Life in siheyuan era

Zhou Zhiyuan bought two bowls of wontons and five sesame cakes, carrying the cloth bag out of the time-honored wonton restaurant, and went to Yuanhang Restaurant to buy ten meat pies.

Leaving Yuanhang Restaurant and walking across the street, a bus happened to pass in front of him.

Stopping in his tracks, he suddenly felt something, turned his head, and saw Shen Lanyin turning her face from upstairs, a look of pity in her bright, phoenix-like eyes.

"She pities me because my right hand is crippled?" Seeing this pitying gaze, Zhou Zhiyuan had this thought.

What he didn't know was that, in order to answer Yang Dan's question, Shen Lanyin had completely established the 'idiot' formula, and regardless of whether others believed it or not, she herself firmly believed it.

This idiot's right hand is crippled, standing alone among the crowds of pedestrians, "What will he do in the future!"

This was the scene Shen Lanyin saw, and this sigh arose in her heart, revealing a pitying look as she gazed at this figure.

But Zhou Zhiyuan didn't understand her feelings; he didn't need anyone's pity. Shen Lanyin was being sentimental and looking at the wrong person.

"Heh..." He chuckled, muttering to himself, "Little brat."

In his mind, Shen Lanyin was an inexperienced student, full of naivety, unaware of how capable a young man with a crippled right hand could be.

So, he muttered dismissively, but then he saw Shen Lanyin's expression change.

"Why is she angry?" Zhou Zhiyuan wondered.

Fang Xiang saw the angry look on her face, opened his mouth, but decided not to ask.

He was puzzled. Zhou Zhiyuan saw them, politely smiled slightly, and seemed to mutter something. This was a normal reaction, but Shen Lanyin was actually angry?

"Why?" Fang Xiang wondered, but he would definitely not ask.

Shen Lanyin had a characteristic: when she was angry, she wouldn't necessarily take it out on anyone. Whoever spoke up at this time would be unlucky.

Fang Xiang wouldn't be that sacrificial lamb, but he hoped Hao Zhiwen would ask, and even wanted to tell him, "Lanyin has a good personality, she won't shoot the bird that sticks its head out, and even if you make her angry, she won't do anything to you, she'll just ignore you for a while."

Fang Xiang hoped this situation would arise, but Hao Zhiwen wasn't stupid either. Seeing Fang Xiang open his mouth and then close it, he would definitely not ask, but instead turned to look at Yang Dan, giving her a hint, hoping she would ask.

Yang Dan saw this look, and just as she was about to open her mouth, she saw Fang Xiang wink at her, and suddenly realized that she and Fang Xiang should be on the same front.

She was pursuing Hao Zhiwen, but Hao Zhiwen was pursuing Shen Lanyin, and Fang Xiang was also pursuing Shen Lanyin.

In an instant, Yang Dan understood. Not only was there no conflict between her and Fang Xiang, but their interests were quite aligned. They couldn't help Hao Zhiwen pursue Shen Lanyin.

So, Yang Dan lowered her head and ignored Hao Zhiwen, focusing on her own question: "Why is Shen Lanyin angry?"

She was also curious about this, but she would definitely not ask. What she was even more curious about was why Shen Lanyin belittled Zhou Zhiyuan?

According to Shen Lanyin, Zhou Zhiyuan's right hand was crippled because he was stupid.

This statement satisfied the vanity of Hao Zhiwen and Fang Xiang, and they could blindly believe it, but she definitely didn't believe it.

She wasn't Shen Lanyin's pursuer, so she didn't need to reject Zhou Zhiyuan.

Her first impression of Zhou Zhiyuan was quite good: a handsome young man with polite manners.

But that was all. She didn't pay attention to Zhou Zhiyuan, and after putting aside her curiosity, she had to consider one thing: "How to help Fang Xiang pursue Shen Lanyin?"

Yang Dan was thinking about this question, and like Shen Lanyin, she seemed absent-minded.

Their attitude made Fang Xiang feel bored, and Hao Zhiwen was puzzled by Yang Dan's lack of reaction and even more puzzled by Shen Lanyin's pensive look.

The meal that Fang Xiang treated was tasteless, but Zhou Zhiyuan made a deduction: "She knows lip reading."

After making this deduction, Zhou Zhiyuan stopped paying attention to this matter, walked into the ward, and apologized to Liu Dashuan: "Brother Dashuan, the insulated container can only hold two bowls of wontons, so we can only eat sesame cakes."

"That's good..." Liu Dashuan replied cheerfully, "It's fine for my dad to eat wontons."

He was filial, and Old Liu Tou wouldn't eat alone either, taking a bite of wonton and handing the lunch box to Liu Dashuan.

Liu Dashuan took a sip of the wonton soup, put the lunch box on the small cabinet, and continued to eat the sesame cake.

