Siheyuan: I am the seventh uncle of Banggen

"I work in the machine repair shop. I just took over the job. I'm a welder," said the woman.

"Really? What a coincidence! I work at the steel rolling mill, in the supply and marketing department. We are in the same unit." Zhang Dabao confirmed that the woman was Liang Ladi.

"What a coincidence! Are you going to Zhangjiakou?" When the woman heard that Zhang Dabao worked at a steel rolling mill, she felt much more familiar with him.

"Yes, I went to the reservoir and got some fish. I have a neighbor who also works in the machine repair factory. His name is Yan Jiefang. Do you know him?" Zhang Dabao asked.

"I know him. We entered the factory together and he also held the same position. I heard he spent a lot of money and he's also a welder." Liang Ladi was certain that this man was really from the steel rolling mill because they now had a mutual acquaintance.

"Brother, you go out to purchase every day. Do you know where to buy grain? I have money, but I have many children. I haven't been officially registered yet. My household registration and my children's household registration have not been transferred to the city, so there is no quota," the woman asked Zhang Dabao.

"Sister, to be honest, there is not much food on the black market, and it is very expensive. Coarse grains are only 40 or 50 cents, and rice and flour cannot be bought for two yuan because there is no food," said Zhang Dabao.

"What should I do? I originally wanted to go back to my parents' home to borrow some, but my parents' family now only eat one meal a day, and they mainly eat wild vegetables," the woman burst into tears.

"When I go to the black market, I'll ask you. Are you living in the machine repair factory now?" Zhang Dabao asked.

"We live in the factory's staff quarters. We have three children at home. Our youngest daughter is only ten months old. She eats porridge every day. I don't know if we can keep her up?" the woman said with a sigh.

"You can't eat porridge every day. I have some millet in my car. You can take it later. Don't make the child suffer." Zhang Dabao couldn't bear to see a woman cry, especially when she was crying for the survival of her child.

"Thank you so much." The woman heard what Zhang Dabao said and hurriedly said thank you.

"Thanks, no need. We all have to make a living. It's not easy for anyone. If you go ahead, will it be closer to the machine repair shop?" When they reached a fork in the road, Zhang Dabao asked the woman.

"Maybe, I haven't been there either." Hearing the woman's words, Zhang Dabao stopped the car, took out a map, looked at it, and set off again. At this time, Damao had fallen asleep in the woman's arms.

At noon, Zhang Dabao sent the woman and Damao to the gate of the machine repair factory's staff quarters, gave them all the snacks they had not finished, and took more than ten pounds of millet from the car.

"Thank you, brother. I don't have that much money. Let me kowtow to you." The woman was so moved that she burst into tears.

"That's so tiring. It's really unnecessary. Look how polite the child you raised is. I'm leaving now." Zhang Dabao supported the woman, touched Damao's head, took out a few pieces of candy from his pocket and stuffed them into Damao's hand, then got in the car, turned the car around and drove towards the city.

"Sister Liang, isn't that Zhang Dabao's car? Do you know him?" At this time, Yan Jiefang just arrived at the gate of the staff quarters and saw the tricycle going away.

"I don't know him. We met him on the road. He is a buyer and he brought us back from Changping," said Liang Ladi.

"What kind of purchasing agent is he? He is the section chief, the section chief of the second supply and marketing section of the steel rolling mill. The fish he pulled in his car were not bought, but caught by himself. This person might be..." Yan Jiefang said and continued to walk towards his dormitory.

He now shares a room with Yang Weimin. To be honest, he doesn't like Yang Weimin at all. He is like a nagging woman, complaining all day long. He blames Director Yang for not helping him, blames Liu Haizhong for harming him, blames Li Huaide for his mean behavior, blames Zhang Dabao for taking advantage of the factory; he blames Liu Feng for taking advantage of him by making him work in the foundry workshop, which is dirty and tiring.

Yan Jiefang didn't say a word. He was very satisfied with his current job status. He could eat enough every day, didn't have to be beaten by his parents, and didn't have to listen to their nagging. Although he had to give most of his salary to them, he still had a few dollars in his hands. If he was alone at home, he would not have a penny.

