mijobooks Chapter 4: The Academy Meeting
Chapter 4: The Academy Meeting
In the evening, Tang Zhenghong returned early. With nothing to do, he rode his tricycle for half a day, earning 4 cents. On his way back, he ran into Xu Damao at the alley entrance, who was humming a song happily.
"Hey, Zhenghong, out running around doing jobs again? If you ask me, you should try to get a job at our factory. The pay is high, and you can even rest on weekends."
According to the "National Holidays and Commemorative Days Regulations", workers are entitled to one day off every weekend.
Of course, whether or not one can take a break depends on the company's production tasks.
Xu Damao is a projectionist, a highly sought-after position, and it's a technical job. Tang Zhenghong's new job after his military service has been kept completely secret in the hospital for so long, and the clothes he received have been sitting unworn in his spatial storage. So no one in the hospital knows what his job is.
Tang Zhenghong usually lived frugally and wore simple clothes with patches. Why did Xu Damao like to chat with Tang Zhenghong? It was because he felt superior.
His father had originally said that Tang Zhenghong was a retired soldier, so his job after returning would be good, and he would definitely have the best future among the younger generation in the institute.
But after so long, even Xu Damao could tell that Tang Zhenghong wasn't doing so well. If he had a good job, he would have been showing off in the yard just like him.
Tang Zhenghong looked Xu Damao up and down and guessed, "Brother Damao, are you dressed like that for another blind date?"
"Hehe, you've got the sharpest eye in the whole neighborhood, you actually guessed right today. Guess what? My girlfriend thing is almost done! Hey, you're only a year younger than me, have you found someone yet? Want me to teach you a few tricks?"
Are we about to make a mess of things?
The timeline is wrong, isn't it?
Lou Xiao'e must have married into the family after Jia Dongxu's character was killed off.
"Then congratulations, Brother Da Mao! Whose daughter is she?"
As for teaching a few tricks, forget it. Your flirting skills, Xu Damao, are nowhere near as good as the chicks in my Taobao farm.
Xu Damao was quite pleased with himself and wanted to make Tang Zhenghong envious, but he had only met the girl he was supposed to meet today once. She worked at a grocery store and he hadn't won her over yet. Although this guy's job wasn't as good as his (in his opinion), he was good-looking. He didn't want to let him steal her away for him.
"It'll be a secret for now, you'll see when the time comes. Do you think the person your brother Mao found would be bad-looking? I'm a projectionist!"
Xu Damao was indeed good at handling things. Fearing that Tang Zhenghong would be angry, he even made a point of complimenting him.
"Zhenghong, you're the best looking person in the neighborhood. Even though no one's helping you find someone right now, it shouldn't be hard to find a partner once you've saved up some money. Don't be like Shazhu, he's just a lousy cook who can only cook a bunch of dishes, he'll be a bachelor sooner or later."
When it came to Sha Zhu, Xu Damao became a completely different person, talking non-stop: "I bet he's never had sex before. If he wants to get married, he has to find a widow. Do you know why?"
Tang Zhenghong was surprised by Xu Damao's foresight and asked curiously, "Brother Damao, what's the explanation behind this?"
"You don't understand, do you? Let me explain it to you properly today. First, his father likes widows. You didn't see Shazhu in the yard, but he especially likes to show off in front of widows. I noticed it; that's their family's taste, it's a family tradition. Second, as I said before, he's still a virgin. If he's lucky enough to find a young, unmarried woman, I don't know what to do. He might end up like that young couple in the alley newspaper, making a laughing stock of himself."
There was a young couple who had been married for two years at the entrance of the alley. They thought that sleeping together would lead to a child. Later, their elders worried that there might be a problem with their health and made them go for a check-up. Only then did they find out that the two had never consummated their marriage.
Tang Zhenghong couldn't help but chuckle at this thought. Some people are born with the skills of a pro, like the one in front of him, while others are still as innocent as an eighteen-year-old child, like himself.
"Brother Da Mao, now that you mention it, it's true."
Xu Damao beamed, looking at Tang Zhenghong with an expression that said, "You have excellent taste," and offered him a good cigarette.
"So it would be better if he married a widow, because widows know a lot. Sha Zhu himself doesn't know, but someone can guide him."
Then came some idioms that Tang Zhenghong couldn't understand.
Xu Damao, perhaps seeing Tang Zhenghong's "innocent and clear" eyes, or perhaps wanting to give his younger brother in the courtyard a word of advice: "Zhenghong, tell me honestly, have you ever been with a woman? That's a sign that a man has grown up and matured."
"Huh? Brother Da Mao, I don't understand, but I heard a friend say something that I still don't understand."
"Oh?"
He said that the sign of a boy growing up is (2), and the sign of a woman growing up is (3). The most important thing for family harmony is communication.
Xu Damao stood there stunned, somewhat bewildered, pondering for a long while before suddenly realizing what he meant, instantly feeling as if he had found a kindred spirit: "Hiss~~ That makes sense! A profound truth, a truly profound truth!"
Then he asked eagerly, "Zhenghong, what's your friend's name? I definitely need to get to know him."
You don't mean you want to become "like-minded" with him, do you?
