Siheyuan: Walking the Path of Qin Huairu

Director Lou stood up from behind his large desk, opened the door, and asked the servant to bring in two cups of tea.

After sitting down again, he asked, "You mean the situation is going to get worse?"

Xu Huizhen: "Yes. This is not the most terrible thing. For example, your Lou family, even if there is no dividend, you still have enough to eat and drink. What is terrible is that if there is another campaign, you will be completely wiped out."

Director Lou: "Is it that serious? My Lou family is a red capitalist family. During the War of Liberation, we donated a lot of supplies to the government. Are you really so heartless?"

Xu Huizhen: "Plan ahead. The country will be in a difficult situation in the next few years. Ordinary people will have difficulty getting enough food, while you capitalists live in small Western-style buildings, drive cars, eat delicious food, and have endless money. Tell me, how high is your safety factor?"

Director Lou frowned and said, "Then, in your opinion, what should I do next?"

Xu Huizhen: "Don't worry, you still have five years to slowly operate. Hide what should be hidden and keep a low profile. Of course, the best way is to run away!"

Director Lou: “Where are you going?”

Xu Huizhen: "I don't believe that Director Lou has never thought of this. Maybe he has already left a backup plan for himself. Of course, he will go to Gangcheng. Although it is now under the control of foreigners, it will be returned sooner or later. By then, the residents of Gangcheng will still be Chinese!"

Director Lou: "But many of our properties cannot be taken away. Are we just going to abandon them like this?"

Xu Huizhen: "For things that cannot be taken away, find a safe place to bury them first. The property can be rented to the government. Maybe after a few years, when the movement is over, we can take it back."

Director Lou heard Xu Huizhen speak so confidently and explained the timeline clearly, thinking that she had acquaintances in the upper levels and got some information in advance. So he asked: "Did Director Xu get any inside information? If so, please tell us the truth. Our Lou family will be grateful."

Xu Huizhen neither admitted nor denied it. She said so because she was a time traveler and had foresight.

So she said, "What I just said is very clear. Director Lou can think about it carefully and see if what I said makes sense. I'll take my leave first."

Director Lou: "Wait a moment. I appreciate Director Xu's kindness, but I wonder if there is anything I can help you with?" In Director Lou's opinion, no one would do anything without a profit, and Xu Huizhen must have come to ask for something.

Xu Huizhen: "If Director Lou wants to sell antiques, calligraphy and paintings, can you give me priority? I'll pay for it."

Director Lou nodded and said, "Okay. I didn't expect you, at such a young age, to be interested in those things."

Xu Huizhen: "My father loved collecting antiques and paintings when he was alive. Maybe it's because people are attracted by the company they keep. I'm also interested in these things."

Director Lou: "It's getting late. It's not safe for a woman like you to go out alone. I'll ask my driver to take you home."

Xu Huizhen did not refuse.

The next day, Director Lou sent someone to investigate Xu Damao. A lean camel is still bigger than a horse, and the Lou family still has a group of capable people.

He instructed the housekeeper, "Investigate every detail. Go to the steel mill, the courtyard, and even the village where he showed the movie. Also investigate Xu Huizhen, mainly to find out her reputation in the factory, her style of dealing with people, her character, etc."

You won't know until you check. Once you check, you'll be shocked. Xu Damao, the good young man in Xu's mother's words, turned out to be a playboy. Not only did he flirt with young girls and wives at work, but he also flirted with young widows in the village when he went to the countryside to show movies. When he saw a beautiful woman, he couldn't move his feet, smiled frivolously, and said all kinds of dirty and vegetarian words.

Director Lou was so angry that he complained to Mrs. Lou, saying, "How could you not care about your daughter's lifelong event! Look at what kind of person Xu Damao is. Fortunately, he was discovered in time, otherwise Ezi would have been hurt by you."

Madam Lou: "My own child, someone else's wife. Xu praised her son to the heavens and the earth, and I just didn't check for a moment and was fooled by her."

Director Lou: "Go and tell her that my daughter doesn't think highly of Xu Damao, so let's forget about this. Find a chance to fire Xu as well. She is no longer suitable to work at home. We should keep a low profile in the future and reduce the number of servants at home if possible. We should also live up to the lifestyle of ordinary people in terms of food, clothing and daily expenses."

As for whether Xu Damao can have children, he doesn't need to care. Whether he wants to have children or not has nothing to do with the Lou family. Just based on Xu Damao's character, Director Lou can't marry his daughter to him. Three-legged frogs are hard to find, but two-legged men are everywhere. Even though the Lou family is no longer what it used to be, people who want to marry Lou Xiao'e can still line up from the door to the train station.

That night, after Xu Huizhen left, Director Lou was alone in the study, thinking carefully about every word Xu Huizhen said. The more he thought about it, the more he felt it made sense.

The new government now advocates hard work, simplicity, diligence and thrift. Many national leaders live simple lives. If these capitalists don't know how to restrain themselves, what good will they get?

It will take time to confirm whether to go to Hong Kong City, but the family's property really needs to be planned carefully. What Xu Huizhen said makes sense, hide what should be hidden, and deal with what should be dealt with secretly.

Xu Huizhen sees the problem so thoroughly. One possibility is that she knows people at a high level, and another possibility is that she is a person with great insight and can see through the future situation and policies.

According to the housekeeper, she has now resigned from her position as director of the handicraft factory. She is a very insightful person who is not greedy for power and is willing to retire at the peak of her career.

Director Lou himself felt aggrieved for a long time after losing the management rights of the steel mill, and finally had to accept the reality.

According to the investigation, the highest-ranking official Xu Huizhen had contact with was the mayor. And Xu Huizhen's husband got to know the senior leaders of the Ministry of Industry because of his cooking skills. It must be said that the people of the Lou family were very capable and did a thorough investigation.

So, Director Lou packed some things, called the butler over, and asked him to deliver them to Xu Huizhen, and told the butler to avoid people as much as possible and do it secretly. Xu Huizhen is a person worth associating with.

Xu Huizhen didn't expect to have an unexpected reward after visiting Lou's house. The small purple jewelry box was carved with simple cloud patterns, which looked antique and must be an old item. When she opened the box, she found a pair of crystal clear jade bracelets and a jade Buddha wrapped in red silk. Judging from the texture, it should be carved out of a piece of jade, and the carving was very exquisite. There were also two small yellow croakers on the side.

As the saying goes, gold has a price but jade is priceless. Although the price of jade is not very high now, it has great potential for appreciation in the future, so Xu Huizhen prefers jade jewelry in comparison.

After Xu Damao's marriage fell through, Xu Huizhen received a reward from the system of 1000 kilograms of rice and 100 kilograms of pork. Xu Huizhen was so beautiful that her teeth were visible but her eyes were not. This is a double benefit! Such good things should be given to the system more often.

Now, food outside has become scarce, and there is little food for sale in the pigeon market. The supply for urban residents has also been reduced by 30%. For example, the monthly ration for an adult is 27 kilograms, but now it is only kilograms, and sometimes it is even unavailable.