Siheyuan, Me and the Yu Sisters

Zhang Renkang didn't return to the courtyard until midnight. Yu Haitang and Zhang Yushui had already gone to bed. Yu Li welcomed Zhang Renkang into the house, took off his coat and hung it in the living room, and handed him a hot water bottle to warm his hands.

Zhang Renkang climbed over the wall to get into the yard. Yan Bugui had already gone to bed, and Zhang Renkang didn't want anyone in the yard to know that he went out at night. Yu Li asked

"Where did you put your bike?"

Zhang Renkang whispered

"I left it at Lou Xiao'e's place. I'll ride it back tomorrow."

Zhang Renkang lied. Yu Li didn't know about the existence of space, so she didn't doubt it. She brought clothes for Zhang Renkang to sleep in. Zhang Renkang changed his clothes, hugged Yu Li and got into bed. Yu Li asked quietly

"Have you discussed this with Lou Xiao'e?"

Zhang Renkang sighed and said

"It's true that their family is a bit troublesome, but once it gets warmer next year, we can hold the wedding and set up the banquet then, right?"

When Lou Xiao'e comes back to attend our wedding, you can ask whatever you want, Yu Li asked in surprise

"Didn't you say you would hold it in the middle of next year?"

Zhang Renkang hugged Yu Li and said

"No, that would be unfair to you. Let's wait until February and then we'll set up a table to invite the factory leaders to dinner."

Yu Li leaned close to Zhang Renkang's arms and said

"Okay, I'll listen to you"

The two of them went to sleep

The next morning, Zhang Renkang was pulled out of the quilt by Yu Li. Yu Li playfully swept Zhang Renkang's nose and eyes with her braids. When Zhang Renkang opened his eyes, she said

"Lazy guy, it's time to get up and eat"

Zhang Renkang didn't come back until after midnight last night. He had been in and out of Qin Jingru's place three times to unload a lot of goods. He was really exhausted. He forced himself to get up and wash up. Yu Haitang and Zhang Yushui were already eating at the table. Seeing Zhang Renkang, Zhang Yushui asked

"Brother, where did you go last night? Why didn't you come back when we went to bed?"

Zhang Renkang smiled bitterly

"Something happened at the factory last night, so I went to help and came back late."

Yu Li glanced at Zhang Renkang unhappily. Help? He must have gone to help Lou Xiaoe relieve her loneliness. Looking at the dark circles under Zhang Renkang's eyes today, it was clear that he had helped a lot yesterday.

After dinner, Zhang Yushui and Yu Haitang rode Zhang Yushui's bicycle to school together. Zhang Renkang put on a coat and a leather hat, and Yu Li also put on a military green coat and a leather hat. The two of them walked towards the steel mill with their backs to the strong wind.

When he arrived at the Planning Department office, Chen Wei had been waiting in the office for a long time. When he saw Zhang Renkang and Yu Li come in, he stood up and said with a smile:

"Brother, sister-in-law, why are you here so late today?"

Zhang Renkang said with a smile while hanging clothes

"The wind was strong, so I didn't ride a bike, I just walked here"

Yu Li hung her coat and hat on the wall, looked at the thermos, and saw that Chen Wei had already brought water. She took out her key and went to Zhang Renkang's office to get a cup of hot water. She asked while blowing on it.

"What are we going to do here this week?"

Chen Wei also sat aside and listened. Zhang Renkang rubbed his hands and said slowly:

"Tomorrow afternoon, Chen Wei, you will go to the transport team to dispatch vehicles. At around 3:00, follow the convoy to the storage warehouse outside the city to transport coal. You will be in the last car with two people from the security department. After leaving the city, pretend an accident and wait. Then drive to the main road in the north, the old place."

Chen Wei nodded and said

“Is just one car enough?”

Zhang Renkang nodded and said

"We don't have much stuff this time. It was originally meant for Director Li's brother-in-law's textile factory. Now we need it urgently, so we'll just bring it here first."

"One thousand kilograms of pork, five thousand eggs, and three hundred kilograms of mutton"

"One car is enough for you. Yu Li will go to the finance department to get the money first. This time she wants ten gold bars. I will go to Yang Weiguo to get the notes later."

"Chen Wei, when you come back, be sure to wait until dark before entering the factory."

Seeing that the two understood, Zhang Renkang blew on the enamel cup handed to him by Yu Li, drank a sip of hot water, put on his coat and went to the office building.

After meeting Yang Weiguo, Zhang Renkang said

"Director, I had to persuade them to give us some meat, but they want gold bars."

