Chapter 64 Reminder
"What's the point of entrusting Li Zhiguo to take care of it? My wife has already received her salary and gone home."

Jia Dongxu stood up from his post and said that kind people are often bullied, so he had to have a good talk today.

"Yes, he went back, but it was Li Zhiguo who brought him here. They went together."

Tang Rude kept a certain distance from the others so that he could run away if he saw the situation getting bad.

Who knew Jia Dongxu would laugh and say, "You mean this? My wife came here by riding Li Zhiguo's bicycle, right? This is a bargain."

Tang Rude is so annoyed, brother, you are really open-minded.

Jia Dongxu was still thinking: "My wife is pregnant, how can Li Zhiguo snatch her away? Tang Rude, please don't delay my work."

"Jia Dongxu, you win."

Tang Rude was speechless. Since the real boss didn't care, what else could he say? When he came to his senses, he was even more afraid of Li Zhiguo, because this man had no morals.

……

In the canteen of the steel rolling mill, when Li Zhiguo saw the window for serving food, he thought of intercepting the system. He had actually succeeded many times recently, but the rewards were not reliable, so he didn't care and had already saved them in the space.

"Shazhu, bring me some white flour and some side dishes."

He shouted through the window and could vaguely see what was going on in the kitchen, which was busy.

Because food was not yet supplied by tickets, the factory would occasionally cook meat dishes, but they were not cheap, costing 1.5 cents per serving, and there was very little meat.

"Oh, it's you, Li Zhiguo! You just got your salary, don't spend it all on your own, there's also Sister Qin."

Sha Zhu came to the window with a reluctant look on his face.

"I got five dollars from your sister Qin. She had less work last month, so she has some left over, enough to spend. I told you to get the flour quickly, I haven't had breakfast yet."

"coming!"

Sha Zhu quickly took out two bowls of flour and a stack of side dishes. He didn't cheat anyone and he received the money.

Li Zhiguo found a table and started eating. He also went to the cafeteria every month to have a bitter memory meal so as not to forget his identity as a working class person.

After thinking about it for a while, I originally considered waiting until the afternoon to check on the Lou family’s situation, but in the end I gave up!
After finishing the meal, just as they were about to leave, Sha Zhu unexpectedly came out from the kitchen and into the hall.

"Li Zhiguo, you didn't go to buy grain today. I heard that there was a long queue at the grain station."

"My family is not short of food. Besides, I have a quota for white flour in the canteen. If I don't have food, I will come to the canteen to eat."

After hearing this, Sha Zhu was speechless. Yes, he was a foreman in a steel rolling mill.

"Okay, I'm going back now. You should get busy and try to get a permanent job soon."

Li Zhiguo patted Sha Zhu on the shoulder and said, "Wait until the food coupons come out. As a steel rolling worker, his monthly ration will probably be 36 kilograms, which is enough for him to eat."

When he rode his bicycle to the factory gate, he just saw the gate open and a car drove over and passed him by.

"what!"

Li Zhiguo let out a light exclamation and saw the young Lou Xiao'e sitting in the car. She seemed to feel his gaze and turned her head to look over, but she only glanced at him and then looked away.

He shook his head and didn't care. Today was Tuesday and he had to go to Dr. Liang's house. This was the only day he had off every week.

He immediately went to the market and bought some onions. When he came out, the bag was replaced with a slaughtered fat goose and a large piece of fat meat.

He took out the address, confirmed it, and rode over.

"Tuk-tuk!"

"Here I am. Hey, comrade, it's you. Please come in."

Doctor Liang was just wondering whether someone would come to give gifts today, and here they come.

"I won't go in. I'll just stop by to give you some local specialties. I'll trouble you to take care of my wife's pregnancy test."

He is planning to have a third child. If he has a good relationship with the doctor, he can rest assured in the future.

"Oh, how embarrassing."

Doctor Liang took the cloth bag. It was quite heavy!
"What's the big deal? It's just a local specialty and worthless."

Li Zhiguo really didn't enter the house. He left after delivering the things, but he vaguely saw the situation in the house, which was not very good.

After everyone left, Dr. Liang closed the door and then opened the bag to take a look.

"Oh, this is really worthwhile! I'll have to pay more attention to it in the future, even my life will be taken care of."

Doctor Liang carried the bag into the kitchen with a happy look on his face, and after taking the things out, he was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling.

……

When Li Zhiguo returned to the courtyard, there was a bag hanging on the handlebars. It would be normal for his daughter-in-law to bring back something today!

It was also a coincidence that he was just carrying his bicycle over the threshold when he heard the noise. He turned around and saw that it was the Yan family who had returned.

"Auntie, how come you are taking care of three children by yourself?"

Li Zhiguo quickly parked the car and went over to pick up little Yan Jie Di, otherwise the three aunts would not be able to hold the child because Yan Jie Kuang was not much older than her.

