After lunch, Zhao Chuangguang drove the two of them to find someone to exchange remittance notes. Zhou Xiaozheng saw that he was familiar with the place and knew that this guy had exchanged notes a lot, so it was no wonder that he gave him a lot of notes.
The other party was not surprised to see them and welcomed them into the small building naturally. There was no one at home, so they sat on the sofa and exchanged a few words. The other party's surname was Liu, so everyone called him Liu Lao San.
Liu Lao San took out a box from the drawer in the room and said, "Brother, it's all here. I got it from several families. Don't tell my old man about it."
Zhao Chuangguang gave him a look of disdain and advised, "Your old man doesn't need your little money. It's natural for him to want you to work. Outsiders will always think you're not doing your job properly. Look, you're over 30 years old and don't even have a wife. My eldest son is 15 years old and is about to get married. When he has a child, he will call you Grandpa Liu. How can you be ashamed? No matter how much you earn, it's just for you to spend. Go to work and find a good wife, otherwise your old man's blood pressure will rise again and he will have to be hospitalized. You see what a waste of national resources. If you have a wife, your mother will be happy too, and she won't have to drool over other people's fat boys."
Lin Lishan listened nearby, covering her mouth and laughing. She realized that Zhao Chuangguang should be from the Women's Federation. What a waste of talent.
Liu Laosan glanced at him and sneered, "Okay, you can see for me if you can find someone who is neither tall nor short, neither fat nor thin, who doesn't eat my things, doesn't use my things, doesn't care about me, and who is liked by my parents and meets their standards. You just see that I don't look for a wife, you don't know, it's useless to look for one. The old man uses a magnifying glass to examine it carefully, and the old lady uses a ruler to measure it. Every family has its own problems. Okay, let's not talk about my little things. I know you are worried about me, but there is nothing I can do."
After that, he opened the box and said, "There are probably more than 1,000 yuan in overseas remittance coupons in it. The rest are other loose bills. Take a look and see if they are okay. If they are, take them."
Zhao Chuangguang looked at Zhou Xiaozheng and said, "Brother Zheng, do you want anything else besides the overseas remittance vouchers? Think about it, this guy has a wide network of contacts and knows a lot of people."
Zhou Xiaozheng thought about the bills in his hand and said to Liu Laosan, "Laosan, do you think there is any way to get some food? The more the better. You don't have to look at A Guang. I know he can get it, but I don't want him to interfere. We are soldiers and have discipline. I want to buy rice and flour, but no coarse grains. Prepare enough for two years, enough for two or three people. Don't give it to me all at once. Let my son-in-law come to you later."
"Let me think about who has food on hand. Wait a minute." Liu Laosan frowned and thought hard. After a moment, he continued, "Brother, I think you have your own carts, so you don't need to find anyone else. I know all the ins and outs. Right now, even if we ask them, there's not much fine grain. I have an idea for you. Isn't it November? The big and small markets will start soon, and the countryside will also start distributing year-end rations. At that time, some people in the countryside will sell their food because they can't bear to eat it. Those middlemen will also buy it in the same way. I have 50 kilograms of fine grain coupons on hand. You can use them to buy some for emergency use, and then go to the market and look for it slowly. If you need a large amount of coarse grain, I can also introduce you to some."
Zhou Xiaozheng smiled and nodded, then said to him, "Okay, thank you. Then give me all the overseas remittance coupons, as well as the food coupons, coal briquette coupons, and cloth coupons. You don't need anything else."
Zhao Chuangguang quickly interrupted, "Brother Zheng, take a look at the tickets in your hand first. The briquettes are no longer needed. They don't need that much for just the two of them and their baby."
Zhou Xiaozheng glanced at him, but it was inconvenient to ask in front of others. He had no choice but to say to Liu Laosan, "Keep the briquette ticket for now. If you need it later, ask my son-in-law to come over. He will ask you to tell him that Zhao Chuangguang introduced you."
Liu Laosan tapped his fingers on the table and nodded, saying, "Okay, I'll find someone who has some fine grain on hand and keep it for you. Ask him to come and see me at the end of the month. There are exactly 1,080 yuan in these overseas remittance coupons. Give me 20 yuan. You can take the 50 kilograms of grain coupons without paying."
Zhao Chuangguang laughed heartily. "Third brother, that's very kind. Brother Zheng, give him 20 yuan and grab a few loose bills."
Zhou Xiaozheng casually handed two Great Unity coupons to Liu Laosan, put the overseas remittance coupons and food coupons in his pocket, and did not take any more coupons. In the end, Liu Laosan grabbed a handful of messy coupons and stuffed them into his pocket.
After both parties said goodbye, Zhou Xiaozheng planned to send Zhao Chuangguang back home. "Where did you get so many coal briquette tickets? Take them back, you won't need them at home."
"I already have them at home, don't worry. These are not government-owned. Some are from manufacturers, and some are purchased. Brother Zheng, I know my limits."
Zhou Xiaozheng stared at him for a moment, then nodded. He believed his good brother wasn't the type to abuse his power for personal gain. With so many people returning from the north, just waiting for positions, he couldn't afford to make any mistakes.
"Okay, I'll take you home. You don't need to ask for leave now. Once I'm done packing up, I'll come straight to the provincial capital. You can invite those guys over and we can have a good reunion. Also, apologize to my brothers for me and drink three glasses of wine as punishment later."
"It's okay, let's settle our little princess first. If we can get some leave, we'll go straight to Zhao Dashan to lead the way and visit the little princess by the way."
Zhou Xiaozheng drove the car, and along the way, the two brothers exchanged some information about the past few years and the recent situation of their brothers and friends. Zhou Xiaozheng especially asked a few more questions about his brother in the northwest.
They soon arrived at the military area. Zhou Xiaozheng parked the car. Zhao Chuangguang mysteriously pulled him upstairs and asked Lin Lishan to wait in the car for a while.
Zhou Xiaozheng followed him upstairs. It was still quite strange. He had no idea what this guy was up to.
After entering the office, Zhao Chuangguang closed the door, took out a stack of money from his pocket and handed it to him, saying, "Brother Zheng, you came back so suddenly, you must be short of money. I've been financially relaxed these past two years, so you can use it first. If you run out of money, I have some here."
Zhou Xiaozheng pushed his hand away, scolding him with a smile, "Fool, when have you ever seen me short of money? Don't you know me? Besides, the higher-ups have supplemented my salary for 17 years. Your brother isn't short of money, but if he really runs out, he'll ask you for it. I also want to ask if you have enough money. If you have any, give it to your wife, don't spend it recklessly."
Zhao Chuangguang didn't back down after hearing this. They didn't have much of a relationship, so there was no need for formalities. He nodded and said, "Okay, I'll keep it for now. If you need money, just let me send it over. Take your dirty military coat back with you."
Zhou Xiaozheng kicked him and said, "I don't dislike you, but you are the one who dislikes me. Let's go, brother. See you later."
Zhao Chuangguang picked up the military coat with a smile and put his arm around his shoulders. The two of them chatted in whispers and sent him to the car, but he was still reluctant to let him leave.
"I'm really leaving now. I'm freezing to death. Come on upstairs." Zhou Xiaozheng waved his hand and drove away. If he didn't leave now, this fool would probably wait until he left before going upstairs.
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