Siheyuan: Starting from a Truck Driver

Have you heard of Fengze Garden? "

"Yes, it belongs to Luan Xuetang, a very famous restaurant in Beijing. Uncle often eats there."

"Yes, I often followed my uncle there when I was little. Seeing the endless stream of customers and the boss's cash box couldn't hold all the money, I thought at that time that when I grow up, I would also open a big restaurant." Yu Li's eyes sparkled with envy.

...It turns out that Yu Li has had the dream of opening a restaurant since she was a child, Li Xiaodong thought to himself.

"It's a pity that now restaurants are all operated as public-private partnerships. The owners have become private managers and individuals are not allowed to open restaurants."

Yu Li was feeling a little depressed. She stood up and picked up a rag to wipe the table.

Li Xiaodong stood up, held her fair hand, and said with a smile: "Who knows how the situation will develop in the future? Maybe one day private restaurants will be allowed to operate again. So, if you really want to do this, you must be prepared."

"Preparation? Does opening a restaurant require preparation?" Yu Li agreed with Li Xiaodong's opinion. After all, policies change every year.

Li Xiaodong explained: "Think about it, who do you have to deal with first when you open a restaurant?"

Yu Li frowned and thought for a while, then said hesitantly, "Customer?"

Li Xiaodong shook his head and said, "No, it's the people from the street office and the industrial and commercial taxation department."

Li Xiaodong, who has dual experience, knows very well that lower-level personnel in the bureaucratic system are often more difficult to deal with.

Once a restaurant opens, it may encounter various troubles. How can the business be carried out?

As an old Beijing girl, Yu Li is well aware of the mundane world. She nodded and said, "Do you want me to establish a relationship with them in advance? I have a distant cousin who works in the Youth League Committee."

"No, it's not about building relationships, but integrating into them. Lao Wang's wife in the team works at the Xinjiekou Street Office. I heard that they often recruit temporary workers. You can go and ask about it." Li Xiaodong suggested.

Yu Li had previously considered working as a temporary worker in the street office, and even made a special trip to visit her second aunt, but the result was not ideal.

If you want to become a temporary worker in a street office, you not only need a junior high school education, but you also need to have connections.

The work at the street office seems easy, but the salary is only fifteen yuan a month.

Moreover, there is almost no hope of becoming a regular employee, unlike workers who are promoted according to their level. Even if they work hard for a few years, they can at least reach the fourth level of work and earn more than 40 yuan a month.

Even after working in the street office for ten years, the salary is still only fifteen yuan.

After hearing what Li Xiaodong said, Yu Li had a new idea in her mind.

"But using connections costs money..."

"Your husband is a truck driver. Do you know that truck drivers are short of money?"

Li Xiaodong has many opportunities to make money nowadays, but the money is not important to him.

Yu Li was transferred to work at the street office so that her family could feel more stable.

During the conversation, Li Xiaodong took out a bag of candy from the cupboard and handed it to Yu Li.

"Aren't you going to transfer your household registration to our area today? Getting married is a big happy event, and you should let your colleagues in the street office share in the good fortune."

Taking the candy, Yu Li felt admiration for her husband's meticulousness.

A few candies sweetened her mouth. They were inconspicuous and no one would refuse them.

"Well, I'll go to the street office to handle it after I'm done."

She took the candy and put it into her canvas bag, then turned around and picked up the rag to wipe the table.

...

Li Xiaodong has nothing to do today, so he plans to go to Fatty Yu's house to finalize the "important deal".

After he informed Yu Li, he opened the door.

As soon as my hand touched the cold handlebars, it almost stuck to me, so I pulled it back immediately.

Only then did he notice that the handlebars were covered with frost.

"Honey, bring me a basin of hot water."

Li Xiaodong shouted into the house and Yu Li came out with hot water.

"Oh, there's really a lot of frost today." She wiped the bicycle carefully with a towel.

"Yes, the winter solstice is approaching, and it's getting colder day by day." Li Xiaodong turned back to the house and took out white thread gloves from the canvas bag.

Just as he was about to put them on, he noticed a pair of fluffy "gloves" in the sewing basket.

Oh, the woolen gloves are finally finished?

With warm woolen gloves, there is naturally no need for white yarn gloves.

Li Xiaodong threw the white knitted gloves into the cabinet and picked up the gray woolen gloves.

At first glance, he couldn't help but frown.

The gloves were too big, about the size of underwear.

There are three openings in total, a large opening on the top and two small openings on the bottom.

Li Xiaodong looked at it for a while but still didn't understand, so he shouted to the outside: "Honey, did you knit the gloves without distinguishing between left and right? How come they are connected together?"

That’s right, Yu Li must have mixed them up and knitted the two gloves together.

Yu Li put down the kettle and walked into the house. Seeing the "gloves" in Li Xiaodong's hand, she blushed and smiled, "These are not gloves."

"Not a glove? ...hiss..."

Li Xiaodong shook the "glove" in his hand, and combined with its shape, he couldn't help but gasp.

"This, this can't be underwear!"

"Yeah, that's it! The woolen underwear is very warm. You often run long distances, so wearing this will definitely keep you from feeling cold...cold..."

Yu Li straightened her back proudly.

When she got to the last word, she couldn't utter it and her face turned red.

Li Xiaodong didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Wearing this thing is simply "the devil's temptation".

He forced an awkward but polite smile and pulled Yu Li into the inner room.

