Chapter 84

"Zhuzi ge, are you home?" Xu Damao called out as he brought Lou Xiaoe to He Yuzhu's doorstep.

"Uncle Damao, my dad went to Second Grandfather's house," He Xiao said, poking his little head out from inside the house.

"He Xiao, come over, Uncle Damao will give you candy," Xu Damao said, pulling out a big handful of candy and speaking to He Xiao.

"Thank you, Uncle Damao," He Xiao said, running out on his short little legs.

"Whose child is this? So cute," Lou Xiaoe said, looking at the chubby He Xiao and asking Xu Damao.

"He's the son of my childhood friend He Yuzhu," Xu Damao said with a laugh.

"Auntie, hello." He Xiao, having been very well educated by Yu Li, is very polite.

"You too," Lou Xiaoe happily said, pulling out another handful of candy and stuffing it into He Xiao's pocket.

"Thank you, Auntie," He Xiao said politely, offering his thanks to Lou Xiaoe.

"You're welcome."

"Little girl, come over, I'll give you candy," Lou Xiaoe said, smiling at Xiao Dang standing at the doorway.

The Jia family lives opposite the He family; Xiao Dang is also over two years old, with two upright pigtails, very cute.

"Xiao Dang, come over, Uncle Damao will give you candy," Xu Damao said, waving at Xiao Dang.

Seeing Xu Damao call her, Xiao Dang also ran over on her short little legs; she didn't know Lou Xiaoe, so when Lou Xiaoe greeted her she didn't dare respond. Now Xu Damao is calling her. She knows Xu Damao, so hearing the call she ran over.

"Damao, what's this?" Qin Huiru, who was watching the children inside, heard someone calling her daughter and came out; not only did Qin Huiru come out, but Jia Dongxu, Jia Zhangshi, and Bargeng also followed her out.

"Sister-in-law, this is my wife Lou Xiaoe, here's some wedding candy for you." Xu Damao previously didn't get along with the Jia family, but later the Jia family's change eased relations between the neighbors in the siheyuan and them.

"Thank you, Damao, your wife is really beautiful," Qin Huiru said with a smile. She had always been very confident about her looks, but now facing Lou Xiaoe, that former confidence vanished completely. After all, Lou Bancheng dotes on Lou Xiaoe immensely; a girl raised in that family environment differs greatly from one raised in an ordinary household. People say temperament is cultivated in two ways: innate and postnatal environment shaping and training. Yet the innate component is few; most are shaped by postnatal environment.

"Thank you, sister-in-law," Lou Xiaoe said politely.

"Damao, your wife is truly beautiful, like she stepped out of a New Year painting," Jia Zhangshi said. Lacking education, she didn't know how to compliment people; this might be the best praise she could think of.

"Thank you, Auntie, but I'm not nearly as pretty as you say," Lou Xiaoe said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Bargeng, come over, why are you listless today?" Xu Damao said with a laugh to Bargeng.

"Uncle Damao, Auntie good," Bargeng said. Now ten years old and already sensible, with Jia Dongxu still alive, although Jia Zhangshi dotes on him heavily, Bargeng is not as degenerate as depicted in the original story.

"Good, come over, take the candy back and make water for your sister to drink," Xu Damao said, hearing Bargeng call Lou Xiaoe "auntie," which made him even happier, unable to stop smiling.

"Enough, enough, Damao. We don't need that much; are there still that many neighbors in this courtyard?" Jia Dongxu said with a laugh.

"Dongxu brother, let me give you a wedding cigarette; then I won't give you candy," Xu Damao said, pulling out a cigarette and handing it to Jia Dongxu.

"I'll definitely smoke the wedding cigarette," Jia Dongxu said, taking the cigarette.

"You have to smoke it, you guys go ahead and be busy; we're heading back first," Xu Damao said after handing the cigarette to Jia Dongxu.

"Alright, you go about your business, Damao's wife, feel free to come over and play whenever you're free," Qin Huiru said with a smile.

