Siheyuan: Walking the Path of Qin Huairu

The Spring Festival of 1977 was an extremely happy and memorable one for the He family.

All four children were admitted to college, and He Yuzhu was so excited that he couldn't express it in words. He felt that he was the happiest father in the world.

He Yuzhu and He Daqing have been busy preparing New Year's goods for the past few days. They must buy more ingredients this year to celebrate well for the children.

Xu Huizhen also smiled and said to the children: "You can tell me what you want to buy this year. As long as I can buy it, I will satisfy you."

He Shuyao was the first to raise his hand and said, "Mom, I want lots and lots of firecrackers, so many that I can't set them all off."

Xu Huizhen happily picked up her youngest son and said, "Okay, ask your eldest brother to go shopping with you. Buy as much as you want."

Xu Jingping said, "Mom, we will go back to school after the New Year. Please make us some beautiful clothes so that we can wear them to college."

Xu Huizhen said, "I'll find some fabrics at home and send them to your Aunt Chen's shop. I'll have the tailor make each of you a new set of fashionable clothes. If we don't have the fabrics you like, you can choose them yourself in your Aunt Chen's shop. I'll make sure my daughter looks beautiful."

Han Qingqiu was muttering to himself, "Sugar melons are offered to the Kitchen God, the New Year is coming. Girls want flowers, and boys want firecrackers. Old men want new felt hats, and old ladies want new cotton-padded jackets."

Xu Huizhen said, "By the way, don't just buy things for the children. Aunt Han, you and my dad should also make new clothes. Let's be extravagant this year and have a prosperous New Year."

Han Qingqiu said: "Where are you going to get so many cloth coupons? Forget it, I have clothes to wear."

Xu Huizhen raised her eyebrows and said, "Don't worry about that. I have ready-made fabrics."

Xu Huizhen's space has a lot of cloth rewarded by the system, but the patterns may not be fashionable, and girls like Xu Jingli may not like them, but they are still okay for the elderly to wear. As she spoke, Xu Huizhen returned to her room and entered the space to select cloth.

He Yuzhu had an idea and made a banner with red cloth, which read: In ancient times, the Zeng family produced six Jinshi (imperial examination candidates) and now there are seven college students in the tavern.

Then, he wrote a notice on the small blackboard: To celebrate the children’s admission to university, all customers tonight will receive two taels of wine for free.

As a result, the tavern was packed with people standing, sitting or squatting. After drinking the free wine, everyone congratulated He Yuzhu on his good parenting and praised his children for their promising future.

He Yuzhu's mouth was wide open the whole time, and his muscles were a little stiff from laughing. He spent the money, but he felt happy.

Chen Xueru also came to join in the fun. Seeing He Yuzhu's generosity, she was unwilling to fall behind. She held a wine pot in one hand and a plate of peanuts in the other, and looked around, but saw that there was no seat for her.

He said to Qiangzi who was sitting there, "Qiangzi, go aside. Those of you who only drink and don't want snacks should take the initiative to give up your seats."

Qiangzi was a good man and didn't fight with a woman, so he gave his seat to her.

After Chen Xueru sat down, she said calmly, "My son Hou Kui was admitted to a university, and he is from Peking University. I am very happy. Since Director He gave everyone wine, I will give everyone snacks. Cai Quanwu, each table will have a plate of snacks. You can serve whatever you have."

Cai Quanwu: "At your command!"

Uncle Niu gave a thumbs up and said, "Manager Chen is very generous. He is from Daqianmen!"

Chen Xueru said proudly: "Thank you, Master Niu, for the compliment."

Someone said, "Director He, your yard has been blessed. It has good feng shui. Four college students came out of it at once, and they were admitted to prestigious universities such as Tsinghua University and Peking University. I will let my son go to your yard to share in the good luck. Maybe he can get admitted next year."

He Yuzhu said with a smile: "Go ahead, whatever you want. Haha. But my children's admission to university is inseparable from their own efforts. They have studied hard since they were young, and my wife has never relaxed their homework. When other children are playing, my children are studying. My wife said that knowledge changes destiny, and opportunities are reserved for those who are prepared. This shows that my wife is really wise."

The onlookers said, "Yeah, Director Xu is not an ordinary person. She is always reliable. Director He, it is said that a virtuous wife brings prosperity to three generations, which is better than thousands of acres of fertile land. The He family is now prosperous, and a change of family status is just around the corner."

Others also echoed, and their words were full of envy.

Crowd Eater B said, "Director He, why don't you let your children tutor the children in the neighborhood and share your exam experience with them? Maybe next year we can have a few more college students in Daqianmen."

He Yuzhu said: "I can't make the decision on this. I will ask the children when I get home. To be honest, I know nothing about the college entrance examination. My wife is responsible for the children's education in our family."

Crowd Eater B said: "That's right, that's right."

The result was that early the next morning, someone knocked on the door, holding a book in his hand, and said he wanted to ask Jingli and the others for help with their homework. Their enthusiasm for learning was unprecedentedly high.

Xu Jingli was too embarrassed to refuse, so she opened the door and let them in. They were all neighbors, and some were playmates who had grown up together.

Unexpectedly, more and more people came after hearing the news, and everyone was talking to each other, making the yard noisy like a vegetable market. There was no way to calm down and discuss homework.

There was no other way, so Xu Jingli said, "I think this messy study is not efficient. Why don't you go back and review today and write down the questions you don't know. My brothers and sisters and I will make a plan, and we will divide the work, and each person will be responsible for tutoring one subject. Just like in school, arrange the courses in advance. I will notify everyone when the time comes, okay?"

Everyone nodded in agreement, but no one left, as if if they stayed in this yard a little longer, they would be blessed by the God of Literature and be admitted to university.

After finally getting rid of everyone, Xu Jingli asked He Shuyan to call Hou Kui over. Several prospective college students held a small meeting to discuss this issue.

Xu Jingli said, "We are all neighbors, and it's not good to turn people away. I think we should take advantage of this time before school starts to tutor everyone. Each person will be responsible for a subject. I will be responsible for Chinese, Hou Kui will be responsible for mathematics, Shu Yan will be responsible for physics and chemistry, and Jing Ping will be responsible for politics. Jian Kun will be responsible for maintaining order, boiling some water, etc. Does anyone have any different opinions?"

Hou Kui said, "It's good, but we can't work in vain, right? We work so hard every day preparing lessons and giving lectures, so we have to charge some money for tea, right? Besides, with Peking University and Tsinghua University as living signs, and no threshold at all, I guess your door will be squeezed down, do you believe it?"

Jingping asked, "Isn't it illegal to take the money? Does it count as speculation?"

Xu Jingli: "What Hou Kui said makes sense. If there is no threshold at all, our house will become a vegetable market. Let's ask my mother before deciding."