Siheyuan: Happy Life of Jia Zhang Family

Today is Saturday, and Yan Jiefang has taken an afternoon off. He wants to go home and send his salary back. He hasn't been home for a long time and wants to go home and visit his family.

After lunch, Yan Jiefang changed into a slightly cleaner set of clothes. "Weimin, didn't you also take a leave? You want to go home too?" Yan Jiefang asked when he saw his roommate lying on the bed.

"My home is not in Beijing," Yang Weimin replied.

"Don't you have several brothers in the capital?" Yan Jiefang asked.

"My brother has no regard for the old times and is not nice to me at all. He has become a high-ranking official and enjoys delicious food and drinks every day. He never thought about the hardships his younger brother has to endure in the machine repair factory. Human hearts are unpredictable," said Yang Weimin with a sigh.

"Okay, I'm leaving." Yan Jiefang was not a talkative person, so asking Yang Weimin was just out of politeness.

After Yan Jiefang left, Yang Weimin rested for a while and left the dormitory. He also wanted to go to Beijing today, but not to find Yang Weihua.

He Yuzhu scheduled Saturday night for the dinner with the factory directors at No. 10 Chunfeng Hutong. He Yuzhu and Jia Dongxu took Zhang Dabao over after dinner in the afternoon. Zhang Dabao made ice cubes and placed them in the living room to cool down. Eating in the Beijing courtyard in July was hot in the house, but the mosquitoes in the yard were unbearable.

He Yuzhu and Jia Dongxu were busy killing fish, removing bones, chopping fish balls, frying fish pieces, frying carp...

At five o'clock in the afternoon, the temperature in the living room dropped, giving people a very cool feeling when they came in. Zhang Dabao also chilled beer and watermelon.

At six o'clock, Li Huaide, Yang Weihua, Liu Le, Wang Cheng and Xu Sinian arrived. Wang Cheng drove today and Xu Sinian also brought in a box of wine from the car.

"Uncle Yang, are you going to get drunk?" Zhang Dabao pointed at the wine and made a joke.

“If the food is good, eat more and drink less alcohol. If the food is bad, just get drunk,” Yang Weihua also joked.

"It smells good, Zhuzi, are you ready?" Yang Weihua went to the kitchen to take a look.

"Director, the food can be served now. Da Biao has put ice cubes in the living room. You can go in and cool down first," He Yuzhu said to Yang Weihua.

"You've made sufficient preparations. You even used ice to cool down the room?" Yang Weihua asked Zhang Dabao.

"Is it necessary? Some of the dishes are quite spicy. Who can stand eating spicy food in this weather and the hot room? Come in and cool down." Zhang Dabao opened the door and let several people go to the living room.

"Da Biao, you know how to enjoy it. This is made of saltpeter?" Chief Engineer Wang Cheng squatted in the ice basin, took a look, and took a piece of crushed ice from the basin to taste it.

"Uncle Wang, you have good eyesight. It's made of saltpeter. The weather is too hot and I can't stand it. I have been a soldier in the south for many years and I have never felt such hot," said Zhang Dabao.

"The heat in the south and the north is different. I'm from the south, and I couldn't stand it when I first arrived in Beijing. A few days ago, I heard that an African friend suffered from heatstroke while visiting Beijing," said Liu Le.

"How can Africans get heatstroke here? Is this fair to their skin?" said Zhang Dabao.

"My African friend told me that Beijing is too hot and I can't stand it. I have to go back to Africa as soon as possible," Liu Le said again.

Jia Dongxu started serving the dishes: salt and pepper fish, chrysanthemum fish, fried fish, mixed fish skin, sweet and sour carp, pickled fish, boiled fish...

"Stop looking at it, try it. Didn't you, Old Wang, ask for a fish feast?" Li Huaide, as He Yuzhu's elder, motioned for everyone to try it.

The factory managers were eating and Zhang Dabao poured wine for everyone.

"Zhu Zi's craftsmanship is quite good," Wang Cheng said after being surprised.

"Brother Zhuzi is not at level eight. He offended his superiors in the past, so he was not registered for the exam," said Zhang Dabao.

"Is there such a thing? People who are jealous of others' talents and abilities are just like this kind of people." Wang Cheng is a straightforward person.

"The food is really good. Da Biao, tell Zhuzi and your nephew Jia Dongxu to stop working and come over for a drink," said Yang Weihua.

After listening to Zhang Weihua's words, Zhang Dabao went out. After a while, He Yuzhu and Jia Dongxu came in and sat down next to Zhang Dabao.

Most people don’t like eating with leaders. They can’t not talk, and they can’t talk too much. They can’t not drink, and they can’t drink too much. In short, it feels awkward.

But He Yuzhu and Jia Dongxu are not ordinary people. Jia Dongxu is the long-term first-class worker record holder in the steel rolling mill, which has not been broken until now. He is so thick-skinned that it is difficult for normal people to reach; He Yuzhu is even more extraordinary. In his words, I am a cook, but it does not mean that I am inferior to others. Let alone you are the director or the factory director, even the minister or the governor, don’t you have to use the cook to cook? I am not asking you to do anything, so do I need to be servile to you?

So Jia Dongxu and He Yuzhu were not restrained and were very relaxed. They toasted frequently with the factory directors. Five people came and, except Director Xu, all drank too much. Of course, He Yuzhu also drank too much. Needless to say, Jia Dongxu fell asleep early.

They drank until nine o'clock. Zhang Dabao and Xu Sinian carried the four factory directors to the car, and Xu Sinian drove the four factory directors back home. It was easy to send them back because they all lived in the staff quarters and were on the upper and lower floors of the family.

Zhang Dabao packed up, carried He Yuzhu and Jia Dongxu into the carriage, and took them back to Yard 95.

"Dabao, how much did Dongxu drink?" Zhang Cuihua asked Zhang Dabao when she saw Jia Dongxu's expression. Zhang Cuihua was worried about her son, so she and Zhang Lianhua had been waiting at the gate of the courtyard.

"He didn't drink much, just a glass of white wine and some beer. He might not be used to drinking two kinds of alcohol together," Zhang Dabao said to Zhang Cuihua.

"Zhu Zi is also drunk?" Zhang Cuihua asked again.

"He's treating us, how can he not drink too much? But among the four factory directors, all two of them got drunk. It will be very glorious if people tell others about it," said Zhang Dabia with a smile.

"Brother Dabao" Someone greeted Zhang Dabao.

"Jiefang is back?" Zhang Dabao saw that it was Yan Jiefang. He hadn't seen him for a long time. Yes, he was working in a machine repair factory now.

"Come home and visit me on the weekend." Yan Jiefang was still a little shy.

"Stay at home for a day and go back tomorrow?" Zhang Dabao asked.

"Yes, mainly because it's too far and the bus doesn't go past the factory gate, so it's inconvenient," Yan Jiefang said with a smile.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Zhang Dabao returned to the backyard, saw Yan Jiefang, and thought of Liang Ladi, a strong woman. Although they were both widows, the children she educated were many times stronger than those of Qin Huairu, and her attitude towards men was also different. Although they were both gang members, Liang Ladi gave birth to a child for Nan Yi, while Qin Huairu only wanted to make the whole family homeless.

People are different. Some people will remain kind-hearted no matter what happens, while some people will become selfish and malicious after encountering something.