Chapter 1365: Not family, not family either

How stubborn can this kid Banggeng be?

Let's put it this way, his determination was so great that a bedroll couldn't hold it. In addition, he packed four seasons of clothes into two cloth bags.

Just as Qin Huairu entered the room, she saw her son packing pots, pans, and bowls; even the chopsticks were stuffed into the bag.

"What are you doing!" Qin Huairu's eyes were about to burst into flames, "Are you trying to worry me to death?"

"How can this home not hold you, you'd rather go to the countryside to suffer, do you think you jumped out of a crack in a rock!"

"I didn't jump out of a crack in a rock." Banggeng packed with his head down, but said cruel words, "But I don't have a home anymore, and I don't have a mom anymore, from now on, where I live is none of your business."

"How are you talking, Banggeng!"

Jia Zhangshi had just gone to school to pick up Xiaodang and Huaihua, and hearing the commotion in the hallway, she ran back.

No need to say, the mother and son were arguing again; this wasn't the first time, but it was likely the last.

"Banggeng! What are you doing!"

Seeing her eldest grandson packing his luggage, even Jia Zhangshi, who was used to spoiling children, was startled and hurried over to stop him.

But Banggeng was a stubborn one, how could he listen to his grandmother. Jia Zhangshi unpacked this bundle, he packed that one; Jia Zhangshi went to grab the bowl, he packed the spoon; the mother and son were at it again.

Qin Huairu didn't have a drop of blood on her face, standing blankly at the door. Her son's words just now were like ten thousand arrows piercing her heart, wounding her beyond recognition. There was even more of a suffocating defeat and shock.

She never imagined that these words would come out of her son's mouth, and even less imagined how long he had endured before saying them.

No home, no mom—was the eldest son she had raised for more than ten years going to break off the mother-son relationship with her?

Then what had she been struggling to survive for these ten-plus years, just to hear his heartless words today?

"Banggeng!" Jia Zhangshi couldn't grab her grandson at all; she was making a mess here, and Banggeng had already packed his luggage properly.

"Grandma, don't worry about me." Banggeng pulled his luggage onto his back and was about to walk out, not even looking at his mother. His words were even more decisive: "Wait until I earn money to buy a house, then I'll pick you up to live at home."

"Where are you going!" Jia Zhangshi panicked, pulling at Banggeng's luggage and crying, "Isn't this your home!"

"This isn't my home!" Banggeng gritted his teeth and roared, "She can have the face to be a stepmother to others, I don't have the heart to be a filial son to others."

Slap—

Who said one palm can't make a sound? Qin Huairu's slap on her son's face was loud.

Not only was Banggeng, who was hit, stunned, but Qin Huairu, who hit him, was also dumbfounded. Jia Zhangshi, standing behind Banggeng, was furious and reached out to grab Qin Huairu's face, but was stopped by Liu Guoyou, who had been standing outside the door for a long time.

"Old lady, don't be impulsive, Huairu is also for the child's sake—"

"Get out—get out!" Jia Zhangshi was like a madwoman, her eyes full of ruthlessness and resentment.

While they were struggling, Qin Huairu was completely unaware. Watching Banggeng turn and leave, she came back to her senses and grabbed her son's luggage.

Banggeng tore at it hard, turned his head, glared at her hatefully, "Even without this luggage, I can still leave. Giving it to you is just right, so I don't owe you anything."

After saying this, he didn't struggle with his mother anymore, threw off the luggage on his body, and ran out the door.

Unluckily, as soon as he went out, he bumped into the two "sisters" living across the hall, who were Liu Guoyou's two daughters.

The two sisters stood quietly at the door looking at him, looking at the commotion across the hall, their eyes full of mockery and disdain.

This gaze stung Banggeng's sensitive nerves even more, and without any lingering or reluctance, he ran down the stairs.

Behind him, Jia Zhangshi was already crazy, pushing Liu Guoyou, pointing outside the door and crying, "Banggeng! Come back! Banggeng!"

Qin Huairu was already numb, the luggage bag in her hand scattered all over the floor, Xiaodang and Huaihua were crying until they were out of breath.

Looking at the sisters across the hall again, she truly felt the pain of lifting a rock only to drop it on her own feet; being a stepmother wasn't that easy.

