Chapter 88 Pride
"Li Zhiguo, you are so awesome!"

Chen Xueru's eyes were full of her lover. Although she was a little unlucky as Li Zhiguo was already married when they met, it was not so bad now as she had finally got him.

"Also, I find it's good that you don't have to work. Can I have the daytime?"

As Chen Xueru spoke, she couldn't help but become more assertive and wanted to dominate the daytime.

"Well, it doesn't understand the darkness of the night during the day! I'd better come during the day and at night. You take good care of the baby, and I won't treat you unfairly."

Li Zhiguo didn't respond to that question at all. What's the most important thing for a man? Besides being provided for, the only thing he has is freedom.

"Take me in quickly, don't keep grandma waiting for too long."

"Oh, you changed your tune now!"

Chen Xueru covered her mouth with her hands and smiled, then reached out and knocked on the door. She had the key with her, but it was her first time bringing a man home, so she needed the family to open the door for her, to be more formal.

"Here I come! Xueru... this is."

The person who opened the door was a middle-aged woman, definitely not the grandmother, but the Chen family's servant, or nanny. This was a bad habit from the old society and we must enjoy it before criticizing it.

"Mother Ding, this is my friend Li Zhiguo, a neighborhood cadre."

Chen Xueru directly introduced her lover as a cadre. It was only a matter of time.

"Hey, please come in!"

Although Mother Ding is a servant, her family has been serving the Chen family for two generations and has raised Chen Xueru since she was a child. Their relationship is like that of a family.

She secretly looked at Li Zhiguo. He was handsome and even without saying anything, she could sense his restrained spirit.

Li Zhiguo noticed something and turned to smile at Mother Ding. She would be the one to help take care of the child in the future. She is one of us now!
"Hello Mr. Li!"

Mother Ding seemed to have seen the master when he was young. He had a charm that could make people fall in love with him for life. It was also a spring noon...

"Ah hello!"

Li Zhiguo nodded, and then went to the hall inside the house. It was really large. The starting point of one’s birth is the end point of others!

I saw an old woman with gray hair and ruddy complexion appear in front of me.

"Li Zhiguo, this is my grandmother."

Chen Xueru introduced her family first, because she did not consider Li Zhiguo as an outsider, as he was the father of her child.

"Hello grandma!"

Li Zhiguo is not afraid that the elderly are difficult to get along with, but he is afraid that they are too easy to get along with.

"Okay, you too!"

Grandma Chen couldn't figure out what was going on. Why did her granddaughter suddenly bring back a strange man?

Chen Xueru put her arm around her grandmother and said, "Grandma, he is Li Zhiguo, a cadre from Qianmen Street.

The grandson of Mr. Xiao of Xinyuanzhai, and also the heir of Xinyuanzhai."

"Xiao Jinjiu, I haven't seen him for many years. I didn't expect that he has a grandson as old as you. Did he give you your name?"

Grandma Chen had heard some rumors that Old Man Xiao's youngest daughter had eloped with someone.

"Yes, if you have done nothing in your life, you should rule the country!"

Li Zhiguo had already taken his seat after being invited. The sofa was nice, much better than the one in the silk shop's office. It was very comfortable.

"You are college students?"

Grandma Chen couldn't see through this young man and couldn't give him a clear positioning.

"I almost got into high school, but I only have junior high school education now."

Li Zhiguo is very open and generous. His cultural level is better than that of a high school student. The quality of a real junior high school student is still very high.

Seeing that her grandmother wanted to find out about someone's past, Chen Xueru hurriedly said, "Li Zhiguo used to work at the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill. He is now on sick leave. He is also a cadre of Qianmen Street. Grandma, he is married and has a wife."

"Oh!"

Grandma Chen was suddenly aware of what was going on and felt that it was not normal, so she did not dare to ask any more questions.

"Mother Ding, is the food ready? I'm hungry."

Chen Xueru changed the subject, knowing that men don't like being asked about their situation.

"It's ready. I'm just waiting for you."

Mother Ding called out, and brought the dishes to the table, then moved to the dining room.

Originally, the meal was for three people, so four dishes and one soup were prepared, which was enough for more people.

"Mr. Li, I wonder if the food suits your taste."

Mother Ding also sat at the table to eat, but she was busy serving food to people.

"It suits my taste. I'm not picky about food. Besides, the food you cook is delicious, Aunt Ding."

He just had a bad stomach, but he could still eat, and he was very happy after the meal.

Chen Xueru also frequently picked up food for him. She didn't have to worry about anything at home. Her eyes showed that she couldn't hide her thoughts.

