Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 259

Only then did Yi Zhonghai finally smile, as he had no choice but to take him on his bicycle.

Yesterday, He Yuzhu tricked me and complained to the factory manager. Although the factory manager didn't criticize me, I knew I had lost face in front of him.

Fortunately, his fitter skills were the best in the entire factory, so this small matter wouldn't warrant being fired or given a demerit.

But I was very unhappy.

Today, Director Li gave him a lot of face, and He Yuzhu took him to the glass bottle factory on his bicycle. Yi Zhonghai was in a great mood sitting on the back.

Soon the two arrived outside the cannery, parked their bicycles, and went inside.

Factory Director Shen was in the production workshop, talking to Master Pan, when he saw He Yuzhu coming over and quickly went to greet him.

Holding He Yuzhu's hand, he said, "Comrade He, we've been looking forward to your visit."

He Yuzhu didn't hold any official position in the street or the glass bottle factory, but everyone knew he was a prominent figure in the area and couldn't be neglected.

"Director Shen, you're too kind. Let me introduce you. This is an old fitter from the steel rolling mill. He's here to make molds."

Then, Director Shen was introduced to Yi Zhonghai. The two shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.

The glass bottle production line is actually very simple. The production of glass cleaner is the same for all products, but the final products are different because of the different molds.

Yi Zhonghai carefully examined the mold of the saline bottle in front of him. Knowing that He Yuzhu was a difficult fellow, he could only nod and say:

"This mold isn't too difficult. Give me three days and I can make one for you."

Yi Zhonghai wasn't being cunning. If he had said he couldn't make it, they would have definitely found someone else to make the part.

Wouldn't I lose face and offend the street director? After all, this was a task assigned by the factory manager, and I had to do it even if there were difficulties.

Besides, making the mold for this canning jar is not difficult at all.

He Yuzhu asked, "Is this difficult? Don't tell me you can't do it again after three days?"

"You underestimate me. This isn't that difficult. I guarantee I'll finish it for you on time."

"Okay, just tell me what you need."

"Okay, lend me your bicycle for a few days. It's very inconvenient for me to travel back and forth."

Yi Zhonghai was not one to suffer a loss, but his reasons were quite valid: the steel rolling mill was located east of Dongzhimen.

However, the glass bottle factory was located in the north of the city, which was quite far away, giving Yi Zhonghai a reason to stay.

I want to borrow He Yuzhu's bicycle. If I can ride it back to the courtyard house, I'll have some face.

When people ask why you're riding He Yuzhu's bicycle...

Then you can casually mention that He Yuzhu asked you for a favor, thus gaining both face and substance.

Just as He Yuzhu was about to agree, Factory Director Shen quickly said, "It's our fault for not handling this matter well. Master Yi, please take my bicycle."

Yi Zhonghai was a bit dumbfounded. Everyone in the courtyard knew He Yuzhu's bicycle. If he rode Director Shen's bicycle back, it wouldn't have the same effect.

However, Director Shen was very enthusiastic and pulled Yi Zhonghai to look at his bicycle. At this point, Yi Zhonghai could no longer say that he only wanted He Yuzhu's bicycle.

Watching Yi Zhonghai ride away on his bicycle with the spare glass bottle molds, He Yuzhu exchanged a few words with the factory manager. Although the manager tried to persuade him to stay, he left quickly.

When he got home, Xu Zhaodi was there as expected, and she asked, "You're here again?"

"I didn't come here to see you."

Xu Zhaodi rolled her eyes at her old classmate, picked up the half-finished shoe sole in front of her, and turned to Xu Huizhen, saying, "Sister-in-law, I'm going back."

"Okay, I won't see you off."

"Oh, no need for gifts. Sister-in-law, you're pregnant, you should take care of yourself."

Xu Zhaodi didn't stay long and left immediately.

After washing his face, He Yuzhu took his daughter from Xu Huizhen's arms, but Xiu'er didn't give her father any face. She pouted as soon as she left her mother's embrace, and when she saw He Yuzhu's old face, she burst into tears.

"This kid really doesn't give me any face."

He Yuzhu had no choice but to return his daughter to her biological mother.

As soon as she was in her arms, Xiu'er stopped crying. Xu Huizhen laughed and said, "You haven't held her enough. Even your daughter doesn't want to stay with you anymore."

"Then I won't go out today, I'll take a day off and be lazy."

Although He Yuzhu wanted to set up a cannery, the molds for the canning bottles would take three more days to prepare, and the neighborhood hadn't finalized the factory site yet, so He Yuzhu was free today.

"Then you shouldn't just sit around, go keep Huizhi company. Oh, by the way, I've found a house in the countryside."

"Where is it located? Is the person you're looking for reliable?"

