Chapter 194: 'One Catch and One Clear'

The second day of the new year.

morning.

On the way to Caochang Hutong.

Wang Mengde and He Shengnan each rode a bicycle.

On the big bar in front of the car, the brothers Wang Yuanxun and Wang Yuandi were sitting sideways, with excitement on their faces, shaking their heads and looking around.

Even though their faces turned red from the cold wind and bubbles of snot popped out from time to time, the two of them didn't care.

Fortunately, the cotton in the cotton-padded jackets worn by the four people was new and very warm.

On the road, people coming and going are basically young couples, either walking or riding bicycles.

They were holding gifts in their hands, and some even brought their children with them.

All of these happened when I returned to my mother’s home on the second day of the Chinese New Year.

Caochang Hutong.

The courtyard where Lao He lives.

Zhou Xiaoyan was washing vegetables by the sink in the yard.

Today, my son-in-law and daughter will come with their grandson, so we have to prepare a sumptuous meal at noon.

Thinking that my grandson would be here soon, even though my hands were red from the cold, I felt very happy.

At this time, Aunt Cao, a neighbor in the yard, hurried in from outside the yard, saw her squatting there, and said:
"Shengwen's mother, your Shengnan is here with his son-in-law and two grandchildren. They will be at the gate soon."

"Really? It's coming so fast."

After hearing this, Zhou Xiaoyan quickly washed her hands twice and said with a smile.

"They were all riding bicycles, and I could tell it was them from a distance."

Aunt Cao also said with a smile.

Everyone in the courtyard knows that the He family has become rich recently because of their son-in-law.

My eldest son just graduated from junior high school last year. At the age of sixteen, he joined the supply and marketing cooperative as a salesperson.

They are all neighbors in the same courtyard, and everyone knows each other well. However, the He family themselves and other relatives do not have such strong relationships.

There is no need to guess, it must be the credit of the good son-in-law that Shengwen's mother brags about every day.

Moreover, during the difficult years in recent years, other families are short of oily and water-related supplies.

Logically speaking, He Guangyao is the only one in the He family working in the factory, so his life should be difficult.

Thanks to my son-in-law, my living standard in recent years has been much higher than that of my neighbors.

Take this year's Chinese New Year for example. The amount of fat meat bought by the dozen or so households in the compound was not as much as the piece of fat meat sent by the son-in-law of the old He family.

Although no one said it on the surface, they were all very envious in private.

Now, the status of the He family in the courtyard and the alley has risen, and He Guangyao speaks in a very firm manner in front of his neighbors.

Even the leaders of the street and neighborhood committee would visit Lao He's house and chat about family matters when they came over occasionally.

"Oh, the house isn't ready yet."

Zhou Xiaoyan was beaming with joy as she spoke, then she shouted into her own house, "Lao He, my son-in-law, daughter, and grandson are here, go to the gate and greet them.

Shengwen, Shengwu, quickly bring all the snacks to the table in the living room, and turn on the stove to warm up the house."

In the room, several people heard the order and started moving quickly.

He Guangyao also had a smile on his face and walked out of the house while buttoning his cotton jacket.

"You came so quickly, I don't know if Yaya followed."

"Just go to the gate and you'll know."

Seeing that he still had the time to interrupt, Zhou Xiaoyan hurriedly urged him.

Just as the two were talking, two chubby little men came running in from outside the courtyard gate.

"Grandpa, grandma, happy New Year!"

The brothers Wang Yuanxun and Wang Yuandi were not shy and shouted to He Guangyao and Zhou Xiaoyan while running.

Behind them, Wang Mengde and He Shengnan were pushing their bicycles and watching the scene with smiles on their faces.

"Hey, Yuanxun and Yuandi are here, happy new year to you too."

Seeing their grandson being so sensible, He Guangyao and Zhou Xiaoyan were so happy that they couldn't stop smiling.

"It's cold outside, come in, Grandpa has prepared some snacks for you."

"Happy New Year, Mom and Dad!"

"And Meng De, you should also come into the house and have a rest. Have some tea and warm yourself up."

Knowing that his son-in-law loves drinking tea, the family has a fixed amount of one or two taels of tea for the New Year. After buying it, it is carefully hidden in the deepest part of the drawer, waiting for Wang Mengde to come and brew it.

After entering the house, He Shengwen and He Shengwu also hurried over to wish them a happy new year.

Wang Mengde took out three red envelopes from his pocket, gave one to each of his two brothers-in-law, and then asked curiously, "Why isn't Yanan at home?"

Every time he came over, this sister-in-law was the first to show up, but today she changed her temper.

