Chapter 69 Questions
"Oh my, Li Zhiguo really guessed it right. This can really lead to problems with eating."

"There is nothing wrong with Li Zhiguo taking the lead in checking, and it is also for the good of everyone."

"He didn't take anything from my house, just a piece of floral wire. It wasn't made of copper, so it wasn't worth anything."

"My family is fine. He liked a straw hat and borrowed it to go fishing."

Residents of the Central Courtyard appeared one after another. They had all been checked and there was no need to hide anymore.

Jia Dongxu was confused, "No, what are you talking about?"

Li Zhiguo replied, "Dongxu, it's just right that you're back. Your house is the only one left in the Intermediate Court that I haven't inspected yet. Go open the door."

"What are you checking? Why should I ask you to come?"

Jia Dongxu disagreed. He was very angry at the moment. If he paid the medical expenses, he could forget about eating out this month.

Who knew that Yi Zhonghai shouted: "Dongxu, this is the decision of the whole hospital meeting. Li Zhiguo will take the lead in inspecting the food and hygiene of each family. Everyone must obey."

"Uncle, let him check, why isn't it you?"

Jia Dongxu was dumbfounded. Li Zhiguo was shameless and would definitely look for good stuff.

"Jia Dongxu, Second Uncle and I are accompanying Li Zhiguo. Isn't that enough? Go open the door."

Yan Bugui looked down on this man, saying he was unfilial and in some aspects his morals were even worse than Li Zhiguo's.

Liu Haizhong also said: "You just have to obey. How can you not agree to the decision made by the whole hospital meeting?"

"Promise, I promise, isn't that enough?"

Jia Dongxu couldn't bear it. Li Zhiguo was a liar. He must have deceived everyone at the conference.

As soon as the door of Jia's house opened, Liu Haizhong blocked Jia Dongxu and said, "Go to the back and don't think about destroying the evidence."

"No, Uncle Er, what am I destroying? This is my home."

Jia Dongxu watched as the third uncle lifted the door curtain and let Li Zhiguo go into the house first.

Yi Zhonghai also followed and sighed, "Dongxu, Li Zhiguo is doing this for your family's good. Look at you, knowing that the sweet potatoes are moldy, you still keep them for your mother to eat. This is not right."

"Uncle, my mom insisted on eating it. What can I do?"

Jia Dongxu just felt wronged. This matter had nothing to do with him.

Li Zhiguo had been to the Jia family so many times that he was so familiar with it, just like his own home. He quickly picked out and brought out a basket of things.

Yan Bugui took a sweet potato that was not moldy and did not dislike it.

"Look at this. None of this can be eaten. If we don't throw it away, Jia Zhang will have to go to the hospital again when she comes back."

Li Zhiguo brought the dustpan to the yard. When the residents took a look, they were shocked to see that there were still more than a dozen sweet potatoes inside, and they were all a bit moldy.

There were also some other things, even a small piece of meat, and it smelled bad.

"Uncle, throw all these away later."

Li Zhiguo casually handed the dustpan to Yan Bugui. The thing was broken, but the dustpan was good.

"Hey! I'll go throw it."

Yan Bugui is very smart and knows how to take advantage.

"Jia's kitchen, wait, we need to make corrections now. Jia Dongxu, bring all your pots, pans, and all kinds of food to the yard, wash what needs to be washed, and check what needs to be checked.

"Second uncle, you take care of it. It's a little late today. Third uncle and I have just checked Xu Damao's house. We will check the remaining residents tomorrow afternoon."

Li Zhiguo was a little tired. Working overtime was not a good habit.

"That's arranged. Jia Dongxu, hurry up and get the stuff out. The pot that cooked the sweet potatoes is also poisonous."

"Go quickly, we'll all help you watch over it."

The residents became excited and gathered around to watch. Jia Zhang was not here at the moment, so if they could take advantage, it would be a great deal. Even Sha Zhu came to watch the fun. As for washing clothes and so on, they would discuss it after Dad and Uncle came back.

By this time, Li Zhiguo and Yan Bugui had already slipped away.

"Third Uncle, the better families in this Central Court are Shazhu's family and Daye's family. It's hard to attack Shazhu, and it's hard to offend Daye.

But there is Xu Damao in the backyard, so you can find an opportunity yourself. In a few days, you can help me write some slogans on red paper. I won’t pay you for the odd jobs I take outside.”

