1959Siheyuan, a Turnaround

Next, for many days in a row, every time when it was time to go to work, Qin Huairu would appear on the road that Yang Dongsheng had to take, just like an alarm clock.

Yang Dongsheng just felt annoyed at first, but gradually, a trace of doubt arose in his heart.

If Qin Huairu wanted to apologize, he had made it so clear, why did Qin Huairu still come to bother him?

"Dongsheng, I think Qin Huairu has no good intentions in pestering you."

Su Jiao frowned and said to Yang Dongsheng with a worried look on her face.

Yang Dongsheng asked in confusion: "Why do you suddenly say that?"

Su Jiao put the sweater she was knitting aside and said seriously, "Ever since you told me what Du Zhicheng said, I felt that this matter was not simple. When I was chatting with Chen Lanxiang and Lou Xiao'e, I heard a lot about Qin Huairu."

"I think Qin Huairu is a person who will not do anything unless it is beneficial to her. She once pestered He Yuzhu and Yi Zhonghai in the hospital."

"Think about it, she's trying so hard to pester you, who knows what she's up to."

Yang Dongsheng recalled Qin Huairu's daily pestering and felt something was amiss. He nodded and said, "Now that you put it that way, it seems to be true. I can't let her pester me like this. I have to think of a way."

Su Jiao looked at him worriedly: "What are you going to do?"

Yang Dongsheng pondered for a moment, and gradually came up with an idea in his mind. He slowly said: "I plan to set up a table at home and invite Xu Damao and his wife and He Yuzhu and his wife to come for a meal."

Su Jiao was a little confused: "Invite them to dinner? Why?"

Yang Dongsheng patiently explained: "I heard that the Jia family and the He Yuzhu family have a grudge, and the two families have never interacted. And I can also see that Qin Huairu is very afraid of Xu Damao. I want to make friends with them, so that I can have a companion to go to work every day, and I can also borrow their strength to make Qin Huairu retreat when she sees difficulties."

Su Jiao thought it made sense, so she agreed, "Okay, I'll go tell them and invite them to dinner tomorrow night."

Soon the night of the dinner party arrived.

Not long after Xu Damao and Sha Zhu got off work, they came to the door with gifts.

These days, everyone lives a tight life, so it makes no sense to go to someone's house for dinner for the first time empty-handed.

Xu Damao walked into the room with a smile on his face and said loudly, "Brother Yang, we are sorry to bother you. This is just a small gift, not a token of respect." Then he handed over a bag of snacks in his hand.

Sha Zhu also smiled innocently: "Engineer Yang, I also brought some things, pickles pickled by my grandfather himself, they taste pretty good, I brought some for you to try."

Yang Dongsheng hurried over, took the gift, and said with a smile: "We are just having a meal together. You are too polite. Please come in."

Su Jiao called out, "Xiao'e, Lanxiang, please come in and sit down. The food is ready."

When everyone walked into the house, they saw a table filled with Shanghai specialties, including fragrant braised fish and tempting braised pork. In this era of material scarcity, Su Jiao was really thoughtful to have such a table of dishes.

Yang Dongsheng smiled and said, "I know you all like to drink, so I specially prepared a bottle of the best lotus white."

Xu Damao's eyes lit up: "Oh, Brother Yang is so thoughtful."

Sha Zhu also smiled and nodded: "Lotus White, that's great, we are in for a treat tonight."

The three families sat around the table, and the men began to clink glasses.

Xu Damao picked up the wine glass and toasted Yang Dongsheng first: "Brother Yang, welcome to our courtyard. We will be good neighbors in the future. I'll drink this glass first as a show of respect." After that, he drank it all in one gulp.

Yang Dongsheng also hurriedly drank a glass and said with a smile: "Well, I should be the one to toast you. I will have to rely on Comrade Damao to take care of me in the future."

Sha Zhu smiled and said, "And me, Engineer Yang, I'm a straightforward person and I can only cook in the kitchen. If you need help in the future, just let me know."

Yang Dongsheng toasted Yu Zhu again: "Comrade Yu Zhu is straightforward, I like dealing with people like you."

After three rounds of drinks, the atmosphere became more harmonious.

Especially with Xu Damao around, his mouth was like honey, and he kept telling all kinds of interesting stories and anecdotes, without worrying about the audience being bored at all.

Sha Zhu is not as good as Xu Damao in this aspect, but he has a good alcohol tolerance and can still keep up.

Ever since Xu Damao got married, Sha Zhu and Xu Damao have reconciled their past grudges and the two have never fought each other again. Now they are even getting along very well at the dinner table.

At this time, Yang Dongsheng put down his wine glass, his expression became more serious, and he slowly said: "Actually, I invited the two brothers here today because I have something else to tell you."

Xu Damao and Sha Zhu both put down their wine glasses and looked at Yang Dongsheng.

Yang Dongsheng continued, "These days, Qin Huairu always pesters me on my way to work. I thought it was just a matter between children, but later I found that it was not that simple."

Xu Damao immediately understood what Yang Dongsheng meant when he heard it. He rolled his eyes and said with a smile, "Brother Yang, don't worry. As for Qin Huairu, I know her thoughts. She has taken advantage of many people in this courtyard before. I, Xu Damao, am also a big boss in the courtyard after all. Now that I know about this, I can't just turn a blind eye. If I have a chance, I will definitely talk to her and ask her to stop pestering you."

Sha Zhu also patted his chest and said, "Engineer Yang, I will come to get off work with you every day. Qin Huairu will definitely avoid me when she sees me. Her Jia family and I don't talk to each other now."

Yang Dongsheng was delighted, his goal achieved, and he raised his glass to toast the two of them: "Thank you very much. With your help, I feel much more at ease."

At this time, the women had all eaten and drunk their fill and gathered together to chat.

Chen Lanxiang held Lou Xiaoe and Su Jiao's hands and whispered, "You better be careful about Qin Huairu. I heard that she never returned anything she borrowed before."

Lou Xiao'e was a little surprised: "There is such a thing?"

Chen Lanxiang nodded and said, "That's right. Before I got married to Sha Zhu, she borrowed a lot of things from him, and then she never came back after that. You better be careful and don't get cheated by her."

Su Jiao said gratefully: "Thanks to your reminder, Lanxiang, we will definitely pay attention to it in the future."

At the dinner table, the men continued drinking and chatting.

Xu Damao smiled and said, "Brother Yang, now that you are here, our courtyard will be even more lively. If you have anything to say in the future, just let me know."

Yang Dongsheng smiled and said, "Then I won't be polite. I'm new here, and I still need your help in many things."

Sha Zhu burped and said, "Engineer Yang, you are a cultured person. It is our blessing to have you as our neighbor. A distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor. Let's get along well. When my son grows up, I will trouble Engineer Yang to take care of him."

Yang Dongsheng quickly said: "Comrade He Yuzhu, it is fate that we become neighbors. We all live in the same courtyard, so helping each other is nothing."

Xu Damao teased, "Shazhu, don't just think about your own children, I will have children in the future too!"

Sha Zhu smiled and said, "Yes, yes, and there are also your children, so you have to work harder..."