Siheyuan: Happy Life of Jia Zhang Family

At this time, Zhang Dabao looked at the child in her arms. He looked very listless, weak, sweating, and with his head lowered. He kept rubbing his head with his hands, and it seemed that he had a headache.

"Sister, you have been walking with the child for a long time, right? It seems that the child has a little heatstroke?" Zhang Dabao said to the woman.

"I've been walking since this morning and haven't encountered a single car. I haven't eaten breakfast yet." The woman cried anxiously and took out a bottle from her bag to give the child some water.

"It's so hot today, you can't go without eating. Here are some snacks, you and the children can have some." Zhang Dabao took out half a bag of peach cakes from the carriage and handed it to the woman.

"Brother, I have no money," the woman said in a low voice.

"Why do you need the money? Eat. Everyone has difficulties. I have water in the car. Oh, and the child needs some salt. Mahua is salty." Zhang Dabao took two more mahua from the car and gave them to the woman.

"Da Mao, say thank you to your uncle," the woman said to the child.

"Uncle, thank you" the boy Zi Damao was very polite.

"Da Mao?" Zhang Dabao was surprised when he heard the name, and thought of the machine repair factory where Yan Jiefang went in the hospital. Could this be another famous widow, Liang Ladi?

"Sister, which unit are you from?" The motorcycle started moving. Da Mao and the woman ate something and drank some water. Da Mao felt a little more energetic.

"I work in the machine repair shop. I just took over the job. I'm a welder," said the woman.

"Really? What a coincidence! I work at the steel rolling mill, in the supply and marketing department. We are in the same unit." Zhang Dabao confirmed that the woman was Liang Ladi.

"What a coincidence! Are you going to Zhangjiakou?" When the woman heard that Zhang Dabao worked at a steel rolling mill, she felt much more familiar with him.

"Yes, I went to the reservoir and got some fish. I have a neighbor who also works in the machine repair factory. His name is Yan Jiefang. Do you know him?" Zhang Dabao asked.

"I know him. We entered the factory together and he also held the same position. I heard he spent a lot of money and he's also a welder." Liang Ladi was certain that this man was really from the steel rolling mill because they now had a mutual acquaintance.

"Brother, you go out to purchase every day. Do you know where to buy grain? I have money, but I have many children. I haven't been officially registered yet. My household registration and my children's household registration have not been transferred to the city, so there is no quota," the woman asked Zhang Dabao.

"Sister, to be honest, there is not much food on the black market, and it is very expensive. Coarse grains are only 40 or 50 cents, and rice and flour cannot be bought for two yuan because there is no food," said Zhang Dabao.

"What should I do? I originally wanted to go back to my parents' home to borrow some, but my parents' family now only eat one meal a day, and they mainly eat wild vegetables," the woman burst into tears.

"When I go to the black market, I'll ask you. Are you living in the machine repair factory now?" Zhang Dabao asked.

"We live in the factory's staff quarters. We have three children at home. Our youngest daughter is only ten months old. She eats porridge every day. I don't know if we can keep her up?" the woman said with a sigh.

"You can't eat porridge every day. I have some millet in my car. You can take it later. Don't make the child suffer." Zhang Dabao couldn't bear to see a woman cry, especially when she was crying for the survival of her child.

"Thank you so much." The woman heard what Zhang Dabao said and hurriedly said thank you.

"Thanks, no need. We all have to make a living. It's not easy for anyone. If you go ahead, will it be closer to the machine repair shop?" When they reached a fork in the road, Zhang Dabao asked the woman.

"Maybe, I haven't been there either." Hearing the woman's words, Zhang Dabao stopped the car, took out a map, looked at it, and set off again. At this time, Damao had fallen asleep in the woman's arms.

At noon, Zhang Dabao sent the woman and Damao to the gate of the machine repair factory's staff quarters, gave them all the snacks they had not finished, and took more than ten pounds of millet from the car.

"Thank you, brother. I don't have that much money. Let me kowtow to you." The woman was so moved that she burst into tears.

