Siheyuan: I have a multi-dimensional chat group!

Xiao Shan laughed and said, "As long as you educate them properly, of course they'll be reliable! If you don't educate them properly, even your own children will be unreliable!"

Xu Damao nodded, feeling that what Xiao Shan said seemed to make sense.

Xiao Shan looked at Xu Damao and continued, "By the way, if you're going to adopt a child, I suggest you go to an orphanage and choose a young, healthy one to raise! That way, at least you won't have to worry about his biological parents coming looking for him later!"

Chapter 536, Xu Damao Adopts a Child! (Please Subscribe!)

Upon hearing Xiao Shan's words, Xu Damao nodded repeatedly: "Thank you for your guidance, Xiao Shan. I will discuss it with my wife when I get back!"

"Yes!" Xiao Shan said with a smile, "This matter really needs to be discussed properly with my sister-in-law!"

After asking some more questions about the welfare home, Xu Damao got up and left Xiao Shan's office.

Watching Xu Damao's departing figure, Xiao Shan's lips curled up slightly.

If Xu Damao really adopted a child, his future might be completely different from the original TV series!

After Xu Damao returned home, he told Yu Haitang about it. After thinking about it carefully, Yu Haitang felt that it wasn't a bad idea.

So the two of them began to slowly search for suitable children in welfare institutions throughout Beijing.

After searching for a period of time, Xu Damao and Yu Haitang adopted a healthy 2-year-old boy.

Xu Damao named him Xu Duofu (meaning "many blessings").

On the day Xu Damao adopted Duofu, he specially hosted a celebration with several tables.

Furthermore, Xu Damao decided to regard this day as Xu Duofu's birthday from now on.

Perhaps out of consideration for Xu Dafu, He Yuzhu unusually refrained from arguing with Xu Damao that day and even offered some words of blessing.

As Yi Zhonghai and his wife looked at Xu Damao's adopted son, Xu Duofu, they began to feel some regret!

If they had listened to Xiaoshan earlier and adopted a child, that would have been great!

Now we can't place all our hopes on Qin Huairu anymore.

Unfortunately, even if they regret it now, there's no way to make amends.

After all, the woman's health has been declining in recent years, and Yi Zhonghai has to take care of her after get off work, so where would he find the time and energy to take care of the children!

Two more months have passed in the blink of an eye, and winter has arrived in Beijing.

And the snow hasn't stopped since November.

In the backyard of No. 96 compound, He Yuzhu was helping Xiao Shan shovel snow off the roof.

Holding a shovel, He Yuzhu climbed the ladder onto the roof, saying with some concern, "Xiaoshan, you said it's been snowing for almost half a month, will there be a snow disaster this year?"

Xiao Shan, who was holding the ladder, frowned when he heard He Yuzhu's words.

Although it usually snows around this time of year in Beijing, this year's snow is particularly strange.

Not only is it raining heavily, but it keeps raining non-stop.

If their courtyard houses weren't all made of brick and tile, the roofs would probably have collapsed under the weight.

Even for brick houses, snow on the roof needs to be cleared promptly.

If too much is piled up, there is still a risk of it collapsing.

Xiao Shan sighed and said, "If this snow continues like this, then it's really hard to say what will happen!"

"Sigh! I hope there won't be a snow disaster!" He Yuzhu sighed as he climbed onto the roof to start shoveling snow.

Xiao Shan glanced at the thick snow in the yard, shook his head, and said, "Now we can only hope that heaven will have mercy! Let's hurry up and finish shoveling the snow so we can go inside!"

After clearing the snow off the roof, He Yuzhu was trembling as he climbed down.

It was obvious that they were freezing on the roof.

Xiao Shan quickly pulled He Yuzhu into the house and made him sit in front of the fireplace to warm up.

Seeing He Yuzhu like this, Ding Qiunan quickly went to make ginger tea for them.

