Chapter 96 Return Together
Song Yuanchao's eight years in the northwest were not in vain. He farmed, herded sheep, cleaned manure pits, and even went out to beg for food on the streets during the most difficult two years... What kind of dirty and tiring work had he not done? Besides, this kind of roof was no different from the roofs in the northwest, including those in Shanghai. Song Yuanchao had done this kind of work many times, so he immediately started working with Wang Dazhu.
At first, Wang Dazhu was worried that this seemingly gentle young man might not be able to do the job, but as soon as Song Yuanchao started, he realized that he had underestimated him.
Seeing how skillful Song Yuanchao was, he was no worse than himself. With Song Yuanchao's help, the progress of the work became much faster.
An hour later, all the repairs on the roof were completed. After Song Yuanchao and Wang Dazhu checked carefully again and confirmed that there were no problems, they stood up and looked at each other and smiled.
"Song Yuanchao, Yan Zi's boyfriend, hello, Brother Dazhu."
"Hello, hello, look here, you are a guest today. This guest just came and helped me with a bunch of work..." Wang Dazhu shook hands with Song Yuanchao and said with a smile.
"I'm not an outsider. Besides, even if I'm a guest, I can't just sit there and watch the host busy. I'm just lending a hand anyway."
"Hahaha, you're right. Welcome to our home." Wang Dazhu laughed heartily. At this time, Aunt Gao in the yard asked if everything was done upstairs. If it was, come down and talk.
Hearing Aunt Gao's cry, Song Yuanchao and Wang Dazhu looked at each other and smiled. They packed up their tools and climbed down the stairs. As soon as they landed, Lin Yan brought a basin of water and two towels, and asked Song Yuanchao and Wang Dazhu to wash their hands and wipe the sweat off their faces.
After washing my hands and wiping off the sweat with a towel, I immediately felt much more refreshed.
"Aunt Gao, Brother Dazhu, sister-in-law, hello! I'm Yan Zi's boyfriend Song Yuanchao, and I'm very happy to meet you today." At this time, Song Yuanchao formally introduced himself to everyone. As soon as he finished speaking, the little girl next to him jumped up and down and shouted anxiously: "And... there's me!"
Song Yuanchao immediately laughed, squatted down and asked the little girl, "Pretty and lovely little sister, what's your name?"
"Uncle, I'm Wang Xiaoxiao, and Wang Dazhu is my father." Wang Xiaoxiao is about the same age as Zhang Pingping, but her personality is much more lively. She is in the process of changing her teeth, and her gaps are visible when she smiles. She also has two pigtails on her head, and looks lively and cute.
"Yes, yes, and our beautiful sister Wang Xiaoxiao, very nice to meet you, my name is Song Yuanchao."
"Well, my name is Wang Xiaoxiao, and I'm very happy to meet you." Wang Xiaoxiao looked like a little adult and shook hands with Song Yuanchao seriously, which made all the adults around them laugh.
Aunt Gao asked everyone to sit down, and after a few words, she asked sister-in-law Wang to go to the kitchen to help. Wang Dazhu asked Xiaoxiao to follow her grandmother and mother into the house first, but the child who liked the lively atmosphere was unwilling to go in. At this time, Lin Yan directly picked her up and put her on her lap, talking to her and teasing her.
"Yuan Chao... Is it okay for me to call you Yuan Chao?" Wang Dazhu handed a cigarette to Song Yuanchao. It was not a good cigarette, but the most common Yanjing brand in Yanjing. A lot of ordinary people smoked this kind of cigarette, and the price was affordable.
Song Yuanchao thanked him and took the cigarette. He struck a match to help Wang Dazhu light it up, "Brother Dazhu, just call me that. Isn't the name given by your parents meant for people to call you by? My friends, including Yan Zi, call me that, too."
Wang Dazhu was very satisfied with Song Yuanchao's attitude, not to mention the attitude he showed when he was helping him with work just now, and his attitude towards people. Wang Dazhu watched Lin Yan grow up, and his feelings for Lin Yan were no different from those for his own sister. As Lin Yan's partner, Wang Dazhu certainly hoped that Song Yuanchao was someone worthy of Lin Yan's love, and now Song Yuanchao's performance met Wang Dazhu's requirements.
