Chapter 97 Rejection
How come everyone knew about this, but he, the person involved, was the last to hear about it?
"Da Mao, what are you talking about? This morning, Jia Dongxu asked Li Zhiguo to come up with a way to make money, and in the end he mentioned that he wanted to learn how to project movies from you..."

Tang Chunyan gave a brief explanation without exaggerating and just stated the facts.

"Oh, what can I teach? I'm still an apprentice.

Besides, Jia Dongxu is nothing, so why should he learn from me?

Who will compensate for the broken equipment? I don’t want to teach either.

Wife, let me tell you, Jia Dongxu is a big fool. "

Xu Damao was so angry that he wished that all the residents in the compound would suffer, and only he could live a good life.

Tang Chunyan said hurriedly: "Today I said that you don't like Jia Dongxu and that he is a big fool. Li Zhiguo also asked me if I said anything bad about him."

As soon as these words came out, Xu Damao's legs went weak, and he sat down on the chair, and asked in a trembling voice: "Wife, you didn't betray me, did you? I tell you, Li Zhiguo... he is actually a good person, much better than Jia Dongxu."

"Look how scared you are. I didn't betray you by saying you didn't say anything bad about him."

Tang Chunyan covered her mouth and laughed. Her man was quite funny and timid.

"Hey! I didn't say anything bad in the first place, that's all true."

Xu Damao stood up and started cooking with energy. He was not a coward and would rather offend a gentleman than a villain.

Li Zhiguo had just wiped his face and woke up for a while when he saw Qin Huairu coming back.

"Wife, I'm hungry."

He didn't have breakfast today. He only took Xiao Jingru to have lunch. He was missing a meal. People with stomach problems get hungry quickly.

"Oh, I'll cook now."

Qin Huairu felt distressed. Her husband rarely complained of being hungry, so he must have not eaten on time.

"Sister, I cooked rice in the pot and washed the cabbage."

Xiao Jingru followed her to the kitchen and was able to help a lot. When she arrived at her brother-in-law's house, she didn't have to do farm work. She learned cooking from her sister every day and her cooking skills improved.

I am small and weak, so I can't do many jobs, but I can do it within my ability.

"Then I'll stir-fry some cabbage and cook some Chinese sausage. I happen to have one left, so let's eat them all today."

Qin Huairu looked at the pot and started cooking quickly.

Every household in the courtyard was busy. Some diligent ones had already prepared meals, and when the men came back from work, they could just wash their hands as soon as they entered the house and eat hot meals.

"Jingru!"

"Brother-in-law, I'm here!"

When Xiao Jingru heard the shouting, she wanted to run to the main room.

Qin Huairu asked in confusion, "Jingru, why did you say I'm here? It sounds weird."

"My brother-in-law told me to say it. He needs to know whether I am there or not."

Xiao Jingru ran away after she finished speaking. She thought her brother-in-law was more important. He treated her well. Unlike her sister, who was very stingy and never gave her a penny to spend.

"Jingru, bring out my brother-in-law's wine and peanuts!"

Li Zhiguo had already sat down at the table. He had slept for half the afternoon. After dinner, he took the two sisters for a walk to enjoy the prosperity of the capital.

"Okay, brother-in-law!"

Jingru opened the floor-to-ceiling cupboard next to her, which contained half a bottle of wine and a plate of peanuts. She quickly brought them to the table and also got a wine glass and chopsticks.

"Okay, okay, fill it up! Drinking a full glass once in a while is good for your stomach."

Li Zhiguo made an excuse that if he really had stomach problems, he would not drink any alcohol and would have to give up eating peanuts.

At this moment, he grabbed some peanuts and put them in Xiao Jingru's hand, and said with a smile: "Go to the kitchen and help!"

"Thank you, brother-in-law!"

Xiao Jingru covered her hands and ate a peanut, her eyebrows curved with joy.

Even though there are peanuts at home every day, they cannot be eaten casually. They must be saved for the masters to eat with wine!

Soon, the food was served: stir-fried cabbage, a plate of Chinese sausage, some steamed rice, and half a pot of stewed chicken left over from yesterday. This day seemed like the future.

"Everyone, start eating. Don't leave any leftovers. I'll go to the market tomorrow."

He doesn't pretend to be poor now, and the people in the hospital assume that he lives a good life. As long as he is not too extravagant, no one will ask too many questions.

In addition, some of the things were taken from the supermarket where the rewards were given, so no one else knew what his family ate specifically.

After dinner, he wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and put it aside.

After my wife has cleaned up the dishes, I go for a walk to help digest the food and buy some necessities. That's how life goes.

