Siheyuan: There are three little cats at home

Chapter 529 The key to breaking the situation

The roads in the suburbs are no better than those in the city. No one cleans them specially. They are still surrounded by fields. The snow on the road mixes with the soil on both sides of the road. After being exposed to the sun, it is repeatedly stepped on and crushed, and melts into black mud.

Except for the driver of the military green Jiefang brand truck, he sat in the cab and sat back and relax.

The others were all the same as Xu Qing, their trouser legs were more or less splattered with mud.

In other words, the people sitting on the donkey-drawn cart will be slightly better off.

But the donkey's hooves that made a clicking sound had already been covered with layers of mud and water.

Xu Qing did not stop on the road to roll up his trouser legs. It was not a good thing to expose his ankles in the winter.

He also wore a pair of woolen trousers. The outer trouser legs would be rolled up so they wouldn't get dirty, but the inner trousers would still get dirty.

He rode his motorcycle slowly on a road that was gradually deserted.

After arriving at the meat joint factory, I looked down at my trouser legs and saw mud spots on both trouser legs extending to my calves. The motorcycle was not spared either.

But he didn't think anything of it. It was not easy to stay clean these days.

He always runs to the countryside and needs to change his clothes every now and then.

Although I have always suffered from doing laundry in winter.

Fortunately, Feng Ming bought an imported washing machine from abroad this year. After moving back to the compound, Xu Qing and Aiguo can also use it. Relatively speaking, cleaning it is easier.

Stopping the car at the entrance of the meat factory, Xu Qing threw a cigarette to Lao Suntou, who was guarding the door, and then pushed his motorcycle in.

The factory was crowded at the moment. Er Mazi directed the workers in the grain station warehouse, the workers in the breeding workshop, as well as the slaughter workshop, and a quarantine officer. After lunch, everyone was cleaning together.

Xu Qing parked his motorcycle at the door of the office while watching.

"Qingzi, you are finally here!"

Er Mazi was holding a crumpled economic cigarette, wearing a military coat he bought from Xu Damao for little money last year, and a pair of blue khaki pants. He walked diagonally from the door of the cafeteria to Xu Qing and said:

"Qingzi, what are you busy with this morning? You didn't come over. When I came in the morning, I brought two bottles of Erguotou and planned to drink a few cups with you. I asked Master Hui to make pig tails early. As a result, I didn't see you here all morning. , the pig tail is still hot in the pot on our big stove."

Xu Qing opened the door curtain and walked in with Er Mazi, saying:

"Hey, we have been busy clearing snow from our compound this morning."

Er Mazi followed closely behind, took out a limp cigarette case from the inner pocket of his military coat, shook out a cigarette, handed it to Xu Qing, said oh, and kept talking:

"Qingzi, speaking of this, has anyone's roof in your courtyard collapsed due to snow this year?"

Xu Qing took the cigarette with a puzzled look on his face. He put the cigarette behind his ear and walked to the mahogany cabinet he bought from the flea market. He picked up a thermos and brewed tea in his usual enamel teapot:

"Brother Mazi, isn't it someone's roof in your courtyard that collapsed?"

Er Mazi stretched his hands and said, "Isn't that right? Lao Gong from our compound, the house where his family lived was hit by a bomb last night, and the roof was gone. In the middle of the night, the family had no choice but to put everything together." Sleep in a hostel on the street."

Xu Qing was not in a hurry to talk to him. After pouring hot water for himself, he also poured some more into Er Mazi's teapot.

Er Mazi sat on the sofa whose spring was crushed by him, leaned back, and continued:

"Qingzi, you should have an impression of Lao Gong in our compound. He lives in the east wing of our front yard. In his house, at this time last year, the people from our street office came to tell him that the roof should be repaired. Throw away the rotten tiles and replace them with new ones, what do you think he said?"

Xu Qing sat on the chair behind his desk with his own enamel teapot, raised his hand, pinched the cigarette beside his ear and said:

"No money."

