Comfortable life in Siheyuan

After get off work in the evening, Liu Haizhong dragged his tired body back home. He took a short rest and then went straight to the front yard, thinking about how to get Cui Dake to pay back the money he owed.

When he arrived at the door of the sitting room, Liu Haizhong stretched out his hand and pushed the door open without saying a word, and strode in. He saw Cui Dake sitting at the table, drinking tea leisurely.

"Oh! Master Liu, you didn't even knock on the door when you came in, you really scared me. I thought it was some petty thief who broke in!" Cui Dake raised the corners of his mouth slightly, with a hint of teasing in his eyes.

Liu Haizhong snorted coldly and said with a straight face: "Stop talking to me about this useless nonsense! If you don't return the money to me today, I will sit here and not leave. Let's just keep wasting time like this!"

Cui Da Ke saw this and quickly stood up, smiling and shouting, "Master, don't be angry! Didn't I already write you an IOU? Just give me a few days, and I will give you the money as soon as I get paid."

However, despite verbally calling Liu Haizhong "Master", Cui Dake's face did not show the slightest respect. Instead, he revealed a bit of impatience and cunning.

"How is that possible? How much is your monthly salary? How can it be enough to pay me back 50 yuan? I can't wait until you get your salary. You must give me the money right now today!" Liu Haizhong said these words calmly, but his attitude was extremely firm.

Cui Dake spread his hands helplessly: "But I really can't come up with that much money, and I also want to pay you back as soon as possible."

"Stop playing dumb with me! I know very well that since you moved into this yard, your daily expenses have been significantly reduced. And you come to my house to eat for several days every month, so you must have some surplus from your salary. It was the Security Department who came forward yesterday. What if I go to Deputy Director Liu to ask for fifty yuan? Do you think you can still keep your job?" Liu Haizhong looked at Cui Dake with disdain on his face, and his words were full of threats.

"Master! You make me feel very embarrassed by doing this. After all, we were once master and disciple. Why must you be so heartless?" Cui Dake began to beg bitterly.

However, Liu Haizhong was not moved at all, and still responded expressionlessly: "It's not that I'm heartless or ungrateful, I just want to resolve this matter with you once and for all. From now on, we will go our separate ways and owe nothing to each other."

Cui Dake remained silent and stared at Liu Haizhong indifferently for a long time. Finally, he sighed helplessly, stood up and walked to the bedside. Cui Dake counted and took out forty yuan. After thinking for a while, he took out the IOU from the Jia family. Then, he walked to Liu Haizhong and said, "Master Liu, there are only forty yuan here, you count it first." After that, Cui Dake handed the forty yuan to Liu Haizhong.

"Now you call me Master Liu, you are even willing to pretend." Liu Haizhong looked at Cui Dake with a smile.

"I would like you to continue to be my master, but you don't agree." Cui Dake was not to be outdone and replied with a smile.

"Forty is no problem, but what about the remaining ten yuan?" Liu Haizhong said after counting the money.

"I really don't have any money on me. Why don't you take this IOU from the Jia family and ask for it from the Jia family?" Cui Dake said helplessly.

"Hmph! I don't want the IOU from the Jia family. You should write me a new IOU and give it to me after you get your salary." Are you kidding? The IOU from the Jia family is not much better than toilet paper in this courtyard. It's even worse than toilet paper for wiping your butt.

Cui Dake sighed helplessly and cursed in his heart, but he also knew that the situation was stronger than he was, so he had to do as he was told. He quickly found paper and pen, rewrote a promissory note and gave it to Liu Haizhong.

After Liu Haizhong received the new IOU, he proudly threw the original fifty-dollar note away. Then, he turned around and left without looking back, leaving Cui Dake standing there alone.

Cui Dake looked at the IOU from the Jia family in his hand, his eyes revealing a trace of confusion. He stood there blankly for a long time, thinking about how to deal with this matter. After careful consideration, he finally decided not to provoke the Jia family for the time being, so as not to cause more trouble. During this period of time, he basically lost all his popularity in the courtyard.

The next day at work, Liu Haizhong and Yi Zhonghai went to Deputy Director Liu's office together, and left with a smile after a while.

Liu Qingshan arrived at the leather factory early today, and was called over by the factory director as soon as he sat down.

"Knock, knock, knock. Director, you're looking for me." Liu Qingshan saw that the door was open, so he knocked as usual and walked in.

"Deputy Director Liu, you're here so early." Director Nie joked with a smile.

"I've been so busy with work lately! So I came here early to help you share some of the burden." Liu Qingshan explained with a smile. "How can you share my burden? I've always been the one doing the work for you. You're really enjoying being the deputy director." Although Director Nie kept complaining, there was a hint of pleasure in his eyes.

"Okay, stop joking. I have already made arrangements for your brother-in-law. I plan to place him in the street office near your home. What do you think?" Director Nie asked with a smile on his face.

"Oh, is it the Jiaodaokou Street Office where we live?" Liu Qingshan asked in surprise.

"That's right! I've discussed it with their district. I've also handed over our factory's recruitment plan to their district. After all, there are so many unemployed young people there, and doing this can also help them reduce some of their employment pressure." Director Nie explained patiently.

"That's great. Thank you very much for your concern and care, Director. Now my wife can finally rest assured." Liu Qingshan expressed his gratitude with joy.

"Hey, we're just friends, why are you being so polite? Besides, your brother-in-law is a technical secondary school graduate, and he should be assigned a job according to the policy." Director Nie waved his hand and responded lightly.

"Thank you so much! How about this, I'll treat you to a meal in the cafeteria at noon to express my gratitude. I'll go and tell the cafeteria and ask them to prepare an extra dish for you." Liu Qingshan scratched his head and showed an honest smile.

"Hey, is that the way you greet me? You are a big factory director after all. Forget about going to old brands like Donglaishun or Quanjude, at least go to Bianyifang!" Director Nie rolled his eyes and retorted unhappily.

"Haha, don't be in a hurry! When we finish the things at hand in a while, we will go to Quanjude together to celebrate. For now, just make do with it!" Liu Qingshan patted Director Nie on the shoulder and comforted him with a big laugh.

"Well, it's settled then! Let's treat it as our celebration party then!" Director Nie also showed a smile on his face and nodded readily in agreement.

After the two reached a consensus, Liu Qingshan immediately went to the cafeteria, found the cafeteria director and gave him a few instructions, and then paid the extra meal fee. After making the arrangements, he turned around and returned to his office.