RIRW – Chapter 146

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In the days that followed, Zuo Dan and Shen Yiming focused on properly arranging matters at home. They left a set of house keys with Li Hui, so she could come and stay whenever she wanted. She could also help check in on the house from time to time.

As for the old house where Grandma used to live, it was rented out to Zuo Chengcai. Originally, Grandma Shen didn’t want to charge any rent—after all, the house had been sitting empty, and letting a relative stay there was no big deal. Their own family had no plans to live in it anyway. But Zuo Chengcai wouldn’t agree—he insisted on not taking advantage. So, Zuo Dan simply accepted three years’ worth of rent and told him to live there as long as he needed.

Once everything at home was settled, the Shen family—along with Zuo Cong—boarded a northbound train.

Li Hui, the two elders of the Li family, and Shen Yiming’s friends all came to the station to see them off.

Everyone knew that this time, Shen Yiming was taking his whole family with him to the capital for university. With nothing left tying them here, it was likely they wouldn’t return often. Perhaps this departure meant they’d never meet again.

A few of the young men clapped Shen Yiming on the shoulder, and Song Gang gave him a bear hug.

“You brat, quitting such a good job just to toss your life around like this. What if you get bullied out there, all alone in a new place? We’re so far apart, how can we help you?”

Zuo Dan, standing nearby, was deeply moved. What genuine people—still treating Shen Yiming like a naïve little bunny.

Then she heard Song Gang continue, “And what about my future son-in-law, huh? You’re taking him so far away—how’s our Hua Hua supposed to build a relationship with him now?”

“……”

Xu Xiaoqiang, unable to stand Song Gang’s clingy attitude, pushed him aside. “Brother Yiming, if anything happens, just call home. Even if we’re far apart, we’ll still come to the capital to help you.”

Xu Dapeng sighed. “I was planning to attend your wedding banquet, you know…”

Guo Datou, who worked in the oil fields, had also come. “Yiming, when I strike oil and get honored in Beijing, I’ll be sure to visit you!”

“Yeah, but who knows when that’ll be—Monkey Year, Horse Month?” Xu Xiaoqiang immediately chimed in.

Guo Datou’s face turned black, and he hooked Xu Xiaoqiang’s neck with his arm. “Xu Xiaoqiang, watch it or I’ll beat you up.”

“Brother Yiming, see? You’re not even gone yet and they’re already bullying me!” Xu Xiaoqiang shouted.

Shen Yiming chuckled, “Alright, alright, I’m about to leave and you lot still can’t act properly.”

As soon as he said this, the atmosphere turned a bit somber.

Everyone felt a little down. They used to meet up so easily in the provincial city, but now they’d be scattered all over the country.

Song Gang said with emotion, “Yiming, take good care of Teacher Zhao and my son-in-law. I’ll visit you all often.”

Then he turned and wiped his eyes.

Xu Xiaoqiang lowered his head, and the others looked visibly upset too.

Shen Yiming said solemnly, “No matter where I go, I’ll never forget you all. If there’s ever a time when you need me, just get in touch. Don’t treat me like an outsider.”

Everyone nodded.

Off to the side, Li Hui and the elders Li also reminded Zuo Dan and Zuo Cong to study hard in the capital. Learn useful knowledge, and don’t forget what the newspaper said—give back to the motherland.

Time was tight, so no more was said. Everyone escorted the Shen family onto the train.

They had bought sleeper tickets, so it wasn’t crowded.

Once on board, Zuo Dan and Shen Yiming waved out the window at their friends and family.

The train slowly started moving. As the crowd outside grew smaller and smaller, the adults on board were filled with mixed feelings—reluctance and hope for the future.

Oddly enough, Shen Youyou was the happiest, giggling and climbing all over the sleeper bunk. Since it was the start of the school year, the train to the capital was quite full. In their sleeper compartment, a male and a female student—both from the capital—had moved in.

Seeing Zuo Dan and Shen Yiming traveling to university with their whole family struck them as very novel.