When I returned to the dormitory, Yang Weimin had not come back. He did not have time to come back because he was under tight schedule and had a high intensity of work. When he had some free time at noon, he would just find an open space to rest.

Salary will be paid tomorrow, so I should take some time to go back and bring the money back to my parents and buy some food for my younger brother and sister. But after thinking about it, I decided not to buy anything. After all, I don’t have much money, so I might as well save it. Yan Jiefang fell asleep while thinking about it.

He fell asleep. Liang Ladi really couldn't sleep when she got home. She knew that it was too difficult for her to raise four children in her current situation. She was about to die and needed help from someone else. However, there were many men, most of whom wanted to take advantage of her; those who wanted to live with her did not have the ability.

Zhang Dabiao is the section chief, he can catch fish, he is quite capable, but how can he do that? We must ask Yan Jiefang for clarification.

She gave a piece of the peach cake given by Zhang Dabao to her three sons and put the rest away. She cooked millet porridge for her daughter and fed her the porridge. Her daughter loved it very much and ate it with relish. She gave the remaining rice grains to her three sons. Seeing her sons eating happily, Liang Ladi felt a pang of sadness in her heart.

During the afternoon break, Liang Ladi talked to her fellow apprentice Yan Jiefang again, "Jiefang, is the Section Chief Zhang you mentioned this morning your neighbor?"

"Yes, he is in the backyard and my house is in the front yard. He has five rooms in our yard and a cross-yard where sweet potatoes are planted. He also has a separate yard outside," said Yan Jiefang.

"Is he so rich?" Liang Ladi was particularly surprised.

"He is so rich. During the Spring Festival, he went hunting in the mountains alone and killed 19 wild boars. He sold them to the factory for several thousand yuan. He also killed 12 sheep and 5 wolves. His family eats meat every day," Yan Jiecheng said enviously.

"Is he married? I have a cousin..." Liang Ladi said.

"Forget it. There are at least eighty people who want to arrange a marriage for him. He already has a girlfriend, who is from the same courtyard as us. Zhang Dabao arranged for his girlfriend to work as an accountant in the post office. The most opinionated people in our courtyard are the He siblings. They appear to be fools, but they are the most resourceful. He Yushui followed Zhang Dabao, and his brother Shazhu married Zhang Dabao's second sister. Tell me what's going on," said Yan Jiefang.

"Just because he's the section chief, doesn't he have to go to work?" Liang Weidi asked again.

"Who dares to control him? His cousin is the second-in-command of the factory, Deputy Director Li Huaide." Yan Jiefang looked at Liang Ladi with contempt.

"Get to work..." the leader started shouting, and everyone got busy again.

Chapter 240: Invite the Children to Dinner Again

Back at Yard 95, Jia Dongxu hadn't come back yet. It seemed that after becoming the team leader, the working hours were longer than before. Jia Dongxu was not there, but there were many more children, because now the children were on summer vacation, they didn't take naps, and I didn't know why, they were always so energetic.

"Banggeng, go to the backyard and get two small buckets." Zhang Dabao heard the sound of Banggeng and his friends chasing and playing back and forth outside the yard.

"Seventh uncle, are you back from fishing? Let me take a look first." Banggeng ran out first, followed by six or seven children in the yard. The driver went up to the carriage to take a look, and Xiaodang was also carried up by Zhang Dabao to take a look before coming down.

"Brother Dabiao, you are so awesome to catch such big fish. The fish my father caught are not as big as the tails of these fish?" Yan Jiedi said to Zhang Dabiao with admiration.

"My seventh uncle is a master, but my third uncle is not a master" Bang Geng gave the explanation.

"Go back and get the bucket, we'll put it in the water tank, otherwise it will die soon," Zhang Dabao said to Bang Geng.

"Okay" Bang Geng went to the backyard, and the other children also came to help, and all the fish were put into two water tanks.

Zhang Dabao really likes children. He loves talking and playing games with them. When he saw them helping him with sweat on their foreheads, he went to the backyard and opened a big watermelon for them.

