Chapter 137: Tea Party

Excluding the money in Wang Xiaoling's iron box, Zhang Ping'an had about one small target in his hands; it looked like he would have to run to a few more exchange points tomorrow.

"Brother Ping'an, is there something going on at the Street Office?"

"New currency is being issued. Give me all the money in the house, and I'll go exchange it tomorrow," Zhang Ping'an said, explaining the situation briefly.

"Mm, okay."

"Dad, Mom, do you want to go back for a trip?"

"Mm, it is time to go back; there is quite a bit of money at home, too."

The next morning, Zhang Ping'an rode his Bicycle and ran to more than ten exchange points, finally finishing the exchange of the over 150 million he had on hand; at the same time, he ended up with three bankbooks—one for 5,000 and two for 3,000—with the rest exchanged for cash.

In his past life, it seemed the "Big Black Ten" was very valuable, as were the three-yuan notes; Zhang Ping'an set aside five complete sets of each, as he couldn't have too many of these, or it would disrupt the market.

The women in the Siheyuan were also gathered in twos and threes; there were quite a few people at the exchange points now, and the queues were almost all over half an hour long.

"Heavens, there are too many people here."

"It's true."

"Let's just wait for now."

The women didn't bring much their first time, basically just bringing three to five million to test the waters; the bulk of it would still have to be handled by the men when they could find the time.

After the women finished exchanging their money, they felt anxious and hurried to the market to buy groceries; the pork that used to cost 8,000 was now 80 cents, which finally put their minds at ease, and after strolling around the market once more, they went home satisfied.

On their day off, the men from the Rolling Mill all carried their family savings to the bank to exchange them.

"Brother, how much is your family exchanging?"

"Of course, we're exchanging it all."

"..."

In the end, San Jie Fu, Lao Jia, exchanged over 18 million, Yi Zhonghai exchanged over 25 million, and adding in what Tan Cuicui had exchanged earlier, Yi Zhonghai's family assets were approaching 50 million.

San Jie, Zhang Xiaohua, had actually secretly gone to exchange points far from the Siheyuan to exchange over 20 million; she was likely one of the wealthiest households in the courtyard.

Liu Haizhong's family currently only had him as a strong laborer, and he had exchanged about the same as Yi Zhonghai, also having over 28 million.

Xu Fugui's family, including Xu Damao's, had over 30 million, and He Daqing's was not small either; on the surface, he was about the same as Yi Zhonghai, but in reality, he far exceeded any other family in the courtyard, Zhang Ping'an excepted, of course.

Yan Bugui was even more so; on the surface, he was about the same as Lao Jia, but in reality, he had snuck out during school hours to exchange quite a lot.

Like Zhang Ping'an, Jia Dongxu had only exchanged over 10 million at the exchange points near the Siheyuan, while the other 40-plus million had been exchanged in batches at other exchange points.

There were quite a few people in the courtyard doing this; no one was a fool, and it was impossible for them to expose their family's bottom line to outsiders.

Zhang Laohan also brought over 10 million, most of which was filial piety from Zhang Ping'an; after all, in the village, a family having three to five million was considered a lot.

Careful people in the Siheyuan had also calculated the approximate savings of each family; Lao Jia, He Daqing, Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, Xu Fugui, and Lao Wu were considered the first tier, with family savings all exceeding 2,000.

Yan Bugui and Zhang Ping'an were the second tier; the Siheyuan's second generation, like Jia Dongxu and Shazhu, were considered the third tier, and other residents with less than 1,000 were considered the fourth tier.

After this thorough investigation through the exchange, the wealth gap in the Siheyuan became apparent; it would be a lie to say people weren't jealous, but since everyone had earned it by their own ability, you couldn't pick any faults, yet the former harmony of the Siheyuan had been tainted with a bit of falseness.

"Ahem, Lao Liu, Lao Yan, especially you, Lao Yan, you must have noticed that since the last currency exchange, the neighborly relations in our Siheyuan have become significantly colder."

"Yes, but there's nothing to be done about that."

