Chapter 131

After a while, he got on the back seat. Jia Dongxu was already pedaling, holding the handlebars with his hands. Chen Bihua was standing next to him holding the stick, full of a sense of ritual.

"Dongxu, let's go!"

"Okay, brother!"

Jia Dongxu pushed the pedal and the tricycle started moving immediately without any problems.

"Wife, wait for me to buy some meat this afternoon so we can have something delicious to eat in the evening."

"Hey! I'm waiting."

Chen Bihua also looked happy. Finally, Dongxu started to make money.

Jia Dongxu only ate a steamed bun in the morning, but he felt full of energy. In a short while, he arrived at the fried dough stick shop outside the vegetable market.

Maybe Li Zhiguo really has good fortune, or maybe Jia Dongxu has turned bad luck into good luck. As soon as Li Zhiguo got off the car, a customer who had just finished eating fried dough sticks suddenly wanted to take the car.

"Master, shall we go to North Riverside Park?"

Jia Dongxu had a look of ecstasy on his face, but he was a little confused. He vaguely knew the place, but he was not sure how far it was.

I had no choice but to ask for help: "Brother, how do you calculate the money?"

Li Zhiguo shook his head and said, "It's a little over three kilometers. The starting price is 0.1 cent per kilometer, and every additional kilometer will be charged 0.5 cents. You charge 0.2 cents."

"Okay, big brother, I'll give you two cents for this."

Jia Dongxu became even more excited. Look, what kind of luck is this? The first order is only 20 cents.

After paying the interest to the third uncle today, I still have two cents left. If I work harder and get an order, I can go to a restaurant to eat noodles. If I add meat and eggs, it will be a delicious meal.

"Then two cents."

The customer didn't bargain, and the big brother next to him figured it out.

When everyone got on the back seat, Jia Dongxu shouted happily: "Brother, go have breakfast quickly, don't be hungry."

"Okay, then you get busy, Dongxu, work hard."

Li Zhiguo waved his hand and thought, as long as the Dongxu brothers maintain their enthusiasm and train their brains well to figure out the locations of various places in the capital, they will be able to estimate the distance.

Also, don't be lazy. You are young and don't always think about going out to eat. Maybe you can really live a good life.

"Hey, Brother Li is here. Let's still follow the same old rules. Two fried dough sticks and a bowl of soy milk with sugar?"

When the shop owner saw that it was this gentleman coming, he quickly put on a smile, but the other person was a street cadre and had a bad temper.

"Nothing wrong!"

Li Zhiguo picked a separate table and sat down. Due to the control on cooking oil, the price of fried dough sticks has also increased, and noodle tickets are also required, so business is not as good as before.

Starting this year, the previous flour coupons were abolished and replaced by face coupons, which have passed their expiration date.

Because of the short issuance period of only one year and a few months, and the preciousness of flour, very few are left, especially those with a face value of one kilogram, which are even rarer.

After the grain station collected the tickets, according to the rules, they had to be destroyed in a centralized manner, so there was no inventory.

However, he has collected some of them and put them in his space as a souvenir. In the entire capital city, he has the most and most complete flour tickets.

At this moment, after eating the soy milk and fried dough sticks, he did not forget to pack some for his mother-in-law and Xiao Jingru.

"Brother Li, have a safe journey."

After the shop owner took the money and the receipt, he happily sent the person away.

Because flour coupons were inconvenient to use before, the flour coupons issued now have small denominations calculated by two, and the color is also different. It was blue before, but now it is red.

Li Zhiguo had no choice but to walk back to the courtyard, but he saw his mother-in-law with Xiao Guanxiang in the middle courtyard.

"Mom, I bought you and Jingru some fried dough sticks, they're still hot."

"Hey, you're wasting money again. Mom has already had breakfast. Jingru is doing her homework in the room."

Qin's mother had already heard about her son-in-law being woken up, and was just complaining to the aunties in the courtyard about Jia Dongxu and He Daqing.

"It's a snack after breakfast."

Li Zhiguo has always taken good care of his mother-in-law. If you put yourself in her shoes, you will realize that she is not your biological mother!

If someone comes to take care of his children and the daily life of the whole family, and is more responsible than a nanny and doesn't get paid, then he must be nice to them.

"Hey, that's good."

Qin's mother took the fried dough sticks and went home first, otherwise she would not be able to eat them in public.

Li Zhiguo held his son and did not leave. He got up early. He had nothing to do today, so he just chatted in the yard. Life was so simple.

"Li Zhiguo, Jia Dongxu really went out to ride a tricycle, is that okay?"

"I just saw him driving you out. How's the business?"

