Siheyuan: Xu Damao's New Life

It was almost noon when Xu Damao returned to the station. He rejected the enthusiastic request of the public security comrades to have lunch together, rode his bicycle and went straight to the trust store.

"Sister Zhao, Sister Zhao, I'm here to pick up the goods and pay the money. Is Brother Xu here?" Xu Damao shouted as he entered the door, carrying two bottles of good wine and a bag of apples.

"Director Xu is here. Shall I take you to see him?" Sister Zhao replied.

"Wait a minute, I'll settle the remaining money first. By the way, Sister Zhao, this apple is for you, it's sweet and crispy." After Xu Damao said this, he handed over the apple and patted his briefcase.

"Then come with me. I'll take you to handle it quickly." Sister Zhao said this but her hands were not idle. She took the Apple and placed it behind the counter at her workstation.

As expected, it is always easier to get things done if you have acquaintances wherever you are. The financial staff happily took the money and issued a receipt and a delivery note.

"Yes, I'll take you to see our leader. The delivery note needs his signature, and then we can arrange the shipment." Zhao Xuan said.

It turned out that Xu Damao had also inquired about Sister Zhao's situation. Sister Zhao's name was Zhao Xuan. She was in her early thirties. Her husband worked in the Dongcheng District Government. They had a son and a daughter. The son was ten years old and the daughter was fifteen years old. They were both in school. From what they heard, both her husband's family and her parents' family were paid by the government. However, Xu Damao did not ask in detail. Relationships were something that needed to be maintained frequently. It was best not to talk too much about superficial things.

Zhao Xuan sent Xu Damao to the manager's office, knocked on the door and went back, after all, she still had work to do. Xu Damao came forward cheerfully, "Brother Xu, I just finished the formalities, and I came to see you with two bottles of wine."

"Oh, it's Brother Damao. Come and sit down. You've just arrived. What else do you want to bring? Bring me the order. I'll sign it for you. When will the delivery be arranged?" Xu Weiguo said.

Xu Damao handed over the receipt and the delivery note together. "Of course the sooner the better. Send it this afternoon. I happened to be getting married and have taken a leave these two days." Then he sat down on the sofa without any hesitation and looked at the luxurious decoration in the office.

Xu Weiguo looked at the document and signed it happily before handing it to Xu Damao. "Then I'd like to congratulate you, brother. I'll definitely be there when the party is held." Seeing Xu Damao looking at the decoration in the office, he said, "How is it, brother, the decoration here is pretty good, isn't it?"

"Hey, why hold a banquet? The situation doesn't allow it. We're just going to have dumplings with the neighbors in the yard. But if you want to eat, I can treat you alone. But your office is too luxurious. There is nothing in it that is not old."

Xu Weiguo laughed, "I am the first to see the moon because I am close to the water. I have a lot of old things like this. Wait a minute, I will give you something good." After saying that, he walked out.

After a while, Xu Weiguo came back with a box about a foot long in his hand, "This is your wedding gift from your brother, do you like it?" It turned out that Xu Weiguo saw that Xu Damao was generous and spent two thousand yuan to buy some old things without blinking an eye, so he wanted to make friends with him, maybe he could use it someday.

Xu Damao took the box and opened it. Inside was a jade ornament, carved with the image of the Goddess of Childbearing. Xu Damao threw an appraisal on it, and immediately a group of entries appeared in front of him, "Ming Dynasty, top-grade Hetian jade Guanyin ornament, rare, extremely valuable."

Xu Damao saw that this cheap old man was good, and it seemed that he was also interested in making friends with him, otherwise he would not be so generous. "Thank you, Brother Xu. I will treat you to a drink alone when I am free some other day."

The two chatted for a while, and Xu Damao said he had to get married and left. Xu Weiguo said he arranged to deliver the goods at 7 pm. It was OK if there were few items, but it would be inconvenient to deliver so many items during the day with too many people around.

Xu Damao nodded in agreement. If he had bought less things, it would be fine, but he bought too much. He was indeed negligent before. "Then I'll find a place to pull the sofa over. I'll use it tomorrow."

"Go ahead, I'll just make a phone call and let them know." Xu Weiguo sent Xu Damao to the door.

"Brother, you can go back. I don't have much stuff. Let's get together again another day." After Xu Damao said this, he found a cart, loaded the sofa, and returned to the courtyard.

As soon as he entered the middle courtyard, he heard a loud noise coming from the Jia family, mixed with the crying of Banggeng and Xiaodang. Originally, the Jia family's life was pretty good, but the quota has been reduced in the past two years, and Jia Dongxu's ration is not enough to eat, so he can only use his old book to make ends meet.

But Banggeng had caused trouble before and had to pay a lot of money to the steel mill. In addition, they had to deduct ten yuan from Jia Dongxu's salary every month. The Jia family's life became increasingly difficult. Several donations were also disrupted by Xu Damao, and they had to rely on the help of Jia Dongxu's master, the eldest uncle.

The Jia family had been eating cornmeal porridge and steamed bread for a long time, and they still didn't feel full. This afternoon, Banggeng couldn't stand it anymore, and he clamored for meat and refused to eat the steamed bread. He also knocked the cornmeal porridge to the ground.

Qin Huairu slapped Bang Geng in the face, and Bang Geng started to cry. Xiao Dang was still young and ignorant, so he started to cry when he saw his brother crying. However, this angered Jia Zhang, who was standing next to him, and she was scolding Qin Huairu for being incompetent and not letting the children have enough to eat.

Qin Huairu was also very aggrieved and sobbing softly. She usually couldn't bear to eat more cornmeal porridge and steamed bread, but left them for the children. Your son Jia Dongxu only has such a small salary every month, and she herself has no job and a rural household registration. What can she do? Her parents in the countryside are now living a harder life and are counting on her for support.

"Alright, alright, stop crying. I just want to say this. Mom knows you're a good wife and I don't blame you. Eat well. Xu Damao is getting married tomorrow, so let's have a good meal with him."

Xu Damao was not angry when he heard Jia Zhang said she wanted to eat him. Since he had decided to invite everyone in the courtyard, he couldn't leave the Jia family out. As long as the Jia family didn't bother him, everything would be fine. If the Jia family really didn't know how to live or die, then don't blame him for being cruel.

Xu Damao did not stay in the middle courtyard. He took the cart home and unloaded the sofa and arranged it. Xu's mother also took the second and third aunts to work in the house, putting some dried fruits such as red dates, chestnuts, and peanuts in the bedding, and pasting red window paper-cuts and happy characters on the window glass.

When everyone heard the noise, they came out to check what was going on, and the three aunts couldn't let go of the sofa.

"Don't just touch it, try doing it." Xu Damao said.

"Oh, that's so embarrassing." A group of middle-aged women said they were embarrassed, but they all sat down on them, still talking non-stop.

“This sofa is really nice.”

"Where did you get this? It must have cost a lot of money, right?"

"When I have money, I will buy one too."

"It didn't cost much. I don't have the ability to get a new one. I bought it second-hand from a trust store." Xu Damao also answered happily.

"Oh, it's already noon. I have to go back and cook for my husband."

"That's right. I have to go back quickly, so that my eldest grandson won't starve."

Xu Damao didn't stop them when he saw this, but he gave each aunt who came to help a lot of melon seeds, peanuts and White Rabbit milk candy, and the aunts went home happily.