And when they found out the couple were both enrolling at Peking University, and their younger brother-in-law was going to Huada—well, they were amazed.

During the journey, the young people played chess and chatted. Grandma Shen played with Shen Youyou. Time passed quickly.

Two days later, the train finally arrived in the capital.

Shen Yiming and Zuo Cong carried the luggage, Zuo Dan held the child, and Grandma Shen followed behind. As they stepped onto the platform, they saw someone waving—it was a young man of medium build with a crew cut, wearing a jacket. When he saw Shen Yiming, he strode over and punched him on the shoulder.

“Shen Yiming, you finally made it.” Then, looking at Zuo Dan and Grandma, he smiled and said, “This must be Grandma Shen and your wife, right? I’m Zhang Yue, Yiming’s good buddy.”

Grandma Shen smiled. “Yiming told me about you. The first time he came to the capital, he said it was thanks to you.”

Back when Shen Yiming was just fifteen or sixteen, he had come to the capital alone to “see the world.” That’s when he met Zhang Yue.

No one knew exactly how they became acquainted, but ever since then, Shen Yiming had a friend in Beijing. Even the photocopiers he arranged for the provincial transport company back then had come through Zhang Yue’s help.

Zhang Yue had borrowed a vehicle to come pick them up. Outside the station, they saw the van he had brought. Once everyone was in, he drove them to an alley near the university—lined with traditional courtyard houses.

“These are mixed residences, but it’s close to the school. You’ve got two rooms here, which should be enough. It’s been hard to find housing on short notice.”

Shen Yiming smiled. “It’s already great. If not for you, I’d be dragging the whole family around on the street right now.”

Zhang Yue laughed. “I don’t care what you think—I was more worried about your wife and Grandma Shen feeling wronged.”

“This place is great. I’ve never lived in a courtyard house before,” Grandma Shen said cheerfully.

Zuo Dan nodded along, eyes darting around in quiet excitement. She was overjoyed—finally, she could live in a courtyard house. Back when she visited Beijing as a tourist, she couldn’t even find a place like this to stay.

She used to think, if only she’d been born a few decades earlier, she could’ve bought one of these courtyard house—that would’ve been a dream. Now, that dream was coming true. Once she started earning money, she’d definitely buy one for herself. Live however she wanted.

When they arrived at the courtyard house Zhang Yue had arranged, Zuo Dan understood why he had said it was cramped—it really was. The small courtyard had rooms on three sides. There seemed to be five or six rooms total. And even so, Zhang Yue said that including their family, five families lived there.

That’s right—each room was occupied by a different household.

As they entered, everyone inside stared at them.

Zhang Yue went in and opened the door. The room was actually quite bright, with glass windows already installed. As long as the curtains were drawn, there was plenty of light. The Shen family had two adjoining rooms—one for Shen Yiming and his wife, and the other for Grandma Shen and Zuo Cong. The conditions were tight, so they’d have to make do for now. After all, Zuo Cong would be staying on campus and wouldn’t be living there long-term.

The house had already been cleaned up, so they just needed to move in their luggage. Bedding and such still had to be arranged.

Originally, Zhang Yue had planned to invite Shen Yiming’s family for a meal, but that had to be skipped. They needed to quickly get things set up at home—otherwise, they wouldn’t have a place to sleep tonight.

Fortunately, the material supplies in the capital were much more abundant than in the provincial city. Before coming, Shen Yiming had exchanged all his ration and ticket stubs for military-issued ones, which were accepted nationwide. He left Zuo Dan and Shen Grandma at home with the child to organize things while he took Zuo Cong and Zhang Yue out in the car to shop for supplies.

As soon as the three men left, someone came to visit Zuo Dan’s home.

A plump middle-aged woman arrived holding a bowl of pickled sour beans. Standing at the doorway with a smile, she said, “You’ve just moved in today, right? You probably haven’t had time to prepare any dishes. I just made these sour beans this year—thought I’d bring you some to try.”

