Siheyuan: Starting from Building a Village

After returning home, Yan Bugui felt more and more uncomfortable. Why did all the good jobs go to other people, while he himself couldn't even find an ordinary job for his son?

Seeking help at home?

A light flashed in Yan Bugui's heart, and in his opinion, that was the light of hope.

I must have visited the wrong temple and prayed to the wrong god. If I had the time, couldn't I just go and pray to Liu Guozheng directly?

Thinking of this, Yan Bugui rummaged through the boxes and found a bottle of wine that looked old. He looked at it for a long time, and a trace of pain flashed across his face. This bottle of wine has been hidden for nearly ten years, and he has never been willing to drink it. Does he have to use it today?

Grit your teeth and know that you can't catch the wolf without sacrificing your child.

It’s just a bottle of wine, there’s gain in loss.

But why do I feel so uncomfortable?

Yan Bugui began to walk back and forth in the main room, walking to the door and coming back, then walking to the door again and coming back again.

Look at the bottle of wine in your hand from time to time.

"Boss, why are you walking around the house instead of going to school?"

Yang Ruihua usually went to the neighborhood committee to do some sewing and mending work, earning a few cents each time. Today there was less work, so he finished early and came back early. Before he even entered the house, he saw Yan Bugui walking around the room, looking absent-minded.

"What a shame about this bottle of wine."

Yan Bugui's answer is irrelevant to the question.

"If you don't want to drink, then don't drink."

Seeing the wine in Yan Bugui's hand, Yang Ruihua thought he was craving for wine.

"I'm not drinking it, I'm giving it to someone else."

Yan Bugui's attention was still on the bottle of wine.

"Send it away? Are you crazy?"

As he spoke, Yang Ruihua touched Yan Bugui's forehead with his hand, and it felt normal.

Yan Bugui told her his thoughts. Yang Ruihua, a housewife, was even more undecided. She usually listened to Yan Bugui. Besides, all matters that needed to be decided in the Yan family were decided by Yan Bugui.

"You can't go to someone's house to ask for help without taking something."

"Boss, Liu Guozheng has everything he needs, maybe he doesn't mind this?"

"What do you know, old woman? No matter whether they care or not, we can't leave empty-handed."

"Well... forget it, figure it out yourself."

Yang Ruihua took the sole and went directly to the middle court to chat with someone. Although she envied Li Jinzhi, she knew that others could only dream of entering the office, so she didn't care. It would be better to chat and sew a sole.

Yang Ruihua naturally knew what kind of person her husband was, but she did not try to persuade him. She knew that Yan Bugui could not be persuaded unless he banged his head against the wall.

"never mind."

After thinking for a long time, he finally couldn't bear to put it away, so he put the wine back in the cabinet, took the remaining bottle of wine, refilled it with water, found a towel to wipe the bottle dry, and went out with it.

"Old Xu's family, are you off work?"

When Yan Bugui arrived at the office, he ran into Xu's mother who had just left.

"Old Yan, if you want to buy meat, wait until this afternoon. We are off work now."

When Xu's mother saw Yan Bugui, she thought he was here to buy meat.

"I'm not buying meat. Is Liu Guozheng here? I have something to talk to him about."

"Old Yan, what do you want to talk to Guozheng about?"

Xu's mother looked at Yan Bugui warily. As an old neighbor for many years, she certainly knew the personalities of everyone in the compound, and she didn't know what this stingy old man Yan was planning.

"I have something to discuss with Liu Guozheng. Please let me know."

Of course, you can't talk to others about your job search casually.

"OK then."

Xu's mother went in for a while, and when she came out, she let Yan Bugui go in and went home. Anyway, it was still early for work in the afternoon, so she could use this time to clean the house and do some needlework. Her day's schedule was very tight, and she wouldn't be tired anyway.

"Teacher Yan, what are you doing?"

“This…this…”

Yan Bugui was choosing his words carefully. After all, they were not very familiar with each other, not even neighbors. He could only say that they were acquaintances.

"Teacher Yan, if you have something to say, just tell me. I have to go out for a while."

Liu Guozheng knew Yan Bugui very well. He couldn't say that he liked him, and he even disliked him a little.

It's okay to live calculatively when your family is in financial difficulty. At that time, most of the Xia people lived calculatively. There was no other way around it. With materials extremely scarce, if you wanted to survive, you had to be calculative.

However, Yan Bugui is different. Calculation has become a habit for him. He does not distinguish between insiders and outsiders, or between the close and distant relatives. No matter what he does, he always considers the gains and losses before deciding which side to stand on. He does not care at all whether the event itself is right or wrong.

In Yan Bugui's mind, as long as it can bring him benefits, then this matter is right, otherwise it is wrong.

Liu Guozheng remembers very clearly the episode in the TV series where the Yan family divided the peanuts. It seemed that the division was fair and just, but he didn't know that it was this kind of lifestyle that laid the seeds for his loneliness in his old age.

"Guo Zheng, is it okay for me to call you like this?"

Yan Bugui asked tentatively, which was also a disguised way of testing Liu Guozheng's attitude towards him.

"Teacher Yan, your name is for people to call you. If you have something to say, let's just talk about it."

Liu Guozheng was thinking of taking a rest during this time. It is said that people feel tired in spring and sleepy in autumn. At this time, Liu Guozheng really wanted to take a nap.

"Guo Zheng, I see that our office stall is open for a short time every day. Won't this delay sales?"

"Teacher Yan, do you have any good suggestions?"

"I have suggestions, but whether it is good or not is up to you, Guozheng, to decide."

"Teacher Yan, why don't you talk about it first?"

“Increase business hours and add more staff.”

"how to say?"

Everyone can chat casually, just follow the flow. The moment Yan Bugui came with a bottle of wine, Liu Guozheng knew that something must be going on. He mentioned adding staff again, and it seemed that he wanted to find a job in the office. He just didn't know whether it was for Yang Ruihua or Yan Jiecheng.

"I heard that our office can earn 200 yuan a day by working only four hours a day. If we extend the working hours to eight hours, or even more, it means that we can sell more things and our income will naturally increase exponentially."

“But there aren’t enough people.”

"Not enough manpower. This is even easier. I have ready-made manpower here. They are all experienced and skilled. Guozheng, how many do you want? Do you want men or women?"

Having said this, Yan Bugui's heart was in his throat.

"Okay then, I'll think about it first."

"Ah? You still need to consider such a good thing? What are you considering? Guozheng, listen to my advice, opportunities never come again, so make money early!"

"Money is a thing that only has enough to spend. Too much is a curse, not a blessing."

"Guo Zheng, you are still young. Haven't you heard that money can make the world go round?"

"is it?"

"How can I, a teacher, deceive you?"

"Okay then, I'll make a phone call later and transfer a few people from the village."

"No, Guozheng, the villagers are too honest and may not be able to settle accounts. The person I introduced is smart and is good at settling accounts."

"Hahaha, Mr. Yan Bugui, you are just too smart."

"I.."

"Yan Bugui, please go back. Don't treat others as fools all day long. If you want good things, go back to sleep early. You will find them all in your dreams."

After saying that, Liu Guozheng picked up the teacup.

Well, this matter is completely over. Yan Bugui stood up reluctantly, his lips moved but no sound came out.

"Yan Bugui, take your watered-down wine with you."

Liu Guozheng's words made Yan Bugui blush. He picked up the bottle of wine and left quickly without saying a word.