Siheyuan: Starting from a Truck Driver

"Mom, I feel a little dizzy, let me go back to my room and rest for a while." After saying that, Qin Huairu returned to the inner room, closed the door, changed her wet pants, lay on the bed and looked up at the ceiling. She was thinking, there seemed to be some meat in Li Xiaodong's room, should she go and borrow half a catty tonight?

The next morning, before daybreak, Li Xiaodong got up early. After a quick wash, he headed straight to the pigeon market. This time, he did not set up a stall immediately, but started to wander around the pigeon market.

After a walk around, Li Xiaodong confirmed that the goods in the market were not much cheaper than those in the cooperative and the vegetable market, and some were even more expensive. The only advantage was that no coupons were required.

——With a little thought, you will understand.

In this era of material scarcity, even if you have money and coupons, it will be of no use if the cooperative has no goods.

This is also the source of the salesperson's arrogance.

I just won’t sell it to you, what can you do to me?

Then, Li Xiaodong purchased his first household appliance - a flashlight, and also bought five kilograms of millet and three kilograms of peanuts.

Finally, he stopped in front of a pork stall.

The man selling pork is an old man.

He wore a tattered felt hat and a grey cloth belt around his waist. His cotton-padded jacket was covered with patches, and through the dim light, the grey cotton wool inside could be vaguely seen. Li Xiaodong knew that this was the standard attire for members of the Beijing suburbs.

According to the rules, members are not allowed to slaughter pigs privately and can only sell them to food stations.

The price is naturally much lower than the market price.

A pound of fat in the market costs 0.78 yuan, while the purchase price at the food station is only around 0.3 yuan.

As a result, some communities would secretly slaughter fat pigs and sell them in the market.

——Every pig is recorded and inspected regularly. Once it is discovered that the pig has been slaughtered privately, the person will be criticized and notified.

But this does not pose a problem for those members who have the wisdom to survive.

In this era, there were many wild wolves and children were often snatched away in their sleep.

It is common for a big fat pig to be carried away by a wolf in the woods.

As for evidence, do pig bones count?

The old man squatted on the ground, puffing on his pipe. His dark face seemed blurry in the smoke.

Well, no wonder the old man didn’t wear a mask like other people in the market, it turns out he had a plan to protect himself.

Li Xiaodong searched for a while in front of the stall and found a piece of pork that was about ten centimeters wide and striped red and white.

This kind of fat is perfect as a gift.

He picked out a thinner piece and handed it to the old man.

The old man said nothing, put his pipe on the ground, and weighed two pieces of meat with an old scale.

Then he gestured.

The fat meat weighs 5.2 jin, and the lean meat weighs 1.3 jin.

The two pieces of meat cost less than five dollars in total.

After paying, watching the old man counting the money one by one under the dim kerosene lamp, Li Xiaodong turned and walked towards the darkness at the entrance of the alley, and casually put the items he had just bought - a flashlight and meat - into the space warehouse.

——After Qin Huairu came to borrow eggs, Li Xiaodong realized that it would be more appropriate to act cautiously.

Carrying so much meat back to the courtyard would be too conspicuous.

At this moment, the sky was slightly bright. Li Xiaodong caught a glimpse of a faint pink in the east, and he knew that the market was about to end.

He quickly packed up his stall.

Just like yesterday, the crystal radio quickly attracted many buyers who were interested in this radio that did not require batteries.

A No. 2 battery costs 20 cents and an industrial coupon, which may not seem like much, but the key is that it is a consumable.

Even if most people own a radio, they don't turn it on very often.

The ore machine does not require batteries, what a great thing!

Soon someone asked about the price, and Li Xiaodong was about to make an offer.

A voice mixed with surprise and anger came from the crowd: "Didn't you say yesterday that there was only that ore machine?"

He looked up and saw that the person bidding the price was still the middle-aged man from yesterday.

At this moment, the middle-aged man is like a weak woman who has been emotionally deceived by a heartless man, full of grievances and anger, but also a hint of helplessness.

