My uncle and aunt came back, and my sister-in-law's belly was getting bigger. Although the military compound could accommodate the whole family, it was still a bit crowded.
So Grandma Shen planned to clean up the courtyard where Shen Anning's family lived before. The courtyard happened to be located in the middle of the compound and the school, which was convenient for Shen's father and mother to go to work and go home.
Early in the morning on the weekend, Grandma Shen took Shen Anning to take the bus to the courtyard to pack up their things. This area is full of courtyards with independent doors and households, but now there are not many that have been taken back and kept intact. Most of them have been converted into large courtyards. Fortunately, the Shen family courtyard is in a good location, close to East Street, and West Street is close to the main street. Most people usually go there for work and school, so not many people pass by their door.
The gate is still the same as before. The stone lions at the gate were moved away a long time ago, and the outer wall is more dilapidated than before. Grandma Shen looked at the house that still has many similarities with her memory, took Shen Anning's hand and said: "This yard, we haven't been here for nearly ten years. Grandma still remembers it. You were only a teenager when we moved to the tube building. You cried so hard on the day of moving, and you and An Xuan hugged the swing in the yard and refused to let go. In the end, it was your second brother who coaxed you two into peace."
Shen An Ning thought about how she had been so unreasonable holding the swing, and she found it a little funny. She quickly changed the subject, "Grandma, let's go in and take a look. I heard that my dad hired Master Lei's successor to repair the yard, but it's a pity that some of the furniture in the house is broken."
"It doesn't matter if they're broken. Those are worthless. Grandma has put away the valuable ones. Later, grandma will take you to see the dowry that your grandfather and I saved for you." Grandma Shen said mysteriously, thinking that Shen An Ning knew nothing. Watching her grandmother take her to the vegetable cellar, Shen An Ning thought that it was a good thing that she didn't come over to take the things away, otherwise she would have to go through it again.
The Shen family's vegetable cellar was built in the 1950s under the personal supervision of Grandpa Shen. At that time, there were still many enemy spies in Beijing and the country was not stable. They were afraid of another war, so the cellar was built very solidly. The walls were sealed with cement mixed with glutinous rice paste, and ventilation holes were left.
Grandma Shen shone the flashlight down there and said, "It's quite clean. I guess the women from the Women's Federation usually put things in there."
"Grandma, I'll go down first. Please climb the stairs slowly."
The vegetable cellar is quite large. There are several simple cabinets made of wooden boards against the wall, as well as several pickle jars. These were all placed here by the Shen family before. There are many female comrades in the Women's Federation, and they have also used the vegetable cellar over the years, so the things look very clean.
“It seems that it was right to rent it to the Women’s Federation. Female comrades are very careful.” Grandma Shen touched the cabinets on the wall. These were all made of good wood.
"An Ning, come here, grandma, let me show you the family fortune left by our Shen family." Grandma Shen walked to the southeast corner. The cabinet here was nailed to the wall with nails, but the mechanism was inside the cabinet. There was a small piece of movable wood on the second layer of the cabinet. With a gentle push upwards, the cabinet and the wall behind it became a door.
The space wasn't very big, only about ten square meters, and there were eight boxes placed inside. Grandma Shen wiped the dust off them with a rag. "These boxes all have a history. Some of them were my dowry and the money your second uncle left me before he went abroad. The rest were saved bit by bit by your grandfather."
When Grandpa Shen was young, he followed the army to fight everywhere and killed many bearded bandits. He fought in the north and south for more than ten years and made some money.
Grandma Shen first opened the boxes one by one. Two of them were already empty. "These two boxes of things, when your uncle and your father got married, they spent a small part of it. When your eldest brother got married, some of it was given to your eldest sister-in-law as a betrothal gift. The rest was used to buy a yard. Your grandfather and I have already discussed it. Each grandchild in the family will have a small yard. Our Shen family has a total of seven yards. You five brothers and sisters plus Xixi will each have one. After all, Xixi is the first child of this generation in the family. As a great-grandmother, I will be more partial to her."
Among the remaining six boxes, there were two boxes of gold, two boxes of jewelry and headwear, one box of antique bottles, and one box of calligraphy and paintings. Grandma Shen looked at Shen An Ning and gave her all the keys in her hand.
Ana Shen looked at the key at a loss, "Grandma."
"Grandma gave it to you, so take it. You can help grandma keep the box of gold. It's for your second brother and An Yu, An Xuan, Xiao Wei, and Xiao Zhe's weddings. The rest is your dowry from grandpa and grandma."
Warmth surged in Shen Anning's heart. Although her grandparents were a little too partial to her, she really liked the feeling of being favored!
"Grandma, I have money too. You don't have to give me all these things."
"You earned what you have, and keep it well. Don't feel any burden. What you are given is my dowry. Dowry is meant to be passed down to girls. An Xuan and Xixi are still young. If you think you have taken too much, when they get married, you can give them some jewelry as a dowry to make them feel touched."
Shen Anning hugged Grandma Shen's arm, leaned her head on the old lady's shoulder and acted coquettishly, "Grandma, you are so kind. You raised the children of our Shen family so united. In the future, we will be united as one, and brothers and sisters will help each other and everything will get better and better."
The grandfather and grandson restored the wall, closed the cellar door, and took a good look at the renovated yard. They also planted flowers in the second courtyard and the backyard, but it was not the right time yet, so it was still bare.
There are a total of fourteen rooms in the front and back yards. Shen Anning and An Xuan live in the east and west wing of the back yard respectively. The north room is left for grandparents to live in when they come. Shen's father and mother live with An Yu in the front yard, and the empty rooms are left for uncle, aunt and aunt to come and live.
"When your sister-in-law gives birth to the baby, let them move to the courtyard in the back street. She will have to see so many people all day long while recuperating in the courtyard. Let them move here, which is close to here and only a few steps away. She can relax and eat more good food." One of the bad things about living in a courtyard is that everyone can see what the family buys and eats every day.
Grandma Shen looked outside as she spoke, and said with some regret: "It was unfortunate that some of the courtyards we bought were too far apart. It would be great if we could exchange with the people living nearby. You can live close to each other in the future, and the relationship between brothers and sisters will be better, and the next generation of the family can have more contact."
The speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it seriously!
This area has a good location and many courtyards. There are about thirty or forty houses in the first and second courtyards combined, and many of the courtyards on the side were converted into slums in recent years.
This situation is bound to change as the family grows in number. Shen Anning thought that she could look into it with Peng Zhe first. Although the legal sale of courtyard houses would not be until 1987, a gift agreement could be signed now. The buyer and seller only needed to agree on the transfer of ownership after filing.
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