This plot is exciting, so exciting!
The Jia family was quite lively at the moment. Banggeng was throwing and smashing things around the house, shouting, "A fool like him wants to be my father! I will never step foot in their house!"
Qin Huairu was completely stunned. She had put in so much effort and acted out such a whole charade, only to have it all ruined by Xu Damao... ruined it all...
Although Banggeng didn't disappear like in the TV series, everyone in the courtyard soon found out that it was because of Xu Damao.
The third son of the Yan family and the third son of the Liu family were merely acting under his orders.
After Liu Haizhong was ousted from his post, his temper worsened, and he beat Liu Guangfu so badly that Liu Guangfu dared not even go home.
He spent all his time hanging out with a bunch of thugs and hooligans in the alley.
Yan Jiekuang dared to go home, but before he could even enjoy the 10 yuan that Xu Damao had given him, Yan Bugui confiscated it under the pretext of "causing trouble."
But this time, Xu Damao didn't hide.
He swaggered up to the fat man's house, leading Qin Jingru along and carrying a piece of meat in his hand.
Xu Damao was beaming as he told them, "This time, let's see how Qin Huairu will marry Sha Zhu! That bastard Sha Zhu will be grateful to me for the rest of his life!"
Of course! Sha Zhu's wife has fallen out again; the cooked duck has flown away!
Yi Zhonghai and his group finally figured out what had happened. The deaf old lady was about to smash Qin Huairu's window, but an older woman stopped her.
However, their shared interests could not be maintained no matter what.
This time, the three old men in the courtyard did not use the pretext of restoring the "bright and clear world" of the courtyard to write a letter of complaint to try to bring down Xu Damao.
After Sha Zhu recovered from his injuries, he didn't know how to face Xu Damao and Fatty, or perhaps he was completely despondent and his personality changed drastically.
He drifted through each day in a daze, going to work and leaving on time. He stopped bringing groceries home and stopped lounging around in the kitchen. He did whatever Old Wang told him to do, working as diligently as if he were trying to win the title of "Advanced Worker".
But it was no use. Fatty had won the title of "Advanced Worker" for two consecutive years, and this year, under the instruction of the leaders during the "one day and one night" visit last time, he even won the title of "Municipal Production Model Worker"!
This title carries considerable weight. How significant? The "May Fourth Medal" wasn't awarded until 1997; before that, being a city-level or provincial-level "production pacesetter" was basically the ceiling for workers.
Yu Li bought two more photo frames, one containing the certificate for the model worker and the other containing a photo of the fat man with the leader.
As her family accumulated more and more certificates of merit and photos, Yu Li even set aside an entire wall specifically to hang these things.
These are honors earned by men, and they also represent her pride!
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The Spring Festival of 1968 arrived.
This Spring Festival was very different from previous years. There was no holiday, and the festive atmosphere of the New Year was somewhat lacking.
Li Huaide launched a sudden attack on the first day of the Lunar New Year. He convened a meeting overnight and captured Xu Damao in one fell swoop!
Such a big event naturally deserves a proper celebration, and all the good-for-nothings from the steel rolling mill gathered together.
The fat man led Shen Xuemei and Liu Lan to prepare special meals for them.
Contrary to expectations, these two women didn't create any dramatic conflict; on the contrary, they got along quite well.
After spending a lot of time with her, everyone realized that Shen Xuemei was a very easygoing person. She could get angry, but when she was angry, she would just turn away and ignore everyone, sulking to herself.
It makes people feel like they can be easily bullied.
"The peanut and minced meat dish is here!" Shen Xuemei placed the plate in the center of the table, and then said, "This is the last dish for today."
Deputy Section Chief Yang of the Security Department panicked: "Huh? That's it? I said, Director..."
Li Huaide gave him a displeased look: "You can't even control your mouth when it comes to eating. Don't you know what the situation is like now?"
After saying that, he asked Shen Xuemei, "Where's Fatty? Tell him to stop what he's doing and come over for a drink."
As Shen Xuemei tidied up, she replied, "Okay, I'll call him for you right away."
"..."
In the kitchen, Liu Lan looked annoyed: "We lost Xu Damao, but gained two more gluttons."
Seeing that there were no outsiders, the fat man spoke without so much restraint: "You get angry about this? He has plenty of people under him like Liu Haizhong and Xu Damao who climbed up by scheming against others. They're not even official cadres."
Liu Lan was somewhat surprised: "Not a cadre?"
"Of course! What are cadres? They need approval from the Organization Department, appointment from the state, and official positions. Do you see them having those?"
Liu Lan understood: "Isn't this just like the household servants around the emperor in the past?"
The fat man slapped her pert buttocks and exclaimed, "You're so clever!"
Liu Lan rolled her eyes. The fat man asked her, "Are you financially well-off? I'm afraid you won't be able to earn any extra money this year. If you have any difficulties at home, just tell me."
Liu Lan smiled and said, "What difficulties could there be? Life is so much better now than it was two years ago!"
As they were talking, they heard footsteps approaching. The fat man quickly gave Liu Lan a wink, and she turned to the table, deliberately raising her voice, "Why is there nothing left today?"
Shen Xuemei walked in carrying a plate and continued Liu Lan's words, "Even with this, they still think it's not enough to eat."
After washing the pot, the fat man prepared to turn off the heat and seal the stove: "Is this all the ingredients you gave me? How many dishes can I make?"
Shen Xuemei blinked: "Master Chen, they want to invite you over. They said they want to treat you to a drink."
The fat man waved his hand: "No, no, I'm not good at these kinds of occasions. Director Li knows perfectly well that you're just going through the motions by asking him to come and call me."
The term "sealing the stove" refers to the fact that the coal-burning stove used nowadays must be sealed every night to keep a small ember burning; otherwise, if it cools down completely, it will be very difficult to relight the stove the next morning.
The fat man picked up a few large pieces of charcoal and spread them on top of the burning charcoal; then he carefully spread a layer of wet charcoal ash on top; he slowly pressed it down with a stove hook, and finally stood up and poked a small hole in the middle of the stove hole, which was considered extinguishing the fire and sealing the stove.
There's a rule in the kitchen: Turn off the fire and seal the stove, or the gods won't accept you. No matter how high-ranking you are, if you miss this time, then sorry.
After finishing up, the fat man said to Shen Xuemei, "Then we'll be going now. Thank you for your trouble. We'll come back tomorrow at noon. Also, if you're going home alone, be careful on the road. The streets aren't safe these days."
Shen Xuemei said gratefully, "Director Li will see me off later."
※※※※※※
Time is like an arrow released from a bow; the moment it pierces the eye, it leaves everything dull and lifeless.
When I opened my eyes again, it was the summer of 1976.
The fat man has gone from a young man in his early twenties to a man in his thirties.
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