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Chapter 156: Night Banquet

Auntie feels that Taozi’s life is worth it.

Because Taozi hasn't married yet, she can let her nephew Xie Hushan, that little bastard, wash her hair.

First, he ran over to boil water, then added cold water, adjusted the water temperature, and poured it into a pot. He raised one hand high and slowly poured the water onto Taozi's hair. With the other hand, he gently rubbed the foam between Taozi's long hair.

In the rising mist, Taozi turned her face to the side, squinted her eyes, and had a smile on her face, her eyelashes trembling slightly as she laughed.

"Third brother, you are going to do the real work, why do you insist on me following you?" Taozi asked Xie Hushan while gently washing her hair with both hands.

Xie Hushan casually smeared some foam on Taozi's nose with his fingertips and said with a smile:

"I have comminuted fractures all over my body. The leaders of the steel plant all know that my wife has taken me all over the world for medical treatment. This time when they invited me to dinner, I had to bring my family to let them see me."

While kneading the mixed noodles, Chen Chunxiang watched two people washing their hair with hot water from the cafeteria.

Look at how nice this couple is. They are so likable. Even washing their hair is as sweet as honey. They never forget to bring their wives when they go out to eat.

I have spent half my life with that old guy Xie Qimao. The bastard could suddenly get up in the middle of the night and run back to the station to give hot water to the sick animals, but he never even thought of helping me boil water to wash my hair.

Not to mention remembering to take myself with you when going out to eat and drink.

She only gets married once in her life, so how could she have mistaken Xie Qimao's stupidity for honesty?

I'll beat him when I get home tonight! I'll beat him harder and see if I can open his mind.

Thinking of this, Chen Chunxiang looked at Daxiu, who was helping to light the fire while holding luncheon meat in her left hand and canned hawthorns in her right hand. Compared with Taozi, her own daughter was like a fool who never grew up.

The girl is only eighteen. There is no need to make a big fuss. Just soft words can make Xie Hushan obedient.

Everything his nephew has is given to Taozi. Before he even gets married, Taozi is going to be the head of the family.

But my daughter is already sixteen, and she still does the same thing as when she was six. When she opens her eyes, she either thinks about what to eat or where to roll some cigarettes for her grandfather and brother to earn some pocket money.

"I've never been to a restaurant to eat." Taozi was not angry at Xie Hushan's teasing. She blew the foam off her nose with her mouth and asked:
"What if I get embarrassed?"

The third brother said that his master Zhang Cheng had already negotiated with the other party, and the steel mill was going to invite him to dinner. I don’t know what the third brother was thinking. After Yang Liming went to the hospital to inform him of the news, he actually took himself back to the steel mill to wash his hair, shave his head, change clothes, and even wanted to take himself with him.

"I know what they are up to, don't take it seriously. They are a bunch of country bumpkins who can't even pretend to be rich with the country's money. They just can't swallow that humiliation and are looking for an advantage in the situation. They are nothing. Wait a minute, Third Brother will spruce them up for us. See how we can make those guys cover their faces and feel ashamed. They can't pretend to be important in front of me, but there is no way," Xie Hushan said with disdain.

What does it mean to act like a good boy after getting an advantage? It is impossible for Xie Hushan to do so. He can act like a good boy after getting an advantage from his own people in Zhongping, but when it comes to outsiders, even if he takes advantage of them, don't expect them to behave well in front of them.

Are you not convinced and want to find a place to argue and say a few polite words? Is that possible? You have to hold it in even if you are not convinced.

Taozi had just finished washing her hair when Master Luo, who was shaving people's heads in the streets of Zhongping Production Brigade, called out:
"Hu San'er, you want me to get a haircut?"

"It's me!" Xie Hushan responded:
"Uncle Luo, clean up this room for me. I'll take my wife out for a drink later!"

Zhang Cheng helped him finally negotiate for 55 tons of scrap steel, with 7,000 yuan as the first payment. The other party would pay 14 tons first, and he could pick up the goods and pay the bill at any time.

As for the contract, Zhang Cheng definitely could not sign it on behalf of the other party. The other party specifically asked him to sign it with Xie Hushan, the person in charge of the steel rolling mill. The two parties sat down to have a meal together and meet each other, as they would have to deal with each other in the future.

After all, the steel plant paid 55 tons of scrap steel to settle the matter, so the person who blackmailed them should be allowed to meet, right?
That's why Xie Hushan brought Taozi back to take a bath, wash her hair, and change her clothes.

