Rebirth in 1958: Getting rich starts from Nanluoguxiang

Dabao grabbed a handful of candy from his pocket and handed it to them: "You two take Wenwen and Niuniu to play outside for a while, I'll go see Grandpa Zhang."

"Okay, brother." "Don't worry, Grandpa Bao."

Lu Xiu'e was also relieved. Children nowadays are left to their own devices. No matter how much their parents spoil their children, they can't spoil their children even one percent as much as parents in later generations.

Dabao opened the trunk, took out 20 kilograms of rice, a piece of donkey meat, four bottles of Maotai, and a pack of cigarettes, and went to the original courtyard.

The courtyard was very quiet, and no one was lighting up to save on electricity. There was a light on in Old Zhang's room, but judging by the brightness, it was probably an oil lamp.

Dabao looked in through the window and saw the old man sitting cross-legged on the kang, sewing clothes by the light of the kang table.

Nowadays, it is rare for a family to have clothes without patches. As the saying goes: New for three years, old for three years, mend for another three years. Even if clothes are worn out, people are reluctant to throw them away, and they can still mend shoes.

There are some books that describe how people collected junk in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and how they made a fortune and even found bargains. I want to cry when I read them. In those days, who had junk to sell?

Even if the bowl was broken, we had to find someone to fix it and continue using it. (My family originally had two bowls that were nailed in and still worked well without leaking.)

Old Zhang squinted his eyes and sewn in the dim light, which made Dabao feel sad. The life of this lonely old man must be so miserable.

He raised his sleeve to wipe his eyes, trying to look cheerful.

"Old Zhang, open the door."

When the old man in the room heard this, he was so happy that he ran over without even putting on his shoes, opened the door and shouted: "You dead kid, why are you shouting so loudly? Are you afraid that I can't hear you?"

Dabao pushed the old man away with his shoulder and carried the things into the house.

"What's that smell? Did the stinky old man not wash his feet again? This smell is the same as Wang Zhiyi's."

Old Zhang patted him, but he was reluctant to use too much force, just like tickling him.

Dabao put the things on the table: "I got you some rice. You're lazy. A pot of steamed bread can last you half a month. When I was nine years old, my teeth were knocked out by your steamed bread. You should just eat some porridge. It's easier."

Old Zhang laughed and hit him: "You dead child, your teeth are supposed to fall out when they are replaced, what does it have to do with my steamed bread?"

"Braise this donkey meat and add some yellow sauce. It tastes good. Don't keep it. It's spring now, the weather is warm, and the meat won't keep well. Don't be reluctant to eat it. I'll come back in a few days and get it for you."

Old Zhang's eyes moistened, and he quickly lowered his head to look at the meat: "Oh, this donkey meat is really good."

"I hunted this wild donkey from the mountain two days ago. Here are some wine and cigarettes. Keep them for yourself. Don't save them. I'll get you more when you run out."

"Oh, Moutai? Who would be willing to drink this? Hurry up, take it back and save it as a gift for your boss."

"My boss is my uncle, so he has to give me gifts."

Old Zhang laughed: "This damn kid is just making me laugh."

Dabao looked at the old man's face in the light of the oil lamp, and touched his forehead. He felt okay, just a little cold.

"My mom said you caught a cold a couple of days ago. Are you feeling better now?"

"I'm fine now. Your mom brought me some medicine, and your dad brings me food every two days. Don't worry, you're so young, why worry about me so much?"

"You stinky old man."

"How's it going at the rural police station? I heard from your dad that you became the director? That's quite a career."

The two chatted for a while, and Dabao stood up and said, "I have to go back. Niuniu and Wenwen are still playing outside. When the weather is good, I will pick you up and take you to the countryside for two days to breathe some fresh air."

Old Zhang was a little reluctant, but he also knew that it was not easy for the child to come back.

"Baby, do you still remember which tree I buried the things I left for you under? I'll tell you again..."

Dabao frowned and put his arm around his shoulders: "Alright, alright, stop talking about those useless things and live well. I'm counting on you to teach my child how to write in the future."

When this was mentioned, Old Zhang's tears stopped: "That's really good."

Old Zhang was born into a family of scholars. Although his ancestors had been merchants for generations, he was as knowledgeable as any professor at Peking University. His calligraphy, especially the Thin Gold Script, was one of the best in the capital.

It can be said that 99% of Dabao’s historical and cultural knowledge comes from what Old Zhang taught him.

With the old man reluctant to let him go, Dabao left the courtyard. He did not go to Uncle Niu's house. Aunt Niu had a bad mouth. Ever since she moved out of the courtyard, she had been gossiping about the Qin family. Now the two families were drifting further and further apart.