"Jie Cheng has gone to school, and your uncle is still waiting outside."

The three aunts' faces were filled with joy, and it was obvious that something good was going to happen.

Li Zhiguo lowered his voice and said, "Did you make money?"

The third aunt also lowered her voice. When they both came together, she said, "You made a lot of money. Your third uncle also reported it. Just like what you said, there is a bonus."

"Hey, I told you it could work!"

"No, you are the bad one... you have a lot of good ideas."

The two of them started chatting at the door, each holding a child. Yan Jiefang, who was left behind, was so sleepy that he sat right on the doorstep and almost fell asleep.

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?"

Second Aunt came out from the corridor of the central courtyard and almost thought she was dazzled when she saw this scene. Fortunately, Old Yan's wife had given birth to her fourth child, otherwise she would have been worried about Old Yan.

"I didn't talk about anything. I just came back from buying food and ran into Li Zhiguo at the door."

The three aunts were upright and didn't even think about that.

Who knew that the second aunt asked directly: "Buy food, then where is your family's food?"

"Yes, where's the food?"

The third aunt was startled, but luckily she reacted quickly, "I didn't buy it, there is no food."

Li Zhiguo was dumbfounded. He hadn't noticed this just now. "Didn't you say to leave a place for buying food?"

"It's only fifty cents. Someone insisted on having that position, so Old Yan decided to give it to them."

The third aunt didn't think it was a big deal. It was just 50 cents and three pounds of flour. What else was there to keep?

"What position are you talking about, the 50 cents one?"

Second Aunt didn’t understand.

"Nothing, the kids are sleepy, I'll take them home first."

The third aunt didn't dare tell anyone about this way of making money, as she was thinking of continuing it next month. She hurriedly held Yan Jiekuang in one hand and pulled Yan Jiefang back to the house with the other hand.

"No, you still have a daughter, and you fell behind again."

Li Zhiguo was holding the sleeping Yan Jiedi in his arms. Although this sister's appearance has declined as she grew up, she is still very cute now.

"Li Zhiguo, give me the child, and go back to rest."

Second Aunt took over this important task and also wanted to ask Old Yan's wife about it. She always felt that something was wrong.

"Row!"

Li Zhiguo doesn't know how to take care of a child, it's good enough if he can hold the child for a while.

Then he pushed his bicycle back home. He wasn't hungry at the moment, so he fell asleep on the bed. When he woke up, he saw the guy from the noodle shop. "Big brother, you are home today."

"Yeah, I just woke up!"

Li Zhiguo yawned. He wasn't hungry at all. He could go out for a walk or go fishing in the afternoon.

"How about I bring you a bowl of noodles?"

The young man was waiting to clear the dishes while the young wife in the opposite room was eating.

"Not today. I went to the factory to collect my wife's salary this morning and ate in the cafeteria. You wait here. I'll go out for a walk."

Tang Chunyan doesn't work and is not as virtuous as Dongxu's wife.

Before reaching the middle courtyard, Jia Zhang's voice was heard. She had been quiet for several days because of He Daqing's incident, but now she was back to normal.

"Oh, there's no food left at the grain station. How are we going to get through this month?"

Jia Zhang shouted and wanted to ask the people in the yard to come out to see if they could distribute some of the food. She had the money, so she could just buy it at the original price.

"Jia Zhang, you went too late. What can you buy? Sun Erniang went to line up in the middle of the night, and others bought food."

Mrs. Chen came out of the house. She had bought food last time and was not in a hurry.

"Li Zhiguo, you are in the yard, do you have enough food at home?"

Although Jia Zhang had no hope, she still couldn't help but ask a question.

"Not much, just enough for me to eat. Where's your daughter-in-law Bihua? Why didn't she come back with you?"

Li Zhiguo looked around but didn't see Dongxu's wife.

"She went to the factory. Let's go find Dongxu to see if he can think of a solution."

Jia Zhang regretted not getting up earlier. She waited in line for the whole morning but didn't buy anything.

Li Zhiguo thought, would Chen Bihua and Jia Dongxu eat alone again?
"Ms. Jia Zhang, then you should wait for Dongxu to come back and ask others later if you have anything to eat for lunch?"

"We still have sweet potatoes at home. My wife brought them back from her parents' home last time. They are big and sweet, and they are very filling."

Jia Zhang is so arrogant that people should envy her.

"Sweet potatoes are good, they nourish people."

Li Zhiguo was not talking nonsense, he just said that eating too much can cause bloating.

After Jia Zhang finished boasting, she said with a bitter face: "We don't have many sweet potatoes at home, and we still have to buy food."

"You can wait for Dongxu to come back and think of a solution. We still have an old man here."

Li Zhiguo would not meddle in the affairs of the Jia family. Jia Dongxu is the pillar of the family and he has to support the family.

