The booming era begins with the director of the Propaganda Department!

Chapter 259 Old Yan invites us to a restaurant!!

After separating from his younger brother Zhang Shenfei, Zhang Shenliang passed the factory's technical worker grading assessment and was successfully promoted to the youngest level five fitter in the steel rolling mill.

Later, he learned how to make crystal radios from his younger brother, and he could get five to ten yuan for each machine he made.

after that,
Tang Danniu joined the collective processing factory under the neighborhood committee and was responsible for overall coordination. She was paid around 20 yuan per month.

All in all, the couple's monthly income is about 120 yuan, which is much more than Yi Zhonghai's family.

It’s just that the couple is low-key, not like Shazhu who shouts at the top of his voice every day that his monthly salary is as high as thirty-five!!!
For people in cities in this era, the most important things are money and bills.

Since the planned economy, the amount of food that ordinary people can buy has been linked to food coupons.

Six of the nine boys in the Zhang family are teenagers, so the rations are definitely not enough.

Normally, their family would have to buy expensive food on the black market, or else their children’s mouths would have to be tied up.

But who can blame me for having a good brother? ?

Since the strict control of rationing was implemented, Zhang Shenfei told his brother and sister-in-law that he knew a secretary at the transportation company who could help bring back affordable food from other places.

Every month,
Zhang Shenliang and his wife would ask their younger brother to have someone bring back some food from other places. With this, they could save the money on buying expensive food.

So even though there are eleven people in Zhang Shenliang's family and the ration is not much, they have still saved some money over the years.

at this time,

When they heard that their younger brother Zhang Shenfei was willing to lend them the quota for buying a house, the couple were immediately grateful.

"Da Fei, what can I say to you? I am your older brother, but I always ask you to take care of me... " Zhang Shenliang was tongue-tied and couldn't make sense. He just held his brother's hand tightly.

Tang Danniu said in a loud voice: "No, Dafei, you only have these two rooms in the front yard.

If we take your place, and you marry Tian Xiaozao and have eight or ten children, this house won’t be big enough for them.”

By that time, the quota will have been taken by them, and Dafei and Xiaozaoer will not be able to buy a house.

Ten or eight? How dare you say that!

Zhang Shenfei almost choked on his saliva: "Don't worry, sister-in-law, we can't have so many children. Xiao Zao'er can never compare with you in this respect."

Can’t compare with me?? That’s right!!!
In this courtyard, who can give birth to a child better than Tang Danniu!!!

Tang Danniu grinned confidently and commented: "In fact, there are not many people with the same physical condition as my sister-in-law... Xiaozao is good in everything, but her body is too thin..."

That small waist is like a wasp's waist, and I always feel it will break if I push it too hard.

And that butt is not big enough!! Unlike mine, it can hold a bowl of water!!!

Zhang Shenliang came to his senses when he heard what his daughter-in-law said: "But even if you only have two or three children, this house is not big enough for you."

For an ordinary family, if a couple has two or three children, two rooms are enough for them to live in.

But the problem is that his younger brother is still serving the old lady.

Speaking of the old lady, Zhang Shenliang looked at his brother with an apologetic look in his eyes: "Otherwise, when I get the house here, let the old lady live with us."

Before Zhang Shenfei could say anything, Grandma Zhang started banging her pipe on the table: "I won't live with you. Your wife is the only one who can piss me off to death."

Although a man who is neither deaf nor dumb is not qualified to be a father-in-law, the old lady considers herself a protective person.

The eldest grandson can't control his grandson's wife, and has to be submissive to her every day at home.

As a grandmother, it is not right for her to pretend to be deaf and dumb, nor is it right to make irresponsible remarks. It would be better for her to stay away from them and pretend that she doesn't see anything.

"Then if you don't live with us, we can't take Dafei's house..." Zhang Shenliang muttered.

Before he could finish his words, Tang Daniu grabbed his arm and said, "What are you talking about? If you don't want the house, what will happen to your nine sons when they get married? Otherwise, you should give the old lady more living expenses???"

"No!!"

"What about my son?"

Seeing Zhang Shenliang and his wife starting to dither again, Zhang Shenfei couldn't help but interrupt them and said, "Don't waste your time. I'll give you my place, and the old lady will still live with me.

As for my house, don't worry about it. I have my own way."

Zhang Shenfei thought about it for a while, and did not mention that he had a courtyard house in Yunju Hutong, but said from another angle:
"Let's take a step back and say that even if my two rooms are not enough, doesn't the old Tian family in No. 93 next door have a vacant room?"

Tian Xiaozao and his daughter have three large houses.

When Tian Xiaozao marries into the Zhang family, Tian Zhigang will only need one room. Won’t the remaining two rooms still belong to them?
"Dafei is right. Uncle Tian doesn't have a son, so shouldn't the house be left to Xiaozao?" Tang Danniu slapped her forehead and suddenly realized.

