Siheyuan: Traveling through three years to gain the power of a palm

Let alone now, even decades from now, treating someone to a meal like this would be incredibly luxurious. Some people might never get to eat it in their entire lives, or even have never heard of it. Even Jiang Fan wouldn't have dared to eat like this in his previous life.

And Lou Zhenhua was only treating one person to a meal, so why did he prepare so many dishes? Could they even finish it? Isn't this extravagance and waste? In this year of great disaster, this behavior is truly excessive.

And what Jiang Fan said at the end: his family are all workers. Why emphasize this point? Or is it to remind him that now is not more than ten years ago. Capitalists cannot rule, workers are the king!

Lou Zhenhua only told Luo Hu this much. There were other things he understood more deeply, but he didn't say them. It wasn't that he didn't trust Luo Hu, but that was all he could say.

If it were just Lou Zhenhua and Jiang Fan today, they could have communicated directly, without resorting to such cryptic talk. But Luo Hu and Xu Damao were also present. Lou Zhenhua trusted Luo Hu, but Jiang Fan didn't, not to mention that neither of them had much faith in Xu Damao either. It was always better to be cautious in such matters.

Lou Zhenhua felt that Jiang Fan might be a noble person of the Lou family. Looking out the window, Lou Zhenhua's eyes were a little blurry. "Leave? Should I leave? But this is my home."

Jiang Fan returned to the office, feeling a bit full. Luckily, he was in good health and had good digestion.

"Hey, what's wrong with Jiang Fan? Why is he so full? Is the lunch so delicious?" Ye Yu joked while looking at Jiang Fan's stomach.

"That's right, Chef Fan is a level three chef, and the food he cooks is indeed delicious."

Ding Lei nodded. "Indeed, since Master Fan came, the food in our cafeteria has become much better. Every day when we go to the cafeteria where Master Fan is, we have to queue up for a long time to get food."

After a few words, Ye Yu suddenly asked Jiang Fan, "Jiang Fan, you are nineteen this year, right?"

"Ah, yes, Nineteen, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just that I have a relative who has a child who just turned eighteen this year. She asked me to find her a date. I thought your ages might be right, so would you like to meet her?"

Jiang Fan sat up suddenly, his eyes full of resistance. Here it comes, the scene where colleagues introduce blind dates to each other.

A young man came to the technical department and was directly hired as a full-time employee. He was good-looking and his family conditions were not to be underestimated. With a little inquiry, one could find out what the Jiang family was like.

Jiang Fan had long been targeted by people with daughters in the factory, and Jiang Daniu had rejected countless people who wanted to introduce Jiang Fan to a partner.

When others asked him, he said he didn't know. When someone wanted to introduce him to a date, he said it depended on his son's opinion and he had no say. Others said it was the parents' orders and the matchmaker's words, but Jiang Daniu said it was free love and the leaders encouraged it.

In short, he didn't care about Jiang Fan's marriage, giving people the feeling that Jiang Fan was not his biological son. Because at that time, there were few parents who did not interfere in their children's marriages, and Jiang Daniu's behavior could be said to be completely unconventional.

Jiang Daniu was indeed not in a hurry. Shen Yue had analyzed the situation with him. They now had a son and a daughter, as well as a lovely grandson. They lived a happy life. Whether Jiang Fan found a partner or not was not a big deal for him.

Jiang Fan, in particular, was a man of his own ideas. He had already said long ago that he didn't want to go on blind dates, and that it all depended on fate. Jiang Daniu and the others respected Jiang Fan's wishes and let him go. After all, they had a grandson, so whether the second son got married or not didn't matter to them.

Before Jiang Fan could say anything, Ding Lei spoke first, "Hey, Sister Yu, you've even taken on the job of matchmaker. When new people joined our department before, they all had no partners. Why haven't I seen you introduce anyone to them?"

There have been people coming to the technical department in recent years, but they have all been transferred away.

"Stop talking nonsense. How old were they then? How old was my relative? You're simply a beast to think like that. Besides, are they as well off as Jiang Fan?"

"Jiang Fan is only nineteen, not even twenty yet, so he's not of legal marriage age."

"Sister Yu, what Brother Lei said is true. I'm still young and don't have any thoughts in this regard for now. Besides, I don't really like blind dates. When it comes to relationships, I just let fate take its course."

Jiang Fan quickly agreed and gave Ding Lei a look of gratitude.

Ye Yu didn't give up and continued to talk about the girl's situation. "Listen to me, that girl is really good. She graduated from high school. Although she hasn't been assigned a job yet, she will be soon. Especially she is good-looking. She is 1.7 meters tall and has a good figure. She weighs 110 kilograms and looks like she can give birth to a son."