Li Xiaodong glanced at him sideways and stretched out a hand firmly.

Then he extended another finger.

——There is only one left, fifty dollars, it’s up to you whether you want it or not!

The middle-aged man shouted loudly: "Don't believe him, he said the same thing yesterday."

He also wanted to buy a mineral machine, but he felt the price of fifty yuan was too high.

Well, as long as no one else is buying, the guy will definitely lower the price.

His idea was good, but he underestimated the charm of the ore machine.

And no one is sure if this is the only one.

Once you miss it, you will regret it.

An old man with silver hair and a cadre-like appearance rushed into the crowd. He was so anxious that he almost knocked down the middle-aged man and went straight to the stall.

He took out fifty yuan and handed it to Li Xiaodong: "This thing doesn't need batteries. I can finally listen to the radio all day without my wife nagging me.

It’s a deal! It’s a deal! It’s a deal! "

The ore machine was sold quickly amid the middle-aged man's unwilling eyes.

Li Xiaodong took the money, didn't bother to pay attention to the middle-aged man, and turned to leave the market.

After walking a few steps, the middle-aged man caught up with him and smiled: "Comrade, do you have any more ore machines?"

Li Xiaodong glared at him.

——Aren’t you planning to buy it?

The middle-aged man rubbed his hands awkwardly and swallowed his saliva: "I don't have enough money today, will you come tomorrow?"

Li Xiaodong ignored him, quickened his pace, and disappeared in the morning mist in a blink of an eye.

——It seems that we have to go to another market tomorrow.

Li Xiaodong did not go straight back to the courtyard, but turned into the adjacent courtyard.

Knocked on Matchmaker Wang's door.

After liberation, the matchmaking profession has declined.

The original matchmakers have also completed their transformation.

They became female workers and lived a self-reliant life.

However, traditional customs still have strong inertia.

People believe that without a matchmaker, a marriage would be difficult to complete.

Therefore, the female workers secretly returned to their old jobs as matchmakers.

Matchmaker Wang is a famous matchmaker in the neighborhood and is known as the number one matchmaker in the compound.

She has an excellent eloquence and can make the dead seem alive.

She introduced most of the young men and women in the nearby neighborhood.

For example, Lou Xiaoe and Xu Damao, Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu, Yan Jiefang and Yu Li...

So when she heard that Li Xiaodong wanted to propose to Yu Li, Matchmaker Wang thought she had heard it wrong. She rubbed her ears, her face full of confusion.

"Isn't Yu Li betrothed to Yan Jiefang? I personally arranged for them to be together two months ago. You must have remembered it wrongly. It could be her sister Yu Haitang, right?"

Yu Haitang's figure appeared in Li Xiaodong's mind. She was a thin girl.

She always carries a pair of aces with her, which makes Li Xiaodong worried about the nutritional problems her children may face in the future.

These problems can be compensated by milk powder.

The key is that Yu Haitang is too upright, too positive in his thinking, and too active when facing a storm.

Clearly, she was not an ideal partner.

"Yes, it's Yu Li."

Realizing that Matchmaker Wang was in a difficult position, Li Xiaodong had to explain the whole story in detail.

After listening to Li Xiaodong's narration, Wang the matchmaker's eyes widened and her mouth was wide open in surprise: "Yan Bugui actually did such a shameful thing. Fortunately, you are rational. Otherwise, if this matter spreads, my reputation will be ruined."

The matchmaker's responsibility is not only to bring people together, but also to maintain the reputation of both parties.

If a major mistake is made, her reputation will be damaged and her business volume will naturally be affected.

There are a few colleagues from the next door neighborhood who are eyeing the business of the Siheyuan. They often come here with small stools to chat with the elderly.

In Wang the matchmaker's view, Li Xiaodong helped her avoid a possible serious work crisis.

"Then I'll leave it to you. Here's half a pound of pork."