"She just went to the yard next door to borrow books from her classmates."

He Guangyao explained casually with a smile.

He held a grandson in each hand, looking left and right, full of admiration.

"By the way, why didn't you bring Yaya?"

"Dad, it's too cold outside now. Yaya is still too young. I'm afraid she will get cold on the road. It will be troublesome if she catches a cold."

He Shengnan answered while taking the tea leaves handed to her by her mother. She then grabbed a handful, put it in an enamel jar, poured boiling water over it, and placed it on the table in front of Wang Mengde.

"That's right. It's so cold outside now. Yaya is still so young and can easily get sick. Let's wait until the weather is warmer and bring her here."

Zhou Xiaoyan was very happy when she mentioned her granddaughter.

The little girl is fair and tender, has a sweet mouth, and is well-behaved, making her very likable.

After chatting for a while.

He Yanan came back from outside excitedly.

She just heard from the neighbor that her sister and brother-in-law were here.

Before anyone even entered the door, a voice came over: "Brother-in-law, brother-in-law, Happy New Year!"

"Haha, Yanan, Happy New Year to you too. This is a red envelope for you."

Wang Mengde saw his sister-in-law and said with a smile.

Then he handed over the red envelope wrapped in red paper that had been prepared long ago.

"Oh, thank you, brother-in-law. Brother-in-law is the best."

He Yanan happily took the red envelope and said.

At this time.

Wang Yuanxun and Wang Yuandi, who were eating snacks, saw their aunt coming and quickly stood up and surrounded her.

"Auntie, auntie, we miss you so much."

"Yuanxun, Yuandi, auntie misses you too. By the way, have you been obedient during this period?"

Seeing her two nephews, He Yanan immediately pretended to be serious.

The two brothers who were about to become troublemakers at home were now like good kids, standing in a row and saying in a flattering manner:
"Aunt, we are very good."

This is really the case of one thing conquering another.

In other words, if someone else were in front of her, this effect would definitely not happen.

"Okay, go play."

He Yanan waved her hand pretentiously and sent the two brothers away. Then she moved a stool and sat next to her brother-in-law, raised her head, and started whispering.

She hasn't seen her brother-in-law for some time.

I just wanted to take this opportunity to talk about what I have accumulated during this period.

Adults and children alike sat together.

At the dinner table, in order to entertain their son-in-law, the He family spent a lot of money. They stewed the remaining half of the chicken that was killed during the Chinese New Year with dried mushrooms, and stir-fried shredded radish with oil residue.

Of course, the signature dishes are also the big chunks of pork belly stewed with vermicelli and Chinese cabbage, as well as the braised fish.

That is to say, eggs are really unavailable, otherwise chicken, fish, meat and eggs would be all available.

While eating and chatting, the topic turned to my brother-in-law He Shengwen's work.

"Shengwen, how's your work going lately?"

Wang Mengde asked casually.

It has been about a year and a half since he started working at Gulou Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

"Brother-in-law, I've been doing fine recently. Two months ago, the leader of the district supply and marketing cooperative came to inspect our supply and marketing cooperative and specifically told me to practice more on 'grasping accurately' and 'clearly speaking clearly'.

He asked me to try to master it by the end of 61. During this period, I borrowed the scale from the company after get off work and practiced hard every day.

He Shengwen replied quickly.

The so-called "grasp accurately at one time" refers to the salesperson's process of selling.

No matter how much money or how many pounds the customer asks for, the staff can just grab the correct amount with ease.

For example, if the customer wants half a catty, he grabs a handful and puts it on the scale, and it is exactly five ounces, no more and no less.

"One mouthful and clear" is a very magical speed of settling accounts.

When a customer buys several or even ten or twenty items by weight, you need to be able to weigh the items and do mental arithmetic at the same time, so that as soon as the customer finishes saying how much he wants to buy, you can also tell him the amount to pay.

This amazing skill was acquired by Zhang Binggui, a salesperson at Wangfujing Department Store, while working as an ordinary salesperson.

Because of this skill, he was hailed as the "Ninth Scenic Spot of Yanjing", which was a good reputation given by the people of the capital to Zhang Binggui's art of sales.

At the same time, both of them were listed as Beijing's model workers in 1957.

Unfortunately, Wang Mengde was out of town at the time and did not get to meet this legendary figure.

"Oh, this is a good thing. If you practice more often, it will be good for you in the future."

Hearing that it was the leader of the district supply and marketing cooperative who had taken special care of him, Wang Mengde understood that this person was probably his former patient who was doing him a favor.

As for why He Shengwen was asked to practice the skills of "grabbing accurately" and "clear in one breath".

