Silly Zhu's Moving: The Old Neighbor's Nightmare

Chapter 217 Reasoning at the Front Door

Human nature is unfathomable, and there is great terror between life and death!

After seeing off Manager Jin and his two newly accepted disciples, Sha Zhu returned to the courtyard. Yu Shui's friends, who were all full and bored, were behaving themselves without any regard for appearances.

They were either sitting or lying down. There was only one recliner in the yard, and the two little girls squeezed together to rest on it.

Two little boys lay sprawled on the cement ground, their bellies exposed, not wanting to move.

Two little girls were slumped on the rocking horse, their bodies close together. Luckily, the weather wasn't too hot.

Aunt Dong picked up the mung bean soup, took a sip, glanced at the children in the yard, and continued to hold the child in her arms, talking to herself. The little guy had eaten his fill and fallen asleep.

Yu Shui wasn't full from eating; he was currently reading comic books with Xiao Fang.

She's gotten used to the delicious food and knows how to control her portion sizes. Even when her brother tries different dishes, she still eats them like crazy!

Sha Zhu sensed it with his mind and was genuinely worried that the children might get sick from the food.

I read a novel in my past life where a grandfather prepared boiled edamame for his grandson and went out to busy himself. As a result, the little guy ate so much that he died of overeating!

After sensing that the children were fine, just a bit overeaten, Sha Zhu didn't bother to care.

Aunt Dong was used to it; these kids were very naughty, coming home dirty every day, and their parents would only give them a few half-hearted scoldings.

The next day, Sha Zhu rode his bicycle to take Yu Shui to school. On the way, he overheard conversations. A street not far from Nanluoguxiang was directly blocked off.

Sha Zhu had only explored a small area, but he hadn't expected to find more than just the illegal and disorderly activities he'd detected through his mental scan.

There were so many people arrested: opium addicts, drug dealers, child traffickers. More than a dozen children were rescued!

The police immediately intensified their efforts and conducted a thorough search of that area.

The Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau issued propaganda materials on the anti-drug campaign and established a registration office, requiring opium addicts to register and quit within a specified period.

Sha Zhu remembered that in his previous life, the major drug-related case-solving and arrest operation, as well as the public trial of drug dealers, were scheduled for August or later. He never expected that the impact of this incident would bring it forward by more than two months.

When Yushui picked up her brother from school in the evening, she wondered why those people hadn't come to intercept him.

Looking at her brother's indifferent and unaffected face, and thinking about his skills, she didn't care anymore.

Back home, Director Wang rushed over, took the few blueprints that Sha Zhu had prepared, and left in a hurry without saying a word.

It wasn't until a day later, when he ran into Liu Jianguo from Workshop 3 who was rushing to work at the factory gate, that Sha Zhu realized how big the incident had really been.

The number of people arrested and implicated was enormous, and the entire leadership of the street office in that area was forced to resign.

Relatively speaking, it's already quite good that Director Wang of the Nanluoguxiang Subdistrict Office wasn't punished.

"Brother Liu, please don't mention finding prostitutes again. Luckily, I didn't listen to you, or I would be arrested now," Sha Zhu joked.

Liu Jianguo is still shaken; he couldn't go to work yesterday and wasn't allowed to leave his house.

"Don't mention that. Two people from our compound were arrested. One was arrested at a gambling den, and the other didn't go home after get off work."

He went straight to a prostitute and got caught red-handed. His wife, too ashamed to live, hanged herself.

We didn't find out until yesterday afternoon when the child was crying inside! The poor child is only two years old! If it weren't for the child's maternal grandparents living nearby, this child…”

"Several hundred people have been arrested. I knew the area where we lived was chaotic, but I never expected it to be this chaotic!"

Casinos, brothels, black markets, trafficking of women and children, and even drug trafficking! I was saying that some of my neighbors always seem listless!

"Didn't I take you to smoke opium? I heard that now anyone who has smoked opium has to register!" Sha Zhu asked curiously!

