Siheyuan: Xu Damao's New Life

After get off work, Xu Long bought some braised food and went home, intending to pretend to be miserable and drink to drown his sorrows, but in fact he just wanted to drink.

He had just returned home with his things and was about to start drinking when he heard someone knocking on the door.

"Come in, the door is unlocked."

"Brother, I heard the news and came to see you. Did your sister-in-law really leave with the child?" Xu Xiaoying said. She worked in a supply and marketing cooperative after graduating from high school. She was well-informed and came directly after get off work.

"I left, but it was my arrangement. Starting next year, the country will be in turmoil. There were too many people watching in the station and I couldn't tell my brother-in-law about it. You two just need to know about this, don't tell anyone."

Xu Xiaoying had some guesses based on some clues before, and later she asked her mother and sister-in-law and got a general idea.

"Well, I told him secretly at night. I worried for so long in vain. By the way, is Yu Shui really going to be my second sister-in-law?" Xu Xiaoying asked curiously.

"That's not too far off, but we have to wait for some time until things calm down before we can talk about it. Not now."

"Just eat this, shall I cook something for you?"

"No, it's just right to drink some wine and go to sleep. You should go home and cook for my nephew! I'm already such a grown-up, why do I need you to worry about me?"

"Well, if you have any problem, just come to me first." Seeing that her brother was fine, Xu Xiaoying left in a hurry.

Xu Long shook his head and ignored her and continued drinking. However, when he was halfway through his drink, the phone rang.

The call was from my brother-in-law, who was working overtime at the office.

"Brother, I found out the news. My sister-in-law drove to Tianjin on October 2nd, and then boarded a cargo ship directly to Hong Kong. Now the jeep driven by my sister-in-law is parked near the dock. I have asked my father to ask someone to drive the car back to you. It should arrive in a few days." Chen Guangze said.

"Okay, thank you for your help. If you have nothing else to do, go home quickly. Yingzi just left me."

"Okay, brother, I'll be done in a little while."

As soon as Xu Damao hung up the phone and returned to the main room, he saw Director Wang standing at the door looking at him.

"Auntie Wang, what are you doing standing outside? Come in and have some tea." Xu Long did not address her by her title, but referred to her as his mother and simply called her "Auntie" to avoid embarrassing her.

"No, I just heard about your story, so I came to see you after get off work. I'll say a few words and then leave. Did your wife really leave with the children?" Director Wang asked.

"Really? He's been gone for several days. My brother-in-law just called and said he left on the boat on the 2nd and left his car in Tianjin." Xu Long said as he lit a cigarette.

"Oh, I didn't expect that the entire Lou family had left the city. You should have been more careful when your mother-in-law left. These capitalist families are really unreliable!" Director Wang said.

"I didn't think about it at the time. It's too late now. The child has been taken away. Nothing is left for me."

"It's okay. Since you call me aunt, I'll keep an eye out for the good girls on our street. I'm very familiar with this area, and you're not too old now. You'll have enough time to get married and have a bunch of kids."

"Auntie Wang, can I still get married in this situation? Haven't I gone through the divorce procedures yet?"

"Generally speaking, if your wife is missing, you can remarry her if she doesn't come back within a year. Now your wife's whereabouts are relatively clear, and she has taken the children with her. It seems that she definitely doesn't want to come back. In this case, you will automatically divorce within half a year, and then there will be no relationship between you."

"I really didn't know this, thanks to Aunt Wang for telling me."

"Okay, I'm relieved to see that you're not that upset. You're the pride of our neighborhood, and you can't be defeated by such a small setback."

"Don't worry, our factory manager Li gave me three days off to take care of things. I will go back to work after three days and strive to make greater contributions to the motherland!"

"I feel relieved with your words. I'll leave first."

As soon as Director Wang left, Liu Guangtian, who had just returned from get off work, and Liu Guangfu, who had just woken up, came over with bottles of wine to drink with him, and their words were full of concern and guidance.

"Brother Damao, it's just that three children are gone. We can just find another woman and have more children in the future." Liu Guangfu said.

"It's not three, it's four. Didn't you say you were pregnant again a few days ago?" Liu Guangtian also said.

Xu Long listened to what the two brothers said and shook his head in his heart. If you can't speak, don't speak. No one thinks you are dumb. It will be uncomfortable for you to speak even if there is nothing wrong.

At this moment, Xu Long seemed to hear the sound of a knife stabbing his heart. Oh, I forgot that he was a puppet, so forget it.

Xu Long and two other people drank four bottles of white wine before they left the party and soon went to bed.

The next day, Xu Dalong was given a day off by Li Huaide, so he did not go to work. The old ladies in the courtyard came in groups to comfort Xu Damao. It seemed that the gifts they had given him were not in vain, and everyone still had some conscience.

Next came some of Xu Damao's former friends, who either came to visit him in person or called to inquire about his situation. Chen Xueru and Xu Huizhen came to the courtyard to visit Xu Damao in person.

At this time, Xu Huizhen had already married Cai Quanwu, but Chen Xueru had already divorced Manager Liao and was not yet together with Fan Jinyou, so she was also unmarried.

On the way back to Zhengyang Gate, Xu Huizhen whispered to Chen Xueru: "Xueru, do you have any ideas?"

"What idea?" Chen Xueru didn't react for a moment.

"Look, you are single now, and Damao's wife has run away. Can you two..." Xu Huizhen only said half of the sentence, but the meaning was very clear.

"Oh, what nonsense are you talking about! I don't have much contact with him and we don't have any feelings for each other, so how could we be together?" Chen Xueru's heart moved, but she still gently hit Xu Huizhen's arm.

"So do you plan to stay single from now on or do you want to be with that cadre Fan who's been chasing you?"

While talking, Chen Xueru had already made a comprehensive comparison between Xu Damao and Fan Jinyou in her mind. The result was self-evident, Fan Jinyou was completely defeated!

"No, let's take it one step at a time. I was too impatient before, and as a result, my two marriages did not go well."

Xu Huizhen was very familiar with her and knew that she had already fallen in love with him, but was too embarrassed to say it directly. So she changed the subject and the two of them went back chatting and laughing.

Just when Xu Long was enjoying the last day of his three-day vacation, three strangers came to his door.

The visitor came straight to the point, "We are from a special department of the country, and we are here to ask you for some information."

"Ask if you want to know anything."

"When did your father-in-law Lou Zhenhua and his family leave the city?"

"My father-in-law has been gone for about five years. My mother-in-law left in early 1963. She helped take care of the two children before that."

"Was there anything unusual before your wife left?"

"No, it was just like any other day. After we had dinner at my parents' house, Ma Tianyu said she wanted to go home and visit a few friends, so she took her kids back home. It wasn't until last Sunday when I went to pick them up that I found the house was empty."

The other party then asked a lot of questions, and Xu Long answered them one by one.

"Okay, we don't have any problems. Thank you for your cooperation. We will leave first. We will come again if you need us in the future."

Xu Long nodded and walked the person out of the yard.