Siheyuan: The Era of Struggle

Chapter 415 Your Man Still Needs to Train
"Yuanchao, I just saw several people standing at our front gate, what's going on?"

Hearing the door open, Ma Xiufang, who had been busy since early morning, poked half her body out of the kitchen and looked at He Yuanchao curiously.

As He Yuanchao changed his shoes at the door, he replied with a smile, "Mom is fine. I just ran into a few people from the courtyard who were doing their morning exercise and we chatted for a bit."

Upon hearing this, Ma Xiufang didn't press the matter further. She pointed upstairs and said, "Yuanchao, go and tell Xiaomin to get up and get ready so we can eat."

"Okay, I'll go right away."

With that, He Yuanchao stepped onto the second floor.

When He Yuanchao and Zhang Min finished getting ready and came downstairs to the kitchen, breakfast was already on the table.

Breakfast was quite simple: a bowl of millet porridge, a large plate of pickled vegetables, and four boiled eggs.

Seeing her son-in-law and daughter, Ma Xiufang, who was serving porridge, smiled at He Yuanchao and said:
“Yuanchao, you know what, this millet from Yangqu is really different from other millet. It smells so good.”

Before He Yuanchao could speak, Zhang Min, smiling, spoke first as Ma Xiufang praised Yangqu millet.

"Really? Then I'll have to try it."

As he spoke, he picked up the chopsticks on the table, snatched a bowl of millet porridge that Ma Xiufang had just served, and began to slurp it up.

Seeing this, Ma Xiufang rolled her eyes at Zhang Min in annoyance.

"You're a grown man with no manners at all. You have no proper posture when standing or eating. Aren't you afraid that the Korean War will laugh at you? Sit down and eat properly."

Zhang Min didn't take Ma Xiufang's words seriously at all, swallowed the food in her mouth, and said with a smile:

"Wen Chao wouldn't laugh at me, why don't you ask him?"

After saying that, he looked at Ma Xiufang with a smug expression.

……

He Yuanchao had no desire to get involved in the bickering between the mother and daughter, so he quietly sat down at the table and picked up a bowl of millet porridge to drink.

I must say, the millet from Yangqu is really good. It not only smells delicious, but also tastes great.

Although the Zhang family was also a high-ranking official's family, Zhang Lide and Ma Xiufang both came from hard-working backgrounds. There were no rules about not talking while eating or sleeping in the family. A meal was quickly finished amidst the bickering between Zhang Min and Ma Xiufang.

After cleaning up the dishes, it was time for Zhang Min to go to work.

"Mom, Zhang Min and I are going home tonight, so we won't be coming here."

He Yuanchao, who had come out of the house first, stood in the yard holding his bicycle and said to Ma Xiufang, who had brought Zhang Min out.

Seeing that her daughter didn't object and happily went to her son-in-law's side, Ma Xiufang felt both happy and a little disappointed. She waved her hand and said:

"Alright, it's not good for no one to stay at home all the time, so I won't bring you two dinner tonight."

He Yuanchao responded with a nod and, without saying another word, pushed his bicycle out of the yard. Zhang Min was pregnant and dared not ride too fast, otherwise she would be late for work if she lingered any longer.

Standing at her doorstep, Ma Xiufang watched He Yuanchao ride away with her daughter on his bicycle, and then couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

Sigh! If only my son, Zhang Zhao, were half as worry-free as my daughter, I could finally die in peace...

……

He Yuanchao rode his bicycle with Zhang Min, chatting and laughing, taking a leisurely ride, and it took them about forty minutes to reach the Chengdong Branch.

Although He Yuanchao has only been working at the branch office for a short time, quite a few people already know him.

It happened to be rush hour, and when they saw him riding his bike with Zhang Min parked at the entrance of the branch office, people who were about to enter the branch office compound came over to greet him.

