Siheyuan: Living in the People's Community, with a Heart for the Red Star

"Qibao duck gizzards, braised prawns, dragon and phoenix, bear paws with honey dew, almond crisps, walnut dew..."

Luo Yun ordered a lot of food, and the waiter's hands were sore. Luo Yun licked her lips, looking at Zhou Xiaobai who was pulling her sleeve, and then she reacted and said to the waiter, "That's all!"

The waiter looked at the three people with complicated eyes, then hurriedly left the room with the menu.

Luo Yun looked at Lao Yang proudly and said, "How is it? You haven't heard of these high-end dishes! Let me tell you, most people don't know that there are these dishes. Some dishes are used to entertain foreign guests, and not everyone can eat them! How is it, do you want to thank me?"

Old Yang looked at Luo Yun with disdain and said, "I came to Quanjude just to eat roast duck. What's the point of you making so many fancy dishes? I'm telling you, you pay for what you order. I won't be a sucker and pay for you!"

Old Yang thought to himself, is it okay if I get cheated by the little girl? If you plot against me, I'll scare you to death.

After hearing what Lao Yang said, Luo Yun and Zhou Xiaobai were immediately shocked. Then they looked at Lao Yang who looked indifferent and irresponsible, and the two women immediately panicked. Luo Yun also hurriedly stood up and rushed to the door, opened the door and looked out to find the waiter who had left. The waiter had disappeared, and she anxiously returned to the table and rang the call bell. But the waiter did not show up, and the two became more and more nervous. They held their hands tightly together and supported each other as they walked out.

Lao Yang immediately called out to the two of them and said, "Hey, you two can't leave. Come back and sit down. Who will pay the bill after you leave?"

The two men sat back with pale faces, looking at Lao Yang with resentment.

At this moment, there was a knock on the door. The two women trembled all over. Lao Yang said loudly, "Come in!"

The waiter pushed open the door of the private room, and several waiters came in with food boxes and placed them on the table. Old Yang saw that it was really rich, with good color, fragrance and taste. The plates and food boxes were very exquisite, and they were colorful on the table, like a blooming flower. It can be said that there is no shortage of experts in a big country. Depending on the dishes you choose, the color, shape and arrangement of the plates are quite regular. Even without eating this meal, just looking at it makes you feel high-end and classy.

The two women looked at the dishes that were served one after another, biting their lips tightly, and had no mood to eat at all.

After serving the dishes, the waiter sneered at the three people and said, "Comrades, all the dishes except the roast duck are served. Do you think you can pay for the dishes first?"

Hearing this, the two women shrank back in shock, lowered their heads even lower, and dared not say a word, just like two quails.

Old Yang couldn't help laughing out loud.

"Ha ha……"

The waiter also stared at him blankly, waiting for Lao Yang to make a fool of himself so as to beat him up and then send him to the police.

Lao Yang reached into his pocket and took out a wad of bills, put it on the table and looked at the waiter with a smile. The waiter stared at the bills with wide eyes and kept swallowing, with beads of sweat on his forehead.

The waiter quickly apologized and said, "Comrade, I was wrong for not recognizing the great man! Enjoy your meal and pay the bill after the meal. I won't disturb you three!"

After saying that, he bowed and hurriedly left the room with several waiters behind him. Eating in this era is a dangerous job. If you are not careful, you will be beaten. In serious cases, you will be sent to the police for prosecution.

The two girls also stared at Lao Yang with their eyes wide open, the shock in their eyes almost dropped to the ground. There was a thick stack of US dollars on the table.

Lao Yang picked up the chopsticks and started to taste. He tasted all the dishes in front of him and felt that the taste was very good. Although it was not as rich as the seasonings in later generations, the taste was authentic and lingering, and the flavor was brought to its peak.

Lao Yang turned the round table to taste other dishes. The two girls realized what was happening when they saw Lao Yang eating with gusto, and then cheered and picked up their chopsticks to eat the delicious food on the table, completely forgetting their embarrassment just now.

Although they are from military families and their parents hold high positions, their living conditions are not very good. They only heard about these dishes from their family or classmates, and actually had never eaten most of them. They originally wanted to blackmail Lao Yang and embarrass him, but they didn't expect that they would be the ones to be embarrassed. However, seeing that there were so many delicacies that they could eat at will, they chose to forget about it and joined the ranks of grabbing the food.

Although the two girls looked thin and weak, they actually had big appetites. Most of the dishes were eaten by the two girls, while Lao Yang just tasted each dish and then stopped.

Just as the two women were enjoying their meal, there was another knock on the door. Lao Yang asked the waiter to come in and found out that the roast duck he ordered was out of the oven.

