Chapter 212

"Yeah! Brother Li is such a nice guy, and he doesn't seem to age. I met him when I was a kid, and it's been almost nine years, and he's still as young as ever."

Yu Haitang still remembers that when she was a child, at the entrance of the vegetable market, Brother Li gave her a handful of preserved crabapple fruits. At that time, she called him uncle, but now she calls him brother.

Qin Jingru said hurriedly: "My brother-in-law is not old, he is still young."

He Yushui said, "Brother Li hasn't worked for nine years. He is well-fed and looks young."

The three girls suddenly started talking about other things and chatted for more than an hour until Qin Jingru remembered to go home to cook.

Yu Haitang also hurried home. If she went any later, her family would be worried.

When she returned to the gate of the slum where her home was, she happened to meet Yu Li who was coming back from get off work.

"Sister, you are back."

"Haitang, you just came back from outside. Where have you been? Didn't mom tell you to stay home and save food?"

Yu Li worked as an apprentice in a state-owned store with low wages and only worked there for a few months.

"Sister, I went to inquire about jobs."

The two sisters walked towards the yard as they talked.

"You are only sixteen, it is too early to ask for a job. You have to wait at least two years. Jobs are too scarce right now.

Some of my classmates sell vegetables in the market, and some work as cleaners. It would be great if they could work in a small factory with 100 employees."

Yu Li herself waited for more than three years. Some of her classmates could not wait any longer and were called upon to go and open up wasteland. I heard that the conditions were very difficult.

"Sister, I heard that the street office is going to hold a broadcaster training class. Brother Li will take me to the street office tomorrow to ask for information."

Yu Haitang couldn't help showing off. She must be living a better life than her sister and would be a broadcaster in the future.

"Brother Li, Haitang, please don't meet any bad guys."

Yu Li became worried because her sister was still young and might have been deceived.

Yu Haitang quickly explained: "It's that uncle, you forgot, when we were kids, we were at the entrance of the vegetable market, and you saw him a few times later.

That’s Li Zhiguo, from the same courtyard as my classmate He Yushui, and Qin Jingru’s brother-in-law.”

"Ah! It's him. Is he familiar with the people on the street? Can he help you get into the training class?"

Yu Li stopped, this was a big deal.

"Of course I can. I've asked around. Brother Li is very capable. He will go to Peking University at the end of August. He was recommended by the university. He is now a college student.

Also, he arranged jobs for several young people in their hospital. One went to a steel rolling mill, and another went to an electric blanket factory outside Dongzhimen.

You also signed up at that time, but you were not selected for that factory in the end."

Yu Haitang is very proud and doesn't allow her sister to pour cold water on her. Can't she just hope for her to do something?
"Ah, if that's the case, he's really capable."

Yu Li clicked her tongue. Her job was not good, but she could get a transfer.

"Of course."

When they got home, Yu Haitang told her father what happened, and his father agreed immediately.

Although Yu's mother was still a little worried, since it was He Yushui who introduced him and they knew each other, she didn't say much.

……

Half a day later, at night, Li Zhiguo was about to rest, but Qin Huairu came back after washing up, but was not sleepy.

"Zhiguo, what do you think about introducing Liang Ladi to Sha Zhu? Didn't you say before that Sha Zhu fell in love with her?"

"Not so good. I've already said it's against the law. Liang Ladi is married, and if she gets married again, it's bigamy. No, why are you mentioning her when she's fine?"

Li Zhiguo can't lie down anymore. This is strange. His wife is not the kind of person who meddles in other people's affairs.

Qin Huairu explained: "I felt sorry for her raising a child alone. Her man must be gone. Otherwise, how could she not have found him after almost a year?"

"Don't let your imagination run wild. Her man is a good man, how can he just disappear like that? Also, don't try to be a matchmaker.

If the introduction is not good, others will blame you for the rest of your life. Besides, our family doesn't need that little bit of kickbacks. Go to bed early because you still have to go to work tomorrow."

After Li Zhiguo finished speaking, he turned sideways, facing inside, and pretended to sleep.

"Oh! I won't mention it anymore."

Seeing the man's strong reaction, Qin Huairu dared not say anything more. She thought that even if Liang Ladi still had evil intentions, she would not be able to enter the house with a child from another family.

She touched her belly and tried to have a daughter, which would be the best.

The next morning was another busy morning. People going to work or school, as well as the middle-aged women, were all busy. Not many people in the hospital could sleep in.