"The Jia family has finally made some progress, and it's all thanks to you."

Of course, the aunts hope that the Jia family has a hard life. They don’t have any bad intentions, they just don’t want others to have a good life.

"My dear sisters, my luck is beyond words. I was the one who opened the license for Lao He's tricycle business. Isn't this a big profit?

Dongxu made 20 cents on his first order today, which is a lot for a day."

Li Zhiguo planned to establish a new persona of being lucky and prosperous, so that he would be the first person that would be thought of when anything good happened in the hospital.

"Ah, that's only two cents, enough to buy two kilograms of corn flour."

Sun Erniang was jealous, as she had always been at odds with the Jia family.

"Jia Dongxu finally found a way out. After going around in circles, he finally got on a tricycle."

Mrs. Chen also felt emotional, and it was really all thanks to the bad boy's help.

The aunties in the yard seemed to be thinking about something. It seemed that no matter what happened in the future, they would have to drag the bad boy along with them. Others were lucky and could live a good life with just a little help from them.

“I hope Dongxu can really make money!”

Li Zhiguo expressed his feelings, chatted for a while, and then went back to sleep. Otherwise, he would have to eat lunch soon, which he had not digested yet and would be bad for his stomach.

As a result, Xiao Guanxiang kept sticking to him. Well, he couldn't sleep anymore and had to take his son out to play.

We had lunch at home, and after lunch, Xiao Jingru was busy doing her homework. Today is Friday, and she has to register and hand in her homework on next Monday, the Lantern Festival, and it’s almost too late.

……

"Hey, give me a bowl of pork noodles with an egg."

Jia Dongxu sat down with sweat all over his forehead. He casually pulled out a pair of chopsticks and held them in his hands. This was how people should live.

"Come on, big pork noodles with egg, 28 cents for you, plus 30 bucks of noodles."

The waiter quickly came over with a big bowl of noodles. Business is not as good as before. They need noodle tickets. If they don't accept them, they will have to go to the grain store to exchange them for grain.

"Here, I have plenty of money."

Jia Dongxu still had more than a pound of flour tickets in his hand. Sometimes when an old man gave him white flour, he would deduct the flour tickets and save them, hoping that they would be useful when he went to a restaurant one day.

I finished a big bowl of noodles in no time and drank the soup as well. I felt so comfortable.

It was already past lunchtime. He earned thirty cents and spent twenty-eight cents, which left him with two cents left.

Work hard, your wife at home is waiting for you to buy meat, and your uncle is waiting to collect interest.

As for the remaining twenty yuan for buying the tricycle, it has been taken by my wife.

……

In the evening, in the courtyard!
Yan Bugui has looked at the front door several times, but Jia Dongxu hasn't come back yet. He is really working hard and must have made a fortune.

"Hey, Uncle Three, what are you doing sneaking around like that?"

Li Zhiguo came out to go to the toilet at this time. At this time, those who work in the factory should be back.

"Wait for Jia Dongxu. I have to ask him for 1.8 cents in interest every day."

Yan Bugui looks very happy. He makes money every day. How can he not be happy?

"That's great, just wait."

Li Zhiguo immediately went to the public toilet, and when he came out, he happened to meet his wife coming back.

"Huai Ru, don't rush back. Take me to Chunqiao Grocery Store. We are out of eggs at home. I will go buy some now."

We consume a lot of eggs at home. We have to buy more than ten pounds of eggs a month, at 50 cents a pound. They are all local eggs, small in size, so the total cost is about 5 cents each.

"okay!"

Qin Huairu was already very skilled at riding a bicycle, and she was riding her man back. After a while, she met Sha Zhu in the alley.

"Sister Qin, where are you going?"

Sha Zhu shook the net bag and said that he didn’t need to go to the hospital today and could go home and rest early.

Li Zhiguo replied, "Shazhu, where have you been these past two days? You haven't been seen at all."

"Hey, it's the hospital over there, you know."

Shazhu's words were so vague that it's hard to explain.

"Okay, let's talk later. I'm going to go buy some things with your sister Qin."

Li Zhiguo felt that Sha Zhu had no chance because he didn't know how to take care of a child, and he had work so he didn't have much time.

What Xu Hui really needs is a man who can be available 24 hours a day, work hard without complaint, and know how to take care of children.

"Take care." After watching the bicycle go away, Sha Zhu was stunned for a while before he came to his senses.

"Zhiguo, has something happened to the He family these two days?"

Even Qin Huairu noticed the abnormality and felt that something was wrong.

"It's nothing, it will be back to normal after a while."

Li Zhiguo didn't say much because it was too complicated to talk about.

