Chapter 40: The Food Issue

Cemented ground, blue brick walls, low and cramped houses, and the blue-black workwear worn by pedestrians.

Under the glow of the golden sunlight, everything exuded an air of antiquity, making one feel as if they were drifting through the long river of history.

However, the moment a tandem bicycle burst into the frame, the entire atmosphere shifted.

Into something bizarre.

An auntie carrying a basket by the roadside was so startled she bumped into a tree.

The cadre riding the bicycle, wearing a jacket with four pockets, had been acting quite smug, but now he lowered his haughty head.

The young girls widened their eyes, their faces flushing red as they pressed their legs tightly together.

Don't get the wrong idea.

They just wanted to sit on the back and ride.

The attention was so intense that Li Aiguo felt as if he were driving a Ferrari through the streets in a future era.

*Cough*, forget the act, this feeling is actually quite excellent.

Riding this thing makes you look like a total boss.

Four wheels, leather seats, a panoramic sunroof, an open cockpit, and a fuel consumption of only four steamed buns per hundred kilometers.

Especially since there were two smooth, bright bells on the handlebars—you could ring whichever one you wanted.

It was irresistible.

Li Aiguo rode the tandem bicycle to the entrance of the Sub-district Office.

Looking at the high steps and threshold, he faced a dilemma.

With someone else's bicycle, you could just grab the frame and lift it over.

But this thing was essentially two bicycles combined; it weighed at least two hundred jin.

Fine, he'd just park it at the door.

After parking, he entered the guardhouse, found Old Man Qin, and tossed him a *Daqianmen* cigarette.

"Grandpa, I'm looking for Director Wang to handle some business. Could you please keep an eye on my bike?"

"What kind of bike is it? You're riding it into the courtyard?"

Old Man Qin took the cigarette, opened the window to take a look, and smacked his lips. "Young man, don't worry. With a bike like that, I don't think even the big shots in Beijing would dare lay a finger on it."

Li Aiguo thought it made sense; riding this thing was far too eye-catching.

When those big shots did business, they preferred to do it quietly and discreetly.

After asking for the location of Director Wang's office, Li Aiguo slung his canvas bag over his shoulder and entered the office.

He knocked on the door.

He found Director Wang reviewing documents.

Li Aiguo said with a smile, "Auntie Wang, it's Li Aiguo from the Steel Mill compound. I'm here to handle the procedures for transferring my grain booklet."

Li Aiguo's grain relationship was currently with the Sub-district Office, and he collected his grain coupons and other vouchers from them every month.

Now that he had become a train driver, he needed to transfer his grain relationship to the railway department.

Director Wang looked up, recognized Li Aiguo, capped her fountain pen, and beamed. "Aiguo, you actually passed! A few days ago, Section Chief Zhang from the Locomotive Depot called me to request your files. I could hardly believe it."

Li Aiguo laughed heartily. "It's all thanks to your help, Auntie Wang. If you hadn't helped me get my bride price back, I wouldn't have even had enough to fill my stomach, let alone the energy to take the exam."

Director Wang shook her head with a smile. "As long as you don't hold a grudge against me."

Li Aiguo sat up straight. "Grudge? You are the Director of the Sub-district Office; you have to consider the big picture. It doesn't matter if I personally suffered some grievances."

Compromise wasn't the goal; the goal was to make the other party remember his sacrifice.

Hearing this, Director Wang's expression softened. She stood up and patted Li Aiguo's shoulder. "If everyone in our courtyard neighborhood were as sensible as you, our work at the Sub-district Office would be so much easier."

"You've come at the right time. This month's grain coupons for our sub-district have arrived.

I'll get your grain coupons, match coupons, and soap coupons first...

You don't need the menstrual pad coupons...

And then I'll process your grain relationship transfer."

Hearing this, Li Aiguo was delighted.

Every month, residents used their grain booklets to collect coupons from the office, and after collecting them, they had to cross out the monthly amount in the booklet.

Once the grain relationship was transferred, he would have to go to the Locomotive Depot to exchange it for a new booklet, which would already contain this month's allocation.

In other words, Li Aiguo would be able to collect two months' worth of food this month.

As expected, effort brings rewards.

Previously, since Li Aiguo didn't have a job, his grain quota was 28 jin per month.

Of that, flour accounted for 20%, rice for 10%, and the rest was coarse grains: cornmeal, dried sweet potatoes, sorghum flour, and fresh sweet potatoes.

