Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

The subdistrict office is also responsible for the resettlement sites and the elderly living alone, children, impoverished households, and families of martyrs throughout the subdistrict. If they cannot provide these supplies, people will really starve to death.

Zhang Dabiao, Xu Damao, and Liu Guangqi convened a meeting with members of the Youth Mutual Aid Association. In the end, they all agreed to share half of their resources to support the street office.

200斤平菇香菇、300斤鹹鱼、50斤腊肉、400斤棒子麵、200斤野菜饼乾……

I added a few more bits and pieces, bringing the total to 1500 jin (750 catties)...

The scene at the time made the surrounding compounds extremely envious.

They're hauling it out, truckload after truckload!

With the neighborhood committee being helped to this extent, no one dares to gossip about Zhang Dabiao's speculation and profiteering anymore.

In these days, anyone willing to lend you grain is someone you've been through thick and thin with!

Zhang Dabiao and the young people of the Youth Mutual Aid Association—they must be good comrades!

The neighborhood committee provided the money at market price because they were genuinely short of funds. They didn't have the authority to purchase supplies outside of the planned budget, so they could only use public funds to provide the money according to the price set by the price bureau. Therefore, it was considered a donation from the Youth Mutual Aid Association.

But in the end, they put up a plaque for "Outstanding Youth Mutual Aid Association" and then removed it from the small courtyard. Zhang Dabiao and the others were also troubled by this – it was an award created entirely based on individuals. In the entire Nanluoguxiang, only their No. 95 courtyard had a youth mutual aid association.

The young people in other compounds can't even support themselves, so why bother with these so-called mutual aid societies?

On another note, wild vegetables are extremely difficult to find nowadays, and fish are practically impossible to catch. Fisheries companies have been using boats and fine nets to scoop up fish from the water several times over. That's why Xu Damao still holds the legend of the fishing king, and no one can surpass him.

The Youth Mutual Aid Association is currently surviving by exchanging refined rice and flour for coarse grains, as well as by the grain production of the small courtyard itself.

As they ate and chatted, they lamented the hardships of life.

As they talked, the conversation turned to Xu Damao.

"Da Mao, what was the Lou family's attitude afterward? Why did we stop hearing from them?"

Xu Damao shook his head: "I don't know either, but judging from Sha Zhu's expression the next day, he wasn't right either. I guess the Lou family didn't take a liking to him either?"

Zhang Dabiao was stunned—[You didn't like Xu Damao, and you didn't like Shazhu either, what does that mean?]

Are they still targeting me?

He felt a chill run down his spine, after all, the other party was Lou Bancheng, who had already suffered losses at his hands several times.

Can someone who can be called "half a city" be a simple character?

There are no wrong nicknames, only wrong names.

"So... have you been looking for Lou Xiao'e lately?"

When asked this, Xu Damao's expression became extremely unnatural. He paused for a moment, then awkwardly said, "I was ready to give up, to have given up completely..."

"But Lou Xiao'e took the initiative to ask me to go to the movies?"

Zhang Dabiao was stunned: "Holy crap, Da Mao, is Lou Xiao'e chasing after you?!"

Xu Damao chuckled somewhat awkwardly, "Before, I was determined to pursue Lou Xiao'e, but now..."

"I always feel that if I marry this woman... my household will never be peaceful."

"So we need to think about it carefully."

Zhang Dabiao scratched his head: "You were the one pursuing her before, now she's pursuing you. What kind of sophisticated game are you two playing?"

"Da Mao, that's enough fun. Don't mess it up, or you'll lose everything and you'll have to watch out for Boss Lou coming after you."

Xu Damao waved his hand dismissively: "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Then the conversation turned to Liu Guangqi—"Guangqi, when is your wife giving birth?"

"The doctor said it's the end of this month, so I estimate my due date will be around then."

"Thanks to you for growing vegetables and having supplies, the doctor said that Hongjuan's nutrition is very balanced, the baby is very healthy, and she is just waiting to give birth."

"Get me a roast chicken when you leave, my wife loves it."

Liu Guangqi never asked Zhang Dabiao where these things came from. They were unplanned supplies; if you could get them, you were awesome.

The factory is now counting on the purchasing agents to bring back more goods.

