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Hou Fangxing was full of resentment, thinking that Chen Xueru had come to secretly meet her lover and that He Yuzhu had cheated on him, so he pushed open the door to catch them in the act.
What I didn't expect was that there were other people in the room, so it seems my assumption was wrong.
However, he didn't give He Yuzhu a friendly look, nor did he intend to explain. He simply said to Chen Xueru, "I'm just worried that you'll be led astray. Let's go back and discuss things."
"You're the bad guy."
Chen Xueru was furious. She had just chatted with Xu Huizhen for a while, inquiring about He Yuzhu and her marriage.
The two are still young and are not yet engaged, but both sides are very satisfied, and their parents have no objections. They are just waiting for them to be old enough to get married.
After all, at that time, the marriage law stipulated that the legal age for men to get married was 20, so there were still two years to wait.
Chen Xueru grew angrier as she listened, filled with resentment. She regretted getting engaged to Hou Fangxing, and now He Yuzhu had found a wife, choosing a poor girl from the countryside.
Hou Fangxing coaxed and pleaded with Chen Xueru to agree to go out. As soon as she stepped out of the moon gate, she heard Hou Fangxing say, "Don't hang out with these peasants anymore."
"What nonsense are you talking about? Don't talk about my friend like that. I was planning to invite him to cook for our banquet."
"Pah, your family are the peasants."
Xu Huizhen said angrily, her little mouth pouting and her cheeks puffed up, which was very cute.
"Forget it, it's not worth getting angry over someone like that."
"Yeah, I'm not angry."
He Yuzhu said, "Stay away from him in the future; he's skilled in martial arts."
Xu Huizhen asked in surprise, "He also knows traditional Chinese martial arts?"
"I don't know, I just tried to grab him, but he managed to evade me."
"So you've got kung fu skills? You've only been learning for a month, haven't you?"
"I'm a genius. I can learn in a month and be better than others who study for a year."
"You're just bragging." Xu Huizhen didn't believe it at all and said, "Hurry up and build the cabinets. There's no furniture here yet, it's really inconvenient to live here."
He Yuzhu picked up the plane again and began to work diligently.
Having acquired carpentry skills, He Yuzhu no longer wanted to buy furniture from outside, since furniture was particularly expensive at that time.
A wooden double bed costs around 50 yuan, a chest costs over 20 yuan, a five-drawer chest costs nearly 60 yuan, and the most expensive is a three-door wardrobe with a glass mirror in the middle, which costs 87 yuan.
This cabinet alone is worth three or four months' salary for most people, and it's not hard to buy.
Therefore, He Yuzhu preferred to build it himself rather than let others benefit from it.
He Yuzhu doesn't sell alcohol in his shop here, since the He family next door runs a small tavern, and he can't directly steal their business.
In the evening, Xu Huizhen said, "Shall we go play next door?"
“Their liquor is all diluted with water,” He Yuzhu said.
"No way, business seems pretty good to me."
The two men ran a pub, and they were used to the noise at night.
"Besides, you're not old enough to drink alcohol."
"It's none of your business. I grew up surrounded by wine jars."
When Xu Huizhen was three or five years old, she started drinking with chopsticks. Her father would dip the chopsticks into the wine cup and then put them in her mouth.
Many parents like to tease their children this way.
When she got a little older, Xu Huizhen started drinking alcohol, and later claimed that she could drink without getting drunk.
When I ran a tavern on Yandaixie Street, I often secretly drank by myself.
After all, He Yuzhu wouldn't let her drink; she was too young, and drinking alcohol was indeed not good for her.
"We're just going to have fun, we won't kick anyone out."
"Fine, but I won't drink it if it's watered down."
"Even if it's not diluted with water, you can't drink it. If you drink it again, you'll get a spanking."
"Pah, you bad brother."
The two arrived at the tavern, which was similar to what they had seen on TV; the taverns in the capital were all like this.
In the inner corner, there was a counter with peanuts, sausages, and other snacks to go with drinks. Behind it, on the shelves, were bottles of liquor and some cigarettes.