"My mother is a Pixiu (a mythical creature believed to bring wealth and prosperity) in the Chinese zodiac. After handing over her monthly salary, she doesn't even have enough money to buy a pack of regular cigarettes, let alone smoke expensive opium."

Everyone in the compound knew I had no money, so no one took me to those places!

Liu Jianguo complained a bit, not even having money for cigarettes. He was also somewhat relieved that he had no money on him, otherwise he would have been in trouble too.

Sha Zhu casually steered the conversation towards the casino, saying, "I heard that the scalper who caused trouble in our Nanluoguxiang has appeared at your casino."

Liu Jianguo said excitedly, "That's right, it's hilarious! Why does this little scoundrel always seem to cause trouble for the casinos?"

Not long after you left that day, I heard the mooing of a little yellow calf. I didn't believe it before, but now it's absolutely true.

The sound was like it was ringing right next to my ear. I wanted to go out and see what was happening, but before I even left the courtyard, I heard gunshots, which terrified me so much that I quickly ran back inside.

Sha Zhu continued to guide Liu Jianguo, "We arrested nearly a hundred people in Nanluoguxiang that time, what about the casinos over there?"

"Tch, what's that? At most you'll injure a few people," Liu Jianguo said, glancing at Sha Zhu's pocket.

Sha Zhu immediately understood; this guy's cigarette money had all been taken by his mother, he was really suffering. He quickly pulled out a Daqianmen cigarette and handed it to him.

After lighting a cigarette, the guy took two deep drags, savoring the moment, and then glanced enviously at Sha Zhu before continuing mysteriously,

"The casinos in our area are not just casinos; they also offer a variety of services."

I heard from Aunt Zhang in our neighborhood that they carried out about twenty drunkards from inside.

They were completely unresponsive; imagine how drunk they must have been. The number of people arrested was no less than in Nanluoguxiang."

The two chatted for a while longer. After Liu Jianguo finished his cigarette, he walked towards the workshop. Before leaving, he complained to Sha Zhu why he didn't go to the front to get food for the workers.

Sha Zhu understood; now that they had finally managed to talk to him, he just wanted to eat one more bite.

Watching Liu Jianguo walk away, I parked my bicycle and slowly headed towards the cafeteria…

What Sha Zhu didn't know was that years later, after the public-private partnership was established, he met that guy named Xiao Tao again at the steel rolling mill.

Later I found out that this guy confessed quite thoroughly. He was bullied to the point of not being able to survive, and he explained in great detail the illegal and disorderly things that Brother Jun did. He said that he was just a victim who benefited from the misfortune.

Over the weekend, I went with Uncle Ge to prepare a wedding feast for a newlywed couple.

When the job was finished, they gave Liu Lan an extra 50 cents, which made her smile broadly.

Sha Zhu was really afraid that this girl would take a liking to him, so he abandoned Liu Lan to Uncle Ge and ran away!

"Who feeds whom? Who creates human wealth? Capitalists exploit the surplus value of us workers..."

After Sha Zhu parted ways with Uncle Ge and Liu Lan, he went to Qianmen Street and listened to the propaganda coming from the loudspeakers installed on the street.

Not far away, a crowd had gathered in front of a stage on the street. A young man on the stage was talking eloquently, while five or six people who looked like shopkeepers and capitalists stood opposite him.

"The shopkeeper told me to dilute the wine with water and often beat and scolded us workers. These things existed in the old society and also existed in the early days of liberation."

After liberation, a tobacco and alcohol monopoly company was established. The shopkeeper asked me to go to the monopoly company every day to buy five catties of wine and pour it into the wine jars in the shop.

The owner wouldn't dare add water in front of customers, but when the customers weren't around, he would add half a ladle of cold water, which was a common practice.

My master and the boss had a falling out, and he took it out on me, his apprentice, picking on me and beating and scolding me.

