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Chapter 102 Everyone is Happy (4K)

Zhang Wen was pacing back and forth in the courtyard of the supply and marketing cooperative, sulking.

These days are the busiest every year, but every year during this time, there are always a lot of people who think of looking for him to build relationships and connections.

No one comes here just to chat with me. What they say is just to know what expensive items you, Zhang, have, such as watches, bicycles, sewing machines, etc., and ask if you can be flexible. Your family is planning a wedding this year and they want to buy one or two items, but they don't have the quota. Can you please help them? The newlyweds will definitely offer you a glass of wedding wine. This is nonsense.

Should I drink with them?
In other words, the deputy director under him was a good person and was trying hard to take on this difficult task in his office and deal with those people on his behalf. This allowed Lao Zhang to come to the yard to take a breath and figure out how to get rid of these difficult guys.

As soon as he lit his cigarette, he saw Xie Hushan and a dozen militiamen from Zhongping Production Team 3 walking towards him from afar, waving and greeting him.

Chen Daxi opened his mouth and used the name he was used to at the reservoir: "Lao Zhang, you..."

"Call the leader! What about Der?" Without Xie Hushan's order, four or five people had already patted Chen Daxixi on the head. When they called Lao Zhang at the reservoir, it was Lao Deng who needed help from everyone. Now they are calling the leader because everyone needs help from Lao Deng.

No sense at all.

"You little brats are here to join in the fun at the supply and marketing cooperative?" Old Zhang smiled as he saw Xie Hushan and the others walking towards him. He took out the cigarette box he had just put away and threw it to Xie Hushan, asking him to distribute it to the militiamen who had been working at the construction site with him for three months.

Xie Hushan raised his chin towards Zhang Wenzheng's office: "Why am I here? I came here with a mission, so who is that..."

Xie Hushan was thinking about who should be blamed for this, but after hesitating for a while, he decided to put the blame on Lao Yang. He was used to it, and Lao Yang should be used to it too.

"Well, isn't Old Yang going home for the New Year? He went to my house to wish my grandma a happy new year. He must have seen you when he passed by just now. He said you looked like you were being bullied. You must have been annoyed by someone, and they all wanted to use you as a backdoor." Xie Hushan lied to Zhang Wenzheng in a serious tone:

"That's why Old Yang asked me to come and save you."

Zhang Wenzheng blinked and said suspiciously: "Why do I not believe it? Can you save me if someone else uses the back door?"

"You still don't believe I can fly, but I took everyone to fly." Xie Hushan pointed to the three groups of militiamen who were dividing up the cigarettes behind him.
"Nonsense, I can't help you. Why did Lao Yang ask me to come here? Look at these people. Why don't they go to the supply and marketing cooperative to queue up and join in the fun? Do you understand?"

Zhang Wen Zheng shook his head in confusion. It was indeed a bit strange. Normally, these young men would go to the supply and marketing cooperative hall to join in the fun during these two days after being busy for a year. Even if they didn't buy anything, they would stand inside and watch the girls from other teams who came to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy things. After all, it was very likely that one of them might be his future daughter-in-law.

Why don’t these guys who are supposed to be missing their wives go?

"I just look down on you!" Xie Hushan said to Zhang Wenzheng:

"Han Laoer and I performed well in the reservoir work, so the County Animal Husbandry Bureau asked us to go to Hong Kong Island to deliver cattle after the New Year. Have you heard of Hong Kong Island, Lao Zhang?"

Zhang Wen was working at the supply and marketing department. He had heard of Hong Kong Island before, and his eyes suddenly lit up:
"You are going to make a lot of money, kid. I heard that the subsidy for a delivery trip is not low. Do you want to take this opportunity to bring back some foreign goods?"

"I see, so these goods are waiting for me to bring back foreign goods, they don't want to buy them now." Xie Hushan motioned him to look at the militiamen, explaining why this group of people were so dismissive of the bicycles and watches of the supply and marketing cooperative today.

