Siheyuan: Happy Life of Jia Zhang Family

When they were almost at Lou's house, Zhang Dabao stopped communicating with Lou Xiao'e and started talking to Xu Damao, "Brother Damao, we have two wild boars. Xiao'e shot one, so let's give it to her; the other one we'll split equally. In addition to the one shot by Xiao'e, we have four pheasants, so two is just right for each of us." Zhang Dabao and Xu Damao discussed the distribution of the prey.

"Da Biao, I didn't contribute much, so let's not split it," said Xu Damao.

"Brother Damao, the things we hunt together in the mountains should be divided equally. This is the rule. Xiao'e is a girl, and her father is Mr. Lou. It was he who founded the steel rolling mill, which led to our current unit. It is reasonable that Xiao'e should get a little more. If you have no objection, let me do it," said Zhang Dabao.

"I gave too much," Xu Damao said, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Let's go to my courtyard in Chunfeng Hutong tomorrow. I'll boil some offal and we'll have a drink together. You just need to contribute your Moutai," said Zhang Dabao.

"I'll go too. I have good wine at home," said Lou Xiao'e.

"Okay, I never have too much good wine. Just ask Brother Damao to bring you here in the evening. We go to No. 10 Chunfeng Hutong," Zhang Dabao said with a smile.

When they arrived at Lou's house, Zhang Dabao's Xu Damao took Lou Xiao'e's prey out of the car. Lou Xiao'e ran back home excitedly and called out her parents.

"Mr. Lou, hello, auntie." Zhang Dabao saw the two of them coming out and walked up to greet them.

"Chief Zhang, please come to my house and visit us when you have time." Lou Weihua walked up to Zhang Dabao and shook hands politely.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Zhang Dabao and Xu Damao said goodbye and went home.

Lou Weihua then asked his daughter, "Did you really kill a wild boar?"

"Of course, this is the end I hit. Look at the wound, this is where I shot it." Lou Xiao'e was very happy.

"That's great. You even shot pheasants and rabbits?" Lou Weihua was also happy for his daughter.

"I didn't shoot the pheasants and rabbits. They were too small and I missed them. Zhang Dabao shot them and gave them to me. He said that when going hunting in the mountains, everything you kill should be divided equally. Xu Damao didn't shoot anything, but Zhang Dabao still gave him two pheasants and half a wild boar," said Lou Xiao'e dissatisfiedly.

"This is the rule. It should be divided equally among the three of you. Since you are a woman, you should be taken care of," said Lou Weihua.

"Not only because I am a woman, but also because you founded the steel rolling mill. Tomorrow they are going to eat offal and drink together. I want to go too and bring them two bottles of good wine," said Lou Xiao'e.

"Okay. These days, it's hard to even buy meat. Now, thanks to Xiao'e, there's a whole pig. It's done. I'll ask the chef to prepare it. It's hot now. It would be a shame if the meat went bad," said Lou Weihua with great relief.

Zhang Dabao and Xu Damao did not return to Yard No. 95, but came to Chunfeng Hutong. They poured hot water on the wild boar, removed the hair, processed it, and washed the offal. After dividing the meat, they returned to Yard No. 95.

After finishing all this, it was already past nine o'clock in the evening.

"Da Mao, what's going on?" Xu Damao was carrying a slab of pork and had two pheasants hanging around his waist, which shocked Xu Fugui and Xu's mother.

"I hunted them when I went up the mountain. Actually, I didn't catch any. This was given to me by Dabiao. Among the three of us, Xiao'e shot one and Dabiao shot one. I didn't want it at first, but Dabiao said that people who went up the mountain should share the prey equally, and I had to accept it," Xu Damao said proudly.

"What can we say about Da Biao? He is so righteous. These pieces of meat weigh almost 70 to 80 kilograms, and you can't even buy them for three yuan a kilogram on the black market. He just gave away something worth more than 200 yuan," said Xu's mother with emotion.

"It is a rule that those who go up the mountain share the prey equally," said Xu Fugui.

"What can you do if I don't give it to you?" Xu's mother looked at Xu Fugui with dissatisfaction.

"You weren't hit at all, so you have nothing to say if we don't share it. Let's make it into bacon, otherwise it may not be preserved." Xu Fugui quickly changed the subject.

Mother Xu was busy preparing the meat.

"Dad, Dabiao is going to invite Xiao'e and me to have a drink in his courtyard tomorrow. I have an idea." Xu Damao saw his mother start to process the meat and called Xu Fugui over.

"What do you think?" Xu Fugui asked his son.

"Dad, my illness can't be cured. The medicine I've been taking these days has no effect. Now my beard is starting to fall out. Dad, I don't have any brothers. You fled here to escape famine. We don't have any relatives, and it's impossible to adopt a close relative. If I want to keep my family from being extinct, there is only one way," Xu Damao said to his father.

"You think..." Xu Fugui vaguely guessed his son's thoughts.

"Yes, I want to borrow seed, that is, Zhang Dabao's seed. He is good-looking, tall, and knowledgeable. He is also my only good friend. He served in the army and is tight-lipped," said Xu Damao.

"Is Xiao'e willing?" Xu Fugui asked Xu Damao.

"Dad, can I look as good as Zhang Dabao?" Xu Damao asked back.

"You are worse than Zhang Dabao," said Xu Fugui.

"I'm not as good-looking as Zhang Dabao, I'm not as strong as Zhang Dabao, I'm not as knowledgeable as Zhang Dabao, and I don't have any feelings for Lou Xiaoe. Why would she like me? My background is also not as good as Zhang Dabao's." Xu Damao pointed out the crux of the problem.

"What's the rain, Zhang Dabao?" Xu Fugui said.

"So this matter became possible. Everyone knows about Zhang Dabao and He Yushui now. Zhang Dabao took He Yushui to see Director Wang, and the matter is basically settled. Zhang Dabao and Lou Xiao'e had a great talk this afternoon. I didn't understand a word they said, and I know there wasn't much I could understand. Xiao'e looks at Zhang Dabao differently from me, but she can't marry Zhang Dabao. As soon as Zhang Dabao said he would treat me to dinner tomorrow night, she wanted to go. She has fallen in love with Zhang Dabao. I'll do some work tomorrow night to make it a done deal for them, and then I'll beg and plead, and things will be almost done," Xu Damao laughed.

"What do you want?" Xu Fugui asked Xu Damao.

"I want the child they give birth to have the surname Xu and call me dad. This is my only request," said Xu Damao.

"Will they agree?" Xu Fugui asked again.

"What did Zhang Dabao lose? He got a beautiful woman for free; Lou Xiao'e found the man she loves. They should all be happy. What's wrong with the child calling me dad? I'm still raising them. Don't I just want a reputation? Don't I just want the Xu family to be passed down?" Xu Damao's laughter turned into tears as he spoke.

"Da Mao, I'm sorry to have wronged you," said Xu Fugui. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that Xu Damao's idea was the best. For the sake of the Xu family, he had no choice but to let Xu Damao down.

"Dad, for the sake of inheritance, I have no choice but to do it," Xu Damao said to his father.

"Da Mao, I have some medicine here. You can put it in the wine. It's not poison, but aphrodisiac. After they drink it, you go out and close the door. Wait until dawn, then you can apologize." Xu Fugui perfected Xu Damao's plan.

"Okay, let's do it," Xu Damao nodded in agreement.

Then the father and son discussed the specific details further. The next morning, Xu Damao asked for a day off from his unit and returned to No. 95 Courtyard.