As for him, at a young age, he put aside the burden of supporting his family and devoted himself to the postmodern urbanization concept of environmental transformation.

"Li Zhiguo, going fishing again!"

"Aunt Wang, have you bought the food?"

He pushed his bicycle to the front yard, with two shorter fishing rods tied to it. There was a stool on the back seat, and a book on top of it. On the cover, you could vaguely see the traditional Chinese characters "My Life".

"I bought it, I bought it. There are still some left. If yours is not enough, I can give some to you equally.

I left so early today that I forgot to ask you. Aunt Yue will go buy food for you next day so that you don’t have to stay up late. "

Aunt Wang is an ordinary resident of the front yard, opposite Yan Bugui's house. Her house is also the worst located in the courtyard, but she is still a nice person.

"That's great. My family is not short of food for the time being. I'll come back to you next time."

Li Zhiguo suddenly discovered that he was very popular in the hospital. He had done so many good things and the people had sharp eyes.

Let’s go! He set off on his tricycle, and when he passed through the narrow Dongzhimen Gate, he couldn’t help but sigh.

In the discussion of whether to demolish the city wall or retain it, there are two camps.

The city-protecting faction envisioned building a garden city and planting flowers and trees on the city walls.

The demolition faction thought that there were plenty of bricks in the city wall, which could be used after being demolished. Without the city wall, they could build roads and a modern industrial city.

Dongzhimen is still there now, and one less visit is one less visit, which is equivalent to visiting the ancient city without spending any money.

After fishing today, he needs to rest for a while. In the spring, he should let the fish breed and recuperate.

In the evening, Li Zhiguo returned empty-handed, but it was not shameful to get nothing occasionally.

"Hey, Third Uncle, you're back tonight."

As soon as I arrived in the alley, I ran into Yan Bugui, who had dark circles under his eyes, which could not be hidden even by his glasses.

"Hey! Doesn't this make money?"

Yan Bugui had a half-smile on his face, an expression that seemed like he wanted to show off but was very reserved.

"How much do you earn?"

Li Zhiguo rode forward, stopped his bike, stepped on the ground, and stood on his horse with his sword drawn.

"Hey, I stood in line and sold two rounds, and I earned five dollars and fifty cents. If Jie Cheng hadn't been in a hurry to go to school, I could have earned fifty cents more.

I reported it twice, three dollars each time and five dollars each time, which makes eight dollars in total.”

Yan Bugui pushed the frame of his glasses and couldn't help laughing dryly. Isn't it a big profit?

"You've made thirteen dollars and fifty cents!"

Li Zhiguo didn't expect it to work, but it proves that he has a good brain.

But he still had to say: "Uncle, why don't you buy food for yourself? Do you have anything to eat?"

“Yes, I used to buy grain regularly every month. I had a bamboo tube at home and only took one tube a day. Then, I took out a small handful and stored it in a jar.

Over time, I have saved up a lot. It is enough for me to eat for half a month in case of emergency. I will think of a way out when the time comes. Making money is the most important thing first.”

Yan Bugui smiled and said, "To be honest, I want to save money to buy a bicycle, even a second-hand one is fine."

"Oh, that's a good idea."

Li Zhiguo nodded, and then said, "I once saw a famous painting in which Xiao He chased Han Xin under the moon. He rode a bicycle to chase him. Think about it, the ancients knew how to buy a bicycle, so we can't fall behind."

Yan Bugui was stunned. "Li Zhiguo, are you sure that the painting is real? Were there bicycles at that time?"

"How could this be fake? That painting was passed down from someone else's ancestors.

Paintings and such are not important, Uncle San, just keep saving money. Maybe when the time comes I will buy a new car and sell this one to you."

He didn't plan to ride the same bike for more than ten years. He would just replace it when it got old. Otherwise, it would be troublesome to go to the repair shop all the time.

"Hey, this is a new car, you want to sell it now?"

Yan Bugui touched the handlebars of the bicycle. It was so nice. How could he bear to give it up?

"That depends on how fast you save money. Let's go back to the courtyard together."

Li Zhiguo simply pushed the cart and chatted with people.

Yan Bugui immediately became alert, trying not to get into trouble by accident. All his potted plants had been moved to the backyard, so there should be nothing to worry about.

Besides, his daughter is still young.

Suddenly, Yan Bugui turned his head and saw the book on the back seat of the bicycle. He couldn't help but say, "Li Zhiguo, you are still reading Lao She's book."

"Isn't this just fishing to kill time? By the way, I'm criticizing the corruption of the old society. The new society is better now. We don't have to worry about food and clothing, and life is easier."

As they were chatting, they arrived at the gate of the courtyard and happened to meet the second aunt coming back from outside. It seemed that she was going to the public toilet.

"Old Yan, Li Zhiguo, why are you two walking together?"

(End of this chapter)