Siheyuan: Game of Red Dust

Chapter 4 Liang Ladi and Wang Jianjun

Go home.

Li Weidong and Yan Fugui have clear division of labor, one is responsible for washing and cutting vegetables, and the other is responsible for making fire.

Li Weidong began to cut the food skillfully, while Yan Fugui started to make a fire.

Normally, it was Auntie who cooked at home, and he ate ready-made food, so he wasn't completely clueless about cooking, but he wasn't a great cook either. So the cooking job fell on Weidong, who was responsible for lighting the fire and helping out.

Yan Fugui picked up a piece of newspaper, rolled it into a round shape, put his mouth on one side, and blew at the fire with the other side.

In a short while, his whole face looked like charcoal.

"Cough cough cough..."

Yan Fugui kept coughing, and with his charcoal-black face, he looked very funny.

Li Weidong suppressed his smile and began to prepare the ingredients.

Having lived two lives, as a real foodie, he is very talented in cooking.

However, compared with the professional chef Sha Zhu, he may still be a little bit behind, after all, he has not received systematic training.

After a while, several dishes were ready: sweet and sour pork ribs, spicy tofu, hot and sour potato shreds, pickled cabbage, and fried peanuts. After placing the dishes on the table, I invited Third Uncle Yan Fugui to sit down and start eating. I had been planning to have a drink with him, but he said that Liu Haizhong had just come to announce that there would be a meeting for the entire hospital that evening, so we would have to wait until next time.

Li Weidong and the third uncle chatted while eating. He told them about school, and the third uncle told them about what happened in the compound. As they were talking excitedly, a few children came to the door. He seemed to have never seen these children before.

Seeing Li Weidong's confusion, Yan Fugui began to explain.

"These four are the children of Liang Ladi I told you about today. Usually, when she's at work, the children stay at their grandmother's house. She takes them home after get off work in the evening. You just came back today, so naturally you haven't seen them."

"Alas, she is also a poor person. She lost her husband and had to raise four children alone."

"Come to think of it, there's a family in your backyard too. Their name is Wang Jianjun, and he works in the same station as Liang Ladi's husband."

"Compared to others, he was much luckier. He only broke a leg and needed to use a crutch all day. His wife also took his place at the factory."

Listening to Yan Fugui's story, Li Weidong frowned slightly.

He took out an empty bowl from the kitchen and put some vegetables in it.

Seeing that the meat on the plate was almost gone, Yan Fugui stopped it with great pain.

"Weidong, what are you doing? If you take it again, it will be gone."

Li Weidong did not explain. Under Yan Fugui's puzzled gaze, he took the bowl and walked out.

His appearance made the four children lying at the window huddle together, looking at Li Weidong in fear.

Li Weidong looked up and down at the children. They were so thin that they were just skin and bones, and their clothes were patched up.

"Children, these are the foods for you."

Li Weidong bent down and spoke gently.

Unexpectedly, when the four children saw this, they ran away.

Li Weidong was bewildered.

Am I that scary? Li Weidong followed the four children all the way to Liang Ladi's house in the front yard.

Arriving at the door, Li Weidong knocked politely.

"Who is it?"

Then a woman's voice was heard, her tone filled with warning.

"I'm Li Weidong who just came back from the backyard."

Li Weidong introduced himself.

Liang Ladi's family moved in when Li Weidong was in college.

So the two families had never met before.

Li Weidong's return this time caused a lot of talk in the courtyard, and even Liang Ladi, who went out early and came back late, heard some of it.

Maybe he didn't understand why Li Weidong suddenly came to his house.

After a long time, footsteps were heard in the house.

"squeak"

Liang Ladi opened the door a crack, revealing only a pair of eyes looking at Li Weidong outside, "Is there something wrong?"

“These are for the kids.”

Li Weidong raised the bowl a little higher.

Looking at Li Weidong's actions, Liang Ladi looked confused.

Since her husband passed away, she has been raising four children alone and living a difficult life.

He once also found an old man named Yi Zhonghai and wanted to apply for poverty subsidies from the community.

But the old man always makes excuses.

Later, Liang Ladi learned that there was only one poverty subsidy for a courtyard house, and this quota was given to the Jia family.

She had also looked for Yi Zhonghai, but was deceived by his hypocritical appearance every time.

The people in the courtyard also looked at them coldly, and no one was willing to take care of them.

The four children were often bullied by the Jia family in the middle courtyard.

Later, Liang Ladi no longer had any contact with any family in the Siheyuan.

When I go to work, I take my four children to my grandmother's house.

Pick them up after get off work.

