Siheyuan: Xu Damao's New Life

After Xu Damao and Yi Zhonghai separated, he rode his bike straight to the trust store. He hadn't been there for a while, and the store should have a lot of good things, so he wanted to go and buy some.

After parking the car, Xu Damao strode directly into the door and started shouting before he could even see clearly: "Sister Xuan, Sister Xuan, I'm here to see you."

"Oh, it's Brother Damao. It's been a while since we last met." Zhao Xuan said with a smile. Then she saw Xu Damao coming in empty-handed, so she pretended to be angry and said, "So you came to see me empty-handed?"

"Hey, sister, don't be angry. It doesn't mean I have to bring gifts when I come to see you, right? Some invisible things are much better than visible gifts." Xu Damao said, shaking his beard with some pride.

"Oh, what is that? Tell me about it." Zhao Xuan asked curiously.

"I can't tell you now, but I haven't found lunch yet, and I don't know if anyone will invite me to dinner, eh." Xu Damao took out a lot of candies, melon seeds and other things from his briefcase and put them on Zhao Xuan's desk.

"Yes, my wife has given birth to twins, a boy and a girl. I'd like to share the good news with you."

"Oh, my sister-in-law gave birth to twins, this is such a happy event. When will the wedding banquet be held? I will definitely go then."

"It hasn't been decided yet, but I will come to inform you when the time comes. No one can be missing except the child, right?"

"Just keep on talking nonsense. Are you buying old stuff this time? Mr. Xu must have left a lot for you."

"Since we are here, of course we have to buy some. I will go and see Brother Xu."

"Well, go ahead. I'll invite you and Lao Xu to have lunch at the state-owned restaurant at noon, but you can't keep me in suspense when the time comes."

"Hehe, then I won't leave for a while. I've been busy for a long time and I'm a little hungry. I'll go find Lao Xu first." Xu Damao said.

"Go, go. It's almost the end of the month and I still have to settle the accounts." Zhao Xuan said with a smile.

After Xu Damao left, Zhao Xuan peeled a candy and put it in her mouth, then took two and handed them to the new intern next to her.

The intern thanked her and asked, "Sister Zhao, who is this person? He looks like a leader, and you seem to be very familiar with him."

"He seems to be a section chief working in a steel rolling mill, and he's also a big customer of ours. We became familiar with each other after a few visits. Later, he helped my family a lot and became the benefactor of our entire family." Zhao Xuan just said a few simple words without elaborating.

The intern knew Zhao Xuan had no interest in talking about it, so he didn't ask any more questions. He looked like a nice man, but it was a pity that he was already married with children.

"Brother Xu, I'm here to see you."

The door of Xu Weiguo's office was not closed. Xu Damao knocked and pushed the door open.

Xu Weiguo was looking at the list of items entering and leaving the warehouse. Thanks to Xu Damao, the inventory in the first half of this year was much lower, and the working capital was much more abundant. He was praised by his superiors several times. This also gave him a little hope that if there was a chance, he might be able to move up.

Xu Weiguo was thinking about promotion and salary increase when he heard Xu Damao's voice.

"Da Mao is here, come and sit down. I'll pour you a cup of tea." Xu Weiguo stood up and poured two cups of tea and placed them on the coffee table.

"Brother, are you here to buy old stuff again?"

"Well, I haven't been here for a while so I came to see if there's anything good, and I'll give you some wedding candy. My wife gave birth to twins a few days ago, so I'm a father now." Xu Damao said proudly, emphasizing the twins. Then he took out a lot of White Rabbit milk candies and melon seeds and peanuts from his bag and put them on the table.

"This is really a great event. Brother, you are really good. It is so rare to have twins, a boy and a girl. This is a good combination. I am really envious." Xu Weiguo said with a sour tone. He has three sons but no daughters. Now that he is old, he doesn't want to have more children.

"I'll notify you when the baby's full-month banquet is held, but now I have something good to do, see if you need it." Xu Damao picked up the teacup, blew on it and took a sip. He was really thirsty in this hot weather.

"What good thing? You're still thinking about your brother."

"We have a job opening at our steel rolling mill. See if you need one." Xu Damao took another sip of tea. The tea tasted good but was a little hot.

"What? A job quota? In your steel mill?" It's no wonder that Xu Weiguo was so surprised. It's true that job quotas are really hard to come by now. A slightly ordinary job would cost at least a thousand or eight hundred on the black market, not to mention the famous steel mill nearby that has high salaries and good welfare benefits.

"You should know that our factory recently opened a bicycle workshop. We are planning to expand and recruit people. Coincidentally, I happen to be the director of this workshop. Don't I have some extra vacancies?"

"Brother, how many places do you have left?" Xu Weiguo asked seriously.

Xu Damao stretched out a hand and gestured.

"So many? It seems that you are doing well in the steel mill. I won't hide it from you. Your eldest nephew just graduated from high school this year but didn't get into college. Now he stays at home all day and hasn't found a suitable job. I am worried about his job. Your sister-in-law's family also has a nephew who doesn't have a job, but this nephew only has a junior high school education."

"Since my eldest nephew is a high school student, this matter will be easy to handle. He doesn't need to suffer in the workshop. I will transfer him to the Propaganda Department. I am still the head of the Propaganda Department. Your wife's nephew can go to our bicycle workshop. The work is not tiring and the benefits are good."

"Hiss." Xu Weiguo took a breath, "Brother, you are not just doing well, you are too popular. I will treat you to a meal after I finish my work. I appreciate your kindness, but I still have to pay you. You can't let me suffer a loss."

"Hey, you'd better wait until next time for your meal. Sister Xuan will treat us at noon. Let's go and look at something, and then we'll go and have a meal with Sister Xuan together." Xu Damao said happily.

"Okay, then I'll treat you to a special treat at my home some other day. Now go and see the good things I saved for you." Xu Weiguo returned to the table, opened the drawer, took out a bunch of keys and shook them.

"Then let's go." Xu Damao drank the tea in one breath and walked out of the office.

The two of them came to the courtyard house where antiques were stored. Xu Damao activated his skills and took a rough look. The quality of these antiques was good, and there were even a few pieces that could be called national treasures.

"Okay, that's all. Let's go back and handle the formalities." Xu Damao said.

The next step was to go through the formalities. It was not the first or second time, and everything was familiar. However, the address was changed this time. The parents of the daughter-in-law had already moved into the small courtyard where she came as a dowry. It was a bit inconvenient, so Xu Damao simply asked them to send the things to Zhao Hu at the front door, and he just reported his name when he got there.

After finishing all this, Xu Damao and Xu Weiguo chatted in the office to kill time until they got off work at noon, then the three of them went to a nearby state-owned restaurant together.