Chapter 135

Li Zhiguo was confused by just one sentence. They were classmates' friends, not the same school.

Xu Huizhen's hands were shaking as she poured the wine. She was surprised at Li Ge'er's identity as a street official, and also surprised at how good he was at talking. Had she really met her match?

"No, you are not even a resident of Qianmen Street. How can you be Chen Xueru's junior high school classmate?"

Fan Jin was confused. What was going on? He had tried to pursue Chen Xueru several times before, but no one had ever treated him well. Did Li Zhiguo really get there first?
If that's the case, he can only keep his eyes on Xu Huizhen, but he may have a chance with Chen Xueru, because Li Zhiguo has a wife!
Xu Hesheng, who was sitting at the same table, didn't say a word. He was still observing Li Zhiguo. This man was no ordinary person.

"Fan Jinyou, does this have anything to do with you?"

Li Zhiguo was too lazy to say more to others. Fan Jinyou, who was not a cadre, could not jump up.

Fan Jinyou felt embarrassed and said, "Li Zhiguo, you are the street official and I am a street cadre. What's wrong with asking you a few questions?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was waiting to see the show. Was this an internal conflict on the street?

Xu Huizhen came over with a wine pot. Chen Xueru poured wine for her man with a smile on her face and waited to watch the show.

Li Zhiguo smiled and said, "Fan Jinyou, are you sure you are still a street cadre?

As far as I know, your human resources and social security relationship is now with the grain company. You belong to the grain station. Do you have any relationship with the street?
Do you want to go to Director Li and make things clear? Or do you not want to go back to the subdistrict office?"

Fan Jinyou's expression suddenly changed, and he said with a smile: "Officer Li, you see, we are all colleagues from the street, and we have helped each other before.

I was just joking with you, I'll drink a glass of wine as punishment, just pretend I didn't say anything."

"Sure. Wang Qinian and I are brothers, and maybe you and I will be brothers in the future. There is nothing we can't overcome."

Li Zhiguo didn't pick up the wine glass, just watched Fan Jinyou pick up the glass and drink it all.

The tavern was very quiet, and everyone just watched Fan Jinyou being defeated.

The merchants and former street officials are no match for this man. He is really a strong man.

Xu Huizhen stood at the counter without saying a word. It seemed difficult to say the opening words she had carefully prepared.

Suddenly, Cai Quanwu came running over with a wine glass in his hand and said, "Brother Li, I'll drink a glass as a punishment for not keeping a good seat for you."

"Okay, Lao Cai, we are all brothers, I will give you this face today!"

Li Zhiguo picked up the wine glass and clinked it with Cai Quanwu's. He took a sip while Cai drank it all.

"Okay, we're in a tavern. We should solve everything with a drink."

Uncle Niu cheered loudly to help Xu Huizhen ease the embarrassment.

"you are?"

Li Zhiguo pretended not to know him, but he actually knew very well that this Mr. Niu was a bannerman, and in the past he was a noble, but now he was just a poor man. It was only because of the old ideas he left behind that everyone was willing to give him some face.

In the tavern, your status is equivalent to that of a deaf old lady in a courtyard house. You are given face for small matters, but no one cares about you when big things happen.

However, since Uncle Niu is of noble birth, he has been influenced by antiques since childhood and is well versed in antiques, so he will be of use in the future.

Chen Xueru quickly introduced, "Zhiguo, this is Master Niu, an elder I respect very much."

"Hello, Mr. Niu!" Li Zhiguo raised his glass to give the man some face.

"Oh, okay, okay."

Uncle Niu also raised his glass, feeling proud. This young man had been so strong just now that he was willing to toast him.

After the two of them drank a sip of wine from a distance, Chen Xueru said again: "Uncle Niu, this is Li Zhiguo, my good friend, his grandfather is Mr. Xiao from Xinyuanzhai in Dongliuchang.

So, he is also from our Qianmen Street, and is currently working in the Street Office.”

"What? The descendant of Xiao Jinjiu from Xinyuanzhai. No wonder. I knew he was a capable person from the first sight."

"Descendants of Xinyuanzhai, is Director Li also a merchant?"

"Xinyuanzhai has been transformed into a preserved fruit shop since the year before last. It is run by the street office, but the business is not as good as before."

Everyone was talking about it, because the other person's identity was really unexpected.

