Restarting life in Siheyuan

"Brother, this guy is really shameless. He only had one gold bar. He dared to steal four of them."

Lin Yilan watched Xu Damao walk out of the compound with a dusty face, "Brother, do you think he will send it over? You didn't even tell me about your relationship with Professor Xu."

Zhu Xuefeng smiled and said, "I didn't expect this bad guy to have hidden a gold bar in the old house. No wonder he went to raid Yan Jiecheng because he was looking for this."

"Don't worry. Even if he has the guts, he won't dare not send it over. This kind of person is very smart. You can take it back to Professor Xu when the time comes. Oh, and give the gold bars and money to Professor Xu personally. Don't let Chen Rui know."

Lin Yilan nodded, "Brother, you don't trust her! Isn't she your classmate?"

"She is my classmate, yes. However, there seems to be something wrong with her character. I have never noticed it before. Let's not talk about her. How about it? Are you interested in practicing with me? Let me see if you have improved."

...

"You mean, this Zhu Xuefeng is untouchable?"

"Leader, this is really untouchable. Let me tell you about it."

The man leaning forward sitting in front of the coffee table was Xu Damao, who was recounting with a look of grievance how he had suffered a setback yesterday afternoon. Sitting at the desk opposite him was his backer Li Huaide.

Li Huaide also had a gloomy face and felt uneasy. This kid surnamed Zhu was so powerful that he actually had contact with such a high level and received high praise. It seemed that he could not be provoked.

When he was in Hong Kong, during the Spring Festival, he was wandering around alone and accidentally met the tailor Lao Jintou. He knew Lao Jintou.

It was like meeting an old friend in a foreign land. After a few drinks, he asked Lao Jintou how he got here. Lao Jintou hesitated for a while before telling him hesitantly that a young man named Zhu Xuefeng sent him here, and that he also had a large yard. Li Huaide became interested, and after asking carefully, he became more certain that this Zhu Xuefeng was the guy who had made a big name in the steel mill.

I originally thought that I could catch him by the hair and give him a good beating to vent my anger, but I didn't expect to hit a wall.

"Forget it, don't bother him. He is not working at the steel mill now and can't affect us." Li Huaide decisively gave up this unhappiness.

"But the leader seems to have a relationship with Xu Changqing. He specifically asked me to return the things I copied from Xu Changqing's house and compensate them for their losses."

Li Huaide stood up and turned half a circle impatiently, "Then you should compensate him and don't provoke him in the future."

Xu Damao just nodded in agreement, no one knew what he was thinking, and he didn't say anything else. Li Huaide was also thinking about his own thoughts silently. The atmosphere in the office was silent for a while. After a while, Li Huaide withdrew his thoughts and looked at his capable subordinate who was standing aside.

During this period, Xu Damao jumped up and down, causing quite a stir in the steel mill and on the streets, which prevented the superiors from making any comments on the revolutionary work of the steel mill during this period.

Xu Damao suffered a setback this time, but he couldn't let him lose heart. Thinking of this, Li Huaide lowered his posture, sat down with a smile, and asked in a friendly manner.

"Xiao Xu, it has been half a year since you were vindicated. During this period, you have been working diligently for the revolutionary cause of the factory. Thank you for your hard work."

Xu Damao was a little panicked, not understanding why the leader did this. "Leader, this is what I should do. As a conscious member of the working class, I have not done enough."

Li Huaide's smile was even more peaceful. "You can balance work and life. Only when you have dealt with the problems in life can you do your revolutionary work more wholeheartedly. During this period, I haven't cared enough about you."

Xu Damao was totally confused. After he got out, the street office kept saying that there were no vacant houses, and the steel mill would not care. Later, he finally found someone to get into the theater of the drama academy, and got in on the joint defense team and the government faction, but he still had to live in a crowded house with his parents. After returning to the steel mill, he also looked for Director Zhang of logistics, but Director Zhang also said that there were some temporary difficulties, so the matter was delayed.

Li Huaide is concerned about me now. Could it be that the leader has finally remembered my housing problem? Just as I was thinking about how to respond to the leader's words, I heard Li Huaide continue to speak.

"You are almost 30 this year, you should think about this person. How are you now? Do you have a partner?"

"Thank you for your concern, you have a good memory. I was born in 1937 and I will be 30 this year. My parents have urged me several times. I'm not afraid of you laughing at me, but the elderly in my family have always been worried about this."

Xu Damao couldn't figure out Li Huaide's approach. It didn't seem like he was simply caring about his subordinates and showing them warmth, but since he wanted to show his concern, Xu Damao suddenly had an idea. He blinked his eyes and said with gratitude.

