The Great Era of Siheyuan

It was a little after six or seven in the evening when the reception dinner in the commune canteen was ready. All the leaders of the commune, except the secretary, who was not there, and the few people I had met this afternoon, were sitting at the table.

The table was filled with meat dishes, steamed chicken, braised pork trotters, dried bamboo shoots and bacon, scrambled eggs, braised fish, peanut pork ribs soup, and two green vegetables. It looked very appetizing and made people want to drool.

Li Wenqiang was secretly shocked when he saw this. No wonder some people said that life in the countryside was better than in the city. This rural commune really had everything.

"Please forgive me for the poor hospitality this afternoon. I'll have someone get some good food tonight and cook a table of delicious dishes for you two to make amends. Don't be polite and eat to your heart's content!"

President Xiao said politely.

"Projectionist Xu, our president Xiao specially asked me to find someone to hunt some game for tonight's banquet. It took a lot of effort. You have to show us one more movie later!"

The production team leader next to him said jokingly.

Xu Damao looked at the table full of meat and dishes, and his dissatisfaction suddenly dissipated a lot. He looked at Li Wenqiang, winked, and said with satisfaction.

"No, no, President Xiao and Captain Wang are so polite. We are just arranged by the organization. We are just like everyone else. You have done such a good job. How can I be embarrassed? The movies to be shown are arranged by the leaders above. I can't mess around. Captain Wang, please forgive me!"

Xu Damao smiled and directly rejected their idea of ​​getting something for free. It was a joke. They wanted him to play the movie for an extra hour or two just for a banquet. They really thought he, Xu Damao, was so cheap.

You dare to open your mouth without shedding some blood? That's wishful thinking.

"Projectionist Xu, the folks in our commune have been working very hard these days. I'm sure the leaders won't say anything if they know about it. Don't worry, we know the rules. Just like before, when you go back, our commune will have a gift for you. Projectionist Xu, please forgive me for my hard work for everyone."

President Xiao said with a smile.

"Well, forget it. For everyone's sake, I will risk being criticized by my boss today and let everyone watch one more movie!"

Xu Damao said righteously.

"Well, Projectionist Xu is really great. Let's toast to him together."

When President Xiao saw that Xu Damao agreed, he immediately smiled and invited several other leaders to toast together.

"No, no, no, there's a movie coming up later, so forget about the wine! It's getting late now, let's eat first, eat first!"

Xu Damao waved his hand and refused.

"Okay, let's eat first. After the movie is over, I'll ask the kitchen to save you a midnight snack. I've already asked someone to arrange a place for you to stay. I'll take you to rest after the movie is over."

President Xiao looked at him with a happy face.

I don't know whether the leaders of the commune intentionally or unintentionally omitted Li Wenqiang.

In their eyes, they needed something from the projectionist Xu Damao, but Li Wenqiang was different. The buyers needed to curry favor with them in return.

The purchasers in the countryside only purchase food, vegetables, poultry, eggs and other supplies. Now is the famine year, if you are a purchaser and want to buy things in the countryside, who will sell to you without the approval of the commune leaders? How can you do it without currying favor with them?

Everyone didn't think Li Wenqiang was anything special, and even thought he was a little immature. You want to buy something, but you don't even offer us a glass of wine. If you offer us a glass of wine and call me "big brother", won't big brother help you?

Li Wenqiang was relieved to see that no one cared about him. As for toasting, that was just a dream. He had nothing better to do than to curry favor with a group of people who were of no use to him. Wouldn't it be better for him to be lazy?

"Come on, Brother Qiang, eat some food! I'll show you my projection skills in a minute. It'll definitely be a feast for your eyes. Just tell me what you want to see, and I'll show it to you in a minute!"

It was rare for Xu Damao to be so high-spirited. The performance of everyone in the commune just now gave him enough face. He was so happy at the moment. It was a great honor for him!

"It's okay, just put it wherever you want, I'm not that interested in these."

Li Wenqiang was telling the truth. Most movies nowadays were anti-Japanese war films. What he preferred was to kill a few Japanese. That was much better than watching a movie.

When several leaders of the commune saw how Xu Damao was fawning on Li Wenqiang, they began to re-evaluate this young man in their hearts.

They didn't introduce it in detail in the afternoon, nor did they care. But the projectionist was so polite to a buyer who had nothing to do with him, so there must be something behind it.

Suddenly I remembered what Xu Damao said in the afternoon, that this buyer has a very good relationship with their factory manager. Could it be because of this?

The leaders thought about it for a while, but didn't say anything to him. They replaced Xu Damao's drink with tea, and everyone toasted each other, creating a harmonious atmosphere.

As night fell, the open space outside the commune was already crowded with people as the crowd arrived at the screening venue.

Everyone finally finished the banquet and came out, their mouths full of grease, even Li Wenqiang.

He only ate a rice ball at noon. The dinner was so sumptuous and cost the people's money. If he didn't eat it, someone else would have eaten it anyway. So why didn't he eat more?

"Please take your seats, leaders. I'm going to show you a movie! Today we're going to show Railway Guerrillas, produced by Shanghai Film Studio, and Five Golden Flowers, produced by Changchun Film Studio. It'll be ready soon!"

After Xu Damao finished speaking, he walked aside to take care of his own things. The leaders of the commune all sat happily in the reserved seats in the front row.

Li Wenqiang leaned on his motorcycle and watched the lively crowd quietly. He was close to the backstage and couldn't see the movie, so there were not many people. In fact, Li Wenqiang found it much more interesting to watch this group of people than to watch the movie.

At this time, Yan Zi brought Xiao Huilan and her two sisters to the open space. Xiao Huilan saw Li Wenqiang at a glance, and her heart was suddenly flustered. She hurriedly lowered her head, trying to avoid Li Wenqiang's gaze.

However, Li Wenqiang did not notice her, his attention was attracted by the sound of children playing nearby.

Yan Zi found her own seat and asked Xiao Huilan and her sister to sit down. Xiao Huilan sat at the edge, trying to stay as far away from Li Wenqiang as possible, while her two sisters looked at the projector excitedly, looking forward to the start of the movie.

At the same time, Qin Huairu and Qin Jingru also came to the open space. Qin Huairu looked around, looking for Li Wenqiang. When she saw Li Wenqiang behind her, a smug smile appeared on her face.

She pulled Qin Jingru to a place not far from Li Wenqiang and sat down, then quietly pointed at Li Wenqiang and said to Qin Jingru.

"Did you see that man? He's the buyer I mentioned. He's handsome and rich. After the movie is over, you'll do as I say."

"Yes, sister, I listen to you!"

Qin Jingru nodded nervously, feeling both excited and scared.