Siheyuan: Starting from Building a Village

As the first large department store built after the founding of the Xia Kingdom, it enjoys the reputation of "the first store in the Xia Kingdom" and is one of the landmark buildings of the city in the 1950s and 1960s.

In the 1960s, the department store was not only a major place for shopping, but also carried a wealth of historical and cultural significance. As a landmark building in the city of Sijiu, it witnessed the economic development and social changes after the establishment of the Xia Kingdom.

Due to its unique status and importance at the time, the department store became a symbol of the city, attracting a large number of customers and tourists.

Banggeng walked aimlessly and eventually arrived at the department store, which can be said to be the most lively place nowadays, with a constant stream of people coming and going every day.

Today was even more intense than any other day. In front of the department store, two parties were having a heated debate.

Bang Geng, who had squeezed into the crowd, was confused by what was said. Although he did not understand what was said, he could see that the two parties were not getting along. They were arguing with red faces and the two parties were glaring at each other, and were about to start a fight.

"Hit, hit, hit quickly."

Bang Geng's eyes were shining as he glanced back and forth between the two parties. In his heart, he hoped that the two parties would start fighting soon. It would be fun to watch and it was something men would do. Only women would use their tongues when quarreling.

Banggeng was destined to be disappointed, as both parties were still very restrained.

When the debate was over, both sides began to recruit people, explaining their own ideas to the onlookers, trying to attract more people to join their side.

"Young man, would you like to join our Staff Liaison Committee?"

Banggeng didn't like the name, especially the way it was addressed. The man was not very old, and calling himself a young man was not pleasant to Banggeng's ears.

"Brother, why don't you join our riot committee? We all come from poor backgrounds, have similar ideas, and can talk more easily."

Banggeng feels it is very novel and he is more inclined to join the Riot Committee. The reason is that the title sounds nice and the name sounds powerful.

But his goal is to find a job, make money, and make a lot of money.

Banggeng asked if he could be arranged a job after joining.

The person in charge was named Hao Xinren. He first asked about Banggeng's age. When he learned that Banggeng was only fourteen years old, he said that it was not possible for the time being because he was not old enough and that he had to wait for two years. After two years, depending on his performance in the organization, he could be given priority.

At the same time, I also asked Banggeng if he had any skills.

When Banggeng whispered whether unlocking the door would be helpful, Director Hao's eyes lit up. This was the talent they urgently needed.

Since the movement began, they have raided many houses and obtained many locked boxes, safes, and the like. After smashing them open, they destroyed many valuable things, but there was no one in the organization who could open locks.

I never thought that I would meet someone who can pick locks today.

He immediately took Bang Geng to the warehouse of the Riot Committee, moved out two safes, and let Bang Geng try his hand.

Banggeng was dumbfounded. He could only open ordinary locks and had never seen a safe.

Director Hao couldn't help feeling a little disappointed, but the fact that he could open an ordinary lock showed that this kid had talent. Even if he was learning on the spot, he learned faster than most people.

So Director Hao stated on the spot that there would be no problem for the time being. There were all kinds of locks in the warehouse, as well as some broken safes, for Banggeng to study. He also said that Banggeng would not need to do anything in the future and only needed to study how to open locks.

As a technician, the salary is one dollar a day.

Of course I wouldn't refuse such a good thing, but I have one request, which is that the salary should be paid on a daily basis.

Director Hao is also generous, mainly because he is not short of money. Although they may not be extremely wealthy in the past six months, it is still a hundred times better than working a normal job.

It’s true, although Banggeng is not good at studying, he has a real talent for lock picking.

After a day of trial and error, I was able to open some simple safes.

Director Hao was overjoyed and directly rewarded Banggeng with ten yuan.

In the evening, Banggeng went to a roast duck restaurant for a big meal. Before leaving, he packed up the duck racks, as well as the leftover duck heads, duck necks, and duck buttocks.

When passing by the public toilet, Banggeng looked around and found no one there.

He gave everything he brought back except the duck bones to Jia Zhang.

Jia Zhang cried loudly with excitement, but unfortunately there were only sounds but no tears, as her tears had dried up long ago.

While gnawing on the duck neck, Jia Zhang kept saying that her good grandson had grown up, become capable, and knew how to respect her.

Sometimes crying, sometimes laughing, he looked like a madman.

Looking at Jia Zhang's crazy appearance, Bang Geng felt disgusted for no reason.

After finally comforting Jia Zhang against his will, Banggeng went home.

"Bang Geng, where did this duck carcass come from?"

Qin Huairu knew that Banggeng had no money on him. Now that Banggeng had brought back a duck skeleton, she was shocked. She was afraid that Banggeng was doing something illegal outside again. If he was caught, he might be sent to labor camp directly this time.

"Mom, calm down, watch your tone, and don't look at people with old eyes. I met Brother Hao at the department store today..."

"what?"

Qin Huairu was dumbfounded. Banggeng's words sounded very familiar.

It was because Jia Dongxu met a so-called Big Brother Hao that he gradually fell into the abyss and fell into an irretrievable situation.

It was a day not long after Jia Dongxu finished his labor reform. He said he was going out to find a job, and when he came back he said he met a good brother.

It is extremely similar to what Banggeng is experiencing now.

Is Banggeng going to follow in Jia Dongxu's footsteps in the future?

Qin Huairu didn't dare to think about it.

After all, Banggeng is her biological son, and she still has hope for him.

"Bang Geng, I'm telling you, you better be careful and don't be fooled."

There are some things Qin Huairu is not easy to say. She can't just say "Don't learn from your father". This will only make Banggeng unhappy and the relationship between mother and son will further deteriorate.

"Mom, what are you thinking? This is what happened..."

Banggeng recounted what happened today, and at the same time proudly said that his lock-picking skills were not practiced in vain and finally came in handy.

Qin Huairu naturally knew about organizations like the so-called riot committee. In addition to the workers' pickets, there were also several other organizations in the steel mill, which were similar to what Banggeng said.

Qin Huairu put her mind at ease for the time being, and at the same time warned Banggeng not to force himself to take the lead when encountering things, to be more tactful, and also not to have any ideas about attacking the office. Liu Haizhong and his son just wanted to cause trouble for the office, and they are still lying at home.

Banggeng said no, Director Hao made it very clear that his task was to concentrate on studying how to open the safe and not to participate in other activities.

Qin Huairu was relieved. As long as Banggeng did not participate in the actions of the Riot Committee, there would be no problem.