Break out of the courtyard

"Grandma Hongxiu, it's time to eat!"

Zhang Heping stood outside the courtyard gate and shouted into the alley.

Loud Voice: Beginner (3%).

Not long after, Xie Ermei, the grandma of Hongxiu, came out of a courtyard house and ran back home.

Lunch was two Quanjude roast ducks packed back last night, plus pickles from Liubiju, white steamed buns, minced meat stewed cabbage, and shredded radish from the canteen of the steel rolling mill. It was enough food for six people.

Mother Ma Xiuzhen didn't want to see her son waste money by going to a restaurant, so she left in a hurry with her eldest cousin Ma Lili, bringing only the steamed buns she steamed in the morning and a bottle of pickles.

"The Zhou family's wife took her three children to visit her husband in Xijiang. She asked us to help look after her house." Grandma Xie Ermei was talking, and suddenly lowered her voice and said to everyone:

"This morning, there were rumors about Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu in many courtyards..."

Zhang Heping took the steamed bun, put a piece of salted garlic in it, frowned and said: "Grandma, you wear red sleeves, you represent the street office. You have to behave in words and deeds. How can you gossip about those gossipy things?"

Grandma Xie Ermei was stunned, thinking to herself, wasn’t it your grandson who wrote the report letter that caused this?

Then, Zhang Heping added seriously, "Take off the red sleeves first."

These words made others raise their lips, and the second sister Zhang Pandi even smiled and wanted to take grandma's red sleeves.

While the Zhang family was still chatting and laughing while having lunch in the front yard, the people who were conspiring at the He family had already dispersed.

Silly Zhu went out to look for alley street vendors, the deaf old lady was responsible for finding ticket sellers, and Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, and Yan Bugui went to the surrounding street offices...

After Sha Zhu's father ran away with the widow, Sha Zhu worked as an unemployed vagrant for a period of time; after he skillfully spread a circle of cigarettes to a few gangsters, he went straight to the point, looking for someone to sell the house.

After the deaf old lady found a ticket seller she was familiar with, she was doing the same thing, looking for someone to sell her house.

The three of them, Yi Zhonghai, were much more cunning. They went to other sub-district offices and praised Zhang Heping vigorously, praising Zhang Heping for how much prey and fish he had sent to the Nanluoguxiang sub-district office.

Finally, on behalf of the Zhang family, they asked the sub-district office if there were any small courtyards for rent or sale.

On the afternoon of the third day of the Lunar New Year.

Zhang Heping took his two sisters to Beihai for ice skating and when they came back, they found something was wrong at home.

Many people wearing red sleeves visited his house, and they were especially interested in the furs under the eaves of the east wing and the wing.

After Zhang Heping learned from his grandmother Xie Ermei that these people were from other streets, he became more confused.

When Zhang Heping opened the right room and put the steel skate rack in, someone immediately surrounded the door.

"Kid, is your name Zhang Heping?"

"Didn't you say that your family has a house full of bacon? How come you only have this little bit?"

"Hey, look at the bed, there's so much fur!"

……

Zhang Heping communicated with these chattering aunts and got an important message. Someone went to their street office to publicize Zhang Heping's donation of prey and fish!

Before Zhang Heping could continue to ask questions, a clerk came over and called Zhang Heping to the street office.

"Heping, let me introduce to you. This is Qi Jun, director of the Houhai Subdistrict Office. He is my old comrade. You can just call him Uncle Qi."

As soon as Zhang Heping arrived at Director Wang's office, he was asked to recognize an uncle.

"Uncle Qi, Happy New Year!" Zhang Heping shouted smoothly and began to look at Director Qi from the next street. He probably came here for prey and fish.

This thin man with an unshaved beard, a dog-skin hat, and a shabby military coat is about 40 years old.

He was also looking Zhang Heping up and down at this time, "Kid, I heard that you are very good at hunting?"

"Not great!" Zhang Heping hurriedly denied that he had no time to help other street offices with relief tasks, so he looked at Director Wang and said:

"Aunt Wang, a group of people from other street offices came to my house. It is probably Yi Zhonghai and others who are causing trouble. I have to go back and keep an eye on them. If there is nothing wrong with you, I will go back first."