The human heart is the thing least able to withstand testing; you see, when everyone was poor together, it was fine, but if you tell me you were just pretending to be poor, those who are truly poor will inevitably feel a bit unbalanced.

Everyone was originally at the same starting line, but then you, damn it, were secretly putting in extra effort and got way ahead of everyone else; that is more painful than killing them.

"How about we hold a tea party on our day off to improve neighborly relations?"

"I think that works."

"Let's each chip in ten yuan so everyone can have a lively time."

"Done."

"This..."

Yan Bugui did not agree in his heart; he understood human nature too well. A wealth gap cannot be smoothed over by a single tea party, and if things went poorly, people might even think you were showing off your wealth.

"I think we should discuss it with everyone tonight."

"That's fine too."

That evening, the broken basin in the Middle Courtyard was struck, and everyone walked out of their homes in twos and threes; although the weather in mid-March was still a bit cold, it was acceptable.

"We have gathered everyone this time for only one thing: we plan to hold a tea party on our day off so everyone can have a lively time together."

"The New Year hasn't been over for long, and it was too cold during the holiday, so there weren't many opportunities for everyone to meet up. Quite a few people have moved into our courtyard over the past two years, and perhaps everyone isn't familiar with each other yet; we can take this opportunity of the tea party to get to know one another."

"That's right, as the saying goes, a distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor; we are all neighbors in the same courtyard, and we should help one another."

"Of course, the three of us will each contribute ten yuan for the melon seeds, peanuts, and candies for the tea party."

"Good, a fine example of helping one another."

"Director Wang."

"Mm~ A tea party can indeed promote harmonious neighborly relations; count me in when the time comes." Director Wang had just happened to come by to deliver a subsidy to the Deaf Old Lady and saw this heartwarming scene, feeling even more satisfied with the three of them.

"Clap, clap, clap."

"Here is ten yuan, Teacher Yan, you take it."

"This..."

"Take it. Since I've come, I can't come empty-handed; this can also be considered..."

"Director Wang, thirty yuan is already enough, and if other Siheyuan have similar activities, you..."

"That's true. Then I'll bring some melon seeds and peanuts when the time comes; you all continue your meeting, I'm going to the Back Courtyard to see the old lady."

Director Wang was also stunned after hearing Yi Zhonghai's words; it was true, if other Siheyuan also started doing this, her salary wouldn't be enough to cover it.

"Good, if everyone has no objections, then it's settled."

After Director Wang left, everyone began to discuss it in a hubbub of voices.

"It still has to be the Managing Officials of the courtyard."

"We get to freeload on melon seeds and peanuts again."

"That's right, thirty yuan can buy a lot; I'm afraid we won't be able to finish eating it all by then."

"Hahaha, then we'll just eat it as a meal."

Yi Zhonghai and the other two were also extremely satisfied; with Director Wang's endorsement, they were even more confident in hosting the tea party on their day off.

As the crowd dispersed, back at the Jia Family, Lao Jia saw through the three men's intentions at a glance.

"Xiaohua, let's prepare plenty of peanuts, melon seeds, and candies for the day off."

"Done."

At He Daqing's home, he was a reckless man, but he wasn't stupid, and he also roughly guessed the three men's intentions.

"Pandi, buy more flour tomorrow. The oil from frying dough twists at the end of the year hasn't been used up yet, so I'll fry some more dough twists to distribute to everyone then."

"Alright." Qin Pandi was also a clever person and naturally understood her husband's intentions.

At Zhang Ping'an's home.

"People in this courtyard all have hearts like sieves." Zhang Laohan was no fool; the moment Yi Zhonghai and the others spoke, he understood.

"This is also good; at the very least, it can appease them a little."

"That's right, Dad, Mom, I've been thinking that we should also bring something out." Zhang Ping'an thought it over, and hawthorn was the most suitable.

At this moment, only Wang Xiaoling was a bit confused, not understanding what they meant.

Returning to the room, Wang Xiaoling asked about the doubts in her heart.

"Hahaha, silly girl."

Zhang Ping'an immediately explained the ins and outs of it, and only then did Wang Xiaoling suddenly realize.