Siheyuan: Living in the People's Community, with a Heart for the Red Star

After Li Yuping left, Lao Yang packed up and prepared to go to Ma Siye's house to get the meat orders needed from various places.

Old Yang left the compound and rode his bicycle towards Ma Siye's lair. Pedestrians on the road were mostly in a hurry, no one paid attention to Old Yang, and the police patrolling on bicycles did not pay attention to Old Yang. Occasionally, Old Yang could see a motorcycle whizzing by in the distance, which aroused the envy of pedestrians.

Soon, Old Yang arrived at the courtyard of Fourth Master Ma. After knocking on the door, Ah Can saw that it was Old Yang and immediately invited him in respectfully. When he entered the courtyard, he shouted loudly: "Fourth Master, it's Master Yang!"

The main hall door was soon opened, and Ma Siye led Ma Yu out of the house in a hurry. They met Old Yang and greeted him with a playful smile: "Hey! Master Yang, you are finally here. We have been waiting for you for so long that our hair has turned gray!"

Ma Yu followed behind Master Ma Si, bowed to Old Yang and said, "Hello, Master!"

Old Yang nodded to him and said to Fourth Master Ma, "Fourth Master, you look very radiant, and you look like you are doing well! I haven't been here for a while, can you tell me how things are going here?"

As they spoke, the three of them entered the house. Ma Yu immediately picked up the teapot on the table and poured out the water inside, then took out some tea leaves and brewed a new pot of tea, poured it for Old Yang and Ma Siye, and stood by the table to serve them.

As soon as Master Ma entered the room, he began to introduce Lao Yang impatiently:

"Master Yang, you don't know! During the half month you were away, all our projects were completed. The factory has already completed the inspection and there are no problems. Two brothers have been left there to watch over it. When will you let's go and inspect it? If there are no problems, we can start using it!"

"Besides, your courtyard in Nanluoguxiang has been renovated. According to your request, a small door has been opened on the back wall of the west wing to connect the courtyard. The courtyard has also been renovated neatly. I have already seen it. It is very beautiful. I am just waiting for you, Master Yang, to inspect it. I have already ordered the furniture for the whole house. They are all Huanghuali wood, red sandalwood, and golden nanmu bought from the old market. I guarantee you will be satisfied!"

"The house in Guaijia Hutong has also been renovated. It has two courtyards, front and back. The martial arts training ground in the front yard is very spacious, suitable for martial arts masters like you, Master Yang. I have already purchased swords, spears, and halberds, and have also hired professional craftsmen to design the interior decoration. You can move in at any time."

"The total amount spent on these three places is 70 yuan, and you still have nearly 50 yuan with me. Do you think I should give it to you directly now, or should we go to the bank to make a handover?"

After Master Ma Siye finished speaking, Lao Yang said to Master Ma Siye very happily: "Okay, Master Siye, I trust you to do the job! Just give me the keys, and I will take some time to go there later. You take 10 yuan of the remaining money, and give the remaining 40 yuan to Ma Yu, and let him be responsible for the maintenance of these three places and recruiting workers."

After Old Yang finished speaking, Master Ma Si immediately shook his head and refused, "Master Yang, you are slapping me, Ma Si, in the face! It is my honor to serve Master Yang, how can I accept Master Yang's money! Later I will hand it all over to Yu'er, and help him find some reliable people to take care of your house!"

Old Yang would never believe that a person could be so selfless that he had no desires or requests. Ma Siye must have something he wanted. Old Yang was quite optimistic about Ma Siye, so he promised him:

"Okay, since the Fourth Master said so, I won't go against your good intentions! I'll make you another promise. If one day your descendants want to develop abroad, you can ask them to come to me. I'll take care of all the formalities!"

Mr. Ma Si excitedly stood up and bowed to Lao Yang to express his gratitude.

"Thank you very much, Master Yang. With what you said, Ma Si's efforts have paid off!"

Old Yang turned to Ma Yu and ordered, "Take the money given by the Fourth Master and move to the courtyard of Guaijia Hutong. Apply for a telephone line and you will be on duty there. All future transactions will be handled with you. I will live there next time I come. My wife will live there, and we will hire a nanny, a cook, and three or five bodyguards."

Old Yang threw the key given by Ma Siye to Ma Yu and instructed: "When I'm not around, you should go to the other two places every now and then and take the nanny to clean up. I don't know when I will go there to stay or check on the situation. Ask people from the nearby villages to look after the factory, maintain the factory area for me, and install a telephone. Don't be afraid to spend money!"

