Siheyuan: Walking the Path of Qin Huairu

This was her hometown in her previous life. After entering the village, Xu Hui felt really comfortable. It felt good to be home.

It was spring, and the adults went to work in the fields, and the older children went to school. The children playing in the streets were all under eight years old. Xu Huizhen rode a bicycle into the village.

Relying on memory, she got off the car at the entrance of Uncle Xu's alley. She looked at the child, who was sleeping soundly in her arms. The child probably knew that her mother had a hard time, so she was relieved.

There is a big stone on each side of the alley entrance, which is convenient for people to sit on. It has been there for who knows how many years, and the surface is polished and smooth. Several little boys are playing with treasures on the stone. The so-called playing with treasures is to stack waste paper or waste cardboard into squares, which are called "treasures". The two sides of the game each hold their own treasures. One side puts the treasure on the stone, and the other side holds the treasure in his hand and hits the other side's treasure with force. If the other side's treasure is turned over, he wins, and the other side's treasure becomes his own. The two children are playing enthusiastically, and there is a group of people cheering on the side.

Xu Huizhen also played this game when she was a child. She interrupted their game with a smile and said, "Who can tell me where Xu Jianmu lives? I have some sugar here."

A little head popped out from the crowd, "Xu Jianmu is my elder brother, do you want to come to our house?"

Xu Huizhen lowered her head and took a closer look. This was Xu Jiansen, the third son of her second aunt and the future deputy director of the Public Security Bureau. Xu Jiansen later joined the army and went to the Public Security Bureau after being demobilized from the army.

Now he is still a little kid, about six or seven years old. Xu Huizhen smiled and said, "Yes, I want to go to your house. Is your mother home?" Then she took out a piece of candy, peeled off the candy wrapper, and stuffed it into Jiansen's mouth.

The little bean slurped and said incoherently, "I don't know Nen."

Xu Huizhen imitated his accent and said in her hometown dialect: "I know you, your name is Xu Jiansen."

Little Bean: "How do you know my size?"

Xu Huizhen: "I also know your nickname, it's Sanmao."

Little Douding: "My mother is not at home. I'll go to the field to call her for you." After saying that, he turned around and ran away.

The rest of the children stared at Xu Huizhen, and some tried to touch her bicycle. After all, bicycles were rare items in that era and rural children didn't see them often, so it was normal for them to be curious.

Xu Huizhen was free anyway, so she played with the children. She said, "Whoever calls me sister and tells me your name will get a piece of candy."

"Sister, my name is Shuanzi." "Sister, my name is Erzhuzi."

Xu Huizhen gave candies to everyone with a smile on her face, and the children all enjoyed the sweetness of the candies with a smile on their faces. One child, with a candy in his mouth, spoke again: "Beautiful sister, I am Jiansen's cousin, and my father and Jiansen's father are brothers. Can you give me another piece of candy so that I can give it to my sister when I get home?"

Wow, this child is so cunning, and he wants to eat more and take more. This should be the child of the third or fourth wife. Xu Huizhen asked: "What is your full name?"

The child said, "I don't have a real name yet. My eldest brother is Xu Jianfu and my second brother is Xu Jianshou." Xu Hui really understood that this should be the third child of Uncle Xu's family, whose real name is Xu Jianan. However, he was thin and small, and was very different from the image in her memory, so she didn't recognize him. After a closer look, she really imagined that he looked a bit like her.

Thinking of Xu Jianan, a memory emerged in Xu Huizhen's mind: she didn't know whose family was having a wedding, but because there were so many guests, her home couldn't accommodate so many guests, so she arranged a few tables at the home of a good neighbor.

The young man, Xu Jianan, carried a wooden plate with various dishes on it from the kitchen to the guest room. Xu Huizhen, who was only seven or eight years old at the time, sat on a stone at the entrance of the alley, smelling the aroma of the food and almost drooling, because you know that meat dishes at weddings are rarely eaten at ordinary times.

