A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

That night, as Xu Damao walked out of the tavern, he felt he had reached the pinnacle of his life.

Since I started to align myself with Director Li Huaide, good things have been happening one after another.

My dad just found me a blind date—Lou Bancheng's daughter!

Shortly after, Li Huaide handed over the lucrative job of renovating the house to him. After deducting the payment he received, he could keep at least 50 yuan for himself.

A Zhongshan suit cost 38 yuan at the department store, and a pair of leather shoes cost 8 yuan. Add to that a bicycle borrowed from the factory, and with the complete outfit, I was the coolest kid in the courtyard!

What kind of woman can't be won over?

After becoming Lou Bancheng's son-in-law, and with the help of my father-in-law, could I become "the second Li Huaide"? You know, Lou Bancheng is also a director of the steel rolling mill!

At worst, they'll be set for life and won't have to worry about food and drink!

Thinking of this, Xu Damao's thick eyebrows couldn't help but flutter.

Tsk, that's not right.

It's my first time visiting, so I can't go empty-handed. What should I bring?

Sigh, Lou Bancheng, Lou Bancheng. Other people's families probably have everything they need, even their soy milk is just a bowlful and a bowlful.

Then let's go to the black market and find a few eggs.

Thinking of this, Xu Damao staggered and turned into the depths of the alley, hugging the wall.

After walking only a few steps, everything went black before my eyes, and then I was punched hard in the waist several times.

Instantly, Xu Damao's body went limp, and he curled up on the ground.

I felt tears and snot streaming down my face. I opened my mouth wide, but all I could manage was to breathe. I couldn't even scream.

Then several large hands reached out and emptied his pockets in no time.

Xu Damao was a clever man; even though he knew he was being sacked, he didn't dare to shout.

They were afraid of provoking the other side and getting a harsh response.

I just hope these people take the money from their pockets and leave as soon as possible.

The money in his pockets was all small change; the big money was hidden very well, and those people would never find it!

Just as I thought of this, I felt a chill down below...

"Ah, so that's why it was so bulging, it was hidden here!"

"Why would such a tiny sparrow build such a big nest..."

Xu Damao was startled and, enduring the pain, wanted to shout, "Rob it!"

He had barely uttered half a word when he was punched twice more hard in the eye socket.

Instantly, Xu Damao felt as if many small stars had appeared in the night sky, red, green, and purple, like a kaleidoscope, dazzlingly beautiful.

In my daze, I heard that hateful voice again: "Comrade, drink less next time, drinking is bad for your health!"

Then, I felt something cool being splashed on me.

When Xu Damao woke up, he touched the place where he had hidden the money.

"Gone~~ All gone~"

With a resentful expression, Xu Damao resembled a chubby orange cat wearing an Elizabethan collar, touching the bird's nest as he walked along, muttering things like "It's all over, it's all gone."

He clapped his legs together and returned to the entrance of the courtyard house.

Yan Fugui was just tidying up the lantern hanging at the front gate.

"Hey, Da Mao, how much have you drunk! Hey, did you get any snacks to go with your drinks?"

Xu Damao cursed inwardly: "Drink your mother's leg! That wine was deliberately spilled!"

But the words just wouldn't come out.

Yan Fugui paused, looking at Xu Damao walking with his legs tucked together.

I hung the light back on the door knocker, intending to go down and help it up.

A pair of eyes also glanced at Xu Damao's hands.

Seeing that his hands were empty, Yan Fugui frowned.

The outstretched hands were then placed behind the back again.

"Xu Damao, hurry up! The compound closes at 10 p.m., you're already late!"

After saying that, he ignored Xu Damao, picked up the lamp again, and squeezed through the crack in the door.

Xu Damao kept his head down and didn't say a word. He ducked into the courtyard and hurried towards the backyard.

The third aunt, holding a small notebook, asked, "Dad, how do you write the character '茂'?"

"A grass radical, one..."

"Huh? What are you writing down?"

"Spies! The literacy class teacher said that anyone who comes home late or leaves early is a suspect! There's a reward for reporting them! If you catch one, you'll get a goldfish!"

"Oh!" Yan Fugui's eyes darted around, seemingly lost in thought.

……

Xu Damao went home and found the small box his father had left him, and carefully counted the contents.

"Oh no, it's only 70 yuan! What are we going to do about Director Li's piece?!"

"Should we report this to the authorities?"

"No, no, if we report it, won't that implicate Director Li too? This is public funds!"

Xu Damao shuddered as he recalled the smiling head of the security department.

Then think of Zhao Dezhu, that damned street thug who was taken away. I hope I don't find out who he is!

Xu Damao paced around the room a few times, and finally gritted his teeth: There's no other way, I'll have to go find my old man!

He was an only child; he couldn't possibly watch his line die out!

After handing over the projectionist job to Xu Damao, Xu's father retired.

So Xu's mother returned to her rural courtyard, which was still some distance from the city.

Having made up his mind, Xu Damao pushed open the door and was about to leave.

But seeing that it was pitch black outside, he pulled his leg back.

I tossed and turned in bed countless times, finally waiting until dawn.

She jumped out of bed and put on a big scarf to cover her head and face completely.

He pushed his bicycle and walked out.

After thinking for a moment, he re-tied the large bag containing the projection equipment to the car before setting off again.

He used a small bag of dried mushrooms to beg Yan Fugui to open the door for him, saying that he had to leave early to go to the countryside to show movies.

Out of respect for the dried mushrooms, Yan Fugui eagerly opened the door for him, saying warmly, "Comrade Da Mao, you've worked hard. We're all serving the people. Opening the door is such a small thing. Next time, just give me an egg."

In the past, Da Mao would definitely have argued with him, and Yan Fugui was prepared for a back-and-forth exchange.

Unexpectedly, Xu Damao bowed his head in response and pushed the cart away.

After Xu Damao walked away, Yan Fugui raised an eyebrow and said to the three women who had followed him out, "Write this down!"

"oh oh!"

These days, notebooks and pencil stubs are standard accessories for middle-aged women; they carry them everywhere.

"Xu Da Mao, leave early today!"

"Hey! Who told you to remember this? Eggs! That kid promised to open the door early again to deliver eggs to us!"

"Oh!" the third auntie exclaimed in sudden realization.

I wanted to write the word "egg," but I didn't know how. So I just drew a circle on it.

……

When the sun was high in the sky, all the men in the courtyard went out to work.

A handcart arrived at the entrance of the courtyard house.

Several teenagers got off the bus and carried a basket of lime into the yard.

After only two steps were moved, some people started to complain.

He threw the bamboo basket onto the doorstep and yelled that he would only continue working if he got an extra 2 mao (0.2 yuan).

I don't know where they found the lime, it was white and brown. Taking advantage of the force of being thrown down, quite a bit spilled out.

The rough-looking man leading the cart slapped them across the face and started punching and kicking the two thugs.

After a while of commotion, the group finally managed to waddle into the courtyard.

The three women felt that since their husbands were no longer around, they should take on the responsibility of guarding the gate.

Mustering his courage, he stepped forward and asked, "Comrade, do you still want the lime you've spread?"

After receiving a negative reply, he happily went home to get a dustpan.

Hey? Auntie, aren't you going to ask these people why they're in the hospital?