Xu Damao's Thirty-Six Stratagems in Siheyuan

"Xiao'e, there is something I want to discuss with you." After New Year's Day in 66, Lou Zhenhua took advantage of Xu Damao's time at work and went to Yandaixie Street to discuss something with Lou Xiao'e.

"Dad, what's the matter? Why are you so serious? What's the big deal?"

"Yes, that's right. I contacted your second and third brothers in Hong Kong at the end of last month, and everything has been arranged there. We should take advantage of the current stable situation and leave."

"Dad, what do you mean? Go, where are you going? Why? I'm not going."

"Xiao'e, be good and listen. Our family background is not good, and many eyes are watching us now. If we want to be free in the future, we must burn our boats. Besides, your second and third brothers have settled down there now. Only when we get there will our family have no worries. You have to go whether you want to or not. I'm discussing with you to hurry up and handle the follow-up matters with your son-in-law. We'll leave before the New Year."

Lou Xiao'e was at a loss as to what to do, and kept crying while hugging Xu Nian.

"Ezi, what are you doing? Why are you crying? What happened?" When Xu Damao brought Xu Jun home from school, he saw Lou Xiaoe with swollen eyes and still sobbing.

Lou Xiao'e put Xu Nian on the kang and hugged Xu Damao, "Damo, my dad told me to divorce you as soon as possible. My parents said they want to... leave Kyoto, wu..."

What is coming will eventually come, but Xu Damao didn't expect his father-in-law to be so resolute and so bold to come so early. "Ezi, don't worry, take care of the children first, I'll go to your house. Don't worry, everything will be fine."

Xu Damao left the house, got on his 28-inch bicycle, and went straight to the Lou family.

"Mom, where's Dad? He's not at home?" Xu Damao rushed to the Lou family villa, and only his mother-in-law, Lou Tan, was at home.

"Da, Damao, you know what? Your dad is not here. He has some things to arrange. He probably won't be back until very late. Why don't you go back first? Things are not as bad as you think."

"Okay, Mom, Xiao'e is crying at home and is very emotionally unstable. I'll go back first and come over in the evening. You can ask Dad to wait for me. I will definitely come over no matter how late it is. This matter needs to be arranged in a coordinated manner."

Lou Tan actually didn't know the details of the matter. She was a woman without much opinion.

"Oh, son-in-law, then you go back and look after Xiao'e first. When your father comes back, I'll tell him to wait for you in the evening."

Xu Damao didn't say much and went straight back to Yandaixie Street.

Xu's mother had come over to cook dinner. She was surprised that her daughter-in-law had swollen eyes from crying today, and thought she had had an argument with Xu Damao and his wife.

"Huohuo, take your brother to the side room to play. I have something to do with your mother."

Xu Jun was quite sensible. Although he didn't know what happened, he knew his mother kept crying, so it must be something important. He carried his schoolbag and took Xu Ning to the side room to play.

"Ezi, don't cry, what did your dad say to you? Talk to him nicely."

"Da Mao, my dad said that he contacted my second and third brothers in Hong Kong last month. My dad plans to take my mom and me to Hong Kong, so he asked me to talk to you about divorce. Then we have to leave before the New Year. Damao, I can't bear to leave you, and I don't want to go to Hong Kong." Woo... another burst of crying.

"Ezi, remember what I said to you before: If one day you want to leave, I will always be here waiting for you. Your father is right, he made such a heroic move in order to better protect you and your entire Lou family. Who is willing to leave their homeland, who is willing to abandon their family and career, who is willing to be displaced, because it is the general trend. You said before that your father married you to my Xu family, who has a good background, for his own sake. In fact, he also wanted to better protect you. He still loves you, otherwise he and your mother would just have been together, why should he care about you, a married daughter..."

Xu Damao was really good at talking, and he managed to make Lou Xiaoe, a naive girl, go from crying to being shocked. "Da Mao, what should we do? Should we really get a divorce? What about the children?"

"Xiao'e, don't make this public for now. You must not let my parents know. I personally want you to take the three children away with you, but my parents definitely don't want their eldest grandson to leave just like that. You must keep calm and not upset my father-in-law. His arrangement must be very difficult, and it must be kept secret. Otherwise, if the news leaks out and he is charged with treason, it will be impossible for him to turn things around. I will go to your house in the evening and talk to my father-in-law in detail about his arrangements. I want to know what's going on. Don't cry. If my mother finds out, it will be really bad. Do you understand what I mean?"

When Lou Xiao'e heard about the crime of treason, she trembled with fear, "Da Mao, is it really that serious?"

"That's right. Listen to me and keep calm. The situation isn't that serious right now. But if we get in chaos, it will be troublesome. After all, there are still many people watching your Lou family."

Only then did Lou Xiao'e realize that what Xu Damao said was the same as what her father said.

"Da Mao, tell me what you say. I'll listen to you."

"Don't worry, I'll talk to my father-in-law tonight before I make any plans. You can still have fun. Don't worry, just let everything take its course and everything will go smoothly."

After convincing Lou Xiao'e, we had dinner and went straight to Lou's house, regardless of whether it was cold outside. Finally, at nine o'clock in the evening, Lou Zhenhua arrived.

The conversation lasted more than two hours. Basically, Xu Damao and Lou Zhenhua decided to set off after New Year's Eve and during the Spring Festival.

"Da Mao, you said you want Xiao'e to take the three children away with you. Do your parents agree?"

"Dad, this matter must be kept secret so that other people can be silenced. This will also help the Xu family avoid being implicated in the future."

"Why don't you come along too?"

"That's definitely not possible, Dad. If I leave, my parents and sister won't be able to explain clearly. Xiao'e and I will quietly get a divorce. If the situation gets bad in the future, I can also publish an announcement to distance myself from Xiao'e, so that the risk can be minimized. This can also be regarded as a way out for the three brothers Xu Jun to return to Kyoto in the future. Otherwise, we will really be collaborating with the enemy and treasoning the country. Don't worry, Dad, I support your wise decision. It is indeed better to do it sooner rather than later. I don't think that within half a year at most, the situation may change greatly. Is there any problem with your route out?"

"That's definitely no problem. We'll go to Tianjin from Kyoto first, and then the port will be arranged properly. Everything will be fine."

"That's fine. I'll convince Xiao'e. Don't worry, just arrange your affairs here."

Lou Zhenhua really didn't expect that his son-in-law had the same idea as him. He also remembered that it was his son-in-law Xu Damao who reminded him to leave early, and he made up his mind to leave early. It seems that some things in Kyoto should be handed over to his son-in-law Xu Damao, and perhaps he can leave hope of returning to Kyoto.

Lou Zhenhua was on the second floor, watching Xu Damao's back as he rode away on his bike. He thought to himself and placed high hopes on Xu Damao.