Grandma Shen welcomed her with a smile. “You’re really too kind. It’s just like the saying goes: ‘A distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor.’ We’ve only just arrived, and we’re already feeling the warmth of our neighbors. May I ask your name?”

“My surname’s Guo. Everyone calls me Sister-in-law Guo. You can just call me Xiao Guo.”

Grandma Shen introduced herself, Shen Yiming, and Zuo Dan.

Sister-in-law Guo smiled and said, “Your whole family looks so cultured—no wonder you all seem so refined.”

Zuo Dan replied with a smile, “It’s all thanks to the country’s policies that we could go to university.”

Sister-in-law Guo nodded in agreement, “Yes, it’s the policies.” But there was something subtle and unusual in her tone. Grandma and Zuo Dan smiled and pretended not to notice.

Not long after Sister-in-law Guo left, someone else came by. Only then did Zuo Dan understand what she had meant earlier.

The visitor was a skinny woman in her thirties, who introduced herself as Sister-in-law Chen Si. While cracking sunflower seeds, she said, “You’re not related to that Guo family, are you? Don’t believe a word she says. Her man will never make a comeback.”

Zuo Dan found the woman tiresome and replied with a polite but insincere smile, “We just met, actually.”

“Who would believe that? Otherwise, why would she be so friendly with you the moment you moved in? Even brought you pickled beans—never gave any to us,” Chen Si said with suspicion all over her face.

Zuo Dan smiled, “She’s just being warm-hearted. Speaking of which, comrade, she brought us something—what did you bring us?”

Hearing Zuo Dan ask for something, Chen Si’s face immediately twisted like she had swallowed a fly. “You… you’ve got some nerve. Just the three of you living in two rooms—seems to me you’re just like the Guos.”

With that, she clapped the sunflower seed shells off her hands and turned to leave.

Well, finally managed to gross her out enough to leave. Zuo Dan curled her lips in a smirk.

“This one is not worth befriending,” Grandma Shen said while holding Shen Youyou in her arms.

Zuo Dan laughed, “We won’t associate with them. We’re not relying on anyone. If people are nice, we’ll return the gesture. If they’re not, we’ll just shut our door and live our own lives.”

Grandma Shen nodded, then added, “That Xiao Guo seems alright. She brought us something—let’s prepare a return gift later.”

“Sure. Once everything is set up tomorrow, I’ll bring something over.”

Whether it was because Sister-in-law Chen Si had spread gossip, no one else came by afterward. Zuo Dan was quite happy about the peace and quiet. Anyone close to someone like Chen Si was unlikely to be a good person anyway—no need to associate with them.

After a while, Shen Yiming, Zuo Cong, and Zhang Yue returned with quilts and other household essentials like pots and pans.

Once the beds were made, the place finally felt like home.

Zhang Yue also went out and brought back a few dishes from a state-run restaurant. Zuo Dan transferred the sour beans into a serving bowl, and the whole family sat together to eat.

Shen Yiming asked, “Where did the sour beans come from?”

“Sister-in-law Guo from next door brought them,” Zuo Dan replied. “We should return the favor later.”

Shen Yiming nodded.

Zhang Yue said, “It’s better if you don’t interact too much with that Guo family for now.”

“Why?” Zuo Dan asked curiously. “She seemed like a nice person to me.”

“Her husband used to be a cadre in the government, and a fairly high-ranking one too. But he was purged back then and hasn’t been reinstated since. Though the situation is different now, people like him are still controversial. No one knows what might happen in the future. When I was renting the place, I was specifically warned about them. Plus, there are still some old-fashioned people in this courtyard. If you don’t blend in, I’m afraid you might be ostracized.”

Zuo Dan nodded with a smile, though she didn’t plan to follow that advice.

For one, she knew the Guo family would eventually be rehabilitated. Second, she felt that even if they tried to blend in, people would still have issues with them taking two rooms. But she wasn’t going to cramp their lives into one room just to make others happy. That would be ridiculous. Of course, she still had to graciously accept Zhang Yue’s kind advice on the surface.

