Courtyard House: Starting as a mediocre engineer

There are many strange and interesting facts about ration coupons from that era. I won't go into detail here, but I'll introduce them later!

However, there was a conventional estimate for the price of the ration coupons, also known as the black market price, in those days—the price of the coupon was roughly the same as the price of the commodity.

比如说：收音机50块，收音机票就在50块左右；自行车200块，自行车票就在200块左右……。每斤粮食的价格在1毛上下，那幺粮票的价格就在1毛左右。全国粮票稍微贵一些，差不多就是每斤1毛5分。

Anyway, this isn't about historical research; just getting a general understanding is enough.

However, food coupons have become extremely scarce, for reasons that are probably well-known. This also applies to other food items such as meat, eggs, dairy products, and non-staple foods.

Basically, grain coupons were priced at over one yuan. Nationwide grain coupons were even more expensive, around two or three yuan. Other food coupons followed the same pattern.

Especially since they are hard to buy even if you want to, they are generally much more valuable than cash.

Since that's the case, then we should pay back all the borrowed grain coupons. At least we should return them to the neighbors in the courtyard.

With that in mind, Zhuang Zhongchen used ten shopping coupons to buy 75 jin of mixed flour from a food shop. He also took out 20 jin of grain coupons.

Anyway, I have my own food stall, so even without food coupons, I definitely won't starve. At most, I can go find a few old ladies.

Carrying a bag of mixed noodles, Zhuang Zhongchen first came to the front yard.

"Uncle and Aunt, did we borrow 7 jin of grain coupons from your family?"

"Hey, Chenzi, if you're short on cash, there's no need to rush."

"You're too kind. I should thank you and Auntie San for your help. But I don't have enough grain coupons. Three jin of grain coupons, plus four jin of mixed flour?"

"Hey, where did you get this mixed noodles?"

"I met an elder from out of town a few days ago, and he brought me some."

"That's great. Then I won't stand on ceremony, Third Uncle."

"Are you insulting me? I'm still waiting to borrow money from you again later."

"Cough cough cough."

"..."

To be honest, Zhuang Zhongchen genuinely admired the original owner of this body, and his respect for him was boundless. How could he have managed to borrow 7 jin of grain coupons from that stingy old man, Uncle Yan Fugui?

As for directly returning the mixed flour, Yan Fugui would certainly be happy to do so. Besides the grain coupons, each pound of mixed flour also costs more than 1 cents. That would be pure profit. Moreover, the grain coupons at home could be saved and sold to scalpers.

Of course, Zhuang Zhongchen didn't care about the price difference; he just considered it as interest on the loan!

As for suddenly producing a mixture of grains? It's just a few kilograms of grain, not tons. Everyone has relatives and friends; no one will suspect anything.

After going around in circles, Zhuang Zhongchen returned all the grain coupons in the courtyard, totaling 52 jin. He won a round of smiles and praise.

Sure enough, you have to give people hope. At least they can hold out for two or three months in the courtyard house... right?

Upon arriving at the Intermediate People's Court, Zhuang Zhongchen suddenly saw He Yushui. He waved and smiled as he took out 3.5 yuan: "Yushui, here's your money back."

"Well?"

He pinched He Yushui's chubby cheeks, and under the little girl's glare, Zhuang Zhongchen turned and entered the Jia family's house: "Aunt Jia, Sister Qin, including yesterday's 3 mao, don't I owe you 3.7 yuan? Here you go."

"Hey, Chenzi, you've struck it rich?"

"No, I really don't have any money on me. I haven't paid back the 10 yuan I owed the old lady. I can only wait until I get my salary next week. Gentlemen, please bear with me. It's not that I don't want to pay back the money, but the hole in my family is too big. But I promise I'll keep it in mind and pay back a little bit every month from now on."

"Hehe. No problem, no problem."

Just then, Uncle Liu Haizhong, with his hands behind his back and an air of authority, said, "Chenzi, that's exactly how it should be. We working people should be frugal and simple. The fact that you remember the kindness of us old men shows you've made something of yourself."

An elderly man named Yi Zhonghai, standing nearby, laughed and said, "That's right. We live in a civilized courtyard, where we value respecting the elderly, caring for the young, and helping each other. When your family was in trouble before, everyone in the courtyard helped you. We don't ask you to repay our kindness in any way, but actually, we elders also hope that you will be well and that your life will become more and more prosperous."

"Uncle, Uncle, thank you for your kind words."

"hehe."

However, the second aunt was getting a little anxious. How could her husband, in his official tone, have forgotten such an important matter? She quickly said, "Chenzi, what about your meat and oil coupons for this month? Guangqi is getting married next week, and we're still short of food for the banquet."

"Hey, Second Aunt, here you go with the meat coupons, but I'll keep one ounce of oil coupon for myself. How about we convert it to one yuan?"

"become!"

The courtyard was filled with laughter and joy, a scene of perfect harmony.

At this moment, Zhuang Zhongchen was surprised to find that as long as he owed enough money, the people around him seemed to turn into good people.

Could it be that others are opening this courtyard house with birds in it the wrong way?

Since I'm facing a bunch of birds, I must fight fire with fire. Among birds, there are always the best; each bird has its own superior skill. I must stand as high as a ten-story building and become the king of birds!

As for those who are defiant and defiant, punching Yi Zhonghai and kicking Jia Zhangshi, they are at most two-story buildings, right?

Suddenly, Zhuang Zhongchen noticed Qin Huairu glancing at him a few times from afar, and they quickly exchanged a glance. Then, he happily returned home.

A moment later, Qin Huairu's voice rang out from the doorway: "Chenzi, it's Sister Qin. Your clothes have been mended. Is this a good time for you? May I come in?"

Zhuang Zhongchen chuckled to himself. This pretty widow has even learned acting skills, huh?

When Qin Huairu entered the room, Zhuang Zhongchen chuckled softly, "Stop talking nonsense. Take all the crucian carp; you can braise them. You can take half of the soup; it has sliced ​​meat and mushrooms in it, and there are plenty of bean sprouts at the bottom."

"Tch." Qin Huairu rolled her eyes. "Where did you come from?"

"Chef exam. The exam fee is allocated by the government; as a child of the nation, I'll just accept it with a smile!"

"Pah! Corrupt officials. Hmph." Qin Huairu covered her mouth and laughed. But she was quick and swiftly packed up the things.

The two exchanged a few jokes, and Qin Huairu kept swatting away Zhuang Zhongchen's smelly hands.

But just then, another voice came from outside the door: "Chenzi, are you home?"

Qin Huairu jumped back in fright. After glaring at him a few times, she hurriedly left with her things, saying, "Hey, Haizi, are you looking for Chenzi to play with?"

"Yes, yes, Sister Qin."

"He's inside. See you later."

"oh oh."

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Zhongchen already knew who the visitor was. The man's name was Li Dahai, his elementary school classmate, and the two had always had a good relationship.

But most importantly, Li Dahai was also one of his major creditors!