Siheyuan: Sizhu starts blindly and takes a new path

Chapter 244: The Revolutionary Boy

At noon, four dishes and one soup were served on time. Steamed sea bass, braised lamb, pickled cabbage, mapo tofu, and a pot of hot and sour tripe soup. The dishes were simple, but each one was exquisite.

The big boss sat at the dining table, looking at these familiar dishes, and suddenly said: "Xiao He, did you know that I was fired today?"

Sha Zhu put the last dish on the table and smiled innocently: "I heard from my wife. Big boss, you should eat it while it's hot. It won't taste good if it gets cold."

The big boss stared at him for a long while and said, "Others who heard about this would not have time to hide. Why are you still..."

"Big boss," Sha Zhu pursed his lips, "Is it the Lou family's business that caused you trouble? "

The big boss suddenly smiled, waved his hand, and said, "It's irrelevant." Then he picked up the chopsticks and tasted the mutton: "Well, the cooking is just right." He picked up a piece of fish and said, "Xiao He, your cooking skills are getting better and better."

Sha Zhu stood aside, watching the big boss eat his meal, and suddenly felt a little sad. He remembered the first time he came to cook, the room was full of guests, laughing and talking. Now it was deserted, with only the big boss facing the full table.

After dinner, when Sha Zhu was clearing the dishes, the boss called him and said, "Xiao He, don't come here anymore."

Sha Zhu didn't stop moving his hands: "Boss, what do you want to eat next week? I'll prepare it in advance."

The big boss shook his head and said, "I am now a 'sideline' person. It will not be good for you to cook again."

"That won't work," Sha Zhu piled up the bowls, raised his head and said seriously, "I promised you that as long as you are in Beijing, I will come every Sunday. I, Sha Zhu, keep my word."

The big boss' eyes suddenly became moist. He stood up and patted Sha Zhu on the shoulder: "Okay, okay... Then next week, I want to eat the noodle soup you made."

Sha Zhu grinned, revealing his iconic big white teeth: "Okay! I'll roll the most chewy noodles for you, and use the best pork belly in the marinade. It's guaranteed to be more delicious than the ones from Dong Lai Shun!"

When we left the leader's house, the sky had turned even darker. The autumn wind swirled the fallen leaves around on the ground. Sha Zhu wrapped himself tightly again and got on his bike.

In late autumn, leaves swirled on the playground of the work-study school. Bang Geng, clutching the application form, his knuckles white, stood at the door of the Red Guards' office at the former school, listening to the laughter coming from inside.

"Jia Geng? The one who got into a work-study school because of fighting?" A scornful voice floated out from the crack of the door. "We Little Red Soldiers want good students with good family backgrounds, not little hooligans like him!"

Banggeng's face suddenly burned up. He kicked the iron door hard and turned to run. The autumn wind blew on his face like a knife, but it couldn't blow away the evil fire in his heart.

Back at the work-study school, Banggeng kicked open the dormitory door. Liu Baoshan was lying on the bed reading a comic book, while Wu Dacheng and Liu Chong were playing poker on the lower bunk.

"Damn it!" Banggeng tore the application into pieces. "Who the hell are they!"

Liu Baoshan sat up with a somersault: "What's wrong, Brother Dao?"

"They said we are not worthy of being popular soldiers!" Bang Geng punched the iron bed, causing Wu Dacheng's playing cards to scatter all over the floor.

Liu Chong touched his chin and said, "How about... we set up one ourselves?"

Four heads gathered together. Banggeng took out half a box of Daqianmen from under the bed and distributed it to everyone one by one: "Let's call it the 'Work-Study Red Team'! Liu Chong, you have good handwriting, write a charter. Dacheng, you go and recruit people, Baoshan..."

As he was talking, the dormitory door was suddenly pushed open. Old Ma, the school administrator, stood at the door with a gloomy face and clenched his fists: "Look at the mess in the room! Everyone will be punished to clean the toilet for a week!"

After Lao Ma walked away, Bang Geng spat fiercely: "See? Just because we are working students, anyone dares to step on us!" He stood up suddenly, "From today on, our Red Team will be responsible for these bullying matters!"

Three days later, a bright red poster was posted on the bulletin board of the work-study school. The rules written by Liu Chong in brush were so clear that they could be seen through the back of the paper: "All students who are oppressed can join the work-study red team!"

The children in the work-study school are naughty and disobedient to begin with. Now that they have this legitimate reason, when else would they not come to participate?

Banggeng cut the red cloth he stole from home into armbands, and Liu Baoshan got a can of red paint from somewhere and painted the four big words "Rebellion is Justified" on the outer wall of the dormitory.

At the Monday morning meeting, when Banggen led more than 30 students wearing red armbands to line up and enter the venue, the principal's teacup fell to the ground with a "bang", and the tea splashed on his brand new Zhongshan suit, leaving a dark mark. His glasses slipped to the tip of his nose, and his wide eyes reflected the glaring red on the playground.

"This... this..." Wang Defu's voice trembled, and he pointed at the people with red armbands lined up neatly below the stage, his voice getting weaker and weaker: "Jia Geng! What are you doing?"

Bang Geng stepped onto the steps of the rostrum. Liu Baoshan behind him immediately blew the whistle, and more than 30 people wearing red armbands stepped forward in unison, stomping the ground with a thumping sound.

"Principal Wang!" Bang Geng grabbed the microphone, and the whistling sound of the electric current made everyone cover their ears. "We, the Work-Study Red Team, want to ask for an explanation today!" He took out a neat piece of paper, "First, the canteen withheld food money; second, the teacher physically punished the students; third, criticize the canteen manager who withheld food money, and make the teacher who physically punished the students apologize, otherwise we will go on strike."

The audience erupted in deafening cheers. Lao Ma rushed up to grab the microphone, but was tripped by Liu Baoshan and fell. Wu Dacheng took the opportunity to climb up the flagpole and raised the red flag of the work-study red team next to the national flag. The playground exploded, and even the most timid students began to throw rotten apple cores onto the stage. The head of the female dormitory, Teacher Li, wanted to maintain order, but a few girls took the opportunity to pull her hair.

Wang Defu's face turned from red to white, and he suddenly fell backwards, holding his chest. As soon as the school doctor rushed over, he was stopped by Liu Chong and his men: "Agree to our conditions first!"

That afternoon, a jeep from the Municipal Education Bureau roared in. But to everyone's surprise, the leaders not only did not suppress the protesters, but praised Banggeng's "revolutionary spirit" and dismissed the accountant who withheld food.

That night, Bang Geng lay on his bed in the dormitory, looking at the brand new banner on the wall - "Revolutionary Young Warriors Vanguard". Liu Chong came over and whispered: "Brother Dao, I heard that other work-study schools want to learn from us..."

Bang Geng blew out a smoke ring and said nothing. Outside the window, the autumn wind made the red flags flutter. He suddenly remembered the day when he was rejected by his original school. Now that he thought about it, he should thank those people for their contempt - otherwise, how could he, Jia Geng, become the "commander"?