"It's Xiangcao's aunt's house. It's in a small village nestled in the mountains. The village is small, with a small population, and they don't have much contact with the outside world."

He Yuzhu nodded and said, "That's good, it'll be peaceful this way."

After two days at home, a courtyard was finally cleared out on the street, and the address of the cannery was confirmed. It was in the same alley as the braised meat shop, but not too close, so that there would be no pollution.

Tian Zao showed He Yuzhu around the house. Although it was old, it could still be used as a factory. She said, "Zhuzi, this is all the neighborhood can provide. The rest is up to you."

He Yuzhu asked, "You can't leave everything to me. Has the factory manager been decided yet?"

He Yuzhu did not want to be involved in the daily management, especially since the cannery would be hiring a lot of young women, and managing them would be a real headache.

"It should be made by Mr. Shen from the glass bottle factory. You've met him and dealt with him before."

He Yuzhu nodded: "That works too. Anyway, the glass bottle factory and the cannery are connected, so it's easier to manage them this way."

Tian Zao said, "The neighborhood committee also thinks that if things go well, they will merge the two factories into a cannery, and then it will be one factory without a glass bottle factory."

"These are our own people," Tian Zao said, speaking the truth directly.

He Yuzhu said, "Once the canning jars start production, I'll bring the money over and then we can start purchasing fruit and white sugar."

"What about the recipe? Is there a problem?"

"That's easy. I've already tested it. You just need to determine the viscosity of the sugar."

The two walked around the factory yard to make sure there were no problems with the building, then left and went to the neighborhood committee.

When He Yuzhu actually got involved, he realized that there were countless things to consider, and the next step was to discuss the purchase of fruit.

It's already September, and the seasonal fruits suitable for canning are grapes, peaches, apricots, hawthorns, apples, and pears.

The most suitable fruit is actually the yellow peach, but since Beijing is not a production area, this product has to be removed.

Tian Zao said, "Our street doesn't have any cars either. We discussed with Director Li before and planned to adopt an open purchasing method here, so that fruit farmers can deliver directly to their door. However, this would make the price a bit higher."

At this time of year, fruit is cheap, sometimes costing more than 10 cents per pound, but never more than 20 cents.

When it's available in large quantities, it will only cost three to five cents. The main problem is that there's a lack of preservation methods right now, so it can't be stored for long.

They wanted to sell to other places, but couldn't transport them over long distances, so they just rotted locally.

He Yuzhu said, "This is too inefficient. It's better to use a truck to buy the fruit directly from the fields. Besides, the fruit for canning isn't afraid of spoiling. We can collect the fruit repeatedly, even if it's spoiled."

"You can do it like that?" Tian Zao asked.

He Yuzhu said, "If the fruit is spoiled, just remove the spoiled parts. It won't affect the quality, and it will actually reduce the cost."

Many fruits were pecked by birds or eaten by insects while still on the tree. A small portion was sold off cheaply, but most were eaten directly by the farmers. The ones that couldn't be eaten were fed to pigs and chickens.

If we can source the fruit directly from the farm, we can buy the spoiled and substandard fruit, which would actually reduce costs.

Tian Zao said, "This is a good thing, but we don't have a car."

He Yuzhu said, "I can get two trucks to transport the fruit directly."

Once you leave the city gates, you'll be in the countryside. If you're on a short route, you can use a handcart, a tricycle, or even a camel or donkey.

However, these methods won't work for very long distances. For example, the countryside in Changping is famous for its apples, which is more than 100 miles away. It would be much more convenient to have a car.

I was worried before that I could keep the ZIS-100 sedan in the car and use it occasionally outside. The traffic police would just salute me and wouldn't stop me.

But keeping the two cars is useless, and leaving them is a waste.

This is perfect for using the streets to transport fruit; the streets can also be used when there's no downtime.

"You can get a truck?" Tian Zao was surprised.

He Yuzhu chuckled and said, "Of course, there are two of them, and they're both good cars."

"Where did you come from?"

"This was obtained with Elena's help; you could consider it an investment on our part."

"Okay, we'll take them."

Tian Zao was overjoyed. Although she didn't report to Director Li, she made the decision on her own.

These days, it's really inconvenient not having a car. Although you can hire a camel caravan or use a tricycle, it's far less efficient than a car.

Moreover, with cars, the streets can organize a small fleet of vehicles to transport other goods during off-peak hours.

It was already dark when He Yuzhu came out of the neighborhood committee, so he went to the courtyard house on his way.

He Yushui was overjoyed to see her brother and greeted him sweetly, "Brother, you're here!"

He Yuzhu flipped his hand behind his back and took out a candied hawthorn.

"Brother, you are so kind!"

He Yushui skipped and hopped into the house after He Yuzhu. The candied hawthorns made He Yutang's mouth water. He stretched out his two little hands to grab them, shouting: