Siheyuan: The Era of Struggle

Chapter 378 Half a Villager
Lu Zhenbang and his wife followed them out of the house. After watching everyone get in the car and drive away, Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law spoke with an indignant look on her face:

"We treated Zhang Lide so warmly, but he went to dine with the army leaders and didn't even bother to be polite to us. I think they don't even think highly of our family."

"It's better if you don't ask us to go."

"Come on, stop looking for excuses to comfort yourself."

Seeing the sarcastic look on his wife's face, Lu Zhenbang didn't care and patiently explained:
"After all, this matter was caused by our son. Not to mention that I was not invited to go, even if I was invited, I would have to find an excuse to refuse. Otherwise, what would I say at the dinner? And who would pay for arranging the expenses of the military leaders? Should I pay for it or should I let the Zhang family pay for it?"

After hearing what Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law said, she thought about it for a moment and quickly understood what her husband meant. The unhappy look on her face immediately disappeared.

"Hearing what you said, it's true. If the Zhang family doesn't invite you to dinner, we will have an excuse to talk about this matter later. Besides, this way, not only will our family have both face and money, but if anything else happens, it won't have anything to do with us."

"That's right! That's what I mean."

After hearing what his wife said, Lu Zhenbang said with a smug look on his face: "Some things can be done but cannot be said, and some things can be said but cannot be done. The magic of using them lies in one's heart.

We can't do what happened this time, but we have to give the Zhang family an explanation. We can't tell the truth here, we have to avoid the important points."

Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law was generous with her praise for the good job her husband did.

"As expected of the head of the family, your brain works quickly."

After receiving praise from his wife, Lu Zhenbang became even more proud. He put his hands behind his back, turned around and walked back arrogantly.

After entering the courtyard, Lu Zhenbang suddenly thought of something, stopped, turned around and said to Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law with a serious face:
"Tell Wenliang to stay quiet for the next two days and don't go out and hang around. Come back after this matter is completely resolved."

"Do not worry."

When Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law heard her husband mention this, she promised with a serious face: "I have told my little sister that she should keep a close eye on Wenliang during this period of time."

Lu Zhenbang knew how much his wife cared about her youngest son. After hearing her words, he didn't say anything more. He turned around and continued walking towards the house.

While the Lu couple was discussing the matter of their son Lu Wenliang, He Yuanchao and several others in the jeep did not drive to the army, but stopped in front of a restaurant on the edge of the county town.

"Aren't you going to the army to have dinner with our leader? Why did you park here?"

Zhang Zhao was called down from the car by Zhang Lide. He glanced at the old restaurant in front of him and said with a little dissatisfaction.

If it were in the past, Zhang Lide would definitely ignore him.

But ever since he heard what Zhang Zhao said at home, Zhang Lide felt that he owed his son a little, and decided to change the way they got along.

"Even if we call your leaders now, they won't come. If you really want to treat them to a meal, wait until you've finished your work."

Zhang Zhao was a little confused by Zhang Lide's response.

As far as I can remember, this was the first time my father spoke to me in such a gentle voice.

Seeing his son standing there in disbelief without saying a word, Zhang Lide thought that he didn't understand the reason, so he took two steps forward to Zhang Zhao and whispered:

"You made a mistake, and now is the time to deal with it. Who among the leaders would eat with you at this time? What if you ask them to do something..."

He Yuanchao saw the situation of the Zhang family's father and son, but did not come over to get involved. After the driver locked the car, he invited them to go into the hotel.

The restaurant is not very big. There are eight wooden square tables of different sizes scattered around in the store of about 70 or 80 square meters.

There were not many people eating in the restaurant at the moment, and they were sitting in groups of three or four. He Yuan glanced around and led the driver to an empty table by the window and sat down.

He glanced at the wall and saw that only a small portion of the dozens of dishes could be prepared. He didn't say anything. After asking the driver if he had any dietary restrictions, he got up and walked to the service counter to order.

There was a waitress, about 37 or 38 years old, sitting at the counter, sipping water from a can while reading a newspaper on the counter. The waitress seemed to be in a good mood today. When she saw He Yuanchao coming to order food, she not only stood up from her chair but also smiled at him.

"Come on, bro, what do you want to eat?"

He Yuanchao found the waitress's Northeastern accent particularly interesting and subconsciously said in Northeastern dialect:
"This is my first time here, and I don't know what's delicious. How about you pick two for me?"

After hearing what He Yuanchao said, the waitress' eyes widened. She didn't talk about the dishes, but instead asked about He Yuanchao's background with great interest.

"Brother, are you from the Northeast?"

"My hometown is in Kyoto. I served as a soldier in Fengtian for several years. I am considered a half-Northeastern silver."

He Yuanchao had no intention of fooling the waitress and told the truth.

"Oh my god!"

The waitress raised her hand and patted her thigh, smiling and saying, "You were a soldier in Northeast China! I was wondering why you looked so friendly when you came in!"

After saying this, the waitress was afraid that He Yuanchao would not believe her, so in order to increase the credibility of her words, she continued:

"No kidding, I'm telling you, my hometown is Chuncheng, Jiangcheng Province. My husband was once a soldier, otherwise I wouldn't have come all the way here."

He Yuanchao heard this and thought about it for a moment before figuring out what was going on. Fearing that he might have made a wrong guess, he asked tentatively:
"Sister, is your brother-in-law from here? Did you transfer here with him?"

"Yes, I followed him here. I had to work very hard to transfer my job to follow him."

When talking about this topic, the waitress immediately opened up and talked like a machine gun about the jokes and various discomforts she had encountered since she came here.

He Yuanchao traveled to this era and was essentially a stranger in a foreign land. He understood this feeling very well, so he did not interrupt the elder sister. He stood in front of the counter and listened quietly and patiently, occasionally interrupting to ask a few questions.

The two chatted about elder sister and younger brother for about seven or eight minutes. Finally, the waitress remembered that He Yuanchao was here for dinner, slapped her thigh, and said apologetically:

"Look at what's going on. We've been busy chatting. You must be starving, bro. Wait, I'll go to the kitchen and ask the chef to cook two dishes for you."

Seeing the eldest sister turn around and hurried to the kitchen after she finished speaking, He Yuanchao hurriedly said:
"Hey! Wait a minute, big sister. I'll get you the money and the ticket."

The waitress stopped, turned around and said with a generous smile: "It doesn't matter what the money is. This meal is on me."

When He Yuanchao saw that his elder sister had finished speaking and was about to go inside again, he hurriedly stepped forward to stop her.

The two argued at the kitchen door for a long time. Seeing that the waitress insisted on treating them, He Yuanchao had no choice but to make up an excuse that the company reimbursed his food expenses.

When the waitress heard that it was a public expense, she did not insist. She walked back to the service desk, picked up a piece of paper and a pen, and quickly wrote down the names of two dishes and the staple food. Then she looked up and said to He Yuanchao:

"Brother, can I make these two dishes for you?"

He Yuanchao glanced down and saw that they were twice-cooked pork and braised carp. He nodded and said with a smile, "That's great, but there are only two dishes that are a little short. Sister, can you add two more and two more bowls of rice?"

"Brother."

The waitress looked around, then came up to He Yuanchao and whispered, "Even though the government will reimburse you, it will be a waste if you can't finish it and waste it."

Seeing that his eldest sister had some misunderstanding, He Yuanchao hurriedly explained that there were four grown men on his side and there would definitely be no leftovers.

After hearing what He Yuanchao said, the waitress smiled apologetically, picked up the pen and quickly filled in two more dishes. After confirming that they were correct, she didn't waste any more time and walked towards the kitchen.

(End of this chapter)