Siheyuan: Walking the Path of Qin Huairu

Yi Zhonghai looked unhappy when he saw the old lady leave. Qin Huairu was a tactful person, she tried to smooth things over and said, "Uncle, Aunt, Dongxu is the only one who earns money to support a family of four, and we rarely eat meat. My mother-in-law is also short of fat, so she ate in a hurry, I'm really sorry."

Jia Zhang was not stupid either. She quickly took over the conversation and said, "Yes, yes. My wife is right. It's not easy for us to be an orphan and a widow. Fortunately, Master Dongxu helped me. Otherwise, I don't know how I would have gotten through this year. I will go and apologize to the old lady later."

Having said that, Yi Zhonghai felt embarrassed to blame Jia Zhang too much. After all, he had no children and wanted his disciple Jia Dongxu to take care of him in his old age.

He sighed and said, "It's not easy for everyone these days. There are many families in this city who are in a more difficult situation than yours. But people in our city care about face the most. Sister-in-law of the Jia family, you are also old, you have to set an example for the children. Dongxu, don't you think so?"

Jia Dongxu also felt ashamed for his mother's behavior at this time, but she was his mother, so he couldn't say anything. He could only say: "Master, you are right. The old lady may not be full. I will go back and ask my wife to fry an egg and send it to the old lady."

Yi Zhonghai nodded, and was very satisfied with his apprentice's performance. He said, "Let's eat, and ask your master's wife to make some more food for the old lady and send it over."

At Xu Huizhen's house, the two of them cooked eight dishes: sea cucumber with scallions, braised yellow croaker, deep-fried hairtail, mushroom and chicken soup, beef stewed with tomatoes, cabbage and tofu, Mushu pork, and pork and celery stir-fry. Not many families can afford to eat these dishes these days. Each dish was not large because there were not enough people to finish it, and the main purpose was to present a good meal.

The two of them ate and drank while chatting. We were both wanderers in this world, so why did we have to know each other before we met? The more they talked, the more they got along. The more they talked, the more they opened their hearts. Mrs. Wen asked Xu Huizhen to call her Aunt Han from now on.

It turned out that Mrs. Wen's original name was Han Qingqiu. She was born in a well-off family with a scholarly background and received a good education since childhood. However, her mother had not been pregnant for many years since she gave birth to her.

The ancients said: There are three kinds of unfilial behavior, and the worst is to have no offspring. When Han Qingqiu was eight years old, his father married a second wife for a good reason, which was to continue the Han family line.

After the second concubine came into the family, the originally harmonious family atmosphere was gone forever. Especially after the second concubine gave birth to two sons for the Han family, Han Qingqiu's mother's status in the family deteriorated day by day, and finally died of depression when Han Qingqiu was fourteen years old.

From then on, Han Qingqiu became a child without a mother, but fortunately she grew up slowly. As an adult, Qingqiu was tall, beautiful, and had a gentle temperament.

In a chance encounter, she was spotted by Mr. Wen, who was 15 years older than her. At that time, the Han family's financial situation was deteriorating, and in order to get a generous betrothal gift, regardless of Qingqiu's personal wishes, she was married to Mr. Wen as his second wife.

She resented her father and stepmother. After marrying into the Wen family, she never returned to the Han family. She avoided her family members who came to visit her several times. From then on, she severed her relationship with her family.

As soon as she entered the house, she became a stepmother. The eldest child of the Wen family was only four years younger than her. As you can imagine, the days after marriage were full of friction and chaos. Fortunately, Mr. Wen was an old man and a young wife, and he treated her well. He understood her youth and her grievances, and always stepped forward to suppress the difficulties of his stepchildren.

She lived in such a muddle, and later she gave birth to a daughter, who became a spiritual pillar, and her peaceful life began to ripple. The birth of her daughter aroused her passion for life, and she lived a carefree life as a rich lady for several years.

However, things did not go as planned. My daughter fell ill when she was thirteen and died before she reached adulthood.

After liberation, Mr. Wen responded to the call and donated most of his property to the country. In 1953, Mr. Wen also passed away. Before his death, considering that Han Qingqiu had no biological children, he left the title deed of the house he lived in to her and secretly gave her some valuables so that she would have no worries in her later years. The rest of the property was divided among his sons.

Later, the Wen family sold their property and moved overseas, but left Han Qingqiu in China. In fact, Han Qingqiu's relationship with them was not very good, and he was unwilling to follow them to a distant place.

Because they left in a hurry and secretly, the Wen family only took money with them. They left many furniture, ornaments and other inanimate objects to Han Qingqiu.

Han Qingqiu sold her valuables and entrusted the backyard to the street office to rent out. The rent was enough to support her life. As for her family, they also avoided her because of her bad background. So she ended up being alone.

Since the Wen family broke up, in the past two years, her former friends and neighbors have all stayed away from her, fearing that she would be associated with capitalists. Only Xu Huizhen, a stranger, came to her house to care for her when she was injured.

Moreover, Xu Huizhen's family situation was similar to hers, and the two were equally matched, but Xu Huizhen's background was better than hers. So on New Year's Eve, she came to the door.

Because they drank a lot, Xu Huizhen was afraid that it was not safe outside, so she asked Han Qingqiu to stay at home for one night. Xu Huizhen had the thinking mode of later generations. She did not discriminate against capitalists, and the two became friends regardless of age.

Han Qingqiu also knew that his background was not good, so he went through the back door to Xu Huizhen's house and was very careful to avoid people. The former wealthy family was smashed into dust by the iron fist of the new era. Their capitalist background forced them to live cautiously. It was really a cycle of change!

Spring brings flowers, autumn brings fruits, summer brings luxuriance, winter brings storage. The mountains and rivers are vast and open, all things cycle endlessly, and the new year slowly arrives in time.

The head of the police station, Song, and policeman Xiao Wang came to the door again. This time they went through the back door. They were probably afraid that it would be too conspicuous to walk through the tavern.

Director Song sent a reward of 60 yuan. Why? It turned out that Xu Huizhen's casual words last time reminded Director Ma Yiming. After returning, he strengthened the security management during the Spring Festival. He raised his vigilance and prevented trouble before it happened.

As a result, on the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, several enemy agents wanted to set fire to the granary to disrupt the implementation of the government's unified purchase and marketing and public-private partnership policies. Fortunately, the patrolling police discovered it in time. The fire did not spread and the loss of the granary was not great.

After being discovered, the spy fled in panic and had a gunfight with the security personnel. The public security comrades chased them all the way and finally caught up with Xu Huizhen's alley. One public security comrade died and one was injured. Except for one spy who escaped, the others were either dead or injured, and none of them escaped.

Director Song said, "Thanks to your reminder, our Public Security Bureau and security personnel of various units gave up holidays and stepped up patrols in major areas, reducing the losses to the lowest point. Since it involves enemy spies, for your safety, we cannot praise you publicly. Director Ma has decided to reward you 60 yuan. Thank you for your support for our work, please accept it."

Xu Huizhen returned the money and said righteously: "Assisting the public security comrades is what we, the residents of the city, should do. I cannot accept this money."

After some pushing and shoving, Xu Huizhen finally said, "Okay, I'll take the money, but I'm going to donate it to the families of the police officers who died in this operation."