Liu Guoyou wasn't a bad person; he was stopping the old lady here, fearing Jia Zhangshi would go and grab Qin Huairu. Seeing Banggeng run away now, he wanted to abandon the old lady to chase the child, but feared the mother and daughter would fight.

"Huairu! Go chase him!"

He let go of the old lady, grabbed Qin Huairu's hand, threw off the luggage strap, and ran out with her.

Qin Huairu's eyes were still looking at the sisters across the hall; Liu Guoyou couldn't care about these things, only feeling a headache.

From the day they got engaged, he knew this would happen; the look Banggeng gave him was like looking at an enemy.

Little did he know that Dorgon couldn't solve the problem, and he was still full of fantasies about unknown troubles; wasn't this asking for trouble.

In Banggeng's eyes, the person who snatched his mother wasn't an enemy, what else could he be? Could he be a father?

A half-grown boy, what doesn't he understand.

Since his mother got married, Banggeng hadn't looked him in the eye once, hadn't said a word.

Originally, Liu Guoyou was thinking of finding some opportunity to talk to this stepson, even if it was about a common hobby.

Unfortunately, he never had the time. After getting married, he started tidying up the house, renovating two houses, and had to be busy with work at the unit.

It was hard to move, they lived together, and he thought that if the father and son gathered together, what couldn't be said.

As a result, it hadn't been two days, and Banggeng was making a fuss, deciding not to go to school on the first day, and deciding to move to the countryside on the second day.

Who is in the countryside?

Don't say, Banggeng really had relatives. His grandfather and uncle were both in the countryside, in the Red Star Commune, and he had also aimed at the mountains.

But Qin Huairu couldn't bear for her son to suffer, and was determined to persuade her son, even if it was to learn cooking from Seeing Sha Zhu.

As long as he stayed in the city, there was a chance to become talented. Even a cripple like Yan Jiefang could support a family, let alone Banggeng.

She had long thought it out; if her son didn't want to study, she wouldn't force him to take this path, just let him study for two more years to cultivate his body.

When he graduated from junior high, he would come down to learn cooking from Seeing Sha Zhu. With her ability and connections, arranging for her son to enter the reception center wouldn't be easy.

General positions in the group really couldn't go through the back door, only special talents had room for discussion.

Don't laugh, in Director Li's place, a cook was a special talent.

If you ask what is special about Banggeng's talent, doesn't he have his mother? How special is this relationship.

It was just that she calculated well, but didn't explain it clearly to her son. By now, even if she explained it clearly, Banggeng wouldn't want it anymore. Banggeng wished he could leave this home as soon as possible, to save himself from watching her be a stepmother to others.

The root of the contradiction wasn't how she wanted to arrange her son, but that her decision to get married didn't consider her son's feelings.

This was all the disaster she buried herself. She used to say she would live with her son, looking forward to her son growing up early to hold up the household.

Banggeng heard this from childhood to adulthood; although he expressed great impatience on weekdays, he had already established the ideal of holding up the household and protecting the whole family in his heart.

And the result? His mother turned around and found herself a reliance, and even moved out to be a stepmother to others.

The first night after moving to the building, Banggeng couldn't sleep no matter what. Although he had his own room, although he had a proper bed, he had no sense of belonging to this building.

It was just that his grandmother was happy, his two younger sisters were happy, and the whole family was happy; if he didn't reluctantly accept it, he would make them sad.

Banggeng, who was already like a little adult, tried hard to endure for two weeks, but ultimately couldn't hold back; the fuse was that slap.

Not mentioning that Liu Guoyou and Qin Huairu ran all over the Workers' New Village and didn't find Banggeng, not mentioning the anger and curses of Jia Zhangshi they had to face after returning, and not mentioning the crying of the whole family.

Let's say, where did Banggeng go?

"Hey! You stinky kid, what are you doing!"

Seeing Sha Zhu was riding his bicycle back from a restaurant on the east side of the city, and on the road, he happened to meet a big-faced cat that was angry.

Having watched Banggeng grow up since he was small, how could he recognize him wrong, even if it was dark, that chubby big face couldn't be wrong.

Banggeng turned his head to see it was him, but turned his head away, not wanting his Seeing Sha Zhu uncle to see the slap mark on his face.

But this "there's no silver three hundred taels here" action caught Seeing Sha Zhu's attention; he stepped hard and put his bicycle across Banggeng's front.

