Courtyard House: He Yuzhu started in 1948

The two discussed how much stationery to buy, and Qiu Dawei wrote it down before leaving.

Stationery is purchased based on actual needs and is not considered a "business" between the two of them.

US dollars, ten dollars.

At the current exchange rate, these ten US dollars are worth one hundred silver dollars.

Make a quick buck!

Tian Zao stared at He Yuzhu with wide eyes: "You're greedy for money!"

A serious accusation was leveled against him, but He Yuzhu wouldn't take it lying down: "Greed for money? You can't say that!"

After saying that, He Yuzhu threw the money to Tian Zao: "Here, this is for you. Buy some cloth later and get some clothes for Dayong and the others."

Tian Zao blinked, indicating that she didn't understand what He Yuzhu meant by doing this.

"Weibao Bookstore is a time-honored brand in Beijing. The stationery they sell is all of the finest quality. Lou Bancheng's steel mill buys its supplies from here. But do we peasants need such good paper?"

He Yuzhu then instilled in Tian Zao the concept of maximizing profits, saying, "This is something sponsored by Lou Bancheng, so we don't have to spend any money. But we don't need something so high-end. For example, newspapers... can also be used to practice calligraphy. So what should we do with the extra money? Why don't we take out the money and make our lives a little better?"

After He Yuzhu explained, Tian Zao finally understood.

It turns out that He Yuzhu was thinking of his underlings. Once the words were written on the paper, the paper would be useless, and besides, they couldn't write yet and were still in the practice stage.

Since both old and new newspapers can be used to practice calligraphy, why buy the expensive ones? Are you just wasting money?

Buy only what's right, not what's expensive.

Tian Zao looked at He Yuzhu and was deeply moved.

Before she met He Yuzhu, her underlings were starving and freezing. After meeting He Yuzhu, they had food and drink and could even do business. Now, He Yuzhu has used all the money he earned by ruining his own reputation on his underlings, leaving nothing for himself...

Compared to He Yuzhu, I am so useless!

As she thought about it, Tian Zao's eyes reddened.

He Yuzhu looked at Tian Zao, whose eyes were red from crying, and was a little confused: "What happened? I didn't bully you! Can you stop crying? What if Dayong and the others see this and beat me up?"

"I'd rather you were killed!"

Tian Zao burst into laughter through her tears, glaring at He Yuzhu with resentment: "That's my brother, you don't need to worry about him."

He Yuzhu looked at Tian Zao and couldn't help but reach out and pat her head.

How can she be so cute?

You guys are an important part of my plan, helping you is helping myself.

Originally, they used to earn their hard-earned money as street vendors, which they would then have to buy clothes and such. Now that they have other money to buy clothes, they can save the money they earned from selling goods.

Tian Zao slapped He Yuzhu's hand and scolded him in embarrassment and annoyance, "Don't touch my head!"

He Yuzhu withdrew his hand, mainly because he couldn't help himself: "How can I not care? Your brother is my brother."

"And what about me?"

Tian Zao looked at He Yuzhu and asked, "Am I your brother?"

"We're the best of brothers!"

He Yuzhu answered very firmly, "I'll take care of your business too!"

"Then avenge me!"

As soon as Tian Zao finished speaking, she regretted it.

That's a family matter; He Yuzhu shouldn't interfere.

Moreover, He Yuzhu was timid and spent his days going between school, the vegetable market, the slaughterhouse, and home, never even going out for a stroll.

How could he possibly avenge himself?

He Yuzhu was taken aback upon hearing this: "What grudge?"

"You called me 'sister' for a grudge!"

Tian Zao changed the subject, pretending to be angry: "Who's your 'Zao-mei'? I'm older than you, you should call me 'older sister'!"

"You're just a little bean sprout, and you expect me to call you 'sister'?"

When the crucial question of who was the older sister and who was the younger brother came up, He Yuzhu's attention was immediately diverted: "Da Yong said, 'The most capable are the greatest!' According to the rules of the underworld, I'm your older brother!"

