Siheyuan (traditional courtyard house): 52 years of farming, producing hundreds of millions of tons

"That's true." Liu Haizhong nodded in agreement, but then hesitated and asked:

"Wan Ping'an, what if Jia Zhangshi doesn't appreciate what we're doing now? But based on my understanding of her, she'll definitely accept it."

"Well..." Wan Ping'an hesitated for a moment before saying, "Here's what we'll do: you come with me twice to personally talk to Jia Zhangshi and let her know that we are sincerely repenting and willing to pay her compensation. As long as she agrees, this matter will be considered closed. What do you say?"

"Okay, I'll do as you say!" Liu Haizhong nodded in agreement.

Wan Ping'an and Liu Haizhong immediately got up and left the family compound, heading to the room where Jia Zhangshi lived.

Chapter 279 Greedy

Wan Ping'an and Liu Haizhong arrived at Jia Zhangshi's house and knocked on the door of the room where Jia Zhangshi lived.

Thump, thump, thump,

"Coming, coming!" came Jia Zhangshi's voice from inside the door.

squeak

The door opened, and a haggard-looking Jia Zhangshi poked her head out of the room.

Upon recognizing Liu Haizhong, Jia Zhangshi's spirits immediately lifted, and she greeted him warmly:

"Second Uncle, please come in. What brings you here all of a sudden?"

Did you eat breakfast this morning?

"I've eaten, I just finished eating not long ago," Jia Zhangshi said with a smile.

"Oh, that's perfect. I came here today with Uncle Wan Ping'an to give you those five yuan."

As Liu Haizhong spoke, he took out a red envelope containing five yuan and handed it over.

Upon hearing Wan Ping'an's name, Jia Zhangshi lost all desire to speak. Hadn't he refused to give it to her yesterday? What was he going to do about it today?

Although Jia Zhangshi didn't want to talk, she didn't refuse the money; after all, five yuan was quite a lot.

Besides, Liu Haizhong came to deliver it in person, so she had even less reason to refuse.

Madam Jia carefully took the envelope and glanced down at the amount on it.

"Second Uncle, I'm just too busy at home to visit you both!" Jia Zhangshi said gratefully, tears streaming down her face.

"It's alright, it's alright," Liu Haizhong quickly waved his hand.

Madam Jia was only being polite to Liu Haizhong, completely forgetting about Wan Ping'an.

Wan Ping'an thought to himself that this old woman was no good, and that she ignored him. He should have known better than to offer her five yuan.

Wan Ping'an cleared his throat and said, "This five yuan is what my second uncle and I discussed and decided to give you. After we give you this money, please don't pour water at the door again and cause someone to slip and fall."

Madam Jia looked up and glared at Wan Ping'an, then pouted and said, "Do you need to remind me of that?"

"That's good." Wan Ping'an pointed out the window and said, "Go and wipe the window now, don't get this new glass window dirty."

"I was just about to wipe it!" Jia Zhangshi said as she picked up a rag and bent down to wipe the glass window.

"Second Uncle, let's go. You must be exhausted from the long journey. Shall we go have a cup of tea and rest?"

"No need, I have to go to the work shed to keep an eye on them repairing the wall, so I won't keep you any longer..." Liu Haizhong said, getting up to leave.

At this moment, Jia Zhangshi suddenly called out, "Hey, Second Uncle, wait a minute."

"What's wrong?" Liu Haizhong stopped and turned around to ask.

Jia Zhangshi pointed to the corner of the wall and said, "Second Uncle, look, this corner of the wall is covered in dust. Could you ask someone to help me clean it?"

"Your Dongxu can't do this? Although our courtyard intends to start repairing everyone's property, don't be too greedy and go too far, Jia Zhangshi."

"What do you mean I'm greedy? I'm not greedy at all. I just asked someone to help me sweep away the dust."

"Oh?"

"Really, I swear I'm not lying to you."

Liu Haizhong nodded and said, "Okay, then I'll go find them, number 1.7 and ask them to come over and help you sweep the dust."

"Hey...hey, thank you, Uncle Second, thank you, Uncle Second."

Overjoyed, Madam Jia readily agreed.

"Then I'll go first."

"Ah."

After Liu Haizhong and Wan Ping'an had walked away, Jia Zhangshi immediately changed her tune, muttering curses under her breath:

"Pah! You old codger, how dare you criticize me? I'll make you do my bidding, you just wait and see!"

Chapter 280 Buying Meat at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative

"Hehe!" Jia Zhangshi chuckled sinisterly twice, then continued to wiping the dust off the corner of the wall.