A man who looked like a government official next to the young man asked him, "What kind of work do you do in that small restaurant?"

"I worked in a small restaurant, and the owner required me to learn and master everything. Chopping and washing vegetables, washing utensils and dishes, delivering takeout, selling things, starting a fire, adding coal—the boss never let us have a moment's rest."

In the past, there was a saying of "three years and one holiday," meaning there was no salary, and the boss would only give a little pocket money.

"Apprenticeship is just a title; everyone learns secretly. Small restaurants don't offer many dishes, so you can learn by watching. It's mainly about practice."

"Besides beating and verbally abusing workers and adulterating their products, what other problems does the boss cause?"

……,

Is this what they call "reasoning"?

The streets were desolate, but thankfully the private shops were still open, otherwise it would have been a wasted trip.

The government's Three-Anti Campaign finally impacted private capitalist industry and commerce.

A campaign was launched to combat the "five vices" (bribery, tax evasion, theft of state property, shoddy workmanship, and theft of state economic intelligence).

This is how the Qianmen District Trade Union organized workers to fight against capitalists.

Through such propaganda and explanation, workers raised their class consciousness and actively participated in the struggle against capitalists.

"Speaking out" means, under the leadership of the labor union, bringing together several capitalists to stand on a stage.

Union activists and workers sat below the stage and criticized them, exposing how capitalists cut corners, adulterated materials, and beat and verbally abused workers.

Sha Zhu didn't care about any of that. In any case, he was either the one compromising or being compromised. The public-private partnership would last for several more years.

Although private shops and restaurants have been restricted, the workers are still having a hard time. Even though capitalists are being criticized and denounced, the workers are not necessarily doing any better.

Or some small capitalists feel they can't keep their businesses afloat and can't make their own decisions, so they close down and quit.

Either the government actively works to change the workers' mindsets, and in the end, the workers voluntarily lower their wages.

There's no other way now; otherwise, all the capitalists would leave.

It is detrimental to economic development and even more detrimental to solving employment issues.

The government could only adopt a policy of "restriction, utilization, and transformation" towards capitalists, granting them "three rights" (the right to operate, the right to employ, and the right to manage).

By utilizing their operating capital and experience, we can restrict their illegal activities, transform their worldview, and turn capitalists into self-reliant laborers.

This is indeed beneficial to society, as it guarantees workers' employment and enables the efficient flow of the social economy.

Sha Zhu stopped joining the fun and started visiting some shops, buying things. Since he had a backpack, he frequently browsed various stores.

Small items are easy to handle; they've already been transferred to your spatial storage by the time you enter the next store. But there's no good way to handle large items. You have to go further away, into a small alley, and transfer them to your spatial storage when no one's around.

Two or three hours passed, and Sha Zhu had bought everything he needed, including an electric fan and a radio.

Before I knew it, I had arrived near Master Wang's house. I took out some cherries and strawberries from my spatial storage, grabbed a watermelon, and went into Master Wang's house.

Master Wang Yijun was sitting in the courtyard smoking, looking rather unwell. His wife was knitting a sweater beside him, trying to comfort him.

Seeing Sha Zhu come in, he hurriedly put down his work, his face beaming with joy, and went to greet him.

"Zhu Zi, you're here, why did you buy so much fruit?" The teacher's wife complained as she took the cherries and strawberries from Sha Zhu's hands.

These fruits are sold in nearby private fruit shops. You might rarely see them in Nanluoguxiang, but they're not a rare find here in Qianmen.

Sha Zhu did not answer his master's wife's question.

"Master's wife, my master didn't go to work today,"

"What work? I've stopped all my work recently and am waiting at home for a notice. They say Fengzeyuan is going to be a public-private partnership!"

"Your two senior brothers will probably have to find new jobs, and your master is also considering whether to stay at Fengzeyuan." The master's wife sighed.

