The Great Era of Siheyuan

"Who were you talking to outside just now? Hey, boss, where did you get the frame? Come in quickly, don't let outsiders see it!"

Hearing the noise outside, the third aunt came out to check. Unexpectedly, as soon as she came in, she saw the third uncle holding the bicycle frame in his hands.

"Stop talking, come and give me a hand! I walked all the way from the Guandong store on Chaowai Street carrying a bicycle frame weighing dozens of kilograms. I was exhausted! It took me an hour and a half!"

After saying this, the third uncle let out a long sigh. He felt a little dizzy and couldn't bear it anymore after walking all the way.

"Chaowai Street? You didn't go to the bicycle factory over there? I heard they were only established last year, how can the quality be good? You'd better not let the wheels you bought earlier not fit on the wheels, that would be troublesome!"

The third aunt said worriedly after taking the bicycle frame.

"You'll know if you can pretend or not if you try. Jie Cheng, what are you doing? Come out and work!"

The third uncle shouted into the house.

"Dad, you called me? You really have assembled all the bicycles. That's great. We will have a bicycle in the future! Can I ride it first after it's assembled?"

Yan Jiecheng came over excitedly without him calling him, looking at him expectantly.

"And me! I want to ride too!"

"I also want!"

Behind them, Yan Jiefang and Yan Jiekuang, along with their little boy Yan Jiedi, also came over, and the whole group of people looked at the car in surprise. With this car, they could talk to others with more confidence, at least in a different class.

"Want to ride a bike? Sure! Give me ten cents and I'll let him ride for half an hour!"

The third uncle looked serious and said.

"What, really? Dad, you still want money from me?"

Yan Jiecheng widened his eyes, unable to believe that this also cost money.

"Why not? Didn't I buy this car for free? Is it too much to charge you ten cents? Don't forget that you still owe me more than a hundred dollars! When are you going to pay me back?"

After the third uncle finished speaking, his face straightened and he looked at him and asked.

"Well, where do I get so much money? Now I'm out looking for a job, but people don't want me because I'm too skinny. Dad, I think you should give me two bowls of rice every day. When I find a job in the future, I can make a lot of money, and then our family can have delicious food and spicy drinks! What do you think?"

Yan Jiecheng said seriously.

"I think it's not good! It's been so long and you haven't even found a job yet, and you haven't given a penny to the family. And you still want to have an extra bowl of rice. If you eat an extra bowl of rice, it will destroy the fairness, justice and harmony in our family. If you eat an extra bowl of rice, what about others? If you want to eat more, then go out and make money yourself, don't stay at home all day long!"

The third aunt said sarcastically when she heard this.

"Your mother is right. Our family is based on contribution. Whoever contributes more gets to eat more. Today I have collected all the bicycle parts, so I can have an extra bowl of rice tonight, and you have to eat less! Don't be unconvinced. Look, don't you want to ride a bicycle? Go get all the bicycle parts from under my bed and assemble them. I won't charge you today, and I'll let you ride for ten minutes, how about that?"

The third uncle said with a smile.

"Oh, just ten minutes?"

Yan Jiecheng was greatly disappointed and felt that it was not worth it.

"I'm glad to give you ten minutes. It's just a simple assembly. Won't you need it in the future? If you don't need it, forget it! Come with me to the room, I'll assemble it myself!"

After saying this, the third uncle pulled the third aunt into the house!

"Dad, I'll do it. Just let me ride for ten minutes!"

Seeing that Yan Jiecheng didn't want to move, Yan Jiefang immediately seized the opportunity to recommend himself.

"And me, and me!"

"I also want!"

Yan Jiekuang and Yan Jiedi also said without wanting to be outdone.

"Who said I don't want it? Don't worry, Dad. Leave it to me!"

When Yan Jiecheng saw this, he was shocked and immediately pushed his two younger brothers apart and approached with a smile.

The people who were pushed away looked unhappy, but they didn't say anything.

"That's right! I'm happy today, you guys can go together! Let's finish it quickly and see what happens!"

The third uncle said happily. Today was a day worth celebrating, and it was rare for him to be generous.

"Great!"

Everyone was happy, but Yan Jiedi was caught by the three aunts.

"What are you yelling about, girl? Can you reach it? Stay here!"

"No, no! Mom, I want to learn how to ride a bike, too!"

Yan Jiedi shouted unhappily.

"Don't even think about it. Why would a nine-year-old girl like you join in the fun? Wait until you grow up a little bit!"

After saying that, he pushed her down on the stool without saying anything and pouted.

The three brothers of the Yan family happily walked into the third uncle's room with the car frame, and soon took out the parts that the third uncle had collected from under the bed.

"Frame, pedals, gears, chain, footrests, seat, screws. Dad, why are there no brake cables and bells?"

Yan Jiecheng had been hanging around outside for many years after all. Although he didn't have a bicycle at home, he had seen quite a few outside and noticed the problem at a glance.

"Why do you need a bell and brake cable? Don't they cost money? You can see it, so what's wrong with yelling? Braking is even easier, what are your feet for? A bell and brake cable cost me five dollars, why should we spend this money? I'll save up some money later, maybe I can even afford one!"

The third uncle scolded.

"What if I can't stop?"

Yan Jiecheng asked unconvinced.

"Can't you ride slower? Why are you riding so fast? Let me tell you first, this is a new bike. If anyone bumps into it, they have to pay for it!"

The third uncle warned.

Yan Jiecheng's face twitched. He was speechless looking at the parts on the ground that were obviously second-hand. He could only lower his head and accept it.

Yan Jiefang and Yan Jiekuang didn't care about anything else and started to prepare the things.

"Dad, there are a few screws missing. Why are the wheels one big and one small?"

When it was installed at the back, even Yan Jiekuang, who knew nothing about bicycles, noticed the problem and asked the third uncle.

"You can ride it if you want, but forget it if you don't want to. Why are there so many problems? What's wrong with one being bigger than the other? What's wrong with no screws? Can't we still ride it? It's impossible to have two identical wheels. If I don't want them, someone else will buy them. Where can we find wheels?"

The third uncle said with a blush that he would never tell them that he bought two pieces of junk just for the sake of cheapness.

Fortunately, after hearing this, several people did not continue to ask questions. It was not their own money, so being able to ride was good enough.

"Okay, I'm the boss so I'll go first! You two wait!"

Yan Jiecheng excitedly pulled his two younger brothers aside, and then pushed the bicycle with a small front wheel, a large rear wheel, and no brakes or bells out.