Siheyuan's Silly Pillar has been replaced by someone else

After Xu Damao left, Aunt Er asked Liu Haizhong.

"What do you think? I think Da Mao's words make a lot of sense."

Now that reform and opening up have begun, everything has changed.

Even the vegetable vendors outside have made a fortune.

Your meager pension can only afford to feed us cornbread; we can't even afford meat if we want to.

Liu Haizhong asked, "How should we explain this to Lao Yi?"

Auntie Er pouted: "What's there to explain? What's wrong with us wanting to live a good life?"

He is Qin Huairu's man, so it is only natural for Bang Geng to take care of him in his old age.

What about us?
We are neighbors with the Jia family.

Who in the world can expect their neighbor to support them in their old age?

From now on, we will still have to rely on our three sons.

Xu Damao is right when he says, "Money talks."

As long as you're making money, the three of them will guarantee to serve you every day.

Liu Haizhong was convinced and nodded: "I'll listen to you."

"As long as Xu Damao can bring Guangqi back, I'll do business with him."

Management wasn't as strict back then as it is now. Transferring from Shijiazhuang to Beijing wasn't too difficult.

The company where Liu Guangqi works is also under the jurisdiction of the Industry Bureau.

Xu Damao went to find Xu Xiaoling and, through persistent pleading and cajoling, finally got her to agree.

With Xu Xiaoling's help, Xu Damao got a sum of money from Liu Guangqi and completed the formalities.

In less than a week, the problem that had troubled Liu Guangqi for several years was resolved.

Liu Guangqi returned to Beijing excitedly and settled in.

He brought a gift specifically to thank Xu Damao.

The moment he entered the courtyard, the entire courtyard fell silent.

Yi Zhonghai, who was eating, dropped his chopsticks. He thought Liu Guangqi would never come back.

How could one not be surprised to see Liu Guangqi?

"Guangqi".

Yi Zhonghai wasn't the only one surprised; Liu Haizhong and his wife were equally astonished.

They stood up at the same time.

Liu Guangqi never expected that Liu Haizhong would actually be having dinner with Yi Zhonghai at the Intermediate People's Court.

"Dad, Mom, I've come to see you."

Liu Haizhong was overjoyed that his beloved son, whom he had been waiting for for many years, had returned.

He walked over and touched Liu Guangqi's arm, saying excitedly, "It's good that you're back."

Yan Bugui, drawn by the smell, walked over, his eyes fixed on what Liu Guangqi was holding.

"Old Liu, hurry up and let Guangqi sit down."

Qin Huairu also took a liking to what Liu Guangqi was holding, and quickly arranged for Xiao Huaihua to bring a stool.

Liu Haizhong wanted to have a good talk with Liu Guangqi, so without thinking much, he tried to pull him down to sit.

Liu Guangqi, however, was unwilling. He had come mainly to talk to Xu Damao.

Xu Damao's abilities this time truly impressed him.

He wanted to cultivate a relationship with Xu Damao to prepare for future advancement.

"Dad, I won't sit here. Xu Damao has helped me so much, I want to thank him."

Is he home?"

"Yes." Aunt Er was genuinely grateful to Xu Damao at that moment.

They wrote so many letters, but Liu Guangqi never came back.

Xu Damao did a favor and brought Liu Guangqi back.

Upon hearing that Liu Guangqi wanted to see Xu Damao, she immediately stepped forward.

"He's eating at home right now."

Liu Guangqi smiled and said, "That's perfect, I'll go have a few drinks with him."

He took the things and went to the backyard, leaving nothing behind.

This infuriated Yi Zhonghai.

He wasn't concerned about Liu Guangqi's possessions, but rather angry about Liu Guangqi's attitude. It's understandable that Liu Guangqi resents Liu Haizhong because Liu Haizhong is incapable of being a father.

But this old man was just sitting in the courtyard, and Liu Guangqi didn't greet him at all, clearly not taking him seriously.

This is absolutely outrageous.

Liu Haizhong and his wife didn't care about them and followed Liu Guangqi to the backyard.

Yan Bugui saw this and followed him to the backyard.

"Da Mao."