"Let me see." He reached out and pinched Banggeng's face to pull it, and before Banggeng could dodge, he had already seen it clearly.

"Who hit you?" By now, Seeing Sha Zhu had already frowned and asked, "Did you fight with a classmate?"

"Go, I'll take you to find his house!"

He had a somewhat reckless personality, how could he bear to see Banggeng get beaten, pulling him and wanting to get on the bike to find his way back.

Banggeng had already had the slap mark on his face seen, how could he dodge, just shook off his hand and said, "No need, I hit myself."

"Bullshit!" Seeing Sha Zhu raised his eyebrows and scolded, "Where's that fierce energy of yours, you cowardly thing, I'll take you to get revenge."

"Really don't need to—" Banggeng dodged his pulling, bypassed him, and walked forward, walking faster and faster.

The more he was like this, the more Seeing Sha Zhu couldn't rest easy; in this cold weather, how could he let Banggeng walk to the city alone.

It was only when he thought of this that he realized something was wrong; Banggeng's family had already moved, why did he come back?

"Banggeng, tell me, what exactly happened."

He pushed the bike and chased after him, grabbing Banggeng's shoulder and saying, "I'm your master, you can't even trust me?"

"Master?" Banggeng suddenly stopped his steps, murmured, and looked up at Seeing Sha Zhu; yes, this was his master.

"Are you stupid, if I'm not your master, who am I?"

Seeing Sha Zhu raised his hand to gently wipe the slap mark on the big-faced cat's face, but it had been hit hard, and there were even welts.

"Your mom hit you, right, isn't it?"

By now, how could he not think of why Banggeng was running away from home like this.

"Made your mom angry again? What exactly is it for, didn't I tell you last time, don't make your mom angry."

"Master, do you trust me or her?"

Banggeng seemed to have found a backbone, looked at his master's eyes, and waited for his answer.

Seeing Sha Zhu was also stunned for a moment, then gave a light slap on the other side of the apprentice's face and scolded, "You bastard kid, you're my apprentice, if I don't trust you, who do I trust?"

"Wuu—" Although he was slapped by his master, Banggeng didn't feel any pain at all, he just felt aggrieved in his heart.

Seeing Banggeng suddenly crying loudly, Seeing Sha Zhu panicked, hurried to hug his apprentice and asked, "Did I hit you hard?"

Banggeng hugged his master and cried loudly, as if he wanted to cry out all the grievances in his heart.

He hadn't felt this cheap master was so great before, but only today did he understand that this was his only reliance.

Seeing this child crying and shaking his head, Seeing Sha Zhu thought it was the mother and son making a scene again, and hurried to coax him.

He had to say he trusted this apprentice just now; if there had been any hesitation, this kid wouldn't be like this.

But being able to cry like this with him showed that he trusted him, and there was always room for discussion.

"Alright, stop crying, it's cold weather, your face will get chapped, all bumpy like a potato."

Seeing Sha Zhu rubbed his big head and asked, "Give you two choices, either I send you home and talk to your mom..."

"I'm not going home!" Banggeng broke free from his arm and shouted loudly, "I'll never go back to that home again, that's not my home!"

"Then come home with me." Seeing Sha Zhu said refreshingly, pointing to the back seat and greeting, "Your little aunt is coming back tonight, we'll make chicken stewed with mushrooms, it's very fragrant."

"Hurry up!" Seeing Banggeng still hesitating, Seeing Sha Zhu glared and said, "The family is waiting for me to cook, let's go."

Banggeng knew he couldn't escape his master's clutches, so he could only get on the bike from behind, but tears started falling again.

Young people don't understand closeness, and sometimes can't tell who is truly good to them.

But young people are also simple; they can feel who is good to them and wish they could give all their trust to the other party.

Seeing Sha Zhu stepped hard against the cold wind, turned his head to look at the little apprentice in the back seat and asked, "You originally wanted to go back to the courtyard?"

"Hmm—" Banggeng hesitated for a moment and explained, "I didn't bring luggage when I came out, I wanted to go back and deal with it for the night."

"And then?" Seeing Sha Zhu followed his words and asked, "Where do you plan to go tomorrow."

He puffed and asked, "Even if you run away from home, you must have a place to go, can you sleep in a bridge hole?"

