Courtyard House: Purchasing Agents' Comeback from the Great Famine

The next day, early in the morning.

After Wang Feng and Qin Jingru finished breakfast, Qin Jingru went to work with Lu Banxia.

Wang Feng drank a pot of tea at home, locked the door, and went out with his bicycle.

He arrived at a large poplar tree in Mao'er Hutong, but seeing that there were no markings on the tree, he sighed helplessly.

He took out a dagger, carved a seven on the bark, and then carved a two below the seven. He then left and rode his bicycle to courtyard number 28.

Since Lou Bancheng and his group left Beijing, he has been coming here every few days to check on things. However, to his disappointment, despite Lou Sanhua spending a lot of money to hire some underground gangs to search for him, they have not yet found any news about Chairman Chen.

Lou San had made an agreement with that group of people: whenever there was news of Chairman Chen, they would mark a spot on the big poplar tree in Mao'er Hutong. Lou San had explained all these processes and details to him before leaving Beijing.

It seems that Chairman Chen has either left Beijing or is hiding well, so finding him will probably not be easy.

He carved a seven plus two on the big poplar tree, meaning that at 2 a.m. on Sunday, the gang that had previously accepted Lou San's mission would gather at another agreed-upon location.

In any case, he would not give up searching for Chairman Chen's whereabouts. This time, he planned to issue a long-term mission, and whoever found news of Chairman Chen could receive a high reward from him.

With a sigh, Wang Feng rode his bicycle into an alley, turned a corner, and went to No. 28 courtyard.

......

at the same time.

Intermediate Court, He Family.

He made steamed buns in the morning. After having breakfast with Sha Zhu, he walked for half an hour and arrived at the Trust Store.

I spent another 160 yuan to buy a second-hand Flying Pigeon bicycle. The bicycle was about 80% new, but the advantage was that it didn't require a bicycle ticket.

Now that his injuries have healed and Sha Zhu has returned to the hospital, it's time for him to find a job.

He still has more than two thousand yuan that Yu Shui gave him, but now Yu Shui needs to go to school, and Sha Zhu doesn't have a job. If he doesn't find a job either, he can't just sit around and eat away his two thousand yuan.

He rode his bicycle to the police station, paid two yuan to have a steel stamp made, and then rode his bicycle to the steel rolling mill.

After much thought, he decided to come to the steel mill first. Yu Shui had said that Qin Jingru's cooking skills were better than his, but he didn't quite believe it. He had to come and try it out.

As for whether it would cost Qin Jingru her job, that was not within his consideration.

He had heard about Qin Jingru's situation from Sha Zhu before. It was because Qin Jingru went to the steel rolling mill that Sha Zhu lost his job as a catering worker and was eventually fired by the factory for a small matter.

That's right. He thought it was a small matter to bring back some food from the factory. It was only because Sha Zhu lost his job of providing catering that he was no longer of any value and was fired.

The saying that Sha Zhu always spouts, "If the cook doesn't steal, the grains won't be harvested," was something he learned from him.

He learned it from his father, who used to cook for high-ranking officials and nobles. Stealing vegetables was just the most basic thing for him, and the host family would not object to such things.

After all, if the chef himself dares to eat the food he makes, it will reassure the high-ranking officials and nobles, at least they won't have to worry about being poisoned or unclean.

Qin Jingru took Sha Zhu's job, and now he, as his father, is taking it back. There's nothing wrong with that; it's all about who has the ability.

When he arrived at the gate of the steel rolling mill, the security officer stopped him.

"What do you do?"

He Daqing parked his bicycle, took out a Daqianmen cigarette and handed one to each of the security officers, his zombie-like face revealing a smirk.

"Hello comrades, my name is He Daqing. I used to be the deputy director of the canteen at the steel rolling mill. Could you please help me contact Ma Zhiguo, the deputy director of the logistics department, and tell him I need to speak with him?"

"He Daqing? I don't know him. Our factory has never had a deputy director of the canteen. There's only Director Zhu, and Ma Zhiguo is now the head of the logistics department, not the deputy."

The security officer did not accept He Daqing's cigarette, looking wary.

Upon hearing this, He Daqing said sincerely, "Comrade, I worked as the deputy director of the canteen at the steel rolling mill eight years ago. I really know Minister Ma Zhiguo. Please help me contact him. Just tell Minister Ma that He Daqing is looking for him, and he will definitely come out to see me."

Seeing He Daqing's righteous and stern demeanor, which suggested he wasn't lying, the two security officers asked in deep voices:

"Do you really know Minister Ma?"

He Daqing nodded hurriedly: "I really do know him, otherwise if you mention me to Minister Ma, I would be exposed, there's no need for that."

"Okay, you wait here, I'll go make a call and ask."

"Hey, thank you, comrade, thank you, comrade. Here, have a smoke."

As he spoke, He Daqing handed over the Daqianmen cigarettes.

This time, the two security officers did not refuse. They accepted the cigarettes, and one of them went back to the security office to make a phone call.

Less than five minutes later, the security officer returned.

"Comrade, how is it? Minister Ma recognizes me, right?" He Daqing asked with a smile.

The security officer nodded, his tone noticeably warmer: "Minister Ma asked you to wait a moment; he said he'll be right there."

"Hehe, okay."

He Daqing smiled slightly, then took out a Daqianmen cigarette and handed one to each of them, and they started smoking together at the factory gate.

Just as he finished smoking a cigarette, a tall, resolute-looking middle-aged man walked over. This man was none other than Minister Ma of the Logistics Department of the steel rolling mill.

Minister Ma arrived at the factory gate and, seeing that it really was He Daqing, quickly walked up to him and asked with a loud laugh:

"Old He, didn't you go to Baoding? Why are you back?"

He Daqing quickly took out a bottle of Daqianmen cigarettes and handed it over, shaking his head with a wry smile:

"Minister Ma, it's been eight years. How have you been? Congratulations on finally getting rid of the title 'Deputy'."

Minister Ma took the cigarette, lit it, and laughed, "Old He, you just got back to Beijing? What do you want to see me about? Go ahead."

"Yes, I just got back. I just wanted to come to the factory to see if they still need a cook."

He Daqing got straight to the point. He and Minister Ma had a long-standing relationship, having worked together for several years at the steel rolling mill and gotten along quite well.

Upon hearing this, Minister Ma frowned slightly, then sighed and said:

"Old He, you should know that I, Old Ma, am a straightforward person. I'll just say it straight: someone in the factory is now cooking for the company's employees, and this person's cooking skills are actually better than yours, so..."