Scholars in the courtyard.

Chapter 1969 Cold Face but Warm Heart Yang Xiaotao

"Sister, please think about this carefully!"

As he spoke, the man ran away.

Qin Huairu snorted coldly, still considering...

Just as I was thinking about it, I saw an old man stroking his beard at the Chuihua Gate with a paper bag in his hand.

That is, roast duck!
Look at that person again, who else could it be but Taoist Zhang from the backyard?

Suddenly, the position of Yang Xiaotao in my mind was replaced by the person in front of me.

He is old, has no wife, and no children.

Have money, house and job.

The important thing is that this old man has a high status.

Now he has become a leader in the machinery factory, and it is said that he receives more money every month than Yi Zhonghai did before.

As for why the other party didn't look for a woman, she had heard about this.

This person used to be a Taoist monk, so he abides by the rules and regulations.

But that was in the past. Now he has returned to secular life.

The reason why he doesn’t look for a woman is probably because he is too old and doesn’t like women of the same age, but he is afraid of being criticized for looking for a younger one.

But I don't have any concerns about this.

I am a widow who has been married twice, and I am paired with him, an old bachelor. Isn't that a match made in heaven?
如果
If you take the initiative.
Watching the old Taoist walk into Yang Xiaotao's house, Qin Huairu became more and more excited, and a smile gradually appeared on her face.

Nowadays, there is no man who doesn't like women.

The difference is what flavor you like.

patter
The sound of rice being cooked came from the rice cooker. Yang Xiaotao walked forward and poked the rice with chopsticks. He took it out and tasted it. The rice was cooked.

"Hey, you came at the right time!"

The old Taoist's voice came from the door, and Zhou Kui beside him quickly stood up to greet him, "Master Zhang!"

Yang Xiaotao is used to calling him "Lao Daoist", but in this courtyard, no one else would call him that casually.

Especially after Zhang Dedao's identity became well known, the street office would come to visit him during the holidays.

Just yesterday during the Mid-Autumn Festival, the street office gave us half a pound of mooncakes.

This welfare benefit is much better than the previous five-guarantee households and old ladies' benefits.

At least, when the deaf old lady was alive, the street office never sent her mooncakes!

So, in this courtyard, the older people call him Old Zhang, the younger ones call him Grandpa Zhang, and as for people like Duanwu, they can only call him Grandpa Zhang!
"Your legs and feet must have been measured, so you can get them out of the pot right away!"

Yang Xiaotao closed the rice cooker again and put it aside to keep it warm.

The old Taoist handed the roast duck to Zhou Kui, then sat aside and took a sip from the water cup.

"I'm going to buy roast duck!"

He said, then asked, "Did you call the steel mill today?"

Yang Xiaotao sat opposite and nodded, "Well, Guan Zhiyong came to see you?"

"That's right. Like you said, we will temporarily stop the research and give priority to ensuring the production needs of the machinery factory."

"Yes, that's what I said!"

The old Taoist rolled his eyes and said, "I just mentioned it to you this morning. You can't just beat me to death with one blow."

Yang Xiaotao frowned, then thought of something, "You guys haven't all stopped yet."

"Ah, this fellow Guan Zhiyong is using chicken feathers as a token of authority, and he is just about to shut down everything!"

"This guy, I'll talk about him tomorrow."

Yang Xiaotao didn't understand why Guan Zhiyong did this, maybe he didn't explain it clearly at the time.

"Just say it!"

The Taoist priest took out a cigarette and placed it on the table. "Actually, I haven't done much research recently."

After hearing this, Yang Xiaotao suddenly remembered something. There was a piece of alloy material data in his system space. Just when Yang Xiaotao was about to inquire about the research on titanium alloy materials, another person walked in from outside.

Seeing the person coming, Yang Xiaotao immediately snorted coldly.

"It's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early!"

Yu Zecheng squinted his eyes and laughed, then put the two bottles of wine in his hand on the table.

The old Taoist glanced at Yang Xiaotao, then stroked his beard and laughed, looking like he was enjoying the fun.

"No, no, there are too many coincidences."

Yang Xiaotao crossed his arms and spoke in a sarcastic tone.

