Siheyuan: Starting from a Truck Driver

The next morning, Li Xiaodong did not go to the market to set up his stall as usual, but slept the whole morning.

It was not until the warm sunlight woke him up through the window that he lazily got up, put on his slippers, picked up the enamel basin and prepared to go to the yard to fetch water.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw Yi Zhonghai blocking the door, followed by Yan Bugui, Jia Zhangshi, Qin Huairu and Sha Zhu. They all looked serious, as if they regretted not having crossed the Yalu River with the old soldiers.

Seeing Li Xiaodong, Yi Zhonghai immediately said: "Today is the day to repay the debt. Please pay back the money I lent you before. If you can't pay it back, I will not show mercy and will take back your house."

Yi Zhonghai decided not to hide it anymore and to reveal his cards directly, but he was surprised to find that Li Xiaodong's face did not show the expected fear, but instead had a faint smile.

Li Xiaodong responded: "It is only natural to pay back debts. But it seems inappropriate for an old man to come to collect debts so early in the morning, right?"

At this time, Yi Zhonghai realized his mistake. According to folk customs, it is not appropriate to collect debts at noon, and debts will not be paid until the New Year. He was like Huang Shiren, coming to collect debts early in the morning, which was a real miscalculation.

He secretly complained about Yan Bugui's urging, and his momentum suddenly weakened. He smiled awkwardly, pursed his lips, and wanted to explain. However, Yan Bugui took the lead and said angrily: "Xiaodong, can't you afford it? If you can't afford it, move out of this courtyard quickly. There is still time, and you can find a place to live, so you don't end up on the street."

——Alas, Yan Jiefang hasn't had a drop of water for five days, all because of Li Xiaodong. The sooner he is driven away, the sooner I can feel at ease.

And if Li Xiaodong really married Yu Li and hung around in the yard every day, Yan Jiefang would probably regret it a lot, right?

As soon as Yan Bugui finished speaking, Li Xiaodong glanced at him and asked, "Uncle San, do I owe you money? The protagonist hasn't even spoken yet, but you're so anxious. What does that mean?"

Yan Bugui glared angrily but could not say anything to refute.

"Well, Xiaodong, the uncle did come early, but what you owe...uh..." Yi Zhonghai's voice suddenly stopped here, because a thick stack of RMB suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Uncle, this is 110 yuan, can you count it?"

——No matter what Yi Zhonghai's intentions were, it is an undeniable fact that he lent money to Li Xiaodong when his father was seriously ill. Li Xiaodong knew how to be grateful and would not confuse right and wrong.

Facing the pile of banknotes, Yi Zhonghai didn't dare to reach out to take it. This was 100 yuan, how could Li Xiaodong earn it so quickly?

"Isn't that enough?" Li Xiaodong raised the corner of his mouth slightly, took out another big unity and handed it over.

"hiss……"

At this moment, even Jia Zhang, who was hiding behind, could no longer remain silent.

She nudged Qin Huairu gently with her elbow.

"Wife, did you see that? Li Xiaodong is really rich. You should get closer to him in the future."

Qin Huairu: “…”

Yi Zhonghai also came to his senses at this time, took the banknotes, counted them, and took out two and returned them.

"Uncle was just joking. Your father and I are old friends. How could I take your house?"

"It's not easy for you to live alone, so forget about the extra money."

Li Xiaodong gazed at Yi Zhonghai deeply, secretly praising him in his heart, this was the uncle who had been in charge of the courtyard for a long time, he was indeed experienced and meticulous.

He took the money and put it in his pocket without any hesitation.

"It's so cold, it's inappropriate for everyone to stand outside. Come in and have a cup of hot tea."

In response to Li Xiaodong's invitation, Yi Zhonghai stepped into the house without hesitation.

"Okay, I've watched you grow up since you were little, and I know you're not an ordinary guy. If you have any difficulties in the future, just come and talk to me, your uncle."

"Uncle, you are the head of our courtyard and my father's friend. If I don't look for you, who else can I look for? Just don't think I'm annoying when the time comes."

"What are you talking about, kid? Uncle is not that kind of person."

The enemies who were at loggerheads just now became friendly in the blink of an eye.

This scene left Qin Huairu and Sha Zhu, who were outside the house, stunned.

As for Yan Bugui, when he saw Li Xiaodong taking out money, he had already slipped away.

He had to quickly find matchmaker Wang to help Yan Jiefang find another partner.

Sha Zhu looked at their intimacy and muttered sourly, "Didn't uncle want to drive Li Xiaodong away just now? Why are they acting like father and son now?"

