Chapter 47: The Storm Begins: He Yuzhu

Sure enough, within a few days, Bang Geng returned to school as he had wished.

Following what He Yuzhu had taught him, Bang Geng kept a very low profile in front of his classmates and intentionally brought milk candies to share with everyone. After all, children are easily swayed when they have eaten someone else's food; even the girl with the sharpest tongue in the class put away her venomous words at the sight of Bang Geng's pitiful appearance, and even took the initiative to lend her notes to him.

If this were before, Bang Geng would certainly have scoffed. Study? Study what? But now, he was devouring the knowledge in his textbooks with an insatiable hunger.

He would review what he understood to gain new insights, and for what he didn't understand, he would ask the teachers or classmates immediately after class, leaving everyone feeling quite at a loss.

How could they know of Bang Geng's experiences? Such complex experiences would cause even an adult to collapse, let alone a child like him.

Of course, he did not forget He Yuzhu's instructions. After getting along well with his classmates, they would gather whenever they were free to study stamps, badges, portraits, and the like, and he actually managed to figure out quite a few tricks of the trade.

Bang Geng's reputation as a prodigal son who had returned to the right path, loved learning, was loyal to his friends, generous with money, had high ideological awareness, and collected many portraits and badges, slowly spread among his classmates.

On the other side, He Yuzhu was riddled with debt, with debts piled as high as a mountain. No matter where he went, the first thing people said was: "Deputy Director He, are you here to borrow money again?"

However, He Yuzhu was not angry. How can a sparrow know the ambition of a swan?

As time went on, the efficiency of the Rolling Mill grew worse and worse, and production fell year after year.

Taking advantage of the darkness, He Yuzhu snuck into his cellar and gently took out a pair of Han Dynasty white jade lions wrapped in a cloth bundle from his chest.

By the light of a kerosene lamp, He Yuzhu stroked them affectionately. Treasures from the Han Dynasty, and he had gotten his hands on them for a mere 13 yuan.

There were hundreds of similar celebrity calligraphy and paintings, vases, and antiques, both large and small, in his cellar. In the small cellar he had secretly dug under Qin Jingru's room, there was also a huge pile of ancient coins; he didn't even bother to sort the ancient copper coins from various dynasties, which were packed in sacks. In his System Space, there were forty-seven exquisite pieces, each worth a fortune.

The consequence, of course, was that his debts were piled high. Even Ma Hua, who had always been respectful and loyal, now felt his legs go weak whenever he saw He Yuzhu; he was truly terrified of being asked for a loan.

He Yuzhu's biggest creditor was Xu Damao. He would come to the door all day long to lend money—not hitting or scolding, just lending money. Every time, he would write an IOU, and the interest was calculated at twenty percent per year, which left Xu Damao feeling completely overwhelmed.

Ever since Qin Jingru became pregnant, Xu Damao's personality had changed quite a bit. He stopped going out to fool around, he drank in moderation, and he brought his monthly salary home on time. He would lend He Yuzhu ten yuan at the least, and twenty or thirty at the most.

The fact that He Yuzhu was borrowing money from everyone in the Siheyuan did attract everyone's attention, but after He Yuzhu said with a sorrowful face that the father who had abandoned them was seriously ill and needed money, everyone slowly dispelled their suspicions. After all, they hadn't seen He Yuzhu wining and dining, nor had they seen him out playing cards.

Even the Third Master lent He Yuzhu quite a bit, though the interest was a little higher than others.

He Yuzhu naturally felt that as long as you dared to give, he dared to borrow.

Interest? By the time things progressed, money would become increasingly worthless, and the total principal and interest combined wouldn't be worth as much as two sets of coins.

And he had over a dozen large sacks of such copper coins...

He also changed his daily check-in locations to various banks.

He didn't deposit money either; he would just go in every day, stand there for a while, and leave after checking in. At first, the security guards thought he was scouting the place and were nervous every day. Eventually, after a long time, everyone got used to this strange man; after all, he didn't do anything, just stood there for a short while and left.

However, even if he were short on money, he never had the intention of selling his collection.