When they came back with a basket of eggs, the tricycle was still nowhere to be seen in the front yard.

"Li Zhiguo, do you think Jia Dongxu didn't make any money?"

Yan Bugui became worried. Was he going to fail on only the first day?

Qin Huairu asked doubtfully: "What do you mean by making money?"

"Huai Ru, Jia Dongxu went out to ride a tricycle today. He bought He Daqing's tricycle this morning..."

Li Zhiguo explained, and then said: "I'm sure I've made money. The first order this morning was 20 cents. Uncle, just wait."

When they got home, Qin Huairu said a little slowly: "Zhiguo, Jia Dongxu was a worker before after all. He is not afraid of being laughed at for riding a tricycle at such a young age."

"Huai Ru, you are wrong to think like this. There is something wrong with your thinking. Labor is glorious. Just laugh it off in private and don't tell anyone about it."

Li Zhiguo corrected them and said he had to save some face for the Dongxu brothers.

"Oh!" Qin Huairu understood, and went to the kitchen to help with a smile, just in time to fry two eggs.

It was not too late at night, a little after seven but not yet eight. It was cold in winter, so Li Zhiguo planned to take a walk in the yard and then go back to sleep.

"Brother Li, Dongxu hasn't come back yet."

Chen Bihua lifted the door curtain and walked out, holding a bowl and chopsticks in her hands. The family had already eaten, so they didn't get the meat that Dongxu bought.

"No, what time is it?"

Li Zhiguo thought, why are the Dongxu brothers working so hard? Do they want to put pressure on the predecessors who ride tricycles? Are they going to start a business in 1955?
"Isn't it? Nothing will happen, right?"

Chen Bihua was a little worried.

It just so happened that Sha Zhu also came out with dishes and chopsticks. His father and uncle were not back home, so he had to wash the dishes with his sister.

"You are talking about Jia Dongxu, isn't he back yet?"

Sha Zhu knew early this morning that Jia Dongxu bought his tricycle.

"Did Dongxu really go to ride a tricycle?"

Xu Damao appeared out of nowhere, smelling of alcohol, and had just returned to the yard.

Li Zhiguo said, "Don't worry, it's still early. Lao Cai and the others haven't come back yet."

Suddenly, there seemed to be a noise coming from the front yard.

"Hey, something must have happened."

Sha Zhu put down his bowl and chopsticks and wanted to go watch the fun.

Everyone present had nothing to do, so of course they had to go together. When they reached the corridor, Li Zhiguo looked back and saw Jia Zhang-shi lifting the door curtain and coming out of the Jia family. She was also there to watch the fun.

"Jia Dongxu, we agreed to pay 1.8 cents a day. How can we delay it until tomorrow? Tomorrow will be a new 1.8 cents a day."

Even if Yan Bugui dared to ask for the money, it was not against the rules, because it was clearly written on the IOU that he lent 100 yuan to Jia Dongxu on February 3, and Jia Dongxu returned the principal plus 0.18 yuan interest on February 4.

It is equivalent to collecting 1.8 cents every two days. If Jia Dongxu cannot pay it back, he can use the tricycle to pay off the debt.

There is nothing wrong with this plan. If the interest is not paid every day, the tricycle will be confiscated. Even if they make a scene on the street, they won’t go because the total interest is only 1.8 cents.

"Uncle, I didn't say I wouldn't give it to you tomorrow. I'll give you 36 cents tomorrow, not a cent less."

Jia Dongxu looked embarrassed, it was his fault for failing in the afternoon.

"Dongxu, what's going on?"

Li Zhiguo arrived with his men. Could something go wrong on the first day?
Yan Bugui rushed to say: "Jia Dongxu doesn't pay interest, this is against the rules."

"No, Dongxu, you can't even make 18 cents after working all day, but you only made 2 cents in the morning."

Li Zhiguo was numb. Can this brother still get along?

"Dongxu, what's going on?"

Chen Bihua was also dumbfounded. The He family used to have one car and two people taking shifts, and they could earn more than one yuan in half a day. But her Dongxu didn't even have 1.8 cents after going out for a whole day?
"What else could it be? He must be lazy."

Xu Damao made sarcastic remarks. He used to be Jia Dongxu's master and taught him how to project movies. He knew the character of the Dongxu brothers and they were only enthusiastic about things for a short period of time, except for fishing.

Sha Zhu also said: "Jia Dongxu, you are not useless. I can earn two dollars every Sunday by running around."

Jia Zhang also arrived. When she heard the situation, she wanted to hit her son in the face with the sole of her shoe.

"Dongxu, your brother is here too. Tell us clearly in front of everyone what you did all day."

