Siheyuan: Cutting off at the beginning

Chapter 204

When it was time for lunch, students in the class rushed out with their lunch boxes. Those who didn't have lunch boxes were going to the boiler room. There weren't many of them, only a few in a class.

"Brother Li, where is your lunch box? Hurry up, or the food will be bad if you are late."

He Yushui took out the lunch box from her schoolbag and urged.

Li Zhiguo followed the local customs and took out his lunch box, then followed He Yushui and Zhang Shuqin to the cafeteria.

"Brother Li, let's go this way."

"it is good!"

Although Li Zhiguo still has memories of his junior high school, that was more than ten years ago. The situation then was different from what it is now. There were no food coupons at that time.

"No, why did Zhang Shuqin go over there?"

Li Zhiguo was standing at the back of the team at this time. Seeing that Huniu did not follow, he could not help but ask about the situation.

"She ordered B dishes, this is the A dish window."

He Yushui pointed to the words on the window.

Sure enough, they were divided into A, B and C.

When I got to the front of the line, I saw that the A-category window was selling rice and noodles, with a small amount of meat dishes and three vegetarian dishes, and they were quite oily.

At the B food window, they sell cornmeal steamed bread and two vegetarian dishes, which are fried in oil.

Window C only sells boiled vegetables and vegetable soup.

That is to say, although they are both vegetarian dishes, the prices are different. The cheapest vegetable leaf soup is only one cent, and the most expensive meat dish is 1.2 cents.

The middle price of Class B dishes is three to five cents, which is basically affordable and close to the people. It also includes cooking oil and lard for students, as well as some nutritious vegetables and beans.

Li Zhiguo bought two bowls of white flour for 10 cents; a portion of fried shredded pork for 12 cents; and a portion of tofu for 7 cents, all of which were top-grade vegetables.

I also ordered a portion of Dish B, vermicelli for four cents, and Dish C, Chinese cabbage for two cents.

If he ate like this, a meal would cost 35 cents, plus 4 taels of flour coupons and 2 taels of meat coupons. Just for lunch, it would be ten dollars a month. Even the workers could not afford it.

But this is impossible. There are not enough flour tickets and meat tickets, especially meat tickets. Now each person only has five taels per month.

"Brother Li, you hit so many!"

He Yushui smacked her lips. She bought a bowl of white flour and two vegetable dishes, and felt bad for spending a little over ten cents. She decided to eat cornmeal tomorrow.

"On the first day of class, let's try the cafeteria's food."

Li Zhiguo looked around and saw that there were no seats in the cafeteria. After getting their meals, the students either stood outside on the playground to eat, or went back to the classroom or dormitory to find a place for themselves.

He, Yu Shui, and Zhang Shuqin returned to the classroom and saw a classmate kneading dough.

"Zhaxi Longbu, what are you doing?"

Li Zhiguo came forward and saw someone pinching something in the lunch box. He immediately realized that it was tsampa.

This thing is made from fried highland barley and ground into powder. When eating, just add some boiling water and pinch it to eat.

"Hello, squad leader. I'm mixing barley flour. It was sent over from my hometown. We call it tsampa."

Zhaxi Longbu's father was from Shuzhou, but he grew up in Beijing.

"I see. I've eaten barley cakes."

Li Zhiguo didn't ask any more questions. He returned to his seat and asked Zhang Shuqin to eat with him. He couldn't eat so much.

He did not enjoy the meal. Although it was because of the chef's poor quality, he felt more guilty.

Study hard and make the best of your efforts. Once you enter university, everything will be fine. The poorer you are, the higher your monthly subsidy will be.

"Yushui, Zhang Shuqin, help me wash the lunch boxes later. Go and call the other two class committee members to the playground. I need to hold a short meeting."

He still wants to do something. If he is poor, he will take care of himself. If he is rich, he will help the world!
Then Li Zhiguo ran onto the playground and instinctively found a corner to smoke. As a result, he met his colleagues, and the students from his old cram school were there.