"Tomorrow I'm going to my grandfather's house in Miyun." Banggeng also had no secrets, and spilled everything to his master.

"I want to raise chickens, I know how to raise chickens, raise a flock of chickens."

He grabbed his master's hem and tried hard to explain his grand wish, "Chickens lay eggs, eggs lay chickens, as long as I take good care of these chickens, I won't be short of money for the rest of my life."

"I want to buy a house, buy a car, and then pick up my grandmother and sister to live together..."

"Have you ever thought about how to live after going to the mountain?"

Seeing Sha Zhu didn't mind pouring a bucket of cold water on his little apprentice in the freezing weather to let him calm down.

"Let's not talk about the capital and feed money needed to raise chickens, let's just talk about how you're going to survive on the mountain."

He said while pedaling the bike, "Do you think you're a stone man, not eating or drinking, where does the food come from?"

"Do you think the rice jar and flour jar produce rice and flour themselves? That's all bought with money your mom worked hard to earn."

"I can cook for myself." Banggeng argued, "I won't starve to death, at worst I'll borrow grain from my grandfather."

"You've really grown capable."

Seeing Sha Zhu felt it was funny listening to these childish words, and continued to ask along his assumptions, "Then have you ever thought about where to live, digging a dugout?"

"I didn't think about it before, but now I don't need to think about it."

Banggeng, who was imagining his future career with his master, didn't want to cry anymore, playfully patted his master's back and said, "Just listen to you, I'll dig a dugout on the mountain to live."

"Hey—I've become your advisor!" Seeing Sha Zhu said with amusement, "Silly kid, it's cold enough at the foot of the mountain, how cold must it be on the mountain, the ground is as hard as iron."

Even if Banggeng considered his career thoroughly, he never imagined that independent survival would be so difficult.

Once dreamed of walking the world with a sword, but canceled the original plan because of hunger?

"Yo, Seventh Brother, why are you back?"

Seeing Sha Zhu pushed his bike into the courtyard, saw Wang Laoqi standing in the gatehouse, and greeted him with a smile.

Wang Laoqi's eyes were fixed on Banggeng in the back seat, and he said with amusement, "Isn't it for this living ancestor."

"Banggeng, your mom is looking for you all over the world, she's almost gone crazy, why are you so insensible... Hey! Banggeng!"

Wang Laoqi dared to swear to heaven that he said these few sentences out of kindness, but they touched Banggeng's stubborn reverse scale.

This kid heard Seventh Grandpa say this, turned around nimbly, and slipped out in a flash, as if afraid of being blocked in the courtyard.

Wang Laoqi had just lectured him a few sentences, and seeing this child run away again, he didn't dare to say anything more.

He came out of the gatehouse, but Seeing Sha Zhu quickly propped up the bike and ran after Banggeng, both chasing after him.

It was pitch black, the sky turned dark after 4:30, and it was already past 6:30, and there was no light in the alley.

Banggeng was like a little black rat, drilling into dark corners where no one could find him, almost worrying Seeing Sha Zhu and Wang Laoqi to death.

Fortunately, Li Xuewu's car came into the alley, and under the light, Banggeng, hiding behind the trash can, had nowhere to hide.

"You bastard kid, playing hide-and-seek with me!"

Wang Laoqi was angry, thanks to them running slowly and Li Xuewu's car lights coming fast, otherwise they would have run out of the alley.

What was Banggeng thinking, he was definitely waiting for them to find him and run out, then run away from the other side, and still let them catch him?

"You used all your cleverness on this, didn't you!" Wang Laoqi was truly scared, if he lost Qin Huairu's son again, he would definitely be blamed.

Wang Laoqi still wanted to catch him, but Banggeng stood by the road without moving, looking at Wu Shu who got out of the car, tears falling uncontrollably, as if he had seen a relative.

"What are you doing? Playing eagle catching chicken?"

Li Xuewu turned around and closed the car door, looked at the three people standing there like fighting cocks, and waved his hand, "Come over."

Banggeng didn't have his previous cunning, obediently walking toward this side, while Seeing Sha Zhu and Wang Laoqi were both angry and amused.

They were fighting wits and courage with him, and he wasn't convinced, but seeing Li Xuewu, he was like a little kitten.