This way, Dafei will have five rooms, enough for him to live in! !
"Taking my father-in-law's house...will people talk about it?" Zhang Shenliang was a little hesitant. It would be bad for the reputation to spread out.

Grandma Zhang was open-minded and said leisurely: "If you only take your father-in-law's house and don't care about his family affairs, then of course it is shameless.

But Tian Zhigang has no son, so he will have to rely on our Dafei for his old age. Dafei raised him, so isn't it natural for him to take his house?"

OK! With the old lady's words in mind, Zhang Shenliang said nothing more.

A group of people in the Zhang family whispered for a while and decided that Zhang Shenfei would be responsible for occupying the next three-bedroom apartment.

Zhang Shenliang and his wife were responsible for raising money for two houses within the time limit set by the factory.

Grandma Zhang listened to their discussion and felt deeply saddened.

Five years ago, their family was the poorest in the courtyard, so poor that their eight great-grandchildren could not even afford underwear.

Who would have thought that five years later, their family would buy two houses???

What a pity, my son and daughter-in-law didn’t catch up with the good times!!

Zhang Shenfei had just sent his brother and sister-in-law away.

On the other side, he saw Yan Bugui, who was sweeping the yard, put down the broom and smiled at him flatteringly.

"No, Master Yan. If you have something to say, please say it nicely instead of smiling at me like that. I'm so scared."

Zhang Shenfei rubbed the goose bumps on his arms and couldn't help but speak.

He felt that the way Yan Bugui looked at him was like a weasel looking at a hen.

Yan Bugui put away his smile upon hearing this, put down the broom in his hand and walked over. As he walked, he looked at Zhang Shenfei and sighed inwardly.

Ever since he was labeled Old Y, the neighbors in this courtyard have always distanced themselves from him in action, even though they don't say it.

All in all, Zhang Shenfei was the only one whose attitude towards him remained consistent.

After the two of them met face to face, Yan Bugui could not wait to ask:
"Da Fei, I want to ask you, your factory is building collective housing this time, can non-factory employees buy it?"

Although he knew the possibility was slim, Yan Bugui still asked without giving up.

After getting Zhang Shenfei's denial, he started talking about Yan Jiecheng's work again.

In fact, a few years ago, when Yan Jiecheng was just dismissed from his previous unit, he also asked Zhang Shenfei to use his connections to arrange a job for Yan Jiecheng.

In order to bribe Zhang Shenfei, he even offered a high price of a bowl of noodles plus two poached eggs.

But in the end, the matter was left unresolved.

This time, because the steel rolling mill offered a bonus for collective housing, Yan Bugui thought of arranging an arrangement for his son to work there, and planned to spend a lot of money to treat Zhang Shenfei to a meal at a state-owned restaurant.

As the saying goes, you can't catch a wolf without sacrificing your child, and you can't catch a gangster without sacrificing your wife.

If Yan Jiecheng could be arranged to work in the steel mill this time, even if he couldn't buy a house in the first round, he would always be able to buy one in the second and third rounds. As long as he could buy a house, the three sons of the Yan family would have a wife.

In fact, he had arranged a blind date for their eldest son last year, but the girl didn't want to go because he didn't have a house.

Hearing that Yan Bugui wanted to treat him to dinner, Zhang Shenfei's eyes widened immediately: "No, Uncle Yan, did I hear it right? Are you really going to treat me to dinner?"

"That's right, let's go to a state-owned restaurant!" Yan Bugui patted his pockets which were filled with money in advance, and acted like he was rich and could eat whatever he wanted! !
Hey, the longer you live, the more things you’ll encounter.

Seeing that Yan Bugui was really going to invite Zhang Shenfei to dinner, Sha Zhu, Xu Damao and others who were watching the fun on the sidelines were immediately excited.

"I was thinking about it and when I just got up this morning, I saw that the sun was rising from the east." Sha Zhu sneered.

"Didn't Uncle Yan take all the fine grain coupons to Zuojiazhuang to exchange for sweet potatoes? How can we eat in a restaurant without the fine grain coupons?" Xu Damao also laughed.

"Brother Dafei, Uncle Yan's food is not that delicious." Liu Guangqi also said.

A group of people were chattering non-stop, and Yan Bugui's face suddenly darkened: "Go away! All of you, go away! Stop talking nonsense here."

"Let's stop talking nonsense. Brother Dafei, remember to bring roasted sweet potatoes when you go to the banquet, so you don't go hungry!" Sha Zhu shouted.

"Shazhu, you are the only one with a bad mouth!!" Yan Bugui stomped his feet angrily.

……

Because Yan Bugui was treating them to dinner, Zhang Shenfei asked the old lady to go to their house with his eldest brother and sister-in-law in the evening.

He pushed the bicycle out of the door and handed it to Yan Bugui.

