Siheyuan: Bringing Warehouses to 1959

It is the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month and the festive atmosphere is already very strong. The streets are full of teenagers running around. At their age, most of the troubles in the world have nothing to do with them.

Nowadays, things are not as competitive as in later generations. Children start wearing glasses at an early age and have endless classes to make up for.

"Brother, sister-in-law, please come back early tomorrow!" Xiaoqiang, who was preparing to go back to the countryside to celebrate the New Year, said eagerly to his brother who was seeing him off.

Lai Fu grabbed Zhang Xiuzhi's sleeve and pleaded pitifully: "Sister-in-law, don't let my brother run away. Let's go after the New Year..."

I don’t know which bastard told the two brothers that their eldest brother was going back to the army and couldn’t spend the New Year at home, so when they learned that they had to return to the countryside to celebrate the New Year in advance, they thought that their eldest brother had sent them away.

Also returning home to celebrate the New Year were Zeng Youqian and his wife. Zeng Youqian was a tailor and also a shareholder of the tailor shop. He had basically finished the work he was supposed to do, and any unfinished work could be handed over to his apprentices, so it was no big deal for him to take two days off.

Zeng Wangcai and Zhang Xiuzhi are not going back today as they have something else to do in the next two days.

Among them, Zeng Wangcai is going to visit Old Man Liu today, and tomorrow they will go to the steel rolling mill together to discuss work issues. At the same time, Zeng Wangcai wants to take off another layer of Yi Zhonghai's vest.

"Don't worry, my eldest brother will be back at noon tomorrow!" Zeng Wangcai assured his two younger brothers, "I will also bring you endless firecrackers."

After getting the assurance from their eldest brother, the two brothers followed their parents, looking back every few steps.

Seeing that they had disappeared, Zeng Wangcai returned and picked up a piece of pork belly weighing about two pounds and a fish weighing five or six pounds. These were the gifts he brought when he visited.

There are no more.

As for the other two old men, Zeng Wangcai said that they had only met once, so there was no need to bother them.

Zeng Wangcai had just gone out when he saw Xu Damao running anxiously from outside into the alley.

"Wangcai, it's great that you haven't left yet!" Xu Damao's forehead was sweating for some reason. "I heard something at work today, and I felt something was wrong, so I hurried back to tell you."

"What's the matter? Looking at you like this, is the sky falling?" Zeng Wangcai was curious and was pulled aside by Xu Damao to avoid a large number of passers-by.

"It's a big deal. Isn't your sister-in-law going to work at the steel mill?" Xu Damao glanced behind him and lowered his voice when he saw no one was around. "The old bastards Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong found out about this. When I was at work today, I found Liu Haizhong asking about it. He even came to our publicity department to ask if you still have any connection with the department. Judging from their behavior, they are definitely planning to do something bad."

"That's it? It's okay, it's not important!" Zeng Wangcai was full of confidence and was not worried about Yi Zhonghai.

"Don't underestimate Yi Zhonghai!" Xu Damao reminded him, "The old bastard doesn't talk much in the factory, but he is really capable. All the workshops have to give face to this eighth-level fitter."

"I know he won't last two days!" Since Zeng Wangcai was going to take action, he was naturally prepared.

An eighth-level fitter is indeed awesome, but can he be more awesome than his teacher Zhou Yuanbai?

Even teachers are forced to learn how to drink. You, an eighth-level fitter, are nothing compared to him...

"Thanks, don't worry, he won't survive this New Year!" Zeng Wangcai patted Xu Damao on the shoulder, "I have to go, lest the person who's looking for him gets out, you go to work, it's okay!"

Xu Damao felt relieved when he saw that Zeng Wangcai didn't care at all.

It's not that he is kind, but he can see clearly that Zeng Wangcai is the strong thigh. He has realized this before, and Lou Zhenhua's attitude yesterday further deepened his understanding.

However, despite this, Xu Damao still didn't understand how Zeng Wangcai could make Yi Zhonghai, an eighth-level fitter, unlucky within two days.

The two men separated, and Zeng Wangcai rode his bicycle to the compound where Old Man Liu was. A fish and a piece of meat were hanging on the handlebars of the bicycle, swaying back and forth, and were particularly eye-catching.

Nowadays, it can be said that there are people who go to the compound to give gifts, but those who are as ostentatious as Zeng Wangcai are rare.