By the time Xie Hushan shaved his hair back into a buzz cut, Daxiu's pot of hot water had finished boiling. Xie Hushan touched his short hair:
Taozi, let's go and rub Third Brother's back..."

Taozi glared at Xie Hushan with her big eyes, her face flushed with embarrassment. Her eyes signaled to him that he should not say such things regardless of the occasion, as his aunt was still beside them.

"If you don't want to, forget it. I'll go ask which worker at Yakou in the factory has a pretty wife and ask him to call his wife over to give me a massage." Xie Hushan picked up a large basin of hot water and walked out.

Taozi lowered her head and glanced in the direction of Auntie and Daxiu. She found that Auntie was tasting the food in Daxiu's hand and was not paying attention to the conversation between them. She waited guiltily until Xie Hushan walked out for a few seconds before she hurried out.

"When I have money, the first thing I will do is to build a bathhouse where I can take a shower anytime." In the director's office of Xie Hushan in the steel rolling mill, Xie Hushan said with his back to Taozi, pouring water on his body with a towel.

Not hearing Taozi's response, Xie Hushan turned around and found that Taozi's face was almost turning purple from holding back her anger, and she was concentrating on rubbing his back.

"I understand that you are shy, but you still have to breathe. Otherwise, if I suffocate my wife to death while taking a bath, how many wives will I have to marry in my life?" Xie Hushan reminded Taozi.

Taozi came back to her senses because of Xie Hushan's words. She gasped heavily and was amused by her own nervousness:
"I forgot to breathe..."

"I'm still wearing shorts. If I take them off completely and let you rub them, you'll be scared to death." Xie Hushan also laughed:
"When you grabbed your muddy old man, stripped him naked and threw him into a big tub to bathe, I didn't see you get so scared because of his naked bottom. I just saw that he was so scared by your glare that he didn't dare to move."

Taozi patted Xie Hushan's back gently to show her dissatisfaction:
"It's not about wearing clothes or not. Grandma said that anything intimate should be done after marriage. You must not do such things without a name or status, otherwise there will always be a day when a girl will regret it."

Logically speaking, since both of them have already made a small engagement and both families have approved of it, there will basically be no unexpected changes. For example, Taozi's mother, Li Qiaozhi, has already started teaching Taozi some basic physiological knowledge about men and women in private.

In her eyes, Taozi is eighteen and Xie Hushan is nineteen, so it would be normal even if something happened between them this year.

But although grandma is Xie Hushan's grandmother, she doesn't indulge Xie Hushan in such matters. Unlike other old ladies, if something happens between their grandson and a girl before marriage, they would like to spread it to the world as if they had taken advantage. The more damned ones might even lower the price for the girl when they officially get married.

Grandma always told Taozi that she could go along with Xie Hushan in everything, but she couldn't let him do what he wanted. If a woman let a man take advantage of her before marriage, and in the end they couldn't get married, the overwhelming saliva would drown the woman. If she was lucky, she could marry far away, but if she was unlucky, she would be narrow-minded and might become depressed because of a single thought.

"That's right. Those city intellectuals who came to the brigade before all cheated on the girls. Didn't they all do that? In the end, it was the girls who regretted it." Xie Hushan did not refute, but nodded in agreement. He was too lazy to talk about this matter anymore, so he changed the subject:
"When you wash later, you'll need a back scrub, so I just..."

"I'll let the aunt help me." Taozi said as she rubbed Xie Hushan's back.

"Ah... I forgot about this." Xie Hushan sighed with pretended regret:

"It's okay. Tell me in advance next time you take a shower, and I'll give Auntie a day off."

Taozi was smiling behind Xie Hushan, and suddenly remembered that they had come back by long-distance bus:

"Third brother, where is your bicycle? Did you forget it in the county town?"

"I gave her away. His name is Song Tiesheng. He works at the railway. He's a nice guy, but he's still single at 21. The guys in the city don't like his family, and his family in the countryside isn't willing to let him go. I thought your mother wouldn't say Ertao'er is single, so I'll ask her when there's a suitable opportunity. If it works out, your mother won't worry about Ertao because I can't get married."

"He's from the county town, how could he be interested in Ertao? Daxiu should be okay. At least Daxiu can become a veterinary cadre after graduation." Taozi felt happy. This was the good thing about her third brother. If he liked someone, he would think of the other person in everything.

Now he likes me very much and even takes care of Ertao's affairs for her.

