Siheyuan: Fighting against Japanese Aggression in Beijing

In the next half month, because Qinghe wanted to be a cook, Li Kangri went wandering in the mountains every day and brought his homemade gun with him. Every time he brought back some wild animals such as pheasants and rabbits. What others didn't know was that hunting was quite troublesome for Li Kangri. He had to catch the prey from the Shanhe Shejitu and tie them up before executing them by shooting.

Every time he came back, his family members were amazed and praised Li Kangri for his skills. They said that with his skills, he could have lived a good life in the village even if he had not gone to school.

Qinghe was even more excited, busying herself around the stove every day. During this time, Li Kangri also told her many cooking methods from later generations, which helped Qinghe's cooking skills improve a lot.

Soon the day of separation arrived. Early in the morning, the brother and sister got up early and packed up. After packing, they came to the main room, where the whole family, including Wang Yue's family, were waiting for his arrival.

As soon as he entered the room, Li Kangri saw his sister in a green military uniform, looking very energetic.

"Haha, Qinghe, the clothes your mother altered for you are pretty good, the size is just right. If you go out in this, you will charm the guys outside." Li Kangri said with a smile.

"Brother, what are you talking about!" Qinghe said shyly.

"Why are you still wearing this while fighting against the Japanese?" Wang Shuixiang said.

"I don't care. I'll keep the new one for work. Anyway, I'm married and I'm not going on blind dates, so it doesn't matter whether I wear it nice or not." Li Kangri said nonchalantly.

"It's up to you. By the way, you must take good care of Qinghe when you get there. This girl has never been far away from home since she was young. You must know that an eldest brother is like a father. You must take good care of your sister. As a man, you must take good care of your sister no matter how hard or tiring it is, understand?..." Wang Shuixiang said naggingly.

"Mom, Qinghe is also my baby, I won't let her down!"

After hearing Li Kangri's answer, Wang Shuixiang looked at him with satisfaction, then turned to Li Qinghe and continued, "Qinghe, when you go out alone, try not to walk at night. You must listen to your brother no matter what happens. You can't disobey your brother, understand?"

"Hey, Mom, don't worry, I understand this. Don't I listen to my brother at home? Right, brother!" Li Qinghe said with a smile.

"Mom, don't worry, my sister is obedient!"

"Okay, Mom will tell you these. You can talk to Yue'er for a while. I see Yue'er is getting anxious!" Wang Shuixiang said knowingly.

After hearing Wang Shuixiang's words, everyone in the room walked out consciously, leaving some space for the couple who were about to part.

As soon as the people in the room left, Wang Yue came over and took Li Kangri's arm and said, "Brother Kangri, I heard that the girls in the city dress up very beautifully and are very good at that. You can't leave me, or I will die in front of you."

"Are you very good at that?" Li Kangri asked with a smile.

"Oh, I'm really good at seducing people. Will you agree to it?" Wang Yue said coquettishly.

"Don't worry. In my eyes, my Yue'er is the most beautiful girl in the world. I don't even want to look at other girls. I will come to marry you after the New Year, and we will go together then." Li Kangri said lovingly while touching Wang Yue's face.

"Brother Kangri, I, I'll wait for you!"

After saying that, Wang Yue quickly stood on tiptoe and slapped Li Kangri on the face like lightning.

"This side, this side, we can't favor one over the other." Li Kangri said, turning his face to the other side.

……

At noon on the fourth day, Li Kangri brought his sister to Sijiu City again. After several twists and turns, they soon arrived at the courtyard house they had been away from for a long time.

As soon as he entered the middle courtyard, Li Kangri saw that the yard was full of tables, and people were eating around the tables. The entrance of the Jia family was covered in white, and there was a coffin in the middle of the yard.

Li Kangri understood all at once that the turtle Jia who won life by lying down was really lying down. In his previous life, he had heard his roommates joke that if the turtle fell down, the Jia family would be well fed.

When they saw Li Kangri coming in, some of the neighbors who were having dinner looked over, with some vicious looks in their eyes. Li Kangri ignored them and walked around the crowd with his sister and went straight back to the backyard.

