Xu Damao's Thirty-Six Stratagems in Siheyuan

Taking advantage of the fact that it was almost the end of the year, Xu Damao took the initiative to contact the chief financial officer, the chief security officer, and the director of logistics, and had a meal at Shaguoju on Xisi Street. Of course, he also invited Deputy Factory Director Li Huaide.

The head of security, the director of logistics, and myself were originally from the Li faction, and only the head of finance was from the Yang faction. When Li Huaide arrived, the head of finance felt like he had been tricked by Xu Damao.

Fortunately, Xu Damao is also a person of the scene.

"Chief Wu, I'm treating you today, so please sit down and relax. It's cold, and it's not easy to get together early. Let's taste the roasted and boiled food together today. Director Li, thank you for coming today. I'll toast you a few more glasses of wine later."

At this point, what else can Wu Mingxuan, the chief financial officer, say? To put it bluntly, we all eat from the same big pot at the steel mill, and we are all at the same level now. It is not common for a junior colleague to treat others to a clay pot meal.

They drank and talked, and although there was no substantive content, it brought them closer together.

Including the drinks, Xu Damao spent half a month's salary, which is really incredible.

After the meal, Li Huaide patted Xu Damao on the shoulder with great meaning, "Xiao Xu, you performed very well today. Go back. If you feel unwell tomorrow, you can come to work later."

Xu Damao knew that the money was not wasted today, so he just took this opportunity to repay Li Huaide for his kindness. However, the only person he didn't invite was the head of the personnel department. It's not that he didn't give face, but he really couldn't come today because of something. He could only come next time, or just let Li Huaide invite himself. At most, Xu Damao would charge forward. He had to take this job.

Back at Yandaixie Street, Lou Xiaoe complained.

"Da Mao, you have to take care of your body too. Don't drink too much. After drinking, you smell like alcohol, cigarettes, and green onions. It makes me feel nauseous."

"Ezi, it's my fault, it's my fault. I will boil some water and take a bath by myself before going into the room, okay? Are Huo Huo and Xin Xin asleep?"

"Yeah, that's about right. Don't you see what time it is? It's already past 9:. It's so cold. If I wasn't waiting for you to come home, I would have gone to bed earlier."

"My mother has gone home. Will she come tomorrow?"

"Yes, she said Xiaoling is married now, and she is not busy. She said she didn't take good care of us before, and she said she wants to make up for it. I'm pregnant again, so she said she will take care of me the whole time. Hehe, your mother is even cuter now than when she was at my house. She used to call me Miss, but now she calls me daughter-in-law. Don't you think it's magical? People will change with time and environment."

"You're right. I'll go take a bath first and come over to accompany you right after that. You go stay on the kang first. It's very cold outside."

After Xu Damao's dinner invitation, there were more and more dinner parties. At the invitation of the security chief, the personnel chief once again gathered at Taifenglou to eat Shandong cuisine.

Li Huaide also often entertained several of his generals in the small cafeteria to eat and drink together and to build relationships.

All of a sudden, He Yuzhu even had to work overtime frequently to cook for Li Huaide.

Damn, Xu Damao actually discovered that Li Huaide always asked Liu Lan to serve the dishes. This is really a good balance between work and life.

He Yuzhu was a bachelor, and he not only got overtime pay, but also some meat and vegetables to take home. So he had no complaints. The dishes he cooked were really getting better and better.

Xu Damao couldn't help but have a great appreciation for He Yuzhu's cooking skills. This guy is not only good at Sichuan cuisine, but also Shandong cuisine. He has no chance to perform official Tan family cuisine, but he can still make a soup.

Fresh, it’s really fresh.

Xu Damao imagined that he and He Yuzhu would definitely make money if they invested in a restaurant in the future. He would pay the money, and Yu Li and He Yuzhu would do the work. He had thought about this idea before, and now he felt more determined.

Anyway, Xu Damao will definitely be lying low in the future and won't have to struggle anymore. It's appropriate to describe himself as a person with a huge fortune.

