60s: I have a store

Chapter 636 Lost and Found

At this moment, Zhou Daming's grandmother spoke up: "Daming, your money is not lost, it's just that I put it away."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Daming and his mother, who had been crying, stopped.

At first, I was stunned, then I realized what was happening.

Zhou Daming rushed to his grandmother's side: "Grandma, is what you're saying true?"

Grandma nodded: "How could I joke about something like this?"

With that, he went back to his room.

Zhou Daming and his companion simply stood quietly to the side and waited.

A little while later, Grandma came out with something wrapped in cloth.

Upon opening the cloth-wrapped item, Zhou Daming immediately saw the fifteen yuan he thought he had "lost."

Grandma handed over the money, saying, "Daming, there's no need to waste this money. My clothes are still wearable!"

As he spoke, he returned the money to Zhou Daming.

After receiving the money, Zhou Daming was overjoyed at the feeling of having regained what he had lost.

If this money goes missing, he won't be able to explain it to his family.

"Grandma, look at your clothes, they're covered in patches!"

Grandma shook her head: "Daming, you've just gotten married and will soon have a child. That will put a lot of pressure on you. You need to save more money just in case."

Zhou Daming understood, and finally couldn't refuse: "Okay, Grandma, then we won't buy it."

"However, I still need to talk to the old Party Secretary and the others first!"

Grandma waved her hand: "Go ahead!"

Zhou Daming was about to leave when he was suddenly called back: "Daming, you can't take the money with you."

Grandma was still worried, so Zhou Daming, this filial son, went to the old Party Secretary to sign up.

Zhou Daming hadn't expected to be seen through so easily, and had no choice but to hand the money over to his grandmother.

Then he turned around and headed to the old Party Secretary's house.

I jogged all the way and arrived at the old Party Secretary's house in less than two minutes.

When the old Party Secretary saw Zhou Daming running over, he went up to him and asked, "Daming, did you find the money?"

Zhou Daming scratched his head awkwardly: "Old Party Secretary, the money isn't missing. My grandma took it, saying she didn't want to sign up."

After speaking, he felt a little embarrassed and looked at the old Party Secretary.

After all, they just came over to sign up, but then changed their minds and said they didn't want to anymore.

The old Party Secretary had anticipated this situation: "Daming, it's alright, as long as the money wasn't lost."

Zhou Daming said, "Old Party Secretary, I'm really sorry!"

The old Party Secretary waved his hand: "It's nothing."

Before he knew it, Zhou Yimin had been in Zhoujiazhuang for four days.

Zhou Yimin still felt that this kind of life suited him, but he couldn't not go to the steel factory. He hadn't been there for so many days, and if he went back to work, he would probably have a lot of things to deal with.

Just thinking about it gives me a headache, but even a headache can't stop me from eating.

First, I'll buy the items that are on sale today.

There were one hundred boxes of chalk, one hundred notebooks, one hundred kilograms of beef, and one hundred barrels of diesel fuel.

Just as Zhou Yimin was having breakfast with his grandparents.

The old Party Secretary came to visit at this time.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Yimin asked, "Old Party Secretary, have you had breakfast yet?"

The old Party Secretary shook his head: "Not yet!"

He often visits Zhou Yimin's home. He wasn't embarrassed at first, but now he's used to it.

Zhou Yimin didn't say anything, but went straight into the kitchen and took out an extra set of bowls and chopsticks.

The old Party Secretary didn't stand on ceremony and sat down at the table to eat.

For some reason, the food at Zhou Yimin's house always tastes exceptionally good.

That's why the old Party Secretary would occasionally come over for a free meal.

After breakfast, Zhou Yimin asked, "Old Party Secretary, is the clothing situation settled?"

The old Party Secretary nodded: "The clothes have been taken care of."

"Xiulan and the others are measuring the measurements of the people who have signed up. However, there are quite a few people who have signed up, a total of twenty households. Since the clothes are all made by hand, it will be a bit slow."

Zhou Yimin was quite satisfied with the old Party Secretary's efficiency.

He knew that the old Party Secretary wouldn't make a special trip just for this matter; there must be something else he wanted to discuss with him.

"Old Party Secretary, is this what you came here to say?"

The old Party Secretary shook his head: "No, Yimin, there's something I'd like to ask you for help with."

Zhou Yimin neither agreed nor refused: "Old Party Secretary, what's the matter? I'll see if I can help."

The old Party Secretary said, "Yimin, could you please ask the projectionist to come over so we can show a movie in Zhoujiazhuang?"

