“No, old Yan, why are you running? Explain yourself!”
Jia Zhangshi chased after him for a few steps, but she was carrying things and couldn't catch up.
“This old Yan must be stingy about the gift money. Bi Hua, let me tell you, the third uncle in our courtyard is a miser. You have to be careful with him.”
Chen Bi Hua, upon hearing this, thought to herself that in her mother-in-law's eyes, there wasn't a single good person in the courtyard, not even Dong Xu's master, the first uncle Yi Zhonghai.
“Mom, I got it.”
Chen Bi Hua carried the cloth bag into the house, and the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law put the things on the table. There wasn't much, and the banquet was not even as good as some rural ones.
Jia Zhangshi, however, was complaining: "Bi Hua, you are new to the city and don't know the rules. In the morning, the meat in the market is expensive, 75 cents a pound. If you go to the market in the afternoon, you can buy off-peak pig meat for only 68 cents, which saves you money.”
Chen Bi Hua moved her lips, not knowing how to retort. The off-peak meat was cheaper by a few cents, but it was the leftover scraps that others had rejected, not even fat.
“Five pounds of meat, one chicken. We'll make braised pork, stir-fried meat slices, and stew chicken with vermicelli. That's three main dishes, enough to eat. Add a cabbage, a potato, a radish, making it six dishes in total. We'll use a mixture of white flour and whole wheat for the main food. Including cooking oil, salt, and other condiments, plus two bottles of wine and two packs of cigarettes, it’s almost ten yuan. A table is five yuan, it’s presentable.”
Jia Zhangshi only had this much money. The sewing machine was so expensive, costing 175 yuan and 40 cents, and she had already emptied her savings. Being able to put together ten yuan for the banquet was already very difficult. She was counting on the entire courtyard to contribute to get her money back.
…
“Yo, Li Wuwei, you’re back. How did things go?”
Yan Bugui was waiting in the front yard. Seeing him return, he hurriedly went to greet him. This was a matter related to the eating and drinking tomorrow.
“Third Uncle, just rest assured. The promised five tables will be guaranteed. How’s everything going on your end?”
Li Wuwei parked his bicycle to the side and asked.
“Except for the first uncle, the old lady, and the old He family, everyone else has been informed, and the bride price has been collected. As for the old He family, you can talk to them. It involves free cooking help.”
Yan Bugui pushed up his glasses. He did things properly.
“Alright! I'll go right away.”
Li Wuwei was about to leave, but he was suddenly stopped again.
“Li Wuwei, I found out. The Jia family intends to...”
Yan Bugui immediately spilled the gossip.
Li Wuwei frowned, "Jia Zhangshi is too shameless! Only one representative from each household, and only two tables, standing to eat and drink. She’s obviously trying to cheat people out of money. This is outrageous!"
Yan Bugui thought, “You and Jia Zhangshi are birds of a feather.”
“Isn’t it! The sewing machine is confirmed for the Jia family. It's being delivered tomorrow. You can’t be outdone. You have a bicycle, but you don't even know how to maintain it. Look, the steel bars are covered in dirt! Why don’t you leave the bike here. I'll clean it for you. But you have to let me ride it out for a spin. Don’t worry, I learned in school, I know how to ride a bicycle.”
Yan Bugui had been wanting to buy a bicycle for days, but his salary was low, and it was already difficult to support his family. How could he afford one? He would see Li Wuwei riding around every day and was incredibly envious.
“Okay, Third Uncle, after you finish riding it, tie a big red flower on the bike for me.”
Li Wuwei thought, someone's willing to clean the bike for free, this is great!
“Big red flower? No problem. I have plenty of them.”
Yan Bugui was an elementary school teacher. He wouldn't be short on these things. He usually took home anything left over from the school.
“Alright, I'll go to the old He family first. After I settle things with them, we'll discuss the banquet arrangements later.”
Li Wuwei then left. Others treated their bicycles like treasures, but he saw it as a mere tool.
“Oh, this bike is so nice. It's a Phoenix brand, 168 yuan and 50 cents. When we have money in the future, we'll buy a Yongjiu brand. It's much cheaper and the quality is good.”
Yan Bugui held the bicycle, touching it here and there, his eyes full of longing. He had never ridden a new bike before. Today was a real treat.
He thought, after cleaning it now, it would get dirty again once he rode it out later. Why not ride it around once now and take care of it slowly afterwards.
Soon, Yan Bugui rode the bicycle into the alley, feeling like he was floating. If this bike were his, he would polish it three times a day and take good care of it.
“Third Uncle, did you buy a bike?”
Xu Damao was walking towards him. He had gone out to show movies with his master today and came back to the courtyard. He didn't have to report back to the factory.
“Of course not, it's Li Wuwei's bike. I borrowed it to practice.”
Yan Bugui carefully stopped the bike, afraid of damaging it.
“No way! He actually lent you his bike? The sun must have risen in the west!”
Xu Damao was a little confused. Third Uncle couldn't possibly have gotten Li Wuwei, that little rascal, on his side.
“Why not? Li Wuwei, no matter what, is still a resident of this courtyard, and he has great respect for me, your Third Uncle.”
Yan Bugui boasted wildly, then whispered, “For the next two days, we're on the same team as Li Wuwei, Damao. You'll understand when you get home.”
“Third Uncle, I don't understand what you're saying.”
Xu Damao was baffled. He was fine this morning, but when he returned this afternoon, he heard bad news. Had Li Wuwei scammed someone again?
“You'll know when you get home. I need to practice riding. I can't chat with you anymore.”
Yan Bugui planned to ride to Bei Xin Qiao, show off to the old men he usually played chess with, then return.
“What's going on?!”
Seeing the man riding away, Xu Damao could only head back to the courtyard. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Even in the back yard, he didn’t see Li Wuwei.
“Mom, did something happen in our courtyard?”
Xu Damao returned home and saw his sister doing her homework. His mother was already cooking.
“What could happen!”
Xu's mother took out the fermented dough and started steaming it. She didn't steam too much; they could eat two meals at Li's house tomorrow.
“Just now, Third Uncle rode Li Wuwei’s bike out. How can that not be a big deal?”
“Oh, you’re talking about that. Old Yan is being a bookkeeper for someone. He must be riding the bike to do some errands.”
Xu's mother casually replied. She was already thinking that when her son got married, he should do the same as Li Wuwei, gathering a lot of people to celebrate without spending any money.
“What bookkeeper? No, does Li Wuwei want to hold a banquet? Where did he get the money?”
It’s no wonder people say Xu Damao is smart, he quickly started brainstorming.
“He doesn’t have money. We, all the residents of our courtyard, are pooling money together to hold a banquet for him. You should learn from this, you’re not as quick-witted as Li Wuwei in this regard.”
Xu's mother used to think her son was bright, much better than Shazhu and Jia Dongxu. But lately, she realized he was a step behind Li Wuwei.
“No, why should the whole courtyard pay for his banquet? Mom, you wouldn't have participated, would you? Are you out of your mind?”
Xu Damao stomped his feet in frustration. He knew Li Wuwei was always up to something by not going to work and hanging around the courtyard. He didn't expect it to be so big this time, tricking everyone in the courtyard!
“Out of my mind? The whole courtyard can be out of their mind! Third Uncle is such a clever person. He's helping to organize this event. Mom already gave a gift to the Li family.”
Xu’s mother raised her hand and slapped her son on the head. He didn’t know how to speak with a little bit of intelligence.
“Brother is dumb, Li brother is smart.”
Xu Fengling added a blow from the side, leaving Xu Damao completely dumbfounded. Oh my god, what did Li Wuwei do? He completely fooled his mother and sister.