At this time, Xu Jianan came over with a plate, saw Xu Huizhen, took out a meatball from the plate, stuffed it into Huizhen's mouth, and then secretly stuffed a meatball into his own mouth, made a face at Huizhen, and then rearranged the meatballs on the plate and left quickly.

Xu Huizhen chewed the meatballs with a happy smile on her face. When Xu Jianan came over again, he stuffed another piece of meat into her mouth.

Alas, this is also a kind-hearted person! The favor of the last life must be repaid in this life.

Retracting her thoughts, Xu Huizhen took out a handful of candy, handed it to him and said, "Everyone in your family should have one piece, and you are not allowed to eat it secretly."

Xu Jianan smiled with curved eyebrows and nodded vigorously, saying, "I see. Thank you, sister!"

Seeing this, other children came around and asked for candy. Xu Huizhen had no choice but to grab a handful of melon seeds and share them with them, saying, "There's no candy left. Eat some melon seeds to make your mouth sweeter."

Most of these children were from the Xu family. She looked at each one carefully, trying to find familiar faces. However, the time span was too long, and most of them could not be matched. Huizhen in her previous life was born in 1964. These children were not her age.

Second Aunt Xu hurried back. She was still young at that time, less than 40 years old. Her hair was combed neatly, and she looked neat and capable. She was a little confused when she saw Xu Huizhen. She didn't recognize this beautiful young wife.

Xu Huizhen stepped forward and said, "Second Aunt, let's go inside and talk." Second Aunt Xu was also a sensible person. She led Xu Huizhen into the house.

Xu Huizhen took down the backpack on the back seat of the bicycle, which contained the things she had prepared in advance, which were similar to those she had given to Hu Yingzi's family, except that there were 10 kilograms of white flour. In this era, every family was in financial difficulty, so it was definitely a good idea to bring your own food when you went to eat at someone's house.

Xu Huizhen said, "Aunt Xu, I came from Beijing and need to stay at your house for one night. Here are my food rations."

Seeing these things, an imperceptible look of joy appeared on Aunt Xu's face. Her family had many children, so their living conditions were naturally not very good. The thing they lacked most was food.

Aunt Xu said, "It's too much. We can't use so much."

Xu Huizhen: "The rest will be a thank you gift to help improve the children's lives."

After sitting down, Xu Huizhen stated her purpose straight away: "Aunt Xu, does your family have a nephew who wants to see Xu Jianshe?"

Second Aunt Xu: "Yes, the second child in my eldest brother's family is called Xu Jianshe."

Xu Huizhen: "Xu Jianshe saved a man a few years ago. This man thought Xu Jianshe had grown up, so he asked me to find a job for him to repay him for saving him. I came here to meet him and see what kind of job he is suitable for, so that I can go back and make arrangements."

Second Aunt Xu: "Then why didn't you go directly to my eldest brother's house? Why did you find my house instead?"

Xu Huizhen: "I've inquired about it. Uncle Xu doesn't seem to like his second son very much. When there's something good happening, he thinks of his eldest son first. I don't want to have anything to do with him. And your family has a good reputation in the village, so I came to your house. Don't worry, I won't let you work in vain. I will reward you handsomely after the matter is accomplished."

In the previous life, of the children of Aunt Xu, only the eldest stayed in the village as a farmer. The other children were all non-farmers, and they all lived well. Although it is difficult to get work quotas now, she has the blessing of the system and can exchange money or food for work. If there is a chance, she can also find a job for her eldest son.

Aunt Xu was very interested when she heard this. She asked, "What do you need me to do?"

Xu Huizhen: "After I find a job, you will be responsible for helping Xu Jianshe to get a letter of certification so that he can start work smoothly. So, you can send your children to call Xu Jianshe over so that I can meet him. It's best not to let Uncle Xu know about this." She was worried that if Uncle Xu knew about it, he would give the opportunity to Xu Jianshe.