"Forget it. Tiesheng is such a loyal buddy. How can I let Daxiu harm him?" Xie Hushan heard Taozi say that Daxiu seemed to be more suitable, so he shook his head decisively with a disdainful tone:
"That's not repaying kindness with enmity, isn't it? For someone like Daxiu, you have to wait until she wants to find a partner, and then find one yourself. Don't let others introduce you to someone, because introducing someone to someone is considered making an enemy, and the man will hate the person who introduced him for the rest of his life. After he dies, he will crawl out of his grave to haunt the person who introduced him."

"How can you say that to your own sister?" Taozi said in a reproachful tone. After rubbing Xie Hushan's back, she rinsed him with water, and then used a towel to dry his body. She took out the large basin of used water and poured it out. She filled a basin of hot water and walked in. She looked at Xie Hushan without saying a word. Xie Hushan walked out tactfully, complaining:

"I'm not planning on doing anything intimate. I'm just going to take a look. Can I not do anything?"

……

Bingyang State-Owned Friendship Restaurant.

This is considered the best restaurant in Bingyang County. It opened as early as the Republic of China period. At that time, the restaurant was called Wufulou. It was the first restaurant in the entire Bingyang County to employ female waiters.

After the public-private partnership, it was originally called Bingyang State-owned Mass No. 5 Canteen. However, it coincided with the honeymoon period with the Russians, who sent people to support Yaoshan Heavy Industry. The leaders of Bingyang held a banquet here to welcome the Russian experts. In order to commemorate the friendship, they also felt that the name of the canteen was not formal enough to welcome the Russians, so it was renamed the State-owned Friendship Restaurant.

It is also the first state-owned hotel to be rebuilt after the earthquake. After all, business receptions also require space.

Although each steel plant has its own canteen and the factory leaders have a separate small kitchen to provide meals when they eat in the canteen, when they hold banquets, the leaders of these large and small factories will still bring the guests to the Friendship Restaurant to appear formal, or in other words, to appear impressive.

After all, this restaurant is not for ordinary people to eat at all. Ordinary people can't afford it. It can only open because of the government's salary payment and the large and small factories in Bingyang County's banquets for guests to ensure turnover.

Although Zhang Cheng and Feng Chunlai are commune cadres and may be considered leaders in the eyes of ordinary people, this is the first time for them to enter such a high-standard restaurant in their lives.

He is even not as good as Yang Liming who is next to him. When Yang Liming was working in the county committee and had not yet gone to the grassroots level, he had accompanied his leaders to the Friendship Hotel several times.

The waitresses in the Friendship Hotel were not like those waitresses in the popular restaurants who were full of hatred and impatient with customers. The waitresses here were pretty and friendly, and they greeted everyone who came in with a smile. When entering the private room, the female comrade even took a few quick steps to help open the door, which made Zhang Cheng and Lao Feng a little unbelievable.

Secretary Yin of the commune ate in his own commune canteen, but he never enjoyed the treatment of having the canteen auntie help him open the door.

Moreover, one of the private rooms is almost as big as half the size of the commune compound. Although it does not look luxurious, the simple combination of white and green colors and the spacious room layout do give it a sense of solemnity that inspires awe.

Zhang Cheng even thought that the place where the leaders of Yanjing held banquets when meeting with foreign guests might be similar to this room.

The floor is paved with turquoise marble, the ceiling is extremely high, and there is a gorgeous chandelier hanging. The walls have been replaced with photos to keep up with the times. In the middle is a huge round table that can accommodate at least twenty people. It is covered with a white tablecloth and celadon tableware, and looks elegant and grand.

It's just that the people in the room were a bit of a downer. Two boxes of Moutai were placed in the middle of the round table. Five or six steel plant leaders, dressed in suits and looking like leaders, each with a female companion, were relaxing and smoking and chatting at the table. A little further away, there were two rows of leisure sofas and a table for ten people, where several people who looked like drivers of the steel plant's car team were playing cards and chatting, waiting to be served with drinks.

Wu Jianzhong saw Zhang Cheng, Feng Chunlai, and Yang Limin rushing over, and stood up to greet them with a smile:
"Lao Zhang, we signed the contract at the Friendship Restaurant. Our steel plant is sincere, right? Where is Director Xie? Why hasn't he come yet? Tell him not to pretend to be sick. We have already agreed on it. Are you afraid that we won't admit it?"

Several leaders from steel mills who were visiting the table looked at Zhang Cheng and Feng Chunlai, smiled disdainfully, and greeted them perfunctorily. A commune armed forces minister and a commune special commissioner were really not worthy of their even a glance.

