Restarting life by going to the countryside to support medical work

Chapter 434 Trading
Seeing Li Yancheng's cautious look, Lao Xu smiled and shook his head.

"You, don't be so careful. I mentioned your old classmate not because he has any trouble, but because I want to ask him for help through you."

"Looking for Zhu Yongyang's help?"

Li Yancheng was even more confused now. He really couldn't understand how Zhu Yongyang could help Lao Xu.

Could it be that Lao Xu wants to buy some tickets?

impossible!
As soon as this idea came into his mind, he rejected it.

Lao Xu is now a member of the headquarters. With his high rank, he has to reimburse the wages of the cook hired by his family. What help can Zhu Yongyang provide?

"Director Xu, what can I do for you, my old classmate? Are you still short of tickets or other supplies?"

"I'm not short of it, but the unit is."

"one……"

Li Yancheng was just about to ask what the unit needed. All of their funds were allocated by the government. Moreover, due to the importance of their work, the financial department never dared to delay or deduct this part of the budget. All funds were allocated in full, including various materials needed by the unit. All of them were given directly from above and issued by the headquarters. The headquarters did not withhold much of these materials.

The Beijing Social Affairs Bureau is right under the nose of the headquarters, and this is also a disaster area for undercover activities. No matter what, the headquarters allocates more than other provinces and cities, and if there is really a shortage, as long as a report is submitted, it will be approved, not to mention that the director of the Beijing City Bureau is a member of the headquarters, so of course he is closely related to this place.

Logically speaking, they should have everything they need, so why would they ask a middleman like Zhu Yongyang to help them get things?

But in a flash, Li Yancheng thought of what Lao Xu was trying to do by looking for his old classmate, and his heart couldn't help but tighten.

Half a year ago, the Beijing Municipal Social Affairs Bureau submitted a report planning to build four new residential buildings. The headquarters has approved it, and the list of materials for purchasing various materials needed for building the houses has also been prepared. We just need to go to the Materials Bureau to pick up the materials.

The problem lies with the Materials Bureau.

This unit carries out material purchase, sale and supply work in accordance with the country's economic work policy of "developing the economy and ensuring supply" and the material supply policy of "unified planning, hierarchical management" and "guaranteeing key points and taking general considerations".

All kinds of building materials, cement and cement prefabricated products needed to build houses must come from the Materials Bureau.

There are many places to build houses now, and these things are in short supply everywhere. The Materials Bureau will not give priority to their supply just because the Social Affairs Bureau needs them.

On the contrary, because the Social Affairs Bureau is not under local management, they are indifferent and ask us to wait in line.

There will be no sound if you wait.

The project was approved in April, but now it’s almost half a year and there’s no sign of the things we need.

The bureau did contact the city government, but they were dismissed with a single sentence saying that supplies were in short supply and they needed to wait.

What the locals said was true, supplies were indeed in short supply, but...

Some people don't have to wait.

Lao Xu went to find Li Yancheng today because he wanted to find Zhu Yongyang through him and ask Lao Zhu to find a way to get those things.

Lao Zhu does have the ability to get things like cement, but he won't help anyone who asks him for help, even if they are leaders of the Social Affairs Bureau.

This business cannot be allowed to be seen in the open. There are many people eyeing this, especially those from previous generations. To these people, these materials are their forbidden delicacies, and anyone who dares to lay a hand on them will have his hand chopped off.

Therefore, as early as more than ten years ago, after listening to Li Yancheng's advice, Zhu Yongyang stopped doing things recklessly and only did some small business. Although the profit was not as high as that from dealing in these materials, the money earned could make him feel more at ease.

Although he no longer had any intentions of stealing these supplies, he always maintained a good relationship with those who managed the supplies. Occasionally, he would do a little bit of trading and get some scarce supplies for those people with whom he had a particularly good relationship. Sometimes he did this not for the money, but just to maintain the relationship.

But no matter what he does, he will be extremely careful and change his hands several times just to prevent others from targeting him.

Zhu Yongyang has been living a carefree life these years. In addition to the protection of Li Yancheng and Jin Zhihai, it is also due to the network of relationships he maintains.

However, no matter how confidential his business is, it is still transparent in the eyes of the Social Affairs Bureau. If they cannot even grasp this little bit of information, the Social Affairs Bureau should be disbanded.

In just a moment, Li Yancheng figured out the purpose of Lao Xu's visit today.