"Old Qi, let's get down to business, don't make all these twists and turns." Director Wang said, turning to look at Zhang Heping and said, "Didn't I suggest that your family change their house before?"

"I searched a lot and finally found a small courtyard on the north shore of Houhai at your Uncle Qi's place. Do you want to move there?"

"Which position?" Zhang Heping suddenly became interested.

Meeting Zhang Heping's gaze, Director Qi coughed. Just as he was about to speak, Director Wang interrupted him, "It's the No. 7 courtyard on the north bank of Houhai, west of Yinding Bridge. It's the second courtyard to the left of the public toilet. There are three big stars in front of the door. Tree."

When Director Wang saw Zhang Heping nodding to indicate that he knew which hospital it was, he began to introduce the situation of No. 7 Courtyard.

"The courtyard faces north and south, and the courtyard door faces Houhai; there are two side rooms on the left side of the entrance. The east and west wing rooms are smaller, similar to the wing room next to the firewood stove in your house, and the main room is similar to the east wing room in your house. How about it? Want it? Don’t you want to go take a look now?”

Zhang Heping nodded excitedly, "Go and have a look!"

Just listening to Director Wang's brief description, Zhang Heping became very interested in the five-room courtyard.

The key is that the small courtyard is on the shore of Houhai, so it is very convenient for skating and fishing!

"Old Qi, let's go!" Director Wang greeted and went out first.

"Uncle Qi, are you riding a bike? There is no car that can take me." Before Zhang Heping could finish his words, he had already disappeared.

Director Qi of the Houhai Subdistrict Office smiled bitterly and went out. Unexpectedly, Director Wang didn't even tell his conditions and took people to see the house.

Zhang Heping came to the north of Yinding Bridge, parked the car and waited until Director Wang and Director Qi came by bicycle. He pointed to the shabby store with only one floor just north of Yinding Bridge and asked:

"Uncle Qi, who owns this crappy house? I want to buy it. Can you contact the owner?"

Zhang Heping has been eyeing the store house at this corner for a long time, but he has never found out who the owner is.

The store is 12 meters long from north to south, pointing to Shibei Hutong; 13 meters long from east to west, on the north bank of the slender river connecting Qianhai and Houhai.

This rotten house is in an excellent location. It is located at the north corner of the intersection north of Yinding Bridge. To the west is Houhai, to the east is Qianhai, to the north is Drum Tower, and to the south is Yinding Bridge.

Qi Jun was about to answer Zhang Heping's question, but was interrupted by Director Wang, "Read your book carefully and don't think about it."

Zhang Heping chuckled and said: "This place is at the center of the storm. If I can build a three-story building here, I can dry bacon, rabbits, and pheasants on the roof. The taste will definitely be better than the jerky I made last year."

"It's too ostentatious! Let's wait until you start working." Director Wang shook his head and took the lead in riding to No. 7 Courtyard.

The three of them came to Courtyard No. 7 and parked their bicycles on the flat dam outside the spacious door. More than ten meters in front of the door was the narrow section of the river where the Back Sea flows into the Front Sea.

The gate of this small courtyard No. 7 is on the far right side of the south wall and is much shorter than the doors of the neighbors on the left and right.

Zhang Heping guessed that the first homeowner of this small courtyard was probably bullied by his neighbors.

The two inverted rooms on the left side of the door are not big and have no kang. They are smaller than the right wing room where Zhang Heping currently sleeps and larger than the backyard wing room where Zhang Cuishan sleeps. The key is that there are windows on the north wall of both rooms.

There is a kang in the east and west wing rooms, which is indeed the same size as the left wing room where the two sisters sleep.

The stove was built between the east wing and the main room on the north, with a wooden awning added above.

The main room is similar to the east wing of his house, with the living room on the left and the fire pit behind the partition wall on the right.

Director Wang checked the doors and windows and asked with a smile, "How is it? Do you like it?"

"Well!" Zhang Heping looked at the director of the Houhai Subdistrict Office again, "Uncle Qi, who owns this yard? Can it be sold?"

……