Siheyuan: He Yuzhu since 1958

"Knock! Knock! Knock!" Just then there was a knock on the door. Sister Qiao muttered, "Who would come at this time?!" and then looked at the leader.

The big boss said, "Go open the door!"

"Hey!" Sister Qiao responded, walked to the door of the small building, opened the door, and saw the chief designer at the door. Sister Qiao was about to call the boss, at this time the chief designer said: "Xiao Qiao, don't you welcome me as an old friend?!"

Sister Qiao smiled and replied, "You are such a rare guest! Come in! My husband Wang was just talking about you a few days ago!"

The chief designer smiled and agreed: "What can he say about me? I guess he will say that I cheated him into eating hot sauce." As he said that, a domineering fragrance hit the chief designer's nose. The chief designer smelled the fragrance and asked: "Who is cooking in your family today?!"

The big boss heard the chief designer's voice and walked to the entrance, saying, "I heard the call of a magpie early this morning. I thought there was some happy event?! I didn't expect it to be you."

The chief designer said, "I've been wanting to talk to you since I came back from Nanchang, but unfortunately I didn't have the time. Today I finally squeezed out some time and came here." Then he asked, "You won't blame me for coming uninvited, right?!"

The big boss smiled and replied, "I can't thank you enough for coming! You came at the perfect time. You are in for a treat!"

The chief designer smiled and said, "When I came here today, I smelled a delicious aroma. Who cooked in your house today? I've tasted Xiao Qiao's cooking skills. She doesn't have this ability."

The big boss smiled and said, "He's a close friend of mine."

The chief designer suddenly reacted and said, "Is that the guy who sent you the hot sauce?!"

The big boss replied: "That's him!"

"It seems that I came to the right place today!" The chief designer muttered thoughtfully, and then followed the leader to the study.

Seeing that there were suddenly a few more people, Sister Qiao ran into the kitchen and said, "Zhu Zi, we have guests. Can you make a few more dishes?!"

"No problem!" He Yuzhu echoed and said, "Sister Qiao, since we have guests, it would not be appropriate for me to go out. Please help take out the cold dishes on the table. I will leave after I finish cooking. Later, please help me tell the boss. I will visit you another day." After that, He Yuzhu took out some vegetables from the net bag behind him and continued to be busy with the work in his hands.

At 11:30 in the afternoon, all the dishes were ready. He Yuzhu greeted Sister Qiao, told her the order of serving the dishes, and then said goodbye and left.

Sister Qiao sent He Yuzhu out of the door. After returning, she brought the dishes to the table with her friends, then walked to the door of the study and knocked on it. The big boss heard the knock and shouted, "Come in!"

Sister Qiao pushed the door open and walked into the study, saying, "Old Wang, the dishes are ready. Come to the table and eat!"

The big boss asked, "Where's the pillar?!"

Sister Qiao said, "Zhu Zi went back after cooking. He said you have something to do today, so he won't disturb you. Come back another day."

"This He Yuzhu, what a joke! I'll have to call him later!" After saying that, the big boss looked at the chief designer and said, "They've prepared the dishes. Let's serve them!"

"Okay!" The chief designer agreed and followed the leader out of the study. When they arrived at the restaurant, the chief designer saw the dishes on the table and said with a smile, "It seems that I will have a good meal today!"

After leaving the compound, He Yuzhu rode his bicycle slowly towards home. Passing by the entrance of a hotel, he saw Xu Damao coming out of it in high spirits. He Yuzhu smiled and greeted him: "Da Mao, why are you here?!"

The moment Xu Damao saw He Yuzhu, a trace of embarrassment appeared on his face. But Xu Damao quickly recovered and said, "A friend of mine lives here. I came to see her."

He Yuzhu said, "Da Mao, we are not young anymore. You should be more careful about some things. Don't get some dirty diseases and harm your children and wife when you go back."

Xu Damao rolled his eyes at He Yuzhu and said, "How could I possibly harm them?!"

"Okay! As long as you know it in your heart." After saying that, He Yuzhu was about to ride his bicycle to leave, but was stopped by Xu Damao. He Yuzhu looked at Xu Damao and asked, "What do you mean?!"

Xu Damao smiled and said, "He Yuzhu, we are childhood friends. I heard that the factory wants you to be the director of the tertiary industry. Since you are going to be an official, you should give your brother a hand, right?!"

He Yuzhu replied, "Oh! I'm sorry about that. Xu Damao, I've already replied to this matter. I know my own worth. Being a canteen director is bad enough. Being the director of a tertiary production factory, isn't that harming people?! Judging from the current situation, this matter should be concluded in two days. Aren't you from the Propaganda Department?! You are more informed than others about information. I think you should know who to find. I won't chat with you anymore. I'm leaving first!" After that, He Yuzhu rode his bicycle and disappeared from Xu Damao's sight.

Xu Damao spat casually and muttered, "This idiot Zhu, does he really think he is a big shot?! He thinks too highly of himself!" Then Xu Damao turned around and saw Yan Bugui standing next to him. He was startled and asked, "Third Uncle, when did you come here?!"

Yan Bugui followed Xu Damao's line of sight and asked, "Who were you looking at just now?!"

Xu Damao said, "Who else could it be? He Yuzhu? I heard that the factory wanted him to be the director of the tertiary production plant, so I went to talk to him and asked him to help me. I didn't expect that he would turn down such a good opportunity. Do you think he is stupid?!"

Yan Bugui said, "I don't think he's stupid. On the contrary, I think he's self-aware." Then Yan Bugui asked, "Da Mao, have you heard about Jie Kuang and Jie Di's return?!"

Xu Damao replied, "Not only have I heard about them? I even saw them." Then he asked, "Uncle San, what do you mean?"

Yan Bugui said, "What else can it mean?! Of course they want you to help them find a job?! In our Siheyuan, only you, Xu Damao, have the widest network of contacts."

Xu Damao said, "Uncle, I'm not trying to throw cold water on you. Go to the Sijiucheng Railway Station and see how many educated youth come back every day! There is only one job for each person. Even for temporary workers, there are a lot of people vying for the job. If you don't have connections or background, you can't find a job unless you hit your forehead against the ceiling and get lucky."

Yan Bugui heard another meaning in Xu Damao's words. Yan Bugui smiled awkwardly and said, "Forget it then! Just pretend I didn't say anything."

"Old bastard! Want to take advantage of me? No way!" Xu Damao muttered to himself after watching Yan Bugui leave. He recalled what he had done in the hotel not long ago, reached out and stroked his beard, then left with a smile.

He Yuzhu returned home and saw He Yushui was there too. He Yuzhu asked curiously, "Why are you back?!"

He Yushui replied, "I was on business and passed by here, so I came in to take a look."

He Yuzhu looked at He Yushui and asked, "You wouldn't come here for no reason. Tell me! What do you want from me?!"