Siheyuan: I am different He Yuzhu

He Yuzhu came out of the steel mill after work at noon. This time, He Yuzhu did not go directly back to Sijiucheng, but walked eastward. He Yuzhu wanted to go to the countryside in Chaoyang District to pick up bargains. He Yuzhu came to Niujia Village, his first stop today. Before He Yuzhu entered the village, he saw a group of people at the entrance of the village and walked over.

"Young man, what do you do?" The women who were standing together and chatting at the village entrance asked He Yuzhu when they saw him.

"Sister, I collect used goods." He Yuzhu replied with a smile.

"What kind of old stuff do you collect? Everything?" a woman asked.

"Sister, those who collect everything are collecting junk. The second-hand items I collect are old porcelain, broken tables, chairs and benches that have been used at home. I prefer things with a sense of age. If any of you have any second-hand items that you don't need, you can take them out and show them to me. The price is definitely a good deal." He Yuzhu patiently explained to others.

"Okay, young man, wait here for a while, I'll go back and get it for you." An older sister stood up and said to He Yuzhu.

"Okay, big sister, I'm not in a hurry."

The other women nearby were waiting to see what price He Yuzhu would offer for the item the woman took out. If the price was right, they would go home and get it. While waiting, they saw He Yuzhu's pretty face and started teasing him.

"Young man, how old are you this year? Are you married? Do you want me to find you a wife? My niece is the most beautiful girl in our village."

"Zhang Cuihua, forget it. Your niece is the most beautiful girl in your village, just brag as much as you can."

Before He Yuzhu could speak, someone immediately exposed her lie. He Yuzhu looked at the enthusiasm of the sisters around her and said helplessly: "Sister, thank you for your kindness. I am only 18 this year and not yet old enough to get married. Besides, my father has already arranged a marriage for me. When I am old enough in two years, I will marry my wife."

"You are only 18, how come you are so tall? You are so tall, do you have a big appetite?" another woman said.

"Zhao Daju, are you still wondering if that thing is big because I'm tall?" A woman drove the car fiercely.

"My appetite is just a little bigger than that of normal people." He Yuzhu's face started to turn red when he heard the women's fierce words. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart that married women are just tough. They drive away when they disagree with something, and even weld the car door shut so that people can't get out of the car.

"The boy is blushing, he is shy." The women laughed when they saw He Yuzhu's face turning red.

Just when He Yuzhu was feeling embarrassed, the older sister who had gone home to get something appeared and brought a chair to He Yuzhu.

"Hey boy, what do you think of this chair in my house?"

He Yuzhu was grateful to the elder sister for showing up in time to prevent him from being molested by the women. He Yuzhu took a quick look and touched it, and immediately found that the official hat chair was made of huanghuali wood. He Yuzhu didn't expect to encounter a big deal just after arriving. Although He Yuzhu was excited, his face did not change at all, and he still spoke to the elder sister in a calm tone.

"Sister, your chair looks quite old. It looks a bit dirty on the outside, but overall it's in good condition."

"Then will you accept it?" The eldest sister asked immediately before He Yuzhu finished speaking.

"Take it. If I'm not mistaken, you should have another chair like this at home. The two chairs are a set. How about I give you a maximum of 10 for one chair?" He Yuzhu looked embarrassed.

"How much?" the woman asked in disbelief.

"Sister, 10 yuan. If you think it's too little, just move back. I can't afford any more." He Yuzhu said again.

"Young man, you are not lying to me, are you? You have to give me 10 for this broken chair. We can't lie to people. If you really offer 10, I have another one at home, and I will sell that one to you too." When the woman heard that He Yuzhu offered 10 to buy her broken chair, she felt like she had met a big fool. She was afraid that He Yuzhu would go back on his word, so she quickly said something final.

"I came all the way from the old city to your village, how could I do that just to cheat you? Here, here is 10 yuan, keep it safe." Seeing that the elder sister didn't believe what he said, He Yuzhu immediately took out 10 yuan from his pocket and handed it to the elder sister.

The woman looked at the 10 yuan in her hand and realized that He Yuzhu had not lied to her. She immediately said, "Wait a minute, young man. I'll go home and bring you the other one." After saying that, she ran home immediately for fear that He Yuzhu would change his mind.

The women nearby were shocked to see that a broken chair could be sold for 10 yuan, and they began to surround He Yuzhu and ask him questions.

"Young man, my table and her chairs are the same set, they were made when we played Landlord. Do you want some?"

"I have a set of teapots from a landlord's house. Do you want them?"

"I have two large vases at home, would you like some?"