Just as Wu Shuanzi, the big fool, was about to say that he didn't buy foreign goods, Han Hongbing, who was responsible for observing their expressions to prevent Lao Zhang from seeing through Xie Hushan's lies, immediately stuffed the cigarette he had just picked up into Wu Shuanzi's mouth:
"Shuanzi! Suck it for me!"

"So what idea did Secretary Yang come up with that he wanted you to help me with?" Zhang Wen Zheng understood a little and asked Xie Hushan.

Xie Hushan asked Zhang Wenzheng in return: "Do you think people think foreign goods are better, or your goods are better?"

No matter how patriotic he was, Zhang Wenzhen had to admit that foreign goods were more attractive to everyone than the goods sold in his own supply and marketing cooperative.

Let me put it this way, there was a young wife in the commune. Someone in her family bought her an imported folding umbrella in a store in Yanjing that was only open to foreigners. Since she got the umbrella, the young wife wanted to keep it with her 24 hours a day. No matter whether it rained or not, she had to go out with the umbrella, just to show off that the umbrella was a foreign product, not available locally, and was the only one of its kind.

"Of course everyone chooses foreign goods. They are fashionable and cannot be bought here. Wouldn't they be very proud of it? If I had them, I would show off too." Zhang Wen Zheng said frankly.

Xie Hushan continued to ask: "Do you understand why Lao Yang asked me to help you?"

"I kind of understand. Let me tell those who are looking for me to use the back door to say that there will be a batch of foreign goods after the New Year, which will arrive in April or May. Ask them if they want them. If they want foreign goods, don't try to get in touch with me to grab the quota today." Zhang Wenzhen automatically imagined the follow-up content that Xie Hushan had fooled him with, a smile appeared on his face, and he spoke.

Xie Hushan nodded seriously, "I really don't want to get involved in this matter. First, Lao Yang and I have a good relationship, so it's hard to confront him. Second, you, Lao Zhang, have been working on the construction site with us for three months, so we have revolutionary feelings. I had no choice but to come and help you solve your problem."

"Thank you! Hu San'er!" Zhang Wenzheng patted Xie Hushan on the shoulder. Seeing that Xie Hushan didn't get a cigarette, he quickly handed him the one he had just lit:
"You smoke first, I'll get rid of those guys first, you've helped me a lot!"

When Zhang Wenzheng ran back to the office excitedly, the three militia teams who were deliberately making noise and playing some background music suddenly quieted down. Xie Hushan looked at them, and Han Hongbing gave them a thumbs up:

"Commander Xie, you are such a ruthless person. The leader treats you as a reinforcement, but you treat the leader as a money bag..."

"Those who seek backdoor access to Lao Zhang not only give us money, but also thank us profusely." Xie Hushan took a puff of cigarette, snorted proudly and said:
"Without these two skills, how could I be the commander of a bunch of you guys who are always planning to usurp the throne? Without these two skills, how could I let you go to my house at six in the morning and wait for me voluntarily? Do you have to take me through the back door? Ha!"

A militiaman whispered at this time: "No, Commander Xie, we want to buy some big things through the back door..."

"Wait! Why are you in such a hurry? It's impossible to buy everything. Just count as many targets as you can. We have to do it step by step. Lao Zhang is not a fool. He is the leader of the supply and marketing cooperative. He has just taken the bait. We can't rush to increase the intensity. It will easily make Lao Deng react." Xie Hushan glared at the militiaman who was talking:

"Stay still, keep quiet, and follow my instructions!"

A group of people were smoking, and soon Lao Zhang ran out again and pulled Xie Hushan, who looked reluctant, into the office. Everyone watched Xie Hushan go in for more than half an hour, and then he came out with a gloomy face, counting a stack of money while spitting.

"Why are you still following Xie Hushan's instructions? We have already succeeded." Han Hongbing said with a smile when he saw Xie Hushan's expression.

Behind him, seven or eight people who had come to Lao Zhang to get in through the back door came out. Han Hongbing and the others could recognize more than half of them. They were all familiar faces, such as commune drivers, broadcasters, telephone operators, agricultural technicians, cooks, and power management office staff.