Knowing the Shen family was still busy settling in, Zhang Yue didn’t stay long.

Shen Yiming planned to properly treat him to a meal once they finished their enrollment.

That night, in this unfamiliar place, little Comrade Youyou was very unhappy about going to sleep. His rocking crib had been left behind at the old home, so he had to sleep in the same bed with his parents.

He was thrilled, tossing and turning on the bed.

Unfortunately, his parents weren’t about to indulge him. Shen Yiming said, “Shen Youyou, your mom and I have to go register at school tomorrow. We need to rest early tonight and can’t play with you. Go to sleep.”

Shen Youyou didn’t really understand what that meant, but he could tell from his dad’s expression that it wasn’t good. Usually when it was dark outside and his dad said things like that, it meant he had to close his eyes.

So Shen Youyou lay there spread-eagled and obediently shut his eyes. Soon, his little belly rose and fell steadily.

Seeing their son fall asleep so quickly, the couple was quite pleased.

Then they turned off the lights and got into bed.

As soon as they lay down, Shen Yiming clung to Zuo Dan. They had both been too busy before the New Year and hadn’t had any time together for a while.

Zuo Dan felt a little nostalgic, so she responded eagerly.

Just as she was getting swept up in the mood, her eyes wandered—and suddenly she froze. Although it was dark, once the eyes adjusted, she could see a bit, especially with the faint light coming in from outside the courtyard.

And there was their supposedly sleeping son, wide-eyed and staring right at them.

“Shen Yiming…” Zuo Dan quickly pushed him away.

“What is it?” Shen Yiming panted as he lifted his head and followed her gaze…

Moments later, the lights came on. The couple had put their clothes back on, with the child placed in the middle of the bed.

They began coaxing him to sleep, taking turns singing lullabies. Shen Youyou looked to the left, then to the right, delighted to have both his parents “playing” with him.

It wasn’t until the middle of the night that the child finally wore himself out and fell asleep. Zuo Dan and Shen Yiming exchanged a glance—neither of them had any energy left. They turned off the lights and went to sleep.

As she lay in bed, Zuo Dan suddenly wondered—just when had her son learned to fake being asleep?

The only good thing about the kid going to bed late was that the next morning, when Zuo Dan and Shen Yiming got up, Shen Youyou was still fast asleep.

They couldn’t worry about him for now. With rice cereal and formula at home, he wouldn’t starve. After handing him over to Grandma, the couple, along with Zuo Cong, got ready, grabbed their documents, and headed off to register at school.

Their two universities were just across the road from each other. Once there, Zuo Dan asked Zuo Cong if he needed them to accompany him.

“Come on, sis, I’ve already worked before. Don’t you trust me?” Zuo Cong joked.

“It’s just that everything’s unfamiliar here. Anyway, the schools are so close—if anything comes up, just come find us.”

Zuo Cong nodded repeatedly and carried his luggage across the road. Zuo Dan and Shen Yiming headed toward their school together.

At this time, universities weren’t yet bustling with student clubs and organizations. Still, you could see plenty of people carrying their luggage all over campus, faces glowing with excitement.

After asking for directions, the couple went to the student affairs office to register, transfer food rations, and update their household registrations. As for housing, they submitted a request for off-campus accommodation. With only an elderly and a child at home, they couldn’t feel at ease leaving them alone.

It wasn’t difficult to arrange. Grandfather Li had an old classmate in the school and had already spoken to the office on their behalf. When the staff saw their files, they marked them as a “special case—off-campus residence approved.”

After registering, Shen Yiming said, “We’ll need a bicycle. This campus is huge, and commuting is going to be a pain.”

Zuo Dan agreed. Though their home was within a ten-minute walk from school, the distance from the campus gate to the classrooms was quite far.

The two were in different departments. After parting ways, Zuo Dan went directly to find her own class.