Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 395

He Yuzhu regretted it somewhat; he should have left first.

He stopped and turned around to ask, "Is there anything else, Uncle San?"

Yan Bugui laughed and said, "Zhuzi, you can't spread rumors. I really found it. I didn't know it belonged to them."

"Okay, okay, I promise I won't talk nonsense."

Yan Bugui still grabbed him and said apologetically, "Zhuzi, I still have a lot of tasks to complete, can you help Uncle San?"

He Yuzhu said, "Sure, go to the gate of my machinery factory. There's a guy there selling scrap metal for one cent a pound."

Yan Bugui exclaimed, "What? You want more money?"

"Well, Uncle, you're wrong to say that. That scrap metal belongs to the collective, not me personally. I can't just give it to you for free, can I?"

"This..." Yan Bugui was already in pain from losing one cent, did he have to spend money to buy scrap metal?

He Yuzhu said, "They're going crazy over there. If you get there late, they'll probably be sold out. Don't blame me for not telling you."

Yan Bugui was stunned and had no idea what to do.

He had never thought of spending money to buy scrap metal before; given his personality, how could he possibly spend money on it?

Ignoring Yan Bugui, He Yuzhu went to the middle courtyard and saw that there was also a lot of scrap iron placed at the door.

Once inside the house, with the whole family there, I said, "Don't ask about the scrap metal thing anymore; I've already taken care of the household chores."

Wen Yuping said with a smile, "I also collected quite a lot of scrap metal. I didn't expect you to have already completed the task of handing it in."

"These are minor matters; I just came to inform you."

He Yuzhu then said to Yushui, "Go ask Uncle San, or we can sell all this scrap metal to him."

He Yushui asked, "Third Uncle is a stingy old man, would he be willing to give money?"

"If you won't give him money, you shouldn't give him scrap metal either!"

"That's true, I'll go ask." He Yushui skipped out the door and returned a moment later with three cents, which she happily handed to Wen Yuping.

Wen Yuping patted He Yushui's head and gave her all three cents as pocket money.

He Daqing asked a couple of questions to confirm that he hadn't been taken advantage of, and then chatted with He Yuzhu about recent events.

There are quotas for catching sparrows, for catching mice, and even for catching flies and mosquitoes. Now, there's another quota: collecting scrap metal.

After chatting for a while, He Yuzhu said he had to leave, and He Daqing followed him out. He then said, "You've arranged things at home, but what about the old lady and the others?"

What I really want to ask is whether He Yuzhu delivered the scrap metal task for Aunt Jiang.

He Yuzhu said, "Of course, I handed over the tasks for all three of them."

He Daqing breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Everyone is thinking about delivering scrap metal now, but the factory is very strict, so we can't produce any scrap metal at all."

He Yuzhu said, "It's okay. If you know someone who doesn't have any scrap metal, just let me know, and I'll have some."

"How do you have so much scrap metal?"

“We’ve always had some at home, but I was too lazy to sell them, so we just piled them up behind the front yard.”

When He Yuzhu returned home, the children surrounded him. As expected, Xu Damao's sister was also there when he entered the house.

"Is something wrong?"

"Do you have any scrap metal left?" Xu Zhaodi asked.

"Yes, you can just go to the backyard and get it."

Xu Huizhen asked in surprise, "How come I didn't know there was scrap metal in the backyard?"

“They were all piled up in the corner, and I covered them with an oilcloth. There’s still a pile left.”

He Yuzhu had prepared for this moment. If his close relatives and friends couldn't get the scrap metal, they would definitely ask the factory manager of the machinery plant.

He took some scrap metal from his storage space and stored it in the backyard, but he didn't tell Xu Huizhen about it.

She was still somewhat skeptical, so the group went to the backyard together, where He Yuzhu lifted the tarpaulin covering it. Underneath was a pile of scrap metal.

"So many! They must weigh several hundred kilograms!" Xu Huizhen exclaimed in surprise.

He Yuzhu was very proud and said, "We've already handed in our tasks, and the same goes for our hometown. If my brother-in-law says he needs scrap metal, just have him come and get it. The same goes for the families we have a good relationship with; give them as much as they want."

Why make them go through the trouble of collecting scrap metal when we have it at home?

Xu Huizhen nodded: "I'll talk to my brother about it tomorrow."

