Courtyard Houses: The Great Masters of a Nation Hidden Within

After everything was settled and he returned home, Lou Xiao'e and Wan Yueying came up to him and asked how things went.

Gao Jianguo and Wang Tiezhu recounted the whole story, one sentence after another, and the two women laughed so hard they couldn't straighten up.

Seeing that it was getting late, Wang Tiezhu led his family home, and Gao Jianguo also pushed out his bicycle to see Lou Xiao'e home.

When the car arrived at Lou Xiao'e's house, Lou Xiao'e asked him, "The person you saw today, was it Xu Damao?"

Gao Jianguo smiled and nodded. No doubt about it, it's him.

Lou Xiao'e looked terrified, patted her chest several times, then hugged Gao Jianguo tightly, buried her face in his chest, and mumbled, "You're such a good person."

As soon as she finished speaking, she turned her head and glanced around. Seeing that no one was around, she stood on tiptoe and gave Gao Jianguo a big kiss on the cheek. She then ran into the house laughing.

Gao Jianguo touched his face and stood there stunned for a long time.

On a dark and windy night, when someone kissed him, he felt for the first time that the artistic cells deep within him were splitting wildly.

Lou Xiao'e pushed open the door to her home, where her parents were sitting in the living room waiting for her.

Although the matter was almost settled, the elderly couple were still worried because they came home late today, fearing that the two young people might not be able to control themselves.

Only when they saw their daughter enter the door did the two of them finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Lou Xiao'e rolled her eyes and, seeing that her parents were both there, told them the whole story of what happened today when she ran into Xu Damao at the courtyard house.

After saying that, she even joked about her mother, saying, "Mom, you have no idea, I almost got your daughter into a ditch."

Upon hearing this, Lou's mother patted her chest repeatedly, saying, "Thank goodness you're so clever. The Xu family is full of bad people; I almost got fooled by them."

Mr. Lou, feeling sorry for his wife, quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "Alright, alright, isn't this the son-in-law you chose yourself? Stop harping on your mother."

Lou Xiao'e stuck out her tongue and ran upstairs.

When Gao Jianguo got home, the first thing he did was wash his hands; he hadn't drawn his prize yet.

After completing the entire process and looking at the harvest, he burst out laughing.

Just a few days ago, the leader of the armed forces department praised him as a talent who could serve both the military and civilian sectors, and today he draws this set of things. System, tell me honestly, were you eavesdropping on me?

It's definitely true, no doubt about it.

"Friends of Dual-Use Talents for Military and Civilian Use" and its sequel, along with the two comprehensive guides to life skills compiled by the Research Office of the Political Department of the Northeast Military Region in 1984 and 1985 respectively, were distributed internally.

How comprehensive is it? It covers military affairs, farming, animal husbandry, agricultural machinery, spinning and weaving, tailoring, building houses, cooking, power generation, medicinal herbs, carpentry and masonry, photography, seal engraving, accounting, all the business-related stuff, barbering, lathe work, fitter work, welding, and flower planting. Isn't that amazing?

Of course, these are all basic things, and they are indeed outdated in hindsight, but in 1959, many of them were even considered ahead of their time.

The material is good, but it can't be copied.

Firstly, it's too fragmented, all about everyday life, and doesn't qualify as a major subject matter.

Secondly, it's too much; two 32mo books, not counting the table of contents, with the main text at least 1,600 pages.

However, keeping it as reference material and flipping through it when needed is still quite nice.

Gao Jianguo was satisfied and put the two thick books into the cabinet.

On Monday afternoon, Gao Jianguo was writing something at his desk when someone ran up to him and said that Old Chen wanted him to come over.

He put down what he was doing, went to his office, pushed open the door, and paused in surprise.

Not only was Old Chen sitting in the room, but also Deputy Factory Director Li, Director Liu of the Security Department, and Section Chief Wang of the Training Section. With this kind of gathering, something big must have happened.

He greeted everyone in turn and found a seat to sit down.

Old Chen chuckled and said to him, "Jianguo, I really didn't expect that even though you've switched to the technical field, you still hold onto those skills from back then. This time, the Security Department is asking for help directly from us."

Gao Jianguo had a rough idea of ​​what was going on. He guessed that the words spoken by the leaders of the armed forces department during the last militia performance had had an effect.

He pretended not to know and said with a smile, "Master, what's going on? You've got everyone together."

Old Chen gestured with his chin toward Deputy Factory Director Li, who then continued, "Jianguo, you heard what the leaders from the Armed Forces Department said that day. The factory still needs to make good use of you, the pillar of the militia. We can't just leave this dual-use talent, which the leaders mentioned, out of the way."

Gao Jianguo waved his hand and said, "Director Li, the leader was just trying to encourage the young comrades. He just said it casually. I can't bear that title."

Deputy Factory Director Li shook his head. "Don't be modest with me. We know your background perfectly well. The leader's words came from the bottom of his heart."

Before Jianguo could reply, he continued, "I understand your concerns. Your mind is definitely still on the technical stuff. I would feel guilty if I kept you in the militia and the security department."

I've thought it over. You'll have to keep the position of deputy captain of the militia team, and also serve as the deputy head of the training department. Others will be in charge of the daily work, and your role is to be the anchor. You'll only come out when there's a big mission.

Deputy Factory Director Li must have consulted with the Security Department and the Training Section beforehand about this arrangement.

Given Gao Jianguo's current trajectory, it's clear he's not aiming for advancement within the security department, so assigning him the position of deputy section chief didn't cause any conflict between the two sides.

They don't compete for food in the same trough, so no one gets in anyone's way. They don't need to interfere with such a favor. Besides, having Gao Jianguo in the training department isn't a bad thing for them either, as the militia training is already showing.

Deputy Factory Director Li continued explaining the plan he had set: for you personally, reaching the deputy section chief level would mean a real financial commitment, with all the benefits of a deputy section chief being fully implemented. Of course, simply paying you a deputy section chief salary wouldn't be enough; you would receive an additional 20 yuan allowance each month.

Another point is that since you are the deputy section chief of the security department, you should be issued a gun. People will feel more at ease if a gun is in the hands of someone like you.

In those days, guns weren't rare. In a unit like the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill, let alone pistols, rifles and machine guns were everywhere. Security officers taking guns home was also a necessity given the political situation. The situation was still tense at the time, and spies were no joke.

Before Gao Jianguo could speak, Old Chen set the tone for him: "Our technical department supports the work of the factory's security department. We have no objection to this arrangement. But let me make this clear beforehand: unless something really serious happens, don't come looking for me to bring up the personnel issue."

Gao Jianguo was a little surprised. He looked up at Lao Chen, who nodded at him.

It's a good thing that the deputy section chief's salary can be implemented. It has nothing to do with getting a little more money. The key point is that the deputy section chief's salary is based on the administrative line, not the technical line.

There are some things that people in the administration line can do, but people in the technical line can't figure out. For example, subscribing to certain internal newspapers or checking certain internal notices. These things are very useful to Gao Jianguo right now.

In fact, when ranks were determined in the early days of the People's Republic of China, there were quite a few people who preferred the lower salary of the administrative rank to the higher salary of the technical rank.

Gao Jianguo's mind raced, and his mouth opened.