When they arrived at the broadcasting station, Xu Damao told Wang Minzhi that he would be staying at the main factory for a while, and she was overjoyed.

"Minzhi, I'm going home first. I've invited Section Chief Gao and some colleagues from the personnel department to dinner tonight, so I'll go back and prepare. You can go to your parents' house after get off work to tell them, and then come back to help me," Xu Damao instructed his wife.

I'm here while my wife is, so I need to go back to her parents' house to let them know so they won't worry.

"Xu Damao, you treat this person to dinner and that person to dinner, but why don't you ever treat me to dinner? Let me tell you, I deserve the most credit for your becoming the head of the personnel department." Li Tong, who had been sitting to the side, complained when she heard that Xu Damao was treating everyone to dinner but not her.

"Tell me about your contributions, and I'll see if you deserve a meal from me," Xu Damao said with a smile.

"Think about it, you're struggling alone over there, while your family here relies entirely on Minzhi. Both your family and her family depend on her. Isn't Minzhi the number one contributor?" Li Tong asked.

“That’s right, her contribution is the greatest in the medals.” Xu Damao didn’t mince words.

“Minzhi has both home and work. If I hadn’t listened to her nagging every day and eased her emotions, how could she have persisted for two years? If I hadn’t always supported you two being together, how could things have gone so smoothly? Tell me, haven’t I made a huge contribution?” Li Tong’s logic was completely flawless.

"So, you did contribute a little bit. Well then, come over and help out after get off work," Xu Damao arranged.

After chatting and laughing for a while, Xu Damao went home first. Here, he was in a relatively untouchable position, enjoying considerable freedom.

In the evening, he was hosting a dinner party for 6-7 people, so he first went to the market and bought some vegetables. Since there weren't many vegetables available, Xu Damao had to put some meat and vegetables he had prepared in advance into a bag and take it home, wanting the people in the courtyard to see his bulging bag.

When we arrived at the courtyard house, it seemed that the door god Yan Fugui had not yet returned home, but there were quite a few women sitting together chatting at the entrance.

"Hey, Da Mao, what brings you home today? This bag is so bulging, there must be some good stuff in it." Uncle San wasn't around, but Aunt San was doing the same thing, the same routine.

"Hehe, I've been working at the main factory for a while now. I just arrived today, and I'm planning to treat some friends to dinner tonight, so I bought some groceries." Xu Damao pushed his cart, preparing to go back.

"Da Mao, how can a grown man like you cook? Here's what we'll do: my Huai Ru is a great cook, no worse than Sha Zhu. I'll have Huai Ru come to your house to help you later."

Jia Zhangshi was even faster than the third auntie, rushing up first to ask for help cooking.

"No need, Aunt Jia. There are only a few people tonight, I can manage on my own. Besides, it wouldn't be right for you to have your sister-in-law come over when I'm a grown man at home." Xu Damao dared not let Qin Huairu come over.

If one person comes to help, the whole family will come over for a meal right away. Besides, once this happens, it will happen countless times, and Xu Damao is determined not to set this precedent.

Since last year, various supplies have been rationed, and the Jia family only had one person, Jia Dongxu, who was entitled to a grain ration. Their family was indeed in dire straits. However, this kind of hardship was a common phenomenon in this era, and since they were not relatives or friends, helping them would easily cause trouble for himself. Xu Damao avoided them as much as possible.

“Xu Damao’s bag contained fatty meat. I just squeezed it, and you can see it’s all oil.” After Xu Damao left, Jia Zhangshi picked up her thick fingers, looked at the oil droplets on them, and then licked them with her tongue.

After being questioned and investigated, Xu Damao arrived at the Intermediate People's Court. He immediately saw Qin Huairu washing diapers for Xiaodang, her large buttocks sticking out, her two large balls swaying back and forth with inertia, seemingly trying to break free from their body's constraints, dazzlingly white and frighteningly dark.

If Xu Damao didn't know that he shouldn't touch or get involved with this woman, he would definitely want to test her limits.

"Da Mao, you're back today?" Qin Huairu, with her womanly intuition, knew that Xu Da Mao had been spying on her, but she wasn't upset.

"Yes, I had some work to do at the office. Sister-in-law, you're busy, I have things to do when I get back." Xu Damao said a few perfunctory words and left, not daring to be bothered.

When he got home, Xu Damao prepared all the noodles and vegetables, and started cooking when he saw that it was almost time.

Despite Xu Damao's best efforts, the aroma of meat still wafted through the courtyard on the early summer evening breeze. Before long, the children of the compound had gathered outside Xu Damao's door. Some of the bolder ones even peered into the house through the cracks in the windows.

Seeing the children outside, Xu Damao didn't offer them a piece of meat or pork cracklings. If he didn't, people might just say that Xu Damao's family ate meat but didn't share it with others, but since they hadn't tasted it, they wouldn't think that much of it. If he did give them a piece, the children might taste the goodness and then come out, which could lead to a difficult situation.

"Bang bang bang, open the door quickly, I want meat to eat." Just when Xu Damao was still trying to maintain some boundaries for the children in the compound, a child knocked on the door from the outside.

Isn't that Bang Geng's voice? Bang Geng is only about 7 years old now, still a little kid, but I didn't expect his true nature to have already begun to show.

"Hey, who told you to knock on the door?" Xu Damao opened the door and asked when he saw the chubby boy preparing to continue.

"They all don't dare to knock, but I do. Uncle Damao, I smell your roast pork, I want to eat it."

This kid has been spoiled by Jia Zhangshi since he was a child, so he's a bit too bold. He usually goes to Sha Zhu's house without even knocking. Luckily, Jia Dongxu is still around, and Bang Geng hasn't yet transitioned into a master thief.

"Bang Geng, if you want to eat it, go home and ask your parents and grandma to buy it for you. I can't give you this." Xu Damao was also a little helpless with the child.

"Why can't I eat it? You made it for other people to eat." The child's logic is very simple, and there's really no way to reason with him.

"This is for my uncle's colleagues tonight, it's not enough at all. If you want some, hurry up and wait for Shazhu at the door, there's some in his lunchbox. If you go and eat, he'll eat it all himself."

Xu Damao had no choice but to shift the blame elsewhere. "Better to die than for my fellow Daoist," he thought, perhaps even making Sha Zhu quite happy.

Banggeng, being just a child, immediately ran to the front yard under Xu Damao's coercion and enticement, waiting for Shazhu's arrival. He had received benefits from Shazhu many times before, so he ran faster than a rabbit at the slightest provocation.

After Banggeng left, although the other children were also craving something sweet, no one came knocking on the door anymore.

This time, Bang Geng left so easily, but if he waits until he's older or Jia Dongxu dies, it won't be so easy to get rid of him then. We'll have to think of a way to deal with him later.