"Hello teacher!"

Several older students immediately hid the cigarettes in their hands behind their backs and straightened their bodies, but they were still reluctant to throw away the cigarettes. They were so expensive! They were the fine food that they saved from their meal money.

"Relax, I'm a student too."

Li Zhiguo took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, then said, "Who brought the light?"

"Brother, I brought it."

A bearded young man hurried forward to help light the cigarette.

"Brother, are you in the cram school class? Why haven't I seen you before?"

The school has two cram schools. One class is for students who failed the college entrance exam and have the opportunity to take the university entrance exam.

Class 2 is the class of old students who just want to get by, and they look a bit like a loser class. Only by arranging a classroom under the teachers' dormitory building can they be suppressed.

Li Zhiguo took a puff of his cigarette and said with a smile, "I am a freshman in high school and the monitor of Class 3."

When these words were spoken, several old people were stunned. You are growing up too fast. You are only fifteen or sixteen years old and you are already like this and you come out to scare people?
Although they thought so, the old men still didn't dare to mock him. He was the class monitor, either because he was born into a good family or had a good education. He was the school's key protected person and no one dared to provoke him.

"You guys have a good life. You hide and smoke after dinner. I'm giving you a piece of advice. Don't mess with the students in my class."

Li Zhiguo, holding a cigarette in his mouth, stretched out his hand and patted the bearded boy's face with the back of his hand.

"Brother, how dare we do that? How old are you?"

The man with a mustache wanted to resist, but when he saw the watch on the other person's wrist, he knew he couldn't afford to offend. His father's unit was considered okay, but the watches he wore were not as good as this one.

"I'm thirty years old. Stop asking me questions. Have another cigarette. Find a bench when you have time. Isn't it tiring to smoke standing up?"

Li Zhiguo got slapped in the face, but he took out a cigarette and passed it around. Doesn't this establish friendship?

"Brother, here are some stones. If you don't mind, sit on them for a while?"

Everyone felt happy when they got the cigarettes, which also helped them to stay alert.

"Okay!"

Li Zhiguo was sitting on a stone pier and chatting with someone. In front of him was a small bungalow, which was a sports equipment storage room built next to the playground.

"Okay, I have an appointment with the class committee. Let's talk later."

After finishing a cigarette, Li Zhiguo patted his butt and left.

The little mustache couldn't help but say, "There's a strong man in our school. When he hit me in the face just now, I didn't dare to resist."

"Lao Hu, this is not shameful. His watch is only worth more than 400 yuan. My father is a watch repairman and he will not admit his mistake."

"It's not just the watch, it's the energy. When he looked at me, I felt uneasy."

A few old guys chatted for a while, and when they went out, they saw the big brother sitting at the ping-pong table, chatting with a few students, and there was someone fanning him. How cool he looked.

……

"Zhao Yanhua, Fang Minggen, I asked you to come here to help find out which students in the class are in more difficult conditions, how much their living expenses are each month and each day, and what food they bring from home.

I am trying to find some ways to work and study so that students can use weekends or after school time to earn some money. "

Although Li Zhiguo has the ability to help these poor children, in this case, he can only help in emergencies but not in poverty. Moreover, charity is unreliable. One has to earn it with one's own hands. Hard work makes one rich!
"Squad leader, what's the point of working and studying? I'm short of money too. My family only gives me 50 cents a week for living expenses, and each of my six lunches is less than 10 cents."

Fang Minggen's family was a poor peasant family in the city, and he was elected as a class committee member because of this.

"Are you willing to carry it? I can earn two cents for unloading a bag of grain from the truck and carrying it to the warehouse.

It's not difficult to earn 40 or 50 cents in half a day's work, and two people can work together."

Li Zhiguo can find a way. Although he doesn't earn much, an extra one or two dollars a month is no less than winning a lottery for a poor student.

"Yes! I can handle it."