Chapter 139: Xu Family Banquet

Jiang Fan repeatedly rejected Ye Yu's suggestion of a blind date, saying frankly that he had no such idea at the moment. Ding Lei also chimed in, which finally dissuaded Ye Yu from the idea.

Even so, Ye Yu looked regretful, as if Jiang Fan had missed the fairy.

"Brother Lei, thank you."

"You're welcome." Ding Lei took the cigarette from Jiang Fan, lit it, and exhaled a puff of smoke. "Marriage is a big deal. You have to consider it carefully."

Jiang Fan looked at Ding Lei, his eyes were full of stories, and it seemed that he was also a person who had suffered emotional setbacks.

……

Xu Damao took a leave and came to the cinema. He told Xu Wude what happened today. Xu Wude was able to analyze it a little, but he didn't think much about it. Some things are enough to know a little.

"Da Mao, go home and get some money and tickets, let's go shopping."

Xu Wude was also very excited. His good-for-nothing son was about to get married. When he gave birth to a son for the Xu family, his mission in life would be complete. Even in the afterlife, he would be able to give an account to his ancestors. As for whether he would ever see a great-grandson, Xu Wude didn't dare to think about it.

Xu Damao, carrying his bag, was a little impatient. "Dad, I'm ready. What should we buy?"

"Well... let's follow the highest standards. Although the Lou family is wealthy and powerful and may not look down on our small fortune, we must be sincere. As for the banquet, we'll see what the Lou family wants. Don't be too ostentatious these days, but find a time and let's treat the Jiang family to a meal."

"Okay, Dad. If it weren't for Jiang Fan, I really wouldn't have had the chance to marry Lou Xiao'e. I have to thank him very much."

"Indeed, we should thank them."

Xu Wude and his son felt very lucky. Xu Wude had originally thought of letting Xu Damao get in touch with Jiang Fan simply because he saw that Jiang Fan had a promising future. This way, if he needed help in the future, he wouldn't be at a loss.

But he hadn't expected the benefits to come so quickly. First, he had reminded Xu Damao to take care of his health, allowing him to get timely medical treatment to avoid becoming extinct, and now he had helped Xu Damao find a wife. If it weren't for the huge age difference and the inappropriate generational relationship, Xu Wude really wanted Xu Damao to kowtow to Jiang Fan and acknowledge him as his godfather.

The two went to the department store and bought candy, melon seeds, peanuts and other things separately.

When Lou Zhenhua returned home, he called Tan Yali and Lou Xiao'e into his room. "Xiao'e, get ready and get your marriage certificate with Xu Damao in a few days."

"Master, why are you marrying Xiao'e off in the next few days? Did something happen?"

When Tan Yali heard what Lou Zhenhua said, she was shocked. She was not stupid. Lou Zhenhua had so many women at the time, but she was the only one who could stay with Lou Zhenhua. How could she be a stupid person?

Tan Yali also knew the current situation of the Lou family. Although it was not as bad as a candle in the rain, it was not much better. Otherwise, Xu Damao would not be worthy of Lou Xiao'e.

"Nothing happened. It's just that we should do this sooner rather than later. If we delay, something unexpected might happen. I asked you to come here to tell you so that Xiao'e can be mentally prepared. Xu Damao and the others will come to discuss this matter tomorrow. You can consider giving Xiao'e some more dowry. We still have some money and other things at home. We can buy her a new bicycle and give it to her as a dowry."

Lou Zhenhua arranged everything calmly. According to the information he analyzed, only letting his daughter marry Xu Damao to neutralize the situation would be effective, but not much.

The best approach is actually to fully integrate into the working group, but I don’t know if it’s too late to do this now?

Lou Zhenhua could understand what the words "It's time to go" meant, but he felt that it had not come to that point yet. What if there was still room for turnaround?

"Xiao E, I'm afraid your wedding won't be a grand affair. Everything will be kept simple. We can't even have a banquet for you. Don't blame Dad for this."

A trace of surprise flashed in Tan Yali's eyes, "Master, why can't we even have a banquet?"

She only has this one daughter, and she has always wanted to give her the best since she was a child. But now, not only can she only find someone to show movies to, she can't even set up a table for a banquet. How can she bear this?

Lou Xiao'e was also feeling a little disappointed. What girl doesn't want to marry off in style? She did, too, but she also knew her father had his reasons. So she nodded, "Dad, I get it. Let's not have a wedding banquet. It's better for our family to keep a low profile."

