Life in siheyuan era

Uncle Yi (First Uncle) refused Xu Damao's invitation to eat and sat silently at the dining table, not saying a word.

Aunt Yi (First Aunt) looked up at him and sighed softly. Uncle Yi had been sitting there motionless for over half an hour.

Seeing him like this, Aunt Yi said softly, "The food is getting cold. Shall I heat it up?"

Uncle Yi sighed and replied in a low voice, "No need to heat it up. I can't eat."

Aunt Yi sighed along with him and said softly, "Don't blame Zhiyuan. He was aiming at Xu Damao."

Uncle Yi slowly replied, "I don't blame him. What he said might be true."

"Don't think about it anymore. We're both over fifty years old. We've been through thick and thin our whole lives. We're used to not having children," Aunt Yi said helplessly.

Uncle Yi pondered for a moment and said in a low voice, "You like Zhou Zhiyuan. Now there's a chance to get closer to him."

Aunt Yi immediately asked, "What should I do?"

Uncle Yi slowly said, "I don't know why he's openly siding with Shazhu and protecting Lou Xiao'e? This child is cunning, but he's overlooking the terror of gossip. Siding with Shazhu is nothing, but protecting Lou Xiao'e might invite rumors. Tomorrow, test the waters. If there's any gossip, explain it for him, saying he's influenced by his brother and has a problem with Xu Damao."

He's a seventh-grade fitter. Instead of studying the skills of a fitter, he's actually opened up military books to study strategy. He's trying to win over Shazhu and have his wife win over Zhou Zhiyuan, a two-pronged approach, grabbing whoever he can.

Uncle Yi thought it through thoroughly. Zhou Zhiyuan openly siding with Shazhu and protecting Lou Xiao'e did indeed invite some gossip.

Yan Jiecheng whispered, "Why is Zhou Zhiyuan protecting Lou Xiao'e? Are they two...?"

There's no need to say this kind of thing directly. Just give a hint. And you have to speak quietly. Even in your own house, you have to be careful of eavesdroppers.

Yu Li whispered back, "Impossible, right? Zhou Zhiyuan has only been back for a few days."

The couple sat at a small table, quietly discussing whether there was anything going on between Zhou Zhiyuan and Lou Xiao'e.

Yan Jiecheng seemed to have experience and explained in detail, "This kind of thing is hard to say. Feelings can arise with just a look. Didn't you see the way Lou Xiao'e looked at Zhou Zhiyuan? It was full of affection. I've seen that kind of look before..."

Yan Jiecheng got excited and talked non-stop, but he didn't notice Yu Li's face getting colder and colder.

After talking for more than ten minutes, Yan Jiecheng felt thirsty. He stopped his chattering lips, picked up the teapot from the table, and finally saw Yu Li's face.

Yu Li's oval face was frozen solid, and she spoke in an icy tone, "Finally admitting it without being forced. Zhou Zhiyuan might not have any ideas about Lou Xiao'e, but you have ideas about Lou Xiao'e, right?"

Hearing this, Yan Jiecheng was shocked and hurriedly cried out, "No, I don't have any ideas about Lou Xiao'e at all."

Yu Li snorted coldly and continued in an icy tone, "No ideas? You're watching Lou Xiao'e's every move and keeping it in your heart!"

"No wonder you're pulling me to stand on Second Uncle's side. So you want to see Lou Xiao'e. Is there anything else you haven't said? Is she also giving you affectionate looks?"

"No..." Yan Jiecheng hurriedly defended, "Lou Xiao'e didn't look at me."

"Alas..." Yu Li sighed and replied sadly, "How pitiful. Lou Xiao'e didn't even look at you!"

Yan Jiecheng finally realized what was happening and shut his mouth, not saying a word. He had already said the wrong thing repeatedly, and now he was afraid of continuing to say the wrong thing.

But Yu Li wouldn't let him off. She seized the opportunity to start the interrogation process, "Yan Jiecheng, talk about your affairs. Which woman has been giving you affectionate looks? You seem to have a lot of experience."

Yan Jiecheng couldn't help but speak now, pleading, "Grandma, you can't talk nonsense about this kind of thing. Lifestyle issues can kill people."

Yan Jiecheng is a dispatcher at the vegetable company, and there are many young female colleagues around him. Yu Li was already worried, and hearing him speak so vividly naturally made her even more suspicious. She replied coldly, "It's okay as long as it's not discovered."

Yan Jiecheng continued to plead, "Grandma, how could I have the guts?"

Yan Jiecheng's courage is indeed not great, but Yu Li remembered a saying, "To have the desire but not the courage." It's not okay to even have the desire. Seizing the opportunity, she wouldn't let him off.

Just then, a cough came from outside the window, temporarily ending this never-ending lawsuit.

Third Uncle had returned. He definitely coughed beforehand when passing by the couple's window. This was the profound embodiment of being a father-in-law.

He's very stingy, but he's very particular about etiquette. Being a father-in-law means acting like a father-in-law. Except for matters involving money, everything else is done according to etiquette.