The two returned to the courtyard, boasting to each other. Yan Jiefang was on guard at the gate. When he saw the two, he exclaimed "Yay!" and ran back into the courtyard to report.
As soon as the two entered the courtyard, they saw that the front yard was packed with people.
Sha Zhu, hands in his pockets, shouted, "Hey, you bastard, you're finally back! Come on, we've been waiting for you!"
After saying that, he shook his body and started cracking sunflower seeds, glancing at Liang Ladi and Qin Huairu every now and then.
Unfortunately, neither of them belonged to his silly Zhu. One married Jia Dongxu, and the other was always clinging to Nan Yi. His silly Zhu had no chance at all.
Tsk, all the good stuff went to other people. And that grandson of Xu Damao, he went on a blind date today. Judging from his expression, he's got a chance.
My silly Zhu isn't bad off either, he has three main rooms.
"Alright, everyone, quiet down. Now that everyone's here, let's get this over with as quickly as possible."
"Xu Damao, you stand in the middle."
Xu Damao guessed that trouble was coming for him again, so he ignored Yi Zhonghai's words and instead looked at Liu Haizhong with a fawning expression, saying, "Second Uncle, you are the manager of our backyard, I will listen to you."
But Liu Haizhong didn't understand what he meant and glared at Xu Damao impatiently: "If your grandpa told you to stand in the middle, hurry up and stop dawdling."
Okay, Liu Haizhong, you better remember this.
"A very bad thing happened in our courtyard today. As for what happened, let's invite an old man to speak."
When Nan Yi moved into the courtyard, Xu Damao, thinking that Nan Yi was also a cook and might be able to use him to deal with Sha Zhu in the future, flattered him by sending him some local specialties from the countryside. Seeing Xu Damao giving him a wink, he could only helplessly stand up and chime in.
"Let me interrupt for a moment. The people in the next courtyard said it was just a joke. Let's not make a big deal out of it. If it were really as bad as you say, Xu Damao wouldn't need to hold this meeting. He would have been taken back to the security office long ago."
Yan Bugui couldn't get the better of Sha Zhu, but he might be able to get the better of Nan Yi and Xu Damao in the future, so he changed his tune depending on the wind.
"Well, Nan Yi is right. Lao Liu, you need to be careful with your words."
"Alright, everyone's busy, I'll just say a few words. Xu Damao, although Nan Yi just said your matter isn't serious enough to warrant official attention, it has still set a bad example. People are saying there's a scoundrel in our compound. I ask you, didn't you have some nasty remarks about Ji Yihe this morning? She came to our compound today and started cursing at us. Do you admit it?"
Yi Zhonghai was implicated today and was called childless, so he was already angry. It was all because of this troublemaker that he immediately labeled the matter.
"That can't be right, sir. I just complimented Ji Yihe on how beautiful she's become. Why are people from the neighboring courtyard causing trouble in our yard?"
Xu Damao's eyes darted around, and he broke the deadlock.
Tang Zhenghong watched the show from the sidelines, inwardly praising Xu Damao for being quite clever, but wondering why he always suffered losses at the hands of Sha Zhu.
And so, Sha Zhu fell for it. He always thought of himself as the representative of the younger generation of martial arts in the courtyard, and how could people from his own courtyard be bullied by people from other courtyards?
"Yeah, grandpa, who led this group? Do they think our compound is easy to bully?"
He wasn't in the yard at noon and had no idea what was going on. When he went to the meeting that evening, he just assumed that Xu Damao had gotten into trouble and was waiting to see what would happen.
Standing to the side, Jia Dongxu, still harboring resentment towards Liu Yizhen for disrespecting his master, blurted out, "Liu Yizhen is the one leading the charge."
Xu Damao was quick-witted; his eyes darted around and he had an idea: "Oh, it's him. I understand now. He's taking this opportunity to get revenge, or waiting for a chance to retaliate. You all know about the feud between Doctor Liu and our Uncle Yi. My banter with Ji Yihe was just normal neighborly greetings, and even if it was a bit serious, it was just inappropriate wording. Uncle Yi, I've been dragged into this by you this time."
Tang Zhenghong felt that the words sounded strangely familiar.
Yi Zhonghai never expected that things would end up involving him as well.
"But are you not at fault? This matter is settled. You'll go apologize to Comrade Ji Yihe tomorrow. To teach you a lesson, you'll be punished by sweeping our yard for a month. If you don't accept it, you can report it to the neighborhood committee yourself! Alright, meeting adjourned!"
Yi Zhonghai was certain that Xu Damao wouldn't dare disagree. Ji Yihe, being the person involved, didn't want the matter to escalate for the sake of her reputation, and only said that Xu Damao had made a few jokes.
But are you, Xu Damao, really alright?
I can't even handle you?
snort!
Liu Haizhong had prepared a lot of speeches for this meeting, but he didn't expect it to end so suddenly. He angrily picked up his enamel mug and left, giving Xu Damao a sidelong glance as he went.
As for Yan Bugui, he pestered Xu Damao to take credit for him. No one knew what benefits Xu Damao had promised him, but he was so happy that he showered Xu Damao with compliments. Even his wife couldn't bear to watch and went back to her room with a pout.