Siheyuan: Domineering life

This RV converted from a mining truck is extremely huge. The entire vehicle is almost as high as two or three stories high and more than thirty meters long. Not to mention its weight, it weighs nearly a hundred tons. This type of vehicle cannot be driven on the road at all, so Yang Jun must take over it personally.

No matter how big the object is, there is nothing that cannot be accommodated in his space.

Of course, building a doomsday RV is just his personal interest. If the doomsday really comes, the RV will be of no use at all. As a time traveler, he always has an inexplicable sense of crisis, especially for someone like him who has a system. After having this, he wants to have that, and fill the space with all kinds of supplies so that he can feel safe.

As for why he wanted to build a mining car and RV, it was mainly to satisfy his personal interests and hobbies, and on the other hand, it was mainly because he had money.

Diaoyutai is still under construction. The overall frame and pillars of the two-story building have been erected, and the roof is currently being capped. It does not use the cement pouring model, but the original glazed tiles, and the middle is filled with carbon slag, which can not only insulate, remove moisture, but also soundproof, killing two birds with one stone.

The entire building is built in a retro style, giving it an overall antique garden feel. Diaoyutai is surrounded by tempered glass, which not only maintains a good sightseeing view but also good lighting. The main drawback is that the room is very hot in the summer, but this is not a problem. There is nothing that an air conditioner can't solve.

There were construction workers everywhere on this side of the pond, so it was inconvenient for Yang Jun to receive guests, so he moved his nest to the living room in the front yard. There happened to be a grape trellis in the yard, and he lay under it every day to drink tea and chat.

That day, Yang Jun was lying under a grape rack to rest, while two gluttons were gnawing on chicken legs beside him.

"Mr. Yang, there's a man named Li Sanjiang outside who wants to see you." The nanny came to report.

After hearing this, Yang Jun was stunned for a moment.

"Quick, ask him to come in."

The nanny took the order and left.

This Li Sanjiang was none other than his old comrade-in-arms. Originally, he, Ji Deming, Li Tiezhu, Li Lixin, and Wang Erwa were all comrades-in-arms. But later, Li Sanjiang's legs became disabled and he had to rely on a wheelchair to walk. Since then, he seldom participated in gatherings of old comrades-in-arms. Over the years, he had appeared in public only a handful of times, and even Yang Jun had never seen him.

Today, Li Sanjiang suddenly came to my house, there must be something important.

Yang Jun knew Li Sanjiang. He was a very strong-willed person and never asked anyone for help. Even when he was in a wheelchair and his life was so difficult, he had never seen him ask anyone for help.

Yang Jun waited for him for a while, but seeing that he hadn't come yet, he went to the front yard to greet him in person.

As soon as I arrived at the yard, I saw Li Sanjiang walking towards me under the guidance of a guard.

"Old Li."

Yang Jun shouted and immediately went forward.

"Lao Yang."

When Li Sanjiang saw Yang Jun coming to greet him personally, his eyes turned red.

"Old Li, long time no see, how are you?"

Yang Jun squatted on the ground, hugged him, and then began to ask about his situation.

"I'm fine, but you..." Li Sanjiang looked Yang Jun up and down and sighed, "I haven't seen you for 20 years, and you don't look old at all. In fact, you seem to be getting younger and younger."

"Unlike me...my hair is all grey."

Seeing the familiar faces of old friends, Li Sanjiang was filled with emotion.

Although they came from the same military unit, their lives were so different. Look at how prosperous others were, while look at how miserable their own life was.

"Are you okay? I see you're in good spirits." Yang Jun patted his shoulder.

However, when you look closer, you can see that Li Sanjiang's hair has really turned white, and he looks so old at the age of only fifty.

Yang Jun knew that Li Sanjiang had not lived a very happy life in recent years, but he did not expect that life would overwhelm this energetic young man. He once wanted to help him, but the things and money he sent were all returned. He knew Li Sanjiang's personality, so he never sent him anything again.

In recent years, Li Sanjiang seldom attended reunions of his old comrades, even if they personally invited him, he would not come. After he was invited a few times, no one went anymore. Later, he was no longer seen at reunions of his old comrades.

"Let's go have some tea."

Yang Jun didn't want to talk about such a heavy topic, so he stood up and pushed him towards the living room.

"Okay, today I will try the good tea from your home, the big leader." Li Sanjiang said with a smile.

Although Li Sanjiang kept smiling when they met, Yang Jun could see that he was forcing a smile, and there was a hint of sadness in his eyes.

