Siheyuan: Xu Damao's New Life

While everyone was talking, He Daqing and his son Sha Zhu parked their bicycles and walked in. Sha Zhu was holding a large box in his hands.

"Dad, brother, you are back."

"Dad, please sit down and rest for a while. I'll get you a glass of water." Liang Ladi stood up and said.

Sha Zhu put the box on the table and said proudly: "Don't rush to pour the water, take a look at what this is first."

"Is this a radio? Didn't you say you were just going to buy a bicycle?" Liang Ladi asked curiously.

It turned out that the more He Daqing looked at his daughter-in-law, the more he liked her. It happened that the bicycle that Sha Zhu rode was a bit old, and his daughter and son-in-law gave him a bicycle ticket and a radio ticket as a gift, so he suggested buying a new bicycle and leaving the old one for him to ride to and from get off work.

He Daqing worked in Baocheng for many years and sold his job before returning. Although he left some money to the White Widow, he still had a lot of savings. When the father and son were buying a car at the department store, they saw a radio and bought it.

"I just happened to have some money and tickets, so I bought them. This way I can pay attention to national affairs in the future." He Daqing pretended to be nonchalant, meaning that it was just small change, nothing more than a drop in the bucket.

"Now our family has added two big items at once. Will anyone be jealous? The overall environment is not good now." Liang Ladi said with some concern.

"Oh, sister-in-law, don't worry. We don't steal or rob. What can others say if we buy things with our own salary?" Yu Shui comforted.

"Yes, my daughter is right. Let's open it and take a look. After you finish reading, go and cook." He Daqing said.

"I just happened to bring two fish, I will ask Brother Zhuzi to cook them later. By the way, where are the children?" Xu Damao asked.

"He went out to have fun and will be back when it's time to eat." Liang Ladi said.

Soon Xu Damao helped to adjust the radio. A burst of Peking Opera sounds came from the radio, and He Daqing even hummed a few lines along.

Sha Zhu took a last reluctant look at the radio before going to the kitchen to start working, and Liang Ladi followed to help.

Xu Damao said, "Yushui, you chat with dad for a while. I'll go home and get two bottles of good wine. The three of us will drink some later."

"Well, let's go."

Xu Damao went out and looked at the new car that Sha Zhu had bought, a 28-inch Forever brand car. This car was sturdy and durable, and it was very capable of carrying heavy loads and goods. It was said that one car could be passed down for three generations, and the car would still be there even after the owner left.

The bicycles produced by the bicycle factory are made of new steel and are lightweight. They are not only beautiful in appearance, but can also adapt to various situations and are more suitable for young people.

Xu Damao went back home and took out two bottles of Fenjiu and a bottle of Xifeng, and a piece of pork head from the refrigerator. Then he carried the things to Sha Zhu's house.

The Yan family in the front yard had finished their meal. Ran Qiuye was in a bad mood today and could not eat more than half a steamed bun. She got up and went back to her room.

During the day, she went back to her parents' home to visit them. Her parents had been suspended from work and were often dragged out for criticism, parading, and self-criticism. As a daughter, she felt heartbroken when she learned about all this. When she thought about her own experience, she suddenly couldn't eat.

Yu Li also noticed that her sister-in-law was in a bad mood, so she drank a bowl of porridge and said, "Mom and Dad, Jiefang is not at home either, I'm going to go see Qiuye."

"Well, you should give her more guidance. There's really nothing we can do given the current environment," Yan Bugui said.

Yu Li got up and went to find Ran Qiuye, "Qiuye, what's wrong with you? Is the food not to your liking?"

"Sister-in-law, you are here, please sit down. I just went back to my parents' home and I feel uncomfortable and have no appetite." Ran Qiuye said.

Yu Li also sat next to Ran Qiuye and started chatting with her. Ran Qiuye finally found someone to talk to and expressed all her grievances.

"Hey, you see, Dad is staying at home now, and even Xu Damao, the most capable person in our hospital, has been reassigned to another job.

Besides, what's the big deal about these difficulties? I heard from Jie Cheng that his family almost starved to death during the difficult times, but now they have survived and their lives are getting better and better.

If you really don't want to go to work, don't go, and have a child with Jiefang as soon as possible. When you have a child in front of you, you will be too tired to think about anything else. "Yu Li said while holding Ran Qiuye's hand.

Ran Qiuye's eyes lit up when she heard this. Yes, she and Jiefang had been married for a while, so it was just right for them to have a child. It was just that Jiefang often had to go on business trips and spent very little time at home, so they had not been able to conceive.

"Sister-in-law, you are right. It's time to have a child. I will talk to him about this after liberation." Ran Qiuye said.

Afterwards, the two sisters-in-law started talking about women's private matters, and Ran Qiuye felt much better.

Dinner had already started at Sha Zhu's house by then. The children and the two women had finished eating and left the table, leaving only the three of them drinking.

He Daqing picked up a piece of boiled fish with chopsticks, put it into his mouth, chewed it and then swallowed it.

"Da Mao, I heard from Yu Shui that you are a pretty good cook. Which chef did you learn from? Did you invent this boiled fish dish?"

"Hi, I haven't learned any skills from a master. I learned all this by myself. The inspiration for boiled fish mainly comes from boiled pork slices. Since meat slices can be boiled, why can't fish meat be boiled? So I gave it a try, and I didn't expect it to be successful." Xu Damao said.

“Being able to create new dishes shows that your cooking skills are really impressive. Many well-known senior chefs may not be able to create their own dishes,” He Daqing praised.

"My cooking skills are only good for cooking at home. I don't seek fame or anything like that. It's a bit of a waste. By the way, Dad, how is the apprenticeship going? Are there any good candidates?"

"I only found three people who are relatively talented. The others who have no talent, even if we teach them, will only be able to cook a big pot of food for their whole life," said He Daqing.

"Brother Zhuzi, how are you doing?"

"I have accepted two new apprentices, and they are talented. The other one is Ma Hua. Brother-in-law, why do you need so many chefs? Now you are not allowed to open a restaurant!" said Sha Zhu.

"Now private individuals are not allowed to open restaurants, but what about in the future? Do we have to wait until private individuals are allowed to do business and open restaurants before we can accept apprentices? By then, will it be just you, Nan Yi and Ma Hua who can handle it?" Xu Damao asked back.

"Uh..." Sha Zhu was speechless. He also knew that it would be too late by then. If he really opened a restaurant, he and Nan Yi would not be able to handle it even if they worked themselves to death. His father was not young anymore, and it was not certain whether he would be able to cook by then.

"Do you want to earn two thousand, three thousand or even ten thousand yuan a month? Do you want to run a big restaurant of your own? Do you want to cook your family's traditional Tan dishes?"

Sha Zhu's eyes lit up and he nodded repeatedly, wishing he could do something big right away.

"I can tell you clearly that the turning point will come after this movement. Then it will be time to show our strength. But I can't reveal too much about this matter, and you don't have to ask. My current task is to recruit more apprentices and teach them well. In the future, we will open branches."

He Daqing had been watching his uncle fooling his stupid son while sipping his wine, but he didn't want to intervene. He had known for a long time that Xu Damao was not as simple as he seemed, otherwise he wouldn't have agreed to marry his daughter to him so readily. In short, Xu Damao would definitely not harm Sha Zhuzi, and he would also help him make a fortune.