The guard at the gate of the compound called to confirm that Old Man Liu was at home, and let Zeng Wangcai go after verifying his identity.

"Hey, Director Yang, why are you here?" Zeng Wangcai walked into the house and saw that there was not only Old Man Yang in the living room, but also the director of the steel rolling mill, Yang Weiguo.

"Haha, Zeng Wangcai, you can come but why can't I?" When Yang Weiguo saw the fish in Zeng Wangcai's hand, his expression changed slightly and he quickly stood up.

At that time, Zeng Wangcai was working at the steel rolling mill and wanted to introduce Lin Huyang as a buyer, but Yang Weiguo did not understand the situation clearly and refused. Later, he found out that Zeng Wangcai had a relationship with Old Man Liu.

When he was about to make up for it, Zeng Wangcai suddenly joined the army. This matter had passed Yang Weiguo's mind, but he did not expect to encounter it here today.

Yang Weiguo knew that the leader never accepted gifts. Zeng Wangcai's gift might not look expensive, but people with discerning eyes could see the meaning. This kind of gift was obviously not given to build relationships, but was a gift from a younger generation visiting an elder.

Until now, no one knew the specific relationship between Zeng Wangcai and Old Man Liu. Yang Weiguo was also not clear about it. Seeing the scene in front of him, Yang Weiguo was certain that the relationship between the two was not ordinary. Even if they were not relatives, they were at least close seniors and juniors.

Sure enough, Old Man Yang stood up with a smile and went to Zeng Wangcai, complaining in a friendly tone: "You have been back for several days, but you didn't even come to visit us old men. I thought you were arrogant because you became a platoon leader. You still remembered to come before the 30th. You are polite."

Yang Weiguo took a breath, unable to get a word in, and just smiled apologetically.

"Uncle, it's not that I don't want to come, but I have a lot of things to do at home, and I have to go back to the countryside to celebrate the New Year tomorrow." Zeng Wangcai carried fish and meat into the kitchen and greeted Old Liu's wife who was cooking inside.

Old man Liu has a nanny at home, but the nanny is on New Year's Eve and there is no one at home.

"Auntie, you don't know how to cook?" Zeng Wangcai glanced at the messy kitchen table. There were not many dishes, mostly vegetarian, with one piece of meat, about half a pound. "Why don't I cook it? I haven't learned anything else in the army, but my cooking skills have improved a lot."

He spoke loudly, which was intentional, implying that he was now a fireman.

Old Liu outside the kitchen naturally heard it, and scolded with a smile: "Don't let him do it, he is resentful and blames us old men for throwing him into the army. You let him do it, but he deliberately did bad things for you and ruined the good things."

"How can you talk like that? It's not easy for the child to come here." After scolding her husband, the old lady smiled and said to Zeng Wangcai, "No need for you, you are a guest, go out and have a rest. Even if I can't cook, I can still cook a table of dishes."

"He is not a guest..." Old Man Liu wanted to ask Zeng Wangcai to help him to appear friendly, but then he thought of his old comrade's instructions, walked to the kitchen and said, "Forget it, come out and talk to me, and leave the kitchen to your aunt."

Now Yang Weiguo was embarrassed. Should he leave or not?

Let’s go. We agreed to stay for dinner. If you don’t leave, you won’t be able to get a word in when these two of them are talking.

Okay, let me go into the kitchen!

Yang Weiguo went to the kitchen to help, but he kept his ears perked up to listen to the two people talking in the living room.

Before getting down to business, Old Man Liu asked, "How are you? Is everything okay at home?"

This is originally a polite greeting. The person being asked should answer "OK" or "All is good" and then start the next topic.

But when Zeng Wangcai saw Yang Weiguo here, he thought this was a huge opportunity.

So I answered unconventionally: "Not good, not good at all. I went to the army, there was no one at home, my father was beaten, and I just came back with a truckload of supplies. I took care of the neighbors and asked the purchasing station to sell at a low price through the back door. As a result, I was falsely accused of speculation..."

"There is such a thing? Who did it? What kind of shitty neighbors are you..."

"The plan was planned by Yi Zhonghai, an eighth-level fitter in the steel mill, and executed by the son of Liu Haizhong, a seventh-level fitter in our yard..."

When Yang Weiguo heard this, his face turned green. These are all my men.