As soon as he reached the door, Xu Damao chased after him, "Brother, I've been waiting for you for a long time. You're finally back. The house is ready. Here, here are the keys."

After taking the key, Li Kangri opened the gate and walked in, followed by Xu Damao and Qinghe.

"Wow, brother, is this our house? It's so big, it's great!" Li Qinghe exclaimed excitedly.

"Qinghe, don't get excited. Let me introduce you first. This is Brother Xu who lives next door to us. His name is Xu Damao. You can call me brother from now on." Li Kangri introduced.

Before Li Qinghe could speak, Xu Damao said with a smile, "Hey, this is Qinghe! Hello, I'm your next-door neighbor and your brother's good friend."

As he spoke, Xu Damao stretched out his right hand, as if he wanted to shake it.

"Hello, Brother Xu." Li Qinghe said generously, but did not extend her hand to shake hands with Xu Damao.

"Haha, about the anti-Japanese war, I'll treat you to dinner at Donglaishun tonight, as a welcome party for our sister, what do you think?" Xu Damao said awkwardly.

"Haha, Brother Xu, forget about going outside. Why don't you go buy some vegetables? My sister's cooking skills are pretty good."

"Okay, okay! I'll cook for you." Li Qinghe said happily. She was filled with joy when talking about cooking.

"It's settled then. I'll go buy some groceries later. By the way, brother, why don't we come inside and sit down?" Xu Damao said.

Seeing that Xu Damao looked like he had something to say, Li Kangri guessed it must be about the death of Wangba Jia.

"Qinghe, go and get familiar with those rooms and the kitchen, and pick one for yourself. It will be your boudoir from now on."

"Brother, then I'll go, hehe!" After saying that, Li Qinghe skipped and ran to visit the room.

Li Kangri and Xu Damao also entered the house. As soon as they entered the house, Xu Damao said excitedly, "Brother, you are amazing! I am really impressed this time. Your calculation is so accurate. Jia Dongxu is actually dead."

"Haha, is he dead? But Brother Xu, can you keep your voice down? Don't say this to others, it won't be good if someone hears it!"

"Hehe, I know, others can't hear it, brother. Did your ancestors really have masters? This is too accurate. When you said it the other day, I thought you were bragging. As a result, the day before yesterday, Jia Dongxu really died. At that time, I suddenly remembered what you said. Brother, I won't say anything else. You will be my brother from now on." Xu Damao kept describing his excited mood.

"Okay, it's just a low-level Taoist trick. But why did I see the daughter-in-law of the Jia family also wearing mourning clothes? This shouldn't be the case!" Li Kangri asked.

In his memory, it seemed that couples did not need to wear mourning.

"Hey, brother, you have a sharp eye. You saw the point right away. That was what Mrs. Jia insisted on, saying that a daughter-in-law wearing mourning clothes means she will not marry again. But hey, you didn't see the smell of the young widow wearing white mourning clothes and with her tearful expression!" Xu Damao said with a lewd smile.

"What does it taste like?" Li Kangri asked with a smile.

"Haha, if you want to be pretty, you have to be filial. What our ancestors said is absolutely right."

"By the way, where is the big fool? Has he been released? Why can't I see him?" Li Kangri asked.

"Hey, Shazhu has been so happy these days, running around like crazy, even more active than if his own father had died. Just now he was busy preparing a feast for his dead father in the kitchen!" Xu Damao said with a hint of contempt.

"I was thinking, after you finish eating, are you going to carry the coffin?"

"I won't go. The Jia family has many filial sons and grandsons. How can a man like Xu Damao carry Jia Dongxu's coffin?"

"So are you okay this afternoon?"

"Please take a leave today to attend the banquet! I don't want to miss such a good thing. I have nothing to do in the afternoon, so I will go buy some food and treat you and your sister to dinner in the evening." Xu Damao said.

"Okay, I'm going out too, so I'll grab some furniture. What we have at home isn't enough," said Li Kangri.

"I'm familiar with this. We can go together. It's cheaper to go to the trust. If you have money, go to the state-owned furniture store."

"Okay, let's go together later!"

……