Chapter 103 Please
Yan Bugui had a flattering look on his face. He had always wanted to find an opportunity to borrow a bicycle to ride around, but he just didn't know how to ask. Now that Li Zhiguo had two bicycles at home, he should be able to borrow it for half a day.

"Bicycle? What's the point of giving it as a reward? My wife doesn't dare to ride a bicycle even though she's pregnant."

Li Zhiguo was a little confused. Which leader made this decision by patting his knees? He directly exchanged it for a watch. Even if he lost a little money in the price difference, he didn't mind.

Or something else, this bike is unreliable.

"Oh, you're still scorning the reward? If you don't need it, you can sell it. It's better not to sell it. You don't need money to spend."

Yan Bugui thought, if you want to sell it, how can I ask to borrow the car?

"Okay, I understand. I'm tired after a day out. I'll go to the factory and ride it back tomorrow."

Li Zhiguo was really not excited. He was not short of money or cars. Did he have to rush to the factory? That would seem too narrow-minded.

"You are the best. You are calm in the face of adversity. You are the one who can accomplish great things."

Yan Bugui was truly impressed. If it were someone else, he would probably rush to the steel mill immediately and would not wait overnight for the reward.

"Don't worry about the big things, just live a good life."

He didn't chat much. Wouldn't it be better for him to go back and lie down and listen to the radio?

However, when he arrived at the middle courtyard, he was stopped. The aunts came out of their houses one after another and gathered together.

Jia Zhang asked excitedly: "Li Zhiguo, you won the prize, you have money and a bicycle, how can you spend all the money?"

"I haven't been to the factory, so I don't know the specific situation. It's good to have a lot of money. I can save it to support my son in the future."

Li Zhiguo pulled the car to the side and decided to chat for a while before going back. He didn't want to neglect the sisters in the courtyard.

Jia Dongxu came up with the song list in his hand and asked excitedly: "Li Zhiguo, what did you invent this time? Why did you get such a big reward?"

"I'm not sure. I submitted more than one. Dongxu, you're studying the lyrics. Aren't you learning how to project a movie from Damao? Have you read the book he gave you?"

Li Zhiguo felt that Jia Dongxu was a wasted student. He was not focused at all and just wanted to make a lot of money. This was not good. One must be down-to-earth in life.

"I read it, but I didn't understand it. I can understand the lyrics you wrote."

Jia Dongxu doesn't want to show movies anymore, as that only makes a little money. He might as well write songs and invent something when he has time. He can learn from Li Zhiguo.

Li Zhiguo thought to himself, what the hell can you understand? Well, he would not discourage Dongxu brothers. Everyone has to have some interests and hobbies, otherwise, what is the difference between them and salted fish.

After returning home, he suddenly thought about his identity.

Inspiration immediately came to him, and he wrote the song "We Are Successors" in a very fluent manner.

This is the team song of the future Young Pioneers. When primary school students sing this song in the future, they may be able to remember the name of Li Zhiguo.

First he rowed the boat without oars, and then he waited to take over. Isn’t he a life mentor?

"Brother-in-law, are you writing songs again?"

Little Jingru was illiterate and didn’t understand what was said while lying beside him. She just thought her brother-in-law was so awesome.

"This kid is teachable! Writing songs is as easy as eating and drinking water for my brother-in-law."

This song has relatively few lyrics, but the money should not be less, isn't it calculated?

It was getting late, and he thought his wife would come back to cook, but Xu Damao arrived first.

"Li Zhiguo, you have won another award."

Xu Damao walked in with a smile on his face, and he also had some ideas.

"I heard from Uncle San that the exact amount is how much. You should know since you are in the publicity department. Tell me about it."

Li Zhiguo folded the playlist, put it in his bag, and planned to deliver it to Qianmen Street tomorrow, and continue to ask the director to promote it.

He had a purpose in writing children's songs. Those who would cause trouble in the future had grown up singing his songs, so they couldn't possibly cause trouble here.

"It's a lot more. The Ministry of Metallurgy gave 200 yuan plus a bicycle, and the Ministry of Agriculture gave 100 yuan, plus an assistant technician position, which is equivalent to a level 16 position, with a monthly salary of 37 yuan.

However, since you don't work, we will take special care of you and give you a monthly allowance of 12 yuan. You can go to the Agricultural Building to collect it on the third day of each month."

Xu Damao directly talked about the reward, and was full of envy. They were all residents of the backyard and progressive young people in the yard. Why did he feel so far behind?