"You're not a member of the martial arts world, so what are you talking about regarding martial arts rules?"

"Then I'll teach you to read, right? I'm your teacher, aren't I? A teacher is like a father, what should you call me?"

"Are you asking for a beating?"

Then they were about to fight when He Yuzhu got into a defensive stance. Da Yong burst in without knocking: "Brother Zhu, are you all ready? When are you going to study... Sister, what are you doing?"

Seeing Tian Zao pinning He Yuzhu down, Da Yong instinctively called out, "Brother-in-law?"

"Sister, you son of a bitch!"

Tian Zao immediately rushed towards Da Yong.

You're asking for it, aren't you?

He Yuzhu looked at Tian Zao, who was playing around with his brothers outside, and asked thoughtfully, "What grudge do they have?"

……

With spring in full bloom, business is booming, and the volume of purchases needs to increase as well.

He Yuzhu went to the vegetable market and the slaughterhouse and increased the quantity of goods he wanted.

The money will be settled when He Daqing arrives.

He Yuzhu is a minor celebrity in the vegetable market slaughterhouse. Many bosses know that he runs a business with a group of young men and also manages the kitchen at a school, so they feel comfortable supplying goods first and settling accounts later.

This is the importance of a good reputation.

Wen Chaolei, a native of Xicheng, is a low-level hoodlum in Chongwenmen. He is twenty-four years old. When he was a child, he practiced wrestling under the overpass for a year, but was later expelled for his bad behavior and became a hoodlum.

He wasn't even a thug. He wanted to join the Green Gang or the Gelaohui, but they looked down on him. So he started leading a group of seventeen or eighteen-year-old kids or even younger on the streets.

He dared not collect protection money, so he could only do petty theft to get some food and make a living. But stealing was not enough to fill his stomach, so he could only threaten his underlings to pay tribute to him so that they could provide him with some food and drink.

Wen Chaolei accepted Xu Damao's invitation to teach a lesson to his neighbors in the courtyard. He looked down on Xu Damao and knew he shouldn't put on airs at his own doorstep, only daring to go to the east side of the city to show off. But Xu Damao wanted to deal with his neighbors.

He wouldn't have bothered if it weren't for those two packs of Daqianmen cigarettes.

Normally he could only pick up cigarette butts thrown away by others and take a couple of puffs, but now that he had two packs of Daqianmen cigarettes, he naturally wouldn't let them go.

On April 3rd, Wen Chaolei arrived at Qingyun Hutong. Xu Damao was waiting at the door with the Liu Guangqi and Liu Guangtian brothers. When he saw Wen Chaolei arrive, Xu Damao's eyes lit up. He immediately took out the two packs of Hademen from Liu Guangqi's pocket and ran to Wen Chaolei's side.

"Brother Chao, you and your brothers are here."

Xu Damao immediately fawned over Wen Chaolei, stuffing two packets of Hademen cigarettes into his hands and saying, "Shazhu went out to buy something, he'll be back soon."

Wen Chaolei's eyes lit up when he saw the two packs of Hademen cigarettes.

Hey, high-end stuff!

But his face showed impatience: "Why did you send me here if I wasn't here? I have a lot of things to do; isn't waiting here a waste of time?"

"Yes, yes, yes."

Xu Damao didn't dare to say a word, explaining, "He hasn't left the house for the past two days, but who knew he'd go out today? Brother, wait a minute... he'll probably be back soon."

"Wait my ass! Who does he think he is to make me wait for him?"

Wen Chaolei, looking impatient, pointed at Xu Damao: "Here's what we'll do. When he gets back, go find me at the bottom of Chongwen Gate. I'll show him who's boss!"

"this……"

Xu Damao was naturally unwilling. He would ask for two packs of cigarettes every time he saw Wen Chaolei. He hadn't learned his lesson this time, but he would have to buy more next time.

He regretted giving out the cigarette so early.