Chen Xueru felt proud and proud. She had discussed this with Li Zhiguo before coming here. Since the silk shop wanted to be the first public-private partnership, and she also wanted to keep the silk shop and the preserved fruit shop.

Then Li Zhiguo's identity cannot be hidden, but at present his status as a street cadre has not been made public. Because he is not at work, few people know about it, so there is no need to say it.

At this time, Fan Jinyou was dumbfounded. After all this fuss, Li Zhiguo is not a poor man.

He Daqing was stunned and exclaimed, "Oh my goodness!" The bad boy was hiding too deeply. He was not only a street official, but also a descendant of Xin Yuanzhai.

It was rumored in the courtyard before that the bad boy's mother was from a wealthy family. It was not nonsense, but the bad boy hid it too deeply. If he hadn't been here today, no one would know when he would know.

No wonder his younger brother had warned him not to spread anything he saw.

"what!"

Master Xu Hui was stunned. Brother Li, what is your status? You are a second-level fitter at the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill, or you hold some position in the Ministry of Agriculture. You are the descendant of a big merchant, and you are also a street official.

Seeing that it was almost done, Li Zhiguo said, "I am not a merchant, I was born a worker. Xinyuanzhai is not going to be run anymore, so the shop is rented to the street."

The benefits of having all the elements of scholarship, agriculture, industry and commerce come together, and when he drinks, he is a glorious worker.

When it comes to actually dealing with merchants, he is a righteous street official who can defect at any time.

Everyone was stunned. You are a worker. Who are you and what is your purpose?
"Well, the tavern is reopening today, so I won't steal the show. I think the proprietress seems to have something to say, so let her have the chance."

Li Zhiguo acted as the stage controller. He exchanged glances with Xu Hesheng who was sitting opposite him and nodded as a greeting.

"Hello!" Xu Hesheng picked up the wine glass and took a sip himself, keeping a very humble attitude.

"Ok!"

Li Zhiguo responded. This level 4 primary school teacher had a high level of cultural literacy, far surpassing Yan Bugui, and was also very knowledgeable about antique calligraphy and paintings.

Although that kind of virtue is of the type of superficial beauty with rotten inside, it can still be useful at times.

The first shop in Qianmen Street to run a literacy class was a silk shop, and Xu Hesheng could come and work part-time for free.

There are no villains in his world, because he is a good man and any villain can be influenced by him.

Xu Huizhen breathed a sigh of relief. With Cai Quanwu and Niu Ye helping to speak up, Li Ge'er finally stopped from continuing his outburst, otherwise the opening night would have been a disaster.

"Everyone, today the tavern is reopening. You must be wondering why a woman like me would open a tavern.

I always like to be reasonable and serious about everything I do. Today, the tavern is open. We will not accept credit. If the goods are counterfeit, we will compensate you tenfold."

As he was talking, Niu Ye suddenly said, "Hey, I always buy on credit, Huizhen, you must be targeting me."

Xu Huizhen said hurriedly: "Except for you, Master Niu. I know you are never short of money. This is what you want."

"Oh, that's the reason."

Uncle Niu was in high spirits, with a beaming look on his face. He was the only one among so many people who were drinking.

Who knew Xu Huizhen would say, "Besides Master Niu, Brother Li is also an exception. He came to the tavern to give me, Xu Huizhen, face, so I have to give him face too.

From now on, when Brother Li comes to drink, I won’t accept cash, you can buy on credit.”

Li Zhiguo laughed. The young widow was clever. Was this a disguised way of giving him back his seat? But it was not that simple.

Ever since his debut, he has only encountered setbacks at the hands of Sister Hua and the others, and was watched by others, with no way to seek justice.

The rest of the time, he had never been cheated by anyone, and the key point was that he was seen by Lao Cai and Lao He, and he couldn't afford to lose face.

"Madam Boss, this is what you said. Then I will buy all the drinks for tonight, on credit!"

When these words were spoken, everyone was stunned again. Although there were only a dozen tables and dozens of diners in the tavern, that was not a small number.

Xu Huizhen said hurriedly, "Brother Li, I haven't finished what I'm saying yet. We'll open tonight and everyone can have one or two glasses of wine for free."

"Well, I'm saving money now. I'll give you a tael each, and the rest of the wine money will be on me. I can have as much wine as you want, but I can't afford to buy food on credit."

Li Zhiguo did not give people a chance to refuse. He picked up the wine glass and said, "Come, let's have a drink together. Cheers to the new society."

