Siheyuan: Xu Damao's New Life

Time passed quickly, and in a blink of an eye it was the day of Yu Shui's college entrance examination. This afternoon was Yu Shui's last exam, so Xu Damao took a day off and came to the examination room to pick up Yu Shui.

Xu Damao is now much more relaxed, as the new deputy section chief of the Propaganda Section, Guo Wenjin, has arrived and helped him share a lot of work. Guo Wenjin is a short man in his early thirties, with a good temper and no airs, and his ability to handle affairs is also acceptable.

I heard that his parents worked in the city and specially transferred him from the south. I guess his parents' background is not simple either, and they wanted to take advantage of the upgrade of the steel mill to help their son make further progress.

The bicycle workshop has already started production, but due to the limitation of raw materials and the technical level of workers, the current output is stable at 100 bicycles per month. As for how many are out of plan, only very few people know. Otherwise, if this factory director calls to ask for a few bicycles, and that leader also wants to have a share, how can we deal with it? If we say there are no bicycles, we will offend people directly.

Their workshop also directly applied for occupation of another factory building. One workshop produced parts, the other workshop assembled and used as a temporary warehouse, and there was also an office in the workshop.

At this time, a crisp bell sounded, which should be the bell for handing in the papers. Sure enough, not long after, students handed in their papers and came out one after another. He Yushui was also mixed in the crowd, following the flow of people to the school gate.

Fortunately, the number of students taking the college entrance examination at this time was far less than in later generations, and there were even fewer family members who came to accompany them. He Yushui saw Xu Damao, who was half a head taller than others, and was very happy to see her beloved brother Damao coming to pick her up.

Yu Shui finally got out of the school gate and ran towards Xu Damao, with her two braids flying behind her head.

"Brother Damao, you are here to pick me up. My silly brother didn't even know to come and pick me up."

"How did you do in the exam? Are you confident that you can get into the university of your choice?"

"I did well on the test, but I don't know how many points I'll get in the end. What are we going to do now? My luggage and bicycle are still at school."

"We'll talk about the luggage later. Today, I'll take you to a nice meal and give you a small surprise to celebrate. What do you want to eat?"

"I want to eat Western food, Quanjude duck, and the barbecue you make! I have been having a hard time these days before the exam."

"Oh, little girl, you want to eat a lot. I'll take you to eat all of them this summer. Get in the car first."

Xu Damao took Yu Shui to Quanjude to buy a duck and then headed straight to Qianmen Street. After turning several corners, they entered a small alley. In front of a courtyard with two entrances, Xu Damao took out the key, opened the door and made a invitation gesture.

"Why are you standing there, silly girl? Come in quickly!" Xu Damao said.

"Oh, brother, when did you have a yard here?"

"This is not my yard, it's your yard." Xu Damao carried the car in and stayed here overnight. The inside had been decorated, the yard had been arranged, and all daily necessities were available.

"My yard? How come I don't know about it?" He Yushui was a little confused and asked with some doubt.

"Here, check if this is your yard!" Xu Damao took out the house deed from the space and handed it to Yu Shui.

Yu Shui took it and looked at it carefully. "Yeah, it's really my name. How did you do that?"

"The sale of houses was allowed some time ago, and I happened to have some extra money so I bought a few yards. I found your household registration and certificates in your house, and I also wrote a letter of authorization, and it went smoothly."

"Wow, Brother Damao, you are so nice to me, but won't Sister Xiao'e be angry if she finds out?"

"She doesn't care about that. Why would she care about a yard when she's sharing her life with you? Come on, I'll take you around."

The front and back yards were paved with stone slabs. There were four flower beds in the front yard arranged in a row, with a grape trellis in the middle to provide shade. Under the trellis was a women's bicycle specially customized by Xu Damao, which was shining brightly in the occasional sunlight. A well was renovated, and Xu Damao tasted it and thought it was pretty good.

"Brother, this is the latest popular speed bicycle, and it's for women!"

"Of course. This speed-changing bicycle was designed by me and produced in our workshop. There are only three of them in total. You, Ge Zi, and Ying Zi will each have one."

Yu Shui touched the brand new bicycle happily, ran over, hugged Xu Damao's neck and patted him hard a few times.

"Let me show you the house again. The backyard is arranged relatively high, and the front yard is simply decorated. If you don't like it, you can change it yourself."

There are three main rooms in the front yard, with two side rooms on each side. The layout of the backyard is the same as that of the front yard, except that there is a banyan tree left by the previous owner. Judging from its thickness, it must be at least a hundred years old. There is a stone table and stone bench under the tree for the owner to read and drink tea.

There is a small pond surrounded by stones in the backyard. Several lotus flowers are in full bloom and a few fish are playing among the lotus leaves. The whole yard seems to be a world of its own, far away from the hustle and bustle of the outside world.

Yu Shui looked at all this with joy. This was a scene that could only be dreamed of, and now it appeared before her eyes. She loved this courtyard so much.

"Woo woo, brother, you are so good to me. I like it here so much. Can I live here from now on?"

"No, you still have to go to school in the future. I will buy a yard near your school then, but I can't decorate it so exquisitely then." Xu Damao deliberately interrupted Yu Shui's dream.

When Yu Shui heard this, she couldn't help but almost cried.

"Hey, I'm just kidding. It's okay for you to live here this summer, as long as you can find a suitable excuse not to live in the compound. And you can come whenever you want during holidays or weekends, and no one will bother you."

"Brother Damao, you are so bad. I will bite you to death!"

The rain rushed towards him with bared fangs and claws. Xu Damao bent down and gave her a princess hug, then went straight into the main room in the backyard. Soon, bursts of noises that were not suitable for children were heard from the room.

In the courtyard, Qin Huairu walked in with a very pretty girl of about sixteen or seventeen years old. (This book is set in the year 1961 when Jingru was sixteen, as mentioned earlier.)

Yan Bugui, who was standing at the door, saw Qin Huairu leading the pretty girl at a glance.

"Qin Huairu, who is this girl?"

"This is my cousin from my hometown in the countryside, Qin Jingru. It's because I'm inconvenient to move around because of my advanced age, and my mother-in-law's leg hasn't healed yet, so I went back to my hometown to pick up my cousin to help. Why are you asking this, uncle?"

"Oh, of course, of course. You can take your cousin to the street to report it later. I just asked casually. This is also the responsibility of the manager!"

Yan Bugui talked about the matter of the manager, Mr. Fang, who was an enemy spy. When encountering strangers entering the courtyard, they would usually ask about their backgrounds to prevent enemy spies from sneaking in.

"Then can Second Uncle hold a meeting tonight to introduce everyone to avoid trouble. After all, my cousin will be staying for quite a while."

"Okay, I'll leave this matter to your uncle."

"Then I thank you, we will go home first."

When Yan Bugui saw that Qin Huairu had nothing in her hands, he knew that he could not gain any advantage from this young widow, so he just went back to taking care of his flowers and plants.