Siheyuan: Happy Life of Jia Zhang Family

"Brother Damao, I have a comrade-in-arms whose hometown is Datong, Shanxi. He joined the army with me. We have been together every day since the recruit company. He taught me how to make knife-cut noodles. Later he died in a battle and was buried in Yunnan. He said that he wanted to be a noodle chef after he was demobilized, and asked me to work with him," Zhang Dabao said in a low voice, and the unforgettable memory appeared in his mind again.

"Dabia, don't be sad. We have sacrificed so many people that we can have the good life we ​​have now," Xu Damao said to comfort Zhang Dabia.

"Dongxu, hurry up, there's not enough food here and you don't have any eyesight at all," Zhang Cuihua shouted from the side.

"Mom, I'm hungry too." Jia Dongxu watched everyone eating enthusiastically, but he was the only one who kept working. He was so hungry that he could only swallow his saliva.

"You're an adult, what's the big deal about being hungry? Hurry up, you're dawdling like a woman," said Zhang Cuihua.

Banggeng and the other two also came back from cutting grass. Zhang Dabao left Yan Jiedi and Niu Xiaozheng to eat noodles, which made Jia Dongxu, who originally wanted to take a break, busy again. In the end, there was not enough food because each of the three children ate almost as much as the adults.

"Dongxu, make more noodles next time. You see, there is nothing to eat. There are some steamed buns in the room. You can eat some with the noodle soup and the stew. Just two steamed buns will be enough." Zhang Cuihua thought of a good idea.

"Mom, I want to eat noodles too," Jia Dongxu said angrily.

"There's no noodles left. What can I do? I don't know how to cook. Who told you not to make more? If you don't hurry up, the noodle soup will be gone in a while," Zhang Cuihua said again.

Jia Dongxu bit the hard steamed bread, ate the salty stew, drank a mouthful of noodle soup, and looked at the people chatting and laughing after the meal. He felt isolated. Jia Dongxu saw Zhang Dabiao again and thought, "Tomorrow, my seventh uncle and I will eat goose, and none of you will be able to eat it." Thinking of this, Jia Dongxu was happy again.

Through the two crows, Zhang Dabao learned that Han Ming, the youngest son of Deputy Director Han Cheng of the Metallurgical Bureau, had not left the yard all day, while Wang Peng, the son of Deputy Minister Wang, came to a small courtyard in Zhengjia Hutong and entered by scanning his face.

There was a sentry at the gate of the courtyard. Through the crows, he found that there were more than a dozen young men and women having a party, drinking together, and then dancing. In the later generations, ballroom dancing was too common. You could just dance on the street. Which county town didn't have more than ten places for ballroom dancing? But now it is 1960, and ballroom dancing is indeed a bit avant-garde. Now there is also a crime called hooliganism. Men and women hugging each other and twisting back and forth, isn't it considered hooliganism in the eyes of those who don't understand?

I didn't expect that there would be a club in 1960. It was full of children of officials. Ordinary people couldn't come here either, Zhang Dabiao thought. I just don't know if Han Ming can come. If he wants to come, it will be easy. Isn't he mentally ill? I am about the same size as him. It's not too much to pretend to be him and beat up a few people, right? These people dancing seemed to have drunk a lot. The lights inside were dim. I should have no problem getting in by changing into Han Ming's clothes, getting drunk, and lowering my head. I should be able to beat up a few people quickly, starting with their eyes. Who can tell that I am not Han Ming?

With an idea in mind, Zhang Dabao went to the steel rolling mill the next morning and found Li Huaide.

"Da Biao, the steel bars are almost finished. They will all be shipped to Tianjin by next Tuesday at the latest, and can be loaded on the ship on Wednesday. They will definitely be delivered next week," said Li Huaide.

"Uncle, I'm not here to talk about this. Didn't you tell Chief Engineer Wang last time that Deputy Director Han Cheng of the Metallurgical Bureau wanted to be the director? I want to bring him down," said Zhang Dabao.

"Da Biao, you can't do this rashly. I know you are good at fighting, but Han Cheng is not an enemy spy. He has also made contributions to the revolution," said Li Huaide.

"I didn't do anything to him. His youngest son Han Ming has a violent temper and likes to beat people. Yesterday morning, a man was lying in front of the Hongxing Police Station after being beaten by Han Ming. How can he not be responsible if his son beat people?" Zhang Dabao said.

"Damn, so that's the case. You scared me. I thought you were going to kill Old Han. Old Han doesn't know how to teach his son. These three guys in the city are worse than each other. Wei Jingjing is still protecting her son. Old Han really can't do anything about it. It would be great if we could help Old Han through his son's matter. What can we do to help you?" Li Huaide said.

"I don't need you to help me with anything. I have found the right people and have a plan. You have to let Uncle Yang know that it was us who made the efforts. He is the biggest beneficiary. If he doesn't appreciate it, wouldn't my work be in vain?" Zhang Dabao said with a smile.

"I'll call him over, you wait here." Li Huaide understood what Zhang Dabao meant. After a while, Yang Weihua and Li Huaide came in.

"Da Biao, what does that mean? Huaide didn't explain it clearly." Yang Weihua sat down opposite Zhang Zai Biao.

"Uncle Yang, I have a plan now. Through Han Ming, I can cut off Han Cheng's path to advancement. When I go to Hong Kong next week, I will add an order of at least 10,000 tons to the factory. This will allow you to show your face in front of the department leaders again and give you more opportunities for advancement," said Zhang Dabao.

"Dabao, you can't do anything stupid. Although Han Cheng is not a high-ranking official, he has attended military school and is one of the few people in our team who has a professional background. Many of his comrades are powerful, and several of them are ministerial leaders. There are also people in the province and the army. They are all not easy to mess with," Yang Weihua dared to say to Zhang Dabao.

"Uncle Yang, don't attack Han Cheng. The main issue is Han Ming beating people." Zhang Dabao talked about what he saw at the Hongxing Police Station yesterday morning.

"Mental illness? Only someone like Jingjing can come up with such a thing? He really takes others as fools," Yang Weihua said after listening.

"Who made Old Han afraid of his wife? What can we do?" Li Huaide said with a smile.

"Da Biao, no matter whether this succeeds or not, I will remember the favor. From now on, you are my, Yang Weihua's nephew," Yang Weihua stood up, held Zhang Da Biao's hand and said.

"Of course he is my nephew. If he wasn't, I wouldn't have put in so much effort." Zhang Dabao also shook Yang Weihua's hand vigorously, and everything was left without words.

After talking about Han Ming, they talked about the current foreign trade orders. Yang Weihua said that 2,000 tons of steel bars would be produced soon and more than half of them had been shipped to Tianjin. It seemed that Yang Weihua was really concerned about this.

After chatting for a while, Zhang Dabao left the steel rolling mill and came to Chunfeng Hutong. He had invited Liang Fei, Cao Lianbiao and Shi Chu to dinner today, so he had to prepare in advance.

The small courtyard in Chunfeng Hutong was replenished with oil, various seasonings, and a box of Xifeng liquor.

In the afternoon, Jia Dongxu came early. Now Jia Dongxu does his work in a very professional and efficient manner.

The three of them arrived on time in the evening, and together with Zhang Dabiao and Jia Dongxu, the five of them ate and drank happily. Five people couldn't finish a goose, so Jia Dongxu took the remaining dishes back to the yard.