Yu Zecheng didn't care. He greeted the old Taoist and then sat on the other side.

"I heard that you're back. You must be busy with official business, so you only have time to come back now."

"Well, you look very good!"

"Unlike the rest of us, who stay up all night working, as soon as we close our eyes, our heads are filled with a mess of things and we can't even fall asleep."

Yu Zecheng spoke in a familiar manner, but his tone was full of complaints.

Of course, this was said intentionally for Yang Xiaotao to hear!

Yang Xiaotao turned his head and said to Zhou Kui, "Go see what Uncle Dashan is doing and ask him to come over for a drink."

Zhou Kui hummed and went out immediately.

"Is there anything wrong with you guys?"

Yang Xiaotao spoke with a hint of meaning, and Yu Zecheng naturally understood what was going on.

Since Xiaobo can find the problem, Yang Xiaotao can naturally find it as well.

Moreover, when Yang Xiaotao changed the action plan, it was more like they were suspecting their internal members rather than him.

Smart people can guess the meaning of words without them saying it explicitly.

So he pondered for a moment, then looked outside the door and briefly described what had happened inside.

Yang Xiaotao opened his mouth in surprise. The old Taoist was also pinching his beard, his hands suspended in mid-air, with an incredible look on his face.

"You, you are not mistaken?"

Yang Xiaotao lowered his voice and asked, "But, but..."

Yang Xiaotao stretched out his hand and raised it upwards, as if he was measuring a height, or as if he was explaining a position that was important enough.

The old Taoist also put down his hands at this moment, with a complex expression of acceptance and disapproval on his face.

He looked a little disappointed and a little confused.

Yu Zecheng just sighed.

After a moment of silence, Yu Zecheng continued, but with a hint of anger in his voice, "We are sorting out the relevant files from the past."

"One of our comrades was regarded as a traitor because of his obstruction..."

"We found the family of this comrade. There was only an old mother and her seven-year-old child left at home, picking up scraps in the village."

Suddenly Yu Zecheng's eyes turned red and he opened his mouth for a while before he spoke.

"The old lady held my hand and said, my son is not a bad person."

"He is a good man."

"You have to clear his name..."

Yang Xiaotao's nose felt sour and his breathing became heavy. One can imagine how the villagers treated the family members of "traitors" in this era.

Not being able to raise your head and looking down on others are both light punishments.

I didn't even dare to go out.

It would be strange if a child who grows up in such an environment could be in good health.

Not to mention mental health!
"Do you know how I felt at that time?"

Yu Zecheng's voice was hoarse, and his expression was even more depressed. "I don't know. I don't know how to say it myself."

"I really want to say sorry to them. I really want to tell them that it was our mistake at work that caused this."

"I also want to tell them that we will compensate them."

"But I can't say it."

Yu Zecheng clenched his fists tightly, suppressing his inner emotions.

He had seen a lot of human misery, and even watched his comrades being persecuted and sacrificed while on duty.
But the thought of being wronged by one's own people and not being able to rest in peace even after death made him feel heartbroken.

The only thing he can do is to reduce the occurrence of such tragedies.

"This kind of person deserves to die, really deserves to die."

The old Taoist couldn't help but roar in the end, and his face became ferocious.

"Senior!"

Yang Xiaotao reached out and covered the Taoist's arm, then consoled him, "The man has been caught. He will be nailed to the pillar of shame for the rest of his life."

Yu Zecheng nodded, "We won't let him die easily, at least not before his crimes are fully exonerated."

"correct!"

Yu Zecheng suddenly looked at Yang Xiaotao with a serious expression, "We want to thank you for this operation."

“Without your dedication, we wouldn’t be able to do this.”

"If we allow it, more comrades will be harmed."

Hearing this, Yang Xiaotao lowered his head and picked up the cup to drink.

If Yu Zecheng heard this before entering the room, he would definitely snort coldly and then say, "Don't look for me anymore in the future."

But after hearing Yu Zecheng's story and the words from the old man's mouth, Yang Xiaotao couldn't even hum.

He tried to put himself into the roles, whether it was the old man who lost his son, the child who lost his father, or the person who lost his husband or wife.

