Siheyuan: There are three little cats at home

Chapter 416 The grain station was robbed
The stars are bright and the evening breeze is cool.

Xu Qing returned to the compound, parked his bicycle in the front yard, picked up the thirty kilograms of white noodles carried on the back seat, and walked towards the door of the third uncle Yanbu's house.

In the morning, Yan Bugui said he wanted thirty kilograms. As a junior in the courtyard, Xu Qing ran a grain station and he would not break his promise, so he brought it back.

The people in the courtyard take care of business, so it doesn't matter if it's hard work.

Anyway, it was brought back on a bicycle, so he didn’t need to carry it. Besides, why not do something that could make money?

Although the profit of thirty pounds of white flour is only three cents per pound, it only makes nine cents, not even one dollar.

But ninety cents is also money. In these days, money is not easy to earn.

Xu Qing is short of money right now, especially when it comes to going to the countryside to collect grain in the second half of the year, building warehouses, and buying machines to grind flour.

As long as something is earned, every point earned is a point, which is better than nothing.

……

At this time, Yan Bugui was sitting at home waiting for Xu Qing. At this time in the evening, he would usually be in the backyard with Xu Aiguo, watching TV with Lao Yi, Lao Liu and others.

As for the large color TV set in Xu Qing's house, Xu Qing was not at home, so no one in the courtyard dared to go in and watch it.

Just Ma Jinghong, her son and daughter, the women in the courtyard are fine, but if the men go there, wouldn't it be annoying.

"Third uncle, I brought thirty pounds of white flour to you."

As soon as Xu Qing entered Yanbu Gui's house, he put the white cloth bag he carried in his right hand on the stool in Yanbu Gui's house.

Yan Bugui stood up from the edge of the Kang and said with a smile:
"Xiao Qing, sit down and have a rest. I'm not in a hurry. Your third aunt took three scoops of noodles from my boss's side at night and mixed them all."

Yan Bugui is worthy of being a teacher, and his speaking skills are always a step ahead of the other two stewards of the compound.

But Xu Qing heard the deeper meaning of the words. The third uncle thought he came back too late, and he didn't catch up with the third aunt to make the flour when he brought back the flour.

Xu Qing took out his cigarettes with a smile, handed one to Yan Bugui and said:

"Third uncle, my grain station is busy with business, so I can't come back early every day."

Yan Bugui didn't really complain about Xu Qing, but the jar in the house was bottomed out today. Xu Qing hadn't come back after seven o'clock. He was nagging from the third aunt and felt a little angry.

After Yan Jiecheng and his wife separated from them, they still ate together at first. But starting last year, Yan Bugui asked his son and his daughter-in-law to cook and eat by themselves instead of following him and his third mother every day.

Today, the third aunt went to scoop out noodles. Although Yu Li and Yan Jiecheng didn't say anything, their faces showed displeasure.

The third aunt was so angry that she couldn't help but complain to Yan Bugui.

At this time, Yan Bugui heard Xu Qing's words, and the little fire in his heart disappeared. He turned around and poured boiling water into an enamel jar, handed it to Xu Qing, and said:
"Xiao Qing, you come back very late every day. Business at the grain station is good. Can the money you earn in a month compare to what you do when you are the director of the fifth factory?"

Xu Qing held the teapot, blew on it, and responded:

"Third uncle, my grain station has only been open for a month. It's really hard to tell you now whether it will make money or not. In business, if it is good this month, it may not be good next month. If it is good in the first half of the year, it may not be good in the second half. No business at all, but”

Xu Qing paused and continued: "Third uncle, the advantage of doing business is that being your own boss gives you more freedom than working in a factory or work unit."

Knowing that Yan Bugui was trying to find out whether it would be profitable to open a grain station, Xu Qing couldn't explain clearly, so he had to respond vaguely.

The reason Xu Qing didn't say that he made a lot of money was because most of the money he earned from opening a grain station was based on his ability to split the more than 1 kilograms of grain that the state asked him to sell on behalf of him.

It's not that he's worried that Yan Bugui also wants to open a grain station, but that he's worried that the third uncle will lose money and scold his mother.

After all, the price of grain is controlled by the state, and only three cents per pound is allowed.

Although money is very valuable these days, opening a grain station is not a way to make a lot of money.

It is much more profitable to open a bicycle factory, a TV factory, a breeding farm, etc. than to open a grain station.

It’s not that Xu Qing has no capital.

In addition, his ability is only effective on daily necessities.

In addition to food, in view of the fact that Xu Qing complied with the call for reform and opening up, the state should be self-reliant, start his own business, and let free sales, other industries have to invest a lot of capital.

In addition, the domestic planned economy has not yet ended, but is just exploring and moving towards a market economy.

Xu Qing could only ride the donkey to find the horse. He would start like this first, and then slowly switch to other industries step by step when he accumulated enough funds.

When Yan Bugui heard Xu Qing's words, he became thoughtful and stopped talking while smoking.

After Xu Qing drank the boiling water in the tea vat, he said, "Third uncle, it's okay. I'm going home to eat first. I've been hungry all afternoon and my stomach is flat."

