Siheyuan: I Graduated from University, Joined a Ministry, and Rose Through the Ranks

In 1965, Xu Dachan, a young man from a forest region in Northeast China, received a letter from his cousin Xu Damao and took a train from Haidafu to the capital, known as Forty-Nine City.

At first, all he wanted was to obtain the mysterious space in Courtyard No. 40 on Nanluoguxiang. Unexpectedly, he was assigned to the steel mill's car pool and, by a twist of fate, became Li Huaide's personal driver.

Others thought there was no future in driving for a leader, but Xu Dachan used his space, ginseng, and insight from a later era to turn the steering wheel into a shortcut to the centers of power.

He accompanied Li Huaide to meet people and get things done, then seized an opportunity to bring down Director Yang. After that, he went to university, joined a ministry, and steadily rose to become a powerful bureau chief.

In love, he married Liu Yueru and raised children like Xu Fei, keeping several generations of the Xu family closely bound together.

In the 1990s, he finally bought the entire courtyard, which had originally housed more than twenty families.

Four generations under one roof, with a plaque reading