Siheyuan: I am different He Yuzhu

Because Yan Bugui was a teacher at Red Star Primary School, he got off work earlier than other residents of No. 95 Siheyuan, so he was the first person to return to Siheyuan No. 95. Before Yan Bugui had time to sit down, Yang Suhua said to him mysteriously, "Master, come with me. I'll show you some good stuff." Then, without saying anything, she took Yan Bugui's hand and led him to the kitchen.

Yan Bugui looked at Yang Suhua with curiosity, wondering what happened to his wife today. Yan Bugui followed Yang Suhua to the kitchen, and Yang Suhua carefully took out a jar from the cabinet. Yan Bugui was puzzled when he saw this, so he asked, "Mother, isn't this the jar where we store eggs? I have already taken out our eggs this month and exchanged them for food. There is nothing in it, why are you moving it?"

Yang Suhua carefully placed the jar on the table without saying anything, opened the lid of the jar and said to Yan Bugui, "Boss, what do you think this is?"

Yan Bugui obediently stretched his head to look into the jar, and couldn't help but said in surprise: "Mom, where did you get so many eggs?" After saying that, Yan Bugui quickly picked up the lid and covered the jar. After covering the lid, Yan Bugui still felt uneasy and looked out the window again. He was relieved to confirm that no one was passing by.

Yang Suhua rolled her eyes at Yan Bugui and said, "These eggs must have been bought. They couldn't have been stolen or robbed. I'm a woman, but I don't have the ability to steal or rob even if I wanted to."

Yan Bugui thought for a moment and asked in surprise: "Don't you need a ticket to buy eggs?"

Yang Suhua couldn't help but laugh after hearing what Yan Bugui said: "Boss, what good things are you thinking? To buy eggs, you need not only tickets but also food coupons, just like before."

Yan Bugui asked in confusion, "Where did you buy so many eggs? Maybe we can buy so many eggs with the egg coupons we have saved for half a year. Did you pick up egg coupons that others dropped on the street? But egg coupons alone cannot buy eggs."

Just as Yan Bugui was thinking hard, Yang Suhua said, "I had just cleaned up the house this morning and was about to go out and sit at the door to rest when I saw Jia Zhang from the middle courtyard running back from outside in a panic. After a while, Jia Zhang ran out again in a panic with a basket. I was curious about what Jia Zhang was doing, so I secretly followed her to take a look. Guess what I saw?"

Yan Bugui followed his wife's lead and asked, "What did you see?"

Yang Suhua went on to say, "I saw Jia Zhang talking to a young man on the side of the road for a few words, and then she went into the alley west of our courtyard gate. After a while, she came out carrying a basket of eggs. I saw Jia Zhang was going into the courtyard, and I was afraid that she would find out that I was following her, so I ran back to our house. After Jia Zhang returned to the middle courtyard, I went out of the courtyard gate and found the young man. At first, the young man did not admit that he sold eggs to Jia Zhang, but he admitted it after I told him the details. After the young man admitted it, I asked around and found out that the eggs he sold to Jia Zhang did not require a ticket and were the same price as in the vegetable market, which was 5 cents per catty. When I heard that the eggs did not require a ticket and were the same price as in the vegetable market, I ran home and took our vegetable basket to buy 5 catties and 2 taels from the young man. Boss, do you think my eggs are worth buying?"

Yan Bugui patiently listened to Yang Suhua's story of buying eggs and said, "Mother, were you seen by others when you went to buy eggs from that boy? By the way, did you ask that boy where he got all those eggs?"

Yang Suhua said with a smug look on his face, "Boss, don't worry. I asked the young man. These eggs were laid by hens secretly raised by farmers in their village. The price of eggs in their village was too low, so they asked the young man and another person to secretly come to the city to sell them. No one saw me buying eggs, but after I bought the eggs, the young man still had some eggs. He asked me to help find the neighbors in the yard and ask if anyone wants eggs."