There are Liu Guangtian who is on standby, Li Zhiguo, a young man waiting to go to school, and a deaf old lady. But when people get old, they have to wake up before dawn.

A little after eight o'clock, Tang Chunyan came back from sending her son back home. Just as she was about to go back to her room to catch up on some sleep, she suddenly saw a pretty girl coming to the backyard.

"Who are you looking for?"

"Hello, I'm looking for Brother Li Zhiguo. I have an appointment with him."

Yu Haitang woke up early in the morning. After her sister went to work, she waited for a while, avoided the morning rush hour, and rushed to the courtyard.

"You're looking for Brother Li? You're here too early. He won't wake up until ten o'clock. It's not even half past eight yet."

Tang Chunyan pointed to the watch on her wrist and kindly reminded him.

"Ah! You have to wait so long, but I have something to ask him!"

Yu Haitang was confused. Did he want her to go home first and come back at a later time?
Tang Chunyan thought for a moment, pointed her finger, and said, "Go to the window and call a few times to see if you can wake him up. If not, come back later."

"Okay, thank you."

Yu Haitang immediately went to the window of Li's house, calmed herself down, and shouted, "Brother Li, are you awake? I'm Haitang, Brother Li..."

"Come on, Haitang, it's too early for you!"

Li Zhiguo didn't sleep too deeply. It was summer and he didn't feel like wrapping himself in a quilt. It would be better in winter.

After waiting for a while, Li Zhiguo came out of the house with a washbasin. Tang Chunyan went up to him and helped him get water for washing his face.

Yu Haitang asked quietly, "Is she my sister-in-law? So young?"

"Don't talk nonsense, she is Tang Chunyan, the daughter-in-law of the old Xu family across the street."

Li Zhiguo then rinsed his mouth. Lying down was not because he was lazy. He has always been very diligent and rinsed his mouth every morning and evening, rain or shine.

"Ah! Then how come she..."

Yu Haitang stood aside waiting with full of doubts. Fortunately, Tang Chunyan soon returned to the room diagonally opposite.

Li Zhiguo was now in high spirits and asked, "Haitang, have you had breakfast?"

"No, I ate it."

Yu Haitang's tongue was a little tied and he couldn't speak clearly.

"Did you eat it or not? You want to be a broadcaster, can't you speak clearly?"

Li Zhiguo went to the desk in the inner room and put on the watch on it.

He took the key in one hand and opened the drawer with the other, then took out a stack of money, food coupons, and a pack of cigarettes and put them in his pocket.

After looking at myself in the mirror on the wall and fixing my hair, I was ready to go.

Life is so simple and plain, half a pack of cigarettes, ten yuan, a pound of food coupons, and you won’t go home until you have spent it all.

"Brother Li, I didn't have breakfast."

Yu Haitang clicked her tongue again. She stood at the door of the inner room and saw everything Brother Li did before he went out. There was money, tickets, a watch and car keys, four big items in total.

There is a sewing machine in the room and a radio in the outer room. Everything is complete.

"Then let's go and have breakfast first. There's a very good noodle shop that sells buckwheat. They only accept coarse grain tickets."

In years of great disaster, there will always be people who will find ways to solve the problem. If there is less white flour, they will explore coarse grains to replace it, such as sorghum cakes, millet porridge, buckwheat noodles, roasted sweet potatoes, etc.

State-owned restaurants have to continue operating, otherwise who will pay the wages? There will always be customers who want to eat and drink outside.

"Hey!"

Seeing that someone was pushing a bicycle, Yu Haitang hurried to follow.

When the residents in the courtyard saw Li Zhiguo, they greeted him but didn't ask many questions. They found out yesterday that the little girl was Yu Shui.

If you get close to others, they might gossip about you, but Li Zhiguo is also a student, so maybe we should study together?

After leaving the yard, Li Zhiguo took Yu Haitang to the vicinity of Dongzhimen, because since ancient times, Dongzhimen has been the city gate for transporting timber.

There are a lot of peddlers here, so there are still a few small restaurants.

In the future, Guijie will be a famous snack street, with more than a hundred restaurants in just one kilometer.

He thought that he could start a food street project after the reform and opening up. Well, that's too far away. For such a small project, he should just pick a concubine to take care of it.

"arrive!"

At this time, Li Zhiguo brought Yu Haitang in and ordered two bowls of buckwheat noodles with two eggs.

How can I describe this noodle? The texture is a bit weird and the color is a bit black, like sweet potato noodles, but it has high nutritional value and is filling.