"Thank you for your concern, but I can't consider it for the time being. I don't have the conditions right now. I still live in my parents' house, which is too small to move around."

Li Huaide was a little indignant when he heard this. "You haven't solved your housing problem yet? What's wrong with this old Zhang? I told him to solve your housing problem a long time ago. You, the deputy section chief, have been in office for more than a week, and it hasn't been implemented yet. Let me urge him again. He must solve it for you. This is outrageous, bureaucratic, this is typical bureaucracy!"

"Thank you, leader! Thank you, leader!"

Although he knew that there was a lot of water in Li Huaide's words, Xu Damao still quickly stood up to express his gratitude. During this period, he actually had another place to live, so he was not really worried about the housing problem. He was already a deputy section chief, and it was impossible for him to leave the problem unsolved.

"Sit down and talk, sit down and talk." Li Huaide waved his hand kindly, and Xu Damao sat down again.

"Do you have a partner now? Or do you have a lesbian crush?"

Hearing that the leader really began to care about his personal problems, Xu Damao, although he didn't know the leader's intention, still said smugly, "Leader, don't be afraid of you laughing at me. When I saw Xiao Yu from our Propaganda Department, I had a good impression of her. It's just that my reputation has been ruined, and I'm old, so people don't look down on me."

Xu Damao's words made Li Huaide feel relieved. He smiled, took out a cigarette and gestured. Xu Damao bent over and quickly took it. He took out a match from his pocket and lit it for his leader, and then lit it for himself.

Li Huaide took a deep breath and exhaled lightly, holding the cigarette in his right hand. He thought for a while and said, "Xiao Yu, well, I have some impression of her. She is the female comrade who is good at writing publicity materials..."

"It's her, it's her!" Xu Damao looked at his leader expectantly. This Yu Haitang made him itchy, but it seemed difficult to get the hang of it. He approached her several times, and she greeted him politely at first. Maybe it was because he had deceived her a little once, so it was difficult for them to chat. After so many times, she took every opportunity to hide and kept away from him, which made Xu Damao feel itchy.

"I've heard of Comrade Xiao Yu. She has very high standards for her revolutionary partner."

Li Huaide glanced at Xu Damao meaningfully, "Xiao Xu, I have to say that finding a revolutionary partner is a science..."

Li Huaide's half-sentence instantly made Xu Damao's newly-arising hope disappear. There was no need to hit a loud drum too hard, as he understood what Li Huaide meant.

After a long time, Li Huaide lit a cigarette in the corridor again, watching Xu Damao leave dejectedly downstairs, with a smile on his face.

Zhu Xuefeng had just left Leader Hao's office. No one knew what they talked about. But in the following days, Zhu Xuefeng disappeared from the capital for more than two months. No one knew where he had been during this period. In the study room of the compound, Zhu Xuefeng was listening to Lin Yilan's description of the changes during this period. In more than two months, a lot of things really happened. Xu Damao and his gang at the steel mill were beaten up in secret. Xu Damao was seriously injured and had to recuperate for nearly a month before he could go back to work.

"This kid has done a lot of bad things recently and offended a lot of people. Have you found out who did it?"

Lin Yilan shook her head. "Nothing has been found. It is said that there were more than a dozen people involved. The police station didn't have the energy to deal with it, so Xu Damao hired someone to do it himself, and in the end, nothing was done."

"Anything else? Are Lao Yang and Professor Xu okay?"

"The factory director is fine. After you made trouble twice, no one is bothering him now. But Professor Xu has some problems."

Zhu Xuefeng frowned. He had never publicly defended Professor Xu. Could it be that someone was really looking for trouble with him? "Tell me, what's going on?"

"Professor Xu is divorced. After he was criticized again last month, your classmate drew a line between him and divorced him."

I didn't expect that classmate Chen Rui has changed so much. This is a good thing. Zhu Xuefeng plans to visit her again.

"Husband and wife are birds of a feather, but they fly away when disaster strikes. During this period, several couples have divorced and married in the steel mill. There is one couple that you absolutely cannot imagine."

"Who are they?" Zhu Xuefeng knew that one of the couple must be his classmate Chen Zhihe, but Lin Yilan said he couldn't think of them, so they probably weren't these two.

"It's Xu Damao. He and Section Chief Qin from your compound got married as soon as he recovered last month."

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

Xu Damao and Qin Huairu? Zhu Xuefeng was confused. What was the connection between them? A gangster and a widow. But you know what, neither of them could dislike the other. One of them was a deputy section chief and the other was a section chief. They were a perfect match.

Shaking his head, putting aside all these messy things, Zhu Xuefeng lowered his voice.