"Honey, I think the weather's not right this year. Let's store more water inside! I'm going out for a bit later and will bring back some more coal briquettes," Xiao Shan said, looking at Ding Qiunan who was brewing ginger tea.

"It's so cold, you shouldn't go out!" Ding Qiunan said with some concern. "What if you get frostbite?"

"It's nothing. I've survived temperatures of tens of degrees below zero in Northeast China, so this temperature is nothing to me!" Xiao Shan said with a smile.

Urban infrastructure was not well-developed in that era.

If the heavy snow continues like this, it could very likely lead to water and power outages.

After all, in previous years when there was no snow this heavy, the yard often experienced water and power outages.

Therefore, it's essential to stock up on coal briquettes and water.

Even if Xiao Shan himself wasn't afraid of the cold, Ding Qiunan, Feng Chunlian, and the two children were!

By this time, honeycomb briquettes had become a common household item.

Many wealthier families, in order to save trouble in winter, would rather spend more money to buy honeycomb briquettes to burn.

After all, honeycomb briquettes burn much longer than firewood.

However, Xiao Shan's family usually burns coal briquettes because he doesn't like the smell of honeycomb briquettes.

He Yuzhu, who had calmed down a bit, said that he would go with Xiao Shan and that he also planned to haul some coal briquettes to store.

Xiaoshan naturally had no objection to this.

After drinking the ginger tea and feeling warm again, He Yuzhu got up and prepared to go out with Xiao Shan to buy coal briquettes.

Xiao Shan brought He Yuzhu to the coal station, and each of them ordered two cartloads of coal briquettes.

Xiaoshan also requested an extra cartload of fruitwood, which was to be burned in the fireplace.

Although the militia regularly come out to clear the snow from the roads on both sides, the roads are still covered with a thick layer of ice.

It's slippery to walk on, let alone the cart drivers who come out to pull the carts at this time, for fear that they might fall over with their carts if they are not careful.

Xiao Shan and He Yuzhu didn't rest either, busy helping the five cart drivers push their carts.

It took three times as long as it took to get there before they finally transported four cartloads of coal briquettes and one cartload of fruitwood into the courtyard.

After all the goods were unloaded, He Yuzhu and Xiao Shan settled the wages with the cart driver.

Xiaoshan also gave each of the cart drivers an extra red envelope: "Thank you all for your hard work!"

Anyone who chooses to come out and haul goods in such terrible weather conditions must have their own difficulties.

Xiaoshan couldn't help much, so they could only give more wages as a small token of their appreciation.

After receiving the red envelopes from Xiaoshan, the eyes of several cart drivers were slightly red.

Although they didn't know how much money was in the red envelope, this splash of red in the snow was enough to bring them warmth.

This may be the first time in their lives that they have received a red envelope from someone else, a beautiful blessing from someone when they are carrying the burdens of life.

After the cart drivers left, the snow gradually intensified, accompanied by strong winds.

Xiao Shan and the others could hear the howling wind outside even from inside the house.

"If this snow keeps falling, I probably won't be able to go to work!" Xiao Shan said to Ding Qiunan, looking at the heavy snowfall outside.

Ding Qiunan nodded: "I guess we'll have a holiday! But even if we do, we won't be able to rest. The neighborhood committee will probably organize everyone to clean the streets."

Chapter 537, Xiao Shan's Parenting Style! (Please Subscribe!)

Just as Feng Chunlian had finished preparing dinner and placed the food on the table, the lights in the room suddenly went out.

The television screen suddenly went black.

However, people have become accustomed to these frequent power outages.

Even Xiao Jingyan and her brother remained unusually calm, sitting there without crying or making a fuss, waiting for Xiao Shan and the others to light the candles.

Feng Chunlian took the candles off the cabinet, and Xiao Shan took out a kerosene lighter from his pocket and lit the candles.

Feng Chunlian lit two candles and placed them on the table, then placed one candle on each of the cabinets in the room.

Although the whole house was dimly lit, you could still see the general layout clearly.

