Courtyard House: He Yuzhu started in 1948

Hearing He Yuzhu say this, Zhang Tianyong also became serious.

He already had an undercover identity, so he knew more information. The Kuomintang was suffering repeated defeats and was already showing signs of defeat. As an important city in the north, Beiping was a strategic location that military strategists would fight for, and the flames of war would inevitably spread to Beiping.

"It's good to plan ahead."

Zhang Tianyong frowned, lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and slowly said, "But summer is almost here, and supplies are not easy to store. Should we wait until after summer to discuss this?"

Instead of answering his own questions, He Yuzhu and Zhang Tianyong brought up other issues. A thought suddenly occurred to him: Could he have a place to store supplies?

He Yuzhu wasn't in a hurry to leave. He found a seat and sat down, saying to Zhang Tianyong, "Director Zhang, the problem you mentioned does exist. But storing supplies doesn't mean we stop using them. It means we store them first, use the stored supplies, and replenish them as needed. In this way, our supplies will always be new."

Zhang Tianyong nodded. He didn't know much about these things, but He Yuzhu spoke very logically, and given He Yuzhu's family tradition, he trusted He Yuzhu's words.

He Yuzhu said, "We're not saying we'll start storing immediately, but we'll find a way first. Buying a lot at once won't necessarily save us much money, but it's better to be prepared, isn't it?"

"you're right."

Zhang Tianyong thought He Yuzhu made sense. There were nearly 500 students in the school, plus teachers, making a total of 550.

If a war really breaks out, teachers' and students' families may lack food. At that time, the school will have to provide some subsidies to the students.

The more I think about it, the more I realize the necessity of storing supplies.

What Zhang Tianyong didn't know was that nine months later, when Beiping was besieged by the army, there was no shortage of food and other necessities, although the prices were a bit higher, but people were not starving.

The only thing missing is vegetables.

There are many shops in Beiping (Beijing) that sell rice, flour, cooking oil, and meat, but vegetables have to be transported from the eight suburban districts.

He Yuzhu knew about this, so he wanted to stock up on more vegetables.

Zhang Tianyong strongly agreed with He Yuzhu's idea of ​​preparing food in advance: "How about this, you make a list for me, and I'll go to the principal to apply."

He Yuzhu wanted to apply for more money, because the more principal he had, the more profit he would make.

However, it's not suitable.

He had just taken charge and was still young. It was already an exception for him to manage the canteen for hundreds of people at No. 5 Middle School. Now the principal had given him the lucrative task of purchasing, which had already aroused jealousy.

If we apply for more money or similar funding, some people might not be able to stand it.

At that point, it won't be a matter of one school being able to protect him anymore.

If Zhang Tianyong were an open-minded and flexible person, He Yuzhu might have applied for funding. But the problem is that he is very principled and does things in a very rigid manner. If he were to go to the principal to apply for funding, even if the matter were to be resolved, He Yuzhu would not be able to stay in the kitchen.

He Yuzhu said to Zhang Tianyong, "No need for many applications. My dad used to know a lot of bosses who can buy supplies on credit. Our school only needs to settle accounts every two weeks. That way, we can save money bit by bit and gradually accumulate it."

Hearing He Yuzhu say that, Zhang Tianyong felt embarrassed.

The opening of the school cafeteria was greatly helped by He Yuzhu and his son, who also cooked there for free and bought food from the street at prices lower than the market price.

They can't get enough of taking advantage of others.

At this point, Zhang Tianyong recalled what Lü Qinghuan had told him: to ask He Yuzhu to take some money from the purchase funds. At the time, Zhang Tianyong disagreed, but now, seeing He Yuzhu's efforts, he felt it was acceptable.

Upon hearing Zhang Tianyong's words, He Yuzhu's eyes widened, and he glared at him angrily: "Director Zhang, what kind of person do you take me for, He Yuzhu?"

Why would someone with clean hands bother to cause trouble for you?

He looked like he was about to turn hostile, which made Zhang Tianyong feel utterly ashamed.

To be honest, He Yuzhu really wanted to make a quick buck; he couldn't just work for nothing, could he?

But He Yuzhu dared not. With two great historical figures, Zhang Tianyong and Lü Qinghuan, around, He Yuzhu was unwilling to leave a stain on their reputation because of this small amount of money.

Their work requires them to report to their superiors regularly. The two of them know the real situation, but their superiors and even their superiors might not be in Beiping. When that happens, what He Yuzhu does will probably only be a sentence in the report.

This money is unacceptable.

Seeing He Yuzhu's change of attitude, Zhang Tianyong felt a little embarrassed: "I didn't want this either, but you don't take a salary and you've helped the school so much. If it weren't for you, your father, and your brothers, the construction costs for the school cafeteria would have been much higher. We can't just pay a thirteen-year-old child; we can't just let you help us, can we?"

"Can't I still study?"

He Yuzhu tried his best to appear very upright, with an air of aloofness that regarded money as dirt: "Director Zhang, let's talk about giving me money when the school is no longer short of funds. Now, please tell me where the things are stored."

"There is a basement under the school's teaching building. It was built by the Japanese back then. It was dark and there was no electricity, so it was abandoned."

As the school's head steward, Zhang Tianyong knew the school's situation best: "That place is alright. With some moisture-proofing measures and a little cleaning, it can be used as a storage room without any problem."

"How large is the area?"

He Yuzhu thought for a moment and said to Zhang Tianyong, "It can't be too small. We need to store enough for two months' use."

Zhang Tianyong was stunned: "So many?"

Actually, one month is enough.

He Yuzhu muttered a few words to himself, but still said seriously, "We're storing grain because we're worried about price increases. The school canteen's expenses, after deducting the students' contributions, are about fifteen silver dollars a day. If meat and grain prices go up, our expenses will also go up. If the school runs out of money, the students won't be able to eat, and the canteen will have to go out of business."

After the war ended, the purchasing power of silver dollars had weakened considerably, and the legal tender issued by the government was more valuable. However, with the devaluation of the legal tender, people began to use silver dollars and copper coins to purchase supplies again.

Strictly speaking, the silver dollar is no longer legal tender. The government doesn't recognize it, but the government itself is incompetent, and the legal tender is depreciating every day. The people don't recognize the legal tender but recognize the silver dollar, so there's nothing that can be done.

He Yuzhu had originally reminded He Daqing to exchange the banknotes in the house for silver dollars or copper coins, but He Daqing said that he understood the principle of gold being valuable in times of chaos, so He Yuzhu's family didn't have any banknotes at all.

Of course, he hadn't seen the other money either; He Daqing had hidden it very well.

He Yuzhu used his limited financial knowledge to explain the supply and demand relationship of goods, but Zhang Tianyong became more and more confused as he listened, so he simply waved his hand dismissively.

"You handle this. If you need money, come to me!"

Zhang Tianyong is not worried at all that He Yuzhu will be greedy for money. He clearly told him that he could keep some money for himself when purchasing, but He Yuzhu did not agree. So why should he risk being greedy for money?