"Thank you, Brother Li, for the drink."

"We did it. Thank you, Director Li."

"Boss lady, give me another half pound of Niulanshan. I need to drink well today."

The drinkers were enthusiastic, and it would be a shame to be treated to a drink.

But many people also realized that Li Zhiguo was going to default on his debt. He said he was treating everyone to drinks, but it was actually charging them money, and he might not pay for it.

"Boss lady, give me a pound of Niulanshan too, so I can have a good drink today."

Wobo'er, who only ordered wine but no side dishes, made a profit today. It was one dollar, and he had to carry fifty bags of grain to earn it.

"okay!"

Xu Huizhen was embarrassed. She was in trouble today. She couldn't argue with him or reason with him. It was she who said that Li Zhiguo could buy on credit.

Li Zhiguo took a bite of rice noodle sausage and drank some wine. That's it. Seeing that the situation was not good, Niu Ye quickly said, "Secretary Li, I heard that individual merchants are also going to be public-private partnerships?"

"That's what happened."

Li Zhiguo did not deny it, because the news had been circulating since September last year, but there had been no movement because the street and neighborhood committees were doing the preliminary work.

"What is public-private partnership?"

Xu Huizhen asked out loud, now not thinking about how much she would lose tonight.

"Madam boss, you have to know this. This public-private partnership means that we cannot have capitalists among us, so we have to let the government take over our individual businesses."

Uncle Niu hangs out every day and has never worked in his life, but he has heard a lot of news.

"Huh!" Xu Hui was really confused. It was only her first day of opening the business and already the business was about to be taken over.

"Secretary Li, do you think I'm right?"

Uncle Niu quickly asked, don't mess it up.

Li Zhiguo shook his head and said, "I have no opinion on this matter, as the specific details have not yet been released.

As for me, I just settle accounts in the street, and I don’t care about public-private partnerships.”

"Accountant? Mr. Li, are you an accountant?" Uncle Niu was stunned for a moment, this didn't look like the case.

Seeing an opportunity to remedy the situation, Fan Jinyou quickly said loudly: "Secretary Li is the auditing accountant of our street office. All the account books of Qianmen Street Office must pass through Secretary Li's hands before they can be handed over to Director Li and then reported to the district.

The year before last, the private grain store was transformed into a joint public-private venture, and all the assets were approved by Director Li.

All businesses in Qianmen Street that want to participate in public-private partnerships must go through Li’s approval.”

When these words were spoken, all the merchants present were dumbfounded.

I suddenly understood why Chen Xueru was close to Li Zhiguo. It was a far-sighted move.

The He brothers were also dumbfounded. It turned out that Li Zhiguo was settling accounts on the street. This was not surprising. When it came to calculating, who dared to say that they were better than Li Zhiguo?

"Director Li, I'll toast you a glass."

"I'll toast you too."

Merchants all stood up. Regardless of whether they wanted to participate in the public-private partnership or not, the man who was equivalent to the money bag of the street office might have his neck choked one day.

"Don't listen to Fan Jinyou's nonsense. I am only on duty in the street. I don't work full-time. I only pay a few days a month."

Li Zhiguo took a sip as a response to the merchants' toasts, otherwise if everyone had drunk separately, they would have been drunk.

Xu Huizhen suddenly came over with a cup and said, "Brother Li, I'm really sorry for what happened today. It was my fault for not following the rules. I promised to keep a seat for you, but I didn't do it. I'll drink a cup as punishment. Please forgive me."

"Huizhen, it's good that you know you're wrong!"

Chen Xueru laughed and was happy.

Li Zhiguo had no choice but to say, "Okay, forget it this time. I will not do it again. I am familiar with Confucian classics and I also like to talk about courtesy. I will use courtesy before force."

Wow, everyone only realized after hearing the last sentence, it turns out that your meaning of the word "etiquette" is different.

Although both rites and principles come from Confucianism, there are still differences between them!

"Yes, yes, there will definitely not be a next time."

Xu Huizhen held the cup with both hands and drank it all.

Li Zhiguo still took a sip and added, "Everyone, I have a stomach problem and can't drink too much. Everyone can only take a sip. Please forgive me."

After hearing this, Fan Jinyou thought to himself, it has been such a long time and your illness has not been cured, you must be sick!
Only then did Cai Quanwu finally breathe a sigh of relief, thinking that the matter was over.

