Wang Dabao and Liu Guangtian helped up Sha Zhu, who was pale and soaked in sweat, and dragged him toward the gate of the compound.
At this point, Sha Zhu was no different from a dead dog, unable to exert any strength in his legs, and was being dragged home by Wang and Liu, who were holding his arms.
Liu Guangtian wrinkled his nose in disgust and glanced at Sha Zhu's crotch, where it was already soaked.
“Uncle Da Bao, if it weren’t for your sake, I really wouldn’t want to get involved in Sha Zhu’s mess. Even if we help him today, he won’t give us the same warm welcome tomorrow. That’s just the kind of person he is. Except for Jia Dongxu’s wife from the Central Court, he always has a sour face.”
"Alright, Guangtian, just consider it helping Uncle Dabao out."
Upon arriving at the entrance gate, Wang Dabao instructed Liu Guangtian to prop Sha Zhu against the wall of the gate opening. He then took out three cigarettes, handing one to Liu Guangtian and inserting the other into Sha Zhu's mouth.
The last one is, of course, for myself.
"Take a couple of deep puffs, it'll relieve the pain and make you feel better," Wang Dabao instructed after securing the cigarette in Sha Zhu's mouth.
Liu Guangtian looked at the smoke coming out of Sha Zhu's mouth and clicked his tongue in amazement: "You can't even speak properly and you can still smoke, you're really something."
Turning to Wang Dabao, he said, "Uncle Dabao, you're just too kind. If you ask me, you should be the one to sit in this third uncle's position. None of them are qualified."
"I think I'll pass. Just looking at the things happening in this compound is annoying enough. I don't have the energy to deal with them."
Wang Dabao waved his hand, "But Guangtian, you have to work hard, you might have to take over Lao Liu's job in the future."
With Wang Dabao's encouragement, Liu Guangtian instantly perked up.
The two men carried Sha Zhu back to the central courtyard. When Jia Zhangshi saw this, she immediately ran back into the house to report to her son. A little while later, Jia Dongxu came out, groveling, staring intently at Sha Zhu with a smile on his face.
An older woman also saw the injured Sha Zhu and rushed over to ask what happened. After learning that it was caused by a conflict with Xu Damao, she couldn't help but sigh.
The doors and windows of Sha Zhu's house hadn't been replaced yet; they were covered with tattered tarpaulins. The two men dragged Sha Zhu into the house and threw him onto the bed.
"Alright, Zhu Zi, you should rest for a while and recover. We'll head back now."
As Wang Dabao spoke, he gestured for Liu Guangtian to leave.
"Wait."
Sha Zhu lay weakly on the bed and said, "Thank...thank you. There are cigarettes in the cabinet drawer. You...you guys can take them and smoke."
Before Wang Dabao could speak, Liu Guangtian immediately widened his eyes and started searching around: "Where is it? Where is it?"
Finally, following the direction Sha Zhu pointed, Liu Guangtian actually found a pack of economy cigarettes.
"Alright, Sha Zhu, at least you still have some conscience. It's also a good thing that Uncle Da Bao and I didn't do anything wrong."
As he spoke, Liu Guangtian handed the cigarette to Wang Dabao, who waved his hand, indicating that Liu Guangtian should pack it himself.
Liu Guangtian chuckled, knowing that Wang Dabao didn't like the cigarettes, and stuffed them into his pocket.
After returning home, Wang Dabao closed the door and took out the breakfast prepared by the housekeeper from his spatial storage. After eating, he took some tea leaves and peanuts, put them in a cloth bag, hung it on the handlebars of his bicycle, and finally pushed his bicycle out to work.
As Wang Dabao approached the Jia family's house, Jia Zhangshi, leaning against the doorframe, rolled her eyes, turned around, lifted the curtain, and went inside.
Wang Dabao was a little confused by Jia Zhangshi's actions, realizing that he had been too lenient with the Jia family.
Upon entering the front yard, they indeed saw Yan Bugui and others waiting at the door.
"Da Bao, how's Sha Zhu? He's not dead, is he?"