"Wu Shu—" Banggeng greeted with a dry voice.

"Hmm, why are you in this state?" Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows and sized him up, asking, "Did someone block you?"

"Hehe, his mom hit him." Seeing Sha Zhu and Wang Laoqi came over, glanced at Banggeng, and explained with a smile.

Wang Laoqi explained somewhat awkwardly, "I just got off work from the factory, and saw Qin Jie looking for the child in a panic, saying Banggeng ran out, and asked me to help find him."

"I thought this kid might have come to the courtyard, so I took a shortcut to hurry back, wanting to block him."

"I also picked him up halfway." Seeing Sha Zhu added, "Saw him walking back alone and was afraid something would happen to him."

"Alright, why so many tears."

Li Xuewu reached out and wiped the cold tears from the big-faced cat's face, reminding him, "You have injuries on your face, if they get frozen, you'll have to suffer in the future."

"Wuu wuu, Wu Shu." Banggeng wiped his tears with his hand and said, "A man doesn't shed tears easily, it's just that I haven't reached the point of heartbreak, I'm truly heartbroken, wuu wuu—"

"Oh, don't use your little bit of literary talent to pull words with me."

Li Xuewu hugged the big-faced cat's shoulder and teased him, "Look at this flesh on you, and you're heartbroken, where is the heart. Even if you grew a heart, it was squeezed into a small heart by this flesh."

With him teasing and coaxing, the big-faced cat didn't cry so hard anymore, and let him take him into the courtyard.

Wang Laoqi saw the person was caught, so he said he wanted to go home, his family was waiting for him to eat, and he had to bring news to Qin Huairu.

"Where are you going, it's not easy to come back once."

Seeing Sha Zhu stopped him, signaled to the courtyard, and said, "Tonight we have chicken stewed with mushrooms, let's eat here, let's drink a bit."

"That won't do, Qin Jie's family is anxious." Wang Laoqi struggled and explained, "When I came out, I saw her anxious and angry, by now she doesn't know where she's gone to look."

"Call the duty room." Li Xuewu turned to Wang Laoqi and said, "I'm eating here tonight too, Seventh Brother, don't leave."

"This—this is embarrassing."

Wang Laoqi thought for a moment, and a smile appeared on his face; he wasn't greedy for chicken stewed with mushrooms, and even less greedy for this drink.

What is Li Xuewu's status?

Don't listen to the nonsense of those gossips in the agency, there are few in the Li family who are good people, their hearts are more scheming than honeycomb coal.

Saying Li Xuewu is going to be finished, who believes it.

Anyway, Wang Laoqi doesn't believe it, he doesn't even believe Li Huai De is going to be finished, let alone Li Xuewu.

Drinking with Li Xuewu doesn't matter how much he can take care of himself, it's about this status and qualification. Saying it out is so glorious.

He doesn't count on asking Li Xuewu to handle any affairs, but drinking this meal, tomorrow he dares to brag to people in his class that he ate and drank with the Secretary-General. What he wants is this glory.

"Just go, what's with this look—" Seeing Sha Zhu scolded with a smile and pushed him to walk into the courtyard, still talking about calling the duty room.

Does Qin Huairu's family have a phone?

Naturally, they don't; let alone the director of the reception center, even regular section-level cadres rarely have phones installed at home.

When Li Xuewu's family installed a phone, it was because he was the deputy director of the security department and also the person in charge of the office.

However, every five residential buildings in the Workers' New Village had a public phone installed, with someone responsible for duty and management.

Seeing Sha Zhu called the duty room and asked them to contact Qin Huairu's family, saying the child was found and was at the courtyard.

After the matter was handled, he pulled off his apron and went to the kitchen to cook, the room was lively because Li Xuewu had returned.

"Seventh Brother, how does it feel to live upstairs?"

Xiaoyan came in to pour hot water for them, while Shen Guodong helped out and teased Wang Laoqi, who was sitting on the kang.

Wang Laoqi touched the heated kang under his butt, laughed, and said, "Good is good, it's clean, it's just that there's no this."

"I really miss this heated kang, freezing to death on a wooden bed in the middle of the night, and after finally getting warm in the second half of the night, I have to get up for work, it feels like a loss no matter how I think about it."

"Hahahaha—"

Actually, living upstairs isn't as evil as he said, it's just that Wang Laoqi likes to boast, and his speech has elements of performance.

