Chapter 37

After his three-day wedding leave ended, He Yuzhu started work; back in the 1950s, wedding leave was only three days.

"Brother Qiangzi, off to work," Li Qiang had just stepped out of his door when he saw Xu Damao looking respectable.

"Brother Qiangzi, off to work," Li Qiang had just stepped out of his door when he saw Xu Damao looking respectable.

"Damao, you're dressed so formally today—are you going on a blind date?" Li Qiang asked curiously.

"What blind date, Brother Qiangzi? Today my dad took me to report at the steel mill; from now on you'll have to look out for me," Xu Damao said with a laugh.

"Look at my memory—you must have just graduated from junior high, right?" Li Qiang suddenly understood.

"Yeah, starting today I'll go with my dad to the steel mill to learn how to operate the projector," Xu Damao said excitedly.

"Not bad, work hard. If anything comes up, come find me at the Security Section," Li Qiang said with a smile.

"All right," Xu Damao had been waiting for Li Qiang to say just that.

"Are you going to the factory with me, or waiting for your dad to go together?"

"You go ahead; I'll wait for my dad to come with me."

"All right, then I'll head out first," Li Qiang said, pushing his bicycle out the door.

"Second Brother, what did Damao say to you this morning? I saw this kid loitering in the back courtyard for ages," Li Qiang said as he reached the gate of the Siheyuan and ran into He Yuzhu.

"That kid went to report at the steel mill today; he must be too excited," Li Qiang said with a laugh.

"No wonder."

To say Xu Damao really is cut out for operating a movie projector—within just a few hours he had learned not only how to run the projector but also its maintenance and repair; the steel plant basically had no need for two projectionists, so Xu Fugui, wanting to make room for his son, voluntarily resigned and let Xu Damao take his post. Xu Fugui then found a new job at an outside cinema, where the benefits were decent and he was even allocated two rooms. After securing the rooms, he prepared to move out of the siheyuan with Xu Damao's mother and sister, leaving the siheyuan's rooms to Xu Damao.

"Brother Qiang, my father wants to treat you to drinks tonight," Xu Damao said as he came to the Security Section and found Li Qiang.

"My father wants to buy me a drink?" Li Qiang said, quite surprised; he usually had no dealings with Xu Fugui, so why would he suddenly think of treating him to alcohol?

"Not just you, but also Brother Bin and Brother Zhu."

"Sure, I'll definitely be there," Li Qiang thought, guessing that Xu Fugui must have something to discuss with him.

"Then it's settled; I'll go back and prepare."

"Fine, no need to go to too much trouble."

"Understood."

"Second Brother, did Xu Damao tell you that his father wants to treat us to drinks tonight?" Before getting off work, He Yuzhu ran over to ask Li Qiang.

"He did."

"What's his father up to, suddenly wanting to treat us to drinks?"

"Why worry about it? You'll find out when we go tonight," Li Qiang said with a smile.

"That's true."

After work in the afternoon, Xu Damao deliberately waited for Li Qiang and the two others to return together to the siheyuan. As a projectionist, the plant had issued him a bicycle; though it wasn't new, Xu Damao was delighted riding it.

The four of them cycling down the street made a lovely sight.

"Uncle Xu, thank you for the trouble," Li Qiang said, picking up two bottles of wine and, together with Li Bin and He Yuzhu, coming to Xu Damao's home.

"No trouble, today we brothers will have a good drink. Please sit a moment; there are still two dishes to come," Xu Fugui warmly greeted the three brothers.

Not long after, the dishes were served; to say Xu Fugui had gone to trouble, he had prepared six dishes: stir‑fried pork with cabbage, scrambled eggs with chili, braised chicken with potatoes, fried peanuts, pork head meat, and a cold radish salad. In the 1950s, being able to entertain guests with six dishes was truly beyond what an ordinary household could manage.

"Uncle Xu, this is too lavish, isn't it?" Li Qiang said with a smile.

"When feeding the younger generation, one cannot be too shabby," Xu Fugui likewise said with a smile.

"Please sit, there are no outsiders; Xu Damao, pour the wine," Xu Fugui called the three brothers to sit down.

"Uncle Xu, you called us here for a reason, right?" After three rounds of drinks, Li Qiang asked Xu Fugui.

"Qiang, let me be frank: I and your aunt plan to move out; the cinema has allocated us two rooms. This house will be left to Damao, so I hope you brothers will look after him a bit more." Xu Fugui finally stated his purpose.

"Uncle Xu, rest assured about Damao; we brothers will keep an eye on him," He Yuzhu said.

"This is only one reason; another is that I want to tell you about the people and events in this siheyuan. You are young, and Bin and Qiang have not been here long, so many things here are unclear to you. Today I will explain them to you." Xu Fugui took a sip of wine and spoke slowly.

"The earliest residents of this siheyuan were the deaf old lady; our family and He Yuzhu's family, Yi Zhonghai and the Jia family, then Liu Haizhong moved in, and after him came the Yan family. Apart from the Jia family, the rest of us own our houses privately. Although the Jia family occupies only one room, old Jia was apparently a very shrewd person; his household actually had one and a half rooms, and a large one at that. This siheyuan originally belonged to the deaf old lady, who was the concubine of an official of the previous dynasty. When the official fled to the borders after liberation, the deaf old lady, who had never borne children, was not told of his departure and was simply abandoned, so she too can be regarded as a pitiful figure. Later, when our families moved in, we bought those rooms. After liberation, the deaf old lady feared involvement and, besides the two rooms she kept for herself, donated the rest; the authorities, considering her solitary and helpless state, specially granted her a wuqihu (five guarantees) quota." Xu Fugui took another sip of wine, looking at the three brothers listening intently, feeling very satisfied.

"In this courtyard, the person you should be most wary of is Yi Zhonghai; he is extremely scheming, like a poisonous snake lurking in the dark—carelessness will earn you a bite. He now focuses all his energy on Jia Dongxu; his biggest concern is the old‑age support issue, so as long as you keep an eye on him you'll be fine. Don't look at Liu Haizhong, who prances about all day; in fact he is utterly useless, a belly full of straw who still dreams of becoming an official. People like him have a merit: a few words of flattery and he loses his bearings, making him easy to exploit. Now let's talk about Yan Butgui: he originally worked as a bookkeeper for others, then taught at a private school, later founded a school before he began teaching there. He has no great ambitions, spends his days calculating trivial little matters, and is a 'follow the money' type—if you give him enough profit he would sell his own ancestors. Henceforth, whether you speak with him or deal with him, you must guard against this trait; do not tell him everything. Finally, there is Jia Zhangshi: when her husband old Jia died young, she was a widow who raised Jia Dongxu with difficulty. Do not mistake her shrew‑like tantrums for stupidity; she is actually very clever, and this behavior is a kind of self‑protection. Had she been honest and straightforward, in past society she and her daughter would have been devoured down to the last scrap; even today, cases of exterminating a line are not rare. Being a village woman with few options, she can only rely on tantrums to intimidate people." Xu Fugui's analysis was thorough and accurate, laying bare each person's character—no wonder Yi Zhonghai defers to him three parts; he too is no pushover.

"Thank you, Uncle Xu, for telling us this," Li Qiang raised his cup to toast Xu Fugui; while watching the drama earlier, the original plot only began in '65 and left many people and events unexplained. After hearing Xu Fugui's account, Li Qiang felt much clearer.

"From now on, please look after Damao for us brothers; although this boy has some wit, he is still too young and lacks social experience, so give him a bit more help."

"Don't worry, Uncle Xu."

The group drank until late; Xu Damao was the lightest drinker among them, and before they had finished he was already drunk.