As the group was chatting, Tian Baocheng suddenly rushed over in a flurry of activity—

"Guangqi, Dabiao, it's done!"

Everyone was stunned. What happened?

Qin Jingru opened the door. The man was Zhang Dabiao and Liu Guangqi's boss and also their friend; they all knew each other.

After Tian Baocheng came in, he first downed a large cup of tea, and then, panting heavily, said—

"The down-pressure mop spin-drying set is finished! We have overseas orders and can earn foreign exchange!"

"The factory manager sent me to find you. Hurry to the factory!"

I heard that only the mop was made. Zhang Dabiao wasn't very interested. Even if it was made, he wouldn't get a share. It was agreed before that domestic factories would use his design for free.

Why get excited if you can't even get a commission?

He said helplessly, "Director Tian, ​​it's my birthday today, and it's Sunday."

"If it's settled, then it's settled. Guangqi can just go. Why should I join in the fun?"

Tian Baocheng knew what was going on. The ministry and the factory had both given him rewards before, but the subsequent production had little to do with Zhang Dabiao.

"Da Biao, you're the inventor! The department leaders are all here, they specifically asked for you!"

"Let's go, by the way—"

"Tatsunosuke is here too. I heard he wants to talk to you about the lighter."

That's when Zhang Dabiao got interested.

"Let's go!"

"Guangtian, keep an eye on your sister-in-law. Da Biao and I are going to the factory on business!"

After giving their instructions, everyone rushed off to the Red Star Daily Necessities Manufacturing Factory, but the scene they encountered—

Tian Baocheng was riding a bicycle, with Zhang Dabiao straddling the front crossbar and Liu Guangqi sitting behind him...

Three grown men rode Tian Baocheng's old-fashioned bicycle...

It was a little awkward.

Tian Baocheng said helplessly, "Guangqi...why don't you buy a bicycle?"

Liu Guangqi said matter-of-factly, "I spend all my salary on nutritional supplements for my wife!"

"Besides, with her belly so big, I wouldn't dare let her ride a bicycle. What if she fell and I'd regret it to death?"

Tian Baocheng – “That makes sense.”

"Da Biao, you should have the money to buy a bicycle, why don't you?"

"No tickets? Can you get me some?" Zhang Dabiao said helplessly. He had given out tickets as rewards several times, such as industrial coupons, cloth coupons, grain coupons, and meat coupons, but he hadn't given out bicycle tickets.

As for asking Li Huaide for it...

Honestly, don't go near him unless it's absolutely necessary. He didn't get the better end of the deal with the pressure-down mop and the lighter, and he's already complaining about it.

Furthermore, due to the deterioration of relations between our country and Russia, in August, Russia suddenly unilaterally broke the contract and withdrew all 1390 experts from China within a month, taking away key blueprints and data. Many major defense projects under construction came to an abrupt halt.

Demand for cream cakes and sour cream plummeted. At this point, if I went to him, I wouldn't know what to say. Should I confront him and ask why the orders were down?

That's definitely not suitable.

Therefore, Zhang Dabiao did not go to Li Huaide. Their relationship was based on mutual benefit, and if he went to Li Huaide for help when there was no mutual benefit, he would be asking for favors and owing him a favor.

Therefore, it is unnecessary.

Zhang Dabiao was planning to buy a used bicycle soon. Actually, he got out of school at noon every day and occasionally went to the factory to help Mu Wanqing draw blackboard newspapers in the afternoon, so Zhang Dabiao didn't have that much need for a bicycle.

When I go to the countryside to make purchases, I can ride the factory's tricycle, so I'm not in a hurry to buy a bicycle.

Upon hearing this, Tian Baocheng immediately squeezed the brake, and Zhang Dabiao almost flew out due to inertia.

"You should have said so earlier!"

"Zhang Dabiao, you should have said so earlier!"

Why didn't you say so sooner?!

"As our factory's chief designer and part-time researcher, getting a bicycle ticket is a piece of cake for you, isn't it?"

"I'll ask the factory manager to get it for you later!"

"This is a job requirement, don't you understand?"

Zhang Dabiao was dumbfounded. "I only go to the factory once or twice a month. What job do I have that requires me to buy a car?"

The three of them arrived at the Red Star Daily Necessities Manufacturing Factory in no time, but Zhang Dabiao discovered—

Something's not right here.