Next to the counter were several large wine vats, and the rest of the open space was furnished with a few square tables.
Old He was guarding the counter, while his stepson, He Yongqiang, was the waiter.
"Mr. He is a rare guest, please have a seat."
"We're too young to drink alcohol, we just came here to have some fun."
Old Man He greeted them, "You're welcome, please have a seat."
Although he couldn't eat or drink, He Yuzhu still bought a plate of rice noodle rolls and a plate of pork belly. Holding the two plates, he hesitated for a moment, then came to Uncle Niu's side and said, "Uncle Niu, shall we sit here?"
"You're too kind, please."
Niu Ye's ancestors were also Manchus, just like Suo Qian in Tianzaoyuan, who were birds and did not engage in production.
However, he comes from a wealthy family and has plenty of money to squander.
Suoqian has squandered all his family's wealth; even his wedding was paid for by his neighbors.
He Yuzhu's steamed bun shop has been open for several days now. Most of the neighbors look familiar, and He Yuzhu can even call some of them by name.
Pianye Qiu Guangpu was sitting at the next table when he suddenly asked, "Manager He, have you heard rumors that grain prices are going to rise again?"
"It's hard to say. If you have extra money, just save more."
He Yuzhu clearly remembers that even in 52 and 53, there were still occasional problems with rising grain prices.
This angered the higher-ups, who later came up with a unified purchase and sales system to restrict private individuals from engaging in large-scale grain production. Grain coupons would not be issued until 1955.
Uncle Niu also said, "Last year's ordeal left us only able to eat cornmeal. If it happens again, how are we supposed to survive?"
"Yes, we're panicking because we don't have any food stored at home."
The entire tavern was instantly filled with conversation about food.
This is the foundation of residents' survival.
The tavern was lively because it was full of familiar faces from the nearby alleys. Everyone gathered together, drinking and chatting about topics that interested them.
These days, let alone televisions, even radios are rare, and those are the huge, vacuum tube type.
Drinking and chatting is the norm here.
Although He Yuzhu doesn't drink, he can still chat with them, which is something he gained from his experience on Yandaixie Street.
Two days later, He Yuzhu came to the courtyard house again, and as expected, Yan Bugui stopped him again.
"Zhu Zi, it's been a while since I've seen you. I went to your shop for a drink, but I couldn't find you."
"I'm here now, you know, I often have to come back to clean the house."
He Yuzhu asked, "Grandpa, what's going on in our courtyard?"
"Yes, Jia Dongxu is back," Yan Bugui said.
"That shouldn't be the case, isn't his sentence supposed to be over a year?"
He Yuzhu found it strange. He remembered that he had been sentenced to more than a year, but the total time before and after should be less than a year.
Yan Bugui looked around mysteriously, then whispered:
"He's been out for quite some time now. He was carried back because his buttocks are supposedly ulcerated."
"What? Your butt is rotten?" He Yuzhu was extremely surprised.
"Don't shout. You don't know, do you? He shares a cell with Qian Datong in prison."
"What does that have to do with his rotten butt?"
"Of course they're related. Let me tell you, Qian Datong, he..."
Although He Yuzhu knew about Qian Datong and Jia Dongxu's affair, he didn't expect it to escalate to this extent.
Jia Dongxu actually injured his buttocks.
It seems the prison authorities found out about the incident. Now it's unclear whether he's just being released to recover from his injuries, whether he'll have to go back, or whether he'll be released with a reduced sentence.
What Yan Bugui said was similar to what He Yuzhu had in mind.
When Qian Datong first started bullying Jia Dongxu, Jia Dongxu was so scared that he didn't dare to report the situation to his superiors.
After all, that was too embarrassing.
Later, things got out of hand, and I was being bullied so badly that I couldn't hide it any longer. I gritted my teeth and finally went to my superiors to tell them the truth.
This time, Qian Datong was in big trouble.
Yan Bugui, however, did not know the specific outcome.
Jia Dongxu has been back for several days now, and he is almost fully recovered and can walk around outside.
"So you're saying he's already out early, and if he were released on medical parole, he should go back to jail."