Chapter 130

"What? Two cents interest, this is robbery."

Jia Zhang refused to agree. This was too evil.

"Mom, it's just two cents. I can earn it back in one trip."

Although Jia Dongxu had only six cents saved in his pocket, he suddenly looked down on even a dime or two.

"That's too much. Go find your brother and let him do justice."

At the critical moment, Jia Zhang still thought of Li Zhiguo, and what other people said was useless.

"okay!"

Jia Dongxu ran to the backyard, and Li Zhiguo was just about to wash his feet.

"Brother, come to my house. I need your help."

"Okay, we are all brothers, let's not waste time."

Li Zhiguo had no choice but to stretch out his feet and ask Xiao Jingru to help him put his socks back on, otherwise it would be too cold in such a cold winter.

Jia Dongxu looked at her with envy, but it would be soon. When he made money, he would have the same status at home and even let his mother put socks on him.

"Dongxu, what's going on? Didn't the Third Master borrow money?"

Li Zhiguo thought that this shouldn't be the case. With Yan Bugui's unscrupulous personality, how could he not know that it was a delivery of food?

"The third uncle agreed to lend me 100 yuan, but he charged me 20 cents interest every day. My mother thinks it's too much, but I don't think it's a big deal."

Jia Dongxu looked indifferent, he would soon be a tricycle driver earning more than two yuan a day and sixty or seventy yuan a month, he had no shortage of money.

"How much, two cents?"

Li Zhiguo was stunned for a moment. He thought Yan Bugui would only charge one cent, but why did he double the amount?

However, this is also Yan Bugui's usual style. When his own son borrows money, he directly charges him ten percentage points of interest every month, while Jia Dongxu only charges six percentage points. I guess he is showing mercy to him for his sake?

"It's two cents!"

As soon as the two arrived at Jia's house, Yan Bugui came with the IOU.

"Hey, Li Zhiguo, you are here too."

Yan Bugui looked very happy, he had made a lot of money. He would go and help Li Zhiguo play chess tomorrow to get back his loss.

"Uncle, I just heard the situation. You charge 20 cents a day, which is too much. Just charge 10 cents.

Dongxu is my brother, you can’t be so mean to him.”

Li Zhiguo cut the price in half in front of the Jia family.

Yan Bugui said hurriedly: "Li Zhiguo, this won't do, it's too low. I was planning to buy a bicycle with this money. The sooner I buy it, the sooner I can enjoy it. If I lend it to Dongxu, I will definitely make some money back. I am also taking risks.

For your sake, I'll reduce the price by one cent to 1.9 cents. I really can't lower it any further."

Jia Dongxu quickly said, "I think it's okay."

"Dongxu, what do you know?"

Jia Zhang hurriedly scolded her stupid son, saying that he didn't know how to count. Every penny less would mean three cents less per month.

Li Zhiguo shook his head and said, "My face is only worth one point, it should be at least two points."

Yan Bugui gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, then 18 cents, it really can't be less. Jia Zhang, you can go ask around, it's just a hundred yuan, everyone charges 30 cents, mine is too little."

Jia Zhang thought for a moment and said, "Then it'll be 1.8 cents. It's agreed that there will be no interest on the day the money is paid back."

"Okay, that doesn't count. I'll give you 18 cents."

Yan Bugui was quite straightforward and he changed the IOU immediately. After Jia Dongxu signed and put his fingerprints on it, he took out a hundred yuan and asked Li Zhiguo to be a witness.

"Dongxu, now that you have the money, go find your cooking chef, Lao He or Lao Cai, tomorrow and ask them to take you to buy a car. Don't get ripped off!"

Li Zhiguo's words were really a kind reminder.

"Brother, when I buy a car, I will take you out for a spin first and you can give me some pointers."

Jia Dongxu just wanted to get some wealth from Li Zhiguo. Others had already bought all four major items, even a watch, but he still ate white flour every day, often ate meat and went to restaurants, and the key was that he didn't go to work.

"That's great, I don't have anything to do tomorrow, so I should be in the hospital.

It’s just that there’s something wrong with Lao He’s family these past two days, so if you want to find someone, you have to make an appointment in advance.”

Seeing that it was getting dark, Li Zhiguo prepared to leave. Yan Bugui happened to be leaving as well after collecting the IOU, so they left the Jia residence together.

"Li Zhiguo, you've cheated me out of a lot of money. I lose two cents every day."

Yan Bugui seemed to be complaining, but in fact his face was full of joy.

"Third uncle, come on, I'll give you another dime and you'll have to borrow it."

