Siheyuan: He Yuzhu since 1958

After the lady left, He Yuzhu looked at the time on his watch. It was not long before He Yushui finished school. He Yuzhu rode his bicycle to the gate of He Yushui's school. Not long after waiting, the school bell rang. About five or six minutes later, He Yushui came out of the school with his classmates, talking and laughing.

He Yushui saw He Yuzhu standing under the tree, greeted his classmates, rushed to He Yuzhu, and shouted excitedly: "Brother! I really love you!"

He Yuzhu rolled his eyes at He Yushui and said, "Get in the car!"

"Oh!" He Yushui responded and said, "I want to sit in the front!"

"Okay!" He Yuzhu responded and got on the bike. After He Yushui sat on the beam, he pushed his foot and the bike started to move slowly. He Yushui held the handlebar of the bike with one hand and waved to his classmates with the other hand, saying hello to them.

After about seven or eight minutes, He Yuzhu drove He Yushui away from everyone's sight in the envious eyes of everyone. More than ten minutes later, He Yuzhu brought He Yushui to the door of the bank. After parking the car, He Yuzhu paid 20 cents for parking, took a sign, and took He Yushui into the bank. At this time, there were not many people in the bank. After about five or six minutes, He Yuzhu came out of the bank with He Yushui.

He Yushui asked: "Brother, where are we going now?!"

He Yuzhu replied, "It's still early. I'll take you to the department store to buy a radio. Then I'll take you to the factory. I have a reception tonight. I have to work overtime!"

"Oh!" He Yushui responded obediently and stood quietly on the roadside waiting for He Yuzhu.

Around 3:30 in the afternoon, when He Yuzhu bought a radio and took He Yushui to the factory, the aunt had finished dealing with all the things that could be dealt with at home, and she walked out of the courtyard, carrying a quilt on her back and two large bags in her hands, looking back every few steps.

The third aunt saw the first aunt carrying a lot of bags and asked, "Mr. Yi, you have so many things with you, where are you going?!"

The aunt knew that hiding the truth was useless, so she said bluntly, "My old Yi has had such a mess. I am too ashamed to stay in this courtyard. Old Yi transferred the house to me. I felt sorry for Zhuzi and his sister, so I gave them the house as a way of compensation to them."

The third aunt was surprised and asked, "Mr. Yi, you gave the house to Zhuzi and his sister, where are you going to live?!"

The first lady replied, "After Lao Yi got into trouble, I wrote a letter to my wife. I got a reply yesterday. He is willing to take care of me in my old age and asked me to live with him. After visiting Lao Yi today, I took Zhuzi to transfer the ownership of the house in the afternoon and asked Director Wang to write a letter of introduction. Then I went to the train station to buy tickets and went to the post office to send a telegram to my nephew."

"Oh!" The third aunt nodded thoughtfully and said, "Then be careful on the road. If you can't get used to it over there, then come back. I think Zhuzi will not ignore you."

The first aunt understood what the third aunt meant, and said with a smile: "Once you go, you won't come back. Take care of yourselves!" After that, the first aunt took the luggage and walked out of the courtyard gate, called a tricycle, and went straight to the train station.

After watching the figure of the first auntie gradually go away, the third auntie was about to go back when she saw Qin Huairu coming out of the yard. The third auntie asked curiously, "Huairu, where are you going?!"

Qin Huairu asked: "Third Aunt, have you seen First Aunt?!"

The third aunt replied: "I saw it! She just left on a tricycle."

"Gone?!" Qin Huairu was slightly stunned, but quickly came to her senses and asked, "Where did she go?!"

The third aunt replied, "I don't know where she went. I only know that she went to live with her nephew."

"Go to her nephew?!" Qin Huairu's heart skipped a beat, and then asked, "What about their house?!"

The third aunt replied, "She said Yi Zhonghai transferred the house to her. She gave the house to He Yuzhu and his sister as compensation."

"Oh?!" Qin Huairu was surprised. Qin Huairu had thought of all kinds of possibilities, but she had never thought that Auntie would actually give the house to He Yuzhu and his sister. If it was in the past, Qin Huairu was 100% sure to cheat the house from He Yuzhu. But now, let alone 100%, even 1% is impossible. Qin Huairu was really desperate at this time. She was desperate not only because of the house, but also because of Yi Zhonghai's money! The money that should have belonged to her was now taken away by Auntie.

The third aunt saw Qin Huairu suddenly become dazed and asked, "Qin Huairu, are you okay?!"

Qin Huairu quickly came to her senses and said, "It's okay!" Then she pretended to walk towards the middle courtyard while muttering, "What a auntie, she left without telling me. I should see her off."

Looking at Qin Huairu's back, the third aunt said softly: "Tell you?! If I tell you, I'm afraid you won't be able to leave!"

"What are you mumbling about?!" At this moment, Yan Bugui's voice sounded behind the third aunt.

"You're back!" The third aunt greeted him and said, "Look, Yi Zhonghai's wife just left."

"Gone?!" Yan Bugui was stunned, and a surprised expression immediately appeared on his face. When the third aunt saw Yan Bugui's reaction, she immediately thought that her husband might have misunderstood. The third aunt hurriedly explained: "Yi Zhonghai transferred the house to his wife. His wife felt guilty towards He Yuzhu and his sister, so she gave the house to them as compensation. She took her luggage and went to another place to seek refuge with her nephew."

"Wait!" Yan Bugui seemed to have thought of something and asked, "Isn't Yi Zhonghai's house a public housing? How did it become his private house?!"

The third aunt replied, "I don't know about that. If you want to know, go ask He Yuzhu. The house belongs to the brother and sister now."

Soon, the news that Yi Zhonghai's wife gave the house to He Yuzhu and his sister spread throughout the alley. Except for a few people who said the grapes were sour, most people envied He Yuzhu and his sister, and at the same time felt that Yi Zhonghai's wife did a great job and that it was right to compensate He Yuzhu and his sister.

A little after five in the afternoon, Jia Dongxu returned home. As soon as he entered the door, Jia Dongxu asked directly: "When I came back, I heard them say that Auntie gave the house to He Yuzhu and his sister?!"

Qin Huairu replied: "I also heard it from Auntie Three. I don't know if it's true or not?!"

Jia Dongxu frowned slightly, thinking for a while, and felt that Third Aunt would not lie about such a thing. After a while, Jia Dongxu said: "When Shazhu comes back, you and I will ask Shazhu. If it is true, I will ask Shazhu to borrow the house. If he refuses, you can talk to him. There are only two people in their family, and they can't live in so many houses. Our family is about to have a baby, and it is a bit too much for four people. At worst, we can return it to him when his family grows larger in the future."

"Oh!" Qin Huairu responded, brought the food to the table, and said, "The food is ready. Come sit down and eat!"

"Hmm!" Jia Dongxu put away the lunch box, walked to the table and sat down. He took the steamed bun from Qin Huairu, took a big bite and said, "The weather is getting colder. Tomorrow you can find our mother's winter clothes and dry them out in the sun. I'll go see our mother early on Sunday morning and give her the clothes."

"Okay! Tomorrow morning, if the weather is good, I will find the clothes." After saying that, Qin Huairu picked up a steamed bun made of two-grain flour, broke it in half and handed it to Banggeng. Then she put the remaining half of the steamed bun back into the winnowing basket and took a steamed corn bread and started to eat it.