I only know that your courtyard is too big and there are too many houses. In the future, there will be more and more people in Beijing. If there are too many people, there will be no place to live. What do you think the government will do?"

"How do you know the number of people will increase?" the old lady asked, picking a question.

"Just guessing. This used to be the capital, so it's highly likely that the capital will be located in the capital city of Beijing!"

"Won't it be like the Kuomintang, which took it to Nanjing?"

"The feng shui of Nanjing is not as good as our old city!" He Yuzhu made up.

“I like to hear that, Madam. The feng shui of our Beijing is good, but Madam still doesn’t understand why the government would let so many people in if they can’t solve the problem.”

"I don't know either, it's just a guess. You're much more knowledgeable than I am!" He Yuzhu patted his hand lightly.

“Oh, Zhu Zi, Madam is getting old and can’t keep up anymore. You know, Madam has experienced the Qing Dynasty, Yuan Shikai, Marshal Duan, Zhang Xiaoliu, General Song, Xiao Rizi, General Feng, and now the new government in Beijing. Things are changing too fast, and Madam can’t understand it anymore.” The old lady sighed.

"Old lady." Chen Lanxiang glared at her son.

"It's alright, Zhu Zi. Tell me, what should we do about Madam?"

"It's basically about selling the house, but we don't know what the new government's regulations are!"
"Will the new government recognize this property deed?" the old lady asked hurriedly upon hearing this.

“We should acknowledge it, otherwise things will fall into chaos,” He Yuzhu said.

"That's good, that's good. Once construction starts, have your dad inquire about it. I already gave your family to your dad. As for the others, let's see what they have to say."

"Alright, this matter shouldn't be in such a hurry. I just asked casually, and I didn't make you worry, Grandma!"

"What's the big deal? It's better than finding out when it's too late. It's better to be prepared in advance so we don't end up scrambling around."

"Tell me everything else you've received!" Chen Lanxiang said.

"No, that's all. By the way, did we exchange our gold yuan notes before?"

“Why didn’t you change them? They went door-to-door forcing us to change them. How could we not change them? Besides, your father was paying your wages in gold yuan notes, which we can’t even spend now.” Chen Lanxiang got angry as soon as she heard about gold yuan notes.

"So you didn't throw it away, did you?"

"What nonsense are you talking about, child? Those were all bought with real money, who would be willing to throw them away?"

"It's good that you didn't throw it away; it might still be useful."

"What good is it?" Chen Lanxiang said irritably.

"Can the new government just watch people starve to death without money?" He Yuzhu asked rhetorically.

"Probably not?" Chen Lanxiang muttered, then suddenly realized something and exclaimed, "Could it be that we can still spend it?"

"Definitely not, we'll probably find out the rules later."

“A whole sack of them, it’s so annoying to look at. Don’t you have any?” Chen Lanxiang said, a little annoyed.

"No, I quit my job when it was released. I was thinking of coming back, but I couldn't leave Tianjin, so I stayed at home."

"So what are you going to eat?"

“Anyway, I have connections. Do you think a cook like me would starve?” He Yuzhu said. “That’s true. To be honest, the family survived thanks to what you had saved up. You don’t know, when the army besieged the city, there was no food outside. The Jia family in the front yard even came to borrow grain. I didn’t lend it to them. Later, they said they wanted to buy some, so I sold them some coarse grain. Later, it seems that Yi Zhonghai got it for them!”

Chen Lanxiang didn't delve into it, thinking about the things her son had brought back before. With such a large business, how could Tianjin be without someone?

"Why bring up their family? It's bad luck!" the old lady said irritably.

"Well, that's where we're going. If it weren't for Zhu Zi's foresight, we'd all be starving." Chen Lanxiang didn't continue the conversation about other people's families.

"That's true. My grandson is really something. Zhu Zi, you guys didn't suffer in Tianjin, did you?"

"Of course not, I'm eating well and sleeping well!" He Yuzhu laughed.

“Yes, Zhu Zi is indeed quite capable,” Wang Cuiping added from the side.

"That's good. Zhu Zi, what kind of business are you planning to do now that you're back? You've finished learning how to cook, are you going to continue your studies or do something else?"

"Let's stay home for a while first, but Xiaoman needs to go to school, and I don't know if she can go now!"

As soon as Xiaoman heard about her going to school, she stared at He Yuzhu with her big eyes.

"Let your father ask about this. It shouldn't be a big problem. You can get it done now with money. Are you just going to stay at home like this?" Chen Lanxiang said.

"What else can I do? I'm only thirteen, Mother. Who would want me as a child laborer?"

"Is that so? If you don't like it, you should just go to school."

"I can't go to school either; I can only take the high school entrance exam in the second half of the year!"

"Alright, so you really dislike my eldest grandson, Zhuzi. Don't worry about your mother. Stay home as long as you want. At worst, your mother will support you." The old lady stood up for He Yuzhu.

"No, ma'am, look at how big he is. I'm just worried about what people will say."

"Anyone who dares, I'll tear their mouth off."