After the meal, Li Zhiguo did not stay long. How could he go straight to the boudoir on his first visit? So he made an excuse that there was something going on in the street and left.

This place is pretty good. I’ll leave it here for the children my concubine will have in the future.

Chen Xueru sent the person to the door and then returned, only to see her grandmother waiting there. Mother Ding had not gone to clean up the dishes.

"Xue Ru, what is your relationship with Li Zhiguo?"

"Nothing, just good friends."

Chen Xueru decided to have a child. Even if her family members didn't tell her, or even if they guessed it, they wouldn't admit it, so the matter was left unsolved.

Grandma Chen thought for a moment and said, "He's been very good to you!"

"Very good! Grandma, he is very capable. You will understand after knowing him for a long time.

Grandma, I don't want to talk to you any more. I'm going to lie down for a while. I have to go to the store in the afternoon."

Chen Xueru also found an excuse to slip away and went upstairs.

"Ding Yan, what do you think?"

Grandma Chen is not so easily fooled and feels that the relationship between the two must be abnormal.

"As long as Xueru likes it! If she doesn't want to go to the Ugly Country with Master Hou, she can stay here. Our family can support a child."

Mother Ding suddenly said something extra, "I think Mr. Li has some of the master's shadow."

“Yes, there is a shadow of Xiao Jinjiu, but it’s different. Didn’t you hear what he just said? A king should rule the country.

This man is arrogant, and Xueru has been strong-willed since she was a child, so she is afraid that the two of them will not get along.

However, this person doesn’t act strong at all. He is very contradictory and I can’t figure him out.”

Grandma Chen shook her head. She couldn't see through it. She knew her granddaughter would be exploited. However, as the heir of Xinyuanzhai, she was not short of money and didn't seem to be here for the money.

……

"Uncle, I'm busy."

When Li Zhiguo returned to the hospital after three o'clock in the afternoon, he saw Yan Bugui there. If he didn't have two wives to support, he would have become a primary school teacher and spread love and peace to the students.

"Busy, where did you go today?"

Yan Bugui’s specialty is grinding potatoes.

"I went to Dashilan. It's lively there."

When Li Zhiguo saw how potatoes were peeled, he suddenly remembered that there were no various peeling knives available.

Take winter melon for example. It’s troublesome to peel the skin. Now you can just scrape the skin with a spatula. There is no waste. Everything can be scraped.

For potatoes, you can eat the skin of fresh potatoes, and you can put old potatoes into the pot without peeling them. Just tear off the skin when eating after they are cooked.

You only need to peel potatoes when you stir-fry them, it's not a big deal, everyone has good knife skills.

Peelers are for kitchen novices or people who cook occasionally, but in this day and age, all kinds of vegetable and fruit peels are nutritious!
But it is inaccurate to say that there is no market for paring knives. There is a demand for them among the elderly, new urban brides, children, people from well-off families, and canteens, etc.

He immediately went home and designed several types of peelers, including those with scraping functions and those with shavings, which were suitable for a wide range of uses.

There are also pig hair clips, which are all small parts. The handle of the paring knife can be replaced with wood, which does not waste steel.

I'll put the design drawing aside for now. When I have time to go to the factory later, I'll ask Yi Zhonghai to make it for me. He's an experienced craftsman and his work can be more delicate than his. The key is that I don't have to do it myself.

"Li Zhiguo, you're back!"

Chen Bihua arrived at the door and walked in this time. She was pregnant and was not afraid of gossip.

"Yeah, I just got here a while ago. Something's up."

Li Zhiguo put away the notebook and pen, not because he was afraid of being peeked at, but because it would be of no use even if they were copied, as they would still have to be contributed to the collective in the end.

He just didn't want to appear to be so fond of studying. All the top students work hard in secret.

"Just what you taught me last time. I still don't know how to make clothes. Can you explain it to me?"

"It's a small matter. It will pass soon."

However, I promised to bring her back home when I pick her up from get off work today. Otherwise, there would be one less person to take care of her at home, which would be quite uncomfortable.

Mrs. Chen was picking vegetables at the doorstep and greeted people immediately when she saw them.

"Busy for nothing, my third uncle also wants to find a job in the city.

Let Xiao Jingru study in the city, and I will go out to ask around. The more friends you make, the more options you have. That’s how I got to know the owner of Zengji Grain Store.”

Li Zhiguo still explained it. After all, his third uncle had been to the courtyard, and everyone knew that he was a carpenter who could farm and had skills, and could find a job in the city.

"Old Qin's third uncle has also moved to the city, so what about your second uncle?"