He Yuzhu interrupted the women and motioned for them to listen to him. "Ladies, don't be anxious. Listen to me first. I haven't seen the things, so I can't say whether I can take them. If you really want to buy them, take them out and let me see them. As long as they are old, I will take them."

When the group heard this, they all ran home immediately, fearing that if they were too late, He Yuzhu would not accept the money. The woman who sold the chair to He Yuzhu returned home and immediately said to her husband, "Master, hurry up and find the things you got from the landlord's house."

"What's wrong, old lady?" the man asked in confusion. Why did his wife become so strange when she came back after moving a broken chair out?

"There's a junk collector in our village. I just carried the chair you got from the landlord out to show it to him. How much do you think he offered?"

"How much can a broken chair sell for?" the man asked.

"That guy offered 10 yuan for a chair, so I came back to get another one."

"How much? 10 yuan? Are you dreaming?" The man looked incredulous.

"Why would I lie to you? This is the money he gave me. Here, take a look and see if it is 10 yuan." The woman handed the money in her hand to the man. After the man took the money and confirmed that it was 10 yuan, he finally believed it.

"Where is that person? I'll move the chair and go find him now."

"The man is at the entrance of the village. Hurry up and move the chair with me to find him. Now we have the money for our son to marry a wife." The woman said excitedly.

Soon, the news of a generous junk collector spread throughout the village. When the villagers heard that Niu Dali sold a broken chair for 10 yuan, the whole village was in an uproar, and they began to search through their houses. The village chief was worried that the villagers had encountered a scammer, so he went to the village to see what was going on. When he arrived at the village, he saw He Yuzhu surrounded by a group of villagers.

Someone shouted "The village chief is here", and the noisy scene suddenly became quiet. He Yuzhu saw an energetic old man in his 50s standing next to him.

"What's the commotion? Comrade, I heard that you collect scrap in our village." The old man walked through the crowd and came to He Yuzhu.

"Hello, who are you?" He Yuzhu asked the old man curiously.

"I am the chief of this village." the old man replied.

"Hello, village chief, my name is He Yuzhu. Please forgive me for being a bit presumptuous just now. I prefer old things, so when I have nothing to do, I like to go to the countryside to collect some older things. I don't accept junk." He Yuzhu explained immediately.

"Oh, I heard someone say that a rag collector came to the village and offered a relatively high price, so I came to find out. Now that you have figured it out, there is no problem. You can continue to collect rags. As long as the price is fair and reasonable, we welcome you." The village chief said enthusiastically after hearing He Yuzhu's explanation.

He Yuzhu watched the chaotic crowd immediately become orderly as the village chief arrived. An idea suddenly came to his mind, so he said, "Village chief, I have something I want to tell you in private. If it's convenient for you, let's go to the side and talk." After that, He Yuzhu glanced at the villagers around him.

"Okay."

So the village chief followed He Yuzhu to the side, and He Yuzhu lowered his voice and said, "Village chief, you see, when I collect things at the entrance of the village, there is no one to maintain order, and the scene is a bit chaotic. I will come here often in the future, so I want to rent the yard of our village committee when I come to our village to collect used goods. When the time comes, please ask the village to arrange someone to maintain order."

"How much money do you want to pay at once?" the village chief asked after hearing what He Yuzhu said.

"How about I pay 1 yuan to the village for each use?" He Yuzhu tentatively quoted a price.

When the village chief heard that He Yuzhu was going to give him 1 yuan just for using the yard, he couldn't help but start calculating.

When He Yuzhu saw that the village chief began to hesitate, he immediately decided to add fuel to the fire, "Village chief, you see, I have collected so many things, I can't take them away by myself on a bicycle. I would like to ask the village chief to help me transport them to Sijiucheng. I will pay 2 yuan for each trip."

After hearing what He Yuzhu said, the village chief immediately agreed: "No problem, you can use the village committee yard at will. My son happens to be at home idle, so I'll ask him to drive the village ox cart to deliver it to you when the time comes."

The village chief immediately walked to the front of the crowd after he finished speaking. "Everyone, listen to me. I just made an agreement with the rag collector that he will come to our village often to collect rags. Don't worry even if you have things you haven't sold yet. I will ask him to collect your things in the courtyard of our village committee. When the time comes, everyone will line up and come one by one. It will be a mess here. All right, take your things and wait in the courtyard of the village committee. I will take him there in a while."

"Village chief, well done." When the villagers heard that He Yuzhu would come again in the future, they were no longer anxious and began to walk towards the village committee one after another.