Everyone naturally listened to him happily, and while laughing, asked him to continue.

In this era, there's no mobile phone entertainment, and if you don't have the interest of turning off the lights to make babies after work, you gather together to chat.

Talking about everything under the sun.

It was just that he had only moved upstairs for two weeks, and Wang Laoqi missed the life in this courtyard a bit.

"You don't know, after work, the time it takes to walk upstairs is the time you can talk to people."

He gestured and introduced, "After entering the house, the door closes, and no one can see anyone."

"If you want to find someone to talk to, the door is closed, how can you be embarrassed to knock on someone's door."

He sighed here, "I've been almost suffocated these days, if I had known, I wouldn't have moved to this building."

"Getting the benefit and still acting spoiled!"

Seeing Sha Zhu was fast at work, the kitchen matters were almost done, so he stood at the door and teased him.

"Who was it that laughed at me for being stubborn, having a high building and not living in it, but insisting on living in this big miscellaneous courtyard? Was it you?"

"My mistake, my mistake, alright!"

Wang Laoqi arched his hands and said with a wry smile, "If I had known, I would have listened to you, why bother with this effort."

"Just because you can't find anyone to talk to, you don't want to move anymore?"

He Yu Shui was off today and returned home; she also bought a building, which was supervised by her brother.

Perhaps feeling he owed his sister, the renovation of He Yu Shui's house was all arranged by Seeing Sha Zhu.

Even the furniture and daily necessities were prepared by the couple, truly move-in ready.

Yushui didn't miss these people in the courtyard at all, but couldn't help missing her brother and sister-in-law, and little chubby He Zhuang.

Besides, the people in the courtyard had almost all moved away, and no one was talking about her behind her back, so there was no pressure coming back here.

She really didn't know Li Xuewu was coming back tonight, only knowing after work that Li's parents had gone to the Northeast, and Li Xuewu went to send his parents off.

Hearing Wang Laoqi talking lively just now, Yushui also smiled and took the conversation, "You feel it's inconvenient, but those who don't like to talk feel it's quiet, before in this courtyard, I only heard you making a ruckus."

"Hahahaha—"

They were of the same generation, so He Yu Shui joking with him was nothing, and Wang Laoqi seeing someone take the conversation also felt amused.

"Speaking of which, it's convenient to go to work upstairs, no need to get up early, and there's time to cook at night."

Wang Laoqi drank tea and sighed, "What's more convenient is children going to school and playing, running a few steps out the door and you're at school."

"Before, you had to take the bus, take the school bus, now everything is saved, even going to the hospital to see a doctor is much more convenient."

"Reluctant, I'm truly reluctant to leave this courtyard." Until the meal was served and the wine glass was raised, Wang Laoqi was still sighing, "Moving upstairs is very happy, but leaving the courtyard is also very sad."

"You took all the good things?"

Seeing Sha Zhu picked up chopsticks and put a piece of chicken for Banggeng, joking, "Why don't you move back?"

The slap mark on Banggeng's face was applied with ointment, greasy, but it didn't delay eating, it was just a bit silent.

Everyone in the room had already seen him get hit, there was nothing to hide, it was just that talking about it didn't sound good.

Fortunately, although there were many people today, no one asked about the injury on his face, or why he came back today.

Li Xuewen and Zhao Yafang weren't coming back to sleep tonight, the snow was heavy on the road, so they stayed for the night in the house assigned at school.

Ji Yuxiu was on duty tonight, and Li Xuewi also had a night shift, so neither came home. Only the old lady was there with Li Xue and Li Tang.

Not only was the courtyard population changing, but every gathering in this inverted house had fewer people.

Wen San'er secretly returned to Beijing to recuperate, telling no one, and Fei Shanying asked for long leave to go home to serve him.

The second master wasn't there, but the big master seemed a bit lonely. He didn't like to talk or join the fun, and just held his wine glass watching these young people talk and make a ruckus.

"Secretary-General, let me ask one more thing."

Seeing Sha Zhu listened to Wang Laoqi finish his nonsense, turned his head, held his wine glass, and asked Li Xuewu with a smile, "The houses in the courtyard have been vacated, what's the next arrangement?"