An old lady nearby asked a follow-up question, and Jia Zhang also hurried over to listen to the gossip. It seemed that she had not been chatting with Li Zhiguo recently, and she had become a little out of touch with the upper circle.

"My second uncle only knows how to farm, unlike my father-in-law who can write a few characters. My third uncle is a carpenter.

So my second uncle stayed in the village to work for the three families, raising more chickens and ducks. Meat is so expensive in the city, and it’s still more delicious to raise it at home.”

Li Zhiguo made no secret of the fact that he had the Qin family's support and could command the three courts, front, back, center, and center!

"Oh, you've made it all clear to me!"

Jia Zhang felt inferior to her. She hadn't figured out what was going on with her son. Her daughter-in-law had urged her several times, but she kept saying she was pregnant and didn't want to go back to her parents' home to collect the money. Everything was going wrong for her.

"My father-in-law's brothers and dozens of relatives will all have to count on me in the future.

Then you have to support me more. When I recover from my illness, both of us will work in my family."

Li Zhiguo is bragging nonsense, is he actually making the most of a rare commodity?

Look at the steel mill or the street, and choose whoever has better conditions. If not, you can do both part-time, being both a worker and a cadre. You will be in good health and there will be nothing wrong with you.

There is only an option of "house for rent" in the family background, which is a bit disgusting.

However, his wife's identity as a poor peasant worker was enough to handle the matter, so the house rental contract was signed by his wife and had nothing to do with him.

The aunties were speechless. The Qin family is counting on you, but they are afraid that they can’t count on you. Your life is getting better and better, but others may not be so lucky. They are getting poorer and poorer!
"Why, you don't believe me! I am the hope of the whole village."

Li Zhiguo found that most of the time no one believed him when he told the truth, but he never lied, had excellent character, was a role model, and the backbone of the contemporary society.

"Believe it, we believe it!"

"Yes, we believe in you. The Qin family will count on you in the future."

"Li Zhiguo, if you ask me, Qin Huairu followed you because her ancestors had done good deeds."

The aunties said things against their will, trying to calm the bad boy down first and not give him a chance to cause trouble.

"That's more like it. I'm going to teach Dongxu's wife how to make clothes. We'll talk later."

Li Zhiguo took Jia Zhang to the old Jia's house. As for Dongxu's wife, she had already gone to pack up the sewing machine.

When they were almost at the door of Jia's house, Jia Zhang suddenly said, "Li Zhiguo, Dongxu's salary will be increased soon. Can you ask him to increase my pension by one yuan? It's only two yuan now, which is too little."

"No, two dollars is not enough for you to spend? You don't usually buy anything."

Li Zhiguo stopped and thought, you know, the deaf old lady only gets five yuan a month as a basic living allowance, and she lives a good life.

"Isn't this just to save more so as not to cause trouble to Dongxu when I get old?"

It's rare to hear such profound truths from Jia Zhang's mouth, but is this reliable?

"I think it's a good idea! My brother Dongxu will soon receive a five-dollar salary, just like my wife did before, twenty-seven and a half dollars. How can we spend it all?

I tell you, next month Guan Xiang, why don’t you just go with Bihua? She’s pregnant and needs someone to look after her.

Then you go to the workshop to find Jia Dongxu and ask him to explain it clearly in front of his fellow workers. He will definitely agree to the three yuan pension because he wants to save face."

This is not a bad idea. Retirement is a natural thing. Besides, the burden on Dongxu brothers is not heavy. They eat white flour for lunch at the factory.

"Li Zhiguo, you are right. We should let the workers judge the situation. Two dollars is not enough!"

Jia Zhang took note of this idea and thought it was a great idea.

Afterwards, the two of them went to the Jia family's house. Li Zhiguo held a teacup and gave some instructions to Dongxu's wife. Jia Zhang was actually listening to the class next to them!
It’s almost time, and he has to go pick up his wife after a while. Tomorrow, Saturday, is the day for the pregnancy check-up, so his wife doesn’t have to go to work.

"Li Zhiguo, you said Shazhu always comes back with a lunch box, so there must be something good in it!"

Jia Zhang smacked her lips, she was thinking about it. Who doesn't want to eat good food every day?

“Of course, the steel mill is huge, and we eat and drink there every day, so the purchases are massive.

I heard that the food in the cafeteria is different from that of the workers, so I cooked some food and scooped out the workers' food first.

Then add a few spoonfuls of meat oil into the pot, and the vegetarian dishes will be full of flavor, full of oil and water, this is what the kitchen eats."

Li Zhiguo thought that it must be very oily and he would have diarrhea. It was just nonsense and it wouldn't matter.