Jia Zhang spat with disdain: "People call you Shazhu, and it's true. Isn't it obvious? Yi Zhonghai can't drive Li Xiaodong away, so naturally he doesn't want to make enemies."

"Impossible, uncle is not that kind of person. Uncle just sees that Xiaodong has a hard time living alone." Sha Zhu still didn't believe it.

What a fool! He still thinks Yi Zhonghai is a good person!

Jia Zhang was unwilling to talk to him.

Qin Huairu was confused about another thing: "Mom, Li Xiaodong gave uncle 120 yuan just now, but uncle only took 100 yuan. Why? Is it really for the sake of old Li's face?"

In Qin Huairu's opinion, Yi Zhonghai's behavior just now seemed stupid.

That's twenty yuan, and you can buy more than forty kilograms of corn flour.

Jia Zhang snorted coldly: “Wife, you are smart, but you are confused today.

If Yi Zhonghai accepted the twenty dollars, wouldn't that be considered usury?

Loan sharking is the business of the landlords and the rich.

Now is a new era. If the neighbors report him to the street office, his position as an uncle will be in jeopardy.

Qin Huairu thought about it and felt that it was true. She gave a thumbs up and praised: "Mom, you are really amazing. You grasped the key to the problem right away."

Jia Zhang straightened her back and said, "It's nothing. After all, I've been through more than the rice you've eaten.

I am an old widow, unemployed and without any skills, how can I survive in this capital city?"

In fact, she was also confused in her heart.

Just now, Li Xiaodong took the initiative to give Yi Zhonghai twenty more yuan. Was it intentional or unintentional?

If it wasn't intentional, it would be fine.

But if he intended to plot against Yi Zhonghai, then this kid's mind was too deep.

It may not be easy to make him the second Shazhu.

While thinking about this, Jia Zhang raised her eyes and glanced at Sha Zhu.

I saw Sha Zhu still lowered his head and muttered: "Grandpa would never hurt anyone, he was just doing this for Xiaodong's good."

What a fool! Jia Zhang curled her lips in disdain and gave Qin Huairu a look.

Qin Huairu received the signal, gently pushed Shazhu's arm, and said softly: "Yuzhu, we are out of coal briquettes at home. Banggeng woke up from the cold last night. Go borrow a flatbed truck and go to the coal briquette factory on the outskirts of the city to buy me twenty coal briquettes."

——The mechanized coal briquette factory on the outskirts of the city is more than ten miles away from the courtyard. In order to facilitate the residents, the coal briquette factory will deliver the goods to their doorstep.

However, the door-to-door service will cost one cent more per briquette.

Qin Huairu thought the price was too high.

Besides, twenty briquettes only cost four dollars.

If I let Sha Zhu buy it, would he have the nerve to ask for money?

Sha Zhu often bought coal briquettes for the Jia family and never accepted any money, so he understood Qin Huairu's intention.

He wanted to find an excuse to refuse, but when he saw Qin Huairu's pitiful appearance, his heart softened.

"After I help Yu Shui make breakfast, I will go to my second uncle's house to borrow a flatbed truck. We cannot let Bang Geng get cold no matter what."

He swore that this was the last time he would buy coal briquettes for the Jia family.

...

After chatting in the room for a while, Yi Zhonghai stood up and prepared to leave.

Li Xiaodong personally saw him to the door.

The two exchanged a few more animated words, and the neighbors all saw them getting along harmoniously.

Li Xiaodong waved to Yi Zhonghai until he left.

Such an action made Yi Zhonghai laugh and cry.

This guy's acting is better than his, and he's a difficult character to deal with.

The house issue was hopeless, and it would be foolish to create new hatred.

...

after a few days.

Li Xiaodong purchased raw materials from the chemical materials store twice and manufactured twenty ore machines.

He went around the pigeon market in the capital and found only one ore machine left unsold.

I plan to sell this last one and then quit completely.

After deducting the one hundred yuan he paid back to Yi Zhonghai, his savings had exceeded one thousand yuan.

In this era, such wealth is comparable to that of millionaires in later generations.

However, in this era, when money exceeds a certain amount, its actual value is discounted.

No matter how rich you are, without the corresponding status, you cannot guarantee that you can eat meat every day, buy a TV, or buy a house, let alone party every night.

Of course, you can also do it secretly.

But don't forget that even though there are no cameras at this time, the streets and alleys are full of intelligent biological monitoring devices.

If your consumption exceeds your income, the biological monitoring system will sound an alarm and community managers will come to investigate immediately.

If the source of funds cannot be explained, at best, it may be regarded as speculation, and at worst, you may be accused of espionage, with disastrous consequences.

Therefore, in this era, one must proceed with caution.

