Chapter 82
It was the twelfth lunar month, the dead of winter, and the weather was very cold. Chu Jiujiu and the others were lucky enough to catch a slightly warm day today, but this wouldn't last forever. In two days, the temperature would plummet from -5 degrees Celsius to -15 degrees Celsius.
Chu Jiujiu was outside, bathed in the sun and constantly moving around, so she felt fine. But Grandma Han and the others, who stayed home, quickly felt the biting cold. Even wearing two layers of cotton clothes was useless; they had to light a fire, otherwise they would all suffer from hypothermia at night.
In the city, there were no kangs or wood-burning stoves; everyone had a gas stove. This small Western-style building also had no heating. When the Han family lived here, they lit a coal stove on each floor. The rooms with the stoves lit were warmer, but those without were still chilly. Therefore, in winter, the Han family's activities became smaller, staying in the same room day and night, rarely leaving.
Grandma Han walked up and down the stairs and found, not surprisingly, that the coal stoves had also been moved away. There were no stoves or coal, only a few bare beds. How could they sleep at night?
Lin Guangyuan is the young man who brought Grandma Han and others back to the small Western-style building. He doesn't have a position yet. After Grandpa Han confirms it, he will be Grandpa Han's personal secretary. In addition to him, there is another man named Wang, who is Grandpa Han's administrative secretary. The two have different responsibilities and status.
Secretary Lin has more contact with Grandpa Han’s family, while Secretary Wang has more contact with Grandpa Han’s colleagues.
Lin Guangyuan knew that his business ability was not as good as Secretary Wang's, and he had just met Grandpa Han, but Secretary Wang had already started following Grandpa Han in 1960. So, he did not feel unwilling. On the contrary, he was quite content. After all, doing a good job as a personal secretary was also an achievement.
As soon as he saw Grandma Han frowning, Lin Guangyuan knew what was going on. After Chu Jiujiu and the others brought back breakfast, he hurriedly ate a few bites and then rushed to the nearest Wangfujing Department Store.
There is everything here. You can buy everything in one trip.
The other small items are easy to deal with, but the problem is big items like coal stoves. Winter is here and the supply is already tight. The Han family’s house is so big and they haven’t done any chimney renovations in the past few years. If you want to buy one, you must buy three, but there are only two left. For the last one, you have to wait until tomorrow when the goods are transferred over.
This is already a special treatment. If it were an ordinary citizen, he would have to wait at least a week, and he might not even be able to get one.
Lin Guangyuan drove out in one car and came back in another. He unloaded all the things, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and told Grandma Han about it. After listening, Grandma Han thanked him very much. After he left, she called the children over.
"We only have two coal stoves at home, and the new ones won't arrive until tomorrow. Let's squeeze together tonight and sleep in two rooms. Chu Shao and Sheng Yi, you two will sleep with my husband and me, and Jiu Jiu and Xiu Wei, you can stay in the bedroom on the second floor."
The Han family's house is big and the rooms are big too, so even though it has three floors, there are only four bedrooms, one on the first floor, one on the second floor, and two on the third floor. The room on the first floor was originally owned by Grandpa Han and Grandma Han, and the room on the second floor is where Han Shengyi's parents used to live. The largest room on the third floor is Han Shengyi's, and the smaller one was originally prepared for Han Shengyi's younger brother or sister.
Chu Jiujiu didn't know the connection between the two. When she heard Grandma Han had assigned the rooms, she ran upstairs to check out her new bedroom. She didn't notice that Grandma Han and Han Shengyi downstairs were looking up at her steps, with some indescribable touch in their hearts, as if they wanted to stop her, or just wanted to watch her quietly.
Chu Jiujiu moved quickly. When she heard the door open, she had already run in. The floor of the western-style building was not soundproof, and whatever she did upstairs could be heard from below. Grandma Han stood up as usual and took away the leftover garbage. Han Shengyi looked back at Grandma Han, then stood up and walked upstairs.
Chu Jiujiu went to the second floor and pushed open the door, only to find that there was nothing inside. There was a bed on the left and a dressing table with thin legs on the right. There used to be a large oval mirror on the dressing table, but now only the frame was left, with some broken glass on the edge of the frame. Chu Jiujiu took a look, showing no interest, and then ran to the window opposite.
The window was semicircular with a church-style arch and fan-shaped pattern on it. Chu Jiujiu leaned over the window, forcefully opened the slightly rusty latch, and then tried to push the white wooden window outwards.