Lou Zhenhua felt somewhat relieved that his daughter was sensible. He explained, "Things are tough right now. There are already refugees outside, and many people are still hungry. A wedding banquet would be too conspicuous. Besides, the higher-ups don't want extravagant celebrations these days. We need to keep things simple. We can't afford to be in the spotlight anymore."

There is no way around it. Now, let alone the capitalists, even ordinary families don't dare to hold wedding banquets. By next year or the year after, many people won't dare to get married.

Tan Yali said nothing more after hearing this. She knew the difference clearly. At this moment, she should not go against Lou Zhenhua's wishes. The important thing to do is to increase Lou Xiaoe's dowry.

……

In the evening, Jiang Fan was invited to Xu Damao's house for dinner again, which made Liu Haizhong's teeth itch with anger. As the eldest uncle in the courtyard, he had never been invited to dinner or drinks by others.

Liu Haizhong, enraged, pulled out his belt and continued beating the child. Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu couldn't understand why they were beaten again.

When Jiang Fan entered the Xu family's house, Xu Wude pulled him to the main seat and asked him to sit down. He quickly said, "Uncle Xu, this is inappropriate. How can I sit here?"

No matter how modern Jiang Fan's soul is, he knows that he is a guest, and it is not normal for a guest to sit in the host seat.

"It's okay, just sit here. We all remember what you did to our family. It's reasonable for you to sit here."

Xu Wude and Xu Damao forcefully pushed Jiang Fan into his seat, and Jiang Fan sat down, saying, "How is this appropriate? This doesn't make sense."

Xu Wude sat down and picked up the wine glass. "Nephew, uncle won't say anything else. Let me drink a glass first to show my respect."

Xu Wude downed his drink in one gulp, followed by Jiang Fan and Xu Damao. The three of them were all acquaintances, and the atmosphere quickly became lively.

Xu Wude invited Jiang Fan to dinner, not for anything else, but to ask Jiang Fan to take good care of Xu Damao in the future. He saw clearly that there were few good people in this courtyard, and Xu Damao was too young to fight them.

After Xu Damao gets married, they will move out of the courtyard house, and the house here will be transferred to Xu Damao. Xu Wood Cinema was also allocated a house some time ago, but he has never lived there.

Of course, given the housing shortage, Xu Wood was able to get a house because of his means and connections.

Chapter 140 Jiang Fan's Thoughts

At the dinner table, a drunk Xu Damao insisted on dragging Jiang Fan and his father to become sworn brothers. Xu Damao's face flushed, his eyes blurry, and he held Jiang Fan and Xu Wude in both hands.

"Brother, brothers, let us worship heaven and earth today! We don't ask to be born on the same day, month and year, but we ask to die on the same day, month and year."

Xu Wude's face was filled with gloom. He slapped Xu Damao on the back of the head and knocked him to the ground. Xu Damao struggled twice, but did not stand up. He lay on the ground and fell asleep.

Jiang Fan carried Xu Damao to the bed, and Xu's mother covered him with the quilt and tucked in the corners.

Snore. Xu Damao's snoring sound came from the bed.

"Jiang Fan, I'm sorry to have made you laugh. Damao is just drinking horse urine and this is what he does. You have to bear with him from now on."

Xu Wude said to Jiang Fan apologetically, he knew very well that the young man in front of him was very capable and intelligent. When dealing with such a person, one must either treat him sincerely or exchange benefits for benefits.

But the Xu family didn't have any interests that Jiang Fan would value, so he could only treat them with sincerity. So, for the past two years, Xu Wude and his son had been trying to curry favor with Jiang Fan's family, giving them gifts like mountain produce and movie tickets. While these weren't very valuable, the thought was there, and the sentiment was profound.

Especially in the courtyard, the neighbors' contrast further highlights the good of the Xu family. There is no harm without comparison. Others are thinking about how to take advantage of the Jiang family, but only the Xu family thinks about sending something to them.

Jiang Fan shook his head slightly and said, "Uncle Xu, you're too polite. What's the relationship between me and Brother Damao? I've seen everything that Brother Damao has done over the past two years, and I remember it."

"As long as Damao doesn't do anything illegal or harmful, I will definitely stand on his side."

"No, Damao doesn't have the courage. The most he can do is to talk to the girl privately."

Xu Wude did not avoid Jiang Fan and said there was no need to avoid such things as both of them were grown men.

Xu Wude dug into his pocket and pulled out a few movie tickets. "Take these. If you have nothing else to do, take your family to my place to watch a movie. These are all I have to offer you."

"You're so polite, Uncle Xu." Jiang Fan didn't refuse and skillfully took the ticket and put it in his pocket. After Xu Wude went to work at the cinema, he would occasionally bring back some tickets. This was one of the employee benefits.