"Mom, I, I..."

Jia Dongxu hesitated, but finally said, "I only earned three cents this morning, and I'm not familiar with the route, so I failed to negotiate two jobs.

I was hungry at that time, so I went to eat, and then I had only two cents left. "

"Wait, Jia Dongxu, what did you eat for lunch? It cost you 28 cents."

Yan Bugui quickly interrupted, feeling deeply saddened, "Do you think you are Li Zhiguo? How dare you do this?"

"It's nothing, just three ounces of meat noodles with a fried egg. Isn't it physically demanding to ride a tricycle?"

Jia Dongxu admitted generously that he couldn't even remember the last time he went out to eat out. Now that he was making money, he had to have a good meal.

"You useless thing, I, your mother, only spent 1.2 yuan at the factory, just two bowls of white flour and a portion of cabbage, and you got meat and eggs, how can you do that? I'll beat you to death."

Jia Zhang was instantly furious. She picked up the unfinished shoes and hit Jia Dongxu in the face.

"Oh my god, I earned my own money, why can't I have a good meal? I haven't eaten meat in a long time."

Jia Dongxu couldn't hold back his tears. Is this fair?

"Sister-in-law, you can't do that. You can't hit anyone no matter what."

Yi Zhonghai didn't know when he arrived, but when he saw Jia Zhang taking action, he hurried forward to hold her back.

Jia Zhang broke free and yelled, "Dongxu, go on and tell me what you did this afternoon. If you can't explain clearly, Mom won't beat you, but let your brother beat you."

Li Zhiguo was a little confused. It would be bad to ask him to take action. He has always been ruthless. Ugh, he is really heavy-handed!

"My brother won't hit me."

Jia Dongxu quickly hid behind Li Zhiguo. His brother was the only one in the yard who could stop his mother.

"Dongxu, you are too disappointing. Not to mention your mother, I would beat you up too."

Li Zhiguo pulled Jia Dongxu to the front and asked, "What have you been doing since this afternoon?"

"I, I went fishing."

When Jia Dongxu said this, everyone was stunned, but they were not too surprised because he had a criminal record.

Jia Zhang wanted to rush up and hit someone again. She was now a glorious member of the working class, and if she beat her disappointing son, the street hall wouldn't be able to say anything.

"Ms. Jia Zhang, don't be impulsive. Listen to Dongxu's words first."

Li Zhiguo had a headache and felt that he was also responsible for not leading his brothers well. He was the first to start fishing, but he had almost quit and had recently become addicted to chess.

Jia Dongxu was stared at by everyone, and he gritted his teeth and explained: "I had noodles for lunch, and I felt a little full, so I wanted to find a place to rest for a while.

The fish hook I used before was still there, so I spent two cents to buy fishing line and rode my tricycle to the suburbs to find a fishing rod.

I didn't dare fish for too long as I forgot about time and when I saw it was getting late I hurried out to fish.

I just had bad luck. I wandered around for a long time but didn’t attract any customers, so I had to go back.”

"Oh, damn it, why didn't you fall into the glacier? I told you to go ride a tricycle to earn money, but you went fishing after finishing your meal. Old Jia, look at this, this is your good son!"

Jia Zhang hadn't scolded anyone in the yard for a long time, but she really couldn't help it, so she spent all her pension money on buying a tricycle.

"Okay, there's no point in just scolding people, we need to talk about reason."

Li Zhiguo asked again: "Dongxu, have you had dinner?"

When Yan Bugui heard this, he thought it was a good idea. It could be used to test whether Jia Dongxu had hidden any money.

"I ate a rice cake. I bought it before I went fishing. It cost me six cents. That's the money I saved when I bought vegetables before."

Jia Dongxu didn't have a penny on him, and his pockets were shabbier than his money.

"Oh, Dongxu, you are too self-centered."

Jia Zhang picked up the sole of her shoe and went forward to hit Jia Dongxu a few more times before being pulled away by Yi Zhonghai.

"Well, beating people up won't solve the problem."

Li Zhiguo stood up to uphold justice and said directly: "The problem now is that we haven't made any money, but the tricycles are still there, so let Dongxu go out and work another night shift.

Just go to Qianmen Railway Station, where there are also passengers at night. If you raise the fare a bit, and run two or three trips, it will take half a day.”

Yan Bugui was the first to support it, "Yes, that's the truth. As long as you have a tricycle, you can make money anytime you go out."

Jia Zhang nodded and said, "Dongxu, listen to your brother and uncle. Go to the train station now. You are not allowed to come back if you don't earn fifty cents today."

(End of this chapter)