If they weren't familiar with the couple, they would simply salute and say hello before hurrying into the courtyard. But if they were familiar with the couple, they would almost always make a few jokes, especially Zhang Min's colleagues from her department, who, relying on their "older age and seniority," would put on an air of being experienced and spew out lewd remarks.

After more than half a year of experience, He Yuanchao had become much thicker-skinned, but he still couldn't withstand this kind of onslaught. Seeing more and more of Zhang Min's colleagues gathering around him, he had no choice but to flee. Watching He Yuanchao ride away on his bicycle, the older women burst into laughter.

An older woman who was close to Zhang Min stepped forward and took her arm, saying:

"Xiaomin, your husband still needs more practice! He can't even handle a few old women, how will he adapt to a higher leadership position in the future?"

As soon as the eldest sister finished speaking, the other immediately chimed in:

"Xiao Zhang, Sister Xie is right. If you can't even handle this little situation, how will you lead our bureau of hundreds of people in the future? We're counting on your husband to be the head of our bureau!"

"That's right. If your husband became the head of our bureau, we sisters would be very proud to talk about it."

……

Since getting married, Zhang Min's personality has changed a lot. Unlike before, when she always kept people at arm's length, people in the department have noticed this and have gradually become more willing to get closer to her.

Several elderly women from the household registration department chattered and laughed as they walked into the office building.

Seeing this, people from other departments, regardless of whether they were leaders or not, all subtly moved aside. These women were a bit too "fierce," and they couldn't tolerate this army of women.

Without Zhang Min's burden, He Yuanchao traveled at lightning speed, arriving at Dongsi West Street in less than twenty minutes along Zhang Zizhong Road.

The gatekeeper of the Ministry of Metallurgical's residential compound was quite familiar with He Yuanchao. When he saw He Yuanchao riding his bicycle to the gate, he came out of the guardhouse with a smile to greet him.

"Oh, Yuanchao, it's been a while since I've seen you."

Upon seeing the gatekeeper come out, He Yuanchao quickly got out of the car.

"I've been very busy at work these past few days and haven't had a moment to spare."

As he spoke, he took out a cigarette from his pocket and handed one to the gatekeeper.

The two lit cigarettes and chatted for a while. He Yuanchao only rode his bicycle into the yard after finishing his cigarette.

When they arrived at Chen Cheng's house, they saw his godmother, Liu Lihua, busy at the foot of the window with a shovel.

"Mom, what are you doing with that shovel?"

Hearing the noise, Liu Lihua straightened up and turned around. She saw He Yuanchao pushing his bicycle into the yard, and a smile immediately appeared on her face.

"Oh, it's the Korean War! When did you get back?"

"I just got back last night."

He Yuanchao parked his bicycle, walked up to Liu Lihua, looked at the hole she had dug at her feet, and asked, "What are you busy with here? Planting vegetables?"

These days, many high-ranking officials have this habit: if they have a piece of vacant land, they feel uneasy if they don't plant something on it.

Liu Lihua pointed to several paper packages on the windowsill and said with a smile, "I've been sitting here with nothing to do, so I was thinking of planting some flowers."

Upon hearing this, He Yuanchao glanced at the holes dug under the window, then without saying a word, took the shovel from Liu Lihua's hand and said:
"Where to plant it? I'll dig it up for you."

Seeing this, Liu Lihua didn't stand on ceremony and casually pointed to the path leading into the yard from the window, saying, "I plan to plant some in these places."

"Wow! This is quite a workload. Looks like I'm in for lunch today."

After hearing He Yuanchao's words, Liu Lihua rolled her eyes at him and said in an annoyed tone:

"It's not like your mom won't let you eat if you don't do chores."

After exchanging a few jokes, He Yuanchao took off his coat and started loosening the soil and digging a hole where Liu Lihua pointed.

Liu Lihua wasn't idle either. She picked up a paper bag from the windowsill and followed He Yuanchao, scattering flower seeds into the dug hole while asking about Zhang Zhao.

(End of this chapter)