Siheyuan: Mastery started in the 50s

Chapter 412 Wear this first

His eyes swept across a small stall selling dough. Several large plates of fresh dough were neatly placed on the stall, exuding a soft and attractive luster.

"Boss, give me a pound of dough." Wang Qiang walked to the stall and said with a smile.

The boss was a middle-aged man wearing a clean work suit. Upon seeing Wang Qiang coming, he greeted him warmly, "Hello, the dough has just been made and is very fresh. All the dough you want is here. What kind do you want?"

"These are the fresh ones." Wang Qiang pointed to the top layer of the stall. "I heard that your dough is very good. Can you give me some more?"

The boss smiled, quickly took out a pound of dough, packed it and handed it to Wang Qiang. "No problem, these are all made that day, guaranteed to be fresh. You can try it, I hope you like it."

Wang Qiang took the dough and felt satisfied. He said gratefully, "Thank you, boss. These things look really good."

As Wang Qiang walked out of the market, holding the bag, he couldn't help but think of Jia Zhang. He knew that although dough was a common food, it had a strong flavor of life. He hoped that through these small gestures, he could get closer to Jia Zhang and let her feel his sincerity.

Back in the courtyard, Wang Qiang decided to go directly to Jia Zhang's room. He knocked on the door gently and heard Jia Zhang's voice from inside: "Come in."

Wang Qiang pushed open the door and saw Jia Zhang sitting at the table, sorting some documents. She looked up and saw Wang Qiang, with a hint of surprise in her eyes. Wang Qiang took out the dough and said with a smile: "Aunt Jia, we had a pleasant chat yesterday. I know you are very interested in some local food, so I bought some fresh dough today, thinking of giving it to you to try."

When Jia Zhang saw the dough, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes. She stood up, took the dough, and asked with a hint of curiosity: "Dough? How do you know I like this?"

"Actually, I don't know. I just heard that you are interested in these traditional foods." Wang Qiang looked at Jia Zhang and said with some warmth in his tone, "I hope you like these doughs."

Jia Zhang nodded, and a touch of emotion gradually appeared in her eyes. She looked at her face, as if she was thinking about something. Finally, she forced a smile and said, "Thank you, Wang Qiang. I didn't expect you to be so thoughtful. Sit down, we can chat more."

Wang Qiang sat opposite Jia Zhang and felt relieved when he saw her gentle attitude. He watched Jia Zhang carefully open the dough, pick out a piece, chew it gently, and a satisfied smile appeared on her face. Wang Qiang felt that such details might change her view of the future of Siheyuan and make her more willing to cooperate with him.

"This dough really tastes good." Jia Zhang put down her chopsticks, her tone somewhat relieved, "I am really surprised that you came this time. You really care about everyone."

Wang Qiang felt warm inside and smiled sincerely. "Aunt Jia, I really hope to make the courtyard house better. We should understand and support each other when we live together. Yesterday's conversation made me feel that we can find more consensus."

Jia Zhang nodded, her eyes showing some recognition. "I was indeed a little too picky before. You are right, some small things in life can really make people feel more comfortable. We can work together to see if we can improve the environment here."

Wang Qiang was in a happier mood, and he felt that the distance between him and Jia Zhang was gradually narrowing. The two continued to chat for a while, discussing some specific problems and improvement measures about the quadrangle. Jia Zhang began to take the initiative to put forward some practical suggestions, and Wang Qiang carefully recorded them, with full of expectations in his heart.

A few days later, one morning, Wang Qiang got up from his bed and decided to take a walk by the nearby river. The recent progress of the conversation made him feel happy, especially the obvious improvement in his relationship with Jia Zhang, which made him full of confidence in the future. The weather was clear and the air was fresh. Wang Qiang was dressed in casual clothes and prepared to take a walk by the river to relax.

On the path by the river, the morning light shines on the water, the river ripples, and the breeze brings coolness. Wang Qiang walks and enjoys the scenery, thinking about his next plan. Today he plans to go to the market to buy some more ingredients and prepare a simple lunch for the residents of the courtyard to further deepen their connection.

He was walking comfortably when he suddenly heard a hurried shout from behind him: "Hey! The clothes over there!"

Wang Qiang turned around and saw a gust of wind blowing past the coat he had just taken off in the grass by the river. The coat was blown off by the wind and was floating towards the center of the river. Wang Qiang was nervous and ran over to try to stop the coat. The coat was floating slowly on the water and had obviously drifted quite far.

Wang Qiang was a little anxious. He quickly took off his remaining clothes, rolled up his trouser legs, and walked to the shallow water of the river. He squatted down and tried to reach out to grab the jacket floating on the water. Although the water was less than knee-deep, the river was flowing very fast. Wang Qiang had to try to stabilize his body carefully and get as close to the jacket as possible.

His heartbeat quickened. Although he knew that his coat floating in the water would not cause any serious consequences, he still felt uneasy. He felt a chill coming from the water, and his whole body gradually became soaked. Sweat mixed with the river water made his clothes heavy, but he kept trying to retrieve his coat.

"Wang Qiang, are you okay?" A passerby came running from a distance, saw Wang Qiang's appearance, and asked with concern.

"It's OK, thank you! It's just that my clothes fell into the river." Wang Qiang continued to work hard, his face showing a bit of embarrassment and fatigue. At this time, half of his body was soaked in water, and his movements seemed a bit clumsy, but he did not give up.

Just when Wang Qiang was soaked and his hand almost touched his coat, the current suddenly accelerated and the coat was washed further away. Wang Qiang felt lost, and it seemed that he was really powerless this time. He gritted his teeth and decided to give up temporarily, and returned to the shore to try to find clean clothes to change into.

Wang Qiang walked ashore and felt a little cold. His wet clothes stuck to his body, making every step heavy. A passerby saw him and hurriedly took out a clean coat and handed it to him: "Please wear this first, and go back and change your clothes quickly, otherwise you will catch a cold."

"Thank you." Wang Qiang took the coat and said gratefully. "I'll go back and change my clothes. I'm really sorry to bother you."