Volume One, Chapter 20: The Mischievous Rascal

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Seeing Zhou Yourong’s resolute attitude, so different from the more negotiable tone she had in her own room earlier, Wei Hongxia knew there was no turning back now. Of course, she had to stop Director Zhou from reporting the situation to her factory. Once the leadership decided she was disobedient to organizational decisions and resisted arrangements, the consequences for her would be disastrous.

Not only would her future promotions be affected, but raises, housing allocations, and a host of other benefits would be out of reach. Wei Hongxia instantly understood all this. Though feeling deeply aggrieved, she nodded tearfully and said, “There’s no need for Director Zhou to make a special trip to my workplace. I’ll pack up now and will definitely move into this room before dinner.”

With that, she lowered her head and left. Zhou Yourong snorted, turned her head, and forced a smile at the Gao family members. “This Wei Hongxia, the more you reason with her, the more stubborn she becomes... Fortunately, the problem has been resolved satisfactorily. Yuemin, Xuemei, we won’t disturb your family reunion any further. You should start preparing to move, too.”

Zhang Xuemei nodded expressionlessly. “Alright, then we won’t see you off.”

“Stay, stay,” Zhou Yourong said with an awkward laugh, quickly leaving with her two assistants.

Grandpa Qin set down his teacup and said, “I’m heading back, too. Xiaoyuan, if you need any help with moving later, just tell the neighbor.”

Gao Yuan smiled, “There aren’t many things, and we have enough people, so we won’t trouble you.”

“Look at this family, so neat and tidy, truly wonderful,” Grandpa Qin said and then walked out.

Gao Yuan accompanied Grandpa Qin to the main gate, watching him enter before returning inside. His mother and sister were already in the inner room packing their belongings.

His father patted Gao Yuan’s shoulder, smiling like a blooming rose, evidently proud of his son’s performance that day. Gao Yuan was also pleased; with his wisdom, he had taken a significant step toward securing the house. He had every reason to be happy.

At this moment, Gao Yuelin said, “Second brother, if you’re free, come take a bath with me. After two days and a night on the train, I’m crawling with fleas.”

Gao Yuemin smiled, “Alright, second brother, come soak with me. Xuemei, you and Xiaoya don’t rush to pack. Take your daughter to the bathhouse too; after bathing, you can finish packing.”

Zhang Xuemei agreed, pulling some clean clothes from a camphorwood chest into a cloth bag, then left with Gao Ya.

Living in shared courtyards, bathing was a major hassle. One could either bathe at the public bathhouse or at home. Bathing at home was especially troublesome—each person needed a separate pot of hot water; someone would sit inside a large basin while others waited outside. Due to frequent power outages, if the electricity cut out mid-bath, one had to hastily dry off in total darkness.

Thus, the public bathhouse was the preferred choice. Bathing wasn’t expensive—bringing your own shampoo and scrubbing tools, a ticket cost just five cents. For those more particular, including washing, scrubbing, and foot care, it rarely exceeded twenty cents. Some would go in the morning and stay until evening, even having lunch there, bathing all day—commonly called “bathhouse enthusiasts.”

Gao Yuelin asked Gao Yuan, “Are you going?”

Gao Yuan waved him off. “I just soaked a few days ago. I’ll stay and tidy up some odds and ends.”

The four left. Grandpa Qin’s earlier words sparked an idea in Gao Yuan. Sitting at the table, he took out a piece of manuscript paper, uncapped his pen, and the words flowed like a dragon’s path, inspired and unstoppable.

Actually, it was just a copy of the original script.

The story was called—“Look at This Family.”

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In brief, the film tells the story of the daughter of the wool spinning factory workshop director, Lao Hu, named Jiaying, and the repairman Yulin, who fall in love and collaborate on technological innovations; alongside the tale of Jiayi’s son, Jiaqi, a troupe performer, romantically involved with Lin Xiaohong, a bookseller at the Xinhua Bookstore.

Strictly speaking, this movie was the first comedy produced and filmed by the Beijing Film Studio after the founding of New China, a milestone in cinematic history.

Gao Yuan had watched it repeatedly in his past life, so copying it was no challenge at all. In just an hour, he completed nearly half of his “creation.”

Gazing out the window, thinking his parents would soon return, Gao Yuan put away the manuscript and slowly started packing his clothes. He had just filled a suitcase when four family members came in.

“Wow, sister, you’ve become so radiant and beautiful.”

“Cut it out, don’t flatter me. But the bath really was relaxing. It felt like every pore was wide open.”

“From inside to out, a fresh, comfortable feeling, right?”

“Exactly that.”

Gao Yuan took the dirty clothes his sister swapped out, dropped them into a basin, and carried it out.

Dinner was reheated leftovers from noon. In these hard times, every grain of food was precious; no one wasted anything. Because they were moving, dinner was early and finished before five.

Gao Yuelin went to the north room and saw the Wei family had packed up as well, then came back to start moving things out.

Wang Liwei and his wife, returning from work, volunteered to help.

When Gao Ya returned, Li Fengzhi grabbed her hand and chatted warmly before helping Zhang Xuemei and Gao Ya organize clothes.

