Courtyard Houses: The Great Masters of a Nation Hidden Within

As dusk fell, the lights in the courtyard were dim.

Gao Jianguo was hunched over the table, writing something rapidly.

After submitting the 3z-591 alloy proposal during the day, another matter popped into his mind.

Having previously drawn a document containing publicly available, non-confidential national military standard data, he needed to quickly develop a trial production and testing plan for another material, and then proceed with the trial production and testing along with the 3Z-591 alloy.

When Gao Jianguo was leading Jianhong and Qiangzi to collect the materials, he casually added the raw materials needed for the next material to the list as well.

Like 3z-591, this material doesn't require any rare elements; it's all ordinary stuff.

However, unlike 3z-591, Gao Jianguo does not intend to reveal any information about this material to anyone at the moment.

The same goes for Lao Chen; we can't say for now.

It wasn't that he had any ulterior motives, but if he were to reveal this to Old Chen at this critical juncture, even if Old Chen liked him a lot, he would have some doubts.

So he decided to do it quietly and not make a fuss.

I'll tinker with it myself first, quietly get the test running, and then wait until the inevitable thing finally happens before pushing it out at the right time.

If 3z-591 and this thing don't appear together, the impact on everyone will be much smaller, and it won't be so eye-catching.

Coincidentally, Old Chen's confidentiality requirements for the 3z-591 high-temperature alloy provided him with a ready-made excuse to secretly and openly conduct trial production and testing.

That sounds contradictory, but given his current situation, it really makes sense.

Gao Jianguo was writing with his head spinning when suddenly there was a commotion behind him at the Intermediate People's Court. It was quite a noise, and it seemed like they were arguing.

He put down his pen, tossed the documents into the archive, and strode towards the Intermediate People's Court.

Watching the excitement isn't shameful; it's a good way to relax after a tiring day at work.

When he ran to the backyard, there was already a crowd gathered three layers deep, with several older women whispering among themselves.

"These two are at odds again; they've only been quiet for a few days."

"I heard it was Sha Zhu who started it."

"I heard that Xu Damao started it?"

"Stop babbling, just listen and you'll know."

Everyone gathered around, and Xu Damao and Shazhu argued back and forth, slowly revealing the whole story.

The story has to start from the afternoon.

Xu Damao is setting up a projector in the factory area to show a movie. This is his daily job, and he often has to go to the countryside and deliver movies to the grassroots level.

Because of this job, even after he and Lou Xiao'e broke up, his life didn't collapse.

Aside from the money he got from the Lou family, this job was a pretty lucrative one back then.

Especially when it comes to sending movies to rural areas, he has some leeway in deciding where to send them, where not to send them, and when to send them.

In those days, people didn't have many forms of entertainment. He was like a storyteller in the past, bringing entertainment to the locals.

So whether it was money or local products, Xu Damao never came away empty-handed on his trips to the countryside.

According to his own line in the TV series, the extra money he earns from the next trip to the countryside can be equivalent to half a month's salary.

Running four or eight trips a month according to work requirements adds up to a considerable number.

His salary was originally about the same as Sha Zhu's, but after adding this income, his salary immediately exceeded Sha Zhu's by a significant margin.

Especially in 1959, Sha Zhu's reputation among his neighbors and coworkers was far from what it was in 1965. Not many people asked him to cook and prepare meals, so he was naturally not as well-off as Xu Damao.

This is also the reason why Xu Damao always felt superior to Sha Zhu—you're not as smart as me, not as good-looking, don't make as much money as me, and don't get along with me, so why should I look up to you?

Back to Xu Damao, he was hunched over fiddling with the projector, while a young clerk from the publicity department was helping him out.

Today's film is "The Southern Expedition and the Northern War," which was filmed in 1952. It's an excellent military education film with propaganda and educational elements.

So Corey also assigned an clerk to keep an eye on things, showing that he took it seriously.

The clerk, while working, struck up a conversation with Xu Damao: "Comrade Xu, I heard you live across the hall from Chef He Yuzhu from the factory canteen?"

"Silly Zhu, yeah, we live next door."

The clerk didn't respond to his "silly Zhu" comment: "Could you pass on a message for me later?"

Xu Damao and Sha Zhu didn't get along, but he was as slippery as an eel and wouldn't give someone a hard time just because they were looking for Sha Zhu. He immediately put on a smile and said, "Okay, I'll remember your words."

The clerk thanked him and said, "My younger brother is getting married soon, and I'd like to ask him to help arrange a few tables for the wedding banquet. Please pass on the message to him. We know the proper etiquette. If he's willing, he can come to my office tomorrow."

If it were any other day, Xu Damao might not have harbored any ill intentions.

Unfortunately, Xu Damao was currently seething with anger over Lou Xiao'e's affair, and he hated Sha Zhu so much that his teeth itched.

Upon hearing that he was looking for a lucky break with Sha Zhu, his mischievous thoughts immediately surfaced.

Xu Damao's face immediately contorted into a loud, gruff expression: "You're asking Sha Zhu to host the banquet? You're just asking for trouble."

The clerk was momentarily confused: "Didn't I hear that Chef He's cooking skills are pretty good?"

Xu Damao shook his head like a rattle-drum: "Who are you listening to? Let me tell you, Sha Zhu can manage to stir-fry a few dishes in a small canteen, but that's all he knows. He can't handle something as big as a banquet. When people host a banquet, they want a variety of dishes, good taste, and preferably to save a few cents, right?"

The clerk nodded: "That's exactly what we're after."

Xu Damao clapped his hands: "Hey, that settles it. You see, as for variety, as I just said, he only knows a few tricks, not only are the styles limited, but they might not even suit your taste. As for taste, think about it, have you ever eaten his flipped-spoon cooking in the cafeteria? How did it taste?"

That's where Xu Damao's words were really unethical.

The staff meals in the cafeteria are all big pot dishes cooked with a large shovel, and right now they're missing some ingredients, so how good can they taste?

Not to mention, even the best cafeteria food, if you keep feeding people the same food year after year, it won't taste good to anyone.

But this explanation really stumped the clerk: "Hmm, coming to think of it, it doesn't taste very good."

Xu Damao shouted "Hey!" raising his voice, "That's right. Let me remind you again, Sha Zhu, that cook, is a bit unreliable and not very clean."

The clerk didn't understand the hidden meaning in his words: "That's alright. Washing and preparing the vegetables is all done by family members. Just pay a little more attention, it won't be a problem."

Xu Damao winked and shook his head: "Is that what I meant? You can think about it yourself, I won't go on. If we weren't familiar with each other, I wouldn't have given you this advice."

The clerk pondered these words for a moment, then suddenly realized what they meant, and his expression changed: "Oh, I understand, I understand."

Xu Damao was basking in his own glory when suddenly a loud curse erupted from the back of his neck: "Xu Damao! You son of a bitch, spouting utter nonsense!!"