Yan Bugui hurriedly stood up from the edge of the kang again, stretched out his hand to hold the glasses on the bridge of his nose, covering up the embarrassment that had just delayed Xu Qinglao for half a day, and said:
"It's my fault, Mr. Third, for forgetting about this. Xiaoqing, please go home and eat quickly. Don't get hungry."

Xu Qing nodded, stood up, turned around and walked out of Yanbu Gui's house, pushing the bicycle parked in the front yard and heading back to his own house in the backyard.

In the backyard, Xu Damao was waiting for Xu Qing to come back.

In the first month of the year, he saw Xu Qing looking for a shop on the street and opening a grain station.

I also wanted to find a better job.

As for the petty quarrels between the second-rate dealers, Xu Damao looked down upon them.

Also, after more than ten years of development, domestic grain production has increased a lot. Currently, not many people in Sijiu City need to buy high-priced grain from second-rate dealers like him.

There are many more state-owned stores and department stores in the city than before.

Although you still need to grab food to buy food, you can't grab it here. You can always buy it in a store opened in the next country.

Xu Damao's business is getting less and less patronized.

Since he returned to his old business, he has never resold food. He mainly deals with food stamps, radio tickets, and TV tickets.

However, although he can make a lot of money, Xu Damao is a smart man and knows that it is not a long-term solution.

I know that the only way is to start a serious business like Xu Qing.

There was no hope for him to have a career in Hongxing No. [-] Factory, and he no longer had any illusions. What's more, last month he was assigned to the Red Star Cinema opened by the Red Star Steel Rolling Factory to screen movies full-time.

Xu Damao was very unhappy.

It’s true that he used to be a projectionist at Factory No. [-], but suddenly he showed movies in the cinema every day.

Even the chance to go to the rural commune was gone, how could Xu Damao do it?
After Xu Damao arranged for Bangge to enter the Red Star Cinema and play movies with him, he wanted to be a hands-off shopkeeper and let Bangge help him keep an eye on the movie screening in the cinema. And he wanted to ask Xu Qing to see if they could work together. Operate a grain station.

He knows many people, and he has acquaintances from all walks of life in society.

When Xu Qing pushed his bicycle into the backyard, Xu Damao immediately stepped forward and whispered:
"Qingzi, why did you get off work? Brother, I have something I want to discuss with you."

Xu Qing just came out of Yanbu's noble house in the front yard and had not gone home for dinner. Seeing that Xu Damao wanted to discuss something with him, he smiled bitterly and said:
"Brother Damao, it's the weekend tomorrow. Let's decide what happens tomorrow. I've been busy all day, so let me go back home and have some food first."

When Xu Damao heard this, he smiled naively and said, "Okay, then I'll go to your grain station tomorrow and we'll talk about it."

Xu Qing nodded and pushed the bicycle to the door of his house. As soon as the car was parked, he hurried back to the house to eat.

Ma Jinghong had actually heard Xu Qing and Xu Damao talking in the courtyard before, and now she brought the hot food from the kitchen pot to the table in the front room.

As soon as Xu Qing washed his hands, he sat at the table, took the chopsticks handed to him by his wife, grabbed the steamed buns, and ate them hungrily.

He was really hungry, so he bought two sesame seed cakes and a bowl of stewed braised pork at noon to deal with it briefly.

As for a thirty-year-old man, how can he fill his stomach with that little thing?

But in the early days of starting a business, money had to be spent sparingly and used wisely. Xu Qing would go home every night and have a good meal.It's early morning.

At just five o'clock in the morning, Xu Qing got dressed and got up. Under the still dark sky, he opened the door of his house, pushed his bicycle, and walked out of the quiet compound toward the grain station.

Today is the weekend, and everyone at work is taking a break. Dongdan Vegetable Market is usually crowded in the morning.

He had to go to the grain station early so that it could open for business.

However, Xu Qing rode to the grain station.

The whole person was stunned for a moment.

He clearly remembered to lock the door of the grain station when he left last night.

But at this moment, the door of his grain station was wide open.

The food inside was scattered all over the ground.

The counter was also in a mess. It was obvious that someone broke the door lock last night and came in to steal something.

Xu Qing's face was ashen and he was furious.

He never expected that the grain station would be visited by thieves just a month after it opened.

Fortunately, when he left every night, he would put all the money and food stamps he received on his body and take them home instead of leaving them in the store.

Some food was lost.

You can look at the messed up grain sacks, as well as the white flour, millet, and red beans all over the ground.

Xu Qing was still furious.

After Sanhuzi's wife and Meijuan arrived at the store, Xu Qing asked them to get on his bicycles and call the police.

If something like this happens, nothing can be done without calling the police.

Dare to steal your own shop, it's so boring!
Meijuan rode away in a hurry. Sanhuzi's wife looked panicked and squatted on the ground. She kept using an iron dustpan and a broom to clean up the white noodles spilled on the ground, while cursing:
"Who is this guy who has been stabbed a thousand times? It's nothing like this. If you steal food, you just steal food. Why are you doing such a waste!"