Li Zhiguo was certain that Yan Bugui’s psychological price would not exceed eight cents.

"You still understand me, thank you, Uncle San. I will find two books for you tomorrow. They are worth thirty cents.

If you need anything in the future, Third Master will be here whenever you call."

Yan Bugui did not mention the issue of sharing the interest. The bad boy would not care about that. Others have plenty of ways to make money.

"Okay, I'll come to your house for a drink some other day to make you feel sorry for me."

Li Zhiguo just made a joke and couldn't say any more, lest someone in the courtyard get suspicious.

He did this for the sake of his brothers, to prevent Dongxu from being lazy. Now that Yan Bugui is urging them to go out and ride a tricycle every day, they will have a good life.
When Li Zhiguo returned home, he didn't see Xiao Jingru, and he didn't think much about it.

Qin Huairu came over and helped the man wash his feet, and then she took a rest. It was not realistic to take a bath every day in the winter.

When Li Zhiguo entered the inner room, he found something wrong. There was a person hiding under the quilt.

"Huai Ru, is our little Jing Ru lost? Why can't we find her?"

When Qin Huairu heard this, she rolled her eyes at the man and said, "Are you teasing a child here?"

Unexpectedly, Xiao Jingru couldn't hold it anymore and pulled the quilt away, shouting, "Brother-in-law, I'm here."

"Hey, why are you here?"

Li Zhiguo reached out and pinched Xiao Jingru's face, which pushed Dabao to his mother-in-law next door.

"Brother-in-law, I'm sleeping here tonight. My sister agreed."

Xiao Jingru moved inside to make room for her brother-in-law.

Qin Huairu explained: "She hid in her bed and refused to leave."

"Well, she just came back from the countryside and will stay here for two days. I'll send her to mom's place when school starts."

Li Zhiguo yawned and needed to take a rest. The third of every month was always the busiest day. What's more, the rain had urged him to get up early today.

Then he also got into bed and hugged Xiao Jingru to keep warm.

Qin Huairu covered the sewing machine and followed. After covering the two children with quilts, she pulled the light cord. With a click, the room became dark.

"Jingru!"

"Brother-in-law, what's the matter?"

"How's your homework going?"

After Li Zhiguo said this, the little girl fell silent.

Qin Huairu next to her replied, "She has only written less than half of it. I don't know what she is doing during the winter vacation."

"Brother-in-law, I forgot that I had homework. I've been working every day since I got home."

Xiao Jingru hurried to explain, but it would have been better if she hadn't said anything.

"Okay, continue tomorrow and write down everything you can do. This is a matter of attitude."

He thought it would be better not to use any dirty tricks to avoid teaching his children bad lessons. These were the flowers of the future who would devote their entire lives to building a modern socialist country.

"I know, brother-in-law!"

Little Jingru pouted and said that she would do her homework well during the winter vacation next year.

"Go to bed. You don't have to save breakfast for me tomorrow. I want to sleep in."

Li Zhiguo made arrangements in advance and slept until he woke up naturally.

Unfortunately, things don't go as planned! Early in the morning, two people came to the window.

"Li Zhiguo, get up."

"Brother, I have something to talk to you about."

He Daqing and Jia Dongxu came together, both looking for someone to do something.

"No, it's too early for you guys, wait a minute!"

Li Zhiguo turned over and fell asleep again. He knew it must be very early without even looking at his watch.

"Li Zhiguo, I really have something to talk to you about. Can I not sleep?"

He Daqing was anxious. He had to go to the hospital to change shifts and couldn't delay for too long, but he couldn't do anything about the bad boy. There was still no response in the room. Second Aunt couldn't stand it anymore and came to the yard and said, "You came too early. Li Zhiguo said hello last night and wanted to sleep in. His mother-in-law took the child out for a walk because she didn't want to disturb him."

"Oh, I'm in a hurry."

He Daqing slapped his thigh. He could wait, but the young widow in the hospital certainly couldn't.

"I have an emergency too!"

Jia Dongxu is waiting to start working and earn money. He has to pay interest to his third uncle every day. He really can't do without this brother.

"Is that so? Jia Dongxu, ask your wife to call someone. Li Zhiguo is in the room and the door is not locked."

The second aunt came up with an idea. Since Chen Bihua had often gone to the Li family to help feed the baby, there was no need to avoid suspicion.

"Yes, let Bihua go."

Jia Dongxu hurried home and brought his wife over, and also took care of the child, otherwise there would be no one to take care of Banggeng.

