Break out of the courtyard

A bowl of watery corn mush means that Zhang Heping has finished his New Year's Day dinner!

He didn't ask why his family's New Year's Eve meal was so bad, but instead tried hard to search through the past memories of his previous owner's heartlessness.

A few years ago, there seemed to be several waves of people coming to his house, like debt collectors, who probably took away all of his father Zhang Bing's money, food and supplies for the Spring Festival.

Fortunately, his father was a disabled soldier who had returned to work, and the street office provided preferential treatment. Seeing that his family was in trouble, he assigned him the task of pasting matchboxes, so that his family could barely make ends meet.

Mother Ma Xiuzhen was still busy. She put an aluminum lunch box on the table and opened it. A thin layer of eggs was steamed inside.

When Zhang Heping saw his mother carefully dripping two drops of soy sauce onto the steamed eggs, he couldn't help but think of the soy sauce and salt he made yesterday, and asked doubtfully: "Mom, do you need a ticket to buy soy sauce and salt now?"

"Ok!"

Ma Xiuzhen responded without mentioning her son's waste of soy sauce yesterday.

After all, it was her son's first time cooking, and she was very relieved that he didn't make random noodles.

"This egg is provided by the hospital to supplement your father's nutrition. He can only drink liquid food now. Mom will cook it for you later." Ma Xiuzhen said as she closed the lid of the lunch box, blocking her children's sight.

In my memory, the previous owner seemed to have not eaten eggs for more than half a year.

As for meat, I have been able to eat it from time to time in the past two years, but it was all saved from the canteen meals that my father, Zhang Bing, made when he was vigil at night.

Ma Xiuzhen wrapped the two lunch boxes in pillow towels and hid them in her cotton-padded clothes to keep them warm. Then she took her son Zhang Heping out, leaving her two daughters to guard the house.

On the way, Ma Xiuzhen talked to Zhang Heping about what happened in the afternoon.

Several people came to express condolences at the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill. One deputy director, Li, said that Zhang Bing's salary this month would be paid as usual, and all medical expenses would be paid by the factory. The matter of replacing him would be discussed at a meeting in a few days.

Sure enough, being a mother means being strong!

Her husband fell, and her mother, Ma Xiuzhen, made the best choice for the family.

For this reason, Zhang Heping began to consider whether, after fishing tomorrow, he should first develop some skills in traditional Chinese and Western medicine to find out the condition of his father, in case he woke up early...

February 2, the second day of the Lunar New Year, early morning.

Grandma scooped up a large bowl of corn mush for Zhang Heping. Zhang Heping did not refuse, drank half the bowl, then took the bucket and ran off to fish.

This old lady favors boys over girls. As the biggest beneficiary, Zhang Heping cannot say anything more. He can only improve his family's life as soon as possible so that his family can benefit.

When Zhang Heping came out of the yard, he was entangled by Yan Laoji who was carrying a fishing rod. The old guy followed him all the way to Houhai.

Because Yan Bugui was by his side, Zhang Heping did not fish with an empty hook.

Instead, he randomly grabbed a piece of soil, picked up some dead grass and rotten leaves, put them in a bucket, mixed them with ice water, and then rolled a mud ball as bait.

This thing can be thrown into the water and shaken twice and it will disappear. It will not affect his fishing with an empty hook.

In addition, with Mr. Yan around, it was inconvenient for him to pretend to be dumb and sell fish, for fear of causing trouble.

It took Zhang Heping about half an hour to catch 11 fish, fill his small tin bucket, and then got up and went back.

And Yan Laojie, who was standing by, went from being shocked at first to being almost flattering now. He also helped Zhang Heping carry the bucket for free and praised him all the way.

As the saying goes, showing courtesy for nothing is either cheating or stealing!

As soon as he entered the courtyard, Yan Bugui showed his true nature. Carrying the bucket of fish, he forced Zhang Heping into the west wing of his house.

Zhang Heping envied the spaciousness of the Yan family, but was very wary of Yan Bugui's behavior.

He originally thought that Yan Laoji wanted to exchange the small steamed buns for his fish, but he didn't expect that the old boy proposed a cooperative plan to sell fish.

"The closing price of fish at Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill is only 1 cents per pound? Are you sure?"

Zhang Heping was a little angry and felt that his IQ had been insulted. It was not like he had never sold fish last night, so he impatiently carried the bucket and left, "I'll ask He Yuzhu of the Central Court and I'll give you an answer in the afternoon."

Negotiation: Getting Started (1%).

Yan Bugui felt nervous, fearing that He Yuzhu would intercept the business, so he hurriedly grabbed Zhang Heping and said, "Heping, don't leave in a hurry, just listen to what I have to say!"

"If you sell this fish for money, the No. 1 canteen of the steel rolling mill will only give you 8 cents per catty."

"However, if you don't sell it for money, but collect meal tickets and vegetable tickets from their canteen, the price will be different. It's worth at least 3 cents per catty!"

"Meal tickets for the steel rolling mill?" Zhang Heping was surprised. Is this still happening in these days?

Yan Bugui said with certainty: "Only people from our steel rolling mill sell it, and they will use meal tickets and vegetable tickets to collect fish. People from outside sell it, and even if they get tickets, they can't enter the factory to get food, right?"

Speaking of which, everyone in this courtyard seems to be connected to the steel rolling mill.

Although Yan Bugui is a primary school teacher, the primary school where he works is under the management of the steel rolling mill.

"I'll go back and ask my mother!"