Fang Minggen gritted his teeth and just considered it as exercise.

"Okay, let's go investigate. Today is Thursday, and I want to see the results of the investigation tomorrow.

The four of you will form groups of two. I want to see two lists. Whoever makes a mistake will be criticized!"

Li Zhiguo just said it briefly and that was it. He chose the playground to smoke a cigarette and take a walk.

It’s pretty good to go to school in the afternoon. There are music and physical education classes, as well as political classes where we can chat about everything.

Then came the self-study classes, and also the self-study classes in the evening. He put on his backpack and prepared to leave.

"Yushui, um, are you going to leave or not?"

"Brother Li, I want to stay and do my homework. If you don't understand, please ask your classmates."

He Yushui wanted to leave, but he didn't understand some of what was said today, and he would be in trouble if he failed to finish his homework when he returned.

"Okay, I'll be leaving first! I'll go home and do my homework."

Li Zhiguo slipped away after saying this and planned to visit his homeroom teacher at the weekend to discuss the sick leave.

When I got home, Guan Xiang had already returned from school and was doing his homework seriously.

Jingru hasn't come back yet. It's the second year of junior high school now, and there are more courses.

As for him, he should go to bed first, as it’s too early to get up.

"Zhiguo, wake up, it's time to eat."

Qin Huairu had just come back a while ago, and her sister was busy in the kitchen, so she was not in a hurry.

"Ah! Huairu, you're back! Okay, let's eat."

Li Zhiguo yawned and decided to go to bed early tonight. It would be bad to be late for class in the first few days. He asked Yushui to pick him up the next morning.

During the meal, Guan Xiang suddenly said, "Dad, I have finished my homework. I want to go out and play after dinner."

"Go ahead, and don't come back too late."

Li Zhiguo suddenly thought of something and said hurriedly, "Huai Ru, um, I haven't finished my homework yet. Can you help me with it later?"

"What? I'll help you with your homework. I don't know how to govern a country. I never understood it when I was in school."

Qin Huairu's cultural level is really low, and she gets a headache when she sees books.

“Your handwriting is great, from now on I’ll have you write all my homework, and the notes must be consistent.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t know. Yu Shui has done his homework, you can borrow it and copy it.”

Li Zhiguo was too lazy to write, he knew the answers to those questions, and in the afternoon he was studying the following courses on his own.

Because I will take the college entrance examination directly next year, I have to finish three years of courses in one year, and I have to set aside time to review all previous exam papers. The task is heavy and I don’t have time to do homework.

"This, okay!"

Qin Huairu wanted to say, how can you get into university if you don’t even do your homework?
……

After dinner, Qin Huairu went to find He Yushui, Qin Jingru cleaned up the dishes, and Guan Xiang ran out to play. The division of labor was clear.

As for Li Zhiguo, he was lying on a chair in the yard to enjoy the cool air, with a book covering his face to block out the sunlight.

This made the second aunt shake her head. She thought that even with all the education he had, he was still not as good as the three boys in her family.

"Yu Shui, you are eating." Qin Huairu arrived at Lao He's house and stood at the door without entering the house.

"Sister Qin, what's going on!"

He Yushui was confused, because Brother Li had already gone home a long time ago.

"Sister Qin, have you eaten yet? Do you want me to cook a dish for you?"

Sha Zhu stood up immediately, there were eggs at home that could be used.

"Silly Zhu, I've eaten. I came to borrow Yu Shui's homework book. Your brother hasn't finished his homework yet."

Qin Huairu didn't mention the cheating incident. If this gets out, it will have a bad impact.

"Ah! I haven't finished my homework yet, Sister Qin, wait a minute, I'll get it."

He Yushui thought, didn’t Brother Li say before that he would go home and write it?

She put down her chopsticks, went to the next room, and took out her notebooks. There were homework assignments for several subjects, which was also to give the boarding students something to do.

"Rainwater, these are today's homework!"

