Siheyuan: Big City, Small Love

After the photo shoot for Yard No. 95 was completed, He Lai didn't want to show favoritism, so he also helped the residents in Yard No. 94 who needed it to take photos the next day.

In those days, the speed at which photo studios developed film was still very slow, and it basically took about a week.

This tradition did not change until the 1990s. Maybe they wanted to make those who didn’t know the business think that developing photos was a complicated and delicate job, and it was worth the money. After all, it looked magical to go from a small negative to a large photo.

He Lai didn't think much about it. He told the owner all his photo requirements, paid the deposit and left it alone.

The days gradually calmed down, but He Lai clearly felt that the city of Sijiu had begun to change.

Those children in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China have grown up and need to work. In particular, those who failed to get into junior high school and high school began to wander the streets. They had no jobs, no income, and their parents could not afford to support them, so they naturally became street vagrants.

The way the state arranged for this group of people was to encourage them to go to the countryside, that is, the educated youth went to the countryside. Yes, the educated youth went to the countryside in fact since 1955, but not many people responded to this call.

After all, everyone knows that life in the countryside is hard and work is tiring. In those days, educated youth went to the countryside to work in the fields, not to become leaders.

The country simply does not have the ability to arrange for this group of people. There are not so many tasks to assign to them, so they can only be left alone. Therefore, forming gangs and becoming street thugs is an inevitable outcome.

On this weekend, He Lai, Sha Zhu and a few others were fishing in Shichahai when they saw two groups of young people standing and quarreling in a park not far away. There were nearly a hundred of them, and they looked like they might fight at any time.

"Brother Damao, do you know that group of people?" He Lai asked.

Sha Zhu and the others definitely don't know about this kind of thing, but Xu Damao, who is a smart man, should know something about it.

"Hey, I definitely don't know them, but I know who they are. That's a long story."

Xu Damao said as if he knew a lot about it.

"Tell us about it. We have nothing to do anyway." He Lai asked curiously.

"Hurry up, don't dawdle, or I'll push you into the lake for a swim."

Sha Zhu said with contempt.

Xu Damao rolled his eyes at Sha Zhu, but still spoke: "You still know the black market we used to go to before, right?"

"I know, but I haven't been there for a long time."

He Zi came back from Hong Kong City and stole from several bank vaults. Now he is in a state of dire straits. With so much money, why would he go to the black market?

"I heard that the leader of the black market took his people away, and it is said that more than half of the people left. So someone has set his sights on this black market and wants to take over it!

You see, the group of people on the left are the ones from the black market. The leader seems to be a man called Ma Liu, who has recruited a large number of young people. The ones on the right are Qiao Erhu's group. I heard that they were hanging out in Dazhalan and wanted to set up shop here.

The strength of both sides is about the same. You should be familiar with this Ma Liu, Xiao Laizi. You have bought cigarettes and alcohol from him before."

Xu Damao said slowly.

"It's him. I've seen him several times. Xiao Laizi, you must have seen him often before as well."

Sha Zhu asked, he knew that He Lai often went to Ma Liu to buy cigarettes and alcohol.

"Yeah, I have an impression, but I haven't been to the black market for a long time."

He Lai nodded. After Xu Damao said this, He Lai seemed to really see Ma Liu among that group of people. He knew Ma Liu of course, but he would definitely not help. After all, he had no interest in getting involved in such things.

"It's not a big deal. Since they fought in Shichahai, it must be a minor incident. The police came here soon.

I guess both sides are just testing the waters and making some harsh remarks. If they really want to fight, they will definitely meet in the suburbs, where there are fewer people and the police won’t be able to arrive for a while, so I guess the winner will definitely be decided that way.”

Xu Damao explained.

"Brother Damao, that's great. You know a lot!" He Lai felt that what Xu Damao said made a lot of sense.

"Tsk!" Sha Zhu sneered with disdain.

"Well, we are in the Propaganda Department, so naturally we hear more. Nowadays, there are young people who have nothing to do all day long. Their families can't provide them with food, so naturally they will follow whoever can give them a bite to eat.

It is normal for the black market to have thugs. Food is not as expensive as it was a few years ago. People in the black market still have food."

Xu Damao continued.

Just as Xu Damao said, less than half an hour later, a large group of police officers arrived and the fighting parties immediately began to flee, but more than a dozen people were still arrested.

The group of fishermen in Helai stood up and looked over there, talking in low voices.

There were several injured people lying on the ground, and many more were handcuffed by the police.

"Don't look at it. As long as there are no deaths or serious injuries, those who are arrested will only be detained for one day and released after education. There is no other way. There are too many people and we can't handle it. Otherwise, the police station will be overcrowded.

Let’s continue fishing.”

After Xu Damao finished speaking, he sat down calmly and continued fishing.

"Yes, yes, yes, keep fishing. I don't believe that I won't catch a big fish today!"

Upon hearing this, Sha Zhu continued to cast the hook and stared at the lake.

He Lai also sat down slowly. There was only one year left and things were about to get chaotic.

……

When He Lai returned home, Wu Juan was instructing Wu'er and Wen'er, strictly forbidding them to leave the courtyard alone.

"Brother, mother doesn't allow me to go out!" Wu'er said aggrievedly.

"Mom just said you can't go out alone. Big brother can take you wherever you want to go, but you must never go out by yourself in the future."

He Lai said with a smile.

"Then can I go out with Xiao Yangzi and the others?" Wu'er asked.

"No, from now on, Xiao Yangzi and the others must be accompanied by an adult when they go out. They are not allowed to go out except when going to school or coming home from school."

He Lai said.

"Why?" Wu'er asked puzzledly.

"Because there are too many bad guys outside now, Wu'er has to be obedient, understand?"

He Lai touched Wu'er's head and said.

"Okay, brother, I want to go to the steel mill with you, is that okay?"

"That's fine, but you have to stay in Big Brother's office from now on."

"Hmph, then I won't go." When Wu'er heard this, she realized that being not allowed to leave He Lai's office was even more miserable than staying in the courtyard.

"what ever."

He Lai had no choice. He couldn't let Wu'er go because Wu'er's personality was too arrogant and domineering.

The children in the steel rolling mill are different from those in the courtyard houses. They don’t really want to give in to Wu’er, but they are doing it for the sake of He Lai and He Zhan.

I wonder if these children and their parents have any resentment towards Wu'er, He Lai, or He Zhan.

He Lai thinks it’s better to avoid it if possible.

"Since you're not going to the steel mill, stay with mom and help her with some work instead of just playing around all day long!"

Wu Juan was also very satisfied when she saw that Wu'er wanted to stay in the courtyard.

"Okay, okay, I'll help mom wash clothes."

"You don't have to wash it. Just help me sweep the floor and wipe the table."

"No, I want to do the laundry, I won't do anything else."

"You are still rebelling. Come here." When Wu Juan saw Wu'er starting to act naughty again, she took a quick step, grabbed her little ear, and walked into the house.

"Brother, save me, brother, save me." Wu'er had her ears grabbed and could only follow Wu Juan into the house, begging for help from He Lai with her mouth and hands at the same time.

He Lai suddenly realized that this scene was familiar, as if someone had done it before...