When they arrived at the yard, Yang Jun did not invite him to the living room, but asked him to go directly to the grape trellis in the yard. There were steps at the door, and his wheelchair could not go up.

"Taste it."

Yang Jun handed him the brewed tea.

Li Sanjiang took a sip and praised: "Good tea, refreshing and fragrant, with a long aftertaste."

"Come on, what the hell do you know about tea?"

Yang Jun rolled his eyes at him and said, "I don't know you, kid. You've never had tea before. You're just saying this to flatter someone."

Hearing this, Li Sanjiang smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"It seems that nothing can be hidden from you."

"Stop talking nonsense and just tell me what difficulties you've encountered." Yang Jun patted his chest and said, "No matter what difficulties you encounter, I will solve them for you."

"Thank you, Lao Yang."

Li Sanjiang bowed slightly to express his gratitude to Yang Jun.

At this moment, his eyes were red and he didn't know what to say.

If things hadn't pushed him to this point, he wouldn't have had the audacity to visit. He really didn't know how to approach his old comrade-in-arms whom he hadn't contacted for twenty years.

Fortunately, Yang Jun is still the same Yang Jun as before. No one looks down on him because of his disability, nor does he distance himself from him because they had not been in contact for twenty years. At this moment, he seemed to have returned to the days when he was in the army more than twenty years ago. Those were the happiest times of his life.

"Lao Yang."

Li Sanjiang wiped away the tears from his eyes and choked up, "I did encounter difficulties this time... I don't even know how to start..."

"If you have any difficulties, just tell me. Why are you nagging me? Do you treat me as a brother?" Yang Jun was a little unhappy.

To him, even if Li Sanjiang asked him for help, it was not a big deal. What big thing could a commoner ask you for? It was nothing more than borrowing money, asking for help from a relationship, etc. He would not make things difficult for you. Yang Jun was determined to help his old comrade. It was okay to help him if he had the ability.

"Old Yang, I can't say it?" Li Sanjiang's eyes were red.

"What can't we brothers talk about?" Yang Jun tried to ask, "Borrow money?"

Yang Jun thought that since Li Sanjiang came to his house in person, it couldn't be because of such a small matter as money.

Unexpectedly, Li Sanjiang actually nodded.

"Ah."

"Ok?"

Yang Jun was stunned for a moment and asked, "Is it really because of the money?"

He felt that even if Li Sanjiang was short of money, he would never borrow from him. There were so many old comrades among him, but it didn't make sense for him to borrow money from someone with such a huge class gap.

"Yeah." Li Sanjiang nodded heavily and said, "And it's not a small amount."

Yang Jun smiled when he heard this.

"Haha." "Lao Li, did you come here just to tease me?"

Li Sanjiang's face flushed when he heard this, and he said with a grunt, "Why am I teasing you? I really have run into a hurdle that I can't get over, and I need money."

Seeing Li Sanjiang's serious look, Yang Jun felt that he might have really misunderstood him.

"Are you really here to borrow money?"

"real."

Li Sanjiang seemed to be very repulsive to the word "borrow money", thinking it was a shame. He had never asked anyone for help in his life, let alone borrowing money. If he really couldn't get over this hurdle, he really didn't want to trouble Yang Jun.

"To attract wealth, ask the kitchen to send over some wine and food."

Yang Jun did not blindly agree to him, but asked Sun Zhaocai to bring some wine and food over so that he could have a good chat with Li Sanjiang.

If it were in the past, he would have helped without hesitation, but it is different now. He is now a big leader with great power. There are too many people plotting against him behind the scenes. He doesn't know if Li Sanjiang is being used by someone. After all, he hasn't seen him for 20 years, and he doesn't dare to take risks.

"Old Yang, if it's inconvenient for you..."

Seeing that Yang Jun was looking around and talking about other things, Li Sanjiang thought that he was not in a convenient position and was ready to back out.

“Is money a problem for me?”

Yang Jun rolled his eyes at him, paused for a moment, and then said, "I'll ask the kitchen to prepare some wine and food so that we two brothers can have a good chat."

"Oh, there's no need to drink. My family is waiting for money." Li Sanjiang said with a red face.

"Life-saving money?" Yang Jun was stunned for a moment, and asked, "Is my sister-in-law sick or my nephew sick?"

"No, they are all fine, but... it's not an exaggeration to say it's life-saving money." Li Sanjiang.

"Old Li, what you said... I'm quite curious, what else is more expensive than saving a life?"

Yang Jun leaned forward and said, "Come on, let's talk."

Li Sanjiang pondered for a moment and sighed, "Ah, it's all my fault for being useless and getting the child into trouble."

