Siheyuan: Starting from 1958

The next afternoon, the news that Tang Dashan joined the steel rolling mill and became an apprentice in the kitchen spread throughout the courtyard.

When the third uncle Yan Fugui came home from get off work, he saw the eldest uncle staring at him expectantly, which made Yan Fugui look puzzled.

"What happened? Why are you looking at me like that...is there something on my face?" Yan Fugui asked his eldest son, looking at him with a puzzled look on his face.

"Old man..." The third aunt spoke first.

"I just heard that Tang Dashan from our front yard, thanks to Wang Dong's connections, officially joined the steel mill this morning as an apprentice in the kitchen."

"I didn't expect that Wang Dong, a kitchen team leader, would be so capable as to send Tang Dashan to work as an apprentice in a steel mill."

"Our eldest son has graduated for two years. It's not a good idea for him to work odd jobs outside every day. Why don't you use Wang Dong's connections to send him to the steel mill as an apprentice..."

"It would be best if I could get close to the kitchen. Wang Dong is an eighth-level chef in the factory. If I could learn cooking from him, I would definitely not have to worry about food and clothing in the future..."

"If you really can't get into the kitchen, you can be an apprentice in the workshop."

"Many people in our courtyard are working in the workshop. It would be nice to learn locksmithing and forging from them..."

"At worst, we can give the old man some gifts, and let the eldest son worship the old man as his master and learn locksmithing from him..."

Yan Fugui was shocked by the news his wife told him. He was stunned for a while before he reacted: "Don't talk for now, let me sort it out..."

"Tang Dashan from our hospital got into the steel mill kitchen as an apprentice through Wang Dong's connections... You are indeed Tang Dashan, not someone else..."

"Wang Dong is the canteen supervisor in the steel mill's back kitchen. He is not even a cadre. How could he have the connections to send Tang Dashan to the steel mill... Did you hear me correctly..."

The third aunt answered confidently: "How could I make a mistake about such an important matter..."

"Old man, this is the news from the steel mill..."

"This morning, someone saw Tang Dashan and Wang Dong entering the steel mill together. At noon, Tang Dashan was seen working as an apprentice in the kitchen of the steel mill. I heard that he even took Wang Dong as his master and worked beside Wang Dong..."

After listening to his wife's explanation, Yan Fugui exclaimed with shock on his face: "It's so shocking."

"I didn't expect that Wang Dong, a small kitchen supervisor, would have such great abilities..."

"It seems that I still underestimated Wang Dong's connections in the steel mill."

After he finished sighing, he stared at his wife and asked, "Are Wang Dong and Tang Dashan back?"

Seeing his wife shaking her head, Yan Fugui continued, "Boss, you are responsible for watching the gate of the yard. When Tang Dashan comes back, come and call me..."

"We must first find out how Tang Dashan got this apprenticeship job through Wang Dong's connections, and then we can talk to Wang Dong."

…………

The Yi family in the middle courtyard.

After returning home, Yi Zhonghai also heard about Tang Dashan's job at the steel rolling mill.

His first reaction was also shock. He didn't expect that Wang Dong, a cook, had more influence in the steel rolling mill than himself.

I, an eighth-level fitter, didn’t have any apprenticeship quota, but he, an eighth-level cook, was able to get an apprenticeship quota.

What shocked him was.

Wang Dong actually gave this apprenticeship quota to the Tang family.

The Tang family is probably the poorest family in the courtyard, so giving the quota to the Tang family will definitely not make any money.

Just as Yi Zhonghai was frowning and analyzing why Wang Dong gave the apprenticeship quota to Tang Dashan instead of selling it to someone else at a high price, the aunt spoke again.

"Old Yi..." "After this incident, Wang Dong's prestige in Siheyuan is almost higher than that of you three uncles."

"you do not know……"

"After the news that Tang Dashan got a job at the steel mill through Wang Dong's connections spread to the four courtyards, the residents whose children were looking for jobs rushed to the front courtyard one after another, as if they had discussed it beforehand, hoping to get their children into the steel mill through Old Chen's connections through Wang Dong..."

"In the past, when they encountered such a thing, everyone would come to you, an old man. After all, you are a senior fitter in the steel rolling mill."

"I didn't expect that Wang Dongjin had only been in the steel mill for a year and he would have taken over the limelight."

"If Wang Dong arranges two more people from the courtyard to work in the steel mill, his prestige in the four courtyards will definitely surpass that of you, the grandfather."

"From now on, the residents of the courtyard will only recognize Wang Dong, the boy, and not the three of you."

Yi Zhonghai snorted coldly and replied: "Women's opinions..."

"You think this is a good thing?"

"Tell you……"

"If it is not handled properly, Wang Dong will not only not get any benefits, but also lose his prestige in the courtyard and offend all the residents..."

"It's been a long time since I bothered Wang Dong. I was wondering how to retaliate against him, but I didn't expect God to give me a good idea..."

It is said that the old man in the yard often schemes against others and does all kinds of bad things in order to support himself in his old age. He is a bad person.

But Auntie is a rare good person in the yard.

actually not.

The aunt has slept in the same bed with the uncle for decades, so she must know the uncle's character and personality very well, and she also knows exactly what the uncle does in the yard.

But he did not stop Yi Zhonghai from scheming against others, and sometimes even helped him with plans.

From this point of view, the aunt is not only not a good person, but also an accomplice of the evildoer in the yard.

Because every time the uncle encountered difficulties in the yard and couldn't solve them by himself, the aunt would always bring the deaf old lady to the central courtyard at the critical moment to intervene and help Yi Zhonghai out.

When he heard Yi Zhonghai say that he wanted to take revenge on Wang Dong again and had even thought of a way to do it, an expression of anticipation immediately flashed across his face.

He also wanted Yi Zhonghai to severely suppress Wang Dong.

Before, when Yi Zhonghai was the boss in the yard, as an old lady, every resident in the yard would greet him when they saw him for the sake of the old man.

Ever since the Siheyuan was divided into separate courtyards for management, Yi Zhonghai's reputation in the Siheyuan has been ruined, and many residents in the courtyard no longer respect him as before.

The aunt is a person who cares about her reputation. She definitely cannot accept the huge gap in her heart.

If Yi Zhonghai could find a way to suppress Wang Dong and re-establish his prestige in the courtyard, his status in the courtyard would definitely rise. Just like before, everyone would respectfully call him "Aunt Yi" when they saw him.

He immediately asked with an expectant expression: "Lao Yi..."

"What specific method?"

"Just in case, in order to prevent Wang Dong from having a chance to turn things around, should we go and discuss this with the old lady?"

"No need..." Yi Zhonghai answered confidently.

"As long as this thing is done, Wang Dong will definitely lose face in the courtyard, and the residents in the courtyard will also be very dissatisfied with him, especially Old Yan in the front yard. This time, we must make him conflict with Wang Dong." (End of this chapter)