Siheyuan: Survival Guide for Courtyard No. 95

Zhao Shanhe hugged Xu Damao's shoulders and replied in a low voice.

"Da Mao, you are really wronging me. This is the first time I've seen my girlfriend dressed like this. Who knew she would be so beautiful? We'll find a place to sit down in a while. I promise I won't steal your limelight. Today is your wedding, so go and accompany the bride."

At this time, Xu Damao could only believe Zhao Shanhe's lies, because Lou Xiao'e was naturally one level inferior to Chen Xueru in appearance and temperament.

Zhao Shanhe also knew that too much is as bad as too little, so he took Xueru and Hou Kui to find a corner to sit, and then waited for the meal to start.

The Xu family's wedding was hosted by Wang Dianmin, the head of the steel rolling mill's publicity department. It was said that he was a Errenzhuan singer in Northeast China before liberation. Zhao Shanhe didn't know whether it was true or not, but this man was full of witty remarks and his various jokes made the more than 100 people in the yard laugh.

The wedding in 59 was still relatively old-fashioned. Singing revolutionary songs was not yet popular. The ceremony was completed by just swearing an oath in front of the Chairman's portrait. Xu Wood also knew that most of the guests had not eaten at home that morning, so after the ceremony he directly asked the kitchen to serve the meal.

The chef of Hongbinlou is truly a skilled cook. Not to mention the vegetarian dishes, as there weren't as many varieties as in later times. The meat dishes include roast chicken, spicy rabbit meat, braised fish, and mu shu pork. Once these four dishes were served, the quality of the banquet was raised by two levels.

Xu Wude spent a lot of time and effort to make people in the yard quiet down. He specially put the deaf old lady and the Jia family at the same table. Yi Zhonghai and his wife also sat with the old lady. Together with a colleague of Xu Damao from the steel rolling mill, there were just enough seats for 10 at the table (Xiao Dang was only two months old and did not occupy a seat).

Old Yan and Old Liu each brought people from the front and back yards to occupy four tables, which also included the back room and the rear room. Zhao Shanhe and the other two were arranged by Xu Wude to sit at the table of the Propaganda Department. Of course, the section chief was definitely not there, as the leaders had to sit at the main table.

The people in the Propaganda Department were not familiar with Zhao Shanhe, but since they all worked in the administrative building, they would see each other every day. They were very envious of Chen Xueru beside him, especially those who were about the same age and asked directly.

"Brother Shanhe, I really envy you for having such a beautiful girlfriend. I'm already 25, and I've never even held a girl's hand."

Zhao Shanhe knew that the person who was speaking was Wu Zhonggui, an officer of the Propaganda Department, whose rank was higher than his, so he thought for a moment and said.

"Secretary Wu, logically speaking, you have better conditions than me, but my destiny arrived earlier. Let me put it this way. My girlfriend opened a silk shop near Daqianmen. Young women often patronize it. If there is a suitable one, I will ask her to help you match them up."

When Secretary Wu heard this, he was overjoyed and quickly picked up the wine glass and said.

"Brother, you are really nice. Come on, do one!"

This table is full of employees from the Propaganda Department. To put it bluntly, they basically all work in offices. As the Propaganda Department has more men than women, it is inevitable that Chen Xueru was chatting enthusiastically with these female employees. After a while,

Zhao Shanhe had nothing to talk about with these female employees, so he had to chat with the remaining two male employees.

"Director Wu, what has your Propaganda Department been busy with recently? I see that many places on the street have started preparing for the National Day in advance. So our factory doesn't have any activities this year?"

Secretary Wu took a sip of wine, picked up a peanut and chewed it for a few times before replying.

"How can that be possible? This year is the 10th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. There are many activities in the city. Our factory is also planning to let some employees with artistic abilities go to Ditan Park and Jiuda Artificial Lake (now Liuyin Park) to perform. How come you are interested?"

Zhao Shanhe shook his head like a rattle. He didn't even have time to hide from this matter, so how could he move forward?

"No, I can't sing or dance, so I'd better not make a fool of myself. Let those employees who have talents in these areas do it."

As they were chatting, Xu Damao and Lou Xiao'e came over with bottles of wine.

"Brothers, we two are here to toast everyone."

At this time, a toast is just a toast, but there is no fancy tricks like putting peanuts in the wine bottle or the couple biting apples. When it was Chen Xueru's turn, Lou Xiao'e recognized her at a glance and asked suspiciously.

"Boss Chen, do you live in this courtyard too?"

It's no wonder she became suspicious. It was simply that Chen Xueru's attire and temperament didn't match this courtyard at all.

Chen Xueru raised her finger and pointed at Zhao Shanhe and said.

"My boyfriend lives in this hospital. I came here with him. Congratulations, Miss Lou."

Lou Xiao'e looked at the handsome Zhao Shanhe, and then at the charming Chen Xueru, and could only say that these two were really a good match. Then she looked at Xu Damao beside her, and felt that her own family was not bad either.

At this time, Xu Damao still had his heart on Lou Xiao'e. Only after a few years when he saw that he could not rise with the help of the Lou family's power, and Lou Xiao'e had been married for several years without a child, would he slowly let himself go.

(Please don’t consider the timeline, dear readers)

After the young couple finished toasting and walked to the next table, everyone continued to eat and drink. After three rounds of wine and five dishes, they chatted and talked about the National Games.

Secretary Wu drank a little too much and his face turned red. He raised his glass while speaking.

"I heard that many foreign guests will attend the opening ceremony of the National Games in September. The Propaganda Department is a bit anxious. It has sent a document to each unit asking them to create some marches or anthems. Seeing that it will start in more than a month, this is just nonsense."

These words shocked the other employees at the same table. No one would say anything if they complained in private, but this was a wedding with more than a hundred people. If someone with ulterior motives reported it, it would be bad luck for Director Wu, and the other Propaganda Department employees at their table would have to suffer as well.

Another officer from the Propaganda Department, Zhang, hurried to help smooth things over.

"Brother Wu has drunk a little too much and started talking nonsense. Let's eat slowly. I'm going to take him back first."

After saying this, he picked up Officer Wu and walked away, talking about something as he walked.

Zhao Shanhe had good hearing and could vaguely hear something like, "This banquet is a loss, the fish hasn't been served yet..."

Secretary Wu's last words gave him some ideas. He didn't dare to write with lyrics, but if he only wrote the notes without lyrics, no one would blame me, right?

After traveling through the years, he knew that at that time, apart from the well-known songs such as "March of the Volunteers", "Socialism is Good" and "Singing the Motherland", there were no other songs suitable for athletes to enter or exit the stadium.

You can't play songs like "The Battle Song of the People's Volunteers" and "The Sun Rising on the Prairie" that don't fit the scene for the athletes, right?

This gave Zhao Shanhe an opportunity. The four marches that could be heard every week in kindergartens in later generations had not yet been created at that time.

And it is particularly relevant to the theme. Once the "Welcome March", "Athletes' March", "Unity March" and "Farewell March" are played, at least we can get him a few certificates in return, right?