Wei Hua refused Yan Bugui's request without even thinking about it.
“Yan Bugui, if I lend you my bicycle, you’ll have to borrow a TV tomorrow and a house the day after. If you want a bicycle, buy one yourself. There’s no way I’m lending you mine.”
After Wei Hua finished speaking, he prepared to go straight home. However, Yan Bugui stopped him again.
"Weihua, please help me! My legs are weak, and if I don't have a bicycle, I have to eat lunch at school. It's fine for a day or two, but over time it will become a considerable expense."
“Our school is different from your steel mill; we don’t provide lunch. I have to pay extra for meals at school.”
Wei Hua didn't believe a word Yan Bugui said. He knew that teachers at the school were allowed to eat at school, and if they didn't, they received an extra allowance.
"Yan Bugui, do you think I'm a fool? My son may not be in school yet, but I know about school matters. Teachers are allowed to eat at school; you just want the school's subsidies."
"What does this extra expense for your family have to do with me? I didn't break your leg. If you hadn't been scheming and plotting, how would your leg have ended up like this?"
“Although your salary has been reduced, you still have nearly 30 yuan a month, and your son also has about 30 yuan a month. The two of you together earn almost 60 yuan. This doesn’t even include the money your second son earns. Your whole family has nearly 70 yuan a month in income, and now you still want to borrow my bicycle.”
"Your family's monthly expenses are less than 20 yuan. That's enough to buy a bicycle in three months. How dare you ask me for money?"
After Wei Hua's remark, Yan Bugui was at a loss for words. Those around him, hearing Wei Hua's analysis, all looked down on Yan Bugui's character.
Wei Hua then took the opportunity to return home. He had already said that if Yan Bugui still wanted to ride his bicycle, then Yan Bugui's punishment would be his own fault.
Although Wei Hua wouldn't intentionally harm anyone, he was happy to let others take advantage of him. After all, the system's rewards were indeed very tempting.
After pushing the bicycle out of the house, Weihua didn't forget to apply some lubricant. The old 28-inch bicycle was indeed very durable. They say a bicycle can be passed down through three generations, and the bike is still around. Aside from the occasional lubrication, the 28-inch bicycle really doesn't require much maintenance.
Yan Jiegui's eyes nearly popped out as he watched Wei Hua apply lubricant to the chain. He was constantly racking his brains, trying to figure out how to get the bike moving.
Looking into Yan Bugui's eyes, Wei Hua knew that Yan Bugui was still up to no good. Since Yan Bugui was practically begging for it, Wei Hua didn't mind receiving the system's reward again.
After maintaining the bicycle, Wei Hua placed it by the door. Even after Yang Tao finished cooking, Wei Hua didn't bring the bicycle inside.
He happily enjoyed a sumptuous dinner at home with his wife, children, and elderly parents.
"Are you planning to use a bicycle to lure Yan Bugui into something?"
"It's no use trying to reason with a damn fool. I've already told him all this, and if he still insists on riding his bicycle, then he can't blame me. The bicycle is right outside the door, I didn't even lock it. If Yan Bugui really dares to ride it, then I won't mind getting another reward."
"If he insists on riding it tomorrow, just say a few words as a formality. Make sure others know that it wasn't lent to him by us, but that he rode it away without our permission."
"If you allow it, the system won't be triggered. Then our family will lose a lot of income. Let's see if Yan Bugui will dare to come and take advantage of our family again after he's learned his lesson."
Hearing Wei Hua's words, Yang Tao didn't say anything. On the contrary, she felt that this system was indeed good. With this system, she wouldn't have to worry about others taking advantage of her.
Compared to Wei Hua's system, Yang Tao preferred her own. She could earn various rewards simply by staying home and taking care of the children. While the rewards weren't particularly plentiful, they accumulated over time.
After dinner, Yang Tao went to take care of the children, leaving the kitchen chores to Wei Hua.
Seeing that the weather was getting hotter and hotter, Wei Hua checked his household receipts and decided to buy an electric fan when he had some free time.
Before, Yang Tao and I didn't realize it. Now that I have a child, Wei Hua still wants to improve our family's financial situation.
