Xu Damao's Thirty-Six Stratagems in Siheyuan

On Sunday, April 9, the sun was shining brightly in Kyoto, and spring was everywhere.

Xu Damao rode his bike with Xu Jun in front and Lou Xiaoe holding Xu Ning in the back, and headed to Zhuanta Hutong.

"Hu Wanxi, Hu Wanxi."

Xu Damao was shouting at the gate of Hu Tianhua's courtyard, and Lou Xiao'e was still asking behind him,

"Da Mao, whose house is this?"

"You don't know? This is the home of Professor Hu, the one your father introduced me to learn about antiques. Today I have some private business with his daughter."

"Why don't you come in? Doesn't that seem impolite?"

"It's okay. As long as Hu Wanxi is here, I won't get off the car."

Sure enough, a tall and graceful young lady came out from the courtyard.

"Hey, Brother Xu, why don't you come in? Is this my sister-in-law?"

"Yes, call me sister-in-law."

"Hello, sister-in-law." "Hello, sister, you found a really good-looking one."

"Wanxi, are your parents home? I asked you to go to the Summer Palace today. I made an appointment with a Summer Palace staff member. You can go to the Summer Palace if you don't lie. Let's go?"

"My dad isn't home, so I'll talk to my mom. Wait for me. Do you want to ride a bike?"

"Of course, you haven't seen a bicycle before."

"Okay. I'm just worried about being alone at home."

Five minutes later, Hu Wanxi came out pushing a ladies' slash bicycle.

"Brother Xu, today you and your family are out for an outing."

"That's right. You know that the Summer Palace is where your sister-in-law and I got engaged. We went boating on Kunming Lake and sang songs together that year, right, Xiao'e?"

"Oh, by the way, Xiao'e, Professor Hu's little daughter, Wanxi. Professor Hu is very particular about naming his children. He always names them based on the Book of Songs or the Tao Te Ching. Wanxi's elder sister is Shuxi, and her elder brother is Yuanxi. She is named Wanxi. They all have the character Xi in their generation. They have a profound cultural heritage."

"Brother Xu, you are really good. You guessed the origin of the name right away."

“Average, average, third in the world.”

Soon the two cars arrived at the gate of the Summer Palace. Xu Damao saw Pu Ju standing there from a distance, holding something in his hand.

Xu Damao and Hu Wanxi parked the car and went over together.

"Pu Ju, Junior Brother, we are here. We kept you waiting for a long time."

"Brother Damao, don't call me Junior Brother. Just call me by my name."

"Okay, Pu Ju, let me introduce you to my wife, Lou Xiao'e."

Lou Xiao'e greeted Pu Ju very generously and appropriately.

"This is the daughter of Professor Hu Tianhua of Peking University whom I told you about, Hu Wanxi, a student at Peking University. Pu Ju, today you will be our guide and take us around the Summer Palace. You will also be responsible for sending little sister Wanxi back to Zhuanta Hutong. Is that ok?"

"Okay, how about we go in first?"

"Wan Xi, this is my junior brother, an assistant researcher at the Summer Palace Administration. Today we are going to have him take us on a tour of the Summer Palace and explain the various scenic spots to us. Let's go."

Hu Wanxi hadn't noticed anything wrong yet. After all, it was rare to have the opportunity to hear a professional guide her. Of course, she was happy. And this assistant researcher seemed quite young and good-looking, so she liked him very much.

The group of six entered the park without buying tickets. It was really different. Pu Ju's familiarity with the Summer Palace was beyond description. He could tell a detailed story about even the most subtle details. Professionalism is professionalism.

After touring the park, it was noon before we knew it.

Puning hosted a few people and went to the cafeteria of the Summer Palace Administration Office to have lunch.

The food is simple, but the conversation is not.

Xu Damao said jokingly,

"Pu Ju, Wan Xi, you don't know that when your sister-in-law and I first visited the garden, we entered through the bushes nearby. Today, I even forgot to check to see if the gap in the bushes was still there."

"It's been gone for a long time. After the renovation of the Summer Palace two years ago, fences were installed." Pu Ju directly answered Xu Damao's question.

"Is this true, sister-in-law? Did he really get in through a hole?"

"Yes, Wanxi, I thought it was quite interesting at that time. Damao even took me on a boat ride and sang the song Rowing the Oars. It seemed like the song was just released that year. Time flies so fast. In a blink of an eye, I'm already a mother of two children."

……

After lunch, Xu Damao told Pu Ju and Hu Wanxi,

"Pu Ju, I will come to see you when I have time, but today you must send Wan Xi back to me safely. You can discuss her history at the Imperial University later. We will leave first."

At this moment, Hu Wanxi suddenly felt that something seemed to be wrong. Was this a blind date? Was this an introduction? Should I leave now?

But I didn't leave. It seemed like Puju was a pretty good place. I was almost 20, so it was normal to go on a blind date.

After Xu Damao and his family left, Pu Ju became a little nervous, but Hu Wanxi was more generous. "Brother Pu, did Brother Xu say he would introduce me to you?"

"Uh, yes and no. He said, he said you are twenty... Oh, I am twenty-five."

Pu Ju suddenly became incoherent. Hu Wanxi chuckled, but she stretched out her right palm very seriously.

"Brother Pu, let's shake hands so we can get to know each other formally. My name is Hu Wanxi, I'm 20 years old, a student in the History Department of Beijing University, and I will devote myself to the education industry in the future."

Pu Ju held Hu Wanxi's hand. "Pu Ju, the ordinary Pu, the Ju of torch, the third child in the family, graduated from Peking University, and an assistant researcher at the Summer Palace Management Office."

Xu Damao retired after his success, but he didn't hold out much hope because Pu Ju was indeed a bit dull.

Lou Xiao'e was guessing on the way.

"Da Mao, you are trying to match them up today, and it seems like they are a good match. You have good taste. Their personalities complement each other, their interests are similar, and their families are well matched. The success rate is very high. Maybe it will work out."

"Xiao'e, I just want to take Huo Huo and Xin Xin out to play. As for the young couple, they are just a side job. One is my senior brother, and the other is a girl I know. They are indeed a good match, but it depends on whether Pu Ju can open his mind and wait. After all, it will take several years for Wan Xi to graduate. Let's wait and see."

It was quite an interesting day. It was already past three in the afternoon when Xu Damao and his family arrived at Yard 95. Traveling is more tiring than working.

One afternoon in late April, Jia Dongxu reluctantly took a scrapped third-level workpiece and put it on the three-jaw chuck of the lathe. Because he had just passed the second-level exam, Master Yi asked Jia Dongxu to start training for the third-level exam, which could only be done during the lunch break.

Spring sleepiness is inevitable. Jia Dongxu also suffered from long-term hunger and lack of nutrition. The most important thing is that he did not want to make progress subjectively, so he was a little impatient in operation. There was no vertical chuck, the tightening was not in place, and his mind was a little dazed. After the machine tool was powered on and the third-level workpiece was prepared for cutting training, the machine tool's speed of 1200 rpm quickly threw the workpiece without a chuck and not fully tightened from the chuck. As luck would have it, it hit Jia Dongxu's head. The steel piece weighing more than ten pounds directly split Jia Dongxu's head. The workers who were resting in the lounge discovered it only after the loud crash of the steel piece falling to the ground.

Something happened, something big happened.

The third workshop was in a state of chaos...