You should know that, according to the commune's arrangement, each village could only have a movie screening once a year at most. There were many villages, but very few people who could show movies.

This results in long waiting times for each turn.

The last time a movie was shown in Zhoujiazhuang was a year ago, when Zhou Yimin invited a projectionist from the steel factory to show it.

The old Party Secretary was also found, and the commune reported the matter, but the commune's answer was that it wasn't time for the next meeting yet.

If you want to hold an extra show, you have to find connections yourself; the commune can't help you with that.

However, in the entire Zhoujiazhuang village, only Zhou Yimin had the ability to hire a projectionist.

Zhou Yimin fell into deep thought, although this task was not difficult for him.

The old man standing to the side smiled and said, "What the old Party Secretary said makes sense. The village should show more movies. It will make the children happy and the elderly can also have some fun."

"Yimin, if you can help, please do so. Don't let down the old Party Secretary and everyone's expectations."

Zhou Yimin hadn't expected that the old man had already spoken up, so even if he didn't want to help, he had no choice.

He immediately said, "Old Party Secretary, leave this matter to me!"

The old Party Secretary was very excited: "Yimin, I'm relieved to hear you say that! On behalf of everyone in the village, thank you."

"Of course, it's a good thing to make everyone happy," Zhou Yimin said with a smile.

The two chatted for a while, but the old Party Secretary had other things to attend to, so he left first.

The old man leaned forward: "Yimin, can you get a projectionist this time?"

Although he wanted to watch a movie, he didn't want to trouble Zhou Yimin too much, lest he owe him a favor.

Debts of gratitude are the hardest to repay. If my mouth hadn't been faster than my brain just now, I wouldn't have said those things.

Zhou Yimin replied, "Grandpa, don't worry, just wait to watch the movie!"

After saying that, he went back to his room to pack his things, then drove away on his motorcycle. This happened right after Zhou Yimin left Zhoujiazhuang.

Through the old Party Secretary's words, the news that Zhou Yimin had gone to invite a projectionist to show a movie in Zhoujiazhuang spread like wildfire throughout the entire village.

Zhou Xuye said, "I didn't expect to be able to watch a movie again. Last year, after watching the movie, the kids imitated the lines in the threshing ground and made a ruckus for days! It's been almost a year, and my daughter still keeps saying she hasn't had enough!"

"Not to mention children, even adults mention it from time to time," an elderly man from Zhoujiazhuang couldn't help but say.

The villagers of Zhoujiazhuang were all very happy when they heard the news.

The entire Zhoujiazhuang village came alive because of the "movie screening".

Even the villagers of Zhoujiazhuang, when they are working, can't help but talk about this matter.

Whenever this topic comes up, I feel more energetic than usual when I'm working.

After all, in an era of limited entertainment, watching a movie was as exciting as celebrating the New Year. Moreover, the last time I watched a movie was last year, and I had been looking forward to it for almost a year.

Soon even the surrounding villages knew that Zhou Yimin from Zhoujiazhuang had hired a projectionist, and soon Zhoujiazhuang would be able to watch movies.

People from other villages were very envious, thinking that they should go to Zhoujiazhuang as soon as possible and maybe catch a movie there.

It's because there isn't a single person as capable as Zhou Yimin in their village.

Soon, Zhou Yimin's motorcycle returned to Beijing.

Because last time, when they invited Lu Guofu to show a movie in Zhoujiazhuang, they didn't go to the steel factory, but went directly to Lu Guofu's home.

I found a secluded spot and took the items directly from the store space.

In less than five minutes, they arrived at Lu Guofu's house.

I knocked on the gate of the courtyard house.

A short while later, an old man slowly opened the door, saw Zhou Yimin, felt he had no recollection of him at all, and then stared at Zhou Yimin with a wary expression.

Whenever Zhou Yimin made any move, he would shout loudly.

Zhou Yimin could only explain, "Sir, I'm here to see Lu Guofu."

The old man relaxed when he heard that Zhou Yimin could accurately name the residents of the courtyard.

"Xiao Lu, you happen to be home today, I'll take you there!"

Zhou Yimin quickly thanked him, "Thank you, sir."

After saying that, he handed her a Daqianmen cigarette.

The old man took it, but since he couldn't confirm Zhou Yimin's identity yet, he didn't smoke it.

He wouldn't dare smoke from someone of unknown origin; what if it was some kind of poison? That would be terrible.

They arrived at Lu Guofu's house quickly and knocked on the door.

A short while later, Lu Guofu opened the door and saw the old man and Zhou Yimin standing in front of it.

