He Yuzhu rendered the other party speechless with two sentences.
It was not that Xu Damao was poor with words; he was genuinely afraid of the Siheyuan God of War's fists and feet.
If he really called him Silly Zhu, He Yuzhu had already warned him that he would answer with a mighty slap!
But if he remained silent like this, would he not lose all face in front of Lou Xiaoe? He could only brace himself and argue a few points.
“He Yuzhu, I’m not going to trade insults with you. I’m taking Xiaoe out to have fun today. This has nothing to do with you, does it?” Xu Damao said.
“Still thinking about having fun? You’re taking leave every day and never at your post. Factory Director Yang said that if you can’t do your job, you should go down to the workshop and find someone else to train as a projectionist,” He Yuzhu replied coldly.
Xu Damao had heard that He Yuzhu had made a great impression before the department leaders, and supposedly the Senior Leader had praised him highly.
Moreover, the Canteen Director had indeed been replaced, proving that He Yuzhu was now a favorite in front of Factory Director Yang.
Especially recently, he had barely gone to work the entire previous week because he was pursuing Lou Xiaoe.
He refused to teach anyone for fear that his skills would spread. If the factory really had a projection assignment, he would truly be delaying an important matter.
“Then… Xiaoe, I’ll go to the factory and take a look first. There might be a temporary projection assignment. The factory is not far from here, so I’ll be off…”
After Xu Damao finished speaking, he hurried away dejectedly.
“Phew… you really came to save me,” Lou Xiaoe said with a smile. “Xu Damao has been here all morning. I couldn’t even return to my room, no matter how much I wanted to.”
With just those two simple sentences, He Yuzhu suddenly saw the light!
The girl’s words clearly carried a hidden meaning. First, they showed that she disliked hearing Xu Damao’s words, which made her attitude clear.
Furthermore, she had shown favor toward his arrival, describing her feelings by saying he had saved her. It seemed there was a chance this matter could work out!
He Yuzhu said with a smile, “I came this time to run an errand for someone. There’s a man in our Siheyuan named Yan Bugui, and he says he left a novel with you.”
“He never had time to come get it before. Seeing that I’m young and quick on my feet, he asked me to help bring the novel back.”
Lou Xiaoe curled her lips and said, “Don’t mention it. I wanted to return this book to him long ago, but he insisted that he didn’t want it anymore. Why has he sent you to run the errand now?”
He Yuzhu understood immediately. In 1961, many novels could not be openly taken out and read, so this was nothing unusual.
Yan Bugui was very shrewd. He was probably afraid that getting the book back would cause trouble, so he simply refused to take it even when Lou Xiaoe offered to return it.
“What a mess. Our Third Uncle is rather eccentric, changing his mind every moment. Don’t take it to heart,” He Yuzhu said with a smile.
“Besides, this is my first time visiting you, so I couldn’t very well come empty-handed. Being a cook has its advantages; consider this a meeting gift.”
After saying this, He Yuzhu handed over the two cloth bundles in his hands.
Lou Xiaoe felt embarrassed accepting a gift and hurriedly said, “Why are you being so polite? It isn’t a festival or holiday, so why give me a meeting gift?”
But seeing He Yuzhu holding both hands outstretched, she could not bear to leave him that way and instinctively reached out to take them.
Unexpectedly, the two cloth bundles were incredibly heavy. The one on the left contained fifteen jin of three-layer pork belly, while the one on the right contained ten jin of eggs plus four jin of sugar!
Lou Xiaoe had taken the bundles with her arms held straight out; how could she have the strength for that? The bundles rapidly sank downward. The pork was manageable, but most of the eggs would surely break!
At that critical moment, a pair of strong hands firmly grasped the girl’s hands.
It was He Yuzhu who had acted in time, saving those ten jin of eggs!
For a moment, the two held each other’s hands tightly, passing their body heat between them, and neither let go for a long while.
“This… I can manage by myself…” Lou Xiaoe said softly, her voice quieter than a mosquito.
In later times, no one cared if men and women were intimate in a park, but this was 1961!
In those days, when couples in love went walking together, they had to walk one in front of the other, at least two and a half meters apart. Holding someone’s hand and refusing to let go was truly difficult to justify.
Even so, although Lou Xiaoe’s face had reddened, there was no sign of disgust or resentment.
He Yuzhu had plenty of little tricks up his sleeve. He had done it deliberately just now, and sure enough, it had worked perfectly: he had held the girl’s little hand.
“Good heavens! Why are there so much pork and so many eggs?”
Lou Xiaoe cried out loudly. It was not that the girl had never seen the world; in the past, what had the daughter of a capitalist not seen?
But now pork and eggs were supplied by ration coupons. Who could make such a generous gesture, giving away more than ten jin in one go?
“Keep your voice down, or you’ll scare away the wolves,” He Yuzhu joked. “I’m the Canteen Director now, and I know some people with purchasing connections.”
“These things don’t require ration coupons; they’re official purchases. But don’t worry, I didn’t take advantage of the public for even a single penny. Food is hard to come by these days, so let your elderly parents replenish their nutrition.”
The two cloth bundles in Lou Xiaoe’s hands felt as heavy as a thousand jin, because she knew exactly how valuable the pork and eggs were.
Supplies were extremely scarce now. Because Lou Xiaoe’s parents were elderly, their legs were already slightly swollen, a sign of malnutrition.
If they truly had this pork, eggs, brown sugar, and white sugar, her parents’ health could quickly return to normal and remain strong for a long time.
But she believed that one should not accept a reward without merit. How could she casually accept such a valuable gift? She still forced herself to say, “These gifts are too precious. I can’t accept them.”
“You’re treating me like an outsider now. Don’t be so formal,” He Yuzhu said with a smile. “We’ve met once in the Canteen, so that makes us acquaintances.”
“Go ask around in my Siheyuan. Quite a few families eat food I’ve managed to acquire. Neighbors and acquaintances are supposed to look after one another, so stop being so needlessly polite.”
After He Yuzhu finished speaking, he took both bundles from her hands and walked inside on his own.
“Which room is it, after all? I’ll carry them in for you.”
By this point, refusing firmly would have seemed rather heartless, and these things could truly ease their immediate crisis.
Her own health did not matter, but she absolutely could not watch her parents grow weaker. Lou Xiaoe hurried after him and pointed out the room.
Only after entering did he realize that, although the place had fallen into disrepair, the room was still one of the original old residences. Its living space and surroundings were different from those of ordinary commoners.
Lou Xiaoe’s parents had gone out to take care of something that day, so there really were no other outsiders at home.
After entering the room, before either of them had even sat down, He Yuzhu stood up and opened the outer door, leaving only a cotton curtain to block the wind.
The gesture was small yet considerate. It clearly showed that, since they were an unmarried man and woman alone together, he was worried that closing the door would invite gossip.
Love began to sprout in Lou Xiaoe’s heart. From this small gesture alone, she knew that he possessed The Gentleman’s Bearing, making him worlds apart from the persistent Xu Damao!
He Yuzhu had taken the first step on his path of love firmly and smoothly. His life in the 1960s was destined to grow broader and broader!