Siheyuan: I can always stay out of it

Chen Xu declined the old man's invitation to stay for dinner on the grounds that his wife was pregnant, and returned to the courtyard in the heavy snow that had just stopped falling for a few hours.

Miraculously, I met Lao Zhou on the way. He was wearing a military coat and standing at the door of the supply and marketing cooperative with his hands tucked into his sleeves, looking inside as if he was waiting for someone.

Chen Xu suddenly patted his shoulder, which scared Lao Zhou.

Chen Xu was a little surprised.

"Old Zhou, what are you doing here in broad daylight?"

When he saw clearly that it was Chen Xu, Lao Zhou breathed a sigh of relief and quickly pulled Chen Xu under the eaves next to him.

"Don't mention it. Your sister-in-law was shopping inside. I had to find an excuse to sneak out and take a break."

Chen Xu looked at Lao Zhou with a bit of sympathy. Accompanying his wife shopping in this kind of weather was really a physically demanding job. Not only was it cold, but it was also endless.

Even if women are weak at ordinary times, they can walk for hours and be full of energy when they go shopping. Fortunately, my wife doesn't like shopping...

Chen Xu secretly rejoiced.

After saying Happy New Year, Lao Zhou responded with a smile, and the two of them squatted at the door of the supply and marketing cooperative and smoked.

Looking at the people coming and going, Chen Xu asked about the purchase of the steel rolling mill. Lao Zhou did not hide his plan from him and directly said that he was already preparing.

"It's strange. I was planning to sell it to your steel mill before the New Year, but your factory leader said we should wait until after the New Year. Why?"

Chen Xu looked at Old Zhou with a strange look on his face, who looked confused.

"Do you think if the workers in the steel mill knew that the factory purchased a large amount of meat before the New Year, would they want to share some of it at the end of the year?"

Old Zhou suddenly realized that it would be better to let the canteen prepare a few more meals after the New Year. If this amount of meat arrived at the steel mill before the New Year, it could be given to the workers as a welfare at the end of the year. Each person would not get much, but if not, the workers might complain.

Moreover, not all the meat from a pig is the same, so it is a big problem to decide who gets the first-grade meat and who gets the third-grade meat.

The factory leaders probably thought that it would be more cost-effective to add extra meals and increase the enthusiasm of the workers when work resumes after the New Year rather than going through so much trouble.

Chen Xu didn't think it was a big deal. The factory leaders were also human beings and they would naturally not make things difficult for him.

It was the first time that Chen Xu saw Lao Zhou's wife. She was 34 years old and looked like an ordinary rural woman. She was accompanied by two little girls around ten years old.

According to Lao Zhou, one is his daughter and the other is his niece, whom his wife brought out to play.

The little girl looked timid and was obviously a little shy. Chen Xu's friendliness had the greatest effect on young cubs. When they grew older and had their own subjective consciousness, the effect would be greatly weakened.

Compared with human teenagers with higher IQs, human cubs and animals that judge good and evil by feeling are more friendly to Chen Xu.

Chen Xu smiled and took out a few candies from his pocket and handed them over. The two little girls were well-mannered and only said thank you to uncle in a crisp voice after getting the adults' consent before taking the candies.

Chen Xu felt that his daughter was actually quite good, at least she was cuter when she was little.

Mainly because Chen Xu felt chilled when he thought that his son had a similar personality to himself as a child in his previous life.

Well, boys are too naughty and difficult to raise.

Chen Xu left after not staying for long.

The woman looked at Chen Xu's back curiously, then turned to ask her man.

"Is this the Xiao Chen you mentioned who will have a great future?"

"Yes, it's him. Let me tell you, when I first saw him, he looked so miserable, skinny and bony. It's only been a short time, and look at him now. He doesn't look like he used to be at all."

"Also, I heard from the people at the steel mill that this guy is still the deputy director, and he's only 20 years old this year..."

"The Yangtze River's waves behind push the waves ahead..."

Old Zhou felt a little emotional. He got to know Chen Xu on a whim, but he didn't expect that he had made such a good friend. If it weren't for Chen Xu, it would be difficult for those of them who were involved in the black market to get in touch with large factories like steel mills.

Not everyone dares to get large quantities of supplies from the black market. It doesn't matter if a buyer gets a small amount, but if you don't have a strong backing like Li Huaide, you really don't dare to do it on a large scale.

If someone reports it, it's all over.

When Chen Xu returned to the courtyard, he glanced at the alarm clock in the space. It was not yet five o'clock.

In addition to my daughter-in-law and mother-in-law, there is also Lou Xiao'e in the family.

Silly Ezi hasn't been back to the Lou family since the first day of the new year. Since Lin's mother is here, she simply comes over to have dinner together. After all, it is really tiring to run back and forth from the courtyard to the Lou family in such a snowy day.

Chen Xu did hear some other news from Lou Xiao'e, for example, Lou Bancheng had gone to Gangcheng and said he was planning to bring back a batch of machines.

In the 1960s, Hong Kong was considered to be a very important or even the only channel for China to communicate with the outside world.

Not only does China have its own offices, but there are also officially opened department stores, trade markets, etc.

Lou Bancheng can now go to Gangcheng openly, and he has sufficient reasons. After all, in a sense, Lou Bancheng is getting machinery and equipment for the country.

Chen Xu was not surprised that the Lou family had its own channels. If a big capitalist did not have his own channels, he would probably have no chance of survival.

Lou Bancheng's actions undoubtedly told the people above him that although he was a capitalist, he was also a patriotic businessman.

It's a pity that Lou Bancheng's actions were completely in vain. Having too much money is sometimes not a good thing, especially when everyone knows that he has no ability to protect himself. It is no different from a child parading around with gold bricks.

Looking at Lou Xiao'e who was talking and laughing happily with her mother-in-law, Chen Xu was calculating in his mind how long the goods could stay in the mainland.

He knew very well that although the storm officially started in May 1966, it actually started about half a year earlier, that is, in the second half of 1965 at the latest, and if the Lou family didn't leave, it would be too late.

Chen Xu hasn't figured out how to deal with Xu Damao yet. Maybe he can have a good talk with him in two years.

Let’s see what Xu Damao thinks. If he is willing to go to Gangcheng, that’s fine. If he doesn’t want to go, then it is necessary to report the Lou family.

At that time, it can be said that Xu Damao discovered that the Lou family had left the house, so he chose to report it directly, which would also allow him to clear himself of any connection.

Chen Xu was not in a hurry. He was not worried about the wind at all. How to act at that time remained to be seen. Besides, there were still three years to go, so there was no need to jump to conclusions.

By this calculation, Lou Xiao'e can only stay in the courtyard for two or three years at most.

After the Lou family leaves, it will probably be more than ten years before they come back.

What an eventful time.

Chen Xu sighed in his heart. Compared to the 21st century, although he was poor in his previous life, at least he could live a stable life. But now, natural disasters and man-made disasters are constantly happening, and according to the trend of history, it will take at least 20 years for the situation to completely stabilize.

I would rather be a peace dog than a person in troubled times.

This statement is absolutely true.