Courtyard House: Starting as an engineer, crushing a yard full of poultry

As soon as he entered the house, he saw Jia Zhangshi with a gloomy, pig-like face: "Just take the lunchbox, why bother arguing with him?"

"Qin Huairu, you have a child, don't..."

"You think I want to see his old face? It's all for a little food!" Qin Huairu said with a gloomy face.

Qin Huairu felt utterly unlucky, but marrying Jia Dongxu felt good. Although life was tight and they had a wicked mother-in-law, there was still some hope.

Now that Jia Dongxu is gone, he's left behind this wicked old hag. There's another child in her womb. How is she supposed to go on like this? The thought sends chills down Qin Huairu's spine.

Banggeng hopped over: "Mom, what's good to eat in here?"

"Sigh, I'll go heat these up for you." Qin Huairu sighed. She put the three metal lunchboxes on the coal stove to heat them up.

Jia Zhangshi ate the braised pork with potatoes with gusto, just like an old sow munching on her food. It was heated up first. Bang Geng was also stuffing his mouth wide open beside her.

But it was clear he couldn't outdo Jia Zhangshi; she ate two-thirds of the large box of braised pork with potatoes.

"Mommy, I want to eat meat too!" Little Dang snuggled up to Qin Huairu, unable to resist any longer. She looked at Qin Huairu with a pleading expression.

Qin Huairu looked at Jia Zhangshi, wanting to suggest giving Xiaodang a couple of pieces. But the lunchbox was already empty. Jia Zhangshi poured a little soup into her gaping maw.

"You worthless good-for-nothing, you still want to eat meat? The fact that you haven't starved to death is a testament to the good deeds of our Jia family!" Jia Zhangshi said, spewing filth.

Jia Zhangshi's fierce appearance caused the little boy, who was not even three years old, to press his head against his mother and not dare to look at his grandmother.

At this point, the fish was cooked and eaten by Jia Zhangshi and Banggeng with steamed buns made from mixed flour.

The box of tofu cracklings, placed by the stove, had warmed up. Qin Huairu and Xiao Dang started eating steamed buns.

Xiao Dang kept glancing at the fish over there, her big eyes filled with tears of grievance. But she dared not cry out loud, otherwise Jia Zhangshi would jump over and slap her across the face!

"That damned fool Zhu!" Madam Jia cursed incessantly as she spat out fish bones. "Why did you bring back fish instead of braised pork? So many bones, it's outrageous!"

Li Xiangdong had just finished preparing the meal at home and placed it on the octagonal table, wondering why the guests hadn't arrived yet, when he heard a knock on the door. After saying "Come in," the door was pushed open!

Xu Damao, carrying two bottles of wine in one hand, pushed open the door with the other. With a fawning smile, he invited Secretary Zhang, Factory Director Yang, and Li Huaide inside.

Li Xiangdong hurriedly went to greet them and offered them pleasantries. He then invited everyone to sit down at the octagonal table.

Secretary Zhang, Factory Director Yang, and Li Huaide each occupied one side of the octagonal table. Xu Damao sat next to Li Xiangdong. He had already excitedly opened a bottle of Moutai and was pouring drinks for everyone.

Li Xiangdong placed the small pot containing the beef hot pot directly onto the table.

The table was already piled high with dishes. Although there weren't many varieties, the portions were generous. That big fish weighed fifteen or sixteen pounds, and there was also this small pot of beef hot pot. It took up a large area of ​​the table.

"Section Chief Li, did you set up this stove? It's really nice. It's very warm in here." Li Huaide stood up with a smile and took off his cotton-padded coat. When they came in earlier, they had all taken off their cotton-padded overcoats.

"It's alright, it's alright. Without a stove, we'd be in real trouble. It's so cold today!" Li Xiangdong laughed and said, "Let's eat first, let's eat first. This beef hot pot canned food is actually a mixed stew."

"But it tastes really good. Try it, try it."

The group started munching away. The beef hot pot was so delicious that they forgot to put down their chopsticks.

"Not bad, not bad, the food makes me feel warm all over." Secretary Zhang took off his cotton-padded coat as well.

Li Huaide had already rolled up the sleeves of his sweater and shirt, revealing his shiny watch.

"Hey, this watch looks unusual!" Secretary Zhang said, looking at Li Huaide's wrist.

"Yes, Lao Li, where did you get this?" Factory Director Yang asked in surprise.

"Oh, I bought this at Pigeon Market," Li Huaide said casually.

Although it's not good to buy and sell pigeons openly, as long as you're not reselling in large quantities, and you're missing something like a ticket, nobody cares if you go to the pigeon market.

If we have to manage all of this, then we'll have no way to survive.

"It's a foreign product, it looks brand new. How much is it?" Factory Manager Yang asked.

"It's damn expensive! I won't hide it from you all. This thing costs five hundred yuan. If my wife and I didn't both work, we really wouldn't be able to afford it," Li Huaide said smugly.

"What? It's worth that much?"

Factory Director Yang and Secretary Zhang both stared wide-eyed. Xu Damao, on the other hand, was completely stunned.

"This is a fully automatic watch, no winding required. Look, it even has a double calendar!" Li Huaide boasted proudly, "This shows the day of the week, and this is the date."

"It's just that some days of the week were written in a foreign language, which I really couldn't understand. I had to ask someone to teach me for half a day before I could remember it."

"What's valuable is the transparent bottom; I don't know why it was made transparent."