A candle was placed very close to Xiao Jingshu, and Xiao Jingshu was very interested in the flickering candlelight, so she reached out to grab it.

This wasn't the first time he'd done this, but each time he was caught in time and stopped.

However, Xiao Jingshu is a rebellious child by nature; the more you forbid her from doing something, the more interested she becomes.

"Oh dear, Jing Shu, that was terrifying! How could you touch that candle flame?" Feng Chunlian snatched Xiao Jing Shu's small hand away, her face still showing lingering fear.

Xiao Shan squinted at Xiao Jingshu, then stepped forward and pulled her out of Feng Chunlian's arms, before taking her small hand to touch the flickering candlelight.

Everyone was startled by Xiao Shan's sudden and dangerous action.

However, Xiao Shan was actually very sensible. Seeing that Xiao Jing Shu cried out because of the candlelight, he immediately pulled her hand back.

Looking down at the aggrieved Xiao Jingshu, Xiao Shan slowly said, "Now you know why I won't let you touch me!"

Xiao Jingshu quickly nodded, blowing on her already reddened little hands.

"Xiaoshan, what are you doing!" Feng Chunlian was heartbroken. "Jingshu, come quick, Grandma will put some medicine on you, it will make the pain go away!"

“This child is so curious, one day he’ll accidentally touch the fire pit. Since that’s the case, it’s better to let him feel the pain now, so he won’t burn his hand later.” Xiao Shan put Xiao Jing Shu down from his arms and said to Feng Chun Lian in a serious tone.

Feng Chunlian was confused by Xiao Shan's set of grand principles, but she couldn't find a reason to refute them.

After glaring at Xiao Shan, he took Xiao Jingshu to the inner room to apply medicine.

"Honey, you're so smart!" Ding Qiunan quickly flattered her husband.

She felt that her husband had incredibly creative ideas when it came to raising children!

Shouldn't we have two more children so that Xiaoshan can raise two more pillars of the nation?

"That's right!" Xiao Shan's lips curled up slightly after receiving his wife's praise.

Sure enough, after Xiao Jingshu finished applying the scalding ointment, she lost all curiosity and interest in the candlelight on the table and quietly moved away from the source of the fire.

Everyone saw this reaction and instantly understood the meaning behind Xiao Shan's words.

Xiao Jingshu's little hands were only slightly red from the burn, but it made her understand the danger of flames and she would never get hurt by flames again.

After all, they can't watch their child 24/7 and prevent him from coming into contact with dangerous things.

But Xiaoshan's approach was different; it made the child understand the danger with minimal cost and taught him to stay away from threats in the future.

Xiao Shan's actions immediately opened a new world for the people in the room.

Wow, this is another way to teach children!

The sudden power outage did not have much impact on the residents of the courtyard house.

After all, in this day and age, power and water outages are as common as eating a meal.

But there was still no power the next day.

The water pipes were frozen due to the extremely low temperatures over the past few days, and water was cut off in every household.

Fortunately, the well water in the backyard was groundwater and had not frozen, so the residents of the courtyard house still had water to use.

However, those living in courtyard houses without wells, as well as those living in small apartment buildings and tenement buildings, are going to suffer.

As a result, a long queue formed in the courtyard early in the morning.

People from the neighboring courtyard braved the freezing cold to come and fetch water.

In those days, every household would store a large water tank to prevent water outages.

But nowadays it's not as simple as just a water outage; water is usually restored within a day.

The water pipes are frozen due to the low temperatures, and water won't come back until the weather warms up.

Therefore, everyone has to arrive early to queue up and prepare for water storage.

Because nobody knows when the weather will warm up!

Fortunately, when Xiao Shan went out to buy coal briquettes yesterday, he reminded Ding Qiunan to keep more water at home.

Now the two large vats in the kitchen are full of water, so there's no need to go out and compete with other people in the courtyard for water for the time being.

Besides, if they run out of water, they can just bring back some snow, melt it, and that will be water. Anyway, his family doesn't lack coal briquettes these days.