"Director Xu, you want Zhu Yongyang to help you get those scarce supplies, right?"

"Yeah," Lao Xu nodded helplessly.

In order to build a staff housing for the unit, he didn't expect that he had to resort to such unorthodox means. He was also helpless, but in this era when all kinds of materials are in short supply, there is nothing he can do about it.

If people really queue up there and wait for supplies, I wonder whether the four residential buildings will be completed in five years.

"Many colleagues in the bureau have no houses, or live in crowded houses with their parents. Everyone is eyeing those four buildings eagerly. As a result, the headquarters has approved the construction, and the funds for building houses have been in place, but the materials needed have not been available. Who wouldn't be anxious?"

It is not just one or two units facing this situation, but it is widespread.

It is hard to describe the feeling of a family of several or even more than a dozen people living in a house of 20 or 30 square meters.

Not to mention now, even forty years later, there will still be such families within the Third and Second Ring Roads of Beijing.

"Do you know how much of each material is needed?"

Li Yancheng didn't say much nonsense. Those people waiting for a house were also his colleagues and comrades-in-arms. If he could help in any way, he would certainly be willing to help.

"Yes, the construction company has already made a budget, and we can start construction as soon as the materials arrive."

Hearing this question, Lao Xu's eyes lit up and he quickly took out a few pieces of letter paper from his jacket pocket and handed them to him.

Li Yancheng opened the folded letter, took just a glance at it, then folded it again and put it in his pocket.

"Director Xu, I can't guarantee you anything about this matter. I won't tell you whether Zhu Yongyang is capable of getting so many things until I contact him.

However, if he can get it, you should be aware of the risks involved, Director Xu. You should help erase the traces and avoid trouble. You can't burn bridges after crossing the river."

In fact, Li Yancheng knew that Lao Xu would not do it, but he still had to say what he had to say. He could ask Zhu Yongyang to help get these things, but he could not harm this old classmate for the sake of helping.

"Don't worry about this, and tell your old classmate to rest assured too. Once the materials are here, no one outside can use them. It's impossible for anyone to know where those things came from."

"Okay, tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, I'll get back to you whether he can get these things or not."

"Thank you, Yancheng."

Seeing that Li Yancheng agreed to help, a smile finally appeared on Lao Xu's face.

"By the way, Yancheng, if you want a house or not, I'll leave one for you. You were qualified for the last batch of houses but didn't take it."

When the Beijing Municipal Social Affairs Bureau builds a family building, it must allocate a portion of the space for the headquarters. Li Yancheng and Luo Min are both from the Social Affairs Bureau, and if he returns to the Municipal Bureau with the treatment he enjoys now, he can become the executive deputy. No one will say anything if he wants a house, even if he currently has a quadrangle with two entrances covering several hundred square meters. "I don't want it."

Li Yancheng waved his hand. The current residential buildings are all built with prefabricated panels and bricks. Although there is no public area, a house of 40 or 50 square meters is indeed not big in his opinion, not to mention that the layout is unreasonable. If you move into the house but don't live in it, there will definitely be a lot of gossip in the future.

But if you let him move in, he won't suffer that.

He has been accustomed to living in a courtyard house over the years. Now there is a bathroom in the yard where he can take a shower and there is plenty of space for activities. If they were to move into an apartment building, the two children might not be able to get used to it.

Huansheng and Xiaoyu often go to Jin Zhihai's house. Li Yancheng also asked the children if they like living in an apartment building, but the answer he got was a shake of the head. Both children said that it was okay to live there for a few days occasionally, but they would feel suffocated if they lived there for a long time.

Luo Min is not interested in living in an apartment building, so, if that’s the case, then just forget about it.

Lao Xu looked at Li Yancheng deeply. He had been to No. 20 Meishan East Hutong after it was renovated. To be honest, if there was such a courtyard, he might not be very interested in living in a building.

"Okay, it'll take some time to register anyway, so if you want it then, call me. I'll go over today."

As he spoke, Lao Xu reached out and put out the cigarette butt in the ashtray on the coffee table, then stood up.

Li Yancheng also stood up and said, "Director Xu, I'll see you off."

"Haha, what's there to give? You're not a stranger. Let's have a meal together some other day when you have nothing to do."

"no problem"

Li Yancheng still insisted on sending him to the door. He watched Lao Xu walk to the stairs with his hands behind his back, turn the corner and disappear, then he returned to the office and picked up the phone again.

