Siheyuan: The romantic and suave Xu Damao

After parking his bicycle and locking it, Xu Damao walked into the store slowly.

"Here!" Lou Xiao'e was sitting in a corner and waved at him, motioning him to come over.

"Did you go to the counter to ask for something delicious?"

"Not yet!"

"Why don't you go to the counter and order something? This isn't Quanjude..."

Xu Damao curled his lips after hearing this, and instead of walking towards Lou Xiaoe, he turned around and slowly walked towards the counter. As he walked, he stared at the menu and prices written on the wall next to him.

"What would you like to eat, little brother?"

A young man stood behind the counter with a warm smile on his face and took the initiative to greet Xu Damao.

"Hmm... mutton soup, mutton offal soup, tripe soup, tripe and lung soup... Can you add some tripe to the mutton soup here?"

Xu Damao asked casually.

"Of course, no problem at all, but the extra money for the shredded tripe will be charged separately. How much would you like to add?"

"Well, the price is reasonable. Then give me a bowl of mutton soup with shredded tripe, about two taels. Also, a pancake and a fried steamed bread with stinky tofu. Hey, Xiao'e, what do you want to eat?"

Xu Damao's eyes were still fixed on the menu on the wall. He didn't even turn around and spoke loudly to the clerk.

"I just want a bowl of mutton soup and a piece of bread," Lou Xiao'e replied.

"Well, don't try to steal my fried steamed bread later. I tell you, this thing is extremely delicious and even more satisfying than eating fat meat."

Xu Damao said excitedly, then held Lou Xiao'e's hand tightly, found a table closer to the counter, pulled two small stools, and sat down with Lou Xiao'e.

Before long, all the food they ordered was served.

"This soup is really good. Look, it's like milk, and there's a lot of meat in it."

Xu Damao exclaimed sincerely, reaching out to pick up a thick pancake, breaking it into small pieces and putting it into the bowl of mutton soup to soak. After all, in that era, there were not many complicated food processing technologies...

He picked up the small bowl of chili peppers and poured some into the soup. Then he stirred it gently with chopsticks. Immediately, a layer of tempting red oil floated on the surface of the originally milky white mutton soup.

"Of course, there are an extra two taels of lamb tripe in your bowl." Lou Xiao'e replied with a smile.

Lou Xiao'e held the bowl with both hands, blew away the hot air on the surface, and carefully drank a small sip of mutton soup. She savored the deliciousness of the soup, nodded with satisfaction, and then took another bite of the pancake in her hand.

"Two ounces of goat stomach isn't much."

Xu Damao went on to say, "I have a big appetite, so I can definitely finish this. I'll need more soup later."

Xu Damao skillfully broke apart the golden and crispy fried cornmeal balls, then picked up a small piece of stinky tofu from the plate with chopsticks and gently spread it on the surface of the steamed bread.

"Would you like some? Let me tell you, this is really delicious!" Xu Damao handed a piece of steamed bread spread with stinky tofu to Lou Xiaoe with anticipation on his face.

Lou Xiao'e took the steamed bread hesitantly, put it under her nose and sniffed it. Her brows instantly frowned, and a look of confusion and disgust appeared on her face.

"Although it smells a bit stinky, it tastes delicious. You can try it." Xu Damao explained quickly.

Lou Xiao'e glanced at Xu Damao and thought to herself that he would not deceive her. So she closed her eyes, mustered up the courage to take a bite of the steamed bread, and after chewing it for a few times, she suddenly opened her eyes wide, with a gleam of surprise in her eyes.

"Hmm...it tastes really good." Lou Xiao'e exclaimed in surprise.

"Hehe, I told you, the taste will definitely surprise you!" Xu Damao laughed proudly.

"Da Mao, why didn't you go to show the movie today?" Lou Xiao'e asked puzzledly.

Xu Damao shook his head helplessly: "Alas, handing out flyers today will probably be the same tomorrow. This job is tiring. If I have time tomorrow afternoon, I will come to see you again."

Lou Xiao'e nodded to show her understanding. She said gently, "Okay, I'll wait for you at home."

Xu Damao looked at Lou Xiaoe's obvious dark circles and frowned distressedly: "Hurry up and eat. I'll take you home after you finish eating. Remember to have a good sleep in the afternoon. Look at your dark circles..."

As he spoke, Xu Damao reached out and gently scratched Lou Xiaoe's nose. Lou Xiaoe hummed a little embarrassedly, then buried her head in her food.

After the two of them had enough food and drink, Xu Damao escorted Lou Xiao'e back home and repeatedly told her to take good rest. Only after watching Lou Xiao'e walk into the house did Xu Damao turn around and leave with peace of mind.

Returning to the small courtyard he bought, Xu Damao skillfully unlocked the door and pushed his bicycle inside. After entering the courtyard, he locked the door and put the bicycle into his personal space. Then, he pushed open the door of the main room, walked straight into the inner room, threw off his coat, lay down on the bed exhausted, and soon fell asleep.

I slept until about six o'clock in the afternoon. At this moment, night had already fallen quietly.

"Oh my god, something bad has happened. Those two guys must have run away!" Xu Damao was shocked. He put on his clothes quickly and rushed out of the gate like a gust of wind. After he hurriedly locked the door, he ran out of the door in a hurry.

Arriving at a remote and quiet place, Xu Damao looked around and made sure that there was no one around. Then he carefully took out the bicycle from his personal space, got on the seat, pedaled hard, and sped towards the steel mill like an arrow.

"Da Mao, why are you back so late?"

"Don't mention it. I just finished posting the flyers and I'm rushing back! I have to return the car to the factory as soon as possible!" Xu Damao responded without turning his head and pedaled the bike even harder.

"Hey, slow down, there are a lot of people on the road right now..."

"I got it, big brother!" Before he finished speaking, Xu Damao's figure disappeared into the night.

Finally arriving at the Propaganda Department where he worked, Xu Damao met Brother Zhao. After some pleasantries, he couldn't help but complain that this job of posting flyers was really not that good. Then, he parked the factory's bicycles at the designated location, got on his own bicycle, and quickly rushed towards the small village where Brother Niu was.

At this moment, the night was as dark as ink, but thanks to the power of the night market, Xu Damao's riding speed in the dark was amazing. In less than half an hour, he arrived at his destination at lightning speed.