"Why stay? Just find a factory job. With Master's skills, he can go anywhere. Our canteen manager is going crazy trying to find a good cook!" Sha Zhu said casually.

"What do you know? Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand!" Master Wang couldn't contain his anger. Even a junior apprentice was trying to provoke him.

"Master, on my way here I saw that Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant was closed. Is it also undergoing public-private partnership transformation?"

There are several booths on the street doing something, talking about reason and how those private companies will end up badly if they don't listen to advice. The government has directly stopped supplying raw materials.

They're just cooperating with the government and honestly carrying out the renovations.

Now it's Fengzeyuan and Quanjude, but who knows, in two or three years they might have to be publicly-privately operated!

I don't feel very stable staying at Fengzeyuan. If you're not leaving, Master, you could send my two senior apprentices to work at the factory.

Master Wang shook his head and snorted, "Those two are too ambitious. Do you think everyone is like you, running a factory to earn so little money? Isn't your factory a private enterprise too?"

Well, Sha Zhu couldn't say too much. He couldn't very well say that restaurant business would suffer after the issuance of the notes, could he?

Business was impossible during famine years, and later on, when the wind picked up, they would smash up your shop.

Anyway, with the master's reputation, there's never a shortage of work. It's just that there are two senior brothers who need to trouble the master a little!

Hearing the conversation in the yard, Lele, who was hiding inside the house, ran out. "Wow, a big watermelon, strawberries!"

Without the rain, Lele, this chubby little girl, seems to be expanding horizontally. I guess she doesn't practice martial arts much anymore.

She grabbed a strawberry and stuffed it into her mouth, mumbling, "Brother Zhuzi, where's Yushui? Why didn't Yushui come to play with me?"

"Go wash it before you eat it," the teacher's wife slapped away the little hand that was reaching for the strawberry again.

"She's studying at home. There's still a month until summer vacation, right? Her exam results weren't good, so I won't let her go out. Does Lele want to spend the summer vacation at Brother Zhu's house?" Sha Zhu had just finished speaking when...

The master's wife was unwilling.

"Go away? You're not on summer vacation, who's going to take care of the kids? Just have Yushui come over, I'll watch them for you!"

Well, Sha Zhu is relieved again; he already has plans even before the rainy season has started.

It's not that Sha Zhu wants to be lazy; he has to go to work, and his second uncle has to go to work too. Yu Shui is home alone with no one to watch over him, so he'll probably go crazy playing around again!

He then picked up where his teacher's wife left off, "Okay, then I'll bring the rainwater over and play with Lele!"

Afterwards, the master's wife asked some questions about Sha Zhu's life. They chatted for a short while before Sha Zhu took his leave.

I brought some fruit and went to visit Master Li. As I reached the door, I remembered…

Master Li had been married for so long, and his wife didn't even know how big her belly was. She took out a can of milk powder from her spatial storage before entering Master Li's house.

Sha Zhu didn't stay at Master Li's house for long; Master Li had gone to the college and wasn't home.

The master's wife was heavily pregnant, and another woman was accompanying her.

Through their conversation, Sha Zhu learned that the woman was his teacher's wife's biological mother, who had come from her hometown to take care of her daughter.

"Master's wife, it's fine to eat some of these fruits in moderation. They can boost immunity and promote fetal growth and development."

"Don't eat too much. Eating too much might cause gastrointestinal discomfort and have a negative impact on the baby in your womb," Sha Zhu told his master's wife as he was leaving.

"Don't worry, Zhu Zi, the doctors at these hospitals have already told me this."

"Take care on your way back. I was thinking of letting you eat before you leave; your master still hasn't returned."

The teacher's wife, heavily pregnant, escorted Sha Zhu to the front gate.

With his master not home, Sha Zhu didn't mention the house to his master's wife.

Anyway, there's still plenty of time. My second uncle isn't in a hurry, so I don't care either. I'll just let things take their course. There are restrictions on buying and selling houses in the city, and there are still several years to go.