Scholars in the courtyard

Back home, Ran Qiuye had already started preparing dinner.

Now, Ran Qiuye spends most of his time with Yang Xiaotao, probably because school is on summer vacation.

Originally, according to Yang Xiaotao's plan, Yangjiazhuang Primary School did not need summer vacation.

But Ran Qiuye felt that the combination of work and rest, and the weather was too hot, the students' learning efficiency in the classroom was too low, so it was better to take summer vacation.

Yang Xiaotao also understands that in this era without electric fans and air conditioning, sitting in the classroom is no different from a steamer.

And in order to prevent drafts in winter, the windows in the classroom are not large.

So, after seeking the opinion of the principal, Mrs. Yang, Yangjiazhuang Primary School began its first summer vacation.

School will reopen on September 1st.

It lasts for more than a month. As for summer vacation homework, of course it cannot be missed.

When Ran Qiuye saw Yang Xiaotao coming back, he quickly took the bag and hung it on the wall, "Uncle Chen will come over later and asked me to go to the next door for dinner."

"It looks like I have something to say."

Yang Xiaotao washed his hands and wiped his face with a towel.

"What did you say?"

"No, but I think I'm not in a good mood!"

"I guess I was nagged by Aunt Chen. The food will be brought later and we can go over and eat."

Ran Qiuye nodded.

In the Chen family, Aunt Chen was preparing meals. Uncle Chen was smoking his cigarette holder. Wangcai beside him was shaking his head. His tall body was pressed low, enjoying the caress of Uncle Chen's rough hands.

"Good dog!"

"Wangcai, do you want to come with me to see the world?"

Uncle Chen said suddenly, with some reluctance in his eyes.

Aunt Chen listened and said, "What did you say to the dog? I asked you to call someone, have you barked yet?"

"Call, call!"

Uncle Chen said impatiently, looking at home with a little nostalgia.

"Honey, tell me, can you come back?"

Aunt Chen stopped her hands and remained silent.

At their age, they have already passed their destiny. There are some things that they can't let go of even though they can look at them openly.

Uncle Chen is aware of his wife's silence.

"What a dog!"

"Why don't you find a bitch to litter with cubs so that I can take her with you? I have an idea."

Woof...

"Haha, look at it and think about it~"

Aunt Chen sighed and shook her head, knowing that the old man felt uncomfortable, but...

At night, Yang Xiaotao carried two dishes and Ran Qiuye came to Chen's house with wine.

"come on in……"

"You two, you are really..."

Aunt Chen was chattering, and the two of them walked into the room. Then Uncle Chen asked Yang Xiaotao to sit down quickly. A bottle of wine was already placed in front of him.

"Uncle, didn't you drink this wine during the Chinese New Year?"

"There are still some for the Chinese New Year. Let's try it first."

"Okay, let's try it!"

The two men sat at the table and started pouring wine, while Aunt Chen talked to Ran Qiuye about her family life.

However, Aunt Chen gave Ran Qiuye a special feeling today, as if she was about to leave.

While the food was being served, Ran Qiuye hinted at Yang Xiaotao. Both of them knew something was wrong, but they didn't say anything.

After three rounds of wine, five flavors of food.

Uncle Chen's face turned red from drinking, and Aunt Chen looked a little troubled.

Yang Xiaotao put down his wine glass, "Uncle, aunt!"

"We have been neighbors for so many years, and I, Yang Xiaotao, grew up watching you and your wife."

"This means that distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors. Brother Chen is not here, so you can't hide anything from me."

"We are not welcome!"

When Uncle Chen heard this, he looked at each other and then nodded.

Aunt Chen took Ran Qiuye's hand and started talking.

"Let me talk about this."

"Hey, your brother Chen has a family in Shanghai..."

Following Aunt Chen's introduction, Yang Xiaotao and the two knew what was going on.

It turned out that Uncle Chen's son was working in Shanghai. In those few years, he found a local wife and settled down there.

Later, when I had a child, it turned out that it was okay to have in-laws to help take care of me.

But last year, my mother-in-law passed away, and now my husband's family has given birth to another child. There is no one to take care of this family of four, so they were asked to move to Shanghai.

"Originally, we were asked to go there in 1958."

Uncle Chen took a sip, and then...

"Later, you didn't go because of me!"

Yang Xiaotao looked downcast and took the words.

There was silence on the table, and Ran Qiuye could feel Yang Xiaotao's reluctance.

There were already tears in his eyes.

"Xiao Tao, don't say that."

Aunt Chen had already shed tears, "If it weren't for you, we, the old couple, wouldn't have been able to stay in this courtyard for so long!"

"Auntie, seeing that you have a family and a career, I don't worry anymore."

"From now on, live a good life with Qiuye and leave a good home for your future children."

Aunt Chen started to nag, but this time, Yang Xiaotao listened seriously. She wished she could keep listening.

"Auntie, I know. I know."

Yang Xiaotao choked up a little, traveling into this world without any friends and helpless.

It was Uncle Chen and the old couple who allowed him to find the glory of humanity in this courtyard full of animals and allowed him to maintain the bottom line of being a human being.

The existence of the old couple is not only neighbors, but also like relatives.

"Okay, okay. Just go south!"

Uncle Chen shook his cattail leaf fan, "They are all in Greater China. They are not far apart, so it's not like they can't be seen!"