Just now, they were talking about Wang Laoqi moving back, the houses were all ready, just return the house in the Workers' New Village.

Wang Laoqi sighed, how could he return.

It was indeed impossible to return, the procedures for the houses had already been changed. Although the houses here were temporarily empty, they weren't ownerless.

Seeing Sha Zhu also knew this, he was just chatting and using it as an excuse to ask about this matter.

"This is no secret, it will probably be announced before or after the New Year." Li Xuewu put down his chopsticks and nodded, saying, "The group is considering whether to establish a property company."

"If a property company is established, then the property management of the Workers' New Village and the Riverside Community currently under construction, as well as these vacated and replaced houses, will be managed by the property company."

He introduced, "If a company isn't established, then these businesses will be matched to the Business Management Department according to actual management responsibilities."

"Logistics work, anyway, can't bypass them."

Li Xuewu picked up his chopsticks and ate a bite of food, then continued, "The completely vacated courtyards will be repaired according to the actual situation, adding building area and restoring integrity."

"Repair old courtyards?" Seeing Sha Zhu asked in surprise, "What for, don't tell me they'll be distributed to factory workers again? To leaders?"

"Impossible to distribute downwards again." Li Xuewu shook his head slightly, explaining, "Such courtyards can be used for office space for the group's branches, such as banks, restaurants, reception centers, etc."

"It could also be that the whole courtyard is rented out, rented to other units for office or residential use, but it won't be rented to individuals, and changing the existing architectural structure and functions is not allowed."

"Then what about courtyards like ours?"

Seeing Sha Zhu was still concerned about this, raised his eyebrows and asked, "You can't really be like what you said before, stuffing people in again, right?"

"It's unavoidable, it definitely will." Li Xuewu said quite firmly. He explained with a smile, "Courtyards or houses that haven't been completely vacated will be coordinated and handled by the group, gathering and resettling the remaining residents to vacate as many courtyards as possible."

"Of course, even if it's coordination and gathering, it takes time and procedures, it can't be done in a short time."

He saw the worry in the eyes of Seeing Sha Zhu and others, and explained helplessly, "For this type of housing, the group will carry out unified repairs and management, and the group will also compensate the gathered residents with a moving fee. Striving for nearby resettlement, proper resettlement."

"If it's our own group coordinating resettlement, it won't be so troublesome, after all, there are residents from other units."

Li Xuewu nodded and introduced, "This is the condition offered by the Dongcheng District, to ensure the interests of existing residents."

"Then what about this courtyard?"

Seeing Sha Zhu couldn't bear to part with his main room, it was finally renovated, and it was in such a good location, how could he be willing to give it to others.

Li Xuewu glanced at him and comforted, "Even if there is resettlement, it must be gathering the minority into the majority."

"And here, multiple factors must be considered, such as the principle of nearby resettlement for residents of the same unit, the principle of separating conflicting residents, etc."

He explained the ins and outs to everyone in the room, so they wouldn't keep thinking about it and chasing him to ask.

The room was lively, with people drinking and toasting, when Qin Huairu and her husband entered the courtyard against the wind and snow.

The expressions of both were not good, Qin Huairu's face was still covered in tears, and she was almost frozen into an ice lump.

Family unrest, children causing trouble, marital discord, endless trouble.

The liveliness at the wine table was interrupted by the couple who came suddenly, and everyone in the room was stunned for a moment looking at them.

The appearance of this couple was truly somewhat disheveled. Not to mention the mud spots on their bodies, just this look of shock and lingering fear seeing Banggeng, looking at him, was also quite pitiful.

Banggeng put down his chopsticks as soon as he saw his mother enter the room, sitting there with his head down without speaking, but trembling on his body.

Seeing his son sitting there with his head down, with a slap mark swollen on the side of his face facing them, Qin Huairu felt like her heart was being cut by a knife, even if she had more bitterness, she couldn't say it.

She wished she could die outside, to save her son from looking at her like an enemy, not wanting to pay attention to her at all.

"Qin Jie, Brother Liu, hurry up onto the kang."

Xiaoyan jumped off the kang, shuffled her shoes, and hurriedly made room for them, Shen Guodong also arranged to move the table for those drinking.

"Don't bother, we're not hungry."

Liu Guoyou had no heart to eat, at this time he had even less face to face the neighbors here.

