Courtyard Houses: Starting with the principle of hard work paying off

Chapter 139 broke Sha Zhu's defenses (5k)

"Hongbing, what are those three big bags of things?"

When Li Hongbing returned from outside on his bicycle carrying two large bags of flour and a bag of rice, he immediately attracted the attention of the people in the courtyard.

Li Hongbing, who was pushing his bicycle toward the east wing of his house, stopped immediately when he heard Aunt Yan's question. He patiently explained, "Aunt Yan, we've run out of food at home. I bought some rice and flour since I'm off today."

"These are all of them? You bought so many at once, can you finish them all?"

Upon hearing Li Hongbing's answer, Aunt Yan couldn't help but be taken aback.

The rice and flour in front of me aren't the small bags kind; they weigh at least a hundred pounds, maybe even two hundred pounds.

"I can finish it!"

Li Hongbing smiled and replied, "I'm still growing, so I eat a lot."

“If you eat a lot, it will all be left until next year, and by then it will all be stale grain.”

Faced with Li Hongbing's answer, Aunt Yan was speechless and couldn't help but sigh, "You're just too young and don't know how to manage your finances. For things like grain, you only need to buy about a month's worth at a time."

If you want to avoid the hassle, just buy an extra month's worth, and then buy new grain when you run out. That way, you can always eat the newest grain from the grain store.

If you buy so much grain at once like you are doing now, it will turn into old grain if it's stored for too long.

Things are different now. We've entered a new society. Grain stores always have grain on hand, and you can buy it anytime. Plus, you don't have to worry about sudden price spikes or grain running out of stock..."

The reason why Aunt Yan reacted so strongly is actually quite simple.

It's not just a problem that Li Hongbing lives alone.

Fengzeyuan provides meals, but except for his days off, Li Hongbing doesn't come home to cook lunch or dinner; he only eats breakfast at home.

This makes the several large bags of rice and flour he bought today seem quite extravagant.

Even the family with the largest population in the courtyard didn't buy grain like Li Hongbing.

Besides.

That's the life experience that Aunt Yan just mentioned.

No matter how much Aunt Yan thought about it, she could never have imagined that the situation regarding the food supply would soon undergo a dramatic change.

It wasn't just food, but also a variety of other supplies.

can only say.

In the years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the government has made great efforts to stabilize prices and ensure food supply, which has given the people a lot of confidence. Otherwise, Aunt Yan would not have been so confident.

If Li Hongbing hadn't been knowledgeable about history, he wouldn't have known that this year's total national grain output was severely insufficient, and coupled with the surge in urban population in recent years, the supply and demand of grain had become unbalanced.

The implementation of the unified sales and purchase and planned supply policy was a last resort.

Of course.

In the coming period, the biggest impact on the public will be the restriction on the supply of flour.

"Hey! Aunt Yan, actually, it's because I got a raise this month and I didn't know how to spend it, so when I passed by the grain store, I couldn't help but buy a little extra grain."

Li Hongbing, of course, wouldn't reveal the real reason, but while trying to find an explanation, he "accidentally" mentioned that he had received a raise.

"You got another raise?"

Originally, she thought Li Hongbing was a young man who didn't know how to manage his money and secretly grumbled to herself. But when she heard Li Hongbing mention that he had gotten a raise, Aunt Yan was immediately shocked.

If she remembered correctly, it had been less than a year since Li Hongbing last got a raise.

Li Hongbing nodded and admitted directly, "I passed the intermediate-level cook assessment a few days ago and got a promotion."

"Intermediate-level cook?"

Upon hearing this, Aunt Yan was shocked and exclaimed, "Didn't you just pass the junior cook exam last year? Now you're a mid-level cook?"

"Master taught well!"

Li Hongbing said modestly.

Upon hearing Li Hongbing's explanation, Aunt Yan clearly didn't see anything wrong with it, given Guo Youzhong's reputation. She simply envied Li Hongbing's good luck.

Since she wasn't a professional cook, Aunt Yan clearly didn't have a clear concept or understanding of the gap between junior and intermediate cooks. Right now, she was obviously more concerned about another issue.