Xu Damao lived alone at home, so his meals were quite simple. He was too lazy to cook, so sometimes he would just go to Wu Tiezhu's house and get something for a meal.

Upon opening the door, Xu Damao was quite surprised: "Guangqi, what brings you here?"

Liu Guangqi said with a smile, "I came to thank you. Otherwise, let me come in and have a seat."

Xu Damao quickly made way for Liu Guangqi to come in, and then Liu Haizhong and his second aunt followed him in.

Yan Bugui, the last one, was blocked outside by him.

"Uncle Yan, what are you doing following me in here?"

Yan Bugui said with dissatisfaction, "Da Mao, I came to see Guang Qi. He hasn't been back for so many years, and I have a lot to say to him."

Liu Guangqi, who was inside the house, said directly, "Third Uncle, you should go back now. I'll come find you when I have time."

Yan Bugui was dumbfounded and stood there in a daze.

Xu Damao smiled and closed the door.

Hearing the laughter and chatter inside, Yan Bugui angrily kicked Xu Damao's door before leaving.

Inside, Aunt Er was busy chopping vegetables, while Xu Damao invited Liu Guangqi and Liu Haizhong to sit down.

He even brought out a bottle of fine wine.

After chatting for a while, Xu Damao realized that Liu Guangqi's purpose in coming back this time was to build a relationship with him and try to get promoted through him.

The couple, Liu Haizhong and his wife, didn't see anything at all and watched Liu Guangqi excitedly the whole time.

Upon seeing Yan Bugui arrive at the Intermediate Court, Qin Huairu asked curiously, "Old Yan, what does Guangqi want with Xu Damao?"

Yan Bugui sat down angrily and complained, "How was I supposed to know? That bastard Xu Damao wouldn't let me in."

This left Qin Huairu at a loss for words: "Xu Damao is really going too far."

Yan Bugui deeply agreed: "Who can argue with that? I went over to talk to them out of good intentions, but they wouldn't even let me in the door."

Guangqi also helped Xu Damao.

"Old Yi, when Old Liu comes over later, we need to have a serious talk. We need to get him to keep an eye on Guangqi."

Yi Zhonghai rolled his eyes at him, too lazy to pay him any attention. Liu Guangqi was an unfilial son; how could Liu Haizhong possibly control him?

He also didn't want Liu Haizhong to be able to control Liu Guangqi.

"Alright, this is their family matter. We're all outsiders, why should we interfere?"

Yan Bugui was angry and didn't pay attention to Yi Zhonghai's attitude, saying directly, "That's not how it's said."

What happens in the compound is everyone's business. As the elders in the compound, we can't ignore it when we see it.

When the position of the head steward no longer held sway, they resorted to using their seniority to intimidate others.

Yi Zhonghai didn't want to talk, so he picked up a cornbread and started eating.

Liu Haizhong was in high spirits and had drunk a bit too much. He pulled Liu Guangqi aside and complained about the Liu Guangtian brothers.

"Guangqi, you really need to keep an eye on those two brats. Your mother was almost driven to her death by them."

Liu Guangqi didn't want to talk to him, but he couldn't refuse, so he could only give Liu Haizhong a perfunctory reply.

His second aunt then came to his rescue: "Guangqi just got back, why are you saying all this?"

Guangqi, where are your wife and child? Why didn't you bring them?

Liu Guangqi was getting impatient and said directly, "Dad, Mom, can you wait a bit before you talk about this?"

I came here today specifically to thank Damao. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have been able to get back.”

Liu Haizhong and his wife doted on their eldest son.

Hearing his words, she not only didn't get angry, but instead cooperated with him.

"Da Mao, Guang Qi is right, our family really should thank you. Come, let me toast you."

Xu Damao didn't want to get involved in the Liu family's affairs, so he pretended not to understand anything and drank with them.

Only then did the atmosphere at the dinner table improve.

When Liu Guangqi learned that He Yuzhu had been hired by a ministry, he felt a pang of regret. If he had known He Yuzhu was so capable, he should have cultivated a good relationship with him back then.

"Da Mao, invite Brother Zhu out sometime, I'll treat him to a few drinks." (End of Chapter)