The two of them started chatting while smoking. When Wang Dazhu learned that Song Yuanchao was also a student of Imperial University and was from Shanghai, he seemed to remember something and subconsciously glanced at Lin Yan who was teasing her daughter.
After chatting for a while, Wang Dazhu felt more and more that Song Yuanchao had a bad temper towards him, and couldn't help but said with a smile: "Yuanchao, you don't look like a Shanghainese."
Song Yuanchao was not angry when he heard this. In fact, he had heard this sentence many times in his previous life. It seemed that the phrase "you don't look like a Shanghainese" was a compliment to the people of Shanghai. This was really laughable.
"Brother Dazhu, in fact, Shanghai is no different from Beijing. You will feel it when you have the opportunity to live in Shanghai for a while in the future."
"Is there such a saying? Then tell me about it in detail?" Wang Dazhu asked with interest. In his life, he had never left Shanghai, let alone Yanjing City.
"Yanjing has its own unique culture. We won't talk about the elegant one, let's just talk about the ordinary hutong culture." Song Yuanchao took a puff of cigarette and started talking with a smile. He started with the origin of Yanjing hutongs, and then talked about the changes of Yanjing hutongs in modern history and the lives of ordinary residents. It was this historical evolution that created the unique hutong culture.
Song Yuanchao was very interested . Perhaps because of Lin Yan, he had studied the folk customs and culture of Yanjing for a while. Song Yuanchao was also good at speaking, and he used simple and easy-to-understand sentences to tell the story. Not only did Wang Dazhu nod his head, but even Lin Yan, who was teasing Wang Xiaoxiao, couldn't help but listen.
After talking about Yanjing, Song Yuanchao talked about Shanghai and the lane culture which was very similar to the Hutong culture of Yanjing.
Song Yuanchao started from the origin of lilong, interspersed with the population structure that converged to Shanghai from the West and all over China, thus forming the history of modern Shanghai.
Compared with the courtyard houses in Yanjing, the alleys in Shanghai have different house structures. This is just the architectural difference between the north and south of the region. However, whether it is the alleys or alleys, the atmosphere and many daily life are very similar.
To this end, Song Yuanchao talked about the lane where he lived, the neighbors he lived with every day, and the Zhang Jianguo family who regarded him as their own children and nephews.
After listening to Song Yuanchao's story, Wang Dazhu couldn't help but feel a little emotional. Some things really cannot be preconceived. Everything Song Yuanchao said was something he had never heard of before. At the same time, he also became very interested in Shanghai, a city he had never been to.
"Brother Dazhu, you are welcome to come to Shanghai when you have the chance. I will arrange a place for you to stay. I will then take you and your family on a tour of Shanghai. I guarantee that you will feel a Shanghai that is different from Beijing but very friendly."
"Great! I'll definitely go when the time comes. It's a deal."
"necessary!"
The two of them burst into laughter immediately, and then Wang Dazhu talked about some past events when Lin Yan lived here. The two of them got along better and better as they talked. Seeing how lively they were, Lin Yan, who was standing aside, looked at Song Yuanchao with a gratified look, her heart filled with joy.
Song Yuanchao and Lin Yan had lunch at Gao Da's mother's house. It was a very ordinary lunch for an ordinary family in Yanjing, simple noodles with soybean sauce and a few side dishes, but Song Yuanchao ate it very happily. While eating, he gave a thumbs up and praised that it was the most delicious noodles with soybean sauce he had ever eaten, and the taste of the sauce was simply amazing.
Listening to Song Yuanchao's sincere praise, Gao Da Niang was so happy, especially because Song Yuanchao's words touched her heart. When it comes to fried noodles made by her family, they are the best in the area, and this is her pride. Lin Yan has loved her fried noodles since she was a child. Song Yuanchao is a good guy, no wonder Lin Yan chose him.
After lunch, Song Yuanchao and his friends sat for a while before getting up to say goodbye. Originally, Aunt Gao wanted them to have dinner before returning, but Lin Yan said that Song Yuanchao had just arrived in Yanjing, and today was a day off, so she planned to take him to Yanjing for a good stroll in the afternoon, so Aunt Gao gave up.
But even so, Aunt Gao and her family still sent Song Yuanchao and Lin Yan to the entrance of the alley. They took Lin Yan's hand and kindly asked them to come over and sit with them when they had time. Aunt Gao cooked herself, rolled noodles and made the best noodles with soybean sauce for them.
