Courtyard House: He Yuzhu started in 1948

Back home, He Yuzhu slept straight until late the next day.

I've been so busy shooting in Fangshan these past few days that I haven't had a proper rest. When I got home, the excitement wore off and my body started to feel tired.

But youth is a good thing; a good night's sleep and you're full of energy.

I ate a bowl of cold noodles, topped with minced garlic and sesame sauce, and some shredded cucumber...

I feel so comfortable!

Cool!

He Daqing had nothing to do today, so he rested under the grape trellis in the yard. He Yuzhu then discussed with him the idea of ​​getting a room for himself.

Lou Bancheng renovated the house in the backyard to use as a classroom. The things that the craftsmen had dismantled were piled up next to it, since they were just sitting there doing nothing.

He Daqing, now wealthy and powerful, readily agreed, but then added a request: "Now that the house is being renovated, shouldn't you get married?"

"I'm only fourteen."

He Yuzhu turned a year older, but these days there's no custom of celebrating birthdays, so his birthday passed by uneventfully.

"Zao'er is sixteen now."

"..."

We can't have a conversation like this!

He Daqing continued, "This year during Qingming Festival, you were only focused on making money and didn't visit your ancestors' graves. Who knew you would become a heartless businessman? Tomorrow, no matter how busy I am, I will take you to kowtow to our ancestors."

He Daqing still couldn't forget about He Yuzhu selling overpriced cold drinks.

He Yuzhu was helpless, since he hadn't made any money by dishonest means.

Let people of this era enjoy milk tea decades earlier, isn't this price justified?

Unfortunately, He Daqing didn't understand.

He Yuzhu didn't want to talk to He Daqing, but He Daqing wasn't going to let him off the hook: "Kid, there's a big deal coming up, wanna take it?"

He Yuzhu's interest was piqued: "What kind of business?"

"There's a pig farmer in Shunyi who's going south and wants to clear out his pigs. The price is 40% cheaper than the market price. If we bargain down another 10%, we can get them for half price. Should we buy them?"

He Daqing looked at He Yuzhu and said, "Even if we sell it to schools at a 20% discount, we'll still make a profit."

He Yuzhu thought for a moment: "How many?"

He Daqing held up his finger: "I can eat 12,000 jin (6,000 kg)."

"hiss……"

He Yuzhu couldn't help but gasp when he heard the number He Daqing mentioned.

More than 12,000 catties, that's worth 1,500 silver dollars.

If it sells well, you can earn at least five hundred dollars.

But the school can't possibly eat all of this.

If the school has 550 students, it would only need 50 catties of pork a day at most, and 1,500 catties a month. Excluding holidays and winter and summer vacations, 12,000 catties would be enough to eat for a year.

a year?

But this business deal will fall through after January next year.

What to do with the extra meat?

Besides, meat can't be preserved for that long. Even if it's made into cured meat, it can only be done in winter.

He Daqing, however, said that He Yuzhu's consideration was too one-sided: "How long this meat can be preserved depends on how it is stored. There is a famous dish in Henan called 'Mengguan Rou' (stuffed meat in a pot). As long as it is stored properly, it will not spoil for two or three years."

As he spoke, He Daqing held up his finger: "Even if the school can't eat this much, we can sell some of it. By the time of the New Year, all this meat will be gone. However, the school will have to pay for the large vat."

"So you don't want to take a single extra penny."

He Yuzhu rolled his eyes, and after thinking for a moment, said, "I'll ask the school for permission first to see if it's feasible."

"It's guaranteed to work!"

He Daqing subtly suggested that he could give Zhang Tianyong, who was in charge of logistics, some benefits, but He Yuzhu directly refused: "You'd better not do that, don't even think about it."

Bribing Zhang Tianyong?

Wouldn't all the work done before be wasted?

He Daqing thought that He Yuzhu was like a Pixiu, only taking in and not giving out, but as long as He Yuzhu could make this happen, it didn't matter whether he gave it or not.

If they don't give it to us, then what's left will all belong to our own family.

He Yuzhu now had the money to build his house.

After thinking for a moment, He Yuzhu said to He Daqing, "Tell me first how to preserve this meat."

He Daqing explained simply: "It involves cutting the meat into large chunks, marinating it, frying it in oil, sealing the meat and oil together in a jar, and letting it sit for more than a month before eating. However, it can be preserved for two years or even longer."

"Okay, I understand."

School is about to start, and if Zhang Tianyong agrees, this can be done.

……

After hearing He Yuzhu's words, Zhang Tianyong immediately agreed to the offer of over 10,000 jin of meat at 80% of the market price.

As the war situation became increasingly tense and the transportation of supplies became inconvenient, all supplies except food in Beiping could be supplied from the surrounding areas, but prices were also rising.

It's definitely a good time to buy so much meat.

He Yuzhu said that he couldn't come up with that much money all at once, and that as before, he would settle accounts weekly and pay gradually.

Zhang Tianyong immediately agreed. This wasn't an organizational matter; Zhang Tianyong was considering it from the school's perspective, and he could make the decision right away.

Of course, I couldn't help but express my gratitude to He Daqing.

He Yuzhu subtly indicated that this was what they should do, while also expressing his thoughts: "Director Zhang, although this meat is enough for the school to eat for a year, I think that in less than six months, at most seven months, Beiping will be completely transformed."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Tianyong was overjoyed: "You really want us to take over this city?"

"certainly!"

He Yuzhu answered very firmly, "I've been looking forward to this day ever since I became a member of the Youth League. Not only me, but the people are also looking forward to it. Director Zhang, if you go outside and listen to what the people are saying, you'll understand why I'm so eager. The sooner the troops arrive, the better the lives of the people in the city will be. I wish our army could enter the city right now!"

"It'll be soon, it'll be soon."

Zhang Tianyong was equally delighted. These days, he had been receiving good news one after another, with reports of victories spreading from one station to another. Now, even the radio stations in Beiping could receive broadcasts from the news agency.

The Kuomintang and various forces in Beiping won't be able to keep up their momentum for long!

With Zhang Tianyong's approval, He Yuzhu went home to discuss buying pork with He Daqing. When he entered the house, he saw Dayong and Shunzi holding a child who was covered in rags. The child had two holes in his toes, which were blackened. His face and head were not much better off.

Only after asking did they learn that Dayong and Shunzi were doing business outside. He stole food and got caught. He even overturned the table and crushed several watermelons, causing them to lose their business. Dayong and Shunzi saw that he was a little beggar and were too embarrassed to take him to the police station, so they could only bring him back and let He Daqing decide what to do.

He Daqing sat on a recliner, wearing a T-shirt and fanning himself with a palm leaf fan. There were two slices of chilled watermelon next to him, and he looked like a wealthy landlord.

Glancing sideways at the beggar child, He Daqing scolded, "Why don't you learn good things at such a young age? Why are you stealing chickens and dogs? If you can't steal, you destroy other people's things!"

"I didn't steal it! I only stepped on the watermelon because they framed me."

The little beggar stubbornly refused to admit it, shaking his head from side to side as he looked at Dayong and Shunzi, muttering, "I didn't even get to touch the dog, but I got bitten by it instead."