Chen Bihua shouldered the heavy responsibility, pushed open the door of Li's house, did not dare to stop, and went straight to the inner room, where she saw someone sleeping soundly.

"Brother Li, wake up. Uncle He and Dongxu want to talk to you about something urgent, Brother Li."

"No, this won't let me sleep."

Li Zhiguo opened his eyes speechlessly, "Okay, help me up."

"Oh!" Chen Bihua was happy. She still had face in front of Brother Li.

Then Chen Bihua skillfully helped Li Zhiguo put on his cotton-padded clothes. In winter, people had to wear underwear even when sleeping.

Li Zhiguo tied his belt, put on the cotton shoes made by Jia Zhang, and came out of the house yawning. What was going on? He was trying to be a good person but ended up getting into trouble.

Chen Bihua quickly found the toiletries in the back, a basin with a washcloth and a mouthwash cup in it, and a kettle in her other hand.

"Brother, I'm so sorry. I can't do without you today."

Jia Dongxu quickly stepped forward to help squeeze the toothpaste. Speed ​​was key, and he even put the stick in his hand down on the ground.

He Daqing also ran over to help Li Zhiguo massage his shoulders, and said flatteringly: "Uncle will loosen up your muscles and bones, and you won't feel sleepy anymore."

"Puh!" Li Zhiguo spat out a mouthful of foam. It was too cold in the morning, so luckily he rinsed his mouth with hot water.

After giving the mouthwash cup to Dongxu, he took the face towel handed to him by Dongxu's wife, washed his face, and finally recovered.

The second aunt watched the whole process, with Tang Chunyan standing next to her. They were both a little confused. The bad boy got up by himself and three people served him. The landlords in the past would not have such a face.

"Lao He, Dong Xu, what's the matter with you guys? Why do you have to come here so early in the morning?"

Li Zhiguo couldn't help complaining that he really didn't wake up today.

"No, it's still early. It's already past nine o'clock."

"Brother, this is what happened. I wanted to buy a tricycle, and Uncle He happened to be planning to buy a new one. He wanted to sell the one he was riding before, so I bought it."

Jia Dongxu looked very happy. Look, this is luck. Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence?

Li Zhiguo was stunned for a moment, looked at He Daqing, and thought, is he planning to sell off his property and run away to find his young widow?

Otherwise, why sell tricycles? Only stupid people would buy new ones. Isn’t that a waste of money?

He Daqing felt a little uncomfortable being looked at. "I've wanted to change my bike for a long time. The previous bike is so hard to pedal. It's not as smooth as the new one."

"Is that so, Lao He? I remember you bought it for 137.2 yuan. You didn't cheat my brother Dongxu, did you?"

Li Zhiguo also mentioned it casually, but he did need to settle the accounts clearly.

Jia Dongxu smiled and said, "My master didn't cheat me. He rounded off the decimal point and only charged me 130 yuan. This is not enough money, so I saved 20 yuan."

“That’s good!”

Li Zhiguo was a little speechless. Although big items retain their value nowadays, He Daqing had bought the car for more than two years, and it had only depreciated by 7.2 yuan?
However, he still owed Lao He 35 yuan, so he might as well think of it as someone else asking for compensation from Brother Dongxu.

"Brother, I want to give you a ride first. If you can give me some pointers, I will definitely be able to make a lot of money in the future."

Jia Dongxu knew how much money Uncle He's family earned every month, otherwise he would not have agreed to let Uncle He be his stepfather. It was just a pity that Uncle He didn't get to see his mother.

"That's no problem. I'm going out for breakfast. You can take me to the fried dough sticks shop outside the market later."

Li Zhiguo felt that he had lost out by getting up early and had wasted money on an extra breakfast.

"okay!"

Jia Dongxu was already dreaming of making a lot of money. He would go to a restaurant for lunch, go to the market in the late afternoon to buy cheap meat for 68 cents, and have a good meal in the evening. It would be best if he could also have a little wine. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

He Daqing then said, "Dongxu, go and clean the car first. I want to talk to Li Zhiguo alone."

He quickly sent the person away because what they talked about afterwards was confidential and could not be overheard by others.

"Okay, I'll go right away."

Jia Dongxu took his wife and children to the front yard where the tricycle was parked. He had to clean up his own tricycle, a job he was familiar with.

Second Aunt and Tang Chunyan also left, while He Daqing and Li Zhiguo entered the house.

"Lao He, what's wrong with you? Have you sold your car and are you going to give up your life?"

Li Zhiguo took out a cigarette and gave it to him. Fortunately, his son was not around at the moment, so there was no need to avoid him.