When he thought about their loved ones who had given and sacrificed for their ideals, but ended up suffering from an unjust case, the feeling of powerlessness, anger, and even humiliation made him unable to utter a single word to express his disapproval.

"Lao Yu."

Yang Xiaotao put down the cup, then looked at Yu Zecheng and said seriously, "I said a lot of things before."

"But, after listening to you for so long, I suddenly realized that saying those words again would be disrespectful to you and to the thousands of comrades who have made sacrifices for this."

"If you really want to thank me, have a drink with me tonight."

Yu Zecheng's eyes became moist, he suddenly smiled, and then let the tears flow.

Originally, he was still thinking about how to thank Yang Xiaotao.

Originally, he was worried about how to feed the horses well.

In fact, he had already prepared his words to have a good chat with Yang Xiaotao.

But now, he found that he had underestimated Yang Xiaotao's awareness.

Maybe this guy is a person with a 'cold appearance but a warm heart'.

He was sure that if he encountered such a thing again next time, Yang Xiaotao would still cooperate as long as he asked.

For no other reason than his name is Yang Xiaotao.

When the old Taoist heard Yang Xiaotao say this, his originally serious and solemn face softened.

The people he cares about will not let him down.

"Okay, then I will sacrifice my life to accompany you for once."

Yu Zecheng wiped his eyes and then spoke seriously.

"For what?"

Wang Dashan's voice was suddenly heard at the door, and then Wang Dashan was seen walking in carrying a roasted pig ear, with Zhou Kui following quickly behind him.

"Uncle Dashan, what we said is that we won't go home until we are drunk tonight."

Wang Dashan smiled and said, "We really don't leave until we are drunk, but you may not be the same."

Hearing this, Yu Zecheng also laughed, "That's right, we are all drunk, but you can still drink."

Yang Xiaotao shook his head, then picked up Wang Dashan's pig ears, went to the kitchen and cut them, then found two cloves of garlic, chopped them into small pieces and added soy sauce. Together with the roast duck that the Taoist priest brought back, a total of six dishes were quickly served on the table.

Yu Zecheng had already filled the glasses for everyone. As soon as Yang Xiaotao sat down, he picked up the glass and said, "I can't afford three cups to go with you. Let's drink one first."

Yang Xiaotao also picked up the cup, "To be honest, this is the first time I've seen you so open-minded when drinking with you."

Yu Zecheng snorted coldly, "That's because you haven't seen me when I was young. That was a foreign place with bright lights and wine, and people could come and go as they pleased."

After hearing this, Yang Xiaotao asked coldly, "Does Sister Cuiping know?"

"You are such a person who brings up all sorts of issues."

"We weren't together at that time."

Yu Zecheng finished his drink, and Yang Xiaotao picked up the bottle and filled it up, then said, "Haha, I like listening to you talk about the past."

"Get lost~~"

"You have no good intentions!"

"Haha~"

The wine glasses could be heard clinking from time to time, and everyone in the room was chatting about what they had seen and heard, and talking about the past.

The drinking party ended when the moon overhead became brighter.

Zhou Kui was the first to give up.

And the facts once again prove that people with strong bodies are not necessarily able to drink.

Wang Dashan helped Zhou Kuixian back home, although he himself was also staggering.

However, with the help of Wang Xiaohu, the two returned to the house smoothly.

Among the remaining three people, Yu Zecheng had a redder face, while the other two were normal.

It’s just that Yang Xiaotao is more sober than the old Taoist.

Supporting Yu Zecheng, Yang Xiaotao and the other two came to the backyard.

"I say, when will Wangwang come back? Don't be like Liu Bei who borrowed Jingzhou and never returned it."

Arriving at the backyard door, Yang Xiaotao asked.

"Don't worry, it won't be lost."

Yu Zecheng muttered something and felt his stomach churning, but luckily he managed to hold back and not vomit.

"Well, you can't afford to pay for it if you lose it."

After saying this, he sent Yu Zecheng into the house and waved goodbye to go home and rest.

Only then did Yang Xiaotao go home and sleep.

After returning home and giving the food back to the cook, Yang Xiaotao lay down on the bed to rest.

Tomorrow, I have to go to the pharmaceutical factory to see what the situation is.