"Jie Kuang, I have a task for you this afternoon. It's time to turn over the sweet potato seedlings across the yard. You should turn them over this afternoon and pull out the weeds in the field. I'll treat you to fish tonight. How about that?" Zhang Dabao said to the eldest child, Yan Jie Kuang.

"Brother Dabiao, no problem. I guarantee there won't be a single blade of grass in the field," Yan Jiekuang replied after swallowing the watermelon in his mouth.

"It's settled. I'm going to go and have a rest. We'll eat fish together in the evening. Some of you are very small and can't eat spicy food, so let's stew it." Zhang Dabao said to them and went back to the house.

"I'm not afraid of spicy food. The last time I had boiled fish, I ate three bowls by myself," said Banggeng.

"You're lying. Who had a stomachache in the middle of the night? You also have diarrhea," Jingshu said.

"That was last time. I'm sure I'll be fine this time," Bang Geng refused to accept.

"Then tell your uncle that you can eat spicy food, and the rest of us can't eat spicy food," Jingshu said again.

"This is not good. We are a team and cannot get any special treatment..." Banggeng and others talked as they walked to the cross-yard and started turning the rice seedlings.

In fact, there is not so much work to do. Last time, Jia Dongxu did not turn the soil for long. If the sweet potatoes are planted in the yard, they can be watered. When the sweet potato vines come into contact with water, they can easily take root in the ground. There is no harm in turning them.

I don’t know how long the children did it, but Zhang Dabao heard them talking at the door again, and one or two exclamations.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Dabao came out. He was very busy every afternoon because he had to make ice. If he didn't make ice, he wouldn't be able to rest at night.

"Seventh uncle, look at this fish. It can swim on its back, with its belly facing the sky for a while, and then dive headfirst. Other fish can't do that," Bang Geng said excitedly.

"We'll eat this one," Zhang Dabao fished the grass carp out of the water tank. It could still move occasionally, so it should be close to death, so he decided to give it a try.

The fish was beaten to death with a wooden stick, and then the processing and pickling began. Zhang Dabao's daughter started making ice, and the children also came to help. Zhang Dabao saw that he still had a lot of saltpeter, so he asked them to go home and get basins, make ice and put it in the room to cool it down. The children became more enthusiastic to help.

With the children's help in making ice, Zhang Dabao put oil in the wok and started stewing the fish, put in pancakes, wide vermicelli, pork belly, bean sprouts, and tofu, and started stewing.

Jia Dongxu came back and came to the ice-making area to help.

"Dongxu, that's their business. You can cook another fish. This one is for them. We haven't cooked ours yet." Zhang Dabao called his nephew over.

The children ate very well and started running around the yard after finishing their meal, while the adults chatted while eating.

"Brother Zhuzi, ask your cousin tomorrow to see when is the best time to invite the leaders to dinner. If they don't have time, invite him and Liu Lan to dinner. Bring her a gift when you invite Liu Lan," Zhang Dabao instructed He Yuzhu.

"Da Biao, what should I give to Liu Lan? Clothes?" He Yuzhu asked.

"You can't do it directly. What are you thinking, Zhuzi? Send clothes? Does she need clothes? Send food? Liu Lan has two daughters. One is in her teens and the other is seven or eight years old. They are just at the age when they can eat. Liu Lan's family has always lived poorly, and the children don't eat well either. It's good enough to have bacon and salted fish at home," said Zhang Cuihua.

"Sister, you're right. Give us some more noodles or something. If it's not enough, take some from the kitchen," said Zhang Dabao.

He Yuzhu nodded, finished his meal, cleaned up, and looked at the time. It was past eight o'clock. The adults went home to cool off, while the children continued to run in the yard.

"Da Biao, you are so capable. You can make ice with stones. You are so talented," said Yang Ruihua.

"He caught at least 150 kilograms of fish today. He is so powerful. I am impressed. I caught more than ten fish from five to ten in the morning, but the total amount was less than one kilogram. No one would buy me when I sold them," said Yan Bugui.

