Xu Damao's Thirty-Six Stratagems in Siheyuan

The couple of Yan Jiecheng from the front yard had left home and refused to come back. Then, someone from the middle yard came to ask for meat. Unexpectedly, on the first day of work, a bigger bomb exploded in the back yard.

On the morning of the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, Xu Damao went to the restaurant to buy steamed buns and fried dough sticks for Lou Xiaoe and his son. He cooked rice porridge and cut pickles at home and was eating. Suddenly, there was a commotion at the second uncle's house opposite. Liu Haizhong raised his tickler for no reason and hit Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu, who were eating breakfast at the table, and made them scream.

"You two are dead. You didn't even see what your elder brother and his wife took with them when they left yesterday. They ransacked the house. I'll beat you two to death."

Liu Guangtian and Guangfu didn't know why their father suddenly exploded.

"Dad, what happened? Why did you beat us for no reason? I have to go to work today, and Guangfu has also found a temporary job and has to go to work. You didn't hit us because we had breakfast first, did you? We didn't touch your boiled eggs, we just ate three steamed buns."

This quarrel caused another round of chasing and beating, and the Liu family was in chaos.

The second aunt quickly stopped Liu Haizhong, "Dad, what's wrong? It's your first day at work, you shouldn't be late. Stop fighting, it won't be a big deal if the neighbors hear it. It's a big holiday, so it's better to be quiet."

"You know nothing, you too, you stay at home all day and can't even look after the house. Your eldest son took all the money under our bed and left a note saying he won't be back and the couple went to Shijiazhuang."

Liu Haizhong's eyes went dark and he almost fainted on the ground. Fortunately, Liu Guangtian was quick-witted and quick-handed. Although his hands and face were painful from the beating from his father, his father couldn't fall to the ground. The whole family depended on Liu Haizhong for their livelihood, and his monthly income of more than 80 yuan could guarantee that the whole family would have no food.

"Master, please don't get into any trouble. Guangfu, help your dad lie down on the kang. Guangtian, go to work later and ask for sick leave for your dad."

After pinching his Ren Zhong and pouring warm water on him, Liu Haizhong finally woke up slowly. "What a rebellious son! You really raised an ungrateful person. My 1,000 yuan savings..."

It took a while for the second aunt to find out that Liu Guangqi and his wife had quietly taken away the savings that Liu Haizhong had hidden under the kang yesterday, and they also wrote a farewell letter in the cash box, saying that they could not stand the discord in the family, so the couple went to Shijiazhuang to work and would not come back.

After hearing this, the second aunt also fell to her knees and said, "Oh my God, how could such a thing happen..."

Fortunately, everyone was rushing to work and no one came over to watch the fun.

The Liu family finally had no news, and the second uncle told his two sons to do what they should do. However, Liu Guangtian still took the task and helped go to the workshop and ask for sick leave from the director.

This is really unbearable. Liu Haizhong has three sons, and the couple is partial to the eldest son Liu Guangqi. They spent a lot of money on their wedding a few years ago. This bastard son quietly took all the cash in the family. Fortunately, the second aunt still has a passbook, otherwise the four people in Liu Haizhong's family have not received their salary for the New Year. How can they spend this month's food and clothing?

It's really shameless. The couple has really cared for him for nothing. He is a typical ungrateful person. He actually said he would not go home. He just said he would not worry about Liu Guangqi in his old age.

He is so heartless and ungrateful.

Xu Damao knew about this part of the plot, and after listening to the general situation at home, he knew the general situation of the matter. However, he didn't care too much, and told Lou Xiao'e not to discuss this matter with Yu Li, and just listen to other people's discussions. He told Lou Xiao'e to pay attention to safety and not to be hit in the stomach by Xiao Huohuo, etc., and then he put on a hat, scarf, gloves, and went out of the courtyard with a briefcase and a cart to go to work.

He cleaned his own data room, made some tea, and then went to the section chief's office to smoke a cigarette. "Section chief, I'm here to report in. See if there's anything you need."

Li Huaimin took the cigarette, and then used the light from Xu Damao to light it, pointing to the chair opposite the desk, "Xiao Xu, sit down for a while."