Li Xiaodong took out the pork wrapped in newspaper from the canvas bag and handed it to the matchmaker.

Matchmaker Wang's smile was like a spring breeze that thawed the frost. Her wrinkled face relaxed and she murmured, "Too many. I'm so sorry."

Although she was over fifty, she was still agile and quickly took the newspaper and put it in the cupboard.

"Don't worry, I will go to the Yu family to propose marriage this afternoon. I guarantee that you will be able to marry Yu Li next month."

Usually, the matchmaker’s reward is two pounds of corn flour, and occasionally she will give her pork, but it is only half a pound.

This time, Li Xiaodong spent one and a half kilograms, which seemed particularly generous.

Ding Dong, congratulations to Comrade Li Xiaodong for being promoted to Super Platinum Member.

After leaving the compound and returning to the house, Li Xiaodong was just about to drink some water from the enamel jug when a thin figure suddenly rushed in at the door.

The person who came was Yan Bugui.

"Snapped!"

He pulled a wad of bills from his pocket and slammed them on the table angrily.

"Return Yu Li to my son Yan Jiefang, and I'll give you five dollars!"

Yan Bugui's generosity was beyond Li Xiaodong's expectations.

Asking someone who can live on a peanut as food for a week to pay five dollars is almost like asking for his life.

Yan Bugui was reluctant to spend the five dollars, as he was really forced into a corner by the three aunts.

In the past two days, Auntie has been constantly complaining about his stupid things and even stopped cooking for him.

So annoying!

He only hoped that Li Xiaodong would accept the money and return Yu Li to Yan Jiefang.

Five dollars is enough to buy seven or eight kilograms of pork.

Isn’t Li Xiaodong tempted?

However, Li Xiaodong is now wealthy and generous. Would he be tempted by this little money?

Not to mention five dollars, even fifty thousand dollars is impossible.

Even if you raise the price as much as you can, it won’t work!

He stood up, chuckled, stuffed five dollars into Yan Bugui's coat pocket, and straightened his collar.

"Uncle, money can't solve all problems for some things."

My marriage to Yu Li is a done deal, no one can shake it!"

His purpose was to make Yan Bugui understand that being too shrewd would lead to big losses.

"you you……"

Yan Bugui's face turned red with shame. Seeing that Li Xiaodong disagreed, he had to change his strategy.

"Don't you still owe Yi Zhonghai a hundred yuan? Uncle San can help you keep your house."

"Thank you very much for your concern, Uncle San. The debt still needs to be repaid. I will return the money to Uncle on time."

Li Xiaodong stretched out his hand and made a gesture to invite the guest to leave.

Frustrated, Yan Bugui muttered as he walked: "Is it so easy to earn a hundred yuan? Wait and see when your boasting will burst."

In the following days, Li Xiaodong went around several pigeon markets and sold all his crystal radios.

His wallet finally broke through the three hundred yuan mark.

If you have money, you naturally want to enjoy life.

Having learned from the last lesson, Li Xiaodong always closes the doors and windows before cooking, and the gaps have been filled with mud.

Stir-fried pork with old Fenjiu makes life more enjoyable.

As the old saying goes, when you are well fed and warm, you will think about sex.

When Li Xiaodong thought of Yu Li, his heart became hot.

This little girl is really mouth-watering. Not only does she look outstanding, but she also has an amazing figure.

With sufficient storage space, there is no need to worry about raising children in the future.

Marry her as soon as possible, have seven or eight children, and form a football team. With strict training, maybe we can sweep across Asia and participate in the 1982 World Cup in Spain.

I woke up in the morning with a lot of thoughts in my mind and my eyelids started to twitch unconsciously.

Just then, there was a noise in the yard.

"Yan Jiefang, your Yan family has done such a shameful thing, and you still have the nerve to say that we are unreasonable?"

"Yu Haitang, keep your voice down. It's not good for this kind of thing to get out."

Yu Haitang?

Did the Yu family send Yu Haitang to the Yan family to cancel the engagement?