After pushing it once, the window only swayed but didn't budge. Chu Jiujiu frowned in distress. She exerted all her strength, but the window wouldn't budge at all. Unconvinced, she was about to increase her strength when a slender hand reached out from behind her. Two fingers pressed on the highest part of the window, and with a click, the spring catch opened. This time, Chu Jiujiu pushed the window again, and it opened easily.
Chu Jiujiu didn't thank the person behind her, nor did she look back. She supported herself on the windowsill with both hands, half of her body leaned out, looking at the busy street below, and Chu Jiujiu exclaimed again.
She didn't know how many times she had cried today.
Originally, this small building was covered with creepers, but now they are all withered. Chu Jiujiu looked around and then turned back excitedly, "This place will definitely look great in the summer!"
Han Shengyi lowered his head and looked at her. When Chu Jiujiu was eleven years old, the height difference between them was the smallest, only seven or eight centimeters. At that time, Chu Jiujiu could even look Han Shengyi in the eye. But as they grew older, they returned to their original state. Whenever they were close to each other, Han Shengyi could only lower his head to look at her.
"In the summer, lots of bugs crawl in through the vines. Without the screens, it's impossible to live here."
Chu Jiujiu tilted her head back and sighed in disappointment when she heard this. "But with the screens installed, I don't have that feeling anymore."
Han Shengyi was puzzled: "What does it feel like?"
Chu Jiujiu leaned against the window. She turned her head and looked out the window again with an obsessed look on her face. "If there were no screens, I would feel like I was from the Republic of China when I stood here. If I closed my eyes, I could even imagine that I was the Fifth Concubine!"
As she spoke, Chu Jiujiu turned around, placed one hand on the windowsill, and with the other hand, she made the gesture of holding a pipe and smoking slowly.
Chu Jiujiu raised the corner of her lips with a slight eyebrow lift, and asked Han Shengyi charmingly, "Look, do I look like Lin Huiyin from the Republic of China era?"
After two seconds of silence, Han Shengyi spoke up: "You look like the Qing Dynasty people painted on the walls of the Opium War Memorial Hall."
Chu Jiujiu: “…”
There's no chatting today.
Chu Jiujiu put down her hand in disappointment and wanted to pout, but then she remembered that she was not a child anymore, so she didn't do that. She just snorted and squeezed Han Shengyi's shoulder, pretending that she didn't want to pay attention to him anymore. She walked to the side, wiped the stool in front of the dressing table, and found that there was no dust, so she sat down.
After being angry for about three seconds, Chu Jiujiu forgot about it. She opened the drawer to see if there was anything else inside. Unfortunately, it was very clean. The people who came here to clean up had taken away and thrown away everything, regardless of whether it was useful or not.
She was rummaging through the drawers over there, while Han Shengyi was staring at the window in a trance. There used to be a table there, which was used by his father for work. Many times, he ran into this room and saw his father sitting at that table. The green pull-cord desk lamp was always on, and the table was covered with papers that Han Shengyi could not understand at that time.
Han Shengyi ran in but didn't make any noise. He had been a good boy since he was young. He just watched quietly from the side, waiting for his father to notice him. Finally, his father raised his head, twisted his neck, and saw little Han Shengyi standing beside him without making any noise. His first reaction was to laugh, and his second reaction was to hold him on his lap.
"Shengyi, why are you so obedient? You didn't even call daddy when you came in. Come, daddy will teach you how to read."
…
Han Shengyi stared at the window without moving. He was a person who could not even show his daze. When others were dazed, it could be seen at a glance, but when he was dazed, he would just look at one place quietly, his eyes still bright.
Someone sat down next to him and Han Shengyi felt the bed shake. He blinked slightly and then turned his head.
Chu Jiujiu held a piece of paper and handed it to Han Shengyi, "Brother Shengyi, look what this is."
Han Shengyi took it and found that it was a draft of arithmetic, which was full of meaningless addition and subtraction. His father liked to write and draw casually when he started working. There was always a box of waste paper at home for him to use as drafts. He usually threw it away after he finished writing. This one should have slipped through the net.
Having not seen his father's handwriting for many years, Han Shengyi's eyes moved. He raised his head and asked Chu Jiujiu: "Where did you find it?"
Chu Jiujiu pointed at the dressing table and said, "I pulled out the entire drawer and saw this piece of paper. Besides the paper, there was also a fossilized watermelon worm inside."
When she said this, Chu Jiujiu's expression frowned a little. She was not afraid of insects, but she didn't like them either.
Han Shengyi didn't answer, and the atmosphere became a little quiet. Chu Jiujiu didn't make a noise either. She just sat obediently aside, looking at Han Shengyi, waiting quietly for him to digest it.
