Sha Zhu's Rebirth in the Courtyard: Starting with Hitting Someone in the Head

Chapter 73 Tsingtao Beer

The train came to a stop at Qingdao Station. As soon as the doors opened, a damp, salty smell wafted in. He Yuzhu got off the train carrying a travel bag. The platform was full of porters carrying goods. In the distance, the pier stretched into the gray-blue sea, and seagulls cried out as they circled overhead.

Qingdao Railway Station is a few hundred meters from the dock. He went straight to the aquatic product supply and marketing company after leaving the station. Section Chief Sun, who was in charge of contacting him, was already waiting at the door. After shaking hands and exchanging a few pleasantries, he led him to see the goods.

In the freight yard, ice blocks were piled up to waist height, the crushed ice gleaming white in the sunlight. Rows upon rows of fish crates and shrimp baskets stood stacked. Section Chief Sun checked the shipment list: eight tons of fresh mackerel, five tons of fresh ribbonfish, four tons of yellow croaker and various other fish, three and a half tons of shrimp and swimming crabs, and four and a half tons of dried shrimp, dried kelp, dried fish, and salted fish. A total of twenty-five tons, exactly one freight car.

"Comrade He, the railcars have been approved. We'll load them tonight and they'll arrive in Beijing the day after tomorrow. We'll fill the car with ice, and the escorts will add two more."

He Yuzhu nodded, handed over the official letter from the supply and marketing cooperative, and signed the receipt. He didn't linger at the freight yard, thanked Section Chief Sun, and returned to the guesthouse.

He put down his travel bag, changed into clean clothes, and, taking advantage of the early hour, strolled to the beach. The pier was full of fishing boats, their masts standing in a dense row.

Fishermen carried the freshly caught fish and shrimp ashore. The ribbonfish shimmered silver in the sunlight, the mackerel's eyes were bulging, the shrimp's whiskers were still twitching, and the swimming crabs were foaming at the mouth, their size was unbelievable.

An old fisherman was squatting on the bow of his boat smoking when He Yuzhu walked over and handed him a Daqianmen cigarette.

"Grandpa, this harvest is pretty good."

The old fisherman took the cigarette, tucked it behind his ear, and sized him up. "From out of town?"

"Beijing. From the supply and marketing cooperative."

"The supply and marketing cooperative buys fish at the cargo yard, what are you doing at the dock?"

He Yuzhu squatted down and lit a cigarette for himself. "The fish in the cargo yard belong to the state. I'd like to buy some of the rest you have."

The old fisherman took a puff of his cigarette but didn't say anything. He Yuzhu opened his travel bag and showed it to him: it was packed full of flour, wild boar meat, and money.

The old fisherman jumped off the bow of his boat and negotiated the exchange rate with He Yuzhu. He then shouted to the nearby boats, and several boat captains gathered around.

He Yuzhu zipped the travel bag all the way up, and the old fisherman finished stating the price. Several boat captains turned and yelled at their own boats, "Unload!"

The dock became lively. Fishermen carried the remaining fish, shrimp, and crabs from their boats ashore, piling them on the old sheds by the dock.

He Yuzhu led his men to buy noodles and wild game. After the transaction was completed, the dock was deserted. With a thought, all the fish and shrimp baskets on the ground disappeared into thin air, and a small mountain of seafood appeared in the space.

He gave a rough estimate: mackerel, ribbonfish, yellow croaker, prawns, swimming crabs, and other odds and ends. It was more than twice the amount of the goods from the supply and marketing cooperative, at least 50 tons.

That evening, He Yuzhu invited Section Chief Sun to dinner and introduced him to the station chief and two administrative staff.

After a few rounds of drinks, he slowly began to speak: "I came from Beijing this time, and I brought some things from the mountains in the interior with me. They are things that are rarely seen in our coastal areas, and they are not particularly valuable items."

As he spoke, he got up and pulled back the cloth covering the pile of supplies in the corner.

Bags of fine white flour, several cleaned wild boar meat patties, and a basket of slaughtered pheasants and rabbits stacked beside them.