"That's right!" Er Mazi grinned, "Old Gong is so stubborn. He has saved a lot of money in his hands, but he is reluctant to take it out. The roof collapsed last night, and he was afraid of losing things in the house. He hid in the kitchen all night and when I went out in the morning, I heard him sneezing like a third grandson from the cold."

Xu Qing took out his lighter, lowered his head and lit the cigarette, smiled and said nothing.

People these days like to save money and hold on to it.

I live frugally on weekdays, and only use it when big things happen.

This is not a bad habit, but being too frugal is counterproductive.

Fortunately, it has just been opened, so it is still possible to save money.

Domestic prices have not risen, and the economy has not made any major strides in speeding up under the wave of economic reform.

If ten years pass, in 90, whoever keeps saving money will be in trouble.

People in the factory yard were still sweeping snow. Xu Qing turned to look through the window glass. Suddenly he heard the sound of someone walking on the roof and the sound of a broom being rubbed. He was startled.

But soon relieved.

When he built the factory in the first half of this year, he deliberately built a bungalow with no slope on the roof and no tiles. People can walk around on it with confidence. It is not like the old house in the compound where adults dare not go up and clear the snow. .

The people on the roof were still whirring and swinging the broom. Xu Qing sat in the office, picked up the teapot, blew on it, took a sip of the hot tea, and said to Er Mazi:

"Brother Mazi, is there nothing going on in the factory and warehouse this morning?"

"Qingzi, today is the weekend, and our buyers from the cafeterias of the third and fifth factories are not here to pull pork. Old Wu is watching over me in the warehouse of the grain station. It's freezing cold, what can happen!"

After Er Mazi finished speaking, he sat upright and said::

"Oh, by the way, Qingzi, Sanhuzi came to see you this morning. It seemed like something happened. I wanted to call you to tell you. He said no. He would stay at home with his mother today and come back in the afternoon."

Xu Qing took a puff of cigarette and nodded slightly to indicate that he knew. Then he lowered his head and took a sip of hot tea from the teapot, feeling warm and comfortable all over.

Er Mazi grabbed two pieces of dry firewood placed in front of the stove, opened the stove lid, threw them in, clapped his hands and said:

"Qingzi, why don't we have some drinks now?

We returned to the city too late in the afternoon a few days ago and didn't go out for a drink at a restaurant. Today is the time. Moreover, I heard from Master Hui that the pig tail will not taste good if it is kept hot for a long time. "

When Xu Qing heard this, he couldn't help but smile, knowing that Er Mazi was interested in this, and said:

"to make!"

Er Mazi grinned and was about to leave the office and go to the cafeteria to serve pig tails in the morning. Xu Qing thought about it and said hurriedly:

"Brother Mazi, how about you ride a motorcycle to my aunt's place, pick up San Huzi, and the three of us can drink together."

"Okay"

Er Mazi stood at the door of the office, turned around and answered.

Xu Qing took out his motorcycle key and threw it forward. Er Mazi reached out to catch it. As soon as he left the house, he rode to San Huzi's house.

Ten minutes later, the roar of motorcycles came from outside the meat factory.

Xu Qing put down the tails and peanuts from the stove in the cafeteria, as well as the bowls, chopsticks, and wine cups. He opened the door curtain and took a look, and saw Er Mazi and San Huzi heading towards him.

Sanhuzi was sitting in the back, holding something in each hand.

Xu Qing smiled and said: "Sanhuzi, I asked Brother Mazi to come over for a drink, and you still come here with something?"

When Er Mazi stopped the motorcycle beside Xu Qing, San Huzi turned over and got off, grinning and saying:

"Qingzi, you give my mother one or two kilograms of pork every month. Today, my mother steamed a pot of pickled cabbage buns with some meat in them. She specially asked me to bring some over for you to try."

Er Mazi took out the keys of the motorcycle, turned his head and licked the corner of his mouth and said:

"Qingzi, the buns our aunt made today are so delicious! I've already eaten one at my aunt's house."

