Chapter 37 Confused
"Get on your bike and go to the Dongdan vegetable market. Buy three chickens, fatter ones, two bones, and use the rest to buy cabbage and dried chilies. Go quickly and come back quickly."

"In broad daylight, Jie Cheng will take the wine back. Bring two barrels of 10 kilograms of loose liquor, and pay the deposit for each barrel."

"Brother Damao? Do you have any extra food coupons? Let's buy some white flour. This cornmeal is inedible without mixing it with other ingredients."

After hearing this, Xu Damao glanced at Yan Bugui, went home, pushed the car and left.

The three uncles looked so ugly.

"Okay, Brother Zhuzi, ask a few aunties to move the tables, cut and wash the vegetables. I'll clean the fish for you."

The three old men went out of the backyard together, and no one knew what they were discussing.

Liu Guangtian came back and handed Yu Zhiyuan fifteen yuan, saying it was a two-yuan deposit for the bucket.

After Sha Zhu started cooking, Yu Zhiyuan asked Liu Guangtian and others to notify everyone to move tables. There were eight people at each table, including those who were over ten years old.

You can calculate how much you need yourself.

You have to calculate the plates and basins yourself.

Wait until all the dishes are served on the table.

There were three people from Yu Zhiyuan's family, three people from Sha Zhu's family, and Xu Damao and his wife, sitting at one table.

Xu Damao stood up and said, "Guangtian, the four of you take the wine jug and share the wine. The ladies should drink less."

There were wine jugs on the table, and then they sat down.

Yi Zhonghai glanced at Yan Bugui after seeing the situation and said, "We finally have a dinner together in our compound. Okay, no more words. Gentlemen, start eating."

Just as Yan Bugui was about to pick up the stewed grass carp with his chopsticks, the old lady hit his chopsticks.

"Xiao Yan, you have lived in this courtyard for almost thirteen years, right?"

Yan Bugui's face froze and he nodded.

"You used to be more calculating and reliable in doing things. What happened this time? You almost ruined a good thing. I hope you didn't put the money in your pocket."

"That's not possible. I bought wine first, and used up half of it. After buying the meat, I saw that smaller fish were cheaper, so I bought a smaller one. I can eat cornmeal, too. Isn't it cheap? The vegetables are a little ugly, but they're all edible. I had less than five dollars left, so I didn't spend anything."

"You don't have any. The pork belly has been dried up by the pillars, and the oil is used for cooking. Look at the cabbage with oil residue. If it weren't for the two bones, there would be no meat taste at all. How many chopsticks can you eat such a small fish?"

The angry old lady knocked the ground with her walking stick.

"You're really stupid to calculate that little bit of wine and ask the gentlemen to drink it?"

Yi Zhonghai interrupted and said, "Okay, old lady, there are so many people here, can we eat first?"

"Only Zhiyuan reacted quickly. If he had thrown everyone in the compound to the ground, I wonder how you would handle it. Let's eat."

Here, the three brothers gathered together and whispered.

"Zhiyuan, can the thing you said be done?"

"The government has turned a blind eye to the pigeon market. The state-owned stores can't meet the demand. What do you think? Don't go too far with the small-scale action."

Yu Zhiyuan said, and then looked around and said, "Don't leak it from the yard!"

"Then what about Xu Damao?"

"Are you stupid? He came to me on his own initiative!" Yu Zhiyuan was so angry that he took a sip of wine.

Don’t say that the loose liquor of this era is not bad to drink, at least it is real grain liquor.

"If he had enough brains, he wouldn't be called Shazhu."

After dinner, each family packed up their things.

The remaining wine in the barrel was put into bottles using a funnel, and there were still three and a half bottles left.

Sha Zhu took a few boys with him to dismantle the stove.

Yu Zhiyuan took Xu Damao into the uncle's house.

All three uncles are here, Yu Zhiyuan calls them Wanren.

"Uncle, let's settle the bill. I paid another twenty, and after refunding the wine, I have 17 left, plus these three bottles of wine."

"Brother Damao, what about you?"

Xu Damao took out a certificate and said, "10 jin of fine grain coupons, 8 yuan."