"Who asked you to knit woolen underwear?"

"Haitang said that she heard that it is popular among cadres' families to wear woolen trousers, which are very warm. She suggested that I knit a pair for you." Yu Li saw that Li Xiaodong looked upset, so she asked cautiously, "I didn't do anything stupid, did I?"

Oh, this sister-in-law is quite hostile towards her brother-in-law.

Li Xiaodong took Yu Li's hand and comforted her, "You can't say you're stupid. Just imagine, wool can generate electricity. If you wear this thing, wouldn't there be lightning and thunder all the way?!"

"Lightning..."

Yu Li suddenly became nervous and quickly picked up the wool and began to unravel it.

She was afraid that Li Xiaodong would be angry, so she whispered, "Haitang also means well, you must not blame her."

"She's my sister-in-law, what can I do?"

Faced with such a sister-in-law, Li Xiaodong was helpless.

He put on white gloves with a wry smile and went out.

...

After leaving the courtyard.

The light mist has dissipated, and the warm winter sun shines through, dispelling the cold and adding a bit of warmth.

Li Xiaodong rides a bicycle, traveling through the streets full of retro atmosphere.

It's always inappropriate to visit Uncle Yu's house empty-handed.

He walked around the Chaoyang vegetable market, bought two strings of pig intestines, and weighed a pound of dried persimmons coated with white sugar.

The door of Uncle Yu's house was not locked. Li Xiaodong called out twice, but no one responded.

"boom!"

He kicked the door open and pushed his bike into the yard.

After taking a few steps, I smelled the rich aroma of meat coming from the backyard.

This guy, stewing meat early in the morning, Uncle Yu is indeed a unique person.

Entering the backyard, he saw a black coal stove under the eaves.

The fire was blazing, and on top of it sat a rusty steel pot.

The rich aroma of meat mixed with white steam overflows from the gaps in the pot lid, making you salivate.

Uncle Yu and Fatty Yu squatted in front of the stove, bickering like children.

Uncle Yu: "You are such an ignorant kid. Pig intestines should be eaten raw. If they are cooked, the delicious taste will be gone!"

Yu Pangdun: "Dad, I've been eating raw food for half a month, and my burps smell like pig manure. Please let me take a break!"

Uncle Yu: "You, you, are still too young. You don't know how to appreciate delicious food. You only know how to waste good things."

The two heard footsteps and looked up to see Li Xiaodong approaching.

"Hey, Xiaodong is here, why did you bring a gift?"

Uncle Yu's eyes immediately focused on the pig intestines. He ran over quickly, grabbed the pig intestines, and rushed into the house like a whirlwind.

Yu Pangdun was happy at first, but then his expression dimmed.

He stood up and handed a pair of chopsticks to Li Xiaodong.

"Come on, brother-in-law, how about trying it?"

Li Xiaodong saw blood on the turned pig intestines, frowned slightly, and waved his hand: "I have already eaten, enjoy it yourself."

"Well, I won't force you. It doesn't matter if you skip a meal!"

Yu Pangdun seemed to be in a bad mood. He took out a bottle of wine from the house and started to eat it with the steel pot.

With a bite of pig intestine and a sip of wine, half of the pot of pig intestine was quickly finished.

He stirred the pot with chopsticks for a long time, but when he couldn't get any more, he put down his chopsticks awkwardly and sighed deeply.

Li Xiaodong took out a cigarette and handed it to him: "Fatty, I haven't seen you for a few days, what's wrong with you?"

The fat man turned his head to look towards the main room and heard a continuous slurping sound, confirming that his uncle would not show up at this moment.

He dropped his chopsticks, closed the stove lid, pulled Li Xiaodong up, and turned to walk towards the side room.

"Let's go. The old man can't know about this."

...

The fat man lifted the door curtain and entered the room, lit the dim light bulb, and struck a match to light a cigarette.

He lit a cigarette for Li Xiaodong as well. His mouth was slightly open, but he was unable to speak.

This failure made him lose face! So he started chatting: "Brother-in-law, what did you bring back this time? Do you need my help?"

"Can you sell the mortar?" Li Xiaodong asked him sideways.

"Wow, you went to the arsenal!" The fat man couldn't help but give a thumbs up. "You are awesome for delivering supplies to our comrades on the front line."

Li Xiaodong waved his hand and said, "Fatty, you have to think clearly. Dealing in these things is not just a small matter in the pigeon market. Once you are caught, the consequences will be disastrous."

After hearing this, the fat man was even more impressed with Li Xiaodong.

Although this cousin's husband is quite aggressive, he is as steady as a mountain and is bound to be a man who can accomplish great things.

No matter how much money you make, if your life is not safe, everything is in vain.

Perhaps, only this cousin-in-law can solve this crisis.

The fat man stood up, closed the door, brought a small stool and sat in front of Li Xiaodong.

“Brother-in-law, to tell you the truth, I have hit a wall in the pigeon market recently.

When Brother He took the tickets to the market, he was robbed.

All the tickets worth more than 200 yuan were snatched away.

Most of it I borrowed from my peers, who were chasing after the debt.

I even want to go directly to the grain depot to carry grain. I only get two cents for each bag I carry."

The fat man's voice trailed off and he angrily struck the ground with his stick.

He was puzzled as to why Brother He, who had always been cautious, would carry so many tickets with him and still be robbed.

...