Siheyuan: He Yuzhu since 1958

Wang Xia led the mother and daughter to the door of the deaf old lady's house. Wang Xia shouted into the house: "Old lady, are you there?!"

The deaf old lady responded: "The door is not locked, come in!"

Wang Xia led people into the house and said, "Old lady, I found the person you asked me to find for you."

The deaf old lady looked at the mother and daughter standing next to Wang Xia and nodded with satisfaction. Wang Xia said, "Old lady, the female comrade next to me is Kou Yingying, and the little girl next to her is her daughter. The mother and daughter fled from Lankao, Yuzhou Province. Yingying has been here for a while. I saw that she is diligent and honest, so I told her about you. She is willing to take care of you in your old age."

Kou Yingying said hurriedly, "Old lady, I can't speak. If you take me in, mother and daughter, I will take care of you wholeheartedly and provide for your old age and see you to the end of your life."

The deaf old lady said, "Director Wang, please keep them both! Her daughter is young, so keep her to accompany me. When she grows up, let her go to school. As for Yingying, I like this girl. I am willing to give her the job I have. But I would like you and the comrades from the street office to be witnesses. From now on, Yingying will take care of my daily life. When I die, Yingying will see me off."

Wang Xia said, "Don't worry, old lady! I will help you with this matter. In addition, the household registration of the mother and daughter will be under your name."

The deaf old lady nodded, looked at Kou Yingying and said, "My next room is empty, you can clean it up, and you and your daughter can live there from now on! I don't have a kitchen here, the stove is in my room. If you want to cook, come to my room!"

"Hey!" Kou Yingying responded, looked at her daughter who was hiding behind her and poked her head out, and said, "Yaya, call me Madam."

Yaya called out obediently, "Madam!"

"Hey!" The wrinkled face of the deaf old lady was broken by her smile, and she said, "Be good! Madam will give you some candy!" After that, the deaf old lady took out two fruit candies from her pocket, staggered to the little girl and handed her the candy.

Yaya looked up at Kou Yingying. Kou Yingying nodded at Yaya. Yaya took the candy from the deaf old lady and said in a baby voice, "Thank you, ma'am!"

"Okay! Okay!" The deaf old lady looked at Kou Yingying and asked, "How old is the child?!"

Kou Yingying replied, "The child is four and a half years old. The child's father was a soldier and died on the battlefield. The rest of the family either starved to death in their hometown or died of illness on the way to escape. Apart from a few changes of clothes for the child, the only things I have are the letter of introduction and my husband's honor certificate."

"Poor child!" The deaf old lady muttered, looked at Wang Xia and said, "Director Wang, I'll trouble you with the rest." After that, the deaf old lady took out the certificate and her household registration booklet and handed them to Wang Xia.

Wang Xia said, "Don't worry, old lady. I will get everything done in the next two days."

After Director Wang left, the deaf old lady invited Kou Yingying and her daughter to sit down beside her. The deaf old lady did not hide anything and told Kou Yingying in detail about the situation of the Siheyuan. Kou Yingying was not stupid, otherwise she would not have taken her children all the way to the city. After the deaf old lady's introduction, Kou Yingying had some understanding of the Siheyuan. She also knew who could be offended in the Siheyuan and who could not be offended.

Seeing that it was getting late, Kou Yingying said hello to the deaf old lady, asked her daughter to stay with her, then took the package and went to the next room to start cleaning up the house.

After working for almost two hours, the house was ready. Kou Yingying walked into the deaf old lady's house and asked, "Old lady, what would you like to eat for lunch?!"

The deaf old lady said, "We haven't prepared anything today. We only have some pickles at home. The food is in the cupboard. Let's make some noodles for lunch! The three of us will have a meal first. Tomorrow we will go buy some vegetables and come back to have a good meal."

Kou Yingying said, "Grandma, we are not picky as long as we have something to eat. Just tell me what you want to eat in the future. I don't have the ability now, but when I get a job, I will definitely honor you well."

The deaf old lady said, "I'm glad you have this intention!" Then she teased Yaya and asked, "What's the child's name?!"

Kou Yingying replied: "The child's father gave her the name Tian Ling."

The deaf old lady nodded, took out some money and bills from under her pillow, handed them to Kou Yingying, and said, "Take these money and bills. From today on, you will be the head of our family."

Kou Yingying was stunned, looking at the deaf old lady in disbelief. She had never expected the deaf old lady to be so direct. Seeing Kou Yingying's reaction, the deaf old lady said, "Girl, I have lived to such an old age and have met many people. I can see that you are a girl who knows how to live. I believe that you will not treat me badly in the future."

Kou Yingying pulled her daughter to her side, and then the mother and daughter knelt on the ground together. Kou Yingying said, "Old lady, my daughter and I kowtow to you! From now on, you are my real grandmother!" After that, Kou Yingying kowtowed three times to the deaf old lady. Yaya next to her also kowtowed three times.

"Okay! Okay!" The deaf old lady smiled and accepted the kowtows from Kou Yingying and her daughter. She pulled them up, stuffed the money and tickets in her hand into Kou Yingying's hand, and said, "I'll wait and enjoy the good life from now on!"

"Hey!" Kou Yingying reached out to wipe the tears from her face and said, "Yaya, play with the madam. Mom will go to cook for you." After that, Kou Yingying found a large soup bowl, followed the instructions of the deaf old lady, walked to the rice jar, scooped out some flour, and started to get busy.

After lunch, the deaf old lady rested for a while. Seeing that the sun was almost setting, she took Kou Yingying and her daughter out.

"Grandma, who are they?!" The voice of the third aunt rang out just as the deaf old lady and Kou Yingying and her daughter walked to the front yard.

The deaf old lady replied, "She is my granddaughter, and the little girl next to her is my great-granddaughter. They will take care of me in my old age. Please take care of them in the future."

The third aunt carefully looked at Kou Yingying and her daughter and asked, "Girls, where are you from?!"

Kou Yingying answered frankly, "I'm from Lankao, Yuzhou Province. My husband was a soldier and died on the battlefield. There was a poor harvest in my hometown. My family and I fled. Only my daughter and I are left at home."

"Poor man" These four words came to the minds of the neighbors at the same time. The second aunt said: "My husband used to be the steward of the courtyard. Although he made some mistakes, he was dismissed from the position of steward. But if you have any difficulties, you can come to me. I will definitely help you. And our house is next to the old lady's house."

With the second aunt taking the lead, other neighbors followed suit. The deaf old lady saw that it was almost time, so she took Kou Yingying and her daughter back home.

After the deaf old lady returned, Mrs. Guan, who lived in the next door compound, said, "Someone is taking care of her now, and the deaf old lady is starting to get better."

The third aunt suddenly said, "No matter what, now that we have someone at home, we feel more confident. I hope these two are not here to cause trouble. Otherwise, our courtyard will be in turmoil again."

Although the second aunt was worried, she said calmly, "I don't think this mother and daughter are the kind of people who would cause trouble. We'll know after a while."