Traveling back to 1952, starting a comeback from a relief station

Yan Bugui asked cautiously:

"Anping, I want to ask you something."

"Your uncle used to work at a steel rolling mill. He died on the job and was a martyr. The factory must have kept a job for you, right?"

"Are you still holding that position at the neighborhood work group if you're going to start work there now?"

"I don't know... if it can be transferred."

"Jie Cheng is sixteen now, old enough to start working, but he still doesn't have a proper job..."

Wang Anping squatted by the door, fiddling with the potted red plum blossoms beside him, ignoring Yan Bugui's words. Instead, he gazed at the red plum blossoms and sighed:

"What a beautiful pot of flowers, it's a pity that it's all alone."

"He looks so lonely."

Yan Bugui: ? ?

That kid really knows how to scheme.

He didn't respond to what I had just said, and even mentioned the red plum blossoms. Yan Bugui understood perfectly well that this guy had his eye on my other pot of red plum blossoms.

However, Yan Bugui knew exactly what Ye Men was thinking:

A permanent position in a steel rolling mill is a golden job, more precious than anything else, and it's impossible to give it up just for a pot of red plum blossoms.

But he also knew Wang Anping's personality.

He's cunning and ruthless; if he sets his sights on you, he might cause trouble for your family in the future.

Thinking about what happened to the Jia family, Yan Bugui felt even more uneasy.

For a moment, he stood there, caught in a dilemma, his mind in turmoil.

"whispering sound!"

"Look how stingy you are."

"It's just a cheap potted plant!"

"Okay, I agree. You can move in here, and you'll still be in charge of managing it from now on."

"Think about it, before you had to run back and forth to take care of just two potted plants. Now that I'm here, it's much more convenient for you to take care of them, isn't it?"

"What a great thing!"

Yan Bugui glared at Wang Anping, feeling annoyed. After hesitating for a while, he turned around and went back to his own front door, carrying the potted red plum blossoms over. He said irritably:

"I'm scared of you."

"I've brought you the flowers, so don't you dare try anything else!"

Looking at the two pots of red plum blossoms placed on either side of the door, Wang Anping was satisfied.

He said with a chuckle:

"Thank you so much, Teacher Yan!"

"You're so kind, I feel bad about taking advantage of you anymore."

"Forget about the job at the steel rolling mill. The fact that the factory is keeping my position is entirely thanks to my uncle's martyrdom. What would it look like if they just handed it over to someone else?"

"That position was reserved for my wife."

Yan Bugui paused, really wanting to move the flowers back immediately.

But when faced with Wang Anping's wicked grin, he ultimately decided against it—he couldn't afford to mess with this kid.

Seeing his expression, Wang Anping smiled and offered a suggestion:

"We'll talk about work later; Jiecheng is still too young!"

"But Auntie is pregnant now and needs to eat more nutritious food. Why don't you go ask He Daqing for a chicken leg and bring it back for her?"

Yan Bugui looked astonished:

"How is that impossible?"

Wang Anping looked completely matter-of-fact.

"I'm weak and need to take supplements, but Lao He doesn't need any? Here's what I'll do: I'll teach you a method, and you can just follow my instructions."

……

Intermediate People's Court.

In the middle courtyard, Sha Zhu was busy preparing dinner at the stove.

He Daqing and He Yushui sat at the table, on which were two open oil paper packages, one containing a whole roasted chicken and the other containing a bag of peanuts.

He Yushui was gnawing on a big chicken leg, her mouth dripping with oil, while He Daqing was sipping peanuts and drinking a little wine.

Looking at Shazhu and Yushui, He Daqing couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.

Now Sha Zhu has become an apprentice at a steel rolling mill. Although the salary is not much, it is enough to support him and Yu Shui. Once things settle down with Widow Bai, he can send some money home from time to time.

He wouldn't want to leave if he had no other choice.

Sha Zhu may be a bit slow-witted, but he's not too much of a worry. What he's most concerned about is the rain.

But the thought of the White Widow's alluring appearance dispelled any guilt he felt, and he sighed inwardly:

"What a pity!"

Widowhood is such a wonderful thing.

"I'm still young; I can't let my happiness for the rest of my life be ruined for the sake of my child!"

Just as he was trying to comfort himself, the door creaked open, and a gust of cold wind rushed in. Yan Bugui hunched his shoulders and walked in.

"Hey, Lao He, having a drink!"

Yan Bugui, with his sharp eyes, spotted the roast chicken on the table and immediately put on a smile:

"This dinner looks good! There's even roast chicken; it smells delicious!"

He Daqing glanced at him, his tone indifferent:

"Old Yan, what's up?"

They all lived in the same courtyard; how could he not know Yan Bugui's temperament?

They love to take advantage of others; they've come running over here like this, probably to freeload.

Therefore, I didn't even offer him a drink—if I had just been polite, the old guy would have taken advantage of it.

Fortunately, even though he takes advantage of others, he knows his limits and always finds an excuse. I'm curious to see what he'll say this time.

Yan Bugui's eyes darted around, a hint of guilt in his expression:

"It's nothing, I was just taking a stroll around the yard. I wanted to ask how Yushui's studies are going, if he's having any difficulties, and if he needs any tutoring."

Seeing his awkward expression, He Daqing couldn't help but laugh and waved his hand:

"No need, Yu Shui is a smart girl, and her grades are not bad."

Yan Bugui was rebuffed and got up to leave sheepishly.

Remembering Wang Anping's words, he paused again, and before leaving, deliberately lowered his voice and mysteriously uttered:

"Old He, Qianmen Street..."

"Huh?" He Daqing's heart skipped a beat, and he panicked instantly. He quickly stopped him, "Old Yan, what do you mean by that? What happened on Qianmen Street?"

Yan Bugui: How would I know what happened!

Wang Anping only taught him those four words, and that was the end of it!

But at this moment, how could he dare to tell the truth? Seeing He Daqing's flustered appearance, he felt more confident and clapped his hands, pretending to be relaxed:

"It's nothing, I was just kidding. You keep drinking, I'm going back now."

At this point, He Daqing had no interest in drinking; his mind was in complete turmoil.

This afternoon, he and Widow Bai strolled around Qianmen Street for half a day and even went to get clothes made. Yan Bugui must have seen them!

He kept his plan to run away with the White Widow a secret, and Yan Bugui probably didn't know.

But we need to keep him calm and prevent him from gossiping.

Thinking of this, He Daqing immediately stood up, poured the peanuts back into the bowl, tore off the brown paper wrapping the peanuts, pinched off half a roast chicken, wrapped it up, and stuffed it into Yan Bugui's hand, a warm smile spreading across his face:

"Old Yan, your wife is about to give birth, right? You should pay more attention to your nutrition."

"Take this half chicken back and give it to Ruihua to help her recover."

"They all live in the same courtyard."

"If you need any help in the future, just let me know."

Yan Bugui was stunned when he suddenly found half a roast chicken in his hand.

The silly pillar next to him was so anxious that he stomped his feet and shouted:

"Dad, why did you give the chicken to Teacher Yan?"

"I haven't eaten yet."

He knew perfectly well that if there was a whole chicken, his father and sister would definitely grab the drumsticks first, and he would only pick up the parts with less meat to gnaw on; if there was only half a chicken left, he probably wouldn't even be able to suck the bones.

"What do you know!"

He Daqing scolded him impatiently:

"Your Aunt Yang is pregnant and needs to supplement her nutrition. We're all neighbors in the compound; it's only right that we help each other out when someone is in trouble, isn't it?"