Xu Damao's Thirty-Six Stratagems in Siheyuan

I was riding my bicycle drunkenly, trying to take a shortcut, but ended up getting lost in the maze of alleys.

Xu Damao walked around several times but still couldn't figure it out. Suddenly, he heard a fight not far away. Xu Damao quickly rode his bicycle over. When he turned a corner in the alley, he saw four or five street urchins punching and kicking one person. The man held his head and dodged left and right, but still got hit more than ten or twenty times.

"Hey, hey, you guys, four or five of you beating up one, that's really unethical, that's enough, if you keep fighting, I think you guys will end up in jail."

"Who are you? Mind your own business. Get out of here."

"Hey, I have such a bad temper, I still don't believe it."

Xu Damao got off the bike, leaned it casually against the wall, and walked forward to try to stop the fight.

Unexpectedly, these four or five people turned around and attacked her again.

Xu Damao dodged and kicked up and down, and in just a few rounds, he knocked all four or five of them to the ground.

"Are you still coming? Get up and continue. I, Master Xu, just don't believe that I can't deal with you grandsons."

He stepped forward and kicked each of them, shouting, "Get up, fight again."

They quickly dodged and stood up, running away, and turned back to shout, "Grandson, wait for me, I'll get someone to take care of you."

Xu Damao is not afraid. When it comes to fighting, he is not afraid of anyone now. He didn't learn Kung Fu in vain.

"Hey, buddy, are you okay? Are you hurt? Do you want me to take you to the hospital?"

Xu Damao went over and asked the boy who was squatting on the ground after being beaten.

"Oh, it's you. Guo Xiaosan, uh, lives in that alley..." Xu Damao slapped his forehead with his palm, and for a moment he felt like he had swallowed the address.

"Yes, Tianshuijing Hutong, Guo Xiaosan, the one who picked up the wallet. Hey, what a coincidence. Are you okay? You didn't pick up a wallet today, but you got a beating instead?"

"Who are you?" Guo Xiaosan was originally quite grateful to Xu Damao for helping him, but he didn't expect that this guy would directly expose the fact that he picked up the wallet. He felt a little unhappy. Moreover, after the beating, he realized that he was hurt all over, so he angrily retorted to Xu Damao.

Xu Damao squatted down and lifted up Guo Xiaosan's chin. "Look, do you know me? Do you remember the guy who was chatting with you at the East City Cinema?"

More than a year or two had passed since then, so Guo Xiaosan couldn't remember exactly what had happened. But when he heard what was said in the cinema, he remembered that it seemed to be true. After a closer look, it was indeed the case.

"So it's you. I haven't seen you come to me to exchange stuff for such a long time. Are you following me today?!"

"Guo Xiaosan, who is following you? I drank a little too much in the middle of the day, and I was wandering around the alleys and lost my way. But you are lucky, kid, I saved you, otherwise I think you would have died today, being beaten up by a group of people and unable to fight back. Are you okay?" Xu Damao reached out and pulled Guo Xiaosan up.

"Xiao San, didn't you pick up a wallet today and get seen by someone?"

Xu Damao originally just said it as a joke, but he actually revealed the whole story.

It was true. Guo Xiaosan did pick up a big wallet today. There were more than ten yuan and several food coupons in it.

As he was counting the money happily and throwing his wallet into a corner, he was seen by a few street urchins. These street urchins knew Guo Xiaosan and probably guessed that Guo Xiaosan was lucky today, so they came forward to share a piece of the pie. Unexpectedly, Guo Xiaosan valued money more than his life, so he was beaten.

Thanks to Xu Damao's help, the money was saved, but the pain was real.

Seeing that Guo Xiaosan was fine and now mostly sober, Xu Damao said, "Boy, now that my buddy is gone, you better be careful. Those bastards might come back to kill you."

Guo Xiaosan was always sincere. Although he didn't like Xu Damao, he still said sincerely, "Thank you, buddy."

"It's not a big deal. I'll find you when I have time."

Xu Damao waved his hand and walked towards the bicycle area. He was about to leave holding the bicycle, but suddenly he remembered something and pushed the bicycle back to Guo Xiaosan.

"Xiao San, do you know the pigeon market around here? Do you know anyone there?"

Guo Xiaosan is really familiar with the affairs of several pigeon markets nearby, but he doesn't want Xu Damao to know his details. He is not familiar with Xu Damao either.

"Brother, there is a small courtyard with a good price. Do you have any idea?" Guo Xiaosan threw out a message.

"Which courtyard is it and how much is it?"

"There are a dozen rooms in a small courtyard near Dongsishi Street, about 200 square meters, and the asking price is 4,000. I can bargain with you for 3,800. The most important thing is that the furniture will be given for free. Do you want it?"

When Xu Damao heard this, he was really moved.

"Xiao San, how about going to take a look now? Is it convenient?"

"Forget it today. I'm confused and can't sell the house for a while. If you're interested, I'll make an appointment with the owner. If the deal is done, I'll ask for a 50 yuan commission."

"Okay, let's make an appointment."

"How can I find you?"

"Xu Damao, Publicity Department of Red Star Steel Rolling Mill."

Forget it, I'll go find you. I've been running around all the time. I remember you live in Tianshuijing Hutong, right?

"Yes, No. 43 Xiaotianshuijing, Guo Xiaosan, Guo Jiawei."

"Come on, I have to go too. You should go back as well. Those people might be waiting for you."

Guo Jiawei thought it made sense, "Brother Xu, give me a ride."

Without further ado, he followed Xu Damao. Xu Damao didn't care, as he just happened to be going to Guo Jiawei's house to get to know the family.

After taking Guo Xiaosan home, Xu Damao also rode his bike back home quickly.

The smell of alcohol is too strong. It's not very convenient to go back to the office. It's better to go home and take a nap and have a rest.

"Xiao'e, how much cash do you have on hand now?"

Lou Xiao'e, with her belly bulging, replied, "Da Mao, what do you want the money for? How much do you want?"

"Three to five thousand, I want to buy a yard."

"Why buy a yard? It's not like we don't have a yard to live in."

"That's different. This is the yard I bought myself, and it's different from the yard you brought as a dowry. The most important thing is that I bought the yard for great use in the future, and the price of a yard with more than a dozen rooms is less than 4,000 yuan, which is a good deal. If you miss this opportunity, you may never see it again. This money is my advance, and I can make up for it with my own money. Xiao'e, come to work, maybe you can make a fortune."

"Da Mao, please don't do anything rash. We don't need that little money. Don't mess around and get yourself into trouble."

"Don't worry, come, I'll talk to you."

So Xu Damao told him roughly what he had done in the past few days. "Xiao'e, you say, I can just act as an intermediary, transferring the materials from the east to the west, and from the south to the north. The people in charge of both ends will benefit. If I tie these people to me, nothing serious will happen. Don't worry, I won't get involved in risky things, but I can't miss out on things that are beneficial. The economic base determines the superstructure."

"What do you mean? Speak human language."

"It's just that: money is not everything, but not having money is absolutely impossible. If you have money but don't make it, you are a fool."