Xiao Su trembled slightly, looked up at Wang Dabao, her cheeks flushed, and her heart suddenly raced.
Wang Dabao held Xiao Su's hand tightly, and the two walked aimlessly.
As darkness fell and the sound of firecrackers echoed in the distance, the two realized it was time to go back for dinner.
They smiled at each other, and only after walking back to the building where Section Chief Hu lived did Xiao Su struggle to pull her small hand out of Wang Dabao's large hand.
The four elders couldn't help but smile when they saw the sweet look on the couple's faces as they entered.
During the meal, Section Chief Hu deliberately arranged for Wang Dabao and Xiao Su to sit together.
During the meal, everyone chatted and laughed. Wang Dabao quietly took Xiao Su's hand under the table. Xiao Su's heart almost jumped out of her chest. She tried to pull away but couldn't, and could only let Wang Dabao hold her hand.
Fortunately, Wang Dabao was just teasing her and quickly let go of her.
The meal was warm and pleasant, as if an invisible force was drawing Wang Dabao and Xiao Su closer together.
After the meal, the Xiao family of three left together with Wang Dabao.
Downstairs, Xiao's mother warmly held Wang Dabao's hand and invited him to visit her home sometime.
"Don't worry, Auntie. When I'm less busy at work, I'll go over to my house and have a couple of drinks with my uncle."
Then, Wang Dabao caught a glimpse of Xiao Su smiling radiantly beside him.
After leaving the staff quarters, Wang Dabao wrapped his coat tighter around himself and walked through several alleys before returning to the factory.
It was getting late, and Wang Dabao was too lazy to brave the cold wind and ride his bicycle back to the compound. There was no need for that; he might as well just go back to the space farm.
After taking a stroll around the guard room at the entrance, I returned to the security department's small building rest room.
The lounge wasn't cold, but it wasn't as comfortable as the temperature at the farm.
After drinking at Section Chief Hu's house that evening, I immediately instructed the housekeeper at the Space Farm to prepare some hangover tea for me. Carrying my cup, I took my two dogs to the beach again.
Wang Dabao lit a cigarette, and his thoughts drifted away.
The next day was the fifth day of the Lunar New Year.
It started snowing sporadically last night, and gradually turned into heavy snowfall around noon.
Workers in each workshop of the factory began to organize themselves to clear the snow in an orderly manner to prevent the melting snow from causing problems for electrical equipment.
The heavy snow didn't stop until an hour before I was supposed to leave work.
Wang Dabao walked home; there was no way he could ride his bike that day.
The journey, which usually takes ten to twenty minutes by bicycle, took him almost fifty minutes.
There was no way around it; the snow was quite thick, making the road difficult to walk on, with one foot deep and the other shallow.
As soon as I entered the courtyard, I saw Yan Bugui, Liu Haizhong, Xu Damao, and a few others talking in front of Old Yan's house. However, their expressions were rather serious, and Aunt Er's face also looked rather unwell, making the whole atmosphere quite oppressive.
This piqued Wang Dabao's curiosity, and he strolled over. Xu Damao immediately took out a cigarette and offered it to him.
"Da Bao, you didn't come back last night, did you?"
Wang Dabao was stunned. Wow, Xu Damao found out he hadn't come home all night?!
“Something happened at the factory yesterday, and I was busy until quite late, so I just slept there.”
"I knew it."
Xu Damao lit a match for Wang Dabao first, saying, "I knocked on the door for ages last night, but you didn't come out. I figured you must have had something to do."
After Xu Damao said that, Wang Dabao frowned: "What, did something happen in the yard tonight?"
"Absolutely."
Yan Bugui's wife chimed in, "Last night, Jia Dongxu had a high fever and called Dr. Zhou from the next courtyard. But his condition got even worse. I heard he was vomiting blood. Dr. Zhou couldn't treat him. He said the infection was too severe and he had to be sent to the hospital."
"That's why they took him to the hospital late at night."
Wang Dabao nodded, but he still didn't quite understand what Jia Dongxu's infection had to do with him, and why Xu Damao was knocking on his door.
Seeing Wang Dabao looking over with a frown, Xu Damao immediately gave his answer.
“Sigh, after Jia Dongxu left, Jia Zhangshi cried and wailed for half the night, making it impossible for anyone in the courtyard to sleep. I was thinking of asking you to help me think of a solution, but who knew you weren’t here. It seems you’ve managed to get away with it all by yourself.”
Xu Damao pointed to the dark circles under his eyes, "I didn't go to sleep until almost dawn this morning, and it's not even noon yet, and Jia Zhangshi has started again. I heard that the hospital has already issued a notice, and I guess Jia Dongxu will be gone in the next day or two."
Liu Haizhong, standing to the side with his hands in his sleeves, sighed and said, "A person's fate is predetermined. Who would have thought that Jia Dongxu would outlive us old men?"
"That's right. Although this child isn't very popular, we still live in the same courtyard. How did he end up like this?"
Yan Bugui got emotional, took off his glasses, and wiped the corners of his eyes a couple of times.
Wang Dabao could see it clearly from the side; Old Yan blinked his small eyes but didn't shed a single tear.
"Did they send back any letters after that?"
Wang Dabao asked again.
"No." Yan Bugui's wife pouted. "Yi Zhonghai and his wife, Qin Huairu, have all gone over. Just now, Shazhu cooked some food at home and went to the hospital too."
Wang Dabao nodded, guessing that Jia Dongxu probably wouldn't make it through this ordeal.
Just as Wang Dabao had predicted, cries of agony came from the Jia family again in the middle of the night.
Jia Dongxu is back, but he's coming back sideways.
Actually, you can't say that. He was pushed to the hospital sideways on a cart, and he came back lying on the cart.
The difference is that Yi Zhonghai pushed the cart when they went there, but Sha Zhu pushed it when they came back.
It was already three in the morning when Xu Damao was drinking tea at Wang Dabao's house, describing the scene vividly.
"Sigh, this time that bastard Sha Zhu's wish has come true."
Xu Damao crossed his legs, his face showing no trace of sorrow over Jia Dongxu's departure.
Anyway, even though they lived in the same courtyard, their relationship wasn't great. If it had been Sha Zhu who died this time, Xu Damao might have been able to get Wang Dabao to have a couple of drinks with him.
"Da Mao, what do you mean by that?"
Wang Dabao took out a cigarette and tossed one over.
"Do you remember that thing Yi Zhonghai proposed last time about forming a gang? I reckon it'll work this time." Xu Damao said mysteriously, "You didn't see how Sha Zhu looked when he came back. His mouth was practically drooping to his ears. I think he's just hoping Jia Dongxu will be finished."
"Now that's settled, Jia Dongxu is gone, Qin Huairu is a widow, and Sha Zhu has finally gotten what he wanted."
Wang Dabao laughed and said, "Don't you have the same idea?"
"no the same."
Xu Damao waved his hand, "I'll take advantage of any opportunity I can, and if I don't, I'll let it go. Sha Zhu is different. Everyone in the compound knows what Sha Zhu is thinking. He's only interested in being with Qin Huairu, and then he's thinking about getting married himself. He gets all the good things."
"What you're saying is just your guess."
"Da Bao, let me tell you, that's really not true. You just wait and see. If that day ever comes, I'll definitely break them up. Otherwise, I, Xu Damao, will be called Xu Xiaomao from now on!"
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