The next day, the brother-in-law came to the door, not only taking away some scrap metal, but He Yuzhu also treated him to dinner.

Besides his brother-in-law, all the familiar faces in the tavern, like Uncle Niu and Uncle Pian, came to him one after another, and He Yuzhu generously gave them some money.

Each street has its own tasks, but He Yuzhu had previously acquired a lot of scrap metal in Moscow, and he took out a considerable amount to submit as the tasks for each street.

That day, He Yuzhu returned home and saw Yushui coming over with a timid little girl beside her.

It looks somewhat familiar.

"The rain is coming. Is this your classmate?"

He Yushui smiled and said, "Brother, this is my best friend, Yu Haitang."

Yu Haitang was a little reserved and said softly, "Hello, Brother Zhu."

He Yuzhu thought to himself, no wonder she looked so familiar, it turns out she is Yu Haitang who hasn't grown up yet.

Yu Haitang and He Yushui are the same age, only 15 years old, and still in school.

She's already quite tall; she's grown from a little girl into a young woman.

He Yuzhu nodded, invited them to sit down, and they chatted briefly.

It turned out that Yu Haitang's family hadn't completed the task and had complained to He Yushui about it.

He Yushui was kind-hearted, so she brought her classmate to her sister-in-law's house. They had only exchanged a few words when He Yuzhu came home from get off work.

Xu Huizhen said, "I'm holding the child. Go to the back and get some scrap metal."

"Okay." He Yuzhu replied and got up to walk to the back.

Yu Haitang quickly stood up. There was no reason for her to sit there casually and wait for He Yuzhu to hand it to her.

He said, "I'll do it myself."

The two went to the backyard together, and He Yuzhu pointed to the pile of scrap metal and said:

"Take as much as you need."

Yu Haitang said somewhat embarrassedly, "There's so much? Then I won't be polite."

"Don't mention it. You're Yushui's classmate. Come over to our house often."

He Yuzhu used the hemp rope next to him to tie two parts, which weighed about 10 kilograms, enough for their family's task.

"Thank you, Brother Zhu, this has solved a huge problem for our family. Thank you so much."

Yu Haitang was very polite and thanked them repeatedly. He Yuzhu wanted them to stay for dinner, but Yu Haitang declined and left with Yushui.

He Yuzhu felt a little regretful. Yu Haitang was still young. She had grown taller, but she was not old enough.

All the scrap metal collected from the streets was sent to the machinery factory and handed over to He Yuzhu.

Instead of throwing everything into the blast furnace at once, he sorted them and first selected out the usable parts.

Some people, unable to find any scrap metal, would hand over their iron pots, knives, frying spoons, and even door chains.

These obviously usable items were not used directly for steelmaking; instead, they were all selected and returned to the streets.

He Yuzhu wasn't confused; he knew that his small blast furnace was not the makeshift blast furnace built by the neighborhood, and it was far more technologically advanced.

It is now the mainstream equipment in steel plants, only on a smaller scale.

The other materials were also categorized and smelted separately, such as iron, steel, copper, aluminum, and tin.

Make suitable parts to avoid waste.

Director Li would often come to inspect the work, and he was very satisfied to see that the machinery factory could produce qualified raw materials.

The ability to produce these parts ourselves has solved the problem of raw material sourcing for machinery factories. By processing and producing qualified parts, assembling them into lathes or tractor heads, and then selling them, we have already established a solid foundation.

If it continues to develop step by step, it is very possible for it to grow into a large factory with several thousand employees.

After the inspection, Director Li was invited into his office. After having tea, they talked about the current work.

He Yuzhu's abilities were fully affirmed. Then he said, "Now, cooperatives are being established in the rural areas below, seeking to have each household eat in a large canteen instead of cooking for themselves."

He Yuzhu was stunned. Of course he knew about this. The practice of eating together from the same pot started in the second half of 8, but it only lasted for a few months.

He said, "I've also heard rumors that some places in the countryside are starting to eat together. Does that have anything to do with us?"

“Who said it’s gone? They changed it to a public notice, and they even changed the name of our street to Commune. They want to eat together, and we want to eat from the same pot.”

"Huh? We're going to eat from the same pot here too?"

"Yes. The higher-ups have already heard about this, so I'm telling you in advance."

"What about food? Is it still rationed?"

"Yes, it's when everyone gathers together to eat."

"Isn't that ridiculous?"