Siheyuan: The romantic and suave Xu Damao

Although she knew that this relationship might just be an illusory dream, she still found it difficult to let go of the concern in her heart.

A ray of sunshine in the early morning sprinkled on the land of the commune, bringing a touch of warmth to the cold winter day. Xu Damao slowly walked over pushing his bicycle, his figure looked a little lonely in the sunshine. As soon as he walked to the door, he met the village chief who had just woken up.

"Good morning, village chief."

Xu Damao greeted the village chief politely.

The village chief responded with a smile: "Why so early? The sun is already out. Come, take this with you." As he spoke, the village chief picked up a basket full of things and stuffed it into Xu Damao's hands.

Xu Damao evaded the question by saying, "No need, village chief, you are too polite."

The village chief waved his hand and said, "This is nothing! They are just some pickled radishes and some local products I found outside. They are not worth much. Just take them back and try them."

Xu Damao could not refuse the kindness, so he accepted it and thanked him repeatedly. Then he got on his bicycle and headed towards the city.

Along the way, the sky and the earth were covered with snow. The road was covered with snow and became extremely slippery. Xu Damao rode his bike carefully, much slower than usual. Although he was quite confident in his bicycle control skills, he almost fell several times.

At noon, the exhausted Xu Damao found a small restaurant on the way and had a simple lunch. After the meal, he took a short rest and continued on his way. Time passed by minute by minute, and he finally arrived at the steel mill around four o'clock in the afternoon.

"Hey, Damao, why are you back so late today?" The comrade from the security department greeted Xu Damao warmly when he saw him. They were already very familiar with each other.

"Hey, brother, don't you know what kind of weather it was yesterday? The snow on the road was so thick! I was so nervous all the way back, afraid that I would fall down accidentally. After all, our car is loaded with the projection equipment of the factory. If it breaks, it will be terrible. So I can only come back slowly!"

Xu Damao shook his head and sighed, showing a helpless expression. He took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, took out two and handed them to the other party.

"You must be exhausted, then?"

The other party also asked with concern.

"Who said it wasn't? My legs are still weak. Come on, I won't say any more. I'll just send this thing over and go home to get some sleep!"

Xu Damao handed the cigarette in his hand to the other party and turned and left.

"Okay, go ahead."

The big brother from the security department took the cigarette cheerfully and waved goodbye to him.

Arriving at the Propaganda Department, Xu Damao deftly unloaded the projection equipment and put it in order. After greeting his colleagues inside, he got on his bicycle and headed towards home.

When passing a braised food shop on the way, an alluring aroma hit his nose. Xu Damao couldn't help but stop the car, walked into the shop, cut some braised meat, and ordered two fragrant braised pig's trotters and a few crispy and delicious sesame cakes, intending to go home and have a simple dinner.

Riding his bicycle, Xu Damao returned to his residence slowly and unhurriedly. He got off the bicycle and prepared to push the bicycle into the courtyard.

At this moment, Yan Bugui was sweeping the snow with a big broom at the door. When he saw Xu Damao coming, he quickly leaned the broom against the wall and ran towards Xu Damao with big strides.

"Hey, Damao is back! Let me tell you something. Did you get into any trouble outside?" Yan Bugui, with a suspicious look on his face, approached Xu Damao mysteriously and asked in a low voice.

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao's eyes widened immediately. He looked at Yan Bugui in astonishment and retorted indignantly: "Teacher Yan, you are talking about something irrelevant! I, Xu Damao, have behaved uprightly and have a clear conscience. How can you say that I have done anything wrong? You are the boss here, you can't just accuse me casually!"

Seeing this, Yan Bugui sighed helplessly and explained earnestly: "Hey, Damao, don't get excited! In the afternoon, a policeman from the Public Security Bureau came to our house and asked for you by name. I told him that you were still at work, so he asked me to tell you to go to the Public Security Bureau as soon as you get off work."

"Teacher Yan, did the police officer ask me for anything?" Xu Damao asked with a frown, secretly speculating in his heart: "Could it be that the previous report of robbery has been resolved?" As he thought, he looked at Yan Bugui and asked back.

Yan Bugui shook his head and answered in confusion: "The police comrade didn't tell me a word! I also specifically emphasized that I am the manager of this yard, but they simply ignored me. Damao, what do you think this police comrade wants to talk to you about?" His face was also full of confusion.

Xu Damao sighed and said helplessly: "Oh, don't mention it. I guess it's that incident. I was robbed some time ago, and I reported the case at that time. Now the police have come to my door, most likely there is some clue in the case."

Hearing this, Yan Bugui's curiosity was instantly aroused. He widened his eyes and asked anxiously, "Hey, Damao, what's so serious that you have to report it to the police? Tell me quickly!"

Xu Damao looked at Yan Bugui's anxious expression, smiled bitterly and said, "Hey, Teacher Yan, there is nothing we can't talk about with our relationship. Actually, it's just..."

It didn’t matter anyway, so Xu Damao prepared to tell Yan Bugui everything that had happened.

"That happened more than half a month ago! At that time, I went to the black market with my friend who collects and sells antiques. We found a lot of treasures, but we also spent a lot of money!"

"Who would have thought that we would be targeted on the black market? After we came out of the black market, we walked to a secluded place with no people, and suddenly two guys with masked faces and guns appeared and blocked our way. They robbed us without saying a word! All our money and antiques were gone. We were so unlucky! Hey, I had more than a hundred dollars on me at the time!"

"But my friend is even worse off than me. All the more than 1,000 yuan and antiques he brought with him were stolen! Tell me, when encountering such a thing, shouldn't we call the police immediately and let the public security bureau handle it?"

"Xu Damao sighed as he recounted his experiences, while deliberately lowering his voice, as if he was afraid that others would hear him. During the entire process, only Yan Bugui listened quietly beside him."