It is probably to provide a reason for him to be converted to a regular employee ahead of schedule by the end of 61.

It also prepares for future promotion.

After hearing his son-in-law's pointed words, He Guangyao seemed to understand something, and said to his son, "You must remember what your brother-in-law said.

From now on, when you get home from get off work, you don't have to help with the housework. Just practice 'one grasp and one clear' and that's all. When Shengwu is free, help your brother more."

"And me, and me, I want to help my brother too."

On the side, He Yanan, who had a piece of pork belly in his mouth, chewed it quickly, swallowed the meat in his mouth, and raised his hand to speak.

"You? Forget it."

He Guangyao glanced at his daughter and refused decisively.

Although Zhou Xiaoyan didn't say anything, she had an expression of agreement on her face.

Seeing that her father disagreed, He Yanan was immediately disappointed. She pouted and looked at her brother-in-law with a pitiful look.

She knew that if anyone in this family could change her parents' minds, the first person to come to the table would definitely be her omnipotent brother-in-law.

Wang Mengde was also very curious, but he did not express his opinion immediately. Instead, he winked at his wife beside him.

As his bedmate, He Shengnan immediately understood what he meant.

She took a sip of water, pretended to be casual, and asked casually: "Dad, what's going on? Is Yanan causing trouble again?"

As the eldest sister in the family, she knows exactly what kind of personalities her younger brothers and sisters have.

The attitude of the parents has already shown that the younger sister has been restless again during this period.

Sure enough, she guessed right.

Before He Guangyao could speak, He Shengwen exposed his sister's past:

"Sister, you don't know that when I was practicing 'Yikouqing' at home last month, Yanan took the initiative to help me with questions.

At first I was very happy, but later I realized that she was giving me math problems that she didn’t know how to solve, and then she took the opportunity to write down the answers I gave.”

As he spoke, Wang Mengde and He Shengnan both looked at this "smart" sister.

I didn't expect her to be so quick-witted.

Not only did he help his brother, but he also solved his own homework problem.

"I just want to help my brother."

He Yanan felt a little embarrassed when being looked at. She blushed and tried to argue.

Everyone was amused by her words, and a cheerful atmosphere immediately spread around the dinner table.

After dinner.

Zhou Xiaoyan and He Guangyao cleaned up the mess while He Shengnan coaxed the two children to sleep.

In the next room, He Shengwen glanced at his brother and sister who were competing with each other not far away, and then whispered to Wang Mengde: "Brother-in-law, there is something else I want to tell you."

"What's the matter? Tell me."

"Just before the New Year, on the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, the district supply and marketing cooperative leader came to our Gulou Supply and Marketing Cooperative again.

Before leaving, he met with me alone and asked me if I knew about the heart disease treatment medicine that you developed specifically for export.

He was feeling a little unwell and wanted to buy some of this medicine, but unfortunately it was all exported and could not be bought domestically. "

He Shengwen told everyone what had happened in detail.

After listening to this, Wang Mengde pondered for a moment and began to understand the leader's hidden intentions.

Medicine for treating heart disease must be an excuse.

The quick-acting heart-saving pills are sold in all major hospitals and pharmacies in the country, and there is no news of them being out of stock.

It's not a real medicine for treating heart disease, but the 'Palace Emperor Pills' that they want to sell together with the Quick-Acting Heart-Saving Pills.

Due to its hot sales abroad, the price of this medicine has increased several times.

The state has strict control over commodities that can earn foreign exchange, and only a small number of people in the country have this kind of medicine.

Most of it is used for export to earn foreign exchange.

Of course, although it is rare in China, its miraculous effects are spread like a miracle drug.

Many people are asking about it and want to try out its specific effects.

Anyone with a certain level of power knows that Wang Mengde is the developer of this medicine.

Some people who are interested may not dare to find him directly, so they come up with a roundabout strategy.

"Well, I have two bottles here. When you go to work in a few days, give the medicine to your director and ask him to give it to the leader of the district supply and marketing cooperative."

Wang Mengde pretended to put his hand into his pocket, but actually took out two bottles of Palace Emperor Pills from the space.

When the drug was first developed, he took a small batch from the pharmaceutical factory to test its effectiveness.

Apart from giving some away, the rest was simply put into the space for safekeeping.

time flies.

The three-day Spring Festival holiday passed in a flash.

Tomorrow is the day to go to work.

Lying on the bed, Wang Mengde was looking forward to it.

After work, he will instruct his fellow students to extract samples of Artemisia annua for testing according to the plan he came up with a few days ago.

He had a feeling that this time, there would be a surprise.

(End of this chapter)