Siheyuan: Yan Jiekuang's carefree life

He Yuzhu laughed, picked up his glass and clinked it with Xu Damao's, took a sip of the wine, and joked, "Only you, Xu Damao, could come up with this idea."

Xu Damao replied: "This idea is not my own. Do you still remember Zhao the Dwarf from the Security Department of the Steel Mill?!"

"I remember! How could I not remember! He already had three sons. He said he would not stop until he had a daughter." He Yuzhu took a piece of braised pork and put it in his mouth, then asked, "What's wrong with him?!"

Xu Damao said, "In early March last year, his wife got pregnant again. People from the factory's Family Planning Commission found him and asked him to persuade his wife to abort the baby. But this guy was smart. He sent the three children to three orphanages. Then he divorced his wife. Just a while ago, his wife gave birth. This time, his wife's belly was quite strong and gave birth to a daughter. They remarried when the child was just one month old. The three sons who were sent to the orphanage were all adopted back home. Now, those who are pregnant with a second child in the steel rolling mill are following his example and divorcing their wives or husbands." After saying that, Xu Damao drank the rest of the wine in the glass in one gulp, then picked up the bottle and poured himself a glass.

He Yuzhu reminded him, "Da Mao, you can't drink much. Take it easy! Don't get yourself drunk! If I throw you out on the street, don't blame me!"

Xu Damao smiled and said, "Others might throw me out on the street. You, He Yuzhu, can't do that." Then he asked, "He Yuzhu, do you want the house in Yard No. 95?!"

He Yuzhu was stunned for a moment and asked, "Da Mao, what do you mean by this?!"

Xu Damao said, "You know, I bought all the houses in the backyard. I wanted my parents to live with us. But my father didn't want to go back to Yard 95. So I bought a yard outside. There's no use for me to keep the house in Yard 95. If you want the house in the backyard, you pay and I'll give it to you."

He Yuzhu thought about it and said, "Okay! Five thousand is five thousand. We have agreed on this, you can't go back on your word!!"

Xu Damao picked up the wine glass and clinked it with He Yuzhu's glass, saying, "Whoever regrets is a grandson!" After that, Xu Damao took a sip of wine and grabbed a handful of peanuts and put them into his mouth.

About half an hour later, Xu Damao finished his drink, said hello to He Yuzhu, agreed to go through the house transfer procedures tomorrow, and then left Shuxiangju.

After Xu Damao left, Liu Lan and He Yushui walked into He Yuzhu's lounge. He Yuzhu saw his wife and sister coming and asked with a smile: "Why don't you come here to watch?!"

He Yushui asked: "Brother, why did you think of inviting Xu Damao to drink for no reason?!"

He Yuzhu said, "Xu Damao is also pitiful. He was cheated by his brother-in-law. He stayed in the police station all night last night. I felt sorry for him, so I brought him here and had a couple of drinks. But the drinks were not in vain. He plans to sell the house in the backyard to me. Tomorrow I will go with him to complete the formalities. Then I will find someone to clean up the backyard. Yushui, when you bring the children back, you can live directly in the backyard."

Liu Lan asked: "How much did he offer?!"

He Yuzhu replied: "Five thousand."

Liu Lan continued, "Xu Damao still has a conscience. He didn't ask for too much."

He Yuzhu smiled and said, "Wife, I'll leave this to you. I'll go to the kitchen and keep an eye on it."

Liu Lan watched He Yuzhu walk out of the lounge, sighed, and said, "Don't think your brother is cheerful, he has a lot on his mind. Let me say something I shouldn't say. You hold a higher position in his heart than me and the two children. When you have nothing to do, take the children home and stay for a few days."

Another hour later, it was time for dinner and Shuxiangju began to get busy. Xu Damao had also returned home. Not long after Xu Damao lay down, Liu Aidi came back. Seeing Xu Damao, Liu Aidi hurriedly asked, "Damo, are you okay?!"

Xu Damao glanced at Liu Aidi and said, "Fortunately, the police are very observant. Otherwise, I would have been harmed by your brother this time. Your brother was unlucky this time and encountered a severe crackdown. It is estimated that he may never get out in this life."

Liu Aidi replied: "It would be better if he ate peanuts, so that he wouldn't go around hurting people."

Xu Damao asked: "Have you told your eldest brother and the others about his affairs?!"

Liu Aidi replied: "I called them when I went to work today. No one at home is willing to take care of him now."

Xu Damao said: "Since your two brothers don't care, let's not care about him either."

Liu Aidi wiped away her tears and said, "Da Mao! It's all my fault. If I hadn't insisted on going back to my parents' home, I wouldn't have been involved with these bastards."

Xu Damao sat up, hugged Liu Aidi in his arms, and said, "Even if you don't go back, they will still come looking for you if they know you are in Sijiu City."

Liu Aidi continued, "Da Mao, let me tell you something. Our son has a girlfriend."

"What?!" Xu Damao jumped up excitedly and asked, "Is this true?!"

Liu Aidi replied: "I saw it with my own eyes, how could it be fake?! I asked around and found out that the girl was a high school classmate of our son. However, the girl didn't get into college, so she got a job at the cigarette factory through connections. Her family is simple. Both her parents work, and she has two older brothers who are already married. She's also good-looking."

Xu Damao said, "It's enough for us to know about this. If our son doesn't tell us, we shouldn't ask. Otherwise, we might end up asking something wrong." Then Xu Damao muttered to himself, "He Yuzhu, He Yuzhu! My son has a girlfriend, what can you compare with me?!"

Liu Aidi rolled her eyes at Xu Damao and said, "Why do you have to argue with He Yuzhu about everything?!"

Xu Damao said, "This is fun between us men. What do you know?! By the way, I sold the house in Courtyard No. 95 to He Yuzhu. I will go to handle the formalities tomorrow. Later, you can ask your colleague if he really plans to sell the yard?! If he does, we will buy it and clean it up for our son to use as his wedding house."

Liu Aidi muttered, "What's so good about a courtyard house?! It's better to buy a building!"

Xu Damao glared at Liu Aidi and said, "What do you know, woman?! Isn't Yan Jiekuang of our courtyard richer than us?!" Seeing Liu Aidi nod, Xu Damao continued, "He is richer than us, but he doesn't buy a building. I wonder how many courtyards of all sizes he has bought over the years?!"

"Okay! I'll go ask him when I get to work this afternoon." After that, Liu Aidi broke free from Xu Damao's arms and walked towards the kitchen. Xu Damao looked at Liu Aidi's back, took out a cigarette box from his pocket, took out a cigarette, lit it and took two puffs, thinking to himself: "Opening a video hall is not a long-term solution. It's time to find other ways to make money." At this time, Xu Damao thought of Yan Jiekuang and planned to find time to have a good talk with Yan Jiekuang.

At the same time, the phone on Yan Jiekuang's desk rang. Yan Jiekuang picked up the phone and said, "Wan Chai Fried Nuts Company, who is this?!"

Su Zhongguo's voice rang out from the other end of the line: "Jie Kuang, do you have time now?!"

When Yan Jiekuang heard Su Zhongguo's voice, he hurriedly asked, "Grandpa, what's the matter?!"

Su Zhongguo said: "Someone wants to ask you for help. He came to me for help."