"Grandpa Li and Yimin, why did you come together?"

Grandpa Li said, "Young Lu, since you know each other, I won't bother you."

After saying that, he left.

Lu Guofu quickly invited Zhou Yimin inside: "Yimin, come in and talk."

Zhou Yimin carried the things inside and handed them to Lu Guofu.

"Uncle Lu, are there any missions lately?"

Lu Guofu answered truthfully, "Recently? I haven't really been assigned any fixed tasks. I'm just waiting for the factory to issue a notice."

He paused, deliberately drawing out his words, a knowing glint in his eyes, "What? You kid, you don't actually want me to show a couple of movies in your Zhou family village, do you?"

Zhou Yimin was surprised that Lu Guofu had guessed his purpose so quickly, and couldn't help but laugh, nodding hurriedly: "Uncle Lu, you are so smart! You guessed it right away!"

He leaned forward, a little helplessly, "Uncle Lu, you know, you were the one who showed the last movie in Zhoujiazhuang almost a year ago. Everyone in the village, young and old, is looking forward to seeing another movie. They don't have much other entertainment, so watching movies is their only thought."
Zhou Yimin is absolutely right; there are still too few entertainment options available.

Lu Guofu said, "Yimin, I can't answer you right now. I need to go back and talk to our section chief. If there are no problems, I'll take the things to Zhoujiazhuang tomorrow."

After all, these machines belong to steel mills. If they are shipped out without being reported, and something goes wrong, even if they are sold, they won't be worth that much money.

Zhou Yimin knew this, of course, but he had a good relationship with the head of the propaganda department, and he believed that the head would give him face.

"Okay, Uncle Lu, then I'll have to trouble you then."

Lu Guofu said, "It's alright, we don't need to talk about these things because of our relationship."

Zhou Yimin put his things down: "Uncle Lu, I'll go back now and wait for your good news."

After saying that, he left directly. However, this time Zhou Yimin did not intend to go back to Zhoujiazhuang. Instead, he planned to go tomorrow and use his motorcycle to help Lu Guofu transport the things to Zhoujiazhuang.

This way, Lu Guofu wouldn't have to ride a bicycle, which would be so strenuous, and he wouldn't have to carry such heavy equipment.

Since I invited them myself, I wouldn't have said anything last time since there were no conditions. But now that there are conditions, I definitely can't.

Just then, Lu Guofu opened the things Zhou Yimin had brought and was surprised to find fresh fruit and about a pound of pork inside.

He hurriedly chased after her, saying, "Yimin, this is too valuable; I cannot accept it."

You have to understand that in the winter in Beijing, even some leaders might not be able to get their hands on fresh fruit, which shows how precious it is.

Zhou Yimin waved his hand and said, "Uncle Lu, you know I work in purchasing, so this is nothing to me."

After saying that, he didn't give Lu Guofu a chance to speak and drove away on his motorcycle.

Lu Guofu had no choice. Although he didn't want to accept them, Zhou Yimin had already left, and he couldn't just leave these things on the ground!
We had no choice but to take the items back.

When Lu Xuezheng got home, he came out after hearing the noise: "Dad, who was that just now?"

"You left so quickly?"

Lu Guofu responded: "It was Yimin who came. You just said you'd come, and you even brought such precious things?"

Lu Xuezheng immediately became interested, took the item from Lu Guofu's hand, and eagerly opened it.

I was immediately shocked by what I saw: several apples and about a pound of meat.

"Brother Yimin, you're being way too generous!"

Lu Guofu was a little troubled: "It's just that I'm too generous. If things don't work out, I don't know what to do."

Lu Xuezheng's family never lacked food. Since Lu Guofu was a projectionist, whenever he went to the countryside to show movies...

In some villages, if someone wants to see an extra show, they'll give them some local specialties as a gift.

Even during years of famine, we can still eat our fill, although we certainly eat less meat.

Lu Xuezheng asked, "Dad, did Brother Yimin ask you to go to Zhoujiazhuang to show a movie?"

Lu Guofu nodded: "However, we still need to consult with the leadership first."

Less than ten minutes later, Zhou Yimin drove his motorcycle back to the courtyard house, where Li Youde spotted him.

"Yimin, when are you coming back?"

Zhou Yimin didn't hide anything: "I just came back from Zhoujiazhuang and wanted to invite Uncle Lu to show a movie there."

Li Youde immediately became interested. Even in Beijing, it wasn't always easy to watch a movie unless you went to a cinema.

However, movie theaters are not places that the average person can afford to go.

(End of this chapter)