Qin Huairu felt a little dizzy. How long would it take her to finish copying? She said she would work overtime to make clothes in the evening.

"Yes! It has to be handed in tomorrow. By the way, Sister Qin, Brother Li has been elected as the class monitor. He is very popular in the class."

He Yushui did not say that she was also a class committee member. She was promoted as an alternate and it was not easy for her to show off.

"That's great! Um, who is your brother's deskmate?"

Qin Huairu might as well find out if there is any potential threat so as to avoid finding a child bride.

He Yushui said casually: "It's just me. Brother Li and I sat together in the third row, a very good seat."

"That's very good!"

Qin Huairu was relieved, not only because she had watched Yu Shui grow up, but also because it was impossible for a child to grow well in one yard, not even the neighbors.

"Yushui, I'm going back to do my homework."

Qin Huairu was about to leave as she spoke, but she didn't notice that she had let the cat out of the bag.

"What, Sister Qin, what homework are you doing?"

He Yushui was confused and made some bad guesses.

"I...your brother has been ill for a long time. It's not easy for him to do his homework while lying down. I will help him copy some."

Qin Huairu explained with gritted teeth, but it seemed that she couldn't hide it from Yu Shui, because the other person was her deskmate.

"what!"

He Yushui was confused. She had used her time after class to help Brother Li write his class notes. Why did he have to ask Sister Qin to copy his homework? How could he learn anything from this?

"It's okay, your brother praised my handwriting!"

Qin Huairu left quickly, having to hurry up.

When she returned home, she found that the man was not there. He was probably out for a walk.

She hurried back to the room, where there was a new desk. There was also one in the next room, as two were bought a while ago.

The desk in the inner room had never been used, so she used it first.

This would open the man's schoolbag and reveal a brand new notebook with the name not yet written on it.

After a while, I started copying homework under the light, which was much more tiring than operating a sewing machine.

……

Siheyuan, front yard.

Li Zhiguo just realized that he had run out of matches and planned to go out and buy two as a backup.

"Uncle, please stop being busy and go out to play a game of chess."

"coming."

Yan Bugui was listening to the radio in the room, so he leaned against the side and turned down the volume to save electricity. When he heard the shouting, he quickly stood up and tried to turn it off.

"Come on, Dad. I'm still listening."

Yan Jiecheng leaned on the other side, which was the living room for dining. There were many people in the room, including his younger brothers and sisters. He didn't want to move because he hadn't eaten enough for dinner.

"What are you listening to? You haven't paid the electricity bill."

Yan Bugui turned off the radio without saying anything.

"No, Dad. I gave all my salary to you. You only give me a few dollars a month, which is not enough for lunch in the cafeteria."

Yan Jiecheng was dumbfounded. He paid so much money, it should be enough to pay for the electricity bill.

"There's no electricity bill inside, the extra money will be saved for you to marry a wife. I won't tell you anymore, your brother is still waiting for me to play chess with him."

"Dad, I'm going too."

Yan Jiecheng hurried to catch up. It was too early and he couldn't sleep.

"Hey, Jie Cheng, you can come too. Come on, I'll be able to help you come up with some ideas."

Li Zhiguo brought the father and son of the Yan family and found Old Man Zeng. The old man was on the verge of death last year, but he is still in good health this year. He plays chess every day and his level is still very high. It is speechless.

……

"Li Zhiguo, are you home?"

The second aunt arrived at the door of the main room with a basket in her hand. She came to give gifts.

"Second Aunt, Zhiguo is out."

Qin Huairu replied but did not move. She was copying a math problem and was having a hard time, worried that she had written the wrong number.

The desk was placed by the window, and the original sewing machine was moved to the wall behind it.

From this position, you can see the living room of the outer room, so any movement can be easily noticed.

"Qin Huairu, it's the same when you're at home. I've prepared something for you."

The second aunt walked in carrying a basket. Her son Guangtian didn't get into high school, and he didn't want to repeat the year, so he stayed at home and ate long meals. He had a big appetite, but this was not a solution.