"So how much do you earn a month now? It's increased quite a bit, hasn't it?"

Faced with Aunt Yan's inquiry, Li Hongbing didn't hide anything and said frankly, "It's quite a lot. My salary is now 560,000 a month."

"A young master? 560,000 a month?"

Shocked, Aunt Yan's exclamation also drew the attention of everyone else in the courtyard.

"Aunt Yan, what 560,000?"

"Red Soldier... Red Soldier's salary has now increased to 560,000."

"real or fake?"

"It's gone up that much?"

"Hongbing, what's going on?"

"Aunt Yang, I participated in and passed the restaurant's internal assessment a few days ago. I am now a mid-level cook, and my salary is 560,000 yuan a month."

"This……"

"..."

no doubt.

The news that Li Hongbing brought back exploded among them like a bomb.

Fortunately, with last year's experience, everyone's acceptance level is relatively higher.

This time, Li Hongbing didn't show his work ID. Anyway, he was telling the truth, and whether they believed him or not was their business.

With the development and accumulation over the past year and a half, Li Hongbing has gradually gained "foundation" and confidence, and no longer needs to prove anything to others.

After carrying the two bags of flour and one bag of rice he had bought into the house, Li Hongbing quickly locked the door again and left the courtyard.

Riding his bicycle, Li Hongbing returned to the grain store and bought two more large bags of flour.

Because it was nearby, Li Hongbing didn't specifically choose a different grain store this time. The store clerk was clearly surprised to see him come back after buying so much, and couldn't help but ask a few more questions. Li Hongbing simply explained that he bought it for his sister's family this time.

At this point, let alone rationing, even the flour supply plan document was probably only recently submitted and not yet officially approved. There were almost no restrictions on individuals buying grain, so it wouldn't arouse any suspicion.

It's not unusual for someone to buy food at home right after receiving their salary, even if they buy much more than most people.

Some people have large families and may simply want to save time and avoid trouble; these situations are all normal.

What Li Hongbing bought today is far from enough to constitute hoarding and market disruption.

This was one of the few times Li Hongbing had the opportunity to purchase grain openly and freely.

Starting next month, all grain purchases will be made through designated grain stores, and whether it's flour included in the planned supply or other staple grains that are not strictly restricted, real-name registration will be required.

In other words.

Buying a little more than usual is generally fine, as long as it's not too much more. But secretly hoarding grain like Li Hongbing did before is no longer realistic.

Any purchase of grain that exceeds the actual amount will attract attention.

Fortunately, Li Hongbing had stockpiled a lot of rice beforehand, and with the container of premium rice awarded by the system, he could ensure that he and those around him would not face food shortages for the next few decades, until the end of the ration coupon era.

only.

In the future, when delivering grain, most of the time they could only do it secretly, unlike today where they could do it so openly.

Today, he openly bought and delivered grain to Chen Xueru, himself, and his sister Li Hongmei, mainly to prepare for the upcoming flour supply plan and ensure that they could openly and transparently achieve flour freedom for a period of time to come.

As for his master Guo Youzhong, Li Hongbing made no special arrangements for him today.

Putting aside the fact that the cook can't go without food, just the fact that each of his dozen or so fellow apprentices sends some to his family would be enough for his entire household.

At that time, Li Hongbing could simply take some of his own belongings and send them over.

Even without Li Hongbing, Guo Youzhong would hardly have encountered a food shortage problem.

Today is not the weekend.

However, Li Hongmei was still on maternity leave and in confinement, so Li Hongbing went directly there.

In 1953, the state had not yet issued national regulations on maternity leave, and there was no nationally unified standard for the length of maternity leave for female employees of state-owned enterprises. The earliest regulation stipulating ninety days of maternity leave was the "Regulations on Labor Protection for Female Employees" in 1988.

Currently, the actual length of maternity leave for female employees depends on company policies or local practices. However, many experiences from the early days of the People's Republic of China were based on the Soviet model, so the maternity leave regulations for food factories are about one month before and one month after childbirth.

