Siheyuan: Survival Guide for Courtyard No. 95

Zhao Shanhe followed Lao Dai and Xiao Dong and finally squeezed out of the crowd and left Xiannongtan. After parting, he rode his bike to Daqianmen. Of course, he had to share the good news with his sweetheart, so he wanted to tell Chen Xueru the good news as soon as possible.

Because it was Sunday, Hou Kui was also in the silk shop. Zhao Shanhe walked into the shop with familiarity and saw him at a glance.

"Hou Kui, have you finished your homework?"

"Uncle Zhao, my mom said you were going to participate in the tryout today? How come you were eliminated so quickly?"

Zhao Shanhe walked over with a smile and gave the little guy a slap on the head.

"How could I, your uncle Zhao, be eliminated when I am so wise and brave? I have overcome many difficulties along the way. The delegation saw that I was too good and was afraid that it would dampen the enthusiasm of other contestants, so they asked me to come back and rest and wait for the competition before going again."

While teasing Hou Kui, I heard a familiar voice behind me.

"Oh, you are so awesome? You have conquered all the enemies, so you must be Guan Yu. I don't think you can say that without blushing."

Zhao Shanhe turned around and saw that it was Chen Xueru who was talking. Seeing that there were no customers in the store, he walked over, put his arms around her slender waist and said.

"How dare you look down on me like Hou Kui? I'll show you how powerful I am."

After saying that, he started to tickle the other person's itch. Chen Xueru was most afraid of Zhao Shanhe using this trick, so she surrendered immediately.

"I was wrong. I give in. You are the best. No one can run faster than you, okay? But are you serious? Have you really passed the selection and can participate in the National Games?"

"Of course. When the competition comes in September, I'll see if I can get two tickets. Then you can bring Hou Kui to cheer for me. With your encouragement, I will win the championship at least."

"Do you really think you are Guan Yu? It's not easy to win the national championship."

After several months of getting along, although the two men could not go to first, second, or third base as they would in later generations due to the times, they had become accustomed to holding hands and hugging each other's waists. Even Hou Kui accepted Zhao Shanhe, knowing that Uncle Zhao would be his stepfather sooner or later.

Zhao Shanhe looked around the shop and saw that there were no customers, so he asked.

"Today is Sunday, why is there no customer in the store?"

"The top ten buildings are almost completed now, so everyone is going to see the excitement, so there are not many people coming to shop."

Zhao Shanhe thought about it and it was indeed the case. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. In order to pay tribute to the National Day, the city of Beijing had specially started to build the "Ten Major Buildings" one after another since last year. This is a rare sight in decades, and people naturally like to go and watch the excitement when they have nothing to do.

Thinking of this, Zhao Shanhe decided to take Hou Kui and Chen Xueru out for a walk. After all, running a shop means they can't go far for 360 days a year. Even if they have money, they have nowhere to spend it, which is really depressing.

"Xue Ru, since the weather is nice today, let's take Hou Kui out to play. You must be tired from staying in the store every day. Let's go out and breathe some fresh air to relax."

Chen Xueru was also very excited. Of course she also liked going out with her boyfriend. Besides, it was rare that Zhao Shanhe didn't dislike Hou Kui. After hesitating for a moment, she said.

"Then wait a moment. I'll talk to Manager Gongfang and the tailor in the store and then we'll leave."

When Hou Kui heard that Zhao Shanhe wanted to take him out to play, he was very excited. As a child, what he likes most is to go out and have fun.

It's like the bald eagle college students still love freedom, and even when they are caught by the police they still shout "it's for freedom"......

Chen Xueru moved quickly. After giving instructions, she followed Zhao Shanhe out of the silk shop. The three of them discussed it and finally decided to go to the Sijiucheng Zoo in the western suburbs.

The reason for going here is that it is not too far away, only half an hour's ride by bike; secondly, the place is big enough to spend a whole day there; and watching the animals is more suitable for little Hou Kui. After all, in the old city, apart from the zoo, the only other place to see animals is monkey shows.

The zoo is located on Xizhimenwai Street in XC District, adjacent to the Exhibition Hall and Moscow Restaurant to the east. It was built in the 1906nd year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty () and was then called "Wanshengyuan". It is the earliest zoo opened in China and the one with the most species of animals raised and exhibited.

When we rode our bikes to the entrance of the park, we could see the unique brick-gray "three-arch gate" at a glance. At that time, there were already 367 species of animals in the zoo, almost 4000 in total. Zhao Shanhe and Chen Xueru took Hou Kui to see tigers, lions, giant pandas, giraffes, elephants, polar bears, hippos, kangaroos, bison, ostriches... and finally went to the Monkey Mountain in the southeast corner of the park.

The three of them played and chatted together, and their laughter attracted a lot of people's attention. Even Zhao Shanhe whispered and laughed to Chen Xueru.

"Xue Ru, do you think we look like a family of three?"

Chen Xueru was very busy in the store, but very shy in front of a group of outsiders, so she also replied in a low voice.

"That depends on what someone is thinking. I'm afraid someone has the intention but not the courage to do it."

If Zhao Shanhe hadn't seen that there were people all around him, he would have used the tickling trick to let the other party know what a bold thief is.

After playing until the evening, Zhao Shanhe saw that Hou Kui was a little tired and everyone was hungry, so they prepared to go to the Moscow Restaurant next door to have a meal.

When they arrived and asked, they found out that to enter the Moscow Restaurant, which was only built and opened in 54, one must use a meal coupon at that time. Not only Zhao Shanhe, but even Qiao Laoliu probably didn't have that thing. In the end, the three of them could only ride their bikes back to Daqianmen in disappointment.

After returning to her own territory, Chen Xueru felt much more at ease and took Zhao Shanhe to Bianyifang.

"Shanhe, the duck here is the best in Sijiu City. The real old Sijiu comes here. Only those with more money or for entertaining guests go to Quanjude."

Bianyifang sells oven-roasted duck, which is crispy and fragrant, slightly different from Quanjude's hanging oven roasted duck. But for Zhao Shanhe, they are all wrapped in pancakes and seasonings, and they taste almost the same...

After eating the roast duck, it was already dark. The two put the sleepy Hou Kui on the front bumper of the car and slowly pushed the car towards the silk shop.

"Shanhe, today is the happiest day of my life in the past six months. Thank you for accompanying me and Hou Kui."

Zhao Shanhe looked at Chen Xueru's face, which was a little red due to drinking, and felt very satisfied. In this era that combines suffering, unity and progress, it is a rare blessing to have such a girlfriend who is both beautiful and able to keep up with the trend of the times.

"I am very happy today. It is rare to have such a relaxing day. But when I think about going to work again tomorrow, I feel a little headache."

"You call it a shift? You just take a walk and leave. I have to stay in the store tomorrow."

Zhao Shanhe had no good solution for this. As the owner of the silk shop, Chen Xueru couldn't not go to the shop to take charge, right? Although the new manager Gong Fang was very honest and the tailor was also a master, money could move people's hearts. If she didn't stay in the shop for a long time, who knows if there would be another Liao Yucheng.