Yang Weiguo nodded in surprise and said

"How much do they give me? What's the price?"

Zhang Renkang sighed and said

"It's difficult to get out because of the snow. There are too many snow marks on the road, and some roads can't carry too many supplies."

"We only have 1,000 kilograms of pork, 300 kilograms of mutton, and 5,000 eggs. They mean they can only give us these things this month, and if we get more, they will cancel their cooperation with us next time."

Yang Weiguo nodded and said

"I didn't think it through. It would be fine if they could give us these things this time. What's their price?"

Zhang Renkang said

"Meat is hard to come by now, ten yellow croakers"

Yang Weiguo thought for a moment and said

"Okay, the price is not outrageous, I agree to this"

"But Renkang, how much can they give us next time? When will they give it to us?"

Zhang Renkang said

"Director, I don't know about this either. Now you know that it's not easy to get meat in the middle of winter. If they didn't save it during training..."

Zhang Renkang suddenly stopped talking, and Yang Weiguo smiled and said

"Renkang, we can guess where it came from, otherwise I wouldn't be so relieved, right?"

Zhang Renkang pretended to grit his teeth and said

"They are saving money to buy new clothes, so these are saved. It depends on them how much they can give."

Yang Weiguo sighed and said

"There's a lot of pressure in the north right now, and there's an accident with the monkeys in the south. It's difficult."

Then he said

"Since the money was saved from the soldiers, we won't bargain and will consider it as support."

"Don't worry, I know the seriousness of this matter, and I will keep it to myself."

Then he wrote a note to Zhang Renkang, saying

"Go to the finance department and get it at this price. We don't have much yellow croaker left recently. The higher-ups have recently mobilized the reserves from various factories for great use. Please keep this in mind when you negotiate."

Zhang Renkang nodded, knowing that the Ministry of Industry was raising funds for the steelmaking equipment of Gallic Chicken.

"Then I'll go first, Director?"

Yang Weiguo nodded and said

"Go ahead. I don't have any good stuff here right now. When the ration tickets arrive from the factory in a few days, I'll reward you."

Zhang Renkang nodded and smiled

"I'm just making a contribution to the factory, how can I make any demands?"

Zhang Renkang turned around and went out to the Finance Department. After receiving the ten small yellow croakers and signing for them, Zhang Renkang kicked his foot into his pocket, knocked on the door and went into Li Huaide's office.

Li Huaide smiled and said after seeing Zhang Renkang

"Renkang, are you done with your discussion?"

Zhang Renkang nodded and said

"Yang Weiguo just asked the finance department to approve ten small yellow croakers. They also gave us one thousand kilograms of pork, three hundred kilograms of mutton, and five thousand eggs."

Li Huaide nodded and said

"It's not low, but I guess there's nowhere to get so much meat at this time, so this price is reasonable."

Zhang Renkang nodded and smiled

"This is all saved over there to raise money for the costume change. Otherwise we wouldn't get it."

Li Huaide smiled and nodded. Then Zhang Renkang took out two small yellow croakers and put them on Li Huaide's table. Li Huaide said in surprise:

"Renkang, what are you doing?"

Zhang Renkang said with a smile

"Director, I'm so grateful for your care this year. I don't have anything good to give you. This is a little reward from the factory for my help in negotiating with them. Please don't despise it."

Li Huaide said with a smile

"You're trying to play this trick on me, kid. Just take it back. As long as you follow me and work hard, I won't treat you unfairly."

Zhang Renkang shook his head and smiled

"I will definitely study hard with the factory manager, but this is just a small token of my appreciation, please don't despise it."

"Besides, you've given me a lot of money just for the bicycle tickets, so I'm giving this as a gift to you."

Li Huaide was happy and said with a smile:

"Okay, since you have this intention, I will accept it. When the factory receives some bills in a few days, I will leave you some good ones."

Zhang Renkang chatted with Li Huaide for a while with a smile and then left. Returning to the Planning Department, Zhang Renkang took out ten small yellow croakers (two of which he added) and handed them to Chen Wei.

"This is for tomorrow afternoon's transaction. Take it. After you put it into the warehouse, give the receipt to Yu Li and have her go to the Finance Department to settle the account."

Chen Wei nodded.

"I have no place to put it. I can't afford it if it gets lost."

Zhang Renkang thought about it and realized that just because he had space didn't mean others had it too. He looked at Yu Li and said

"I'll write you a note later. You go get the factory manager's stamp and go to the warehouse to get a safe and put it in your office."