After returning to the compound, Zhang Guoqing lived a leisurely life.
For several days he took his son with him, and the father and son either caught crickets, raised katydids, tied grasshoppers, caught dragonflies, caught cicadas, played with fireflies, caught beetles and had races. Occasionally they rode their 28-bar bicycles to the countryside to get some snacks.
Zhou Xiaozheng was so envious of this day. When he got home from work that day, he waited until lunchtime to see a little fool riding on the neck of a big fool, covered in mud.
The little fool took off his bamboo hat and saw Zhou Xiaozheng, and happily showed off: "Grandpa, my dad and I went to help people herd cattle and harvest big watermelons. Look, this is a gift from the team leader."
The fool happily handed the net bag to Aunt Chen, "I took Ping An to the village today. It's harvest season now, and everyone is smiling happily. It's much better than the past two years."
Zhou Xiaozheng jokingly said, "That's right, you love the people like your own children." He then glanced at the watermelon and said, "Your Uncle Zhou sent me a message a few days ago saying he'll send some watermelons over in a few days. I won't be short of watermelons in the future."
Zhang Guoqing knew who he was talking about: the head of a village outside Beijing, whose family had a courtyard there. Unfortunately, it was too far away, and except for the Qingming Festival and New Year holidays, he rarely visited.
"Dad, why haven't you set out yet this year?"
Zhou Xiaozheng shook his head. "Let's wait a few days. We still have some things to deal with here."
Zhang Guoqing nodded, but didn't try to expose his thoughts. He probably wanted to wait for Zhou Jiao to come back before leaving. He pointed to himself and said, "Then I'll take the child to bathe first."
"Well, wash up and eat. By the way, did you forget something?"
Zhang Guoqing looked at him in confusion.
"Have you been to that small courtyard on the north bank?"
Zhang Guoqing slapped his forehead and laughed happily, "I really forgot about it. I'll take Ping'an over there tomorrow to take a look, and we'll talk about the details after Jiaojiao comes back."
Zhou Xiaozheng understood the hidden meaning and nodded, "Don't worry, go and see it when you have time." After that, he waved his hand and told the father and son to go take a shower quickly.
After dinner, the family moved to the stone table in the yard to enjoy the cool air. Even after lighting the fuse, they were still attacked by mosquitoes. Finally, Ping An felt sorry for his grandmother, so he ran into the room, took the medicine powder prepared by his mother to the yard to burn, and also gave her a sachet.
Lin Lishan happily enjoyed the child's filial piety. She followed him and waved a palm-leaf fan at him, which made old lady Cheng, who came to visit, very happy.
When Zhang Guoqing saw the old lady and her husband coming together, he quickly went upstairs and brought out a rocking chair for her. It was said that this was the old lady's favorite rattan chair, which she had bought in Hai City and had shipped over. She had two at home before, and had already given one to the Cheng family.
"Don't be busy, sit down and rest."
"It's okay, just lie down and look at the stars."
On the stone table, Old Cheng and Zhou Xiaozheng had already set up the chessboard and started fighting under the dim light. Suddenly, each of them acted on their own. The old lady chatted with Lin Lishan, and Ping An ran to inform Aunt Chen to cut the watermelon.
Not long after, as soon as the watermelon was served, Cheng Sijin and his wife came over with a bucket of mung bean soup to enjoy the cool air, making the scene even more lively.
Zhang Guoqing took a sip of his soup and raised an eyebrow. Could it be that the sugar coupon supply had increased this month? How could he not know? He still had the family supply book.
"...Drink less, it has saccharin in it."
Ping An blinked his eyes and said, "Grandma, this is just a little bit, it won't cause any harm."
Zhang Guoqing suddenly came to his senses and looked up at the sky. He didn't know when his wife would come back. His heart and stomach were thinking about her.
"...I exchanged my cloth coupons for some sugar coupons. Sister-in-law, please bring some back later."
"Okay, I won't be polite with you."