After Liu Haizhong and Wan Ping'an visited Jia Fugui's house for a while and discussed some trivial matters with Jia Fugui, they took their leave.

Before leaving, Liu Haizhong instructed Jia Fugui:

“Brother Fugui, you must get the repairs on your courtyard wall done as soon as possible. Don’t wait until next spring when the flowers bloom to start construction.”

"Don't worry, Second Uncle, I will definitely get this done as soon as possible," Jia Fugui assured him.

"Then I'll be going now." Liu Haisheng stood up and cupped his hands in greeting to Jia Fugui.

Once outside, Wan Ping'an and Liu Haizhong chatted for 27 minutes.

"This Jia Zhangshi is quite adept at taking advantage, isn't she? Second Uncle, now you believe that Jia Zhangshi is a despicable person, right? I, Wan Ping'an, have only recently become the eldest uncle of this courtyard house, and I've already seen quite a bit of that."

Wan Ping'an said indignantly.

"Hehe, Ping An, I don't think this Jia Zhangshi is as simple as she seems on the surface," Liu Haisheng said.

"Not as it seems on the surface?"

"Yes! Why did she become like this? You'll know if you observe her closely."

Wan Ping'an frowned and pondered, "Yes, she has indeed changed a lot. She used to always dress brightly and beautifully, but now she is sloppy."

"Yeah, so she's definitely hiding something from us. This time, she wasn't wronged, but we'd better not fall into the trap she's set."

"Second Uncle, I know what to do, don't worry." Wan Ping'an nodded.

After finishing everything, Wan Ping'an went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some food and dried vegetables.

Upon arriving at the supply and marketing cooperative, we found the counter lined with women queuing to shop.

Wan Ping'an shook his head helplessly, and after looking around, he found a place selling meat pies and noodles with soybean paste.

"Two meat patties and noodles with soybean paste, that'll be 80 cents in total. Also, would you like to buy a bottle of wine? Our supply and marketing cooperative just had a promotion recently, so we have wine for sale."

Wan Ping'an's eyes lit up upon hearing this; it was truly like a pillow for someone who was sleepy!

After buying the meat, Wan Ping'an also picked out a few fried dough sticks to take away. By then, the queue had mostly ended.

Wan Ping'an carried a bamboo basket on his back and a wine jug on his shoulder as he went out.

"Huh, Ping An?"

Just then, Wan Ping'an heard someone calling him, so he turned his head to look in the direction of the sound.

A woman in her thirties was waving at him.

“Sister-in-law Wang!” Wan Ping’an replied with a smile.

"Ping An, where are you going?" Sister Wang asked as she walked over.

"Oh, I went to buy some meat."

"Oh, I see." Sister Wang nodded knowingly.

"Sister-in-law Wang, you don't need to set up stall 157 today?" Wan Ping'an asked in confusion.

"Oh, you forgot? My husband took the day off today. He went to help out at a neighbor's house. There's not much people around now, so he asked me to stay and cook something," Sister Wang explained with a smile.

"Oh, I see. I've been so busy these past few days that I completely forgot. I'm so sorry," Wan Ping'an quickly apologized.

"Hehe, look how anxious you are. Don't be so polite. You go ahead and do your work. We can have a good chat when we have time," Sister Wang said with a wave of her hand.

“Okay!” Wan Ping’an readily replied, “Then I’ll be going now, Sister-in-law Wang, please be careful.”

After saying that, Wan Ping'an picked up the cloth bag full of meat and went home.

Chapter 281 Debts Not Repaid

He Yuzhu was washing clothes in the yard at that moment. When he saw Wan Ping'an return, he greeted him: "Hey, hello, Uncle. Did you go to buy meat? Looks like you're in a good mood today."

"Hmm...hmm...it's alright!" Wan Ping'an replied somewhat guiltily before hurrying into the house.

Back in his room, Wan Ping'an put the bamboo basket away, took out a piece of pork with a good balance of fat and lean meat, cut it into strips, and prepared to stew a pot of pork soup for dinner.

Next, Wan Ping'an took two more eggs, mashed them, put them in a bowl, added water and stirred well, then fried them in a pan until golden brown.

Then, Wan Ping'an lifted the lid, and immediately a rich aroma wafted out.

Wan Ping'an couldn't help but take a deep breath, then picked up the basin, went straight to the stove in the kitchen, scooped out half a basin of hot water, and put the fried eggs into it.

After the egg was cooked, Wan Ping'an took a pair of chopsticks from the cupboard, picked up the fried egg, and started eating.

"Mmm... Mmm! So delicious!" Wan Ping'an chewed with a look of enjoyment.