Siheyuan: Happy Life of Jia Zhang Family

"Captain Jia is off work?" Liu Chuncao from Hongxing Street met Jia Dongxu, the son of her former nemesis and current object of envy Zhang Cuihua, on the street.

"Aunt Liu, don't call me captain, call me Dongxu. You and my mother have been good sisters for many years. You call me Captain Jia, isn't that a slap in my face?" When Jia Dongxu saw that it was Liu Chuncao, he got off his bicycle and came over to say hello.

"That won't work. You are a state cadre. It would be inappropriate not to address you by your title." Liu Chuncao sighed when he saw that the worst worker in the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill and the laughing stock of the entire Red Star Street had become a cadre.

"Don't laugh at me. What kind of cadre am I? Aunt Liu's section-level cadres don't count. Only those above the deputy section level are real state cadres. What about Chang Kuan?" Jia Dongxu explained and thought of his former brother in distress, Chang Kuan.

"He hasn't come back yet, but he will be back soon," said Liu Chuncao.

"Please tell Chang Kuan to visit me when he's free. We have known each other for many years. Wouldn't we feel unfamiliar with each other if we don't visit each other often? I'll go back first as I still have to cook for the children." After saying this, Jia Dongxu and Liu Chuncao got on their bicycles and left.

"Old Liu, was that Dongxu from the Jia family?" Zhao Chunyan came over.

"Isn't it? Dongxu is a cadre now, and he speaks very politely, as if he has become a different person. When will my two boys be like this?" Liu Chuncao said.

"The two boys in your family, like Dongxu, can only rely on themselves. Zhang Cuihua has a good younger brother. Don't you know what your brother is like?" Zhao Chunyan said.

"Yes, now Zhang Cuihua has become a real deputy section-level leader, and I heard that she can be promoted to section chief. She was the same as us before, how could there be such a big change in just over a year?" Liu Chuncao sighed.

"Old Liu, this is what life is all about. We can't do it in this generation, so let the children work hard. If one of them can do it, he can help other brothers and sisters," said Zhao Chunyan.

"That's a good point, but Xiaokuan's unit is at the deputy section level, the upper limit is too low, and he is a loader. What's the point of working hard?" Liu Chuncao asked.

"If you want to change jobs, Zhang Cuihua can help you. She is very powerful now and has a backer. Her brother is a high-ranking official. Director Wang is Zhang Dabao's aunt. Isn't Chang Kuan's unit under the jurisdiction of the street office?" Zhao Chunyan said.

"I'll find a chance to ask Zhang Cuihua for help." Liu Chuncao had an unyielding character, so she decided to bow to Zhang Cuihua for the sake of her child.

Jia Dongxu returned home, looked at the locust flowers in the house, and teased Xiaodang. The fatigue of the day was gone. He now liked his two daughters very much, and now he felt that the sticks were not fragrant at all.

"Seventh uncle is right. A daughter is a father's sweet cotton-padded jacket. Having a son preserves the family name, while having a daughter preserves the life." Jia Dongxu walked into the kitchen and started to get busy.

"Dad, what are we eating today?" Banggeng came back from school and ran to the kitchen to find something to eat. He didn't care whether it was cold or not. He just took a steamed bun and started eating it.

"You only know how to eat, and you don't know how to help your father with some work. Help me wash the cabbage after eating." Jia Dongxu became angry when he saw his son coming to the kitchen to eat without washing his hands or even putting down his schoolbag.

"How can I have the time? I have such a heavy workload now, and I also have to feed the geese," Banggeng said as he walked out of the kitchen.

"This naughty kid makes me so mad," said Jia Dongxu.

"Dad, I'm hungry." Xiaodang also ran to the kitchen.

"Xiaodang is hungry. Dad happened to have a piece of steamed bun left over from lunch today, so I put it in your arms. It's still warm." When Jia Dongxu heard that his daughter was hungry, he wiped his hands immediately and gave half of the steamed bun from his arms to Xiaodang.

"Dad, you eat too." Xiaodang took a bite of the steamed bun and put it into Jia Dongxu's mouth.

"You are such a good girl of your father." Jia Dongxu pretended to bite and kiss Xiaodang, and let her go and play with Qin Jingru.

"Dad, do you have any steamed buns? Why didn't you tell me earlier that you had steamed buns?" Banggeng returned to the kitchen.

"Get lost. It's just half a steamed bun. I saved it for her to eat at noon. Your sister is still young, and it's hard for her to digest it. How old are you? Do you have the nerve to argue with your sister about this?" Jia Dongxu directly confronted his son Jia Geng.

"It's just half a piece, so boring." Banggeng didn't care at all about Jia Dongxu's verbal insults and ran out again.

Zhang Cuihua came back with an unhappy look on her face.

"Grandma, are you angry? Did someone bully you? I'll go beat him up." Banggeng was a discerning man and he saw that something was wrong with Zhang Cuihua.

"Don't say that. Do you have lime powder and chili powder? It's good enough that your grandma doesn't bully others, but there are people who bully your grandma? Are you stupid?" Jia Dongxu heard the conversation between the mother and son and interrupted.

"I think you are the stupid one. Even the best guys know how to love their grandmothers, but you don't know how to love your mother." When Zhang Cuihua heard her son talking about grandson, she immediately became unhappy.

"Mom, is there really something wrong? It must not be someone bullying you, because no one can bully you in our area. Is it a work matter?" Jia Dongxu asked.

"Yes, can you solve it?" Zhang Cuihua said to her son unhappily.

"I'm not a woman, but there is someone who might be able to solve the problem," said Jia Dongxu.

"Who is it? Zhuzi?" Zhang Cuihua asked.

"What abilities does Zhuzi have? Is he better than me? I'm talking about Xu Damao. Now Damao reads books every day, and the books are very thick. My seventh uncle said that people who like to read have great wisdom," said Jia Dongxu.

"What you said makes sense. I'll go ask Damao." Of course, Zhang Cuihua also knew that Xu Damao loved reading, and he read every day, whenever he had time. Every book was very thick.

"Da Mao, don't you want to eat? Can you get full just by reading?" Zhang Cuihua came to Xu's house next door.

"Aunt Jia is here. It's still light now, so read for a while. It's not good for your eyes to read under the lamp when it gets dark." Xu Damao put down the book and poured Zhang Cuihua a glass of water.

"Da Mao, I want to ask you something. You said that life is so difficult now, and our Women's Federation must also play a role. Is there any way to increase the income of women at home?" Zhang Cuihua asked Xu Damao.

"Aunt Jia, this problem really stumps me. There are too many women and I can't handle it," said Xu Damao.

"Can I take care of the whole country? It's enough for the families of our factory employees, at least part of them will be solved," said Zhang Cuihua.

"Aunt Jia, there is a way, but it still depends on Da Biao. Do you remember where Liu Guangtian worked? It was a handkerchief factory. The last time Da Biao came back and we had dinner together, he said that many foreigners like our embroidery. You can find Da Biao and let the foreigners provide the cloth, money and patterns, and the women will process them. They can earn some living expenses," said Xu Damao.