"That's right, otherwise how would I have the nerve to come to you and get something for free?"
There was a cool breeze, family conversations, and laughter in the yard. When the lights were turned off, everyone reluctantly prepared to rest.
The next morning, after seeing Zhou Xiaozheng and his wife off to work, Zhang Guoqing looked up at the sky, worried that the weather might change before he went out, so he abandoned his 28-bar motorcycle.
After getting off the bus, Zhang Guoqing put his son down in his arms and held his hand. The father and son walked slowly on the street, intending to stroll into the courtyard and take a look at the surrounding environment.
Following the house numbers, standing at the entrance of an alley, Zhang Guoqing looked at what was before him with satisfaction. Unlike other narrow alleys, the alleys were as noisy as a shantytown.
There's an old locust tree at the entrance, and a small bookstall nearby. The alley is 7-8 meters wide, with parking available at the entrance. The alley is clean and spacious, and the neighbors all have warm smiles on their faces.
The chirping of birds and the whistling of pigeons are all around, lively and melodious. Add to that the chatter of children reading comic books and children's newspapers at the small bookstalls, and the whole alley is filled with a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere.
Zhang Guoqing looked down at Ping An and saw that he was also smiling. It can be seen that this small courtyard has not been seen yet, but the surrounding environment has already made the child satisfied.
"Dad, look at the numbers. Turn left ahead and it should be here."
Zhang Guoqing smiled and nodded. Just as Mrs. Cheng said, walk less than 200 meters, turn left, and the last yard you see is your own.
The gates of the small courtyards were open one after another. Even though some of them were covered by screen walls, you could still see a glimpse of them. Stone tables, stone benches, grape trellises, and the occasional creeping loofah rack...
The father and son stood at the gate of the last blue brick and tile house. It had two doors, painted red, with traces of a pair of door cymbals on them.
Zhang Guoqing took out a bunch of keys from his pocket, selected one of them, opened the lock with a click, and then pushed with both hands, and the door opened with a creak.
After entering the gate, there is a screen wall in front of you, on which is engraved a rare Manchu character "Fu". Entering the courtyard, you can see that this was once a quadrangle courtyard in the Qing Dynasty.
The courtyard faces south. There are three rooms in the north, two bright and one dark, two east and two west wing rooms, and three rooms in the south. The roof is tiled with horizontal bricks and a ridge. A brick-paved corridor connects the doors of the rooms, and each room has steps leading up to it.
Now, except for the main house, east and west wing rooms, and ear rooms, all of which have no major damage, the brick carvings and stone carvings inlaid in other places such as the headboard and corners have been removed.
From the raised beams, brackets, wooden frame structure, blue bricks and small tiles, one can see the vicissitudes of time. Even though the entire building looks old, one can still see its elegance, simplicity and excellent construction.
The father and son stood in the study in the south room, pushed open the wooden window, and saw the lake scenery in the distance. The breeze blew away the summer heat. It was really an ideal place for health preservation and living.
"Dad, are we going to live here from now on?"
Zhang Guoqing smiled and shook his head. "We still have to live with grandpa. He can come over and stay for two nights during normal times. Your grandparents can also come and stay here."
"That's a good idea. I still prefer living in the compound. All my buddies are there."
Zhang Guoqing burst out laughing. It seemed he'd been right not to tell his child the truth. If his grandfather moved to a new compound, and the two of them were too far from work, this would be a good place for him to rest.
After closing the window, Zhang Guoqing held his son's hand and took a last look at the wall before going out.
He ultimately didn't open the secret room, not because he was worried his son wouldn't be able to keep the secret, but because he was worried that exposing all the treasures to his child would lead him to lose his mind and passion for struggle.
He never thought about letting his children know about his huge wealth at an early age. If a person has endless money and comes from a prominent family, what does he want?
Sometimes a life that is too comfortable can actually dampen one's fighting spirit. Especially when facing an impending storm, there's no room for a peaceful state of mind.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