“So, even though Shazhu is just an apprentice, the leftovers he brings every day are all greasy. Otherwise, do you think the He family would have grown so big?

As for Old Cai, he has only been in the hospital for a short time, but he has gained weight and looks younger than before. "

This is the truth, Cai Quanwu has really gained weight, and the He family is living a really good life.

"Oh, I said Shazhu must be taking advantage of the factory."

Jia Zhang smacked her lips again, thinking about the lunch box. It was just that He Daqing didn't understand and didn't let her become Sha Zhu's stepmother, otherwise the lunch box would have been sent to the Jia family.

"Oh, it's time. I have to pick up Xiao Jingru today, so I'll leave first."

Li Zhiguo stopped chatting and said, "Bihua, please wash this cup for me. Send it to my room tomorrow when you have time."

"okay!"

Chen Bihua responded and was concentrating on making clothes. She had made some progress today.

After the others left, Jia Zhang became restless. She lifted the door curtain and went out several times. She also went to Lao He's house to check, but the room was still locked.

The rain came back and I did my homework and read in the small room next door.

Finally, I couldn't sit still anymore, so I picked up the bucket and pretended to wash clothes at the sink.

"Mom, we still have to eat steamed bread at night. We don't have any white flour at home."

Chen Bihua shouted and started to cook. She has a pregnancy check-up tomorrow and can go to the factory to have a good meal with Dongxu at noon.

"Eat, you only know how to eat steamed bread. Last time I asked you to buy white flour, you refused to buy it."

Mrs. Jia Zhang has been feeling weak lately. How can coarse grains be as good as fine grains?

Finally, she saw Shazhu carrying the lunch box back to the yard.

"Stupid column!"

Mrs. Jia Zhang's face was all smiles. She was not bad when she was young. When old Jia was leaving, he told her that she had a beautiful smile and she should smile more often when meeting people.

"Jia Zhang, what are you doing?"

Sha Zhu shuddered. He couldn't stand seeing Jia Zhang's smile since he was a child. He would easily have nightmares at night when he thought about it.

"Silly, what's in your box?"

Jia Zhang came out from the sink, rubbed her hands, and thought about what Li Zhiguo said. There must be lard in the box, which was enough to replace several slices of fat meat. She could eat it to satisfy her craving.

"It's none of your business. It's my own lunch box."

Sha Zhu put his hands behind his back and planned to run away, thinking that maybe she was still thinking about being his stepmother, that wouldn't be possible.

"What's in your lunch box is from the government. Give me some. You have enough food at home."

As Jia Zhang said this, she wanted to reach out to take it. Shazhu eats it every day, so it doesn’t matter if he misses a meal.

"No way! This is what I had left over from lunch."

Sha Zhu was not willing to give it to him and ran away immediately. Worried that he would not be able to open the lock due to trembling like last time, he went straight to his sister's room.

"Brother, what's the matter?"

Yu Shui is reading a book. He really loves reading.

"It's okay, I forgot to bring my keys."

Sha Zhu found a perfect excuse.

"Brother, I have it. Go and cook. Dad and uncle will be back soon."

He Yushui said this and was about to take the key.

"No, I feel a little dizzy, let's take a rest first."

Sha Zhu refused to leave and waited for Jia Zhangshi to leave first. What happened? Why was he being targeted by Jia Zhangshi again?

"You damn fool, I held you in my arms when you were a child, but now that you've grown up you don't recognize me anymore."

Jia Zhang kept cursing, but was afraid that others would see her doing something bad, so she went home with a gloomy face. As soon as she entered the door, she smelled the aroma of cornmeal steamed bread.

"Oh my, how come life has become like this!"

Jia Zhang was very angry. She cursed and picked up the shoe soles and started working again. She owed Qin Huairu a pair of new shoes, and they were finally almost finished.

……

However, after Li Zhiguo picked up his wife at the factory gate, he did not leave in a hurry. Instead, he went directly to the courtyard, had dinner there, and then took Xiao Jingru back.

"Li Zhiguo, your wife's salary has increased, so give her a raise next month."

Sister Hua and several workers came out with Qin Huairu and surrounded Li Zhiguo.

I had wanted to find an opportunity to show him the melon before, but unfortunately I never found an excuse. Plus, Li Zhiguo rarely comes to the factory, so it’s a pity.

"It's already increased to five yuan. If I give more, my family won't be able to survive."

Li Zhiguo did not give in. Considering the food quality in the factory, five yuan was enough for lunch alone.

"You also got a bonus, a total of 200 yuan, which is better than other people's work."

(End of this chapter)