"Chief, are you having a good New Year?" Xu Damao readily followed suit and sat opposite Li Huaimin, smoking a cigarette and moving the ashtray to Li Huaimin's side.

"Xiao Xu, we received a document at the end of last year that the staff's ration may have to be reduced this year, so the superiors haven't given you any specific tasks yet. Oh, I can hardly eat enough."

"Yes, Chief, the current ration is really a bit too little. My family is not so bad, my wife and children don't eat much, but if there are several teenagers in the family, this ration is really not enough, and it has to be reduced. How can the front-line workers bear it?"

"The number of frontline workers will not be reduced, but the number of clerical and logistics staff will be reduced. It seems that it will take a while to recover."

"Section Chief, won't the factory find a way to solve this problem?"

"How can we solve it? The whole country is in the same situation now. We are in the capital, Beijing, and the situation is better than other cities. We can't solve it. It's good enough for the factory cafeteria to be able to cook every day."

Of course Xu Damao knew.

"Xiao Xu, you just started work today, so you shouldn't have anything else to do. Go to Deputy Director Li's place in a few days and see if there's anything the factory needs you to run errands for. Director Li is in charge of logistics, and I think this year will be a lot more difficult. You can also take this opportunity to show your face in front of the leaders more often."

"Thank you, Chief. I will. If you need me to run any errands, just tell me. I'll be back to the data room now."

"Well, go ahead. Ask Deputy Section Chief Gu for advice when you have time. You should also familiarize yourself with his business as soon as possible."

"Okay." Xu Damao tactfully left the section chief's office, returned to the data room, closed the door, crossed his legs, lit another cigarette, drank the tea at just the right temperature, relaxed for a while, and hummed the tune of "The Unicorn"... Hearing the tragic voice, his heart was pounding. Why did the man who met him cry so sadly? Could it be that the husband was too ugly to match the woman's beauty, or was it that the marriage was forced and the crow occupied the nest...

"Hey, Xu Damao, I didn't realize you were an amateur singer. You have pretty good singing skills."

Xu Damao looked up and said, "Wu Lingjuan, how come you have time to come to my humble room? This information room suddenly becomes more prosperous. Come on, have a seat. You are such a good comrade whom I cannot invite enough." Xu Damao stood up and moved a chair to place it in front of Wu Lingjuan.

"Xu Damao, you have a keen eye."

"Who are you? Are you kidding? You are a mountain that I, Xu Damao, can never reach in my lifetime. I can only admire you. My admiration for you is like a surging river, endless."

Wu Lingjuan was a little embarrassed by Xu Damao's praise. Which woman doesn't like to hear good words? But she said,

"Don't come on, just don't talk bad about me behind my back, and you still respect me."

"To be honest, although I, Xu Damao, can be a bit slick sometimes, I am absolutely sincere to you, Wu Lingjuan." As he said this, he took out a small gift box that he had prepared for Wu Lingjuan from his briefcase, wrapped it in a piece of old newspaper, and handed it to Wu Lingjuan.

"Look, last year my wife was pregnant and I stayed at my father-in-law's house. There were no other benefits, but I learned how to sing Cheng style Peking Opera from my father-in-law, and I also got a box of women's products, specially prepared for you. You helped my neighbor find a work station last year, and I haven't thanked you yet. Although I didn't benefit from it, I still want to thank you."

"What is that? It's so mysterious."

"I don't understand either. My wife said it was given to my father-in-law by his friend in Hangzhou at the end of last year. I asked my wife to take a box of Kong Fengchun cosmetics set. I don't understand it anyway. There is only one box. If someone sees it, I can't take it out. So you can wrap it in newspaper later."

"Xu Damao, that's very thoughtful. I'll be polite. I know this brand, it's pretty good. I like it. By the way, your neighbor is pretty pretty. She got married at the end of last year. Didn't she invite you to the wedding?"

"Ah? So fast. I haven't heard of that. Damn, that's really fast. But it's also true, she is well-endowed. I can only say that Jia Dongxu doesn't know how to cherish her."

"Yes, I heard from my mom that Qin, whatever he was, was very efficient at work and good-looking, and was eventually married to an older guy from their workshop. It seems incredible that a divorced woman could marry an older guy. I guess you know him better. I also know Jia Dongxu, he is indeed a bit wretched and not a good person."