Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 100

At that time, no one will know.

"Okay, tonight it is, but you can't stand us up."

"Don't worry, I keep my word. There's grain in the warehouse."

After seeing the three old men off, He Yuzhu rode his bicycle out the door, first going to Tie Dan's house, leaving a bag of flour and receiving 10 yuan.

Then he went to the homes of his fellow apprentices and made a round to ensure that each family had enough food.

By evening, He Yuzhu suddenly realized that his business had improved significantly.

Then he asked his regular customers who often came to drink, "Why isn't anyone cooking dinner tonight? Why are you all eating here instead?"

“Grain is so expensive now, a pound of flour costs 36 cents, and you’re selling stewed fish for 30 cents a pound. Even braised meat is only 40 or 50 cents. You might as well eat meat and save the grain.”

He Yuzhu was stunned. So this is how accounts can be calculated. No wonder business was so much better today.

Yes, although grain prices have risen, pork prices haven't fluctuated yet, and there's no possibility of them rising in the short term. After all, livestock aren't fed grain anymore; they're fed pig feed. I should have prepared more braised pork.

He Yuzhu wrote this down, and prepared to prepare more braised meat and stewed fish for the next day.

After all, there are still several thousand kilograms of fish in the space, so we should take advantage of this opportunity to sell more.

However, He Yuzhu had other things to do today, so he said goodbye and left the tavern.

He would pull a self-made empty cart through the alley, and when no one was around, he would release five bags of flour from his storage space and cover them with a sticky cloth.

Upon arriving at the courtyard house, I went in and called out to a few people who came out and carried the grain inside.

He Yuzhu then came in. Yi Zhonghai had already prepared 150 yuan. He Yuzhu counted it in front of everyone and said, "That's right."

"It's getting late, why don't you stay for dinner?"

Although he had many past conflicts with He Yuzhu, Yi Zhonghai sometimes wanted to help him, and today he had come out ahead by doing so.

He didn't spend a penny of his own money; he simply went out of his way to buy grain from He Yuzhu. This earned him prestige in the courtyard. Although the price was a bit high, three cents a pound was still acceptable at that time.

He Yuzhu declined the invitation, saying it was just a joke; who knew if the wine was poisoned?

Yi Zhonghai avoids eating at home if possible.

"Okay, then take care."

He Yuzhu came out pulling the cart, and after walking a few steps, he turned a corner and saw Xu Wude waiting for him ahead.

"Zhu Zi, I have something I want to tell you."

"What's going on?"

"Pillar," Xu Wude asked, "can you still get any food?"

"Isn't this enough? Why do you want more?" He Yuzhu didn't answer, but asked first.

Xu Wude said, "Look, the price of grain has gone out of control. Although there is no shortage of grain in the courtyard, I still have many relatives who are poor and cannot buy grain."

He Yuzhu asked, "You still want me to get you food?"

"Zhu Zi, won't you help me out again? I got you four big yellow croakers before, you can't forget my kindness now."

He Yuzhu frowned and thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, I'll go all out. I won't sell the steamed buns tomorrow, but I'll transfer the grain to you."

"Thank you, Zhu Zi. How much grain do you have left?"

Xu Wude was overjoyed when he heard this. He could get the goods from He Yuzhu for three cents and resell them for at least 36 cents. He could make a profit of six cents per pound, and three dollars per bag of 50 pounds.

I'll be able to earn that 50 yuan back very soon.

He Yuzhu said, "I still have several tons left, I'll give you two tons first."

"Okay, thank you, Pillar." Xu Wude was overjoyed; he could make so much money if he sold all of this grain.

For a moment, Xu Wude couldn't even do the math.

He Yuzhu said, "But how can we give you food for so many people?"

Xu Wude said, "Tomorrow I'll find a place to store it separately, and you can secretly deliver it to me later."

"Okay, let's talk about it then."

"You can't stand me up this time. Don't tell me there's no food tomorrow when I've found a good place."

"Don't worry, you won't be short of food."

He Yuzhu certainly didn't want anything to go wrong this time. He wanted to sell him two tons of grain at a high price of three cents, and then wait until the price dropped next year so he could use that money to buy four tons of grain.

It's only interesting to do business that doubles in value.

The next morning, He Yuzhu bought more meat than usual and delivered it over on a cart. Then he went out to buy fish, making two trips and bringing back 1000 jin (500 catties) of fish.

"You made so many?" Xu Huizhen asked in surprise.

"If we can't sell them now, we can continue selling them the next day."

Normally, we sell about 200 jin (100 catties) of fish a day. Although it looks like a lot, it's only about 40 or 50 fish. But yesterday, we sold all of them very quickly.

