Chapter 28

Yang Fen, seeing Zhou Rong, enthusiastically said, "Zhou Rong has come, quickly come inside and sit."

Li Huan and Li Le also smiled and greeted Zhou Rong with, "Hello, aunt."

The two little ones shouted "Hello" and called Zhou Rong "second aunt," which made her overjoyed.

Zhou Rong said, "I'll get you some candy," took out a big handful of White Rabbit milk candies from her shoulder bag and gave them to the two little ones. In those days, White Rabbit milk candies were very rare due to low production.

"Thank you, aunt," the two little ones said as they took the candy and thanked her.

"You're welcome," Zhou Rong said, smiling as she patted the two little ones' heads.

The news that Li Qiang brought his partner to the Siheyuan spread throughout the Siheyuan in no time.

He Yuzhu also came to watch the excitement; accompanying him was a young man with a donkey-like face, namely Xu Damao, who was still in junior high. Although Li Qiang had moved into the Siheyuan for a year, opportunities to meet were few, but Xu Damao had high emotional intelligence; every time he saw Li Qiang he called him "Qiang Ge" over and over.

"Qiang Ge, go keep your sister-in-law company; I'll handle the cooking," He Yuzhu said upon entering the kitchen, directly driving Li Qiang out. Originally Li Qiang was helping Li Bin as an assistant, but now that He Yuzhu has come, Li Bin became the assistant, leaving Li Qiang with nothing to do.

"OK, that's hard work, Zhuzi; call Yushui over later, and we'll eat at my place at noon." Li Qiang also wasn't polite with him.

"OK," He Yuzhu agreed without thinking.

"Qiang Ge, I'll also mooch a meal at your place at noon; I won't eat for free—my dad still has two bottles of good wine; I'll go get them later." Xu Damao said with a smile.

"If you're willing to eat here, just stay; no need to go get the wine." Li Qiang didn't mind having more people; it was just a matter of extra chopsticks.

"Thanks then, Qiang Ge," Xu Damao said, smiling like a flower.

Li Bin's family of four, Li Qiang's couple of two, plus He Yuzhu and his sister and Xu Damao make nine people total; fortunately, after Li Qiang moved in he bought a big table, otherwise they might not all have fit.

"Zhou Rong, try Zhuzi's cooking; don't let his young age fool you—his culinary skills are not simple; he's now a Level 7 chef, specially responsible for making reception meals at the factory." Li Qiang introduced to Zhou Rong.

"Really, then I'll have a good taste." Zhou Rong's personality is originally a bit carefree; after getting along with Li Qiang for so long, she's also become informal with him.

"Sister-in-law, if you ever want to eat something, just come to Qiang Ge's place and I'll make it for you," He Yuzhu said with a smile.

"OK, then I'll thank you first."

"Qiang Ge, this is wine my dad has treasured for a long time; he's never been willing to drink it, but today I brought it out—you all try it." Xu Damao filled the wine glasses for Li Bin, Li Qiang, and them.

Xu Damao's father, Xu Fugui, is said to have previously driven for Lou Bancheng, later learned to project films, and now works as a projectionist at the Yagangchang; Xu Damao's mother works as a servant in Lou Bancheng's household; Xu Damao also has a younger sister named Xu Ling, who is about the same age as He Yushui.

"Xu Damao, you stole your dad's wine; aren't you afraid he'll beat you?" He Yuzhu asked.

"It's not really stealing; when I took it, my dad knew—I told him I was taking it to drink at Li Qiang's place, and he didn't say anything." Xu Fugui also works at the Yagangchang, so how could he not know about Li Qiang's situation? He and Li Qiang have no particular connection, but if his son could get along well with Li Qiang, he would surely not object—not just to two bottles of wine; even if you asked him to take two more, he'd have no complaint. Many people would like to curry favor with Li Qiang but don't get the chance.

"Fine, then I can drink with peace of mind," He Yuzhu said, raising his wine cup with a smile.

