Siheyuan: Five mouths waiting for food at the beginning

As the days went by, after several courses of treatment, Banggeng's health got better and better. He felt that he was full of energy. The only bad thing was that he couldn't have sex. He had to hunch over all day, otherwise he would easily be misunderstood as a hooligan.

Banggeng was still young at that time, and he didn't know that Xu Damao had also gone through such a time. At that time, Xu Damao was also very upset and couldn't express his pain.

At night, Banggeng pestered Pangya to do that thing. Pangya said, "Banggeng, please be patient. The old man said that once you do it, all your efforts will be wasted. Tell me, you have persisted for so long, do you still want to have a child? If you continue like this, I will go to sleep in my mother's room."

"Okay, I'll bear with it, it's ok to just touch it."

During this time, Banggeng was seeing a doctor, and Zhao Shanhe was not idle either. He was storing wood, enough to build an earthquake tent. He didn't want to dismantle the bed or snatch wood from others when the time came.

Zhao Shanhe originally wanted to reinforce the house, but he was afraid of the worst. No matter how good the house is, it would be hard to avoid an earthquake. If something unexpected happened, it would be too late to regret. It would be better to wait until the earthquake was over and then repair the house.

I don't have to worry about my father-in-law, as he is a carpenter and there is no shortage of wood. I don't have to worry about my grandmother, as she lives in a military compound and the People's Liberation Army will take care of everything. But we will have to take her over when the time comes, in case the People's Liberation Army can't take care of her, as the old lady is so old.

What should we do with Da Ya, Er Ya, Uncle and Aunt? If it doesn’t work, we can find a reason to call them over. He still remembers the major events that happened in 76 very clearly.

Time soon came to July 76

"Brother, it's been a long time since you brought the wood. Didn't you say you wanted to repair the house? When are you going to start?" Qin Jingru asked.

"Why are you in such a hurry? The weather is so hot now, the wood is damp, and the house we build will not be solid. Let's wait a few days. Besides, our house is not uninhabitable." Zhao Shanhe made up an excuse.

On July 7, another great man passed away.

On July 7, Zhao Shanhe proposed to hold a family gathering and called everyone over. Everyone came, but how could they drag it on until the early morning? There was no room for everyone at home.

Zhao Shanhe insisted on having an awkward conversation, which dragged everyone on until midnight. Uncle San and Daya and Erya all wanted to go back, but Zhao Shanhe insisted that it was unsafe after dark and did not let them go back.

"Let's all get together for one night. Uncle San went back to his hometown during the Chinese New Year, and Erya didn't come until the second day of the Chinese New Year. It's been a while since we've been together like this, so let's all get together today."

"Yes, we haven't been together for a long time, so let's listen to our eldest brother and squeeze together." The second brother Zhao Shanhu said

"Brother, aren't you going back to the backyard?" Qin Jingru asked.

"I'm going to chat with my uncle and my brother-in-law. You don't have to go back. Chat with Daya and the others. This is a rare opportunity."

At around 2 o'clock, "Brother, go to sleep. You have to go to work tomorrow. I can't stand it any longer."

"Second brother, third brother, I feel a little energetic tonight. I'll go get a bottle of wine so we can drink with Third Uncle and Brother-in-law?"

The dogs barked loudly in the middle of the night, and all animals could sense it, which gave Zhao Shanhe an excuse.

"Second brother, third brother, Gao Peng, third uncle, hurry up and wake everyone up. The dogs are barking so loudly, something is wrong."

"Brother, what time is it? If you don't go to bed, everyone else will. You asked us to drink with you, so we did. Adults can stay up late, but children can't. Besides, when will the dog stop barking?"

"Something's wrong. The dog's barking is very strange. When have you ever heard a dog bark like that? My eyelids are twitching so badly. There might be an earthquake. Go get help."

"What, earthquake? Brother, you are right, right?" Several people suddenly woke up.

"Animals have early warning of natural disasters. I'm not sure if there will be an earthquake, but the dog's barking is so wrong. Just in case, go and wake people up."

"Listen to Shanhe. Shanhe is well-educated and won't lie to us. It's okay to sleep a little less, but it would be troublesome if there really is an earthquake and we are buried inside." Uncle San was a loyal supporter of Zhao Shanhe and responded immediately.

So several men ran to each house to call for help, and soon everyone came to the yard. The child was still sleeping in his arms, and the older ones were yawning.

"Indeed, Shanhe is right. There is something wrong with the way this dog barks. It keeps barking. Maybe something big is going to happen."

"Brother, are you going to notify the hospital?"

"Let's all go and shout. We all live in the same courtyard, so let's all shout, so that no one will blame us later."

Soon there were knocks on the door one after another in the courtyard, and then the lights came on.

"Brother, you hold the child, I'm going to the backyard," Qin Jingru said

"What are you doing in the backyard?"

"I'll go get the money."

"You silly woman, you are risking your life. Just look after the child. The money won't fly away."

Before long, most of the people in the yard arrived, yawning, and many people ran to the front yard, wanting to ask about the specific situation, such as Xu Damao, Sha Zhu and the like.

Zhao Shanhe repeated his analysis to everyone and asked everyone to check whether all the family members had come out, and to call out those who had not come out as soon as possible.

"That's true. If Shanhe hadn't told me, I wouldn't have noticed. I've lived half my life and have never heard a dog bark like that. Maybe something big is going to happen." said an old man.

Ten minutes passed quickly as everyone was chatting. The ground began to shake and tiles began to fall. The poor quality houses had collapsed, but most people's houses were intact.

"Everyone, calm down and stand still. Adults, take good care of the children and don't let them run around. It will be over soon." Zhao Shanhe shouted loudly.

After dozens of seconds, calm was finally restored. Xu Damao took the lead in flattering him, "Shanhe, you are really good. You discovered it in advance."

"Yes, yes," everyone around was reconciled.

"Okay, everyone, be safe. This earthquake is over, but that means there will be aftershocks and the weather will change. Let's hurry up and build earthquake shelters. Uncle, you go and notify the middle court, and Xu Damao, you go and notify the back court."

The third uncle came over and said, "Shanhe, first of all, I want to thank you for coming to us. Can you lend me some wood? The third uncle doesn't have enough wood."

"It's okay, Uncle. If you don't have enough wood, you can tear down the house. Look at how many people there are in my family. I don't even know if there is enough wood."

"Shanhe, you have so much wood, give some to the third uncle."

"Uncle, if you have time to waste on me, you might as well go and tear down the house. I don't have time to accompany you. If you don't want to tear down the house, then you can live in it."

Zhao Shanhe knew that he couldn't open the door to borrow wood. Even if he had enough wood, once the door was opened, everyone else would be short of wood and would come to ask him to borrow wood. He wouldn't know whether to lend them wood or not.

Zhao Shanhe's family built the earthquake-proof shed the fastest. It was completed at dawn. The front and back yards were also built. Not a single piece of wood was left. Soon it began to rain.

(Auntie, I’m sorry to you. You were alive during the earthquake, but the author wrote you dead, causing you to live a few years less for no reason. Since it was the author who made a mistake, those years of life should be added to the author’s life span.)