Back at the small courtyard, after Shen Weimin and Xu Changqing left for their classes, Mr. Shi and Mr. Cheng finished their breakfast but didn't immediately go out for a stroll.
While Mr. Shi was in the restroom, Mr. Cheng instructed Mr. Gu, one of the men on standby at the house, to take the freshly acquired, still-warm ration coupons and drive to buy grain and cooking oil.
He had arrangements for the other men as well. One was to go out with Mr. Gu and deliver a message to an old comrade-in-arms along the way, while another was sent to Qing University.
If the one man who remained hadn't also needed to run an errand at the nearby subdistrict office, Mr. Cheng would have sent him away as well. He really wasn't used to having people following him around.
When Mr. Shi came out and heard the car outside finally start up and drive away, he wasn't surprised. In his words, why would two decrepit old men like them need protection?
