Siheyuan, Me and the Yu Sisters

Lou Xiao'e took a big black ten from Sha Zhu and took Xu Damao home. Seeing that there was not much excitement, each household moved their stools back to the house to sleep. Zhang Renkang walked back to the backyard slowly, and chuckled at Xu Damao who was looking for wood everywhere. This Xu Damao was really inexperienced and playful, so he was sent away by Yi Zhonghai? He was beaten and his window was smashed, which was a big loss. Looking at Lou Xiao'e who was sticking out her butt and gesturing about her size, Zhang Renkang grinned. This "Ezi" looked lovable, and he had to try it out that day to see if she was any different from the widow Qin. Although the Xu family did not cause trouble half a year ago, Xu Damao did not have a good relationship with Zhang Renkang. In the past, he often made trouble for his predecessor, openly or secretly. It would not be too much for him to help his predecessor vent his anger? Zhang Renkang would not admit that he just wanted to inherit the feat of his "colleagues" to make trouble.

Zhang Renkang looked at the two busy people and went home to get a cardboard box. This was a large box he brought when he signed in for canned goods. They were all Soviet goods, which was closer to reality. He walked over and said with a smile.

"Sister Xiao'e, I have a box here. I got it when I was helping someone move things. Can you see if it's enough for your family?"

When Lou Xiao'e and Xu Damao saw the box in Zhang Renkang's hand, they found that it was about the same size as Zhang Renkang's. Lou Xiao'e said gratefully:

"Renkang, thank you so much. Thank you for speaking a fair word for our Damao just now."

Zhang Renkang said with a smile

"What's the big deal? We are all from the same hospital, so it's only natural for us to help each other. Besides, what I said is the truth. It was Shazhu who beat Damao, so Director Li punished him."

When Xu Damao heard this, he also shouted

"That's right, the bastard Shazhu started the fight, and it was Yi Zhonghai and the others who took sides."

"Brother Renkang, I appreciate your kindness today. I will treat you to a drink some other day."

Zhang Renkang laughed in his heart when he heard this. He didn't care about wine or not. What kind of wine could be as fragrant and delicious as Ezi?

Smiled and said

“You’re welcome. You’re welcome.”

Lou Xiao'e looked at Xu Damao with dissatisfaction. This coward, you were not tough when you were here just now, but now you are pretending. You are nothing like Zhang Renkang, Yi Zhonghai, and Sha Zhu. How could they take advantage of him? She said dissatisfiedly

"Xu Damao, why don't you quickly block the windows? Are you planning to freeze to death tonight?"

Xu Damao muttered to himself

"Why are you rushing me? Can't you see I'm busy?"

She didn't stop talking, and quickly took the waste paper box to imitate the cutting. While Xu Damao and Lou Xiao'e were busy, Zhang Renkang went back to the house because there was nothing interesting. This made the deaf old ladies toss and turn. It was almost 8:30 in the evening, and Zhang Renkang was already very sleepy.

Intermediate Court

Yi Zhonghai looked at Sha Zhu squatting at the door with a worried look on his face. He had to help find a way to get Sha Zhu back to the canteen, otherwise, wouldn't that ruin Sha Zhu? He planned to go find a former co-worker who had become the workshop director tomorrow. They had a good relationship before, so maybe he could help him talk to him.

At twelve o'clock in the middle of the night, Zhang Renkang woke up and let go of his perception. He felt the snoring sounds of the Xu family, the Liu family and other families. Zhang Renkang put on a camouflage mask from the space and turned into a middle-aged appearance. He covered his face with a headscarf, touched the wall, and with a force of his legs, he climbed up the wall in two strokes with the ladder, and walked towards the pigeon market in the dark. The nearest one here was a medium-sized pigeon market in a forest by the lake. There were still quite a few people. As soon as he arrived at the entrance of the pigeon market, while no one was paying attention, Zhang Renkang took out three bags from the space and carried them in both hands. There were fifty kilograms of white flour, fifty kilograms of refined rice and one hundred eggs. He paid ten cents to the person who was watching at the intersection and went in. The entry fee of this pigeon market is one cent, both buyers and sellers have to pay it. Once you enter, as for how much you sell and how much you buy, that is your business, they don't care

As soon as Zhang Renkang put it down, several people gathered around him. White flour and refined rice are in short supply now, not to mention eggs.

A middle-aged man with a hoarse voice and a brown scarf asked

"Brother, what's the price? How much do you have? Can I inspect the goods?"

I asked a few questions.

Zhang Renkang said in a middle-aged voice:

"50 jin of rice and flour, 100 eggs, 55 cents per jin of rice and flour, 8 cents per egg"

As he spoke, he reached into the rice bag, turned up a handful of rice from the middle and lower layers, and handed it to the man in the brown scarf for inspection.

The man took a few grains and knew the quality at a glance. This is good. It is a little expensive at 55 cents, but the rice is fresh and the grains are full. It is really good. He turned the white flour over with a wooden chopstick and said with a smile.

"Brother, this rice and flour is not bad, I want both, and the eggs too."

"63 yuan, right? Here."

As he spoke, he took out a cloth bag from his chest, counted out six black ten notes and three dollars, and handed them to Zhang Renkang. Zhang Renkang took it and gave way to them, indicating that they could take it. The two of them came forward from behind the man in the brown scarf and took the things. At this time, the man in the brown scarf said

"Brother, do you have any good stuff over there?"