Although it's okay to sleep in the space at night, we need to be more careful as the child gets older. It wouldn't be good if the child found out the secret. Children aren't adults, and they might accidentally let something slip. If others find out this secret, we might end up being dissected.
Looking at the industrial coupons at home, Wei Hua decided to go to other people's houses to exchange for a few more. Buying an electric fan requires 20 industrial coupons, and he only had 16 on hand.
After washing the dishes, Wei Hua went to the Intermediate People's Court.
"Shazhu, do you have any extra industrial vouchers? If so, exchange a few for me."
Upon hearing Wei Hua's words, Sha Zhu returned to his home and took out the industrial vouchers he had accumulated over the years.
"I still have a dozen or so industrial vouchers at home. Do you know how many you need?"
"Give me four if you can!"
Upon hearing Wei Hua's words, Sha Zhu didn't hesitate and took out four industrial coupons. Wei Hua took the coupons and handed Sha Zhu one yuan.
Sha Zhu initially didn't want to accept it, but in the end he couldn't resist Wei Hua's insistence and put the one yuan into his pocket.
"Hua Zi, why do you need industrial vouchers?"
"Isn't the weather getting hotter and hotter? We adults can bear it, but the kids are still young. I'm planning to buy an electric fan in a while. I've heard that the Huasheng brand is good. I'm planning to buy some things for the house this summer."
Hearing Wei Hua's words, Sha Zhu also became interested. It was indeed very hot on this sweltering day, and having a fan would be really helpful. But looking at the industrial coupons at home, it seemed they weren't nearly enough.
After thinking it over, Sha Zhu decided to go to the factory tomorrow to exchange some industrial vouchers with his coworkers, and then buy an electric fan for his home.
Wei Hua and Sha Zhu didn't hide their conversation from others. The weather wasn't particularly hot, but it wasn't cool either, and many people liked to sit in their courtyards to cool off after dinner. Soon, everyone knew that Wei Hua wanted to buy an electric fan.
Electric fans are a rarity even in a traditional courtyard house, and for Qin Jingru, they were something she had never even seen before.
This strengthened Qin Jingru's resolve to stay in the city. Having lived in the courtyard house for so long, Qin Jingru knew that Wei Hua was highly regarded at the steel mill. This gave Qin Jingru other ideas.
It was late at night, and Qin Jingru, a young woman, felt awkward about going to see Wei Hua. She decided to go see him the next day to see if he could help her find a job at the steel rolling mill. With a job, she could stay in the city and become a city dweller.
Having formed an idea, Qin Jingru couldn't sleep all night. She finally drifted off to sleep just before dawn.
Wei Hua had no idea what Qin Jingru was thinking. After finishing breakfast, he left the courtyard house, leaving his bicycle unlocked at the door.
Yang Tao knew what Wei Hua was thinking and didn't pay much attention to it. However, Yan Bugui discovered that Wei Hua's bicycle was unlocked.
Seeing that Wei Hua had already left the courtyard, Yan Bugui deliberately waited for a while. Once Wei Hua was far away, he immediately pushed his bicycle outside.
When Yang Tao saw Yan Bugui pushing his bicycle, preparing to leave the courtyard, she immediately came out of the kitchen.
"Yan Bugui, return the bicycle immediately. Weihua of my family never agreed to lend it to you. If you continue like this, don't blame me for going to the neighborhood office and having the comrades there deal with it."
But Yan Bugui completely ignored Yang Tao's words. He had a firm grasp on the Wei family's personalities. The Wei family members were all rather soft-hearted; if you used force, Wei Hua wouldn't care about the matter.
Besides, I had already discussed this matter with Wei Hua yesterday. Even if it escalated to the neighborhood committee, it wouldn't turn into a bicycle theft.
"Yang Tao, don't be so stingy. I just wanted to ride your bicycle for a bit. I'll definitely return it to you once my foot is healed."
"Neighbors, you be the judge. Our family didn't agree to lend the bicycle, but Yan Bugui took it away and doesn't plan to return it right away. Judging from his tone, he'll be riding it for another year or two."
Yang Tao's words immediately drew the attention of the others in the courtyard. Everyone was saying that Yan Bugui's actions were dishonest, but Yan Bugui had already ridden away on his bicycle. The Yan family didn't care what others said.
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