Siheyuan: Starting from Building a Village

Banggeng was carrying a lunch box and walking slowly in the alley.

It’s not that he doesn’t want to walk fast, but he’s waiting.

When there was no one in the alley, he quickened his pace. When he passed by a shack next to the public toilet, he took the lunch box out of the net bag and placed it at the entrance of the shack.

"Grandma, these are the leftovers I packed back. They are all delicious."

"Good food? Keep the good food for yourself. Grandma won't eat it."

Jia Zhang's voice was very soft, so soft that Banggen could just hear it, and there was a sense of relief in those soft words.

"If you don't want to eat it, just throw it away. I don't like leftovers now."

Bang Geng held his breath and quickly left the shack. The smell here was irritating and he didn't want to stay here for a moment.

"You are worthy of being my good grandson. You have a sharp tongue but a kind heart just like me."

Looking at Bang Geng's receding back, Jia Zhang's cloudy eyes began to become moist. A long-lost smile broke out on her face, and the light in the corners of her eyes reflected her satisfaction at the moment.

Banggeng's seemingly ruthless and arrogant words were like a ray of sunshine in winter, gently brushing Jia Zhang's heart and bringing her endless peace and satisfaction.

At this moment, all the efforts and expectations seem to have received the best response, and my heart is filled with joy and emotion.

When I opened the lunch box, it was just as Bang Geng said, all were good dishes, good dishes with meat. In this era, when ordinary people talk about good dishes, they usually refer to dishes with meat and lots of oil.

Fragrant, really fragrant.

Jia Zhang put her nose to the open lunch box and sniffed the aroma of the so-called delicious food.

Tried taking a bite.

The taste is very good, a long-lost feeling.

Jia Zhang changed her usual voracious eating habits and chewed each bite slowly, savoring the food carefully until the taste of the food was gone, and then she swallowed it reluctantly.

"belch.."

After burping, Jia Zhang took out a bottle from her arms. It was a plain Fenjiu bottle. No one knew where she got it from.

It's filled with water.

And it’s warm water.

In order to drink some warm water, Jia Zhang could only use her shriveled body to keep the bottle warm all the time. She would hold the bottle of water in her arms every time she went to sleep, just like she held her childhood stick.

I want to live well and live until the day when Banggeng can be the head of the family, Jia Zhang thought.

................

“Ding ding…”

In the empty alley, the sound of the car horns was a bit harsh and the lights were a bit dazzling. Bang Geng turned his back and leaned against the wall waiting for the car to pass.

The car passed by, bringing a gust of cool wind. Bang Geng tightened his clothes, looked at the lights going away, smelled the exhaust fumes that some people liked and some people hated, and Bang Geng couldn't stop envying them. He kept saying: Bah, isn't it just a car? What's so great about it?

Passing by No. 95 Courtyard, Banggeng walked straight over. Today's food was a bit salty, so he wanted to go to the office to buy a bottle of soda.

Although the weather is a bit cold, Banggeng's heart is warm and he wants to drink soda.

He hadn't had soda for three years, and he couldn't seem to remember what it tasted like.

Anyway, he has money, and for a young man of fourteen or fifteen years old who can earn money, money is meant to be spent.

"Uncle Damao, give me a bottle of orange-flavored soda and some sausages."

After get off work, Xu Damao usually helps out in the office store until closing time in the evening.

"Okay, great! Just because you called me Uncle Da Mao, I'll give you no meat ticket today."

"Uncle Da Mao is generous."

Banggeng gave a thumbs up and a smile appeared on his face. He felt much better immediately. It was a happy thing to be looked up to by others.

In fact, the office's regulations regarding the steel mill workers and their families are basically in name only. Huang Qiuxia, Zheng Jiandong, and Xu Damao all know quite a few of the steel mill workers and their families.

As long as you are not too honest and ask if the ticket can be waived, Huang Qiuxia and others will agree in most cases.

"Great! Uncle heard that you joined the riot committee at the department store. You better be careful."

After all, they are from the same compound, so there are not many worries or resentments. When Jia Dongxu was here, they were all trivial matters. Xu Damao really wants to give some advice to Banggeng, a young boy.

"Uncle Damao, I know. I won't ask about anything else. I just want to make money now."

"It's OK for you to know. I won't say much, lest you get upset."

"Uncle Damao, I am not a child anymore. I can still tell the difference between good words and bad words."

Xu Damao was very satisfied with Banggeng's attitude. No matter whether he was telling the truth or just being polite, this also indirectly showed that Banggeng had made great progress.

"Uncle Damao, when I make a lot of money, I'll treat you to a drink."

"Hahaha, okay. I'll wait."

Xu Damao smiled and waved his hand, thinking that he hoped this kid was telling the truth.

Given the current situation in Xia Country, the higher you jump now, the greater the price will be when the time comes for settlement.

Not to mention other places, Xu Damao was a witness to the ups and downs of personnel at the steel rolling mill in the past six months.

As a bystander, he was careful in what he said and did every day, and lived in fear, for fear that he might accidentally say something inappropriate and be caught.

For someone like Xu Damao who loves to talk, chat and show off, it has to be said that this is a torment.

I want to quit my job, but I can't get over the hurdle at home.

Although Xu Damao has both parents and two children, sometimes he still envies Li Dabao and Liu Guohao. If he is not satisfied with his work, he does not need to consider anything else and can just quit.

He can't retreat now.

It’s not easy to get promoted, this thing requires taking sides.

Can the team be so easy to stand on?

Aren’t Li Huaide and Director Zhou ready-made examples?

Xu Damao was very distressed.

He wanted to seek Liu Guozheng's advice, but Liu Guozheng told him to keep a normal mind, do his job well, and let everything else take its course.

Xu Damao has also made up his mind. Let’s just leave it like this for this year. Live carefully. Maybe the situation will get better next year.