"Hello, please ask Zhu Yongyang in Yard No. 7 to answer the phone. I'll call you back in ten minutes."

The number he called was the post office at the entrance of the alley where the Zhu family lived.

Zhu Yongyang was a very capable guy. He knew that there were many people looking for him and it was impossible for all of them to come to his house. Some people were even not convenient to show up. So he established good relations with the staff at the post office at the entrance of the alley and left the phone number there with his friends and clients.

Tell them that if they have something and can't come over, just call here and arrange a time for him to answer the phone.

When the staff of the post office received a call looking for him, they would go and call him, because Zhu Yongyang was very generous. No matter who called him, he would give some benefits. He would be grateful for the favor.

Now this phone at the post office has almost become his business phone.

"Yong Yang..."

Li Yancheng's call came at the right time. Zhu Yongyang had just returned home from outside and was playing with his wife's third child, who was born at the beginning of the year, when he heard someone calling him outside the yard.

"Here we go"

When he heard the voice of the post office staff, Lao Zhu immediately knew that someone was calling him again. He answered the call and went into the house to hand the child to his wife.

"Wife, Old Qu from the post office called me. Someone must have called. I'll go check it out."

"Go ahead."

Fan Yunhua, the wife of Old Zhu, who was doing needlework, put down her work and took the child.

Zhu Yongyang was a capable man. Over the years, he found a wife for his younger brother and a good in-law family for his younger sister. He quietly saved up a lot of property for himself and only found a wife and a house when he was 35 years old.

This guy is really amazing. He found a wife who is younger than his brother and sister. He is two years older than Li Yancheng and is 41 this year. His brother and sister are 30 years old, but his wife is only 25. They have been married for six years and have three children. The eldest is a son, who is five years old this year. The second is a daughter, who is three years old. At the beginning of the year, they had a third child, a little boy.

Fan Yunhua's family has many children. She is the fifth child in the family and has three younger brothers and sisters. Her family's home is only two alleys away from here, in a large courtyard.

Her family is not well off. Her father is in poor health. Although he has a job, he only makes about 20 yuan a month. Her mother helps out with handicrafts in a factory run by the neighborhood committee and earns less than 10 yuan a month.

With so little money, they have to support eight children and take care of the elderly. Life is very tight. Even after the two daughters got married, they are unable to support their parents' home.

When Fan Yunhua's fourth brother was fifteen years old, he followed Zhu Yongyang to make a living and supplement the family income. This girl knew Old Zhu when she was still young.

After she got married, Lao Zhu spent money to buy her a job in a bank, and also got a job for her sixth brother. Lao Fan's family is now living a better and better life.

Old Zhu and his family of five now live in this small courtyard. Although the place is not big, it is definitely enough for them to live in. Zhu Yongyang has been trying to get two apartments.

There is a way, at least one set has been found.

The bank wanted to build a residential building for employees, and the missing materials were obtained by Old Zhu through his connections. The bank president was so happy that he let Fan Yunhua pick out a house based on the drawings.

After handing his youngest son over to his wife, Zhu Yongyang walked out of the house humming a little tune and came to the post office at the entrance of the alley. He first distributed cigarettes and candies, and then sat in front of the phone and waited patiently.

"Jingle Bell……"

Not long after, the phone rang again. After the second ring, Lao Zhu picked up the phone.

"Hello, I'm Zhu Yongyang, who are you?"

"Old Zhu, it's me."

"Uh... Dacheng..." When Zhu Yongyang heard the familiar voice coming from the phone, a look of surprise flashed across his face.

Over the years, with his deliberate efforts to maintain the relationship, he has a particularly good relationship with Li Yancheng and Jin Zhihai. These two old classmates can be considered as his supporters.

Whenever he gets something good, he will definitely send it to these two old classmates first.

Li Yancheng and Jin Zhihai never took advantage of him. They always gave him the money he deserved and helped him without hesitation. Several times he offended people, and it was these two who settled the matter for him.

but……

In the past ten years or so, there have been only a handful of calls like this from someone who had taken the initiative to look for him.

"It's me, Lao Zhu. Do you have anything to do tonight?"

"It's okay, Dacheng, just talk if you have something to say."

"Then come to my house after dinner. I have something to discuss with you."

"No problem, I'll be there at 7:30."

"Okay, I'll wait for you at home."

(End of this chapter)