Li Xiangdong then smiled and said, "I've seen this watch in the South, and I know why it's so expensive!"

Li Xiangdong said this to advertise his watches.

"Well, tell me why? I don't even know myself. How can I show off like this?" Li Huaide said with a smile.

"This transparent bottom is so you can appreciate the beauty of the mechanism and see the intricate workings of the watch," Li Xiangdong said. "And this type of glass is the most expensive!"

"Why is that?" Li Huaide asked.

"This is a sapphire crystal. Sapphire has a hardness of nine, while ordinary steel has a hardness between seven and eight. That means you can scratch it with an iron rod, but it won't leave a mark. Of course, you can't smash it!" Li Xiangdong said.

"This thing is still as brittle as glass!"

"This kind of artificial sapphire glass is extremely difficult to manufacture. It's normal that it's expensive."

After saying that, Li Xiangdong picked up his wine glass and said, "Come on, let's drink!"

Chapter Thirty-Five: Taking Down Xu Damao (Seeking Flowers and Votes!)

"Tsk tsk, Section Chief Li is truly knowledgeable!" Li Huaide said excitedly, "Let's drink!"

"This watch is really nice. It feels quite heavy in your hand."

Secretary Zhang weighed the watch in his hand, handed it to Li Huaide, and then picked up his wine glass, saying, "I wonder if there are any of these left."

"There aren't many of these; I think there are only three."

Li Huaide shook his head and said, "These past two or three days have passed, they would have sold it long ago. There's no shortage of buyers for such a good thing."

Factory Director Yang asked casually, "Which pigeon market did you buy this from?"

“It’s the market not far from Yangduzi Hutong,” Li Huaide said.

Secretary Zhang and Factory Director Yang exchanged a glance, and then began to drink.

After four toasts were made at the door, everyone began to toast each other. This was Xu Damao's turn to perform. He stood up, raised his glass to Secretary Zhang, and said, "Secretary Zhang, I'd like to toast you, so it'll be one big glass and three small glasses!"

Li Xiangdong knew immediately that Xu Damao was going to try some fancy tricks. Li Xiangdong had seen Xu Damao's tricks on TV before; he was really bad at them but loved to show off.

"One big and three small?" Secretary Zhang looked puzzled.

Li Xiangdong was toasting Factory Director Yang, while Liu Huaide watched Xu Damao's antics with a smile on his face.

"I'll offer you two toasts; you're the elder, I'm the younger. That means we'll have to drink six!" Xu Damao said with a fawning smile, "I'll drink first as a sign of respect!"

Xu Damao downed three cups in quick succession, then gestured for a surprised Secretary Zhang to drink one. He then drank three more.

"Tsk tsk, not bad, not bad. Xu Damao, you can hold your liquor."

Li Huaide's eyes lit up. He was thinking about how he could have Xu Damao attend his future banquets. With such a high alcohol tolerance, he could help him fend off some drinks and liven up the atmosphere at the banquets.

Li Xiangdong smiled inwardly, knowing that it would be good enough if Xu Damao could finish toasting all three of them.

Li Xiangdong didn't stop either, offering toasts to Secretary Zhang and Factory Director Yang.

After Xu Damao finished toasting Li Huaide, his eyes went unfocused. Meanwhile, he was still trying to raise his glass to toast Li Xiangdong.

"Forget it, sit down and rest for a while," Li Xiangdong said helplessly. "You're really bad at the game but love to play! Go ahead and drink some water..."

Before Li Xiangdong could finish his sentence, Xu Damao had already slipped under the table.

"Alright, I'll take him back," Li Xiangdong said helplessly.

“You’re all alone…” Li Huaide said hurriedly.

Before he could finish his sentence, Li Xiangdong grabbed Xu Damao by the collar with one hand and his belt with the other, lifting him up.

"Director Li, take Xu Damao's clothes and return them to him," Li Xiangdong said.

Li Xiangdong only knew that Xu Damao lived in the backyard, but he had never actually been there. It was around six o'clock in the evening. It was already dark.

"Hey, Xu Damao's son, come out here for a second!"

Li Xiangdong shouted from the backyard. At this time, most people were at home having dinner.

Lou Xiao'e was eating noodles and gnawing on roast chicken when she heard someone calling outside. She then put on her coat and came out.

Seeing Lou Xiao'e come out, Li Xiangdong hurriedly pulled Xu Damao over. He said with a smile, "Sister-in-law, I'm sorry. Xu Damao had too much to drink."

"Section Chief Li, I should be the one apologizing. This guy gets drunk easily and has caused you trouble." Lou Xiao'e was absolutely confident in front of everyone!

Li Xiangdong placed Xu Damao on a chair, and Li Huaide tossed his cotton-padded coat aside. He then said goodbye to Li Xiangdong and left.

Lou Xiao'e left after seeing him to the door.

"Xu Damao isn't much of a drinker. But he's serious about being funny," Li Xiangdong said with a laugh. "Tsk tsk, with that kind of drinking capacity, he still dares to play with one big guy and three small guys!"

"Tsk tsk. Section Chief Li, you're quite amusing!" Li Huaide said with a smile, "That's the way people talk in the South. Wait a minute, I've been to Guangzhou too!"

Li Huaide heard the word "funny" for the first time, but he immediately understood what it meant.

"Hey, is this what you call fun?" Li Xiangdong said with a smile. "Hurry up and go back to drink, this is just the beginning."