Siheyuan: Xu Damao's New Life

Xu Damao coughed twice and said, "Alright, there are people around here so keep your voice down. Let's eat quickly and then go back to rest. We still have to go to work in the afternoon."

After Xu Damao said this, the others stopped talking, ate their meal obediently, and then went their separate ways.

The work in the afternoon was relatively easy, and Xu Damao finished in just an hour. He then took out a pen and paper and started writing novels. Now he and Yu Shui have finished more than a dozen novels, and their novels are best sellers in the entire Chinese community. Whether in East Asia or Southeast Asia, wherever there are Chinese people, there will definitely be martial arts novels written by them.

Xu Damao kept writing until the music for the end of get off work sounded, then he got up to stretch his legs, packed up briefly, and then rode his bike home.

"Brother Damao, I'm back!"

As soon as Xu Damao entered the courtyard, he heard someone standing in front of the Yan family's door talking to him. He looked up and recognized Yan Jiefang at a glance. After all, he was already quite old when he left. His appearance had not changed much, except that his face was less childish and ignorant, and more stable and resolute.

"Oh, it's Jiefang. When did you come back?" Xu Damao stopped and asked.

"I came back with Guangtian this morning. All these years are thanks to the things Brother Damao gave us, otherwise we might have died long ago. Thank you so much, Brother Damao." Yan Jiefang said seriously.

"Okay, stop being so sentimental. Invite your brother to come over to our house to drink with you tonight. I'll go get Guangtian and Guangfu."

"No, we should be the ones to invite you!"

"Don't waste time, men. Just come over here in a while. I'll let you taste the cooking of Master Nan in the backyard. I'm leaving first!" Xu Damao said and left while pushing the cart.

"Mom, my brother and I will go to Damao's house for dinner later, so don't make ours."

"Okay, then you wait a moment, your brother should be back soon." Yang Ruihua said.

After Xu Damao returned to the backyard and parked his car in front of his house, he went to Liu Haizhong's house to greet the brothers Guangtian and Guangfu. Nan Yi and his wife had not returned yet, so he did not go there either.

"Ezi, Jiefang and Guangtian have returned from military service. I have invited the two brothers from the Yan family and the two brothers from the Liu family to come over for a drink. I will cook dinner." Xu Damao said.

"Okay, we just happen to be running out of food at home."

At that moment, Xu Damao rode his bike for a ride outside the yard, and returned home more than ten minutes later with a lot of food.

"Come, Xiaofeng, Xiaowei, I bought you some soda. Give this bottle to your mother, and remember to share some with your sister." Xu Damao took out three bottles of soda and said after opening them.

"Thank you, Dad!" The two children ran over happily, took the soda and drank it impatiently, then took the remaining bottle to find Lou Xiaoe.

Xu Damao went into the kitchen and started to work. The weather was getting hotter, and time was running out, so he was too lazy to make any stews. So he just exchanged a lot of cooked food outside, which only required simple cutting, mixing some seasonings, garlic and the like, and pouring them on top.

Finally, Xu Damao cooked a few simple side dishes and also prepared two of the children's favorite dishes. A fairly sumptuous meal was ready, and all that was left was to wait for people to arrive.

Sure enough, not long after, the four people invited by Xu Damao came over arm in arm, carrying a lot of things in their hands.

"Brother Damao, we are here!" Liu Guangfu, the youngest and most familiar with Xu Damao, shouted loudly.

"Okay, stop making a fuss. It's not like we haven't been here before. Time is tight today, so I prepared some extra cooked food. Find a seat and let's start drinking!" said Xu Damao.

The table at Xu Damao's house was just enough for eight people, and Lou Xiao'e held the little one in her arms and fed him. They drank a lot. Lou Xiao'e had finished eating long ago and had taken the children out to enjoy the cool air, leaving some space for the men to talk.

"Guangtian, Jiefang, have you been assigned a job by the army after you retired this time?" Xu Damao asked.

Liu Guangtian chuckled, "It was arranged, but our ranks are not high, and we are not cadres like regiment commanders or battalion commanders, so we didn't want it. We just gave some extra resettlement allowance."

"Yes, Brother Damao, we two brothers want to follow you and are waiting for you to arrange us!" Yan Jiefang also said.

"Okay, it's a different era now and you're still following me. I'm not a gangster," said Xu Damao.

"Hey, if it weren't for the medicine and hemostatic drugs you prepared for us, brother Damao, we two brothers might not have come back. Brother, please don't tell our parents about this!" Yan Jiefang warned.

"You don't have to let me tell you, but you have to tell us the situation in detail." Yan Jiecheng glanced at Liu Guangfu and said.

"Yes, Brother Jie Cheng is right. Tell me in detail and I promise not to tell my parents." Liu Guangfu also said.

"Well, as everyone knows, we have been together since we were recruits, and later we were assigned to the reconnaissance company because of our outstanding performance.

Once when we were on a mission at the border, we had a conflict with the people on the other side. At that time, there were more people on the other side, and we suffered some losses.

At that time, almost all of us were injured and had been surrounded. We relied on the medicine given by Brother Damao to keep fighting. Later, reinforcements arrived and we were able to capture them all alive. "

"Wow, brother, you have really fought in a war. Have you ever killed any enemies?" Liu Guangfu asked.

Liu Guangtian nodded with a reserved look, "We only killed two or three people, and we were almost liberated. We were even awarded medals at the time!"

"Brother, you are awesome!"

Yan Jiecheng also looked at his second son in surprise. This kid dared to go to the battlefield to kill the enemy. He was no longer the second son who had to rely on his parents and family. It was true that when a soldier is away for three days, he should be looked at with new eyes.

"Come on, let's have a drink to wish you a safe return." Xu Damao raised his glass and said.

"Come on, do it!"

"Dry!"

Xu Damao put down his wine glass, picked up a piece of pig's ear and put it in his mouth, chewing it slowly, making a crunching sound from time to time.

Then the two of them talked about some new things in the army, especially when they were leading the new recruits. The new recruits made a lot of jokes, just like when they were still rookies.

Xu Damao coughed twice and said, "Since you two didn't come here for work but for me, then leave the work to me. What did you learn in the army? I mean what you can use in your work."

"Apart from military skills, I only learned how to drive and repair cars. I really can't do the job of a cook." Liu Guangtian said with a wry smile.

"Me too!" Yan Jiefang also said.

Well, the two brothers learned to drive as I told them before I left. "Well, you two are retired and have made contributions in the army, so it's easier to arrange. You two can choose the security department or the transportation team in the factory. You can also go back and discuss it with your family."

Liu Guangfu didn't look envious after hearing this. Although he didn't have a formal job and just followed his master to run the black market, his income was higher than that of his father, a cadre.

Yan Jiecheng was really envious. He started as an apprentice, but he was motivated and worked hard to learn from his master every day, and soon passed the first-level worker exam. However, he is now a third-level fitter and his salary is not bad, but the benefits are definitely not as good as those of the security department and the transport team.

Yan Jiefang and Liu Guangtian looked at each other and nodded, "We don't have any requests. We will listen to Brother Damao. We can go to work tomorrow."

"Oh, don't do that. Work is a big deal. You should still listen to your parents' opinions. Besides, you two just came back. You should take a good rest first."

"Okay, we'll listen to you!"