He Daqing watched the excitement without saying anything. Li Zhiguo could get along well anywhere, but he hid himself too deeply.

Xu Huizhen wiped her mouth and said, "Brother Li, can you tell me about public-private partnership?

It's my first day of business, is the tavern going to be taken over by the government?"

Everyone looked over and wanted to understand what public-private partnership was all about.

Li Zhiguo thought about it and saw that his concubine next to him was also expectant. Well, just consider it as earning some face for his concubine, after all, he owed her so much.

"Well, I'll just say a few words.

As early as last September, the "Guidelines for Public-Private Partnerships" were passed.

Implement a buyout policy for capital businesses and gradually complete state-owned transformation.

In state-private joint ventures, socialist elements occupy a leading position.

The legitimate rights and interests of private shareholders will also be legally protected. The current policy of the street is voluntary participation, not forced. "

He didn't go into too much detail because he was afraid of being slapped in the face! Because all the current regulations are for primary transformation, and there will be advanced transformation later. Do you dare to believe it?
Therefore, he really needs the tavern to test the bottom line of public-private partnership and see how to strive for more legal rights and interests and seek profit and avoid disaster!

"Brother Li, do you think my tavern should be operated as a public-private partnership?"

Xu Hui is really smart. She knows that she should ask a professional about this.

"Boss lady, I am here to settle accounts. I will not mobilize people or express opinions in this regard.

But if you want to participate, the final approval of the tavern's property will be from me."

Li Zhiguo picked up the wine jug with a smile and made a gesture of pouring wine.

"Hey! I'll have another drink."

Xu Huizhen hurriedly handed over the cup, and after filling it up, she drank it all again. This was someone who was unreasonable and only cared about courtesy.

"That's right! Wine can be divided into good and bad types. For example, in your store, it is divided into 70% and 10%.

White flour also has different qualities. Ordinary white flour costs 1.8 cents, while rich white flour costs 2.5 cents. These are things you can see and touch, and can eat and drink.

But some things have to be judged subjectively, just like the bird that Niu Ye was walking. You can say it is worthless, or you can say it is priceless, right, Niu Ye? "

Li Zhiguo played a trick and once again reminded the impoverished Manchu man not to always think about helping Xu Huizhen and to see if there were any other people present.

"That's the truth."

Uncle Niu bowed, defeated, picked up the wine glass and took a sip.

The topic of public-private partnership was just broached without going into detail.

Xu Hesheng started talking about some interesting things, and Fan Jinyou also became obedient. The atmosphere in the tavern was just right, and a lot of wine was consumed.

"Xue Ru, what time is it? We should evacuate now."

"Oh, it's time to go." Chen Xueru had to go back to see her children.

Li Zhiguo immediately said, "Everyone, I have something to do and I have to go back. I will drink with you guys some other time. Madam, please calculate the price and I will pay you when I am free."

"It's not much money, so why not just forget it!"

Xu Hui really saw through it, and would rather lose money than give up today's matter.

"No, it's what it should be, and we have to calculate it clearly."

Who is Li Zhiguo? How could he leave any evidence behind? Buying on credit and eating and drinking for free are two different concepts.

"okay!"

Xu Huizhen calculated with an abacus and said, "Excluding the free 5.9 jin, the total cost of the wine is 32.40 yuan."

"Write it down!"

Li Zhiguo followed up by saying, "Boss, since you are opening your business today, I will teach you a lesson. Don't show your account books to others casually."

"Brother Li, thank you for reminding me. I won't show it to anyone."

Xu Huizhen smiled, she was not stupid.

Li Zhiguo laughed, "What did you just say? Fifty-nine customers, 30% gross profit, the profit from the wine alone is about 11 yuan.

This doesn't include the side dishes, and it's only at this time of night. Madam, your tavern will make a lot of money this month.

Let's go. Today's matter is over. We can still be friends when we meet again. I, Li Zhiguo, never bear grudges."

After saying that, he walked out of the tavern with Chen Xueru, who looked very happy.

Cai Quanwu hurried to catch up, as he had to ride a tricycle to take people there.

The pub was completely silent. Xu Huizhen grinned. This was her usual action, she liked to show her teeth. But now she felt numb because her secrets had been exposed.

Fan Jinyou shouted in his heart that the title of arithmetic master was not exaggerated. Li Zhiguo immediately turned out half of the account book of the tavern.

(End of this chapter)