"What the hell!"

Qin Huairu had to put down her pen temporarily, which delayed her homework.

"Hey, Qin Huairu, why are you doing your homework? Isn't Li Zhiguo reading?"

The second aunt has never been to school, but she can understand what is going on, as there are three children at home.

"This one……"

Qin Huairu said awkwardly: "Zhiguo is not in good health, I will write something for him."

"What? He's studying and you're helping him with his homework. This..."

Second Aunt was annoyed. This was something a bad boy could do. But didn’t the bad boy swear that he would go to college? He even asked his wife to write his homework for him. What could he possibly test?
This is only the first day of class. Although her three children’s grades are not very good, they have never asked their family members to write for them.

"Second Aunt, how do you deliver things?"

Qin Huairu quickly changed the subject and stopped dwelling on this matter.

But it didn't seem to matter. She felt that her man would definitely not be able to get into university. Anyway, the family was not short of money, so it didn't matter.

"Oh! You see, I almost forgot about this.

These eggs are for Li Zhiguo, so that he can have time to help Guangtian with work matters. Guangtian is also his younger brother and he especially respects him as his elder brother. "

The second aunt’s family has already had a new baby. The eldest daughter-in-law gave birth to a daughter and is about to leave the confinement period.

It just so happened that there were some extra eggs at home, so they sent a basket over.

"Thank you, Second Auntie."

Qin Huairu accepted it. It was not the first time. The second aunt had given it to her once before, and the third uncle had also given it to her.

Every time the money was divided, she always took the biggest share.

After the second aunt left, she counted the eggs in the basket. There were twenty-two, which was quite a lot.

There was a red envelope underneath. When I opened it, I saw fifty yuan in it, which was ten yuan less than what the third uncle gave.

"That's it. I still have homework."

Qin Huairu quickly put her things down and continued writing. She was afraid of making mistakes in copying, so she wrote slowly.

……

"Hey! I just went to the bad boy's house. Guess what I saw?"

The second aunt was also restless. After leaving Li's house, she completely forgot about her son who was waiting for news at home, and ran to the central courtyard where there were many people and they could chat.

"What did you see? Li Zhiguo is out."

"Yes, I went out with Third Uncle and Yan Jiecheng. They asked me to go to Beixinqiao to play chess."

A few aunties thought it was nothing strange since the owner was not at home.

The second aunt was anxious, "Oh, it doesn't matter if he goes out, Qin Huairu is doing his homework at home."

"What? Qin Huairu is doing homework. Didn't she not finish junior high school? How can she do high school homework?"

"This is not a matter of whether or not, it's about the bad boy studying. He said he wants to take the college entrance exam, but how can he take it if he lets his wife write for him?"

"Yeah, why do you need to take the exam? You've just wasted your time in high school and it costs money."

"Hey, Yu Shui is out. Ask her what's going on. She's in the same class as the bad boy."

A few middle-aged women stopped He Yushui and started chatting at the foot of the wall. From this position, if Li Zhiguo suddenly came back, he would be able to see them.

Mrs. Chen asked, "Yushui, have you finished your homework?"

"I've finished it. I wrote it at school."

He Yushui planned to go to the toilet, wash up and go to bed after coming back, as he had to continue to identify the poor students in the class tomorrow.

The second aunt asked, "Why didn't Li Zhiguo do his homework and let Qin Huairu help him with it at home?"

"Ah, you all know that!"

He Yushui said somewhat embarrassedly: "Sister Qin borrowed my homework book to copy. Brother Li is not in good health and can't do it lying at home."

"He's not feeling well, but he's not lying down. He went out to play chess with the third uncle. Your sister Qin is left alone at home to do her homework."

The second aunt exposed the whole secret with just one sentence. Since the real owner is not here, we are not allowed to chat about some small gossip.

"Ah! Here, I'm going to the bathroom."

(End of this chapter)