Among them, there was a man in his forties, holding a cigarette and smiling at the people at the table:

"Don't be afraid to come, brother Zhang. Let your farmer factory manager rest assured that our steel plant can't bully a small cold rolling mill in the countryside. Let him have a few drinks with our supply and marketing manager, Old Wei. Any soup that leaks out will be enough to feed his factory for several years."

A group of people suddenly laughed out loud and nodded in agreement.

The reason why the steel plant invited these old-fashioned farmers who had lived in the countryside for many years to have dinner at the Friendship Hotel was to watch them make fools of themselves and laugh at them, so that at least they could vent their anger.

After Zhang Cheng, Feng Chunlai, and Yang Limin were led to their seats by Wu Jianzhong, Feng Chunlai whispered to Zhang Cheng while the people in the steel mill were chatting and not paying attention to them:

"This is not a treat at all. It's obvious that they are not convinced and are setting a trap for Hu Saner. If Hu Saner loses his temper, he will definitely get angry. Maybe they will take advantage of the situation to cancel the contract and put the blame on Hu Saner."

"How about I go out and wait for Hu Saner and give him some instructions?"

Zhang Cheng was also a little nervous. His own disciple had a bad temper. It would be fine if it happened to the people in his own team, but if people from outside tried to show off to him, he would get really angry. Zhang Cheng couldn't say for sure how many of the people on the opposite side would be beaten to pieces by his disciple.

Yang Limin spoke calmly at the side:
"Don't worry, I told him. Xie Hushan knows what's going on. When I took Taozi back, I asked him to take the key to my office. He can get rid of these people."

"Then we'll listen to Secretary Yang." Zhang Cheng glanced at Yang Limin who was speaking. Yang Limin responded with a calm smile. Zhang Cheng said to Feng Chun:
"Besides, I helped to negotiate the deal. Even if the task is completed, how he drinks with others next is up to him. As a master, I can't control everything."

"Waiter, we won't wait any longer. Let's serve the food!" The man from the steel factory opposite ordered the waiter, then looked at Zhang Cheng and the other two, frowned slightly, and gave Zhang Cheng a forced smile:

"Your factory director is being unreasonable. What's the matter? Do you think the place is shabby? Then let's eat first..."

"What kind of place is this? Who picked it? It's so crappy. I was beaten so badly that I have all sorts of fractures all over my body. And you take this as an apology for eating here? They say steel mills are rich, but their tastes are not up to par. They're a bunch of old-timers whose suits can't even hide the smell of rust!" The door of the box was just pushed open at this moment, and the waiter led a man and a woman in from outside. The man started cursing.

His words instantly made the room quiet, and everyone looked at him.

The main reason is that these words are too harsh to hear. Friendship Restaurant is too bad? A bunch of rusty old hats?
Zhang Cheng almost didn't recognize his own apprentice, not because of his appearance, but because of his attire.

Before, Xie Hushan always wore a blue stretch sportswear brought back from Hong Kong Island. From a distance, it looked similar to a worker’s blue work uniform, so it was not too eye-catching.

But Xie Hushan walked in now, wearing a suit that didn't look cheap, his leather shoes were so shiny that they could serve as mirrors, he had a crew cut, and he didn't wear a shirt under his suit, but instead a round-neck white T-shirt.

There is also a shiny gold chain hanging around her neck.

This outfit doesn't look like a good person.
The women who were brought into the room to eat all looked at Taozi.

Taozi was wrapped in a simple blue short-sleeved cheongsam and black stockings on her legs, making her figure look exquisite (actually thanks to the underwear), with graceful and elegant lines. A pearl brooch was adorned under her stand-up collar, and she wore pearl earrings on both ears. She held an ivory handbag in her hand and followed Xie Hushan with a decent smile on her face.

When Taozi saw Zhang Cheng and Yang Liming, she couldn't help but raise her hand and shook her fingers at them deftly.

Xie Hushan didn't even look at the people in the room, and instructed the waitress next to him:
"I saw that the box next to me was empty, so I invited the dozen or so brothers outside to come in and let them eat next door, and then tell them what I said."

"Serve them what we have here. The steel plant chose this poor place to entertain guests. I don't think they can afford to invite two tables. So if they can't pay for that table, you can come to me when they pay."

After saying that, he looked at the round table and cursed again: "Fuck!"
"These old men can only rely on this kind of thing to get some Maotai and Zhonghua cigarettes."