Director Wang handed the coupons to Li Aiguo and then pulled a stack of colorful vouchers from her pocket.

"These are the 'Ideological Awareness Coupons' we made by learning from experiences in other regions."

"For households with poor ideological awareness, the coupons are green."

"For active comrades like you, you can receive red coupons."

Li Aiguo took a red voucher from Director Wang's hand.

Just as he was wondering what it was for, Director Wang explained with a smile

"Resources are becoming increasingly scarce lately. Limited supplies will be prioritized for households holding red coupons."

Li Aiguo had heard of this. He had originally thought the coupons he received this time would be discounted by twenty percent, but he hadn't expected the Sub-district Office to issue them at full value.

It seemed this was the merit of the Ideological Awareness Coupons.

"Thank you, Auntie Wang. This little flower of mine needs you to water it often," Li Aiguo teased with a grin.

Director Wang smiled. "Always with the smooth talk."

"Come, I'll go help you process the grain relationship transfer now."

After obtaining the grain relationship, Li Aiguo expressed his thanks. Just as he was about to leave, something occurred to him.

He turned back to Director Wang. "Director, I heard Shazhu is about to be released."

"What?" Director Wang's eyes widened as she stood up.

A moment later, realizing she had lost her composure, she sat back down.

Frowning, she said, "A while ago, I did receive pleas from several people. They were all prominent figures from before the Liberation. They hoped I could work on your case to get Shazhu released."

She looked up at Li Aiguo. "I know the whole matter best. You have already made concessions; I couldn't let you suffer any more losses, so I turned them all down."

Li Aiguo frowned. "Then which unit is Shazhu actually being detained by now?"

"The police station, of course," Director Wang said.

Li Aiguo had a suspicion regarding the police station.

It seemed that after Old Lady Deaf failed to get her way at the Sub-district Office, she had sought out the leaders of the Courtyard Police Station.

In the current administration, there were still many old-timers from before the Liberation.

Those people still held onto old ways of thinking; perhaps they would show some leniency.

However, if they thought they could save Shazhu just like that, they were underestimating people.

Li Aiguo rode the tandem bicycle back to the courtyard.

Looking at the high threshold, he sighed in frustration.

Even if the bicycle was heavy, he couldn't just leave it outside overnight.

Wouldn't that be handing a victory to those "big shots"?

Fortunately, Li Aiguo's physical fitness had already far surpassed that of an ordinary person.

He reached out, gripped the crossbar, and actually lifted the bicycle up.

He walked toward the threshold step by step.

After just two steps, he felt the bicycle suddenly become much lighter.

Looking back, he saw Xu Damao holding the rear seat, his face full of astonishment.

"My goodness, Aiguo! Where did you get such a huge bicycle?"

"A man's things should be a bit big, after all."

Seeing that Xu Damao was wearing a new Zhongshan suit today, Li Aiguo asked curiously, "Damao, are you going on a date?"

"Ha, you caught me."

Xu Damao couldn't close his mouth. "Today, I went to the park with Director Lou's daughter. Maybe in a little while, we'll be able to get married."

"Is that so? Then congratulations."

As they chatted, they carried the bicycle into the compound.

Yan Bugui was wiping his own bicycle. He looked at the tandem, then at his own, and silently turned around, pushing his bike into his house.

Xu Damao said boastfully, "That old fellow has a bicycle and shows it off at the gate all day. Now look at him—compared to yours, his looks like a toy."

"Hey, there are two bells here."

As he spoke, Xu Damao reached out to grab a bell, but Li Aiguo pushed him away.

"Is this something an outsider is allowed to touch?"

Xu Damao was a perceptive man and immediately understood. He scratched his head awkwardly. "True. By the way, who did you have assemble this bike? I want to get one too. That way, when I go to the countryside to show movies, I won't have to worry about carrying too much stuff."

The equipment needed for showing movies—projectors, film, power supplies, and such—weighed over two hundred jin in total.

Xu Dimao had once followed Xu Jixiang to the countryside and had been exhausted to death.

"At Liu Haizhu's repair shop at the street corner."

As they spoke, Li Aiguo walked into the middle courtyard.

Jia Zhangshi was sitting by her door sewing shoe soles. Seeing Li Aiguo's bicycle, her face instantly darkened. "That damn little brat! He actually used our family's money to buy a bicycle, and such a huge one at that! Is there anyone as bullying as him?"

(End of Chapter)