"The Red Army is here." "What are these?"

"I bought some flour for my sister and brother-in-law."

"so much?"

"Since you're here too, I bought a few more."

"Oh dear, you..."

"..."

When Li Hongbing arrived, there was not only Li Hongmei in the room, but also Zhao's mother, who had come specifically to take care of her during her postpartum period and look after the baby.

Zhao Weiguo had to go to work, and Li Hongmei was at home recovering from childbirth, so they definitely needed someone to take care of them. Therefore, Zhao's mother was asked to come and help out temporarily.

Seeing that Li Hongbing had bought so much flour, even though she knew it was for Li Hongmei, Zhao's mother still felt a little embarrassed.

"Why did you buy so much grain? I don't need any."

When Li Hongbing brought two large bags of flour to the door, Li Hongmei's tone was reproachful.

Li Hongbing usually brings meat and fruit over, and Li Hongmei has scolded him a lot, but she can't do anything about it. Now she's even arranging staple foods like rice and noodles for him.

This left Li Hongmei feeling helpless.

As a dual-income family, her and Zhao Weiguo's combined salaries are quite high.

Although they don't live with Zhao's parents and can't take care of them, they give them some money every month for expenses, but it's not much.

After deducting the family's daily expenses, Li Hongmei was able to save a considerable amount of her remaining salary.

Originally, Li Hongmei could afford to buy fabric to make clothes for Li Hongbing, but now that her younger brother has Chen Xueru as his girlfriend, she hardly needs to worry about that anymore.

"I just got paid a couple of days ago, and I'm off today, so I just stopped by the grain store and bought some to bring over."

Li Hongbing was too lazy to find a new reason and continued to use the same excuse.

Knowing that Li Hongmei would definitely talk about him again, Li Hongbing took the initiative and said, "Sister, I haven't had a chance to tell you yet, but I passed the intermediate cook exam a few days ago and got a raise. Now I earn 560,000 a month."

"What did you say?"

Not only Li Hongmei, but even Zhao's mother, who was about to leave to give Li Hongmei and Li Hongbing some private time to talk, was stunned.

"I'm now a mid-level cook."

Li Hongbing smiled, knowing she wouldn't accept it so easily, so he took out his new work ID from his pocket and handed it to Li Hongmei: "Sister, look, this is my new work ID."

"You're already a mid-level cook?"

In less than two years since he started working, Li Hongbing's salary is not only higher than mine, but significantly higher.

Li Hongmei simply couldn't believe it.

This wasn't jealousy, but rather a shock and joy that defied description.

When Li Hongbing went to Fengzeyuan to become an apprentice, she strongly opposed it, but now it seems that Li Hongbing was right.

If their parents were still alive, seeing how successful Li Hongbing is now, they would surely feel just as gratified and proud as she is now.

After chatting with Li Hongmei and playing with his little nephew for a while, Li Hongbing stayed for dinner before preparing to go home.

"Aunt Liu, thank you for taking care of my sister during her postpartum period these past few days."

Once outside, Li Hongbing, as Li Hongmei's younger brother, expressed his gratitude to Zhao's mother.

Li Hongbing could tell that Zhao's mother, as the mother-in-law, had done her best to take care of her daughter-in-law Li Hongmei during her postpartum period; otherwise, Li Hongmei's mood and condition would not have been so good.

“Hongbing, what are you saying? This is what I, as a mother-in-law, should do.”

Hearing Li Hongbing's gratitude, Zhao's mother feigned displeasure and said, "Hongmei is your sister, and also our Zhao family's daughter-in-law. How could I not take care of her?"

She dared not be careless in front of Li Hongbing.

He's only seventeen years old now, and he's already more accomplished than anyone else. What will he be like in the future?

Although Li Hongmei only has Li Hongbing as a relative, he alone surpasses countless others.

From now on, as the mother-in-law, she can only do her best to treat Li Hongmei, her daughter-in-law, and not let her suffer any grievances or have any complaints about her.

……

night.

After work, everyone in the courtyard learned about Li Hongbing's raise and promotion to intermediate-level cook.

