Chapter 52 Wind Direction
"Give me 50 kilograms of flour, too, at the original price!"

Li Zhiguo wanted to force the purchase right from the start, but suddenly he figured it out: since there are more than a thousand private grain stores now, how will grain coupons be issued at the end of the year?
There is only one choice, public-private partnership!
Who directly manages it? The subdistrict office!

Besides, who is he? He is an eighth-level official of Qianmen Street, and he can strangle the big grain store owners.

"Young man, I can give you fifty kilograms of flour. The original price is not enough, so I'll give it to you at 19 cents."

Boss Zeng felt that this man had a very strong aura, and inexplicably he felt a little weak.

Who knew that Li Zhiguo shook his head and said, "Boss, can I have a word with you?"

As he spoke, he went in from the small corridor at the side, and without Xu's mother being able to see, he turned his back and took out the street official's notebook.

"1.7 cents, that's ok, right? Don't let yourself close down for a dollar."

Li Zhiguo was just trying to trick people, after all, he was not from this street.

Boss Zeng was stunned for a moment, considering whether to give face to a street official.

Who knew that this person would take out another notebook.

Li Zhiguo showed the honorary certificate issued by Qianmen Street and whispered, "I just caught an enemy spy recently. I'm 1.7 yuan. Can I buy it on credit? I'll settle the bill at the end of next month. My identity is confidential."

"Yes, that's great."

Boss Zeng was so annoyed that he immediately shouted, "Wang Er, hurry up and bring this young master 50 kilograms of the best white flour."

"I'm coming!"

Although the guy felt that it seemed a bit strange, he just kept working.

"Boss Zeng, it's settled then. I'll settle the bill after the salary is paid on the third of next month."

Li Zhiguo shouted, it just so happened that his money couldn't be reconciled with the hospital's account, so it would be better to buy on credit.

"It's not busy. It doesn't matter if we're late. I'll just follow the price you mentioned."

Boss Zeng appeared to be very friendly on the surface, but he was almost cursing in his heart.

"Li Zhiguo, how did you convince Mr. Zeng to sell it to you, and even buy it on credit?"

Xu's mother couldn't believe it. The owner of Zengji Grain Store was not so easy to talk to.

"Sister Xu, this is my ability. I don't have much money. Do you want to help Second Aunt and the others to order some white flour first? Corn flour is also fine. I see that the price has risen to 1 cent.

With so many people, it may not be available later, and we don’t know when it will be available again.”

Li Zhiguo changed the subject and said that the price of corn noodles also increased by two points.

Xu's mother said in embarrassment: "It's hard to set a price. The price is here, and we don't know whether they will buy it or not."

This is also the truth. It was kind of her to notify people, but if she placed an order for them, and if cheap food was available in a few days, everyone would blame her.

Li Zhiguo thought for a while and said, "How about this, I'll ask Boss Zeng to keep some for us first. If the hospital doesn't buy it, we won't pay for it."

He immediately found Boss Zeng, who was smiling, and asked him to reserve 200 kilograms of corn flour and 100 kilograms of white flour.

"Sell these 300 kilograms at the current price. I never take advantage of others."

"Yes, yes, you are right."

Boss Zeng breathed a sigh of relief, at least let him make some money.

After waiting for a long time, people from the hospital finally arrived. Cai Quanwu wanted to run, but was stopped by the aunts.

Li Zhiguo stepped forward and said, "White flour is already 20 cents, and corn flour is 10 cents. I asked the boss to reserve 100 and 200 kilograms. If you want it, buy it quickly. If you think it's not worth it, just watch the fun."

"I bought some to store because I have many children at home."

The second aunt acted decisively.

"I'll buy some cornmeal."

"I'll have some too."

Since several middle-aged women have come along, they all want to buy food, it’s just a matter of how much.

However, the third aunt and Jia Zhang are not here. They are both very stingy and would never be willing to buy expensive grain.

Xu's mother also said at this time: "It's a good thing that Li Zhiguo asked Boss Zeng to reserve it, otherwise you wouldn't be able to buy it. Those who bring money should buy more.

I bought 200 kilograms and held a banquet, so I still had 50 kilograms left. Li Zhiguo also bought 50 kilograms on credit.”

When the aunties heard this, some of them bought more.

Cai Quanwu also bought 50 kilograms, half of which was white flour and half was corn flour, and he went back to mix the whole thing into noodles to eat.

After every household had received their food, some people finally reacted belatedly.

"Li Zhiguo, are you buying on credit?"

"Yes, if I don't buy on credit, how can I get the money to buy food? Fifty kilograms of flour costs ten yuan. I have a bad stomach and can't eat corn flour."

With these 50 kilograms of flour, he could occasionally get food from the supermarket, and no one knew how much food he had left or how much he ate every day.

