Courtyard Houses: From Bronze Compasses to Global Reach

Chapter 437 Chenchen and Xixi's Old Beijing Life

At 5 p.m., under Zheng Jiaming's resentful gaze, Lin Yan "left work" on time and walked out of the Libre de Soi office building.

On my first day of "working", my main achievements were drinking Zheng Jiaming's treasured coffee and reading half a business magazine.

feel good.

On his way home, he stopped his car at the entrance of a bustling alley.

The shouts of street vendors rose and fell. His gaze fell on the strings of bright red, glistening candied hawthorns stuck on straw sticks.

After thinking about it, he bought three skewers.

As soon as they stepped into the three-courtyard house, two small figures shot out from the main room like two small cannonballs.

"dad!"

"Dad's home from get off work!"

Xi Xi and Chen Chen hugged his legs on either side, tilting their little faces up and chattering away.

Xi Xi asked eagerly, "Daddy, Daddy, what do you do at work? Are you tired?"

Chenchen looked at him with bright, sparkling eyes.

Lin Yan smiled and squatted down, magically producing three strings of bright red candied hawthorns from behind his back.

"Look, Daddy 'earned money' today, this is a gift."

The two children were instantly captivated by the crystal-clear red fruit they had never seen before.

Xi Xi carefully took the largest bunch, looked at it closely, and smelled it. Her little face was full of surprise: "Daddy, what is this? It's so pretty, like red gemstones!"

Chenchen held his string of candy, carefully examining the "contents" beneath the sugar coating, and cautiously refrained from taking a bite.

Upon hearing this, Lin Yan paused slightly, then felt a pang of tender guilt and emotion.

Yes, the children's lives are too well protected and confined to this small courtyard and a few limited places. They have never even seen the most common street snacks.

It seems I really need to take them out more often to see the real life of ordinary people.

"This is called candied hawthorn, it's a kind of snack. It was my dad's favorite food when he was a child."

He smiled and explained, pointing to the shiny outer shell, "The outside is sugar, and the inside is fruit. It's sweet and sour, very delicious. Come on, have a taste."

Xi Xi, being quite bold, tentatively stuck out her little tongue and licked the candy shell. Her eyes immediately curved into crescent moons: "It's sweet!"

Then, she took a big bite of half a hawthorn, her face immediately contorting from the sourness, but she was quickly won over by the mixed sweet and sour taste, muttering indistinctly, "Delicious!"

After watching his younger sister eat, Chenchen carefully took a small bite, chewed slowly, nodded, and commented, "Sour and sweet."

Lin Yan handed the last string of fruit to Xiao Qi, who was squatting under the eaves watching them.

Xiao Qi came closer, stuck out its tongue, and licked the candy shell. It raised its head and rubbed against Lin Yan's hand.

Lin Yan picked it up and rubbed its fluffy head, saying in a telepathic voice, "Xiao Qi, you will always be my dearest little brother."

Little Seven buried her head in his chest, letting out a contented snort, and telepathically replied, "Waaah! Little Seven loves her brother the most too!"

After dinner, the living room was brightly lit.

Wang Yuling tidied the table, and Lin Gang came in. Lin Yan called Chenchen and Xixi to his side and had them sit on the sofa, his expression more serious than usual.

Lin Yan gestured, "Yu Ling, Lin Gang, please sit down. Let's have a brief family meeting."

Everyone settled down, their eyes fixed on Lin Yan.

"Chenchen, Xixi, you are already four years old, in the middle class of kindergarten, and you're big kids now. Dad thinks that you are not only the darlings of the family who are being taken care of, but also important members of the family. So, starting tomorrow, you need to learn to take responsibility for your own things and do some things within your ability."

The two children sat up straight and listened attentively.

"For example, when you get up in the morning, you need to learn to dress yourself. Of course, Aunt Wang and Uncle Lin Gang will help you. You need to learn to wash your own socks and underwear. Aunt Wang will teach you how to use soap and how to scrub them clean. After eating, you need to take your own bowl and spoon to the kitchen and learn to wash them clean."

Before he could finish speaking, Wang Yuling couldn't help but say, "Young Master, Chenchen and Xixi are still young. We can handle these things..."

Lin Gang quickly nodded in agreement: "Yes, young master, the child has delicate skin, we need to wash and care for him carefully to prevent him from getting hurt."

Lin Yan raised his hand and gently pressed it down, a calm look stopping them from saying anything more.

His attitude was clear: this was not a discussion, but a decision.

Then he looked back at the two children: "What do you think? Can you do it?"

Xi Xi and Chen Chen exchanged a glance.

To the adults' surprise, the two children did not show any signs of fear or reluctance.

On the contrary, Xi Xi's eyes sparkled with eagerness, while Chen Chen looked serious, as if he had thought it over and felt it was worth a try.

"Yes!" Xixi raised her little hand first, her voice clear and crisp.

"Okay." Chenchen nodded, her words concise and to the point.

Lin Yan smiled, a smile that held both approval and expectation.

"Great, let's start tomorrow. It's okay if you don't do well, you'll learn slowly. The important thing is that this is a small responsibility you're beginning to take on as part of this family."

From that day on, Lin Yan truly began his unwavering "going to work" life.

A suit became his go-to outfit for going out in the morning. In the eyes of the children, the moment their father's figure disappeared outside the hanging flower gate seemed to carry a sense of reassuring solemnity.

Chenchen and Xixi no longer take the bus to school. Every school morning, Wang Yuling and Lin Gang would hold their hands and turn into the crisscrossing alleys.

They experienced a true old Beijing morning: the air was filled with the smoke and aroma of coal stoves being lit, mixed with the rich fragrance of boiling soy milk.

A crowd gathered in front of the fried dough stick stall. The golden dough sticks rolled and expanded in the oil, sizzling and releasing an enticing aroma when they were taken out.

There's also the griddle for making scallion pancakes. The moment the pancake touches the hot griddle, it sizzles, and the aroma of scallions bursts out, wafting across half the alley.

Every Sunday, unless there are extremely special matters, Lin Yan would change into comfortable casual clothes and spend half a day taking Chenchen and Xixi on their "exploration of the capital".

Sometimes I go to Gulou Street to watch the bustling traffic, sometimes I venture deeper into the hutongs to find the legendary old craft shops, and sometimes I just stroll along Houhai Lake to watch the willow branches brush the water.

He didn't give much explanation; he just let them see, let them hear, and let them smell and touch for themselves.

He subtly wove the city's fabric into the rings of children's growth.

The days slipped peacefully into June.

As summer deepens, the sweet fragrance of locust blossoms begins to permeate the air above the alleyways.

On an ordinary afternoon, in Lin Yan's office at the Libre de Soi headquarters.

He is reviewing a cost analysis of fragrance raw materials for the European market.

He received a telepathic message from Albert.

"Young Master, I've received a rather interesting currency analysis report about the British pound. The author is a man named George Soros. His views are quite sharp and bold. He wants to borrow $10 billion through one of our 'Education and Culture Foundations' registered in Liechtenstein."

Lin Yan paused slightly as he flipped through the reports, then leaned back slowly against the wide chair back.

"George Soros?"

"1992...Black Wednesday?"