Siheyuan: I can always stay out of it

Chen Xu, who was reading a book at home, heard a knock on the door and was a little confused. The person who came to see him was usually Xu Damao, who would habitually knock on the door and call his name. Who could be outside now?

Chen Xu couldn't think of who would come to see him for no reason, but he still put down the book and stood up to open the door.

Somewhat unexpectedly, the person who came was Liu Haizhong.

"Xiao Chen, you're still awake?"

Chen Xu was speechless as he looked at the sun which had not yet set. The level of Second Uncle's speech was almost the same as saying nothing.

"What's this, Second Master?"

The fat face with bangs was full of smiles. It is said that people should not hit smiling people, so Chen Xu did not refuse him.

"Come in and sit down."

Liu Haizhong did not refuse. The two of them sat in the main room. Chen Xu casually poured him a cup of tea. Liu Haizhong was a little surprised. After all, most of China's tea is now exported to exchange for foreign currency, and it is still difficult for ordinary people to buy it.

It’s not that it’s completely impossible to buy it, it’s just that tickets are hard to get, and most people who need it only buy tea crumbs. It’s rare to see someone like Chen Xu who uses up all the good tea leaves.

This also made Liu Haizhong more confident about his purpose of coming to find Chen Xu.

"Second Master, just speak directly if you have anything to say."

Chen Xu knew very well that Liu Haizhong would not come to him unless necessary. After all, although their relationship was not to the point of enmity, it was not very good either. At most, they were just nodding acquaintances.

"Okay, Xiao Chen, I'll be frank. I heard that you have some connections, and Second Uncle wants to ask you for help to see if you can find some meat or something. As you know, my Guangqi is getting married at the end of this month..."

Chen Xu already understood why Liu Haizhong was looking for him. After all, they all worked in the steel mill. Chen Xu had gained some fame in the steel mill over the past six months. After all, being able to obtain unplanned materials was a skill.

"Second Master won't treat you unfairly. In addition to the market price, I'll give you an additional ten dollars. How about that?"

Chen Xu's mouth twitched. Which market price are you referring to? If it's based on the supply and marketing cooperative, I'm afraid you don't have that many tickets. If it's based on the black market, I'm afraid you'll feel bad about the money...

"What is the market price that Second Master is talking about?"

Liu Haizhong also felt that what he said was a difficult market price to determine. If he had the ticket, he wouldn't have to trouble Chen Xu. Although the monthly quantity was limited, there were still other ways to think of.

For example, if you ask someone to help buy it for you, you give me 2 taels and I give you 2 taels, and naturally it will add up to a lot. The only bad thing is that you have to go early, otherwise you may not be able to buy it if you go late. After all, it is a planned economy now, and meat is in limited supply.

Whether you can buy it depends entirely on your personal ability.

"Then I'll pay you ten dollars, depending on the price the steel mill buys at."

Chen Xu wondered whether he should do this favor. In fact, it was not a big deal for a buyer to purchase some things for himself. Everyone knew that this was one of the benefits of a buyer. It was not strange to purchase some things for himself while working for the factory.

It doesn't harm the interests of the factory, and of course you pay for the things yourself, so no one can say there is anything wrong with it.

"I wonder what the second uncle wants to buy?"

"Meat will do, about ten pounds or so. If you can't get that, fish will do."

Chen Xu nodded. It seemed that Liu Haizhong still planned to set up a few tables for his eldest son's wedding. But that was normal. A large-scale wedding was definitely impossible, but no one would say anything about setting up a few tables at home.

Not being able to organize it in a grand manner does not mean that it cannot be done. Just don't make it too ostentatious. Besides, given the Liu family's financial situation, they can afford it, so it cannot be considered extravagant or wasteful.

"I can't guarantee that right now. You should have heard that my purchases are usually based on luck. After all, I can only purchase what the hunters in my hometown catch. I'll keep an eye out for you when I go to the countryside these days."

"That's that..."

Liu Haizhong was very satisfied. Although Chen Xu did not agree immediately, it was already very good. After all, purchasing still depends on the seller. If the seller does not have it, Chen Xu cannot get it for him out of thin air.

Liu Haizhong left fifty yuan as a deposit, which he would refund if he got more than the deposit, or make up if he got less. Chen Xu didn't care. He could take out such small amount of money casually. After all, he still had a lot of meat in his space that he had saved for the past six months, which he planned to keep for himself.

There was nothing wrong in giving some to Liu Haizhong. He was not short of meat to eat anyway, so he could just think of it as a normal help from the neighbor. Besides, Liu Haizhong didn't let him work in vain. Not only did he pay him according to the purchase price of the steel mill, he also gave him an extra ten yuan as a reward, which was already a lot.

However, Liu Haizhong reminded him that he needed to discuss with Lin Chan whether he should set up several tables for his wedding. After all, he didn't have many people he could get along with in the Siheyuan, nor did he have many familiar relatives.

Even if we want to do it, it would be better to go back to my hometown than to do it in the courtyard. After all, my third uncle is still there, and there will definitely be people coming from Linjia Village.

Looking at Liu Haizhong who finished drinking tea and left, Chen Xu didn't know how much psychological trauma the second uncle must have suffered when he was backstabbed by his son, although it was not shown in the original book.

But just thinking about it, you can tell that Liu Haizhong must be feeling bad. The son whom he had spoiled for half his life just ran away without a word and took away the family savings. Liu Haizhong probably wanted to beat this rebellious son to death at that time.

In the past six months, in addition to sending some food to Lin Chan and his mother-in-law, he also sent some to his uncle. Although it was for Chen Dan to eat at school, his uncle naturally knew that the extra food was left for them by Chen Xu.

Some things don't need to be said openly, just know them in your heart.

As for Xu Damao, he probably didn't know what would happen when he got married. After all, the Lou family was there, so he just had to wait to find a wife. Compared with the Lou family, his belongings were like a doghouse. The Lou family probably didn't expect Xu Damao to make a scene.

Besides, given the Lou family's current situation, it is estimated that they can just get together at home and that will be it. Being too high-profile can easily lead to trouble. Chen Xu understands this, and Lou Bancheng cannot be unaware of it.

What's more, it is still a famine period, and Liu Haizhong setting up a few tables is considered very high-profile. It can also be seen here that Liu Haizhong really dotes on Liu Guangqi, but unfortunately the result is not very good.

Compared with Liu Guangqi, Chen Xu felt that the brothers Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu were more suitable for pampering, as these two brothers were not bad people.

As Chen Xu remembered, even in the later period, the two brothers still expressed that if Liu Haizhong treated them better, they would still be willing to take care of them in their old age. Such a person was the suitable candidate for taking care of them in their old age.

Unfortunately, I don’t know if Liu Haizhong was possessed by a demon, but he pushed his two good sons away.

Look at the guys in the Yan family, they are real ungrateful bastards. Even though Yan Bugui was very stingy, he never let his children starve.

If we say that Qin Huairu, this white lotus, did nothing wrong to Jia Dongxu from beginning to end.

Then Yan Bugui can also say that he has been worthy of his family from beginning to end.

Unfortunately, the third uncle planned too much. He didn't expect that his children would follow his example and even become even worse. His three sons were all bullies at home. In the end, Yan Bugui didn't even have anyone to see him off at the end of his life.

If the original courtyard house didn't have Sha Zhu, the blood bag, and Lou Xiao'e, the naive and silly girl, who knows how miserable the endings of these people would have been. Either the whole family would have been wiped out, or they would have been almost wiped out. It would have been strange if they hadn't been eaten up by others in this era.