"Leaders, to be honest, I don't want to help. I can't take it. I can only go with two people. Look, those guys over there are waiting for me to bring foreign goods. I really can't take it." Xie Hushan counted the money, put it in his pocket, turned around and explained to the people who followed him with embarrassment:
"That's because Director Zhang has a good relationship with you. He knew I was going to Hong Kong Island, so he insisted that I bring some things for you. He forced me to turn down all the favors from my friends and bring them to you. So you must never forget how good Director Zhang is to you."

Although these people were not leading cadres, they were influential figures in the commune and were called the "Eight Major Members of the Commune". They were all smart and quick-witted. How could they not understand what Xie Hushan meant by this?
It was secondary to tell them not to forget Lao Zhang's kindness. The most important thing was not to forget his kindness. Would he bring back foreign goods for you for nothing? And he had already said that in order to help these people bring things back, he pushed the help of more than a dozen buddies over there.

These people kept saying thank you, righteousness and other polite words to Lao Zhang next to them, and immediately began to "express their gratitude" to Xie Hushan.

"Hu San'er, I can't make things difficult for you. So, I'll give the limited amount of cloth, cotton, meat and fish that my family has in the supply and marketing cooperative to Lao Zhang later, and let him allocate it to you. You can arrange it yourself. I'm sorry for your hard work. I will never forget your kindness. I will definitely make special arrangements for you when you come back." The driver who has been driving in the commune for many years said to Xie Hushan. The first person said this, and naturally the others followed suit. They worked in the commune for many years and didn't really value the limited amount of daily necessities at the end of the year in the supply and marketing cooperative. At this time, they all asked to give the quota to Lao Zhang, and then let Lao Zhang allocate it to Xie Hushan.

After these people said polite words to Xie Hushan and left with many thanks, Xie Hushan looked at Lao Zhang:

"Leader, I'm doing you such a big favor, it can't be for nothing, right?"

"Then I can't let you help for free. I'll treat you to a drink tonight." Seeing these people leaving through the backdoor, Zhang Wen Zheng smiled a lot more and said as he took out the money.

He took out fifteen yuan and handed it to Xie Hushan: "I have saved this much money in my small treasury for a year. When you go there, please buy some for me."

"Are you trying to get me through the back door, Lao Zhang!" Xie Hushan praised Hong Kong Island to the skies in the office, tricking a group of people into taking their money obediently. In fact, he was just waiting for Lao Zhang to be unable to resist the temptation and take out his money, so he immediately said righteously.

Old Zhang was delighted and cursed: "You have no back door at all!"

What he meant was that Xie Hushan's purchase of foreign goods was a private act and he was not abusing his power for personal gain, so there was no question of using backdoor channels.

But Xie Hushan felt that Lao Zhang was scolding him for not having that...

"I can't help you for free, right? I have more than a dozen brothers and sisters, all watching you. In order to help you, I have to deliver things to those people. I can't even deliver things for my own brothers. Don't you need to help solve the problem?" Xie Hushan asked Lao Zhang.

Zhang's face, which had just shown a smile, suddenly froze: "Are you trying to get me through the back door?"

"I don't need you to use the back door. The quotas of cloth, cotton, meat and fish for so many people just now, if you add one more dollar, it will be a lot. You can help ask if there are people who can't afford the big items but have quotas. You can coordinate among them, which is equivalent to exchanging these quotas for a few quotas, and having the best of both worlds. This doesn't count as using the back door, right?" Xie Hushan shook his head and expressed his thoughts.

Zhang Wenzhen nodded. This kind of thing did happen frequently. Some members who had drawn the quota had no money to buy it, so they privately exchanged the quota with other members for other goods. He was just a coordinator and a middleman, so it could not be considered a backdoor deal.

"Okay, I'll ask around for you." After thinking about it, Lao Zhang's expression relaxed and he agreed immediately.

Xie Hushan immediately added: "Hey, isn't that enough? The quota for eight people is not much, so five bicycle quotas are okay, right?"

"You're dreaming. At most I can find a way to exchange two for you, but not so many people are willing to do so!" Old Zhang's eyes widened. Bicycles are in great demand. Unless you really have no money, there won't be so many members willing to coordinate. It would be very good to get two or three.