All the money was spent as it should be, and the kickbacks he received were also used, under his instruction, by Ma Hua to quietly purchase extra meat and distribute it to everyone in the kitchen.

He had originally wanted to keep the kickbacks and distribute them directly to everyone, but later Liu Lan said it was too conspicuous, and there was no guarantee that someone wouldn't drink a little and let it slip.

He Yuzhu didn't gain anything and was taking the risk for nothing; what was he seeking?

He Yuzhu thought that made sense, so he destroyed the account book and changed it to distributing grain and meat to everyone.

The entire kitchen staff, from top to bottom, had been fed plump and strong by He Yuzhu over these past few months; even Ma Hua had gained quite a bit of weight, and his belly was sticking out.

People in the kitchen would occasionally see He Yuzhu playing with a palm-sized copper coin. With that in mind, they actually dug out quite a few old things from their homes and gave them to He Yuzhu. In their eyes, these trinkets were useless, took up space, and couldn't be sold for much money, so it was better to curry favor with He Yuzhu. After all, such a good leader was hard to find.

By chance, He Yuzhu really did get a few quite good things. One was a chicken claw bone, and another was a pair of walnut trinkets, both of which had developed a patina and become jade-like. It was said they were relics of the great eunuch Wei Zhongxian. He didn't know if they were real or fake, but he put them away anyway; he wouldn't be playing with those.

As for trinkets, it was better to play with them and develop the patina yourself; the enjoyment was in the process. Otherwise, you could just buy machine-polished ones; if you bought a finished product, what fun was there to be had?

Who knows if someone else had rubbed them on their face to get oil on them? Just thinking about it was disgusting.

Soon, it was June.

"Jia Geng, let me tell you, we heard that He Yuzhu in your courtyard has Four Olds in his house and has been dealing in quite a few antiques. Today, you must take us there!" A little girl with braided pigtails, wearing a red armband and a patch-covered outfit, said loudly with her eyebrows raised.

A group of half-grown boys behind her also voiced their support.

Bang Geng rolled his eyes, looked at the aggressive crowd, and immediately nodded in agreement. However, he said: "Uncle Zhuzi did indeed collect quite a few books before, but those are all cookbooks; he is a cook! How about this: I will go home today and talk him into handing them over voluntarily. You all come over tomorrow morning, and we will burn them in front of everyone."

"No! It must be today! The teacher said, 'Finish today's work today; tomorrow follows tomorrow, how many tomorrows are there?!'" The little girl, however, was unforgiving and slammed the table, her voice growing even louder.

Bang Geng stood up with a headache, his mind racing as he said: "Classmate Wang Xiumei makes a lot of sense. It was my procrastination. But, classmates, will it be over just by burning the books?"

"Ah? Jia Geng, do you want to burn people too?" A chubby girl immediately shouted in astonishment.

Hearing this, Bang Geng glared at her and continued: "Don't interrupt! I mean, we should reform him ideologically. So give me one day to let him deeply understand his mistakes. Only then can we consider it a success! Otherwise, the books are gone, but he doesn't acknowledge his mistakes in his heart—wouldn't we have worked in vain?"

"Then criticize him until he admits his mistake!" Wang Xiumei said with a look of sanctity.

"Enough! I am also a group leader! You don't need to worry about our group's affairs! You just worry about your own area." Bang Geng shouted and walked out with his group members.

"Wait, Jia Geng, wait."

Bang Geng looked back and saw a thin, dark boy from Wang Xiumei's propaganda group running over, panting. Bang Geng recognized him; if he remembered correctly, his name should be Han Li.

"Classmate Han, don't rush, take your time." Bang Geng patted him on the shoulder, his tone very gentle; he was deliberately imitating the Big Leader.

"It's bad, Wang Xiumei led people to your Siheyuan!" Han Li looked at Bang Geng gratefully, finally caught his breath, and said urgently.

"Ah? That damn little wench! Brothers, follow me back!" Bang Geng was stunned, immediately stopped worrying about maintaining his image, shouted, and led the crowd running away.

Han Li frowned, retreated behind the crowd, and ran in the opposite direction.

