Siheyuan: Starting from 1958

A pound of cured fish is not small. It weighs at least two and a half pounds before smoking.

As Yan Fugui was a man of great economy, he knew that the salted fish he brought home would be enough for at least four meals, and his face immediately lit up with joy.

Fearing that Zhang Linbao would ask for the cured fish back, he quickly took it and replied with a smile on his face: "Ever since Linbao entered the courtyard, I felt that this boy was a filial child, and it turned out to be true."

"During this period, several educated youths who went to the countryside have returned to our courtyard. If I remember correctly, only Lin Bao brought something back from the countryside to honor the elderly."

After saying that, he turned his gaze to Aunt Zhang, and said with a hint of envy in his tone: "Aunt Zhang..."

“You are blessed…”

"If you meet such a filial child, he will definitely respect you well in the future."

Aunt Zhang was also very happy. Although she felt sorry for the salted fish her son gave to Yan Fugui, she still smiled and said, "Teacher Yan, you are too kind."

"Lin Bao is indeed a very filial child."

"He sent me food several times during the past two years in the countryside. Although I also sent him money and food coupons, he didn't spend a penny and saved it all."

"I'm in a hurry to go home and cook for Lin Bao, so I won't chat with you any more here."

After saying that, he took Zhang Linbao to the backyard.

Yan Fugui happily returned to the west wing with the salted fish Zhang Linbao had just given him, grinning and shouting into the room, "Old woman, come out quickly..."

"We'll have an extra meal tonight..."

"Where did you get such a big cured fish?" Yan Fugui's wife stared at the cured fish handed to her with wide eyes and asked in shock.

Although the city now has abundant supplies and anyone with money and tickets can buy anything, cured fish like the one in her man's hand is still rare.

"Given by that kid Zhang Linbao."

"I just came back to Sijiucheng from the countryside and met him at the gate. I said a few good words to Sister Zhang in the backyard, and he gave me a salted fish."

"I guess he brought back a lot of preserved food in the bag, otherwise it would be impossible for him to just sell a preserved fish."

"Now that Zhang Linbao has returned to the city from the countryside, Sister Zhang will be able to enjoy her life."

Yan Fugui's wife followed suit and sighed: "It's hard to predict the world..."

"When Old Yi and Sister Zhang divorced, we all thought that Sister Zhang would be very sad without Yi Zhonghai."

"Especially after we took in that little boy Zhang Linbao from the orphanage."

"I didn't expect that his life not only didn't get worse, but got better and better, and he even got a regular job in the steel mill."

"Now that Zhang Linbao is back, she can go to the steel mill to replace Sister Zhang at any time. She doesn't even need to look for a job."

"I heard that Sister Zhang has saved a lot of money in the past few years. A few days ago, in order to welcome Zhang Linbao home and give him a surprise, she went to the street to buy the house they are living in now, and also bought a room next to it. In total, she spent nearly 900 yuan."

"Is it real."

Although Yan Fugui is no longer the master of the Siheyuan, he is still very clear about every move of the Siheyuan because he is at the door of the Siheyuan every day.

Looking at his wife, he answered confidently: "It cost a total of 880 yuan to buy the ear room and the wing room together."

"The wing room cost 600 yuan, and the ear room cost 280 yuan."

The daughter-in-law took a deep breath and asked back: "So much money..."

"I didn't expect that Sister Zhang could quietly save so much money. It's too scary." Yan Fugui rolled his eyes at his wife and replied, "What's the big deal?"

"When Zhang divorced Yi Zhonghai, she got 700 to 800 yuan. She worked as a street sweeper for less than a year before joining the steel mill. After working as an apprentice for two years, she was hired as a regular employee, earning more than 20 yuan a month."

"Sister Zhang works in the kitchen, so she can save a lot of money on meals."

"Including Zhang Linbao, the little boy, we spend at most a dozen yuan a month."

"It's definitely no problem to save a hundred dollars in a year."

"After so many years, even if Sister Zhang doesn't have 1,500 yuan in savings, it's not much different."

"Even though he spent nearly nine hundred dollars on the house, he still had five or six hundred dollars in savings, so we must not underestimate him."

"But you just said something very well: you never know what will happen."

"I thought that after Lao Yi and Qin Huairu got married, they would have a godson named Bang Geng. Plus, he is also a senior fitter in the steel mill. Their future would definitely be better. At least, they would be better off than Sister Zhang."

"As a result, after so many years, Yi Zhonghai's life has not only not improved, but has been surpassed by Sister Zhang. Now even the most basic retirement care has become a problem."

"I just found out yesterday when I was playing chess with Lao Yi that he was fired from the steel mill because he made a mistake. Not only did he lose his salary, but he also lost his pension after retirement. He can only live off his savings."

"We watched Qin Huairu and Bang Geng grow up together, so we know their personalities very well."

"When Old Yi's retirement savings are all gone and he has no pension to collect, Qin Huairu and Bang Geng will definitely kick him out without hesitation."

"By then, I think even eating will be a problem, not to mention retirement."

"Forget it, let's not talk about it. Every family has its own problems."

"Instead of discussing others here, you should think more about where to find a job for Lao San when he comes back."

"The last time the third brother wrote to me, he said that they had also received a notice to return to the city. If nothing unexpected happens, they should be back home in the next two days."

"If you have time, clean up the house where he lives."

"I'll go find the eldest and second oldest and see if they can find a job for the third oldest."

…………

While Yan Fugui was chatting with his wife, Aunt Zhang had already walked into the backyard with Zhang Dabao.

Zhang Linbao subconsciously walked towards the ear room where he used to live.

Although the ear room was small, it was kept very clean by Aunt Zhang, who also separated out a small single room as a bedroom for Zhang Linbao.

Although it was not very big and there was basically no space left after putting a bed down, it was Zhang Linbao's first home after leaving the Siheyuan, and he lived in it for seven or eight years, so he still had a lot of feelings for this room.

But before he even entered the door, Aunt Zhang called him: "Lin Bao..."

"Come here. From now on, you live in this wing room and I live in the side room..."

"Mom went to the street a few days ago and bought this annex. I was planning to renovate it before moving in."

"But I don't know how you want to decorate it, so I just cleaned it up briefly and plan to decorate it according to your preferences when you come back. I have the money ready."

"Before you go to work, decorate the house first." (End of this chapter)