When they arrived at the gate of No. 95 Courtyard, Niuniu and Wenwen rushed over. Dabao put his hand into their hats and felt that they were all sweaty.

He picked them up one in each hand and turned around to shout, "Xiaoer, play for a while and then go home. I'm taking them back."

"Oh, I know..." Little Erbao and Banggeng were having so much fun that they didn't even notice his brother coming back.

Dabao sighed. The military compound was nice, but it lacked the worldly atmosphere of the alley.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw Yan Bugui, who was all smiles: "You're back, Dabao? You haven't been back for a long time."

Dabao smiled and nodded: "I'm a little busy at work, are you okay?"

"Okay, that's good."

As the saying goes, officials don't punish those who smile at them. No matter how big the conflict between neighbors is, they still have to make superficial efforts.

When I passed by the central courtyard, I saw that the lights in Sha Zhu's house were off. He must have been asleep. Well, what else could an old bachelor do besides sleeping late at night?

The lights were on at Qinhuai Rujia. I hadn't seen Xiaodang for a while, and I missed him a little. But it was late, so it was not a good time to go and see him.

When we got to the backyard, we put the two little girls down. They ran into the house with smiles on their faces.

Dabao put his hands in his trouser pockets and looked at the dark windows of Xu Damao's house. He couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion. This guy also killed himself.

This didn't happen in the previous life, but Xu Damao's ending was not good either. Now Dabao no longer worries about the things in this parallel world. What Einstein couldn't solve, he couldn't solve either.

Xu Damao's case has reached the highest level. I heard that the leader was so angry that he slammed the table. This is a typical case that caused a confrontation between the local government and the military.

This time Xu Damao has no chance of survival.

Dabao sighed. After all, they were neighbors, and no one wanted to see this kind of ending.

Xiaohong ran out of the house and jumped on Dabao: "Brother, I miss you so much..."

Dabao patted his sister's back and said, "Oh, you've become a lot heavier. I can hardly hold you anymore."

Xiaohong jumped down and took her brother's arm and walked into the house. As soon as she entered the house, she saw Qin Huairu sitting on the edge of the kang, talking with Qin Qingyou and Lu Xiu'e.

When she saw Dabao coming in, she quickly stood up and greeted him: "Uncle."

Dabao smiled and asked her to sit down: "Sit down."

Wenwen and Niuniu were playing with Xiaodang on the kang. When Xiaodang heard Dabao's voice, he turned over and lay on the kang, looking for Dabao with his head held high. He saw Dabao opened his mouth and yelled twice, revealing a few small white teeth, and then he quickly crawled towards Dabao.

Dabao quickly went up to pick him up. It was okay. The child was well-nourished. He felt heavy in his arms.

Xiaodang hugged Dabao's neck, yelled a few times, and pouted with his little mouth.

Seeing that she was feeling wronged, Dabao sat on a chair, put Xiaodang on his lap, and bumped his head against hers while asking, "Huai Ru, how are you doing at the steel mill?"

Qin Huairu lowered her head and said after a while: "Uncle, I, I don't want to be a custodian anymore. I'm leaving the workshop..."

Dabao was having a friendly conversation with Xiaodang, but when he heard this, his eyebrows furrowed: "What's going on?"

The longer he wore the uniform, the more dignified his demeanor and tone became.

Qin Huairu hesitated to speak, but Lu Xiu'e was already furious and said, "Just tell me the truth. You are a child of our Qin family and you cannot bear this kind of grievance."

Dabao took out a handful of candy from his pocket, stood up and handed it to Wenwen and Niuniu, and peeled a piece and put it in Xiaodang's mouth.

At this time, Cuicui walked in and called out "Brother".

"Cui Cui, go to the gate and call those two naughty boys in."

Cuicui agreed and went with Xiaohong.

Dabao then said to Qin Huai: "Speak, tell the truth."

Qin Huairu nodded and said, "Guo Dapiezi, the director of the ninth workshop, always talks nonsense to me and even touches me when no one is around. I scolded him twice and slapped him.

He said that he would definitely make things difficult for me. Just the day before yesterday, he asked the material collector in the workshop to go to the warehouse to collect materials, saying that he would make up the order for me later.

This is a common thing. As a result, it was not replenished at night. I went to find Guo Da Piezi, and he said that I did not give them the materials for the workshop, which delayed the production, and he would report me to the factory.

I tried to reason with him, but he said if I didn't... he would punish me, fire me. I cursed him, and yesterday the factory office issued a notice transferring me to Workshop 9 as a fitter."