Siheyuan, Me and the Yu Sisters

When Zhang Renkang brought Yu's father to the office of the planning department of the steel rolling mill, Yu Li had already prepared the meal and was waiting. When Yu's father entered the door, Yu Li looked up and was surprised.

"Dad, why are you here?"

Yu's father said

"I was getting off work at noon and was about to go home for lunch when I saw Renkang at the door."

(It is assumed that the textile factories are located two or three kilometers away from the homes. Light industry is not as tiring as heavy industry. In order to save meal tickets, people go home or bring their own meals. When the author was a child in the late 1980s, he would wait for his mother to come home for lunch at noon, about two kilometers away.)

"Why don't you let Renkang bring it here?"

Zhang Renkang laughed

"I didn't know that the textile factory where my father worked was the Second Textile Factory to the west of us. Otherwise, we could have asked my father to come here for lunch."

Yu Li smiled and said

"If you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have thought the two factories were so close to each other."

Father Yu laughed

"You may think it's close by riding a bicycle now, but if you try walking, it will take at least half an hour. If the factory didn't close at 11:30 and go back to work at 1:30, I would have brought my own food. The steamed bread is frozen hard in this winter, so I'd better go home and have something warm and comfortable."

Zhang Renkang brought a chair to Yu's father and said to Yu Li

"Give your bicycle to our dad. We'll work together these two days. I'll bring Haitang with me to buy you one on the weekend."

Then he took out the bicycle ticket and sewing machine ticket given by Zhao Jianjun and said

"The director of the textile factory, Zhao Jianjun, also gave me two tickets. You can keep them."

When Yu's father heard that his factory secretary had given him two large tickets, he was surprised and asked

"Renkang, our factory secretary gave it to you?"

Zhang Renkang laughed

"I solved his problem, and he still dismissed me with empty words."

Yu Li put it away and said with a smile

"Dad, you can ride my bike later. Here is your bicycle license. Take it with you."

He gave the bicycle license to Yu's father, who pushed it with both hands and said

"How can you do this? This is what Ren Kang bought. How can you do this? It will make people laugh at you. Besides, it's not like I can't walk anymore."

Zhang Renkang said

"I'm the only one in my family, who's laughing at you? We're counting on you and mom to take care of our kids in the future, so just take it."

He took the bicycle license and the key to the bicycle lock from Yu Li and stuffed them into Yu's father's hand. After all, he was thinking about his two daughters. What's wrong with giving a bicycle to his father-in-law?

Father Yu took a bite of the steamed bun and said with a smile

"Yu Li is so lucky to have found you, Renkang, you should have a baby soon."

"Your family should also expand as soon as possible."

Yu Li shyly went to wash her hands outside. Zhang Renkang responded while passing the meat in the lunch box to Yu's father. After the three of them finished their meal, Yu's father rested in Zhang Renkang's office for a while, then rode Yu Li's bicycle and left.

The two of them cleaned up the office, rode their bikes to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some candies and snacks, and bought some food and rode to Xishan Cemetery.

Today, the city of Sijiu is covered with dark clouds. The dark clouds are rolling all the way from the north, making it a bit suffocating. It seems that the first big snowstorm in Sijiu City this winter is coming.

The two of them came back from tomb sweeping. As soon as Zhang Renkang and Yu Li entered the courtyard, they were stopped by Yan Bugui again. Zhang Renkang was already very impatient with Yan Bugui's perseverance. Before Yan Bugui could speak, he said

"Uncle, if you want to solve the problem, please don't say anything. I don't have the ability to do that."

Yan Bugui said with a smile

"Renkang, let's not talk about this for now. You and Yu Li have gotten married, right? When are you going to set up the banquet?"

As he spoke, he looked at the candies on Zhang Renkang's handlebars and some food he brought back from tomb-sweeping.

Zhang Renkang laughed and agreed with Yan Bugui's idea.

"Uncle, look at the sky. It looks like a heavy snowstorm. It's not like the snow that melted away in the past few days. Don't you think about what else you haven't prepared for? Why are you thinking about this?"

Yan Bugui laughed

"It always rained in previous years, and it would last for three to five days before it was over. But this is a happy event for you, so how can I not celebrate it?"

Zhang Renkang laughed and said

"Uncle, you'd better not underestimate this snow. You'd better go and stock up on food now. Look at the clouds, they're coming with great force."

(It should be the big snowstorm in 63, which caused the city to be shut down for half a month due to water and power outages. The snow was more than one meter thick at one point. There was also a big snowstorm in 65. This one is fictional.)

Seeing that Zhang Renkang was serious, Yan Bugui asked half-doubtfully:

"Renkang, do you think the snow will be worse than last year?"

Zhang Renkang shook his head and said

"It's hard to say. Where did you see such thick clouds last year?"

Zhang Renkang dared not speak nonsense. What if he was reported for not causing a heavy snowstorm and was accused of talking nonsense because he was dissatisfied with the regime? That would be hard to explain. It snowed heavily for five days and five nights from mid-January last year. If the snow on the road was not cleared in time, it would be one and a half meters high. The water, electricity and food were cut off. If the road was not blocked by the heavy snow and the doctors could not coordinate, his mother would not have failed to see a doctor in time and died in early March.