...

Dawn.

A light mist filled the air and everything was asleep.

Li Xiaodong brought the last mining machine to a pigeon market on the outskirts of the city.

Ever since he was harassed by the middle-aged man last time, Li Xiaodong adopted the strategy of changing locations to avoid being deliberately tracked.

This is the last pigeon market in the capital.

When he sold the machine, his career came to an end.

Li Xiaodong carefully placed the mining machine on the newspaper.

As soon as he raised the lantern, he spotted the familiar middle-aged man among the flowing crowd.

This guy has been following me in several markets. Why is he so persistent?

When the middle-aged man saw Li Xiaodong, joy showed on his face and he ran towards him, breathing heavily.

Li Xiaodong shouted: "Don't come over here!"

"Comrade, I finally found you. I searched for a long time in the pigeon market in the capital."

"This mining machine costs fifty dollars, right? I want to buy it!"

Seeing that Li Xiaodong looked unhappy, the middle-aged man quickly took out a stack of banknotes from his pocket and handed it over.

Oh, do you finally understand?

As long as there is a buyer, it will be sold. Li Xiaodong was about to take the money.

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the distance.

"Oh no! The patrol is coming. Everyone, run!"

The shout was like the sound of a hammer, breaking the silence of the market and spreading in all directions.

The sellers rolled up their stalls and ran away.

But the police were well prepared and attacked from both sides, instantly capturing several of their colleagues.

The market fell into chaos and mess in an instant.

Amid the noise, Li Xiaodong heard a rough voice: "With so many people gathered around, it must be a big deal. Go and stop that guy."

Alas, even a prosperous business is a sin.

The crowd seemed to be aware of the approach of the police and fled in all directions.

Obviously, the middle-aged man was a novice. He stood there and just looked back into the distance.

This calmness is truly admirable.

At this moment, Li Xiaodong had put away the newspaper and the mining machine.

He had intended to take advantage of the chaos to escape, leaving the middle-aged man behind to face the police and give an explanation.

But he still hesitated for a second and kicked the middle-aged man: "Run, idiot!"

The police acted quickly and were already within reach.

The black pistol flashed coldly under the light of the lantern. Li Xiaodong's attention was attracted and he had a premonition that he was about to face difficulties.

In desperation, he could only use his unique skills.

"Look, there's a shooting star in the sky."

Li Xiaodong took out a bag of lime from his arms and threw it into the air.

White lime fell like rain, instantly blurring the vision of the people below.

"Shit, shit, it's quicklime, everyone close your eyes!"

In the chaos, Li Xiaodong slipped away quietly.

For a middle-aged man, he has done his best, and it all depends on how smart he is.

After running in the dark for a while and making sure there were no footsteps behind him, Li Xiaodong went into an alley and planned to clean the white lime off his body.

Walking on the street with a head full of white ash is undoubtedly providing clues to the police.

As soon as he entered the alley, he saw a man patting lime on his head.

The man seemed surprised to see someone coming in. He even forgot to put on his cotton mask and raised his head straight up.

Under the dim light of the street light, Li Xiaodong rubbed his eyebrows in annoyance.

Isn’t this guy the middle-aged man?

Although he is not wearing a mask now and his clothes are still in place, Li Xiaodong still remembers his size and height clearly.

After all, this guy had followed him to many pigeon markets, and nothing good seemed to happen every time they met, so Li Xiaodong decided to retreat.

"You are busy, I'll go to another alley." He said and turned around.

However, the middle-aged man quickly caught up. "Comrade, don't go."

Li Xiaodong turned around, put his hands in his trouser pockets, and looked alert: "Why, do you want to fight?"

"No, no, I just want to buy your mineral water machine." The middle-aged man realized that Li Xiaodong had misunderstood and hurried to explain.

Li Xiaodong pretended to be puzzled: "Ore machine? What is that?"

“No, you misunderstood…” The middle-aged man scratched his messy hair and said in a low voice: “Comrade, I am not a policeman.”

Li Xiaodong left without looking back.

Whoever he is, it's safer to keep a distance from such a bad-luck person.

Just after taking two steps, the middle-aged man stopped him again. This time, he did not wait for Li Xiaodong to speak, and hurriedly took out a work permit from his trouser pocket.

"Comrade, look at this, I really need a mineral machine." He said anxiously.

Li Xiaodong glanced at him for a while and found that his expression was sincere and did not seem fake, so he listened carefully for a moment. After confirming that there was no one around, he stretched out his left hand to take the work permit.

The work permit was wrapped in a black cardboard with clear words printed inside: "Qinghua University, Geology Major, Professor Sun Dongfang."