Chen Lanxiang thought to herself, "There's a big mouth in the front yard. Even if you tear her apart, she'll still gossip. But now that it's a new government, no one is sure what to do. If we really kick that family out, they might come back and sue us. It's not worth it."

"I was just saying that. After all, I just got back, and I don't know what it's like outside yet."

“Alright, I’ll have your dad ask his old buddies, and I’ll also ask around at the factory for you,” Chen Lanxiang said. She was still worried about her son’s reputation. There were rumors that he hadn’t studied hard in school, but when he came back with a diploma, the rumors were dispelled.

He Yuzhu hadn't really thought that much about it; he said he was staying at home, but he wouldn't be idle.

Wang Cuiping didn't cook dinner that night because she didn't have any ingredients, so she ate at He's house. Wang Cuiping felt a little embarrassed and said she would buy some ingredients from He's house to cook for herself the next day.

Chen Lanxiang shut her down with a single sentence.

“You two would be sharing a meal with Zhu Zi in Tianjin anyway, it’s just a matter of having a few more pairs of chopsticks, what’s the difference?”

After dinner, Wang Cuiping and Xiaoman went straight home. They had bothered them all day, and the family hadn't even had a proper chat yet.

Then He Yuzhu was put into interrogation mode, since he hadn't explained things very clearly during the day.

He Yuzhu told the story from the beginning, nine parts truth and one part falsehood. Chen Lanxiang cursed the Ma family for deserving to die and cursed Yu Zecheng for being a scoundrel. However, she praised her son's learning skills a few times.

He Daqing and Chen Lanxiang both thought He Yuzhu was meddling in other people's business when he rescued people on the train, but when they heard that Lao Zhao was a member of the Communist Party, the couple were really shocked.

"Zhu Zi, you already knew back then? You didn't join any group when you were in school, did you?" He Daqing asked.

"Yeah, I guessed it. What? How long have I actually been in school?" He Yuzhu shook his head.

"Do you really have faith in the new government?" Chen Lanxiang finally asked the question she had been wanting to ask at home.

"Yes, they are different from others."

"What's different?" Chen Lanxiang asked, puzzled.

"Hehe, I'll tell you a secret, but don't be too surprised!"

"Hurry up and tell me, stop keeping me in suspense!" He Daqing said, and was about to make a move.

He Yuzhu dodged it.

"My Aunt Wang is one of them too, isn't she?"

"Oh, really?"

"You're not just trying to fool your mother, are you?"

"Do you two think my Aunt Wang looks like Old Zhao's cousin?"

“Doesn’t seem like it!” The two shook their heads in unison. Old Zhao looked like someone who had studied, while Wang Cuiping looked like a pure village girl when she arrived. Moreover, the two of them didn’t interact that closely while they lived together.

"So, if it wasn't an impersonation, why was it sent to Tianjin to start a family?"

"You mean? Cuiping's man?"

"I've never met that person either, but it's probably not what we're thinking. Maybe they had no choice. If Aunt Wang doesn't want to talk about it, let's not bring it up again, so as not to upset her!"

"Hmm, you don't even need to tell me. Only Zhang Ruhua from the front yard would do something like rubbing salt into a wound. If the old lady hadn't spoken up today, I would have just stood up for Cuiping," Chen Lanxiang said.

“Aunt Wang’s slap was no light one. If you don’t believe me, go to the front yard tomorrow and see what Jia Zhangshi’s face looks like,” He Yuzhu said with a wicked smile.

"Then I'll have to go take a look. If it's not evenly symmetrical, I'll have Cuiping fix the other side for her later!"

"By the way, where is your Aunt Wang coming to Beijing this time?"

"Settle down here. Don't worry about work; it should be arranged. Old Zhao has given us a letter of introduction and written the necessary supporting documents. Once the transfer of your relationship is completed, things should be settled."

"I knew it! I was worried for nothing. Turns out they really weren't in a hurry," Chen Lanxiang said.

"hey-hey!"

"You're still laughing, but after taking such a big risk, they deserve credit, and that's only right."

“That’s for sure,” He Daqing agreed.

"By the way, what did your Aunt Wang do before? Did she tell you?"

"Is this it?" He Yuzhu made an eight-shaped hand gesture.

"He really is a soldier?"

"No, have you heard of guerrillas? My Aunt Wang is a guerrilla captain, not an ordinary person."

"Guerrilla captain? Really? I never would have guessed that my Wang family sister was so capable!" Chen Lanxiang exclaimed, her mouth agape.

"She might even know kung fu. Mother, why don't you have a match with Aunt Wang after she gives birth?"

"Get lost! How can you encourage your own mother to fight with someone like that?" Chen Lanxiang didn't tolerate him and gave him a hard slap on the neck.

"Ah, hahaha, I was just curious, I wanted to see how amazing this heroine was."

"You're so good at talking. Alright, go back to sleep."

"Understood." He Yuzhu stood up and walked out, his voice trembling with the operatic cadence.

(End of this chapter)