Just as he was about to go out, he saw Jia Zhang leading Jia Dongxu to the backyard and heading straight to Xu Damao's house. They were really going to learn how to project a movie!
"Huai Ru, wait a moment, I'll go over and take a look."

Li Zhiguo said hello and walked towards Xu Damao's house, where he saw his second aunt coming out of the house.

It was just right that the two of them were eavesdropping and just watching the fun.

He and the second aunt tacitly did not say hello. They walked to the door of Xu Damao's house from the left and right, and they could see what was going on inside.

"Xu Damao, I'm eating."

Jia Zhang was all smiles, and next to her was Jia Dongxu, whose face was still bruised.

"Where are you coming from?"

Xu Damao put down his bowl and chopsticks. How could he eat anymore? It was all because of that kid Li Zhiguo. He always caused him trouble.

"Xu Damao, you are my Dongxu's brother. He has lost his job now. Can you teach him how to project movies?"

Jia Zhang said it clearly, and the news has spread throughout the courtyard, so others must know about it too.

"I can't do that. I'm still an apprentice. How can I teach anyone?"

Xu Damao thought, what a bullshit brother! He and Li Zhiguo are still brothers, and this guy has cheated him a lot.

"Da Mao, you can't say that you were showing a movie. It was Li Zhiguo's birthday that day, and you were showing it in the courtyard.

Just teach Dongxu. He doesn't want any salary, but he can be your assistant.

When he has learned it, I will try to make him an apprentice."

Before Jia Zhang came, she had figured it out clearly. She knew her son would have to sacrifice something. Without a job, he would definitely have no salary.

"I don't want any salary, it's just a waste of help."

Xu Damao suddenly became interested. It seemed like a good thing to have an extra follower. He had to deal with this kid Jia Dongxu, otherwise he would just suffer from Li Zhiguo and have no place to vent his anger.

"Yes, Xu Damao, I don't want any salary, just teach me."

Jia Dongxu thought that once he learned it, he would find a way to get into the factory's publicity department. Maybe he would drive Xu Damao to the cinema and become the factory's projectionist.

"I can think about this."

Xu Damao served it, letting everyone in the courtyard see the rise of his Xu family.

Outside the door, Li Zhiguo understood what he heard. The Jia family was really smart and knew how to use roundabout tactics.

But think about it, Jia Dongxu failed in learning fishing from him, and now he is learning to project movies from Xu Damao, he will fail again.

Then arrange to learn cooking from Sha Zhu, and if that doesn't work, you can only learn to ride a tricycle from Cai Quanwu.

That would be great. If Jia Dongxu could learn everything in the school, he would become an all-round talent. How great it would be. It is always good to have many skills.

"Second Auntie, I'm leaving and going for a walk."

"Okay, go ahead, I'll listen."

Second Aunt didn't want to leave yet. She wanted to listen to all the gossip before she could go out and brag about it.

"Got it!"

Li Zhiguo left quietly, took Qin Huairu and Xiao Jingru out of the yard, took a good stroll, came back, took a bath and lay down.

Listening to the sound of the sewing machine pedal, I felt like I was about to fall asleep and couldn't help but mutter to myself.

"Jingru!"

"Brother-in-law, I'm here."

A little girl's murmurs were heard nearby.

"No, you're still awake?"

Li Zhiguo was a little confused. After looking carefully, he found that the little girl was still half asleep. This was a natural reaction.

"Huai Ru, it's almost time."

"Here I am, I have a few more needles."

Qin Huairu quickly sewed the clothes, covered the sewing machine and came over.

Soon, the lights went out!

From then on, Li Zhiguo fell into a deep sleep. No matter what time it was the next day, Xiao Jingru would wake him up. What a wonderful life!

Wait, that’s not enough. I have to get my salary tomorrow the 3rd, and I almost forgot something important because of the huge amount of money.

"Huai Ru, let Jing Ru listen to the radio tomorrow morning and wake me up at nine o'clock. I have to go to the factory tomorrow."

"Okay, brother, go to sleep."

Qin Huairu was waving a fan in her hand. It was hot in the first half of the night, and there was a little cool breeze, so the man could sleep well.

"Okay, then you should go to bed early."

Li Zhiguo yawned, turned over, half-huggled Xiao Jingru, and took a rest.

Early in the morning, when Xiao Jingru heard the time announcement on the radio, she quickly ran into the house to wake up her brother-in-law.

"No, it's already nine o'clock!"

Li Zhiguo shook his head, still not fully awake. After he put on his clothes and tightened his belt, he saw Xiao Jingru had arranged his pair of straw sandals.

