The Red Era: The Crowd in the Siheyuan

Chapter 534 He Yuzhu prepares to open a restaurant
"Forget it, I won't go.
You know what goes on at those parties, so I'd better not go.
What if the joint defense team raids and catches me? That would be so embarrassing. If you want to go, go by yourself. I'm going to go out and get a haircut."

"Okay, if you don't want to go, I'll go by myself. Don't follow me. Are you afraid of being caught by the joint defense team? I'm also afraid that you'll report me."

After saying this, Xu Damao took two steps at a time and walked out of the courtyard first.
Seeing this, He Yuzhu also prepared to go out.

Luoguxiang was much more lively than last year's Spring Festival. As soon as He Yuzhu walked out of the courtyard gate, he heard a shout of "sharpening scissors and sharpening kitchen knives".

Looking over, I saw Wu Dafu, a former water carrier who was also over 60 years old, carrying a bench and walking towards the entrance of the alley.
So he smiled and greeted,
"Hey Uncle Wu, when did you start doing this? I've never seen you do this before!"

Seeing He Yuzhu, Wu Dafu put the bench down from his shoulders, patted his waist, sighed,
"Well, what can I do? I'm old now, you can't ask me to fetch water anymore. Every household has running water, so there's no need for me.

This means that you can only do what you can, such as sharpening kitchen knives, repairing pots, etc.

To supplement the family income.”

Seeing Wu Dafu pounding his waist, He Yuzhu felt somewhat uncomfortable.
"Uncle Wu, you are so old now. You have worked so hard all your life and it is time for you to enjoy a peaceful life. You worry so much about your children and grandchildren. Can you handle it?"

"Haha, I have to worry about it. Look at how many big things happened in just one year last year.

There are more and more rich people, and the food and meat that do not require tickets are becoming more and more expensive. With the salary of my two sons, they can't afford the food and vegetables outside the plan.

I am not the only one in my family who sharpens kitchen knives.

My eldest grandson was initially planning to run to a smoking stand near the subway station,

But you also know that the neighbors are quite critical of this kind of thing. How dare I let him do this? What if someone reports him? This is speculation and profiteering."

Perhaps after a short rest, the problem in his waist was relieved, and Wu Dafu carried the bench on his shoulders again.
"What pillar? Do you need to sharpen your kitchen knife or mend your pot?

If nothing else, I'll leave first, walk faster, and I can still go around Shichahai this morning."

Every family has its own problems. Seeing Wu Dafu rushing to attract business, He Yuzhu didn't say anything more.
"Okay, countless. Everything in our house is fine. If there is any problem, I will definitely come to you first. You go ahead and do your work. I'll go to Uncle Zhang to get my hair cut."

"Okay, I'll leave the pillar first."

After seeing Wu Dafu off, He Yuzhu strolled to Zhang Tianyou's barbershop near Shichahai. While getting his hair cut, he saw Lin Weidong, Suo Lanqi, and Ye Juan pulling a cart on their bicycles coming from the direction of the subway station.
Seeing He Yuzhu getting a haircut, he stopped to greet him.

"Uncle He, come get your hair cut!"

Hearing several people greeting him, He Yuzhu, who was chatting with Zhang Tianyou, looked up at them and saw the cart, and asked curiously,
"What are you doing so early in the morning? You don't look like you're going to work. And where did you get this cart?"

When Lin Weidong heard He Yuzhu mention his job, he felt a little embarrassed.
"Uncle He, I beat up a co-worker in the factory a while ago, and my parents went to the factory to apologize. But that guy deliberately made trouble for me, so I beat him up again, and ended up getting fired by the factory.
Since I have nothing to do anyway, I just found Huozi and Juanzi to set up a stall together.

Uncle He, please don't mention this to my mother. She gets annoyed when she sees me now. If she knew I dared to do this, she would definitely beat me up."

Seeing that Lin Weidong had chosen to set up a stall, He Yuzhu didn't even want to mention this to Li Hongying. She had been the director of the street office for so many years, did she still need He Yuzhu to remind her?

"Come on, you are doing this, there are so many people watching. I guess your mother has a pile of reports on her desk. There is no need for me to say anything."

At this point, thinking that they had already set up stalls, He Yuzhu thought for a moment and continued,

"By the way, if you have nothing to do, wait for me for a while. I'll tell you something. If you're sleepy, go back to sleep first. You can come to the courtyard to find me in the afternoon."

When they heard that He Yuzhu wanted to talk to them about something, Lin Weidong and his friends immediately became interested.
"Uncle He, you have something good waiting for us.
Then we will definitely wait for you here. With Grandpa Zhang’s skills, how long does it take to cut your hair? It’s not Grandpa Zhang.”

Hearing Lin Weidong praising him, Zhang Tianyou nodded with a smile.
“Dongzi is right, Zhuzi, you are different from those fashionable little hooligans in the alley, your requirements are not high, and you are very fast.

Dongzi, is your cigarette stand profitable?

I've seen you guys every morning these past few days, but it's hard to bring up this matter, so I just asked. Since Zhuzi mentioned it, I just asked about it."

Zhang Tianyou runs a barbershop and Lin Weidong runs a cigarette stand. Neither of them can even be considered self-employed. They are both illegal households, so naturally they have nothing to hide.
"It's good, Grandpa Zhang, I can earn a living.
There are a lot of people setting up cigarette stands near subway entrances. You have to go there at midnight to reserve a spot. If you are far from the subway entrance, it will be hard to sell cigarettes and it will also waste time.”

When Zhang Tianyou heard that he had to queue up at midnight every day, he gave up the idea of ​​setting up a stall.
"Forget it then,

If it were simpler, I would buy cigarettes in the morning and then come back to get my hair cut. But I, an old man, can’t afford to wait for you.”

"Haha, Grandpa Zhang, you are old enough to enjoy your life. There is no need to work so hard."

Hearing this, Zhang Tianyou shook his head.

"You are young and don't understand. The policy here may change at any time. I have to make more money now to give my grandchildren wives."

Seeing Zhang Tianyou's happy face when he mentioned his grandson, He Yuzhu and Lin Weidong did not interrupt him.

After cutting hair, He Yuzhu greeted three juniors who had just finished practicing.
"You haven't had breakfast yet, right? I'll treat you to some stewed pork and steamed buns, and we can talk about things at the same time."

When they heard that He Yuzhu wanted to treat them to breakfast, they all cheered.
"Thank you, Uncle He!"

"By the way, Uncle He, what do you want to talk to us about? Are you going to the South again?"

Seeing that several people were asking impatiently as they walked, and there were no outsiders around, He Yuzhu did not keep it a secret any longer.

"Last year was last year, this year is this year,

Last year, our first restaurant in Beijing opened, and Nanfang obtained Daxia's first individual business license. The environment is completely different from last year and the year before.

So I am also planning to open a small restaurant in Beijing to test the waters. You guys can come and help me.
It’s better than your tobacco stall anyway.”

(End of this chapter)