The life of Lao Liu since 1944

Hou Jie had nothing to do, so he wandered into the courtyard of Nanluoguxiang. People in the courtyard had seen him before, so they naturally let him in.

Jia Zhang was chatting with a few old women. Now her old Jia had not been hung on the wall yet, so Jia Zhang didn't dare to act like a troublemaker, otherwise she would be beaten.

Several young ladies in their thirties were dressed in a particularly plain and simple way, even to the point of being worn as daily work clothes, with coarse linen clothes being the most striking label on them. Although these clothes were not overly decorated, they looked particularly decent because of their simple and unadorned temperament.

Upon closer inspection, their faces more or less reveal traces of life; their skin luster is not very obvious, and there is a hint of paleness, reflecting the living conditions of ordinary working-class families behind them.

Such families have limited incomes and can barely make ends meet with daily expenses, so it is difficult for them to have extra money to dress up or enjoy a luxurious quality of life.

The only exception was Jia Zhang, who had a ruddy complexion and was slightly fat. She was a greedy person who could even lose face and snatch food from her own children. She was extremely selfish.

Seeing this, Hou Jie slowed down his pace, and the sound of his footsteps seemed particularly heavy and deliberate in the quiet afternoon. A few old women were sitting in front of the door, sewing the soles of shoes while chatting about family matters. Although their conversation was not loud, it seemed to have a kind of magic that attracted his attention. His curiosity was aroused, and he couldn't help but walk closer, holding his breath, and pricked up his ears to hear more clearly.

Jia Zhang's face was full of disgust, her eyes were like cold blades, with a sharp and profound contempt. A sneer appeared at the corner of her mouth, and her voice was full of contempt and ridicule, like the biting cold wind in winter.

"Let me tell you something! The owner of Yongchang Grain Store is a complete fool. He actually gave us grain on credit for free. He really has a lot of money but nowhere to spend it. It's burning a hole."

"I don't intend to return these grains. Once something enters my house, it belongs to me. If you want it back, there's no way."

A woman frowned and said, "Ms. Jia Zhang, this is not good! This is too unkind."

Another woman echoed, "Yes! This really won't work."

Jia Zhang pouted, "What a bunch of fools! Just think about it! With the way Yongchang Grain Store is doing things, it might be finished one day. Anyway, my family won't pay it back, you have the money to do whatever you want."

The remaining women heard this and thought, yes, no matter how wealthy a business is, it can't stand such a thing!

"Yeah, I've lived for so many years, and I've never heard of anyone doing this."

"Yes! Otherwise, I won't pay back the grain. If I pay it back, what if he goes bankrupt? The grain I paid back will be wasted. That's right, I will tell the head of the family that starting tomorrow, you don't have to work to pay off the debt."

"Yeah, me too."

"That's right. I used to be the head of the family, but I have to go to work tomorrow to pay off my debts. I'll talk to him when I get home."

After a while, everyone agreed and decided not to return the food. They turned around and praised Jia Zhang with gratitude.

"It has to be you! Jia Zhang, thank goodness you see clearly, otherwise we would have suffered."

Jia Zhang was immersed in a kind of self-satisfied joy at the moment, with his head held high like a proud peacock. His posture clearly conveyed a message: "You are right, I really deserve your praise and boasting."

Hou Jie was like a giant crab, leaning against the mottled wall of the courtyard, catching bits and pieces of words coming from the next room, with a look of annoyance on his face.

He knew that he was buying grain on credit, and that many people would not pay him back, and he had already made a budget in mind. But he still felt uncomfortable when he heard their naked words.

"Some families are in great difficulty and cannot afford to pay back the money, so forget it. But you, on the other hand, don't even think about paying back a little bit. You just want to take advantage of others. This is simply a naked debt default!"

"You better pray not to mess with me again, or I'll make you cry every day."

The selfishness, materialism, indifference and cunning revealed in their intermittent conversations all show the true face of the people in this courtyard.

He was filled with indignation and disappointment. Sure enough, there was no real good person in this seemingly peaceful yard. Some shadows could be seen from these parents. No wonder there were so many weirdos in the yard.

The behavior of Jia Zhang was a manifestation of extreme stinginess and greed. She did not return the grain, not out of confusion or forgetfulness, but intentionally, and she might even enjoy it.

For the sake of money, she pushed her daughter-in-law out to make money. There are too many such unscrupulous behaviors of mistreating her daughter-in-law in daily life, which is simply outrageous.

Jia Zhang is not a human being. For her own selfish interests, she is willing to harm the interests of her family and even sacrifice the dignity of others.

The rest of the people are not much better. Birds of a feather flock together. They are so shameless for a little benefit!

Today really opened my eyes and taught me a lot!

Hou Jie didn't care about these things. They would cry when they couldn't buy cheap food in the future.

You think the grain book is just for selling grain. He is a private trader. If you offend him, he will stamp your grain book with an inferior stamp and not sell you grain at a cheap price. Then you will cry.

He is always generous to himself, but he is very stingy towards bad people.

After entering the backyard, he took out ten kilograms of white flour and two kilograms of pork quietly and silently from the space he carried with him while no one was around.

These things are just a drop in the bucket for him.

Today, he planned to use them to exchange for a hearty meal from the deaf old woman, win her over, and spend a day in this yard to kill his boring life.

The deaf old lady, though called "deaf", is not really hearing-deaf. She is just very smart and knows that everyone in this courtyard is smart and has their own thoughts, so she pretends to be deaf and dumb to avoid too much disputes. The deaf old lady is in her early fifties. Although she is not very old, her hands and feet are very agile and she is no less capable than young people in doing things.

Holding something in his hand, he came to the door of the deaf old lady, coughed twice to moisten his throat, and then knocked on the door quickly and forcefully.

"Boom, boom, boom," the sound echoed in the quiet yard.

In the room, an old lady and a deaf woman were chatting as usual. The sunlight shone through the mottled windowsill onto the two of them, adding a bit of warmth to their lives.

Their topics may be erratic, sometimes falling on family matters, sometimes flying to distant relatives, and time flows quietly as they talk and laugh.