"Uncle Yan, can you ride a bicycle?"

Yan Bugui rubbed his hands, eager to try: "I learned it in school, Dafei, are you really willing to lend me your bicycle?"

Zhang Shenfei just bought this in 1953, only four years ago.

If it were him, he would not be willing to lend such a 90% new bicycle to others.

Zhang Shenfei was a little speechless: "Whose four-year-old bike can still be 90% new...Okay, no more nonsense, let's go quickly, I'm starving."

Yan Bugui stopped talking nonsense and rode his bike slowly forward. He only started to speed up after Zhang Shenfei ran and jumped onto the back seat.

The two got in the car and drove straight to the state-owned restaurant.

After entering the door, Zhang Shenfei found that Yan Jiecheng was also here.

He didn't need to think too much and he understood it after a little thought. It turned out that the father and son of the old Yan family had discussed in advance whether to invite him to dinner today.

Old Yan, this cunning guy, was pretending to have done it on impulse in the courtyard just now.

OK!! It doesn’t matter.

Anyway, we're already there, let's see what these two are up to.

Yan Bugui first arranged for Zhang Shenfei to sit down, and then waved to the waiter to come over to take the order.

"One serving of braised pork."

"No." The waiter said expressionlessly.

Yan Bugui's eyes widened, and he looked very exaggerated: "What? The braised pork is gone? What about the Beijing-style shredded pork?
"No." The waiter continued with a blank expression.

"Sixi meatballs?"

"No."

"Braised pork with preserved vegetables, roast chicken, pork elbow... there must be one of these, right?" Yan Bugui looked very anxious.

"None at all." The waiter continued expressionlessly.

"There must be dumplings, right? Dumplings made with Fuqiang flour." Yan Bugui slammed the table, looking as if he was being unreasonable.

After getting the waiter's reply that there was still no order, I suddenly became anxious.

"Even Fuqiang noodles are out of stock??? How come a state-owned restaurant like yours doesn't have anything?

I'm treating everyone to dinner today, but you don't have this or that, it's like I can't afford it!

Aren't you putting me in an unkind and unjust position? How will my customers see me? I want to complain, complain!" Yan Bugui shouted loudly.

The waiter was annoyed by his pretentiousness and immediately rolled his eyes: "No, why are you pretending? If I said I had it, would you dare to take it?"

Ah, this...

Yan Bugui suddenly became embarrassed: "What nonsense are you talking about? If I want to order, I will definitely take it."

As he spoke, he winked at the waiter.

The waiter rolled his eyes. What the hell? I paid him five cents to help me put on a show. He really thinks he is a rich man.

Just say a few words to cooperate, why are you talking endlessly?

He waved his hand and said rudely: "Stop talking nonsense and tell me clearly what you want.
Stop talking about those nonsense. If it really happens, you will be dumbfounded, right? "

Oh my god, Yan Bugui was so angry.

What the hell is this? You take the money but don't do the job?
But now, in front of Zhang Shenfei, it is not easy to explain everything to him.

After taking a deep breath, he looked at Zhang Shenfei and said with a wry smile: "Da Fei, you see this restaurant doesn't have anything...how about we just eat something casually?"

Zhang Shenfei already knew that Yan Bugui would not really treat him to a good meal, and he was not short of food. He came here today mainly because he had something else to discuss.

He immediately said to the waiter, "Give us one serving of pickled cabbage, one serving of braised tofu, and six steamed buns."

Two vegetarian dishes and two steamed buns per person, this configuration is considered to be below average for a restaurant meal.

At least Zhang Shenfei had never eaten anything like this before when he went out to eat.

Who would have thought that after hearing this, Yan Bugui hurriedly told the waiter: "Just two white flour buns, and change the other four to double-mixed flour buns."

The waiter couldn't help but roll his eyes again: "How boring, you have no money and you're trying to learn how to eat out."

After saying that, he flicked the towel and turned away.

"Hey, look at this attitude, isn't it infuriating?" Yan Bugui pointed at his back and cursed.

Yan Jiecheng hurriedly pulled his father's arm and muttered softly:

"Dad, please keep your voice down so no one can hear you.

Just last week, a waiter at this state-owned restaurant got into a fight with a customer and hit the customer's head, leaving a bloody mess."

Blood Gourd? ? Hiss!!

Yan Bugui didn't dare to say a word now.

When the food was served, the three of them began to eat and drink.

There was no wine and no delicious food. Zhang Shenfei finished his two white flour buns, ate some tofu and cabbage, and then put down his chopsticks.

There was no food on the table at this time. The father and son of the Yan family each took some steamed buns and were eating them with vegetable soup.

Zhang Shenfei waited until they finished eating before looking at Yan Jiecheng and asking, "Jiecheng, don't you have a job now? Why do you suddenly want to work in the steel mill again?"

(End of this chapter)