Courtyard House: He Daqing Forces Qin Huairu into Marrying at the Beginning

He Daqing chuckled and poured himself a cup of tea to moisten his throat.

"Even street stalls have their own rules, let alone big restaurants."

Take fried tofu, for example. It looks simple, but the seasonings are complicated.

When eating fried tofu, you can't do it without chive blossoms, shrimp oil, fermented bean curd sauce, sesame paste, and chili oil.

Without it, it tastes like tofu dregs, like chewing raw beans.

The customers won't accept that.

"Wow, are even street food stalls this complicated?"

Ma Weiguo has really learned something new today.

"Trouble has its meaning."

This is considered the "style" of the old Beijingers: regardless of wealth, they eat what they are meant to eat, they must abide by the rules, and they cannot cheat or deceive people.

Times have changed. People today prefer simplicity and dislike complicated procedures.

However, some good traditions have also disappeared.

Some street vendors have started to use tricks.

Instead of making quality products properly, they try every trick in the book to speed things up, lowering the quality in the process, all they care about is making money.

Those who don't know the trick won't notice, and out of sight, out of mind.

As a cook, I see things clearly, and I can't calm down.

So I usually prefer to cook at home and try to avoid eating out.

He Daqing complained.

As more and more people flock to Beijing, the city's population composition will undergo tremendous changes.

Some things are bound to change.

There are good and bad aspects, but thankfully, the good things outweigh the bad.

"I think you can also buy more food and keep it at home."

Cooking for yourself saves money and you eat well too.

"Uncle He, what about this Cuihua Tower..."

Ma Weiguo frowned and asked cautiously.

He invited people to dinner to express his gratitude; he had no intention of taking advantage of He Daqing.

"Don't worry, the big restaurants in Beijing all value their reputation."

The master chefs are still here, so the quality of the dishes will be guaranteed for the time being.

The grand restaurants in Beijing are high-end establishments, and their regular customers are often well-known gourmets in the city.

They dared not arbitrarily change the dishes, lest they ruin the reputation they had worked so hard to build.

"I can rest assured that."

Ma Weiguo nodded and smiled.

Before long, the table full of dishes we ordered was served.

He Daqing would occasionally introduce the special features of the dishes to Ma Weiguo.

The group ate heartily, thoroughly enjoying their meal.

……

After settling everything in, Ma Weiguo officially joined the steel rolling mill as an officer in the security department.

The factory and its yard were very peaceful, and no further incidents occurred.

He Daqing's grain storage plan is still proceeding quietly.

October arrived, and the tranquility of the courtyard was shattered by the release of a notice.

"Is it true that the Qing Dynasty will implement a system of unified purchase and distribution of grain in the future?"

Yan Bugui and Li Shengli arrived at the east courtyard, eagerly seeking confirmation from He Daqing.

"It's clearly stated in the announcement, so of course it's true."

He Daqing replied calmly.

The unified purchase and sale system was a major policy formulated by the state, mainly aimed at addressing the uneven distribution of grain in the market and the imbalance between supply and demand.

It can alleviate the food shortage problem across the country and safeguard the interests of more people.

"Will grain prices rise in Beijing?"

Yan Bugui asked with concern.

Most of the neighbors in the courtyard were ordinary people.

Every major policy change can have a significant impact on their lives.

Having experienced the hardships of food shortages, they place even greater importance on the issue of eating.

This is especially true for families like Yan Bugui's, where wages are low and they have to support many people.

He already lives a frugal life, and if grain prices go up, he won't be able to cope.

"Don't be afraid, the government will intervene and food prices will definitely stabilize."

The only concern now is that some people have ill intentions.

They took advantage of the public's lack of understanding of policies and panic to drive up grain prices.

Everyone's been tightening their belts lately, eating less at each meal; things will get better after a while.

There is never a shortage of opportunists in society who want to fish in troubled waters.

They will exploit information asymmetry to create chaos and take advantage of the ignorant masses at the bottom of society.

However, this group won't be able to keep up this for long.

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They will soon be punished in the light.

"Should we stock up on some food?"

Upon hearing that they needed to tighten their belts, Li Shengli immediately began thinking about stockpiling grain.

Compared to He Daqing's words of comfort, the food at home made people feel more secure.

"If you're worried, you can stock up on some."

However, don't buy too many.

If everyone goes on a buying spree for food, it will only exacerbate the panic.

At that point, speculators will drive up prices even more aggressively.

This is not a good thing.

Moreover, grain prices are estimated to have already started to rise.

It will cost you a lot of money to stockpile grain now.

"If grain prices drop after a while, you'll lose money."

He Daqing analyzed carefully.

Some things can't be solved by persuasion.

He Daqing told them the story, which was considered fulfilling his obligation.

Okay, we understand.

Daqing, wait a moment and go talk to everyone in the courtyard.

We had something to do, so we went out first.

Yan Bugui handed over the affairs of the courtyard to He Daqing, then dashed out of the east wing, went home to get the money, and rushed to the grain store.

Neighbors are not even as close as birds in the forest; when disaster strikes, they will surely fly away separately.

Since it concerned his own vital interests, Yan Bugui had no choice but to act decisively and swiftly.

If he waits until his neighbors realize what's happening, he'll have a lot more competitors.

"Great Qing, I also have something to attend to, you see..."

Li Shengli said somewhat embarrassedly.

What they did was really unethical.

But I had no choice but to do this to make a living for my family.

He Daqing works in the canteen, so even if grain prices rise, he shouldn't go hungry.

This offered them some comfort.

"I understand, you can go."

He Daqing had already solved the food problem long ago.

He doesn't mind doing others a favor as long as it doesn't jeopardize his own interests.

Chapter 96 Where is there any room for madness?

"Everyone, that's roughly the situation."

"Don't worry, the issue of grain prices will be resolved properly soon."

Inside the courtyard, He Daqing spoke earnestly to a group of neighbors.

"Where are the eldest uncle, the second uncle, and the third uncle?"

Before the plenary meeting began, some people noticed that Yan Bugui and Li Shengli were absent.