Siheyuan: He Yuzhu since 1958

Days passed by, and just after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Lv Guodong and his family left. They went to the northeast to handle the formalities, dealt with the house and other things that could not be taken away, and returned to Sijiucheng. It turned out that Lv Guodong worked in a military unit, and when he arrived in Sijiucheng, he was assigned to a military factory in Changping. Lv Guodong's eldest son, Lv Taian, was also assigned to the same factory. Lv Guodong's wife, Kunlan, was assigned to work in the nursery directly under Lv Guodong's factory. The other three continued to study.

It is said that it rains a lot during the Qingming Festival, but this year, except for a few drops of rain during the Chinese New Year, it has not rained at all. He Yuzhu stared at the sky in a daze. Huang Ying walked to He Yuzhu's side, followed He Yuzhu's line of sight and looked at the sky, and asked: "What are you looking at?!"

He Yuzhu said: "Look at the sky! It hasn't rained for more than a month."

Huang Ying said nonchalantly, "Isn't it normal that it doesn't rain?!"

He Yuzhu replied, "Normal?! I don't think it's normal at all!" He Yuzhu went back to the house. Huang Ying frowned slightly and followed him back to the house. He Yuzhu said, "Let's not talk about far away places. Let's talk about the situation at grandpa's place. The autumn grain production was reduced last year. Although the beginning of this year was not very good, some was replanted. It's barely okay, but what about other places?! We are not afraid, but it doesn't mean that other families are the same as us."

Huang Ying suddenly laughed and said, "I never thought you had the potential to be a saint."

He Yuzhu said, "What do you mean by being a saint?! I am just worried about you. Didn't you see during the famine in 1942 that people were desperate and could do anything? Am I not worried that you will be busy?"

"Thank you for your concern!" Huang Ying agreed with a smile, saying, "You know what, the situation is really not good recently. More and more people are fleeing to Sijiu City. The street office has already received two groups of people. Most of them are elderly people and women."

He Yuzhu reminded him, "You must not tell anyone that we have food at home! If outsiders know that we have food at home, it will not only be bad, but it may also bring disaster."

Huang Ying rolled her eyes at He Yuzhu and said, "Do you think I'm a fool?! I won't talk to you anymore. I'm going to work!"

He Yuzhu warned: "Be careful on the road!"

"Got it!" Huang Ying responded and hurried out the door.

At this time, He Yushui yawned and walked out of the east wing, walked into the main room, and asked, "Brother, what do you want to eat in the morning?!"

"Porridge and vegetarian buns. I'll get them for you!" He Yuzhu said as he went into the kitchen. After a while, He Yuzhu came out with a bowl of porridge and two vegetarian buns and put them on the table. He Yushui picked up a vegetarian bun, took a bite, and said, "Delicious!"

He Yuzhu said, "Girl, from now on, let's keep a low profile. If someone asks you what we eat at home, just say we eat multi-grain porridge and steamed buns made from two-grain flour. Don't ever say we eat steamed buns and rice porridge."

He Yushui said impatiently: "Brother, don't worry! I'm your sister and I'm smart! I promise I won't let anything slip!"

The ordinary days passed quickly, and more than half a year passed in a blink of an eye. He Yushui also successfully entered the middle school, and He Yuzhu became a reserve member under the introduction of Hao Shuji. Xu Damao also got married, and his wife was Ma Fengxia. Although Ma Fengxia was spoiled in her bones, she was a good person. The next day after she got married, she asked her daughter to change her surname to Xu. Xu Damao named his daughter Xu Lianxi, and her nicknames were Lian'er and Lian Yatou.

After getting married, Xu Damao became more restrained in the factory and in the courtyard, but when he went to the countryside to show movies, he was still the same old way, taking what he should take and sleeping when he should sleep. Xu Damao's motto was: "The red flag is flying at home, and the colorful flags are flying outside." But in general, without Yi Zhonghai and the Jia family, the entire courtyard was still very harmonious.

At the steel mill, Li Huaide, through the operation of his father-in-law, successfully became the deputy director in charge of logistics. Gao Yao was promoted because of Li Huaide's promotion and became a deputy section chief of the logistics department with a name but no power. Originally, the factory planned to let He Yuzhu be the canteen director. But He Yuzhu said that he was not educated enough and was not suitable to be the canteen director. At the same time, He Yuzhu bought Li Huaide a favor. Li Huaide transferred his cousin Li Huaian to the steel mill to be the canteen director. He Yuzhu was the deputy director and the chef of the third canteen, specializing in the small kitchen. The other one is Liu Lan. After the Chinese New Year, He Yuzhu handed a physical examination report to Liu Lan. Liu Lan took the physical examination report home and confronted her parents directly. Liu Lan's father was still like a human being and still cared about Liu Lan. But Liu Lan's mother was not a human being. After knowing that Liu Lan had a "terminal illness", she immediately forced Liu Lan to transfer her job to her father. Liu Lan, who had no job, stayed at home for less than a week, and her mother began to sneer at her. In a fit of anger, Liu Lan went to the neighborhood office and went through the formalities to sever ties with her parents.

Liu Lan took her luggage and went to Sister Huang's house. She happened to meet Sister Huang's cousin Hu Dashu who came back to visit relatives, and the two fell in love at first sight. Hu Dashu was also a man of action, and he confirmed his relationship with Liu Lan on the same day. Then he made a long-distance call to his superiors and reported that he had a partner. On the third day, Hu Dashu took Liu Lan to the street office to get a letter of introduction, and left the city with Liu Lan. When he arrived at the army, Hu Dashu filled in the relationship report, marriage report and military report, and then got a marriage certificate with Liu Lan.

From then on, Liu Lan completely disappeared from the plot of Siheyuan, which was also the best result for Liu Lan.

Mid-October 1959. The kitchen of the steel mill canteen.

He Yuzhu walked into the kitchen of the third canteen at the right time as usual. Seeing Sister Huang and others gathered together discussing something, he walked over with a smile and asked, "What are you talking about?!"

Sister Huang said: "Our factory has started to reduce the number of workers."

He Yuzhu immediately thought of an article from April and reacted instantly, saying, "What does this have to do with you?! As far as I know, you guys don't seem to be included in the streamlining scope, right?!"

Sister Zhang said, "Zhu Zi, we are not included in the scope of streamlining. But who doesn't have a few friends?!"

He Yuzhu thought about it and felt that what Sister Zhang said made some sense. He didn't say anything else and urged: "Let's talk after we finish the work. If you get caught by the director, don't blame me for not reminding you."

Sister Huang quickly agreed: "Zhu Zi is right, let's get to work!"

Just as Sister Huang and the others were busy, Li Huaian walked into the kitchen of the third canteen. Li Huaian habitually glanced at the busy people, nodded with satisfaction, walked to He Yuzhu and said, "Zhuzi, there is a treat today."

He Yuzhu asked: "How many tables?! What's the standard?! Are there any dietary restrictions?!"

Li Huaian replied, "There is only one table. The factory director and deputy factory director are inviting the leaders of the Materials Bureau to dinner. There are not many people, including the leaders of our factory, a total of eight. There are no dietary restrictions. You can look after the small warehouse. If there is anything missing, tell me so that I can find someone to help."

"Okay! I'll go now!" After saying that, He Yuzhu glanced at the shift roster on the wall and called four people to walk towards the small warehouse.