Chapter 41: 161

Outside the warehouse.

The atmosphere was rather silent due to Hou San’s shamelessness.

None of the three said a word until Zhang Dajun came out from the warehouse.

He put all the labor protection supplies he was holding in his arms onto the table.

“Dongzi, Ah Zhe, these are your labor protection supplies, one set for each of you. Besides the batteries and gloves which are issued monthly, you only get one of everything else. You must take good care of them. By the way, what are your heights?”

“180.”

Every time he faced this question, Li Xiangdong was full of confidence.

In this era where people could barely eat their fill, let alone eat well, he was definitely considered a tall man!

Zhang Dajun said in surprise, “Good heavens, Dongzi, you’re that tall?! I don’t even know if you can wear the ‘Si Tong Ba Da’ uniforms in the warehouse. Ah Zhe, how tall are you?”

Ah Zhe, standing next to Li Xiangdong, shifted his feet to the side, “I’m 165.”

Zhang Dajun glanced at Ah Zhe, then his gaze swept over to Hou San.

Hou San squatted directly on the ground, his head tilted up, his face flushed red. He didn’t even call him Brother Jun anymore, “Old Zhang, what are you looking at! Don’t you know how tall I am?!”

Zhang Dajun laughed, “Hou San, you and Dongzi are really two extremes. It took me quite a bit of effort to find clothes for you the other day.”

“Tch, you just want to say I’m short.”

Hou San buried his head in his arms, afraid of being laughed at by the two new friends he had made today.

Li Xiangdong and the other man didn’t even think in that direction. They walked to the table and began to divide the items.

One brand new flashlight each, complete with a few batteries.

After putting the batteries in and testing them, they worked fine and were stuffed directly into their cloth bags.

A set of army-green raincoats and rubber rain boots, and five pairs of work gloves.

They were all large sizes, no need to try them on, just a quick measurement would do. After folding them, they were also stuffed into the cloth bags.

An aluminum lunch box, which when opened, contained a spoon. It was brand new and looked much better than the one he had brought from home.

Finally, there was a white enamel mug with red text on it: “One Thousand Days of Safe Production,” “Jingtie Branch Union,” “May 1979,” with a red railway emblem in the middle.

It really couldn’t fit anymore. The cloth bag was already full, so they had to leave it on the table for now.

Li Xiangdong remembered what Zhang Dajun had just said. He turned to look at Hou San, who was still squatting on the ground looking utterly dejected, and asked, “Is the ‘Si Tong Ba Da’ that Brother Jun just mentioned our uniform?”

Hou San grunted in affirmation.

Li Xiangdong was puzzled, “Why is it called that?”

Seeing that Hou San didn’t reply, he walked over to him, “It’s not your fault you’re short. Ah Zhe and I aren’t laughing at you. Hurry up and stand up so we can see!”

As Li Xiangdong spoke, he started to get physical, grabbing Hou San’s arm and trying to pull him up.

“Dongzi, stop pulling me. I’ll get up myself, alright?”

Hou San stood up, pointed to his clothes, and began to explain, “See the two pleats on the pockets of my uniform?”

Li Xiangdong let go and looked carefully, then nodded. Ah Zhe came closer and also nodded.

Hou San said, “This represents the railway tracks.”

He then pointed to the pockets on his body, “Our uniform has a total of four pockets, representing the four directions: east, south, west, and north. This style of clothing is called ‘Si Tong Ba Da’ within our railway system.”

Li Xiangdong looked Hou San’s uniform up and down.

It was a military-style, dark blue uniform, with buttons bearing the railway emblem.

The buttons were brass, with the railway emblem on them.

He bent down again, took Hou San’s cap out of his pocket, and looked it over.

It was a soft cloth cap with a brim, adorned with a five-pointed star with the railway emblem.

After Ah Zhe had also taken a look, Hou San took his cap back and stuffed it into his pocket again, “How is it, not bad, right?”

“Not bad.”

Li Xiangdong nodded.

It didn’t look great on Hou San, but that was because of his looks. He was too thin and short to pull it off.

If it were him, wearing such a uniform, he would definitely be a handsome and energetic young man. When he got home, wouldn’t his wife be completely smitten!

“There’s nothing else. You can continue squatting.”

Li Xiangdong placed both hands on Hou San’s shoulders, and with a slight push, Hou San squatted on the ground again.

“Dongzi, you’re really not a good person!”

Hou San was furious. He had finally realized that Li Xiangdong was the quietly malicious type.

Zhang Dajun came out of the warehouse carrying a pile of clothes, “Dongzi, these are your and Ah Zhe’s uniforms, two sets each for winter and summer. Each set has a hat. See if anything is missing. If not, try them on.”

He pointed to the warehouse door, indicating that the two could go behind the door to try on the clothes.

Li Xiangdong and Ah Zhe each took a set of clothes and walked over.

Seeing the two start to change, Zhang Dajun said, “You two try them on first. I’ll go get you the overcoats and leather boots. In a few months, it will start snowing in the northeast, so these are prepared for you in advance.”

Li Xiangdong and the other man changed their clothes and stood facing each other, sizing each other up.

Although Hou San was also wearing one, looking at him was no reference!

Ah Zhe was very excited after changing into the uniform, “Dongzi, you look so much more energetic now!”

“Of course.”

Li Xiangdong praised Ah Zhe, “You look good too.”

Hou San swaggered over and complained, “Dumb tall guy, little dark kid.”

Li Xiangdong winked at Ah Zhe, and Ah Zhe understood instantly.

The two of them went up, grabbed Hou San, dragged him to the entrance outside the warehouse, and pushed him directly onto the ground.

For Ah Zhe, even if Hou San’s father was the head of the passenger transport section, he wasn’t afraid. Before he came to work here, he didn’t think it was a good job at all.

The main reason he came to work was because he was afraid of getting into trouble from being idle at home. After his mother’s letter arrived in a while, even if he didn’t go abroad with his father, his father could arrange a job for him at the university.

So his attitude towards Hou San was actually very casual, similar to Li Xiangdong’s. They both just thought Hou San’s family background was impressive, but neither of them would grovel in front of Hou San for a job.

Besides, after interacting for a while, they could more or less see Hou San’s personality.

“Stop messing around, you two. I was just kidding. You don’t have to be so petty, do you? Hurry up and let me go.”

Li Xiangdong slapped him on the butt, “Do you think no one can handle you?”

“Hiss~ Dongzi, you hit so hard! Let me go quickly, I’m dizzy now, I’m dizzy….”

As Hou San spoke, he started to roll his eyes. Ah Zhe also gave Hou San’s butt two hard slaps.

“Why would you be dizzy from a spanking? I’ll teach you to pretend to be dizzy! I’ll teach you to have a sharp tongue! You dare to call me a little dark kid? Look at yourself, are you even 160?”

“I am, I’m 161!”

Hou San stopped pretending to be dizzy. He struggled on the ground for a few moments and found it was futile.

“Ah Zhe, you hit me several times. We’re even now. Can you let me go?”

Ah Zhe shook his head, “No, I haven’t let out all my anger yet.”

Seeing that Ah Zhe wouldn’t let go, Hou San turned his head and started begging Li Xiangdong for mercy, “Dongzi, you…”

Li Xiangdong stared at him, “What did you call me?”

Hou San instantly changed his tune and said with a grin, “Brother Dong, Brother Dong, we’re on the same side.”