Xu's mother continued, "Li Zhiguo is very capable. Boss Zeng offered him 1.9 cents, but he was not happy and insisted on paying on credit at the full price."

The aunties were confused. Li Zhiguo, it has to be you.

One middle-aged woman turned around and tried to bargain with Boss Zeng, but was almost kicked out. Only then did she realize that she was different from Li Zhiguo.

Cai Quanwu kept silent and could only sigh at how capable Brother Li was!
"Let's go, let's carry the food back first. My bicycle can carry three big bags, and we can help each other carry the rest back."

Nowadays, middle-aged women are very strong and can carry 50 kilograms back home without any problem.

Cai Quanwu took the initiative to carry 100 kilograms, and several middle-aged women helped each other.

Li Zhiguo was pushing the bicycle, with Xu's mother supporting him from behind. He wasn't walking fast, but at least he wasn't tired.

"Oh, they've all gone to buy food. Li Zhiguo, are you there too?"

Yan Bugui was standing at the gate of the courtyard. His wife even ran to the school to find him and asked him if he wanted to buy some food.

"Uncle, there is food at home, so there is no need to panic. Why don't you prepare some?"

Li Zhiguo knew that Yan Bugui was extremely stingy, but grain was hard currency.

"How much did you buy?"

Yan Bugui asked around to find out how much more expensive it would be.

"White flour is 2 cents, corn flour is 1 cent. Li Zhiguo got the better deal, he paid 1.7 cents, and he bought it on credit, from the grain store."

The second aunt helped to explain it, but I couldn't envy her enough.

"Oh, Li Zhiguo is really capable. You guys are all overpaying."

Yanbu is already expensive, if it is this expensive, I won’t buy it.

“I have to buy it even if it’s expensive. I’m afraid I won’t be able to buy it later.”

The aunties knew the temperament of these three uncles and did not persuade them to buy.

Li Zhiguo was too lazy to persuade them. Before the public-private partnership, there would definitely be a food shortage for a while.

Those who bought grain took the grain home and also helped the Xu family deliver the grain back.

When they arrived at the central courtyard, Jia Zhang ran out to watch the fun, and when she asked the price, she shook her head.

"This is too expensive. The state-owned store behind must have it. Li Zhiguo, are you confused this time too?"

Mrs. Chen smiled and said, "Li Zhiguo bought it at the original price of 1.7 cents, and he even bought it on credit." "Oh my! How can you buy it at the original price? And you only buy white flour. How can you live like this?"

Jia Zhang was very upset, but fortunately she was not deceived by Li Zhiguo.

"I have a lot of face!"

Li Zhiguo was not optimistic about the Jia family, but Chen Bihua had brought back sweet potatoes, which could help them resist hunger.

There was no time to chat at the moment. After delivering the flour to Old Xu's house, he had made some contribution, so he really didn't need to give any gift.

He carried the 50 kilograms of flour back to the kitchen and locked the door.

At this time, Yan Bugui had already returned to the compound, and the steel rolling mill was about to get off work.

He followed her to the Intermediate Court and called Cai Quanwu to inquire about the situation.

"Old Cai, when you were a keeper, did you ever carry things for the grain store?"

"I used to carry goods. I unloaded goods at the grain store. I was paid two cents for carrying a bag of flour to the warehouse. But the work was not much. Goods only arrived one or two days a month."

Cai Quanwu would do any job as long as he was paid, even if it was cheap.

"Okay, I get it. You're a tricycle driver, and you use six steamed buns of fuel per 100 kilometers. You should save up some food if you have the chance!"

Li Zhiguo was pushing a bicycle, he had to go out for a while.

After more than ten minutes, we arrived at the Qianmen Street Sub-district Office.

"Li Zhiguo, why are you here today?"

When Wang Qinian saw that it was him, he quickly stood up and greeted him.

"I came to ask something. Why can't we buy food today?"

As he was speaking, someone handed him a cigarette. What could he say? He couldn't refuse the kindness.

"Something happened. Didn't you see Director Li and the others weren't there? I just went to find out what happened."

Wang Qinian hesitated for a moment, but then he thought, Li Zhiguo is the street accountant, so there is nothing to hide.

“I just overheard Director Li talking to someone else about this before.

It seems that there is a grain swindler who has teamed up with a dozen big grain merchants to secretly purchase grain from our state-owned stores."

Li Zhiguo nodded, "Are these grain tigers fools? In this new society, how dare they do this?"

"That's right. Private stores are also following suit. From now on, it will be hard to buy food from state-owned stores.

But we are fine, we can reserve the food for the street, and we will need your purchases next month."

Wang Qinian was not panicking. As a person living on the street, there was no one who couldn’t have food to eat.

Li Zhiguo was not panicked because he had a supermarket.