Xu Qing knelt down and picked it up together.

However, once the white flour is stained with soil, there is no way to clean it off.

Millet, red beans, and rice are better, with larger grains. You can use a sieve to remove the soil and make them clean before you can continue to sell them.

The white flour can only be thrown away.

Looking at the twenty kilograms of white noodles that had been ruined, Xu Qing became more and more angry as he thought about it.

It's his uncle's fault. He stole things on his own head.

If we knew who did it, we would kill him!
After Meijuan called the police, Xu Qing explained the situation. The other party looked around inside the grain station, then walked out, checked outside for a while, and then asked Xu Qing:
"Comrade Xu Qing, do you have any enmity with anyone?"

Xu Qing shook his head to indicate no.

He rarely makes friends with others, so where can he be an enemy?

But when he heard the police's questioning, Xu Qing suddenly thought that it wasn't Cao Xiaojun who led someone to do it yesterday afternoon, right?
The grandson was not a good person and did not do his job properly. Bao Buqi felt that he had not given him credit yesterday afternoon and was holding a grudge.

Xu Qing immediately told what happened when Cao Xiaojun came to the store yesterday afternoon.

The two policemen who came frowned and said:
"Comrade Xu Qing, we will consider the situation you mentioned, but there are no witnesses. We can only follow the address you mentioned and interview Mr. Cao in the next two days. Please understand, we have a lot of things to do. There is no way to investigate your case first, but don’t worry, we will definitely help you solve the case as soon as possible.”

Xu Qing nodded, and after seeing the two people off, he stood at the door of the grain station and sighed helplessly in his heart.

There is no surveillance these days, so public security has not been very good.

I haven’t bought a dog recently, and I haven’t found a cat either.

What can you say if you suffer this disaster?

But Xu Qing then thought about it and realized that this matter was most likely to have something to do with that boy Cao Xiaojun.

Nothing happened last month, but why did he come yesterday and his grain depot was robbed?

However, the two police comrades just said they were going to question Cao Xiaojun.

Xu Qing felt that this was not possible. If he alerted the enemy, Cao Xiaojun would be on guard.

Besides, the incident happened in the middle of the night and no one saw it. Cao Xiaojun refused to admit it and the police asked him in vain.

Xu Qing thought about it secretly and decided to go back to the compound quickly to find Sha Zhu and Xu Damao.

Shazhu's brother-in-law is a police officer. Let Shazhu tell his brother-in-law to talk to the police station here in Dongdan and keep a close eye on this matter.

As for Xu Damao, he had been working as an Erdao dealer for many years and knew those people who were making trouble in private. Let him inquire about it.

Four to five hundred kilograms of white flour and three to five hundred kilograms of mung beans, red beans, and rice were lost.

You can't finish it all just by eating.

If a thief steals something, he must sell it.

Regardless of whether it is Cao Xiaojun or not, he will definitely find a way as soon as possible to sell it privately for money.

Xu Qing asked Sanhuzi's wife and Meijuan to keep an eye on the grain station while he got on his bicycle and hurried back to his compound.

In the middle courtyard, Si Zhu had just gotten up. He hadn't washed his face or brushed his teeth. When he saw Xu Qing going out early in the morning and coming back again, he asked:

"Qingzi, didn't you go to the grain station early in the morning? Did you leave something behind?"

Xu Qing pushed his bicycle and told the story about the thief at the grain station with a solemn expression.

Silly Zhu looked shocked and said angrily: "Damn it, which bastard did this?!"

Silly Zhu cursed and said hurriedly: "Qingzi, have you called the police?"

Xu Qing nodded, "I've reported it, but the police station has no clue. I don't think they care too much. If I don't come back to you quickly, you can say hello to your brother-in-law and ask the Dongdan police station to keep an eye on it."

Hearing this, Shazhu immediately said: "Qingzi, without further ado, let's go to Yuyu now."

Xu Qing shook his head and said: "Brother Silly Zhu, you ride my car over first. I have to find Brother Damao and ask him to help me find out if any of the second-rate dealers he knows has accepted the white noodles from my grain station. "

Silly Zhu hummed, "That's it, I'll ride your car to find my brother-in-law first, then go back to the backyard and ask that guy Xu Damao."

After Si Zhu finished speaking, he took Xu Qing's bicycle and hurried out of the courtyard.

Xu Qing returned to the backyard, woke up Xu Damao who was still sleeping, and told him about the thief at the grain station.

The drowsy Xu Damao, sitting on the kang, was suddenly startled and woke up instantly.

He slipped off the kang, grabbed his coat, and said while putting it on:

"Qingzi, don't worry about this. Brother, I will find someone to inquire about it now."

While Xu Damao was talking, he walked out of the house with Xu Qing, bent down to pick up the bicycle that was lying on the ground in front of the house, and pushed it out towards the main entrance of the compound.

Xu Qing's grain station was robbed. As a good friend, Xu Damao couldn't help to find out.

(End of this chapter)