Siheyuan: The Era of Struggle

Chapter 417 Each Has Their Own Difficulties

Upon entering the study, He Yuanchao took out the note Li Caixia had given him from his pocket, picked up the phone, and gave the contact information written on it to the staff at the long-distance telecommunications station.

This time I was lucky; I got through to the Yangqu County Machinery Factory in just a few minutes.

When Liu Lihua saw the call connect, she gestured to He Yuanchao and then left the study.

It might be a bad line; there were occasional crackling sounds coming from the phone, but it didn't affect the call.

"Hello, this is the security department of the First Machinery Factory. Where are you from?"

Hearing the inquiry on the phone, He Yuanchao didn't waste any time and asked directly, "I'm looking for Ma Wenbin from your security department. Is he here?"

"I am Ma Wenbin, who are you?"

Hearing the somewhat puzzled voice on the phone, He Yuanchao quickly introduced himself, "Hello Brother Ma, I'm He Yuanchao. I wonder if Sister Caixia has mentioned me to you?"

Hahaha~~
A hearty laugh came from the phone, followed by Ma Wenbin's voice.

"Why didn't you mention it? I've been hearing your name so much these past few days, it's practically worn out. Your sister Caixia keeps talking about you as soon as she gets home. So, are you home yet?"

He Yuanchao chuckled twice upon hearing this, and said with a hint of apology, "I arrived last night, but I got so busy when I got home that I forgot about what I had agreed to with Sister Caixia. Brother Ma, could you please tell Sister Caixia that I've arrived home and that everything is fine?"

Ma Wenbin, a man of social standing, continued He Yuanchao's words:
"That's not how you put it. Don't worry about the trouble. In fact, I should thank you. If you hadn't called to let me know you were safe, your sister Caixia would have nagged me a lot!"

"By the way, my husband told me you were also a soldier. Let me know next time you come to Yangqu, and we'll have a good drink together."

……

The two chatted quite congenially, talking for about ten minutes before hanging up.

He Yuanchao walked out of the study, where Liu Lihua was sitting on the sofa in the living room drinking tea.

Hearing the noise, Liu Lihua turned around and saw He Yuanchao. She smiled and said, "Finished the call?"

"Ah."

He Yuanchao responded and sat down on the sofa.

The morning passed by very quickly. The mother and daughter sat on the sofa chatting about everyday things, and before long it was time for lunch.

The food supply at Chen Cheng's family was much better than that at his father-in-law's family. Lunch wasn't lavish, but it still consisted of four dishes with a mix of meat and vegetables.

He Yuanchao didn't like drinking much, and Liu Lihua didn't try to persuade him. The mother and son sat at the table and quietly ate lunch in a very warm atmosphere.

Liu Lihua had a habit of taking a nap in the afternoon. After finishing his meal, He Yuanchao didn't stay long. After chatting for a while, he said goodbye and left Chen Cheng's house when it was almost time.

After riding his bicycle out of the Ministry of Metallurgical's residential compound, He Yuanchao went straight to Fengzeyuan without going anywhere else.

Fengzeyuan Restaurant frequently hosts government officials these days, and the service attitude of its staff is far superior to that of other restaurants.

As soon as He Yuanchao parked his bicycle and entered the house, a staff member immediately came forward to greet him warmly.

"Hello comrade, are you here for a meal?"

"I'm not going to eat; I'm coming to see your manager, Guo Boquan."

After saying that, He Yuanchao walked into the restaurant, intending to go directly to Guo Boquan's office.

The staff member, a young man in his twenties, saw this and quickly took two steps to stop He Yuanchao, smiling as he said:
"Comrade, you can't just barge in. Tell me which unit you're from and what your name is, and I'll go in and call Manager Guo for you." He Yuanchao, who usually paid attention to such things, didn't go any further, seeing the staff member's serious expression. He smiled and said:
"My name is He Yuanchao, and I work at the steel rolling mill. Could you please go in and say hello for me?"

Seeing that He Yuanchao's attitude was good, the staff pointed to an empty seat next to him and said, "Okay, you can sit there and wait for a moment. I'll go in and call him for you right away."

After saying that, he turned and walked into the restaurant.

He Yuanchao had only been sitting in the chair for a short while when Guo Boquan walked over with a smile.

"Yuanchao, what brings you here today?"

Not seeing the young waiter from before, He Yuanchao ignored Guo Boquan's words, stood up, and jokingly said:
"Old squad leader, now that you're a higher rank, it's really difficult to even see you. If you get promoted again, I reckon I won't even be able to see you anymore."

Upon hearing this, Guo Boquan looked helpless and said, "It's fine if the level is high, then ordinary people can't reach it. But now, anyone, whether high or low, can come and cause trouble."

He Yuanchao knew something was up as soon as he heard this, and asked curiously, "What's wrong, Sergeant? Is someone giving you trouble?"

Guo Boquan looked around and said, "This isn't the place to talk. Let's go to my office."

The two arrived at the office, and He Yuanchao picked up the water that Guo Boquan had poured for him, took a sip, and said:

"Old squad leader, what's the story about what they were talking about outside? Is someone really causing you trouble?"

Guo Boquan put down his teacup, picked up a cigarette from the table, offered one to He Yuanchao, and complained:

"It's all because of the state of the world right now. Everyone says that even cooks won't go hungry in years of famine, but here, even rats that go into my storeroom come out crying."

Even so, people from various organizations still come over every day trying to freeload, and they're all quite influential. We can't afford to offend any of them. Sigh! I'm so worried.

"To be honest, my hair is falling out in clumps right now."

After saying that, he even reached up and pulled a handful of hair from his head to show He Yuanchao.

Upon hearing Guo Boquan's explanation, He Yuanchao immediately understood what was going on. With food shortages at the moment, various units were pulling strings and using connections to dig up grain, mainly non-staple foods. As one of the few large restaurants in Beijing, Fengzeyuan was sure to have many eyes on it.

He Yuanchao took a puff of his cigarette, thought for a moment, and said, "Why are you so worried about this? If the sky falls, there are tall people; if you want to cross the river, there are short people. Just report this to the higher-ups."

"If only it were that simple."

Guo Boquan exhaled a long puff of smoke and said, "If the leader had stepped forward, I wouldn't be stuck here suffering in the middle."

After saying that, Guo Boquan took a deep drag on his cigarette and said, "Alright, let's not talk about these upsetting things anymore. You're the kind of guy who doesn't come here unless he has something to say. So what's the big deal that you've come here to do today? Are you getting married again?"

He Yuanchao didn't mind the teasing, and with a smile, he recounted Li Hongtao's story, finally asking:
"Old squad leader, didn't you mention someone in a similar situation to Instructor Li when we were drinking last time? How did he manage to transfer his household registration and work relationship to Kyoto?"

"Li Hongtao, Instructor Li..."

After slapping his forehead and muttering to himself for a while, his eyes suddenly lit up as he looked at He Yuanchao and asked, "Is the Li Hongtao you're talking about the political instructor of our battalion's third company?"

He Yuanchao nodded and said, "Yes, that's our old Third Company's political instructor, the one who was transferred due to injury before going to Korea."

*** laughed upon hearing this, then asked with some confusion:

"I remember you were such a quiet guy back then, never talking to anyone except the old regimental commander. How did you end up in contact with him? Where did you run into him?"

(End of this chapter)