Two roast ducks were placed on the table, and a chef came to the private room with knives and began to slice the ducks for the three people. The chef used different angles and superb knife skills to slice the tender roast ducks one by one, with uniform sizes and appropriate thickness. A waiter next to him washed his hands in front of everyone, then took the pancakes, put the sauce on them, spread the scallions, put the duck meat in, and rolled them into a roll of 5 slices. After rolling them, he put them on a tray on the side. There were exactly 9 rolls for each duck. After finishing, the two of them left the private room with their tools.

Looking at the two plates of duck rolls on the table, Lao Yang took one and began to taste it. Luo Yun and Zhou Xiaobai touched their four-month-old bellies, looked at the duck rolls and swallowed their saliva, but felt that they could not eat any more.

Lao Yang ate while admiring the two's embarrassing appearance. The two girls felt embarrassed when Lao Yang looked at them, so they picked up the almond milk beside them and drank it to cover up their embarrassment.

After eating five rolls of duck meat, Lao Yang pressed the call bell. Soon the waiter ran in and bowed to Lao Yang and asked, "Comrade, are you satisfied with the food? Is there anything you want to ask for?"

Old Yang pointed at the dishes on the table and said, "I'm quite satisfied. Pack these for me!"

Lao Yang pointed to a few dishes that were barely touched.

"Then check the bill for me and see how much it is?"

The waiter nodded immediately and said, "Comrade, please wait a moment. I will arrange it for you right away."

He turned and left the room. Soon the waiter led a female comrade into the private room and introduced her to Lao Yang: "Comrade, this is our public manager Comrade Cai Ying. She will settle the bill for you."

After the introduction, we started packing the dishes.

Manager Cai walked over to Lao Yang, took out the bill and said, "Comrade, your consumption today is 320 yuan, 50 yuan in foreign exchange coupons, 10 catties of grain coupons, 5 catties of meat coupons, and catty of oil coupons."

After that, he handed over a bill. Lao Yang took a look and said, "I have not been abroad for long, so I don't have so many coupons. If I settle all with foreign exchange, how much do I need to pay?"

Manager Cai looked at the US dollars on the table, then looked at the handsome Lao Yang, and said with a sweet smile: "Sir, you are obviously a generous overseas Chinese. We also have regulations to take special care of overseas Chinese. If you want to pay all in foreign currency, it will cost about 480 US dollars!"

Manager Cai looked at the two women digesting their food and said, "It would be more appropriate to use RMB and coupons."

The two girls' faces turned red when they were looked at by Manager Cai, and they quickly turned away from him.

Lao Yang nodded with satisfaction, took out $500 from the banknotes, handed it to Manager Cai and said, "The rest is for you as a tip!"

Manager Cai looked at Lao Yang and was about to say something, but when he saw the stack of dollars on the table, he swallowed it back.

He bowed and said, "Thank you, sir, welcome again!" Then he turned and left the private room.

The waiter quickly packed up the dishes, tied them together with a hemp rope and placed them on the table. There were 12 packages in total.

The two women sat on the stools, rubbing their bellies and watching Lao Yang operate, their eyes full of admiration. Lao Yang sighed as he looked at the two women who looked like pregnant women, thinking: A family like theirs can't afford such food, let alone ordinary people. The good things are used to entertain foreign guests and earn foreign exchange, and the locals can't even eat them. It's really a tragedy of the times. But think about the situation in later generations, it's not much better, the good things are given to foreigners, and the locals have to eat coarse food.

Lao Yang knocked on the table and said to the two women, "Is everyone satisfied now? Have you two rested well?"

The two women tried it and found that they could stand up, so they nodded.

"Well, let's go. You can take these packed dishes with you! They were all ordered by you, and I feel embarrassed to take them back."

The two girls blushed immediately, not daring to look directly at Lao Yang, and glanced at him secretly. Lao Yang ignored the two girls, stood up and walked out.

The two women moved their bodies, picked up the packed food, and slowly walked out of Quanjude. Seeing that Lao Yang was already pushing the bike to leave, they hurried to the parking lot, paid a cent for the storage fee, tied the packed food to the handlebars, and quickly chased in the direction Lao Yang left.

Old Yang rode his bike while leisurely admiring the buildings on the street. He saw fewer and fewer buildings, and they were basically demolished and rebuilt in the future. After riding for a while, he heard some noise behind him, and he immediately laughed when he looked back. He saw two women riding upright on the bikes, trying to control the balance of the bikes with their legs spread out and pedaling.

Because they ate too much and their stomachs were too bloated, the movement was extremely uncomfortable. The two girls saw Lao Yang laughing at them, and their faces turned red with embarrassment, wishing they could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. But they were reluctant to leave without Lao Yang.

Lao Yang shouted at the two men, "Pedal faster. I have something to tell you."

