Siheyuan: A master brewer starts with a jar of bone-strengthening wine!

"That's right!" Yi Zhonghai immediately beamed. "Master, I'll be able to buy one soon too! In a few months, I'll be able to buy one!"

This time, the steel rolling mill underwent a restructuring, becoming a joint public-private enterprise, and ordinary workers all benefited. Their wages doubled.

Old Jia used to earn 48 yuan a month, now it's 92.

Yi Zhonghai used to be in his thirties, but now he's over seventy.

Although I don't have the money to buy a car right now, I have hope for the future.

At most six months, my dream will come true.

Xu Fugui doesn't have a car either!

He still walks home every day, a journey of more than four kilometers that takes him almost an hour.

For someone who's used to walking every day, it's nothing.

end of August.

It's unbearably hot during the day, but as soon as night falls, the wind cools down and the night air is refreshing.

When Xu Fugui walked through Yandai Xiejie, the sun had long since disappeared, the sky was full of stars, and the moon was round and bright.

The scenery is quite beautiful.

Behind them, wisps of smoke rose from the courtyards, occasionally punctuated by the barking of dogs.

After passing the Di'anmen intersection, Nanluoguxiang comes into view.

Xu Fugui was particularly weak today. He had been struck by lightning dozens of times. Although his skin and flesh were not rotten, his whole body ached as if it had fallen apart.

I can't hold on any longer.

He sat down against a wall, trying to catch his breath.

Unfortunately, the spot he was leaning against was right in the corner of someone's front door.

The homeowner just opened the door.

"What are you doing?" the man shouted. "Thief! There's a thief!"

Xu Fugui panicked upon hearing this and quickly stood up to explain.

But the other party wouldn't listen at all and grabbed a broom to chase them out.

He had no choice but to run away.

As I ran, I realized something was wrong. I looked back and was terrified – two black dogs, baring their teeth, were chasing after me like madmen.

"ah--!!!"

A few seconds later, he collapsed to the ground, screaming in agony, "Help! Someone help me..."

"Get away! Don't bite me!"

Two hours later, Xu Fugui slowly woke up.

"Ouch..." he groaned, "It hurts so much..."

"Dad!" Xu Damao rushed over. "Dad, you're home. Everything's alright."

"Da Mao...I'm home?" Xu Fugui asked through gritted teeth. "What happened to me?"

Xu Damao said, "You were bitten by a dog and have more than a dozen wounds on your body, but don't worry, the neighborhood doctor came and you've already received a rabies vaccine."

"Well……"

He tried to turn over, but as soon as he moved, his whole body felt like it was being cut with knives.

pain!

My feet hurt, my legs hurt, my buttocks hurt, my back hurts, my arms hurt, everything hurts.

"Son... I really only got bitten a dozen times?"

He didn't believe it; he felt the number was more than that.

Xu Damao nodded: "Yes, Dad, there are only a dozen or so."

"So...did you catch the dog?" Xu Fugui asked, struggling. "I know whose dog it is. Go find them and make them pay!" Then, according to Xu Fugui, Xu Damao led a group of people from the compound straight to the house on Yandai Xiejie Street to demand an explanation.

But they completely denied it, repeating the same thing over and over: "We don't have a dog at all."

Xu Damao refused to give up, and after trying to get an answer no matter how hard he tried, he finally called the police.

The police came, but it was no use—after checking around, they found that no one owned a dog.

Not to mention this place, I didn't see a single dog within a hundred meters of it.

Those two biting dogs seemed to have fallen from the sky; they couldn't find their owner at all.

Without evidence, the matter simply fell through.

Xu Fugui was furious, his forehead practically steaming, and he shifted all the blame onto Liu Dong: "If it weren't for this Liu Dong, I wouldn't have been struck by lightning! If I hadn't been struck by lightning, would I be weak and panting at the door? Would I have been bitten by a dog if I hadn't been resting?"

This chain of cause and effect was so convoluted that even he himself couldn't convince himself.

As soon as he finished speaking, his own son, Xu Damao, rolled his eyes on the spot.

"Dad, save your breath! I've heard everything that happened at the factory!" Xu Damao looked at his father with disdain. "I'm ashamed of the shady things you've done! Liu Dong was trying to help you, and you're turning around and blaming him?"

Xu Damao was only fifteen years old at the time, an age when he was straightforward and intolerant of any flaws, and had not yet been worn down by life into the petty and calculating person he would become in the future.

"Tell me, what exactly did Liu Dong do to wrong you?" he retorted. "He's maintained from beginning to end that he didn't break the lightbox, he didn't yell at you or push you, and after you apologized, he even gave you a way out!"

"Am I right?"

Xu Damao shrugged, his face saying, "You decide for yourself."

Xu Fugui's face flushed red and then turned pale: So even his own son doesn't respect me anymore.

Sigh... What will people outside think of me? How can I possibly be okay?

Now I've been bitten by a dog again, so I can forget about going to work.

Okay, okay, I quit. Let my son take over.

"Da Mao!" He tugged at his son's sleeve. "Look at me now. My body just can't take it anymore, and my heart is broken. Tomorrow I'll write to the manager and have you take over my shift and go work at the factory!"

The next day, Xu Damao went to the steel rolling mill with the handover letter in his hand.

According to the rules at that time, this was completely legal and compliant.

Factory Director Yang didn't hold him back and directly assigned him to the propaganda department, with the same position as his father—a film projectionist, an assistant, working with Liu Dong.

"Brother Liu Dong, please take care of me in the future!" Xu Damao smiled sincerely.

Liu Dong waved his hand: "Don't be so polite, we live in the same courtyard, no need to stand on ceremony. But let me make this clear first, when you work for me, you need to be clear-headed, don't try to fool me with your father's tricks."

"Don't worry!" Xu Damao scratched his head awkwardly, "I'm embarrassed just hearing about my dad's situation!"

Liu Dong paused, then asked, "So...you don't hold a grudge against me because of what happened before, do you?"

"How could that be!" Xu Damao immediately raised his hand. "I swear, if I hold even the slightest grudge against you, may I be struck by lightning!"

"Come on!" Yu Liansheng almost choked with laughter, quickly waving his hand. "Don't swear. The moment I hear that phrase, I'm reminded of your father shouting in the yard yesterday, 'If I lie, may I be bitten by a dog as soon as I step outside!' And what happened? He fell for it that very night!"

Several people burst into laughter.

"Okay." Liu Dong nodded. "Since you have no objections, let's go. Go get the projector, and I'll teach you how to play a film."

Xu Damao obediently complied.

Instead of a small axe appearing above his head, there was only a small red heart beating rapidly.

This shows that the child really doesn't hold grudges.

Even if Liu Dong doesn't trust others, he has to trust the system.

As soon as the lunch break bell rang, everyone rushed to the cafeteria to line up for lunch.

When it was Liu Dong's turn, he walked to the window and saw He Daqing, whose head was wrapped in gauze and smeared with black medicine. At that moment, He Daqing was grinning, revealing a meaningful smile.

Liu Dong slammed his lunchbox on the windowsill with a loud thud: "One steamed bun."

Uh……

He Daqing had already picked up all the food, and the amount of food was almost piled up like a small mountain.

Upon hearing this, he was stunned: "No vegetables?"

Liu Dong shook his head: "I won't eat."

"Oh my..." He Daqing raised an eyebrow, "You're not so poor that you can't even afford vegetables, are you?"