Zhang Renkang listened and looked at these men carefully.

Seeing the fat man in the middle wearing a grey jacket, he didn't look like an ordinary person. He wondered if he could be those people.

It turns out that there is a special group of people in the old city. Their ancestors were all nobles in the early Qing Dynasty. They were descendants of the Eight Banners and were famous for their wealth. Although these people did not show up after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the descendants of the Eight Banners who were used to a fine life could not bear such hardship. Those with some wealth have money in their hands. Not to mention the gold and silver left by their ancestors, some cultural relics alone are enough for them to show off. It's just that because of their background, few of them have jobs, and they are short of supplies.

Zhang Renkang thought about it and nodded. He also wanted to see what rare items these people could find.

"Not today, in five days, here, what do you want?"

The man in the brown scarf was really excited when he saw Zhang Renkang.

"Meat, rice, flour, and all kinds of food supplies. Do you have them all?"

Zhang Renkang guessed that there was a famine in the past few years. In addition, the control has become stricter in recent years. These old people are probably really short of food and clothing. After thinking for a while, he said coldly:

"Two hundred kilograms of mutton, priced at 90 cents per kilogram, one hundred chickens weighing ten kilograms, six dollars each, five hundred eggs, eight cents each."

"820 yuan, I don't want money, I just want small yellow croaker"

(The price level at that time makes it even more clear how important one dollar is: in Zhengzhou in 1961, refined flour cost 1961 cents per pound, standard flour cost 1965 cents per pound, refined rice cost cents per pound, millet cost cents per pound, peanut oil cost cents per pound, and pork cost cents per pound. In Tianjin in , beef cost cents per pound, and mutton cost cents per pound. In Zhengzhou in , cucumbers cost about cents per pound, and green onions cost cents per pound.)

The middle-aged man in the brown scarf thought for a moment and agreed.

"Okay, see you here in five days."

Seeing Zhang Renkang leave, the man in the brown scarf thought

"This person can get so many supplies, he must have someone behind him. It's not difficult to get the small yellow croaker, but I have to go back and think about it and find a few reliable ones to take it."

Zhang Renkang left the Pigeon Market and walked around the area. Seeing no one following him, he hurriedly left towards the courtyard. As soon as he arrived at the gate of the courtyard, he saw a man hurriedly coming out of the courtyard. Zhang Renkang hid against the wall and stared at the man who left, thinking.

"Someone must have gone to the pigeon market to buy something. Judging from his body shape, he should be a strong man, but I don't know who he is."

Without thinking too much, Zhang Renkang climbed over the wall and returned to the backyard. He entered the house, locked the door, changed his clothes, lay down on the bed and fell asleep.

The next day, Zhang Renkang, who had just woken up, hurried to the middle courtyard with a basin to wash up. Seeing Zhang Renkang talking to Qin Huairu again, Sha Zhu snorted and walked away with his head tilted. Qin Huairu, on the other hand, greeted him with a smile.

"Good morning, Renkang, wake up!"

Seeing the friendly look of Widow Qin, Zhang Renkang also smiled frivolously.

"Good morning, Sister Qin, you are very diligent so early in the morning."

Qin Huairu sighed and said helplessly: "Hey, I have to get up early in the morning to cook for my three children and my mother-in-law. I just finished eating and was about to do the laundry."

Zhang Renkang looked at Qin Huairu's charming eyes and recalled the amorous feelings of that night. This young woman was really attractive. A hint of obscenity flashed in his eyes. He smiled and said, "Sister Qin, you are so tired. You have to take care of three children by yourself and run around. Don't forget to tell me if there are any difficulties at home."

He came forward and whispered

"I don't lack food, can you change it, Sister Qin?"

Qin Huairu heard what Zhang Renkang said, looked up and saw the teasing in his eyes, she rolled her eyes and said: "Humph, can't you help Sister Qin for the sake of the three children? You still bully me so much."

Then he grabbed Zhang Renkang's arm.

At this time, Jia Zhang in the room started to shout

"Qin Huairu, where have you been? Didn't you see that the dishes on the table have been confiscated?"

"Qin Huairu, you slut, where are you going to seduce men again?"

......

It turned out that Jia Zhang had been watching Qin Huairu. Seeing that it was Sha Zhu, she thought it was nothing. This idiot deserved to be killed. He had the heart of a thief but no courage. However, this Zhang Renkang was not a good person. He was not as easy to control as Sha Zhu. Seeing that Qin Huairu and Zhang Renkang were close, she naturally became suspicious.

Qin Huairu cried out in grievance

"Mom, I'm washing clothes in the yard."

"I'll go back and collect it."

As he spoke, he looked at Zhang Renkang pitifully.

Zhang Renkang not only had a little admiration for this peerless white lotus, but also had acting skills that could easily outshine many young handsome men today. However, knowing Qin Huairu's true nature, he would not be fooled. If he wanted to get something from him, it would depend on whether this young woman was willing to give him what she wanted. After washing up, Zhang Renkang carried the basin back to the central courtyard, said hello to Liu Haizhong who had just left the house, and went back to his room.

After closing the door, Zhang Renkang fried four eggs for himself and deliberately opened the window to let the fragrance waft into the yard. Eggs were a rare commodity in those days.