After a short wait, the noodles came up, along with two boiled eggs, which were fried without oil.

"Eat quickly, make do with what you have. If it weren't for the disaster, I would treat you to their braised pork noodles. They are delicious, even better than the mixed sauce noodles."

Li Zhiguo handed him the chopsticks. He was hungry, so he started eating.

"Thank you, Brother Li."

Yu Haitang took a bite of the noodles. There was soy sauce and chopped green onions in it. The taste was different from normal noodles, but it was still delicious. It was very fragrant with boiled eggs.

After the meal, Li Zhiguo paid the bill and took Yu Haitang to get a haircut and shaved. He had to pay attention to his appearance at all times, which was also a respect for others. Yu Haitang sat and waited, listening to the conversation between the barber and Brother Li. He learned that Brother Li came to get a haircut every week. How much did it cost?

"Mr. Zhang, you're still the best at cutting. This is the feeling. Your son didn't show it last time."

Li Zhiguo looked in the mirror. Yes, his youthful years were back.

"Yes, yes. He needs to practice more."

Lao Zhang took the money and sent the man to the door before returning to the store. He thought to himself, Brother Li is having a better life. Last time he brought a young girl with him, and today he changed again.

On the road again, Yu Haitang asked weakly, "Brother Li, can we go to the street office now?"

Li Zhiguo smiled and said, "Isn't it on the way?"

"Ah! But the street office is over there!"

Yu Haitang pointed and said, "We've gone astray. We should turn right at the entrance of the alley ahead."

"I'll take you to buy some clothes. We'll go see Director Wang later. We can't be rude. It's best to finalize the quota in person."

Li Zhiguo thought that today's expenses would exceed the budget and ten yuan might not be enough. He would just lie in the hospital for a day tomorrow to relax.

Yu Haitang said weakly, "Brother Li, I don't have that much money. I only have one dollar in my pocket, which was given by my father. Do you want me to buy some apples and send them to him?"

"It's okay. I'll pay for it for you. You can pay me back when you get your salary. I'm not short of money. You can pay me back in a few years."

Li Zhiguo took the man to Wangfujing Street without saying anything, spent some money, and played chess for fun.

Then Li Zhiguo took Yu Haitang to Wangfujing Department Store to pick out a shirt. It was true that clothes make the man. This was a bit like the most beautiful girl in a steel rolling mill.

Just when I was paying the bill, a middle-aged man suddenly ran over and rushed to pay.

"Manager Zhao, you are too polite."

Li Zhiguo did not refuse. It was not him who bought the clothes, and he and Yu Haitang were not relatives.

"Why are you being so polite, Manager Li? You are here with your sister."

Zhao Guangfa, the owner of a tea shop in Dashilan, is in dire straits now. There is no supply of tea and the shop is in a semi-bankrupt state.

It’s not that the tea supply is really so scarce, but a large amount of materials still have to be sent out in exchange for industrial supplies.

Big Brother has been exploited badly, and the relationship is gradually deteriorating. It's like exchanging materials for machinery and equipment, but the accompanying engineers are pretending to be dumb.

This is also normal. As the younger brothers become stronger and stronger and gradually rise, the big brother must be unhappy.

"This is my classmate's classmate, Manager Zhao. I have something else to do. I'll come to your store to talk later."

Li Zhiguo didn't ask any more questions and took Yu Haitang away.

After leaving the department store, Yu Haitang couldn't help asking, "Brother Li, why did that person just call you Manager Li?"

"This is a nickname, just like Shazhu, which is also a nickname. I have many friends, so others give me face."

He evaded the question, otherwise it would be difficult to explain.

"Oh!"

Yu Haitang got on the back of the bicycle. She had a feeling that there was some secret here. What kind of friend would rush to give her money? More than eight yuan for clothes.

At this time, Li Zhiguo didn't beat around the bush and took the girl to the street office.

"Haitang, you're here to ask for information again."

As soon as I entered the door, a girl came over shouting.

"Wang Ting, I came here with my brother. Brother Li, she is Wang Ting from the same courtyard as me."

Yu Haitang gave a brief introduction.

"Ah hello."

Li Zhiguo nodded and called Yu Haitang to go to the office.

"Tuk-tuk!"

"Director Wang is busy."

He knocked on the door and walked in. Compared with the Qianmen Street Office, this place was much simpler, but there were more factory jobs in Dongzhimen.

"Li Zhiguo, how come you have time to come here today? I heard that you were admitted to Peking University."