Not surprisingly.

Another wave of discussion swept through the courtyard.

Some people envied him, while others resented him, but none of that mattered to Li Hongbing.

the next morning.

As usual, Li Hongbing started his daily morning exercise routine early in the courtyard.

Everyone was already used to it, and Li Hongbing knew that everyone was used to it, but he noticed that Sha Zhu was acting a little strange today.

During Li Hongbing's morning exercise, Sha Zhu walked back and forth in the front yard several times, acting like he had prostatitis despite his young age.

When Li Hongbing practices Baduanjin, he is always completely absorbed in it and doesn't pay attention to the people around him.

However, Li Hongbing's senses are very sharp now. Every time Sha Zhu passes by him, it seems like he is staring at him, which is why he noticed him.

As Li Hongbing finished his morning exercise, Sha Zhu "coincidentally" passed by again. However, this time he didn't just walk by as before. Instead, he went up to Li Hongbing to greet him and struck up a conversation: "Hongbing, I heard you got a raise and passed the intermediate cook exam?"

"That's it."

Li Hongbing nodded.

"Um... can you tell me how you did it?"

After hesitatingly asking for advice, Sha Zhu stopped hiding his intentions and said directly, "I started as an apprentice a year earlier than you, and you're already a mid-level cook, while I..."

Sha Zhu is a very arrogant person.

In Sha Zhu's mind, he didn't think his talent and cooking skills were much worse than Li Hongbing's, let alone the time and experience he had spent learning to cook.

But now he has been left far behind by Li Hongbing, which makes him extremely unbalanced.

As soon as Sha Zhu returned home last night, he heard that Li Hongbing had been promoted to intermediate-level cook and that his salary had tripled. This kept him up all night.

He couldn't understand at all what the problem was.

It took Sha Zhu a lot of struggle before he was able to ask for advice and say those things. He finally put aside his pride and admitted that he was indeed no match for Li Hongbing.

"Shazhu, the problem isn't with you. You should know about our restaurant's public-private partnership last year, right? Actually..."

It was rare for Sha Zhu to take the initiative to lower himself and ask for advice, so Li Hongbing didn't have the intention of discouraging Sha Zhu. Instead, he gave him a rational analysis.

All told, Sha Zhu has been an apprentice and apprenticed at Emei Restaurant for at least two years. In addition, he was already an apprentice with his own skills, so his talent and foundation are not weak. It is no problem for him to graduate early.

But obviously.

Like Guo Youzhong, Sha Zhu's master was quite strict with his apprentices, so he didn't make this decision and instead planned to continue training him.

Although Li Hongbing has now passed the intermediate-level cook assessment and his skills are no less than some of his senior apprentices, according to Guo Youzhong's previous graduation standards, he has long since met the requirements for graduation.

However, Li Hongbing didn't mention this, because Fengzeyuan has a relatively sound and advanced promotion and assessment mechanism, and Li Hongbing's salary and performance evaluation would not be affected by this.

Therefore, whether Guo Youzhong would let him graduate or when he planned to let him graduate was not very important to Li Hongbing.

Li Hongbing is self-aware; his current abilities are far inferior to those of his mentor, Guo Youzhong, and he still has a lot of room for learning and improvement.

Since Li Hongbing didn't bring up the matter, Guo Youzhong pretended not to know anything, as if he had forgotten about the graduation ceremony.

One wanted to continue learning, and the other wanted to continue teaching; the master and apprentice were quite in sync.

The Emei Restaurant where Sha Zhu currently works is a privately owned establishment that follows the old traditional model. As long as Sha Zhu doesn't complete his apprenticeship, no matter what kind of work he does in the kitchen, he will always only receive his current apprentice salary.

"Can this still happen?"

Sha Zhu had heard about the joint public-private ownership of Fengzeyuan last year, but he hadn't paid much attention to it. Now, after learning about the specific reform measures from Li Hongbing, Sha Zhu was completely taken aback.

It turns out it wasn't that he was incapable...

But why can't he encounter such good things?

(End of this chapter)