Li Zhiguo felt that he could not treat his own gardener unfairly. The third uncle was also a talented person. As long as he didn't take advantage of him, everything else would be fine.

"That's great! Your uncle's family doesn't have anything else, but they have plenty of red paper. I got all of it from school. It didn't cost any money."

Yan Bugui also strived to be a pen holder in school so that he could pack up the leftover red paper and take it away. However, it was difficult to sell it, so he usually saved it and used it to write Spring Festival couplets for others during the Chinese New Year.

"Let's go. Damao is probably hiding something right now. If I go in, he will definitely panic and all his attention will be on me. You know how to make a feint to the east and attack in the west."

"understand!"

Yan Bugui nodded and unbuttoned the buttons on the hem of his clothes so that the pockets on both sides of his clothes and trousers could hold more things.

"Da Mao! I broke the door."

Li Zhiguo shouted but did not rush in directly because the new bride was inside. If she saw something, wouldn’t the Xu family have wasted the betrothal money?

"Come on, what door are you breaking into? It's not locked."

Xu Damao shouted and said hurriedly, "Wife, just sit here by the bed and do whatever you want. Don't leave. We have hidden all the valuables under the bed. Li Zhiguo can't crawl under the bed to look for them."

"Da Mao, it shouldn't be that serious. Li Zhiguo is a very nice person."

Tang Chunyan felt that this was an exaggeration, as if the Japanese invaders had invaded the village.

"Wife, you still don't see clearly what kind of person that boy is. Do you think he really came here to check hygiene?
That was to plunder the entire compound to enrich his family. I think his father-in-law's family fell into this trap.

It’s too late, I have to go and keep an eye on him.”

Xu Damao turned around and ran towards the door.

"Xu Damao, have you done anything bad? Are you hiding something?"

Li Zhiguo looked at Xu Damao with scrutiny, then walked in and went straight to the bedroom in the inner room.

"Oh, my wife is in there."

Xu Damao hurried forward, he knew that Li Zhiguo must be looking for something good.

Yan Bugui then walked quickly into the house silently, stretched out his hand and grabbed a handful, without even seeing clearly what was in it, he stuffed it into his pocket to have a base so as not to leave empty-handed.

"Da Mao, I'm familiar with your wife. It's not like I don't know her, right Chunyan?"

Old Xu's house is very small, and the bedroom door is just a few steps away. Li Zhiguo did not go in, as he still had to avoid suspicion.

"Da Mao, Li Zhiguo is not an outsider."

Tang Chunyan stood up as she spoke, which made Xu Damao almost jump up and down. He reminded her so many times, why didn't she learn her lesson?

"Da Mao, there's nothing in your room!"

Li Zhiguo looked around the room. He had checked it out during the last banquet. Besides, the place where Xu Damao hid things was under the bed.

Or it could be in the cabinet in the main room outside, but I can’t think of a third place.

"It's nothing. You want to check the food. It's all outside."

After Xu Damao said this, he knew something was wrong, it was too obvious.

As expected, Li Zhiguo said, "There's no rush in the kitchen. Let's take a look inside the house first. I think you have something wrong."

"It's really okay. I'm your brother. We grew up together."

Xu Damao was also determined to save the little belongings left by his father from being coveted by others.

"Well, I believe you!"

Li Zhiguo said this, but he stood at the door and didn't leave. He looked around carefully, then tilted his head to look under the bed.

"Da Mao, you didn't hide moldy sweet potatoes under your bed, did you? Your father occasionally goes to the countryside to show movies, and the villagers must have given him a lot of sweet potatoes."

"No, there really is no sweet potato. I don't like sweet potatoes."

Xu Damao's face turned green. You guessed so accurately, that thing is much more valuable than sweet potatoes.

"Okay, I believe you. You are my brother after all. Chunyan and I are so familiar with each other. Then let's go to the kitchen."

Li Zhiguo then turned around and ignored the room, but he felt that Xu Damao had valuable belongings. This was a really good condition, as projectionists were very popular in that era.

"Hey, Uncle San, when did you come in?"

Only then did Xu Damao realize that there was another person in the main room.

"He came early in the morning, following Li Zhiguo. Didn't you see him?"

Yan Bugui stood there happily, he had already got it.

Li Zhiguo walked up and took a look at Xu Damao's family. They saw that the food was white flour, and the utensils were all new. It cost Old Xu a lot of money to marry a wife.

"Da Mao, don't you have a little too many kitchen knives at home? Do you have any bad thoughts?"