Zhang Heping grabbed a fish from the bucket and handed it to Yan Bugui, thinking about the feasibility of selling it to his family so that he would not have to share the profits with outsiders.

For the sake of greater interests, Yan Bugui would not be tempted by a small fish. He quickly put the fish back into Zhang Heping's bucket and said in a seductive manner:

"Peace, look! Your dad is in the hospital now. Your family members have to go to the hospital to take care of your dad. Don't bother them with these little things."

"Why don't you wait until you earn meal tickets and vegetable tickets, and then give them a surprise!"

"When the time comes, you will definitely be praised by them!"

"Praise? You really think I'm a primary school student!" Zhang Heping complained secretly, thinking of his mother Ma Xiuzhen who stayed vigil in the ward last night. It was really hard to overwork them because grandma or eldest sister had to guard the bed during the day.

The key is that he is not familiar with the fish selling business and needs someone to guide him.

Thinking again about Yan Jiecheng, the eldest son of Yan Laojie's family, and the only bicycle in the yard, his family seems to be a good labor force.

"Third uncle, if you want to cooperate with me in selling fish, you should show some sincerity!" Zhang Heping began to fight for the initiative in the negotiation, pretending to be dissatisfied:

"I've been in your house for so long and I haven't even had a sip of hot water. I'm worried that you are lying to me."

Negotiation: Getting Started (8%).

"There is hot water, there is!" Yan Bugui saw Zhang Heping sitting back at the table, and quickly got up to pour water, and reluctantly brought 8 small steamed buns over, "Heping, have you had breakfast? My steamed buns are still hot, you can eat whatever you want. "

Zhang Heping took a sip of hot water, held the enamel cup in his hands to keep warm, and did not touch the wotou for the time being.

He organized his language slightly and said: "Third uncle, to be honest, you used 6 small steamed buns to exchange me for two big fish last night, which hurt my trust in you."

"Peace, it's not easy for the third uncle and his family!" Yan Bugui took off his plastic glasses with tape on them, took out a handkerchief and pretended to wipe his tears, and then began to say miserably, "Brother Cheng is 18 this year. I’m going to get a wife; Brother Jiefang..."

"Stop! Stop it!" Zhang Heping interrupted Yan Bugui's bargaining rhythm and retorted mercilessly:

"Third uncle, your family is registered in the city. There are six people in your family who have food supplies. If you are short of money, you will not be short of tickets!"

"In my family, there is only one food supply for six people. My father is still in a coma. Are you sure you want to cry poverty in front of me?"

"This..." Yan Bugui didn't expect that the usually heartless Zhang Xiaosan was so smart that he didn't know how to speak.

In his heart, Yan Bugui actually knew what to do. He could mend the relationship with two kilograms of stick noodles and get rid of the fish exchange last night.

However, the matter of cooperating to sell fish has not yet been revealed!

What if he gave him Bangzi Noodles first and Zhang Heping later refused to cooperate?

Didn’t he suffer a big loss?

Zhang Heping waited for a while, and seeing that Yan Bugui was hesitant and obviously confused, he suggested:

"Let's do this! I'll try to trust the third uncle again."

"Tomorrow morning, the third uncle will bring his bicycle and two big buckets, and he will prepare some earthworms, corn kernels, etc.; we will go to Houhai again. If we can get along, we will cooperate for a long time."

After finishing speaking, Zhang Heping put two fish on the table, grabbed three small steamed buns and stuffed them into his mouth. He inserted the five fingers of his left hand into the hollows of the remaining five small steamed buns. Then he took the steamed buns and carried the bucket out.

Yan Bugui was pleasantly surprised that Zhang Heping agreed to temporarily cooperate in selling fish, but he was also heartbroken that all the bread on the table was gone. He blamed himself for miscalculation and should not have brought out so much bread.

Seeing Zhang Heping leaving, Yan Bugui clasped his hands together, stared at the two fish on the table, and finally made a decision.

Then, I saw him looking at death as he opened the cupboard door and took out a yellow wide-mouth enamel basin... After thinking about it, he put it back and replaced it with the small white enamel cup that Zhang Heping had just drank from.

Then, I saw him not even wiping the water out of the cup, but he quickly filled a cup of stick noodles, put the lid on the cup, and chased him to the backyard with the cup in his hands.

"Heping, how do you think we should divide this account?"

Zhang Heping looked at Yan Bugui's eager eyes and the cup of stick noodles he brought, and said with a smile:

"Third uncle, it depends on how much you contribute. Anyway, I only contribute skills. If the distribution is uneven, let's get together and disperse."

When Ma Xiuzhen heard the conversation between her son and Yan Bugui outside the door, she got up and went out. Then she was stunned, "Did you catch another fish?"

"The third uncle and I went fishing." Zhang Heping said casually, not wanting to explain too much, lest the other party think too much.

At the end, Zhang Heping winked at Yan Bugui, who was waiting to pour the stick noodles in the cup, hoping that the third uncle could help him round things off.

Yan Bugui did not disappoint Zhang Heping. In order to cooperate in selling fish, he patted his chest and assured Ma Xiuzhen: "Ma Xiuzhen, don't worry, the place where we fish is very safe!"

Then, Yan Bugui apologized for changing the fish yesterday, poured the stick noodles in the cup into a bowl on the Zhang family's stove, and left.

On the way back, Yan Bugui looked at the stick noodles stained on the wall of the enamel cup, and couldn't help but feel happy and muttered.

"If you don't have enough food, you won't have enough clothes. If you don't calculate it, you will suffer poverty!"

……

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