Siheyuan: How the Little People Live

Ye Wenwu and his group of six went to the state-owned restaurant, ordered five or six dishes, and asked for two bottles of white wine.

The people at the table were my cousin Zhang Xingbang’s master Wang Dachui, a level 5 fitter at Red Star Steel Mill; my eldest brother Wang Zhuang, a level 4 fitter at Red Star Steel Mill; my second brother Sun Shan, a level 3 fitter at Red Star Steel Mill; and my third brother Wu Lei, a level 3 fitter at Red Star Steel Mill.

Originally, Ye Wenwu was thinking of inviting his Propaganda Department members to a banquet tonight. However, when Xu Ying told him about the complicated relationships in the department, Ye Wenwu knew that it didn't matter whether he invited them or not.

As for his cousin's offer to treat everyone today, it was Ye Wenwu who said that when he arrived there. Otherwise, with the little money his cousin had, it would not be enough to invite so many people.

"Master Wang, and all the brothers, I would like to toast you all first, but thank you all for taking care of my cousin."

Although Ye Wenwu doesn't like to drink normally, it doesn't mean he can't drink. Moreover, the cups at this time are all small wine glasses the size of a thumb, also known as killing cups, which means that you will get drunk while drinking without realizing that you have drunk too much.

Master Wang and his family were from an ordinary family. Seeing Ye Wenwu being so polite, they quickly raised their glasses and drank the wine in one gulp.

"Comrade Wenwu, I remember Xingbang seemed to call you his cousin. It's rare for a younger brother like you to stand up for his brother."

Perhaps it was because of the glass of wine that everyone became more active, and Master Wang asked in confusion.

"Master Wang, this is a long story. You may not know me, but you must know my parents. My father's name is Ye Fugui and my mother's name is Zhang Kexin. They both died in our factory a week ago. You should know that the factory gave me two work quotas, and I thought it would be better to give the other one to my cousin."

"Besides, my cousin is from the countryside and has never seen the intrigues in the city, so when he started working, he asked the factory director to assign him to a better master. It is also a great honor for my cousin to be your apprentice, Master Wang."

Ye Wenwu then began to explain why he stepped forward.

When Master Wang and the others heard that Ye Wenwu's parents were Ye Fugui and Zhang Kexin, they all looked regretful, but they did not look down on Ye Wenwu's parents for being of low status.

What was even more surprising was that Ye Wenwu was so generous as to give a work quota to his cousin. If it were another family, they would have to sell it and use it as household subsidy.

However, when I think about the fact that Ye Wenwu's parents sacrificed their lives, the factory seemed to have given them a lot of subsidies. Although I don't know how much, it must be several hundred. I guess the money from selling this work quota is not a big deal.

At the table, only Ye Wenwu and Master Wang and a few other apprentices could be heard chatting, while his cousin was eating with his head down, not saying a word.

"Cousin, why are you so silent? There are no outsiders at this table. They are either your master or your senior brothers. Why don't you show some respect to your master and senior brothers?"

"Master Wang and all the brothers, I'm sorry, my cousin is just an honest country boy who didn't go to school for many days. I may need you to take care of him."

After Ye Wenwu finished speaking, he gave his cousin a look.

My cousin seems to be fearless, but why does he act like a bear when he is at the table?

Hearing his cousin like this, Zhang Xingbang raised his glass with a red face and drank several glasses in a row.

Ye Wenwu was speechless.

"Cousin, you are talking. How can you understand what you mean when you just drank? Master Wang, don't you agree?"

"Hahaha, Wenwu, stop teasing your cousin. Your cousin's performance today was indeed good. He was very considerate to follow me. If Xingbang is willing, I don't mind having an extra disciple like this."

Master Wang also said with a red face, not because he was shy, but because he drank too much, so his face was naturally red. At first glance, Master Wang was the kind of person who did great things quietly and did not like to drink.

You have to know that the masters of that era are very different from the masters of today. At that time, if you were called master, the master would give you everything he had, and the master would basically be considered as his godson. The apprentice would also take care of the master in his old age and till the end of his life.

Before Ye Wenwu could urge his cousin Zhang Xingbang, Zhang Xingbang walked up to Master Wang, knelt down, and handed the evening wine to Master Wang.

"Master, please drink."

Master Wang took the wine glass with satisfaction and nodded.

"Okay, get up."

After saying that, he drank the wine in the glass, which also meant that Master Wang accepted Zhang Xingbang as his apprentice.

"Little Junior Brother, since the Master has accepted you, you have to respect us Senior Brothers. Otherwise, if there are any problems later, we Senior Brothers will not teach you."

The eldest brother Wang Zhuang started to cheer and said that his cousin Zhang Xianbang was also an honest man. He drank three cups in a row and was a little drunk.

After that, their relationships naturally became more familiar. When they heard that Ye Wenwu didn't have a partner yet, they all rushed to introduce someone to Ye Wenwu.

After all, they also realized that although Ye Wenwu was young, he was very knowledgeable about the ways of the world. Moreover, he was not like the workers like them who worked on the front lines, swinging sledgehammers until exhaustion every day. Instead, he sat in the office drinking tea and doing his work.

Ye Wenwu had no choice but to use Xu Ying from the office today as a shield. After all, it seemed that he had accepted such a single woman among the people around him.

If Xu Ying knew that Ye Wenwu actually pulled her out to be a shield, she would probably despise him. She used him as a shield, and he spanked her so hard, but he used herself as a shield and didn't feel guilty at all.

After finishing most of the dishes on the table and seeing that it was getting dark outside, they decided not to continue bragging. After all, except Ye Wenwu, everyone else had a family, and their families would be worried if they didn't come home so late.

Ye Wenwu also had a headache when he saw his drunk and confused cousin Zhang Xingbang.

He didn't expect that his cousin's alcohol tolerance was so poor and he kept drinking. Tomorrow when he sobers up, he will have to despise him. Anyway, when he goes out to drink with others in the future, he will never bring his cousin with him. If he brings him, he will have to take him back at night.

At least he has a bicycle. If he didn’t have a bicycle, he would have to carry it back himself.

Ye Wenwu had finally put his cousin Zhang Xingbang on the back seat, but he saw Zhang Xingbang falling backwards. He had to ask the National Day Hotel for a rope to tie himself up. It was also because of his cousin Zhang Xingbang dancing in the back that Ye Wenwu almost fell off his bike several times. Sometimes he wanted to just throw his cousin to the ground.

When they rode into a sparsely populated alley, it was pitch black, and Ye Wenwu was carrying someone on his back, so he didn't pay attention to so many things. He only saw a figure emerging from the corner of the alley, rushing towards him with a stick in his hand.