Third Uncle went home, and Second Uncle, after drinking two more cups of wine, also left. Xu Damao walked into the inner room, facing Lou Xiao'e with a hesitant expression.

Lou Xiao'e looked up at him and asked indifferently, "Something wrong?"

"This..." Xu Damao hesitated for a few seconds, then mustered his courage and asked, "Why is Zhou Zhiyuan protecting you?"

"How would I know..." Lou Xiao'e replied indifferently, "We're not close. He doesn't need to protect me. Maybe he just doesn't like you?"

This hat made him quite uncomfortable. He found Zhou Zhiyuan to be quite sinister, using insidious tactics as soon as he made a move, and he couldn't even find any fault with it.

"This kid is quite troublesome," Xu Damao muttered, frowning.

But Lou Xiao'e said indifferently, "Figured it out? If you've figured it out, go clear the table."

"Oh..." Xu Damao agreed and walked out of the room.

Lou Xiao'e sighed softly, put down her book, and crawled into bed. She had no appetite tonight.

She initially thought that Xu Damao, with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, was a good man, but less than a year after getting married, she realized she had misjudged him.

It's said that you can't judge a book by its cover. Xu Damao is like this. Is Zhou Zhiyuan, with his handsome appearance, also like this?

Lou Xiao'e didn't know.

And Zhou Zhiyuan didn't know that his words and actions had caused adverse reactions. He was still that young Zhou Zhiyuan, acting when he should, just being strategic about it.

At this time, he and Zhou Zhining were sitting on either side of the desk, each with a pen and a newspaper, writing on the paper with their left hands.

In two days, he would be reporting to the Xingyi Subdistrict Office. Writing was a very important job skill. Zhou Zhining was worried and continued to practice left-handed writing with Zhou Zhiyuan.

After the two practiced writing for more than an hour, Zhou Zhining put down his pen, took Zhou Zhiyuan's newspaper, looked at it carefully, nodded in satisfaction, and gave a compliment, "You're improving quickly."

Zhou Zhiyuan, who received the praise, chuckled softly, then changed the subject and asked in a low voice, "Brother, is there something going on between you and Qin Huairu?"

This was the focus of Zhou Zhiyuan's attention.

Zhou Zhining looked at him, withdrew his gaze, and slowly replied, "Nothing. She's Dad's apprentice and also learned tailoring from Mom. The two families are relatively close."

Zhou Zhiyuan sighed softly and said solemnly, "Sympathy is not equal to love, and even if you like someone, you can't陷进yourself in it, or even involve your parents. There should be a distance between men and women, and you should never send the other person the wrong signal. Let go when you should."

His attitude was clear, but Zhou Zhining didn't say a word.

Seeing his serious expression, Zhou Zhiyuan changed direction in time, "I heard you're getting close to the factory flower, Yu Haitang?"

Hearing Zhou Zhiyuan ask about Yu Haitang, Zhou Zhining relaxed and replied casually, "Your news is quite well-informed. Did Aunt Yi tell you?"

Zhou Zhining pointed out Aunt Yi, pondered for a moment, and replied indifferently, "Yu Haitang is the factory's broadcaster, responsible for propaganda work. She often asks me to publish newspapers. Our relationship is only that. She has someone."

He said it was only that, Zhou Zhiyuan nodded lightly and slowly said, "In the Thirty-Six Stratagems, there's one called 'Openly Repair the Plank Road, Secretly Cross the Chencang River.' Of course, Brother knows this stratagem."

Zhou Zhining glared at him and replied in a low voice, "Do you think I'm playing tricks with Mom and Dad?"

Zhou Zhiyuan chuckled and changed direction again, "Didn't the factory office want to transfer you there?"

Zhou Zhining relaxed again and replied indifferently, "They mentioned it, but I refused. I don't like serving people, and I especially don't like Director Li in the office."

Factory Office Director Li Huaide, who is also the Deputy Factory Director/Director Li in the Siheyuan script. Zhou Zhining's intuition is very keen. It's right not to like him. He's a negative character, greedy for money, lustful, and also timid.

Another character from the script has appeared, but Zhou Zhiyuan only cares about Qin Huairu.

He heard a contradictory heart from Zhou Zhining's mouth, confirming that Zhou Zhining liked Qin Huairu but knew the consequences of liking her.

Thinking of this, Zhou Zhiyuan sighed softly, glanced at Zhou Zhining, who had crawled into bed, turned off the desk lamp, opened the curtains, and sat on the chair, looking into the courtyard.

Sitting here, he could see the window of Qin Huairu's house. The curtain tightly blocked his view, but what would happen when Zhou Zhining sat at the desk?

Thinking of the scene of looking at each other across the window with affection, Zhou Zhiyuan sighed again.

He had a sense of helplessness and was troubled when he saw a slender figure walking into the courtyard.

This figure pushed a bicycle into the courtyard and shouted, "Brother Shazhu, is there anything to eat?"

Shazhu's sister, He Yushui, has returned. The characters from the Siheyuan script are appearing one after another.