But at least he is better than Jia Dongxu. Thinking of this, I feel a lot more balanced. Brother Dongxu cannot be burned in this courtyard.

The country has only been established for four years. It is impossible to make good people cry all the time. He is still young and can wait a little longer.

"That's fine, the rewards are huge."

Li Zhiguo had always thought that threshers were good things, but he didn't expect that the higher-ups attached so much importance to them. But when you think about it carefully, it's normal. China is now a big agricultural country, and by the 1990s, these four words were written into textbooks.

Naturally, people paid more attention to agriculture. The thresher is a powerful tool. The most important thing is that it burns bone oil and does not consume energy.

"Li Zhiguo, you are so nice. I want to discuss something with you. Can you give me the bicycle awarded by the factory? Can you give me a slightly lower price and give me the change?"

Xu Damao was trying to take advantage of the situation. The bicycle cost 168.5 yuan, and he wanted to get it in full.

"Da Mao, this won't work. Your sister Qin is going to give birth soon. Her maternity leave is only two months. She will have to come back at noon to feed the baby. It would be more convenient to have a bicycle, so I won't sell this one."

Li Zhiguo also thought of this suddenly. There is no milk powder now. What is used is "maltodextrin", which is starch extracted from corn, rice, wheat or cassava, used to replace milk powder.

Even if you have money, you can only use "cake powder", which is a mixture of rice flour, flour and a little milk powder. It is used for weaning and meal replacement for babies. Strictly speaking, it is not milk powder.

Moreover, cake powder can only be bought in big cities, and there are two standard prices, 3 yuan and 7 yuan respectively. They are packaged in bags, not cans.

Because it is expensive, it is also called high-ranking officials' powder, which means that only high-ranking officials can afford it.

Babies still need to rely on breast milk, which is better than anything else, healthy, easy to raise, and saves money.

"Hey, that's good!"

Xu Damao just wanted to give it a try. He felt it wouldn't work before he came, but what if?

It’s okay. Even if you fail this time, you can fight back next time. You will succeed one day.

"Li Zhiguo, I'm going back to cook."

"Go back, don't let Chunyan get hungry."

Li Zhiguo sent people away and wanted to take advantage of him. Isn't this nonsense?

Not long after, Qin Huairu came back and excitedly took out the award certificate, "Brother, you get another award..."

"Well, Third Uncle and Xu Damao have talked about this. Our family's life will only get better and better. I will go to the factory to collect the money when I have time. I will leave the bicycle to you. We have two bicycles. Let others envy us."

Li Zhiguo comforted his excited wife and said that cooking was more important because he was hungry.

"Hey! We have two cars at home, and I'll leave one for my son."

Well, Qin Huairu thinks far enough ahead. She doesn’t even know whether it will be a boy or a girl, but she will have a son sooner or later.

"When our son grows up, he will probably drive a car. Okay, let's go cook."

He hadn't thought about having children so early before because he thought it would be troublesome to take care of them. But since he was going to have them, he would try to have two in three years. Wouldn't it be nice to have more children to raise and more people to take care of them?

"Ok!"

Qin Huairu nodded and went to the kitchen with a happy face.

After dinner, before Li Zhiguo could go for a walk, Sha Zhu came and started talking about other things.

"Li Zhiguo, you've received so many rewards, why don't you give Sister Qin some more for household expenses? It's only five dollars, and we spent it all in the cafeteria at noon."

Good man, if Li Zhiguo didn’t know what kind of person Sha Zhu was, he would have kicked him out.

"Okay, Shazhu, as your big brother, I'll give you this face and increase your salary by one dollar. That should be fine, right?

This good life is achieved by saving money. Before, it was 5.5 yuan, and Chen Bihua only made 4 yuan a month. "

Li Zhiguo put his arm around Sha Zhu's shoulders, handed him a cigarette and asked Sha Zhu to light it for him.

But they all went outside to avoid smoke in the house.

"That's better. Sister Qin has so many people. They can't suffer with you."

Sha Zhu smoked happily, chatted for a few more words, and went back happily.

"Alas! Young man Mu Ai, does Sha Zhu have to wait until he is over 40 to get married in this life?
I don't know which widow came to save Shazhu."

In the middle courtyard, the aunts gathered together and started gossiping again.

"How much reward did Li Zhiguo get this year? Who can calculate the total?"

"Six hundred and fifty, plus a bicycle, Qin Huairu's salary, his father-in-law's and brother-in-law's salaries, and he will have allowances in the future."

