I feel right at home in the world of the courtyard house.

At 5:30 p.m., the entrance to the courtyard house at No. 95 Nanluoguxiang began to bustle with activity.

The steel rolling mill's closing bell rang half an hour ago, and workers gradually returned to the courtyard. The sounds of bicycle bells, greetings, and children crying mingled together, creating a unique symphony characteristic of the large courtyard.

Xu Damao pushed his bicycle into the alley.

As soon as he arrived at the gate of the courtyard, he saw a military green jeep parked there. Xu Damao's eyes lit up; this kind of car was not common, especially at the gate of their large, tenement courtyard.

Several children curiously touched the car, but were scolded by Yi Zhonghai, an old man who had just finished get off work. They reluctantly dispersed, but their eyes were still fixed on the car.

Xu Damao propped up his bicycle, straightened his collar, and quickly began to make plans in his mind. Just then, the driver's side door opened, and a driver in a Zhongshan suit got out and walked straight into the yard.

"An opportunity!" Xu Damao thought to himself, and rushed forward, a warm smile plastered on his face. "Comrade, who are you looking for? I live in this compound, I know everyone here!"

Seeing this, Uncle Liu Haizhong, who had just parked his car next to him, slapped his thigh in frustration—why was he so slow!

The driver glanced at Xu Damao and said politely, "I'm looking for Comrade Li Jing'an at the steel mill's guesthouse."

"Brother Li!" Xu Damao raised his voice eight octaves, as if afraid others wouldn't hear him, "Brother Li and I are the best of friends! I'll take you there; he lives in the Central Hospital!"

With that, Xu Damao abandoned his bicycle and turned to run into the yard, shouting as he ran, "Brother Li! Brother Li! Someone's looking for me!"

Arriving breathlessly at the gate of Li Jing'an's courtyard in the Intermediate People's Court, Xu Damao knocked on the door: "Brother Li! It's me, Damao! A car has come to pick you up!"

The door opened, and Li Jing'an, already dressed in his Zhongshan suit, stood there, his hair neatly combed, looking sharp and energetic. Seeing Xu Damao, he asked casually, "The car's here?"

"Here it comes! The jeep!" Xu Damao said, gesturing as he spoke, his eyes constantly glancing at Li Jing'an, secretly envying his outfit.

Li Jing'an nodded, walked out the door, and handed Xu Damao a cigarette as he did so: "Thank you for your help."

Xu Damao accepted the cigarette with both hands, his face crinkling into a wide smile: "Brother Li, you're too kind! Your business is my business! It's no trouble at all!"

The two walked out one after the other, with Xu Damao slightly behind, his waist slightly bent, as if he were leading the way.

"Brother Li, where are we going? Why are you making such a big fuss?" Xu Damao asked tentatively, his voice neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for those around to hear.

Li Jing'an kept walking, his face expressionless, his tone as calm as if he were saying the weather was nice: "Director Sun of the Second Commerce Bureau had a dinner party and insisted that I go. I said I couldn't go, but he wasn't happy about it and insisted on sending a car to pick me up. It made me feel quite embarrassed."

Xu Damao's heart skipped a beat—the director of the Second Commerce Bureau! He had originally thought it was at most a leader from some factory, but he hadn't expected the director of the Second Commerce Bureau to personally invite him! He bowed even lower, and flattery poured out like a flood: "Brother Li, you're too modest! The director invited you because he values ​​you! If you ask me, in the entire steel rolling mill, only you have this kind of influence!"

As they arrived at the courtyard gate, a crowd had already gathered around the jeep. Adults and children alike were pointing and whispering. Xu Damao, seeing this, immediately stepped forward to clear the crowd: "Make way! Make way! What are you all doing here! Never seen a car before?"

The crowd parted to make way, and Xu Damao turned around, solicitously opening the back door of the car. He even placed his hand above the door, as if afraid Li Jing'an would bump his head. He had seen bodyguards do this when leaders got into cars in movies, and today he finally had the chance to practice it himself.

Li Jing'an accepted it calmly, bent down, and got into the car. Xu Damao gently closed the door, bent down, and said to Li Jing'an through the car window, "Brother Li, take care!"

The car started and slowly moved forward. Xu Damao suddenly remembered something, and jogged after it, shouting as he ran, "Make way! A car is coming! Make way!"

People leaving get off work in the alley made way, watching the jeep and Xu Damao jogging beside it with curiosity. Xu Damao walked all the way to the alley entrance and watched the car turn onto the main road before stopping, panting heavily, but with a smug smile on his face.

When he returned to the courtyard gate, the crowd hadn't dispersed yet. Sha Zhu, carrying a lunchbox, said sarcastically, "Hey, Xu Damao, not bad, you've even learned to open car doors for the leader! Anyone who didn't know better would think you came from the palace!"

A few low chuckles rippled through the crowd. Xu Damao's face flushed crimson, and he pointed at Sha Zhu, yelling, "Sha Zhu, what are you saying! You can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth!"

"You know perfectly well what I'm saying!" Sha Zhu retorted, not to be outdone. "Look at you just now, all bowing and scraping, you were practically begging for my permission!"

"You!" Xu Damao was so angry he couldn't speak.

Qin Huairu quickly pulled Sha Zhu aside: "Alright, alright, say less." She then smiled at Xu Damao, "Damao is just being helpful."

Just then, Uncle Yan Bugui pushed his bicycle over, adjusted his glasses, and asked curiously, "Da Mao, where did Jing'an go? Why is he being picked up by a car?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao immediately forgot his argument with Sha Zhu, straightened his back, and cleared his throat: "Third Uncle, Brother Li originally didn't want me to talk about this, but since we're good friends, he secretly told me—" He deliberately paused, waiting for everyone around to prick up their ears, before lowering his voice and saying mysteriously, "The director of the Second Commerce Bureau invited Brother Li to dinner! He was worried Brother Li wouldn't go, so he specially sent a car to pick him up!"

"Director?" Yan Bugui's eyes widened behind his glasses.

"That's right!" Xu Damao's voice rose again. "Brother Li didn't want to go at first, saying he was tired after a long day and wanted to rest, but the director insisted that the driver pick him up, saying he couldn't refuse. Brother Li had no choice but to change his clothes and go."

A gasp of astonishment rippled through the crowd. The director of the Second Bureau of Commerce—that's a big shot who oversees the city's food supply! Li Jing'an was actually dining with such a figure, and even being chauffeured around!

Xu Damao got even more excited and added fuel to the fire, saying, "Brother Li insisted on taking me along, saying I could hold my liquor and help him fend off the drinks. But I was showing a movie at the Red Star Commune at noon, and their secretary made me drink quite a bit, so I really couldn't drink anymore. I had to plead with him before Brother Li finally agreed to take me next time."

He spoke with such vivid detail, as if it were the truth. Several young workers listened intently, their eyes filled with envy. Uncle Liu Haizhong snorted, pushed his bicycle into the yard, feeling a pang of sourness in his heart—he was, after all, the second oldest man in the yard, a level seven fitter, so why didn't anyone invite him to dinner or send him a car?

Xu Damao continued rambling, "You guys didn't see it, how polite that driver was to Brother Li! He kept calling him 'Chief Li'! If you ask me, in our compound, Brother Li is the most promising one..."

At the gate, Xu Damao finally finished talking and contentedly pushed his bicycle into the courtyard. As he passed the middle courtyard, he glanced at the small courtyard where Li Jing'an lived. The gate was closed, and the windows were dark. He imagined Li Jing'an at this moment in a grand hotel, clinking glasses with the bureau chief, feeling both envious and smug—envious of Li Jing'an, and smug about his "good relationship" with such a person.