"Four!" Xie Hushan put away a finger.

Zhang Wenzheng was unmoved: "Two!"

Seeing Zhang Wenzheng's behavior, Xie Hushan nodded and said, "Okay, Lao Deng, you are good. You dare not say a word to those people in the commune, but you dare to bully us peasant brothers. I have seen through it. Our revolutionary friendship ends here."

As he spoke, Xie Hushan took out the money he had just collected from his pocket and patted Lao Zhang's hand:

"Return it to them yourself, say whatever you want, your third brother won't serve you anymore! I'm going home for the New Year! I don't want any quota! Brothers, let's go, let Lao Zhang continue to worry, I can't help you with this, so I'll just bring you some foreign goods!"

Zhang Wenzhen looked at the stack of money that Xie Hushan stuffed into his hand, and his back teeth were broken!

It's hard to guard against it. This little bastard is really ruthless in digging a hole! This last shovel of soil is waiting for me here!
Once you fall in, you can't climb out! If you want to climb out, this bastard will hit you on the head with a shovel...

If he really returned the money to those people in the commune, no matter how grateful they were to him just now, they would curse him behind his back in the future.

"Four! Is that enough?" Zhang Wen was shouting at Xie Hushan who was about to take a group of militiamen home.

It is not easy to meet the four indicators by yourself, and if you are not careful, one of them will be bought through the backdoor.

Xie Hushan acted as if he didn't hear anything and whistled instead.

Zhang Wenzheng was so angry that he could no longer hold back and yelled at Xie Hushan from behind:

"Fuck you! Four bicycle indicators, and at most one watch indicator. If that doesn't work, I'll go and fight Secretary Yang! Next time, don't ask people to help me blindly! How can this be called helping? Isn't this just taking advantage of someone else's misfortune?"

Xie Hushan turned around and walked back, pocketed the stack of money in Lao Zhang's hand, and also took the fifteen yuan from Lao Zhang's small treasury: "For our revolution at the construction site..."

"Stop it. You're blaspheming revolution by saying that." Old Zhang watched him take the money again, let out a frustrated sigh, and pointed to the gate of the supply and marketing cooperative compound:

"You kid, disappear immediately. Don't let me see you again before the New Year. Seeing you makes me sad."

"Who wants four bicycles?" Xie Hushan turned his head and looked at the third team of militiamen and asked.

Seven militiamen raised their hands. Xie Hushan ignored Han Hongbing, Chen Daxi, and Ma Saner who raised their hands, and pointed at the remaining four: "The four of you, one bicycle each, take the money and go to Director Zhang to get the bicycles."

"A watch, who wants it?"

Twelve people raised their hands, but Xie Hushan didn't even raise his head:
"Shuanzi, I heard that your sister-in-law is just short of a watch. If you give it to her, I think you will have a chance."

Wu Shuanzi was smart now, and rejected Xie Hushan's proposal outright, completely unmoved:
"Forget it. My sister-in-law thinks I'm a gangster. If I give her the watch again and it doesn't work out, what will I do if I don't get the watch back?"

Humans are constantly evolving...

Xie Hushan gave up the idea of ​​tricking Wu Shuanzi into buying a watch for the young widow, and then borrowing the watch from the young widow in the name of team leader.

The five militiamen followed Zhang Wenzheng, who was almost angry, and left after randomly changing the pointer on their watches. The remaining Han Hongbing, Chen Daxi, Ma Saner and others looked at Xie Hushan, and Ma Saner said:
"Thank you, Commander. You won't kill your own relatives for the sake of justice. Chiang Kai-shek at least equipped his own people with American weapons. You did the opposite. You gave all the benefits to others, and your own people got nothing."

"I told you not to buy it, so you don't have to buy it. I have never lied to you before." Xie Hushan said to a few people:
"These people in the commune are really rich. They gave me more than 600 yuan in total to let me bring foreign goods. I finally got back 80% of the money that Taozi lost from me. Let's go. I'll treat you to whatever you want to eat. Eat your fill and go home to have a prosperous New Year."

(End of this chapter)