He saw two knives on the chopping board and three new ones in the cupboard, while ordinary families only had one, which was sharpened and used again.

"Really? This is something my father asked a blacksmith to make for me when he went to the countryside. I'm going to keep it for later use. It's a little extra, so why don't I lend it to you?"

Xu Damao took down a kitchen knife. If he hadn't been so timid, he would have scared the man. Li Zhiguo stretched out his hand and grabbed the knife from the edge. He smiled and said, "Then I won't be polite to you. The uncle is right. Neighbors should help each other. I'll leave you some good things later."

Xu Damao laughed dryly: "No need, my family has everything."

My goodness, this Li Zhiguo is so brave. Isn't he afraid that he might hurt his hand if he uses a little force, or does he think he has him in his hands? It's so frustrating!
"Okay! Third uncle, remember this later. Damao's kitchen is Grade A and the rooms are Grade B. They're acceptable. But you have to be careful about tidying up. Don't put everything under the bed. It's unhygienic. Now we're leaving."

Li Zhiguo did not stay long and immediately left with Yan Bugui.

After leaving the room, Yan Bugui hurriedly picked up Jia's dustpan, and Li Zhiguo also took the straw hat and straw sandals in his hands, and both of them smiled silently.

"Uncle, I'll come to you tomorrow to write the slogan. Don't forget to plant the potatoes and send them over."

"I can't forget it. How can the Third Master not care about your affairs?"

Yan Bugui patted his bulging purse, laughed dryly again, and said, "Why don't you go to the Jia family in the middle courtyard to take a look?"

"Forget it. I'm tired after hanging out outside all day."

Li Zhiguo yawned and felt sleepy. Dongxu's wife was not at home, so there was no point in going there.

"Then you should rest early. Uncle San will leave first."

Yan Bugui left quickly, fearing that Xu Damao would chase him out.

"Oh, my wife, why are the two eggs I cooked gone? They were just in the pot. I said I would give you a snack in the evening."

Xu Damao lifted the lid of the pot and found it was empty. He was performing a magic trick.

"Forget it, it's just two eggs. We don't need any."

The reason why Tang Chunyan can enjoy such a good life at home every day is that she has a family background. Her parents gave her living expenses before she got married, and if she spent it all, she could go to her parents' home to get more.

"That's right, I just didn't notice when Li Zhiguo made the move."

Xu Damao recalled that he was watching the whole process.

"It's not Li Zhiguo. He doesn't steal anything."

Tang Chunyan could see clearly that Li Zhiguo would take whatever he wanted openly.

"Oh no, it's Uncle Three, wife, we've been tricked! Li Zhiguo is covering for Uncle Three, come on, check and see what's missing."

Xu Damao reacted quickly and wanted to chase him out immediately, but he remembered that Li Zhiguo was still holding his kitchen knife in his hand.

"Da Mao, my bag of brown sugar is gone. And I remember there was a garlic here, but it's gone too."

"Oh, this is something that Uncle Three can do. He doesn't mind anything, even a needle. Wait, wife, our needle box is missing."

Xu Damao was furious. He still had to sew clothes later. Wouldn't this delay things?

"It's okay, they are just small things. We have a sewing machine at home, but I don't know how to use it. I can ask Li Zhiguo to teach me some other day."

Tang Chunyan didn't take it seriously. It was worth so little money.

"No, wife, don't look for Li Zhiguo. Isn't that inviting a wolf into the house?"

Xu Damao became anxious again. If Dongxu's wife had not been so inferior to Sister Qin and had been pregnant again, she would have been snatched away by Li Zhiguo for the second time.

"Why not look for him? Chen Bihua has already learned it and started making clothes."

Tang Chunyan didn't think there was anything wrong. Li Zhiguo really knew how to teach his disciples.

"She is she, daughter-in-law, you should go out and learn. Don't be afraid of spending money and find a female teacher."

Xu Damao tried to persuade him, saying that his wife wasn't pregnant yet, so he shouldn't fall into Li Zhiguo's trap.

……

In the middle courtyard, outside the Jia family's house, Jia Dongxu was busy washing pots and pans in front of many people.

"Hey, I thought the Jia family was so well off, but that's it."

"Even if we take out all the plates, we can't even fill two tables. No wonder we only invited two tables of people to the banquet."

"There is so little white flour, it's all corn flour. It's like Chen Bihua eating this, and she's still pregnant."

"If you ask me, Qin Huairu made the right choice by not marrying into the Jia family. At least she can live a decent life with Li Zhiguo."