"It's nothing more than leaving the courtyard...!"

The toughness of the first sentence made Yang Xiaotao look at him with admiration, but at the end, the old man's face was also covered with tears.

"You old man, if you don't know how to speak, just stop talking!"

"Why don't you say, I, did I say something wrong!"

The two began to quarrel again. Normally, Uncle Chen would never dare to reply, but today...

The two talked for a while, but suddenly stopped, and for a while, they were silent.

Ran Qiuye supported Aunt Chen and spoke to comfort her.

"Uncle, aunt, it's a good thing for you to go to Shanghai."

“Isn’t life a happy life with children and grandchildren around our knees from now on?”

Yang Xiaotao also reacted and quickly calmed down.

"That's right. From now on, if you make me laugh with my grandson, you will be able to live in your old age."

"Besides, with such a distance, the train will go there in a day or two. When the time comes, Qiuye and I will go find you. Just open the door!"

"Hahaha"

"You kid, you have a bad mouth!"

The old couple smiled. After all, it was a good thing to see their grandson and reunite the whole family.

"Okay, Xiaotao is right. If you think about it later, come back and have a look."

"Yeah! That's right, it's not like I'm not coming back!"

After a few people talked, the mood calmed down.

The old couple are also calming down. People who have come out of the war era are not so fragile.

The reason why I was so emotional just now is because the emotions between the two parties are sincere and they are reluctant to let go.

However, just like Yang Xiaotao said, they will arrive in a day or two. At this distance, they are not far away.

"Uncle, when do you decide to leave?"

"deal!"

Aunt Chen smiled, "It was supposed to be September, just when the eldest son started school. But!"

Speaking of this, Aunt Chen looked at Ran Qiuye.

"I told your brother to wait until we finish your wedding wine before heading south!"

Yang Xiaotao smiled and said, "That's great. You must drink this glass of wine!"

"Also, the share of money cannot be reduced!"

"Ha ha"

"Monkey boy, full of evil thoughts."

Ran Qiuye was also smiling on the side.

"By the way, Xiaotao."

Uncle Chen straightened his body and became serious.

Seeing this, Yang Xiaotao knew that he had something to tell him.

"When we go south this time, this house will be left to you!"

"house?"

Yang Xiaotao put down his chopsticks and talked about houses. Most people in this courtyard live in public housing, which is allocated by the state.

These people only have the right to live, not ownership. When people move out, others will move in.

Now, Yang Xiaotao also has a headache, fearing that the new people who have moved in will be difficult to get along with.

This is also the reason why he doesn't want Uncle Chen's family to leave.

However, how can everything go as planned if God doesn't fulfill people's wishes?

But now, hearing the meaning of Uncle Chen's words, Yang Xiaotao suddenly felt worried.

"Uncle, you, you mean..."

"Haha, you kid has such a big head, you are so smart."

Ran Qiuye listened confused, but saw that Yang Xiaotao suddenly became excited and knew that this was not a bad thing.

"You mean, this house is a private residence?"

"Yeah, that's right."

Uncle Chen patted his thigh and smiled, "This house belongs to our family!"

"Haha, I don't know anymore. Haha"

Uncle Chen smiled happily while Aunt Chen told Ran Qiuye.

Most of the houses in this quadrangle were allocated by the steel rolling mill and the street office, but before the houses were divided, some of the houses in this quadrangle belonged to individuals.

At the very beginning, the owner of this courtyard house was overthrown. After years of changes, the houses in it were divided among the newcomers.

Later, many people escaped, and many people remained.

Just like the deaf old lady in the backyard, her house is her own and she has always lived here.

Later, some more people came in.

These people buy some houses from the original owners.

The main house in the middle courtyard originally belonged to the deaf old lady. Silly Zhu's father He Daqing bought two rooms from the deaf old lady.

There are also people like Yi Zhonghai and the Chen family who came to the courtyard from outside and bought houses here.

Later, the redundant houses without owners were taken over as public housing. Some people recognized the reality and handed over the redundant houses.

Later, Yan Fugui and the others lived in a house allocated by the government.

Yang Xiaotao only had a rough idea of ​​these things.

Now that I have listened to it, I have an understanding of that history.

"Are you saying that you are the one who sold our Lord's house?"

Yang Xiaotao asked in surprise.

Uncle Chen smiled and nodded, "The penthouse right next to us is a family."

"At that time, your father had just come from the countryside, and the superiors arranged a house for him. This courtyard was full, so he stayed here temporarily."

"Later, I picked you up and bought these two houses. I didn't expect to live in them for so many years!"

Uncle Chen sighed with emotion, while Aunt Chen was also lost in memories.

"Back then, when your family moved here, your mother even said that she would get you a wife if she wanted..."

"Oh, it's been more than ten years..."

A scene flashed in Yang Xiaotao's mind. It was a gentle woman pulling the young man to clean the house. There was a man next to him, wearing blue and gray work clothes and a hat, waving to them.

Yang Xiaotao lowered his head, interrupted his thoughts, and then looked at Uncle Chen.

Seeing Yang Xiaotao looking over, the old couple looked at each other.

"You also know that once we leave, the house that becomes vacant will probably be bought back by the street office and given to those who need it."

"We also know about you, so..."

"We decided to give the house to you!"