Xu Damao really has a gift for gab, constantly coming up with jokes; it's no wonder that in the original drama, the Yagangchang leaders often had him accompany drinks—this kid really knows how to liven up the atmosphere.

After the meal, several people sat in the courtyard chatting.

"Your little courtyard is indeed not bad—tranquil amidst the hustle, a good place," Zhou Rong said; she really liked Li Qiang's little courtyard.

"If you like it, come often," Li Qiang said with a smile.

"Li Qiang, Zhou Rong, you two aren't young either. In my opinion, you two should hurry up and get married," Yang Fen said from the side.

"I think that's fine too; Li Qiang, tomorrow you go to the subdistrict office and talk to Director Wang, have her go with you to Zhou Rong's house to settle the marriage." Li Bin followed his wife's words, saying: "Director Wang also counts as a matchmaker for them; approaching her is the most suitable."

"Zhou Rong, what do you think?" Li Qiang asked Zhou Rong.

"I'll follow your lead," Zhou Rong said, a little embarrassed.

"Alright, tomorrow I'll go find Director Wang and have her help propose to your family."

"If you two get married, don't look for another cook; I'll take on this job, and I have a few fellow apprentices—if I get overwhelmed, I'll have them come help." He Yuzhu immediately took on the cooking duty.

"Okay, by the way, Zhuzi, how's your relationship with those fellow apprentices?" Li Qiang suddenly asked.

"Pretty good, what's up, Li Qiang?"

"I still have three work quotas for the Yagangchang; ask them if they want them—they're all acquaintances, I don't want much, how about 400 yuan each?"

"Sure, that price is indeed not high; tonight I'll go to my master's place and have him ask."

"Alright, remember not to tell anyone about this," Li Qiang cautioned.

"Don't worry, I'm tight-lipped. By the way, I heard recently that Yan Butgui came to your house—was that also about the quotas?" He Yuzhu asked Li Qiang.

"He doesn't know I still have quotas; he just wants me to ask the leaders to get Yan Jiecheng into the Yagangchang."

"Did you agree?"

"No, if I had agreed, Yan Jiecheng would already be at work."

"Li Qiang, it's not that I'm scheming behind people's backs—Yan Butgui is truly impossible to deal with. He'd even want to taste the saltiness of a passing manure cart, he's so stingy. Listening to Yan Jiefang, his family now measures their pickled vegetables by the root when they eat, emphasizing fairness and justice. What's the point of dealing with someone like that? You'd still not get enough of taking advantage." He Yuzhu dislikes Yan Butgui the most, always feeling he's nitpicking and never amounts to much.

"Li Qiang, Zhuzi Ge is right—Old Yan the miser is too scheming. You think he stands at the gate all day for nothing? No, he's just watching who brings something back so he can skim a benefit. You say which family these days is easy? If you're capable, go scheme outside; why keep staring at the neighbors in the Siheyuan?" Although Xu Damao is young, he sees things more clearly than He Yuzhu.

"Speaking of the third elder, he's not easy either—supporting a family of six on his own, you should try to understand him a bit more." Yang Fen said from the side.

"Sister-in-law, don't be fooled by Yan Butgui—he always says his monthly salary is only 22.5 yuan, but that's just him lying. Nowadays, the state stipulates that a newly hired primary school teacher's salary can't be below 20 yuan a month; after all those years as a teacher, how could Yan Butgui possibly only get 22.5? I heard from my dad that in 1951, schools didn't pay wages, they gave grain as subsidies, and Yan Butgui used to receive 170 jin of rice each month—work out how much that is in money—and besides, several more years have passed since then." Xu Damao said.

"Why does the third elder always claim his salary is so low?" Yang Fen asked, not understanding.

"To cry poverty, so he can take advantage of the neighbors," Xu Damao said, pursing his lips.

"Yan Butgui is such a pretender—if it weren't for Xu Damao speaking up, we'd all have been fooled by him," Li Bin said indignantly.

"All right, brother—since we now know this, from now on just ignore him," Li Qiang comforted Li Bin.