"Look at Jia Dongxu, he can't even wash the pot properly. He doesn't know how to do housework either. It's only because I have a mother upstairs that I'm better than Li Zhiguo."

The residents in the courtyard were all talking about it. They really didn't find anything and were very angry.

Jia Dongxu gritted his teeth, the hatred of having his wife taken away was unforgivable!
Just wait, his salary will be the same as Qin Huairu's, and his conditions will be no worse.

Yan Bugui watched the excitement for a while and then left quietly.

"Hey, boss, did you get anything?"

When the third aunt saw the man coming back, she hurried to close the door.

“It’s a big win.”

Yan Bugui smiled and took out the things in his bag: two eggs, a small bag of brown sugar, a sewing box, a handful of peanuts, a sweet potato, a garlic... and a dustpan.

"Oh my! Boss, did you dream about the God of Wealth last night?"

The third aunt was dizzy. Since she got married, her family had never received so many small gifts.

"The God of Wealth didn't dream about it. Isn't there Li Zhiguo? He doesn't care about these things. People are making big money."

Yan Bugui held back his laughter. After all, he was a teacher, so he had to be more reserved.

"These two eggs are from the pot. I think they are cooked. Go check if the children are asleep. Let's share one and save one for breakfast tomorrow. These are nutritious. You can't absorb them all at once."

The third aunt smiled and said, "I knew there was something good. I came back and coaxed the children to sleep."

"That's great! You should also give me half a liang of wine. There are also peanuts here. I will have a couple of sips too. I will learn from Li Zhiguo and live a good life."

Yan Bugui pushed the frame of his glasses and took out the red paper and arranged it. It would be worthwhile to help Li Zhiguo with his work tomorrow.

When Sunday came, Li Zhiguo checked all the remaining residents in the courtyard and actually eliminated many safety hazards.

I just took a look at the situation and picked up some small things. To sum up, we are all relatively poor, but it is also relative.

Li Zhiguo closed the book now and decided to read more books to broaden his horizons. These old books are full of useful information.

"Brother, it's time for lunch."

Qin Huairu brought the food to the main room.

"Is this lunch already?"

Okay, I got up a little late.

It's spring now, the growth season, and he's still young, so maybe he can grow taller.

"I went to the market this morning and bought some fresh meat. You have to eat more, brother."

Qin Huairu handed over the bowl and chopsticks, and brought two bowls of white flour and some cooked eggs that were reserved.

"Well, you should eat too. You can't miss out on nutrition. When our child is born, he will be a big fat boy. Let's try to have two in three years. It's just right for you to get a permanent job. You can make a lot of money in such a big factory."

It is now popular to compare the weight of newborn babies, just like slaughtering live pigs. The heavier ones are better, and fat boys are rare.

He was also thinking that if he was interested, he would go to the factory to invent something. This time he would have to connect with foreign exchange, then he would be really stable.

"It must be the big fat boy."

Qin Huairu prefers boys, because there will be someone to take care of her in her old age and she can also carry on the Li family line.

Li Zhiguo nodded, broke the white flour, put two pieces of meat in it and handed it to him, saying: "Don't just eat half of it every time, try the whole thing and see if you can eat it."

"Hey!"

Qin Huairu was so touched. My brother was so good to her.

After the meal, Qin Huairu quickly cleaned up the dishes and took the basin outside to wash them, with tears in her eyes.

Coincidentally, Xu Damao also came out to wash the dishes, wearing an apron, and looking more and more like a househusband.

"Sister Qin, why are you crying? Did Li Zhiguo bully you?"

Xu Damao shared the same hatred for the enemy. Although he knew that Sister Qin would never fight with Li Zhiguo, he still took the opportunity to put on some scorn.

"No, it's just sand in my eyes."

There were tears in Qin Huairu's eyes, but a happy smile on her face.

Xu Damao was struck by lightning. There are so many things worth learning from Li Zhiguo, how he can make people cry and laugh and continue working.

He shuddered, quickly washed the dishes and went back into the house to prevent Li Zhiguo from coming out again and staring at him.

"Wife, I'll take you to the movies this afternoon."

"What kind of movie are you watching? You're not tired of watching movies every day."

Tang Chunyan is not someone who does nothing. She is just cutting her nails.

"Then let's go shopping and eat out tonight."

Anyway, Xu Damao has to go out today. It's Sunday, so he needs to take a rest!

(End of this chapter)