The two girls' embarrassment faded a lot when they heard Lao Yang's shout, and they pedaled hard a few times to catch up with Lao Yang. They all turned their heads to look at him, waiting for him to speak.

Old Yang pleaded, "You two have played, eaten, and drank. Can you please stop following me? Go play with your friends, or go home. It's not right to follow a handsome guy like this all the time!"

Seeing the two women’s expressions that indicated they would not leave and would definitely follow him, Lao Yang smiled wickedly and said sternly: “Okay, since you are following me, then let’s go to my house. You all will become my wives, and we will have our wedding night today! Hehe…”

When the two girls heard Lao Yang's shocking remarks, their eyes widened immediately and they swallowed their saliva unconsciously. They nodded, their little faces flushed, their little looks showing both expectation and fear.

The two girls looked at each other and said to Lao Yang: "Well, Brother Yang, we won't play with you today. We're going home now. We'll come to play with you tomorrow."

After saying that, the two girls quickly rode their bicycles and disappeared from Lao Yang's sight.

Old Yang heaved a sigh of relief watching the two girls leave. He was really afraid that the two girls would agree to go home with him. Girls nowadays are also fearless, especially those who grew up in a favorable environment. You shouldn't be surprised if they do anything out of the ordinary.

Old Yang walked west along Qianmen Street. Then he turned to Xuanwumenwai Street and headed north back to Xicheng District. Old Yang rode his bicycle around and returned to the compound. He decided not to go out in the afternoon, sleep at home, and take the two girls to "Lao Mo" for a meal in the evening to improve their relationship and ease the awkwardness between the two girls.

As soon as Lao Yang turned into the alley, he saw the old car parked at the gate of the compound.

Seeing the car, Lao Yang knew that his goal had been basically achieved this time. The people in the car also obviously noticed Lao Yang. The door opened and Zhang Qing came out of the car, waving to Lao Yang.

Lao Yang parked his bike in front of the car and said hello to Zhang Qing: "Why did you come here without informing me in advance? I can come back early to receive you."

Zhang Qing smiled bitterly and said, "If I had that ability, I wouldn't come to pick you up. You would have gone there long ago! The leader is waiting for you, let's go!"

"Wait for me, I'll be there soon." Lao Yang pushed his bicycle into the yard. He wrote a note in the space, took it out and stuffed it through the crack of the door.

Old Yang took Zhang Qing's car and soon arrived at the courtyard of Secretary Cui. The two of them went to the office on the second floor. Secretary Cui was busy dealing with documents. When he heard the door open and looked up to see two people coming in, he said to them, "Please sit down for a while. I will finish it soon."

Zhang Qing took Lao Yang to sit on the sofa, took out the thermos and poured a glass of water for Lao Yang, then sat on the sofa with him waiting for the leader.

Ten minutes later, Officer Cui finished processing the documents, walked around the desk and sat on the sofa. Zhang Qing quickly took a glass of water and handed it to him. Officer Cui took a sip and said, "Your application has been approved by your superiors. In view of your outstanding contribution, the boss agreed to your request. This matter has been directly handed over to the Military Control Office. The personnel you recruit need to go to the Military Control Office to handle the relevant procedures before they can pass through the customs. And the personnel you recruit can only be retired professional and technical soldiers, not scientific research soldiers and scientists!"

Lao Yang quickly expressed his opinion: "Don't worry, leader. I know what I am doing. It's just that we need more people. I don't know what the higher-ups think?"

"The military means that each branch of the military should not exceed 1000 people, pilots should not exceed 50, and captains and first officers should not exceed 20."

"Cui Bo, can I understand it this way? I can recruit 1000 tank soldiers, 1000 armored soldiers, 1000 artillery soldiers, 1000 missile soldiers, 1000 infantry soldiers, 1000 signal soldiers, 1000 radar soldiers, 1000 medical soldiers, 1000 cooks, and 1000 logistics soldiers, a total of 1 soldiers in the army."

Secretary Cui and Zhang Qing stared at Lao Yang with their mouths wide open, gasping for air. Lao Yang pretended to be innocent and looked at Secretary Cui pitifully, seeking a true explanation.

Secretary Cui reacted and angrily scolded Lao Yang, saying: "You are always thinking about taking advantage of loopholes! If you can recruit so many people, I have no objection. I just don't know if other military leaders have any objections. Don't blame me for not caring about you when the time comes. I can't handle so many people anyway!"

Lao Yang quickly explained: "How can that be possible? I just asked about it. I didn't actually do it!"

Secretary Cui knocked on the table and said, "Don't think I don't know what you think. If you dare to say that, then you must want to do it! Don't I know who you are, kid?"

Next, Lao Yang and Secretary Cui discussed a series of issues concerning retired soldiers and some issues concerning the recruitment of special agent talents.