"Well, Li Zhiguo got paid, the He family in the courtyard got paid, the first and second uncles got high salaries, and the Xu family also made a lot of money.

There are more than 20 households in our courtyard, and five of them have come to the front. The most unexpected one is Li Zhiguo, who has no help from his elders, but relies entirely on himself. "

Jia Dongxu felt uncomfortable listening to this. Why did Li Zhiguo snatch Qin Huairu away and still live a good life without giving Qin Huairu a chance to regret?

He went back to study the playlist and had already come up with two lyrics. If he put them together, he could make money.

Jia Dongxu returned to the house and wrote quickly, "Let's go take a photo together, you stand in the middle and I stand on the side. When I put on new clothes one day, I will also stand in the middle and let you stand to the side." What a good and practical way of writing!

"Dongxu, go wash the dishes. You're not doing your job all day long."

Jia Zhang put down the plate and made up all the soup so that nothing was wasted.

"Coming, Mom."

Jia Dongxu was inspired and came up with new lyrics.

"I wash the dishes when the whole family eats. One day, I will sit at home and let my mother wash the dishes."

This is about life, and it will be complete if we put some more pieces together.

At night, the yard became quiet. I have to go to work tomorrow, so I dare not sleep late.

Unfortunately, Li Zhiguo did not go to bed early today, and he secretly knocked on Chen Dasao's door.

"Tuk-tuk!"

"Li Zhiguo, it's you, come in quickly, your elder brother Zeng is at home."

Mrs. Chen said subconsciously that there was no misunderstanding, but she was afraid that the man would think too much.

"I'm here to see you. Come to my house later. My wife is also home."

Li Zhiguo was afraid that Brother Zeng would misunderstand him.

"okay!"

Mrs. Chen guessed that something was wrong, so after the people left, she told the man about it.

"Li Zhiguo is looking for you? Then go quickly. He is capable. Maybe one day our family will live a good life relying on him.

Isn't it Lao He who relies on him for guidance? And Lao Yan, I see he's having a good time lately, he even secretly bought half a pound of meat one day."

Brother Zeng usually keeps a low profile in the yard, and he is also a person who likes to observe.

"Hey!"

Mrs. Chen was also a smart person. Seeing that there was no one in the middle courtyard, she tiptoed out of the house and ran to the backyard.

"Sister Chen, come in quickly."

Li Zhiguo left the door open and closed it after someone came in.

Xiao Jingru lay at the window and observed outside. This was the task assigned to her, to be careful not to be eavesdropped by anyone.

Qin Huairu was operating a sewing machine in the inner room, currently making a swaddling cloth. She already had one, and now she added cotton into this one, to be used for the baby in winter.

When he saw someone coming in, he quickly stood up and greeted them, "Mrs. Chen, please sit down first and have a drink of water."

Qin Huairu poured the man some water and went back to the inner room. She would not participate in whatever the man wanted to talk about unless he asked her.

Li Zhiguo also sat down and drank a sip of tea before saying, "Sister Chen, I'm here to discuss something with you. This way, this way... Do you understand?"

"I think I understand. That is, why do you want to do this?"

Mrs. Chen's skill level is quite high. She had helped to trick Yi Zhonghai into attending the banquet before.

"Well, isn't Huairu's mother going to the city soon? By then, I'll have to put a bed in my living room, which is a bit inconvenient. So, I want to rent the house of the old lady next door."

Li Zhiguo said it clearly, since others would be able to see clearly afterwards anyway, it would be better to be open-minded and be honest as a gentleman.

"I see. This is a good thing. I'll help you."

Mrs. Chen thought about it and decided it wasn’t a bad thing.

"I won't give you less rent, old lady. It's three dollars a month, fifty cents more than outside.

I will just pay once a year, so that the old lady can live a more comfortable life."

This little money is just a drop in the bucket for him, but it will allow him to live comfortably in the future, so it's totally worth it.

He had previously thought about sending the child to be raised in the countryside, or to the Sanjin compound, but there was no concept of left-behind children yet, so he decided to keep the child with him.

"Okay, I'll help you spread the news tomorrow morning."

Mrs. Chen thought that Li Zhiguo's move was very powerful, although it would make the old man suffer. But maybe others would be happy about it.

"That's great! I won't say more. I owe you a favor, Sister Chen."

Li Zhiguo's favor is very rare, so this is the first one he sent out.

Chen Dasao was a nanny he hired to start a trend of caring for the elderly in the orphanage, so he sent the deaf old lady to Yi Zhonghai's home.