"Thank you, village chief. Why don't you arrange for someone to bring a car over and take these things I collected to the village committee?"

"Okay, Dazhuang, come here. Go and harness the village's ox cart, and then load these things onto the cart and take it to the village committee." The village chief said to a man.

"Okay, Dad." The man said and immediately ran towards the village.

When He Yuzhu and Niu Dazhuang came to the village committee together, the villagers lined up to wait for him. The enthusiastic villagers even moved out the tables and chairs of the village committee. So He Yuzhu sat on the chair and began to appraise the treasures. He found something wrong. Although in order to improve the enthusiasm of the villagers, He Yuzhu basically accepted all the things brought by the villagers as long as they were old, but there were too many old things in this village. Then He Yuzhu thought that he was in the countryside of Sijiucheng, which had been the capital for hundreds of years during the Ming and Qing dynasties. There must be a lot of old things among the people. Thinking of this, He Yuzhu let go and collected. In this way, He Yuzhu collected a large cart of things in Niujia Village for the first time when he went to the countryside to pick up bargains.

He Yuzhu stayed in Niujia Village until 4 p.m., and considering that he had to pick up his sister He Yushui from school, He Yuzhu said to the villagers: "Listen to me, it's getting late and I have to go back. Don't worry if you have things that haven't been sold to me yet, I'll come again tomorrow." After the villagers dispersed, He Yuzhu went to the village committee room first, took out yuan from his pocket and gave it to the village accountant. After receiving the money, the accountant specially issued a receipt for He Yuzhu. After paying the money, Niu Dazhuang helped He Yuzhu load the things on the car, and drove the ox cart with He Yuzhu to deliver the things to He Yuzhu's house in Qudeng Hutong.

After unloading the goods, He Yuzhu took out 2 yuan from his pocket and handed it to Niu Dazhuang, "Brother Dazhuang, this is the money for pulling the cart, please keep it. I don't smoke and I don't usually carry cigarettes with me. With the extra money, you can go back and buy a pack of cigarettes for me to bring to your father."

"Okay, thank you. If there's nothing else, I'll leave first." Niu Dazhuang happily took the money.

"Well, Brother Dazhuang, please go slowly on your way back." After He Yuzhu saw Niu Dazhuang off, he rode his bicycle towards He Yushui's elementary school.

Through this collection of things, He Yuzhu realized how ridiculous it was for him to ask Zhang Hu and others to pick up bargains when they were collecting junk. He was living in 1951. Even if he received fakes in that era, as long as they were old, they were at least from the Republic of China. After a few decades, they would be old things. So he decided to go back and tell Zhang Hu and others that in the future, as long as the quality of the items was good, he would collect them, regardless of the age. He had money anyway, and they would be treasures after a few decades.

Because He Yuzhu's price was higher than other scrap collectors, the common people gradually recognized He Yuzhu and would let him take a look at the scraps before selling them. He would only sell them to other people after he had seen them and decided not to sell them. Due to time constraints, He Yuzhu could only walk 20 miles at most each time he went out of the city to the countryside. He would not go to villages farther away, so he could only wander around some villages around the city.

Some smart villagers knew that He Yuzhu would not go to further places to collect rags, so these villagers would go to villages that He Yuzhu could not go to collect rags, and then resell them to He Yuzhu to make a profit. After these people made money, they attracted the attention of other villagers, and slowly the whole village began to learn from them. In order to prevent malicious competition, the villagers even began to agree with each other on the areas where they would collect rags. It can only be said that the minds of the working people are still smart as long as they are connected with making money. So without He Yuzhu knowing, the villagers in the surrounding villages of the entire Sijiu City became He Yuzhu's salesmen, and He Yuzhu inadvertently became the king of rags in Sijiu City.

Every time He Yuzhu went to the villages around Sijiucheng to collect rags, he would rent the courtyard of the village committee and pay a rent to the village. Not only that, every time He Yuzhu received something large and inconvenient to carry, He Yuzhu would ask the village chief's son to help transport it to the city. If the village chief had no son or his son did not live in the village, He Yuzhu would ask the village chief to help find someone to help. So driven by interests, the village chief of each village required the villagers to sell their rags to He Yuzhu first, and only the things that He Yuzhu did not accept could be sold to others. In order to make a profit from He Yuzhu for a long time and prevent people from other villages from knowing about it, the villagers kept their mouths shut in private. So a very magical scene appeared. In order to protect their own interests, the village chief and the villagers did not attract the attention of any colleagues when they collected rags in the countryside of Sijiucheng, as if it had never happened.