Siheyuan: The Era of Struggle

Chapter 380 The way out
The waitress was startled by He Yuanchao's sudden action. Although she didn't know why this new brother was so startled, she still responded:

"Don't be so secretive. Just tell me what's going on."

The people eating in the restaurant were sitting very far apart. He Yuanchao was afraid that someone might hear what he said, so he leaned close to the waitress and whispered:

"Sister, do you know the three young people sitting at the table over there?"

"We know each other, but we're not close friends."

The waitress looked at He Yuanchao in surprise, then glanced at the three young people who were drinking and eating, and whispered in a tone of admonition:
"Those three are second-rate people. I'm telling you, you'd better not fight with them."

Seeing that the waitress was acting as if she didn't allow him to play with bad kids, He Yuanchao knew that he would not be able to get away with it if he didn't say something useful, so he just told her that he wanted to buy food on the black market.

The waitress was puzzled when she heard this: "How come you, a Kyoto native, come to Xishan to buy food? Are you trying to fool your sister?"

It was a bit embarrassing to talk about Zhang Zhao's misappropriation of military supplies. In order to make his elder sister believe him, He Yuanchao had to make up a reason:
"My eldest brother-in-law was transferred to another job, and his family just moved here from Kyoto. The food supply hasn't arrived yet, so I thought of buying some food on the black market for emergency use."

This seemed to touch the waitress. She sighed and stopped asking questions. She told He Yuanchao to be careful when dealing with these people and then raised her head and said,
"Zhang Daya, come over here and talk to you about something."

The waitress's voice was quite loud and sudden, and everyone in the store looked over curiously.

Zhang Daya is the one with fair skin and the one who doesn't talk much among the three young men.

Hearing the waitress's call, he was a little bit unconvinced. He held the wine glass in one hand, pointed at himself with the other and asked:

"Sister Liu, are you calling me?"

There were some people who called the wrong names, but there were definitely no people who called the wrong nicknames.

When the young man opened his mouth to speak, He Yuanchao looked at the big buck tooth in his mouth and finally understood why this person was called Zhang Daya.

The waitress rolled her eyes at him and said, "Who else should I call if not you? There's someone else named Zhang Daya in this room."

After confirming that he was being called, Zhang Daya didn't waste any time. He put down his wine glass, stood up and walked to the waitress.

"Sorry, Sister Liu, you don't usually pay attention to us. I was a little slow to react when you called me out of the blue. What's the matter, Sister Liu, do you have anything to tell me?"

Zhang Daya spoke very politely. The waitress saw that it was not good to have a cold face, so she smiled a little and whispered to him about He Yuanchao's plan to buy grain.

When Zhang Daya heard about the deal, he was very happy, but he looked embarrassed.

"Sister Liu has to go to the grain store to buy food. I don't know anyone there, so it's no use for you to ask me! I really can't help you with this."

Zhang Daya said this not for fun, but because He Yuanchao had a soldier vibe to him.

Speculation is a serious crime these days, especially in the current environment of food shortage. If you are not careful, you may even lose your peanuts. It is never too cautious.

The waitress knew Zhang Daya's character. Seeing him shirking his responsibility, she thought he was trying to use Qiao as an opportunity to ask for benefits, so she immediately said in a bad tone:
"Stop talking bullshit to me. If you don't want to help, get out of here. I'll talk to Wang Datou later."

Zhang Daya saw that the waitress was upset, but he didn't care. He smiled and said, "Sister Liu, it's not that I don't want to help. I am a law-abiding brother. Where else can I get food for you except the grain store..."

"Get lost, stop talking nonsense to me, go somewhere cooler."

People in the Northeast are very proud. The waitress was a little embarrassed that she hadn't even figured out this little thing about her new little brother. She interrupted Zhang Daya and turned to He Yuanchao and said:
"Come on, bro. I'll take you to buy it from Wang Datou."

He Yuanchao didn't say a word while the two were talking. Firstly, there was a middleman, the waitress, speaking for him, and secondly, he had an accent from another place, and seemed too eager, so Zhang Daya might not dare to sell his grain even if he had it.

Hearing the waitress's call, he responded without saying anything and walked out.

Seeing the two of them approaching the restaurant entrance, Zhang Daya, who was standing still, couldn't help but reveal a hint of hesitation on his face. There was no problem selling grain, so it didn't matter whether he did this business or not, but it would be a bit unworthy if he really offended Sister Liu because of this.

Thinking of this, Zhang Daya gritted his teeth and said, "Sister Liu, wait a minute."

"What's the matter? You won't help me but stop me from going to find someone else?"

The waitress stopped and stood at the door of the restaurant, staring at Zhang Daya who was walking towards her.

"Sister Liu, what are you talking about?"

Zhang Daya saw that the waitress was really angry, so he immediately smiled and said ingratiatingly, "I just came to see how much food you want to buy. If it's not enough, I will find a way to buy it for you."

The waitress didn't ask the young man how much food he wanted to buy. Now that she saw Zhang Daya softened his attitude, she turned her gaze to He Yuanchao.

"What is the current price of cornmeal and flour?"

When it comes to his professional knowledge, Zhang Daya said without hesitation: "Corn flour is 2.2 yuan per pound, and standard flour is 3.5 yuan per pound."

Food is in short supply right now. Although the price is more than twice as high as that of a normal grain store, there are still many people scrambling to buy it even without using food coupons. He Yuanchao did a brief calculation and then said:

"I want one thousand catties of cornmeal and two hundred catties of flour."

When the waitress heard that He Yuanchao wanted to buy so much food at once, she was shocked and a look of worry appeared on her face.

Zhang Daya looked calm, not frightened by the number at all.

He glanced at the waitress, then looked He Yuanchao up and down again, and said in a tentative tone:

"Can you eat so much food at once?"

The waitress also wanted to persuade He Yuanchao, but she also knew a little about the rules of the black market. Once the buyer and seller started talking, outsiders could only watch and not interrupt, so she could only stand by and worry.

He Yuanchao saw the waitress's expression and gave her a reassuring look. Then he looked at Zhang Daya and said in a relaxed tone:
"Whether you can eat or not is my business. Do you have so much food?"

"Wow! I met a capable guy."

Seeing He Yuanchao staring at him, Zhang Daya said without any hesitation, "When do you want it?"

As soon as He Yuanchao saw Zhang Daya's tone and expression, he knew that this guy must have enough food. He felt relieved and after a little thought, he gave a definite answer.

"Tomorrow at noon or in the afternoon at the latest, I'll come to see you and we can exchange the money for the goods."

"What if you don't come? Where can I find you?"

Facing Zhang Daya's question, He Yuanchao showed an intriguing smile and said:

"Food is in short supply right now. You won't lose anything if I don't come. Don't worry, prepare the food, and I will definitely come to see you tomorrow."

Zhang Daya thought about it and felt that what He Yuanchao said made sense, so he didn't insist anymore. He said, "I'll wait for you here at noon tomorrow," and turned around to continue eating and drinking.

He Yuanchao was relieved that the food for the short-lived troops had been found. He hoped to resolve the issue quickly so that he could return to Kyoto as soon as possible.

Thinking of the pregnant Zhang Min, He Yuanchao became more anxious.

After thanking the waitress for introducing him to the restaurant, He Yuanchao did not stay any longer and turned around and left the restaurant.

(End of this chapter)