Siheyuan: Happy Life of Jia Zhang Family

"Grandpa..." Xiaodang came running over staggeringly.

Zhang Dabao put the water cup aside, held Xiaodang on his lap, took out the hawthorn cake wrapped in paper from his pocket, gave one piece to Qin Jingru, and then peeled another piece and put it in Xiaodang's hand.

Xiaodang took a bite and her eyes narrowed because of the sourness, but she kept smacking her lips.

"Xiaodang, is it delicious?" Zhang Dabao asked.

"It's delicious," Xiaodang said as he raised the hawthorn cake in his hand and asked Zhang Dabao to eat it. Zhang Dabao pretended to take a bite and continued to let Xiaodang eat it.

"Jingru, why don't you eat?" Zhang Dabao asked when he saw Qin Jingru holding the hawthorn cake in her hand.

"Seventh Uncle, I want to bring some home for my mother to eat. The factory will have a few days off during the National Day, and I want to go home to visit her," Qin Jingru said.

"You have been out for a long time. You should go back and visit your parents. You came to the hospital during the Qingming Festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival is almost here. Wait for me. I will get you something." Zhang Dabao put Xiaodang in Qin Jingru's arms and turned into the house.

After a while, he took out two bags of snacks and handed them to Qin Jingru, "This is not mooncakes, but a bag of peach cakes. You have been out for so long, you have to bring something back. Put them in your room and take them with you when you go back."

"Seventh Uncle, I have money, I can buy it." Qin Jingru felt a little embarrassed.

"It's not easy to buy it now. Food will be sold out once it comes on the market. Take it with you." Zhang Dabao took the small bag and stuffed it into Qin Jingru's hand.

"Thank you, Uncle Seven." Qin Jingru took the snacks, ran to the central courtyard, and put them in her room.

"Da Biao" Zhang Cuihua came to the backyard panting.

"What's the hurry? Why did you run away?" Zhang Dabao motioned for her to sit down and talk.

"Today the factory director and my cousin asked me to give you a message. They will come to your house for dinner tomorrow," said Zhang Cuihua.

"Just come. It's not like they haven't been here before. What's the rush? How many people are coming?" Zhang Dabao asked after wiping Xiaodang's mouth.

"There are about ten of them. My cousin said that with you, Dongxu, Zhuzi and Xinsheng, there will be more than ten people, and a big table. Director Yang also said that there should be plenty of meat and good wine," said Zhang Cuihua.

"There's plenty of meat and wine. Dongxu and Brother Zhuzi are going to Chunfeng Hutong to slaughter a pig," Zhang Dabao said to Zhang Cuihua.

"Eat meat," Xiaodang raised his head and said to Zhang Dabao.

"Can you eat it? You only like meat. You have been eating hawthorn cake for a long time, but you only ate one corner. You are far worse than your grandma. Come and give the thing in your hand to grandma, and we will change another one." Zhang Dabao gave the hawthorn cake in Xiaodang's hand to Zhang Cuihua and gave Xiaodang a small cake.

"Is this hawthorn cake? My grandfather knew how to make it. We ate a lot of it back then. My father also knew how to make it. This is the first time I've eaten this kind of thing since he passed away. There were two hawthorn trees at home when I was a child." Zhang Cuihua ate the hawthorn cake left by her granddaughter, and thought of her grandfather and father who loved her. Her eyes became red again.

"You talk about your childhood every day. You are 47 years old this year. What's the point of talking about this? It has been more than 30 years. You have to look forward. How can you make any progress if you only think about the past? Come on, child, doesn't Xiaodang want to eat meat? I'll go to Chunfeng Hutong to get some meat. All you do is reminisce day after day. It's not too late to reminisce when you are 80 years old." Zhang Dabao handed Xiaodang to Zhang Cuihua and said a few words to her.

"Jingshu, let's go and see if there is anything you want to eat." Zhang Dabao went to the middle courtyard and called his niece. The two of them went out of the yard, got on a motorcycle, and came to Chunfeng Hutong.

Jia Dongxu and He Yuzhu had already finished processing one wild boar and were skinning the second one.

"Seventh uncle, why did you bring Jingshu here? Banggeng and the other three just took away the pig bladder," said Jia Dongxu.

"I'm here to get some meat for Xiaodang. By the way, tomorrow night, Director Yang and my cousin are coming to our yard for dinner. Let's cook the offal tonight and prepare two tables tomorrow, one for the people from the factory and one for our yard. Xinsheng is leaving soon. We don't know when he will come back, so it will be difficult to meet him again. Please send him a gift," said Zhang Dabao.

"Uncle Xinsheng, are you going to work in another place?" Jia Dongxu asked.

"The factory's overseas offices have to be in other places for a long time," said Zhang Dabao.

"What should I do if I miss him?" Jia Dongxu asked.

"If you miss him, just write to him, or I can send a letter to you," said Zhang Dabao.

"Why do they all have to go to other places? My master too, and Uncle Xinsheng too. After my master passed away, he only wrote me back once, saying that he was doing well. I don't know if he was really doing well. His leg wasn't healed when he left Beijing. My master's wife isn't in good health either." Jia Dongxu's eyes turned a little red as he spoke. He thought of the time when he was learning from Yi Zhonghai, and his heart was filled with longing for Yi Zhonghai.

"Why are you women like this? Your mother misses your grandfather and your great-grandfather, and you miss your master. Why don't you go and see him?" Zhang Dabao said.

"It's too far away, and I don't know the exact address. There's only a mailbox. How can I find them?" Jia Dongxu sighed deeply.

Yi Zhonghai, who was far away in the southwest, sneezed five or six times in a row. "I caught a cold. I need to put on more clothes. I have to talk to my wife after get off work and ask her to put on more clothes for the child. It would be heartbreaking if such a young child caught a cold." Yi Zhonghai thought to himself. He and Liu Cuiping loved their two children so much that they held them in their hands for fear of dropping them, and held them in their mouths for fear of melting them.

Yi Zhonghai was willing to spend money on his two children, and he and Liu Cuiping were also willing to spend money on food. Their quality of life was many times better than when they were in Compound No. 95. Because they ate well and were in a good mood, they both gained a lot of weight and looked a lot younger than when they were in Beijing.

As for Jia Dongxu, he was a topic they talked about occasionally. Now their hearts were completely filled with these two children, and there was no place for Jia Dongxu in their hearts at all.

Zhang Dabao didn't want to pay any attention to Jia Dongxu. He cut a piece of meat from the processed pig and told the two men that he would take their place in the evening. He asked them to just boil the offal and if they were hungry, they could steam some rice and fry some meat.

"Uncle, I want to eat rice too," Jingshu said to Zhang Dabao after getting in the car.

"Then let's go home and eat rice. We'll also fry some meat and stew some meat soup. Xiaodang can't chew meat now, so just eating some meat soup and rice will be enough," Zhang Dabao said to Jingshu.

The two returned to Yard 95, where Qin Huairu and He Yushui had just returned. Zhang Dabao asked them to steam rice while he went to cook. Zhang Lianhua also took the steamed buns made earlier to the backyard.

Zhang Dabao also told them about dinner tomorrow night, and after dinner, they went to Chunfeng Hutong.

He casually cut more than ten pounds of meat for Jia Dongxu and He Yuzhu each and asked them to take it home to eat. He watched the fire and let the two go home.