After all, cornmeal has now risen to 1 cents, the same price as wheat flour before, so it's better to spend 8 cents to buy a pound of fish.

Although it doesn't have much oil, it's still meat.

We've run out of steamed buns and replaced them with fried liver. Although we've lost some customers, there's nothing we can do now, since food is so expensive.

Although 1000 catties of fish were prepared, it couldn't withstand the enthusiasm of the masses. After all, it is difficult to buy grain now, and long queues are required. The key is that the price is too high. Many people cannot afford refined grains and can only eat cornmeal. Some families can only eat sorghum.

Xu Huizhen and He Yuzhu were surprised to find that more than 300 jin of fish were sold in just one noon, and they both guessed how many 700 or 800 jin of fish they could sell today.

After lunch, Xu Wude came to the door with a set of keys and said, "This is a courtyard house I borrowed temporarily. You can deliver the grain there later."

"Sure, no problem, I'll send it over to you this afternoon."

"Thank you, Pillar."

"Let's settle the bill first," He Yuzhu reminded them.

Xu Wude reluctantly took the money out of his bag and said, "You can't stand me up."

"Don't worry, I'll deliver the flour and rice this afternoon. Do you think I'd embezzle your few hundred yuan?"

Xu Wude muttered, "It's not a few hundred, it's a full twelve hundred dollars."

This is my hard work; I've put all my savings into it and even borrowed some money. There can't be any mistakes.

He Yuzhu ordered silver dollars and small yellow croakers, and the total value was not a problem. Only then did he take Xu Wude to the warehouse so that he could see with his own eyes that there was enough flour inside.

Xu Wude was relieved, now certain that He Yuzhu wouldn't lie to him.

Xu Wude was overjoyed. He could earn six or seven cents per pound, and that was a full two tons of grain. How much money could he make now?

After seeing Xu Wude off, He Yuzhu took some time in the afternoon to go there. He didn't know whose yard Xu Wude had borrowed, but when he came in, he found that no one had lived there for a long time, but the house was well preserved.

He Yuzhu didn't hesitate. After confirming that there were no problems, he directly released two tons of flour and rice from his space.

Then clap your hands and lock the door.

Xu Wude was worried all afternoon. Although he knew there wouldn't be any problems, he kept thinking about whether He Yuzhu would cheat him and take his 1200 yuan.

After getting off work, I hurriedly walked towards the courtyard.

The next day, Xu Wude wandered around at work, secretly trying to sell unlimited rice and flour to his colleagues.

Quite a few were quickly booked, and it was agreed that Xu Wude would deliver them to their door after get off work.

He Yuzhu only did this one business deal, but he did manage to store most of the flour in the warehouse into his spatial storage.

Leave only a few perfunctory items so that others have nothing to say.

Two days later, newspapers published a clarification: although some areas suffered damage this year, which would lead to a reduction in summer grain production, the grain reserves were sufficient to meet the needs and there would be no food shortage.

With extensive media coverage, the price of grain, though temporarily halted, still rose above 4 cents. Then, the authorities brought in large quantities of grain and sold it at a relatively low price, which caused the price of grain to drop rapidly.

Xu Huizhen looked at the long queues of people buying grain that had disappeared on the street and said, "Great, now we can sell steamed buns, right?"

"Yes, that should be fine. Since grain is cheaper now, we can still sell steamed buns, but we can also sell fried liver."

Xu Huizhen said, "It took quite a few days, but it has finally returned to normal."

It's normal, but the price is still hovering around 20 cents. After all, the summer grain harvest this year was poor, and a large-scale reduction in production is expected. So, it's unlikely that the price will drop below 20 cents in the short term.

However, compared to the previous price of over 4 cents, it has now been cut in half, making it affordable for the vast majority of people.

The prices of cornmeal and sorghum have returned to normal levels, with sorghum costing only three cents and cornmeal falling back to around six cents.

As the two were discussing the grain, a group of police officers carrying long guns suddenly ran over from a distance.

Xu Huizhen exclaimed in surprise, "Brother Zhu, look!"

"Someone's going to be in trouble," He Yuzhu said.

At that time, there were no street offices or neighborhood committees yet, and the daily security was handled by demobilized soldiers and police officers.

Although they patrolled the streets carrying guns, they walked around when nothing was happening.

They only start running quickly when a problem arises.

"Yeah, do you think it could be...?"

He Yuzhu said, "I guess something happened to Lao Su."

In the past few days, He Yuzhu has also reported the situation to Tian Zao, and the surveillance has not revealed anything unusual.