When Jia Geng and the others returned to the courtyard, panting, they found Wang Xiumei and a dozen others standing in the courtyard with looks of admiration, staring at He Yuzhu, who was talking incessantly, and were stunned.

"What's going on?"

Walking up slowly, they discovered that a large box was filled with poetry collections of the Great Man, quotations, badges, portraits, slogans, and so on.

And He Yuzhu was spitting as he told stories of those young Sichuan soldiers fighting the Japanese devils barefoot.

Everyone was moved to tears as they listened.

"Oh, Jia Geng is back. Quick, go to my room and get some things to treat everyone." He Yuzhu gave a wink, and Bang Geng immediately answered "Ah" and ran into He Yuzhu's room.

He knew exactly where He Yuzhu's snacks were, only now he didn't steal them; it had changed to He Yuzhu giving them to him voluntarily. After all, Bang Geng had changed quite a bit and had also collected quite a few good things for him.

Soda, milk candies, fruit candies, fruit, peanut brittle, dog-poop candy, maltose, powdered milk, chocolate, and all kinds of small snacks were brought out by Bang Geng, filling a tray the size of a pot lid, and placed on the table in the courtyard.

"Jia Geng, distribute them to everyone. Also, one badge for each classmate." He Yuzhu smiled. Wasn't it simple to deal with these hot-headed children?

It was to be purer and more noble than you!

To make you feel ashamed of yourselves, to make you feel inferior!

Bang Geng was stunned, then nodded gratefully and led his team members to take action.

At first, everyone was blushing and too embarrassed to take anything, looking one after another toward their team leader, Wang Xiumei.

Bang Geng, however, didn't care about that; he tore open a candy wrapper, stuffed it directly into a classmate's mouth, and then put the rest of the large handful of snacks into his pocket.

"Classmates, feel free to eat and take them. These were all bought with the wages I earned from my hard work! Huh? Hurry up and eat, there's more if it's not enough," He Yuzhu smiled and said loudly.

"I'm sorry, Team Leader Jia Geng. I apologize to you. I didn't expect Zhuzi Shu to be so progressive and to collect things belonging to the great man. It was my own petty mind judging a gentleman's heart," Wang Xiumei stood up first, lowered her head, and offered an apology.

Bang Geng was startled; he hadn't expected the tigress to have such a gentle moment. He dropped quite a few of the snacks in his hands and hurriedly shook his head to say it wasn't necessary.

The atmosphere became much more harmonious afterward. A group of half-grown children happily ate snacks they usually couldn't get and drank beverages they usually couldn't have. Each person also received a commemorative badge, and Wang Xiumei even received a book of quotations, making everyone else envious.

All the children's faces were flushed with excitement.

Only then did He Yuzhu secretly exchange a glance with Bang Geng and breathe a sigh of relief.

All the children were forced to stay behind by Bang Geng and He Yuzhu, and only after eating a dinner that left their mouths oily did they slowly quiet down.

Wang Xiumei stood up, expressed her thanks respectfully, and then said, "We misunderstood Zhuzi Shu today, yet Zhuzi Shu did not get angry at us, gave us food, and provided us with a meal. What is this? This is what it means to be progressive! Look at Zhuzi Shu's collection; those old, rotten, and decadent elements should feel ashamed! Everyone, let's apologize to the progressive He together!"

After she finished speaking, all the children stood up and apologized respectfully. He Yuzhu hurriedly smiled and declined. After chatting for a while longer, everyone left the Siheyuan under the lead of their respective team leaders and Captain.

Wang Xiumei secretly stayed behind, apologized to Jia Geng again, and then told Jia Geng a secret.

"Let me tell you, this is a matter of great importance. Originally, you had no right to know or participate in this, but today, Zhuzi Shu let me see that his thinking is so progressive, which made me trust you. I'm telling you, you are not allowed to tell anyone. It is a matter of great importance and must be kept secret. Can you do that?" Wang Xiumei looked into Jia Geng's eyes with a solemn expression and said.

For some reason, as Bang Geng looked at Wang Xiumei, who was staring straight at him, he felt a bit flustered in his heart. He hurriedly nodded in agreement, stammering as he patted his chest to give his word.

"Alright, then I'll tell you..."