Courtyard House: New Life, New Silly Zhu

It's a new week again.

Today is May 29th, and I'll receive my salary in two more days. My previous savings plus my salary totaled 53, and with the 20 from Li Huaide, the total is 73.

With this month's salary of 37 yuan plus a 5 yuan group leader subsidy, I have about 112 yuan left, plus some odds and ends.

The fact that I was able to save up to three digits so quickly is all thanks to some kind of cheat code.

Otherwise, I would have to spend some of the money I have on groceries at the market every day, and I wouldn't be able to save it up so quickly.

Thinking about this all the way, we soon arrived at the steel rolling mill.

Upon entering the square, one can see many large trucks parked there, with goods being unloaded.

"Old Zhang, why are there so many trucks bringing so much produce today?"

He Yuzhu saw Old Zhang from the security department and quickly asked him questions.

Having stayed here for over a month, He Yuzhu became very familiar with these people and didn't stand on ceremony, directly calling them Old Zhang.

"All these vegetables were brought over from Guang'anmen," Old Zhang said.

Upon hearing that the vegetables were brought from the Guang'anmen vegetable market, He Yuzhu quickly went over, opened the vegetable basket, and took a look.

It was almost entirely cauliflower, and even some small radishes, lettuce, and other vegetables.

"It's good to have more vegetables. Everyone's tired of eating the same dishes every day. Now that we have these vegetables, everyone can have something different," He Yuzhu said, pointing to the vegetables with some delight.

Before, the food in their cafeteria was mostly potatoes and radishes, which caused bloating and flatulence. Now, with so many different kinds of vegetables, everyone can eat a variety of dishes.

"That's not all, Zhu Zi. I heard that dozens of warehouses over there are already overflowing, and there's a lot of vegetables waiting to be stored. Right now, we're just required to store these here." Then, Old Zhang lowered his head and said softly.

"I heard that many vegetables there have been crushed and ruined."

Hearing what Lao Zhang said, He Yuzhu's eyes widened.

"Really? I see the supply and marketing cooperative and the vegetable stalls have hardly any vegetables for sale. The vegetables at the stalls are even piled up and rotting?"

He Yuzhu's first reaction was disbelief, but looking at Old Zhang's eyes and actions, He Yuzhu knew that he was not lying and that the accumulation and rotting had really occurred.

However, this matter has nothing to do with him. He is just a worker, not a leader, and he can't make any changes to these dishes.

Although it was a pity that the food was gradually rotting and piling up, there was nothing that could be done. Shaking his head, he continued walking towards the cafeteria.

But halfway there, he suddenly remembered that his cheat space only contained lunch boxes, some money and meat, and nothing else.

Since those vegetables are just going to rot anyway, it's better to let him take some to put in the space.

Upon arriving at the cafeteria, many middle-aged women were washing the cauliflower that had already been delivered.

He Yuzhu stepped forward to take a look. These vegetables had just been delivered and were quite fresh. Other vegetables that were easier to preserve, such as small radishes and lettuce, had not been brought over, but these vegetables were enough.

The morning was busy again, and it wasn't until noon, when the workers came to get the vegetables, that everyone noticed that today's vegetables weren't the watery stuff like cabbage or radishes.

It's real cauliflower, and the portion is much more generous than those other kinds.

Almost every worker packed a serving of cauliflower into their lunchbox, and even Jia Dongxu, who is usually quite frugal, couldn't resist buying one.

After a busy day at work, He Yuzhu found the canteen manager and, upon learning that there would be no special meals that day, didn't fuss and left work a little earlier than usual.

Turn right after exiting the factory gate and head towards Beixinqiao. Continue walking forward, passing Jingshan Park, and around Dongdan Market, heading towards Xidan. Continue walking forward to Caishikou, then turn right to reach Guang'anmen.

By this time, it was already getting dark.

"Not having a single bicycle is really a hassle." It's been more than an hour since we arrived at the factory, and even with He Yuzhu's stamina, he's feeling quite tired. But thankfully, we've finally reached our destination.

I strolled around Guang'anmen for a bit and found the Guang'anmen Vegetable Market, where vegetables were constantly being hauled in.

Not only were there trucks, but also mule carts; such obvious targets were impossible to ignore.

Following the Guang'anmen vegetable market as our target, we searched in all directions and indeed found many warehouses.

What caught He Yuzhu's attention even more was that baskets and baskets of vegetables were piled up at the entrance of the warehouse, including cabbage and fresh green beans.

These situations really gave He Yuzhu a headache, since he had previously thought that these things would be arranged neatly, and that he would even carefully put them away.

Unexpectedly, these vegetables were piled up here like garbage.

Along the road, they even found a manure pit where many people were dumping rotten vegetables directly into it, truckload after truckload. It was heartbreaking to see.

The scene that He Yuzhu witnessed will be published on the front page of the Beijing Daily on June 20th.

However, he had no interest in reading newspapers from that period when he transmigrated, so he was completely unaware of this information.

At this moment, He Yuzhu bypassed the crowd and went directly to the baskets of vegetables placed outside the warehouse.

He had already observed that these vegetables were all registered vegetables, but they had already accumulated in stock and there was no time to store them inside the warehouse. They could only be left outside in the sweltering summer heat.

Since that was the case, He Yuzhu didn't stand on ceremony. As long as no one discovered it, he stored the baskets of food into his warehouse.

However, his space wasn't very large; he could only store some vegetables from the outer areas. Many of the vegetables had already started to rot, but He Yuzhu didn't want them and only took the fresh ones.

There was nothing that could be done about the other vegetables, and it was unclear whether anyone would be dealt with, since many people couldn't buy fresh vegetables these days, while piles of them were rotting.

By the time I got back to the courtyard, it was already completely dark.

"Uncle, slow down when you close the door, I'll be right in." Just as He Yuzhu turned the corner, he saw Uncle look outside and prepare to close the door.

Yan Bugui pushed up his glasses and chuckled, "Silly Zhu, why are you so late today?"

"Hey, don't even mention it. I got off work a little late, so I went straight to the Dongdan vegetable market to buy some groceries. That's why I was delayed." He Yuzhu opened the cloth bag he was carrying for Yan Bugui to see.

Yan Bugui didn't stand on ceremony and peeked inside.

"Wow, not bad, Sha Zhu, these vegetables are really fresh. Why didn't I buy these vegetables at the market today?" As he spoke, he reached for the green beans inside.

He Yuzhu put the bag down again and placed it on his right, blocking Yan Bugui's hand.

"I finally managed to buy this, Uncle, please don't joke with me. Hurry up and go, my house is getting impatient with the rain." After saying that, He Yuzhu went straight into the courtyard.

Yan Bugui smiled helplessly, shook his head, and turned to close the door.

To be honest, his actions just now were all subconscious; he had no intention of taking advantage of Sha Zhu.