Ma Yu nodded quickly, took out a small notebook from his pocket, took out a pencil and quickly wrote and drew. Lao Yang also nodded with satisfaction. After all, a person's energy is limited, but as long as you are willing, you can get things done. A qualified housekeeper needs to have this kind of spirit, to implement the employer's needs as a creed!

Old Yang turned around and said to Ma Siye: "Although I have made a promise to you, I still have to give you some livelihood. Being a gangster is not a long-term solution. It just so happens that you have connections so you can sell meat in your pigeon market. How much you can eat depends on your personal ability. You can also report your monthly meat demand to Ma Yu, and the government will keep a portion for you when trading with you. Whether you can keep it depends on your own means!"

When Master Ma Si heard that he could participate in the meat trade and get a share of the profits, he immediately stood up excitedly, rubbed his hands, saluted to Old Yang and said, "Thank you Master Yang for your support. From now on, if you have any instructions, Ma Si will go through fire and water without hesitation!"

Lao Yang nodded and said, "You are a smart man. Our deal may only last for a few years. When the motherland develops, these pigeon markets and night markets will no longer exist. You should also consider what business you should do to make a living. After all, there are risks in doing side business and you will be liquidated in the future!"

Fourth Master Ma nodded in agreement and said, "What Master Yang reminded me of is that if there weren't a bunch of brothers to support, and everyone didn't have any skills, who would be willing to do this business! I will seriously consider it, and will never implicate Master Yang in the future."

Old Yang waved his hand and said, "I'm not afraid of you being implicated. My power is mainly abroad. If these small gains in China are lost, it's not me who suffers the loss!"

Ma Siye also nodded in agreement. Since he met Lao Yang, the country has been taking advantage of all the transactions. If he had this ability, he would definitely make money and become the richest man in China. Not to mention being able to get a high position and high salary, even if he hides abroad, he will be able to eat and drink well and never worry about his life!

"Uncle Yang is a man of noble character, serving the country and the people. Ma Si admires him!" Uncle Ma Si bowed sincerely to Old Yang and said.

"Show me the demand list from all over the country this time, and I'll arrange for the goods to be delivered!" After Lao Yang had arranged his own affairs, he asked Master Ma Si.

Master Ma Si got up and opened a small secret door in the corner of the room. There was a safe inside. After opening it, he took out a list and handed it to Lao Yang.

Lao Yang opened the list and took a look. It was stamped with the seals of the General Logistics Department and the Kyoto Military Region Logistics Department, as well as the signatures of Li Zhenxiao and Zhao Tiejun.

The amount of meat required this time is also not small, and the total amount is about 8000 tons. Old Yang put the list into the space and said to Master Ma Si, "I have plans tonight, so I'll leave first!"

Master Ma Si and Ma Yu hurriedly followed Lao Yang and escorted him out the door.

Old Yang said to Ma Yu, "Hand over the task to the Fourth Master as soon as possible, and then inform Li Zhenxiao to send the list to the courtyard of Guaijia Hutong. The telephone should also be installed as soon as possible!"

Ma Yu nodded heavily and agreed. Ma Siye interrupted and said, "Master Yang, please rest assured. I will help Yu'er get things done as soon as possible and will definitely not delay your business!"

Old Yang said admiringly to Master Ma Si: "Then I'll trouble you, Master Si!"

"It's an honor to work for Master Yang. I am grateful to you." Master Ma Si quickly tried to smooth over the words.

Lao Yang nodded to the two of them, got on his bike and left.

After Lao Yang left, Ma Siye and Ma Yu returned home to get the relevant documents and went to the bank together to handle the handover. They also passed on some relevant experience to Ma Yu, after all, they still needed to rely on Ma Yu to take care of them in the future!

Ma Siye's sons all had unruly tempers and were not suitable for serving others. Only this nephew was the one Ma Siye favored the most. If he followed the right person, he would surely rise to a high position and become the support of his own branch.

Old Yang rode his bicycle to the Red Star Courtyard in Nanluoguxiang, ready to see how his old house had been renovated.

Soon, Old Yang wandered to Nanluoguxiang, and on the steps at the door, he saw Jia Zhang, the third aunt, and two old ladies sitting at the door doing handicrafts. When they saw Old Yang, they chattered and discussed, especially the third aunt, who immediately stood up and greeted him and asked:

"Hey, Xiao Yang, you're back. Someone renovated your house a while ago, and then left. I don't know what happened. Are you back to live here?"

Old Yang looked at the third aunt and replied with a smile: "Aren't you coming back to take a look? I heard that the decoration is already completed. I need to discuss with my wife when to move back. After all, it is a bit inconvenient to live in my wife's house!"