After getting out of the way of Yan Bugui, Zhang Renkang took Yu Li home and looked at the clouds in the sky. The more he thought about it, the more depressed he felt. He said to Yu Li:

"I'll fill the big water tank in our house, then go to the school to call Yushui and Haitang back. You go and bring some food to our parents. If it snows heavily, come back quickly and don't stay on the road."

As he spoke, Zhang Renkang dragged out 50 kilograms of flour from the kitchen cupboard, took a sack, stuffed a few pieces of pork hanging on the wall into a sack, and tied it to the back seat of Yu Li's bicycle.

Yu Li asked worriedly

"Renkang, will this snow really be that severe?"

Zhang Renkang had long forgotten about it. He only knew that the city did experience several heavy snowstorms in the mid-to-late 60s. How could he know what happened? His memory was deeply engraved on the previous snowstorm.

Zhang Renkang said

"It's better to be prepared, so you won't be caught off guard."

Yu Li nodded. Her family had no preparation last year. They lived frugally and managed to survive for a week before they received government aid and supplies. Yu Li rode her bike in a hurry to her parents' home.

When Zhang Renkang saw Yu Li leave, he brought out a jar of spiritual spring water from the space, put a bag of rice and a bag of flour in the kitchen cupboard, hung three pounds of pork on the wall, and put twenty or so cans of meat in the bedroom closet. If there is a snowstorm, he can only cook some meat tonight and tomorrow. If it snows heavily, he dare not cook meat at home and can only use cans to satisfy his craving.

I closed the door and hurried to the bus stop in Nanluoguxiang. As soon as I walked out of the hospital gate, I saw Yan Bugui pushing his national-made bicycle and hurried out. Seeing Yan Bugui, I felt something was wrong.

Zhang Renkang waited for more than ten minutes before finally getting a bus. He paid a ten-cent ticket and headed for He Yushui and Yu Haitang's school in the south of the city. Halfway through the journey, it began to snow. Looking at the children and young people excitedly playing snowball fights on the roadside, Zhang Renkang became more and more worried.

However, Zhang Renkang did not dare to speak out. In this environment, he dared not speak carelessly. Although the official trend would start from the year after next, some students had already been criticized this year, especially in the universities in the four-nine cities in the middle of the year. Many students were taken away, and some radical students had already begun to impact society.

Zhang Renkang is not a saint. He just wants to protect himself and the people he cares about. As for other ambitions such as saving the country and the people, Zhang Renkang does not have them.

Arriving at the high school where Yu Shui and Hai Tang were studying, they stuffed a bag of Daqianmen into the doorman's pocket. The old man happily ran into the school to inform Yu Shui and his class. Within 20 minutes, Zhang Yu Shui and Yu Hai Tang appeared at the gate. Seeing Zhang Ren Kang and the other two excitedly jumped up, Yu Shui said

"Brother, why are you here?"

Yu Haitang also said excitedly

"Brother-in-law, are you here to see us?"

Zhang Renkang said anxiously

"You two go back and ask for leave from your teachers. Come with me first today. Haitang can take the bus directly home."

The snow was getting heavier and heavier, and it had turned into heavy snow. A thin layer of snow had already covered the road. Yu Haitang asked in confusion:

"Why, brother-in-law, the weekend is not until the day after tomorrow."

Zhang Renkang said anxiously

"No reason, go ask for leave first, and go quickly."

It was the first time that Zhang Yushui saw Zhang Renkang so anxious. He nodded and said

"Okay, I'll go back and pack my things. Haitang, go ask for leave."

Although Yu Haitang was puzzled, she was frightened by Zhang Renkang's murderous look and hurried to the teacher's office to ask for leave. In less than 20 minutes, the two of them ran out one after another, with Zhang Yushui still pushing his bicycle. Zhang Renkang just breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the two of them leaving the school gate, and a bicycle stopped beside him.

Yu Li panted and said

"Renkang, I sent it home. Mom said that Haitang couldn't go back with us. She took a car by herself and was left on the road."

(Bus accidents are very frequent at this time, not to mention heavy snow, it is common even for normal roads to be damaged frequently)

Zhang Renkang nodded and said without asking Yu Li why she came.

"I'll take Yu Li with me, Yu Shui, you take Hai Tang home first"

As they spoke, Zhang Yushui and Yu Haitang rode carefully in front, while Zhang Renkang and Yu Li followed behind to support them. Braving the heavy snow, the four of them took nearly an hour to reach the courtyard. On the way, Zhang Yushui and Yu Haitang fell three times. In the end, Yu Li brought Yu Haitang and Zhang Yushui back in Zhang Renkang's car.

(This is also a foreshadowing of Jia Zhang's sudden break from painkillers. The setting is that Jia Zhang's painkillers were about one dollar for a hundred tablets at the time. At that time, purchases were restricted to prevent addiction. A person could only buy 50 tablets per month, which is fifty cents. Jia Zhang bought a hundred tablets through her and Qin Huairu, and then asked Auntie Yi, Auntie Two, and Auntie Three to help buy them. In fact, the excessive use of painkillers has already made her dependent and addicted. Once she stops, you can imagine the reaction to drug withdrawal.)