Yan Bugui took out 4.8 yuan and threw it on the table. "You are short of ten kilograms of fine grain coupons and six yuan and twenty cents. I'll take another three yuan, and I have nothing else to do. I'll go back first!"

Yu Zhiyuan woke up to the rustling sound of sweeping the floor outside.

He put on his clothes, washed himself, and opened the door.

I saw Liu Guangfu from the second uncle's family sweeping the backyard.

It is true that money makes the world go round.

Chop the leftover vegetable leaves from yesterday’s cooking, mix them with bran and feed them to the chickens.

It gradually got better and I could collect two eggs every day.

I saw Yang Zhiqiang also got up and washed up.

"You make some egg soup with the spinach, and I'll go buy some buns." After saying that, Yu Zhiyuan strolled out of the courtyard.

Clean up the house after dinner.

He took his daughter's hand and told her to look after her mother at the street office.

Only then did he pack up Xuemei's net bag and fill the military water bottle prepared for Qiaoqiao with honey water.

During the morning work, Yu Zhiyuan remained silent, which made his master Bi Zhengliang worried.

I finally asked when I went to get lunch.

"Zhiyuan, what's wrong with you? You haven't said a word all morning." Bi Zhengliang said as he gave Yu Zhiyuan and Yin Tiemin a cigarette each.

Yu Zhiyuan looked at the two of them and said helplessly, "Master, it's getting hot, so I wanted to make a few sweatshirts and shorts. And some for the mother and daughter at home. Cotton, polyester, whatever. But I don't trust Xuemei to do it."

Bi Zhengliang smiled and said, "What's my job? Your mistress is at home, just ask her to do it."

"Master, that's not the case. Master's wife cooks and washes clothes every day, she is busy enough."

Yu Zhiyuan looked around and said, "Master, I can find a way to get a ticket for sewing, but it can't be placed in my house. Master, my eldest brother is in the army, and my sister-in-law is in charge of the retired soldiers, so can it be placed in your house?"

Then he turned to Yin Tiemin and said, "Brother, you should also add some money. Your naughty boy doesn't need clothes, right?"

"Okay, my husband will have a lot easier time with a sewing machine."

"Zhiyuan, where did you get the vote?"

"Director Li has one. I'll go there tomorrow with two bottles of Moutai and complain. I think I can get it."

Bi Zhengliang nodded: "My family will also add one, you take the ticket, and your brother and I will take the sewing machine home someday. That thing is convenient, it will be hot soon, and it will be hard for so many people in the workshop to bear it."

After work in the afternoon, Yang Zhiqiang was asked to go back to the yard first, and Yu Zhiyuan went to Hu Hanguang's house.

He took out a small net bag of eggs and two old hens from the space.

When I entered Hu Hanguang's house, I saw only his old mother at home.

"Zhiyuan, come if you want to, bring anything else with you."

"Aunt, my husband is also pregnant and I can't leave him. Did they go to the hospital?"

"It's just for the next two days. I'll clean up at home, cook, and make soup to send over."

"That's perfect. Don't be reluctant. Things can't be stored when it's hot. Just do it. I'll figure out what else you need."

"There's nothing missing. Han Guang has found a lot. Please sit for a moment. There's some cotton cloth left for you." Aunt Chen said as she walked into the house and brought out a piece of blue printed cloth.

Yu Zhiyuan chatted with Aunt Chen for a while, found a piece of rag to wrap the things, and rode his bike home.

When I entered the backyard, I saw Qiaoqiao taking a piece of watermelon and eating it while watching Zhiqiang chopping chicken food.

Yu Zhiyuan parked his bike and asked, "Where did you pull the grass from?"

"After lunch, I carried a bag from the warehouse to the wasteland north of the factory and pulled them out. It was just right for feeding the chickens when I got back."

"You are really good, pulling weeds in the hot sun."

"Brother-in-law, this is nothing. It was tiring in the village. It's much better now."

After chopping the grass, Zhiqiang stood up and said hesitantly, "Brother-in-law, why don't we go to Dongdan and think about raising a few. Put them at the old lady's door. What else can others say?"

Yu Zhiyuan smiled and said, "Okay, you can just take the old lady for a walk on Sunday. When you get tired, you can take a tricycle back. The old lady hasn't been out for a long time, right?"

(End of this chapter)