Chapter 116: Xu Damao Has Returned

After obtaining the house, He Daqing moved directly into the back courtyard where the deaf old lady used to live. The neighbors in the siheyuan didn't know what medicine Yi Zhonghai was selling in his gourd; earlier, many neighbors had wanted to buy the deaf old lady's house, but he had refused them for various reasons, and now he actually let He Daqing move in and live there.

"Old man, what's wrong with Old Yi? How did he suddenly let He Daqing move into the deaf old lady's room?" Third Aunt asked Yan Butgui.

"I really can't figure out why Old Yi is doing this. If it's to have Sha Zhu support him in his old age, well, He Daqing is back now, and even if Sha Zhu were willing, He Daqing wouldn't agree—don't forget He Daqing is sharp; how could he let his own son support someone else?" Yan Butgui, for the first time, couldn't see through the affairs of the siheyuan.

"Do you think Old Yi might be making some kind of deal with He Daqing over the house—giving the house to Sha Zhu and getting He Daqing to agree to let Sha Zhu support him in his old age?" Third Aunt speculated.

"That possibility can't be ruled out," Yan Butgui said after a moment of thought.

Not only Yan Butgui held this speculation; many neighbors in the siheyuan thought the same, yet neither Yi Zhonghai nor He Daqing came forward to explain.

In the blink of an eye, it was the early 1980s; as the chief designer's reform and opening-up policy began to be implemented, a lot of foreign capital also poured into the mainland to start investing and building factories.

That day, a man in a Western suit and leather shoes, wearing sunglasses, came to the siheyuan.

"Comrade, who are you looking for?" Yan Butgui stepped forward and asked cautiously.

"Teacher Yan, you don't recognize me?" the man said, smiling as he took off his sunglasses.

"Xu Damao? Are you Xu Damao?" Yan Butgui exclaimed.

"Yes, I'm Xu Damao. Teacher Yan, how's your health?" Xu Damao asked with a smile.

"Good, doing well. Where have you been all these years?" Seeing Xu Damao's outfit, Yan Butgui knew he was no longer the same person.

"Ah, it's a long story. Back then, to avoid trouble, I followed my father-in-law over to Hong Kong Island."

"Oh, looks like you've struck it rich. By the way, haven't your wife and child come back?"

"The child didn't come back; this time it's just me and my wife returning. She has other matters to attend to, and I missed you old neighbors, so I came over first to take a look," Xu Damao said with a smile.

"Just coming back is good, just coming back is good," Yan Butgui said excitedly. After all, we've been old neighbors for many years, and now, after not seeing each other for so long, there's bound to be some excitement.

"Teacher Yan, you go ahead with your work; I'll go check the back courtyard."

"It's about time to go have a look. Your house is something the street office would like to reclaim, but for some reason they never did, so it's remained empty all these years. With no one living there, it's probably not immediately habitable."

"Alright, then I'll go have a look."

Xu Damao came to the back courtyard, but instead of going to his own home, he went straight to Li Qiang's door.

"Dong, dong, dong"

"Coming," came a reply, and within two minutes the gate of the small courtyard opened from inside.

"Sister-in-law," Xu Damao said, seeing that the person who opened the door was Zhou Rong, and he greeted her with a smile.

"Damao, you're Damao!" Zhou Rong said excitedly. Indeed, Xu Damao's long face is so distinctive that it's hard not to recognize him.

"Sister-in-law, I'm Xu Damao. Is Elder Brother Qiang at home?"

"He's home, he's home, come in and speak," Zhou Rong enthusiastically ushered Xu Damao into the small courtyard.

"Qiangzi, look who's here!" Zhou Rong said excitedly.

"Is it our son coming back?" Li Qiang asked happily.

"Hey, I'm talking to you, Elder Brother Qiang. We haven't seen each other in years—how can you just come up and take advantage of me like that?" Xu Damao said with a laugh.

"Damao, you little rascal, you're back!" Li Qiang, seeing that the visitor was Xu Damao, quickly stepped up and lightly punched him on the arm.

"I'm back," Xu Damao said, his eyes slightly red. If it hadn't been for Li Qiang arranging for his family to go to Hong Kong Island, who knows what state his family would be in now. Later he heard that some friends from Lou Bancheng, reluctant to leave their homeland, found it hard to depart; in the end, none of them fared well—their assets were seized, not to mention that they were treated terribly, some even beaten to death, many others left disabled even if they survived; saying their families were destroyed and lives ruined is no exaggeration.

In other words, Li Qiang is the lifesaver of his whole family.

"Just coming back is fine. At first, your sister-in-law had me guessing who had returned—I thought it was Xiao Tao coming back—but I didn't expect it to be you, kid. Are you planning to stay this time?" Li Qiang said apologetically.

"I probably won't leave again. This time I'm invited back to inspect investment opportunities; if things go smoothly, I won't return."

"Hearing you say that, you must have made quite a bit of money over these years," Li Qiang joked.

"Not too bad. Back then, the advice you gave my father-in-law was adopted by him; otherwise we wouldn't have what we have today," Xu Damao said gratefully.

"Eh, I was just writing casually. Haven't Xiao E and the child come back?"

"Xiao E has come back, but the child didn't this time. After all, this trip is for inspection, and bringing a child would be inconvenient. The child is also grown up and doesn't want to hang around with us," Xu Damao said with a smile.

"Fine, let Xiao E come back for dinner tonight. I'll have Zhuzi show off his skills, and we brothers can have a good drink together." Li Qiang patted Xu Damao on the shoulder as he said this.

"Sure, I really miss Brother Zhuzi's craftsmanship."

"Zhou Rong, go call Zhuzi over; I'll have a chat with Damao first," Li Qiang said to Zhou Rong.

"Okay, you two brothers chat first; I'll go call Zhuzi." After pouring Xu Damao a cup of water, Zhou Rong left the house.

"What project are you coming back to inspect this time?" Li Qiang asked.

"My father-in-law's idea is to build a bicycle factory. Our country has a huge population, so future development is sure to be good. Once people have money, bicycles, being an important means of transport, will definitely have strong sales."

"Indeed, that's a promising industry. Since ancient times, clothing, food, housing, and transportation have been the people's top concerns. The future of bicycles will certainly bring large sales. We could start by building a bicycle factory, then produce motorcycles, and later introduce technology to manufacture cars. Our country's car production has always been a shortcoming; when people have money in the future, they won't be satisfied with just bicycle demand." Li Qiang was quite clear about how the future would develop.

"We haven't really thought that far ahead. When Xiao E comes back, you can discuss it with her. Since my father-in-law has aged and his health isn't what it used to be, we've basically handed over all business matters to Xiao E, and I just take care of running errands," Xu Damao said with a smile.

"Let's take it slow—first get the present affairs in order," Li Qiang said with a smile. After all, this is something for many years down the road; right now it's merely a plan.