Seeing Liu Dashuan finish a sesame cake, Old Liu Tou handed him a meat pie.

Liu Dashuan replied: "Dad, I like to eat sesame cakes." After saying that, he took another sesame cake and put it in his mouth.

This picture of filial piety moved Mo Youji. Turning his head, he saw that Zhou Zhiyuan had stopped after eating two sesame cakes, and couldn't help but curiously ask: "Are you afraid there won't be enough?"

"No..." Zhou Zhiyuan replied: "That's just my appetite."

His appetite was indeed not large. He used to be able to eat five large steamed buns, but after returning from Z Peak, two were enough.

Today, he had been sitting quietly for a morning, staring at the Greedy Wolf Star in the star chart for two hours, and at this time he found that his appetite had decreased again, and two sesame cakes had filled him up.

"I'm going out for a stroll." Zhou Zhiyuan said hello, got up and walked out. When he came back, he saw Mo Youji lying on the bed, the insulated container and lunch box on the cabinet washed clean.

Zhou Zhiyuan knew that Liu Dashuan had finished washing the dishes and taken Old Liu Tou out for a walk.

Mo Youji saw him come in, waved him over to sit on the stool, and slowly asked: "Do you want to know about my past?"

Seeing Zhou Zhiyuan nod lightly, Mo Youji said in a deep voice: "I used to be the chief appraiser of Baocheng Pawnshop, but I also had another identity..."

He paused, seeing Zhou Zhiyuan showing a focused listening expression, and continued: "When I was young, I was quite a playboy. It wasn't until I was twenty-eight years old that I married a wife, and the following year she gave birth to a son for me......"

A look of reminiscence appeared on Mo Youji's face, and two lines of turbid tears slowly slid down his cheeks, disappearing into his full white beard, emitting a glimmer of crystal light. This calculating old man was showing his true feelings.

Seeing Mo Youji sad, Zhou Zhiyuan also felt uncomfortable. He blinked lightly, and a long sigh came to his ears, a choked voice: "Those eyes were as pure as yours. When he was seventeen, he joined the organization's army with his classmates and sacrificed in the battle to resist foreign invaders!"

Mo Youji revealed his other identity—a family member of a martyr.

And his life was full of a strong tragic color.

Mo Youji was born into a family of antique dealers. Not only did he have a family background, but he also had talent in this area. He was able to accurately identify all kinds of antique calligraphy and paintings when he was only a teenager, and he was known as a child prodigy in the industry.

Such an environment and relatively affluent life made him develop a unruly habit. Although he didn't indulge in extravagance, he was also a playboy.

But in troubled times, merchants were the most unreliable group.

When he was twenty-five years old, the Mo family suffered a military disaster. Overnight, the family fortune was gone, and the relatives either died or fled. Alone, he felt the coldness of the world.

Fortunately, he had superb skills in identifying antiques and became the chief appraiser of Baocheng Pawnshop, living the life of a worker.

He married a wife at the age of twenty-eight, and the following year his wife gave birth to a son. From then on, he lived cautiously for the sake of his wife and son.

But his son sacrificed on the battlefield to resist foreign invaders, and his wife waited bitterly for her son for many years, and eventually failed to survive an illness.

Speaking of this, Mo Youji sighed again and said sadly: "It's good to leave like this, not knowing that her son sacrificed, it's a blessing for her."

His wife left with hope, thinking before her death that her son would soon come back, and then marry and have children, burn paper money and incense at her grave, and let his children kowtow in front of her grave and call her "Grandma."

Speaking of this, Mo Youji sighed for a while, reached out and wiped his face, and asked in a deep voice: "Do you know why I still have to work hard to live?"

Zhou Zhiyuan shook his head lightly. He didn't know.

Mo Youji said solemnly: "To respect life."

His idea was very special. Respecting life meant respecting his parents who gave birth to him and raised him, and also respecting his wife who left him and his son who died for his country on the battlefield.

These words had been hidden in his heart for many years. After speaking for an hour, he confided them and lay comfortably on the hospital bed, waiting for the news of his discharge.

Zhou Zhiyuan sat on the stool by the bed, thinking about what Mo Youji said in his heart.

He "respects life" and will not be decadent because of the destruction of his family.

He believes that his parents, wife, and children have gone to another world, and they are staring at him in the dark. A decadent him, a down-and-out him, and a him who has no love for life will make his parents, wife, and children sad, which is the greatest disrespect to them.

This is Mo Youji's understanding. For this reason, he must live better. Fortunately, he lives in a prosperous world. Isn't living well also a kind of comfort to his parents, wife, and children?

These words, if said to some people, would be considered a kind of self-comfort.

But if said to Zhou Zhiyuan, he would definitely agree with Mo Youji's understanding.

For him, who had experienced more than fifty years of dreams, this world is mysterious, and perhaps some things he firmly believes in do exist.