Chapter 241 Happy Events Come One After Another
On that day, after hearing the news of Liu Zhiye's promotion, the neighbors in the courtyard were also very excited.

Everyone was talking about it, and they were envious of the Liu family. Although they were envious, few were jealous, and most were happy.

Having such a person as a neighbor, a leader of a powerful and important department, would make them feel proud and honored if they could tell others about it.

If you run into any trouble, you just need to shout: "Have you heard of Liu Zhiye from Dongcheng?" The other party will answer: "Yes! What's the matter, are you related to this gentleman?"

"Yes, we have been neighbors in the same courtyard for many years and have a very close relationship!"

"Oh! Excuse me! Well, it's okay now. We didn't know each other until we fought. Things may change, but I'll see you later!"

Given Liu Zhiye's current prominent reputation in the underworld, ordinary people naturally dare not provoke the people around him.

They were so busy hiding from him that they didn't even dare to get close to him.

Take the public security in Nanluoguxiang and its vicinity for example, doors are left unlocked at night and people do not pick up things on the streets.

With a "street-cleaning tiger" like him around, all the chicken thieves, playboys, money-gamblers, opium smokers, and secret agents ran away to other places to make their fortunes. They really didn't dare to stay in this place anymore.

At this moment, the enthusiastic aunts and young wives in the compound went to the East Courtyard to congratulate Deng Ru and Gan Ning.

Although they may seem a bit utilitarian at first glance, once you get to know them more deeply, you will find that their simple enthusiasm and care are also genuine.

In this era, life in the courtyard truly depicts a picture of mutual support and care between people, just like a big family, full of warmth.

People share the joys and sorrows of life with each other here, face the challenges of life together, and form a unique human touch.

The social situation that distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors only began to emerge at this time. It was not true before liberation, and it was not true decades later.

Only in this fiery era can people have such simple neighborly relations.

Of course, shrews like Jia Zhangshi, villains like Liu Haizhong, and bad guys like Xu Damao are indeed very rare.

Even so, except for Jia Zhang, Liu Haizhong and Xu Damao got along well with their neighbors and there were not too many disputes.

In the yard, except for the occasional quarrels between Xu Damao and Sha Zhu, most of the time it was peaceful. Although they occasionally had some small disputes, they never really came to blows.

A few months ago, Sha Zhu married Qiu Ju, and they began a happy married life. Perhaps because he had been holding back for too long, after working hard day and night, Wang Qiu Ju soon became pregnant.

Ever since Wang Qiuju became pregnant, Sha Zhu has straightened his back in front of Xu Damao and often shows off in front of him.

"Xu Damao! Brother! We're going to have a son!"

"Xu Damao! Is your relationship with that capitalist lady over?"

"Hehe! Damao! If all else fails, why don't you marry into a wealthy family? Maybe they will..."

Xu Damao was always angry every time he saw Sha Zhu showing off in front of him.

"Silly Zhu! Get out of here, what are you so proud of?"

"Don't think I don't know!"

"You are just jealous of me for finding a partner with a good family background, right?"

"You are just worrying about nothing. I am getting married soon."

"Just be the chef for me when the time comes. Don't worry, I will definitely benefit from you!"

Although he never suffered any loss after confronting Sha Zhu, Xu Damao always felt uneasy.

Recently, Xu Damao discovered that after Lou Xiao'e came to their courtyard several times, her attitude towards him seemed to have changed and became lukewarm.

However, she was very interested in Liu Zhiye's family. Every time they were together, her topic almost always revolved around Liu Zhiye's family, or more precisely, everything about Liu Zhiye.

Lou Xiao'e seemed to be very interested in Liu Zhiye's life, family, work, etc., even a little overly concerned.

This made Xu Damao feel a little puzzled. After all, they had no intersection before. Why did she care so much about Liu Zhiye?
Xu Damao shook his head secretly and thought to himself: "Could it be that she has a crush on Liu Zhiye..." This is obviously impossible.

After all, Liu Zhiye is married, and his wife is very beautiful, much better than Lou Xiao'e. Liu Zhiye certainly would not divorce his wife for money, let alone take Lou Xiao'e as his mistress. Even if Lou Xiao'e agreed, her father would not allow her to do so.

Xu Damao thought to himself, "No way! I have to marry her home quickly, otherwise there will be more trouble. I can't watch the wealth slip away."