Director Wang stood up and greeted everyone. It was not easy for a woman to become the director of a street office. She was very friendly in her dealings with people.

"I'm here to trouble you. This is my friend, Yu Haitang. She wants to enroll in the broadcaster training class."

Li Zhiguo extended his hand and introduced Yu Haitang. Even without him coming, Yu Haitang would have been selected in the end. But his coming was a show of respect for him.

"This girl is pretty good looking!"

Director Wang nodded and said, "You have already taken one quota, so it's not impossible for you to take another one."

"Hello, Director Wang!"

Yu Haitang hurriedly called for help in a polite manner.

"Oh, the sound is nice and clear."

Director Wang felt that it was not a big problem, so after chatting for a while, he went out to get Yu Haitang's application form and stamped it on the spot.

"Yu Haitang, you will report on Monday, the 19th of this month. The training class will officially start. It will take two months. After passing the assessment, you will be arranged to work in the radio stations of various factories and units."

"Thank you, Director Wang!"

Yu Haitang was so happy that she didn't expect it to be so easy to accomplish.

Director Wang smiled and said, "If you want to thank someone, thank Li Zhiguo! Yu Haitang, please wait outside for a while. I have something else to do here."

"Ok."

Yu Haitang happily went out first.

Director Wang then said, "Li Zhiguo, are you familiar with the teacher in Peking University's admissions office?"

"Looks familiar, what's wrong?"

Li Zhiguo leaned back in his chair. Actually, he was not familiar with the man, but he had to save face.

"That's great. My little daughter is in junior high school and she also wants to get into Peking University. If her scores are not much different in the future, she will come to you to find a solution."

Director Wang knows the ins and outs here well. University admission is not entirely based on scores.

"If it's within ten points, we can talk about it. If it's much different, we can't. We'll see what happens then."

Li Zhiguo calculated the time. It depends on how old Director Wang's daughter is. Maybe she won't have time to take the exam, and the college entrance examination will be cancelled. Then she won't have to work hard, how great.

"Thank you in advance."

Director Wang breathed a sigh of relief. If the score could be reduced by ten points, the chances would be greatly increased.

……

In the street office hall, Yu Haitang just walked out and suddenly thought of something. He quickly put away the stamped application form so that no one could see it.

But it was too late. Others might not have noticed, but Wang Ting did. She quickly stepped forward and asked, "Haitang, have you passed the application?"

"No, not yet."

Yu Haitang quickly denied it, saying it was too early. She was admitted early because of connections, so she should pay attention to the impact.

"I saw it all." Wang Ting whispered, "Did your brother help? I don't see any relatives like him in your family!"

"He was my adopted brother when I was little, but he didn't help much."

Yu Haitang still refused to admit it. She didn't want to share such a good thing with others.

Wang Ting suddenly said, "Haitang, this is your new dress, it's so beautiful, who bought it for you?"

"No, I bought it myself."

Yu Haitang thought to herself, you have sharp eyes, you can tell at once that it is a good piece of clothing.

Just then Li Zhiguo came out, "Haitang, let's go."

"Okay!" Yu Haitang hurriedly followed him out.

Wang Ting felt that there must be something going on. Yu Haitang couldn't afford such good ready-made clothes, so she would find a chance to inquire about it later.

"Haitang, where is your home? Do you want me to take you back?"

Li Zhiguo looked at his watch and thought it was still too early for lunch.

"Brother Li, thank you! How come you are so familiar with Director Wang?"

Yu Haitang looked at the man's back in admiration. He was so capable and rich. He had been riding a bicycle for many years when he was still a college student.

“I have a lot of friends!”

Li Zhiguo didn't explain, he has always been so outstanding.

"Brother Li, I don't want to go home yet. I want to go see my sister and tell her the good news."

Yu Haitang thought, her sister told her yesterday not to be fooled, so today she wanted her sister to take a good look.

"Sure! Your sister works there, can she come out now?"

Li Zhiguo has never cared about this matter and has no idea about it.

"She was an apprentice at a state-owned store, the Xinyue Hotel in Shuijie Hutong. She was an apprentice, but she was responsible for washing quilts. Her salary was relatively low."

Yu Haitang wanted to seize the opportunity to become a broadcaster because she saw that her sister was not doing well at her job. She had to wash quilt covers in the middle of winter at the beginning of the year and her hands were covered with frostbite.

"Ah! Why was such a job assigned to me?"

(End of this chapter)