"Don't worry about it. You have to prepare. We will have to leave in a while."

When Lin Yilan heard this, her eyes were full of excitement, "Brother, are you really determined?"

Zhu Xuefeng nodded. "I have been to many places recently and met several friends. Now I have finished all the things that need to be done. When our second child graduates, we will go together. Is this okay with you?"

Since it has been decided that we will be staying outside for the next few years, we might as well take the second brother with us. The autonomous region’s navy is currently lacking a proper commander, and we can’t always let Li Xiaojun, a half-baked guy, take command.

"No problem, brother, I can leave anytime."

"Okay, this time I'm away, it may take ten or eight years before I can come back, do you want to go and see your family?"

Lin Yilan shook her head, looking sad. "I have saved several hundred dollars here. I will leave them all to them when the time comes. I think they will like it more."

"That's fine. It's considered a way of repaying my kindness in raising you. There's no need to take these away."

"Brother, what can I do if I go out?" Since the situation was imminent, Lin Yilan mustered up the courage to ask.

Zhu Xuefeng smiled and said, "I have already thought about it for you. Let me tell you..."

The two brothers and sisters were muttering to each other, and the Jia family in the compound was also muttering. Ever since Xu Damao and Qin Huairu secretly got their marriage certificate last month, Xu Damao had legitimately moved into the Jia family's house. The Jia family's house had become even more crowded, with a total of seven people, including adults and children, crammed into the two small rooms.

There was also a maid named Huaihua sleeping on Jia Zhang's kang, and there was also a temporary wooden bed made of benches and wooden boards in front of the kang. This was very difficult. Xiaodang and her sister-in-law also set up a temporary bed in the front of the opposite wing and just made do.

"Grandma, I can't sleep." Banggeng turned over, and the wooden boards and benches underneath him shook and made creaking sounds.

"Close your eyes and stop tossing and turning. You'll fall asleep soon." Jia Zhang also moved her body. Her little granddaughter Huaihua was squeezing next to her, which made her feel quite comfortable, though a little crowded.

"Grandma, I..." Banggeng was feeling very depressed. He was fourteen years old and had a stepfather. He felt ashamed to hold his head up when he went out. But he was interrupted by Jia Zhang as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Stop talking and go to bed quickly. Your two sisters are already asleep. If you don't sleep, grandma will have to sleep too. Go to bed quickly."

Jia Zhang knew clearly what was on Bang Geng's mind, and she was not very happy about it at first, but Qin Huairu presented the facts and reasoned with him, and it was the higher-ups' intention. Since Xu Damao was willing to give up his salary to supplement the family income, he also gave her 20 yuan to supplement her health, and her monthly pension would increase from 3 yuan to 5 yuan, so Jia Zhang just turned a blind eye.

"But grandma, I really can't sleep. There's no mattress on this wooden board. I feel uncomfortable. Didn't that Xu guy say he would have a house? When will it be available? How long will I have to sleep on this wooden board?"

"Why do you need a mattress in this weather? Aren't you too hot? You should ask him about the house. If it can be done, our house will be bigger in the future, just like the Zhu family in the front yard, with three side rooms and an ear room."

Banggeng looked at the ceiling and listened to the rustling noises coming from the opposite wing. He felt very annoyed. He covered his head with the quilt and his ears immediately became quiet. He had to sleep quickly, otherwise his grandma would start snoring and it would be difficult to fall asleep.

"You won't let me move, Sister Qin, my dear sister..." Xu Damao was still trying hard to find a way, but while Qin Huairu released the airspace, she still firmly grasped the right to guard the gate.

"Stop it. I've already told you that I haven't had my period this month. I might be pregnant. This period is very critical. Don't you want to leave a seed for your Xu family?"

Qin Huairu forced a smile and whispered in Xu Damao's ear. Xu Damao obviously stopped making noises and seemed extremely excited. This was a big deal. He didn't expect to succeed in one go. Who said he couldn't be born with it?

"Really?"

"It should be. I've already given birth to three children. How can I deceive you? Let me go to the hospital for a checkup tomorrow. That will put your mind at ease."

Xu Damao rubbed his hands excitedly and stroked his belly carefully, "Sister Qin, this is really a good place, wow..."

Qin Huairu pushed Xu Damao's hand away, turned sideways, and said with her back to Xu Damao, "It's late, take a rest, I'll go to the hospital tomorrow..."

Xu Damao looked at the woman's back. He knew he couldn't touch her. But he was just getting excited. Thinking about Qin Jingru sleeping in the front room, he felt even more tormented. He begged in a low voice, "I think you are too disloyal. You only care about digging and not burying..." (End of this chapter)