"This is what life is like for them. Two children can still get a good meal. I don't know when we can get a good meal again," Yang Ruihua said to Yan Bugui.

"Don't think about it. It's good enough if the two children are full. Doesn't it also save food for the family? We can each have one more bowl of porridge. Let's just forget it and save it." Yan Bugui originally wanted to be more generous, but after thinking about it, he decided to forget it.

It was nine o'clock when Yan Xikuang and Yan Jiedi came back. "It's so cool at home. Brother Dabiao asked us to make ice cream tomorrow. We'll bring back two basins of it so we can have a good sleep," Yan Jiedi said happily to her parents.

"Jie Di, are you eating fish today?" Yang Ruihua asked his daughter.

"Yes, but we put fat, vermicelli and other things in the pot, and there were pancakes stuck to the edge of the pot. When the pancakes were dipped in the soup, it was so delicious. I ate three bowls of dishes and three pancakes. My third brother ate more, he ate five pancakes." Yan Jiedi felt annoyed that she ate less.

"Is it so delicious?" Yang Ruihua swallowed unconsciously.

"It's true. How about I call Niu Xiaozheng over and you ask him? He never lies," Yan Jiedi said to her mother.

"No, I'm just asking." How could Yang Ruihua not believe it? He just wanted to try it himself.

"Jie Kuang, Jie Di, you are better than your eldest brother and second brother. You can have a good relationship with Zhang Dabao and others. They don't know this truth. Go to the backyard often in the future. Dabao likes to feed the children," Yan Bugui said to the children.

"You can't always take advantage of others. I only eat when I have work to do. I don't want to beg for food," Yan Jiedi said to her father.

Yan Jiedi was so angry that Yan Bugui didn't know what to say. He thought that this kid just didn't know what was good for him. What's wrong with begging for food? It's a skill to be able to get it.

Chapter 241 He Yuzhu entertains leaders

Today is Saturday, and Yan Jiefang has taken an afternoon off. He wants to go home and send his salary back. He hasn't been home for a long time and wants to go home and visit his family.

After lunch, Yan Jiefang changed into a slightly cleaner set of clothes. "Weimin, didn't you also take a leave? You want to go home too?" Yan Jiefang asked when he saw his roommate lying on the bed.

"My home is not in Beijing," Yang Weimin replied.

"Don't you have several brothers in the capital?" Yan Jiefang asked.

"My brother has no regard for the old times and is not nice to me at all. He has become a high-ranking official and enjoys delicious food and drinks every day. He never thought about the hardships his younger brother has to endure in the machine repair factory. Human hearts are unpredictable," said Yang Weimin with a sigh.

"Okay, I'm leaving." Yan Jiefang was not a talkative person, so asking Yang Weimin was just out of politeness.

After Yan Jiefang left, Yang Weimin rested for a while and left the dormitory. He also wanted to go to Beijing today, but not to find Yang Weihua.

He Yuzhu scheduled Saturday night for the dinner with the factory directors at No. 10 Chunfeng Hutong. He Yuzhu and Jia Dongxu took Zhang Dabao over after dinner in the afternoon. Zhang Dabao made ice cubes and placed them in the living room to cool down. Eating in the Beijing courtyard in July was hot in the house, but the mosquitoes in the yard were unbearable.

He Yuzhu and Jia Dongxu were busy killing fish, removing bones, chopping fish balls, frying fish pieces, frying carp...

At five o'clock in the afternoon, the temperature in the living room dropped, giving people a very cool feeling when they came in. Zhang Dabao also chilled beer and watermelon.

At six o'clock, Li Huaide, Yang Weihua, Liu Le, Wang Cheng and Xu Sinian arrived. Wang Cheng drove today and Xu Sinian also brought in a box of wine from the car.

"Uncle Yang, are you going to get drunk?" Zhang Dabao pointed at the wine and made a joke.

“If the food is good, eat more and drink less alcohol. If the food is bad, just get drunk,” Yang Weihua also joked.

"It smells good, Zhuzi, are you ready?" Yang Weihua went to the kitchen to take a look.