Xu Qing took the cloth bag that San Huzi handed to him, pinched one out of it, and found that it was still warm. He handed it to the corner of his mouth and took a bite. After pondering the taste, he nodded to San Huzi and said:

"It's really delicious, sour and oily. I rushed to the street to buy the steamed buns made earlier." Xu Qing let Sanhuzi enter the house while eating the steamed buns.

Just seeing the persimmons and two bottles of canned yellow peaches in the net pocket of San Huzi's right hand, Xu Qing swallowed the buns in his mouth and said:

"Sanhuzi, what are you doing with these cans?"

Sanhuzi raised his right hand and said, "My mother has a toothache recently and can't eat this sweet thing. I heard Ermazi said that if we drink, she has to ask me to bring the persimmons over."

Er Mazi then walked into the house, threw the motorcycle key on the desk, and echoed: "Qingzi, our aunt said that she has a lot of cans over there, and more persimmons, which makes us want to eat them. Just go and get it.”

When Xu Qing heard what San Huzi and Er Mazi said, he hummed, finished eating the buns in his hands, sat in the office, and drank wine together.

After drinking for three rounds, Xu Qing picked up a strong piece of pig tail with chopsticks, chewed it and asked Sanhuzi:

"Brother Mazi said you had something to do with me this morning?"

Sanhuzi put down the wine cup, stopped chatting, took out the economical cigarettes from his body, and handed them to Xu Qing first, then turned sideways and gave one to Ermazi. Finally, he held one in his own hand and sighed:

"Qingzi, that's what happened. The car repair shop I opened in the past few years has been doing pretty well and has a lot of regular customers. But after the re-opening, many people are eyeing this business. Last year, my brother, I made up for it. A tire costs 30 cents, but this year I can only receive 15 cents.

Two months ago, a few young guys opened a car repair shop next door to me. Not only were they trying to steal business, but they were always running on customers. When they saw me charging 15 cents to repair a tire, they would repair it for 10 cents. At first, my friends I thought it was not easy for them, but I never thought that it would get worse later on. "

As Sanhuzi spoke, he was out of breath, sighed deeply, paused for a moment, and then continued:

"Those guys, I don't know which muscle was wrong. They hooked up with the second-rate guys on the street and secretly passed on the tools displayed outside my shop to him. It's just like this, that's all. We are married. There were many people, old and young, and I had no time to argue with them. But as time went by, my tools became less and less. Either the screwdriver was missing, or the glue to repair the tire was gone. Later, they simply hired those second-rate people. He stays in front of my car repair shop all day long, taking care of business."

Xu Qing was not in a hurry to speak. He lit the cigarette that San Huzi had just given him and smoked it quietly.

Er Mazi rolled up his sleeves, turned to San Huzi and said, "Didn't you find the policeman patrolling the street?"

"Looking for it, it's no use!"

The three tigers waved their hands and said: "I just asked someone to call the police officer, but those second-rate guys saw it from a distance, ran away, and waited for the police officer to leave, then came again."

The chopsticks in Er Mazi's hand clicked on the mouth of the bowl, and with the strength of the wine, he said angrily:

"San Huzi, why didn't you tell me earlier? When my brother comes back to the city tonight, tell the idle boys in our compound and let them stay in the shop next door to you every day. I don't believe it. You guys and a bunch of second-rate guys are going to eat people!"

Xu Qing was smoking a cigarette and saw Er Mazi's angry face and San Huzi's hesitant look on his face, so he said:

"Brother Mazi, what you said is also a solution, but you wait until Sanhuzi has finished speaking before expressing your opinion."

Er Mazi was smelling of alcohol and his face was red. He put his right hand on the back cushion of the sofa and twisted his body to look at San Huzi.