"Not today. My brother-in-law has to go to the factory to get socks and put on cloth shoes."

Cloth shoes are very comfortable and breathable in summer, and my socks stay dry at the end of the day.

"okay!"

Little Jingru quickly opened the cupboard, found some socks and put them on her brother-in-law.

"Brother-in-law, I'm here!"

Xiao Jingru was used to her conditioned response.

"Uh, well, don't rush to answer, wait for me to finish.

There is still some breakfast in the pot, you can save it for lunch, heat it up, my brother-in-law has something else to do, I guess he won’t be back until later.”

Li Zhiguo gave some instructions, thought about it, and gave the man two cents.

"Keep the money. If you feel bored, go to Beixinqiao Store and have a look. Don't go too far."

"Okay brother-in-law!"

Xiao Jingru happily took the two cents. After her brother-in-law left, she put the money in a small box in the cabinet. She had already saved several cents.

She didn't go anywhere. After listening to the radio for a while, she found a job for herself and took her brother-in-law's straw sandals to the yard to clean them.

"Xiao Jingru, you are so hardworking. Your brother-in-law has not raised you in vain."

Second Aunt was washing clothes. She saw the girl from Old Qin's family busying around with this and that, but she could still take care of the house by herself. She thought that was really good.

"My brother-in-law is so nice. I want to follow him all my life."

After brushing the shoes, Xiao Jingru went to find other work. Time passed quickly throughout the day.

After drying the clothes, the second aunt went to the central courtyard to chat. There were many people there. Recently, she also invited the first aunt to come out and chat. The team is getting bigger and bigger, but Li Zhiguo is not here, so it feels a bit awkward.

……

People are like iron rice and steel. If you don't eat one meal, you will be hungry!

Li Zhiguo left the white flour for breakfast to Xiao Jingru. At noon, he naturally couldn't go hungry, so he went outside the vegetable market to eat soy milk and fried dough sticks.

I also bought some cooked food to take with me so that I can have an extra dish when I eat in the cafeteria with my wife at noon.

But today is the day of the factory closing, and maybe the factory will have some meat dishes, so he can have some too.

As for his stomach problem, you don't need to worry too much about it. This is a reason to let his wife take over the job, not to take his pension.

It is very common these days for family members to take over jobs, and this practice can continue for more than 30 years.

Not only in factories, but also in public institutions, the job can be passed down from grandfather to son and from son to grandson.

"Li Zhiguo, here he comes!"

The security guard greeted me. In fact, there was more than one man guarding the gate, there were also staff from the security department.

"Today is the day for the salary cut, you have to come, I'm waiting for the noodles to be cooked at home."

Li Zhiguo handed out a cigarette and the old man gave out matches, and the two chatted about the recent gossip in the factory.

"Then Jia Dongxu also let his wife take over the job, so he won't come to collect the salary?"

I thought there were many talented people in your hospital, and now you have a second one.

"What kind of salary can he get? He is controlled at home. I won't say anything. I have to queue up again if it's late."

Li Zhiguo rode his bicycle away with a cigarette in his mouth, heading straight for the office building.

As it happened, as soon as I got there, I saw Jia Dongxu's wife standing in the queue.

"Brother Li!"

Chen Bihua shouted hurriedly, saying that she was now on duty and didn’t know whether she would be able to ride Li Ge’er’s bicycle in the future.

"Bihua, why are you queuing here? You're pregnant. Come with me to the front."

Li Zhiguo braked his bicycle and left it there. No one dared to move it.

After getting off the car, he led Dongxu's wife to the front and did not forget to say hello to his fellow workers.

"Look, this isn't the second time Jia Dongxu has been intercepted!"

"It's hard to say. I heard that Jia Dongxu has kidney disease. Maybe... it's hard to say."

"Not really. Chen Bihua isn't pretty. Li Zhiguo has already snatched Qin Huairu away. How can he still like her?"

"Brother, you don't understand this. You must have never read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms."

The workers were chatting and joking, taking advantage of the day when their wages were not paid and making money while standing.

Here, Li Zhiguo received his wife's salary of 33 yuan.

Chen Bihua received two salaries because Jia Dongxu was working in the first half of the month, and the total was exactly the same as the entire month.

It’s all Jia Dongxu’s fault for being stupid. He didn’t show up on the day he was on duty, so he lost a day’s wages.

"Brother Li, are you going back now?"

Chen Bihua put the money away. It was just the little she had. The family had a lot of expenses and life was tight, but there was hope.

"No, I'm going to the factory today. I have something else to do. Let's go together."