When the three aunts and the other old ladies heard that Old Yang was now living in his wife's house, they also laughed maliciously. Jia Zhang was thinking about how to frame Old Yang and spread rumors about him.

Jia Zhang asked unconsciously: "Xiao Yang, what does your wife's family do? Where do they live?"

Old Yang looked at Jia Zhang who wanted to laugh at him and said, "My wife doesn't have a job. She is supported by her parents. She lives in the Deshengmen area."

When the old ladies heard this, they immediately became excited. This Xiao Yang must have followed his wife to her parents' home to eat free food, and his life must not be easy. Living in Deshengmen must not be a wealthy family, so they can imagine the miserable life of Lao Yang.

Especially, Jia Zhang's dark thoughts had been turned over countless times, and she had already arranged Lao Yang's life. The corners of her mouth rose unconsciously, and her smile was particularly sinister.

Old Yang was too lazy to deal with these people. He said hello to the three aunts and pushed his bicycle into the yard.

The three aunts had originally wanted to see what the house Lao Yang had decorated looked like, but after seeing Lao Yang's lukewarm attitude, they gave up. So they sat at the door and discussed Lao Yang's miserable life with a group of old ladies.

Old Yang came to the west wing of the front yard and looked at the exterior. The windows and the rafters of the eaves had been painted new, and the door was replaced with a solid wood door with a brand new copper lock on it. The three rooms have two doors, and both the main room and the side room can enter the house.

Old Yang walked to the door, reached out and touched the copper lock, and pushed the door open to enter the main room. He looked at the furniture inside, and each piece was made of Huanghuali wood. On the wall of the main room hung photos of great men, and the furnishings were quite standard. Old Yang was very satisfied with the calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall of the main room. They were quite old, and although they were not masterpieces, they were also well-known.

Old Yang pushed open the bedroom door and walked in. He saw a layer of yellow bricks on the floor and a heated bed on the west side. There was a dressing table by the window and a large wardrobe on the north side. They were all made of yellow rosewood.

There were two quilts on the kang, which looked newly made and had never been used. Old Yang appreciated Ma Siye's attentiveness.

Exit the bedroom and come to the main room. There is also a small door on the south wall of the main room, leading to the side room. Lao Yang pushed open the door of the side room and took a look. The room was transformed into a special kitchen. There is also a small door on the west wall of the kitchen leading to the cross courtyard.

Lao Yang observed the structure of the kitchen. There were two stoves, a row of cabinets, three chopping boards, and all kinds of seasonings as well as knives, forks, basins and bowls.

Old Yang pushed open the small door leading to the cross courtyard and walked in. He saw a two-story building built in the north of the cross courtyard, with five main rooms, carved beams and painted buildings, very impressive. The six side rooms in the east and west were also painted red.

The ground of the courtyard has also been renovated, with blue bricks and fruits everywhere. Three pomegranates are planted on the east side, two persimmons are planted on the west side, and a walnut tree grows in front of the window on the north side. From the fallen leaves left on the ground, we can see that these fruit trees are still alive.

Old Yang entered the main room and observed it, and found that most of the furniture inside was made of rosewood and huanghuali wood, with various styles. The decoration style tended to be antique wooden structures, but in fact they were all built with reinforced concrete.

There are separate restroom arrangements on the first and second floors, but two bathrooms are arranged on the second floor, and a water tank is installed on the roof.

Old Yang was very satisfied with the room and the decoration, so he walked out and went to the south gate of the courtyard. There is a gate on the south wall of the courtyard that leads directly to the street. The gate was designed with vehicle access in mind, so it is different from the old gate design. It is a huge double door. After pushing it open, you can drive into the courtyard for storage, so there is no step at the door, and a slightly inclined slope is built.

There is a huge fork under the doorway, which looks very heavy. Lao Yang walked forward to try the weight, but he almost sprained his waist due to excessive force. He didn't expect such a huge fork to be very light. It felt less than 10 kilograms. Lao Yang observed it carefully and found that there were many holes on the fork, but they were sealed with wax, which looked very artistic and like a honeycomb. After careful observation, Lao Yang felt that this might be the legendary balsa wood. He didn't know where Ma Siye got it from!

Lao Yang opened the gate and looked outside. It was Jingyang Hutong. The gate was wide enough for the car to drive directly into the compound from the hutong. He looked at the surrounding environment and was quite satisfied. Both sides were far away from the gates of other compounds, there was no random construction on the road, and there were no other vehicles.

Old Yang closed the gate and went to the yard to turn on the faucet. Water gushed out of the faucet and flowed into the pool. Old Yang was very satisfied. After turning off the water, he returned to the west wing of No. 95 Courtyard.