He actually didn't really like Lou Xiao'e. To be honest, in terms of looks, she was not as pretty as Sha Zhu's wife Wang Qiuju.

Even among the girls he had dated before, Lou Xiao'e's looks were not outstanding.

The main reason was that he was greedy for his future father-in-law's rich fortune. He felt that "Lou Bancheng" currently only had one daughter, Lou Xiao'e, around him. If he died a hundred years later, this huge fortune would all be his.

Recently, Lou Xiao'e's attitude towards him has been hot and cold, making him unpredictable. This has made Xu Damao very anxious and he doesn't know what to do.

But Xu Damao was very cunning and had many evil intentions. He quickly came up with a brilliant idea. Since a frontal attack was not possible, he might as well make a detour from the side.

"Since I can't handle you, I can handle your parents, right? I don't believe that you dare to make trouble even though your parents have agreed."

Although Xu Damao was not well educated and his personal ability was not high, he was good at something, that is, flattery. He was really good at this.

This skill is probably his innate talent, something he was born with.

Soon, Liu Xiao'e's mother was flattered by his flattery and agreed to their marriage.

"Lou Bancheng" is a very shrewd person, and he saw Xu Damao's true face at a glance. Although he was somewhat disdainful of Xu Damao in his heart, considering his background and clever character, Lou Xiao'e should not be bullied if she follows him.

Therefore, "Lou Bancheng" reluctantly agreed to his marriage with Lou Xiao'e.

No matter how reluctant Lou Xiao'e was, she had to agree under pressure from her parents.

Before New Year's Day, Xu Damao and Lou Xiao'e got engaged. On the day of the engagement, the neighbors in the compound were completely stunned by the lavish spending of the Lou family.

This "Lou Bancheng" actually gave the Xu family an engagement gift that included ten "big yellow croakers" and two brand new "Phoenix" bicycles, one for men and one for women.

There were also high-end watches, sewing machines, radios, phonographs, large wardrobes, sofas, tables, chairs and benches all squeezed into a large Liberation truck, filling up a huge truck.

The total value of these things is not cheap. Ordinary people have never seen such a scene.

You have to know that in those days, getting married was very simple; if the conditions were good, you would set out a table with wine, then play the suona, sit in the sedan chair, scatter a handful of candies, and relatives and neighbors would gather together to have a meal and drink some wine to have fun, and that was considered a marriage.

In the 60s, when the country was in a difficult period, families with better conditions would hire a carpenter to make a large wooden bed, a large wardrobe, tables, chairs and other wooden furniture for the wedding room, making up the "72 legs" or "36 legs". Most of the time, there were only a few beddings as dowry or nothing at all.

The "four big items" were not popular those days. As the name suggests, the "four big items" are four pieces of furniture. They were the standard for marriages in the 80s. Although some families have these things nowadays, they are only particularly capable families.

The four major items are also known as "three turns and one ring". The first of the three turns is the bicycle. In this era, owning a bicycle can be said to be a relatively well-off family.

The second trend is watches. Watches are men's jewelry. Wearing a watch can instantly improve your overall temperament. In the 80s, women began to ask men to have watches. In the early s, watches were luxury goods.

The third one is the sewing machine. In this era, people were more conservative and believed that women should be able to mend clothes and do needlework. Therefore, the sewing machine is not only a betrothal gift from the man, but also a tool for the woman in the future.

The "one sound" was the radio. Radio was quite popular at that time and could provide timely information from the outside world. In the era when electricity was not yet popular, the radio was the main means of information exchange.

When Xu Damao and Lou Xiao'e got engaged, his father-in-law did his best to prepare everything for them.

If "Lou Bancheng" didn't want them to keep a low profile after marriage, he would have given them a few houses.

Even Liu Zhiye thinks that Xu Damao is the undisputed winner in life and the protagonist in urban novels.

If he hadn't messed up everything in the future, he could have lived better than anyone else.

"Lou Bancheng" was not unconditional. He put forward a request, which was that their family needed to find a person of status and position to serve as the witness for Xu Damao and Lou Xiao'e's wedding.

The Xu family thought about it and realized that their family's social class was clear and they didn't know any high-level people.

In the end, there was no choice but to turn their attention to Liu Zhiye.

(End of this chapter)