This has been going on for so many years, and when someone suddenly came to visit today, Liang Ladi was very alert. In her opinion, Li Weidong would not give food for nothing, he must have some purpose.

The two remained in a stalemate for a minute.

Li Weidong could see the vigilance in her eyes, so he didn't say anything more. He put the bowl on the ground and turned to leave. He could understand that for a woman with four children, it was good for her to be more cautious.

"and many more!"

Li Weidong had just taken a few steps when he heard Liang Ladi's voice behind him.

Li Weidong turned around and saw Liang Ladi holding the bowl in both hands, bowing deeply and uttering two words.

"Thank you."

Liang Ladi's face was filled with gratitude, and his tone was sincere.

Li Weidong smiled and went back without saying anything.

Looking at Li Weidong's back as he walked away, Liang Ladi felt warm in his heart.

She secretly made up her mind to repay Li Weidong's favor.

at the same time.

backyard.

"Weidong, are you back?"

Yan Fugui continued speaking when he saw Li Weidong coming back empty-handed.

"This Liang Ladi family never interacts with the people in the Siheyuan, nor does they talk to them. They have basically become extraneous staff of the Siheyuan."

"Even if you give them food, they may not be grateful to you."

Yan Fugui spoke to himself.

Li Weidong on this side didn't listen to a word, but took another empty bowl, put some vegetables and white flour buns in it, and then went out.

This time he went to Wang Jianjun's house in the backyard.

At this time, Wang Jianjun was mending the children's torn clothes. When he saw the person coming, he was stunned at first, and then a smile appeared on his face.

"Weidong, long time no see. I heard you were back today, but my legs and feet are not very convenient, so I didn't go to your house."

Wang Jianjun said embarrassedly.

The year their family moved into the courtyard house was also the year Li Weidong's mother passed away and the year Li Weidong went to college.

The two families were just acquaintances. If there was any friendship at all, it was only when Wang Jianjun and his wife went to help during the days when Li's mother died.

Wang Jianjun quickly put down the clothes in his hand and asked Li Weidong to sit down.

The three children who were playing on the ground saw the meat in Li Weidong's bowl, and they ran over as if possessed by something, staring at the meat with their eyes wide open and their mouths watering.

Several children were almost crying with greed, and their little hands were eager to try.

"Impolite!"

"How do I usually teach you?"

Wang Jianjun shouted, and the three children retracted their hands in fear.

"Brother Jianjun, don't scare the children. This meat is for the children to eat."

Li Weidong said with a smile.

"This... How can I be so embarrassed? I've spoiled these three children. Brother Weidong, please don't mind."

Wang Jianjun limped to Li Weidong with a crutch and spoke embarrassedly.

"Brother Jianjun, I also want to thank you for helping me back then."

As he spoke, Li Weidong called the three children over to eat meat. The three children were drooling with greed, but they could only look at Wang Jianjun and did not dare to move.

"Thank you so much, Brother Weidong."

Seeing that Li Weidong was so sincere, refusing him would make him seem unkind.

"Why don't you guys kneel down and kowtow to your Uncle Li?"

Wang Jianjun looked at the three children behind him.

"Brother Jianjun, this is unacceptable."

Li Weidong waved his hands hurriedly, but he couldn't stop them. The three children came to him and knelt down and kowtowed.

"Thank you, Uncle Li."

After kowtowing and expressing their gratitude, the three children picked up the steamed buns and began to eat them with vegetables in big mouthfuls.

"Brother Weidong, thank you so much."

Wang Jianjun said with gratitude.

"Brother Jianjun, let's not talk about this anymore. What did the doctor say about your leg? Brother Jianjun, don't get me wrong. I'll see if I can get you a mechanical prosthesis."

"What is a mechanical prosthesis?"

"Well, how should I put it? I'm going to give you a robotic leg. I've done research on this at school. Tell me about your situation first, and I'll see if it's feasible. Once I'm hired, I'll apply for a trial. If it's successful, you can stand up again. If it's not, I can apply for a subsidy for you."

"Oh, Weidong, my leg was amputated at the lower leg."

"Um, Brother Jianjun, can you let me take a look?"

"What's wrong with that? As long as you don't dislike your brother." As he said that, Wang Jianjun bent down and pulled up his right leg's pants.

Wang Jianjun's right leg was amputated above the calf, not at the knee.

"Brother Jianjun, don't worry. This is very simple. I will make one for you when I start working."

"Weidong, you didn't lie to me, can I really stand up again?" Wang Jianjun grabbed Li Weidong's hand with excitement.

"Don't worry, Brother Jianjun"

Li Weidong chatted with Wang Jianjun for a few more words and then said goodbye and went home.

(End of this chapter)