"I thought that you are the manager of our courtyard. Our family lives a tight life and we don't have much spare energy to help the residents in our courtyard. As long as we tell the people in the courtyard about the young man selling eggs without tickets, we can make the residents in the courtyard owe us a favor without spending any money. I informed the wife of Liu Haizhong in the backyard about the young man selling eggs without tickets and asked her to inform the people in the backyard. I also told the people in front of us one by one. When they heard about it, they were very grateful to me for providing such good news. From now on, you, the manager, will have authority in the courtyard."

After listening to his wife's words, Yan Bugui stroked his chin and thought for a while, then said, "Mother, you did a good job on this matter. By the way, did the young man say he would come again in the future?"

Yang Suhua said quickly, "Don't worry, boss. I've also asked that young man. Their village has entrusted the egg sales to him and another person. They're afraid of accidents, so they want to find a long-term customer. This way they're safe and it saves them trouble. We've already discussed it with him. Next week, when the hens in his village lay enough eggs, he'll deliver them to our yard."

Yan Bugui was immediately happy after hearing this and said, "If that young man can deliver eggs to our yard for a long time, it will be like our family has an additional fixed way to make money every month. I will take the eggs to the pigeon market tonight to see if I can sell them."

Yang Suhua asked curiously, "Boss, why don't you find other people you exchanged food with to exchange eggs for food?"

Yan Bugui said with a smug look on his face: "Now you know. In the past, there was no need to go to the pigeon market for the rationed eggs in our family. Now it is different. If we give this jar of eggs to people who exchange them for food, we will definitely suffer a loss. It is still more cost-effective to take them to the pigeon market."

Yang Suhua quickly praised: "Boss, you are still the best."

Zhang Hu calculated that it was almost time to get off work at the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill, so he went to the gate of No. 95 courtyard house to wait for He Yuzhu to get off work. He wanted to report to He Yuzhu that Du Haoran and Cui Xiaowei had successfully implicated 13 households in the courtyard today. Zhang Hu was sitting on the road diagonally opposite the gate of No. 95 courtyard house, smoking a cigarette out of boredom.

It was unknown how long it had passed before He Yuzhu appeared in Zhang Hu's sight on a bicycle. Zhang Hu shouted to He Yuzhu, "Collecting junk..."

He Yuzhu turned his head and looked at Zhang Hu after hearing his shout. He Yuzhu rode his bicycle to Zhang Hu and said with a smile, "What's wrong, Huzi?"

Zhang Hu quickly whispered, "Boss, I assigned the task you gave me last night to the two brothers after you left. This morning I brought the two brothers to your courtyard, but I didn't expect that the two brothers sold eggs to 13 households in your courtyard in less than an hour. I heard from the young man that only an old lady in the backyard and Yi Zhong's family in the middle courtyard didn't buy any."

He Yuzhu was stunned after hearing Zhang Hu's words. He didn't expect that the two young men were so brave and took down all the neighbors in the courtyard so quickly. He Yuzhu thought for a while and said, "We don't need to worry about those two families anymore. These 13 families are enough. Will they ask for a lot of eggs next time?"

Zhang Hu replied, "Boss, you guessed right. When we trade next week, each of them bid 5 kilograms. So we need to prepare at least 65 kilograms of eggs. When we agree to trade next week, I will have those two guys deliver them."

He Yuzhu touched his chin and said, "Humph, 5 kilograms, that's because they haven't tasted the sweetness yet. Once they have tasted the sweetness, let alone 5 kilograms, they will dare to take 50 kilograms. How about this, next week you ask the two little brothers to bring 130 kilograms of eggs directly, and prepare 10 kilograms for each of their families. In the future, these people will help us sell eggs, so that the brothers don't have to go out and show their faces."

Zhang Hu asked with some concern: "Boss, are you saying you want to cut off our old customers?"

He Yuzhu smiled and said, "We will continue to cooperate with our old customers, but we will no longer develop new customers. We will let them sell the eggs in the future. With their 13 households as our downline, we can easily sell thousands of kilograms of eggs a month. By the way, when the volume increases in the future, don't let the brothers deliver the eggs to our door. If they often run to our yard with so many things, it will easily attract the attention of other residents nearby. When the time comes, find a place outside the city and arrange a time for them to pick them up themselves. Anyway, they don't have to go to work and have too much time."