Just like Han Shengyi many years ago.
After a while, Han Shengyi finally made some movement. He folded the paper and put it in his pocket. Then, he smiled softly at Chu Jiujiu and said, "Thank you."
Chu Jiujiu: "I don't want to hear thank you."
Han Shengyi: "Then what do you want to hear?"
Chu Jiujiu: "I want to hear you say that I look like Lin Huiyin."
Han Shengyi: "...Why?"
Frowning, he asked again, "Have you met Lin Huiyin?"
How could that be possible? Lin Huiyin died in 1955. No matter what era she lived in, she would never have been able to see her. Chu Jiujiu had never even seen a photo of her. She had only seen the name a few times in books and on the Internet.
Chu Jiujiu answered honestly, "I haven't seen her, but everyone says she's one of the Four Beauties of the Republic of China, so she must be very beautiful."
As she got older, Chu Jiujiu couldn't escape the air of a middle school student. She didn't want to be a child anymore and didn't like being ordered around. The most obvious thing was that she would quarrel with Chu Shao now. It wasn't the kind of argument she had when she was a child, but a battle for status. As long as Chu Shao spoke to her in a commanding tone, she would feel unhappy.
In addition to being rebellious, she also began to care about her image, but this was not very common, at least never seen in front of outsiders. She would only show off in front of her family members when she was in the mood.
Han Shengyi should not have understood the little girl's thoughts at first, but with a gentle older sister and a lively younger sister at home, Han Shengyi was influenced by them and now had to understand.
He laughed in his heart, but his expression did not change.
Opening his mouth, he attacked Chu Jiujiu once again, "I've seen photos of Lin Huiyin, and you don't look like her at all."
Then, he changed the subject, "Don't try to be like her."
Chu Jiujiu hadn't thought about it that way originally. After all, she just said it casually, like a modern girl secretly curious about which celebrity she resembles. But when Han Shengyi said it, she felt strange, "Why?"
"Because," Han Shengyi blinked, "this world already has a Lin Huiyin. Now, what it lacks is a Chu Jiujiu."
After hearing this, Chu Jiujiu pursed her lips. After about three or four seconds, when Han Shengyi counted a few times, Chu Jiujiu could no longer hold back. She raised her head, seemingly arrogant but actually happy, and said, "Humph, you're just coaxing a child!"
After saying this, she happened to hear Grandma Han downstairs calling her. Chu Jiujiu hurried downstairs. Looking at her eyebrows that bent unconsciously, Han Shengyi thought, isn't it? He is just coaxing a child.
Grandma Han asked Chu Jiujiu to come downstairs to help her knead the dough. They would make dumplings when they got on the bus and noodles when they got off. Since they were getting off the bus, they would eat noodles today. Grandma Han rolled the noodles herself, Chu Shaolai fried the sauce, and Wen Xiuwei cut and arranged the vegetables on the side. For dinner, Grandma Han made it look like a full banquet, and almost the whole family came to help.
We made authentic fried noodles with soybean paste, using a lot of fine noodles and a pound of pork belly. The five of us ate and drank our fill, washed our bowls, and then Grandpa Han came back.
The headlights of a car were flashing outside the door. It had been many years since such a scene was seen. Even Chu Jiujiu stared at it for a while longer. When Grandpa Han got off the plane, he was wearing the worn and tattered cotton-padded jacket from Qingzhu Village. Now he had changed into a neat Zhongshan suit. He walked into the home where he had lived for many years and looked at the empty living room. He was stunned for a moment, and then he smelled the aroma of meat sauce coming from the kitchen.
Wen Xiuwei came out of the kitchen first. Seeing Grandpa Han coming back, she immediately smiled. "It would have been nice if you had come back a little earlier. We just finished our meal. Grandma Han left a bowl for you. I wonder if you still have an appetite. Everyone is in the bedroom. Chu Shaogang just lit the stove."
After saying that, she and Grandpa Han went to the bedroom on the first floor. Grandma Han had already made the bed. Chu Jiujiu was curled up in the quilt, adjusting her radio. Chu Shao was tinkering with the coal stove. This thing was different from the one they had at home, so he needed to study it for a while.
Grandma Han was tired, so she lay in the middle, listening to the crackling sound of Chu Jiujiu's radio. Han Shengyi touched the chimney. After a while, he turned his head and told Chu Shao, "No, it's still not warm."
When they heard someone coming in, everyone looked towards the door. When they saw Grandpa Han, they all spoke.
Chu Jiujiu: "Grandpa Han, have you eaten?"
Han Shengyi: "The noodles are in the pot."