If Banggeng were his own son, it would be fine, running away from home? Two slaps would make him honest.

But after all, he wasn't his own son, if he said one more word, managed one more thing, Qin Huairu would glare at him.

Couldn't say, let alone hit.

It was just that the child ran over with a slap mark on his face, even if the neighbors here knew he didn't hit him, he still blushed.

People might say that with a stepfather, there's a stepmother, that he instigated Qin Huairu to hit the child.

Otherwise, why didn't this happen before they got married, it was just because there was one more of him.

So it's hard to be a stepmother, and even harder to be a stepfather.

"Looking for the child all night, and still say you're not hungry."

Shen Guodong also got off the kang, pulled Liu Guoyou and Qin Huairu onto the kang with Xiaoyan, and sat at the kang table.

Qin Huairu's eyes couldn't leave her son for a second, and the tears on her face were like broken strings.

She didn't speak, just cried, and the atmosphere at the table was suppressed by her crying, who dared to persuade her.

Banggeng was close to Li Xuewu, and his hand under the table was grabbing his pants and wouldn't let go.

"Know fear now?"

Li Xuewu glanced at the couple, picked up the wine bottle, and poured white wine into the two cups Xiaoyan brought.

Shen Guodong sat next to them, placed the wine glasses in front of them, and advised them to drink a cup to warm up their bodies.

"You felt relieved after this slap, but you didn't think Banggeng isn't a child anymore, do you still want your son or not?"

"Banggeng, do you hate me that much?"

Qin Huairu heard Li Xuewu's words, tears fell down, looked at her son and asked, "Not even willing to call me mom once?"

Banggeng had calmed down quite a bit by now, and in front of so many people, he couldn't say words like "I don't have a mom."

Although he lowered his head, he saw his mother sitting opposite him crying like a tearful person. It was just that the resentment in his heart was blocking his throat, and he couldn't speak.

"Yes, it's wrong for me to hit you, but you have to let me, as a mom, say a word, right?"

Qin Huairu cried and complained, "I raised you with such hardship, just wanted you to study for two more years, learn more knowledge and skills, what did I do to let you down by persuading you like this."

"Yes, I let you down, let down your father, let down your grandmother, let down your Jia family."

She cried more and more, letting the tears flow into her mouth without wiping them, and said with a hoarse voice, "I let everyone down, but you don't have to ruin yourself to punish me."

"You were born by me, raised by me, if I let you down, tell me, I'll die right here to let you vent your hatred."

"Alright, that's enough."

Li Xuewu raised his hand and twisted Banggeng's head, revealing that slap mark and said, "Mother and son fighting, both are bound to be hurt."

"I also grew up from this age, thinking back on how stubborn I was, I wish I could slap myself."

He let go of his hand and continued, "But in this world, the only ones who can tolerate the me from back then are my father and mother."

"Sometimes you can clearly reason, but parents choose the easy way and solve it with a slap. Think about it now, can a slap solve everything? Isn't it just getting more and more tangled."

"What can I do—"

Qin Huairu glared at Li Xuewu and complained, "He skipped class and came back to tell me he wasn't studying, wanted to go up the mountain to raise chickens."

"I was thinking about him being well, I couldn't explain it, carried things and begged their Teacher Ran, what can I do!"

"This Teacher Ran hasn't talked to him yet, I saw him packing his luggage to leave as soon as I got home, struggling with his grandmother..."

"Wu Shu, stop talking." Banggeng raised his head and looked at Li Xuewu with full plea, "Will you send me away?"

"I can send you, but we have to make things clear."

Li Xuewu nodded and said, "Reason can take you anywhere, but without reason, you can't move an inch, haven't you heard this sentence?"

He touched the big-faced cat's head and taught him, "If you can't even sort out the reasons at home, you won't make it outside."

"I... I don't want to talk anymore." Banggeng lowered his head again, his voice heavy, "She doesn't understand what I'm saying, and doesn't want to listen to what I'm saying, there's no point in talking, just send me away."

"Child, if you leave like this, your mom will definitely die in front of you." Liu Guoyou said with a bitter face, "If it's because of me that you and your mom are having trouble, then uncle apologizes to you here."

Saying this, he actually raised his wine glass to toast Banggeng. Banggeng was stunned hearing his words. He was still just a child after all.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1366 =====