"Old Yan, look at the question you're asking, it's like you're hoping Sha Zhu dies soon." Wang Dabao chuckled. "Don't worry, he won't die. He's used to kicking Xu Damao in the groin, it's nothing serious. He'll be fine after a rest."
Yan Bugui blinked his small eyes, lowered his head, and sighed heavily.
Wang Dabao was a little confused again. Could it be that he had actually guessed Yan Bugui's thoughts correctly?
"After all, Sha Zhu has called me 'Third Uncle' for so many years, so I can't just wish for his death."
Yan Bugui touched the cracked lens. "Although he's been acting recklessly these past two years, he probably doesn't have the heart to harm anyone."
Wang Dabao waved his hand: "Alright, Lao Yan, if you're worried, you can go check on Sha Zhu when you have time. I'm leaving now."
After saying that, Wang Dabao didn't give Yan Bugui any more time to speak, and pushed his bicycle away in a long stride.
It was still the security team's duty room. Captain Zheng Jun was about to pour water to make tea when he saw Wang Dabao take a packet of tea leaves out of his cloth bag and throw it on the table.
Zheng Jun picked it up and looked at it, then his mouth dropped open in surprise.
This bag of tea weighs about half a pound.
It's worth noting that during the three major holidays—Spring Festival, May Day, and National Day—the factory would only give the workers an ounce of low-grade tea and some sesame paste.
Tea, a type of commodity, is also rare in the market.
Wang Dabao's order of half a jin (250 grams) surprised him greatly.
Not only were people surprised by Wang Dabao's methods of obtaining tea, but they were also amazed by his generous personality.
"Alright, stop looking like you've never seen anything like this before. Give it to us guys to drink." Wang Dabao didn't linger. He then went to the security team's duty room and, as usual, threw in half a jin (250ml) of liquor.
This excited Feng Biao for a long time. He examined the tea leaves over and over, and finally brought them to his nose to take a deep sniff, exclaiming, "Good tea!"
"Old Feng, I'm warning you, this is for the brothers, don't even think about cutting corners."
Wang Dabao patted Feng Biao's broad shoulder and said, "You can tell me if you need anything."
Without the slightest hesitation, Feng Biao said, "Wang Ke, I need it."
Wang Dabao almost choked on his saliva. "Are you doing this on purpose? I told you to just ask if you need anything, and you need something right after I finished speaking?!"
Seeing Wang Dabao's depressed expression, Feng Biao explained with a wry smile, "It's my brother going to his girlfriend's house. This is his first time going, and I heard that her father likes this kind of drink. I've been to the pigeon market these past few days, but I haven't been able to find it!"
"How much difference?"
"Two ounces."
"Okay, I'll bring it to you tomorrow, you don't need to pay."
Upon hearing this, Feng Biao immediately took out a cigarette and lit it for Wang Dabao: "Wang Ke, from now on, I, Old Feng, will definitely serve you faithfully and go through fire and water."
"Get lost, don't give me that crap. Focus on your work, or I'll fire you."
After saying that, Wang Dabao went upstairs to the second floor.
In a few days, Wang Dabao plans to bring Third Uncle's youngest son, Wang Tiangao, to the city to take over his uncle's job. He will also arrange for him to work as an assistant under Feng Biao in the security team, and Feng Biao will have to help look after him.
Tea is precious, but that's only true for ordinary people. For Wang Dabao, two ounces of tea is nothing more than a drop in the ocean.
Wang Dabao knocked on the door of Section Chief Hu's lounge, put the cloth bag in his hand on the coffee table, and propped his feet up on the coffee table like an old man.
"Old Hu, come and see what I brought you."
"Showing off, huh!"
Despite his sarcastic remarks, Section Chief Hu was also curious. He strolled over to the rest area, opened the cloth bag on the coffee table, and immediately beamed with delight.
"You've got a conscience, buddy. I'll take it then."
Section Chief Hu happily took the cloth bag to the inner room and put it away, without asking Wang Dabao about the origin of the items.
After chatting for a while, the two went downstairs for a meeting.
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