Xu Damao was extremely envious of Wang Dabao for being able to call him Old Yan and Old Liu.
Moreover, Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui seemed to enjoy listening to it.
But when it came to him, Yan Bugui had already rebuffed him several times.
He was genuinely afraid that Yan Bugui would disrespect him and make him lose face in front of the female teacher.
Although Yan Bugui was angry, he couldn't show it in front of the female teacher, so he could only go along with it and say, "Da Mao is so thoughtful. I've been so busy that I haven't been able to take good care of you. Please don't mind."
The female teachers repeatedly expressed their politeness.
Then, Yan Bugui said with a smile, "Da Mao is known for his warm heart in the courtyard, but this projector does need someone to look after it. Da Mao, you should go back quickly, I'll take care of things here."
Xu Damao knew that Yan Bugui was giving him a way out, so he nodded hurriedly, "Alright, Second Uncle, then I'll leave this to you."
Upon hearing this, Yan Bugui exclaimed, "Wow, you're even asking me for help? Listen to how you talk, you're taking all the benefits."
Xu Damao carried the thermos and looked back every few steps as he went to Qin Huairu's tea stall.
"So, Xu Damao, has anyone taken a liking to you?"
Qin Huairu took the thermos and asked with a smile.
Xu Damao's eyes were still on the female teacher. After hearing Qin Huairu's words, he slowly shook his head: "The lights over there are not bright, so you can't see clearly. She is young, but compared to you, Qin Huairu, she is still a bit lacking in appearance."
Upon hearing this, Qin Huairu almost threw the rag she was using to wipe the tea at Xu Damao: "Xu Damao, are you praising my good looks or insulting my age?"
"Oh, what you're saying is so meaningless. Of course I'm praising your looks. There's no prettier young wife in this compound than you."
Xu Damao chuckled, knowing he couldn't say too much of that teasing, and then changed the subject.
"Qin Huairu, do you think my trip to deliver tea will leave a good impression on them?"
Qin Huairu shook her head: "I think it'll be too much trouble. Maybe it would work if you went over and gave each person a roasted sweet potato."
"Oh dear, how could I forget about that? Let's do it this way, you can't catch a wolf without risking your cub." With that, Xu Damao lifted his foot and headed towards Yu Li's sweet potato stall.
Qin Huairu, who made the suggestion, was dumbfounded.
Qin Huairu was taken aback; so her suggestion was quite effective.
Yan Bugui was chatting with several female teachers when he looked up and Xu Damao arrived again.
"Hey, Da Mao, what's wrong with you? The projector doesn't need you, so why are you always running over here?!"
"Hey, I was worried that the teachers would get hungry while watching, so I bought some roasted sweet potatoes."
Xu Damao spread out the newspaper in his arms. "Alright, here's an extra piece. Old Yan, you can eat it while it's hot. You two can eat and chat. I'll go over to the projector now; the narration will start soon."
After handing the sweet potato to Yan Bugui, Xu Damao said goodbye to the female teachers and left happily.
Rushing back to the projector, Liu Guangtian saw him return, spat out his cigarette butt, and stood up. "Da Mao, you're finally back. My dad just came over and circled around several times; he didn't look too good."
Xu Damao waved his hand, "It's nothing. I just went to see a few teachers. It's their first time visiting our compound, and as the person in charge, it wouldn't be right for me not to go and check on them."
He was speaking to Liu Guangtian, but Xu Damao's eyes were still fixed on the female teacher.
"Teacher Yan, this 'Third Uncle' in charge of your department is really enthusiastic. When he said he was the 'Third Uncle,' we didn't believe him at all."
A younger female teacher took a bite of sweet potato and spoke.
Yan Bugui was busy eating sweet potatoes and didn't even bother to pay attention to the female teacher.
These sweet potatoes are really sweet! Yan Bugui loves them from the bottom of his heart, but he only managed to eat a small piece when he was testing the furnace in the morning. After that, he could only watch others eat them.
It wasn't that Yu Li and Yan Jiecheng wouldn't give him food; it was that he couldn't bear to part with it—it cost one yuan and two mao.
He felt that eating it would be a waste of his time, and he would be heartbroken.
But things are different now. Xu Damao paid for this, so it would be a waste not to eat it.
After all, one is obligated to help someone who has eaten their food, so Yan Bugui had no choice but to say a few good words for Xu Damao.
Similarly, this is why Xu Damao bought an extra sweet potato.
"You know, Da Mao is really enthusiastic and capable. He also put on a good movie."
After offering a few perfunctory words, Yan Bugui started slurping up the sweet potato again, repeatedly urging everyone to eat it while it was hot.
After licking the burnt sweet potato skins clean, Yan Bugui finally had time to talk to the female teachers.
"Oh, by the way, let me tell you, this old man in our courtyard, Xu Damao, is still single."
Yan Bugui mysteriously approached a few female teachers and said, "His father was a projectionist, and he took over the job. His family is quite well-off. If any of you are interested, tell me, and I can help you get together."
Xu Damao and Wang Dabao were known in the courtyard for their lavish spending.
Yan Bugui also wanted to tie the knot with Xu Damao; if things went well, he would certainly be well taken care of.
Upon hearing Yan Bugui bring this up, the female teachers fell silent.
A moment later, a female teacher muttered, "Xu Damao is great in every way, except he's not very good-looking. By the way, Teacher Yan, what's the name of that young man who came to the door with you when we arrived?"
"Oh, you mean Da Bao, Wang Da Bao, who's also from our department."
Yan Bugui chuckled, "Teacher Liu, you haven't taken a liking to Da Bao, have you? You have really high standards. But this morning my daughter-in-law wanted to introduce him to someone, but Da Bao didn't agree, saying he wanted freedom or something."
After hearing this, Teacher Liu paused for a moment, then said "Oh".
Seeing Yan Bugui chatting animatedly with the female teachers, and with several of them glancing in his direction from time to time, Xu Damao was overjoyed.
He secretly remarked that the tea and sweet potatoes hadn't been given for nothing.
At this point, the movie reached its climax, and the neighbors watched with rapt attention.
Xu Damao roused himself and began to explain earnestly, determined to use his strengths to let these female teachers know that he, Xu Damao, was also a cultured person.
After chatting with the female teachers for a while, Yan Bugui also left.
After all, they are all female teachers, and it's not appropriate for him to stay there all the time.
Back with Liu Haizhong and Wang Dabao, the three of them started discussing how to spend the New Year in the compound again.
In reality, the discussion was between Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui. Wang Dabao didn't care about it at all, only occasionally chiming in, but he couldn't resist Liu Haizhong constantly asking for his opinion.
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