Chu Shao: "It's cold now, right? The stove is already hot. Put it in the aluminum lunch box and heat it up here for a while before eating."
The child had said everything that needed to be said. In the end, Grandma Han could only look at Grandpa Han's clothes and frown, "Who gave you this clothes? They're so thin."
Look, this is family.
They don’t ask which important people you met today, nor do they ask whether you have been reinstated. They only care about whether you have enough to eat and whether you are warmly dressed. Once they have confirmed these two points, they will pay attention to other things.
In fact, Grandpa Han had already eaten dinner, but he was so moved that he ate two large bowls of noodles with soybean paste with tears in his eyes. Finally, when he was too full, he lay down next to Grandma Han and talked to the people in the room.
"I met a lot of old friends today, Chu Shao. I even asked about your grandfather for you."
This stove is difficult for a novice to light. It was a lucky coincidence that Chu Shao managed to heat up one, but he still didn't know what to do with the other one. Grandma Han didn't want them to worry about it anymore, so she just let the children stay here tonight. The bed was too big to sleep six people upright, but it was fine when it was horizontal, but it would be a pity for Han Shengyi and Chu Shao, as their feet would be hanging in the air.
The coal stove was heating up. Those who were afraid of the cold had already hidden in their beds, while those who were not afraid of the cold sat on the soft blankets. Chu Shao was sitting there. When he heard what Grandpa Han said, he was stunned for a moment, "What did you find out?"
Grandpa Han: "...well, I haven't heard anything. My circle is different from your grandfather's. We've all seen each other, but few really know each other. But I heard that your grandfather's former partner has been rehabilitated, and it seems they had a good relationship. His name is Wang Chunsheng. Do you remember him?"
Chu Shao nodded and said, "Grandpa Wang, I went to his house to celebrate the New Year. When I was having dinner at Grandpa's house, he would sometimes come over and drink with Grandpa."
Grandpa Han: "That's it. So, in a couple of days, after we've settled down, I'll take you to see him. You can get some news and catch up with him."
Chu Jiujiu was lying between Grandma Han and Wen Xiuwei, several people away from Chu Shao. Upon hearing this, she curiously asked Chu Shao, "Who is Grandpa Wang?"
Chu Shao: "He was my grandfather's old comrade-in-arms, named Wang Chunsheng. His family used to live very close to my grandfather's. He had three daughters and one son, but conditions were poor back then, and both of his daughters died."
The two daughters were born first. At that time, they were busy running around and could not raise the children. Later, when conditions improved, Mrs. Wang gave birth to another child. The child was also a daughter, who was spoiled by the old couple and got married a few years ago. The son was a child born in old age. He is now also a soldier and does not live in the capital.
The Wang family used to be quite glorious, just like the Chu family. After their downfall, they never recovered. Now Grandpa Wang's spirit is not as good as before. He is not like Grandpa Han who still has so much energy to meet people.
Everyone talked about the Wang family for a while. It was now past eight in the evening. Because no one had gotten much sleep the day before, within ten minutes, everyone in bed had fallen asleep, all groggily drowsy. Finally, only Grandpa Han and Grandma Han were left.
The lights were off. In the darkness, Grandma Han tucked in the corner of Chu Jiujiu's quilt, then turned to Grandpa Han on the other side and asked, "How is it? What do they want you to do?"
Grandpa Han: "Now that the relationship between China and the West has eased, and even the US president has visited China, they want me to follow up and handle it."
Grandma Han raised her head in surprise and asked, "Let you go abroad?"
Grandpa Han quickly pushed her back. It was winter, so he wasn't afraid of getting cold.
"No, going abroad is the job of the ambassador, and I'm definitely not allowed to go on a visit. I'm nothing. It's just that during the negotiations, they wanted me to be the one to check things out and, by the way, train some fresh forces."
Grandma Han understood that this was asking him to choose a suitable successor.
Those who are capable have been beaten down, and those who are incompetent will still be incompetent no matter how much they practice. Grandpa Han is at least experienced, and the people selected by him can be used with confidence by the superiors.
After figuring it out, Grandma Han felt relieved. She lay back down and smiled at the ceiling. "Alright, you can train our Jiujiu. She knows many foreign languages and is the most suitable."
Grandpa Han: "You're kidding again, Jiujiu is only that old."
It would take at least forty years for her to take over, and by then Grandpa Han would be lying in some grave somewhere.
What he was thinking about was Secretary Wang, the disciple he had brought up. However, Secretary Wang also needed experience, and this process would take at least ten years, and at most twenty years.
Alas, there is still a long way to go. Now that I am back, I cannot just sit idle.
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