Siheyuan: Wang Bo's Happy Life

Wang Bo was walking casually on the street when he suddenly saw a dozen large trucks parked on the roadside, surrounded by a group of porters. Upon closer inspection, he found that they were the street grain store, transporting grain from other places.

Wang Bo was delighted. I have plenty of strength now. I can carry bags to make money and exercise at the same time. It’s really killing two birds with one stone.

Thinking of this, Wang Bo hurried to the car and saw a staff member dressed in grain store clothes distributing chips to the people carrying bags.

Wang Bo took two quick steps, came up to the man, and said anxiously, "Hello, comrade, can I help unload the grain here?"

The staff member saw that Wang Bo was skinny and small, still a half-grown child, and waved his hand at him impatiently, "Whose child is this? Get out now and stop playing around here."

Hearing the staff say this, Wang Bo pleaded with his face: "Comrade, I am the only one in my family. I have to find a way to make money, otherwise I won't have food to eat. Please raise your hand and let me try to see if I can do it. If I can't, just leave."

The man saw Wang Bo's tattered clothes and thought, "What kind of kid would come out to look for work during the New Year? He must have encountered difficulties." So he said, "Young man, since you look so pitiful, I'll let you try. But I have to make a deal. If you can't do it, you can leave."

"Thank you then!" Wang Bo said excitedly.

"A pack of five cents. Remember to take the chips from me."

"it is good!"

Since the grain store staff had agreed, the people carrying the goods on the truck couldn't say much. A middle-aged man told Wang Bo: "Young man, don't bend over when carrying the bags. Walk slowly and steadily, and don't twist your waist."

Wang Bo knew that the middle-aged man was concerned about him, so he smiled and replied, "Thank you, comrade. I understand."

Then Wang Bo stood beside the car, straightened his waist, slightly hunched his back, and tilted his neck slightly, indicating that the bag should be put on him.

Seeing Wang Bo like this, the people in the car moved a bag of flour and gently placed it on him.

"How about it?"

"It's OK, big brother, put in a few more bags."

Wang Bo didn't feel anything even though he had the 50-kilogram bag of flour on his back.

"Young man, try carrying one bag first, and we'll talk if you can do it."

Since others said so, Wang Bo did not insist. He took the chips from the staff next to him, carried the bag of flour and trotted directly into the warehouse to stack the bag of flour.

The staff member saw Wang Bo jogging back and forth and shouted, "Don't run, don't run, take it easy!"

"okay!"

Wang Bo walked quickly to the car and shouted, "Brother, give me two bags!"

There were two bags of flour weighing 100 kilograms. Wang Bo took the two chips and walked briskly, which surprised the staff.

"Okay, the boy is okay."

Wang Bo smiled, turned around, and said to the people in the car: "Brother, give me four bags!"

Seeing that Wang Bo was indeed fine, the people in the car piled four bags of flour on his back.

Wang Bo felt relieved about these four bags of flour, weighing 200 kilograms. He took the chips and walked into the warehouse.

When they got back to the car, Wang Bo shouted again: "Brother, six bags this time."

"Young man, you are going to die!"

"Nonsense!"

The latter sentence was shouted by the staff of the grain store. He was really afraid that Wang Bo would get hurt by him accidentally.

Wang Bo tried his best to persuade the staff and they only let him carry four bags of flour. However, the 200-pound weight only made Wang Bo's steps slightly heavier and he didn't feel like he was exerting much effort.

The staff member couldn't help but widen his eyes when he saw Wang Bo carrying four bags of flour and going back and forth many times with big strides, as tireless as a robot.

It was not until after noon that the group of people finished carrying all the bags. Wang Bo was not in a hurry. He stood in the outer circle, waiting for the final settlement.

Finally it was Wang Bo's turn. He took out chips from all his pockets and placed them on the table one by one. The homemade chips from the grain store were relatively small, otherwise he would have no place to put so many chips.

The staff member counted the sticks one by one. After he finished, he looked at Wang Bo and said, "Young man, that's not bad. You carried the most. A total of 331 sticks, which means you carried 331 bags. The total is 1.655 yuan. I'll give you 5 yuan more, which is 1.66 yuan. Take it."

Seeing that Wang Bo was so talented in carrying bags, the staff kindly told him, "Our store gets grain every half a month and oil every 8th of the month. The vegetable store over there gets vegetables every three or four days. Remember this, young man."

"Thank you very much," Wang Bo happily took the 1.66 yuan note and asked, "What's your name, brother?"

"My last name is Wang, and my name is Wang Dahai. From now on, you can just call me Brother Hai."

"Hey, Brother Hai, we are from the same family. My name is Wang Bo, and I live in Yard 95." Wang Bo said in surprise.

Wang Dahai also smiled and replied: "You are indeed a relative. When you come to the grain store to buy grain in the future, Xiaobo, just come to me directly."

"That's great, I'll treat Brother Hai to a drink when I'm free."

"What kind of wine does the little kid want to drink?" Wang Dahai joked with a smile.

"Then Brother Hai, I'll go back first."

Wang Bo said hello to Wang Dahai before leaving the grain store.

Standing on the street, Wang Bo looked up at the sun and estimated that it was almost afternoon. He touched his stomach and felt a little hungry. He saw a restaurant in front of him and walked straight towards it.

After paying two cents and two taels of food coupons, Wang Bo ordered a bowl of braised steamed buns.

When a bowl of braised pork was served on the table, Wang Bo smelled it and found that it had no fishy smell but a strong aroma of sauce. The coriander and minced garlic sprinkled on it also gave off a refreshing fragrance, which made Wang Bo's appetite very excited.

Wang Bo first tasted the lung, which was tender and bright. He then picked up a piece of large intestine, which was handled very cleanly without any peculiar smell. The pork belly inside was stewed till tender but not bad. The fried tofu absorbed the soup and was full of sauce aroma. He picked up a piece of steamed bun and put it in his mouth. The steamed bun was stewed thoroughly but not sticky, just right.

In just a short while, Wang Bo finished the bowl of braised pork and steamed buns. Wang Bo felt it was not enough and asked for another bowl.

After eating and drinking his fill, he smacked his lips and nodded with satisfaction, expressing his great satisfaction with the braised pork.

The pork at this time does not contain any hormones and tastes delicious. Wang Bo thought that he could try more of the delicacies of the old city while food is not in short supply and various meats have not been planned for supply.

But it had to be done as soon as possible. He remembered that it seemed like meat coupons would be issued in July this year, and by then he would not be able to eat meat as much as he wanted.

Contented, Wang Bo strolled back to the courtyard, entered the house, turned on the stove, and seeing that the stove was almost going out, he hurried to his own coal pile outside the house to get a few coal briquettes.

But as soon as Wang Bo lifted the bamboo curtain covering the coal pile, he felt something was wrong: there were fewer coal balls.