"okay!"

Chen Bihua happily followed everyone downstairs, which made the workers point and talk again.

After going downstairs, Li Zhiguo rode his bicycle and took the person directly to the second workshop. He simply rode the bicycle into the parking lot.

"Oh my, Li Zhiguo actually brought Chen Bihua here."

"There must be something wrong here. Jia Dongxu's defeat was not unfair, but he didn't learn his lesson."

The workers at the door started to shout, which made Chen Yun's eyes light up. She said hurriedly, "Qin Huairu, I'll go find Xiaohua and bring your man over to talk. You don't mind, do you?"

"Master, what are you talking about with my man?"

Qin Huairu didn’t quite understand. She cared but couldn’t say it.

"Nothing, just questioning whether he is good to you."

Chen Yun couldn't stay any longer, so she quickly put down her work and rushed to the workshop door, not forgetting to find a little sister to greet Xiaohua and the others.

"Aunt Chen, go get your salary!"

Li Zhiguo had just parked the car against the wall and when he turned around he saw several sisters with something wrong in their eyes.

"I don't want to collect my salary. I have something to talk to you about! Xiaohua and the others will be here soon. Let's go to the warehouse over there and talk."

Chen Yun pulled Li Zhiguo's arm and signaled Chen Bihua with her eyes to go into the workshop quickly, as everything was fine here.

"No, I have something else to do."

Li Zhiguo felt that things were going to be bad. Although he would not suffer any loss, it would affect the large team of workers.

Not long after, Sister Hua came out of the warehouse with a numb look on her face.

Chen Yun was waiting at the door and asked quickly, "How is it, Xiaohua, what's that expression on your face?"

Sister Hua shook her head without saying anything. Then more than a dozen female workers filed out, all with expressionless faces.

"What's wrong with you guys? Weren't you all very happy watching the melons before?"

Chen Yun noticed something was wrong and guessed, "Could it be that the man really has some incredible ability?"

"Ok!"

Sister Hua nodded, and the other female workers also nodded.

This made Chen Yun regret not following in.

After a while, Li Zhiguo came out, also with a blank expression on his face. He said that it would affect the harmony of the workers' families, but he still refused to believe it.

"Well, it's nothing. I have to go back to the workshop. I really have something to do today."

Li Zhiguo wanted to escape.

"Wait, Li Zhiguo, are you really okay with Jia Dongxu's wife? Have you let Qin Huairu down?"

Chen Yun stopped the man and asked him about this.
"I'm not saying anything bad about Aunt Chen, but please stop worrying about it. I'm doing a good job. Chen Bihua is pregnant, what can I do?

Sister Hua, Sister Xiaohong, sisters, I am leaving now. "

He just failed to leave, but he still said hello. It's just like being watched. He doesn't lose anything anyway.

"Hey, slow down on the road."

Sister Hua and the female workers waved their hands, and it was a feast for the eyes today.

"Got it!"

Li Zhiguo really left this time, with the design drawings in his pocket, to see if they could be used.

……

At Hongxing Primary School, Yan Bugui returned to the office with his textbook. He had no classes in the morning, so he could take a short break before going to have lunch.

Suddenly, a female teacher said, "Let's Row the Oars! This song is really well written, especially for the occasion. I also teach Chinese, and I've been to Beihai Park so many times, but I still can't write a song like this."

A teacher nearby answered, "On Children's Day the day before yesterday, nine classes sang this song in chorus, and there were two solo performances.

This song has spread to all primary schools in Beijing, including kindergartens."

"Tell me, who is the lyricist Li Zhiguo? This song not only made money but also gained fame."

"I don't know, but this name is quite interesting. Li Zhiguo, ruling the country? He seems useless, but he has great talent."

Yan Bugui was stunned for a moment, and then quickly asked, "Teacher Yang, the Li Zhiguo you are talking about is the author of Let's Row the Boats?"

"Yes! It's written on the playlist. Look, if you don't believe me, take a look."

The teacher immediately handed over the song list.

Yan Bugui saw that it was indeed a song written by Li Zhiguo, and he could not help but say in astonishment: "It can't be that they have the same name and surname, it can't be such a coincidence!"

"Teacher Yan, from the sound of your voice, do you know Li Zhiguo?"

Some teachers' eyes lit up, thinking it would be great if they could find this person. Li Zhiguo is a very popular composer now.

"There's a guy named Li Zhiguo in the compound where I live. He... he doesn't look like someone who can write songs!"

Yan Bugui pushed the frame of his glasses. This was impossible. All the money in the world could not be earned by one person alone!
(End of this chapter)