Sanhuzi put the cigarette on the red-hot stove cover, lit it and took a puff, put his hands on his knees, arched his body, and exhaled in a deep voice:

"Qingzi, Ermazi, brother, I think the bicycle repair business is impossible to do in our 49th city. There is no technical content in repairing cars. If there are more people doing it, you won't be able to make much money in a month. Go I have this plan in a nearby county, but if I bring my wife and children with me, I'm worried that my mother will have no one to take care of me. My sister Meijuan is married, so she can't come back to visit from time to time, ugh."

Xu Qing looked at Sanhuzi with a sad face and thought about it:

"Sanhuzi, if you are considering your mother's side, then don't worry, Brother Mazi and I can help you take care of it a little. Your family will go to the nearby county town to repair the car after the Chinese New Year. I'm at the grain station. We have enough manpower, your wife will not be here tomorrow, and there will be Meijuan, Hui Lihua and the others."

As Xu Qing spoke, his eyes fell on San Huzi's face. Seeing that his expression was still hesitant, he paused and said:

"If you want to change your career and do something else, buddy, I really have some suggestions."

"Qingzi, what good skills do you have, can you tell me about it? If it works, I'll do it!"

San Huzi raised his lowered head and took a long puff of cigarette.

Xu Qing thought for a moment and said, "Raise pigs?"

San Huzi looked stunned, scratched his hair and frowned:

"Raising pigs?"

"Yes, raise pigs!" Xu Qing said sternly: "Collecting pigs in the meat factory I run is a difficult problem. If you raise pigs, you can not only make money, but also help your buddies!"

Er Mazi glanced at Xu Qing, then at San Huzi, and suddenly said:

"Sanhuzi, Qingzi is right. You will definitely make money by raising pigs. Pork is so expensive, it's almost one pound per kilogram. Why are you repairing bicycles? You can raise them in the spring next year!"

After Er Mazi finished speaking, he winked at Xu Qing, indicating that if San Huzi raised pigs in the future, he would not be afraid that there would be no place to collect them.

Xu Qing had thought of this, but he thought deeper.

First, Sanhuzi doesn't have much thought to continue repairing bicycles at the moment. This is an opportunity.

These days, not many people are willing to raise pigs specifically.

Rural people have just been given land, and all they want to do is grow crops so that they can have enough to eat.

If city people want to raise pigs, space is a problem.

City residents all have urban hukou and have no land.

Renting land costs a fortune.

In addition, most people have jobs, so raising pigs is not a decent job and not many people are willing to do it.

Although everyone likes to eat pork, if asked to raise it, most of them would just shake their heads and refuse.

After all, pigs are not clean animals and are always dirty. Winter is better, but in summer, the smell of the pig pen can be nauseating.

Sanhuzi, on the other hand, has suffered all kinds of sins, including being a second-rate dealer, getting up early and going late at night to buy braised pork, and even repairing bicycles.

No matter how hard or tiring the job is, raising pigs is still a little easier than those jobs.

Secondly, Xu Qing also wants to support Sanhuzi in raising pigs and encourage people in the surrounding villages to raise pigs together.

If he wanted to set up a pig farm, the investment would cost a lot of money.

On the other hand, too many pigs are raised in concentrated areas, which make them prone to disease and the infection rate is extremely high.

It's different if you raise pigs in each household. If one pig dies of illness, the pigs in other households will be fine.

What's more, if you really want to set up a pig farm, it will take at least dozens of pigs, right?

But dozens of pigs cannot support the operation of a meat processing plant for a year.

Even if he uses his ability to divide the pork once, it will not help.

If it were just a few hundred heads, Xu Qing's current economic situation would be difficult to support.

The meat factory and grain station alone are enough for him to keep him busy, so how can he dare to make the stall too big?

Only by mobilizing the broad masses of the people is the key to breaking the situation.

But at the moment, what's more important is Sanhuzi's thoughts.

After Xu Qing finished smoking, he threw the cigarette butt into the iron dustpan in front of the stove and said to Sanhuzi:

"Sanhuzi, how do you feel?"

(End of this chapter)