The Xu family only had a few people, and they couldn't use up all the tickets. So Xu Damao and Xu Xin used them on the Jiang family for various reasons. It was mainly Xu Xin and Jiang Yu who went to the movies, but sometimes other people would go too.

Of course, there were many people in the yard who wanted to ask Xu Wood for tickets, but most of them were rejected by him. Xu Wood was the model of the cinema, how could he do such a thing!

Therefore, Jiang Fan was more willing to contact the Xu family, because the Xu family father and son clearly distinguished things. They would only make friends based on whether there was any profit to be made. If there was profit, they would join; if there was no profit, they would get out of the way! When the investment cost was higher than the return, they would give up.

Unlike other people in the courtyard, Yi Zhonghai likes moral kidnapping, Liu Haizhong always feels superior to his neighbors because of his status as the manager, not to mention Yan Bugui, who is very calculating and only thinks about taking advantage, Sha Zhu is very stupid and it is his due, Jia Zhangshi is a rogue, Qin Huairu is living a happy life now and has not evolved into a white lotus, a washing machine.

The other neighbors were just ordinary people, the kind who just watched the fun. Jia Dongxu was the only one in the compound with decent character and abilities, but he had the bad luck of having such a mother. Things were better now, though; Jia Zhangshi didn't make much noise in the compound anymore and stayed quietly at home. I just didn't know if he would die in a work-related accident, as his fate would have it.

In comparison, Xu Wude and his son seemed much more sincere. When they made friends with Jiang Fan, they almost said openly, "I think you are a talent and will have a great future. I want to invest in you now. When you become successful in the future, don't forget us."

So fucking sincere!

……

On the bed, Jiang Fan wrapped himself tightly in the quilt. Although he was not afraid of the cold winter wind with his current body, a tight quilt was still the most comfortable thing to do in such a cold day.

"Xu Damao's matter is over. No matter what, I don't have to worry about the Lou family's affairs for at least five years. Now it's time to think about my own affairs."

Jiang Fan's family all have city hukou and jobs, so they don't have to worry about anything.

My second uncle's family now has urban household registration, including Uncle Jiang and Jiang Dalei, while my second aunt and Jiang Yang and Jiang Yue all have rural household registration.

Jiang Yang and Jiang Yue were both teenage boys. They could eat a lot now, so it wasn't a big deal on normal days. But in the current situation, the food rations for those with urban household registration were not enough, let alone those with rural household registration.

The reason why people were brought to the city was because the situation in the countryside had become worse in recent years. Although the situation in the old city was not good, there would not be many people starving to death.

If you are in the countryside, even if you prepare food in advance, you may not be able to overcome the difficulties. Famine is terrible, but what is even more terrible than famine is the people suffering from it.

This was also what Jiang Fan was worried about. He had food, so he didn't have to worry about his family going hungry. He could also say that the food came from the pigeon market, the black market, which made sense, as everyone did the same.

The question is, how do you cook in the yard? Cooking definitely has a flavor. The taste of porridge is definitely different from the taste of steamed buns. Others can't even afford to eat noodles, but you can eat buns and meat and still feel full. That's incredibly exciting.

Human nature cannot stand the test, let alone in the 95 courtyard house, even in other courtyard houses, or even... the compound, if you dare to do this in the next two years, there will be problems.

"Headache, headache." Jiang Fan reached out and knocked his head, then quickly tucked himself back into bed. "Why is it that other time travelers can fix everything when they come to the courtyard, but I can't? What's wrong with me?"

When he read novels, others, even without a system, were still able to exude a kingly and domineering aura, and when they encountered problems, there would be noble people to help them. Punch Yi Zhonghai, kick Liu Haizhong, pinch He Yuzhu, and waist Qin Huairu!

At the factory, you either repaired a machine to slap the experts sent by the Ministry of Industry in the face, or caught an enemy agent sabotaging the factory. At the black market, you could meet the mastermind behind the scenes and make a killing, or you could run into an enemy agent and have their operation wiped out.

Only Jiang Fan was either fighting birds or on his way to a bird fight, and he hardly ever went out of the courtyard.

"Could it be that I'm too lazy? I don't go out on weekends, so I can't meet her?" Jiang Fan was thinking about whether he should go out for a walk. As soon as this thought came up, a cold wind blew over, and he gave up the idea.

If you think about it carefully, your life now is actually quite happy. You work from nine to five every day, an eight-hour workday, get paid on time, and still have time to study and go fishing.

This is much better than being a beast of burden in a few decades!

Jiang Fan suddenly realized that he was already living the life he had pursued in his previous life.

Chapter 141 My Good Son