"Okay, sister-in-law," Lou Xiaoe replied with a smile.

Having grown up in a villa with little contact with outsiders, Lou Xiaoe instantly took a liking to this siheyuan; she felt this was the proper way of life, full of the warmth of human society.

"Qiang ge, open the door," Xu Damao said, bringing Lou Xiaoe straight to Li Qiang's door.

"Coming, you brat, can't you make a little less noise?" He Yuzhu's voice came from the courtyard.

"Zhuzi ge, this is my wife Lou Xiaoe; Xiaoe, this is He Yuzhu, my ironclad buddy, and He Xiao is his son." Just as He Yuzhu opened the little gate of Li Qiang's courtyard, Xu Damao introduced them to each other and to Lou Xiaoe.

"Hello, Elder Brother He," Lou Xiaoe said warmly, greeting He Yuzhu.

"Hello, come in quickly," He Yuzhu said, a bit nervous; although He Yuzhu is a bit blunt, Lou Xiaoe took the initiative to greet him, yet he still felt a little embarrassed.

"Damao is here," Zhou Rong said, coming out with her son.

"Sister-in-law, this is my wife Lou Xiaoe; Xiaoe, this is the sister-in-law, and this is her son Li Tao; Little Tao, come over, Uncle will give you candy," Xu Damao said with a laugh.

"Uncle Damao, my dad said you'd definitely bring me candy today," Li Tao said, his tone revealing his admiration for his father; his father's word never fails.

"Damao is here," Li Qiang said, also coming out from inside the house.

"Qiang ge, this is my wife Lou Xiaoe; Xiaoe, this is Qiang ge, who works as the Section Chief of Security at our Yagangchang; the sheep he brought to your house today was purchased by Qiang ge through a friend."

"Thank you, Qiang ge," Lou Xiaoe said gratefully.

"Don't be polite, everyone come inside and sit." Seeing Lou Xiaoe, Li Qiang felt fate playing tricks; Lou Xiaoe and Xu Damao still couldn't escape their original story's destiny, but now Xu Damao gets along well with He Yuzhu, and He Yuzhu hasn't beaten him; hopefully he can have his own child. Then the two might avoid a divorce ending. If in the original story Xu Damao and Lou Xiaoe really had a child, perhaps they wouldn't have divorced either.

"Damao, do you mean you two have gotten your marriage certificate?" Li Qiang asked with a laugh.

"We just got it this afternoon; Xiaoe's father said we're in a new society, a new country, so we don't need to dwell on all those old trivialities—just as long as the two of us agree, it's fine."

"Mm, now that you have the certificate, life will be easier from now on." Li Qiang speculated that Lou Bancheng must have heard some rumor; otherwise, with Lou Bancheng's status, he wouldn't have looked at Xu Damao. The only thing about Xu Damao that would make Lou Bancheng willing to let Lou Xiaoe marry him is Xu Damao's position.

"Qiang ge, Zhuzi ge, I've come to ask for your help; I plan to hold the wedding this Sunday in the courtyard. At that time, Zhuzi ge, I'll trouble you to handle the cooking, and Qiang ge, I'll also need you to take care of the ingredients."

"Damao, if I'm not mistaken, your sister-in-law's father is the former factory director of our plant, Lou Bancheng, right?" Li Qiang asked with a laugh.

"Qiang ge, as expected of someone in the Security Section, you guessed right on the first try," Xu Damao said, scratching his head.

"Given Lou Bancheng's status as former factory director, you wouldn't need my help for those wedding provisions, would you?" Li Qiang said with a laugh.

"Qiang ge, it's not that I don't want to bother him; I just don't want people saying I'm living off my wife's family," Xu Damao said earnestly; this might also be the temperament of men from the old Beijing area.

"Alright, later you discuss with Zhuzi what ingredients you need and how much," Li Qiang said, understanding Xu Damao's feelings.