Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 595: First Visit to Lou's Family
In the main room of the east wing in the front yard of No. 95 courtyard, four people were sitting together drinking. The leader was Qiao Wenju, who had just moved in. Next to him sat Yan Bugui. Opposite Qiao Wenju sat Liu Dadi, who lived in the west hall and was a buyer at the steel rolling mill. Opposite Yan Bugui sat a young man named Zhao Zhi, who lived in the gatehouse. He had no job now and did odd jobs when he had nothing to do. He was alone at home and lived a carefree life.

There were six dishes on the table, including fish, chicken, and a bowl of braised pork, with three side dishes. The four of them had already drunk a pound of wine and were chatting animatedly.

It was mainly Yan Bugui who introduced the people in the courtyard. Yan Bugui was very hard-working just for a bite to eat, and he talked about every detail, including who did what, where they worked, how many people were in their family, from the deaf old lady in the backyard to the Qi family in the middle yard. Most of the people in the front yard were present, but he talked about the front yard the least.

Qiao Wenju said, "I thought so. Our factory assigned me a room here. It turns out that most of the people in the middle and back yards are from the steel mill."

Liu Dadi said, "Brother Qiao, you may not know that most of the houses in this area belong to the Lou family, so the steel rolling mill got the most. Of course, there are also some houses donated by President Lou to support the work of the street office, and your textile factory got this part."

Qiao Wenju suddenly realized and said, "So that's it. Come, come, have a drink."

A few people clinked glasses and chatted about the people in the yard. In the end, they talked about the people in the nearby yards. Qiao Wenju asked, "By the way, Uncle San, whose yard is behind my house?"

Yan Bugui was stunned, thought for a moment and said, "I really don't know. The door of that yard has been locked, and I haven't seen anyone there. But I do know the yard in front. There's an old lady, two women in their forties, and a child. Oh, and it seems that there's a young veteran in his family, but I don't know his name."

Zhao Zhi said: "I have seen that young man twice. He is not very old, but he seems to be quiet."

Yan Bugui curled his lips and said, "He's not quiet at all. He just looks down on everyone. Oh, by the way, I remember now. That yard should belong to that young man. I saw him open the door."

Qiao Wenju smiled and said, "Haha, you are so arrogant. Now the people are the masters of the country, so why would they look down on anyone?"

Liu Dadi also said indignantly: "That's right, they all have the same nose and two eyes, and no one is worse than anyone else. Come on, let's drink." Several people clinked glasses and started drinking again, and talked about the people and things in the steel rolling mill in the slum behind.

Wang Wenyuan didn't know which courtyard Yan Bugui was slandering him in. He had just finished his meal and fed the fishes before sitting on the recliner in the main hall. Xiaobai was lying on his stomach and the little girl was eating a big apple beside him.

Wang Wenyuan looked at the little girl and said, "Did you send it to your sister Yushui?"

"Oh, I forgot. I left it outside. I'll get there now." After saying that, she ran out with her short legs. Wang Wenyuan shouted at her to slow down.

After a while, the little girl and He Yushui came and sat beside him, eating apples. Xiaobai squinted his eyes and lay quietly. The little girl asked, "Brother, don't you think Xiaobai is too lonely?"

"Well, how could that be? Aren't there you and Yu Shui?" Wang Wenyuan asked.

He Yushui said, "Brother Yuan, I saw a big black dog with several small black dogs passing by the gate of our school. What do you think if we get another dog and call it Xiao Hei, wouldn't it be able to keep Xiao Bai company?"

"Haha, so that's what's going on. Okay, I'll go to Guanyuan another day. You two clever little guys, it turns out you want to raise a puppy." Wang Wenyuan said.

He Yushui smiled and continued eating her apple. Wang Wenyuan sat up, put Xiaobai on the recliner and said, "I'm going to smoke a cigarette. You two can eat slowly, and then go to grandma's place." Wang Wenyuan wanted to take a walk around the steel mill in the evening to see what the factory was like at night and get familiar with the terrain there.

Wang Wenyuan left the house, covered his face with a scarf leaving only his eyes exposed, rode his bike out of the yard, headed straight for Dongzhimen, and after passing Dongzhimen, headed for the steel rolling mill.

Spotting the gate of the steel mill from afar, Wang Wenyuan parked his car, hid himself in the dark, and started to drive around the mill. What's more, he made some new discoveries this time. From the four directions of southeast, northwest, northeast and southwest, there were people moving things out at night, either alone or in groups of two or three. Wang Wenyuan thought, this steel mill has become a sieve. It leaks so much that it's a miracle it didn't go bankrupt.

Turning to the west side of the factory, he saw from afar the guard room filled with smoke. Several people were playing cards inside, and their sounds could be heard outside. It was so blatant. Wang Wenyuan shook his head, found a place where no one was around, and flashed into the yard. The factory was now pitch black, and from afar he saw a factory building with lights on. Before he got nearby, Wang Wenyuan had already seen guards standing guard with guns. The factory building was brightly lit, but there were few people coming in and out.

Wang Wenyuan retreated and walked around the area before returning the same way, leaving the factory and riding his bike home.

It was almost midnight when Wang Wenyuan returned home. The little girl seemed to have fallen asleep at Hua's mother's house. Wang Wenyuan also quickly washed up and went to bed. He would talk about the steel mill matters after he got the job, but it seemed that there were really a lot of problems.

On April 3, 1953, Wang Wenyuan went to the branch and received his transfer documents from Director Fang. He was finally appointed as the chief of the Security and Public Security Section, but his rank was retained. This was because Wang Wenyuan himself was at the section chief level, and he should have been a department-level cadre when he went to the steel rolling mill. However, for this mission, the bureau transferred him to the same level.

After the Qingming Festival, Wang Wenyuan packed up, put on his old military uniform, and rode to Lou's Steel Rolling Mill. He was stopped at the door by two guards who looked at him unfriendly. Wang Wenyuan said, "Sir, I'm here to report. This is my transfer document."

A head popped out of the guard room. It turned out to be an old man. He shouted, "You have to register to check in. Come in."

Wang Wenyuan handed his transfer documents and his original work permit to the old man, then took out a cigarette and handed it to him. The old man looked at the cigarette and said, "Oh, it's still a foreign cigarette."

"Oh, these were captured on the battlefield. Do you want me to register them?" Wang Wenyuan replied with a smile.

The old man was stunned and said, "Back from the Peninsula? Just write it in this registration book."

Wang Wenyuan took out a pen and wrote down his basic information, the reason for coming to the factory, and his job transfer in the registration book. After he finished, he said, "Yes, I was injured and retired. By the way, who should I contact?"

The old man returned the things to Wang Wenyuan and said, "See? Go straight along this road, pass about two factory areas, turn right, there is a three-story red building over there, and the second floor is the personnel department."

"Thanks, sir. Let's talk sometime." After Wang Wenyuan finished speaking, he packed up his things and headed for the personnel department.

The old man looked at Wang Wenyuan's back. No matter how he looked at him, he didn't think that Wang Wenyuan was someone who had been to the battlefield. Firstly, he didn't have the iron-blooded spirit of a soldier, and secondly, he didn't look like someone who had seen blood. If you said that he was just a weak scholar, he would kind of believe it.

(End of this chapter)