With four men carrying, the work went quickly.

The beds didn’t need moving; the Wei family’s beds were still those left by Gao Yuan’s grandfather. They just spread quilts on them and that was it.

The Wei family of four looked around the three rooms they had lived in for years with some reluctance. Before leaving, their eyes were filled with hatred towards the five-member Gao family.

Gao Yuelin, hot-tempered, flashed his fists threateningly at Wei Xianjun, the household head. “What are you glaring at? Don’t like it? Don’t try messing with me. Consider this a warning: if you dare sabotage my family behind their backs, I’ll kill you dead!”

Wei Xianjun knew Gao Yuelin was a troublemaker. Seeing his fury, he held his tongue and took his wife and children toward the south room.

The Gao family moved from the south room to the north room, shocking Aunt Liu the most.

“Husband, do you think Gao Yuemin will report to the organization next and ask to reclaim this courtyard?” Aunt Liu asked, holding two big bowls of porridge.

Seeing Gao Yuemin’s family move into the north room, she suddenly lost her appetite and worriedly asked Liu Qianjin.

Liu Qianjin put down his chopsticks, looked toward the north room, frowned, and said, “We can’t rule out that possibility. This courtyard originally belonged to the Gao family patriarch. It’s reasonable for Gao Yuemin to apply to get it back.”

Aunt Liu raised her voice, “But it’s illegal. We live here by the organization’s arrangement. Even if they return the courtyard to his family, they have no right to evict us. We have proper documentation.”

Policies these days were strange—courtyards could be returned to you, but you couldn’t evict previous tenants. Only after they moved out voluntarily would the courtyard truly belong to you.

Liu Qianjin was sly. Though usually quiet, he was full of schemes.

“It’s impossible for us to move now. The courtyard isn’t theirs yet. Even if he gets it, if we refuse to move, how can he lock our doors?”

Aunt Liu wasn’t so optimistic. “If Gao family only had Gao Yuemin, that poor scholar, and Gao Yuan, that kid, we could refuse to give up the room and they wouldn’t dare do anything. But now, Gao the Third, that scoundrel, is back.”

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Before going to the countryside, Gao the Third was known as a notorious gang leader around Jianguomen. If he stirred trouble, our two and a half rooms might not be safe anymore. And that girl in the Gao family—sharp-tongued, no pushover either.”

Liu Qianjin snorted, “Gao Yuemin has a brother, a son, and a daughter. I, Liu Qianjin, also have both a son and a daughter, and I have an older brother above me. If it comes to tearing faces apart, am I afraid of him?”

Aunt Liu sighed, “Stop talking about your son. How many days has it been since he came home? He’s arguing with his wife and they’re divorcing. Now she’s staying at her parents’ house and won’t come back! How can you rely on such a good-for-nothing?”

Hearing his wife mention their son Liu Hui, Liu Qianjin lost his temper, but stubbornly replied, “Don’t always blame the son. Their quarrel is all because of that vixen Wei Hongxia seducing him. I say, the Wei family being pushed to the south room is just karma!”

“I’m afraid that karma will fall on our family sooner or later.”

“Shut up. Can’t we hope for anything good?”

While the couple was deep in discussion, Gao Yuan’s family had already cleaned the house thoroughly.

Zhang Xuemei was somewhat fastidious; she bossed around Gao Yuemin, Gao Yuelin, Gao Yuan, and his sister, making them scramble about.

She wiped the table again, and the floor was mopped three times.

The spacious living room and three main bedrooms were bright and airy. The east room was the parents’ bedroom.

There were two rooms on the west side: the sister’s room to the north, and Gao Yuan’s and his uncle’s room to the south. Both rooms faced the living room.

Gao Yuan’s room had no bunk beds; two single beds lined the wall, with a desk, chairs, and a stove burning warmly.

After the move, Wang Liwei and Gao Yuemin played two rounds of chess before leaving satisfied.

Gao Yuan refilled hot water in his father’s teacup and smiled, “Though we won’t stay here long, at least we’ve made a good start.”

Gao Yuemin understood his son’s thoughts. “Yeah, we’ll wait until next year. After spring, I’ll find time to try and reclaim this courtyard. After all, it was left by your grandfather. Though run-down, it’s our own home. Even if we don’t live here, after renovating, your uncle and aunt will have a place to stay.”

Gao Yuan nodded.

He recalled that in his past life, after reclaiming the courtyard, his uncle had used some tricks to force the Liu and Wei families out and lived here ever since.

Speaking of his uncle, he was a carefree playboy. Like Gao Yuan, he never married but fathered a son and daughter in the south. Women never gave up on him.

Gao Yuan admired his uncle’s ability to leave a trail of love wherever he went.

Women were naturally drawn to him, swarming like flies to honey, many even pursuing him.

Gao Yuan knew of several cases.

For example, a wealthy young married woman in Beijing, to win his favor, braved immense social pressure, divorced, and gave him all the money from their settlement to invest in his business.

His uncle had lived a carefree life in the past because he thrived on women.

“By the way, uncle, now that you’ve achieved your goal and returned, have you thought about what to do next?” Gao Yuan asked with a smile.