"If you ask me, these capitalists should all die! By the way, do you want to rent a house here? Hey, just forget what I said, you have a compound."

Wang Qiyong suddenly thought that since he was the descendant of a capitalist and also happened to be a worker, the compound should be preserved.

Li Zhiguo thought for a moment and asked in a low voice, "How do you think you will deal with those grain tigers?"

"What do you think? Otherwise, why did I ask you if you want to rent a house? Soon there will be plenty of vacancies on our street."

Wang Qinian didn't need to be shy when he thought of his own people.

Li Zhiguo took a deep breath and said, "Oh my god, this is possible!"
"Wang Qinian, you see, you know my situation."

After a pause, Li Zhiguo continued, "In a situation like mine, how can I control it? After all, I am also a street official."

Wang Qinian saw that there was no one else on the street at the moment, so he just sold his goods.

"Li Zhiguo, your situation is a bit complicated. There is nothing wrong with your background. You can keep the two ancestral houses and the small courtyard. You are married, and your descendants need houses.

The shop is now rented to the street, and it's fine for now.

It's your compound. I've seen the records. It has three entrances and many rooms. It's impossible for you to leave it empty when we do the statistics later.

Since you are a street official and a working class person, we should be able to rent out the house for you, but the rent is not high."

Li Zhiguo pondered for a moment and suddenly said, "I sold all the furniture in the three-story courtyard. Not even a stool was left. Can this also be rented out?"

Wang Qinian was stunned. "Li Zhiguo, you are really good, but you are always causing problems for our street."

My goodness, if others got the compound, they would treasure those old furniture, but you just cleared it out.

"I was short of money when I got married. I am a working class person, and I spent all my salary on the bicycle. I sold it to a state-owned enterprise, and I have the receipt."

Li Zhiguo thought about putting the furniture into the space at that time, but if so many things disappeared out of thin air, it would be a big trouble if they were investigated.

Wang Qinian thought for a moment and said, "Your situation is rare, but I still have to rent it to you. Although there are many houses in Beijing, only 25% are public housing.

You must make use of your private house. Even if it doesn’t have furniture, you can rent it out at a lower price.”

Oh my god... Li Zhiguo is so confused. He is afraid that if he keeps renting the property, it will no longer be his own.

What's more, why should the three-courtyard compound left by his grandfather be rented out to others? He has never even enjoyed it.

"Well, can I rent it to my father-in-law and his family?
You also know that my parents passed away early, and my mother-in-law will go to the city to take care of my children in the future. My father-in-law has never cooked since he was a child, and he would probably starve to death if he stays in the village.

And my two brothers-in-law also need someone to take care of them.

My father-in-law has three brothers. I rented the front, middle and back yards to them respectively. It’s not against the rules, right? "

Li Zhiguo originally wanted to wait until next year to find a solution to the problem, but now the grain store incident has sounded the alarm for him.

"Hiss! You are really good at accounting. Are the three brothers of your father-in-law's family all poor peasants?"

Wang Qinian was convinced. If everyone operated like you, would the work of the street still be carried out?
"Yes, generations of poor peasants? The family is penniless! They only fed a few chickens, which I ate.

My wife has the highest level of education. She has only studied up to the second year of junior high school and has not yet received her diploma, so she only has a junior high school education.”

Li Zhiguo thought of the word "poor peasant", which is an honor!
By the 1990s, when students in rural schools wanted to join the Communist Youth League, all those listed on the application forms were poor peasants.

"You can rent it to the three brothers of your father-in-law's family, but one of them must work in the city. Otherwise, it's not right for a poor peasant to rent a house in the city."

Wang Qinian gave people advice from the bottom of his heart.

Li Zhiguo took out two packs of cigarettes, stuffed one pack into the other person's pocket first, then opened one pack for himself and handed one to the other person.

"Brother Qinian, do you think this will work? My brother-in-law is seventeen years old this year. I plan to find him a job in the city, let him split the family business, and rent my front yard.

I'm looking for a temporary job for my father-in-law. He's only in his forties and can still make use of his spare time. He can take my brother-in-law with him and let them rent my courtyard.

Then I live in the backyard, and I work on this street, so I always need a place to stay.

When my 14-year-old brother-in-law grows up, I will let him split the family property and rent the backyard to him. Is this a feasible idea?"

Wang Qinian's hand holding the cigarette trembled a little. It has to be you, the expert in accounting.

"It's feasible. You can get a rental contract on the street and rent it for a long time at a low price. Don't leave any loopholes!"

"Brother Qinian, you will be my brother from now on."

Li Zhiguo felt at ease.

Wang Qinian was also happy when he heard his brother's words, which meant their relationship was solid!

"Oh, it's time. I have to go back to eat. I'll treat you to lunch when I come over to start work on the second of next month."

(End of this chapter)