Yang Jun didn't say anything, just listened quietly.

Li Sanjiang paused for a moment, then continued, "Isn't this the age for marriage? I've been approached by many potential partners, but they all turned down my proposal because they thought my family was poor or because I was disabled. Later, I finally asked someone to find a potential partner, but after hearing our conditions, the partner backed out. But after much persuasion, he reluctantly agreed, but he made a harsh condition, which was a dowry of 500,000 yuan."

"Old Yang, you know that your sister-in-law is the only one in our family who works in the textile factory to support the family. I don't have a job and have to take injections and medicine every day. There is no savings at home. I can't even afford the 500,000 yuan betrothal gift."

"The woman is waiting at our house now. If she doesn't get 500,000 yuan in betrothal gifts before midnight, the marriage will be cancelled."

After hearing this, Yang Jun sighed.

A penny can make a hero fall. Five hundred thousand is indeed nothing to him, but it is indeed an astronomical figure for Li Sanjiang's family. It was still the 1990s and the average salary was about 500 yuan. Even if one did not eat or drink, it would take more than ten years to save that much money.

"What does your eldest nephew do for a living?" Yang Jun asked.

He has seen Li Sanjiang's son, who is a polio patient. He has had difficulty walking since childhood and it seems that he only went to junior high school. As for what kind of job he does to support his family, he doesn't know.

"Shoe repair." Li Sanjiang.

"Working in a shoe factory?" Yang Jun.

"It would be fine if he had a formal job, and he wouldn't have to worry about not having a wife." Li Sanjiang said: "He set up a stall on the street, and it's good enough if the money he earns can support himself."

After hearing this, Yang Jun sighed.

"Old Li, tell me, is face really that important?"

"If you were willing to lower your head, or accept the kindness of our brothers, would your life be like this?"

After hearing this, Li Sanjiang's eyes turned red and he lowered his head.

To be honest, he once asked himself this question: is face more important or substance more important? He lived with his spine straight, but his back was bent by life. He didn't know if this was the life he wanted.

"Lao Yang... to be honest, I... I really regret it now. Living like this is not what I wanted. My children have been implicated because of me."

"I know you and your brothers have taken good care of me, but I...I can't bring myself to do that. I...I feel bad for my wife and children."

After hearing this, Yang Jun felt a surge of sadness in his heart.

He patted Li Sanjiang on the back and said, "Old Li, don't say that. You have your way of living, and we have our way of living. Everyone has the right to choose how to live. If..."

"If you really feel sorry for your wife and children, it's not too late to change now."

Upon hearing this, Li Sanjiang's eyes turned red and his pupils were shining with a crystal light.

"Old Yang, I...I regret it."

Yang Jun understood what Li Sanjiang said. He meant that he regretted his actions and was willing to live with a humble attitude.

"Okay, I get it. Don't worry, Lao Li, I will definitely help you with this."

After Yang Jun finished speaking, he turned around and said to Ding Erzhu who was sitting next to him and eating a chicken leg,
"Shazhu, ask your wife to bring over 500,000 yuan in cash."

Yang Jun was cautious. He was not sure whether Li Sanjiang was really in trouble or was being used by others, so he asked Ding Erzhu's wife, Sun Zhaodi, who was also his goddaughter, to pay the money. Even if something unexpected happened in the future, it would not implicate him and there would be room for maneuver.

After hearing this, Ding Erzhu was stunned and relaxed for a moment.

He didn't understand why Yang Jun asked his family to pay this money, but he still had to listen to Yang Jun.

"Oh, I'll go home and get it right away."

Ding Erzhu rubbed his greasy lips, patted his butt and left.

After a while, the food arrived from the kitchen.

"Zhaocai, go next door and call Lao Wang over to have a drink with us." Yang Jun.

"Yes, Uncle Yang."

Sun Zhaocai took the order and left.

"Lao Li, let's wait a moment." Yang Jun said, "Lao Wang lives next door. We three haven't seen each other for many years. We must have a good drink today."

"Lao Yang, I won't drink today. The girl is still waiting for the money at my house." Li Sanjiang declined.

"Isn't it already twelve o'clock?" Yang Jun pointed at the watch on his arm and said, "I'll have someone send the money home later. You can stay and have a few drinks with me and Lao Wang."

"Do you think this is okay?"

Seeing that Yang Jun said so, Li Sanjiang couldn't refuse anymore.

"Okay, I'll do whatever you want."

"Hey, that's right. It's just about money. Don't worry about such a small matter."

After that, Yang Jun poured the wine, and the two of them sat together waiting for Wang Erwa. (End of this chapter)