"I can't do that. I can't get used to Maotai. It makes my throat hurt. I cough when I smoke Zhonghua cigarettes. Go outside to the car and ask them to bring in my wine and cigars. Go ahead."

The waitress hunched over and retreated. Xie Hushan took Taozi's hand and sat next to Yang Limin. He looked at Lao Deng, who was so shocked that he forgot to speak, and then looked at Zhang Cheng:

"Master, why did you choose such a place? It looks like the environment is not as good as the big stew in our commune."

Zhang Cheng was almost amused by the way his apprentice boasted in all seriousness.

Is the Friendship Restaurant, the best restaurant in the county, not as good as the braised pork and steamed buns in Zhongping?
"Let me introduce you. This is Xie Hushan, the director of public security of Zhongping Production Brigade and director of Zhongping Cold-rolled Strip Steel Plant. Next to him is his wife." Yang Liming introduced him to several leaders of the steel plant.

Zhou Jianzhong also recovered from his initial shock and started to introduce several leaders around him. However, before he could open his mouth, Xie Hushan waved his hand at him impatiently:

"Don't introduce them. There are so many people here. I can't remember who signs the contract and who has the final say. Why do you have to bring parents to sign a contract in your factory? You haven't even attended the Red Education Class, so you can't write your own name?"

Someone on the opposite side couldn't stand it anymore and slammed the table: "Comrade, how can you ..."

Before he finished speaking, Xie Hushan stood up and pulled up his trousers, and then there was a bang, as if something fell on the marble floor.

The waiter was so frightened that he cried out, and did not dare to come over to help pick it up. Xie Hushan picked up the Type 54 rifle himself and put it on the table, and said to the waiter:

"Too much fuss will not get you anywhere."

Then he looked at the steel plant leader who was staring at the gun on the table and said, "Go on. Don't forget your words just because I pulled up my pants. You have no adaptability at all."

Everyone on the other side was at a loss for words. Where the hell did this young man come from? He's already the factory director, why is he still carrying this thing around to scare people?

How did this living bandit be chosen by the brigade to be the director of public security? If such a person can be the director of public security, is there no one else in their village except gangsters and bandits?

"Give me the contract!" Seeing that no one spoke, Xie Hushan pulled up his pants and suddenly shouted to Zhou Jianzhong.

Several leaders of the steel plant were a little dazed by Xie Hushan's attitude, and they didn't dare to breathe when they saw the pistol. After hearing what Xie Hushan said, Zhou Jianzhong subconsciously handed the two contracts to Xie Hushan.

Xie Hushan took it and signed his name on it without even looking at it. Taozi took out the official seal from her handbag. Xie Hushan stamped both contracts and returned one to Zhou Jianzhong.

Zhou Jianzhong was completely dumbfounded. He didn't even have the chance to show off before he saw Director Xie showing off and intimidating people. Moreover, while intimidating people, he had already signed the contract.

I originally wanted to make things difficult for him by forcing him to drink... but now he's just turned around and left, and I don't know what to do.

This big bandit looks like the boss of a rural steel mill?

Looking at the outfits he and the woman beside him are wearing, they must have been embezzled from his factory's annual profits to be able to afford them, right?
The waiter brought up the cold drinks at this time, along with a bottle of Remy Martin and a box of cigars that Xie Hushan had asked the waiter to bring.

Xie Hushan opened the wine and smelled it, then poured himself a glass and said to everyone in the steel factory:
"This stuff is pretty expensive. You can't afford to drink it on a daily basis, so I won't let you develop a bad habit."

Then he poured a glass for Yang Limin, Lao Zhang and Lao Feng:
"I got it from Hong Kong Island. It costs less than 10,000 yuan a bottle. It's the special wine drunk by French President Charles de Gaulle. Try it."

Then he opened the box of cigars, took out a cigar and bit off the cap. Taozi helped to light it. Xie Hushan held the cigar in his mouth and signaled the waiter to bring the unpacked cigars to everyone in the steel factory:

"You can try the cigars. They were specially supplied to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill."

"Little...comrade, what...is your name?" A steel plant leader finally came to his senses, looked at the cigar in front of him, and asked Xie Hushan.

Are the people in the security department of my factory blind? This shouldn't be the case. Even if they were blind, they could see that this person was definitely not someone to be trifled with. Why did they pick on him?

He deserved to be punished, it's not unfair that he collapsed.

Xie Hushan picked up the amber brandy:
"Nakatako-san, I heard someone wants to drink with me? Just you guys?"

(End of this chapter)