He wanted to bring a few paintings to Teacher Pu for appraisal, and actually wanted to take the opportunity to enter their circle as soon as possible to lay a foundation for his future convenience.

This weekend, I went to Pu's house with a gift and the painting by Shen Zhou that I had traded with Qi Delong.

At the Pu family, the eldest son Yan Ji and his family were all there, as were Pu Ju and his wife.

"Brother Yan, sister-in-law, Pu Ju, Wan Xi, what a coincidence that you are all here. I will have lunch at Master's house today."

Pu Yulin had been in the study and had not come out. Xu Damao put down the other gifts and took Pu Ju with him.

"Little Senior Brother, come here, let me take a look at this painting and see its quality."

Pu Ju was eager to paint, so he took Xu Damao into his father's studio. There was a large work table covered with a blanket where they could spread out their paintings.

Shen Zhou's landscape painting slowly unfolded, and Pu Ju's eyes lit up. He took a magnifying glass and looked left and right, up and down, and looked at the two seals in particular. Finally, he stopped at a stone in the bushes beside the bridge on the mountain above the scroll and examined it carefully for a long time.

"Da Mao, this painting is absolutely authentic. Where did you find it? It's rare. Shen Zhou is good at landscape painting, and most of his paintings are albums. This painting is so large in scale that it is rare. Moreover, it is a masterpiece of Shen Zhou's later period, which is even rarer. You must keep it well."

"Pu Ju, please tell me about it. I really know very little about calligraphy and painting, and I can't read it."

"Da Mao, you are too greedy. No one is proficient in everything. If you are proficient in one thing, you have a way to make a living. I am not good at painting. You see, I also learned miscellaneous skills from my father. I am especially good at miscellaneous restoration and have a deep research on seals. Look at the seals on this painting first. It is obvious that they are made of eight-treasure ink. Look at the bright cinnabar color. After more than 400 years, it is still so beautiful. It seems that the original owner of this painting is also an expert. If I remember correctly, these seals should be the seals of Shen Zhou. They don't look like forgeries. They are very vivid. I can't find any flaws anyway."

And this painting paper is completely in line with the characteristics of Xuan paper from the Ming Dynasty. Most importantly, Damao, come and see it.”

Pu Ju moved the magnifying glass to a clump of trees near the bridge in the painting below. "Da Mao, look, there is a clump of grass next to this white stone. If you were asked to imagine, what Chinese character does this represent?"

Xu Damao took a closer look and said, "Hmm, it's the word 'Weng' in 'fisherman'."

"I'm right. Shen Zhou called himself Bai Shi Weng in his later years. Isn't this right? Maybe this is the secret mark that Master Shen left for this painting. It seems that he himself has a special liking for this painting, so he left the secret mark. It should be correct. If not, let me come over and take a look."

A voice came from behind, "Ju'er, what you said just now is very right. If it is really as you said, this painting is undoubtedly authentic. Damao, it's a good thing, take good care of it. Do you know how to maintain calligraphy and paintings?"

"Master, that will work. It will prevent moths and moisture, and it needs to be ventilated regularly. I just can't identify it."

"Da Mao, don't aim too high. You can't be good at everything. As far as I know, you are already good at porcelain. Lao Ruan often praises you, saying that your skills in miscellaneous items are not as good as your skills in porcelain. He is making fun of me and wants me to give you to him as a student. Haha, I won't. I'll just let him watch.

Damao, would you mind letting me keep this painting for a few days? I'll take it out to show off."

"Teacher Pu, that's okay. If you like it, it's not a big deal for you to keep this painting."

"Da Mao, that's not necessary. I just want to show it off. If you have time, there will be a party before the New Year. How about you come with me? It's just a social gathering for some people in the industry."

"Teacher Pu, is it convenient for you to take me with you?"

"That's nothing. You are my disciple who has kowtowed to me. It's no problem for you to follow me and see the world."

"Okay, I'll definitely go."