Siheyuan: I am the Smart Pillar

Inside the old Lou family house in the west of the city, there is a very luxurious villa. The owner of the house is called Lou Jingzhai, who helped our army a lot before liberation. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the country and the government naturally did not treat him badly and gave him the title of red capitalist.

The red capitalists are still capitalists, and the hatred towards capitalists is very strong these days. The shrewd Lou Jingzhai has realized that he must find ways to change his family's status. Sitting in the study smoking cigars one after another, his wife Tan Jingya walked in, looking at her husband who was so worried, thought for a while and said, "Old man, please stop smoking. Your body is not good to begin with. If something unexpected happens, what should Xiao'e and I do?"

Lou Jingzhai sighed and said, "I can't help it. I'm worried. What should I do if I don't smoke a cigarette to relax?" Tan Jingya said, "Haven't you already planned to marry Xiao'e to someone with a good family background? Aren't all the problems solved?" Lou Jingzhai put the cigar in the ashtray on the table, sighed and said, "It's not enough. I think it's not enough to change our family's family background with just this little bit."

Tan Jingya frowned and said, "If our Xiao'e were in the period before liberation, she would be a real lady from a noble family. She has made such a great sacrifice, why is it that she still can't do it? Can they force us to death? Xiao'e has already gone to work in the factory, what else can we do?" Lou Jingzhai sighed, thought for a while, and said to his wife, "I plan to transfer Xiao'e to the Red Star Steel Mill. The director of the steel mill, Yang Jianye, and I have a very good relationship, and he will definitely help our Xiao'e. Then we will find a way to let our Xiao'e join the working class."

Lou Jingzhai felt that his idea was a bit whimsical and shook his head quickly. Tan Jingya looked at her husband and shook her head helplessly. She slowly left the study and let him figure it out. He was just an ordinary housewife, so let him do it.

At this time, the housekeeper came over with a letter and said to Tan Jingya, "Madam, there is a letter from the third master." Tan Jingya took the letter, thought about it and sent it in. Lou Jingzhai took the letter with both hands, opened it and read it. The more he read, the more surprised he was. He sighed helplessly and said, "The third master is not making good progress over there. I am really worried."

Tan Jingya was stunned and said, "What do you mean the progress is not smooth? Why? I remember the old An family is there. For the sake of the older generation, the old An should help our third brother." Lou Jingzhai smiled and waved his hand and said, "Don't you understand the principle that when people leave, the tea is forgotten? The old head of the An family died a long time ago, and the rest are the younger generation. The younger generation doesn't care how deep the feelings were in your previous life. Without sufficient benefits, why should they help you?"

Tan Jingya snorted coldly and said, "If it weren't for you, the An family would have been gone long ago. These people really don't know what gratitude is. It makes me so mad." Lou Jingzhai shook his head and said, "Okay, don't be angry. It's not worth getting angry at such people. You go out first. I have to think about something in the study."

Lou Jingzhai put the letter on the candle and lit it, then threw the ashes on the ground with a bitter face. He shook his head helplessly and sat down at the table to think. At this time, there was a quarrel downstairs, and two young men started fighting. Lou Jingzhai in the study was alarmed, and he came out with a dark face.

He could tell that the voices were from his two good-for-nothing sons, who stood on the second-floor stairs with dark faces and said, "What are you two little beasts arguing about in the middle of the night?" Lou Jingzhai's two sons were born to his first wife, so they had a very high say in the family. Lou Jingzhai loved his two sons very much, so they developed a domineering character.

The eldest son of the Lou family pointed at the second son and said, "Dad, please judge for us two. Li Hongying and I are a perfect match, and the second son is interfering. What a big deal." The second son of the Lou family also retorted. The two sons were arguing with each other, which made Lou Jingzhai very upset. Lou Jingzhai slapped the handrail of the stairs and cursed with a dark face, "You two bastards, get out of here now. I don't want to get involved in your nonsense. If you make any more noise, I will kick you all out."

Lou Jingzhai had great authority over his two sons. Knowing that their father was in a bad mood, the two sons ran away. Looking at the two sons fleeing in panic on the second floor, Lou Jingzhai shook his head helplessly. He thought that Lou Jingzhai was a hero in his life, but he didn't expect that the two sons he gave birth to would be worse than the other.

Lou Jingzhai felt very depressed. Tan Jingya wanted to counsel her man, but Lou Jingzhai smiled and shook his head and said, "Okay, it's already very late. Go back to bed. Where is Xiao'e?"

Tan Jingya said quickly, "Oh, he went to the old Zhang family. He has a very good relationship with Zhang's second daughter, Zhang Yuying. He told me tonight that he would live in the Zhang family." Lou Jingzhai nodded, put his hands behind his back and went back to the study. Tan Jingya shook her head helplessly. After all, she did not give birth to a son, so her say in the Lou family was not high.

Xu Damao sneaked around and walked to the Eight Great Hutongs, and walked into a courtyard with a familiar way. Although it was relatively quiet outside, it was very noisy inside the courtyard. He knew this place because he followed his father. It was a place for men to have fun.

Xu Damao knocked on the door, and a middle-aged man came out. The middle-aged man looked at Xu Damao with a bad face, and said with a dark face, "Boy, where are you from? What do you want to do by knocking on our door?" Xu Damao smiled and said, "I came to play with you."

The middle-aged man looked Xu Damao up and down, and could tell that he was very young. He said sarcastically, "This is not a place for a kid like you to play. Come on, go back to where you came from." Xu Damao took out 10 yuan from his pocket and said, "Hey, who are you looking down on? You look down on men, right? I have money, don't you have the white money?"