In 57, seafood was readily available in Qingdao, but refined grains were already scarce and hard to find, let alone wild game. It was simply not available on the market, and even if you had money and ration coupons, there was nowhere to buy it.

The stationmaster stared at the white flour and wild game in front of him, his eyes instantly filled with joy, and he immediately understood what it meant.

"I really like your Tsingtao beer and would like to order a batch to take back to Beijing for my own consumption, and also to share with my colleagues at work. Is that convenient for you?"

The stationmaster immediately laughed and nodded repeatedly without the slightest hesitation.

"What's inconvenient about this! This is truly good stuff, totally worth it! We in Qingdao may not have much else, but we have plenty of beer, it's no big deal at all."

After dinner, the stationmaster had a large quantity of old-fashioned, thick, green, long glass bottles of Tsingtao beer brought out of the warehouse.

The bottles are printed with the old Little Qingdao Lighthouse trademark. They are all genuine products from the original factory in 57, neatly stacked in solid wood shipping crates.

They even brought several large barrels of freshly produced draft beer from the brewery and packed them all together.

At night, seafood was loaded onto the trucks. He Yuzhu stood on the platform watching the porters stack the goods into the covered wagons. Straw mats were laid inside the wagons, and ice troughs were added to both sides. Whole blocks of ice were put into the metal troughs, and the cold air sank down through the openings. Fish boxes and shrimp baskets were stacked layer by layer, and finally, an oilcloth was placed on top and tied tightly with hemp rope.

The train rattled along for a day and a night, finally arriving at Beijing Station in the evening.

Li Huaide and his two trucks were already waiting on the platform. When they saw He Yuzhu jump down from the armored truck, they took two steps forward and shook his hand.

"Brother He, you've worked hard!"

"Brother Li, everything is in the car."

The porters began unloading the truck, carrying fish boxes and shrimp baskets out of the covered wagon. The ice hadn't melted yet, and the fresh ribbonfish gleamed silver in the ice.

Taking advantage of the chaos of unloading, He Yuzhu separated four tons of seafood from the storage space and mixed them into the pile of unloaded goods. No one counted them or checked them carefully; the porters just carried the boxes onto the truck.

He then instructed the driver to put an extra box of large prawns in the cab, saying it was reserved for Director Li.

Li Huaide grinned from ear to ear, repeatedly praising Brother He for his meticulousness. He then took out six packs of white-paper Zhonghua cigarettes, wrapped them tightly in newspaper, and stuffed them into He Yuzhu's travel bag.

"Four cases of Moutai, I'll deliver them to your courtyard later. That'll do for now, I'll finish the rest by the end of the month. You're a man of your word, bro."

"Brother Li is a good friend. This batch of goods will last your canteen for a while. Come find me again when you're done. Next time I'm in Yantai, apples are in season, so I'll pick some up for you while I'm there. They're good for the steel mill to distribute as employee benefits."

Li Huaide patted his shoulder, and he felt completely relaxed.

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

He Yuzhu closed the door, walked into the main room, and sat down. He first took out a thermos from his spatial storage to make tea, took a delicious sip, lit a Zhonghua cigarette, and exhaled.

This trip was worthwhile. I made a profit for the supply and marketing cooperative, gave the steel mill a taste of success, built trust with Li Huaide, and even stockpiled so much seafood for myself.

He opened the newspaper package, revealing six packs of white-paper Zhonghua cigarettes stacked on the table, and four cases of Moutai placed under the coffee table.

Li Huaide really knows how to get things; his father-in-law's influence is definitely effective. He put the cigarettes into his spatial storage, kept two bottles of wine to drink with Uncle Chen when he came, and stored the rest in the cellar in the middle courtyard. Time was frozen in his spatial storage, so storing Moutai there wasn't appropriate.

A breeze picked up outside the window, and the pomegranate tree branches swayed gently in the moonlight, their new leaves glossy. This trip to Qingdao is now over. Tomorrow I'm heading back to the supply and marketing cooperative for a business trip, to deliver seashells and collect rainwater at Lou's residence.

I'll rest for a few days, then go to Tianjin. Next month I'll be traveling to Shandong and Shanxi; I need to stock up on grain, pork, and mutton.