"Okay, I remember."

"Huzi, do you have anything else to do? If not, go back quickly."

"Boss, I came here to discuss this matter with you. Now that we've finished talking, I'll go back first." After saying that, Zhang Hu rode his tricycle towards the scrap yard.

He Yuzhu pushed his bicycle up the steps, but he didn't see Yan Bugui, the gatekeeper of the courtyard, at the door. He Yuzhu pushed his bicycle past Yan Bugui's house in the front yard and couldn't help but take a curious look. It seems that Yan Bugui's mind is on the eggs he bought today. Maybe Yan Bugui will give up the job of the gatekeeper of the courtyard after he makes money from eggs. Not long after Du Haoran's weekly supply of eggs stabilized, Yan Bugui had to sneak to the pigeon market to sell eggs every night. In order to ensure sleep, Yan Bugui really gave up his duties as the gatekeeper of the courtyard, but used all the rest time to make up for the sleep he didn't get at night. From then on, Yan Bugui gave up his authority as the gatekeeper, stepped down from the altar and became an ordinary housekeeper.

Not long after He Yuzhu returned home, Jia Xudong and Yi Zhonghai walked to the courtyard together. Jia Xudong did not see Yan Bugui at the gate of the courtyard, so he smiled and said to Yi Zhonghai: "Master, it's a rare day today. The door god of our courtyard is not here."

Yi Zhonghai said with a straight face: "Xudong, don't make fun of the Third Uncle. The Third Uncle is your elder, you should respect your elders. If the Third Uncle hears about it, he will definitely come after you."

Jia Xudong quickly explained: "Master, it's just the two of us! There are no outsiders. I only dare to say this in front of you. Besides, in our courtyard, apart from my mother, I only recognize you and Master's wife as my elders. The others are just ordinary neighbors."

Yi Zhonghai couldn't help but smile happily when he heard Jia Xudong say this: "Xudong, even if this is the case, you can't call the Third Uncle the door god anymore. It will make him hate you if he knows this."

Jia Xudong nodded quickly and said, "Okay, Master, I will definitely change in the future and never call you Third Uncle the Door God again."

As they were talking, Yi Zhonghai and Jia Xudong had already walked to the middle courtyard. Jia Xudong said hello to Yi Zhonghai and walked towards his home. As soon as Jia Xudong entered the house, he was pulled by Jia Zhangshi and called to the inner room. Jia Zhangshi whispered to Jia Xudong: "Xudong, today I bought 3 jin of eggs without tickets. The price is the same as the price with tickets in the vegetable market. Go to bed quickly after dinner, and take the eggs to the pigeon market to sell them in the middle of the night."

After hearing what Jia Zhang said, Jia Xudong said reluctantly, "Mom, there's no need to go to the pigeon market for just three pounds of eggs. Let's keep them for ourselves. Didn't you always complain that the vegetables at home were not nutritious? Why do you want to sell them now that we have eggs and don't want to eat them?"

Jia Zhang said hurriedly, "Xudong, listen to me first. I heard that eggs without tickets are 8 cents a pound in the pigeon market. You can make 9 cents by selling these three pounds of eggs. 9 cents can buy a pound of free pork in the pigeon market. How can eggs be as delicious as pork? When the time comes, you can sell the eggs and buy a pound of pork. Remember to return the remaining money to mom. When the egg seller comes again in a few days, I will buy a few pounds from him. This way, we can eat pork for free in the future."

After hearing what Jia Zhang said, Jia Xudong couldn't help but said happily: "Mom, this method you mentioned is good. I will go to bed after dinner. Remember to call me then."

Jia Zhang said, "Xudong, you and Huairu live in the same room, so you should let Huairu call you. You know how deep my mother sleeps, and she usually sleeps until dawn."