"That's so tiring. It's really unnecessary. Look how polite the child you raised is. I'm leaving now." Zhang Dabao supported the woman, touched Damao's head, took out a few pieces of candy from his pocket and stuffed them into Damao's hand, then got in the car, turned the car around and drove towards the city.

"Sister Liang, isn't that Zhang Dabao's car? Do you know him?" At this time, Yan Jiefang just arrived at the gate of the staff quarters and saw the tricycle going away.

"I don't know him. We met him on the road. He is a buyer and he brought us back from Changping," said Liang Ladi.

"What kind of purchasing agent is he? He is the section chief, the section chief of the second supply and marketing section of the steel rolling mill. The fish he pulled in his car were not bought, but caught by himself. This person might be..." Yan Jiefang said and continued to walk towards his dormitory.

He now shares a room with Yang Weimin. To be honest, he doesn't like Yang Weimin at all. He is like a nagging woman, complaining all day long. He blames Director Yang for not helping him, blames Liu Haizhong for harming him, blames Li Huaide for his mean behavior, blames Zhang Dabao for taking advantage of the factory; he blames Liu Feng for taking advantage of him by making him work in the foundry workshop, which is dirty and tiring.

Yan Jiefang didn't say a word. He was very satisfied with his current job status. He could eat enough every day, didn't have to be beaten by his parents, and didn't have to listen to their nagging. Although he had to give most of his salary to them, he still had a few dollars in his hands. If he was alone at home, he would not have a penny.

When I returned to the dormitory, Yang Weimin had not come back. He did not have time to come back because he was under tight schedule and had a high intensity of work. When he had some free time at noon, he would just find an open space to rest.

Salary will be paid tomorrow, so I should take some time to go back and bring the money back to my parents and buy some food for my younger brother and sister. But after thinking about it, I decided not to buy anything. After all, I don’t have much money, so I might as well save it. Yan Jiefang fell asleep while thinking about it.

He fell asleep. Liang Ladi really couldn't sleep when she got home. She knew that it was too difficult for her to raise four children in her current situation. She was about to die and needed help from someone else. However, there were many men, most of whom wanted to take advantage of her; those who wanted to live with her did not have the ability.

Zhang Dabiao is the section chief, he can catch fish, he is quite capable, but how can he do that? We must ask Yan Jiefang for clarification.

She gave a piece of the peach cake given by Zhang Dabao to her three sons and put the rest away. She cooked millet porridge for her daughter and fed her the porridge. Her daughter loved it very much and ate it with relish. She gave the remaining rice grains to her three sons. Seeing her sons eating happily, Liang Ladi felt a pang of sadness in her heart.

During the afternoon break, Liang Ladi talked to her fellow apprentice Yan Jiefang again, "Jiefang, is the Section Chief Zhang you mentioned this morning your neighbor?"

"Yes, he is in the backyard and my house is in the front yard. He has five rooms in our yard and a cross-yard where sweet potatoes are planted. He also has a separate yard outside," said Yan Jiefang.

"Is he so rich?" Liang Ladi was particularly surprised.

"He is so rich. During the Spring Festival, he went hunting in the mountains alone and killed 19 wild boars. He sold them to the factory for several thousand yuan. He also killed 12 sheep and 5 wolves. His family eats meat every day," Yan Jiecheng said enviously.

"Is he married? I have a cousin..." Liang Ladi said.

"Forget it. There are at least eighty people who want to arrange a marriage for him. He already has a girlfriend, who is from the same courtyard as us. Zhang Dabao arranged for his girlfriend to work as an accountant in the post office. The most opinionated people in our courtyard are the He siblings. They appear to be fools, but they are the most resourceful. He Yushui followed Zhang Dabao, and his brother Shazhu married Zhang Dabao's second sister. Tell me what's going on," said Yan Jiefang.

"Just because he's the section chief, doesn't he have to go to work?" Liang Weidi asked again.

"Who dares to control him? His cousin is the second-in-command of the factory, Deputy Director Li Huaide." Yan Jiefang looked at Liang Ladi with contempt.

"Get to work..." the leader started shouting, and everyone got busy again.