He Daqing helped to light the cigarette like a lackey, and then said, "Li Zhiguo, I like that young widow."

"You mean Xu Huizhen? That's fine. You have such good taste."

Li Zhiguo was not surprised at all. Old Cai had just said that he had taken a fancy to the product and wanted to ask him for advice. This was a consistent trend, and Old He could not escape.

And there is also Sha Zhu, who has disappeared, like a missing person.

But to be honest, he still has high hopes for Lao Cai. This brother is honest and a good person.

But he couldn't predict what the final outcome would be, because there were not only the three members of the He family, but also other competitors.

Like Fan Jinyou, that teacher, and yes, there’s also Lao Cai’s friend who rides a tricycle, his name seems to be Qiangzi or something.

The young widow Xu Huizhen is still very popular in Qianmen Street. If you can get her, you can save ten years of hard work. Those who don’t have the conditions should create them.

As for him, he really didn't miss the young widow, but he wanted to find an opportunity to buy the jade in the pickle jar in the tavern.

"Li Zhiguo, her name is Xu Huizhen, and she means "real". She is a really nice person."

He Daqing really liked her. Among all the widows he had met, Xu Hui was the best.

Li Zhiguo nodded. Not only was she a serious person, but she also loved the word "reason", so she named her daughter Xu Jingli.

"Look, teach uncle how to catch someone. Xu Huizhen is different from others. You can't use the same tricks as before. You can't take her to the inn."

He Daqing took it seriously. Besides, the young widow lived just over at Zhengyang Gate, so he could become a live-in son-in-law, just like his father did before, and wouldn't have to run far.

This can also take care of Yu Shui at the same time. As for Sha Zhu, he has been converted to a regular employee, so there is no need to worry about him.

Li Zhiguo thought for a moment and said, "We are all fathers now. What do you think is the most important thing?"

"Of course it's my wife."

He Daqing didn't even think about it. Isn't this obvious?
"Oh my god, besides my wife, who do you care about the most, Shazhu or Yushui?"

Li Zhiguo wants to give Lao He a try. He is thinking about getting a wife all the time, right?

"Of course it's Yu Shui. She lost her mother when she was young. To be honest, when I was planning to run away with Lotus, the person I was most worried about was Yu Shui. I didn't have the face to see her."

He Daqing is a man who responds to soft words but not to hard ones. Sha Zhu inherited his bad temper and often confronts him, but Yu Shui is sticky. If He Hua had not disagreed at the beginning, he would have wanted to run away with Yu Shui.

“Isn’t that right? Yu Shui lost his mother, you feel sad, and you don’t have a wife.

The widow's daughter lost her father, and others must be heartbroken. She also doesn't have a man. Do you understand now?"

Li Zhiguo felt that the thirty-five yuan he charged was too low. He had borrowed fifty yuan in the first place, and he shouldn't even have to pay back the fifteen yuan.

Lao He has consulted him three times, and he will probably need to do so more often in the future. It’s not a lifetime guarantee, so it would be fair to charge him based on the number of times he has consulted with him.

"Oh, uncle understands. If we take down her daughter, we will take down her."

He Daqing put himself in her shoes. If Zhang Cuihua married Yu Shui and Yu Shui insisted on having Zhang Cuihua as her stepmother, he guessed that he would have no choice but to turn off the lights and do the job in the dark against his conscience.

"This kid is teachable! Okay, I'm looking forward to drinking at your wedding."

Although Li Zhiguo gave some advice, he still did not think highly of Lao He.

Putting aside other things, under the same conditions, even Jia Xiantao had taken a fancy to Lao Cai. Compared with Lao Cai, He Daqing did not have any core competitiveness. After all, he was in his forties and had a son and a daughter.

"That's great! Li Zhiguo, I have to go to the hospital. I'll let you know if there's good news."

He Daqing walked away humming a little tune with a happy face, and greeted Jia Dongxu and his wife in the front yard.

Li Zhiguo finished smoking his cigarette and thought about it again. The inconspicuous rain was really the weak spot of the He family. Forget it. He was a good man and was not scheming anything.

After locking the door, he went to the front yard, but saw Jia Dongxu wiping the wheels of the car diligently. Was he just bored and had nowhere to put his energy?
"Brother, here I come!"

Jia Dongxu's face was full of smiles. Today was the day for the Jia family to rise. From now on, they could become an upper-class resident in the compound.

"Well, let's go!"

Li Zhiguo nodded, this would be a waste of breakfast.

(End of this chapter)