Yi Zhonghai's house is spacious, just like Liu Haizhong's. In addition to the main room used as a living room, there are two small rooms.

Sending the deaf old lady to the Intermediate Court will help people see more of Sha Zhu's faults and make things better for everyone.

"Hey, I'll remember that."

Mrs. Chen left happily, but never mentioned the matter after returning home. Even her family had to keep it secret, otherwise if it ruined Li Zhiguo's plans, they would become enemies.

The next morning, after everyone in the courtyard went to work, Chen Dasao arrived at the central courtyard early, holding her sewing box and looking for someone to chat with.

After waiting for a while, Auntie was also called out. As for people like Sun Erniang and Auntie Jiang, they came uninvited.

However, Jia Zhang was still sleeping soundly, but it didn't matter whether she was there or not.

Seeing that there were many people around, Mrs. Chen casually said, "My mother is old, and my two brothers at home treat her badly. I'm thinking of bringing her to the city to live out her days, but I don't know how to bring this up with Lao Zeng."

These words were not taught by Li Zhiguo, but were expressed freely by Chen Dasao. However, they hit the nail on the head and brought up the topic of elderly care.

"Alas! They say raising a son is a way to support you in your old age, but this son may not be reliable. Oftentimes, we, the daughters, have to bear the burden."

Sun Erniang also felt sad, but her father had passed away and the anniversary was just celebrated a while ago.

"Isn't it? We are married, but we don't bring anything to our parents' home during festivals, and we still can't get any good results."

Aunt Jiang also sighed, saying that it is not easy to be a daughter nowadays.

"Hey, we're all chatting."

Jia Dongxu came out of the house holding a basin, washed his face casually at the sink, and left the basin there. Dongxu would wash clothes and put them away later.

"Mrs. Jia Zhang, we are talking about old-age care. Mrs. Chen wants to take mother in, but it's quite difficult."

"Jia Zhang, is your mother still alive?"

Several middle-aged women gave up their seats to allow Jia Zhang to join the circle and chat. The more people there were, the more lively it became.

At this time, the second aunt who heard the sound in the backyard, the third aunt in the front yard, Aunt Wang and others also came.

Jia Dongxu came out carrying a bucket and lifted the door curtain. Seeing the lively conversation in the field, he had envy in his eyes. He thought that if Li Zhiguo came, he would definitely be able to join the team, but he couldn't because no one would bring him into the industry.

Suddenly, Mrs. Chen changed the subject and said, "It's not so bad in our courtyard. Life was hard before the founding of the People's Republic of China. Most of the elderly are gone. Only the old lady is left. She has no children and lives a lonely life."

"Oh, isn't it? The old lady has difficulty walking and doesn't go out very often."

The second aunt took over the conversation. She was not panicked. She had three sons and would have no shortage of support in her old age. The head of the family liked the eldest son, Guangqi, and planned to keep him by her side.

"Why don't we go help the old lady out and have a chat? It's early in the morning and there's nothing to do."

When Mrs. Chen made the suggestion, someone immediately responded and thought it was a good idea.

"I'm going to pick up the old lady."

The aunt stood up as she spoke. Because she couldn't have children, she rarely talked with the people in the orphanage. Whenever she felt bored, she would go to the old lady, with whom she had the best relationship.

"Well, we'll wait for the old lady."

Mrs. Chen responded and said that she did not go, so she had to stay and continue discussing the issue of retirement.

After the first lady left, she said, "Cuiyun is also pitiful. She didn't leave any sons or daughters for Old Yi. It will be a big problem to provide for her in her old age."

This is a very realistic problem, the family is wiped out, and this issue has been talked about a lot in the courtyard, but it has never been mentioned in person.

"Yes, it's a pity that the old man has such a high salary. But the old man often takes care of the old lady and delivers food to people. I have seen it many times."

"Cuiyun also often went there to deliver food and helped the old lady with her laundry."

All the aunties admired the first aunt very much. She was filial and kind.

Mrs. Chen suddenly mentioned, "If you ask me, we should just let the old lady stay with Cuiyun. She has a room at home and it's spacious enough for her to stay in. It also saves her from running back and forth.

In our hospital, we have always respected the elderly. Even that bad boy Li Zhiguo has never cheated the old lady.

He asked Old Yan to replace the gift his wife had given him with white flour and send it back."

The third aunt replied, "I can testify to this, it was indeed returned. Li Zhiguo may not be able to do other things, but there is nothing wrong with this."

(End of this chapter)