Siheyuan: Being a fisherman in 1962

The shed was quickly dismantled by the three uncles, and Chen Fei stood aside, looking at his masterpiece with satisfaction.

He glanced at the oilcloth on the ground, a gleam in his eyes, and it was obvious that he had a new plan.

Xu Damao and Qin Jingru stood aside, their faces livid, but helpless.

In this courtyard, Chen Fei has a lot of say, so they can only endure it silently.

Chen Fei turned to Xu Damao and said, "I plan to take this oilcloth to the market and sell it. I should be able to get some money."

When Xu Damao heard this, he became anxious and hurried forward and said, "Brother Chen, since this oilcloth has been given to us, can you please not sell it?"

Fade Chen smiled and shook his head: "It's a gift, but the value of this oilcloth can't be wasted like this. If you want it, just bring money to buy it."

Xu Damao gritted his teeth and took out a dollar from his pocket: "This is all I have now, just sell it to me."

Chen Fei took the money, but did not agree immediately. Instead, he looked at Xu Damao carefully and suddenly said, "This money is hidden deep enough. I think there is still some in your underwear."

Xu Damao's face suddenly changed, knowing that Chen Fei had seen through his trick.

He smiled awkwardly, but could only bite the bullet and admit: "Brother Chen is really sharp-eyed, I did hide some money."

As he spoke, he took out a few crumpled banknotes from his underwear and handed them to Chen Fei.

After receiving the money, Fade Chen did not immediately hand the oilcloth to Xu Damao. Instead, he smiled and said, "Xu Damao, Xu Damao, you are such an interesting person. How about this, I see that your oilcloth is quite new, so I'll add another fifty cents."

When Xu Damao heard this, he immediately became anxious: "Isn't this just raising the price? This is all my property."

Chen Fei was unmoved: "I never do business at a loss. I was originally planning to sell this oilcloth at a higher price, but since you like it, I'll give you a discount. Fifty cents, not much."

Xu Damao sighed helplessly. In this courtyard, he couldn't compete with Chen Fei.

In order to protect the little money hidden in his underwear, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and agree to Chen Fei's request.

"Okay, I'll add it. I'll add it." Xu Damao squeezed out these words from between his teeth.

He took out the only ten yuan left from his pocket and handed it to Chen Fei together with the previous money.

After receiving the money, Fade Chen nodded with satisfaction and handed the oilcloth to Xu Damao: "Wouldn't it have been better if you did this earlier? Why go through so much trouble?"

Xu Damao did not answer, but silently took the oilcloth and turned away.

When he returned home, Xu Damao found Qin Jingru warming herself by the fire in the house with a look of dissatisfaction on her face.

"Why is this room so cold? When can we have a warm place to live?" Qin Jingru complained.

Putting the oilcloth aside, Xu Damao sighed and walked over to sit next to Qin Jingru: "Just bear with it. We are short of money now, so this is the only way for now."

"You can't keep doing this. Look, my hands are all red from the cold."

Xu Damao looked at Qin Jingru's red hands that were frozen, and felt guilty.

"Why don't we go out and get something to eat and warm ourselves up."

"Really? That's great!"

However, Xu Damao hesitated.

I touched my pocket and it was empty.

"Forget it, let's save some money. When we have more money in the future, I'll take you out for a good meal."

Qin Jingru was a little disappointed, but didn't say much.

I could only endure the cold and hunger silently.

Xu Damao felt sorry for Qin Jingru as she shivered from the cold.

In this cold winter, a room without a stove is like an ice cellar, making it unbearable.

He gritted his teeth and decided to go to Lou Xiao'e to borrow the stove.

Although Lou Xiao'e has always been lukewarm towards him, he still hopes to borrow some warmth from her.

Walking to Lou Xiao'e's door, Xu Damao knocked on it.

"Who is it?" Lou Xiao'e's voice came from behind the door, with a hint of vigilance.

"It's me, Xu Damao." Xu Damao tried his best to make his voice sound sincere.

The door opened a crack, Lou Xiao'e poked her head out and looked at Xu Damao: "What's the matter?"

"Um...can I borrow your stove? It's too cold in our room." Xu Damao said cautiously.

Lou Xiao'e frowned and refused without hesitation: "No, my own stove is not enough. You go."

With that said, she was about to close the door.

Xu Damao was anxious and pressed the door tightly: "Xiao'e, please help us. We are really freezing to death."

Lou Xiaoe sneered, "You asked for it by freezing to death. When you first built the shed, I told you that it would affect the environment, but you didn't listen. Now that the shed has been dismantled, you feel cold?"

Xu Damao was so choked by Lou Xiaoe's words that he was speechless and could only let go of her hand awkwardly.

Looking at Lou Xiao'e's indifferent back, he felt a sense of loss.

In this courtyard, he is just an insignificant little person.

No one cares about his well-being, no one cares about his life or death.

Xu Damao sighed, turned and left Lou Xiao'e's room.

There is no hope of borrowing the stove.

He walked to the street and wanted to buy some steamed buns to fill his stomach.

However, the cold weather made street vendors stay at home and unwilling to go out.

I walked through several streets but couldn't find a place selling steamed buns.

Xu Damao returned home helplessly. Looking at Qin Jingru's disappointed eyes, he felt guilty.

He failed to bring warmth and happiness to Qin Jingru, but instead made her suffer with him.

Seeing Xu Damao coming back empty-handed, Qin Jingru's face suddenly darkened.

"Why didn't you buy anything? What are we eating tonight?" she said dissatisfiedly.

"There's not even a single person on the street, where can I buy it?"

"Then why don't you go and borrow some food? You can't go hungry."

"I went to ask Lou Xiao'e to borrow the stove, but she refused to lend it to me."

"So you're back just like that? You won't go and beg her again?"

"I've begged her, but she won't. She said we didn't listen to her advice when we built the shed, so we deserve to be freezing now."

Qin Jingru stamped her feet in anger: "This Lou Xiao'e is really too much! How can she be so cold and heartless?"

Xu Damao shook his head: "Forget it, let's not count on her. Let's think of other ways."

However, what can we come up with in this cold winter?

As a man, you should take the responsibility of protecting your family.

However, Xu Damao is now unable to provide Qin Jingru with even the most basic food and warmth.

He gritted his teeth and decided to go find Lou Xiao'e again.

This time, he no longer asked her to borrow the stove, but hoped that she could sell him two steamed buns.

When he knocked on Lou Xiao'e's door again, he was still coldly rejected.

"I don't have any extra steamed buns to sell to you. Please go now." After saying this, Lou Xiao'e was about to close the door.

Xu Damao was anxious and pressed the door: "Please help us. We are really starving to death."

Lou Xiao'e sneered: "You asked for starvation. If you had listened to my advice, you wouldn't be in this situation now."

After saying that, she slammed the door shut, locking Xu Damao out.

Being rejected again was expected, but the unwillingness and helplessness in his heart surged up like a tide.

He took a deep breath and knocked on the door again.